As you probably know, I’m not really a fan of DC Women Kicking Ass. I think Sue cherry picks issues in comics to pander to her fans and to get people riled up and hating comics for nothing. In my opinion, it’s a site that is no different than any other fan site that complains about comics, but it just so happens that because its focus is on women in comics, that somehow the complaining on that site is somehow more just and noble than others. It is worth noting, however, that the site has lately been comprised largely of fan polls about women. Whether this is indicative of the industry getting better (HA! I know, I thought that was funny too), or whether these polls are simply to generate more users to stroke Sue’s ego for site visits is up for debate (it’s the second one, I’m sure of it). Whatever the reason, it’s become a slightly more positive atmosphere which is always great, in my opinion. Furthermore, she has started a second tumblr that is comprised of nothing but positive moments of women in comics and I absolutely love it.

Now, normally, I don’t agree with DCWKA on much of anything, but she recently posted the solicitation for Superman #9 and it made my skin crawl. 

SUPERMAN #9
Written by KEITH GIFFEN and DAN JURGENS
Art by DAN JURGENS and JESUS MERINO
Cover by IVAN REIS and OCLAIR ALBERT
1:25 B&W Variant cover by IVAN REIS
On sale MAY23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• SUPERMAN faces new supervillainess MASOCHIST!
• How can Superman fight an opponent he can’t touch?
• LOIS LANE faces a turning point in her career as a journalist.

Superman is squaring off against a female villain who likes to be hurt.

I don’t even know where to begin with this one, but I guess the best place to start is to change the gender. If it were a man that wanted to be hurt, then the comic would be going into some BDSM territory which isn’t really appropriate for an all-ages comic. One can almost picture how off-putting it would be to see another man enjoy being hit by Superman. But you know what? Hitting a woman and having her enjoy it is worse.

Worse yet is the t-shirt reading “Hurt Me.” I get that this is part of her costume, but it just invites an unhealthy image of a woman begging to be harmed. I keep typing a follow-up sentence trying to explain why this is wrong, but I keep backspacing because it seems evident to me.

Gender aside, while the idea of a villain who likes to be hurt is a seemingly interesting one (but one can’t help but hear “Watchmen did it!” in a South Park voice), it just can’t work in a Superman comic. It just sort of seems beneath him. Actually, all of the villains in the relaunch of Superman seem kind of beneath him.

Yeah, that's what I want to read - Superman fighting fire, wind, and rock monsters. What is this? Power Rangers?

The first six issues feature Superman fighting Kryptonian elementals or something and then issues 7 and 8 have him battling a WildCATS villain, and then he has to fight a woman who wants to be fought?

THIS is what Superman is doing in the New 52?

Fortunately, Morrison’s Action Comics has been doing everything it can to elevate DC’s most recognizable hero to a higher status, but when Superman is so lackluster, then what’s the point?

If All-Star Superman has taught us anything, it’s that Superman works best when he is battling beings that are impossible to comprehend. His stories only really work when they are modern mythology. It’s when he is elevated to the role of savior that he works best and that simply doesn’t work when he is hitting a woman with “Hurt Me” on her shirt.

Comparing Superman’s villains to the other parts of the DCU and it’s clear that Perez has been outclassed so far:

The Court of Owls will be a dominant force across the Bat-titles in May.

Nobody has been frightening in Batman and Robin.

The Rot has been horrific in Swamp Thing and Animal Man.

Stormwatch is facing villains as a team that Superman should be facing alone.

Aquaman has these really creepy creatures from the Trench that gave me chills.

I mean, Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE is a comic that packs in more wild ideas in a single issues than Superman has in six.

And Superman battles the elements . . . and a WildCATS villain . . . and then the poster child for why we need feminist voices talking about comics.

If this Masochist comic were in any other book, it could be simply written off as an offensive, bad idea, but one that was due to poor experimentation on the part of a writer.

But, this is SUPERMAN. This should be the comic by which all other comics are measured by. There should be a clear focus for the title and objectives to be reached to get to that focus. It shouldn’t feel like Superman is battling whatever stupid idea they’ve come up with next.

Ugh, I’m rambling now. I wish I could find my footing again to get back to writing witty things. Give me some time, dear readers.

For some time now, I haven’t been pleased with the way the media portrays comic book fans. Big Bang Theory is a prime example of how the public views nerds; we’re awkward, unfashionable, clueless, and so wrapped up  in our own world that we don’t notice anything around us. So, if anyone out there thought Kevin Smith’s Comic Book Men would subvert the stereotype (and I don’t really think anyone did, but I could be wrong), then all of those hopes were destroyed with tonight’s premiere of Comic Book Men.

