Retro Reads: Power Girl #8 (March 2010)

I have a hard time seeing Power Girl getting an ongoing series these days, but back when she did have one, it was a lot of fun.

Let's just get this out of the way.

Power Girl (Kara Zor-L) is a character that appeals to a lot of people because of her physical characteristics. Comic legend has it that artist Wally Wood felt his editors weren't paying attention to him, so he started enlarging Power Girl's chest with each issue he drew, stopping only when the editors asked him what he was doing. Since then, Power Girl's breasts have been as much a part of the character as her being a tougher, alternate universe version of Supergirl. It's just one of those things that either makes comics goofy-dumb or pathetic, depending on your viewpoint.

Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti took the right tone with this series, which alternated between action scenes and gentle humour. Sure, there were the expected instances of sexual innuendo and visual gags, but they worked because Power Girl was in on the humour as well. She is a character that is aware of her sexual power over people. She knows she has a body that makes people stop and stare. She is also that rarest of superheroes who seems to not only acknowledge her sexuality, but actively enjoy it.

The story in this issue deals with an alien who dresses like a Seventies porn star coming to Earth in hopes of mating with Power Girl to save his planet. It's actually a lot better than it sounds. The alien looks like a refugee from Zardoz, complete with bikini underwear, a biker moustache and more body hair that all of the Seventies combined. He even has a spaceship shaped like a giant head.

Power Girl is at first horrified by the concept, but as the two of them fight off an alien invasion, she slowly agrees to a date aboard his Giant Head Spaceship. After changing into a nice dress and having a few glasses of golden wine, Power Girl starts to find Mr. Zardoz Homage attractive, but not enough to actually sleep with him. More is revealed about the alien's life and his planet's take on sexuality, which is the opposite of what you would think it would be, and in the end, Power Girl kind of mates with him and saves his planet.

The entire issue revolves around sexuality, even aside from the main storyline. This being Power Girl, artist Amanda Connor makes sure we never forget why Power Girl is so beloved by male readers. Even her night dress is an echo of the design choices she has with her costume.The yearning the alien has for her is played against Power Girl's clear growing infatuation with him, which may or may not be down to her drinking the aforementioned golden wine.  And when the 'mating' is finished, the alien even attempts to make a joke about saying that he has to go now, which ends with Power Girl punching him through the spaceship.

But still, my favourite page in the book is towards the end, when Power Girl returns home. It's a nine panel page that shows her landing outside her apartment, smiling at her cat, and crashing into bed. Her alarm reads 5:57 as her cat crawls up beside her.  At 5:59, she's fallen asleep. At 6:00 her alarm goes off, and she smashes it with her fist while the cat leaps into the air, Power Girl grumbling that she doesn't want to get up for work.

It's just a nicely drawn page that shows more of who Power Girl is, aside from the tight costume and bombshell physique.

It Takes A Neighbourhood To Raise A Spider-Man: Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man #1

Another Number One, another Spider-Man book.

This time around, what will set this Spider-Man book apart from all the others is a focus, we are told, on Spider-Man's neighbourhood.

I wasn't aware of any demand for that, but I admittedly do not have my finger on the pulse of what comicdom wants, aside from scantily clad women and lower cover prices. But I checked this out, regardless.

Written by Tom Taylor with art by Juann Cabal, the series kicks off with Part One of the Mother of Exiles storyline. In it, we see Spider-Man welcome people to his neighbourhood by rescuing them from death in a car crash. We then meet some of the people in his apartment building, one of who gets kidnapped by a crew of guys who look like toughs from a Forties gangster film.

It's fine, but not terribly exciting. Taylor writes Peter as sarcastic yet helpful. We see the dynamics of the building, from his roommates to a judgey older woman to the woman in distress, who is beautiful and mysterious and clearly full of secrets.

I liked Cabal's art on X-23, and really wish he'd stayed there. There's a sterile coolness to his art that works with X-23 moreso than it does with Spider-Man, I feel. Cabal has a very strong Kevin Maguire talent with expression, but his art feels more like stills from a movie than the flow a good comic should have.  His take on Peter looks like a cross between Steve Ditko's classic Parker and the Mego action figure from the Seventies. It's cool, but I'm not sure if I like it.  I did like his interpretation of Spider-Sense, though, which again, looks like something cinematic from the Seventies.

