Hello, Old Friends

Ever since its announcement, I've been looking forward to DC Comics' Convergence series and spin-offs.  Why?  Like a lot of long-time readers, I have a personal history invested in the "old" characters (i.e., pre-New 52).  Not only that, they seem to have more personality and character development than those in the New 52. 

Of the main series, I've read Convergence #0 and #1 so far.  It's been interesting, but even better have been the spin-off Convergence series.  The ones I've read from week one have been:   

• Convergence: Speed Force #1 - starring the (Caucasian) Wally West Flash and his two speedy kids
• Convergence: Superman #1 - starring Superman and his pregnant wife Lois Lane
• Convergence: The Atom #1 - starring an "I-Hear-Voices" Ray Palmer
• Convergence:  Nightwing & Oracle #1 - starring a romantically involved Dick Grayson and wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon
• Convergence:  The Titans #1 - starring Donna Troy, Starfire, and Arsenal
• Convergence:  Harley Quinn #1 - starring a fully clothed Harley

All of got to say is:  FANTASTIC.  This is what DC Comics has been missing for the past four years since the inception of the New 52 Universe.  Not only does it bring back the characters that I know and love and that have an actual history, but it involves character development, human emotion/interaction, and decent dialogue.  Maybe people (myself included) wouldn't dislike the New 52 Universe so much if it wasn't focused on dreariness, flat emotions, battles/fight scenes, and cheesy dialogue.

With these Convergence titles, I get Wally West worried about his kids and wife, Superman looking forward to being a father, the Atom wigging out, Dick Grayson proposing to Barbara Gordon, Starfire being jealous about Dick's romance, Roy Harper still agonizing over the death of his daughter, Donna Troy working her photographer job, and Harley Quinn interacting with Catwoman and Poison Ivy again.  (Not to mention Captain Carrot's teammate Fastback chasing after Wally West!)  These are real human traits, feelings, and emotions, and they're what's missing from DC Comics today. 

The bigger question about Convergence is: Why is the storywriting so much better?  Is it due to the return of the better characters?  Or are they using writers who aren't fatigued and/or mandated to write crap? 

I'm not sure what the future holds for the DC Universe, but I'm thinking that if they decide to stick with the flat, two-dimensional characters of the New 52 Universe, then I'll probably drop several titles and maybe even quit reading comics all together again.  (And don't even get me started with the new Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman; I've already canceled those comics.)  Until then, I'm going to enjoy seeing my old friends converge.

Welcome Back, Babs!

I know a lot of people have been skeptical about Barbara Gordon being able to walk and becoming Batgirl again.  This, however, was one change in DC Comics' "New 52" that I was actually looking forward to.  I was never a fan of Cassandra Cain's darker version of Batgirl and, though I read the entire series, I never felt that Stephanie Brown quite captured Batgirl's essence.  

I'll miss Oracle, but having Babs back in action is, I think, a good thing.  She is the one true Batgirl.  The only difficulty I'll have reading the series is picturing Babs as a free-spirited young adult again, instead of as the older,  wiser, cautious, and set-in-her-ways Oracle.  Does this mean that Babs is younger than Kate Kane?  And now we'll have a Batgirl and a Batwoman both as redheads.  What will Gotham City's villains think?  That they're mother and daughter?  

After some significant lagging in her writing abilities with the later issues of the Secret Six (did she stop caring?) and her Wonder Woman run, I see that Gail Simone is back at the top of her game in the new Batgirl.  It was a great opening story to what looks like a "fun" series and gave a brief, but reasonable, explanation for Barbara Gordon being able to walk again.  I also like that Babs has a recurring fear of being shot again.  It gives her a weakness, and it'll make for some great storylines in the future. 

I'm sold.  If no other new series, I look forward to reading Batgirl for years to come.

Number Ones

Recently, DC Comics has been putting out a lot of number one issue comics, trying to reinvent themselves and bring back some old favorites, as well as introduce some new, but familiar, characters. With comics getting cancelled and reinstated all the time, starting from the beginning, it's a wonder that any comics ever make it to three-digit numbering.

In the past couple of months alone, I've started reading six "new" series: Adventure Comics, Batgirl, Batman and Robin, Gotham City Sirens, Red Robin, and Streets of Gotham. Unfortunately, although I love the characters, the comics haven't all wowed me. When I think of first issues, I think "spectacular!" This is the jumping off point, and it should be a story that really grabs hold of you and forces you to add the series to your monthly comic book order list because it's that good. The majority of these series hasn't done that, but I'm sticking with them because I love the characters.