I could go into detail as to why it was so difficult to watch, but Ethan Van Sciver has already  said it best:

So I just watched the premiere of the awful Kevin Smith reality show “Comic Book Men.” I thoroughly hated it and found it insulting in every possible way. But the worst thing about it is that is displayed no love, no real interest, and no information about our beloved hobby. Weirdos pretended to want to sell things, and they were either lied to about their object’s great value, (Bob Kane sketch) or they were lowballed and balked. But it was all very phony, and not at all funny or interesting. What came across is that comic collecting is a dying hobby in which nobody is buying and everyone is selling. Thanks, Kevin Smith.

Ugh. At least Walt Flanagan has a fast dog.

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted to Popgun Chaos and for that, I’m sorry, dear readers. I actually intended on coming back at the beginning of the year, but my extended break became an even more extended break. Let me say for the record that I have missed you all dearly and I’ve just really missed the whole process of writing columns. I look back at older posts and think to myself, “Did I write that?”  because I seem to have lost my writing voice and it has hurt a little.

I don’t really like to get personal on Popgun Chaos because I don’t want this to be an over-glorified blog about my life (I’d rather it be an over-glorified blog about my reflections on pop culture), so long story short, I started a new job and it has taken up a lot of time that has kept me from this site. Furthermore, after looking back over my year of Popgun Chaos, I started to realize that I hadn’t really written anything of creative substance and I needed those projects in order to fulfill myself.

Now, I’ve got a few creative things cooking and I’m sure I’ll be announcing them as they come along, but today, I’ve got something more important on my mind: the state of education.

If you’ve been on Yahoo at all today, you’ve no doubt noticed one of their top stories with the headline “Student’s third year book photo rejected.” If you haven’t noticed the headline, then good for you and I’m sorry for having brought it to your attention. Apparently, a teen by the name of Sydney Spies (a Bond villain if I ever heard one) has submitted three photos to her high school yearbook and all three have been rejected because they were deemed “inappropriate.” So, the school opted to go with her student I.D. and she is furious.

She has also been on the Today Show and some other news organizations. This one is my favorite:

The result, of course, is a Facebook group that is far more popular than it has any business in being.

And, another of course, an anti-group that isn’t nearly as popular because it advocates for common sense.

The problems with Sydney Spies are three-fold:

1) Though she claims that they are limiting her freedom of expression, it’s a school’s prerogative to put out an inoffensive yearbook. In a sense, they are creating a product that many people are contributing to and that many will purchase, so it is their duty to make one that is inoffensive.

It’s really no different than if an editor for an anthology of essays were to edit another’s work. The writer is beholden to the editor because the editor is the one in charge and has to ensure quality of product.

The school is further in the right because she missed the deadline for a school appropriate picture, so she is stuck with the results.

2)  This sense of entitlement that students have is abhorrent and a result of the culture they have been raised in. Remember in the 90′s when people were lawsuit happy? Well, unfortunately, those people had kids and raised them to be just as entitled. Sydney Spies is a perfect example of this.

3) Finally, and more importantly than the other two reasons, the Sydney Spies incident isn’t really about education at all, but rather, a hungry media that can only be satisfied by creating celebrities out of the mundane. Students wanting to do something that a school won’t let them do isn’t anything new, but when it involves a girl who wants to dress inappropriately (please note that I am being as polite as possible and not using any of the words that immediately come to mind because I’m trying to be on my best behavior), the news has to grasp the story and use it for all its worth.

Keep in mind, I’m not really blaming Sydney with this last comment. In a way, she is a victim, but rather than her being a victim of the school like she wants to be portrayed, she is a victim in a long line of people who have been elevated to a celebrity status for doing literally nothing.

One can almost imagine the meeting that occurred when various news organizations picked up the story. “Have you heard about this story out of Colorado? A high school won’t publish a picture of a scantily clad girl in their yearbook.”

“I don’t know if we should run that, Tom. I mean, what makes it newsworthy?”

“Did I mention that she was scantily-clad?”

“Yes.”

“Did I further mention that she is 18?”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO?! STOP THE PRESSES!”

It’s strange to think that our world has reached a point when 15 minutes of fame is almost too long. We’ve reached a point now that our world is so fast that even 15 minutes of fame is too long. Youtube has put us at a point where 5 minutes of fame is all that people get and deserve now.

For further evidence of this, watch the documentary Damn!: Is the price of fame too high? It’s on Netflix instant and it’s about the “Rent is too damn high” party, but more importantly, it’s about how the media uses people for their own entertainment.

