Best Books of the Week

Hands down my favorite pull this week was the Blackest Night: The Question tie-in. This was the book I'd been looking forward to when DC announced that they were going to use this month to resurrect (heh heh) dead titles, with original authors, and tie them into the storyline. I was pretty much guaranteed to like the writing, since I haven't met a Greg Rucka story I don't like (I hate to sound like a fangirl, but I am) but the chance to read a Denny O'Neill Question story! With Vic! Awesome.

And I wasn't disappointed. It was a good story, that managed to be one of the least annoying resurrection stories of the entire saga. Also, and here's some more fangirling, I like that Renee is strong-willed enough to become invisible to the Black Lanterns. That's pretty bad ass. (So is her fighting Lady Shiva.)

I also loved the art. I'm not sure when I became a fan of "non-traditional" art in comics. This isn't to say I don't like the more traditional styles. My second favorite book of the week, Red Robin, was very classic looking, action-style, bright-colored superhero fare and was equally as enjoyable. I guess for me, it's about matching the art with the tone. Sometimes hard lines and bright colors work for the Question (I enjoy Cully Hammer's work, even if it's not my favorite) and sometimes distressed, textured watercolory looks work.

And this week's Red Robin, speaking of, was just really great. This is where I wanted Tim to be: still the Red Robin, questioning his own decision to live this type of vigilante life, but relieved by the knowledge that he was right. He's able to be more sarcastic and lighthearted now, and to notice that Tam is hot. Though Tim and Tam... really. Really. Also, his interaction with Conner was amazing and it let me know that Bart survives Blackest Night.

Whew.

Also, I really really like Tim in the Red Robin costume. I like the costume, I like the Tim, I want him to stick around this way.

And I want the new Titans to be Superboy, Red Robin, Kid (blech) Flash, Speedy (if she's, you know, not dead), and Wonder Girl. Can someone get on that? I would also be okay with Bat-Girl being on the team. There are some really awesome young adult superheroes running around right now, someone ought to get them on all on a team together so we're not stuck with the less awesome ones. No offense to, um. Any of the Teen Titans. They can stick around. Let these ex-Teen Titans be Titan Titans. Or have a new name. Or something. Just put 'em on a team and let me read that book, because it will be great.

Lesbians Have Sex Appeal, Too. Damn. (Also some Batwoman.)

Well. I guess from the amount of times we see girl-on-girl action in movie trailers and television sweeps week, that's probably a given. But we're talking comics here, yo. And specifically the latest issue of The Question (which I will pretend is an issue all its own, because it was way more interesting than the main feature this week).

Actually, let's break parenthetical again. Nothing against the Batwoman feature this week, but it seemed like just a bridge story moving things along. Here, learn a little more about Alice (she's insane, carries a lot of weapons, and isn't your typical Religion of Crime* ringleader), watch Kate's wig come in handy, and then watch her trip on weird gas and get a small clue into her past. Then cliffhanger. Okay. I'm not going to say I was bored with it, because the art is so damn stunning, but I don't feel like much happened in the issue and I'm waiting for the payoff of whatever the hell is going on. Though, to be fair, I did appreciate Kate's little "oh come on, another lunatic that thinks they're from Alice in Wonderland?" moment.

I don't see why that's so weird. Considering the fact that we've got Batman, Robin, Red Robin, Batwoman, Batgirl, the Spoiler, and the Huntress that are all wandering around related to the Bat-Family. Not to mention Manhunter (um, I love Manhunter and will be devoting a future post to her) and whomever else is wandering around Gotham being a vigilante. Do other cities have this many Masks (Keystone, I guess)? So you get a little bit of a repeat with villains. Whatever. Harley's just another card out of the Joker's deck (Har har! See what I did there?).

Anyway, so the co-feature was more interesting than the main feature this week. Again, not in a bad way. Just in a "this is clearly an interim issue" sort of way, and Renee's interim issue was slightly more interesting.

Now, what I mean by sex appeal is this little bit right here:

Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Come on. First off, you're really ruining the idea I had in my head of Renee. (Remember when I had that disccusion with a reader in the comments of that one entry? And I said that Renee strikes me as a butch despite her feminine appearance? Yeah.**) Okay, sure, that was just the idea in my head, fine. But she just doesn't, and hasn't, strike me as the type to do this. She had to practically be goaded into sex in the "Lust" part of Crime Bible, because she was being all "no no, sex is not used this way and I don't approve." Okay, and also issues with Kate and prsotitution, but whatever. Second off ARGH WTF, why? "Here, let me press my breasts up in your face, while appearing vaguely gayish, thus flustering you and making you give me what I want. I have now used both my femininty and my lesbianism as weapons! Because I am incapable of otherwise getting what I want and/or it's just easier this way! Yay!"