I was most excited about the return of a Batgirl monthly series, and I was glad that it wasn't going to be about the most recent Batgirl in DC Comics history. That Batgirl, also named Cassandra (I guess someone really liked the name?), wore the mask over her entire face and never seemed to have that "flair" that Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl, did. She was more like a vigilante/assassin. There was much mystery over who the next Batgirl was going to be. Would Barbara Gordon regain the use of her legs and take up the mantle again? Would it be a new Batgirl under Barbara's tutelage? I'm sad to report that the mystery was solved immediately within the first few pages of issue one. So much for intrigue. I thought DC would draw out the mystery and excite us with further anticipation. Alas, no. We find out it's Stephanie Brown, aka the former Spoiler character from the cancelled Robin series. Yawn. She's like the teenage girl that everyone's annoyed by. Barbara is still in the comic, though, and I hope she maintains a prominent role since her Birds of Prey series was cancelled.

Adventure Comics features the return of one of my favorite DC characters: Superboy. Not Superman as a boy, but the clone made from both Superman's and Lex Luthor's DNA. When he was created back in the 1990s to help replace the void from Superman's death (due to his fight with Doomsday), I did not like him. He was an arrogant punk who wore sign-of-the-times apparel, a surfer's cut, and even sported an earring in one ear. Now, Conner Kent (aka Superboy again now that the licensing battle over the name trademark has been resolved) is a sexy, young adult who's trying to find his place in the world, much like Superman once did. His costume is a T-shirt and jeans. How cool is that? He's like the jock that everyone idolizes, but without the superior attitude. Deep down, he just wants to feel accepted and loved like everyone else. Of all the "restarts," this is definitely my favorite. I've missed Conner since he "died" a couple of years ago. Teen Titans hasn't been the same since his absence. I'm very curious what will happen with his previous budding relationship with Cassandra ("Cassie") Sandsmark (aka Wonder Girl) now that he's returned. After all, she did lose her virginity to him.

After reading the putrid "Batman: RIP" storyline and Final Crisis mini-series by Grant Morrison, I swore that I would never pick up another comic book written by Morrison. But...there I was picking up -- and enjoying -- the new Batman and Robin series. There's never actually been a "Batman and Robin" title, so this is definitely a milestone. The series features Dick Grayson (the first Robin) as the new Batman and, as Robin, Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne's son with Talia, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul). The relationship between these two is comical, and that's what makes the series enjoyable. Damian is...a smart-ass prick. But Dick deals with it because he's Bruce's son and wants to show him the ropes. I think Morrison must have (finally) set down his joint and started writing something coherent because I've enjoyed the first couple of issues of this new series thus far. And the art by Frank Quitely is amazing. The level of detail harkens back to the days of Kevin Maguire on Justice League International in the 1980s. And, as an aside, I love the title logo for the series.

Catwoman was cancelled and they put her in the new Gotham City Sirens, adding Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn to the roster. I like all three characters, but Catwoman's own series had so much more depth. Thus far, Gotham City Sirens hasn't done much for me. We don't get to see the women as individuals outside of their costumes. Who hangs around together wearing their costumes all the time? Don't they ever have to be washed? And I'm not crazy about the title either. It screams "unsuccessful series" and "cancellation." I'll keep reading it, though, because I like to support female-lead series. They're so few and far between.

Speaking of poor title choices, what's worse than Gotham City Sirens? Streets of Gotham. It's about the people of Gotham who may from time-to-time interact with Batman. The only reason I'm buying this is because the back-up feature is Manhunter, written by the fantastic Marc Andreyko. DC also cancelled her own series and put her here in small vignettes with a $3.99 price tag. I think this will be the first of the new series to go, if only for the series' lackluster title.

Lastly, we get to Red Robin. No, not the restaurant chain that serves up awesome burgers and bottomless steak fries. Red Robin is the new identity of Tim Drake, the former Robin. I find it odd that he'd take on that name when Jason Todd, the former-former Robin, took on that name (and very similar costume) during the Countdown series. It's like Tim's just following in Jason's footsteps every step of the way. And Jason isn't someone you'd want to emulate. Anyway, I'm still waiting for something spectacular to happen with this series since Tim left the Teen Titans and the Robin identity for it. The series is very action-driven, but seems to lack a lot of story-driven quality and character development.