Actually, "Space Girls Gone Wild" is apparently the title of the Power Girl arc coming at the end of September. But it sort of put me in a bad mood going into PG #2 this week, so I thought I'd run with that.
But first: Supergirl #43 was anti-climactic, but I guess that was the point. With the upcoming crossovers that will be required to follow the next arc, I'm not sure I'll stick with it. The art's not anything special (not bad, just not special) and as interested as I am in seeing Kara stick it to her mom (and find out what sort of twist is going on with Lana, because if it's cancer, wtf) I'm not sure if the budget's going to allow plunking down extra money on Action Comics, or whatever the crossover is.
I have Captain America #600 just because... I should. But I'm so annoyed at Marvel for bringing Steve Rogers back (there best be a catch) that I haven't read it yet. I'll get to it later.
I was really looking forward to the start of Streets of Gotham, and I wasn't disappointed. It jumped around a little, but the narrative was a good glimpse into the minds of Gotham's citizens, and the people related to the Bat but not part of the Bat-family. I liked the style, and the last page was absolutely gorgeous.
The Manhunter co-feature is engaging. I know nothing about the character whatsoever, but what I now know (single mom, attorney on both sides of the courtroom, new Gotham ADA, sarcastic, UST with Babs) I like. I wouldn't buy the title just for the co-feature, but if SoG ever has a bad issue, I think Manhunter will keep me going.
I also picked up Batman #686 and #687, but that's sort of old news and I haven't read them yet.
Mostly I want to bitch about Power Girl. Actually, I think I'll do that in a separate post.
Showing posts with label dcu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dcu. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Make New Friends, But Keep the Old?
Old Girls Scout song that I think is appropriate: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold."
I got to talking with some follow comics people on the internet this weekend about the DCU's inability to move past the Silver Age. I think they're taking strides forward with the new Batman
(as in, there is a new Batman, and he's one that could conceivably stay as Batman for a long time, though I don't think they'll do it that way). But there are all these great characters that get introduced only to sit in perpetual sidekick and/or teenageland. Why? Of the Titans team over there, specifically the ones with Silver Age connections, one died (he's back), one went into an alternate universe, got to take on the adult role of his series and then died (he's back, but as the Kid again), one is still the Girl, and one just finally did something interesting by moving on as the Red Robin. Oh and the others, too. What the Hell are they doing?
One of the negatives of Bart Allen as the Flash in Fastest Man Alive was that we missed all of his growing up. I like the growing up stories. They're interesting. I grew up, too! Maybe not to become a superhero (YET), but it's a way I can connect with the characters I love. I think they call it... character development... yeah. That's the one! And now with Barry back, pushing Wally back to second-tier Flash, what's that leave for Bart? Oh yeah, Kid Flash. Again. I'm waiting to judge until Rebirth is over, but I can't imagine they'll let Barry just disappear again.
And here's the thing: he should. And as cool as Hal's return was (especially after the BS that character went through), and as okay as it is to have multiple GLs, based on the Corps' structure... maybe Hal should've stayed gone, too. And maybe it's time for Ollie to retire and let Roy or Connor step up. And Superman can stay on New Krypton, to be repalced by any number
of worthy heirs to the S-Shield. Kon-El, Mon-El, even Kara once she finds her way (though word is she's staying on Kew Krypton for awhile). I wouldn't even mind seeing Chris Kent come back to Earth as Superman. (I need to catch up on the Flamebird/Nightwing stuff, so apologize if I have no idea what I'm talking about.) It's not like we don't have plenty of Superman family that are both willing, able, and Good enough to fill Superman's cape. (Blasphemy!)
Speaking of Chris Kent, I read the Superman: Last Son TP this weekend and was... both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. I feel like the cut a lot of stuff out for the Trade that I'd have like to have seen, (like Chris meeting Robin) but what was there was good. I didn't realize it was co-written by Richard Donner until I noticed the intro was written by Marc McClure. "Hey," said I, "wasn't he the movie Jimmy?" Duh. It was a far better sequel to Superman II than Superman Returns was, and did the Son of Superman story in a much better, less I-want-to-punch-Singer-in-the-face way.
