Ryan Donovan's Blog, page 2

What's Your Issue? Spotlight on Angel & Faith #7

Sorry for the delay in getting this blog out, kiddies. Things have been much busy in the Life of Ryan. But I did buy a new comic last week, and it turned out to be Angel & Faith #7. So let's talk about it.

Yes, I'll admit it. I've been buying Angel & Faith... but I haven't exactly been reading it every week. I got the first issue signed by Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs at the New York Comic Con, so I read that. I liked it, but didn't exactly love it. People raved about it, so I guess I let expectations get the better of me. I was also largely disappointed by some of the quality of the IDW Angel stuff, especially when it wasn't being written by John Byrne or Peter David. Some of that got real bad real fast, and DO NOT argue with me. Because I am clearly right and you are clearly wrong.

So I didn't even realize when I started reading Angel & Faith #7 that this was the second part of the "Daddy Issues" arc. Because I read the solicitations and because I'm actually buying the damn things I realized that Harmony had showed up recently, and that Drusilla was set to. These are two of my favorite characters from the Buffy universe ever so I was kind of ridiculously excited for a competent writer to tackle both of them. I thought I might get to the Harmony issue last month, but let's start here with Drusilla's.
Thanks to something called a "Larophage Demon" which is, I'll admit, pretty damn cool looking, Drusilla has been rendered sane. Which also gives her awesome Victorian-styled dress sense. She looks fantastic with long gloves and a dress with a train so long she needs underlings to hold it up. The issue beings with a recount and panels of Angel actually killing her family, something that was supposed to be so brutal and horrific they could never actually portray it on television. Lots of Angel ripping hearts out, if you're curious. The demon managed to take away Drusilla's guilt and horrible feelings because it literally feeds off negative emotions to survive. She's lured Angel to her so that her new pet can do the same for him. The fact that taking away or suppressing Angel's "negative" feelings might negate his soul is never actually brought up. I will say that Drusilla seems like a much nicer lady. Probably good Gage opted to make her sane. Most writers can's capture Drusilla's odd way of speaking and physical mannerisms that really only work when she's on screen.

As a coherent character with an agenda, she reads nicer than I would have expected when you explain why she's like this now and how she got there. Her logic behind feeding her demon with willing humans who want to take their pain away, then using these also willing humans to feed herself off their blood, is a good one. Angel finds fault that some people are going crazy as a result; Faith says, if they're willing, they really don't need the two "heroes" to step in and save them. After all, Drusilla and the Larophage are the saviors to them.

What works for me: Drusilla's odd effect on Angel is felt here. I don't really think you could ever have Angel ultimately kill Dru because he feels so guilty about creating her in the first place. There's also that evil part of him that's just so damn proud of how conniving and sadistic she can be. There's the issue in this issue that she hasn't really done anything wrong. What doesn't work for me: Drusilla's "sight" seems a little forced. It's brought up twice, and the second time doesn't really make a lot of sense. If a sane Drusilla knew Angel would reject her "cure" for his guilt, why does she keep showing up and pressing the issue? I guess this point is moot, but it stands to reason she'd quit while she was ahead.

A tad unnecessary to bring Faith's dad back, but looks like it will play into the arc nicely. I'm sorry I wasn't more excited about this. It's a GREAT read, so super recommended!

What's Your Issue? Spotlight on Teen Titans #6

Are you reading Teen Titans?

Scott Lobdell is writing it, and his work on X-Men (and later Uncanny X-Men) was nothing short of prolific. Don't believe me? Go back and read that story about Iceman's racist dad getting beaten up for defending his mutant son. And Lobdell was writing that s@# before it got trendy.

