I'd like some puddin' please.

Don't you love that feeling when you read a book or see a movie, and it just totally resonates with you? Well, I had that experience yesterday as I read some issues that have been sitting in my "to be read" pile. Those issues were Gotham City Sirens #5-9.

First and foremost, it is not like I have just let these issues build up for five months without reading them. I recently changed comic stores, and Sirens was one of the titles that my old store could not get in stock even though I poked and prodded and asked them to order it. Now that I go to Dark Tower Comics here in Chicago, I have been able to fill in all of the issues that I have been missing. In the case of Sirens, I was missing issues #5 and #6. Now armed with five months worth of issues, I put them in the messenger bag I bring to work and decided to spend my lunch with the ladies of Gotham City. It actually was hard to have to wait to read these because I loved the first four issues (I have even blogged about the series before), but now I get my chance to dive in.

There is a reason that I bring all this up and the reason is Harley Quinn. I have always liked Harley but these issues showed that her character is more multifaceted than I think a lot of people would realize. Harley is not just the Joker's sidekick any more. Despite her festive costume and her one-liners, when you break her down, Quinn is a truly tragic anti-hero seeking penance for past wrongdoings. The tragedy starts with her origin. Most people know that Harley was created by Paul Dini specifically for "Batman: the Animated Series." What they may not know is that Dini created a back story for Harley once she made the transition to the comics, and it is a back story that almost breaks your heart. Even though she was able to go to college on a gymnastics scholarship and eventually became a prominent psychiatrist, Harley's horrible home life and dead beat, criminal father scarred her mentally and made her easy pickings for the Joker and his corruption. Today, Dini writes her as this smart, educated woman trapped in the mind of a mistreated child. What makes her even more tragic is that even though now that she wants to fight the good fight and make amends for what she's done, she is still in love with "her puddin'." The Joker is Harley's tragic flaw, and for me, that makes her a complex character worthy of reading about. What I am getting at is that when she's written well, Harley Quinn is an amazing character that gets forgotten due to her past sidekick status and television roots.

Gotham City Sirens is an under appreciated gem that I worry will not last long. I totally admit that I'm writing about it right now partially due to the selfish fact that I want the book to continue so I can continue to read it. But I can't be the only one that enjoys this, right? If you like the Batman family, why in the world wouldn't you give this book a chance? Issue #9 is an excellent jumping on point with the girls hiring the Riddler to help them with a mystery that literally fell into their laps (or should I say, fell into their pool). Go out and pick it up. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

The Kids Are Alright

It's been the better part of a month since I posted anything. I am actually pretty pissed at myself for letting it go so long but a lot of not-so-great stuff has been going on and my comic reading has definitely been laid by the wayside for other important life matters. That does not mean that I have nothing to write about though. Actually, it's quite the opposite. I literally have piles of books ready to be blogged about, so I might as well get to it.

Ever since Robin made his first appearance in the pages of Detective Comics, teenage do-gooders and sidekicks have been an major part in superhero comics. As a dug through my boxes, I found that I had a lot of books featuring super young'ins so I grabbed a bunch to see if I could find any gems. First up is Young Justice Secret Files #1. Now to start things off, I have to say that for anyone who is like me and had a hiatus from comics during the 90's and the early 00's, DC's Secret Files books are great primers for the DC Universe and give you a lot of info on specific characters. (Of course, the older the issue though, the older the info will be, so keep that in mind. Young Justice Secret Files is from 1999.) As with all of the Secret Files books that I have read, there is some type of framing story throughout the book that links all of the character dossiers. This time around, the main story (by D. Curtis Johnson and Ale Garza) follows the Young Justice team as they try to break out super powered kids being held by the government and find that this government agency has files on their team as well. As with most humorous sidekick stories, teenage impetuousness takes over, the plan goes out the window, and the team saves the day by the skin of their teeth. All in all, it was a good story and the art was passable. The only reason I would disparage the art is that there were a lot of panels with closeups on faces that just did not look right to me. The action panels were really good, but the faces just didn't look right. Lastly, there were some funny Easter Eggs on the dossier page for the character Secret. Stuck in the cells in the background are Artie Maddicks from the X-Men books and an Ithorian and dianoga from Star Wars. Yes, I am that nerdy that I found those.

