Reading Between the Panels #2
Jun. 15th, 2010 05:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emeraldstagWhen lacking a topic to post about, talk comics!
A hero's secret identity is probably the most vital part to the success of that hero in both their crime fighting and personal lives. See Spider-Man's unmasking during Civil War and how well that went. NOT. So that's why it bugs me what DC is doing right now with their Bat heroes. In Batgirl (and Birds of Prey/Oracle: The Cure before it) the Calculator character has been made into an arch-villain of Oracle's and while I thought I disliked his vengeance angle against the Teen Titans, I hate this more. I never liked what happened to Marvin & Wendy, and while I don't know what Batgirl has planned for Wendy I do like that she isn't simply tossed aside.
Anyway, what I dislike more is the fact that Calculator knows who Oracle is. I'm sure this was done to put Barbara physically in the action but I think it wasn't worth taking the cat out of the bag. Once it's done, you can't undo it (unless of course you make a deal with Mephisto) and I don't see this leading anywhere good. The same with the Joker (I'm assuming since RIP and most of Morrison's writing is complex) knowing about Bruce Wayne (or at least Bruce's importance to the Batman). At least in this case I trust more in Morrison's experience (or craziness) to find a way to deal with it or make it so complex no one case. I don't even want to start on the fact that in Red Robin, Tim's alter ego was revealed to Tam Fox, a newly created character as far as I can tell (to be Tim's Lucius?).
I want to believe that they've got long term stuff for the Batfamily but I'm looking at the September solicits and they have Peter Milligan on 'Batman' (although having Tony Daniel as both writer/artist wasn't that much better) and David Hine on 'Detective Comics'. Not counting Morrison's 'Batman and Robin' those are the two top level Bat books and neither writer makes me excited (already dropped Hine's DC).
On the Marvel side, I know we're barely entering the Heroic Age but I'm already feeling an Avengers overdose. I like that the adjectiveless 'Avengers' title is back in use, and I can even understand the Steve Rogers-led 'Secret Avengers' but I wonder why 'New Avengers' is still needed? I like the idea of 'Avengers Academy' (I'll cover that in a later post) but besides those 4 titles, there is three other limited titles going on at the same time: 'Avengers Prime', 'Avengers: The Childrens Crusade', 'Avengers and the Infinity Guantlet'. Then again I shouldn't be surprised since Marvel did create the 'Ultimates' only to create a new comic 'Ultimate Avengers'. Redundancy knows no bounds in the Marvel U.
I find my opinion on 'Avengers Academy' to be hysterical because just like the series before it, 'Avengers Initiative' I had an eager interest into the series and it turned out to be heading in a direction I was not a fan of. There's only bee one issue of AA so far but I seem to be heading down a similar path. I did get back interested in AI by the end of its run so much so that it was my favorite Avengers book when it ended, I hope the same happens with AA. I don't know how much of the book will focus on the teachers of the Academy (the more the better in my opinion) but I have to say I'm excited that Tigra and Hank Pym will be interacting.
As you may or may not know, Tigra got together with Skrull!Pym and just recently had an adorable catbaby thanks to her speedy gestation period. I'm hoping desperately that they start something up between Tigra & Hank since they'll be close, single (I know the whole being with Jocasta thing might have squicked some people on Hank but after the writers made him marry her off to Ultron I'm hoping he can have some happy time) and maybe even see Pym as a parent. Will that happen? I wouldn't count on it, but I do know that AI made me fans of Tigra, Diamondback, Cloud 9, Hardball, Komodo, so I'm sure AA will have me behind a new set of characters.
A hero's secret identity is probably the most vital part to the success of that hero in both their crime fighting and personal lives. See Spider-Man's unmasking during Civil War and how well that went. NOT. So that's why it bugs me what DC is doing right now with their Bat heroes. In Batgirl (and Birds of Prey/Oracle: The Cure before it) the Calculator character has been made into an arch-villain of Oracle's and while I thought I disliked his vengeance angle against the Teen Titans, I hate this more. I never liked what happened to Marvin & Wendy, and while I don't know what Batgirl has planned for Wendy I do like that she isn't simply tossed aside.
Anyway, what I dislike more is the fact that Calculator knows who Oracle is. I'm sure this was done to put Barbara physically in the action but I think it wasn't worth taking the cat out of the bag. Once it's done, you can't undo it (unless of course you make a deal with Mephisto) and I don't see this leading anywhere good. The same with the Joker (I'm assuming since RIP and most of Morrison's writing is complex) knowing about Bruce Wayne (or at least Bruce's importance to the Batman). At least in this case I trust more in Morrison's experience (or craziness) to find a way to deal with it or make it so complex no one case. I don't even want to start on the fact that in Red Robin, Tim's alter ego was revealed to Tam Fox, a newly created character as far as I can tell (to be Tim's Lucius?).
I want to believe that they've got long term stuff for the Batfamily but I'm looking at the September solicits and they have Peter Milligan on 'Batman' (although having Tony Daniel as both writer/artist wasn't that much better) and David Hine on 'Detective Comics'. Not counting Morrison's 'Batman and Robin' those are the two top level Bat books and neither writer makes me excited (already dropped Hine's DC).
On the Marvel side, I know we're barely entering the Heroic Age but I'm already feeling an Avengers overdose. I like that the adjectiveless 'Avengers' title is back in use, and I can even understand the Steve Rogers-led 'Secret Avengers' but I wonder why 'New Avengers' is still needed? I like the idea of 'Avengers Academy' (I'll cover that in a later post) but besides those 4 titles, there is three other limited titles going on at the same time: 'Avengers Prime', 'Avengers: The Childrens Crusade', 'Avengers and the Infinity Guantlet'. Then again I shouldn't be surprised since Marvel did create the 'Ultimates' only to create a new comic 'Ultimate Avengers'. Redundancy knows no bounds in the Marvel U.
I find my opinion on 'Avengers Academy' to be hysterical because just like the series before it, 'Avengers Initiative' I had an eager interest into the series and it turned out to be heading in a direction I was not a fan of. There's only bee one issue of AA so far but I seem to be heading down a similar path. I did get back interested in AI by the end of its run so much so that it was my favorite Avengers book when it ended, I hope the same happens with AA. I don't know how much of the book will focus on the teachers of the Academy (the more the better in my opinion) but I have to say I'm excited that Tigra and Hank Pym will be interacting.
As you may or may not know, Tigra got together with Skrull!Pym and just recently had an adorable catbaby thanks to her speedy gestation period. I'm hoping desperately that they start something up between Tigra & Hank since they'll be close, single (I know the whole being with Jocasta thing might have squicked some people on Hank but after the writers made him marry her off to Ultron I'm hoping he can have some happy time) and maybe even see Pym as a parent. Will that happen? I wouldn't count on it, but I do know that AI made me fans of Tigra, Diamondback, Cloud 9, Hardball, Komodo, so I'm sure AA will have me behind a new set of characters.
