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Capes & Corsets: Week of June 16th 2010

By | June 22nd, 2010
Posted in Columns | % Comments

Article originally written by Jasmine Hall
Welcome to the first installment of Capes and Corsets: Another Perspective. This will hopefully be a weekly or bi-weekly installment of women-centric titles where I give a more female perspective then the other reviewers. This article will offer WHY and WHY-NOT you should buy a specific title.

First up is BLACK WIDOW #3 penciled by Daniel Acuna and written by Marjorie Liu. Any fan of Natasha Romanoff knows the whole point of her character is betrayal, hidden agendas and a side of her we may not ever know. In this book, you get a sense of what it is like for Natasha as a spy. Not only having to be a spy, but living up with the choices you make and the reputation that follows. It is a little cliché that Natasha is pinned down for a crime she didn’t commit, but I feel Liu writes it with a more personal tone. The problem with spy comics a lot of the time is that it is the same pattern: go on a mission, have complications, work it out, go home. This trend also seems to follow Natasha around as well. Her past four or so series was similar to that, but this is new. There is more mystery in the air. In issue 3, besides the great cameo from Elektra, the fact of seeing Natasha as a vulnerable and somewhat weak character (in terms of injury) instead of an un-relatable badass spy. is a fresh change of pace I feel this is a good place for girls to pick up if they want to immerse themselves into Marvel, as Natasha has ties with pretty much everyone.

FINAL VERDICT: 8.5 — Pick it up, and go promptly into reading more about the character in back issues.

Next, we have a comic I have been waiting months for. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS: BLACK CAT #1 hit shelves this week. Although I’d like to highly praise the book, it falls lackluster. Jan Van Meter provided the script and Javier Pulido penciled the issue. For many, Black Cat is the ‘fun and bitchy’ girlfriend of Spider-Man. Throughout the years, we’ve seen that she loves to keep her hands busy stealing stuff. Felicia has grown as a character, eventually loving Peter Parker as well as Spider-Man (see: Black Cat & Spider-Man: Evil That Men Do). With the confusing mess that is Brand New Day, Felicia’s personality (which I will defend) has been reverted to her 80s mindset. In this series however, it seems all rehashed. Although she is a Spider-Man supporting character, it would have been nice to see Felicia’s life away from the webhead. She’s made numerous claims that she is a busy girl in the recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man, but unfortunately we do not see it. As a female reader, I know that I’d love to see Felicia gain her own unique friends and defined supporting cast. Heck, what about those Marvel Divas? She seems to be written completely connected to Spider-Man in her own mini-series, and sadly, that doesn’t quite please this long time Black Cat fan. Felicia’s personality does shine through however. Her quick wit and tongue-to-cheek humor is quite a fun change of pace to the usual dry females Marvel tends to have (or now are written dryly). This series is up to a rough start and only the end seems to be somewhat redeemable in terms of a boring issue.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.1 — Wait til issue 2. Not compelling just yet, but a nice addition to any Black Cat fan’s collection. It doesn’t offer too much individual attention for Black Cat.

Continuing on, we have a one-shot comic from Joker’s Asylum dedicated specifically to Harley Quinn! JOKER’S ASYLUM II: HARLEY QUINN is a twist in the origins and life of Harley Quinn. James Patrick writes the issue while Joe Quinones offers amazing pencils. As any girl knows, Harley Quinn was madly (and I mean madly) in love with the Joker. Her whole origins were based around him and she was pretty much his door mat for the first good part of her characterization. Although this isn’t the usual abuse story — it’s more of showing Harley’s dedication and drive. The story is a bit less serious than most of the other Joker’s Asylum collection, but it matches Harley’s personality well. Fans of Harley and new fans can get to see Harley’s wacky and insane personality at work in this issue. Currently, Harley is more independent and doesn’t view the Joker in the best light (thanks to her new gal pals Catwoman and Poison Ivy) but this was a nice tip to her origins.

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FINAL VERDICT: 9.0 — Pick it up. It’s a one shot and it’s a nice story with great art.

Finally, we have BIRDS OF PREY #2. This has been the talk of many debates in the week. Don’t worry, no spoilers here. Gail Simone keeps the dialogue fresh this time around with the back and forth banter between the Birds. Black Canary is the main focus yet again, as it seems White Canary is targeting her. The Birds are not pleased and obviously provide back up. This is the number one female dominated book DC (and quite frankly any comic company) is putting out. However, I get a sense of clustered and rushed plot. I understand wanting to get all the team together quickly, but it all just seemed rushed. Not to mention the art was filled with 100% eye candy ass shots and crotch shots. I’m not sure how I like this newly launched title due to that. This isn’t what a women’s book should be about, BUT this is the main thing I’m noticing. It’s not Gail’s writing or even the appearances of my favorite girls — it’s the cheesecake that is filling the book. I LOVE cheesecake, don’t get me wrong — but this is literally layers upon layers of cheesecake. I don’t think this is a good buy for new female comic book readers.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.8 — Pick it up for the story as it may get interesting next issue.

I wasn’t able to get anything else female-centric this week. Hopefully next week will be better. Thanks for reading!


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