Does it make sense to say that I had forgotten what sweet zombie action was like?  I haven’t played a Resident Evil in ages, the zombie-movie trend has dried up and my zombie tv show got gun-shy on us.  But tonight reminded me why I like zombie fiction at all and, by extension, the reason I was ever excited about this show in the first place.  We had a little chat in the comments last week about how it looks like WD was heading toward the old thematic stand-by of “the real danger in the zombie apocalypse is other people, not the zombies” and that’s all well and good just so long as we never forget that the zombies are threat too.

It feels against my nature to praise something for letting the emotional baggage go in favor of violence.  Because the episode leaned so heavily on action, there was some excellent cinematography and a lot of dynamic angels and vibrant, kinnectic camera moves.  And the harrowing escape all took place at night, which lent the show some sorely missed drama.  I think this is a massive improvement over last week, even though there’s still a fair amount of the characters arguing over Shane’s intentions.

I was worried that we were going to spend the last couple episodes of the season looking for Lori and treating Lori’s injuries and blah, blah, blah.  Luckily, we tackle this one straight out the gate.  And Lori even manages to win back a few of the points that slipped off the board when tried to drive into town on her own.  I’m always impressed when some novel method of zombie trauma is displayed on screen – pushing one’s face through a busted windshield while the cheeks peel back: good one.

Back in town, Rick’s shitty decisions continue and they kill a few more people trying to escape.  The base assumption is always that the other people are going to start shit, so our guys start shit first.  With this episode and this write-up, I’m going to put that complaint to bed.  Look, sometimes you need an impulsive asshole to arbitrarily complicate things and/or move the plot forward.  So long as this does keep the plot moving, you won’t hear any more complaints from me;  watched LOST for christsake.  For example, I previously would have objected to the double anti-logic that lets Rick murder one guy and save another.  But this will clearly cause more friction within the group and we get the added bonus of the looming threat of a rescue mission being mounted against them.  I’m pro-this-most-recent-development.

The romantic relationships on this show still need some work, though.  Why exactly does Glenn blow off Maggie?  Because if they love each other then he can’t be as reliable to the people he loves?  I’m double-checking the math and NOPE, it doesn’t really work out.  He’s not saying that he’s avoiding the relationship because he couldn’t stand losing her (or her losing him), but that he’s somehow less able to survive when he cares about someone.

And then there’s Shane.  Possible rumor-related spoilers ahoy!  SHANE!  There has been some speculation that the character is not going to make it through the season.  It looks to me like they’re setting him up to go out with a bang.  Please please please let him go out in an ill-advised blaze of  glory, hopefully shooting as many of our heroes as possible.

Welcome back Lame Brains!  I like to imagine a totally separate series called The Lame Brains, that had a total tragic episode this evening where two of its lead characters were killed off by an overly-protective good ol’ boy.  Feel free to call me on it if I’m wrong, but Rick’s totally in the wrong here, right?  I understand what the series is trying to suggest: Rick and Shane make similar decisions for the good of the group.  I patently disagree with the comparison, as Rick makes poor decisions in the name of making peace with irrational people and Shane makes purely utilitarian choices that only upset people who haven’t faced up to the reality of their situation.  I remain firmly on the side of the character who is made to shout his own defense throughout tonight’s episode.

This is a pretty grim episode of Walking Dead, even by its own very grim standards.  As a sign of how gallows the proceedings were: the sole moment of levity came when re-dead zombie lost his arm and Lori stops the truck to retrieve it.  This show has always had a problem rationing humor, and it usually resorts to the kind of nervous laughs that result from water-logged well-dwelling zombies or Daryl and Rick digging through the intestinal tract of a fallen zombie.  Very few nervous laughs tonight, just as there were very few zombies.  After the opening scene, I said to my ladyfriend “I bet that’s all the zombie action we see this week.”  And lo!

So what action or conflict drives this episode?  Beth taking ill and Hershel being unavailable to treat her?  Yes, “who’s Beth?” is an appropriate response to that statement.  It’s a weak story that sort of regurgitates the Carl-needs-medical-treatment story with a character we care nothing about.  Also, I’m going on record: no way is she suffering from shock – Beth was bitten or scraped or something when she went to embrace her mother’s bullet-ridden zombie corpse.  She has a fever!  I don’t know why zombie-ism isn’t the assumed diagnosis, but then I don’t live in their world.

There’s a scene early in the episode where everyone quickly weighs in Shane’s choice storm the barn.  T-Bone and Andrea both back that play, Dale stammers through half of an objection and Lori shrugs and says “yeah, but whatareyougonnado?”  It’s kind of a graceless way of reminding the audience that this is a group of people that just straight doesn’t get along.  But I’m still not totally sold on Dale’s perspective.  I’m a skipping record – I hear it too – but Shane made a morally justifiable choice as far as Otis is concerned.

One last thing: and this is a weird one.  Lori gets into her car and heads into town to collect her husband, but ends up in a pretty nasty wreck.  Women drivers, am I right?  She’s armed and it looks like there’s one zombie lurking around, so it shouldn’t been too much of a hassle for her to rescue herself, but pregnant ladies experiencing trauma on TV shows STRONGLY SUGGESTS that baby’s in trouble.  If that’s the case, it’s kind of a cheat.  But a cheat I’m almost okay with.  I’d rather Lori herself were killed in the accident – that Grimes family unit has been too tidy for too long.

And in “hey it’s that guy” news: one of those Philly boys played Renee on True Blood.  Thankfully, he traded his monstrous Cajun accent for a measurably less monstrous East Coast accent.

So, are you happy Walking Dead is back?  I was hopeful that the episode’s title “Nebraska” heralded a new goal for our heroes, but Rick spits it out as an asshole-ish way reject their new friends.  The promise of adventure fizzled with Rick’s pithy little refusal to help his fellow man.  He was such a proponent of adventure in the early-going: it was he that lead the journey to the CDC in the first place.  Now he’s stymied, paralyzed by a fear of raising a baby on the road.  He might be fucking up survival for his whole group, but he’s also sorta fucking up my TV show.

But all the effort I’ve poured into executing the one blog has pulled me away from this one.  And man, have I missed some crazy shit on TV over the last couple weeks.

Did you know there was an episode of New Girl with both Lizzy Caplan and Matt Besser?  Unfortunately, the show still stars Zooey Deschnel.

Did you know that Keifer Sutherland is coming back to TV in a show about having an autistic son that see that future or something?  It’s called Touch, but look out it’s helmed by Heroes’ producer Tim Kring (you know, the guy who blamed the decline in quality of Heroes on the fans).

Have you seen that there’s a damn war going on on Downton Abbey?  That’s right, even a drama of manners can’t go too long before introducing a violent world-wide conflict.  Yeah, like that would ever happen.

How about Alcatraz?  The good news is you don’t have to watch each episode to know what’s going on, the bad news is Jorge Garcia is only finitely charming.  Also, how is Sam Neill the weak link in this cast?

Or what about Smash?  I punished myself with the entire first season of Glee when it first aired and it looks like I’m ready to do the exact same thing here.  How is show better than Glee?  1) Not set in a high school 2.) reasonable amounts of compression and pitch-correction on the performances 3.) original songs 4.) Anjelica Huston 5.) Lloyd from FlashForward 6.) No Mr. Shchuster (I’m not looking up how to spell that character’s name).

AND GOD DAMN Walking Dead comes back tomorrow!  Look, I’ve missed writing about TV and I can only assume TV has missed me writing about it.  Heads up, stupid: I’m back.

I don’t get my way very often when it comes to fighting games.  I insist that I’ve performed an adequate 720, but the game insists on making Zangief jump straight up instead of pile-driving my opponent.  I ask for a game with a reasonably sized roster, but the rosters continue to balloon.  The latest offering from Capcom is very clearly titled “Street Fighter x Tekken.”  And yet the cast of characters began to subtly toe the border of what was and was not considered “Street Fighter.”  An early announcement about Infamous’ Cole’s addition to the line-up made me cock my head and say “schmeh?”  My reaction was upgraded to “schwat the schwey?” when Toro and Kuro – a pair bizarre, ultra-Japanese Playstation Cats, were announced.  Wait… playstation cat…

But last week, Capcom outdid themselves by announcing two more combatants that have essentially no business appearing in a game called Street Fighter x Tekken.

