I assume this is just the pencils and it will be inked and colored when the second print issue comes out. But once again Jim Lee does a beautiful kiss between Clark and Diana. I've ordered my copy already!
SUPERMAN & WONDER WOMAN
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Cover for Second Printing of Justice League #12
I assume this is just the pencils and it will be inked and colored when the second print issue comes out. But once again Jim Lee does a beautiful kiss between Clark and Diana. I've ordered my copy already!
DC Comics Super Power Couples
I love this top ten and Kal/Diana have been my number one for years but I would put Bat/Cat at number two. Number 10 is chuckle worthy.
Superman and Wonder Woman Dating Profiles
DC had a lot of fun leading up to the much talked about Kiss. They created dating profiles for our couple and posted it up on Match.Com. The profiles are cute and funny and there are a lot of injokes if you know the characters.
Match.com also asked its Chief Scientific Advisor Dr. Helen Fisher to weigh in on the relationship and whether or not it could succeed.
"Superman and Wonder Woman are a classic match, as a very high testosterone male and a very high estrogen female," Dr. Fisher said. "They also have many cultural and biological traits that will fuel their romance. People also tend to fall in love with those of the same background. Although Superman comes from a different planet, while Wonder Woman harks from an isolated island, both are aliens to our modern world. More important, Superman and Wonder Woman share the same values and goals: They are both dedicated to truth and justice and both fight evil to save the good -- traits shared by both the high testosterone and high estrogen type. Lastly, both value independence."
Superman Annual #1
I really don't get the point of this book. Superman is kidnapped by aliens and fights Helspont again.Why are DC just dragging in these characters that seem to do nothing for the book? It's just a confusing book, with not so attractive art.
The only thing I enjoyed was the scene with Clark and Jimmy, who have good chemistry, and the gorgeous cover by Kenneth Rocafort.
We get treated to a scene I am wondering with the Superman/Wonder Woman romance now out...is it a tease of things to come? It will make for some fun, to frustrate Clark's lovelife with his sloppy roommate.
Of course, they ruin Clark's optimism by having him brood over how much he misses Lois again.The fight between Clark and Helspont does not interest me nor did the appearnaces of the other aliens. Not even Martian Manhunter (whom I love) or Starfire did anything to elevate this book. The only thing that seemed interesting was that Helspont claimed to know Jor-El.
I suppose Lobdell might explore this in the Superman #0 issue.
I give this a 2.5 out of 5.
Best Panel: Clark getting his cape tugged.
Superman #12 Review
The last issue of Superman before the third creative team take over. It was a light issue. Nothing stellar. Superman takes on the Predator.
For a change Superman is proactive and not whiny and (shocker) thinks! Shame it is not a compelling villain. Clark decides after this foray, it was time to start having some fun and enjoying life. He takes up Lucy Lane's offer to go bungee jumping.
It is sad to say this whole year has been mediocre. Twelve issues have gone past and I really think the only thing I like is the relationship between him and Jimmy, the set up with Morgan Edge and the modern feel of the whole Daily Planet. Clark, himself, I like as having a spine and strong opinions and I hope we see a proactive,modern guy from Scott Lobdell's pen who does not spend his days pining for Lois. While it is fine for Clark to have a crush on the older and more successful Lois when he first comes to Metropolis, it is natural for the guy to move on as he grows older and finds his feet. Lois is clearly happy in her relationship with Jonathan Carroll and was fine enough to set Clark up with her younger sister. While it's nice to see Clark having fun with Lucy, I don't quite see anything that she can bring so new or exciting. The villains have all been terrible. That is what needs to be worked on. A hero is as good as his rogues gallery.
I give this a 3 out of 5 stars because we have Clark actually just getting on with it.
Best Panel. I just like the art and perspective of this page.
