Attention Defecit?

If Whedon is doing Buffy Season 8 as a limited comic book series - how is he going to have the time, energy and creativity to work on Runaways?

He's already doing Astonishing X-Men, isn't he still? That makes three books on his plate, not counting any possible involvement he might have in the Firefly comic series. And Buffy is his baby; one of them at any rate.

And wasn't there also a Slayer in the Future? Didn't have some kind of control or involvement in that too?

I'd already decided I wasn't going to follow Runaways when Joss took over. My days of 'Joss is God!' are long over. Even though I don't blame him for Angel's early cancellation. That's all on the WB/ CW and it's need to teen drama and pregnancies and soap opera kitsch.

But with so much drawing his attention away, how's he supposed to focus on something as beloved as his baby? Any guesses?

Truly Wonderful (Wonder Woman)

Wonder Woman: Princess in Paradise

I jump in with both feet to talk about what a brilliant idea this is. The artwork is stunning. The premise is remarkable. And along with Ares, I find myself wondering what Hephestus would look like kind of bishie.

My favourite WW so far has been Greg Rucka's depiction of the strong, sometimes not pc but always independent and thoughtful ambassador from Themyscira. I loved the whole aspect and theme of Athena's Champion and Diana become Grey-Eyed Diana. But I'd love to see how she got to be that strong. I'd love to see the civilization that raised a woman of that caliber. I'd love to know about her childhood adventures and how she tempered her stubbornness, curiosity and what it's like to live and breathe in a world where the Gods are only an invocation away. The proposed Manga would do that.

Diana looks feisty and young and curious. And while perhaps such an early meeting with Steve Trevor confuses things in terms of George Perez's 'Bright Eyed Innocent in Man's World', it makes me think much better of Diana the myth. Because Diana hunting demons gives her a very good reason to connect to man's world and the plight of man's world more than her fellow Amazon sisters. They're the ones who're insular due to being protected and sheltered in thought, word and deed from anything different from what they've known. Diana thinks in broader terms. And I think it'd be lovely to find out what inspired her to look at the world that way.

There's also the prospect of fun in Hermes representing himself as a mischievous child. It seems perfect. Diana was the only child among her people. How much would she have longed for a playmate? And what trouble would she and Hermes have gotten themselves into and would that explain why she's as close to one of her male patrons as her female ones; and he to her.

I recently came across 'The Babysitter's Club' graphic novel. That's right, a graphic novel to appeal to girls. In a pink candy-striped dustjacket and all I could think about is that it seemed a pretty cool way to appeal to a new generation. I never much cared for the TBC. I may have only read one book, if I read any at all. But I would follow a graphic novel representation, because of the style, if nothing else. If this had been out when I was a kid, it'd have been a doorway to an unexpected world. One which I originally thought of as boring, too girly and formulaic; just based on the book title, colors and occasionally the summaries. The artwork, as I flipped through the book, helped me realize some of the appeal I'd missed as a young girl.

DC of course will do whatever it is DC decides works best for their finances. But the world is changing, and fast. Manga doesn't look to be a fad that'll die out as much as it's become a new part of popular culture and conscienceness. I have to wonder how many girls who aren't originally attracted to comics, or who want to venture into Manga (or comics) and wouldn't know where to start would appreciate a familiar icon. In one swoop you've got magical girl genre, and superhero genre and something that appeals to the 'pink double x's'.

It's times like this I wish America had a concept of Do-jinsh.

Quick Add: I realize that what appeals to me about this is something that other people might get out of WonderGirl. But I never knew much about Cassie until I read the Rucka run. And so she interests me more as Zeus' daughter and Ares' sister than as a part of the Wonder Woman legacy.

A Love That Dare Not Speak...?