By the way, I think the receptionist looked more bemused (like, "did she just try what I think she tried?") than interested. So it was Renee sexing herself up for an arguably straight woman. That's a big assumption on my part, but it's a cherry of meh piled onto my sundae of wtf.

And it's not like this is followed by her kicking some ass. No. The ass kicking came first. In fact, the order of this issue was: Ass kicking/name taking, sex/sexuality objectifying, TASERING.

Head, meet desk.

Look, I've said before (and will say again) that I have faith in the creative team behind Detective Comics right now. If Greg Rucka ever comes to a con near me I will run there squeeing like a fangirl to get him to sign my Crime Bible hardcover (I sadly gave my issues away to an ex-friend) and both versions of Detective Comics #854 that I have (yes, I broke down and bought the second printing, but my pull list was small this week and it's very awesome!).

But that said (again), I'm wary of the way that women and queer women*** are portrayed in "mainstream" media. (Are comics mainstream again?) And I feel like that's a valid wariness, based on a bajillion years (that's an estimate) of negative portrayals.

I feel like I've written this before. Have I written this before?

So I'm hyperaware of the little things. I'm a nitcpicker of women and and queer identity. Context becomes important. The way female characters (and queer characters) are portrayed immediately sets me to Terror Alert Elmo.

Okay, the last few paragraphs have been me rationalizing my negative reaction to that panel. Or explaining. I like to think of it as explaining, since I know that my viewpoint certainly isn't shared by everybody.

Despite that Panel of Doom, I still liked the co-feature more. We got some ass-kicking, some Renee-snarking, and some detectiving. I like the way Renee looks with the mask on more than with the mask off. I can't remember thinking that before, but maybe there's just something about her face (which certainly looks different now than it did before) that doesn't work for me. But, and I think this is what we're seeing here, and some of what Greg Rucka has said in interviews makes me thinks this wil be the case as the series continues, Renee is different without a face. That makes sense. They're all different without their masks, to varying degrees. Usually I don't notice as much, because my favorite characters are that ones that really aren't all that different. But Renee is. And I just don't see Faceless Renee pressing her chest up into the face of a receptionist to get into the back office.

And, finally, I wonder what would have happened if the receptionist had been male. Wait, do male receptionists exist? I mean, besides in situations where it's funny just because they're guys doing "women's work". Yeah. Anyway, I don't find it very subversive to have a lesbian smooshing her mammaries together for another woman, just because it's a same-sex attraction thing. To me it's the same thing as a straight woman doing it to a bouncer in a club. Or even a lesbian doing it to a male bouncer in a club. They're objectifying themselves to serve an end that could probably be served just fine another way. And for all the joking comments I read about Superman's package and Dick Grayson's ass, I don't see them sexing themselves up just to do their jobs.

By the way, none of this is even touching on Renee's racial identity and the hypersexualization of Hispanic women. I'm not going there (today).

Renee is a smart woman and a talented detective. But when push comes to shove, she pushes her chest together and shoves it in this woman's face.

I don't get why.

I mean, I do get why.

But I don't like why.


*Still the stupidest name ever.
**Since I now feel this is necessary: all identity labels I apply to characters are opinion only based on a whole slew of personal experience, quasi-boring academic reading, and kneejerk reactions. I welcome discussion on the topic, but I'm not saying I'm any expert on anything ever, especially not something as fluid as personal sexual identity.
*** I use queer women for lack of better term to encompass lesbians, bisexual women, and trans women at whatever phase of transitioning they are at. I'm also concerned with the portrayal of queer men, but less so because it's just a personal thing. And that doesn't even get into the whole can of worms that is the spectrum of gender identity. So please take the term "queer women" to mean whatever you want it to mean that is vaguely feminine and vaguely interested in same sex relationships.

Oh, what the Hell.

The second printing of Detective Comics #854 has a way better cover.



