Facade of Evil

What's a good example of a marketing gimmick? DC Comics' Faces of Evil. I was excited about this "event" when I read about it coming. I thought it was a great idea to have each comic in the DC Universe focus on one of its more prominent villains and truly give us "The DCU from the villains' point of view." I've read several of the issues on the checklist and...I'm not impressed with the gimmick. And what a "gimmick" it is. Let me give you the definition of "gimmick" from Wikipedia:

"In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature. In marketing, product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties, and not really that relevant to the product's functioning, sometimes even earning negative connotations."

Faces of Evil is a gimmick. It's not relevant and earned a negative connotation in my (comic) book. Why, you ask? The premise promised stories told from the point of the view of the villain. They weren't. The covers featured villains against a black background. One would think that the issue would actually contain that villain for more than a panel or two. They didn't.

Wonder Woman #28 - features The Cheetah baring her claws. The Cheetah doesn't show up until the END of the comic and even then is in only about two panels. The rest of the comic shows Wonder Woman getting dolled up in warrior armor, enlisting her white gorilla friends and the former and current Wonder Girls, and going off to do battle with the green faceless creature that beat her up in the previous issue. How is that a Faces of Evil comic, you ask? I don't know. You tell me.

Green Lantern #37 - features an angry Red Lantern by the name of Laira on its cover. The issue turns out to be mainly about the battle with Atrocitus, the supposed head of the Red Lanterns. And, no, the story isn't told from his viewpoint either. (And don't even get me started about this new rainbow of Lanterns out there in the universe. Or the fact that the Green Lantern Corps can't stay in their own comic and have to bleed over into Green Lantern as well. Green Lantern = singular. Green Lantern Corps = plural.)

Batman #685 - features Catwoman holding a giant (and presumably stolen) diamond. Now, I LOVE Catwoman as a character. However, didn't DC just cancel her comic? And now they're making her the main focus of this Batman issue? Her own series could have been extended a couple of issues for this storyline and given a lesser known Batman villain (who's never had his/her own comic) a little spotlight.

Birds of Prey #126 - features the --yawn-- villainous Calculator. Sadly, this BOP comic really was about the Calculator in its penultimate issue. Readers already clamor that they're tired of seeing the Calculator in Birds of Prey, so what does DC do? They devote an entire issue to him. Right before they end the series. Way to go out with a whimper. Maybe this comic should have read "Feces of Evil" instead.

Faces of Evil? Concept = A+. Follow-through? D-.

Desperate Manhunters

I came back into comics around the time that the new Manhunter by DC Comics was supposedly cancelled with issue #30. I really didn't have much interest in the series, as the comic -- from what I remember -- was always about a generic Manhunter character. Plus, there now have been eight Manhunters in the DC Universe . After discovering that one of my favorite "lost" superheroes (Obsidian) from the 80s Infinity, Inc. was now appearing in the new Manhunter, I had to take a peek! Right away, I was hooked by the writing of co-creator Marc Andreyko. I bought up all 30 past issues and read them all in a row, cover to cover. I could tell that Andreyko was more interested in telling a story than fight/action sequences. He used a variety of minor characters in his stories that I grew to know and care about. (I use the term "care" loosely, though, as some of them are assholes, but I still want them in the stories.) He also successfully merged Kate Spencer, the new Manhunter, into the world of DC Comics as she became the attorney for superheroes and supervillains of the DC Universe, such as Copperhead, the Shadow Thief, and even Wonder Woman. And Andreyko was all about Infinity, Inc., bringing back characters from one of my favorite series from the past, as well as using Infinity's premise of superheroes' children when he revealed that the new Manhunter was actually the granddaughter of Phantom Lady and Iron Munro from The Young All-Stars, a follow-up to the All-Star Squadron. You with me? Good. Andreyko even brought back Mister Bones from Infinity Inc.'s Helix team. Yea for Andreyko reviving some of my favorite characters that DC shooed aside!

When the series returned with issue #31, it took a surprisingly different (and downward) turn for me. The comic was no longer about Kate Spencer, attorney to superheroes, and her supporting characters. It was now about being a member of Birds of Prey (Oy vey! Kat'e not team-oriented!) and Manhunter, the vigilante, going to Mexico. And staying. For issue after issue after issue. And the fabulous crisp art apparently stayed in the U.S., too, leaving only jagged lines by Michael Gaydos. What happened to our girl, Andreyko?