Ignoring the fact that there are plenty of important political and social issues that the news should be covering in depth, there are so many students out there across this nation that are incredible writers, or brilliant in science and math, or talented in music or art, and none of these students are EVER discussed on the news for their accomplishments and it sickens me that those kids who have developed their minds are ignored while the story of Sydney Spies is covered by the Today Show and on Yahoo news. The news isn’t supposed to be entertainment, but that is what the news has become. Not content with reporting on facts and things of importance, the news has to keep us from questioning the world around us by entertaining us with “controversial” stories that wouldn’t have made the local paper 20 years ago.

Seriously, I’m disgusted.

It’s great to be back, folks!

I can’t explain it, but I like Ryan Gosling.

It’s strange because I can’t really name any movies that he’s been in that I love other than Lars and the Real Girl and I had to go to his IMDB page to remind myself of movies that he’s been in and even then I can’t authentically say that I’ve watched a lot of films starring him. Still, my inexplicable love for Ryan Gosling abides.

Furthermore, I’m not really a fan of car chase movies. I watched 2 Fast 2 Furious in theaters because I was working at the Bolivar Cinema Four at the time and had access to free movies and even though it was free, I hated it. I watched Tokyo Drift with Sam because we were in the mood to watch cars do cool things, but outside of those two movies, I don’t watch car chase movies because they don’t interest me.

So, when I saw Ryan Gosling (an actor who I like for no other reason than he was in Lars and the Real Girl) in the trailer for Drive (a genre film that I have no interest in), it puzzled me when I realized that I wanted to watch the movie.

How does it measure up?

Well, it’s a movie that’s as puzzling as my desire to watch it.

Going into the movie, I was prepared to turn my brain off and watch pretty cars do cool things. I went into the film simply wanting to be entertained and without any expectations for anything more.

And at first, I was sorely disappointed.

The first driving scene takes place almost entirely inside the car itself. The camera stays on Gosling’s face as he is determined to shake the cops. While most car chase movies rely upon heavily stylized muscle cars to get the viewer’s attention, Gosling is driving a Chevy Impala because it’s the most popular car in California which means it will be much easier for him to lose the cops than Vin Diesel in whatever car he drives that makes all the car nerds drool.

At the time, I felt a little cheated that the movie was devoid of fast-paced, exhilarating chase scenes, but in retrospect, I realize that the film is absolutely brilliant in the ways that it completely and totally subverts the genre.

Drive effortlessly is the opposite of The Fast and the Furious in absolutely every way possible:

Where F&F glamorizes crime, Drive shows that there are consequences for our actions.

While the violence in F&F is cartoonish, Drive portrays violent acts as frightening and horrific.

Vin Diesel drives to Ludacris and Limp Bizkit. Ryan Gosling drives to a stylish, 80′s synth-pop pastiche.

Eva Mendes is a sex goddess. Carey Mulligan is cute and seems to be a good mom. Sex doesn’t even enter the film’s vocabulary. Even television’s reigning queen of all things sexy, Christina Hendricks isn’t glamorized as being just a great body.

This film isn’t interested in Id. It’s interested in looking at all of the conventional ideas present in car chase films and noting their inherent flaws.

In a sense, one could make the argument that the film is a satire – a dark, brooding, black satire, but satire nonetheless.

It’s strange, but for some reason, this movie reminds me of my old friend, Jared Lee. When we were kids, Jared would take his old toys into his dad’s workshop and he would take them apart. Vice grips, pliers, axes – he would uses anything and everything to destroy his old toys and then he’d reconfigure the pieces into his own twisted creations.

This film is much the same way. It smashes the genre into teeny tiny pieces and reconstructs what is left into something dark and twisted until the audience looks back at what it was made of and either admires what is new or regrets the loss of the old. For my money, I’d take this film any day of the week.

Go see this movie. It starts slow, but it’s supposed to because it is the antithesis of the standard car chase movie without being self-aware or parody. This film is wonderful, perfect and absolutely worth checking out, so get out there and do it already!

If Ultimate Comics: Avengers was a departure from Millar’s previous Ultimates work, then its sequel goes completely off the rails. Gone are the themes of political allegory (ironic considering the villain of this volume is the vice president), celebrity, and the self-perpetuating super-hero. Instead, these ideas are replaced with an action-packed tour-de-force with little room for subtext.

This is Millar at his most action-packed and over-the-top nature. This is what happens when he lets loose. 

The first issue begins with page after page after page of the Punisher killing a lot of crime lords. Though the nature of his killings aren’t as graphic as say, Garth Ennis’s Punisher, the body count is absolutely absurd and it isn’t until Punisher is taken down by Captain America in disguise that the reader realizes just how much of the page count has been dedicated to these killings.

