Supergirl

Supergirl

The second film in James Gunn’s new DCU.  I went into this not expecting it to reach the quality of the source material, Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s phenomenal Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.  I mean, that’s an insanely high bar to rise to.  But would it come anywhere close?

No, not really.  I enjoyed the first two-thirds of the movie enough, but the final third lost me with a bunch of movie silliness.  The usual list:

What I liked:

1. I’ll put Milly Alcock on this list, but I’m actually still mixed in my feelings.  She’s got a very non-traditional look.  (She really does look like Will Poulter.  Apparently I’m not the first person to say so, but I swear I came to that conclusion on my own.)  But I wanted to reserve judgment until I saw her on screen.  I ultimately liked her performance and her attitude, and I’d happily watch her in this role in future movies.

2. I liked the film’s take on Supergirl’s character.  “You don’t have to be nice, but you have to be good.”  It’s a very clear articulation of a way of thinking that you don’t see with many superheroes.  Well, I suppose you do - Wolverine, Hitman, etc.  But this is a new spin on Supergirl in particular that’s  necessary in order to set her apart from the DCU Superman.  (It’s very different from King’s interpretation, but I’ll allow it.)

3. The VFX of Supergirl flying.  Flying may be my favorite visual effect to see on screen when it’s done well.  I love the exhilaration that I feel when watching it.  

4. The comic did a much better job of conveying the horror of Kara’s time in Argo City, but the film’s version was pretty good too.  

What I didn’t like

1. Krem was meh.  Boring villain.  At least the comic knew not to make him such a focus of the story.  And why would he carry the antidote as a necklace.  Bringing it back further, where did he even get the poison arrow from?  Didn’t his ship and all his belongings get blown up by Ruthye’s father at the beginning?

2. Lobo was completely unnecessary.  Jason Momoa did as good a job as he could have, but it’s a thankless role.  The only time I’ve ever liked him is when Garth Ennis wrote him

3. So when Ruthye brought Supergirl’s costume along, she brought the boots along as well?  Also, when did she find it again?  

4. Was the point at the end that Supergirl already killed people so it was okay for her to do it to Krem?  Her soul was already tainted with the burden of murder?

What this movie really accomplished was to inspire me to read the comic again, which I did today.  God, it’s so freaking good and beautiful to look at.  Run don’t walk to your local comic store and pick up a copy now.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

Persepolis

Borrowed from the library.

Persepolis

The first volume.  I gave this a shot after reading that Marjane Satrapi had passed away.  I’d heard all the praise and accolades for Persepolis, but it never really tickled my interest.  Turns out my instincts were right.  This didn’t work for me on either an emotional or artistic level.  I intellectually appreciate her sharing a world that I knew little about, but it didn’t reach me on any level. 

New comics

New comics!

Fantastic Four 13

No Humberto Ramos, but Andrea Sorrentino proves to be surprisingly adept at drawing the funny.  He draws a hilarious out-of-his-depth Johnny Storm, whose hare-brained Ghost Rider goes wonderfully awry.  One of Ryan North’s better FF issues.  

Supergirl: Survive 2

I said last issue that this could go in any number of directions.  I didn’t expect either the Rainbow Lantern Corps or the Lobo Bunch to show up, but I wholeheartedly approve the decision by Ethan S Parker and Griffin Sheridan.  It’s lots of fun and makes for a colorful issue, and I totally didn’t see the totally obvious turn on the last page.  Once again, anything can happen in the next issue, and I’m looking forward to it.  

Absolute Martian Manhunter 12

At the end of it all, do I regret buying all twelve issues of this?  Only the reread will tell, but I suspect yes.  Even Javier Rodriguez’s art isn’t enough, as the shine’s finally come off of that apple.  And Deniz Camp’s story stopped being enjoyable or even coherent about six issues ago.  I’m glad that I don’t have to debate whether or not to buy this anymore.

Batman 11

Like Tom Taylor’s Detective, Matt Fraction’s Batman is just good, clean, superhero fun.  Love The Ojo’s visual design.  (By Jorge Jimenez?)