I used to be fairly certain the love that dare not speak its name was same sex loving; homosexuality. However the more I follow comic blogs and comic news articles, the more I see guys, because it's almost always guys, talking about how they've seen it all before and how they wish the writer and or artist would turn their considerable attentions to something not super hero related. While they say this, there's a list of other superhero comics that get mentioned and matched, detail for detail against the current offering, proving that once upon a time this was something worth memorizing or at least being able to quick research and lay hands on. But the talk down continues.

Movies, tv, and books are doing cross genre, genre evolution and even genre revolution; they're expanding to new audiences while appealing to the old (even when their publicity machines suck at honoring where they come from: BattleStar Galatica). But in comics so many people I stumble across seem to be convinced that Superhero Comics Are Dead. They'll buy Action Comics and Civil War, Aqua Man and All Star Superman etc... But they sound so grey about it all. It's routine. They're going through four color motions and reading for the sense of community, but they're not really expecting anything.

An acquaintance suggested that maybe they're ashamed they still love it. Which made me think that they think they've outgrown it somehow. To which I say 'Bzuh?!' because how can you outgrow something you love? If you liked Mysteries growing up, then you graduated from Encyclopedia Brown to Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew and from there to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple or Poriot, or maybe to current contemporaries like Sue Grafton or whomever else. I can understand outgrowing the type of mystery novel, or the language in the mystery novel, but not the love of mysteries themselves.

I think the same goes for those who love Romance or Spy Novels. Isn't it easy to imagine some small one moving on from Spy Kids to Le Carre? Wouldn't it fit to see someone with a love of horses move from My Little Pony stories to 'The Horse Whisperer' or maybe to watch them grow and combine Hardy Boys and little boy horse stories into a love of Dick Francis?

Why then is it hard to imagine that someone who loves Superhero Comics might outgrow the smash ups and mash ups, (or maybe not - see Invincible Super-Blog) and want more out of the genre they love so much? Is all the talking down coming about because these lovers of the craft don't know how to ask for more? Do they not believe in more? Are Astro City and Invincible flukes? Should those writers not be encouraged? Should the industry not be told how much they're enjoyed? And how much they mean to someone wanting to soak in Superhero comics at the level of entertainment and satisfaction that they demand from everything else now as adults?

Because I'm confused.

Though I admit it's not a total confusion. Because I also read in these varied articles about how depressed the fans(fanboys) have gotten at consistently flawed heroes. At heroic mistakes and heroic misapprehension and their distaste at how dysfunction has become a norm for humanizing heroes instead of those heroes being exemplars of what humanity should strive for. I know personally that I always bristled alongside Batman whenever someone in panel told him he was only human, in order to excuse some loss he was feeling or some mistake or misread clue. I agreed with the gravel voice growl that that wasn't good enough. I could both see that Batman felt the loss and that he wouldn't let it wear him down or make him give up and that he didn't accept it as final. That's superheroic to me. That's stuff that kept me alive during a pretty shitty childhood. So I can understand if the concept of these beloved icons as perpetually flawed makes them small in a way they weren't meant to be - being our modern mythology; our gods of urban olympus.

But to give up? To look at new arrivals to that pantheon and not try as readers to find something to say to the authors so that they'll know that we love their ideas we just want our heroes back? Doesn't it seem to weaken the very memories that are the source of the complaints? Or is that just me?

I mean, I know I'm a weird little freak who calls herself a happy priestess at the temple of the Bat. So, y'know, it's entirely possible I'm not empathizing on the right level as regular human beings without that brand of crazy. And yet, does it take that kind of crazy to not give up hope and to strive to get what I want written for me?

Babbling: Total Manga Confusion

Manga, Yaoi, Wha?

I like Superhero comics. And I like certain themed and independent comics. Teenagers From Mars remains a favourite book. My experience with Manga is limited. Generally it's seemed like one half of a series, the best part of which for me has been the anime. And yes, I'm aware that the Manga and the Anime while being in the same universe, with the same character histories, with the same names, aren't likely to follow the same plots or sometimes even have the same tone. But that's one of the mysteries (things I haven't or will never get ) I've just come to accept.