He’s taken into custody by Fury where it is revealed that Punisher will be the Captain America for the Black Ops team. Fury mentions that he’s dressed in a costume that looks part Cap/part Punisher so the public won’t recognize that a known sociopath works for the government. This begs the question: If they are a Black Ops team, why would the public ever know they even existed? Furthermore, how would his bright costume make their team “Black Ops”? And finally, even if we can get past these two logical missteps, and they needed to mask the Punisher, then why did they make the Captain America costume look like the Punisher’s costume? Wouldn’t the public just recognize him as the Punisher, but a slightly more patriotic Punisher?

Punisher being all "black ops" and "inconspicuous"

None of these questions are meant to matter, however. In this one issue, Millar has set the tone and shown that it is completely different than his initial run on the Ultimates. Where his original ideas were centered around a realistic look at super-heroes, this volume is so unapologetically absurd that the reader has to simply accept this and move along.

In the second issue, the Avengers team heads off to South America to recruit Tyrone Cash.

Cash was formally known as Leonard Williams and we learn that not only was he Bruce Banner’s mentor, but he was also the first Hulk. While he super strong and invulnerable, he still maintains his intelligence and he doesn’t like as monstrous as the Hulk.

Cash has killed mob bosses in South America and has taken over. War Machine tries to recruit him and (of course) the two fight it  out until War Machine makes it clear that they aren’t going to arrest him. Cash then agrees to join.

Gee, I wonder which one is the Hulk's mentor?

Back at their home base, Fury establishes that the Black Ops team are known as the Avengers and they are a death squad not at all like the very public Ultimates team. They have orders from the White House to take down Ghost Rider.

The introduction of Tyrone Cash is an interesting retcon that takes away from what makes Bruce Banner special. Banner has always been presented as being brilliant, yet Cash not only has a Hulk formula, but it is actually a better made formula than Banner’s. Still, he has some emotional depth as he joins the team because War Machine has threatened to reveal to Cash’s wife and child that he is still alive. Not wanting to torment them emotionally, Cash agrees to join the team.

In the third issue, it’s revealed that Ghost Rider is murdering rich people and the Avengers must murder him. Frank doesn’t want to because he doesn’t care about rich people (even though his character typically hates murder in general, so one would think he would be interested in stopping Ghost Rider, but it’s just a story excuse to show the new electroshocks the team will use to keep him in line).

It turns out that the Ghost Rider seems to be targeting the White House Biker Corps – a group of rich men who do charity bike rides. They protect one target and the Ghost Rider suddenly appears in order to kill him.

In a strange aside, a man sits doing a crossword puzzle in Chicago O’Hare airport.

Issue four is their battle with Ghost Rider. The Punisher attacks Ghost Rider and in their battle, Ghost Rider whispers something to him and disappears after killing his target.

Meanwhile, the strange man is still doing his crossword puzzle.

In an attempt to locate Ghost Rider’s next target, the team turns to the Spider to provide them with psychic intel. Carol Danvers was unaware that he was psychic and Gregory Stark says, “Of course he’s psychic He’s the love child of Spider-man and Charles Xavier back from the future with a warning for humanity.”

Danvers replies “Seriously?” and Gregory laughs saying, “Unbelievable. She really is as stupid as you said she was, Nick.”

The Spider agrees to give Widow the information she needs, but first he wants to know about why she split from Nick. Turns out he slept with every woman in her life and she still loves him.

Satisfied, the Spider explains that Johnny Blaze and his girlfriend were killed by a biker gang in a deal with Satan. The gang sacrificed Blaze and his girlfriend so they would have power, but Blaze made a deal with the devil (who happens to be the mysterious man doing crossword puzzles at Chicago O’Hare airport) to be an agent of vengeance if Satan would allow his girlfriend to live and be happy.

And on the final page, the leader of the gang is revealed to be the vice president.

If all of this seems absurd and bizarre, that’s because it is. At one time, Millar’s characterization of the Ultimates was subtle and interesting, but with this volume, it appears as if the author is simply throwing  out ideas and seeing what sticks. His use of the Spider in a Hannibal Lecter role is odd and confusing given that the character only appeared once in the previous volume and is never seen again after this.

And the information that the Widow gives about her marriage with Fury is completely superfluous and unnecessary. The two characters barely interact with one another and never in a meaningful way. In fact, NONE of the characters interact in ANY meaningful way at all which is interesting given how powerful Millar was able to craft their interactions in the initial series. There was a genuine relationship between Cap and Wasp. There was friendship between Cap, Tony, and Thor. There was hatred and animosity towards Banner. Hank Pym’s obsession with fame was captured perfectly into the metaphor of Giant Man and Ant Man.