Where was I? Oh right, moving on.
The Marvel Universe doesn't seem to have this sort of trouble. They bring in new characters, make new teams, and every decade or so things can be fresher (no comment on the fact that Steve Rogers might come back). The first time I really became engaged in any of the X-Titles was with the launch of GenerationX. New heroes! A link the past! People that will one day grow into X-Men (or, you know... die). Then to hang onto the Silver Age (does Marvel have one?), they've got the Ultimates. Sure, I hear they sucked, but I think DC could do something good along those lines.
It's why I liked the All-Star runs. Outside of mainstream continuity, but legtimiate stories of the main superheroes of the DCU.
Here's my thing. I want all these great characters that get introduced as teenagers to evolve. Either retire from the business (like Arrowette did), become your own hero (Garth becoming Tempest) or take on the mantle of your mentor, like Bart did for 13 issues. But let us take the journey with them, don't thrust them into the role with no explanation. We won't like it (cough FMA). And why do you keep dragging out the Silver age? I love it, too, but come on, guys. We've got heroes with names that no one would ever even name their kids anymore. Their secret identities are outdated. Bruce, Clark, Oliver, Hal, Lois, Dinah. How many of those do you meet that aren't your grandparents age? (Maybe a few Bruces, but still.)
Do a majority of comic fans really want to read about Barry Allen again? Every month? While Wally gets shoved into the JLA title, and Bart into the Titans Is it really so bad to move on? I know we're very against comic book characters aging, but there are some great stories to tell there, too. Look at the JSA. Look at how awesome Kingdom Come was. I don't want to be fifty years old and still waiting for Bart to get his chance as a the hero.
Of course, the downside of this is that people we love will die. I understand that comics are meant, in part, to be an escape. But they're also meant to be an allegory (and Marvel does this better than DC, usually). Let us deal with a beloved character's death in a way that is permanent and real. Bruce Wayne is going to live on forever in the movies that are going to be made about him (we are not fucking done professionally), so let the world of the comics move on. We've got a new Batman and a new Robin (and a new Batgirl!) and Tim Drake's growing up, finally, and I think all of this is very good.
Sure, I see a Lazarus Pit in our future, but a girl can dream.
I got to talking with some follow comics people on the internet this weekend about the DCU's inability to move past the Silver Age. I think they're taking strides forward with the new Batman
(as in, there is a new Batman, and he's one that could conceivably stay as Batman for a long time, though I don't think they'll do it that way). But there are all these great characters that get introduced only to sit in perpetual sidekick and/or teenageland. Why? Of the Titans team over there, specifically the ones with Silver Age connections, one died (he's back), one went into an alternate universe, got to take on the adult role of his series and then died (he's back, but as the Kid again), one is still the Girl, and one just finally did something interesting by moving on as the Red Robin. Oh and the others, too. What the Hell are they doing?One of the negatives of Bart Allen as the Flash in Fastest Man Alive was that we missed all of his growing up. I like the growing up stories. They're interesting. I grew up, too! Maybe not to become a superhero (YET), but it's a way I can connect with the characters I love. I think they call it... character development... yeah. That's the one! And now with Barry back, pushing Wally back to second-tier Flash, what's that leave for Bart? Oh yeah, Kid Flash. Again. I'm waiting to judge until Rebirth is over, but I can't imagine they'll let Barry just disappear again.
And here's the thing: he should. And as cool as Hal's return was (especially after the BS that character went through), and as okay as it is to have multiple GLs, based on the Corps' structure... maybe Hal should've stayed gone, too. And maybe it's time for Ollie to retire and let Roy or Connor step up. And Superman can stay on New Krypton, to be repalced by any number
of worthy heirs to the S-Shield. Kon-El, Mon-El, even Kara once she finds her way (though word is she's staying on Kew Krypton for awhile). I wouldn't even mind seeing Chris Kent come back to Earth as Superman. (I need to catch up on the Flamebird/Nightwing stuff, so apologize if I have no idea what I'm talking about.) It's not like we don't have plenty of Superman family that are both willing, able, and Good enough to fill Superman's cape. (Blasphemy!)Speaking of Chris Kent, I read the Superman: Last Son TP this weekend and was... both overwhelmed and underwhelmed. I feel like the cut a lot of stuff out for the Trade that I'd have like to have seen, (like Chris meeting Robin) but what was there was good. I didn't realize it was co-written by Richard Donner until I noticed the intro was written by Marc McClure. "Hey," said I, "wasn't he the movie Jimmy?" Duh. It was a far better sequel to Superman II than Superman Returns was, and did the Son of Superman story in a much better, less I-want-to-punch-Singer-in-the-face way.