Leastwise, that’s what I imaged when I read that Pac-Man and Mega Man were entering the fray.  But there’s a hitch in here.  Pac-Man rides a sort of mechanical fighting robot and Mega Man… well, let’s say that Capcom has an odd sense of history and an even odder sense of humor.  In 1987, the company didn’t have a grasp on what was compelling about the character, but it also seems like they had a weird amount of blind faith in their American art department.  There’s no explaining why the following ever saw the light of day.

This is the design they went with.  BUT ONLY KIND OF.  This game was released 25 years ago.  So, theoretically, this was Mega Man in his glory days.  Hilariously, the Mega Man that appears onscreen now is fat, old and bitter.  He’s a hero past his prime – a relic of a different era that has not aged well.  Which is confusing to me, because, if anything, the appeal of the original 8-bit Mega Man has grown in recent years.  Not that Capcom has been treating the character with the respect an icon deserves.  That, however, is the subject of another rambling blog post.

The online community is calling him “BBA Mega Man” – naturally, this means “Bad Box Art Mega Man.”  As far as I can tell, the reaction is mixed – neither fully embraced as a joke nor reviled.  Whatever the intended statement by the publisher, Mega Man is back.  Yeah, it’s a weird design and yeah, he’s adding to the huge-roster-problem, but it’s nice to see the fat bastard again.

Patrick: More than just about any other series we’re reading, I believe that The Flash is excited about being part of a “relaunch.”  Everything about the character seems so new and unexpected, which is remarkable considering versions of the Flash have been around since the Golden Age.  Barry can do some incredible stuff by tapping into the Speed Force, but he’s constantly learning the limits and consequences of using this amazing powers.  Both Iris and Patty are active players in Barry’s life, but neither has settled into the roll of “The Flash’s Girl.”  There are frequent teases of obscure villains (like The Folded Man, Girder and Tar Pit), terrifying assertions of old villains’ power (Captain Cold laid Iron Heights to waste), and still the most sinister moment belongs to the brand new villain invented for this run.  It’s like there are limitless possibilities in all directions when it comes to this run of The Flash.

Issue 5 opens with Dr. Elias leading Manny and Mob Rule down to his SECRET MACHINE in the basement.  Flash stops by Iron Heights to rescue Iris from the escapees that have run amok during the power outage and then squeezes in a quick run halfway across the country to escort some supply ships from Gotham to the crippled Gem Cities.  Barry wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull off that last feat – dragging two 600-ton barges by a Speed Force leash is pretty impressive, I don’t care what your powers are supposed to be.  Certain that the cops can put the city back together and keep the populace from rioting, Flash goes toward the mysterious green light pouring from Dr. Elias’ lab.  After some whiz-bang fighting against the disposable infantry-men of Mob Rule, Barry gains access to the basement, where Dr. Elias’ machine is attempting to fix the genetic aberration that’s causing Manny’s clones to drop dead.  The machine – we are told – alters DNA by targeting it with electromagnetism.  CLUE.  Flash is about to make peace with Dr. Elias and Mob Rule’s plan (after all, they’re not really doing anything wrong) until the machine starts to go nuts.  It’s an old lesson that comic book characters never seem to learn: don’t trust the machine, especially if you have to hook it up to a human being to make it work.

Apparently, being plugged into the machine is no picnic and Manny FLIPS OUT.

The whole thing is set to blow, so the Flash does what he does best: he runs.  Running in circles and creating a vortex, Barry expels the force of the electromagnetic explosion into the night sky.  Unfortunately, this means none of the Mob Rule guys are spared.  It’s hard to get a grasp on just how many clones there were, but the scene gives the impression that they all keeled over – dead.  Enraged, Manny lands a cheap punch on the Flash – who is exhausted from all that running – and escapes.  When he comes to and debriefs with Dr. Elias, Flash gets some distressing news: the E.M.P that knocked out power in the Gem Cities was sent back in time from that catastrophic moment the Flash just caused.  In a move that further establishes the newness of this series, Barry casually responds “I don’t do time travel.”  But Dr. Elias is insistent; he’s been tracking the seemingly random appearance of anachronistic vehicles in the Badlands.  He offers the explanation that any time Barry gets too close to the speed of light, he causes time rifts, displacing objects in time.

Fuck.  Yes.  You had mentioned to me previously that you liked the idea of The Flash because it seems like any given issue has the potential to become Back to the Future II.  By the conclusion of this first arc (and I think Manny retreating constitutes the end of the first arc), we’ve already had our concept of cause and effect monkeyed with.  My absolute favorite applications of time travel involve the travelers themselves being totally unable to control what point in time they travel to.  Also, sending an E.M.P back in time suggests a “whatever happened, happened” method of time travel, which is also my preferred time travel narrative style.  Not only am I excited for the possibilities that time travel implies, I really like that Barry’s speed is damaging the universe.  The Speed Force is such a mysterious thing, and comic book writers are free to invent their own rules as to how it behaves and how it affects everyone around it.  And “catastrophe-causing” is a really fun approach.

Manapul’s art continues to impress, but there are fewer show-stopping moments in this issue.  Don’t get me wrong, the grace and energy with which he and colorist Brian Buccellato depict the Flash in motion is more than enough to satisfy me – I get a big stupid smile on my face every time I see that character running.  The colors really pop in this issue as the city is consumed in a blackout and Flash’s yellows and reds stand out boldly among the washed-out blues and greens.

But the strongest moment this month comes from the way that final sinister moment with Manny is played.  Though he escaped, Manny is left without his army of clones – clones that he had begun to think of as the only family he has left.  Alone in what appears to be a box car, he makes some new friends the only way he knows how:

Everything about this works for me.  Particularly that last panel, which has both the determined-yet-sad look in Manny’s eyes as he cuts his own flesh, and the reflection in the blade of fresh clones.  Really, really cool.

And I like that there’s a little bit of that thematic continuity concerning one’s perception of family.  Barry feels that he let Manny down because “We’re family…” But Patty tackles him with a hug, “No, we’re your family.”  This exchange is poignantly staged on the page just opposite Manny’s desperate cutting.  Barry’s lucky to have a support structure in place – let’s hope he doesn’t bounce one of them through a time rift.  Otherwise we might have some kick-ass adventures through time!

Here’s a good example of everything this issue does well all rolled into one image.  Three fun, sorta campy villains of a single color palette being beaten by a vibrant red Flash using some extended-technique Speed Force moves:

I just keep coming back to the same thing with this series: I have so much fun reading it.  How about you, Drew?  Having fun?

Drew: Man, between the electromagnetism, the sky turning bright colors, and the strict time-loop causing rules regarding time travel, this title is seemingly tailored to fit into the sci-fi aspects of our LOST fandom. Let’s talk about that time loop: the EMP forced Dr. Elias to use his experimental power source to power his genetic re-coder to help Mob Rule, that power source becomes unstable, forcing the flash to contain the explosion in a vortex which simultaneously sends it back in time, causing the EMP. Like Locke’s compass, it doesn’t exactly make sense how this loop was started, but it makes perfect sense that it is perpetuated by its effects. That all of those vehicles we saw in the desert were brought there by Barry’s time ripping is a nice touch that grounds the time-travel element into something that has been happening for a while, even if nobody was aware of it.

