I haven't been reading JSA/Justice Society of America for a while, not since they split the team into two books. But I do read the solicits and the news items and this sure caught my eye. Now, I love Kate Spencer/Manhunter, but even she's not enough to get me to read the book now. And I haven't read anything the goings on with the JSA so far to change my mind. But what caught my attention was the butt shot.
Sure, she's wearing out costume, but c'mon, look at her. She's squatting and there's nothing wrong with the pose, per se, but I'd rather see some sexy (while being anatomically correct) pose, even some of Power Girl's cleavage, than this ugly image.
In the rest of the preview pages/panels, she looks fine. But her huge ass that seems to be straining to break free of her costume... I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but I think I'll be haunted by that image for a while.
Showing posts with label JSA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JSA. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
First Impressions with Some Spoilers
Two team books came out today, with mixed results. Justice Society of America 29 featured the first story by its new team, writers Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, and artist Jesus Merino. I usually enjoy Willingham's work, but this was just a lot of stuff thrown together. As soon as Todd didn't answer Alan's call, I knew he was the black egg thing that had been found, negating any suspense, which was not a good way to start. Characters sounds a bit off, and the new legacy characters both annoyed me. And isn't Power Girl supposed to be team leader? I don't recall that changing, yet she was barely present in the story, just standing around, although she did have a line or two, "Bring it, Cupcake" being the most memorable. And Mr. Terrific, who has shone in both this title and in Checkmate (well, at least under Rucka's skilled hand), was hardly at his best. No way that kid should have been able to take him down that easily. Am I the only one disappointed by this? I'll give this more time, but I'm gonna need a great payoff to keep me reading beyond this story.
Justice League of America 35
Written by Len Wein, so I bought it. But I'm no fan of the Royal Flush Gang. And a team consisting of Firestorm, Vixen (both of whom I do like a lot), Dr. Light, Red Tornado (neither of whom does anything for me), and Plastic Man (who I can take or leave) is not a JLA team I want to read about. I'm not sure if I'll keep reading, or just wait for the permanent new team and see what they do with this less than stellar JLA book.
Wonder Woman 34
Gail Simone is keeping the Amazon and Genocide stories percolating, while giving us a dream team-up of Diana and Black Canary. Much fun here.
I also read Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape 1-3. I'm thinking I should've waited for all 6 issues to read them all at once. Maybe the story would make sense then. It is intriguing, and a real job of mind warping, but I haven't a damn clue what's going on. I like Nemesis, which is why I'm reading this FC Aftermath title and not the others. I just hope it's worth it when finished.
Justice League of America 35
Written by Len Wein, so I bought it. But I'm no fan of the Royal Flush Gang. And a team consisting of Firestorm, Vixen (both of whom I do like a lot), Dr. Light, Red Tornado (neither of whom does anything for me), and Plastic Man (who I can take or leave) is not a JLA team I want to read about. I'm not sure if I'll keep reading, or just wait for the permanent new team and see what they do with this less than stellar JLA book.
Wonder Woman 34
Gail Simone is keeping the Amazon and Genocide stories percolating, while giving us a dream team-up of Diana and Black Canary. Much fun here.
I also read Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape 1-3. I'm thinking I should've waited for all 6 issues to read them all at once. Maybe the story would make sense then. It is intriguing, and a real job of mind warping, but I haven't a damn clue what's going on. I like Nemesis, which is why I'm reading this FC Aftermath title and not the others. I just hope it's worth it when finished.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
In Review
Sheesh. I need better titles for these posts.
Countdown... 21
Piper trying to wake up Trickster. *sniff* Holly, Harley, and the Amazon Island storyline: Finally, a hint of something happening. Look, a cave! With someone lurking within. We'll see how long that gets dragged out. Ah, but now, after battling his brother Monitor, Bob the Monitor knows where Ray Palmer is. But we already know from the solicits, we won't be finding him for a few weeks yet. Which leaves the two parts of this weekly event comic that makes it not nearly as good as 52. OMACs and The New Gods. They just don't interest me.
Supergirl 24
More coherent than issue 23, but nothing special, either. We get yet another peek at another version of Krypton and Kara's parents. Seeing Kara with a baby Kal was a tad startling. I don't think I'll ever get used to this whole Kara was born first and is older than Kal even tho she's still a teen bit. The art wasn't bad, but I miss Guedes.
Atom 18
Gail Simone does a wonderful job with guest star Wonder Woman. I loved her scene with Head. Oh, poor Head. Atom and WW made for a good team, but Ryan is so hapless when it comes to women. A cute, fun book.