Where was I? Oh right, moving on.
The Marvel Universe doesn't seem to have this sort of trouble. They bring in new characters, make new teams, and every decade or so things can be fresher (no comment on the fact that Steve Rogers might come back). The first time I really became engaged in any of the X-Titles was with the launch of GenerationX. New heroes! A link the past! People that will one day grow into X-Men (or, you know... die). Then to hang onto the Silver Age (does Marvel have one?), they've got the Ultimates. Sure, I hear they sucked, but I think DC could do something good along those lines.
It's why I liked the All-Star runs. Outside of mainstream continuity, but legtimiate stories of the main superheroes of the DCU.
Here's my thing. I want all these great characters that get introduced as teenagers to evolve. Either retire from the business (like Arrowette did), become your own hero (Garth becoming Tempest) or take on the mantle of your mentor, like Bart did for 13 issues. But let us take the journey with them, don't thrust them into the role with no explanation. We won't like it (cough FMA). And why do you keep dragging out the Silver age? I love it, too, but come on, guys. We've got heroes with names that no one would ever even name their kids anymore. Their secret identities are outdated. Bruce, Clark, Oliver, Hal, Lois, Dinah. How many of those do you meet that aren't your grandparents age? (Maybe a few Bruces, but still.)
Do a majority of comic fans really want to read about Barry Allen again? Every month? While Wally gets shoved into the JLA title, and Bart into the Titans Is it really so bad to move on? I know we're very against comic book characters aging, but there are some great stories to tell there, too. Look at the JSA. Look at how awesome Kingdom Come was. I don't want to be fifty years old and still waiting for Bart to get his chance as a the hero.
Of course, the downside of this is that people we love will die. I understand that comics are meant, in part, to be an escape. But they're also meant to be an allegory (and Marvel does this better than DC, usually). Let us deal with a beloved character's death in a way that is permanent and real. Bruce Wayne is going to live on forever in the movies that are going to be made about him (we are not fucking done professionally), so let the world of the comics move on. We've got a new Batman and a new Robin (and a new Batgirl!) and Tim Drake's growing up, finally, and I think all of this is very good.
Sure, I see a Lazarus Pit in our future, but a girl can dream.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
And the DC Universe breaks my brain.
So I only had two issues for my pull list this week (the fact that I bought Uncanny X-Men First Class 1 and the Superman Last Son TP is completely unrelated), and both managed to blow my mind in completely different ways.
UXM mostly managed to annoy me by being vague about whether I was supposed to take it seriously or not. I decided not. The rest was just a mish-mash of quasi-origin stories, some of which were well written with bad art, like Piotr's, and some of which were stupidly written with okay art, like Sean's. And the rest were fine.
So, right, Flash: Rebirth #3. I've never liked Barry Allen, but - wait, did I talk about this already? I can't remember. The point is, despite never liking Barry Allen, I'm enjoying what this title is doing to the speedsters of the DCU. Issue #2's reveal of Barry as the new Black Flash was pretty awesome. After that, I expected this week to be slightly anti-climactic. Which it was and it wasn't. First off, I wish my local shop had the variant cover, which I'm posting here. Because the main cover sucked. I don't know, it just reminded me of something from 1988, and I like my art to evolve. See how awesome that variant cover is? Yeah, word.