I refuse to blow more money on something I already have just because it looks prettier, but dagnabit. That's the sort of thing I'd stick on my wall as a poster. If, you know. I were still in college.*

Not that the first one was bad, not at all, but this one has THE QUESTION (and an inexplicable lightning motif...). I'm shaking my fist in a disgruntled manner.



* I may buy it anyway. It's pretty, and this week I don't have a lot of pull titles. And one day I fully intend to have a comic wall or something, so... it could come in handy. Right? Right!

Guys love lesbians. Well. Most lesbians. Well. Femmes.

So I started to to follow When Fangirls Attack, which is a great aggregator of, well. Women-in-comics links. And I've been reading through the various Detective Comics/Batwoman related things, and maaaaan is everyone in love with her/the book.

Except by "everyone" I mean "all the guys who are writing reviews." There are women that write reviews of comics, right? Somewhere? In the week and a half since the book came out, most of the reviews I've read have been by males. And the few negative or neutral reviews I've read have been the ones by women, or by people whose gender isn't evident based on name. (Which leads me to my first caveat: I'm absolutely admitting to assuming gender - and making alliteration! - based on posting name.)

One of the most obvious indications of the maleness of the reviews is that they all love love love Kate but the reaction to Renee is middling. Femmes get all the straight, male love, yo. And a lot of the focus is on the art, really.

There's something that doesn't sit right with me when a review by a man starts out with "I'm in love." This isn't to say the rest of the review isn't valid, or that people don't have a right to continue the objectification of women (well...), especially in the very visual medium of comics where the practice has been rampant for years, but how many reviews of Dick Grayson throwing on the Batman outfit start with "I'm in love."? There's this cloud that hangs over the head of a lot of lesbians with an interest in pop culture, and that cloud is: two ladies macking on each other is twice as hot as one lady just standing there!

I don't like that cloud. It takes away from my sunny joy of finally finally having a lesbian leading a major comic line at a major comic company. We're one issue in and I already need an umbrella (and a new metaphor). And these guys aren't getting it from nowhere. They're getting it from pointy-nippled costumes and cracks about Batwoman's hair, and her essentially using her (unattainable to the male) sexuality to soothe a bad guy in the first few pages of the issue.

Danger Will Robinson.

Can you imagine The Question going up to some guy, cooing at him in a soft voice with her lips (erm... no-lips) inches from his, running a hand through his hair, and talking coyly? No, exactly. How about Batman? And the sad part is, I'm not sure if I can see Wonder Woman doing it, or Black Canary or any number of other female superheroes. That means that the "femme" lesbian is getting hypersexualized while in her superhero persona. On purpose.

Why?

As one of the few female superheroes with a costume that actually covers her entire body, and with sensible shoes, to boot, why does the sexuality have to be turned up a notch or ten?

I'm interested/scared to see her interactions with the child-like Alice. Male homosexuality is often associated (wrongly) with pedophelia. So let's see where this goes. I'm interested/scared to see this supposed trauma in her past. If it's rape at the hands of some military guys either related to her dad, or while she herself was in the military prior to getting ousted for DADA stuff, I may have to walk away from the title. Lesbianism is often associated (wrongly) with rape survivors. That kind of overdone storyline may be a deal breaker for me. (Okay, I'd still get it for the Question co-feature, but... you know!)

So, yeah, let's see where it goes. I continue to have faith in Greg Rucka, because I think he's awesome and I like his sensibilities (I've been reading his livejournal and started following him @twitter). But the reviews I've been reading have got me worried, because this is the audience that's being catered to: straight and male. Let's be honest. Even if they're aware that LGBTQ people and females or other gendered people are reading their comics, and even if they're trying to get an inclusive message out to the majority group, they still want to sell comics. So that's not who they're aiming for, because minorities are, well. Minorities and therefore aren't spending at the same level, and comics are still a business and businesses need money to survive.

Maybe I just want a Question feature and a Batwoman co-feature and I'm bitter that it's the other way around. Heh. 'Cause seriously, I don't love Kate Kane. I like her, and I'm interested in her, and I like what she means, but I don't love her. Not yet. But Renee Montoya... well.

I guess she's more my type.*


*Irony intentional.

The Wait is Over! Lesbians! And other women, too.

Ladies and gentleman and genderqueer compatriots: Kate Kane has arrived. She's tough, she's smart, she's got an extreme lack of pigmentation, and she's the goddamn Batwoman.

[Spoilers!]