Next up is a postmodern take on superhero youths in Casual Heroes #1, written and pencilled by Kevin McCarthy. Right from the start of the book, you are thrown into a reality where superheroes are superstars and superdivas fighting for notoriety and cash. The main character, Saturn Red, is adored, but when a monster rampages through the city, nearly kills one of his teammates, and calls him out specifically, he just goes to the bar to pick up another nameless girl to take home for the night. Looking at the book from my standpoint in 2009, Casual Heroes is anything but casual with its message. You are beaten over the head with "fame is the worst thing in the world once you have it" and "superheroes would be jerks if they were real." I knew I was in for a heavy handed ride when the first text box was a Sartre quote. I don't want you to think that the book was horrible. The indy art style was interesting and made the book worth reading, but I don't think that I will be looking real hard for the rest of the series.

Finally we reach the good stuff. Truthfully, this book could be one of the best finds I have made in the quarter boxes: Generation X Underground Special #1. Written and drawn by Jim Mahfood, one of my favorite creator, the Generation X Underground Special is quintessential 90's pop culture. Let me explain. Now when I think of Marvel's Generation X team, I think of basically a second incarnation of the New Mutants, students at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. I don't automatically think of them as part of the actual Generation X. Mahfood's Underground Special makes sure I remember that fact. Generation X was as much a team name as a statement of identity, and I totally forgot that until I read this. Of course the book is hilarious and beautifully drawn as I have come to expect from Mahfood. If you are an X fan or just someone of that generation, go out and find Generation X Underground Special #1.

Quickly, I want to just shoot through the two other books, one recent issue and one old one, that I grabbed out of the long box with the ones I talked about. First was a lucky find for 25 cents since it is a very new issue, New Warriors #14 by Kevin Grevioux and Koi Turnbull. (The issue must not have sold well since the book is in good condition.) Just wanted to note this book since most of the previously mentioned Generation X team are in this book and few have aged a day actually. Still, what I have read of the series is good and worth checking out. The series ended so you should be able to find the whole series in trade soon. The other issue is New Teen Titans #29 by Wolfram and Perez. I have read the major arcs in the Wolfram/Perez run like The Judas Contract but I honestly never knew that the series was so "soap opera-ish." It was like superpowered 90210 with Speedy trying to get on Starfire and Kid Flash's unrequited love of Raven. I was not ready for the pile of schmaltz that was New Teen Titans #29.

NOTE: After researching it, it looks as though Casual Heroes never had a second issue even though it was advertised in issue #1.

Random Dive #3

Last Wednesday, I had a very nice surprise at my local comic store. They were selling bundles of ten random comics for $1.50, and all you could see were the two books on the outside of the bag. It is pretty obvious that there is no way I could pass this up. So I grabbed my new comics and tossed two of these mystery packs in there too. The reason I bring this up is because as soon as I opened them up to see what books fate had dealt me, I thought I should grab a couple that look the most interesting and write some notes about them here. So here we go with the three books that I thought looked the best just from their covers.

The first book I found that piqued my interest was The Spectre #4 by J. M. DeMatteis and Ryan Sook. While the cover is very nice, it was actually the creative team that drew me in. I am a huge fan of both DeMatteis and Sook and having them working on the same book made this a must read for me. Basically, the story is that the Spectre, Superman, and Batman must stop this demigod woman and Zauriel who has been possessed by the literal "Wrath of God." The story gets pretty interesting and metaphysical which was a welcome change to the books that I normally find in the bargain bins. Now the thing that I really think is worth noting about The Spectre is the art. I became a big fan of Ryan Sook's art with his run on X-Factor. When I read those issues though, not once did Sook's art remind me of Mike Mignola and Hellboy. The Spectre on the other hand is very reminiscent of Mignola and his Hellboy work. Don't get me wrong. This is not a negative at all. It works with The Spectre's story. It is just interesting that Sook's art style seems so different to what I know from more recent books.