Anyway, there were four things I liked about this issue that made it a page turner. First was the description, by Wally, of Linda being his lightning rod so he didn't get lost in the Speed Force (and then saying that Iris ought to be Barry's). I like the idea of the speedster's emotional connection to someone being able to anchor them. It's good stuff. Second: Barry's thoughts about Wally ("the suit fits him") and Bart ("proof I'm past my time"). More good stuff. Third was the description of the Speed Force itself, which I've written about before, and which I found very... I don't know. Resonent. I'd reproduce it, but I'm afraid DC might sue me. Anyway, the idea that you become a part of everything but have to give yourself up in the process is an interesting and scary one. And that's what exists in and for all speedsters.
And the last thing I liked, which is a huge spoiler I guess so stop reading this sentence right now if you don't want to be spoile, okay? Good. Max!
Yay!
Sorry, I like Max Mercury, so it was nice to have confirmation of his existence, and the hope that he may be integral to solving this whole Barry Issue (personally, whatever, Barry can be the Black Flash and I don't care).
Also, the appearance of the Reverse Flash (meh) just reminded me again why I hate the Kid Flash uniform. Way too similar. If Bart can't be Impulse again (why not?) why can't he be someone else? In my fanon he's taken the name Inertia and is more adult without losing his Bartness (the way he did in FMA). Then again, in my fanon he's dating Cissie King-Jones, and DC seems to have abandoned her. Also I make no claims that my fanon may be realistic at all. But there we have it.
And then the other reason I went into the shop today was for Red Robin #1. I have to say, I'm liking the whole Batman aspect of the DCU now that Bruce Wayne isn't Batman anymore. Everything seems fresh and new, and I can start from scratch with some titles (and, hi, Paul Dini is writing two of them and one features Harley Quinn, so... I'm there).
I had no idea what to expect with this. I have a vague idea of what happened during the Jason Todd run, and I know there was supposed to be some new reveal of a shocking Red Robin, so I figured I'd pick up the issue and see if it engaged me.
It did. Tim Drake as the darker Robin seems like such a fantastic turnaround, without being completely based in nonsense. It also answers my I-didn't-realize-I-was-thinking-this question of "where the hell is Tim Drake?" I'd assumed he'd pop up somewhere, eventually, but not like this. Though a friend has just informed this was "obvious," as someone who has not been following the Batman titles at all, I can say that it was a nice surprise and now I will be following them. So there.
And here again there were two distinct parts of the book I liked. One was the flashback to his argument with Dick and his treatment and the hands of Snottian (erm, Damian), and the other was Tim's inner monologue about why this costume and this name. The Red Robin crosses lines, and Tim's ready to cross them to find Bruce.
And the last panel reveal of Ra's al Ghul worked for me. It sets up a good dichotomy with Damien living as Robin and Tim living with Ra's watching him with a potential for an alliance and daddy issues (yeah, Tim shouting that he's "Tim Wayne" at Damian was awesome) and all sorts of interesting storytelling.
Or possibly not. I'm optimistic.
That's a pleasant change.
UXM mostly managed to annoy me by being vague about whether I was supposed to take it seriously or not. I decided not. The rest was just a mish-mash of quasi-origin stories, some of which were well written with bad art, like Piotr's, and some of which were stupidly written with okay art, like Sean's. And the rest were fine.
So, right, Flash: Rebirth #3. I've never liked Barry Allen, but - wait, did I talk about this already? I can't remember. The point is, despite never liking Barry Allen, I'm enjoying what this title is doing to the speedsters of the DCU. Issue #2's reveal of Barry as the new Black Flash was pretty awesome. After that, I expected this week to be slightly anti-climactic. Which it was and it wasn't. First off, I wish my local shop had the variant cover, which I'm posting here. Because the main cover sucked. I don't know, it just reminded me of something from 1988, and I like my art to evolve. See how awesome that variant cover is? Yeah, word.Anyway, there were four things I liked about this issue that made it a page turner. First was the description, by Wally, of Linda being his lightning rod so he didn't get lost in the Speed Force (and then saying that Iris ought to be Barry's). I like the idea of the speedster's emotional connection to someone being able to anchor them. It's good stuff. Second: Barry's thoughts about Wally ("the suit fits him") and Bart ("proof I'm past my time"). More good stuff. Third was the description of the Speed Force itself, which I've written about before, and which I found very... I don't know. Resonent. I'd reproduce it, but I'm afraid DC might sue me. Anyway, the idea that you become a part of everything but have to give yourself up in the process is an interesting and scary one. And that's what exists in and for all speedsters.
