DC Comics' commitment to diversity.

DC Comics has been getting a lot of bad press lately. Mostly because of things like this:

A female fan told Didio that she counted and out of the twenty-eight solo character titles only six were women and only two were not connected to older male superheroes. “How do you justify calling that diversity?” the fan asked as the audience cheered. Didio told her it was an industry problem and then dodged the question, calling on the next fan.

DiDio then asked, "what would we have to do to change your mind?" The suggestion "Hire women!" got loud applause. When the fan asked why the rate of women in credits had gone from 12% to 1%, DiDio pressed him for names of who DC should hire. The fan's suggestion was "Valentine" writer Alex De Campi, and other suggested Nicola Scott.

A fan dressed as Batgirl who had been at every DC panel over the weekend asked whether the publisher was committed to hiring more women. Didio said that they were working to put the best talent possible on the books. Morrison asked, "Do more women want to write DC superheroes?" and when many female fans responded "Yes!" he simply added "Then send your stuff in."

Items like these have prompted DC to post this response on their official blog.

I understand that people want to see more female creators in the comic industry, especially the big publishers (Marvel and DC). And I think it's great that DC actually seems interested in trying to get more female creators in their ranks. The big, burning question I have is: Why is no one demanding the same of Marvel? Marvel has very few female creators in their regular ranks, yet no one is making a big deal about that fact.

Why? Is it because Marvel has fewer recognizable female characters? Is it because Marvel's female characters tend to be parts of groups, and very rarely have their own running series? Even if that is the case, there is no reason why female creators can't work on a series starring a man or a group. The female characters = female creators logic that is being thrown about is just absurd.

I'm all for female equality in every form. I truly believe that there should be more focus on female characters, and I believe that there should be more female creators in the industry. What I don't understand is why no one has confronted Marvel about their "commitment to diversity." Marvel has some truly great female characters (Storm, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Nico Minoru), yet none of them have their own solo books at the moment.

And while we're at it, where are all the gay characters? DC's doing an okay job in that respect (Batwoman, Midnighter, Apollo).

The final quote above, from Grant Morrison ("Do more women want to write DC Superheroes? Then send your stuff in.") is a little unfair, considering "DC Comics does not accept unsolicited artwork or writing submissions." (Link)

Comics Reviews: Week of July 27th, 2011

A bit of foreword: This is the first venture of a new weekly column wherein I read and summarize/review the comics that I get every week. Since this is the first time I've done this, it'll probably need a lot of work. These reviews will be mostly spoiler-free and quick. Many stories will be re-read and re-reviewed in trade format (sometimes it's easier to understand the entire story when you can read it all at once).

I don't buy comics in a timely manner, so some of the books may not have been released the week of the review. And yes, there is a large focus on DC Comics at the moment. But I do stray. If you have any suggestions of titles, I'd love to hear them.

Now, let's get started!

For reviews of Wonder Woman related comics from July 27th, 2011, check out Champion of Themyscira, my Wonder Woman blog. Two issues were reviewed: Wonder Woman #613 and Retroactive: Wonder Woman - The 1970s.

Zatanna #15
Written by Derek Fridolfs
Art by Jamal Igle (pencils), John Dell (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Pat Brosseau (letters), and Adam Hughes (cover)
Witch Hunt
Released July 27th, 2011
DC Comics
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Zatanna's voice is taken out of commission*, and she must rely on her wits and non-magical training in order to take out a group of Hunters (people who hunt and destroy "Warlocks, vampir, werebeasts, sasquatchen" and witches).

It is pretty fantastic to see Zatanna not rely on her magic and still manage to kick ass. I've always felt that Zatanna was an oft-overlooked character in the DC Universe (they tend not to focus on the magical aspects of their universe). But this Zatanna solo series has never disappointed me. While the writers and artists have changed, the quality of this series has never dropped. Fridolfs' writing is clever and the story is engaging. Igle's art truly captures the magic of Zatanna. It's nice to have a book that is so consistently good that you never worry about picking up an issue. This series will be sorely missed when it ends next month. Hopefully, the DC higher ups will find a place for a new Zatanna solo book.

* For those not familiar with Zatanna's power base, she tends to cast spells by saying phrases backwards. It has been shown that she is able to perform some minor magic without the help of her voice.

Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance #02
Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Art by Gianluca Gugliotta (pencils, inks), Hi-Fi (colors), Dave Sharpe (letters), Eddie Nunez, Sandra Hope, and Hi-Fi (cover)
Live and Exclusive
DC Comics
Released July 27th, 2011
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I'm not reading all of Flashpoint. In all honesty, I don't care about most of what is going on. The two things I do care about are the Amazon v. Atlantean war and all of its ramifications, and the magical aspects of the DCU. Flashpoint: Lois Lane and the Resistance takes place behind the Amazon's lines. In issue one, we saw how Lois came to be in the position she was in, as a woman taken hostage by the Amazons. In issue two, we meet up with the Resistance. This group, including Grifter, Canterbury Cricket, Godiva, The Demon Etrigan, and Hyde, fight through a contingent of Female Furies (from New Themyscira, not from Apokolips). Both the Amazons and the Resistance are looking for the Royal Navy's prototype technopathic Britannia weapon suit. The Resistance discover the location of the suit; however, before they make it, one of their own turns them in to the Amazons.

I really enjoy Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's writing. They balance all the elements of the story very nicely, without making it seem dull or overly serious. It takes a talented writer (or team) to pull off making jokes during serious moments. The art is, for the most part, very beautiful. It has a very painted feel to it. My biggest complaint with the art was the outfits the Amazonian Furies were in. When we see them briefly in Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #02, they are clothed in their normal costumes. In this issue, they are far more scantily clad (except Hawkgirl and Artemis), with many of them barely wearing a small piece of fabric. I don't know if that was the choice of Gugliotta or the editors. Either way, it was distracting and unnecessary. Also, there is a scene in flashback where you seem Amazons descending on Trafalgar Square. And they're doing it literally, descending. None of the Amazons, other than Diana, have ever had the ability to fly. Yet here they are, flying. I do not understand, and there is no explanation.

I did enjoy getting to see two of my favorite characters in a minor cameo. Kate Kane (Batwoman) and Zinda Blake (Lady Blackhawk) appear in Grifter's flashback about the first time he met Penny Black.

While I found this issue enjoyable, I am very glad there is only one more issue of this series (and many of the Flashpoint series). Honestly, the more of Flashpoint I read, the more excited I am about the New 52 coming in August/September.


More reviews coming soon!

Marvel Comics...?

I just looked through the Marvel Comics solicitations for October, and I was reminded of something. I can't remember the last time I was excited for a Marvel book. It was probably while Joss Whedon was on Astonishing X-Men or Runaways. Or possibly the Cosmic books, pre-War of Kings.

There were only two items in the solicits that I will definitely buy. The Dr. Strange Strange Tales TPB and Annihilators: Earthfall #2 (the last vestiges of Marvel's cosmic universe).

I'll read Astonishing X-Men #43, since it's a done-in-one story dealing with something set up during Joss Whedon's run. But this book has steadily dropped readability since the end of Joss' run. Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi were great choices to take over after Joss and John Cassaday left. And Phil Jiminez was an understandable choice once Simone Bianchi left. But Daniel Way? Hardly a name that'll draw people to the book. He's certainly been prolific, and not a lot else.

I'll also read X-Men: Schism, Uncanny X-Men, and Wolverine and the X-Men, but I doubt I'll enjoy any of them. For the past few years, I've been reading X-Men, and then immediately forgetting them as soon as I put the book down. Remember when the X-Men were awesome? Yeah, so do I.


What happened to Marvel? I remember when they were a majority of my pulls every week. I guess it's event fatigue. Every time I turn around, they have another event happening. House of M (which was great) to Civil War (which was good) to Secret Invasion (which was an interesting concept but only mediocre in execution) to Dark Reign (no) to Siege (that was a thing, right?) to Fear Itself (hammers for EVERYONE!!). They totally destroyed my favorite Marvel series before canceling it (Runaways). They canceled two series that I always enjoyed (Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk). Where has Doctor Strange been? And the cosmic stories? They had been amazing, and now....it's like they've forgotten things happen in space.

Most importantly (to me), marrying Storm to T'Challa was not something that ever bugged me. But when they took the marriage as an excuse to almost never have Storm anywhere, I was bugged. MORE STORM!