Justice League #12 Review
Before I get into this review, let me premise this by saying what a three weeks this has been! When DC teased this gorgeous cover, the story went global, the comic book community buzzed with reaction and Superman/Wonder Woman fans like myself were pinching ourselves to believe it was true and actually going to happen. We had rumors for a while now it might happen but we have been so accustomed to being only thrown scraps, we did not want to set ourselves up. The Super and Wonder books were not showing anything and the Justice League book was being very careful to keep it subtle. In my past reviews I have picked on shared chemistry and hints but I really did not expect this now. I expect DC had a lot riding on this and wanted to keep it secret up until the last minute. Well, it paid off because the book has gotten so much buzz and the first printing has sold out. I would say to fans go back now and re-read the books from Justice League #3 where Clark and Diana lay eyes on each other for the first time and onwards and study the interplay and what was going on with other characters, like Steve Trevor. I am going to show all the shared Superman/Wonder Woman moments from the book here as well.
The League, as we last saw them, went to Mount Sumeru to find Graves and there we saw an apparition of Steve Trevor, suggesting he was dead.
While they confront Graves himself, we cut back to the real world where TMZ is discussing the kidnapping of Steve Trevor, his relationship with Wonder Woman (or at least what was perceived) and a run down of the fight between the League and how David Graves might be involved.
Graves is manipulating the League and using the pain they have for their loved ones to try to get them to help him release the souls of the dead. He used Steve Trevor to get to Wonder Woman because according to him, she never suffered any human loss (so are Hippolyta and her sisters chopped liver?). We can see how focused Clark is on Diana even amid his own pain.
Steve appears to announce he is not dead. I kinda laughed here at how arbitrary this was but it is the thing that gets the League to realize they are being manipulated.
The League take down Graves and once again we see how pissed Clark can get when anyone tries to hurt Diana. Recollect when Darkseid tried to hurt her in #6. Note:heat vision can't affect magic. The League triumph and Graves is defeated. He turns out to be a feeble, sad,lonely man who is grieving for his family.
Twenty four hours later Diana visits Steve. This is a painful scene because it deals with the aftermath of a breakup and normally there is never anyway to do this right or react. However, Diana has been single for a year. She broke it off with Steve because she was concerned for his safety even back then and we are teased with a tidbit about the Cheetah. How was the Cheetah involved in their past and what went down that Diana felt compelled to leave off the relationship? We are not even clear how far the relationship went as well. What is clear is that Steve is fuming. Again. He seems to blame it all on Diana. Insinuating she threw "them" away.
Judging from what we know, I would say he is being very unfair. When we go back to former issues we learned Diana was only 18, fresh faced and inexperienced. She knew nothing about relationships. Steve Trevor is a Colonel and an experienced man. In his thirties now, I would guess. So am I to believe he really thought they would not have problems? The girl did not even know what holding hands meant. Steve appeared impatient and demanding and in my mind should have taken things slower even if Diana had initiated it.She was like a teenager. It was as if he took advantage of her naivete and when it did not go as he wanted, he was quick to lay blame at her feet.
In issue #7, Steve is shown to clearly hate his desk job, and he is being raked over the mud by the media. Diana even challenged him about it there as she is here and it's kind of ironic he looks so offended. But she is hitting the nail on the head, I think. He only stayed for her because he does not like the other members of the League, not did he appear to believe in them. He said they had no social conscience and was doing his shady government dealings by trying to build another League. He also never corrected his sister's impression that Diana crushed his heart and self worth. I wonder if Tracy met Diana how she could even blame her for all the woes that befell her brother? If I were Tracy I would be asking Steve, what were you thinking? He seems more concerned here with what the media would think.
Diana clearly has feelings for him and I believe she loves him ( she loves everyone) but she is not in love with him. I believe this scene shows a maturer young woman, feeling guilty for causing someone she cares about more pain and realizing it is time to move on. She tells him they will be getting another liaison. If I were Steve and I truly cared for Diana's feelings I would have resigned a year ago.
The rest of the League minus Superman and Wonder Woman, discuss what went down and they come to the realization that they need to buck up. That they have not been a united team and they need the support of the public. Green Lantern volunteers to resign and let them pin the blame on him.
