Laura Park's take on Gabrielle Bell drawing Batman
A list of 10 Webcomics I love and why on today’s SHE HAS NO HEAD. Check it out!
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The following is a selection of comics released this week (6/9/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.
The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.
*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.
AVENGERS ACADEMY #1. Christos Gage (writer). Mike McKone (art). Jeromy Cox (colors). Marvel. 40 pages. $3.99. 22-pages of story, a very weak 6-page character bio section, and a 2-page Marvel/Gage interview.
Unfortunately this was a bit of a let down to me and didn’t live up to the preview pages (which I was really excited about). The character work – and I know it’s a lot of new characters to introduce and so that’s challenging – but it’s not very strong except for with Veil/Maddy and in that same vein I just think Gage tried to do too much in to short a time with the story. McKone’s art is lovely, but the storytelling/pacing/expressions are pretty weak. Again, I thought the storytelling was really solid in the first 6-ish pages but it falls of considerably as the issue progresses. Also…I talk about “swimsuit” costumes for female superheroes a lot here and on She Has No Head!, but nobody has Tigra beat in the “swimsuit category”…is this really necessary? A string bikini is really her costume? Seems ridiculous and dated and…did I say ridiculous? It’s nice to see all three new female leads appropriately dressed, but it sucks that their teacher looks like she’s headed to a beach. Anyway, I was much less excited about this today than I was last week. Bummer. I’m still going to give it a few more issues to improve, but for now I can’t rank it any higher than a TRADEWAIT.
New SHE HAS NO HEAD! – a review of Kathryn Immonen and Tonci Zonjic’s Heralds #1 is up.
Emma Frost, Monica Rambeau, Hellcat, She-Hulk, Abigail Brand, AND Valkyrie? What could go wrong?! Check it out.
The following is a selection of comics released this week (6/3/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.
The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.
*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG.
Thanks to Memorial Day we’re a day late on comics here in the US, but no fear, here’s what you should buy this week on the female positive tip…there weren’t a ton of female focused books, but what was out, was pretty great…
DEMO #5 (of 6). Brian Wood (writer). Becky Cloonan (artist). Vertigo. 32 Pages. $2.99. Includes 22 page story, notes and sketches by Wood and Cloonan, and a two-page preview of Demo #6.
The quality of this book continues to be no surprise. I think this was one of my favorite issues yet. Like the rest of the series the story feels both realistic and grounded yet with supernatural or unusual elements that twist the story in interesting directions. As always however, it’s Wood and Cloonan’s ability to capture characters and tell moving stories that surprise that sells it. Demo Volume 2 has been a home run as far as I’m concerned and this is no exception. BUY.
The following is a selection of comics released this week (5/26/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.
The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.
Tradewaiting, for the uninitiated, is the act of not buying individual issues of a comic as it releases, but rather waiting for them to be collected in a trade paperback form (aka TPB).
*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG. I will do my best to include independent and graphic novel selections as they are released as well – but if I’ve missed something excellent feel free to let me know in the comments.
Here we go…
Dazzler (one-shot). Track 1: Jim McCann (writer). Kalman Andrasotszky and Ramon Perez (pencils). Rick Ketchem (inks). Jim Charalampidis (colors). Track 2: Jim McCann (writer). Francesca Ciregia (art). Cris Peter (colors). Marvel. 40 pages. $3.99.
I will admit upfront my bias against and dislike for Dazzler, which makes any story starring her an uphill battle. That said, I’m always looking for positive books featuring women, so despite my dislike of Dazzler I still hoped for the best. This is not the best. A frustrating and pointless story that really goes nowhere and ends quite unsatisfactorily. The art was not bad overall nor was the actual writing, but the plot was horribly weak. I much preferred the art in “track 2” by Ciregia, but it wasn’t enough to save a still weak story. Also bad in this tale is the objectification. Dazzler is falling out of her top from the cover all the way through the first story (which is the bulk of the book) the T&A lightens up considerably in Ciregia’s story, but it was too little, too late. SKIP.
