Girls Gone Geek

Variant cover art by Cliff Chiang

The best friendships are the ones where, even after long stretches of little communication, everyone picks up right where they left off. There are no awkward pauses or, worse, internal monologues about how it’s just not the same.

For fans of Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey run, reading issue #1 of the revived series is like that great reunion with an old friend. Simone stepped away from the book three years ago, and it was canceled in 2009. However, she and original collaborator Ed Benes have wasted no time in returning the Birds to classic, crime-busting form — and we missed them terribly. (Spoilers await.)

The four-part “Endgame” story opens in Iceland, where Black Canary has arrived to rescue a diplomat’s 5-year-old daughter from a terrorist/kidnapper. The beauty of this sequence is that it firmly re-establishes Dinah Lance as one of the world’s most skilled combatants, obliterating the sad-sack wife nonsense other writers saddled her with. Let’s just say there’s a lot of blood on the snow in Reykjavik, and it’s not Dinah’s. Or the 5-year-old’s.

"Where my girls at?"

Shortly, Oracle begins reassembling the team to deal with an anonymous mofo who has a frightening amount of information about the Birds and all their friends/associates. Zinda is dispatched to recruit Hawk and Dove, one of whom has some serious anger management issues. (I wouldn’t have held it against Hawk if he’d tossed that silly, bank-robbing cheerleader off the roof, but that’s just me.) The addition of these newbies to a well-established group is potentially rich with drama, and I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone adjusts, or doesn’t.

This is the REAL DC Trinity

Simone’s affection for these characters comes through on every page, especially in the funny, familiar banter that flies between Canary, Zinda, Huntress and Oracle. The Birds also look fabulous, thanks to Benes’ gourmet cheesecake illustrations and colorist Nei Ruffino’s glowing, moody palette, which really suits poured-on leather under moonlight. Those panels of Huntress cracking skulls while talking to Oracle via cell phone could launch 1,000 gym memberships alone.

As if that weren’t enough, the Big Villain Reveal on the final page is a total surprise, and still a bit of a mystery. I figured it would be Lady Shiva, or even a tween Sin, but the ending suggests that our heroines are in for even bigger trouble. It is totally on — and I couldn’t be happier.

Birds of Prey #1 hits comic shops today. To celebrate this joyous occasion, here’s a tribute.

In my search for the ideal tribute, I stumbled across another gem. Cheers to the bored fangirl who poured awesomesauce all over this. It went perfectly with my LMAOnade.

Cover art by Dan LuVisi

Secret Six #20 played out like a well-acted revenge thriller. Catman reminded me of Liam Neeson in Taken. Those baddies effed with the wrong guy! Still, I wish Cheshire had come along to help with the revenge portion of the show. Maybe Gail will bring her around later. Let’s hope.

On the whole, this issue was fast-paced and full of that shock factor these characters are known for, and it set the stage for a hell of a story arc. Thanks again, Gail, for reminding me why I buy monthly issues instead of waiting for the trade.

Secret Six is one of the best books on comic store shelves right now, so I’m puzzling over the 2010 Eisner Award nominations. Based on conversations with my geek posse and articles about the nominees, it seems that most of the nods were totally deserved. However, I have a bone to pick with the judges in a specific category — Best Writer. The five MEN nominated were Ed Brubaker, Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Mark Waid and Bill Willingham. My thoughts:

I haven’t read anything by Brubaker or Waid, so I can’t give an opinion. I’ve heard from several fanboys that Brubaker’s Captain America and Waid’s Irredeemable are excellent. OK. Fine.

Willingham rocks. I LOVE Fables, and I’ve lost hours of sleep because I couldn’t put the trades down. His work is consistent and intriguing, so this nomination makes perfect sense to me.

Johns? Meh. Insert Greg Rucka instead. Sure, Johns is a solid writer, but I’ve never loved his work. The Flash: Rebirth was a snore. Blackest Night was a good time, but I’d liken it to Avatar getting the award for best movie at the Golden Globes over Inglourious Basterds. Johns is just so … mainstream.

(Deep Sigh) At the risk of beating a dead horse, I have to say it: James fucking Robinson got an Eisner Award nomination for the steaming load that was Justice League: Cry For Justice! What. The. Hell?! I’ll spare you the bullet points of why it sucked (click here and here and here AND here if you must know). The bottom line is that Robinson doesn’t deserve it, at least, not for this comic.