Superman, worried about Diana, goes to Washington to find her. It might be that the League knows her intention to tell Steve he was being removed as liaison. Superman asks how Steve was and she tells him he is angry. I would say they know. Clark's expression also shows enormous empathy for her as he watches her sitting alone.
The two open up to each other. Diana talks about her naivety. Note she never mentioned love but like. Superman reveals his identity. (Once again, in this continuity he tells her before Lois) Diana wonders if that works in protecting people he is close to.
Clark admits that it helps but he still has to keep secrets from everyone. Diana contemplates how different they are, and asks him if he feels alone. It says to me even when she was with Steve, she felt loneliness. It's a moment of instant connection. The attraction that is already there, suddenly is magnified. Diana's face is so beautiful when she looks at him. Vulnerable but open and giving him the signal his feelings are reciproacted. They both lean into towards each other.
We end with Amanda Waller giving Graves (in Belle Reve Prison) a type writer to finish his story.
From a shippers point of veiw, I found the moment of Clark and Diana's connection tender, poignant and resonant. There are so many of us out there who know how this feels and we are not heroes or aliens or demi-gods. You can be a normal person, with a great job and friends and date but times, you can still feel alone if you have not found that deeper connection you need. Their chemistry is obvious and Jim Lee did stellar art in this issue. My only critique with this is I would have preferred if we could have seen more stories of them in the five year build up. We know they have worked on and off and have an attraction but would have been nice to see more of that sexual tension. The fight with Graves was not the most interesting and I still don't see him as such a great villain. He served his purpose, I guess. I am waiting now to see how DC handle this dynamic and I really hope they do not drop the ball for the dull, predictable status quo. This romance has so much potential for new stories and for both characters to grow.
I give this 4 out of 5 stars.
Best Panel. THE Kiss. The most anticipated part of this issue.
Wonder Woman #12 Review
Diana and Hermes faces off with Apollo, Artemis and Hera for Zola and her unborn child. Apollo is adamant.The throne is his and he is not going to let Diana have her way. Strife, as usual, stands around enjoying the drama.
While Diana takes on Moon, Hermes takes on Sun. Hera grabs up Zola intending to inflict upon her one of those horrible eternal punishments she is legendary for. She tosses her off the cliffs of Olympus, even while Zola is going into labor.
Here, we have one of the best moments of the book where Diana appears to have gotten the power of flight. She manages to save Zola. When Apollo sits on the throne, Hera expects the return of Zeus. But Apollo takes complete control and he exiles Hera. Strife, in her usual sly manner,reminds Apollo of the prophesy of the one who will take the throne by murdering one of the Gods. She points out it could be the child that Zola carries. Diana asks Hermes to take Zola to safety while she faces Artemis. She takes off her bracelets.
Diana, the daughter of the King of the Gods, defeats Artemis. Apollo wants to strike a deal with her. Diana declares if he comes after the baby, she will personally see through the prophesy. Apollo also declares that if the child turns out to be the one to slay a god,then Diana herself would have to kill it. Diana returns to Zola's town. Hera is there with Lennox.
Hermes has taken Zola to deliver the child, but by the time Diana reaches Zola, we find out that the child has been taken away. Diana swears to Zola she will hunt Hermes down. Hera tries to mock a distraught Zola but she, herself,gets a shock. She is no longer immortal.
Hermes takes the baby to Demeter. It seems he might have betrayed Diana for a good reason.
Well, another really tight issue. Action, drama, suspense, humor...and some important stuff for our heroine's development. The one thing I am a little unsure about is her dropping of the bracelets and the clear amping up of her power. Is it the berseker rage? She clearly seems in control here so it probably is a homage. But why would Diana wait to use her powers now when she could have avoided all this before? Is there some limitation on it? Is it that she did not use it on earth for concern of consequence to her surroundings? We need some explanation here. The power of flight made got me excited but the question is, was it just a temporary boost or can she actually fly now?