And the last thing I liked, which is a huge spoiler I guess so stop reading this sentence right now if you don't want to be spoile, okay? Good. Max!
Yay!
Sorry, I like Max Mercury, so it was nice to have confirmation of his existence, and the hope that he may be integral to solving this whole Barry Issue (personally, whatever, Barry can be the Black Flash and I don't care).
Also, the appearance of the Reverse Flash (meh) just reminded me again why I hate the Kid Flash uniform. Way too similar. If Bart can't be Impulse again (why not?) why can't he be someone else? In my fanon he's taken the name Inertia and is more adult without losing his Bartness (the way he did in FMA). Then again, in my fanon he's dating Cissie King-Jones, and DC seems to have abandoned her. Also I make no claims that my fanon may be realistic at all. But there we have it.
And then the other reason I went into the shop today was for Red Robin #1. I have to say, I'm liking the whole Batman aspect of the DCU now that Bruce Wayne isn't Batman anymore. Everything seems fresh and new, and I can start from scratch with some titles (and, hi, Paul Dini is writing two of them and one features Harley Quinn, so... I'm there).I had no idea what to expect with this. I have a vague idea of what happened during the Jason Todd run, and I know there was supposed to be some new reveal of a shocking Red Robin, so I figured I'd pick up the issue and see if it engaged me.
It did. Tim Drake as the darker Robin seems like such a fantastic turnaround, without being completely based in nonsense. It also answers my I-didn't-realize-I-was-thinking-this question of "where the hell is Tim Drake?" I'd assumed he'd pop up somewhere, eventually, but not like this. Though a friend has just informed this was "obvious," as someone who has not been following the Batman titles at all, I can say that it was a nice surprise and now I will be following them. So there.
And here again there were two distinct parts of the book I liked. One was the flashback to his argument with Dick and his treatment and the hands of Snottian (erm, Damian), and the other was Tim's inner monologue about why this costume and this name. The Red Robin crosses lines, and Tim's ready to cross them to find Bruce.
And the last panel reveal of Ra's al Ghul worked for me. It sets up a good dichotomy with Damien living as Robin and Tim living with Ra's watching him with a potential for an alliance and daddy issues (yeah, Tim shouting that he's "Tim Wayne" at Damian was awesome) and all sorts of interesting storytelling.
Or possibly not. I'm optimistic.
That's a pleasant change.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Introductions.
So. Here I am. Trying to figure out why I started a blog about comics when I'm not exactly an expert.
In the past few months I've gotten back into comics pretty hardcore. I've always loved comics, but I haven't always bothered with going to my local comic shop and following along issue by issue.
When I was young, my treat at the local convenience store was a random comic of that spinny rack with random comics on it. I don't remember consciously having brand loyalty, but I do remember watching the filmation Shazam! cartoon on my family's Beta Max VCR every night. I've always been very attached to motion pictures - television and film both - so I know I probably stuck with what I knew when I was picking comics up. I can say that I've definitely leaned towards DC as long as I can remember, though there are certain characters of Marvel's that I love (and, of course, I read The Crow in the mid-90s, devoured Sandman, and followed WildC.A.T.S. fairly regularly for awhile, so I'm not limited to the major imprints).
I had no idea what the overarching storylines were (this was during Crisis on Infinite Earths), all I knew was that I loved the characters and seeing them do Cool and Super things.
A lot of things kept me from the comic book world growing up, and made me gravitate more towards the screen adaptations that were more readily available. First, and most importantly: I didn't have a comic book store nearby. As soon as one opened in the mall, while I was in high school, I became a member. That's when I discovered Frank Miller and Alan Moore. But it's also when I had pretty much zero income and had just logged onto this wild thing called the internet for the first time. Plus, the store closed down pretty quickly. Those were the dark days, prior to geek becoming cool again (thank you Matrix and Lord of the Rings) and before we had kick-ass mainstream superhero things like Heroes and the recent Batman and Iron-Man movies (which I think are probably due in large part to Singer's awesome adaptation of X-Men, my casting issues aside). So it crashed and I was once again left without a comic store until college (when I also didn't have much money).