100 Bullets: The US of Anger 1

Didn’t expect to ever see more 100 Bullets, but the original team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are back at it again.  I might be buying this just out of habit, but it’s still entertaining enough.

New comics

New comics!

Supergirl: Survive 1

An iFanboy recommendation.  What if Kara and Kal-El crashed on an alien planet moments after escaping Krypton’s destruction?  A good start by Ethan S Parker, Griffin Sheridan, and Rod Reis.  This can go in any number of directions.  

Doomquest 2

Doom Groundhog Days his way through the Titanic disaster.  Ryan North captures his voice perfectly.  A great issue, and next month looks to be just as fun.  (Doom is George Washington.)

Powers 25 10

More of the excellent same.

Battle Beast 10

Yessss.  More fighting!  That’s all the title needs.  None of that talking crap.

Flash 34

More Ryan North, and he’s definitely picking up his game on Flash.  There’s a delightful choose your own adventure two-page spread involving a massive gorilla invasion.  I still don’t quite buy the “flashes of insight” (intentional ugh), but North is barely managing to make it work.

Absolute Batman 21

Batman fights the Robins (sitting in massive mechs), Jim Gordon gets his funeral, and Jack Grimm (Absolute Joker) confronts Bruce Wayne.  I wish the fight was better (the Bane fight from a few months back really set high expectations), but this is still a darn good title.  At least, when Nick Dragotta’s drawing it.  

Detective Comics 1110

Man, can Mikel Janin draw.  His Black Canary is particularly good.  It’s a rare title where the artist eclipses the Tom Taylor writing, but this is one of them.  

Wonder Woman 34

Wonder Woman defeats the Matriarch in a very satisfying manner.  I really need to read this full Tom King run.

Absolute Wonder Woman 21

Sigh.  Dunno who Dillon Snook is, and while he doesn’t suck, he’s no Hayden Sherman.  I can’t help but read this wondering how it would have looked under his pen.

Movies

Stuff I’ve been watching

Masters of the Universe

I grew up loving He-Man, had a bunch of the action figures.  But they didn’t stay with me the way Transformers or GI Joe did. They went the way of the Silverhawks, Voltron, Thundercats, M.A.S.K., Robotix, and all the other brilliant toylines of the 80s.  I definitely have a fondness for the characters and the cartoon, but went into this with zero expectations.  

Things I liked:

• Nicholas Galitzine brought a wholesome dorkiness to Adam/He-Man that worked for me.  The character’s the straightman of the film, and he did as well as I could have hoped for.

• Camila Mendes was fine a Teela.  She never had much of a personality in the show beside “token female”, and again, she was perfectly acceptable.

• Jared Leto took a lot of media flak for his crazy-ass off-set behavior.  I haven’t kept up with any of it, but I can say that his Skeletor was delightful.  So over the top, he played the moustache-twirling villain to perfection.  (If a skull could have a moustache.)  No idea if he actual did the body acting (like Pedro Pascal doesn’t for Mandalorian), but I really hope he did.  

• Alison Brie’s even better as Evil-Lyn.  She’s not taking this seriously at all, she’s practically in a different movie.  I’m so here for it.  

• Love the way the filmmakers explained the cheesy character names.  (They were kid-Adam’s names for the heroes he grew up watching but never met.)  Heh.  Fisto.  Ram  Man.

• The recreation of the cartoon group laugh.  Classic.

• Dolph Lundgren cameo.  I never watched the 80s movie, but I still appreciated the nod.

• Orko was in this for just the right amount.

• The She-Ra scene.  Too bad it’ll never happen.

Things I didn’t like:

• Idris Elba plays Eternia Heimdall, and it’s tired.  Drunk past-his-prime hero struggling to regain the respect of his daughter was just done by David Harbour as Red Guardian.  It barely works there, it completely fails here.

• The movie’s way too long.  This should have stayed w/ the 80s vibe and kept it under 90 minutes.  

The movie didn’t reignite my love for the IP, but it didn’t ruin it either.  Couldn’t have expected much more.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

War Machine

Alan Ritchson jumps on to the Netflix action flick train.  It’s Predator with a massive alien robot.  There are some good action sequences, everyone else dies, and it ends with the potential for sequels.  Not a bad watch-while-working-out movie, but it doesn’t achieve anything beyond that.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Fine

Books and shows

Library book!