Justice League of America 15
I love Ed Benes' art, but this was not his best. I know folks, Sally among them, who feel the art brought down the issue, but I think there's plenty of blame to go around. Yeah, we had action this time. Was it necessary? Did it accomplish anything? Our heroes are freed, off-panel, then most of the villains escape, only to be mostly rounded up, off-panel, by Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad so they can presumably send them off to the secret prison. Roy manages to get some panel time, but where there could have been some interaction between him and Cheshire, instead we get a cutsie "Must have missed her" from Roy after Kendra points out Cheshire is escaping. So, yeah, I'm taking that as Roy letting Lian's mother get away, but it was so off-handed as to be too subtle and made him look like an idiot.
And after all this time, we're still pre-wedding, so Dinah splits before the dust clears, leaving others to decide Firestorm, who left a sickbed to save everyone, needs to be in the JLA so Batman can keep an eye on him. Not that it would've mattered if Dinah had hung around because no one's paying attention to her, anyway. What's the point of electing her leader if no one listens to her?
So, back to the art. Yeah, lots of tush shots. That's how Ed Benes draws women. Not my favorite aspect of his art, but I can live with it. He draws a nice Roy. But if he's not given anything interesting to draw (and fight scenes are probably not his strongest suit), we get a lot of posturing. The only moment of real interest to me in this is the hint that Lex has something else up his sleeve, that this wasn't his real scheme. Nice to see Hal show up, and Mari kissing Supes to give him his powers back was an interesting touch, but other than having a lot of characters thrown at us, I don't see what's so special about McDuffie's writing. I hope his next story lets me in on the secret. Because right now, I'm missing Brad Meltzer. He might've paced his stories too slowly at first, but he nailed the characters with wonderful bits of business and his sense of comics history gave his stories a larger than life feel, two things I feel are lacking in the book right now.
Justice Society of America 11
This book has characterization and the feeling of importance on every page. The Alex Ross cover is gorgeous, with everyone looking so real as they fly across the page. Wally and Jay on the Cosmic Treadmill was great fun, while the plight of Kingdom Come (KC) Superman was poignant. And Power Girl's grief and loneliness were well-written, leading to a touching scene between her and the KC Supes. Eaglesham, Jose, and Geraci make for a great art team, with the women looking sexy and real. And the men were just as sexy. Carter with his chest hair. *sigh* I liked that Maxine made a new costume for KC Supes, a small thing but it uses her skills that aren't directly involved in crimefighting, just a neat bit of character development. When I read this book, I feel like I'm visiting with friends. There aren't too many comics, much as I enjoy them, that I can say that about.
Countdown... 21
Piper trying to wake up Trickster. *sniff* Holly, Harley, and the Amazon Island storyline: Finally, a hint of something happening. Look, a cave! With someone lurking within. We'll see how long that gets dragged out. Ah, but now, after battling his brother Monitor, Bob the Monitor knows where Ray Palmer is. But we already know from the solicits, we won't be finding him for a few weeks yet. Which leaves the two parts of this weekly event comic that makes it not nearly as good as 52. OMACs and The New Gods. They just don't interest me.
Supergirl 24
More coherent than issue 23, but nothing special, either. We get yet another peek at another version of Krypton and Kara's parents. Seeing Kara with a baby Kal was a tad startling. I don't think I'll ever get used to this whole Kara was born first and is older than Kal even tho she's still a teen bit. The art wasn't bad, but I miss Guedes.
Atom 18
Gail Simone does a wonderful job with guest star Wonder Woman. I loved her scene with Head. Oh, poor Head. Atom and WW made for a good team, but Ryan is so hapless when it comes to women. A cute, fun book.
Justice League of America 15
I love Ed Benes' art, but this was not his best. I know folks, Sally among them, who feel the art brought down the issue, but I think there's plenty of blame to go around. Yeah, we had action this time. Was it necessary? Did it accomplish anything? Our heroes are freed, off-panel, then most of the villains escape, only to be mostly rounded up, off-panel, by Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad so they can presumably send them off to the secret prison. Roy manages to get some panel time, but where there could have been some interaction between him and Cheshire, instead we get a cutsie "Must have missed her" from Roy after Kendra points out Cheshire is escaping. So, yeah, I'm taking that as Roy letting Lian's mother get away, but it was so off-handed as to be too subtle and made him look like an idiot.
And after all this time, we're still pre-wedding, so Dinah splits before the dust clears, leaving others to decide Firestorm, who left a sickbed to save everyone, needs to be in the JLA so Batman can keep an eye on him. Not that it would've mattered if Dinah had hung around because no one's paying attention to her, anyway. What's the point of electing her leader if no one listens to her?