In Titans, he's made the bold move to feature Red Robin (the Tim Drake version, natch), Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash on the team. But he's also created a host of brand new characters who are actually pretty interesting. There's Skitter, an insect-like girl who shows very little rational, coherent thought in her "bug state" (more on her this issue). Solstice; who is apparently made up of some sort of blue light in a black smoke girl form. And finally Bunker; a carefree Mexican gay character who can create purple energy constructs. For example, he likes to form "brick hands" when punching people. We still don't know much about the newbies. This issue is a direct follow up from the Superboy attack in #5, with the team slowly regaining consciousness. The immediate danger? Kid Flash was vibrated so fast by "The Superboy" (I like how they put the "The" they put in front of his name in this and other issues) that he is now in danger of vibrating out of existence.
The team go visit Virgil Hawkins, who you may remember as the animated superhero Static. I will level with you. I don't like Static. He has the same basic powers as Magneto, but is somehow lamer with none of the villainous flair. But this issue? I like him. Because he doesn't wear a superhero costume for one, and because they kind of portray him as this absent minded teen genius. I also just like the fact that him and Tim Drake are friends (Virgil designed his wings). And even though Kid Flash and the rest of the Titans wind up there, it's really only because the Justice League isn't really answering his calls. They don't really explain Tim's relationship with Batman at all so far, but a Titans story should never really be about that I guess. I'm curious just because it hasn't really come up before, and it's not really addressed here.

Also, I might have a crush on Kid Flash. Check out his cute little muscles.

Anyway, Solstice stays by Kid Flash's side (awww!) during his bad vibrations. Tim and Virgil work to crack the case of the mysteriously vibrating boy. Meanwhile, a creepy teen villain with no discernible mouth "senses" the team and reaches out to Skitter's mind. He's able to take control because of her lack of psionic defenses or WHATEVER it is in comic book speak. When Skitter skitters off, Wonder Girl and Bunker go after her. They eventually confront the villain. He comes dangerously close to killing Wonder Girl (arguably the heavy hitter on the team right now) because he can paralyze people, but Bunker's energy constructs are made from his mind, so he's able to knock that sucker out. Bunker is just adorable. Seriously, it's hard not to have fun reading him because he's having so much fun in every issue he appears. In true 90's fashion, the issue ends with Kid Flash getting a new costume to resolve his vibration problem.

These issues might work much better in trades (little action ends up taking place issue-to-issue) but I don't have the same buyer's regret that I do from reading Lobdell's Superboy. Brett Booth's art is just so darn pretty. I look forward to it every month in a way no other comic is doing for me right now. In conclusion, read Teen Titans.

Comic Vlog Attempt

This is pretty bad, but I figured I would give it a whirl.

What's Your Issue? Spotlight on Batgirl #6

A new week brings new comics. Since X-Factor was a Marvel title, I figured let's switch things up with a DC 'New 52'. Since Batgirl is slightly more fun than Superboy this week, that's what I'm going to talk about. Deal with it.

Batgirl #6 is a direct let's-pick-up-right-at-the-end of Batgirl #5 issue. There's a new villain with multi-colored hairdos named Gretel that can appearantly mind control people. I guessed that it was just men last issue, and that's pretty much confirmed here. Anyway, she took control of Bruce Wayne's limo driver who I think had a gun for some reason, so Batgirl swoops in to save him. Only... Bruce Wayne is mindcontrolled, too. And he's motherf@$#ing Batman.

So Barbara is about to face off against Bruce, who has a crowbar and an angry expression. She doesn't want to hurt him, but is also worried she might lose to him in a fight regardless. He keeps repeating '338' - a signature of all of Gretel's victims. Batgirl does a pretty good job fending him off. She's also remembering Bruce's support after she got shot by The Joker, so we get some insight into their rebooted relationship. They weren't close before that, but looks like he had her back and they became buds after. I guess to get Batman to like you, just get shot. Anyway, Batgirl is winning... then she gets slammed on the head by Bruce's personal assistant. This was awesome because I totally didn't expect it. Then that female cop shows up who hates Batgirl from the first 4 issues and I think pistol whips her.

The whole issue was very violent, obviously.
Gretel skeedadles off-frame, and only Batgirl really notices. Bruce confides to her in a "we're close enough to whisper" moment that he's "mostly" faking the mind control, meaning Gretel must have gotten through somewhat. He needed to save face for his assistant and any other witnesses, but now that the battle is kind of over and he's regained his wits fully, well... mother f@#%3ing Batman is gonna help a girl out. I don't think the issue really resolves how he's not mindcontrolled anymore. I guess that's explained away as, "well, he never fully was to begin with." But still.