There are other writers who are more worthy of a nomination —writers like, I dunno, Gail Simone for Secret Six. Duh. Her writing in this book has been unwaveringly good, and every issue makes me laugh out loud. Secret Six is pure, debauched entertainment, and I love it.

Robinson is up against some heavy hitters, so surely he can’t win. But Ms. Simone’s absence from the ballot is both a mystery and a damned shame.

DC announced on Friday that Gail Simone will be leaving Wonder Woman. As much as we’d like her to stay on the book, she is not Wonder Woman. With the return of the Birds, I suppose she can’t do it all. I was disappointed, but not surprised. Gail’s replacement, announced this morning, will be J. Michael Straczynski. This guy has got some serious writing cred behind him, but in his interview he seemed more stoked about writing Supes than Wondy. Through hell or high water, Wonder Woman will stay on my pull list, but I’m a little worried.

I’ve made no secret of my admiration for Gail Simone. Her writing is smart, interesting and fun, and she can write the hell out of a kick-ass chick. Many of my favorite characters are so because of her capable hand in their development. At the top of that list is Lady Shiva. I’ll keep it real. I didn’t know much about Sandra Wu-San until she showed up in Birds of Prey. OK, I didn’t know much of anything before I read BoP, but there was a long list of supporting characters throughout Simone’s arc. Shiva was my favorite by far.

As we’ve seen in Secret Six, no one does amoral with Gail’s flair. Amoral characters are intriguing because they do the things our conscience and social mores prevent us from doing. We get to live our fantasies through them, and their writers aren’t limited by pesky issues like virtue. Plus, Shiva is a straight-up beast. She’s kicked more asses than you’ve read comics. She’s fast, ingenious, wicked, and not at all afraid to die. That final fact alone makes her a force to be reckoned with. I firmly believe that she could defeat Deathstroke (See previous poll). All Shiva needs is a two-second window, and he’s done for — genetic engineering be damned. Shiva would engineer a beatdown.

To drive the point home, here are some of my favorite Lady Shiva quotes:

“I believe in letting people do as they wish, as do I myself. Sometimes, of course, what I wish to do is kill them and they do not wish to die. This gives life interest.” – The Question #29

“I am not allowing you to pass out. I want your men to see you beg. Then you will apologize with a pain you will remember always.” – Birds of Prey #62

“All this ceremony, and the truth is: the body decays, the spirit is lost. It means nothing. Ashes or earth, I hardly see the significance of where they lay your corpse.” – Birds of Prey #68

“If you ever touch me again, I shall shatter three bones in your arm: the humerus, the radius, and the ulna. I shall shatter them in such a way that shards will protrude into the nerves, causing intense pain! I shall shatter them in such a way that no Western doctor will be able to repair them. Your arm will thereafter dangle from your shoulder like a dead fish. Do you understand?”

And my favorite:

“Perhaps death is just a little bit afraid of me.” – Birds of Prey #63

So, I’m riding the wave of Shiva-is-a-bad-ass-bitch, and as per usual, once she was out of Gail’s hands, someone added suckage to her repertoire. I realize this is part of the multiple-writers nature of comics. I’m not that bitter. But chocolate? As in, Robin (Tim Drake) defeats Shiva by sending her some drug-laced chocolate? Really? Bullshit!

I seriously doubt that a world-class mercenary/martial artist with so many enemies would even consider eating a piece of hotel chocolate. As E. pointed out, “She’s probably on a macrobiotic diet.” The poisoned chocolate was a flimsy attempt at strengthening Tim’s character, I guess because he and Shiva have a past. But honestly, who gives a fuck? This did a major disservice to Shiva’s character. Her sister was murdered, and her daughter broke her neck. Bottom line: Shiva should get more respect than that. As Black Canary put it, “In some countries, being killed by her brings eternal honor to your entire surviving family.”

With books coming back from the “dead” and all, we have The Question #37 written by Greg Rucka. Now, I almost love Rucka as much as I love Simone. He also understands the kick-ass chick. We’ll get to see my favorite DCU lesbian, Renee Montoya, a Black Lantern Vic Sage and (here’s the part that’s got me salivating) an appearance by Lady Shiva. She’s already got a past with Vic. Throw Montoya in the mix, and a few interesting worlds collide. Renee vs. Shiva? I’d like to see that mashup! Rucka had this to say, “[Shiva's] just entirely amoral and committed to her path. … She doesn’t care what you think, ever.” Color me blue, because THAT gives me hope.

Nobody draws Black Canary better than Benes!