These characters were perfectly written and to compare them to the team of the Avengers is just a stunning contrast and a perfect example of how disinterested Millar had become with metaphor at this point in his career.

The inclusion of the vice president as the central villain is a further contrast between his initial run and his return. Where the first two volumes of The Ultimates featured real-life celebrities and politicians making appearances, this one uses a fictional vice-president as its villain. George W. Bush was appearing at Captain America’s unveiling and Larry King was chatting with Tony Stark, and now fictional Vice President Blacktorne was part of a Satanic cult. The contrast is absolutely unsettling to fans of the original series.

In issue five, the Vice-President is transformed into a creature like Ghost Rider and he battles the Avengers. In the end, the real Ghost Rider appears.

Issue six is the battle between the Vice-President and Ghost Rider. Punisher shoots the Vice-President and lets Ghost Rider live because their mission is the same.

Satan tells Blaze that he must continue sending souls to hell and that his mission will never end.

Hawkeye allows the Punisher to escape and Frank goes off to kill the mob boss from the first issue. We learn that the message that Ghost Rider gave the Punisher from beyond was to “keep up the good work.”

Frank ponders who sent the message from beyond – whether it was his dead family or perhaps God, but considering that Ghost Rider works for Satan and that it was established earlier in the issue that he and Frank have the same mission, it seems like Satan was the one delivering the message.

While the state of Frank Castle’s soul is an interesting plot thread, it”s never pondered on any further. It is an end to a relatively standard and run of the mill story. The formula behind this volume is one we’ve seen numerous times:

Heroes recruit new heroes. New and old heroes fight. They come together to battle a bigger threat. The bigger threat is only trying to fight an even bigger threat. Evil is defeated and life goes on.

While Millar can never be considered to be “boring” – this arc is a bit of a mess. It’s ambitious in its action, but beyond that, it doesn’t have much else to say. It’s relatively clear at this point that Millar’s interest in mainstream super-hero books is waning and that the end is near.

Remember back when I said that I was taking some time off from Popgun Chaos? It’s still totally happening because teaching is really overwhelming me right now. Still, I thought I’d share a couple of pics of me and my big sister from when we were kiddos.

Now, back to grading.

Let’s get something out of the way right here and now; yes, Twilight is terrible and there are a lot of jokes I could make about it, but those jokes are like shooting a barrel in a barrel. I don’t want to ponder its popularity or denounce it is being trash or get angry about how students won’t read the classics, but they’ll read trashy vampire romance novels. I was raised in a household where reading was important and it didn’t matter that I read comics all the time – the important thing was that I was reading.

Instead, I think we should pause to ponder an incredibly important question: where are the fundamentalist Christians on this one?

Follow me for a second. 

In 1954, Fredric Werthem wrote Seduction of the Innocent and created a panic about comic books leading unsuspecting teens down the path of Satanism, homosexuality, and substance abuse. Thus, the Comics Code of Authority was created in order to protect teens from reading unwholesome comic books. The rules upheld by the Comics Code of Authority are numerous, but for our purposes, let’s note the rule of the undead being portrayed in comics. No vampires, werewolves, or zombies were allowed in comics or they would not be approved by the CCA and therefore couldn’t be sold. Of course, Marvel got around this by creating Morbius the “living” vampire and somehow with Werewolf “by Night” (the quotes being the parts that somehow made these characters less undead?) That’s neither here nor there, though. The point is that at one point in comics, vampires and the like were considered to be taboo, macabre, and unfit for print.

Of course, now we look back and scoff at such puritanical notions, but it isn’t as if this behavior was relegated to just comic books nor has it dissipated over time. Throughout the years, adults have picked a new “threat to youth” to rally behind. I can still recall a time when parents were worked up over Pokemon and the rumors spread that they may be somehow Satanist because they were monsters (fortunately, the Pokemon Civil Rights Act of 1996 put these fears to rest . . . wait . . . that didn’t happen? That was just in my head? Pikachu never preached, “Pika at last, Pika at last, Pika pika almighty, Pika at last?” Oh well).

Let’s also not forget the uproar that Harry Potter caused years ago where concerned parents demonized the series for promoting witchcraft and magic. These fears have waned over the years and no one seems to question it. Did fundamentalists suddenly read Harry Potter books to see what the fuss was about? Considering how much money the series has made, surely some of these people came to “the dark side.”