There's an unnecessary back up story about Aunt May seeking treatment for possible cancer while hiding it from Peter that already feels laboured. The art here is by Marcello Ferreira, and it's a lot warmer than Cabal's. There is a great scene with Peter and MJ that I really liked, but the rest of the tale is overwrought. Not with just the Aunt May melodrama, but with Spider-Man lecturing kids about being bullies. It's just cringy.

I've liked Tom Taylor in the past, especially with his Injustice work, so I'll give him the benefit of a doubt here. But this wasn't a great debut for a new book. It may look great, but it already feels tired.

Best Kaiju Movie Of All Time?

Is Kong: Skull Island the best kaiju movie of all time?

After watching Kong this morning and thinking about it as I drove around the city doing errands, I'm coming to the conclusion that it just might be.

Written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly, and wonderfully directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts,  the movie goes out of its way to address many of the issues laid at the feet of kaiju movies.

Of the cardinal sins, waiting to see the monster is among the greatest. (Look at 2014's Godzilla for a good example of this.) Here, we see Kong almost immediately. In fact, he maintains a very strong presence throughout the film. If he isn't lumbering towards the protagonists, they're very much looking over their shoulder for him.

There are no boring debate scenes. At no point in Kong do people in suits sit around a large table and discuss just what the hell they should do about the giant monster destroying the suburbs. (See Shin Godzilla for a recent example.)

There is also an actual story beyond just the monster losing its shit.

Set in 1973 at the end of the Vietnam War, Kong tells the story of two members of Monarch, Bill Randa and Houston Brooks (John Goodman and Corey Hawkins), a U.S. government group tasked with finding giant monsters setting out on what could be their last job: investigating a mysterious place called Skull Island. Called in to provide military support is Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson), a colonel who is unhappy about the U.S. 'abandoning' the war in Vietnam. An expert tracker is also hired, James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), as well as war photographer, Mason Weaver (Brie Larson).

Upon arriving at the island, things go south very quickly. The team learns the true reason they've found themselves on this island filled with monsters, and worse, Kong sees them as hostile invaders.

Kong is also gloriously free of a love story. In a shocking twist, no one falls in love with anyone else. There are no long, drawn out character studies. The only real growth all characters share is their relationship with the environment they find themselves in. From Packard's desire to conquer it out of revenge for his lost men and to win an actual war that was denied him in Vietnam, to everyone else who is sane realizing that they are messing with a very dangerous yet necessary eco-system.

There is another sub-plot involving a WW2 vet (John C. Reilly)  who has been stuck on the island for 28 years that is rather harmless. I had feared this would be scenery chewing comedy at its finest, but it actually wasn't bad.

The special effects are wonderful. Vogt Roberts also frames some very beautiful and iconic shots of Kong and the wonder of Skull Island. There is a scene with the Northern Lights flickering above the island that was so well done.

The cast do their jobs very well, with Jackson looking crazy as a motherfucker, Hiddleston looking very concerned and sweaty, and Larson being both wide eyed and determined. She is only rescued once, and it's because she was off being heroic. Everyone in the cast carries their weight, both in terms of story and acting skills. There may not be a lot of chemistry between them, but Kong doesn't allow for much time for any chemistry to arise outside of a shared need for survival.

Like Russian Doll, Kong: Skull Island surprised me with just how well it took a potentially tired trope and made it fresh and exciting. And yeah, it probably is the best kaiju movie. Or, at least, the best one I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot.

Seven Things I Liked About Russian Doll

1. It surprised me.

2. It was only eight episodes long.

3. It was smart.

4. It surprised me.

5. It assumed its audience could follow along.

6. It gave me new respect and admiration for Natasha Lyonne, both as an actor and creator.

7. It really fucking surprised me.

Wrap It Up! Domino #10

This was a mess.

Gail Simone's Birds of Prey run is among my favourites. This is why when I see a Gail Simone book, I will give it a try. I also love Domino, so this title should have been a lock for me. A joy! Something to keep my hope alive! A peek into a better world!

But no.