The second book that grabbed my attention was The Flash #220 by Geoff Johns and Howard Porter. I like the character of the Flash, but I must admit that I have never really read a lot of The Flash. Most of my knowledge of Wally West comes from team books like Justice League of America and not from his own book. From the cover, I got the feeling that this might be one of those "big bang for your buck" books where you get a whole lot of characters and action. Luckily, the book did not disappoint. This was a great primer on Flash's famous Rogues Gallery as Captain Cold introduces all the Rogues and what they are doing post-Identity Crisis. I couldn't have asked for a better crash course through Flash's villains. I will definitely be on the lookout for the rest of the issues in this storyline.

Saving the best for last, we have a cross company team up as the X-Men visit the Malibu Comics universe in The Phoenix Resurrection: Revelations. It apparently took a small army to bring this book to life with Ian Edginton and Dan Abnett on writing duty and Kevin West, John Royle, Randy Green, and Rick Leonardi on art. Now I knew that Marvel acquired Malibu Comics in the 90's and tried to integrate some of their characters into Malibu's "Ultraverse." (Nerd fact: The Ultraverse is still part of Marvel multiverse and is designated Earth-93060). This book has characters crossing over every which way and the Phoenix force going nuts and being used by an alien supercomputer to destroy the Earth. We can't have that, now can we!? So all of these heroes all team up in order to save the world. The thing that kept creeping into my head while I was reading this is that Marvel could take a page out of DC's play book and bring some of these Malibu characters back. DC owns the Impact and Milestone characters and is folding them into the DC Universe. Why couldn't Marvel do the same with Malibu? Honestly, even in this book, there are a couple characters that could be pretty interesting. Marvel's Exiles series jumps around to other universes and would be a great way to mine some characters from the Malibu books. Well who knows? Maybe we will see Night Man or Topaz again. Like they say, all it takes is a creator with a good story and any character can have a comeback.

Christmas at Wayne Manor

Before you even start, I know! I said I would have a second Christmas post on Tuesday, but when you have to drop everything and drive your fiancee to the Apple Store on icy streets while it is snowing in order to fix her dead Macbook, I will give you a break too. (I just want to make it known that I love Vista. LOL.) Consider this an belated Christmas present. OK with that settled, on to the season at hand.

What is the first thing you think about when you hear the term "Christmas?" Family? Food? Presents? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! The correct answer is Batman. Yep, the Caped Crusader has definitely seen his share of Christmas stories set in the DC Universe, and purely by accident, I read two of them in the last week. Let me explain. During one of my trips to the the used book store, I recently came across Batman: Ego by Darwyn Cooke. Now I assume someone sold this original version since DC has released the story in a newer hardcover edition with the other Batman stories that Cooke has written. I have always wanted to read it since Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite creators in comics today, so as soon as I got home, I parked myself down and read it. When I started reading, I made a realization pretty quick that Ego is the Batman version of "It's A Wonderful Life." Now of course, the Dark Knight's version of the classic tale has to be darker than the original. Instead of Bruce Wayne's guardian angel teaching him about his own worth, his personal devils explore his crusade to punish the guilty and avenge the death of his parents. We all know Batman's origin, but Cooke is able to make the reader feel Wayne's loss by showing more intimate moments of his childhood like Christmas morning with his parents. Just like George Bailey, Bruce Wayne comes out of the experience stronger, and assures Commissioner Gordon with only one sentence: "I'm on my way."

Now Christmas is all about the kids so it only makes sense that DC would put out a kids comic for Christmas as well. I read Justice League Unlimited #28 which is basically a kid-friendly re-telling of Batman: Ego. I assure you I did not plan this out. I just happened to read both books only days apart. Now instead of Batman being guided through his life by his inner demons, the Flash is guided by the Phantom Stranger (a perfect stand-in for a Dickens-style Christmas ghost) so that he can understand Batman better. Much like in Ego, opening presents at Christmas is used again to show Bruce Wayne's childhood. I will admit that this story has a truly heartbreaking moment when we see Bruce Wayne's first Christmas without his parents. When he gets the one present he really wanted, he starts to play and have fun like a normal kid until he looks up and stops dead in his tracks when he sees the portrait of his parents. Flash asks the Stranger what happened and the Stranger explains that little Bruce forgot his parents "and for the briefest of moments his promise to avenge them." As an adult, that sentence just punched me in the gut. In the end though, Flash gives Batman the same toy and all is right with the world. Honestly though, Batman fans should seek this issue out for the view into his life.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas with plenty of comics in their stockings. Merry X-Mas and Happy New Year to all.

