Thursday, October 20, 2011

Things That Made Me Happy...

in my comics this week.

JLA #2: "I can keep us on point." Oh, I know plenty of organizations other than the Justice League that could use someone with that superpower.

Batman #2: I am fairly sure that's the only POV shot from a cadaver's organs I've ever seen. NICE.

JLA #2: Wow, the Batman/GL/Flash fight against Superman reads like a straight up Heroclix game, doesn't it? Batman attempts to use Outwit against Superman, but misses the Attack roll. GL attacks Superman with a Running Shot, then pushes with Willpower to attempt to Incapacitate him, failing. Superman counter-attacks, with GL protecting himself with Energy Shield/Deflection and protecting Batman with Defend (or you could also perceive it as GL erecting a Barrier to protect them both). Flash shows up with a Hypersonic Speed attack and knocks Superman away from GL and Batman with either Force Blast or Quake. He then Outwits Superman's attack powers, ties him up with Close Combat so that Batman and GL are safe, and uses some combination of Combat Reflexes and Super-Senses to avoid Superman's attack. Flash is probably trying to force Superman to Push and wear himself out. The Indomitable Superman, however, despite Flash's defensive powers (or by Outwitting them) makes the attack roll with doubles, which knocks back Flash quite a few spaces. But then Batman starts talking, which pretty much wins the game automatically.

Batman #2: The Wayne Tower's thirteenth guardian.

JLA #2: Superman's local 'fortress of solitude'. That's genius, and very much in tune with his portrayal in his own books.

Batman #2: Okay, Batman is officially so good that I think I can drop the inaccurately named Detective Comics from my weekly pulls. Not one but essentially TWO "Batman Cold Opens". More clever applications of super-modern technology as begun in last month's issue, that very much "keeps it simple" for the sake of story-telling. Pitch-perfect interaction between Batman and Nightwing. Cart-loads of actual detecting, by both Bruce and Jim. Oh, and Batman running his motorcycle off the rooftop of an elevated train into a low-flying helicopter... while chatting with Alfred. If this book doesn't make you happy, then you probably just don't like Batman.

JLA #2: Black and blue? I have never heard that one before. Perfect. Hilarious. Instant classic. I'll be using that phrase now, much more often than the old fashioned "WF"...

Wonder Woman #2: Strife (and the Gods generally) defeating mortals indirectly through their application of their own natures. Strife doesn't hit her foes in the face; she has her foes do that to one another.

JLA #2: "The Guardians tell me everything." Ladies and gentlemen, let's put our hands together for Hal Jordan, one of DC's greatest natural comedians.

Batman #2: The great work on building Gotham's history continues, incorporating elements from the recent Batman film franchise, from Anton Furst's Gotham, from the current All-Star Western storyline, and tip-of-the-hat homages toward Owlman.

JLA #2. Barry doesn't even bother to pretend he could keep his secret identity from Superman and Batman.

Wonder Woman #2: Hippolyta. You just know she plays rugby.

JLA #2: In a very logical turn of events and one consistent with the character of Central City, the Flash is preventing Barry from fighting crime. OH, the comic book irony!

Batman #2: Why Lincoln March -- and Bruce Wayne -- love Gotham City so much. Now that makes sense.

Wonder Woman #2: Well, there's the traditional mythical origin of Wonder Woman, with its weirdness duly noted. But is it a clever lie, with Diana's real origin being that one that's been leaked on the internet? If so, it would explain why some god doesn't just zap her back into the Pygmalion dust she came from. Because, gosh, she's mighty lippy toward the gods, isn't she?

JLA #2: "I never break the law." Suddenly, I looked at those four characters, and their different personalities and perspectives all snapped into place. Barry the cop; Hal the marshal; Bruce the detective; Superman the vigilante. Nice done, Geoff.

Batman #2: Gotham City has its own nursery rhymes (and apparently in free verse). Well, of course it does!