So, back to the art. Yeah, lots of tush shots. That's how Ed Benes draws women. Not my favorite aspect of his art, but I can live with it. He draws a nice Roy. But if he's not given anything interesting to draw (and fight scenes are probably not his strongest suit), we get a lot of posturing. The only moment of real interest to me in this is the hint that Lex has something else up his sleeve, that this wasn't his real scheme. Nice to see Hal show up, and Mari kissing Supes to give him his powers back was an interesting touch, but other than having a lot of characters thrown at us, I don't see what's so special about McDuffie's writing. I hope his next story lets me in on the secret. Because right now, I'm missing Brad Meltzer. He might've paced his stories too slowly at first, but he nailed the characters with wonderful bits of business and his sense of comics history gave his stories a larger than life feel, two things I feel are lacking in the book right now.
Justice Society of America 11
This book has characterization and the feeling of importance on every page. The Alex Ross cover is gorgeous, with everyone looking so real as they fly across the page. Wally and Jay on the Cosmic Treadmill was great fun, while the plight of Kingdom Come (KC) Superman was poignant. And Power Girl's grief and loneliness were well-written, leading to a touching scene between her and the KC Supes. Eaglesham, Jose, and Geraci make for a great art team, with the women looking sexy and real. And the men were just as sexy. Carter with his chest hair. *sigh* I liked that Maxine made a new costume for KC Supes, a small thing but it uses her skills that aren't directly involved in crimefighting, just a neat bit of character development. When I read this book, I feel like I'm visiting with friends. There aren't too many comics, much as I enjoy them, that I can say that about.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Baa Baa Baa and JSA
Yup, I'm a sheep. I'm also now on ComicSpace as shellys. Yeah, original with my choice of screen names, as usual. And my userpic there is from a drawing I did back in the late-'60s or early-'70s that I more recently enhanced in Photoshop. I used to draw a lot better back then. I think I got rusty. So, request I friend you or leave your ComicSpace name here in the comments so I can friend you. I already made my requests to Kalinara and Ragnell. Of course, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the thing, but I can't resist the cool, new toy.
And to make this post worth reading, I read JSA 1 Saturday night, finally. Wow, what a wonderful first issue/reboot. Respect for the team's heritage coupled with exciting, new characters. Maxine Hunkel is dynamite and can be a lot of fun once she calms down. Her enthusiasm was nicely done, very realistic. There are a lot of things going on here, a number of plot threads to play out over the next half dozen or more issues. I was a bit put off by Wildcat being so anti-social. After all, he's mentored/taught both Dinah and Selina in the fine art of self-defense and has even trained Selina's friend Holly. And he's like an uncle to Dinah and he's remained a close friend of Selina's, one she can call on when she needs him. So for him to think, in a nice blue narrative box, "I train 'em and I move on" doesn't ring true. So, is this a slip in characterization or is there a reason Ted's got a bug up his butt? There are a number of things I won't comment on because I want to see how they play out. But so far, I'm really jazzed about this book. And the art is lovely.
And to make this post worth reading, I read JSA 1 Saturday night, finally. Wow, what a wonderful first issue/reboot. Respect for the team's heritage coupled with exciting, new characters. Maxine Hunkel is dynamite and can be a lot of fun once she calms down. Her enthusiasm was nicely done, very realistic. There are a lot of things going on here, a number of plot threads to play out over the next half dozen or more issues. I was a bit put off by Wildcat being so anti-social. After all, he's mentored/taught both Dinah and Selina in the fine art of self-defense and has even trained Selina's friend Holly. And he's like an uncle to Dinah and he's remained a close friend of Selina's, one she can call on when she needs him. So for him to think, in a nice blue narrative box, "I train 'em and I move on" doesn't ring true. So, is this a slip in characterization or is there a reason Ted's got a bug up his butt? There are a number of things I won't comment on because I want to see how they play out. But so far, I'm really jazzed about this book. And the art is lovely.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Can't Put Off These Reviews Forever
Three for now; two feh, one great.
The Battle for Bludhaven 1
I will not be reading issue 2. I usually give a new title a few issues at the very least, and mini-series the full run, but this was just too dreadful for me to contemplate trying the next one. What an f'in mess. On the cover, in the bottom right corner, there's a sign intended as part of the art: "DO NOT ENTER By Order of the United States Government." Consider it a warning.
I couldn't keep track of all the poorly drawn characters, poorly drawn in the sense that it was dfficult to tell them apart, especially with the dark coloring. The telling point here is that I didn't care that I couldn't tell them apart. If something important happens in this series, I'll have to learn about it some other way, maybe by reading blogs. heh
JSA Classified 11
The Vandal Savage storyline continues. he continues to dominate, but at least some of the JSA appeared. I'm not overly fond of Gulacy's art. I tolerated it on Catwoman and I'm tolerating it here. The story is inching forward, but there isn't enough going on yet for me to have anything to discuss. Maybe next installment.