A Late 90's Christmas

It hit -7 degrees today here in Chicago so what better time to sit on the couch in some warm clothes and read comics. Not just any comics though. With Christmas less than week away, it is time to break out the egg nog and the Christmas-themed funny books. I have been saving a handful of books specifically for the Christmas season in order to get me into the holiday mood. Whenever I see Christmas or Halloween books in the quarter bins, I always grab them and put them in a special box and save them for their particular season. It works out to be a real money saver too since new issues are so overpriced. Honestly, $5.99 for a Christmas one-shot is a little outrageous. My older Christmas issues for 50 cents a piece will do just fine, thank you.

I ended up reading three hoilday specials today. The first two books I read were both special Christmas anthologies: DCU Holiday Bash III & Hellboy Christmas Special. Since I read the DC book first, I guess that is the place to start. The DCU Holiday Bash III (from 1998) is a collection of seven holiday stories set in the DC universe. It had the obligatory stories of Superman saving people with a smile on his face while Batman stays in the shadows and Wonder Woman not fully grasping the ideas behind the holiday. We have all seen stories like this either in the comics or the many DC cartoon series. Even though we get stories like this practically every year, I don't feel like I have been cheated or anything. Actually, it wouldn't be Christmas without them. It is like watching A Christmas Story. I know they show it continuously all day on TV but I watch it because it is tradition. Reading about Superman and Batman arguing about the holidays is the same thing for me; it is tradition.

The story that really got to me though was titled "Home for the Holidays." It follows some of the superpowered inmates of the DC universe on Christmas Eve, specifically Shrapnel, a C-level villian that I had never heard of before that has a body made of metal. We follow Shrapnel as he plans his escape from jail. His only reason for trying to escape is to see his daughters. Though he does have a dangerous ability, Shrapnel is just a low level thug who steals to keep food on the table for his family. The last two pages of the story just got to me when he succeeds in escaping only to get home after his daughters have fallen asleep and he can only look at them for a moment before the cops come to pick him up and bring him back to jail. Thanks a lot DC, now I feel depressed. Maybe I should move on to the other anthology I read.

Now I know Hellboy so I should have known that reading the Hellboy Christmas Special (December 1997) probably isn't the best idea when I want to pull myself out of a funk. The whole anthology dealt with Christmas horror stories. From demons to giant spiders to possessed children, this one had it all. Aside from the Hellboy story at the beginning of the book, I had never heard of any of the other properties in the book. I think that kind of prevented me from really enjoying this as much as other people since I had never heard of Steve Purcell's "Toybox" characters featured in the second story or Gary Gianni's "Corpus Monstrum" of the third story. They were solid stories but I got the feeling that they were meant for readers that were more familiar with the characters. I did really enjoy the Hellboy story though, don't get me wrong. It was classic Hellboy with some good old demon fighting. Also, I have to mention the Geof Darrow pinup in the middle of the book with a giant floating killer Santa. Now that is how you say "Merry Christmas!"

I am going to save the third book since I actually have a lot to say about it so keep an eye out Tuesday night. It will be like a early Christmas gift from me to you (and no, you can't return it.)

Random Dive #1

Originally, this week was going to be about a bunch of Marvel books, but Marvel pissed me off recently. They don't deserve free advertising right now. Paying more than full price for less than 22 pages of Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes is definitely not cool. Before I go off on a anger induced tangent not appropriate for this blog, I think I should take my mind off it and talk about something fun and as far from Marvel as possible. So, let's take a dive into the longboxes and see what I can find. I plan on making this a regular thing with just random pulls out of the boxes just to see what comes out.

Practically every person I know around my age has fond memories of a very particular block of television, the "Disney Afternoon." For two hours every weekday, Disney controlled my TV. I would run into the house after school just so I could watch Ducktales, Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers, and the others. Now when I saw Uncle Scrooge #230 and #236 sitting in a quarter bin, a wave of nostalgia came over me and I added them to the pile of books I was purchasing. Tom Katers of Around Comics once said that adults are the only people that read Uncle Scrooge anymore. Sadly, I bet it is true. They have a lot of great stories of stinginess but they are only read by old people looking for that same nostalgic feeling I had. With so many people asking about what comics are appropriate for young readers, here is some advice. Go find a couple issues of Uncle Scrooge in the quarter bin and give them to the little ones. You won't be sorry.