Wonder Woman #2: "Cockless coop" is not a phrase I ever expected to read in my comics. Or is it 'co-op'? Because that would be even funnier.

JLA #2: The personality pairings. You may not like Geoff Johns' plotting (or as some wags would have it ,"plodding"), but his talent for characterization shines here. He knows that the key to writing the JL as an Ensemble Cast won't be simply defining each character, but defining each character pairing. Batman and GL are the odd couple crime-fighting duo. Flash and GL, the best friends in a road comedy. Batman and Flash are instantly the Detective and the Forensics Expert. Superman and GL are the Action-oriented Powerhouses. And, after only a brief conversation, Batman and Superman become the Vigilantes as well as the Adults and the Big Picture Guys.

14 comments:

Nathan Hall said...

If Hippolyta plays rugby, does that make her a ... hooker?

(Ask a rugby player if you don't get that joke)

Chad Walters said...

Which parts of Gotham were taken from the new movies? (I haven't read the issue yet.)

Scipio said...

Gotham's central train station being under the Wayne building.

SallyP said...

Scipio, I know nothing about Heroclix, other than what I have read in your blog...but that was the best description of the fight in Justice League that I have read.

Oh, and Justice League was fun, and Wonder Woman was fabulous, so this WAS a darned good week.

Scipio said...

If you liked the description, I think you would like the game. Give it a try! I like it because it's like watching a comic book battle come to life.

Marcos said...

I'm really liking JLA, but I have to wonder, how did a West Coast fighter jockey become best buds with a Midwestern CSI? Maybe they met in costume first, but they seem awfully chummy for that in what is supposed to be early, early days of superheroing.

Ronald said...

>>>Gotham City has its own nursery rhymes

"Lurks in the shadows,
Hides in the park,
Simon, Simon,
Simon Dark..."

Anonymous said...

You know what would make your posting make more sense?

CONTEXT

Can you not scan the panels in question, or give some context to the thing you quote?

Trevor Gentry-Birnbaum said...

Did you read the Legion/Star Trek book from IDW?

Scipio said...

Hey, back in the day, I never even said what COMIC I was commenting on.

Actually, Odkin, part of the point is get you to buy the books yourself :-D I don't believe in posting panels from comics currently on the shelves.

And since I get my comics digitally, I can't scan them anyone.

Gasp, no, I haven't; how is it?

Anonymous said...

I didn't buy JLA #2 (much less #1) until Scipio's post. Had he posted full page scans, I might have read the pages and let the matter drop, my curiosity satisfied. Instead I went and bought the comics; I might have to pick up "Batman" #1 and #2 as well. (I was already getting "Wonder Woman" so no change there.)

Scipio said...

Good; mission accomplished. :-D

Anonymous said...

So I went and got the "Batman" comics like I said I would, and wondered what on earth you were finding so charming about them. Then I realized what I got was "Batman: Dark Knight" comic, and it is ass. So another trip to the store and I got the RIGHT "Batman" comics.

Thanks for the recommendation! I really like the framing of Bruce Wayne and Batman both as extensions / products of their city, as if Gotham itself is a force and not just a setting. Also how Bruce and Batman are additionally builders of their city, part of a long line of people who shaped it.

I have one gripe, and it is one you will appreciate. The thirteen guardians are not "gargoyles" as Batman claims, but rather "grotesques". Creepy statuary is a "grotesque"; creepy statuary that doubles as a water spout is a "gargoyle". That said, the thirteenth guardian made me happy too, and I am certain all thirteen of them are amiable enough to not hold a grudge over terminology.

Redforce said...

I picked up Batman #1 and #2 on your recommendation about 3 weeks ago (along with JLA, JLI, Batwoman, and some others). I haven't read a Batman comic book since 1976 or so. This comic is just incredible. I won't go into detail about just why (I think you pretty much covered it) except to say I really loved the 'Gotham IS...' bit.