Din's Geek Reviews - Wednesday Shuffle #4

Hello everyone, and welcome to another installment of Wednesday Shuffle, your weekly source for comic-book rundowns.


Okay, that’s a lie. I blatantly admit to having missed this past week outright (which is a shame, as there were some good books). However, I propose that the facts that I was ill AND my mother was in the hospital last weekend excuse me. So here we go: a little late, but not useless.

Gotham City Sirens #3
Blatant fanservice at its finest


Plot
The story of GCS#3 is a pretty straight-up detective story. The Riddler, who has gone straight apparently, is now a private eye, working to clean up the streets of Gotham City. To that end, he takes on a job which, he believes, to be part of a serial murder case. Each murder has small, subtle clues leading to the next victim, much like Mr. Nigma’s former work.

The entire issue is pretty much a game of wits between the Riddler and Batman (Dick Grayson) as they both try to predict the next murder and prevent it from being carried out. The Riddler discovers that this Batman is not in fact the Batman, but decides to let it go.

So yeah. Noir crime-fighting all around.

Art
The art in this issue of Sirens is quite doable. You’ve got a fairly decent line style, and the colors are very well done. As an issue centered on the Riddler, much of this book has a faint green tint to it, giving it a sense of the underground, as if the majority of the book were being cast in neon light.

Not much to say beyond that. The Batman is dark and shadowy (though his nose is a tad pointy), but well-represented, the Riddler’s facial expressions are quite good, conveying a wide range of emotions, and the admittedly overt fanserice is done in such a way that, though you can be looking down a woman’s shirt every-other page, you certainly don’t have to.
Writing
I really enjoyed the writing of this issue, more than the first two, certainly. The Riddler is handled perfectly: as a villain, he was always a little second-rate, a wannabe standing amongst giants (The Joker, Two-Face, etc) Now that he’s good, Edward Nigma is still the dramatic, eccentric man he always was, but he also stays true to himself as a pretender. But rather than fancying himself a master criminal, he now fancies himself a hard-boiled detective. Which, in fact, he might very well become, if given the chance.

The main feature of this book is the inner monologue of the Riddler, which turns this comic from cheap Batman spin-off into almost a parody of old noir comics and movies. It’s a welcome break, proving both a tribute to, and a stab at, Batman’s previous history. The book is solidly written, and well characterized.
Thoughts
Despite the praise I’ve given this book, I have to say it is still dead wrong. This book should not exist. Why? Because this is a book called Gotham City Sirens, a book about Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy. The female villains of the Batman rogues gallery. The Riddler doesn’t belong in this book.

I counted. Including a brief flash of Harley on a TV screen, the main girls appear in a total of five panels in this book. Five. That’s it!

This book would have made a killer one-shot. I don’t know why they had to hold up the action with Isley and Kyle, but it was a tad misleading to even feature them on the cover.

In short, a great comic, but a pretty awful issue of GCS.

It's $2.99, and you should pick it up. Just don’t expect Harley, Ivy, or Selina.
Legacy #39 – Tatooine, Pt. 3
A somewhat lesser time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Plot
Set roughly 100 years after the “current” events of the Star Wars Galaxy (that’s circa 160 years after A New Hope) Legacy follows the adventures of Jedi-turned-bounty-hunter Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke’s through his son, Ben.

There is no real point in explaining why the galaxy is like it is now. It would take more time and pages than anyone in their right mind would care to read (I, of course, have read it all).

Summary:
The Sith rule the galaxy again, and want Cade dead, because he’s one of the handful of people who know that Darth Krayt, former Sith Emperor, has been killed. To that end, Darth Wryylok, currently ruling the Empire as Regent, has hired some Anzati assassins to kill Cade.

However, he is also being pursued by Imperial agent Morrigan Corde, (who is also Nyna Calixte, as well as Cade’s mother) and his (secret) half-sister Gunner Yage.

