September ended and nobody woke me up?

Hey superfriends! Elias here. So It's mid-October and the first issues of the "new 52" have come and gone. I know, I know, where was the Starfire controversy post!? Where was the Catwoman post? What happened to the post on "cheesecake" in comics? What happened was I had a lot planned to write about the first month of issues (trends, controversy, analysis) but wow does time move fast! I had mid-terms at my University so I was thrown into a state of "keeping my head above water" so to speak. But hey, all is not lost, those posts will be filed away for later, now instead of me weighing in on all the past controversy (there is a tide), I'll just cough up some nice breath-defying opinions on the first month of me as a weekly comic reader!

Favorite Book of the Month goes to...

Batgirl

Not only was this issue packed with throwbacks to “The Killing Joke” (a favorite) which for obvious reasons was a HUGE character point for Barbara Gordon, this issue does something that I have seen very few comics do. Move. The art literally jumps off the page. I can just feel Barbara leaping off a roof and vaulting through a window, I'm experiencing the inertia with her as she goes from static to dynamic. As I was reading my eyes moved constantly from the text to the art to the text to the art, I felt Barbara's movements mirroring my eyes. I witnessed her unadulterated joy just from the simple act of moving, and it made me feel that joy.

It's something I have absolutely no doubt that was intentional, because, although I am a new reader I had known of Barbara in her Oracle days, and juxtaposed with that it seems clear that we're supposed to feel her sense of liberation, communicated to us from her free range of motion. It puts on an aesthetic of movement; it's genuinely fun to watch Barbara move around. Now, as I write that it immediately sounds kind of skeezy and creepy, but honestly, in much of the same way a Greek statue communicates motion, it's a beautiful thing to see. 

Amount to the same thing.

These two things...

Least Favorite Book of the Month...

Green Arrow

Ugh. Now this one hurts. I've been told that Green Arrow for a long stretch was a joke, he was a left-wing wise cracking billionaire who made jokes about liberalism while shooting his boxing glove arrows. This isn't the Green Arrow I got to know however. When being introduced to the character I was given Green Arrow: Year One by Andy Diggle and Quiver, a ten issue run by Kevin Smith. What I found in these titles wasn't a left leaning Robin Hood, but more of a less stressed Batman. What I mean is, Ollie wants to be happy, and being Green Arrow and cleaning up crime makes him happy. Ollie wants to have some fun and kick it with Black Canary. Ollie wants to be on the Justice League and save the world.  

But mostly Ollie wants to flaunt his "Daddy's home" eyes

I don't know exactly what was wrong with this new version of Ollie, but it just didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was the bland action, the vanilla villains (a female Goro who "terrorized Milan during fashion week"?), the flat one liners ("Multi-tasking is my specialty"?), or the fact that his five o'clock shadow was a pale comparison of what used to be. It just didn't excite me. Issue one summarized it best,

I got no time for losers

Biggest Surprise of the Month...

Supergirl

Here is an example of doing it right. What is it? Hell if I know, but it's doing it. I've never read a Supergirl comic before this so from context clues of earlier Superman comics, facts my friends told me, and a movie called Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, I have a cursory knowledge of details related to Supergirl. I'm told she's Superman's cousin, has some daddy issues, and for a time had to grapple with her powers. -But- Knowing next to nothing about Supergirl prior to this, if I know one thing after reading, it's that She. Is. A. Badass. There is a scene in which Supergirl is overwhelmed by her super hearing and is bombarded by a variety of dialogue from other DC titles happening concurrently. It was a simple, flavorful, and elegant way to tie together this universe DC is selling. Perhaps my favorite scene of the month showed up in this book, it's a snowy realization of waking up on a different planet separated from your loved ones and anything you ever found familiar. It's simple, it's powerful, it's heart-wrenching, and I really felt the loneliness inherent in being alien. When Superman comes in with the compassionate "Stop", I felt like a blanket had been laid over me, like my Dad had just told me "everything's gonna be alright". It was an incredible feeling I was not looking for when I started this, but here we are.
Wow, and I'm catching myself rambling, so until next time...

Take Care,
-Elias