There's a nice scene at Barbara's apartment (becoming my favorite panels in the issues to wait for) where her recently returned mother is baking like a madwoman. As a side effect, also kind of driving her roommate nuts. Barbara hasn't warmed to her mother any more since the last issue, and can't be that enthusiastic when she's facing a seemingly unstoppable crazy chick who can mind control people. I like how she goes to her room and sneaks some muffins anyway since, as she puts, "I'm not made of stone." She calls Batman and they decide to team up to take this Gretel lady down. Bruce is going to be bait. Gentleman in distress?

I forgot to even tell you why Gretel is targeting Bruce. Is that even important? Do you even care? I guess he's trying to clean up Gotham with urban renewal / development projects. He starts giving a speech about how his dad loved Gotham and he does, too and blah blah blah. Batgirl is on the lookout for a weird hair color or mindcontrolled people... when she realizes all the cops on duty have been whammied. She saves Bruce just in the nick of time. She spots Gretel on the rafters, Bruce is already in Batman garb (which Batgirl even points out was ridiculously fast. It was. It was very implausible. Good catch, Babs), and they "race" up to confront her.

There's a whole thing about Gretel's origin. About how she's a journalist, got discovered by the mob she was investigating, and then murdered. She's ambitious and alone, and Barbara draws a parallel. Which... why? She has Bruce. She has her Dad. She even has Dick, kinda. Grayson, this is. She's far too down on herself at that moment. Anyway, Gretel tries to kill herself. This was her endgame all along. Batgirl saves her, but it's more a sad moment than anything else. Sure Gretel killed the people responsible for destroying her life... but her life is still destoyed. There's no coming back from that crazy.

A solid issue. Worth the purchase, but I'm glad the Gretel arc only lasted 2 issues.

What's Your Issue? Spotlight on X-Factor #231

Welcome to my new weird semi-regular segment, What's Your Issue? where I review individual comic issues because I just read 'em and have no one to talk to about 'em. For our first installment, we're talking about X-Factor #231 which came out this week.

The issue opens with Multiple Man Jamie Madrox still in the same alternate world we left off in; a dual set of Sentinel-size Iron Men are about to put him out of his reality hoping misery (which will probably just send him to another world anyway, as this keeps happening when he "dies"). A scan by of one of the Iron Men reveals that Madrox is somehow out of phase or out of sync with their world, so they decide to take him to their "boss." If you guess that to be Tony Stark, then you've read yourself some Marvel Comics in the past few decades.

The older Tryp has gained a new ally (a shadowy red-eyed figure) to help rescue Madrox from Stark's tower. Jamie is in rare form while being taken to Tony's office, giving off a lot of one-liners and zingers that make it really the best part of the comic. Tony and him have a conversation where it's revealed he was in space when Wanda reset reality, only removing most of the humans from the world instead of most of the mutants (as she did in regular continuity). They are interrupted when Tryp's friend busts in, a franken-like amalgam of Steve Rogers and Deathlok. Basically, it sums up the awesome cover.
A superhero slugfest ensues, with really the Captain Deathlok dude dominating in my opinion. The secretary is killed by him in short order, only to have it revealed that she's some sort of killer robot who starts attacking him. Awesome. Tryp and Madrox try to talk, but the latter is slammed out a window, duplicates from impact, and then the dupe can fly so the pair are saved... until he's reabsorbed and Jamie falls to his death anyway. He wakes up in a new Dr. Strange/magic-esque world.

They Keep Killing Madrox has proven to be pretty entertaining, even though I don't really know where they're going with this. I guess it'll all come to a head next month when Peter David reveals the ultimate point for Jamie moving through parallel worlds. I guess reality is breaking apart slowly, if Tryp can be believed, and Madrox is getting a "preview" of this. It's been an oddly fun story, even though I'm still behind and haven't read the first part. I like issues that highlight the team dynamic in X-Factor more than solo characters, so I hope the book gets back to that soon.

SLJ Cover - October 2009

Ever since I created the "sidebar" on my blog of 'quicklinks' to my book reviews for School Library Journal, I have been looking online for the cover of the very first issue I was featured in. This was way back when in October 2009. The cover is nearly impossible to get, it turns out. SLJ is great about keeping all the covers up, online, and easy to find... but only after it became 2010.