I’ve enjoyed comic books and the characters since I was young, but for a long time, it was more from a distance. I’d admire them in a bookstore, peruse a boyfriend’s long box or, on occasion, borrow a trade. But I didn’t collect and follow comics myself — that is, until I met the Birds: Babs, Dinah, Helena and Zinda, as written by Gail Simone and drawn by Ed Benes, hold an über-sacred place in my heart.

I had just started a new job a few years ago when the topic of comic books somehow came up with the IT guy who was setting up my computer. He asked if I was into them, and I was all, “Sure. Kinda.”  I told him I was really into Wonder Woman and chicks who kick ass. He said he had something for me, and the next day, there was a stack of Birds of Prey trade paperbacks on my desk.

I opened the first one that following Saturday morning, and I couldn’t put them down. I was so enthralled that I read until my eyes couldn’t focus, and I developed a monumental headache. I kept on reading.

It is because of those very books that I go to my LCS every Wednesday; spend countless hours reading comics; search the Internet for comic book news and art; display a Black Canary Ame Comi figurine on my office shelf; spend lunches with other comic book fiends, talking for hours on our favorite stories; and now have a blog to talk about it all. Birds of Prey was the catalyst.

Honestly, no other book or set of characters has done for me what BoP did. I’d liken it to the first hit from a crack pipe. Gail’s writing and Ed’s art made me itch. From then on, I was hooked, searching desperately for that same high that I got from the Birds. Some series have come close: Identity Crisis, Secret Six, Rucka’s run on Wonder Woman, Fables, and Detective Comics with my darling Kate. While they all gave me a great fangirl buzz, they didn’t satisfy me quite as much as Dinah kicking ass in her fishnets, Babs taking down a group of men from her wheelchair, Lady Shiva struggling with morality as Jade Canary, and Lady Blackhawk punctuating the action with her hilarious one-liners.

When Gail moved on to other projects, I was terribly disappointed. Especially when DC married off Dinah to Ollie, and essentially ruined what Gail had done with her character. (And can someone please tell me what happened to Sin? Anyone?) In new hands, the book floundered, then got canned. Many, many times I’ve wished for DC to bring the Birds back, with Gail driving. It seems my wish has been granted: The dream team of Simone/Benes is back! And I am so fucking happy I want to cry.

Secret Six #16
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciller: Peter Nguyen
Inkers: Doug Hazelwood & Mark McKenna
DC Comics
December 9, 2009

The Story

*Spoiler Alert*

We’ve all watched movies with serial killers where you wished nothing more than for Justice to assail them squarely in the nuts.  Well, our favorite amoral anti-heroes of Secret Six do much, much worse. Leave it to Gail to make demented so delicious.

The issue opens up with Catman and Deadshot abducting a serial-killing child molester from police custody, only to turn him over to the father of 9-year-old Katie Sanchez, one of his victims.  Mr. Sanchez wants revenge.  Before parting ways, Catman gives the bereft father a few tips.  “When you flense him, don’t think of him as human. It’s just tissue.”  Catman and Deadshot exit scene  to talk about … dinner!  Gail perfectly articulates the fine line these lovable psychopaths teeter on.  The diabolical duo don’t get very far before the one and only Black Alice makes her presence known.

Now, I am beyond thrilled that Alice is back in Gail’s hands.  I loved her at inception, and have been champing at the bit for more of the character ever since.

Having witnessed the tutorial on torture, Alice is unaffected and wants to join the Six.  In her bratty, teenager fresh-from-hell kind of way, she refuses to take no for an answer.  Throw in some strip club shenanigans, Black Alice’s magical mojo, some sentiment from the teddy bear that is Bane, the always welcome witticism of Ragdoll, and you got yourself a Dionysian good time.

The Art

I pretty much jizzed on myself when I got a look at LuVisi’s cover back in August.  I LOVE HIS ART.

But I have to admit; I really missed Nicola, who is about as good as a comic artist can get.  Having said that, I think Peter Nguyen did a excellent job.  The facial closeups were awesome. I absolutely loved what he did with Alice’s costumes as she moved between magics.  The Alice Banshee was some rock star shit, fa sho.  I also dig the ink, which is appropriately ominous. My only criticism is that the faces seemed elongated in certain panels. All in all, enjoyable.

I had a great deal of anticipation for this issue, and I was not disappointed.  I look forward to whatever fuckery the Six can get themselves into next and … and what happens if (OK, when) they make Alice angry.  Cowabunkle!