Bat-Mite #1 Preview

I glanced at this since I saw Booster on the cover. Jurgens went a little dark in the humor at the beginning, not even Broderick threatened to do that to Booster. Wow.

Chances of a new series?

Another topic that was brought up when I was talking about Booster was the possibilty of a new series being created. Let's go over what we know and see what chance we have for a volume 3.

Ever since CTIC there has been something of a push for the character. After that we got the following books which featured Booster:

Ads Break Up Panels

For some reason it seems that DC is doing this in upcoming books. I also heard that every #1 will have them. Way to take people out of the story. If I want the plot to come to a halt for someone to try to sell me something it better be Booster or we'll be having problems.

I Didn't Notice

I was reading a comment about Convergence Booster Gold and they pointed out something I didn't notice. Rather a character that was missing.

Looking Ahead

Real life stuff is a little stressful at the moment so I don't really feel like doing reviews for Convergence Batgirl and Convergence. I may at some point just not for awhile. I'm looking forward to next month and what we'll learn in SDCC. There just aren't many books I'm hyped about. I'm giving Batman Beyond and We Are Robin each an one issue try although I'm not expecting to be wowed. BB for obvious reasons and WAR is a book that I have little information on.

I'm continuing Gotham Academy which hasn't disappointed me so far and Red Hood/Arsenal although the idea of them running their own business feels a little odd. At the same time I feel like there should be a big announcement around the counter that I'd be interested in. I know DC had plans for Booster for example that at the moment have equaled to JLI, a cameo appearance with Hex, an one shot and a two parter. Just the fact that the new Booster had his origin teased and what happened at the end of the of CBG makes me feel like something should be happening. While we didn't get much for Catwomans' 75th anniversay I'm hoping other anniversaries get some love.

June's Sneak Peeks Week 4

The final week and I'm going to miss all the free comics we got for a month. That said there was one I couldn't force myself to read.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Convergence Booster Gold #2

Will we finally get the long awaited answers to questions like what's Rips' real name and who's his mother? Will the pre52 Time Masters make it out of this?

SPOILERS AHEAD

Robin Quiz 2

Another round of the Robin Quiz.

Convergence Booster Gold #2 Preview

Starting right where we left off last issue. I'll save my comments for my review on this one.

Sneak Peek Week 3

This week rounds out the bat boys with two Tim books, Grayson and Damians' new title.

August Solicits 2015

I've been impatiently waiting for this hoping for more new books to be released that have my favorite characters. Is there anything new to add to my pull list? Thoughts below.

The Death Problem in Batman

Ever think death and resurrection happen too much in comics? Try having it happening within a small time period with the same family. It's hard for it to mean anything when it feels like the same plotline is being retooled. SPOILERS for current bat plots.

Answers for Booster Gold Quiz

I was going to get pictures but my computer won't let me upload them at the moment. The answers and a few extra thoughts below.

More DC Bombshells

It's funny because I recently mentioned that a lot of lesser known titles without big name creators get ignored with these variants. And it happened again, which especially sucks because male characters have joined in on the 40s designs. It would have been nice to see what could have been done. This second wave of Bombshells variants are coming to celebrate the fact Bombshells is getting its own book. I'll wait to hear more details but it sounds cool.

Answers for the Robin Quiz

I'll do the Booster Gold answers at some point.

Rip Hunter in Trailer

Yeah...this isn't how I see Rip at all. Not his mannerisms or speech.

SPOILERS AHEAD

June Promotional Goodies

What they look like here.

Bad Marketing?

It drives me crazy that, DC at least, doesn't market the lesser known titles better. Usually it's the characters everyone knows and big name creators that get all the attention. There doesn't seem to be enough effort with ads and certainly not with variants as many--especially the ones that fit best with the theme--are usually forgotten.

Considering that one of the characters was recently referred to as a "priority character" this is really annoying.

Bad Haircuts

I've seen a lot of complaining about a certain haircut lately and I mean to ridiculous levels. There's an actual claim that the character is ruined now because of a freaking hair style! Now I don't really love it either but let's get some perceptive. A lot of characters get bad haircuts. Remember the dos Nightwing got?

The long ponytail and sometimes rattail?

The mullet, especially when combined with his causal wear?

It can be worse people.

June's "Sneak Peek" Week 2

Some of the new books I'm really not interested in but who knows I might like the mini comics. Plus one of them has a certain Gal in it.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Princess Leia #3

Part 3 of 5.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Short Review: Convergence #5

Wasnt this series supposed to feature different worlds fighting? So far it's mainly Earth 2.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Robin Quiz

I like writing these and decided to do this for the sidekicks.

The New Arsenal Design

 

I like this design, the black adds a nice unspoken shift in Roys' character. The mask might not look as good with other artists but I like it here. The baseball hat is gone despite appearing three different covers. Amusingly half the comments I found wish he kept it given the hair. This is Roys' third hair styles since the relaunch started and seems in line with the new hair do trends of Year One Bruce Wayne, Harper Row and Jim Gordon. But guess what, he's not the only one to do this in June. 

