Girls Gone Geek

Cover art by Cully Hamner

The Question #37
Script: Dennis O’Neil, Greg Rucka
Pencils: Denys Cowan
Inks: Bill Sienkiewicz, John Stanisci
Colors: David Baron
DC Comics
February 3, 2010

*Spoiler Alert*

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?  Well, I’m just going to rip the figurative Band-Aid off this bitch: The art sucked. Let me be clear; I usually marvel at the talent of the folks who draw, ink, and color these funny books I heart so much — but I did not enjoy the visuals in this issue like at all. It seemed intentionally overdone. Too much pencil. Too much ink. It was  reminiscent of the Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge miniseries. (I heard it was good, but I didn’t read it because the art irritated me so.)  The panels lacked any real definition or fluidity, and most of the images were stiff silhouettes. As someone who appreciates the female form, I’ma need ya to do better — especially in a story featuring my two favorite DC women.  There was barely any difference between Shiva’s face and Renee’s face, despite the fact that they are of different ethnic backgrounds. Clothes and length of hair were the only defining qualities. That aside, the fight scenes were well-communicated, and a few panels somehow managed to transcend the overall stiffness.  Now, on to the juice:

The issue opens with a montage of monuments and memories of Charles Victor Szasz.  Cut to Renee and Tot discussing the dead rising. Tot, the scientist, is enthralled by an experiment related to the Black Lanterns when Renee hears something. Enter my favorite sociopath. (Heart leaps with joy; people in restaurant have no idea why I have such a stupid smile on my face.) My hope is requited, and Rucka and O’Neil delivered. Lady Shiva’s entrance was flawless.

Now let’s get down to some martial arts, which is really the crux of this issue. We get to see the Renee/Shiva mashup. Renee reluctantly puts up a good fight, to which Shiva responds, “Adequate. Good. This will not be as boring as I feared.” Cue Renee, who responds, “Lady, you are ten pounds of crazy in a five-pound bag.” HA! I loved that damn line.

During their duel/dance, Tot was busy with his science experiment, which, as far as I could tell, was concocting a Black Lantern ring all on his own. That led to the explosive arrival of Back Lantern Charlie, and just in time to distract Shiva from delivering her kill blow. It seems the nutbar really wanted to face the Black Lantern all along. You know, just ’cause. As BL Charlie looks upon Renee and Shiva, we see their true colors: Indigo and green, respectively. Perfect.

A well-informed Shiva schools Renee that, “Not every battle ends with defeat of the enemy.” She then meditates herself into an emotion-free state, making her invisible to the Black Lantern. Pardon me while I log on to www.awesome.org/shivaissogangsta. Lady Shiva is like a masochistic (and way hotter) Yoda with proper syntax.

Finally, Renee and Tot follow Shiva’s lead by letting go of their emotions for their dead loved one, thus becoming invisible. The Black Lantern takes off. Renee dons her costume, determined to follow the monster and stop it — which means we’ll be seeing more of her in this event. Works for me.

Overall, The Question #37 was an effing good read.  Lady Shiva was treated properly, and the story was exciting. It was not what I expected, but the story was perfect for its characters. If you have even the tiniest bit of interest in Charlie, Renee, Tot or Shiva, it’s definitely worth your $2.99.

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.

Current continuity of both, but Slade doesn’t have any bullshit chocolate handy. Not that Shiva would fall for that again (or EVER!).