/rant

The Buffyverse

Buffy Season 09 comics are set to start in August, and this time we're getting two comic series.

August 31st will see the first issue of Angel and Faith, written by Christos Gage with art by Rebekah Issacs.


I've been trying very hard to avoid spoilers for any of the Buffy related comics, but I was very curious about two things. Is Angel and Faith a team-up book, or just a place to share both of their stories? And, how important will the Angel comics from IDW be in this new series? Judging from some of the initial artwork released, team-ups will not be out of the question. Scott Allie, editor of the Dark Horse Buffy line, has said "All the Angel IDW comics count, but they aren't gonna spend time nitpicking with the details," whatever that means. I may actually need to go try to read the Angel comics, which had bored me last time I tried to read them.

I am not greatly familiar with Christos Gage or Rebekah Issacs, so I have no pre-existing bias towards or against either of them. That's great for a series based on my favorite television show.

The same cannot be said for Georges Jeanty. I read all of season eight of Buffy, and I've seen his artwork elsewhere, and I think it is terrible. Okay, maybe not terrible, but very ill-suited to Buffy. The way he draws faces makes me wonder if he's ever seen another human being. Most of the time. Sometimes, he surprises me, and I'm hoping season nine will be full of good-art surprises.


What doesn't surprise me is that Jo Chen is back on covers. Her work has been nothing short of spectacular.

The first Buffy story arc is written by Joss Whedon and Andrew Chambliss. I didn't think that I was familiar, since his name is usually followed by The Vampire Diaries, a show I haven't watched. But he's written for another Joss Whedon project, Dollhouse (which I absolutely love, despite the bad press). I will be very interested to see how he works in the Buffyverse.

Actually, I'm just really interested to see where the Buffyverse is going. Season eight was pretty disappointing (especially towards the end). Hopefully this season will be more like what we all know and love from Buffy.

Both of these series are set to run for 25 issues (50 glorious issues!). While both of these series will compliment each other, neither is necessary to understanding the other. So, if you only like Angel and hate Buffy, you can ignore Buffy season nine, apparently. Though, why would you?

Angel and Faith #1 comes out August 31st (the same day as DC's new Justice League of America #1). Buffy Season Nine #1 is scheduled for September 14th (the same day that Batwoman's solo series finally starts).

New Intent? And Wonder Woman, Pantless!

I need somewhere to share my thoughts about the happenings in the comic book world, and I think people are sick of it on my Facebook. Then I remembered I have this blog!

Perhaps discussing comic related news and information will make me more likely to return to reviewing comics. We'll have to see.

For now, I start with a comment.

DC. Do you know how a costume becomes iconic? It starts with not changing your mind about it every year. Sure, people didn't like Wonder Woman with the pants. But you know what? It worked. She was far more believable as a warrior and as a woman. How many women do you know that would go to battle, or anywhere other than the beach, in the outfit you have Wonder Woman in? You shouldn't have backed down on the pants. People would warm up to them. And given time, it could have become more iconic than the bathing suit.


This is the originally solicited image for the cover of Wonder Woman #1 after DC's big reset (or whatever). Art by Cliff Chang. I wasn't terribly fond of this take on the outfit, but I was glad that she was still wearing the pants. However, when official preview artwork started making it's way out, we were treated to a much different image.


Why did they change their mind? It's probably because "fans" hated the new costume, hated their "beloved" character wearing PANTS! "Wonder Woman would never wear pants!" [Actual quote from a CBR forum member]. Wait, what? She'd never wear pants?

The truth is, the people in charge of DC Comics have never known what to do with the character of Wonder Woman. And this is just another example of them worrying more about what she looks about than telling good stories.

Sometimes, DC makes it really difficult to be a Wonder Woman fan (though I will never give up on her).

New Blog!

I have just started yet another blog, Champion of Themyscira! This blog will focus solely on Wonder Woman and her life and adventures. She is my favorite comic book character, but I have only read a small portion of her stories. I will be reading and reviewing every issue of her solo series, as well as Sensation Comics and other appearances. I'll also post news, articles, previews, and other information about Wonder Woman there, as well as reviewing anything I read with her in it.

As such, I have moved my Wonder Woman related posts from this blog to the other blog. All the non-Wonder Woman news and reviews will still stay right here!