As much as I love Back to the Future II, I have mixed feelings about the prospects of introducing time travel to these stories. On the one hand, expanding the repercussions of Barry’s actions just as he’s mastering simple cause and effect makes perfect sense, and may provide a workable limit on his abilities (that is, until Barry and Dr. Elias figure out how to channel this power safely). I also love time travel stories that fold in on themselves, creating wrinkles of cause and effect you would never have known the first time around (a la Back to the Future II). On the other hand, time-travel runs the risk of making Barry a god-like figure, meaning bad things only happen by his will (I’ll quibble with you a bit about your claim that we’re operating under “whatever happened, happened,” since I’m not sure we’ve seen enough to draw that conclusion). It also runs the risk of becoming too reliant on its own history, which is something all super hero stories are in danger of doing, even when they won’t be revisiting the same events (Back to the Future II isn’t nearly as impressive, or followable, if you haven’t seen part I). I was kind of digging that we were working with a Barry Allen who couldn’t travel through time.

It may still be a while before we get any full-throttle time travel stories, but it seems clear that time travel is going to be a big part of the new Flash mythology. I’m really hoping we don’t get anything as elegant or precise as the cosmic treadmill anytime soon. “Barry Allen, Time Crusader” is not a character I’m nearly as interested in reading as I am the misunderstood protector of the Gem Cities we saw in the first few issues.

But enough about what I do and don’t want and what the time travel development may or may not mean; we’ve got a great issue of a great comic in front of us. I’d say your assessment of the art this issue is spot-on; it’s fantastic, but there aren’t as many points where I had to scoop my jaw off the floor as there were in the previous issues. You know you’re spoiled when an issue that looks this good isn’t meeting your standards. The list of gorgeous titles we’re reading has grown a bit, but I’m still loving the distinctive style Manapul has established here. Flash’s costume really does pop against the colder palate being used this issue, effectively isolating him from the various groups he’s interacting with, from the crowd at the bridge to Mob Rule to the rogues.

Speaking of the rogues, I don’t know these guys, but I’m excited to meet them. It’s good to know there’s a rogues gallery as robust and colorful as the one I know and love from Batman (okay, maybe not as robust and colorful, but still a deep bench). I’m looking forward to the next adventure with Captain Cold, and I think a new foe followed by an old favorite is a good way to cement the New 52 into the history of the character (even if they are kind of starting from scratch).

One thing that’s interesting about the approach Manapul and Buccellato (and probably the Editors at DC) have taken to Barry’s history is this strange element of dramatic irony. Most of the other titles we’re reading have retained much of their pre-relaunch histories, but we’ve hit more of a reset button with Barry. His history with time travel and Iris West (not to mention Wally) haven’t happened yet, though it’s clear that they will, eventually. That makes this a kind of extended origin story (even if they aren’t talking about the origin, explicitly) in that we know where things are going, at least for a while. I normally gripe about those kinds of things, but I’m really liking that here. I guess that’s another flattering comparison I can make to Back to the Future II.

Here’s a list of what we’re reading.  The list is Batman heavy, and we’re not going to write about everything.  That being said, feedback and suggestions on what to read and discuss are welcome.  Overlapping books in bold:

Animal Man, Batgirl, Batman, Batwoman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, Nightwing, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin

When fellow blogger Drew Baumgartner and I decided to drive head first into DC Comics’ New 52, we didn’t count on there being so many series that we’d like – never mind this many series that we loved.  To make up for lost time, here is a special Tuesday BONUS Edition of Patrick and Drew and the New 52.  I’m hosting the discussion of Swamp Thing while Drew is hosting the discussion of Batwoman.

Patrick: So frequently when we do these write-ups, I want to give my perception of the character before reading comics about them.  It’s sort of a way of communicating my base understanding to make sure the reader and I are on the same page, and it usually allows me to draw some parallel between what I expected of superheroes as a kid and what I expect of them now.  I have yet to determine if this approach is welcoming or narcissistic.  Certainly, it’s no more narcissistic than wasting a paragraph writing about my writing process

Listen, context is important.  One of the great story beats in Swamp Thing’s history was his own discovery that he wasn’t scientist Alec Holland.  In fact, Alec Holland died before Swamp Thing even came to be.  So why does issue one open on Dr. Holland?  The answer lies in in the Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi-penned year-long cross-over event: Brightest Day.  Brightest Day takes a lot of shit for being obtuse, and it deserves that criticism.  Regardless, we have to deal with some of that baggage to get a grip on what we’re reading here.  Don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely just read Swamp Thing and understand the proceedings; there’s a lot of well-handled exposition in the first four issues.  But here’s what happened.

During Blackest Night, dead heroes and villains returned when the Neckron, the avatar of death, came to Earth and attempted to eliminate all life.  In the aftermath of this attack, 12 characters returned to life through the power of the White entity, which – in opposition to Neckron – represents life.  The most notably resurrected was Boston Brand, AKA Deadman.  Deadman’s whole schtick is that he’s dead and can only interact with people by taking possession of them.  Life is an odd experience for a character that has been dead his whole crime fighting career.  Further, this makes him an odd choice to be the guardian of the White Light.  So his mission became to find someone to replace him.  The climax of this drama resurrects both Swamp Thing and Alec Holland, the former under the control of the Black, the latter under the control of the White – they both take the form of Swamp thing and do battle.  The good guy wins (because the event doesn’t have “Crisis” in it’s title), and Alec is left as the protectorate of life in the universe.  We get a little story in the epilogue about Swamp Thing exacting revenge on some greedy executives that are doing some environmentally unscrupulous business things.  Back to Swamp Thing’s old habits, it would seem.

And there’s really nothing in the this series that suggests we should understand Alec Holland’s origin any differently.  We pick up with him and he’s decided to give up his strange life as an environmentally conscious vegetable monster in favor of a quite life as a construction worker.  When large numbers of birds, fish, bats and cattle suddenly drop dead for no reason, Superman pays a visit to Alec to ask him for help.  He is unmoved by Superman’s concern and tells him that, you know, sometimes animals just die: it’s not that big a deal.  Interestingly, Superman also offers to comfort Alec because he knows “how hard it can be, coming back…” which further suggests that the world we’re functioning in is virtually identical to the one we left, in which Superman was killed by Doomsday and resurrected.  We also get a glimpse of strange goings-on in the deserts of Arizona – a reanimated mammoth skeleton and some zombie-creating flies wreak havoc on an archaeological dig.

The issue ends with a Swamp Thing showing up to talk to Alec.  “Wait a minute,” I hear you say “I thought Alec was Swamp Thing and the other Swamp Thing was dead.”  Yes, yes but you see, this is yet another Swamp Thing.  Issue #2 is a pretty dense info-dump that establishes a new mythology for Swamp Thing.  The gist of it is that there are there is a force of death in the universe, alternately referred to as “The Black” and “The Rot,” and The Green has used Swamp Things since the beginning of time as their knights to defend against The Rot.  But the situation has gotten particularly bad and agents of The Rot are moving into a striking position, so Alec needs to get over his hangups and be the hero.  Not totally sold on this narrative, Alec returns to the hotel in which he’s been living and is attacked by those broken-necked fly-zombies.  He narrowly escapes thanks to the assistance of a mysterious woman on a motor cycle.

Ending issues with surprise character-reveals is very in-vogue the relaunch.  The motorcycle chick turns out to be Abigal Arcane (sporting a short new haircut).  Abby was the Swamp Thing love interest back in the day, but remember, that was a monster with Alec’s memories and not Alec himself.  The disconnect between what she means to Swamp Thing and what she means to Alec Holland makes up the bulk of the drama for these characters in issue #3.  But this issue spends a lot of time with young William Arcane, Abby’s half-brother and bubble-boy (he has a deadly chlorophyll allergy, which I find to be insanely clever).  William can control dead organic matter, and he eventually uses this skill to torture his fellow patients at the hospital and enact a gruesome escape.  Which is a shame, because Abby and Alec are on their way to retrieve William.  Abby knows there’s going to be trouble because the entire Arcane family has a connection to The Rot, and she has been hearing it call to her more often lately.  William is young and particularly vulnerable to being controlled by the rot, so it’s a big deal when they discover the hospital laid to waste.