The Male Perspective (DC)

Recently I had a talk with someone about sexual assault in comics and they were surprised how many examples I had for male characters. I have read a few essays on the female perspective and how it usually relates to the Women in Refrigerators syndrome. I really don't think I can add much to those works that hasn't been said. I've never come across essays on how men are affected although that may of been done. I don't think many writers have written these situations respectfully no matter what the gender but there was a certain mind frame to men being attacked that caught my attention.

In most cases the character attacked (usually female) is written in a way that their trauma affected another character (usually male) more than them. When the victim is male it's usually a lead but in many cases they don't address what happened directly. It's mostly brushed aside, not really spoken of unless it serves a plot.

There are times it actually plays out seriously but those are pretty rare. Besides the writers ignoring the elephant in the room there are other problem some trends of writing. Such as acting as it's not such a big deal when the victim is male or playing the whole thing off for humor. This isn't going to be an essay per se but rather a look at how men are written in these situations where the assault happened or not.

Baby Outlaws: Little Starfire

Once I read the second RHATO Annual I had to do customs of the trio. This is the one that's the furthest along and other than a little tweaking is basically finished.

 

Extra Goodies for DC's June Launches?

According to this and while some of their rumors don't always pan out their shipment news is pretty shop on. So here's the promotional items which surprise, surprise ignore RHA.

3rd June:

• 50 JUSTICE LEAGUE Darkseid vs. Anti-Monitor 11” x 17” posters with art by Jason Fabok
• 25 BATMAN BEYOND paper masks
• 100 BAT-MITE temporary tattoos
• 100 BIZARRO temporary tattoos

10th June

• 50 BATMAN 11” x 17” armor blueprint posters
• 25 HARLEY QUINN masks
• 50 STARFIRE 5” x 7” postcards
• 25 GOTHAM ACADEMY crest stickers

17th June

• 50 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 22” x 34” posters with art by Bryan Hitch
• 50 BLACK CANARY 11” x 17” concert posters
• 25 ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN paper domino masks
• 25 PREZ bumper stickers

24th June

• 50 SUPERMAN Daily Planet Replica editions
• 50 GRAYSON Spyral ID cards
• 100 WE ARE…ROBIN temporary tattoos
• 25 BATGIRL paper masks

June's "Sneak Peeks"

I'll review Prez when I get Batgirl but I have all the other ones.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Booster Gold Quiz

I wanted to do something special for the BG anniversay but I'm not sure what. So test your knowledge with this short quiz.

Just for Fun Part 3

14. lamest superpower?

Turkey Volume Guessing Man. If you got that reference pat yourself on the back.


15. which character do you think should get a movie? (besides hawkeye and wonder woman bc literally everyone wants that)


Any of my favorites which are for the most part lesser known heroes. I root for the underdog and find them far more interesting than the big names.


16. worst outfit ever?

There are a lot of bad costumes so it's hard to think of one that was the worst. For Booster it would be his era of wearing mechical suits. For Jason the Morrison costume which was so ugly I cringe that it got an action figure.

17. favorite comic book artist?

I don't have a favorite artist I have several. Gleason, Jurgens, etc. I did a list of them awhile back but I can't find it on this site at the moment.

18. favorite writer?

The same as above, I don't have one favorite. I don't think any writer is flawless, some get more grief than others and some are overhyped. I don't go out of my way to read any writers' work if it's not a project I'm interested in. I'm more prone to avoid other writers work if they got on my nerves.

19. what would you say to stan lee if you met him?

If I'm not a babbling mess I'd thank him for his passion for comics and changing the industry by giving characters different personalities. I'd also share my love for Mary Jane and Peter Parker.

Joss Whedon Deletes Account

Some "fans" went too far telling Whedon to kill himself to the point he deleted his account. All of this is apparently from people who didn't like Avengers Age of Ultron. Look I've never be a follower of the idea some of his fans had that the guy could do no wrong. Whedon has his faults and yes even the movie did but that doesn't excuse bullying. At least a large percentage is over Black Widow not having a bigger part but the actress was pregnant!

The New Red Hood Design

After the being confused by the cover art it's nice to see how this uniform works.

 

 

I still prefer the RHATO look but this is better than I'd though it'd be.

 

"Sneak Peek" 8 page stories this Month

Here's the list of books these will appear in and the solicits for them. Don't forget to check this out, I'll be looking into all of these online.

From Newsarama: "In June, DC is turning the page on the 'New 52' era and launching a flurry of new and returning series. The publisher will be including 8-page "sneak peeks" of these new stories in May's Convergence titles, and we now have the list of what'll be in the second week of May Convergence titles.

The previews will also be available as free day-and-date digital downloads on venues like DCComics.com, comiXology, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and iVerse."


EDIT: Yeah this list Newsarama has is off because some of these aren't released on the right week and miss some completely. The red ones have been released the blue were on the wrong week.