Blahblahblah, stranded on Tatooine, blahblahblah, lost in the desert with Yage, blahblahblah.

This issue opens with Cade and Yage scrambling for cover from an approaching sandstorm. Where do they end up? Why, the Lars Homestead, of course!

So, while waiting for the storm to pass, Cade and Yage have a brief pissing contest and then debate the politics of the Sith/Imperial War. Elsewhere, their pursuers continue to… pursue.

Eventually, Cade falls asleep and has a Force-vision confrontation with his mighty ancestor, Luke Skywalker. There is some exposition, and then they fight!

However, Luke shows Cade that, should he continue as he has, he will become an agent of evil the likes of which the galaxy has never known. Only for Cade to wake up and find himself and Yage under attack by the assassins! Then there’s more fighting.

Art
Okay. You remember how last week I said that KotOR had awful art, and that it wasn’t how Star Wars should be done? This is how Star Wars should be done.

Jan Duursema is a bloody goddess. But when she’s teamed up with the Parson/Anderson ink/color team? Well, you get Legacy. Really, really, really pretty Legacy.

What makes this art so great, you ask? Well, let’s begin with the characters. Each of them is very distinctive, with unique character design, expressions, and equipment. Colors are simply amazing, with lush shadows and bright colors, but the colors remain muted by their surroundings.

Action scenes feature an organic flow to them, and characters bend realistically while fighting. Events progress logically, making the fight scene both exciting, and simply a pleasure to look at.

The number of panels-per-page vary greatly, meaning that you have a nice balance between splash-art and smaller, intimate shots. It is simply a really, really well-drawn book, the likes of which we rarely see. Now, of the five Star Wars titles currently in print, I’d say Dark Times has the nicest art, but Legacy certainly has the best. This issue is a great example of that: Jan can take something as plain and boring as the Tatooine desert and making it an interesting shot.

Writing
Let’s get something straight. I don’t know many comic-book writers by name. Sure, Alan Moore, Neil Gaimen. But, just below that, comes John Ostrander.

This guy is great. His run on Republic was simply stellar, and since he has been in charge of Legacy since day one, he’s really had a chance to shine.

This issue is a decent example. Ostrander continues to provide organic, immersive dialogue, interjecting the standard Star Wars banter with blips of Hutteese and in-universe terminology. Characters are well done, with believable motivations. In this issue we get Cade’s irritating immaturity, Yage’s military-crispness, and even a taste of ol’ Luke Skywalker: Jedi Master himself.
But what Ostrander really does best here are relationships. Yage and Cade both have their mother’s intelligence and ferocity, but completely different upbringings, and that friction is really well done. At the same time, Corde and Syn (Cade’s co-pilot) get to have some nice flirting (ew, ew, ew!) and even the dynamic between the three assassins (particularly the two Anzati) is really interesting (can anyone say Spike & Dru?).

Thoughts
This is how Star Wars is supposed to be: lush visuals, deep characters, galaxy-changing stories and that perfect hybrid of gunslinger action and lightsaber swordfights.

Now, this by no means makes this issue perfect. Cade can come off a bit whiny (but then again, with his ancestry, who can blame him?) and the fun-with-Force-visions does mean that other characters get a tad left behind.

Mainly, this issue suffers from “New Reader’s Nightmare,” which is both its greatest strength, and greatest flaw. Tatooine, Pt. 3 makes no qualms about being part of a larger story, and if you haven’t been following Legacy for the previous 38 issues, you will likely be in the dark. This issue in particular and this story arc in general trade off accessibility for immersiveness, meaning that we get deeper, more inter-woven stories and characters, but at the risk of leaving newbies in the dust.

John and Jan are always a safe bet. If you have slightly higher than average understanding of the Star Wars galaxy, I recommend them whole-heartedly. If not, it might be a good idea to do a little research first. On its own, Legacy #39 goes for $2.99.
Ms. Marvel #44
She’s kinda like Superman, only people care about her as a character. And she has boobs.