But I've been struggling understand something for about a week now and trying to write down my thoughts about it. It starts with porn. I find porn boring and uncomfortable and yet YAOI makes great porn. Yaoi makes not boring, not discomforting porn. Comics and sex = yay! And no, I won't be going into the why of that on this journal. It's just enough to say it works for me.

Yaoi is more than porn, though. And it doesn't seem to be an easy thing to skim or dabble into. It doesn't feel like enough for me to know that it's a Japanese word and what that word means and what that wordrepresents as to the sensibility behind the art. There are politics going on. Women's politics, identification politics, worries about the extreme right and possible censorship; the list goes on. Not only that but there seems to be this crack in the world of publishing where a fiscally sound niche is being formed. Yaoi, Manga, OEL and more, there's some kind of revolution going on and through it all I need to be schooled. The questions is where do I go? Where do I start?

One part of the debate seems to be about Yaoi specifically and it being things written by women for women. But that's not supposed to make me think of Slash, even though it does. There seems to be a lot ofvehement definition and differentiation against Slash. The best I've read so far declared that that true 'Slash' readers of Manga would be Aimai or those who like the hints. Not those whoactually like to see it out there, clearly written and drawn.

And Slash also tends to lead to fandoms(usually Media) and fanfic and fan action. Which is a different community than people who read and write comics with a Japanese art style. And then Yaoi breaks into Boys' Love, which is different from Bara even though the protagonists are both male and both going to end up in bed. And all of that is different from Dōjinshi which is the equivalent of fanfiction and doesn't seem to apply to original made works?

And then like any drawn work, there are artists to discover and writers. But there's also apparently direction styles within the art, in terms of presentation and that's new and confusing.

But while I'm muddling through that, there's a whole other set of confusion concerning young fangirls and over-sauration and too much exposure and 'Won't someone think of the children!' - which seems to point out the possibility of shifts away from interacting with art that can get you of and labeling it straight up porn; that is art (something erotic) created just to get you off. Or at least that's my clumsy self definition.

Because while Shōnen means made for boys, Shōnen-ai is gay romance made for women by women? And even if it's not explicit, that Manga is mingled in with Yaoi in certain chain bookstores? Which boggles me, maybe because I just don't know the titles, because I haven't seen much of anything looking like Yaoi in my local Barnes & Noble which has a huge section. And somehow my library system has managed to tell the difference, because it has a huge manga selection and I don't see anything like Shōnen-ai or Yaoi there either. Is Fruit Basket porny and gender challenging and hot and I just don't know?

And how is that in Japan these books are written by women for women, when the bunch of people I see borrowing manga or reading manga at the bookstores (the places that are supposed to have yaoi) are boys. I realize there are many different type of manga, just like there are many different type of American / English First / Non Superhero + Superhero Traditional comics. And that Yaoi is writtenspecifically for women. But with all the concern I see buzzing around, are these young boys, gay boys? Is Yaoi comfort for young closeted teens? Are people afraid that no matter the title those young boys will be perceived as gay? What's going on? Is there any where to get information where it's not already assumed a person knows what's going on? I can look up the names of things, Mecha, Mahō Shōjo, but that doesn't tell me anything.

And it's not even enough to keep up with the various blogs and bloggers who keep talking about how Manga is perceived as a girl thing. And that some female bloggers get pissed off when people see them buying comics and just seem to expect them to like Manga and know titles and know what's going on.