There are many things I don't like about this comic. The worst crime is that it feels rushed. There is a small army of artists drawing this, all with varying styles but united in their clear attempt to get their pages down and out the fucking door. The storyline--which was flimsy to begin with, something about Longshot being a threat to all humanity because someone from Wakanda said so, so Domino and her team get involved and woah both Domino and Longshot have luck powers and won't that be freaky (SPOILER: it isn't)--races to an abysmally unsatisfying conclusion. From what I can gather, Domino and her team go to an extradimensional realm and conquer it--in 12 hastily drawn pages. They upset years of slavery and rally the oppressed to fight back--in 12 pages. Four people with guns do this. FOUR PEOPLE A BIT OF OF LUCK. IN TWELVE PAGES.

Well, I assume there is a bit of luck, since that is Domino and Longshot's power, but you don't see it. You don't really even see who Domino shoots most of the time. In fact, it could be just four anyones who did this. There is nothing here to make this a Domino comic, since apparently anyone can overthrow an entire realm. You should try it yourself.

Even before this issue, I was having problems with this series. In my opinion, the art style of the regular artist is far too cartoony for a story about an assassin. Domino's sidekicks--Outlaw and Diamondback--seem interchangeable and one dimensional, and in Outlaw's case, down right embarrassing. The inclusion of a new member--Atlas Bear from Wakanda, because you just have to have a Black Panther connection to sell comics these days--seems equally empty. (She wants Longshot dead for most of the last few issues, but suddenly wants to care for him because he's sick.)

Like I said, a mess. Apparently this is the last issue before it gets re-launched as a --wait for it-- a brand new Number One! This time Domino will be in another team book, set to run for five issues. With the same empty characters but with Black Widow thrown in, so yeah, that'll solve all the problems plaguing this run of Domino.

I'm not sure if I'll pick it up. I may let the burning stench of this trash fire dissipate first.

Venom #11

I admit to a certain snobbery when it comes to comics.

I do not consider myself a Venom fan. It has been my experience--and I am being honest here, so please understand--that the people who identify as Venom fans are not ones that I associate with in the weird social hierarchy that exists in my city's comic book shops.

As a young twentysomething, clad in black Levis and Joy Division T-shirts,  I read real comics. You know, like Sandman, Watchmen, Sin City, Love and Rockets.  If I read superhero comics, it was because I grew up reading them, and it was still a somewhat elevated passion. I did not read Venom. Good God, you'd think I read Spawn next.

But here in my fifties, I admit to a certain curious affection for this dumb character. I am circling around watching the Tom Hardy movie. I recently bore witness to a young man spend several hundred dollars on a Venom bust at my local. He seemed to be in his right mind. He also seemed very excited about owning this statuary, and watched as it was boxed, then carefully carried it out to his car.

So I saw this latest issue, liked the cover, and finally gave in. I purchased a Venom comic.

And then I hear this is the issue that led several people to issue death threats against the writer, Donny Cates.

Having not read a single issue in this series--or any of the previous legacy 177 issues-- I'm probably not the best judge of why these people are upset. Apparently, some of these people are shippers, which is another term I had to look up. They wanted a romantic relationship between the Venom symbiote and its host, Eddie Brock?

I guess?

Anyway, as a comic on it's own, with me not knowing really anything about what was going on, I was surprised to enjoy it. It felt very much like a horror story, focusing on the odd relationship between Venom and Brock. There is a major revelation that I can see being very polarizing. But death threats? Please. If you don't like a creative vision, then simply stop supporting it. Nothing speaks more loudly than the non-ringing of cash registers. Look at Solo.

But for me, I was intrigued by the book. Not sure if I'll pick up the next issue, or ever read another Venom comic again, but yeah, I got my money's worth.

Retro Reads: Secret Avengers #34

We didn't know how good we had it in 2013. Jonathan Hickman was on Fantastic Four and Avengers, and Rick Remender was doing Secret Avengers. I'm not sure if things will ever be this good again.

Remender and Hickman are now busy doing their own creator owned work, but I still miss their touches on the Marvel heroes. (Remender's run on Uncanny X-Force remains one of my favourite comic book runs of all time.) So I thought I'd just randomly read an old issue from the Good Times, when the future seemed a lot brighter and smarter.

This issue made me nostalgic for the fun back then. Hawkeye and Captain Britain discussing The Smiths, the Flash Thompson Venom, an alternate world of Marvel heroes gone all horror called Earth-666, Wolverine as Morbius The Living Vampire, Captain America as a werewolf, Punisher as Frankenstein's Monster, and even the original Human Torch as an evil baddie.

There was just an energy to this book that I don't see that often anymore.

I'm getting older every day.