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

This was a Brandon Sanderson recommendation on an Insta algorithm reel.  (I’ve never read anything by Sanderson, but he’s pretty fun to listen to.)  

This is the geek version of a Lee Child Reacher novel.  Super readable, goes by in a flash, thoroughly enjoyable, almost certain to never be re-read.  I’ve got a hold on the next book at the library.  

Regret reading: No

Would read again: No

Would buy: No

Rating: Pretty good

Shows!

Rafa

Netflix documentary.  112-4 at the French Open.  It defies comprehension.  Anyway, this was a fun sidewatch while I worked out and played Slay the Spire.  (And I full-watched parts of it as well.)

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Nice

Shoresy

An Insta reel-inspired watch.  This is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.  Jared Keeso, who writes and stars in the show, has created something magical here.  As with the best comedies, it effortlessly mixes hilarity and heartfelt emotion.  Jacob Tierney, director of the first two seasons, isn’t afraid to let the show breathe with extended slo-mo takes that do nothing more than set the mood, accompanied by A-plus needle drops.  

The show is perfectly cast, I love everyone of these characters.  This requires a rewatch very very soon.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Pure joy

New comics

New comics!

Harley and Ivy 6

Horribly unclear fight with Clayface.  But Erica Henderson saves the issue with a cute final scene between the titular couple.  I’d read more.

Fantastic Four 12

One of the funniest endings to a comic that I’ve read in a long time, as Ryan North comes up w/ an explanation for the very real Roman dodecahedron mystery.  Loved it.  

Batman 1-10

I picked up the trade for the first six issues, and decided to add the title to my sub.  Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez are doing a fine job with the Dark Knight.  Fraction also writes a hilarious Alfred (albeit in ghostly hallucination form.  Boo.).  Can’t wait for Vandal Savage to get his comeuppance, no one deserves it more.  Well, Joffrey.  Jimenez’s Batman really channels Jim Lee.

Daredevil 2-3

I’m worried that I’m only buying this because of Lee Garbett’s awesome art;  The story’s fine, but nothing special.  It’s kind of like Tom Taylor’s run on Detective right now, with very run-of-the mill adventures.  Only Taylor’s better at folding in special moments.  Well, I’ll stick around for a while longer.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 2

Hrm.  Things are taking a turn for the worse.  Barbara’s getting drugged in jail, and I’m not finding the resultant story interesting at all.  OMG, is Mariko Tamaki going to disappoint me yet again?   Gaaah, I hope not.  

Absolute Catwoman 1

Well, it’s not a bad start, but it’s nothing more than a standard Elseworlds for now.  

Escape 1-6

An iFanboy recommendation.  (Let’s see how long this following sentence is going to be.)  An anthropomorphized bear (Maus-style) is a downed American bomber pilot in a bat-Nazi filled Germany-analog during World War II (or something exactly like it).  I’ll pick up the next trade for sure.

New comics

New comics!

Wonder Woman 33

Diana, Trinity, and Steve Trevor make their way through the Underworld to meet up with the Fates.  Tom King uses the journey to show once again why Wonder Woman’s such a badass while setting up a fight with Matriarch.  King’s not pushing any boundaries here, but it’s still a fun read.

Battle Beast 9

No fighting = No fun.  We’ll see how the fight w/ Conquest goes next issue, but I’m surprised at how little I want to keep reading this.  

Powers 25 9

Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Oeming keep on keeping on.  Nothing standout, but that doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.  

Fantastic Four 11

Meh.  After moaning about how he’s just the team bruiser, Ben Grimm writes an inspirational manifesto for the FF’s new Future Foundation.  Super meh.  And sadly, the Stan Sakai backup is just as forgettable.  A big letdown from the usually awesome Ryan North.  

Detective Comics 1109

So much nicer now that Mikel Janin’s back.  Tom Taylor also does a swell job showing why Ollie Queen has Batman’s respect.  He’s so good at that kind of moment.