I've seen boys browsing, borrowing and buying, but I've seen girls too. They get very excited and want to grab up at least three or four volumes and chitter about whether or not the bookstore really has a broad selection. They like to look at their parents like their parents are so old and just don't get anything and no they don't want any other type of book kbaithnx. There's only been one occasion I've noticed a boy reading in the aisle and not get up and suddenly disappear when I showed up browsing the graphic novel section (and why isn't it labeled Manga and given it's own section? Or if they'll all be lumped - Sequential Art?) and that was a group of brothers and sisters and I think their best friends where the girls were trying to get the boys into Manga and at least one of the boys kept complaining that he doesn't want to read about two boys kissing all the time. I realize now I'd have been wrong and ignorant if I'd intruded and said I doubted they'd sell those type of books in Barnes & Noble. And besides, by staying quiet I got to watch one boy surprise another by actually knowing one series and agreeing with a girl that it was really good and the fight sequences were awesome. It was a bit of a shock to me to see his friend go "Dude? You like guys?!" And for the other to go. "Shut up! It's a good book." And them to just go on their way. I still don't quite know what I saw; tolerance, acceptance, plain friendship, broadening comic horizons?

Between stuff like that and the back and forth blogging responses, I feel old and out of tune. What am I missing? Was there a revolution? Where are these readers coming from? Who is this audience? And I'm not talking about the romance loving 13-17 yr olds because if it wasn't romance comics it'd be young adult romance novels. But how did this thing get so big? How come there are English Language Manga Writers for English First Releases? How does that happen? How come Harlequin has two Manga lines? What exactly are they publishing? What's the difference between what they put out and what young girls are reading? Why is there alarm at what the young girls are reading? Why the concern?? Where is the concern? Where is it coming from? I know I'm not the only one surprised and curious, so why is asking questions suddenly a bad thing? And doesn't every fannish community have it's indiscreet and idiotic, so why the fear of 'They're spoiling it all'?

Can anyone direct me to Manga 101?

The ComicBook Store

It's this place of mystery. I hear so much talk about it being a boy's club. My own personal experience was that it was some sort of male Shangri-La that girls didn't even know about. I certainly didn't. I was lost without a place to go and find my comic heroes when I moved to America. I kept looking at Bookstores and Bookstores kept failing me.

Now, however, there's 'Online'. But...

If there's somewhere that has it cheaper - should I still buy / support a 'comic book store'? Online or not? Granted, I'm on disability and I don't have disposable income. That stuff that's not for food, shelter and clothing is severely limited. Heck, my mother still buys me clothing (and all things I dislike). That's just my situation right now.

And yet I find myself wondering if just going for the best deal for me, even if it only saves me a dollar, is somehow me missing some aspect of community.

Most of the people I've spoken to online go somewhere local. So then it seems more like community and keeping the money flowing as much as it is about purchasing something they like and having a place to talk. But remove that element and what's left? Does it really make a difference?

Warren Ellis: Global Frequency

I didn't like Stormwatch and I didn't like Planatary. Transmetropolitan doesn't interest me. I suppose I'll try it eventually. The one conclusion I can draw from reading so much Ellis lately is that when he's hot, he's very very hot and when he's not - it's horrible. At least to me.

Planetary seemed pretentious. There were good ideas, and some beautiful art. But it bored me. Just blah blah blah blah blah. Blah? Blah. Blahblablah. Charlie Brown. Blah Wah Wah Wah. The dialogue was the worst part, which is unfortunate in something that relies on dilaogue to tell its story.

Wow did Planatary make a bad impression. I can't even think of it now except in small flashes of 'What the fuck?!'

Global Frequency on the other hand, is as someone mentioned, very much in keeping with the ideas and ideals behind Stormwatch and Planetary. But it's good. I cared. Big Sky in the TPB wa a rather abrupt switch in art style. I find myself wondering if it was some sort of filler - except the TPB reads like a collection of short stories all set in the same universe. But aside from a little flutter with Big Sky - I loved it. It's something I could consider buying; not before Astro City, Invincible or Runaways Vol 2. But if I had the extra money and it was right there. I'd grab it. That's how much I enjoyed it.

I didn't feel talked down to. I have to wonder how it is Ellis manages to write stories were people are just living their lives and we the readers hover somewhere over their shoulder - and then manages to write stories where it's obvious I'm reading a comic book because comic book logic and science are messing up anything remotely looking like a character or emotional beat.