Next on the docket is Ambush Bug #3 written by one of the greatest writers in comics, Keith Giffen. This issue has been sitting in my collection for some time now because I was worried that I wouldn't get any of the jokes. I bought it since I had heard of Ambush Bug a little and the title of this issue was "The Ambush Bug History of the DC Universe" which sounded like fun. I've explained before that as a kid, I never really read a lot of DC comic books. Now that I have immersed myself in DC history, I thought that I would be ready for some Ambush Bug. (Plus the fact that I have really been enjoying the current Ambush Bug: Year None series didn't hurt either.) Now that I have the background to get the jokes, this issue was really hilarious. I really don't want to spoil anything since I think real DC fans should go out and find this issue. I love it when a company can take a step back and make fun of themselves. Comics are always so serious lately and having a laugh about them once in a while is always a good idea. All I can say is that seeing what Ambush Bug would look like if drawn by Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, and Frank Miller made me crack up and made this book worth all the time I have spent learning all about DC continuity.

Green Lantern/Green Arrow #6

There is a strong misconception that quarter bins and dollar boxes are only filled with the junk books that no one would buy. If you are one of the misinformed masses that holds onto this belief, I have come to enlighten you. Some of the greatest comics ever written are laying in the cheap boxes right now and you just haven't realized why. They're reprints! From the Dark Phoenix Saga to Crisis on Infinite Earths, comics' greatest sagas can be found in the quarter and dollar boxes because they have been reprinted, collected, and sold in newer versions countless times. I want to look at a specific reprint that I grabbed out of a fifty cent box a while ago: Green Lantern/Green Arrow #6.

As soon as I saw this issue, I knew it was a must buy for a couple reasons. First, even though I have never read anything from this era of the old Green Lantern series, I have heard over and over how culturally relevant the series was and how they dealt with drug addiction, racism, and other problems in society way before any other comics would touch those subjects. These are milestone issues that are definitely worth reading just for the fact that they mark a shift in the history of comics. Second, I have come to enjoy the characters in the current iterations. Hal Jordan's adventures in the current Green Lantern series has become required reading for any DC fan due to the massive "Sinestro Corps War" event and the coming "Blackest Night." I also have developed a soft spot for Ollie Queen and the rest of the Green Arrow family. When I was younger, I hated Green Arrow. In my blatant Marvelite attitude, I wrote Green Arrow off as a blatant copy of Hawkeye and disregarded him as I did with the rest of DC comics. Now after being reintroduced to the character by the animated Justice League Unlimited and reading Green Arrow/Black Canary every month (due to the great Mike Norton on art duty), I now consider myself a Green Arrow fan.

After reading the book (which reprints Green Lantern #86-87 just so you know), the only thing that kept running through my mind is that I kept wondering what a kid in 1971 would have thought when they bought this at the store and brought it home. Like I said before, these issues deal with some heady material that may not be very accessible for every reader. Today, major titles are targeted to mature readers who can understand involved plots and big ideas, but in 1971, the issues that these issues brings up were not commonplace. For example, this issue includes the first appearance of John Stewart, the African American architect chosen to be the new Green Lantern of Earth. As soon as Stewart is presented, his views on racism are brought to the forefront as he fights with a racist cop. Today, the character has mellowed out, but in his first appearances, John Stewart was blatantly militant in his views on society. With that said, I doubt kids reading this when it originally hit store shelves would have connected with Stewart at all. His stark view of 1970's America, while very true, is not what kids are really ready to hear. As an adult reading this, I can see why writing about these topics is so important, yet so difficult since you don't want to alienate readers.

As I read, I also wondered how a young reader would respond to Green Arrow. To put it bluntly, Oliver Queen is an asshole. Speedy, his sidekick and adopted son, is an addict looking for help, so what does Ollie do? He gives Speedy a beatdown. Yes, you read that right. The very first splash page shows Ollie backhanding Speedy, knocking him to the floor, for being "a lousy junkie." In the end, it is Black Canary and Green Lantern, not Green Arrow (the only father figure Speedy has ever had), who help Speedy through his recovery. Green Arrow does not even apologize. Yes, he finds the people responsible for trafficking drugs into the city, but you never see any reconciliation between him and Speedy. What does that say to a little kid? I think (and hope) kids know that if someone is asking for help, you don't knock them out. Plus, what would the super liberal Green Arrow of today say to that. That really shows how the character has evolved through the years.

Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told

One of the greatest finds I have ever found in a bargain bin was a copy of Stacked Deck: The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told. As soon as I saw the purple faux leather cover, the gold leaf on the edges of the pages, and the signature Joker grin on the binding, I knew that this was a real find and that I had to have it. The best part about it was that it didn't break the bank at only $14 at my local Half Price Books. I showed it to Katie and even she agreed that it was too good to pass up and that it would look very nice on our bookshelf.

Now the really strange part about this acquisition was that I bought the book only a month before the release of The Dark Knight, arguably the biggest comic book inspired movie to date. How perfect is that? I am in the mood to read some Batman and Joker stories and there is a gorgeous collection of the best ones right there for me and at a dirt cheap price. Why would someone sell this to a used book store when they could have easily made a mint off of it on eBay? OK all you comic deal hunters out there. This is where I teach you a lesson. That question can NEVER enter your mind. The only thing you are supposed to think is "their loss, my gain." In the hunter/gatherer world of longboxes and quarter bins, you have to grab what you want or it will be gone before you have time to blink. Questioning why someone would want to get rid of something is a waste of time. Just be happy that you have the opportunity to read it and add it to your collection.

With my militaristic rant over (don't forget that I still have a lot of Battlestar Galactica in my system), I can get into the book itself. Like a said before, this is a gorgeous edition worthy of being in a library. Aside from a small scuff on the front cover image, the copy is in excellent shape. All of the reprints were reinked and recolored so even Batman #1 looks brand new. All together, there are twenty-two separate stories included in this volume from Batman, Detective Comics, World's Finest Comics, and the daily newspaper strips, and they run the gamut from 1940 to 1987. The only thing missing in the book is Alan Moore's Killing Joke, but the afterword explains that it was omitted since it was new at the time Stacked Deck was printed and needed to stand on its own two feet.

As I read through the many stories, two major ideas popped out at me that I think are worth discussing. First, the Joker's temperament and MO have changed drastically throughout the years. Mike Gold, a DC editor, also mentions this in his preface. The Joker starts out as a basic sociopath and murderer. Many of his first appearances don't even have the grand plans or jokes that we have come to expect. He just hides in someone's home and then kills and robs them. Yes, he still has his purple suit and white face, but the connections to a clown persona end there. Then as the character progresses, he becomes the thief with the grandiose plans that we have come to expect, but there is no bloodshed or massive death toll as there had been years earlier. Joker would try to steal the money from a charity collection or make an attempt to discredit Batman, but he would be caught with everyone safe and sound by the end. Now the modern Joker is a combination of the two using plots and pranks with deadly outcomes. I just find it interesting that today's Joker evolved as a combination of the original Joker and his murderous ways with the later Joker and his jokes and elaborate plans.

The other plot device that I kept noticing was the use of female characters. Honestly, I think I know now why comic books are only considered a "boy thing" these days. The seeds were planted in all of these classic issues. A handful of the stories in Stacked Deck involve a witless woman making a complete mess of something, be it Joker's plan to get rich or Batman's attempt to defeat him. There was one moment where I literally burst out laughing at the brainless female portrayal. In The Joker's Utility Belt from Batman #73, Batman and Robin are christening a ship in Gotham harbor. They had have already found that the Joker rigged the bottle of champagne with paralyzing gas and replaced it with a safe bottle. Right when they are about to strike the ship, a woman runs out of nowhere grabbing the rigged bottle and yells "I want to have fun too! HURRAH!" She breaks the bottle and releases the gas, paralyzing everyone and allowing Joker to rob them all and get away. This is just one of the many examples of how women were written to just be a nuisance to everyone, hero and villain alike.

After reading Stacked Deck, I found that there is a lot of Batman lore that I have missed out on and a lot of interesting stories that have been written throughout the evolution of both the Dark Knight and his nemesis, the Clown Prince of Crime. It looks as though there are a lot of other books that I need to look for next time I go digging in the longboxes.