Sector 1128: Birds of Prey

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Decisions: Birds Of Prey and The Huntress

No, it's not Lady Marmalade, but these girls are just as tough and sexy.

Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

Issue #3

Birds of Prey

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap: Canary and Starling are reeling from the sudden explosion of the man they were trying to protect. Turns out he had a bio-bomb in his head triggered by hypnotic suggestion. What will technology come up with next? In an effort to find those responsible, Canary recruits Katana and Poison Ivy. They encounter and defeat some bad guys with strange inviso-armor and the same bio-brain bombs as prisoner of war kill switches. While they don't get their man, they do get the names of some other "walking dead" and set out to rescue them. In a masterfully orchestrated train rescue, Canary learns she's been implanted with a brain bomb herself.

What Soars: Any time you have strong women leading the charge, I'm all for it. While gun-slinging, butt-kicking badassery aren't the best role models for young women, it's also important to me that female characters in comics aren't always the sidekicks, the background art, or the talentless comic relief. Our own world is made up of people (male, female, straight, gay, disabled... the list goes on) who are strong badasses in their own right. Our comics should reflect that. I also like the storyline here. While it can make you think, "huh?" at times, there's a lot of action, plot and conflict in a short 20 pages. It's important to me that a reader gets his money's worth when buying comics.

What Crashes: Can you tell I'm picky with art? While the pencilling in this book is not awful, the rendering of Poison Ivy makes her look old and haggard. I'm sorry, but that's not the Ivy I know. The story seems a little far-fetched as well. Hey, I know this is sci-fi and you can pretty much dream up anything you want, but my brain has been running over the whole idea of Dinah being implanted by a simple kiss. It's a hole-filled plan I'm not sure I buy.

Decision: It's interesting and fun to see chicks kick some butt. While the cliffhanger has had me wondering, "What next?" I'm not sure this is a title I want to follow in the long term.

Issue #2

Huntress

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap: Huntress is still in Italy trying to track down the mob boss responsible for trafficking weapons and women. While she's able to knock off henchmen pretty easily, she keeps running into walls when it comes to apprehending the big boss, Moretti. Her pursuits take her to Pompeii and she learns about an arrangement with Magreb to accept and protect their outgoing leader.

What Soars: There's really very little wrong with this. The artwork is pretty good, the story line is complex and action packed. This would be a great book to pick up for "Bat" fans into crime drama.

Issue #3

What Crashes: I thought I could be into this title, but I'm finding that I'm just not into stories of mob boss crime and politics. No matter how sexy and powerful Huntress is, and I know she's doing the right thing, I'm just not engaged. Perhaps it's too much "reality" for me. I guess if I wanted to hear about trafficking, I'd turn on the news. I'm also not sure I buy that her tiny arrows do so much damage AND can support her weight when climbing. Also, there was one scene where Huntress shot an arrow which ricocheted multiple times before embedding itself in the side of a ship. Suddenly it had a bomb strapped to it. You think they would have caught details like that somewhere along the line.

Decision: It's only a six issue run, so I was really hoping to see it through, but I simply can't do it. I'll save my cash for other, more compelling titles. I'm hoping with the more "sci-fi" permise, I'll be more into the Huntress in World's Finest come June.

All images copyright DC Comics and used under the guidelines of Fair Use.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Mini-Digis: Week of 9/21

I've noticed my digital reading is starting to build up as much as my print reading. I'm glad I have this blog to keep me on task.

So here are my mini-digi-reviews this week. This week is full of titles I'm a relative newbie to. Completely quick thoughts. Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

Birds of Prey #1

As an English teacher, I always tried to make sure my female students had strong powerful female characters as role models. And these women are certainly strong.

Re-cap: Canary and Starling are being stalked by a reporter determined to discover their secret having been tipped by an anonymous source. Meanwhile, Canary is trying to recruit Barbara Gordon and others for her team. Trying to flush out "Deep Throat," Dinah and Ev put themselves in grave danger.

What Soars: I like that this goes back to the beginning of BOP and the assembly of the team. I think it's a good way to lure those new readers (yes, I've said it before). I also like the way this brings the reader in without feeling the need to "explain" too much. It truly allows the reader to discover the characters ("Show, don't tell," the teachers always say). Finally, I LOVE when there's that fine line between, "Are they hero or criminal?" Not only does it make us wonder, but it puts us in the shoes of the public who might wonder that about any super-human.

What Crashes: The penciling seems pretty inconsistent. In some panels it's clear and detailed while in others it seems sloppily rushed. I suppose I'm being a perfectionist, but I like consistency throughout. Also, why can't DC seem to find strong women writers and artists to support their strong female titles (or any titles for that matter).

Legion of Super-Heroes #1

I knew nothing about this group until the cartoon on TV. And I've still only seen a couple episodes.

Re-cap: One team goes to investigate the lost contact on a Watcher World, while the rest of the Legion stays back and does their thing.

What Soars: Um. I love the art in this book. You can tell a great deal of attention was dedicated to this book and I really admire the quality and the detail involved in so many of the really intricate scenes. I also like the identifiers throughout the book helping the noob meet a character and know his ability.

What Crashes: There is too much going on here. There were so many characters introduced and the story switched so many times, my head was spinning. Also, I'm bugged by the pull to read Legion Lost as a companion to this. Do I really need to be reading MORE? Besides. I'm confused enough by the overabundance of characters in this book. Last time I was this lost was reading Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. Finally, the cover. Actually, I can't quite say if this is a crash or not. The art is AWESOME, but it looks so 1960s. Representing the 31st Century, it seems too retro. Almost like watching an episode of Star Trek TOS. Is that part of the allure?

Nightwing #1

Red? I thought Nightwing was blue? I have to admit, if anything drew me to the original Batman it was Dick Grayson. Not the Burt Ward version, and not just because of the name Dick, but because he was a kid, he was athletic and acrobatic, and he could fight. Maybe because he was everything as a kid that I wasn't.

Re-cap: Dick Grayson has been filling the role of Batman for the past year, but with Bruce Wayne back, he's free to be himself again. After resuming his role as Nightwing, Dick visits Haly's Circus, his old troupe that is traveling through Gotham and discovers a hired killer has been sent to eliminate him.

What Soars: I love the two-page, slant panel spreads in this book. For some reason, the slight askew gives the feeling of motion, of action although it's not necessary to move the story along. In general, I'm not normally a fan of the same character appearing more than once in a panel, but this book does it well and with purpose. To show the acrobatic action of a chase or a fight sequence, the character is drawn in various poses, throughout the progression of movement, (transparent, like a ghost image of where he was) until you get to the point of where he IS, fully opaque and still in motion. Pretty darn cool. I love when things in comics look transparent.

What Crashes: What is with these obscenely awkward poses? First Batgirl, now Nightwing. I'm just saying. I thought this was rated T for teen. And the proportions seem off, even with foreshortening. The title page makes Dick look like a creature out of the evolutionary chain. But if that's all that I can find to complain about with this title, I'm pretty happy.

WOW! Two "Bat" reviews this week from someone completely not into the Bat Franchise. Maybe that's how they creep into your world. Hmm...

And as always, if you agree or totally think I'm full of crap, let me know in comments below.