As a writer, I'm curious about how that happens. Does he just get more comfortable with one set of stories? Is he a better short story writer? Does he fumble with long arcs - trying to make them too spectacular and ending up not making them much of anything at all? Obviously the answer is to read more and see. Except the thought of reading more and falling across the less than stellar bits isn't at all happy making. I'm going to stick to looking up more Global Frequency and see if it was only a one off thing or not.

Never Say Never: Civil War - Again - Why It Upsets Me

I tried to explain my displeasure in Civil War to a friend today. I absolutely bombed. To me a conversation is someone stating their opinion and then a counter-opinion and going back and forth until both sides until understand each other, even if they don't agree. But I was everything but eloquent.

She's not a comics fan, and in fact looking at too many pictures in a row can send her to sleep. But the topic came up and we were having dinner and it's something she knows I'm interested in and I'd been having a rough day, so why not talk about one of my passions. It seemed like a good idea until I actually tried to do it.

First I tried analogies. It's partly how I communicate with the world and it's partly because she doesn't know what's happened and I didn't know how to include all the information that comes with the pictures in a comic, without me having to retell the whole story. But she got lost with the analogies and kept pressuring me to just tell her what happened and what I didn't like. So I tried again. But this time she said it sounded like my dislike for the plot was the issue and she couldn't figure out what about the story itself was bothering me. And as I do dislike the plot, I tried to find another way to go at it. So I tried a third time, trying to avoid all the little hotspots that make me want to go 'arrrgh!'.

And when I'd tried that third time, or maybe it was a fourth time, she said stuff like. "So Congress got scared and did something stupid that people don't like? Well duh, that happens." Followed by. "So Peter Parker was never one of their ideological equals and now they're suspicious of him? Well duh. It's a civil war, right? If he shows he's not down with them of course they're going to be suspicious." And then she said things like. "They're using unsavory tactics and they aren't really concerned about information? Guantanomo Bay anyone?" The only thing that made any impact on her was the government's side using villains. She found that just plain stupid.

I tried to explain that I found the story thin, that there was so much meat to it that just wasn't being used. But all the while I kept getting more and more irritated. Because my feelings before talking to her were that if Marvel was going to use a Metaphor, then it should be a Metaphor. And they shouldn't be trying to bend current situations into the Superhero world in some kind of morality play. And yet - she's right. And I absolutely loathe that. I still think the writing sucks, and the story has no depth, and the rush to get it out is ruining avenues of exploration. I still think that Tom Foss or Prok over in Blogger have some wonderful ideas for how things could have played out (Barring Prok's new theory that it's all about Wanda's mucked up mindfuck). But my friend was right.

The government does do stupid things. Ours does and theirs does. My own irritation that this is nothing more than a broader termed Mutant Registration Act is proof that they have tried stupid stuff before. And who says the government learns from its mistakes? Congress does use fear and paranoia to push through acts that limit the personal freedoms of its citizens. It's been done. We in America live there. And while what happened at the school doesn't seem to be enough of a big deal for such a huge public outcry. What happened in real life with the Towers shares one simple similarity in that the people in power should have been expecting it - there were signs. There could have been accommodations made.

Ironman and Captain America becoming so embroiled in fear and paranoia and mutual feelings of betrayal? It happens. Soldiers for a cause coming to the realization that they've been lied to and friends around them are dying for an unweighted cause? Search theinternet and you'll find the blogs.

I wanted to say to her that the Marvelverse isn't supposed to be like that. That the Superheroes should know better. That the real thing to come out of this should be a more formalized training system for young heroes; no more throwing the kids in the deep end and seeing how they swim. But I couldn't. Because what I wanted to say was that 'I don't want to see that in that world! I want things to make sense because it's fictional. Fictional chaos is part of a plan and a plot. There should be logic and reason to it when I take a step back.'

