Wonder Woman, Batwoman and the new DC Comics

I’ve always been on the verge of being a comic book geek, without every quite arriving. As a kid I was a fan of the girl super heroes — I loved Wonder Woman, Isis and Batgirl on television, but my family wasn’t much into comic books and my lack of transport to a comics shop as a kid meant neither was I.

Wonder Woman Lynda Carter
Wonder Woman Lynda Carter

I was so disappointed that my Wonder Woman halloween costume at six years old looked nothing like this!

The closest I came in my formative years was having a friend in college who had gobs of them that I read obsessively. But I was too poor to buy any myself at the time.

Me in College

Oh look, me reading the Green Arrow in college. Nice hair!

As an adult, pop culture has kept me vaguely aware of the developments around my childhood superhero favorites. My first online fake identity was a Batgirl anonymous account. I have my own superhero nickname (obviously!) and logo – even t-shirts. Many years ago, I fantasized about being Batgirl. I wanted to kiss Wonder Woman (wow, that page needs an update). I even have an awesome college-era t-shirt of Batgirl performing oral sex on Wonder Woman over the handlebars of her motorcycle in my t-shirt archive. (I should post a photo of that, shouldn’t I?)

Bat Girl On Bat Cycle
Bat Girl On Bat Cycle

Seriously, the TV show motorcycle had lace on it? I totes did not remember that at all.

But venturing into comic book stores always seemed like too steep of a time commitment/ learning curve for a hobby that seems to appeal mainly to teen boys. Too many titles, too many diverging story lines – how do I tell what I’ve read and what I haven’t? I vaguely knew that there was a Batwoman comic, and that the character was gay, but I didn’t go out of my way to research that much.

But things have changed… I started reading themarysue.com (A Guide to Girl Geek Culture) several months back – (how did I not know about this site before?!) and they cover female comic book heroes pretty extensively, which means I’ve jumped over a bit of the learning curve. And there are some major changes going on at DC Comics right now that make a difference. The company has been struggling financially with many of their titles for awhile, and so is doing a reboot of the every product they have – called the New 52 or DCNU, they’re streamlining their titles and hitting the reset button on story lines.

Beginning in September, all of their comic books will start with a new issue #1. There will be new Batgirl, new Batwoman, new Birds of Prey, and new Wonder Woman story lines among many others – and an easy way for me to jump in and wrap my head around the characters.

Unfortunately, there will be fewer female characters in the New 52, and fewer female writers. This was an issue that brought up by several female fans in panels at Comic Con recently [How Batgirl took on DC Comics: the anatomy of a PR crisis] – and DC reacted rather poorly to the challenge, with one co-publisher blaming women for not voting with their dollars. Not really a valid argument, but still, I can counter that by supporting my favorite super hero characters by setting up series subscriptions.

So I went into the local comic book shop (Downtown Comics – the Castleton Branch) on the recommendation of my friend Jason, who is an occasionally employee there, and I set up subscriptions to collect my favorite comic book characters:

Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Bat Girl
Bat Girl
Supergirl
Supergirl
Batwoman
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
Birds of Prey

While I was there, I picked up some of the graphic novels for recent story lines for each of the characters. All of the stories will get a reboot in September, but I’ve been catching up on many of the recent incarnations.

And there’s another pressing question in the world of comic book women: whether the new Wonder Woman will be allowed to keep her (recently acquired) pants. Art from the new series has been drawn both ways – pants on and pants off.

Wonder Woman With Pants
With Pants
Wonder Woman Sans Pants
Sans Pants

One comic book fan (Mario Pieda) suggested this alternative:

JLA No Pants
Who’s wearing the pants now?

In the question of “pants or no pants” I’d like to throw in my vote of (shockingly!!) “pants” because she looks more badass wearing them. Note that this would be the only situation that I will ever vote in favor of “pants” over “no pants.” It would be nice if Wonder Woman were to continue on without looking quite like such a hooker, frankly. Not to slut shame Wonder Woman or anything, but really, don’t those star-spangled underwear ride up your butt when you’re kicking ass, woman? How much fun could it be to save the planet with a Wonder Wedgie?

I’m aware that at 43 years old, a new comic book obsession is probably a mid-life crisis of sorts. But it’s cheaper than a sports car. I hope.

Bat Girl Return Books
Bat Girl Return Books
Continue ReadingWonder Woman, Batwoman and the new DC Comics

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Revolutionary Girl Utena
Revolutionary Girl Utena
An awesome Japanese comic book turned TV series about a cross-dressing young girl, Utena Tenjou, who is rescued by a prince, and as a result, decides to become a prince herself. In a strange, fantastical high school academy, the individualistic girl Utena discovers a strange series of duels – competitions to claim her classmate Himemiya Anthy as the prized "Rose Bride".  When Utena agrees to a duel, intending to free Anthy from her obligations, she finds herself inexorably drawn into a complex web of power struggles, lust, and jealousy.

Read a good, more complete synopsis of the storyline.

Revolutionary Girl Utena Manga Comics

The comic books are really the easiest way to follow the plotline, which can be really dense and surreal in the TV series and almost impossible to follow in the movie. The comics are much clearer about the character’s intentions and about what’s actually going on with the arcane rituals they’re performing.

