Thoughts on the new Harley Quinn series

Harley Quinn is an interesting prospect for DC. Originally introduced in Batman: The

Before....

Animated Series, Quinn quickly became a fan favorite and a potential goldmine for Warner Brothers owned comic company.

The question is how will DC go about mining that gold? Should Quinn be a secondary character used primarily for comic relief? A sociopathic killer on par with Batman's other rogues? An anti-hero? And how should she be presented? An overly sexualized piece of T and A? Conservative dressed and androgynous? Somewhere in between? Ugly ? Pretty? Sweet? Evil?

These are questions that as of now have largely been left to the personal preference of the writer or the needs of the story at the time, and it has lead to the character being all over the place. A few months ago during DC's villain month Quinn mass murdered a bunch of children simply for the  chaos. Then in Batman: Black & White, she, along with Ivy, can be seen saving a girl from a child molester. It makes it a little hard to get a feel for the character.

In her new solo run Harley Quinn has put Gotham behind her and is starting fresh in New York City – a great chance to fully flesh out the character. Yet the writers of the series (Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti) have made no definitive statements on the nature of Harley and have kept in the middle of the spectrum.

After

She isn't a villain but I wouldn't classify her as a hero either. Her new 52 look by no means conservative, but Harley isn't overly sexualized by the creative team either. In the first few comics she definitely has moments of sweetness but can show flashes of cruelty as well. Finally, though the writing can be very humorous and childlike (complete with vagina puns), there is a seriousness to the story at times. The Only thing the writers have done consistently  is made the character fun.

There is nothing overly special about the series, or this version of Harley Quinn, but it is a very enjoyable comic. At times I have laughed out loud, action sequences are enjoyable, and I am generally attached to Harley. My only complaint is that the story is all over the place right now with a lot of plot strands left floating in the wind. Harley inherits a building she has to be a landlord over, she gets two jobs, one as a roller derby girl, and one as a psychologist, a bounty has been placed on her head by a mysterious individual, and the writers are trying to create a supporting cast on top of everything else. It is a lot to take in but it is overall an enjoyable experience.

The artwork runs along the same line as the writing, nothing special but enjoyable none the less. Overall it look similar to how almost all the current DC comics are running, which isn't a knock, I really like the current DC style. At parts the artwork is a little inconsistent with the rest of the work. Likely a side effect of having more than one artist, but this is a minor knock

Harley's face is the only thing that truly troubles troubles me with the art direction. At times her face can be incredibly attractive, then sometimes her face looks incredibly off putting. Not so much ugly as it is just odd. Never the less, it doesn't take to much away from the story – it just irks me on a personal level.

Over all the series isn't a game changer, and I don't think at this point that the run will become a definitive piece of the character, but that's OK Not everything has to be great, sometimes its ok to just be fun and full of flavor. Something this run has in spades.

Night of the Living Deadpool #1 Review

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Verdict 4/5: It is a solid, standard Deadpool story. If you like Deadpool or enjoy zombie references you will dig it. If not, consider looking elsewhere.

Maybe it is because I am relatively new to comicbooks, but I don't get all the hate on Deadpool and the complaints that he is is overexposed. Overexposure only happens when the majority of consumers grows tired of it, the writers are out of good ideas and it becomes a parody of itself ( see Wolverine). Cullen Bunn shows that the Deadpool spin-offs can still clearly work and there is still a lot of fun to be had.

The premise of this Mini-series is pretty straight forward. Deadpool awakes from a (food)coma only to find out the zombie apocalypse happened in his absence. A very simple premise that has been done multiple times, in multiple mediums, before but it works mostly do to the humor that Deadpool brings to the table. A good deal of the comic is spent in a flashback as Deadpool goes about his day to day oblivious to the signs of the impending zombie outbreak. This was to me the highlight of the issue and got me to laugh out loud more than once.

The action in this comic is brief but well executed, which is to be expected out of an issue with the burden of setting up the foundation of the narrative. I really like how Deadpool can be portrayed and goofy and fun in one but when the situation gets ugly the artist can make subtle changes and Deadpool transforms into a intimidating badass.