Issue #4 follows William to a diner in western Texas.  He’s sporting scuba gear, because the air could kill him.  When the patrons and employees of the diner ask him what his deal is (he is a kid alone in a diner, wearing a hospital gown and a scuba mask after all), William gets pissed off and murders everyone in the restaurant.  Meanwhile, Alec and Abby camp out in a green field, per Abby’s insistence that it is safer to be among the green.  But safer for whom?  While asleep, Alec is visited by the Parliament of Trees, which instructs him to kill Abby and steer clear of the Arcane family all together.  The problem is that Alec is much more Human than Thing, and at this point, the only thing he has is his relationship with Abby.  But the Parliament is quite persistent – they explain a little more about the never ending war between the Green and the Black.  Obviously, Alec doesn’t kill her and they continue on their journey in the morning.

Issue #5 starts to cast a wider net, making this war between life and death out to be something more of a global concern.  With all the shadiness implied by the presence of an old white guy in the Brazilian rainforest, Professor Robert leads an army of broken-neck fly-zombies to what appears to be the home of the Parliament of Trees.  Meanwhile, Alec and William duel it out with their respective powers.  Alec is able to subdue the boy, but they all seem to sense the Parliament is in danger.

Recapping five issues of any series is going to be an endeavor.  Swamp Thing is a particularly wordy series that works its ass off to establish about a hundred new components of the Swamp Thing mythos.  But the concept of The Rot is sufficiently complicated and compelling that it’s worth it.  I can’t tell if my exposure to Animal Man made me more willing to just dig into the Rot stuff, or if it’s interesting enough in its own right.  I tell you one thing: I’m happy this concept is not wasted on a single series.  But I am similarly glad that this isn’t something that’s behind imposed on the whole DC Universe.  There are a lot of similarities between the abstract concepts behind the this series and Blackest Night – we’re dealing with embodiments of life and death (also, both feature human conduits-for-death named William).  This feels like a job nicely suited for these half horror, half super hero characters – no need to drag all the capes into the fray.

This series has an awful lot in common with the terrifying Animal Man series.  The price of admission is much much lower, and the pay-off is only slightly diminished.  The art in Swamp Thing, while bold and ambitious is nowhere near as adventurous as Animal Man, even when depicting similar characters.  There are a bunch of pages from Animal Man that feel like the stuff of nightmares while Swamp Thing’s big spreads are a lot prettier and more inviting.  That’s the difference between The Red and The Green, I suppose.  No matter how much gore ST is about to smear its pages with, there’s bound to be a bunch of flowers and greenery on the next page.

The layouts here are phenomenal.  I imagine we’re exchanging similar thoughts about Batwoman on your blog right now – both of these series use their complicated framing to create pages with an added element of thematic unity.  As the material has more to do with death and The Rot, the boarders become sloppier splashes of black paint; as The Green asserts its influence, the boarders resemble tree branches or roots.  The third issue does this absolutely flawlessly, employing artist Victor Ibanez for William’s pages in the hospital and then reverting to Paquette when we head back into the forest with Alec and Abby.  It’s an incredible visual sort-hand.  There are also a bunch of impressive two-page splashes that help the exposition down.  Take this spread from issue #4:

I haven’t said anything substantial about this series.  I love it.  I am certainly suffering from the “whatever comic I was just reading is my favorite” syndrome, but I really dig the way this compliments the experience of reading Animal Man – which I also love.  Drew, I’ll turn it over to you for further analysis.

Drew: Not to dwell too much on our perceptions of the characters before coming to the titles, but I agree that it’s really important to get everyone on the same page for these reviews. If someone much more knowledgeable on Swamp Thing is reading this post, knowing the limits of your own knowledge will be key to understanding where you’re coming from, and if they’re less knowledgeable, your rundown of the recent character history will be a helpful crash-course. For example: my only knowledge of Swamp Thing before picking up issue 1 was that there is some kind of Swamp Thing. I’m not kidding.

I suppose I have some kind of vague notions that Swamp Thing has acted as some kind of environmental crusader, but I knew nothing of any origins or mythologies. That isn’t to say I can’t tell when they’ve changed something in the Matrix. Reboot revisionism has this kind of universal feel, such that I know something is either new or pointedly not new when Alec Holland tells Superman he never was Swamp Thing, or when the former Swamp Thing lays out a mythology that is new to Alec. You could make a claim that that kind of transparency is a distraction, but it helps me appreciate just how this new mythology nestles into what has already been established for the character.

The former Swamp Thing reminds Alec that because he never was Swamp Thing, we have no idea just how powerful he may be. This adds a bit of much-needed interest to the “chosen one” story that’s starting to unfold. By issue 5, it’s clear that Alec is super powerful, tearing all of William’s undead minions to shreds with roots. Roots! He also has awesomely growing green eyes. This is the only title we’re reading where the hero has yet to “suit up” and that build-up is totally paying off. I can’t wait to see the Alec Holland Swamp Thing, which very well may only show up when it looks like Alec will be down for the count. Scott Snyder has all but underlined the fact that Swamp Things swampify “when their human life is ending – but not yet over,” which maybe gives away exactly what’s going to happen to Alec as he battles the Rot, but I’m so looking forward to it, I don’t mind that it’s coming.

There’s an interesting thought: this arc seems to be acting more or less as a new origin story. Swamp Thing isn’t around right now, but he’s clear on the horizon. We’ve talked here before about why origins (especially re-tellings of origins) are often boring and overstuffed. Between the complicated new mythology of Swamp Thing and the Rot (not to mention William’s abilities), this title seems like it should warrant that “overstuffed” label, but Snyder somehow pulls it off with aplomb. Part of this is because he backdoors in enough old mythology to keep us oriented, even though Alec isn’t really Swamp Thing yet. The fact that Alec knows that he was and is destined to be Swamp thing is, for me anyway, far more interesting than watching Peter Parker figure out he can climb walls for the Nth time.

It also helps that Animal Man has already immersed me pretty thoroughly in the whole Red/Green/Rot world, such that the few mentions of it here feel like more than enough. I agree that this title is feeling a bit like Animal Man’s younger brother, but I wonder if that isn’t largely because we read that first. Sure, three grotesque manifestations of evil are a more compelling villains than a kid with a pageboy and a swarm of flies, but my devotion to Batman and Robin is more or less predicated on my interest in amoral children with far too much power (and to be fair, William’s powers are awesomely horrifying). In the end, I think we just care more about people than we do plants. In fact, we only really establish anything as evil here because of the danger it’s posing to human life, specifically. We’re not upset because William burned a forest, but because he killed a diner full of people. The fact that this new mythology kind of pigeonholes Swamp Thing as the Lorax is going to make it harder for us to care as much about his stakes than pretty much any other superhero.

Making the villain something that threatens all life is a good move, but Snyder is also working overtime to get us to care about plants. The first few issues are littered with details about plants, both how they can help us and hurt us. I think these work in context, but I think they also reveal an insecurity about Swamp Thing’s new role as protector of plant life, specifically.

That’s the third time now I’ve mentioned how hard Snyder is working here, but I should point out that nothing here really feels strained. In fact, some of these sequences have been breathtakingly effortless. The opening sequence, where birds/bats/fish are dying by the droves is set to Alec’s voiceover about stemming flowers at his dad’s florist shop, is particularly well handled. You mention how the borders become rougher and start to seep into the panels, and it’s worth pointing out that that happens on page one of the first issue. The panel borders start as regular black lines, but start to spill over into the panels as you work your way down the page, just as Clark, Lois, and Perry are noticing the pigeons falling from the sky. It’s a subtle effect, but once it’s established, it cues us into what’s going on even when we can’t see it.