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 1: To Till

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 2: To Plant

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Volume 3: To Sprout

La Fillete Revolutionnaire Utena Illustration

Art of Utena (Japanese Language Text)

Revolutionary Girl Utena TV Series DVDs

Revolutionary Girl Utena – The Rose Collection – Volume 1

Revolutionary Girl Utena – The Rose Collection – Volume 2

Revolutionary Girl Utena – The Black Rose Blooms – Volume 3

Revolutionary Girl Utena – Impatience and Longing – Volume 4

Revolutionary Girl Utena – Darkness – Volume 5

Revolutionary Girl Utena The DVD Movie

Revolutionary Girl Utena – The Movie (2002)
The Movie version of RGU has been called an "alternate universe" version of the story… and with good reason. Condensed and somewhat different in details, it would be almost impossible to follow had I not read the comic books and seen the TV show.

Revolutionary Girl Utena Websites

The Utena Encyclopedia

Rose Petals – La Fillette Revolutionnaire

The Utena Network – wine soaked roses

Revolutionary Girl Utena – The Movie
A flash site for the movie.

Anime Goddess’s Utena Fan Fiction Page

Continue ReadingRevolutionary Girl Utena

One-Liners From Your Favorite Comics

A lady came up to me on the street and pointed at my suede jacket. ‘You know a cow was murdered for that jacket?’ she sneered. I replied in a psychotic tone, ‘I didn’t know there were any witnesses. Now I’ll have to kill you too. – Jake Johansen

A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: Duh. –Conan O’Brien

A woman broke up with me and sent me pictures of her and her newboyfriend in bed together. Solution?? I sent them to her dad. –Christopher Case

Did you ever walk in a room and forget why you walked in? I think that’s how dogs spend their lives. –Sue Murphy

I don’t do drugs anymore ’cause I find I get the same effect just by standing up really fast. – Johnathan Katz

I had a linguistics professor who said that it’s man’s ability to use language that makes him the dominant species on the planet. That may be. But I think there’s one other thing that separates us from animals. We aren’t afraid of vacuum cleaners. – Jeff Stilson

I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three. – Elayne Boosler

I just broke up with someone and the last thing she said to me was, ‘You’ll never find anyone like me again!’ I’m thinking, ‘I should hope not? If I don’t want you, why would I want someone like you?’ –Larry Miller

I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by. – Douglas Adams

I think that’s how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, ‘Gee, I’m enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn’t cold enough. Let’s go west.’ –Richard Jeni

I voted for the Democrats because I didn’t like the way the Republicans were running the country. Which is turning out to be like shooting yourself in the head to stop your headache. – Jack Mayberry

I was a vegetarian until I started leaning towards sunlight. – Rita Rudner

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman where the Self Help section was. She said if she told me it would defeat the purpose. –Dennis Miller

I’ve been doing the Fonda workout: The Peter Fonda workout. That’s where I wake up, take a hit of acid, smoke a joint, and go to my sister’s house and ask her for money. –Kevin Meaney

If you ever see me getting beaten by the police, put down the video camera and come help me! – Bobcat Goldthwait

If your parents never had children, chances are you won’t either. – Dick Cavett

In elementary school, in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic? Do tall people burn slower? – Warren Hutcherson

Just when you think that you have been gypped, the Bearded Lady comes and does a double back-flip. – John Hiatt

My mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, ‘Mom, they weren’t trying to teach you how to swim.’ –Paula Poundstone

Now they show you how detergents take out blood stains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you’ve got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn’t your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash. – Jerry Seinfeld

Relationships are hard. It’s like a full-time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girl friend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks notice. There should be severance pay, and before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp. – Bob Ettinger

Santa is very jolly because he knows where all the bad girls live. –Dennis Miller

Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography. – Paul Rodriguez

The Swiss have an interesting army. Five hundred years without a war. Pretty impressive. Also pretty lucky for them. Ever see that little Swiss Army knife they have to fight with? Not much of a weapon there. Corkscrews. Bottle openers. ‘Come on, buddy, let’s go. You get past me, the guy in back of me, he’s got a spoon. Back off. I’ve got the toe clippers right here.’ –Jerry Seinfeld

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they are okay, then it’s you. – Rita Mae Brown

What do people mean when they say the computer went down on them? –Marilyn Pittman

When you look at Prince Charles, don’t you think that someone in the Royal family knew someone in the Royal family? – Robin Williams

Where lipstick is concerned, the important thing is not color, but to accept God’s final word on where your lips end. – Jerry Seinfeld

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I’m halfway through my fishburger and I realize, Oh my God….I could be eating a slow learner .. – Lynda Montgomery

Writing is nature’s way of letting you know how sloppy your thinking is. – Bob Mugele

Continue ReadingOne-Liners From Your Favorite Comics

Subject: Re: The Vicarious Thrill Is Gone…

A funny post reprinted from the rec.arts.comics.misc newsgroup:

From: slieber@compuserve.com (Steve Lieber)

Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc

fiction, for me, provides a vicarious thrill. I assume the mantle of super-human being and in my mind i fly with the heros. but recently in a main stream comic book it is made all too clear that two of the male characters have more than friendly feelings for each another. and that is something i have no desire to experience, vicarious or no. i know in this age of acceptance i’m a caveman for saying so but it just ruins the comic for me. i wished mr. e had chosen not to express this lemming like opinion in the comic. comic book heros kick a**, they don’t suck it.

I’ve always loved reading this sort of thing. I can’t help it– ‘phobes crack me up. Whenever a gay character appears in a mainstream book you get eloquence like what mister p offers above, and it always seems to carry that familiar subtext. "I do not like reading about the homosexuals in the comics because they interfere with my enjoyment of the pictures of handsome, muscular men, flexing and posing in their tight, tight clothing and leather boots."

Continue ReadingSubject: Re: The Vicarious Thrill Is Gone…