4/24/12

Here in Gonzo’s Dressing Room we try to walk a fine line between giving the mainstream comic fan reviews of titles that they will enjoy as well as eschewing popularity for popularity’s sake. (Here in the Dressing Room we delight in the off-beat, the small-press and the over-looked. We also love using the word “eschewing”.)

In this review we’ve given ourselves over to equal time for some commercially successful books. (Perhaps against our better judgement...) 

 Avengers vs. X-Men #0

In our prologue, appropriately titled “Prologue”, we have two separate stories highlighting the two characters who in all probability will be central in the upcoming massive crossover event.

We begin on the streets of Washington D.C. where M.O.D.O.K. and a handful of other bizarre villains are running amok. I didn’t expect M.O.D.O.K. to be rocking the bald look but it somehow comes off less silly than his original do. Who comes to the rescue? The Scarlet Witch. If you’ve been following the X-Men and the Avengers for the past few years, you realize what a giant can of worms this is. If not, I have no where enough space to put you up to speed here. You could shell out hundreds of dollars for back issues trying to understand the full impact. (I suppose there is always Wikipedia).

Spider Woman and Ms. Marvel fly in for the assist. Scarlet Witch is very uncomfortable seeing her ex team-mates whom she has wronged so many times. The women insist that she return to the Avengers’ mansion as a lost friend and equal.

Most of the boys seem to be warily happy to see her. Except her husband the android, Vision. He summarily throws her out, turns his back on her and begins to cry. 

Next we have Hope Summers at the X-Men’s home of Utopia feeling restless. Cyclops plays the overbearing father and tries to badger her for her own protection. Of course, this fails and she flies off in a jet pack to foil a bank robbery. She more than holds her own against the entire Serpent Society. Cyclops and Emma Frost arrive just in time to keep Hope from beating one of the villains, Cottonmouth, to death.

We are reminded of Hope’s huge potential to be either the savior or destroyer of mutant-kind. From off in space, the Phoenix Force is coming for Hope. 

Frank Cho is the artist for both stories. His usual stunning work comes off very patchy. We have extremely low points, such as Hope mimicking Puff Adder’s powers to ridiculous highs such as the close-up of the Scarlet Witch about to cast a spell.

I need to make two more notes about the art work. One, why does Thor have to look EXACTLY like movie Thor? Two, yes a woman with gills for sideburns can be attractive.

The Scarlet Witch story is written by Brian Michael Bendis. His writing is very strong as well as is his cinematic scripting. Unfortunately, the two merge a little roughly. 

Jason Aaron has writing duty for the Hope story. Again, the quiet moments and the action don’t flow together as well as they could. There has been a tendency since the latest death of Jean Grey to portray Cyclops as a jerk. Aaron does a good job of maintaining the status quo.

A major comic crossover centered on two women? Somehow I don’t think this fact will do anything to lessen the testosterone fueled slug-fest this “event” will likely be. We could probably at least cut the issue count in half with a little superhero group therapy. (I wonder if Night Nurse knows any social workers?) 

Batman the Dark Knight #7

This issue is the stunning conclusion of this title’s premier story arc. The baleful Bane seeks to finish the job he started by breaking Batman’s back so many years ago. While Bane brandishes a boulder, Batman slips off into a bunker where Poison Ivy is being held in a tank to produce a new brand of the super villain steroid Venom. How a comic depicting White Rabbit manages to tastefully deal with the fact that Ivy is nude in the tank is beyond me. 

Ivy informs Bats that Bane must swallow a conveniently present antidote in order to be stopped. 

Eight pages of pommeling ensue, broken only by an odd interchange between Superman and the Flash. I may be missing something but isn’t Superman’s advise the exact opposite of what Batman told him? And it somehow works? Flash wants to get back to help Batman but Supes demands he goes to a hospital. (It’s as if he’s trying to foil Batman.) 

Just when all seems lost, and that Bane has battered Batman to his breaking point, the Flash arrives and tosses the antidote to Batman who throws it down Bane’s gullet. Bane is temporarily dispatched and is washed out with the tide. 