Plot
I have absolutely no idea what is going on in this book. This is the first issue of Ms. Marvel I have ever picked up, so I can only offer my impressions on the greater plot of the comic.

From what I can tell, Carol Danvers, aka Ms. Marvel, is dead, and Norman Osborn has installed Karla Sofen in her place on the Avengers. However, out of the blue, the “real” Ms. Marvel attacks Osborn, his bases, and the pseudo-Marvel.

The book opens with Ms. Marvel having been subdued by Lily Hollister, knocked-up –Goblin wannabe. Osborn thinks the situation is under control, but Karla does not. She points out that a pumpkin-bomb is barely enough to make Spider-Man flinch, and that there’s no way Danvers went down that easily. Nevertheless, Osborn takes “Ms. Marvel” into custody.

Meanwhile, somewhere else entirely, Catherine Donovan, a writer who also happens to be the genetic twin to Danvers, arrives in New York to enquire about the whole Ms. Marvel situation.

Let’s recap, shall we?
Carol Danvers is the original Ms. Marvel.
Karla Sofen is the acting Ms. Marvel
Catherine Donovan is the genetic equivalent of Carol Danvers.
Gah.

So anyway, Osborn tries to imprison Ms. Marvel, but she seems to be getting stronger by the minute. At the same time, Donovan arrives at Avengers Tower, only to be swarmed by guards when scanners ID her as Danvers. Ms. Marvel, who apparently has a psychic link to Donovan now, warns her to flee, which she does, only to be captured by the Dark Avengers, including Venom, Hawkeye, and the Iron Patriot himself, Norman Osborn. In the end, it is Sofen who brings her in.

Sofen believe that the two – Marvel and Donovan – might be connected, becoming stronger the closer they are together. To that end, while Osborn tries to fend off the escaping Ms. Marvel, Sofen attempts to execute Donovan. Suspense!

Art
The artwork here is pretty above-average, actually. Characters are well-drawn, action is conveyed well, and expressions are fairly emotive. All things considered, the art in Ms. Marvel is better than many other books out right now, keeping the brightness of the Marvel Universe without exaggerating it. That’s a hard feat, and for pulling that off, I salute them.

Writing
Okay, this book is a great example of how a long, continuous, and relatively unpopular superhero book should be done. The action is fast, in your face, and plentiful, while at the same time the plot is interesting enough to hold your attention. In many ways, Ms. Marvel harkens back to the earlier days of comics – sure, there’s a large, sweeping plot going on, but it’s perfectly alright to just jump right in without any background knowledge of the character.

Dialogue is good, and characterization better. I really like how Norman Osborn is portrayed as being kind of brash, while Sofen, though a villain, seems to actually have a good head on her shoulders. Donovan is an interesting character – as a normal person, she reacts how anyone in their right mind would to being confronted by the likes of Venom – she hesitates, and then runs like hell.

Thoughts
I’ve never read Ms. Marvel before, and I kinda doubt I’m going to start now, but the fact that such an obscure character (as far as the mainstream Marvel universe is concerned) could be so instantly engrossing, so very likeable, is really quite impressive. This seems to be a strong, doable superheroine book, and if you’d like something a little less mainstream that Spider-Man or a little less dark than Captain America, I highly recommend it. Ms. Marvel #44 retails for $2.99
Closing
Once again, I apologize for the late update.

What we have here is actually a very solid, very inexpensive week in comics. With a splash of DC, Marvel, and tie-in, it’s very well-rounded, and since you have issues focusing on mystery, action, and plot-development respectively, you end up feeling satisfied with each issue in completely a different way.

Add to that the fact that you can get the entire line-up for $9, and you’re just sitting pretty. No $4 one-shots, no $5 event comics. Just a great set of issues at a great price.

Coming Soon to Wednesday Shuffle:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer #28
Invincible Iron Man #17
Tales from Wonderland: Tweel- you know what? Screw it. I’ll just review it when I see it.