I do not believe that Marvel is purposely mimicking the irrationality of a fear state and loss of virtue of individuals as they obsess with their own self righteousness to the destruction of all else. I don't believe this has all been planned. I don't see the signs and cues that reassure me that Comic God is in his Heaven and all will turn out, if not right, at least fruitful - meaningful. I do not believe that Goliath's death was a meaningless death for the sake of a meaningless death. Because I can't believe they meant to make me feel this angry and this filled with the need to smack a bitch and talk to them about iconic images, black history in America and volatile emotions. And that I think is the biggest failure of all; that prickle in the mind that makes it all too real, too unscripted, too irrational and too far away from comic reality. I've lost trust.

A reader isn't supposed to lose trust in a story like this even if the characters themselves no longer know up from down. There are our heroes!

Screw That. I Can Fly! : Willow discovers Invincible

I've just spent several happy hours reading 'Invincible' (Ultimate Collection Vol 1) by Robert Kirkman and Corky Walker.

I now have another group of writers, artists and heroes to put beside Astro City in the category of 'Brilliant, Wonderful, Beautiful Story.' It's different story telling but with the same theme of using the Super Hero elements as backdrop for a classic tale; old fashion mythological sagas. I love this stuff!

A young hero with a legend for a father who then discovers his own powers and begins to search for and settle into his place in this world, only to discover that it's all wrong.

How much better than that does it get?! Not too much better. And with these writers striking the right tones between Husband and Wife and Father and Son and Mother and Son. And friends. And the complications of highschool with rumors and girls and crushes and betrayal and that teacher you always knew had it in for you and wished all his students dead.

People keep saying I should try Ultimate Spiderman, because it hones Peter Parker's journey and brings into the modern world and I keep putting it low on my list of priorities because Spiderman's more iconic to me once he's learned his lessons.

But this is a whole new universe, with a whole new character for me to follow and love and root for. It might not have moved me in the same way as 'Confession' and 'Tarnished'. But I enjoyed it in a way I hadn't been able to enjoy Storm Front or 'Planetary'. It was just; adventure, adventure, adventure with subtle plot - bang! - emotional moment, adventure, adventure, adventure -bang!-.

And the Global Guardians made me laugh out loud. Midnight City and Green Ghost and WW (who was absolutely perfect in every way!). And the tiny peek into the Not!Starship Enterprise.

I'd forgotten the fun of being a geek and getting inside references. But I got them here and squeed liked a fangirl seeing someone take off their clothes.

It was the perfect pick-me-up for an emotionally wonky day. And it's yet another 30something dollars I'm going to have to dishout in order to own it.

Astro City leaves me rocked. Invincible leaves me elated.

Now I can understand some of my bitterness with Marvel's Civil War and DC's most recent Crisis. 'Runaways' makes Marvel not seem a hopeless cause in terms of telling stories I like and feel inspired to spend money on. But so far all DC's given me that's reached my awareness is ASBAR.

I love superhero comics. Yes, independent comics have their awesome place and 'Teenagers from Mars' will remain one of my favourites forever. But I love my bigger than life, bright color wearing heroes. And I love that this story exists along side Kurt Busiek's universe and writing to give me the little girl squee and baited breath and stomach clenching excitement.

Stephanie Brown Memorial Case - I Don't Agree.

I don't know that much about Stephanie/Spoiler/Robin IV. I don't even have general Wikipedia knowledge. I have a hazy idea that her father was the first Spoiler and he was a criminal and it shamed her and she wanted to fight crime. And as far as I know she dated Tim. But the biggest bit of hazy general knowledge is that she was Robin and she died and that there's no memorial for her in the Batcave.

Now I've spoken to a couple of people about this and I thought that was it as far as 'my say' on the issue. Since I'm really not following the issue. But everywhere I look on my feeds or my journal's flist - there it is. "Oh for shame DC. Oh how chauvinistic. Oh how unthinking. Oh how...."

And I find myself in the predicament of not quite agreeing with them. It's possible that because I never followed Stephenie's run that I don't have the emotional investment necessary to see this as so wrong. But when I first heard there'd been another Robin who died I did think it odd that the plaque under Jason's Robin costume didn't have another line or an accompaniment about 'Two Good Soldiers' or something.

