Comics Backlog #4: Supergirl, Daredevil, and JLA

Well, it is official, Gentle Reader. JLA and Supergirl have bored me to tears. So much so that I am dropping both from my pull list as of now.

Daredevil, however, is Quite Extraordinary, and promises to become Even More Extraordinary(er?). That is right, Friends. Apparently my beloved comics writer Greg Rucka is joining the Daredevil cast, along with another beloved comics writer, Ed Brubaker.

Trying to plod through more of the backlog, and while I would like to give you more than these Reviews In Brief, I am afraid that I do not have anything at all particular to say about Supergirl (eh) and JLA (meh). As for Daredevil? All I can say is Fantastic.

I will probably start reading more Green Lantern tomorrow, Gentle Reader, so I promise to Keep You Updated!

As for now, I return to the backlog. On the docket: Teen Titans, Young Avengers, and the Umbrella Academy. An all-teen all-star lineup, it seems!

Amy Reads the Week (of June 22nd, 2007)

It’s a Comic Book Fangirl’s Dream Come True this week, Gentle Reader, and all I can say, really, is thank you, DC, thank you, Mr. Meltzer, for making me the Happiest Fangirl in the World. I teared up yesterday reading JLA #10, and… well, who am I kidding, Friends? I cried, outright.

No one likes a Spoil(er)Sport, so I’ll refrain from mentioning the specifics of the Utter Fantastic-ness of JLA this week. Rather, I’d like to call your attention to the companion piece to this saga: the JSA crossover.

I’ll admit, Friends, that my knowledge of the JSA is only in reference to the JLA. I’m a JLA girl at heart; Wonder Woman is a member, as is Batman, and Flash, and my other favorites. Mr. Reads and Several Of You have mentioned to me, again and again, how wonderful the JSA is, and frankly, I’ve ignored you, forgotten your suggestions, and just Out and Out waved you off. For that, This Humble Author humbly apologizes. You were right; I was wrong. Never let it be said that I am afraid to admit my failings.

I’m amazed, utterly amazed, at the Quality of Writing, of Characters, of Character Development evident in the JSA. I enjoy the JLA, too, of course, and find the Quality high there, as well. But reading the JSA was like meeting new characters, for the very first time. There really is no other way to express my utter joy over Liberty Belle, over Stargirl, over Power Girl.

Power Girl is a character with whom I am passingly familiar, but not immediately friendly. That is to say, I *know* who she is, and I *appreciate* her, but I don’t believe I’ve ever read a truly compelling presentation of her. Enter JSA. Enter Geoff Johns’ writing of her. Enter Strength, and Beauty, and Power, and Humor, all in one.

When they ask her to serve as chairwoman, she not only says yes but says, Hell, yes! That kind of enthusiasm, the understanding she has of her role in this organization is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Further, the immediate friendship between Stargirl (although I confess, Friends, that I keep wanting to call her Star-Spangled Kid) and isolated outcast Cyclone is charming and poignant, all at the same time. Further, as a scholar who works on literary presentations of fashion (it *is* the Dissertation, Gentle Reader!), I found the Giant Room Of Costume Parts to be perhaps the most adorable and *right* comic scene in comics to date. That is to say, of *course* there is a giant room of costume pieces and parts, considering how these costumes get ripped and torn on a daily, and indeed hourly, basis!

But there are other things, too: the complexity of these characters, of their relationships with each other, with other Super Heroes, with the JLA, in fact, and how they know each other, of course, but also *know* each other. They know their strengths, their weaknesses, that even The Batman can be swayed by rare editions.

Separate, they are intriguing characters part of interesting groups. Together, they are utterly fascinating, compelling, and beyond all else, Completely Heroic. This crossover event gave me a chance to meet new characters, fall in love with old ones again, and most importantly, add another title to my pull-list.

While Mr. Reads has read the JSA for Some Time Now, and in fact had given me the entire backlog to read, I hadn’t. Time, perhaps, or blind allegiance to the JLA. Wonder Woman was there, after all. But I’m a convert, albeit a recent one, and I am thrilled to be so. I for one can’t wait to read more about, say, Liberty Belle, whom I knew from Flash, but now know on her own merits.

I’d love to Read the Week with you more, Dear Readers, but as far behind as I was on JLA, I am even Further Behind on New Avengers. And as I have a few minutes of free time—as one cannot be expected to work at 9:00 at night, no?—I am going to take advantage of them.

Amy Reads the Week (of April 27th, 2007)

Today, Gentle Reader, found me Quite Aware of several of my popular cultures. I went to The Coffee Conglomerate Giant to get some work done, and I carried said work in my Buffy the Vampire Slayer tote bag. Then I wandered over to The Corporate Toy Store to search for the new series 2 of the Marvel Legends figures for Mr. Reads. While searching through various Wasps and Emma Frosts and Planet Hulks (oh my!), a Nice Young Gentleman asked me if I needed some help.

“No, thanks,” I said. “Just looking.” I wasn’t intentionally terse, but I was on my cell phone with Mr. Reads at the time, trying to determine which figures, specifically, he was searching for.

“By the way, your shirt rocks,” Nice Young Gentleman said, and gestured at my “Justice League of America” t-shirt. “They won’t let me wear my fun shirts to work.”

“I can’t wear mine to work, either,” I said. “So I wear them when I can.”

Mr. Reads, still on the line, was laughing, as we have often commented on How Incredibly Cool and Friendly the Nice Young Gentlemen and Ladies who work at Said Toy Store are. “Cool” for Mr. Reads and This Humble Author means, of course, that Said Cool Person is Pop-Culturally Aware of the things that We, Ourselves, are aware of. That is to say, Mr. Reads and I often define “Coolness” by one’s competence and knowledge in Those Areas of Fandom That We Love.

This Fandom Moment was rather welcome today, as I spent the majority of my morning seething over something I read on The Internet. In fact, I seethed so much, Gentle Reader, that I delayed, yes, *delayed* writing this column because I knew, ultimately, that it would disintegrate into a rant. And while I appreciate The Occasional Rant on The Internet (and have Indulged Myself a time or two), I remember, above all else, the lesson I learned upon first experiencing The Internet At Large, some ten, twelve years back:

Do Not Feed The Trolls.

So instead of responding, or writing this column, I seethed quietly. I mentally composed tomes of replies, and I persisted in these useless responses until I remembered to marvel at my Buffy bag, I had the opportunity to share in the delight of the JLA with a Fellow Fan, I popped in a CD and continued to (talent) crush on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids Fame. Until I remembered that Pop Culture is about Us, All of Us, We Few, We Happy Few, We Band of Fandoms.

These things, these fandom objects, seemingly, then, carry a mystical, portentous weight. My Buffy tote bag, my JLA t-shirt, my Wonder Woman day planner, the Reads Family Spider-Man travel mug, even, define me (and in the latter’s case, Mr. Reads) because they were objects chosen, specifically, by me, for me. They were objects purchased with the intent for public display. Unlike some other items in our fandom—my signed copy of Connie Willis’s Bellwether, say, or my Boba Fett pez dispenser—that stay within the home, these other objects are almost talismanic. They are proclamations of the things we adore. The things that make us happy.

But further, they are, above all else, invitations for communication.

I invite you, Gentle Reader, to communicate with me. What are some of your talismanic fandom objects? Tell us about your Batman messenger bags, your Superman ties, your X-Men t-shirts. What’s your favorite item?