So Kate Kane is really sorta gay. And if I had a scanner, I'd scan the proof. The tattoos, the music posters, the vests... wow. Gaaay. And openly gay. Which is cool. And openly gay with an (ex) military father, which is even cooler. Suck that, DADA (Don't Ask Don't Tell, for the non-acronyming among you). I'm definitely glad femme-socialiate-extreme Kate is gone, but I'm not sure what to make of the Kate left behind.

Besides the fact that she looks like a vampire. Seriously, would it kill you guys to give her some skin color? I thought it would be an as-Batwoman-only thing, but nope.

I enjoy the contrast between the black/white/red (all over, heh heh heh) panels of Batwoman and the more colorful panels of Kate (especially when compared with The Question's panels). It gives the Batwoman scenes a really great neo-noir feel, which is a lot of fun to have with a female lead detective. But I knew they were hyping the extreme red of her costume and hair for a reason... and that reason is apparently going to be an Alice in Wonderland themed story arc, with a villain named Alice that is very very white. Like. White Queen versus Red Queen. GET IT? GET IT?

I like that the Religion of Crime is still around, though their name is still stupid, but seriously. Alice? Really? Bleh. And if they're around, why the hell is Montoya in Los Angeles?

Anyway. Those quibbles aside, I liked the issue for what it was: an overview and introduction to the "new" Kate Kane. There were some broader things I didn't like, that I think reflect the theme of women heroes in comic books, which I will happily rant about now, after once more saying that I did like the issue and I'm still looking forward to Rucka's run with Kate on Detective Comics.

Issue the first: getting Batman's permission. Oh please. Does he say "this one's yours" to every Bat-related person wandering around Gotham? And don't try to pass this off as a "it's Dick, he's new" thing. It was a thematic choice. Batwoman's okay with Batman, so she should be okay with us.

Yeah, she's okay on her own, thanks. She's dealt with the RoC (seriously, stupid name) before, had her heart almost cut out, turned into a Fury, and knows the score. Go away, Dick, and deal with Damian.

Issue the second: a female nemesis for a female hero. Tired. I probably don't need to go into it, and I'm sleepy and have the entire arc of the "Rise of the Olympians" (I waited) to read, but needless to say: blech.

By the way, I'm not sure how I feel about switching over from the "snooty, closeted socialite" cover to the "partying, sleeps-around lesbian" cover, but we'll see. We'll also see if Kate gets as much action as her straight counterparts, or if it's more like TV. You know, where people say they're dating, but mostly they hold hands or brush each others' hair.

Meanwhile, Renee is in L.A. working as, essentially, a PI with no face. Which I guess is consistent? I know she's just a co-feature, but considering how important she was in InfiniteLastUltimateWePromiseSuper Final Crisis (and the entire arc of the damn RoC, who are now main villains in Gotham), you'd think she'd be doing something more interesting. Maybe that will develop. Or maybe not. I'm actually okay reading Renee Montoya doing just about anything, so I don't know why I'm complaining.

Page 1 Panel 1

Renee is seated on an over-sized chair, chin in her right hand, watching paint dry. We look over her shoulder at the beige wall. There is no art on the wall and there are no windows in the room. It's lit from above by a single, energy-efficient light bulb. Renee is wearing a tank top and jeans, and her fedora rests on the left arm of the chair.

Page 1 Panel 2

Repeat of Panel 1

Renee Thought: This is interesting.

Page 1 Panel 3

Repeat of Panels 1 &2

No, really.

I'd read that.

My Lesbian Senses are Tingling

That was slightly dirtier than I had planned for a title.

Since the introduction of Kate Kane during 52, I have patiently been waiting for... well, this Wednesday. I just didn't know it until a few months ago. On June 24, there's going to be a lesbian headlining a major imprint's major title for the first time, um. Ever? I'm not a comic historian, so I'm going to say ever, and someone can correct me in the comments if I'm wrong.

Yes yes, Crime Bible, but it wasn't a major title. We're talking Detective Comics here, people. The title that's been running for over 60 years, gave the DCU its name, and introduced the world to this guy named Batman. I hear he's popular with the kids these days.

This is sort of a big deal.

I'll save my actual reactions until I read her first issue, but other than looking freakishly pale, I'm excited for Kate Kane to kick some ass, take some names, and romance some ladies. I'm hoping this whole "closeted socialite" thing doesn't last long, because: blech! So we'll see. Her brief appearance in Crime Bible gave me hope! Who knows.