So, given that fundamentalists have protested paranormal fiction in the past and organized protests because fiction has offended their sensibilities, how is it that Twilight has somehow slipped under the radar? How is Harry Potter any more sinister than Edward Cullen? Harry Potter exemplifies the qualities of heroism while, deep down, Edward is a vampire that is actively seducing an underage girl.

There are numerous reasons for Twilight’s popularity and they are all tied intrinsically to the issue of sexuality which, I suppose, is ultimately why it has slipped under the radar of protesters compared to Harry Potter. The Twilight saga is perceived as somehow thrilling in it’s forbidden love and intriguing because of the intimacy of its writing. In short and to put it in a way that isn’t so academic – even though it is not necessarily explicit, Twilight is a dirty, filthy series and because these same fundamentals who protested Harry Potter are attracted to Twilight’s narrative, they will kindly overlook the perversions of a story about the undead luring underage teenagers to their beds.

Of course, I’m not suggesting a ban of Twilight or anything of the sort. Honestly, I’m not. My point is merely to call a spade a spade and if Harry Potter was enough to get fundamentalists angry, then Twilight should be too.

In the past week, not only has my hero Grant Morrison said some pretty strong opinions over Brad Meltzer’s Identity Crisis, but Newsarama has listed the crossover as being their number 1 moment worth forgetting after the relaunch (which happens TODAY).While Morrison’s comments at least make sense given that he is discussing his bookSupergods and responding the interviewer’s question regarding the series, Newsarama naming the crossover as being the biggest moment worth forgetting seems odd to me, and the article doesn’t even justify its inclusion of the title in the top spot so much as it simply restates the overall plot. Newsarama states: 

“Identity Crisis is quite possibly the most controversial DC story of all time, and maybe even the most controversial superhero comic book story of all time.” – A claim that they never actually back-up, but even if they did, one has to wonder why this particular controversy is worthy of eradication from canon.

Newsarama continues by stating, “The Brad Meltzer-written, Rags Morales-illustrated series caused so much consternation, that Rolling Stone even asked Grant Morrison (who wasn’t involved with the comic) about it — seven years after it came out.” Which seems to get at the heart of the matter – Grant said some mildly controversial statements (which are only mild when they are taken out of context like they were in the Bleeding Cool article) because he was asked about the title for his book on the history of super-heroes.Identity Crisis probably doesn’t warrant deletion in and of itself, but Newsarama seems to be nominating it because of the comments made by Morrison.

The rest of the article does nothing to suggest otherwise as it is just summary. “Not only did Identity Crisis reveal that Doctor Light, previously seen as a mostly harmless goofball, was in fact a brutal rapist who sexually assaulted beloved supporting character Sue Dibny at the Justice League’s headquarters, it also killed off Firestorm, Tim Drake’s dad and Sue herself.

Sue, who along with her husband Elongated Man are generally considered the embodiment of the whimsical side of the DC Universe, [note: another statement that can't really be followed up with any actual evidence to support the statement - who considers them to be the "embodiment of the whimsical side of the DCU? We don't know] was murdered by Jean Loring, the Atom’s ex-wife. Loring’s not-so-perfect murder included shrinking herself down, crawling around Sue’s brain in an attempt to give her a stroke (as you do), accidentally killing her, and then burning Sue’s corpse for good measure. But before you get too upset at Jean Loring about all of this, keep in mind that she only doing it as an attempt to reunite with her ex-husband.”

It would be one thing to say that Identity Crisis is a book that should be forgotten and then to have actual evidence to support that assertion, but the writing just doesn’t follow. It seems to presume that comics shouldn’t be controversial which is an ignorant statement not to mention a bit unfair given how important Identity Crisis was not just to DC, but to comics in general.

While most crossovers center around a powerful threat that will destroy the universe, the central plot of Identity Crisis revolves around the murder of Elongated Man’s wife, Sue Dibny. After Sue’s death, it was revealed that she had been raped by Z-grade villain Dr. Light in the past. Many fans were upset that Sue was murdered in such a brutal fashion and many more were upset by the very graphic depiction of her rape. Some flocked to Gail Simone’s “Women in Refrigerators” website to sound off about how unfair women were treated in comics.

Honestly, had Sue Dibny not died, I wouldn’t have even known that Elongated Man was married. It wasn’t until after her death that I read Starman and I saw the happy couple interacting with one another. It speaks volumes to Meltzer’s writing ability that a minor character like Sue could have a death that affected so many people. Her relationship with Ralph was a pure and beautiful love and it aches at the heart to see her die. The emotion that Meltzer draws from such a death is more poignant than any slugfest in other mega crossovers.