I don’t know if I should credit Snyder for those layout specifics — the layouts for Batman are also uncommonly brilliant — but either way, the artists on this title (and there are so many) are pulling them off. I think my favorite detail of the layouts are the occasions where the panels are tilted at an angle, such that you have to read up the page as you read from right to left. It’s kind of an unnatural thing to read that way, but it never feels unnatural, and it adds this strange sense of rising to the images. It mirrors a sense of growth when tied to the green, but a sense of impending doom when associated with the rot.

I’m with you on loving how much this works as a companion for Animal Man. I’m not sure I’d like this title quite as much without that association, but that’s no slight to this title (a second prize to Animal Man is nothing to sneeze at). I’m really digging this, and I’m in no hurry to see the two titles collide, though with Alec and Abigail having traveled so far west, they may run into the Baker clan sooner rather than later. Point is, I’m enjoying the ride, which I think is the most important thing separating the titles I love from the titles that aren’t worth my time.

Here’s a list of what we’re reading.  The list is Batman heavy, and we’re not going to write about everything.  That being said, feedback and suggestions on what to read and discuss are welcome.  Overlapping books in bold:

Animal Man, Batgirl, Batman, Batwoman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, Nightwing, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin

Patrick: I gotta say, I’m more than a little bummed out about the artist change for this month’s issue of Wonder Woman.  Tony Atkins by no means does a bad job with penciling this issue, but I was already so attached to Cliff Chiang’s versions of the characters that the switch is unsettling.  Aktin’s style embraces some of the cartoony qualities of the first four issues, but lacks the brutal charm Chiang milks out of his simple, more angular designs.  The issue gets by well enough, but the visuals in the earlier issues could have carried whatever material Brian Azzerello wrote, instead of dragging it down, as it does here.

But this is an interesting lesson: monthly comic books are not created in a vacuum.  They are churned out on a very strict production schedule that is the result of coordinating the creative out-put of hundreds of writers and graphic artists, to say nothing of the publishing and publicity machine that has to support such an endeavor.  I don’t have the details of why Chiang didn’t draw this one, but it could literally be anything.  Did you know, for example, that Jim Lee just had a baby?  What kind of effect do you think that that has on his willingness to put in the extra time to draw one of the more detail-intensive, high profile series in the New 52?  Justice League, however, has the advantage of being produced by the two biggest wheels at DC (I mean, really, who’s going to deny Johns and Lee an extra week to finalize their issue), while lesser legends like Azzerello and Chiang just have to find a way to make their deadlines.

What makes the art change so disappointing is that all of the toughness has melted off of the female characters.  There was a real heft to the Amazonians (and Wonder Woman specifically) that went a long way toward selling them as formidable warriors.  This issue softens Wonder Woman quite a bit, taking awkward pains to pretty her up when out to breakfast at a London cafe, and to slim her down when readying for battle.  The worst though offense against female character badassery has to be this final panel with Hera.  Earlier issues depicted the queen of the gods as cold and powerful, but this just makes her look like a soccer mom throwing a hissy fit.

God, preparing that image just depressed the hell out of me.  I’m going to move off the art now, not because I’m done complaining about it, but because I want to do right by a series I like and not dwell on something that might have been beyond the control of the creative staff.  So, right, we’ll do a plot summary:

Diana, Zola and Hermes meet a man named Lennox who claims to be another son of Zeus.  Lennox takes Hermes some sewer access and promises to deliver… something to him.  Meanwhile, Diana and Zola roam London until their foggy afternoon is interrupted by a confrontation with a gigantic monstrous Poseidon.  That’s really it.  Poseidon reveals that he wants to take his brother’s kingdom away while he’s gone and we get a little World War II backstory about Lennox discovering his immortality, but in Wonder Woman fashion, there’s not a lot of meat on these plot-bones.  Usually, this plot-void is stuffed chock-full of character insight and mythological intrigue.  The only compelling insight we got this month was on the subject of our newest cast-member: Lennox.  But there are other characters I’d like to know more about.  Namely, Zeus’ brothers Hades and Poseidon, both of whom show up in the final moments.  I guess the trio could use another hero, but I’m in love with the idea of Wonder Woman as the lone warrior protecting Zola and Hermes.  Another able-bodied (and cooperative) off-spring of Zeus mucks up that dynamic a bit.  I find myself missing Strife.  Maybe I’ll be eating my words a few issues in, heralding Lennox’s entry as the moment the series became awesome… but I doubt it.

I will tell you something I do really like: the design of Poseidon and Hades.  At least, I’m assuming the flame-headed man holding Cerebus’ leash is Hades.  After seeing that most of the Gods have decidedly human features, it was a fun surprise to see Poseidon looking like Lord Jabu Jabu from Ocarina of Time.  It suggests that there is no limit to how crazy this world could be.  I mentioned before that I’m eager to see just how much mythology Wonder Woman is prepared to embrace.  We’ve got centaurs, what else can we look forward to?  Minotaurs?  Sphinxes?  Harpies (their existence is implied by WW’s comments in JL#3)?  I’d like to see the series focus more on those classical creatures and characters, and less on invented sons of Zeus.

I’m going to leave you with a question and another disappointing image.  First the question: how’s the written English dialect tickle you?  It seems goofy to me – like a high school drama club doing Dickens.  And the image… all the positive groundwork laid by the first 4 issues is rendered null by the following set of ridiculous tits.

Drew: I grew up on Brian Jacques’ Redwall books, so I suppose my tolerance for spelled-out British dialects is rather high. Moreover, my exposure to Jason Statham has kind of endeared the idea of smarter-then-thay-look cockney tough guys to me, so I didn’t mind Lennox so much. In fact, I don’t think I mind the idea of Lennox as another modern-day child of Zeus the way you do. Zeus’s philandering is legendary, and it makes sense that he would have had a few affairs since ancient times. To me, the fact that there are more demi-gods running around actually makes the universe more believable.

I also think Lennox is interesting in his own right. Here is a person who discovered he was more than a man only because he was left unscathed when his house was bombed during WWII. Given that his existence is a surprise to Hermes, I gather that Lennox had no hints from godly half-siblings that his father was Zeus, so the fact that he sussed this out is a testament to one of his other abilities: being able to overhear conversations on the wind. Brian Azzarello doesn’t draw much attention to this ability, but it’s apparently powerful enough to allow Lennox to know not only that Poseidon and Hades intend to split Zeus’s kingdom, but also when and where they can be found.

I think our reactions to Lennox are indicative of our overall feelings with this issue.  While I definitely feel Cliff Chiang’s absence when Tony Atkins starts getting a little looser with the character models, I thought it was remarkable how consistent the art felt between issues #4 and #5. In fact, I didn’t realize there was a new artist on this title until I had finished the prologue. It’s a testament to how much effect Matthew Wilson’s colors and Jared Fletcher’s lettering have on the finished product that the transition feels as smooth as it does.

I certainly think you raised some valid points, but compared to last month’s shake-up with Nightwing (the only other artist switch-up you and I have covered in the New 52), Atkins is downright slavishly loyal to the tone and designes set by Chiang. Yes, the neckerchief is a little soft for Wonder Woman, yes, his faces get a little wonky, and yes, those are some ridiculous tits, but I’m also seeing a lot to praise in this month’s art. Atkin’s faces (noted wonkiness aside) are quite expressive, and his beast designs are breathtaking. As you noted, Poseidon in particular is neat, combining the lower lip of a whale with the upper lip of a walrus, the eyes (and swirling tentacles) of an octopus, and topped off with a starfish crown. He’s also crawling with deep sea critters, reminding me of some of the character designs from latter day Pirates of the Caribbean films.

That said, I agree with you that this is a bit of a lesser entry in this series. I would actually place most of the blame on the paucity of plot. You’re right to note that Wonder Woman hasn’t been particularly plotty, and that its strengths lie more in character moments, but this issue felt particularly thin. I’m blaming this on the prologue, which doesn’t really tell us much of anything. In previous issues, these prologues have given is valuable glimpses into the machinations of the gods, all major players in the plot. Here, a couple of dudes see a sea monster (which may or may not be dead…I can’t really tell), which is about as insightful as it sounds. The whole issue builds up to the entrance of Poseidon and Hades, but more or less cuts off there. All we get is a single word reaction from Hera (WHAT?!), which could express surprise at hearing a lie, frustration that the truth has been revealed, or even that she needs to turn up the volume on her magic pool.