Second, I'm not a dude. I know! Shocking! These days I walk into my local comic shop and see a woman behind the counter about half the time, which is awesome. But it wasn't always like that. And as much as I'd like to say that stuff like that doesn't bug me, there are only so many times I can be pointed towards the manga sections (seriously, I do not like manga) or asked what my boyfriend likes before I internalize that a little.
Third, I'm not straight. Sort of less of an issue, in that there have never really been gay or bisexual characters anywhere ever (unless you're into subtext, which I am), but by the time I was in college getting a Women's Studies degree (gasp!), that sort of thing kind of bothered me. On a side note, how excited am I for a lesbian title-runner with a lesbian back-up once Batwoman starts in on Detective Comics in June?
Wicked excited.
So there was that. And I kind of floated in and out of collecting. I own Superman 75, because... death of Superman... Mostly I got TPs (notably Reign of the Supermen and GenerationX) or graphic novels (would you believe I was lucky enough to snag a hardcover Watchmen, which I have since ruined by reading too much?). Meanwhile I had plenty of other things to keep me going: Tim Burton's Batman movies, the X-Men animated series, then the Batman animated series, Lois & Clark (yeah, yeah) and the occasional, more-than-likely-bad, movie (hey hey, Hasselhoff's Nick Fury).
The first thing that really drew me back to the fold was when Bart Allen became the Flash.
Sold! So I read up on the backstory, got a little annoyed at what had happened to the Flash Family, and then... Bart died.
WTF, DC.
But wait. While catching up on the goings on of the DCU, I found out that Superboy had died, too. (Superboy was a character I enjoyed in his eponymous TV series, that I totally adored rebooted during Reign of the Supermen.)
WTF, DC.
Meanwhile, over at Marvel... I had no idea. The X-Men movies had already come out, and they'd already massacred by favorite X-Man ever by turning him into a teenager.
WTF, Marvel movie division?
But now, as an adult, I've started to realize that a lot of what I love about things is... what I can hate. So having a teenaged Bobby Drake helped me rediscover my love of the real (in my head) Bobby Drake, so I got to reading. Having Bart die got me angry enough to read up on when he was Impulse, which led me to Young Justice and Teen Titans. The existence of Smallville made me want to bash my head against a wall - and keep current on the DCU. I don't know, that's just how I roll.
And along the way, I got involved with roleplaying. That helped, too. I keep up on what's happening so I can keep up. I discovered a new Captain America who could finally make me interested in Captain America (because Bucky Barnes has to atone, and that's more interesting than any of Steve Rogers' stories that I remember reading). I said hello to Supergirl for the first time since she was Helen Slater. And I found out that the writers at DC had brilliantly adapted Renee Montoya into the comic universe... and she had become one of my all time favorite heroes.
(Expect something on Crime Bible soon, 'cause I've got lots to say.)
I started to care about the characters again.
And, what do you know... I've got a local comic shop staffed with enough women (and I get treated with respect by the men that work there), the first GLBT lead of a major imprint is due in a month, and I've got a little disposable income handy.
So I'm back. We're on again, me and comics. And it's like I never left.
In the past few months I've gotten back into comics pretty hardcore. I've always loved comics, but I haven't always bothered with going to my local comic shop and following along issue by issue.
When I was young, my treat at the local convenience store was a random comic of that spinny rack with random comics on it. I don't remember consciously having brand loyalty, but I do remember watching the filmation Shazam! cartoon on my family's Beta Max VCR every night. I've always been very attached to motion pictures - television and film both - so I know I probably stuck with what I knew when I was picking comics up. I can say that I've definitely leaned towards DC as long as I can remember, though there are certain characters of Marvel's that I love (and, of course, I read The Crow in the mid-90s, devoured Sandman, and followed WildC.A.T.S. fairly regularly for awhile, so I'm not limited to the major imprints).