While it’s true that some scenes involving women are grotesque and inappropriate, Sue Dibny’s death is not the case. Sometimes, women are raped. This is a fact. The depiction of Sue’s rape wasn’t glorified in any way, and in fact, it was absolutely horrific to see on the page. It was done to create a real world connection and to show how sometimes, all people can do is forget and move on from the past. We’ve all had bad things we’ve had to work through and Sue Dibny’s example should be seen as powerful rather than shameful.

In addition to Sue’s death, Tim Drake’s (Robin’s) father, Jack Drake was killed at the hands of Captain Boomerang. The scene where Batman and Robin race towards the Drake home in order to save Jack Drake’s life is a heart wrenching scene that still holds a tense pace. No matter how fast they drive, they won’t make it in time and it’s agonizing for the reader as well as the characters. Again, Meltzer deftly crafts genuine emotion as Batman holds his partner close and comforts him.

Most event comics feature the deaths of major characters to varying degrees of success. For instance, Bucky Barnes has been Captain America for some time now and he was recently killed with little to no emotional impact within the pages of Fear Itself. But even though Sue and Jack are two very minor characters in the grand scheme of the DCU, Meltzer handled their deaths so well that people came out of the woodwork to claim they had been Sue Dibny fans for years and that he had ruined her. The truth was that he crafted a crossover so different and emotionally powerful that in that moment, people became Sue Dibny fans and then suddenly realized that they would never see her again.

Beyond the deaths of these characters, the overall story of distrust within the League and the betrayal of Batman worked in subtle and powerful ways. We’re used to seeing the heroes of the DCU working together to save the day, but in this crossover, the shiny, happy gloss that covers our heroes is removed and we’re shown a world that is much more “adult” and “real.” Meltzer shows that comics can be “adult” without being graphic or gratuitous. And the sense of reality that Meltzer places in the story is never artificial. It really seems as if these are friends that have betrayed one another.

Is it perfect? Not at all – sometimes the subtlety that Meltzer and Morales put into the book comes at the cost of understanding some of the plot, but just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean that it isn’t important. Identity Crisis is immensely important not just for its controversy, but for its emotional depth and the astounding feat of generating a massive crossover without the use of Darkseid, the Anti-Monitor, or any other world destroyer. For that alone, it should never be forgotten.

VS

Based on looks alone, I know that I should pick the Smiths in terms of my favorite influencial 80′s bands (Sam describes Robert Smith of the Cure as “looking like a pan of unbaked muffins”), but when it comes down to the music itself, my gut goes with the Cure every single time.

Some may argue (and when I write “some” I really mean “Sam”) that these two bands are ultimately incomparable because they both serve two different functions. At their core, the Smiths sound like a pop band and one is almost surprised that they never utilized the harmonized “yeah, yeah, yeah” motif that the Beatles made popular. Yet, despite their clearly pop-influenced sensibilities, the Smiths cut to the core of sadness. Take “Ask” for instance- the line “if it’s not love, then it’s the bomb that will bring us together” is an incredibly well-written line that cuts to the heart of a forced peace created by fear. Alone, it is one of the saddest and most tragically beautiful lines I’ve ever read, but it is hidden beneath that “gee-whiz, life is grand” melody. It takes an incredible amount of talent to be both poppy and melancholy, but Morrissey makes it seem effortless. But, deep down, it’s disingenuous.

On the other hand, The Cure don’t just cut to the core of sadness – they embody it. They embrace it. They champion it as their rallying cry. If it weren’t for the Cure, emo never would have been born (good emo, like American Football, Mineral, the Appleseed Cast, and Sunny Day Real Estate). Of course, “Pictures of You” is the easiest example of this, but really if one were to listen to their album “Disintegration” from beginning to end, the influences on early emo are not only apparent, but it’s clear that they have been borderline stolen from.

While this debate probably comes down to personal preference more than anything else, I settle it like so:

When I compare the bands that have been influenced by the Cure to the bands that have been influenced by the Smiths (Death Cab for Cutie, the Decemberists, etc.), the Cure is far and away a superior band. They inspired emo and the Smiths helped shape indie rock and at the end of the day, I’m still an old school emo kid through and through.

Though I typically skew toward hyperbole when I discuss anything, I will do my best to avoid such in this review so let’s get this out of the way right now: is Justice League the best comic book ever written? No. Is it horrible? Not at all. When it is read within the right context, it is a great book and absolutely worthy of kicking off the new DC Universe.

But remember that context is absolutely everything. 

First, let’s discuss the purpose of the Justice League team.

During Morrison’s JLA, the team was designed to be an over-the-top thrill ride of giant action. The JLA didn’t have interpersonal relationships because they were too busy fending off alien invasions and world conquerors. During the 90′s, that was a book that worked. It was a book that was important and wonderful, but it was that era.