Still, while this month’s outing fails to live up to the high standard set by the first few issues, it is still a respectable entry into this title. It also sets us up for a much stronger issue next month, which promises a bit more godly action and a bit less chatting outside a London cafe. I’m actually just looking forward to more godly politicking, but I think we’re definitely going to get some action, what with the centaurs closing in on Zola. That Poseidon will be there to intercept them probably doesn’t bode well for Hera, either for her plans to off Zola, or her case that she isn’t trying to take over her husband’s throne. It’s gonna be good.

Here’s a list of what we’re reading.  The list is Batman heavy, and we’re not going to write about everything.  That being said, feedback and suggestions on what to read and discuss are welcome.  Overlapping books in bold:

Animal Man, Batgirl, Batman, Batwoman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, Nightwing, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin

It’s eight years later and Napoleon Dynamite is coming back – to TV, in animated form, with all the original creative talent plus one Simpsons writer.  One of the things that makes the movie so successful is its insane obsession with the details of its characters’ universe.  Another is it’s shapeless non-narrative that just allows you to hang out with the characters.  Television is an intensely plot-driven medium; TV chews up and spits out stories at an alarming rate.  This speed increases dramatically in animation and we’ve been conditioned by two-and-a-half decades with the Simpsons to take in 3 or 4 complete stories in 22 minutes.

And this is primarily why the TV series doesn’t work.  Actually, scratch that – the reasons this thing doesn’t work are too numerous to mention.  Herewith, then, an exercise in futility:

1.) The film derived a lot of humor from the mundane, everyday lives of these characters.  They functioned within the rules that govern the real world, and a particularly boring version of the real world, at that.  The pilot episode of the series takes it’s marching orders from its medium and not from its source material, trading in jokes about awkward characters for jokes about pimple cream that gives its user super-human strength.  Oh, it also burns through the floor like Alien blood.  The pilot ends with a battle royale between Napoleon and Kip (on stilts, no less) in a Klingon-style death area in front of an audience of hundreds.  JUST LIKE YOU REMEMBER FROM THE MOVIE.

2.) Non-emotive human characters are funny.  To prepare for this write-up, I watched the film again.  Efren Ramirez’ ultra dead-pan Pedro is a supernatural asset to the movie.  His complete lack of emotion is unsettling – and pretty funny as a result.  But a non-emotive cartoon character?  It doesn’t mean anything.  It’s a still drawing.  And that’s just not funny.

3.) In transition, subtext became supertext.  Instead of Deb quietly, awkwardly flirting with Napoleon, she expresses cartoon lust for him.  Instead of technology being charmingly out of date, a teacher uses a large, punch-card style computer.  Instead of learning how to dance through sweat and practice, Napoleon becomes fluent at Japanese for the purpose of a lazy joke.  The movie actually does an admirable job of subtly stating its themes, but the show any seems to know how to shout.

4.) Both of tonight’s episodes featured chainsaws used as weapons.  Use that information however you best see fit.

5.) The movie is sorta dark.  There’s this oppressive atmosphere of despair that colors all of the proceedings.  It helps the audience identify with characters that aren’t all that likeable.  But the cartoon is vibrant and colorful and features lakes and cornfields instead of desolate desert roads and pathetic, outdated houses.  The setting is the same Idaho town in name only.

This is going to sound like too much of a compliment, but I’m reminded of the mostly-terrible Clerks animated series.  Both shows struggle to capture what was interesting about the source material while embracing a new format.  But while Clerks managed to crank out some amazing absurdist jokes and a compelling art style, I can’t see any redeeming qualities in Napoleon Dynamite.  Even when the creative roster is filled with names I respect like Mike Scully, Julie Thacker, Peter Avanzino and Tom Gamil, and the voice cast lists people like Phil LaMar, Maurice LaMarche, Amy Poehler and Jennifer Coolidge, I can’t get past the aggressive crumminess of this show.

Because I’ll never be on this topic again: The Clerks Animated Series.  The second episode is a clip show, but as it’s the second episode, it can only refer back to the pilot and things that happened earlier in the episode.  It’s subversive and creative and hilarious.  I’m gonna temp SOPA a bit and post these episodes.

Here’s the pilot:

And the second episode.

The rest of the series is up there on youtube.  It mostly gets worse from there.  But it’ll be a better ride than Napoleon Dynamite.

Patrick: DC loves to populate their version of the United States with invented cities.  Superman hails from Smallville and stomps around Metropolis.  The Flash protects Central City and it’s sister city Keystone.  Green Lantern calls Coast City home and has been personally responsible for both destroying it and rebuilding it (maybe a couple times by now).  Most of these cities act as generic New Yorks that can be scattered all over the country, and are generally unremarkable urban backdrops for our heroes’ great adventures.  But then there’s the wholly unique case of Gotham City.

Gotham City is one of the great inventions of DC Comics.  It has history, it has culture, it has problems that have nothing to do with its exploding super hero and super villain populations.  Crime – normal, street level, violent crime – is a problem in Gotham City.  Economically, Gotham’s a mess – and this is something I’ve always been happy attributing to the extensive web of organized crime and corruption that governs the city.  But a scene toward the end of Batgirl #5 got me thinking about the totally mundane economic factors that are making it hard for the every-man of Gotham to make ends meet: there’s a Occupy Gotham protest at the proposed site of Bruce Wayne’s new skyscraper.  Bruce believes that the new skyscraper can act as beacon of economic recovery for the city and we’ve seen this ambition expressed across the line books that take place in Gotham.

I think now is the perfect time for Gotham city to resonate with readers – we’re deep into a recession that has now managed to drastically effect even the luckiest people I know and the distance between Gotham’s Haves and Gotham’s Have-Nots is starting to look more and more realistic.  What makes the whole issue really dynamic is that Bruce Wayne, the hero so integral to Gotham’s drama that Batman’s shadow is cast over every book that takes place in the city, is insanely wealthy.  He is philanthropic, certainly, but his new skyscraper is being protested because he wants to tear down historic buildings to make room for it.  And he’s been donating his family’s money for decades, but it never seems to get any better.

Sorry, some of the themes in the background of this issue really spoke to me and got me thinking about the nature of Gotham City.  Batgirl #5 achieves an awful lot in one issue: 1.) a new villain, Gretel, is introduced; 2.) Babs’ personal life is further explored; 3.) Batgirl is dragged in to the kerfuffle around Bruce’s Gotham-revitalization project; and 4.) McKenna, the detective who lost her partner in issue #1, is put on Batgirl-duty.

The villain is sort of a strange one – more akin to the Spinebender the shapeshifter from Babs’ cameo in Nightwing #4 than The Mirror from first arc of this series.  That is to say, there appears to be something supernatural about her.  Gretel has the ability to control people (possibly just men), is armed with sword and gun (which Barb notices is… different somehow), changes her hair from green to pink between encounters, and feels neither pain nor emotions.  Oh and she’s got an obsession with the number 338, making the men she controls equally obsessed with it.  This last bit is put to creepy effect when she makes a car hijacker demand $3.38 from his victims.  What does it mean?  Maybe it’s the address of one of the buildings Wayne wants to demolish?  Maybe that’s a coincidence – or maybe that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  I’m not totally sure how I feel about this character yet.  I see potential for her inability to feel to relate back to Babs’ paralysis, so that’s neat.  It’s just hard to get a bead on what motivates a character that feels no emotions.  Once we get that nailed down, I look forward to some mind-controlling menace from Gretel.  Also, if she is only able to control men, it puts Babs in a unique position to stop her.