The spot coloring is incredibly cool

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the story is the unique twist on the zombies themselves. These zombies seem to retain a bit of humanity with them and the poor transformed soul is able to narrate their personal hell. Seeing the mindless zombies describe the horror of eating human flesh or begging Deadpool to end their torment gives a refreshing, and creepy, face-lift to the tired idea of zombies.

The artwork is very sharp but gets most of its flavor from mocking The Walking

Dead. Everything is done in the style of the Image behemoth except for Deadpool, and everything he is holding. Not only does this create a fun joke for the reader but it really makes Deadpool pop out of the panels in a cool way. It worked really well in this issue, but a part of me wonders if this will eventually grow tiresome over the course of the mini-series.

I have a lot of positive things to say about this title, but it is nothing groundbreaking. If you are already a Deadpool fan then you will love it. But there is nothing here to draw in someone without a prior interest in the character.

Gotham

Is anyone else really disappointed about the news that came out today about the 'Gotham' TV series? If you haven't heard you can read about it in detail here.

Basically, instead of doing a gritty crime drama following Jim Gordon that was originally the plan, we are getting an in depth origin story of Bruce Wayne. It is supposed to start when he is 12 or 13 and end when Bruce first puts on the mask. It has also been said that the Rogue Gallery will be making an appearance. Basically, Batman is getting the Smallville treatment.

Which is absolutely awful.

Smallville worked for Clark Kent because Superman can afford to be much cheesier

The greatest Batman series of them all

than Batman. Batman thrives most when he is at his darkest. You can point to his campy history but none of that has aged well. Adam West style Batman is fun only for nostalgia and hipster “its so bad, its good” nonsense.

People can visit a world where Kent and Luthor are friends in high school and it doesn't destroy your experience. Even though it alters the origin stories for many of Superman's foes, it still stay s true to the soul of the character. You can't say the same thing for Batman's Rogue Gallery. Bruce interacting with the Joker in high school will just leave a sour taste in everyones mouth. It is completely false to the heart and feel of the character. Joker is obviously the most extreme example, but the premise holds true to most of Wayne's foes. Could you see Wayne and the Scarecrow taking chemistry together? Penguin getting picked on? Bane on the wrestling team? I seriously doubt it.

They can spout on about keeping the tone that Nolan set alive but words are wind. The fact that they think they can turn Batman into a teen drama just goes to show that they don't understand what Nolan's tone was.

Lets hope that they have something different up their sleeves, though I entirely doubt it.

The Superior Spider-Man is Amazing

It takes a man to admit his mistakes, and while it is more accurate to say I am a child inside a man's body, I do occasionally take a stab at adulthood.

I was wrong about The Superior Spider-Man. Earlier in my blog I wrote that I had no interest in reading the series. I wasn't in love with the concept of SpOck and I didn't want to jump in the series so late. After some badgering from an employee of my local comic book shop I gave in and bought a copy of Superior Spider-Man #1.

The next day I made a return trip and bought every back copy of the series they had. The storyline is executed flawlessly. Going in blind I was expecting it to be over the top and cheesy, but I find Dan Slott has done a tremendous job of finding balance. The SpOck is breathes much needed fresh air into Spider-Man without totally alienating established fans.

The art work is very attractive as well. The characters look great, the coloring is brilliant, and it all fits well with the tone of the writing. My only real complaint is that Peter Parker looks too much like a pretty boy.

Though I haven't gotten far in the series (due to not being able to find issue #3 yet) it is easy to see that this series is full of both creativity and potential. We all know that Peter Parker will reclaim his mind eventually, but now that I have started reading The Superior Spider-Man, I hope he isn't in a rush.

Why the Upcoming Ghost Rider Series Bothers Me

When I first decided I wanted to blog about my new hobby, I told myself I didn’t want to fall into the negative stereotypes of comic books fans. I don’t want to be the guy that clings onto his own personal vision for a character so tightly that they lash out to anyone who wants to do something different. I don’t want my fandoms to turn venomous. I want to be open to new ideas, optimistic, and be genuinely excited to see a fresh take on a beloved hero.

