Posts Tagged ‘ DC Comics ’
With apologies for missing a month, just in case there’s someone out there who has been waiting anxiously to find out what I’ve been reading recently. Given that this post covers two months, it is surprising in some ways that it isn’t extraordinarily long. On the other hand, the reason for that is one Monsieur Dumas. So, in order of completion :
A smaller collection of books this month if you compare it to the January 2012 selection. However, by the end of February, I was one third of the way through The Count of Monte Cristo as well. That one really is going to take quite some time to finish!
I read a lot. On the train, last thing at night, in lunch breaks or just when the opportunity arises, you will often find me with my head in a book. It sometimes seems inconceivable that there are any books on my shelves which have not yet been read, but somehow there are. Their ranks get topped up from time to time due to eye-catching titles in charity shops, exciting new publications or just general moments of weakness. And then there are library books, whether from my place of employment or the public library (using the latter a lot more now, as they need the circulation statistics a lot more than university libraries do). One of my goals for the year (in addition to sticking to my church’s scheme to read the Bible in a year) is to finish all those unread books, including one or two which were shamefully abandoned part way through. However, of the books I finished during January, only two can claim to be from the “to be read” backlog. So, what have I read? Why did I read it? And what did I think?
TV comedies, particularly American ones, have quite a history of ‘Very Special Episodes’ which tackle a serious theme in a serious manner, often very badly. The term is usually applied in a mocking fashion, and seems inappropriate to use in conjunction with an episode that actually succeeds at doing more than preach. Science fiction and fantasy often get away with tackling more of those serious issues than comedy or even ‘straight’ drama can do, as you can wrap things up so much in metaphor, pretending that since people with bumpy foreheads or pointy ears aren’t really human, we can examine their oddly-familiar prejudices and foibles more objectively.
Anyway, the world of comic books is not immune to the ‘Very Special Episode’ phenomenon, though in this case it’s a ‘Very Special Issue’. AIDS is now a common subject, as are the many and varied forms of prejudice. Sometimes this works magnificently (there was bucketloads of social commentary in Green Lantern/Green Arrow back in the 1970s, for instance) and sometimes it’s even more stilted and preachy than television manages. This month sees an example of a very good ‘Very Special Issue’, in the form of Robin Vol. 2 #156.
I’m a week behind with the wonderful world of 52, the weekly ‘real-time’ comic I enthused about some time ago. The rest of the community of crazy comics fans camped outside their local shops last week and picked up Week 14, but the last issue I read was Week 13, meaning that I am exactly one quarter of the way through the series, and at an appropriate point to pause and reflect. The creative team involved with the series have mentioned that the title has some meaning other than the number of weeks in a year, and the first thing that springs to mind for many people is a deck of cards. Now, there’s been no sign of the poker-themed villains the Royal Flush Gang thus far, but I did wonder whether one could divide the series into four suits, and if so, which suit the first 13 issues represent.
For me, I think it’s hearts, as quite a number of hearts are broken, in one way or another, in this first ‘suit’. Continue reading
No, I haven’t got my super-hero films muddled up, although I have seen Superman Returns, and rather enjoyed it. Not a fantastic film, but good fun and with good performances all round. I also have Batman Begins on DVD, and think it’s a rather smashing film with an odd, but very effective, soundtrack. Anyway… What I actually intend to ramble about are Superman’s beginnings. Not his fictional back-story (rocketed from a dying world and all that stuff), but his first adventures in print, way back in the late 1930s. Continue reading
What do a drunken ex-cop, a social crusader with no face, the ruler of a Middle Eastern nation, a grieving detective, a man from the future and a moral scientist have in common? 52, that’s what. Read on… Continue reading
My earlier blog on the reaction to Batwoman ‘coming out’ was quoted on CBS News’ Blogophile column. I followed the link to the column and had two reactions, one of amusement and one of sadness.
Amusement first. I was quoted thusly: ‘ “Blah blah blah,” she writes. “Blah blah.” ‘ Unfortunately, I’m a he rather than a she. This has now been corrected, but it did make me chuckle and reminded me just how anonymous the net can be!
Then the sadness. I had a look at some of the other reactions to the news, and was appalled by the ill-informed venom and hatred poured out in some cases. People saying that lesbianism is abhorrent. People saying it’s terrible to have such a thing where kids can read it (attention people, this particular series isn’t aimed at kids, who don’t read that many comics these days anyway). And further, much more extreme instances of homophobia and general unpleasantness. This surprises and upsets me.
There’s now a part of me that hopes the character catches on sufficiently to gain her own series, and a smash-hit one at that. Hey, if Will and Grace or Brokeback Mountain can be mainstream successes, why not a superhero who happens to be a lesbian? Go, Batwoman, go! Make the bigots look stupid. Please?
Last weekend, DC Comics released a press release regarding a character who is going to pop up in their series ’52’ (more on this series in a later post, I expect). This character is a reinvention of Batwoman, a crimefighter who notched up around 50 appearances from her debut in 1956 to her last significant appearance in 1979. So hardly a major player in the comics world, although some remember her fondly.
However, the story has been picked up by most major news outlets, with varying degrees of outrage, due to one word. Lesbian. Shock, horror, Batwoman is going to be Kate Kane, a wealthy lesbian from Gotham City who had a previous relationship with Renee Montoya, a female cop who’s been floating around in comics and cartoons since 1992. ‘Batwoman reinvented as a lesbian!’ they cry. ‘Whatever happened to the heroes of old?‘ asks the BBC website. It’s all too bizarre for words. Why do they care? Comics rarely make the news. Gay and lesbian characters, and indeed heroes, have been around for years. Very few people have even heard of Batwoman (I suppose some might assume she’s the same character as Batgirl). And yet, you combine the Bat-prefix and homosexuality, and suddenly it’s a story! And yet my initial reaction was ‘so what?’
I like comics. I like DC comics. I may like this Batwoman, I don’t know, I haven’t read any of her appearances yet (as she won’t appear until July). Whether she is gay or straight, black or white, wealthy or poor, young or old really doesn’t matter. They only thing that will matter is this – is she a compelling character? Do I care about her? Do I want to read more about her? I don’t know yet, but I suspect many comics fans have already made up their minds. ‘Batwoman as a lesbian is an awful idea’ or ‘Batwoman as a lesbian is a fantastic idea’. Comics fans can be a bit scary, refusing to read things for very bizarre reasons. I hope they give the character a chance. I hope the writers have come up with a decent character. And hope the media don’t forget what they seem to have stumbled across – comics are a diverse medium, with a range of styles and characters. Sometimes they could even be mistaken for ‘real’ literature.
As far as I’m concerned, a greater number of heroes who are not straight white males has to be a good thing, as long as they are characters rather than walking labels. We shall see.
The Singing Librarian Talks 