The point I'm trying to make is that there aren't exactly a lot of lady lovin' ladies that are in big comics. I mean, this makes sense and it doesn't. On one hand, we've got a genre that loves to titilate (teehee) its (generally and stereotypically) young, male audience with scantily-clad women that are very very non-proportionally endowed (I'm not saying this would be a good way to get female same sex relationships into comics, I'm just saying it's a motivation.) . On the other, we've got things like comics codes.

There was this movie that came out about 15 years ago (wow) called The Celluloid Closet. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of movies. It goes into great detail about all the years of moviemaking where filmmakers would slip in references of homosexuality for viewers to pick up on, because the Hollywood Production Code. Except the only viewers that were meant to pick up on it were part of the "culture" in the first place.

This is what I call subtext. And I have graduated from the Xena School of Subtext, my friends. The one where you dissect every single episode/issue/scene for something, anything that proves that the particular character you think is a GLBT character is actually a GLBT character. And is probably having hot lady-sex with her sidekick.

Ahem. Also, they kissed a lot. Usually to bring each other back to life. I don't know.

Where was I?


Comics. Right. So I've read Camelot 3000, and that's definitely explicit. After 15 issues of self-hatred and misogyny, Tristan finally man's up (pun intended!) and realizes no one in the 30th century cares about same sex relationships (oh, dated socio-political statements, how I love you).

And I don't deny that there are some definite lesbian (erm, I'm just going to use the term lesbian from now on to refer to a relationship where ther are two women of the same gender who are in a pairing, whether they're bisexual or gay or whatever) storylines in V for Vendetta and Sandman, but when I sit down and ready my usual haul of comics, there's not much there for me. Um, Mystique I guess, but let's be honest: an evil lesbian is one of the Big Three Lesbian Clichés. (Yes, she's bi. That sort of makes it worse, because then she's the insane bi woman who preys on men but tragically loves a woman. Blech.)

[For the record: 1) Lesbians wanting to be mommies more than anything else, and then being defined by those mommy storylines (ER's Carrie Weaver). 2) Lesbian in love with straight friend, goes insane and kills straight friend's boyfriend and/or straight friend (High Tension, anyone?). 3) Lesbian can't handle lesbianness and offs herself.]

So lesbians kind of get short-shafted (absolutely no pun intended there) in the main imprints. Luckily, I don't need much.

There are some easily-brought-to-mind subtextual (practically maintextual) lady-couples in comics. I think Poison Ivy and Harlequin are my favorite (of course we can argue about whether this started in the DCAU or the DCU, but whatever, they're in comics now and I'm definitely going to be picking up Gotham Sirens and so should you). I know I'm not alone in this, because when I googled "harley ivy" to get a nice picture of them, the first thing that came up was most definitely NSFW. And there were no men. Thank you, internet.

Speaking of the DCAU being awesome, Paul Dini not only made Harley, but he made Renee Montoya, too and she is definitely one of the most interesting lesbian characters out there (I have no comment on that travesty that is Anna Ramirez from The Dark Knight Returns). (Also, check out Montoya's newer, gayer haircut.)

I think I digressed again. Oh, I was going through a mental list of the women in comics I think ought to be lady lovin' with each other. Emma Frost and Jean Grey (c'mon, that'd be awesome). Supergirl and Power Girl (if you can get over the whole "we're genetically the same" thing, which I can understand if you can't). Barbara Gordon and, sweet merciful crap, um, anyone? Dinah Lance, for sure. I could see Babs with Helena, too. And after reading the Manhunter co-feature last week, yeah. Totally with Manhunter.

Told you I don't need much.

Some people might call me crazy (or desperate), but when you're given so little for so long, you will latch onto the slightest thing and run with it.

Of course now I've got a main-title heroine (and her co-feature) to latch onto. Will that stop me from finding subtext in all the right wrong places? Nah.

But it's nice to have a hero I can identify with. And not just in an allegorical "hey, mutants are second class citizens just like black people/disabled people/gay people/etc." kind of way. This is srs bdnss, this is a lesbian kicking ass and taking names while wearing a big ol' Bat symbol on her chest.

Cool.

Oh, and since I this is a post about Kate Kane, I'll end it with the pretty-popular "Her Sex is on Fire" image (by Phillip Tan; for Crime Bible, I believe). Because it's awesome. And you totally know that's a question mark. The rest I'll leave to your imagination.

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.