Birds of Prey 93
By far the best of the 3 and one of the few superior OYL books. The trade of place Shiva and Dinah have engaged in is explained a bit, Dinah shows what she's capable of and yet is off the mark as she struggled to figure out the tests Mother set for her. And the case the rest of the birds are on is moving forward.
The art is nice, but except for the hairstyles and costumes, it's difficult at times to tell the dark-haired female characters apart. I've been spoiled by artists who can draw nuances in the various characters.
But the main thing here is that Gail Simone understands the concept of OYL perhaps better than anyone writing at DC right now, or at least is among a very few. She's not changing things for change's sake. And the changes all have a logic for the characters. Dinah wanting to experience what Shiva did in her training is fully in character and the switching of places gives the group dynamic of the birds a bit of, uh, goosing (sorry, couldn't resist). Gail is mixing things up without making drastic changes. Above all, she's writing a solid story, blending two plotlines seamlessly, pacing things to perfection, and generally, entertaining BoP's readers by remembering character is as important as action.
So far, OYL has been a mixed bag.
The Battle for Bludhaven 1
I will not be reading issue 2. I usually give a new title a few issues at the very least, and mini-series the full run, but this was just too dreadful for me to contemplate trying the next one. What an f'in mess. On the cover, in the bottom right corner, there's a sign intended as part of the art: "DO NOT ENTER By Order of the United States Government." Consider it a warning.
I couldn't keep track of all the poorly drawn characters, poorly drawn in the sense that it was dfficult to tell them apart, especially with the dark coloring. The telling point here is that I didn't care that I couldn't tell them apart. If something important happens in this series, I'll have to learn about it some other way, maybe by reading blogs. heh
JSA Classified 11
The Vandal Savage storyline continues. he continues to dominate, but at least some of the JSA appeared. I'm not overly fond of Gulacy's art. I tolerated it on Catwoman and I'm tolerating it here. The story is inching forward, but there isn't enough going on yet for me to have anything to discuss. Maybe next installment.
Birds of Prey 93
By far the best of the 3 and one of the few superior OYL books. The trade of place Shiva and Dinah have engaged in is explained a bit, Dinah shows what she's capable of and yet is off the mark as she struggled to figure out the tests Mother set for her. And the case the rest of the birds are on is moving forward.
The art is nice, but except for the hairstyles and costumes, it's difficult at times to tell the dark-haired female characters apart. I've been spoiled by artists who can draw nuances in the various characters.
But the main thing here is that Gail Simone understands the concept of OYL perhaps better than anyone writing at DC right now, or at least is among a very few. She's not changing things for change's sake. And the changes all have a logic for the characters. Dinah wanting to experience what Shiva did in her training is fully in character and the switching of places gives the group dynamic of the birds a bit of, uh, goosing (sorry, couldn't resist). Gail is mixing things up without making drastic changes. Above all, she's writing a solid story, blending two plotlines seamlessly, pacing things to perfection, and generally, entertaining BoP's readers by remembering character is as important as action.
So far, OYL has been a mixed bag.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Three OYL
I have 2 problems with this issue.
- On the cover: "Featuring Green Lantern." Now, I get that they mean this arc features him, but if you put it on the cover, it's a reasonable reader expectation that we'll see the character in the story somewhere.
- No JSA. It's the JSA's book. Shouldn't one or two of them have shown up? Did they miss the bus? Not get the memo? Take a wrong turn after Infinite Crisis?
Hawkgirl 50
Interesting that they kept the numbering despite the title change. Especially since some books, like Wonder Woman, will start with #1. Ah well. Apparently, Carter is gone. Not dead. Or so it seemed to me. Kendra's dream of him to open was a cheat and beneath Walt Simonson, IMO. However, once things got going, they intrigued, although the pacing seemed a bit abrupt in places and following the dialogue was a bit tricky with the placement of panels. Chaykin's art still thrills me, but I wish all the characters didn't look like they were grimacing when speaking. All that baring of teeth would make an oral hygenist proud. At least things happened here and I'm looking forward to the next issue.
Catwoman 53
This was the OYL title I've been most eager for. No surprise, and therefore, no disappointment, as to the new Catwoman's identity. It was nice to see Slam. The cover is more stunning than the previews hinted at. The interior art was nice. Selina grew her hair out. She named the baby Helena, which was pretty cool for some reason. Bruce is still Bruce and no word, naturally, on Helena's daddy, or even why Selina got pregnant, went to term, and is keeping the baby. But, as with Hawkgirl, things happened, story threads were set in motion, and things look to get very interesting. I've been having conflicting feelings re: books getting all new teams vs keeping at least the writer. In this case, I'm glad Pfeifer is staying on. He's got a nice feel for Selina.
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