Deathly Ill and Always Busy

thenakedlibrarianontheroof:

thestrals-:

thenakedlibrarianontheroof:

And this is why Angie is a superhero.

There’s a reason why I love her so much - every decent writer who’s had her has depicted Angie as a dreamer, a genius, and a huge geek about it. She’s well-aware of all the amazing things in her life, and she’s made most of it happen herself. In addition to that, she’s the perfect rebuttal to the whole “ladies can’t do science” idea that so many have.

But I can always point to this, her real origin story, and say, “this is why the Engineer is a hero”.

TW: RAPE

Yes! Also it’s so fucked up that the new Stormwatch backstory takes away both her ability as a scientist and her agency as a woman DECIDING to become the Engineer. Instead she gets some bullshit ‘i didn’t want this!’ story, that again burdens a female character with imagery and story that really is not far from alluding to rape.

everything about this image makes me want to punch new-52 Stormwatch in the face.

^^^ YEP. /highfive

Basically, everything you just said. I have SO MUCH rage about this, I’m so dropping the series. Make her super-serious and burden her with a lot of stressful responsibility? Yeah, sure, fine, because Angie’s still in there somewhere, right? Oh, and her relationship with Jack is totally dissolved in favor of this new douchebag she has to angst over (and what was that whole thing about Harry Tanner paying attention to her being like, the reason she “…turned [her] body into flesh. A woman’s flesh.” Umm, what does any of that even mean? Aside from the f-ed up motivation there, how do you even do that, what is she talking about? Like synthetic skin, or…?) But, whatever.

But this disgusting invasion of Angie’s body by the “creative” (HA!!) team is the last straw. Not to mention, in addition to taking away the fact that it was her own imperative to alter her body in the first place, they’ve really blurred the line as to how much of what she can do is her former (pre-reboot, ahem) intellect, and how much of it is entirely just physical now that all of this technology is organic, nulling her genius status and the fact that her brain is basically her superpower and turning it into her powers being innately physical and at least originally beyond her control.

All of this is just so much fuckery, and when they do it to Angie, brilliant, beautiful, unique, lovable Angie, that is that.

Oh no, Angie, baby, what have they done to you…

I thought that this relaunch would be a chance for DC to take away all the things I didn’t like about Authority (the ever increasing, heavy-handed politics; the victimization of Apollo later in the series; dismantling Midnighter’s personality to make him “grittier” and in the process destroying his family; that sort of thing), but instead they’ve only taken out the political critique and overt genocide and replaced the characters with unrecognizable husks.

And stupid costumes.

And writing a post on the gratuitous and painful exposition that masquerades as a comic book, and why Stormwatch makes me cry.

I just want the proof all in one place, and I want to be the one to do it.

Thoughts?

comicsalliance:

UPDATED: DC Shakeup: Gail Simone Off ‘Firestorm,’ Tom DeFalco on ‘Legion Lost’, Cornell Off ‘Stormwatch’
 

By Andy Khouri

DC Comics confirmed this week some personnel changes for two of its New 52 superhero titles. Specifically, Gail Simone will no longer be Ethan Van Sciver’s co-writer of The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men following February’s issue #6. She will be replaced on the title by Joe Harris of Oni’s Ghost Projekt (in development as a series for SyFy), who will co-write the title with Van Sciver.

Legion Lost will say goodbye to series writer Fabian Nicieza with issue #6, also on sale in February. Nicieza will be replaced by Tom DeFalco, who of course was once the editor and chief of Marvel Comics. Pete Woods will continue to draw the title.

DC confirmed via a post to The Source that Batman: The Dark Knight and DC Universe Presents Deadman writer Paul Jenkins will pen a two-issue story for Stormwatch in issues #7-#9. Regular Stormwatch writer Paul Cornell tweeted that he will indeed leave the title, with February’s issue #6 being his last. Cornell will remain on Demon Knights and his Vertigo series Saucer Country. No word yet on who will follow Jenkins after his short run.

Read more on this at ComicsAlliance.

I haven’t read issue #4 of Stormwatch yet… Too disappointed by the last three issues, I can’t see this next one being better. Which is why I’m sad to say that I’m happy that Cornell is leaving the title. The guy seems decent, and maybe his other stuff is better, but Stormwatch was really not working for him. The writing was honestly embarrassing. I wish him well on his other titles.

Now, that leaves me kind of worried and Midnighter and Apollo. I mean, they’re the reason I’m reading Stormwatch, no doubt. Not them as a couple— just them. But they are a couple…something Cornell said he was committed to developing. So what about whoever else comes on? Are they gonna continue on in that vein? And they gonna reinstate their relationship? Are they gonna do it better than Cornell was doing it? I’m just worried that they’re gonna go the way of the most recent Midnighter series…Ignoring the fact that he’s a committed and loving partner in addition to the homicidal tendencies.

My faith was shaken with Cornell, but luckily I’m stupid hopedful. Maybe this will improve?

Well. Most of them are just new to me, but bear with me.

This week’s comics! I felt strongly about them, so I’m going to write about them.
This week, Animal Man and Stormwatch (both issue #3) came out.

I don’t think I can emphasize enough how beautiful animal man is. I love the thing, scratchy lineart— it’s malleable, which helps the distortion of environments and characters used frequently in the comic. It’s grotesque for sure, but a gorgeous grotesque, if that makes sense. The hunters were especially lovely in their distortions, as they lose their human forms to become flailing masses of intestines.

And Buddy himself, as he’s struggling to gain a stable, corporeal form in The Red, produces some of the most interesting transformations I’ve seen.

