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.