This is twelve issues in. We have not revisted what happened to the Amazons, the male Amazons and I am not sure if Azzarello is going to go there or just brush it aside. I think we need to deal with it and I, for one, while I have no problems with Zeus as her father, would like to see Diana's mother and sisters back at some point. The mother/daughter relationship is a very important aspect of the Wonder Woman myth. Azzarello has Diana strong and focused but I think it a little odd we have not seen Diana grieve for her lost family. I am also waiting for some explanation of her life in the real world. She is in London doing what? Why? How? Does she have friends? Her story so far has been Gods. She just met Zola. She comes across as very isolated and Wonder Woman's story is also about her adjustment to our world. She was born on Earth and raised on earth. She is not a Goddess like them, even if she has the powers of one. I would like to see a little less God chasing and some more normal moments that show her just living life. If this is a reboot, the writer should at least give the readers something more.
I give this issue 4.5 stars out of 5.
Best Panel: I love Diana's expression and this moment. It's a very human moment.
Action Comics #12 Review
Lois is dying and Superman's mind is being manipulated by the first Superman or the Blaker Ghost. Superman can't focus because he is assailed by images of being in a "perfect world", which basically is him and his allies beating all evil and him marrying Lois and having nothing else to do, I suppose.
Superman tries to resist and focus his mind while Lois' niece tries to help keep her Aunt from succumbing to her injuries. We get some background on the Blaker Ghost and how he actually came to be on Earth and live in Kansas as Adam Blake. His life almost parallels Clark's but he was not fortunate to have his direction/fate. Adam's father throws him out after the death of his mother, blaming him for it.
Superman eventually summons the will to resist and takes on Adam Blake. Blake tries to explain he is trying to save Susie from the evil that is coming. Superman tells him he has gone about it the wrong way. Blake is teleported out by his spaceship before Superman could defeat him. Amid all this hulabuloo, Johnny Clark dies.
Superman then speed-reads all the medical books ever written, and performs surgery on Lois and saves her life.
He meets with Batman who tells him to try to find a way of bringing Clark Kent back. We then find out his landlady is not a normal lady but Mxyzptkl's wife and she can magically wipe people's memories and give him back his identity. We end with strange creepy man appearing in Susie's bedroom, looming ominously at the end of her bed.
This issue was a mixed bag for me. Grant Morrison homages a lot of the old mythos but at times this kind of thing just makes the plot more convoluted in my opinion. As one who is enjoying the more realistic take on jean and t-shirt Superman, these elements don't make it reader friendly. I loved seeing Superman able to focus and fight against being mind controlled. Too often that's such a cliched, overused way to weaken him. I don't get why Lois would want to be married to a man she barely knows. I mean, this is not Clark Kent, this is Superman. She supposedly is in a relationship with another good guy and I never got the impression this Lois sits about dreaming the teenage fantasy as well. This "perfect world", is one of those unreal things that only happens in fairy tales and is this young Clark desperate for that? Unless those are Adam Blake's desires.
The whole Johnny Clark thing was pretty pointless as well. I never saw how that could work with him wandering around with a beanie and no one noticing his features in our media obsessed world. It was also played with and discared way too quickly to have any impact. Then there is what Grant Morrison always does. The deus ex machina. Superman saves Lois by reading books in a flash and bam, she is alive and well. That really detracts from the whole set up and it subverts the raw and modern take and drags it back to the wackiness of the past. It undermines Superman's growth, I feel. I would have liked to see him saving Lois in a different way. It was just too easy. It always has been too easy, that was half of Superman's problem as a character.
Batman's relationship with Superman is good. I get a big brotherly vibe off Bruce towards Clark and that is refreshing. I have been sick of seeing Batman always talking down to or being antagonistic towards Superman.
To top it off, the landlady is the wife of a Superman villain I never cared for. I never could take Mxyzptlk seriously. I am not sure I really care why she is here. She felt more interesting as a normal woman. The last page with Susie and the creepy man was more powerful than most of the book.
I give this issue 3 out of 5.
Best Panel. Good to see the twinkle and the confidence after the self doubting.
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