I was hoping for some more exploration of Barbara Gordon Sr. in this issue.  I could be wrong, but I think we got the teasing of a mystery about Babs’ mother’s absence.  She very specifically says “I can’t tell you why I had to go” which sounds an awful lot like something a character says when they’re hiding something AWESOME.  And now she’s back in town as the Bats and the Owls are dueling it out for the fate of Gotham City.  I’m jumping to conclusions here, but that brisk conversation between Batgirl and her mother sent up some red flags for me – expect to see more of her in the future.

The art in this series remains strong, though I miss all the reflective bits that were littered across the first 4 issues.  Andrian Syaf’s action sequences are very clear and I appreciate that every panel in a battle sequence does a good job of making clear what just happened and what is about to happen.  It makes for very fluid fights that actually read as fun as an action sequence in a movie.  I might be imagining this, but it also seems to me like a lot of importance is placed on the characters’ hair is this issue.  Batgirl makes a point to mention Gretel’s change in hair color, and Gretel refers to Batgirl as “Red.”  This is reflected in the art by making this feature prominent on basically all the female characters.  I may well be imagining this and it’s just a case of lady-comic-characters-are-always-drawn-that-way, but check out the scene between the Gordons; their red locks fill every frame – including one that doesn’t show their faces at all.

Gail Simone got a few more chuckles out of me this week from Babs’ asides, but I’m really getting a kick out of how she’s writing the roommate.  We’ve praised Barbara’s voice and the relationship with her roommate in the past, but I’m starting to get the sense that Alysia is a well-developed character that I’d love to spend more time with.

As usual, I’m loving Batgirl.  I think there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing more cross-over-ish action between members of the Bat-family, but as we frequently discuss, there is a lot to love about most of the Bat-titles.  Drew, I’m seeing Batman as the center of the universe, but maybe that’s because I don’t read Detective Comics and stopped reading Batman and Robin.  What I’m saying is that anyone enjoying this book should probably pick up Batman as well.  While so many cross-over events set their stakes at “fate of the universe,” I am finding “the fate of Gotham” much more compelling.

One thing I didn’t get to, so I’ll start you off talking about it – what do you make of Commissioner Gordon setting McKenna on the trail of his own daughter?

Drew: This reboot is a weird thing, canonically.  Some characters (like Barry Allen) are having all but the most basic aspects of their histories erased or revised.  Others (like Hal Jordan) have more or less maintained their histories in their entirety.  Many characters (like Barbara Gordon) have kept parts of their histories while losing or changing others.  This week, Babs interacts with Bruce Wayne and his largely intact history, which begs the question: what happens to the relationships between characters when their histories are being handled differently?

The reason I bring this up is because, up until this point, I had been assuming that much of what was “canon” in Batman’s history hadn’t changed.  I based this assumption on the presence of Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian in the New 52 Universe, as well as the fact that Batman Inc. is still a thing. At the very least, this ties Bruce to the last ten  years or so of continuity, and big bits and pieces of the previous sixty years.  I’m by no means a continuity nazi — I’m not even sure I could pass muster on a simple continuity quiz — but one of the things I had assumed were part of the history was the Cataclysm and No Man’s Land.  I suppose the fact that there are numerous buildings in Gotham dating back decades (and in some cases, centuries), should have tipped me off, but the graffiti you point out makes it perfectly clear that Gotham has not been rebuilt in recent history.

I suppose it makes sense that this would be out, since other Batgirls played a pretty big role in NML and that we’re apparently operating in a world that has been without Batgirl between Babs’ injury and her recovery, but I was surprised to find this particular sentiment in Gotham.  Again, it makes sense — how could crime really exist in a city if Batman built it? — I just didn’t realize that Gotham’s own history was shifting in the reboot (and it may not be — I honestly am no continuity expert).  This makes for an interesting real world parallel, and brings the Court of Owl’s own protests regarding Bruce’s redevelopment plan down to a more relatable level.

I suppose one of the reasons I’m so interested in Babs’ new continuity is understanding how it ties in with the history of her parents.  Batman: Year One, long held as the origin story in modern Batman continuity, details the Gordons’ marital struggles in their first year in Gotham.  It’s also one of the first comics I ever read, and one I know perhaps better than any other.  Babs isn’t present in that story (which coincides with the birth of her younger brother) because in that continuity, she hasn’t yet been adopted by Jim and Barbara.  We talked last month about how that bit of Babs’ history has been changed, which means that B:YO also has to be tweaked a bit.  I understand that it not being canon doesn’t impact it one bit (they’re all imaginary, to paraphrase Alan Moore), but it does make me feel a bit unmoored in Batman history.  (Interestingly, B:YO also holds Batman’s history as Batman to be much longer than five years, unless that shot of James Gordon Jr. from Batman #1 is from the future.)  Ahh! I keep using our Batgirl write-ups as my space to pontificate on new continuity, which is a disservice to that title, anyone reading these write-ups, and myself (I really don’t care about canon this much, honest).  Back to issue #5.

Do we think Gretel doesn’t feel pain, or that she doesn’t mind it?  The cover calls her sadistic, but I’m getting huge wafts of masochism from her dialogue.  Then again, that beat where Gretel looks “like a heroin addict or something,” comes immediately after bashing Babs’ face, so maybe there’s some sadism mixed in there.  The point I’m driving at here is that I’m not sure there is anything supernatural about her — 338 may simply be a well-placed trigger word (like Zur En Arrh), for some almost plausible hypnotism.  Or it could be microwaves a la those hallucinations in Nightwing #3.  I suppose if our sci-fi is getting that outlandish, though, it may as well be magic.  At any rate, her motivations aren’t clear, and your suggestion that she may only be able to control men is intriguing.

I too, was hoping for more between Babs and her mom.  Plot-wise, this scene does very little other than tease what will clearly be a bigger story moving forward, but character-wise, it’s full of keenly observed moments that further humanize Babs.  Her sometimes thought, sometimes spoken catty remarks will be familiar to anyone who’s ever spent time with someone they really despise.  It’s a fun scene (as fun as a confrontation between an absent mother and an abandoned child can be), but it’s over far too soon.

I was initially distracted by the art in that scene.  The angles Adrian Syaf uses throughout are clearly protracted to obscure either Babs or her mother’s face, reminding me of a trick I used to use in art class to keep from having to draw too many details.  It’s distracting, but then I realized: it’s supposed to be.  These characters feel isolated from each other, and placing them alone in frame makes that isolation literal.  It’s a nice touch that’s carried over into the scene between Jim Gordon and Detective McKenna, which works there to establish McKenna’s secret obsession with Batgirl, whom she kind of blames for her some of Mirror’s crimes (which may or may not include the murder of her partner).

Getting to your question: it seems to be protocol in police fiction to put the partners of murdered cops on cases related to the deaths of their partners, if not on that case directly.  They seem to always acknowledge that this represents a conflict of interest, but it never seems to stop anybody.  I like that a kind of classic cop story can be nestled into the Batgirl plot, but I’m a little disappointed in Jim as a detective (or as a boss) for not noticing something’s up.  He even suggests that McKenna may not be objective, given her history with Batgirl, but he gives her the case anyway.  Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve here, or maybe I’m just so used to Sinestro that I expect everyone to be manipulating everyone.  Do we think Jim suspects it’s Babs behind the mask?  If he’s having a problem with Batgirl, couldn’t he consider taking it up with Batman?  I don’t really know — we’ll have to hash this out a bit in the comments.

The showdown with Bruce next month promises to be epic.  Gail Simone has kept Babs pretty honest about her abilities in hand-to-hand combat against big, well-trained dudes, and Bruce is kind of the biggest, most well-trained dude around.  Moreover, he’s a dude Babs doesn’t want to do any lasting damage to.  Last month, I made some predictions about what I did and didn’t want out of Bruce’s cameo here.  Leave it to Simone to totally blind-side me with a situation I couldn’t have anticipated.