But then I found out how she died. And then the more people spoke about it and that little interlude I mentioned previously, where someone spelt out what happened to me, the more I think that not having a memorial case makes sense. If you can hold on to how you may personally feel about this and follow my line of logic, I'd appreciate this. I don't often write to speak to anyone, but this seems too emotionally charged for me to write as if no one's reading.

My Thoughts

When Jason died, it was a failure for both Bruce and Batman, both aspects of the man who guards Gotham. He'd lost a son and a crime fighting companion. He'd gotten parenting and guiding all wrong and Jason had run off headlong into danger. He'd lost Jason with Jason thinking he didn't care and that Jason wasn't important, not as himself and not as Robin. And then on top of all that, he'd lost Jason to the Joker as part of something his enemy knew would demoralize him and hurt him.

How could he not have tried to make up for that kind of failure and unintentional neglect with an apology and the apology is the memorial case. It's for a good soldier. It's for the praise that Jason never felt he got in life. It's acknowledgment of Jason's contributions as Robin even if it comes too late for Jason to ever see it. (The 'revival' due to HUSH and Crisis not withstanding)

Jason's memorial is distinctly personal and is a warning and reminder for how both Bruce as himself and as Batman should treat the people in his life who are part of his world. It's a hard lesson learned. It's yet another loss of family when he'd sworn that nothing like that should or would ever happen again. Therefore it takes away from Jason's death and the lessons Batman learned from it, to have an identical case there with another uniform and another plaque. Those cases aren't reverse trophies. It's not like in the Toon!verse where the display cases with the costumes is a monument to Bruce's past. And it seems unfair to me to cheapen one memorial by making it less than unique.

This isn't to say that I don't think that those who die while fighting crime in Gotham (while in costume) shouldn't be remembered somehow. If members of the GCPD fall they have a space in a police memorial. But does anyone really want to have Batman admitting that losses like this are inevitable and then there'll be space cleared in the sanctum of the cave in the expectation of many fallen? Because I don't think the Batcave should have a wall like that. I think it'd take away from what the cave is supposed to be; from its mission and purpose.

I'm told that Batman used Stephanie to manipulate Tim, that he didn't want her fighting crime and from the scans I've seen ,she didn't die as Robin, she died as Spoiler. She died separate from Batman. She wasn't of him. It doesn't make her any less heroic for daring to face Gotham behind a mask and trying to do good. But it does make her death different. And given that she was Tim's girlfriend and she was used to get Tim to put back in the red, green and yellow, the emotional urgency of the situation would seem to go to Tim. Because from what I've gathered Bruce doesn't believe he did anything wrong. Stephanie's death was tragic but it did not come about because of his own inability to act, because of neglect or because of mistaken rejection. Stephanie's death didn't rock him the way Jason's did or the way Tim's would or Dick's.

So wouldn't he need to be prodded? And wouldn't that prodding make sense coming from Tim? If Tim had his own memorial to represent what this life means; the consequences and sacrifices; wouldn't that make more sense? Ragnell suggested a shelf in Tim's room in the cave, with her mask and hood. I think a single burning candle would also work. And who knows about some sort of combination, maybe with a picture of her; a way of Tim remembering his dead.

And from that and maybe Tim's need to remind himself of what happens when he's not there to be a Robin - a balance to Bruce's darkly pragmatic side - it makes sense to me that Bruce could then see Jason's memorial failed. And that he needs to think differently and think twice before he begins to manipulate someone else. Respect for Batman doesn't guarantee anything, because he doesn't have control over what other people do.