I've now just read the latest issue, issue #37, and discovered that now Andreyko went all Desperate Housewives on us. Flash forward about 12 years. Kate Spencer's young son, Ramsey, is now a young adult, gay, in a relationship, and becoming a superhero in his own right. Kate is in a relationship with a younger man. Dylan has a mechanical leg. Huh? I guess Andreyko wanted to wind things up since the series is going to be cancelled -- again -- with the next issue (#38). Maybe if the Mexico storyline wasn't involved and there was better art upon the series' return, this second cancellation wouldn't have happened? Hmmm?

Sigh...I'm going to miss Kate Spencer and her cast of characters.

Hmmm...I Wonder...

What's it like to be a writer for Wonder Woman? She's gone through so many incarnations over the years that I'm not sure that she really has a defined personality anymore. I guess you just kind of wing it and do whatever you want?

Based on their personality profiles, I could tell you who many of the superheroes are, but it seems that Wonder Woman -- although one of my favorite characters -- never has a consistent one. When last I left her in the 1980s, Wonder Woman had re-emerged in the DC Universe as a sweet, innocent, naive child of a small unknown island. She was taken in by the motherly Julia Kapatelis and befriended Julia's daughter, Vanessa ("Nessie"), as she tried to assimilate herself in "man's world." The stories were touching and showed a "human" side to the Amazon. One of them about a young girl's suicide was one of the most well-written stories I've ever read in a comic book.

Doing a little background check on what I've missed, I discover that Nessie became the Silver Swan and tried to kill Wonder Woman. Not only that, now that whole history has been wiped out and Wonder Woman lives in a world where Julia and Vanessa never even existed. And recently, the peace-loving women of Princess Diana's homeland have attacked the U.S. in Amazons Attack! How about that?

Re-joining Wonder Woman with her latest series' incarnation in "Ends of the Earth" from WW# 20-23, written by my favorite Secret Six author, Gail Simone, I have to say, "Huh?" Wonder Woman is tough-as-nails and in some weird dimension, wearing a fur-lined uniform through the snow that Sarah Palin only wishes she could pull off while snow-shoeing in Alaska. She's joined by two other Wonder Women, both wearing outfits veering slightly from the normal Wonder Woman uniform, one being a Princess-Leia-in-Return-of-the-Jedi-like bikini slave outfit. Oh, and she has a claw. Then she meets Beowulf. Yes, that Beowulf. Cut to: the story arc ending (thankfully!) with her bringing back to modern-day Earth some devilish-looking giant and battling him in the reflection pool next to the Washington Monument. Whew. Got all that? Meanwhile, Donna Troy is housed up in Diana's apartment with a bunch of tall, white, intelligent gorillas. Um...yeah.

I think it's time someone took the time to define Wonder Woman's personality and give her some stories that are worthy of her name.

Batman R.I.P.

After seeing the movie The Dark Knight, I was in the mood for more Batman. With the Batman comics starting the "Batman R.I.P." storyline, this seemed like a good place to jump back in. I picked up all the comics on the Batman R.I.P. checklist, which included Batman #676-681, Detective Comics #846-850, Nightwing #147-150, Robin #175-176, and Batman and the Outsiders #11-13. I've read them all now and all I have to say is, "Huh?" I used to love Grant Morrison's wacky storylines for Animal Man in the 80s, but with Batman today, I think he's on something. Seriously. I never got into the story. And wasn't sure even how to begin. Batman of Zur-En-Arrh? Excuse me? Did you say "Surrender?" No. Batman of Zurrrrrrrrrrrr-ennnnnnnnn-arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh. Oh, okay. Can I have some of what you're on, Grant? And whatever the DC Executives are on who okayed this storyline? After that, throw in some Bat-Mite and we've got ourselves a party!

Seriously? This is what you give Batman fans who went in droves to the movie theaters this past summer and then out to buy Batman comics as a follow-up? Rabble and Bat-Mite? The Riddler makes more sense than "Batman R.I.P."

The "New" Supergirl

I'm just now reading the "new" Supergirl comic by DC Comics and catching up with the past 30+ issues. The first few were exceptionally written by Jeph Loeb, but I was still trying to figure out what happened to the Supergirl that I used to know and love (before she was killed in Crisis on Infinite Earths oh-so-many years ago) but who received little credit. Thankfully, Jeph was helping me get there. I was getting into the groove and then DC did their "One Year Later" storyline across all their comics and Supergirl's storyline went haywire. It became some weird sci-fi storyline with armageddon-like themes. WTF? Thankfully, now that I've caught up to Supergirl's 30s issues, good storylines that include a dying boy and New Krypton -- stories that actually make sense and exhibit true writing ability -- are coming back into play. Thanks for not totally f***ing up our "Girl."