Brad Meltzer’s Justice League of America was rebuilding the team after so much mistrust and anger had severed the friendship of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Furthermore, it was an extension and thematic sequel to Meltzer’s Identity Crisis. It was a book about nothing but interpersonal relationships. Again, it was a book that was (in my opinion) important and wonderful.

If you go into the Geoff Johns and Jim Lee Justice League expecting big action in the same vein as Grant Morrison’s JLA, then you will be disappointed. Furthermore, if you go into it expecting lots of characters interacting with one another to build a family relationship like in Meltzer’s Justice League of America, then you will further be disappointed, but just because you’re disappointed doesn’t mean that it is bad – it just means that you have to look at what has been presented and interpret the information given in order to explore the true purpose of this new JLA.

This is the new story of how the Justice League was formed, but more than that, it is the beginning of the DCU. Superheroes are brand new to the universe. No one quite knows who they are or whether they are friendly or not. The police certainly don’t trust them which is fine because once the heroes are established, it will just further emphasize that the world needs heroes.

The cover shows the key seven members of the team, but the interior mostly features Green Lantern and Batman with a short appearance of Superman and a pre-superhero Cyborg. Johns has written GL for a long time now, so he’s pretty well gotten the brash, arrogant tone of Hal Jordan down and over the years, Johns has explored the relationship between Jordan and Batman in new and interesting ways. Finally, he is allowed to explore them even further in their first interaction with each other. It isn’t just that Hal Jordan is brash and arrogant, but he is fearless and this is infuriating to Batman whose power is completely reliant on fear.

Their interactions with one another are a delight when viewed from the perspective of Batman. He’s used to people being afraid of him and suddenly, this arrogant and somewhat stupid glowing man suddenly wants to help him out. They are polar opposites and this heightens the comedy of their situation. Fear and fearless. Detective and cop. Brave and bold. What two heroes are better to star in this issue than the two who are the most commercially successful? Considering that Green Lantern and Batman are the only two characters who are being virtually unchanged in the relaunch, they are the perfect ones to start this story off.

Some complain that the threat that will bring together the team isn’t properly established. A cyborg parademon sets off an explosion and screams “FOR DARKSEID!” and our heroes are confused by this, but that’s fine. Old readers will rejoice in the mention of Darkseid and new readers can ponder what this means or they can just enjoy more Batman and Green Lantern having fun with one another.

And you know what? It is fun.

People have been demanding for light-hearted superhero fun and that is exactly what this comic is. No, the entire team doesn’t appear together in this issue, but that’s because this is a slow build. After all, not only are Johns and Lee building the Justice League, but they are also building the new universe here as well. They have to take it slow.

Some have complained that the interactions between Batman and Green Lantern aren’t really delving into the characters themselves, but rather superficial elements of the characters, but it’s CHAPTER ONE! It’s a slow build, to be sure, but when you’re recreating the universe, it needs to be a slow build.  If this were a movie, this is the first ten minutes and it’s tough to get tons of characterization in the first ten minutes of a movie (unless you’re David Fincher, I guess). If the entire team was thrown onto the page, people would complain that there was too much going on.

DCWomenKickinAss (my arch-nemesis) complains:

But for all these moments I was still disappointed that the rest Justice League isn’t in this. There is even really a Justice League yet and it seems this first arc is going to be an origin story. I don’t think this was the best choice. Think about it. Look at the cover, if I’m a new reader who has heard about this exciting Justice League, I want to see the Justice League. (And by that I mean I want to see Wonder Woman.) Getting the band together over a few months seems a questionable.

Of course, if it were up to DCWKA, this book would have just been called Birds of Prey and everyone who worked on it from the writer and artist down to the letterer and the intern would have all been women. The point I’m trying to make (beyond the fact that she grinds my gears) is that the Justice League is many things to many people and with this in mind, we can’t presume that the book itself is of poor quality just because it doesn’t measure up to the impossibly high expectations that we have set for it. After all, this is a team of the seven most powerful characters in the DC Universe – we should all admit that our expectations are more than a little high.

What we have been given is a league that starts small and is slowly building to something great. What we have is the interactions between the two most successful characters in a meaningful way in order to slowly ease readers into the new universe. I know we all want answers for how the new DC is different than the old, but questioning the text is exactly what will get people more interested in the product. How do you think Lost was so successful for six seasons? By creating anticipation and getting people to ask questions.

In short, Justice League is a great start to the new DC Universe. It’s well worth your time and your money. I mean, it’s JIM LEE drawing THE JUSTICE LEAGUE! What more could you want?