Flash 33

Ryan North wraps up this so-so first arc, and now Wally can…see into the future?  We’ll see where this goes.  I’m not turned off yet, but I’m expecting this to get better.

Absolute Wonder Woman 20

Wonder Woman gets captured and tortured, and while it’s bad, what’s even worse is when she’s involuntarily rescued by Persephone, leading Minerva to think that Diana abandoned her.  Her soul-crushing sense of betrayal, as well as Diana’s horror at being trapped in Hades for six months, powerless to do anything, is heartbreaking.  There’s no way this ends well; Minerva’s likely going to be transformed into Cheetah, and she’s going to hate Wonder Woman for (unwillingly) leaving her to her fate.  Great work by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman, as usual.

Doomquest 1

Doom does Doom things, and gets trapped in time on the Titanic.  This is the Ryan North I love, and I can’t wait to read more.

Books

Some books I’ve read:

Jefferson: Art of Power by Jon Meacham

Man of Iron by Troy Senik

Continuing my quest to read a biography for every US President.  This covers Thomas Jefferson and Man of Iron.  It’s rare that I hit upon a bad biography, and the streak isn’t broken here.  I learned a lot, I was entertained, good times.  Looks like Monroe might be next for me.

Government of our Own by William C. Davis

I wanted to read about the actual government of the Confederacy, not just how it pertained to the fighting of the Civil War.  This book covers the founding of the nation, paralleling the Constitutional Convention of 1787.  It talks about how this new collection of founding fathers modified the existing Constitution to something that fit their (misguided) vision of a better country.  Like their predecessors, they were forced to compromise, fight, and scheme for every word.  I was fascinated by the whole process, and really enjoyed the read.  This is why I love books, learning in detail about something interesting that I previously knew nothing about.

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

A fleshed out account of the Iliad and Oresteia trilogy from the points of view of Elektra, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra.  Saint does a fine job of grounding all three characters and really delving in the motivations behind their actions.  I tried following it up with Saint’s Atalanta, but didn’t get very far.

World War 3.2 by John Birmingham

I tried so hard to like this.  Birmingham’s original Axis of Time trilogy is a super fun read.  But his followups have been massive disappointments, including this one.  Maybe he’s gotten self-indulgent with the self-publishing (he’s said this series is going to be stretched out to nine books.  Judging from the first two, he could do with some editing), or his writing method (using dictation software and AI support) has resulted in poorer results.  I’m not sure, but I know we’re 3 novellas and 2 novels in, and the best parts of the original trilogy, the actual battles and strategic execution of the war, have been reduced to a miniscule portion of the story.  It makes me sad, but I’m done buying this series.  

New comics

New comics from the past two weeks:

Absolute Martian Manhunter 11

This is where Deniz Camp completely loses me.  I’m done caring about the story, with an issue to go. Camp can do whatever he wants, I’m just going to look at Javier Rodriguez’s pretty art next month.

Fantastic Four 10

For someone so hyped up as the ultimate badass, Sue Richards the Invincible Woman sure goes down easy.  (As these knockdown-dragouts go.)  A bit of a letdown, but Bullseye shooting across the galaxy was frickin’ sweet.  

Absolute Batman 20

This issue’s a bit of a drag, as Batman confronts Scarecrow and discovers his entire origin story may have been manipulated into being from the very start.  Too much talking, but at least the fighting’s coming next issue w/ all of the Robins showing up.

Daredevil 1

I’ll always try something from Lee Garbett.  Luckily, Stephanie Philips keeps it interesting as well.  Matt starts a stint as a law professor at Empire State University, and immediately meets a sharp-tongued sure-to-be-a-love-interest antagonist.  Fun enough to add to my sub.

Voyeur 5

David Baldeon can draw, no question.  This is a beautiful comic.  It’s too bad Leah Williams’ heist is ultimately meh.  I’ll give Baldeon a look in the future, but probably wouldn’t buy a followup series of this.

Barbara Gordon: Breakout 1

Babs goes to Supermax prison in order to weed out rampant corruption.  I have no doubt she’ll be able to take care of herself, and look forward to what Mariko Tamaki comes up with.  Tamaki’s been underwhelming for a while now, but I’m still holding out hope for her. 