I had no idea what the overarching storylines were (this was during Crisis on Infinite Earths), all I knew was that I loved the characters and seeing them do Cool and Super things.
A lot of things kept me from the comic book world growing up, and made me gravitate more towards the screen adaptations that were more readily available. First, and most importantly: I didn't have a comic book store nearby. As soon as one opened in the mall, while I was in high school, I became a member. That's when I discovered Frank Miller and Alan Moore. But it's also when I had pretty much zero income and had just logged onto this wild thing called the internet for the first time. Plus, the store closed down pretty quickly. Those were the dark days, prior to geek becoming cool again (thank you Matrix and Lord of the Rings) and before we had kick-ass mainstream superhero things like Heroes and the recent Batman and Iron-Man movies (which I think are probably due in large part to Singer's awesome adaptation of X-Men, my casting issues aside). So it crashed and I was once again left without a comic store until college (when I also didn't have much money).
Second, I'm not a dude. I know! Shocking! These days I walk into my local comic shop and see a woman behind the counter about half the time, which is awesome. But it wasn't always like that. And as much as I'd like to say that stuff like that doesn't bug me, there are only so many times I can be pointed towards the manga sections (seriously, I do not like manga) or asked what my boyfriend likes before I internalize that a little.
Third, I'm not straight. Sort of less of an issue, in that there have never really been gay or bisexual characters anywhere ever (unless you're into subtext, which I am), but by the time I was in college getting a Women's Studies degree (gasp!), that sort of thing kind of bothered me. On a side note, how excited am I for a lesbian title-runner with a lesbian back-up once Batwoman starts in on Detective Comics in June?
Wicked excited.
So there was that. And I kind of floated in and out of collecting. I own Superman 75, because... death of Superman... Mostly I got TPs (notably Reign of the Supermen and GenerationX) or graphic novels (would you believe I was lucky enough to snag a hardcover Watchmen, which I have since ruined by reading too much?). Meanwhile I had plenty of other things to keep me going: Tim Burton's Batman movies, the X-Men animated series, then the Batman animated series, Lois & Clark (yeah, yeah) and the occasional, more-than-likely-bad, movie (hey hey, Hasselhoff's Nick Fury).
The first thing that really drew me back to the fold was when Bart Allen became the Flash.
Sold! So I read up on the backstory, got a little annoyed at what had happened to the Flash Family, and then... Bart died.WTF, DC.
But wait. While catching up on the goings on of the DCU, I found out that Superboy had died, too. (Superboy was a character I enjoyed in his eponymous TV series, that I totally adored rebooted during Reign of the Supermen.)
WTF, DC.
Meanwhile, over at Marvel... I had no idea. The X-Men movies had already come out, and they'd already massacred by favorite X-Man ever by turning him into a teenager.
WTF, Marvel movie division?But now, as an adult, I've started to realize that a lot of what I love about things is... what I can hate. So having a teenaged Bobby Drake helped me rediscover my love of the real (in my head) Bobby Drake, so I got to reading. Having Bart die got me angry enough to read up on when he was Impulse, which led me to Young Justice and Teen Titans. The existence of Smallville made me want to bash my head against a wall - and keep current on the DCU. I don't know, that's just how I roll.
And along the way, I got involved with roleplaying. That helped, too. I keep up on what's happening so I can keep up. I discovered a new Captain America who could finally make me interested in Captain America (because Bucky Barnes has to atone, and that's more interesting than any of Steve Rogers' stories that I remember reading). I said hello to Supergirl for the first time since she was Helen Slater. And I found out that the writers at DC had brilliantly adapted Renee Montoya into the comic universe... and she had become one of my all time favorite heroes.
(Expect something on Crime Bible soon, 'cause I've got lots to say.)I started to care about the characters again.
And, what do you know... I've got a local comic shop staffed with enough women (and I get treated with respect by the men that work there), the first GLBT lead of a major imprint is due in a month, and I've got a little disposable income handy.
So I'm back. We're on again, me and comics. And it's like I never left.
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