This definitely feels more like a “putting the pieces in place” issue than any of the previous four, but I won’t really hold that against it; this was the opening of the second act, tasked with introducing a new villain along with developing the threads carried over from the first.  It was a big task, and all things considered, one it handled fairly well.  It’s a solidly made issue with two fun (and clearly drawn, as you pointed out) action scenes built around an emotional centerpiece.  I suppose it’s a testament to how much I’ve liked the previous four issues that I was less impressed with an issue that holds together as well as this one does.

Here’s a list of what we’re reading.  The list is Batman heavy, and we’re not going to write about everything.  That being said, feedback and suggestions on what to read and discuss are welcome.  Overlapping books in bold:

Animal Man, Batgirl, Batman, Batwoman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, Nightwing, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin

A new Darkstalkers game has occupied this skull-space for a while.  I never much played the series when it was alive in arcades, but I was fascinated by the concept of Capcom tackling a fighting game where all the playable characters were monsters.  Many of the game’s innovations have essentially been co-opted by the Vs. Capcom series – so when Capcom started talking about reviving the series, I started to wonder what fundamentally successful elements of the series they would stay true to.  After all, that’s how you revive an old series: remember what works, and make it better.  By my count Darksalkers had exactly three things going for it at the time:

1. Fighting game built on the solid Street Fighter 2 foundation.

2. Unique, compelling character concepts and world

3. Rich, vibrant art style

Hopefully, I’ve been able to maintain all those aspects in my design while offering up some concepts that could begin to brand the franchise anew.  It’s not just about bringing the series back – it’s bringing the series back in a way that matters.

Art Style – Rip Off Sin City

Step number one is going to be addressing the style in which everything in the game is visually expressed.  The cartoon-esque sprites that were used for the original releases were absolutely wonderful, but that style has been used in all of Capcom’s big fighters for the last couple years – most noticeably in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (which contains three Darkstalkers characters).  The last thing I’d want is for the Morrigan, Felicia and Hsienko models from MvC3 recycled for this release.  It’s got to be bold.  I want to look at a screen shot and say “holy shit, that’s neat.”

Capcom has been aping from manga and American comic books forever.  Maybe it’s time they lift a more striking style – may I suggest Frank Miller’s Sin City?

From the Sin City short story "Silent Night"

I’m talking incredibly high contrast: black and white.  Imagine a stage like the scene pictured above, the snow obscuring the movements of the characters but their bold simple images popping against the solid black background.  Of course some characters could have accent colors, like the Yellow Bastard or Blue Eyes do in Sin City:

Another benefit of this art style is that it would change the way the characters are depicted based on their environment.  I mentioned the snowy field, but what about a completely white background with the character’s silhouetted in black?  Or a bar scene where the light source comes from a casually swinging overhead light, casting long shadows?  Maybe a colorful stained glass window that our silhouetted characters fight in front of.  Not all the levels need to be so dynamic, some  can be nicely drawn black and white (no gray) environments for our nicely drawn black and white characters to beat eachother up in.  And there could even be levels that take place in some kind of opium nightmare and are depicted as strange and colorful, like Wallace’s drug induced hallucinations in “Hell and Back.”

The Darkstalkers characters have always been a interesting mix of quirky and terrifying and giving them (and their world) the Sin City treatment would create an awesome synthesisof art and thematic material.  Also, it would be the only fighter to look like this on the market – and visually distinct from all the other drek that’s out there.  Except maybe LIMBO… but everyone loved LIMBO, right?

Roster – A Dozen Distinct Characters

The most recent Mortal Kombat game maxes out with 32 characters (with Kratos in the PS3 version and 4 DLC characters).  Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition has 39.  Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has 50.  This is more characters that you can ever hope to master.  For most players, it’s more than you’ll ever even play.  And I know there are real playable differences between Ken, Ryu, Akuma, Evil Ryu, Dan, and Sakura, but these guys have a lot of the same tricks.  Let’s trim the fat a here – we’ve already got some redundancies in the Dalkstalkers line-up.

The one of the left is named Lilith. The one of the right is named "My eyes are up here."

So, let’s just bring back the 8 most compelling characters from the series and then invent 4 more.  There should be no problem dipping into the deep well of folk-monsters to come up with fun, interesting characters to play.  Obviously, we have to choose between one of the two succubi above.  Morrigan seems like the right choice, because she shows up wearing the cameo badge in every single crossover title.  But maybe we want to mix things up and make the younger, less hilariously sexual Lilith the face of the franchise.  Going with Lilith would be a bold statement about taking the series in new directions while staying true to it’s spirit.  Quickly, my other character picks:

Okay, there are 8 here in addition to the Lilith/Morrigan pick.  The whole bottom row of characters could stand to have their designs radically altered, but in particular, I think that gold golem thing (Hutzil) could be re-worked.  So he’s there, but I want to see him re-imagined.

Digital Release – Low Price Point – Limited Availability – Frequent Events

Here’s where my suggestions get bold.  These kinds of games have such periodic release dates, we may as well embrace it from the get-go.  Let’s agree that there should be an updated version of the game every year.  But let’s not stop there.  I want a game that sticks to a strict real-world schedule that rewards me for coming back to the game.  Here’s my suggestion:

Build the game around the winter solstice.  The game can only be played in the three months before and three months after the solstice.  This means late September to late March, which is about the time we need media to be excited about – the days are getting shorter and colder and generally more depressing.  You’ll notice this is when new TV shows come back on the air.  This half of the year is also peppered with holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, the solstice, Christmas, New Years, Valentine’s.  I want to see new content (maybe playable characters, play modes, stages, etc.) associated with those holidays.  This way, the community can more frequently bond over the changes to the game.

The game would also be tracking which character you play the most, effectively determining your favorite.  After a month of play, the game makes you play a special story mode with that character that ends in the DEATH of that character.  DEAD.  Meaning you would be unable to use that character while he/she is dead.  Naturally, a month or so later you’d be able to resurrect the character somehow, but I like the idea that the game forces you outside your comfort zone, but would also force the community to mix up their own tactics as well.  Let’s say the first month of on-line play is starting to get tough because people are so well in-tune with their favorite character – but now, one month in, they are forced to explore the other characters.  It’s all in an effort to level the field without over-simplifying anything.

Oh and let’s keep this thing around $20.  Especially if it’s going to be taken away after 6 months.

A Few More Demands (as long as I’m making them)

No come-back mechanics.  The community is asking for this – no one wants to deliver it.  No hyper-combos, no super-arts, no ultras.

A sweet spot for combos – I’d like to see a number of hits that makes a combo deal more damage.  Let’s say 6.  A 6-hit combo gets an extra damage bonus.  5-hit doesn’t get it, 7-hit doesn’t get it.  It would make everyone more mindful of what exactly they’re doing.

Similarly, let’s get a ceiling on hits-in-a-combo.  I’m setting it here as 11.  Any combo greater than 11 hits can be interrupted by your opponent pushing any button and knocking you out of the combo.  It’s a good way of preventing infinites, but it also just keeps games civil – no one showing off with any kind of moronic 85-hit combo.  I mean 85 hits?  What’s the point?

ALSO, it’d be cool if the loser of the round got to alter one of those two numbers (sweet spot or hit ceiling), by making it one higher or one lower.  So if I lose round 1 because I was hit with too many six-hit combos, I can up that sweet spot to 7 and mess up the next round for my opponent.

More story mode options.  Everyone gets their own unique story – and a good one at that.  No more shitty half-animated cut scenes.  Also a full campaign mode like Mortal Kombat did.  In addition, I’d like to see some special event stories; remember that opium nightmare idea I had earlier?  Maybe you have to fight through a series of colorful surreal challenges before you earn the right to play in those trippy color-levels.  And the death and resurrection stories too.

Most of my suggestions are presentationally based.  But I think that is where fighting games are traditionally lacking, and it’d be worth it to have a game I wouldn’t mind showing off to my friends who aren’t fans of the genre.  And that’s all I’ve ever wanted: a fighting game I didn’t have to be embarrassed by.