I just can’t do it this time. The upcoming Marvel Now! Ghost Rider bothers me. Admittedly, we know very little about the upcoming title so far, but there is still enough information out there to get me awash with nerd rage. I’m ok with introducing yet another host for a Spirit of Vengeance, I am ok with that hosts description this time, and I am ok with Marvel shifting everything over to L.A. But nothing is acceptable about replacing the motorcycle with a Charger.

Now, make no mistake, the Dodge Charger is a badass hotrod, but conceptually for this story it doesn't fit to me.The only way it remotely makes sense to me is if Dodge is throwing them a metric fuckton (technical term) of money for the product placement. The name of the Comic is Ghost Rider, yet you let your creative team take away what the Ghost rides. Does Marvel plan to slowly morph the title into Ghost Driver, is he going to run moonshine in a backwards southern county? I’m all for breathing new life into old characters but this is like taking away the Silver Surfer’s board and replacing it with a silver jetski. It is completely divorcing the character from his (its?) identity. Ghost Rider needs something to ride dammit!

Not only does the Charger make the title confusing, but it makes the coolest aspect of

This is how Ghost Rider was meant to fight

the old comics impossible. By far the coolest thing about Ghost Rider is the artwork depicting him riding his hellfire infused bike while masterfully whipping around his chains. This works because a motorcycle is an open environment where the chains can be thrown all over. The Charger has a closed cab. What are they going to do about the combat? Is Ghost Rider going to frantically roll down his windows then time quick tosses of his chain out the window? Will our anti-hero circle the block to find a parking spot before he dishes out the punishment? Or will the Spirit of Vengeance merely be reduced to vehicular manslaughter and the high school prank of dooring pedestrians?

Ghost Rider is such a cool license and I hate to see it (once again) go to waste instead of flourishing into a long lasting series.

For the record though, I'd love to be wrong and for the Charger to not suck.

Budget First Appearances

It's not much, but they are the highlights of my very new collection

Comic books exist in a really niche, volatile, market. It is hard to predict which comics will gain some value and which will remain relativeness worthless as far as monetary value goes. But one thing you can count on is that the stock of first appearances tend to rise over time.

It is hard on a new collector because because most firsts are already very costly. However I have managed to find a few first appearances that are still relatively cheap and would make a great addition to any beginners collection.

Batman: Sword of Azrael - First appearance of Azrael
   
     The one time foe is now considered a member of the Batman family and even took over as the Batman for a brief stint.

Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 - First appearance of Victor Zsasz
   
     Victor Zsasz is in my opinion one of the better villians in Batman's Rogue Gallery. He has had a few story lines dedicated to him and had a pretty cool role in the videogame Arkham City.

Detective Comics #608 - First appearance of Anarky
   
     I don't know much about this character except for the role he played in the Arkham Origins video game. Regardless, I love what they did with his character in that game and I hope to see a lot from him in the future (which would also help the value of this comic).

Savage She-Hulk #1 - First Appearance of She-Hulk 

     I was surprised I was able to get this one so cheap. She-Hulk has played a steady role in the Marvel universe for years now. My (admittingly amateur) opinion is that this issue can gain some pretty decent value in the coming years.

I managed to snag all of these issues for under $20 at www.newkadia.com (which is a very cool site BTW).

The Devil is in the Details

Along with collecting comics comes the joy (and heartbreak) of comic book speculating, and I suck at it.

I found two copies of Joker's Daughter #1 at my local comic book shop for retail price. I knew

God Dammit

nothing about the title except for a little article I read online about how high the price has gotten for it. Giddy with excitement I loudly cursed in excitement and snagged both of them.

Unfortunately I failed to realize that the ones that had value to them were 3D covers, of which I have none.

To add insult to injury I also snagged Marvel's Civil War #2 Variant cover with Spider-Man revealing himself to be Peter Parker on the cover. I failed to see that it was a second printing and pretty much worthless.

I am not a smart man.

Learn from my mistakes, the Devil is in the details.