Detective Comics #865 (Question Co-Feature). Greg Rucka (writer). Cully Hamner (art). Dave McCraig (colors). DC. 40 pages. $3.99.
Though Detective Comics no longer stars the excellent Batwoman, and is no longer written by the excellent Greg Rucka, the co-feature finishing out (I think this is the last installment?) remains excellent. The rest of the issue is not bad either, but I’m only going to talk about the 10 page co-feature here. Rucka writes Renee Montoya as The Question wonderfully (as he should, he “made” her) and this issue is no exception. He’s also been doing a great job with The Huntress for the last handful of issues and it’s nice (and sadly refreshing) to see such a great female friendship playing out sans bitchy drama. Cully Hamner and Dave McCraig continue to do an exceptional job with the art. BUY.
Check out my in-depth review of Girl Comics #2 on CSBG’s She Has No Head!
The following is a selection of comics released this week (5/19/10)* that focus heavily on women in comics – whether that be characters, creators, or even readers.
The books are rated as BUY, TRADEWAIT, or SKIP.
Tradewaiting, for the uninitiated, is the act of not buying individual issues of a comic as it releases, but rather waiting for them to be collected in a trade paperback form (aka TPB).
*It should be noted that this list will focus on North American/English releases as that’s mostly what I have access to. Additionally, as I am in general unfamiliar with Manga, I will not be including Manga titles in my lists. For some great reviews and discussion of Manga titles I urge you to check out Danielle Leigh on CSBG. I will do my best to include independent and graphic novel selections as they are released as well – but if I’ve missed something excellent feel free to let me know in the comments.
Here we go…
Air #21. G. Willow Wilson (writer). M.K. Perker and Chris Chuckry (art). Vertigo. 32 pages. $2.99.
From a female positivity standpoint I really can’t fault this book, I never have to see crazy naked tits and ass and inane costumes and Amelia Earhart guest stars, which is pretty much awesome. However, I have never connected with the main character Blythe and she seems, despite G. Willow Wilson’s best efforts, flat and weak willed. Additionally, her obsession/relationship with Zayn never really worked for me emotionally. Also of note in this issue is that there’s a weird bathtub scene that, while not gratuitous just seems a little silly and unnecessary. Though I don’t particularly like this book, I have to give it credit for being a rare starring vehicle for a female character AND writer, and a book that tries to represent women well, so I’ll give it a TRADEWAIT.
American Vampire #3. Scott Snyder and Stephen King (writers). Rafael Albuquerque (art). Vertigo. 32 pages. $3.99.
The Stephen King and Scott Snyder series continues to be very interesting with its parallel stories about Pearl becoming an American Vampire, and how her maker Skinner Sweet first became one. Pearl is a great character that I look forward to reading every week, and the art by Rafael Albuquerque is excellent. This is one of my favorite new books, definitely get on board now. BUY
DV8 #2. (of 8). Brian Wood (writer). Rebekah Isaacs and Carrie Strachan (art). Fiona Staples (cover). Wildstorm. 32 pages. $2.99.
Brian Wood and Rebekah Isaacs’ excellent revamp of this old 90’s superhero team continues to be edgy, forward thinking, and interesting. The story is well-paced and beautifully illustrated and the covers by Fiona Staples are like a delicious cherry on top. If you want to read more about DV8, check out my detailed review on CSBG’s She Has No Head! BUY
New SHE HAS NO HEAD! – an Advance Review and Advance Preview of Ross Campbell’s excellent superhero book Shadoweyes is up. Check it out!
New SHE HAS NO HEAD! is up – a review of Linda Medley’s excellent tome, Castle Waiting.
Tags: fantagraphics
New SHE HAS NO HEAD! is up, a review of Brian Wood’s new miniseries DV8: Gods And Monsters, as well as a discussion of why THIS is comics for men AND women, without compromise.