Just For Fun Part 2

8. favorite story arc?

I don't have an all time favorite story arc just certain one for different characters. My favorite storyline in Spider-Girl was the return of Kaine. It showed him as a serious threat and teased the greatest dangling storyline in the series history. May see Darkdevil in a different light but wants to stop him from doing something he regrets. Their relationship is one of my favorite things about the series so seeing them have to fight and knowing neither wants to harm the other made for a good read. 

Cassandra Cain finding an assassin that can't remember his past and comes to the conclusion he's a hero. Batman wants her to be tougher but Cass has her own way. In the end he gets his memory back and the question of a person being able to change comes up. 

JLGL or 52 for Boosters' arc, just seeing him so determined was a thing of beauty.

RHATO The Starfire/space arc for Kori, Lobdells' Arsenal/Green Arrow backstory and for Jason #17  and #18 which shows how much he's grown and how he relates to others.

9. what would you do if you had a superpower? would you keep it to yourself?

I think I'd be scared of being crazy or hurting myself or others. It might depend on what I'd fear worse potential damage or what someone would do when they learn of it. If I could control it and seemed physcially okay I guess I'd keep it to myself. I don't know for sure.

10. who would win in a 1v1 fight: iron man or captain america?

Didn't Marvel already do that storyline? I'm saying Captain America because he's awesome.

11. which character do you wish didn’t exist?

At the moment new 52 Barbara Gordon. I haven't had a character annoy and anger me this much in years. I tried not to let it get to me since I used to adore Barbara but Batman Eternal made me loath her new 52 counterpart. If she was more mature and other characters didn't ignore her crappy behavior it'd be a little better. I can't take her seriously when she's this reckless and everyone claims she's so perfect. Maybe she's better with the new creative team but I wince every time I see her. 

12. favorite villain?

Darth Vader. Max Lord. I like the bad guys to have depth of course I also liked Black Beetle because he was such a lying ass.

13. favorite extraterrestrial character? (ie. superman, thor)

Starfire and Yoda/Chewbacca. They kick ass and are so awesome.

Just for Fun Part 1

1. marvel or dc?? why?

DC. Marvel killed my interest with the death of the Spider-Marriage (which teaches us to make packs with the devil), uninteresting overly complicated X-Men and ending Spider-Girl. I came back for New Warriors, Scarlet Spider and Mayday Spider-Girl but the first two were canceled and the latter had its mythos gutted for no good reason. I have no interest in putting up with popular writers who don't bother to research a character and take the laziest route possible. I might buy a Spider-Girl series if the original creative team is involved and get Star Wars comics in trade. Otherwise it's too overpriced and usually feels like a waste of money. I may not be thrilled with everything at DC but at least a have a couple of books I enjoy.

2. favorite male character?

This seriously changes a lot. I kind of rotate my favorites. Booster Gold, Rip Hunter, Jason Todd, Roy Harper, etc. 

3. favorite female character?

Same as above. Starfire is the current one although it sounds like their tossing all her current development out the window which I hate. Cassandra Cain, Mayday Parker, Princess Leia, etc.

4. would you rather be an xmen or avenger?

Years ago I would have said X-Man but that's changed. The Avengers are loved by the public and don't currently bug me as much.

5. what would your mutant superpower be?

Force field, more like Cecila Reyes than Skids. I recall Skids having trouble eating because it was always up (at the beginning) and Cecila started out with her force field automatically coming up when she was endangered.

6. would you want to live in a universe where superheros/villains existed?

It might be cool for awhile especially if I had powers just not something that would be great long term. Think of the damage.

7. who do you think has the coolest superpower?

Characters that have combo packs of powers. It's always nice to have a lot of options.

The Return of Cassandra Cain

Mentioned here in the Synder/Capullo interview. All I can say at the moment is it's about damn time.

Covergence #4

Well this is at least at its halfway point.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Free Comics Book Day 2015

My LCS had it set up different than any other comic store I've visited during FCBD. Usually there's a table set up to the side but this time it was right next to the register making it hard for the people trying to buy their comics. Fortunately I didn't have to buy anything but it was weird to see everyone bottlenecking to get to that area. I was pleased to see other female customers one in particular dressed up for the day in a Robin shirt, socks, Batman headphones and tote bag. She even color coordinated her green skirt and red shoes to match the Robin look.

Some SPOILERS AHEAD

A:AOU

No spoilers. I saw Avengers Age of Ultron and apparently no one in the theater I was in understood the movie. For example afterward I heard one mom ask her kids who one character was and they said "Phantasim." I'm not even sure where they got that name. 

While in the theater the movie was in the middle of explaining the same character when I heard a little kid repeatedly ask who that was. Things like this just amuse me. I sat with a great audience that had some good reactions to the movie. I actually heard people gasping in surprise during one reveal. I didn't stay for after credits because Whedon said there would be no after credits scene. Although there is a short one a few minutes in.