I also love the pages in The Red, with their abstract paneling (or lack of), as seen above. The composition is wonderful, produces the right tone, and maintains a comprehensible flow. It gives the illusion that the characters are everywhere and nowhere at once; in a kind of spiritual/Nirvana-esque place, which seems to be what The Red represents to its avatars. Overall, it’s just a beautiful, well put-together book. The story is good too, although personally, it’s not something I’d usually pick up by reading the summary alone. I’m usually not a fan of abstract “fate” storylines, but the context (and the art) keeps me well interested.

I never read anything with Animal Man before the new 52, so I’m curious about the ways they’re screwing with his origin. The style of this new comic is very “alternative” and seemingly experimental, which I doubt was the tone of Animal Man’s previous books. (The idea of the hero seems pretty standard— after all, he basically has Mari’s Vixen’s powers. I can’t imagine anything else he’s in as being anything better than “standard super hero.” Shh, don’t break the illusion for me. I like the idea of a shift from the mainstream to something absolutely crazy like this.)

So yeah, Animal Man continues to delight me.
But I also buy Stormwatch, because The Authority has a special place in my heart, and Stormwatch basically absorbed them.

Oh man. I wasn’t particularly impressed with this latest incarnation, but I wasn’t really disappointed either. But this last issue…This last issue was a real stinker. I had some faith in you, Cornell. How could you do this to me?

The writing reads as incredibly lazy; primarily because it was nothing but cheap exposition. I read recently that good dialog is “stuff you can imagine people actually saying out loud.” Which is sort of no-brainer advice, admittedly. But my god— every word out of these characters mouths was an unnecessary explanation for everything they were doing, and how they’re doing it. Christ! Comics is a visual method of story-telling! And even literature knows to “show, not tell.”

And even though there are probably a lot of people unfamiliar with Apollo’s, or Jenny’s, or Jack’s (etc.) powers, they don’t need to be explained repeatedly. I mean, the original exposition wasn’t amazing either, but I think by the third time Jenny’s powers were explained was where I was getting outright frustrated. It’s unnecessary. I’ll put it this way: What’s her name, Media Girl, I didn’t know her powers before the first issue. Then she explained them with the most hollow dialog imaginable, and while it was clunky exposition, at least I knew. I didn’t need her to explain them again in this issue. Holy BALLS, man.

The dialog was the absolute worst. It was sad how much personality it sacrificed for the forced explanations of everything. It read like Cornell had absolutely no faith in his artist or readers at all. This issue was exceedingly disappointing, made worse by the fact that it was populated by my favorite characters.

Not to mention Midnighter’s stupid chin-spike was as distracting and embarrassing as the last two issues. (The more I see it, the more I cannot believe that somebody thought it was a good idea.) God, his whole uniform is just awful.

And apparently Apollo’s name is Andrew?? Look, Apollo is a real name. You didn’t need to call him Andrew! I understand his origin is different from The Authority— no Bendix memory wipes— but there was no reason to give him the name Andrew. He’s Apollo. Plain and simple. He doesn’t even need a code name because he operates as a small-scale crime fighter in alleyways and the such. The impression we were given in the first issue is that he doesn’t want to be associated with superheroes! So where’d this stupid Andrew come from?

I can see it on Midnighter— it’s not like his code name could be mistaken for something anybody’d actually name a baby. (Although I know somebody who knows a “Newborn,” I kid you not. Who would do that to a child?) So why would they do this to my Apollo WHY.

Alleviating this pain, my Pulse trades arrived in the mail. Say what you will, it’s got a ton of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in it, so I’m extremely satisfied. I especially liked it when Luke got on his “DON’T FUCK WITH MY FAMILY” face and punched Norman Osborne (yessssss). I love you, Luke Cage. And I love Jessica Jones. And I love baby Danielle, even if you can barely see Jess’ pregnancy at this point. And I love them all together so much.

Oh, and when she thought he’d given her a miscarriage and she flipped the fuck out on Norman Osborne? That. That was awesome. Baby, you do what Spiderman doesn’t have the guts to.

(I’ve only read the first one so far, but I was happy with it. Aaaah, I need all of New Avengers after this, and one day I’ll buy all of Alias, and I can just have a Jessica Jones library.)

I also got a package from my mom, which surprisingly included Batwoman: Elegy! I was happy that she thought to send it, but a little annoyed that she’d opened the package that I’d accidentally sent home. My mother’s really nosy… (I say this with confidence, my friends. This is not the nosiest thing she’d done by far. Just another incident in a sequence of events.)

So that was my day with comics (comics SO MANY NEW COMICS).

Paul Cornell (via fyeahlilbitoeverything)

Well this is certainly more comforting than what Didio said.
….Damn Didio. 

(Source: fyeahlilbit2point0, via angstyarrow)

Paul Cornell on how he is changing up the “status quo” in Demon Knights/Stormwatch (via tychokepler)

I like the way you talk, Cornell. Don’t lead me wrong, boy.

Obligatory Wildstorm Midnighter appreciation post

(via penisdiversity-deactivated20120)

Obligatory Wildstorm Apollo appreciation post

(via penisdiversity-deactivated20120)

Midnighter’s new costume looks stupid, but I like ‘Pollo’s makeover.
I’m…actually kind of excited looking at this. I’ll buy the digital copy if I can find a good review.
……Okay I can’t help it, I just need to let it out:
WHEN DO THEY START FUCKING!?? 

(Source: monkeearmada)

brothasoul:

J’onn is officially a member of the Justice League.

My main gripe with the new DCU is now irrelevant.

I can go back to being happy with the world.

Thank fucking God.

wait wait wait
Is Stormwatch out now?? I want to get this