Turns out, my problem wasn't that difficult to solve. Sort of. A quick trip to the New York Public Library Periodicals Room a couple of weeks ago and boom! Cover in hand. Sorry the cover isn't in color, but I was so proud of getting my hands on an issue, photocopying, and scanning it in, I just had to share it with y'all here. I consider this a personal library victory. Hope you enjoy it!

Playing Comic Book Catch Up

So, as a result of the holiday season and subsequent return-to-work haze, I missed a few monthly titles I now need to spend some time this week tracking down. After doing a quick inventory in my apartment, I discovered the following titles from last month are missing: Teen Titans #4, Wolverine and the X-Men #3, and X-Factor #229.

Very surprised I managed to miss an issue of X-Factor. The cover looks familiar, but probably because Peter David blogged about it being a clever cover when it hit the internet a few months ago. Also, if you aren't reading Wolverine and the X-Men, start. It's a slam dunk every issue, and #4 out this month with a teenage Apocalypse is pretty rad.



I won't apologize for liking the new Teen Titans book. I just won't.

Out of Print Graphic Novels

Here's a bunch of out-of-print graphic novels currently sitting in my office.

Many of these might be given out this year for Free Comic Book Day

Raised by the Church: Growing Up in New York City's Catholic Orphanages / Edward Rohs

A frank and informative look at one man's experience growing up in parochial orphanages in and around New York during the 1950's and 1960's.

Edward Rohs doesn't remember his parents. They gave him up when before he could form any familiar recollection of them. Instead, his childhood was spent under the care of both the Sisters of Mercy and the Marianist Brothers, moving from one institution to the next as he aged out of each one. Along with fellow author Judith Estrine, Rohs gives a brief overview of the history of orphans in and around New York City before recounting his own experiences as one. He also provides backgrounds on the religious orders that helped raise him, including the rather fascinating tale of how the Sisters of Mercy came to New York from Ireland and ended up in Brooklyn. Rohs' story is both thoughtful and shocking as he recounts everything from a stressful incident of racism at an institutional football game to his molestation by a religious man from a visiting order. His matter-of-fact style and glass half-is-full approach to writing makes it hard for readers not to empathize with his situation. The titles does falter, however, as he begins to list all his jobs accomplishments as an adult. This doesn't seem to keep in line with his earlier purpose; recounting his experiences both prior to and post his institutional life.

An interesting and thought-provoking book that is sure to to grab the attention of anyone interested in orphans and early New York City life.

Raised by the Church by Edward Rohs with Judith Estrine. ISBN: 978-0823240227

Resolutions & Stuff

It's a new year! And it has been for six days! So I'm not going to do that whole thing where I wish you you a Happy You-Know-What, then you roll your eyes because... well, I'm way too late for the whole thing to matter. You can also tell it's a new year, since Facebook is planning on changing their interface again with a new 'Timeline' that is sure to give us all a heachache we won't soon forget.

I have two different books to read in the next two weeks, so I'll be busy with my face buried in those respective paperbacks. It's also kind of worth noting that the mid-season TV lineup has started again, at least with Pretty Little Liars and The Vampire Diaries. With the former, Rose Y. and I have resumed our podcast, so you can literally download us on iTunes (if you want). That is going to blow my mind. Every. Single. Time.

In serendipitous news, I did discover an ultimately unpublished review I thought that was lost forever for the Edward Rohs' book Raised by the Church . I'm hoping to post that in the next few days as a seperate review entry since otherwise, it never actually would see the light of day. I gave the book to my friend Alex who had a very emotional reaction to it. The book is good; it's a kind of sad tale, but touching nonetheless. And it really did give me a sense of how New York City was (especially Brooklyn) in a time long before I moved here. It's completely worth reading, and is written in a really accessible way.

School Library Journal is supposed to update their website today with new reviews. I have a sneaking suspicion that one of two pending reviews I have are up there, but we will have to wait until the end of the day to see. If you want the most up-to-date information on this development, be sure to hit up my Twitter feed @rybrarian.