Mostly new comics

New comics!

Planet She-Hulk 6

This was cancelled earlier than writer Stephanie Phillips had planned for, and it shows.  She abruptly brings Jennifer Walters back to Earth in order to bring things back to a rough status quo ante before she leaves the title.  A sad ending to a title that started with a ton of promise and beautiful art, but completely fizzled at the end.

Truth 1

Batman and Wonder Woman team up in this Jeph Loeb/Jim Cheung one-shot.  I got it entirely for Cheung’s art, and it’s as lovely as I hoped for.  Loeb is definitely on the back half of his career, but the story is serviceable enough as cameo villains pop in at a regular tempo.  I’m pretty sure a drinking game devoted to every time a character says “truth” would render the participants unconscious in short order.  

From the library:

Duke 1-5

A fun start to the Energon Universe’s GI Joe branch, but I don’t regret not buying it. 

New comics

New comics!

Wonder Woman 32

Tom King returns to the parallel intertwined storytelling device that he employs so often.  Usually it works, but this time around it felt forced and unnecessary.  Sometimes I just want a straightforward story, is that so wrong?

Batwoman 2

Nope.  So done with this.  An unmitigated, uncharacteristic fail by Greg Rucka.

Battle Beast 8

Battle Beast returns to the fray, and it doesn’t disappoint.  The fight sequence with the regenerating sword is pretty sweet.  Like I said last time, this series needs Battle Beast fights to stay interesting.

Flash 32

Not bad, but I’m looking for a little more from Ryan North.  Hopefully he picks it up after he gets his feet wet with this first arc.

Detective Comics 1108

Is a Tom Taylor title worth buying if it’s perfectly fine?  I cut the cord with his Superman run, I wonder if I have the strength to do it with this.  It’s on my watch list.

Harley & Ivy 5

Erica Henderson is Pulling.  It.  Off. 

Absolute Batman 19

Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta introduce a bunch of new, exciting things: Absolute Scarecrow, Absolute Robins, and Jim Gordon dies!  After a less-than-stellar run w/ Absolute Poison Ivy, happy days look to be back again.  (As happy as things can be in Absolute Gotham.)

Powers 25 8

We get Kutter’s origin, and it’s not nearly as interesting as her partner’s.  Still not turning down Bendis/Oeming, though.  

Absolute Wonder Woman 19

Diana and Zatanna free Zatara and fight Giganta.  And before she can catch her breath, Diana jumps back into the fray against something called the Iron Maiden.  Speaking of breath, this Diana takes mine away.  

Spider-Man/Superman 1

Just about every single one of these stories would have been better if they showed the greatness of these icons instead of speechifying about what makes them so.  It gets really old really fast.  It’s a waste of some truly phenomenal creative teams.

Fine Print TPB 3

Stjepan Sejic is one of the best comic creators out there right now, yadda yadda yadda.  I will buy anything this dude puts out.  He doesn’t disappoint with this.  Can’t wait for whatever comes next.  (I think it’s more Sunstone.)

New comics

New comics!

DIE: Loaded 6

We meet the final member of the party, and the issue ends with a major plot twist.  This would probably be better all at once as a trade, but I like supporting the single issues.

Flash 31

Ryan North starts a new run.  It’s weird seeing Wally West as a dad. (It’s been a while since I’ve read this title…)  Gavin Guidry, whom I haven’t heard of before, has a touch of Cliff Chiang in him, which is never a bad thing.  As with Tom Taylor over on Detective, this issue harkens back to the old days where not every story arc had to be some epic, game-changing saga.  This is just the Flash being a hero with a basic villain, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  I expect North is only going to up his game from here.

Resurrection Man: Quantum Karma 1-6

I’m slowly picking up anything from Ram V that looks interesting to me.  This is done in conjunction w/ artist Anand RK.  Like his recent New Gods, this is a cosmic saga, dreamlike in its tone, and slightly nonsensical.  But it’s beautifully crafted and I very much enjoyed the experience of reading it.  The time loop at the end felt a little too obvious, though.