We learn of the mysterious connection between Bruce Wayne’s would-be-girlfriend from the first issue and the mysterious White Rabbit. The last two pages of this comic are about as anti-feminist as you can get. We are promised (perhaps warned)that the next story arc will be all about the buxom bunny. God have mercy on our souls.(Please excuse the frequent alliteration. I couldn’t help myself.)

Will we be witness to another tiresome tale of Batman’s “edgy” exploits here in Gonzo’s dressing room? The brevity of this review seems to say “no” but then again I haven’t the time to catch up on any of the other thirteen thousand Bat-titles out there so you’ll just have to wait and see.

4/13/12

Yes, I have been egregiously recalcitrant in my blogging duties. I have been busy to the gills lately and suffered from a stomach virus that would have put Galactus out of commission. With a little luck I will be catching up by posting once a day for a few days.

Here is today’s post with an opener I crafted back in March.

Dear readers, gentle readers, you’ve heard me complain about crappy comics and you’ve heard me complain about comics that treat woman in a not-so-positive light. What better way to shut me up for a week than to review two GOOD comics with strong female leads? (Oh, and to my as-of-yet single subscribed follower: MrScrappyDoo, if you were looking for a shout-out any earlier you should have named yourself “VelmaFan”.

Wonder Woman #7

In “Wondie’s” current iteration, most of the old rules are out the window. The series has a considerable Vertigo feel. Wonder Woman has been thrust into a power vacuum between the Greek gods. Zeus is missing and his child with a mortal threatens to be the new heir (Did I mention Wonder Woman herself is now a child of Zeus? ).

In this issue, Wonder Woman and her companions are preparing to entire Hades to rescue Diana’s soon-to-be aunt. They detour to Mt. Etna and Hephaestus’ forge.

We learn that all amazon boys are disposed of at birth but that Hephaestus has been trading weapons for them and putting them to work. Wonder Woman sees her brothers as slaves and attempts to rescue them. In the process, learning that even for the mighty Wonder Woman morals are not always black and white.

This title has the potential of turning off many classic Wonder Woman fans. Yet, the heart of the character stays true. Seeing how brilliantly, originally and appropriate to myth the various gods are depicted is alone worth the price of admission.

Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child #1

For the sake of variation, let’s being with the art. At little more mainstream than typical Vertigo and a tad awkward but ultimately gorgeous. The multitude of often straight lines brings home the gravitas and mystery of the story and New Orleans itself. The way John Floyd’s inks lay atop Denys Cowan’s pencils is a truly symbiotic relationship. (And no, I am not discussing Venom.)

Selwyn Seyfu Hinds weaves a voodoo spell of his own with some truly superior writing. We meet Dominique on the first page, panicked and running. Helpless, but by no means fragile. Her Tulane University hoodie nearly being enough to show us her inner strength.

There is a werewolf on the loose and a strange cowboy-like figure who may be even more dangerous.

Later, a mysterious old man named Chancellor Malenfant, sums up the story’s world. “One hundred years of hard won peace. The days of blood between Loa, Loup Garou, Vampire, Witch Hunter and Houngan long behind us. And now...the bonds have torn. The balance is upset. Order MUST be restored.”

At the tomb of Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, Dominique has a vision of the past where the Voodoo Queen was killed and is somehow noticed and attacked by what is certainly the same cow-boyish man that is stalking her now. (Do I see romance in the future?)

Dominique arrives home to the Garden district to find her aunt Giselle who raised her having been fatally attacked and spouting mysterious gibberish. It should take no stretch of the imagination to realize that Dominique is daughter and heir of Marie Laveau.

The story goes down as dark and smooth as Louisiana bourbon (which I’ve never tried, so of course I am assuming here.) and is a sophisticated, respectful take on that particularly New Orleans vibe.

After reading it, I feel like I have actually been there and know what is true and what is false in other stereotypical renderings of that most magic of cities.