Comic Books Comic Book • Page 453

This One Summer rules!!! Got me emotional at the climax, and has a cute, funny last page.

Skim, another graphic novel by Jillian & Mariko Tamaki, also rules. They’ve got another collaboration coming out this year, which I’m very excited to see.

 

What're y'alls thoughts on Babs? I vaguely remember reading that the disabled community felt betrayed when she started walking and became Batgirl again, and also generally people just preferred her as Oracle and felt like that was a regression. I love the idea of her being a mentor to Cass and Steph, she can be Oracle and still suit up when she needs to, best of both worlds. I love Barbara in everything, though...

(I know we're not supposed to talk about adaptations in here but I think the versions of her in Titans and especially Young Justice were really well done wrt her disability; the actress on Titans actually used a prosthetic for the flashbacks)

(also also, I've read The Killing Joke--and seen it, ugh--and I get that it's supposed to be this shocking thing that happens--like Death in the Family--and changes the course of Barbara's life, but I just don't like it as its own thing. She was paralyzed but then it became about Bruce rescuing Jim? Young Justice did much much much better. I honestly hope the Harley Quinn show sidesteps it completely.)

 

If you don’t like The Killing Joke, good news: Alan Moore himself renounced and regretted it fairly soon after writing it. Thank goodness John Ostrander and his late wife Kim Yale reinvented her as Oracle in their Suicide Squad run.

I think Barbara Gordon one thousand percent should not be Batgirl, or able to walk, in current mainline DC continuity. That run Babs Tarr drew was very important to me when I was getting deeper into comics, so I’m glad that exists; and while I never connected with Gail’s run, it’s cool that Alysia Yeoh exists. But, it’d be so much better if they told one more story to write that implant out and then let her fully commit to Oracle and the wheelchair. There could still be Barbara Batgirl stories in flashbacks and out-of-continuity tales if they really want.

Alas, now that she’s been back this long, and has that current have-their-cake-and-eat-it-too nonsense, that’s probably never happening. Gotta cater to that nostalgia!

 

If anyone is a fan of hers and hasn’t been reading the current Nightwing run, you should jump on it. Taylor’s done a great job with that one so far and she’s a big part of it.

 

I started reading casually in the mid 90s with Sonic the Hedgehog and Power Rangers, and then a lot of Spider-Man and X-Men soon after. Largely stuff with McFarlane, Liefeld, Lee, Bagley, Romita Jr, etc.

After gaining some comics momentum in 2012, I slipped into actively keeping up with new stuff and having a pull list in 2014 (coming up on a decade!), with Ms Marvel and Saga being early additions.

 

I've been reading comics for about as long as I can remember. I started with Calvin And Hobbes, The Simpsons, and Garfield, then slowly graduated into Watchmen and some Marvel comics. I mostly and religiously read webcomics and sprite comics growing up - Questionable Content, Sam and Fuzzy, Emergency Exit, Bob and George, Dragon Tails, Something Positive, Kid Radd etc.

 

I first started reading comics right before New 52 was announced. First books I picked up were Gotham City Sirens and Bryan Q. Miller's Batgirl run. First graphic novels I picked up were Batman: Hush and Kick-Ass

 

Not sure even how old I was when I first started reading comics. I wanna say 10-12. Mostly read X-Men but had some Spider-Man and Power Rangers comics as well. That only lasted 2 or 3 years then I really got into them again in 2018 i'm pretty sure. Still going strong haha

 

Finished This One Summer! It's really good! I didn't really expect it to go where it did, pretty heavy stuff. I already have a couple of Jillian's and Mariko's other non-collab books lined up, excited to get into those

I bought Hope Larson's All Together Now a while ago not knowing it was part of a trilogy, so now I've ordered the other two. I really liked her Batgirl

I haven't read American Born Chinese since college, might be time to revisit it since the adaptation is coming. Maybe also check out Gene Luen Yang's Shang Chi. So cool that he's done ATLA and now Marvel

 

I didn't plan on this but I got all of Tynion's Detective Comics run! a couple new but the rest of them used for, on average, about ten bucks each. I guess that's about as much as I would've paid for a used omnibus, but oh well, I don't like a big bulky hardcover. I spotted four of them at my used bookstore and two at my comics store yesterday, ordered the last one online.

 

I want to go on the record saying that I think Nightwing is one of the best comics of the big 2 that is out right now and issue #100 was absolutely wonderful. And the Dick/Bruce scene had me in my feels.

 

Very excited to dig into this later.

If you’re a fan of comics as a medium, and you’re on Twitter, and you don’t follow Ritesh Babu… uh, why not???

 

I’m not sure I’ll keep up with Radiant Black, but I really like Rogue Sun and Inferno Girl Red. Excited to check out Radiant Pink too.

Power Rangers/TMNT II is so, so much fun. The first book was solid but this kicks it up a level. Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora are clearly having a blast.

Also recently read the Captain Carter trade, thought that was a fun contained story

 

Got some good stuff from my used book store today, including Paper Girls vol. 1! now I just have to get the rest of them, hah...

 

https://www.marvel.com/characters/x-men-vote

Annual X-Men election is back. This year you can vote for Jubilee, Juggernaut, Dazzler, Cannonball, Frenzy, or Prodigy to be on the next team. Definitely feels like it'll be Jubilee

 

How do you vote? It says to vote below and I see the candidates, but nothing that indicates a choice.

 

There should be bubbles near the top of the page that you can click next their names

 

Nope. Maybe it's cause I'm on a phone?

 

Might be the reason. I'm on a laptop currently

 

I think the vote thing has been glitchy. If you refresh, it might work.

Four of these six choices would be great imo. (I like Cannonball & Prodigy but personally don’t see either of them as “main” roster X-Men.) Love that Frenzy is getting the attention she deserves. And, Juggernaut would be such a compelling addition to the team for a variety of reasons.

Ultimately, I’m probably gonna pick Jubilee (who also seems like the most likely, followed by Juggernaut).

 

Juggernaut is who I'm trying to vote for. He deserves some recognition for his efforts.

I'll try again when I'm at home.

 

I’d be willing to tip from Jubez to Juggs if I was confident the creatives & editors could get a textually gay Juggs past the Mouse.

 

I don't get it, because of him and Black Tom? Or where's this coming from?

 

Yes, him and Black Tom. Not every writer (or fan) has picked up on their vibe, leading to some pretty hetero stories here and there; I personally didn’t see it myself as a sheltered evangelical kid. But, they definitely vibe as queer in some of those old Claremont & company stories, as a lot of villains at the time did. And, Fabian Nicieza has openly said he wrote them that way in the 90s. Some of those stories with sick Tom have a “gay couple where one of them has AIDS” vibe and don’t make sense otherwise.