New comics

New comics!

Detective Comics 1107

It’s odd when Tom Taylor is strictly average, but that’s really been the story of his run on Detective.  On the plus side, though, Pete Woods does a surprisingly good job filling in for Mike Janin, which I would never have believed possible given my exposure to his previous work.  

And who the hell is Prion?

Fantastic Four 9

The Invincible Woman kicks the crap out of the FF, and Ryan North has written himself into a corner w/ a villain who really shouldn’t ever lose.  She’s going to have to lose via personality flaw, like Thanos whenever he gets his hands on a cosmic artifact.

Absolute Martian Manhunter 10

Good to know this is ending after issue 12, or else I’d probably cut it soon; no matter how gorgeous Javier Rodriguez’s psychedelic art is, the Deniz Camp story is finally wearing out its welcome.

Superman/Spider-Man 1

More good than bad in this DC/Marvel crossover.  Enough that I don’t regret picking it up.

Absolute Wonder Woman 18

May Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman stay on this title forever.  There’s no end to how much I love this series.

New comics

New comics!

Powers 25 7

More build up.  Not as good as previous issues, but Bendis keeps it interesting.

Batwoman 1

I had to see what Greg Rucka would bring in his return to Kathy Kane.  Unfortunately, he also brought her mad sister Alice, who I’ve never been a fan of.  She’s like an evil manic pixie dream girl, or a dark Delirium from Sandman.  Not a fun read.  The art by Dani isn’t appealing either.  However, Rucka does turn the tide with an epic final page, which buys him another issue.  But he’s on a super short leash with me.

Planet She-Hulk 5

One of the few times where a title getting cancelled means I’ll actually stick around.  With only one issue to go, I might as well see how Stephanie Phillips finishes up this truncated series.

Wonder Woman 31

The Matriarch, Tom King’s attempt at a new Wonder Woman nemesis, finally takes center stage.  It’s typical King with flashbacks, narrating from the future, and plenty of unresolved mysteries.  Not the worst start.

Battle Beast 7

The title returns from hiatus, and it reveals the problem with this series: Battle Beast is sidelined w/ injury for most of the issue, and none of the other characters can carry the story.  No one’s likeable or entertaining enough, and that led to an empty reading experience.  (Heck, Battle Beast has barely zero personality himself, but at least his fights are fun to look at.)  Maybe this title doesn’t have the staying power I thought it did.

New comics

New comics!

Harley and Ivy 4

Harley and Ivy deal with the aftermath of their first hookup as they flee from the cops.  Fun and character-driven, Erica Henderson continues to do a good job here.

Absolute Batman 18

My guess was wrong, Poison Ivy is still Pamela Isley, not her mother.  Not the strongest of Absolute Batman arcs.  Eric Canete isn’t a bad artist, but he’s a far cry from Nic Dragotta.

DIE: Loaded 5

Kieron Gillen loses me with tons of nonsensical exposition.  The logic of the magic confused me to no end.  I hope this is an outlier.

Marvel Team-Up 14

A reprint of an Invincible/Spider-Man team-up that I had no idea existed.  Robert Kirkman does this with Cory Walker, and it’s as fun as I expected.

Absolute Superman 17

Superman beats the Parasite with the power of positive thinking.  I know this is Superman’s jam, but it didn’t work for me at all.  This is it, I’m cancelling this sub.  Jason Aaron had a number of good moments, but it’s not enough.  I never look forward to reading this.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites of Spring 6

Sam literally burns the town to the ground and moves on to fresh hunting grounds.  Gotta respect her scorched earth policy, I’ve never seen it taken this far.  It’s pretty thrilling to read.  I’d happily take more of these miniseries from Patrick Horvath.  Or whatever else he wants to create.

DC:KO 5

This series just got worse and worse as the number of individual fights got lower and lower and the interesting matchups went down.  It hits the nadir here as Superman takes on Darkseid with the power of love or some nonsense like that.  (Second time this week!)  It’s boring, stupid, and a complete insult.  Didn’t think Scott Snyder could write something so bad.