My suggestion was that there should be some sort of algorithm in the cave's computer systems that notes when he's paying particular attention to a certain person, researching them in a certain way. That program could tag or alert him in the middle of researching to make sure he's really thought through the emotional resonance of whatever it is he's about to do. And that could be a [ Spoiler Alert ]. Bruce didn't pay attention to how much his approval and working with him meant to her for her own sake. He missed the subtleties. According to what I've been told he saw her as a way to get to Tim and then he fired her and left her out in the cold. He did to her what Jason only thought was going to be done to him. From a different angle, Batman failed to remember that emotions drive motivations drive actions and that Stephanie's actions within Gotham (and perhaps the fact that she'd been working solo before and wouldn't stop just because he fired her) were the dangerous sort that could lead to death.

Some of the posts I've seen recently also talk about the fact that Stephanie isn't even mentioned. And I do believe that to be wrong. But I can understand how it can be tricky to bring up. Because in what context do you bring her up if you're trying to make her death separate from Jason's? Especially when from a certain angle it's also intricately related. Does it fall under the dangers of the job? Does it fall under not knowing when you're not suited for the work? Does it fall under not being careful? Does it fall under 'Beware the Mob'? Or does it fall under 'Batman's a prick and he will use you so don't even bother signing up you'll only get fired anyway? I'm fairly certain, all asshattery in Batman's semi-recent characterization aside, that Batman the Asshat is not what DC is going for. Or rather I sincerely hope that's not what they're going for.

And if Batman's not an asshat, I don't think it's fundamentally sexist that they're not cheapening a storyline (personal impact for Batman) that grew in depth as the years progressed. Jason's death started off as a cheap gimmick almost and then it became the newest goad in Batman's quest to root out and eliminate crime, wrong and evil.

If Stephanie's death is going to be played as a goad to humanize the Bat, it could be a tricky thing for the writers to figure out exactly how that will come to be. And until then a certain measure of denial and quiet in the face of everything else going on might not mean anything more than there hasn't been a storyline and or a writer who's thought up a way of handling it.

Now is this actually what's going on with DC or is it all really a case of white, male, privilege where they don't get how important Stephanie was to several fans - I have no idea. But I think that calling for a replica of Jason's memorial case is the wrong way to go about drawing attention to what her place is in Batman's ultimate story arc.

Once Upon A Time It Didn't All Seem So Pale Ale

Kurt Busiek and Greg Rucka have spoiled me. I have to add Greg because of how much I adore his arc with Wonder Woman. But now after reading the Astro City Trades, I've found myself reading Stormwatch. It's the Warren Ellis TPB. And I like Warren Ellis. I remember liking Warren Ellis. But so far it's all fallen flat.

It's felt like more and more of 'You with your alien fire power and ability to sexify women till they spill secrets blah blah blah' mixed with 'And now you shal PAY!'. It's not boring exactly. I do want to find out what happens. But it's flat. Even remembering how much I liked Jenny Sparks when I read The Authority a few weeks ago, I can't find myself liking her now. And it's not because her personality has changed much it's just because she's surrounded by flat. Wait no there has been one scene so far where she was kicking someone's ass that I've enjoyed. But that was mostly action and not dialogue. The dialogue really seems to suck somehow.

Do I need recommendations now? Have I reached some weird ass 'plateau' of comic reading? Or found my niche or something? All I can think about is how I should care. How I'm the sort of person who says 'Shoot them in the knee caps then ask your questions'. And it's the sort of book that seems to be going that way. And yet I keep thinking of weakened and or flat soda. Something's missing somehow.

Is it the art? Because while it doesn't repulse me, it doesn't seem exactly inspired either. And I can admit that the art of Astro City had to grow on me some. But the story was compelling and the poses were iconic and pretty soon I found things to love and enjoy as I read. I wasn't skimming over the blurbs of color trying to find the next line to get me to the end quicker. And that's how I'm feeling now.

Discerning palate. That's the phrase that keeps running through my mind. I know I've been avoiding Ultimate X-men because it began to bore me and any other X-title makes me want to run screaming the other way. So I've been looking elsewhere and .... I'm not even making any sense except that I want more. There has to be more than Busiek and Rucka and Bill Willingham of Fables. There are others out there who can show and tell ?

Right?