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DC Women Kicking Ass

Thoughts, pictures, reviews and other stuff about the women in comics who kick ass. This is a feminist site. Deal with it.
"... just a dreadful little site that just basically compiles lists." - poster/DC Comics forum
"... provides a much-needed voice that is not often heard on traditional comic sites." - Wired's Geek Dad
... she's pretty amazingly ignorant of comics outside of the Batverse and some recent Wonder Woman, and seems pretty clueless about the way the industry works. That and she doesn't write that well at all." anonymous poster, Dreamwidth
" ... a phenomenal blog that's always up to date with female superhero news ..." -Nerdbastards.com
(header art by Peter Nguyen)
May 9 '18

Comics to Read, May 9 - It’s Alive!!!!

Hello fellow comics fans, did you enjoy the annual holiday of Free Comic Book Day? I know I did. I hit to of my LCS and picked up some free comics as well as some sweet swag. Highlights for me for free comic book day were Silver, Riverdale and sneak of Coate’s Cap and one I discuss below.

As some of you may know this has been a tough few years due to some family health issues BUT I am going to another try at posting a weekly guide to comics to read each week (except maybe next week when I’m traveling but I’ll try!). In this column I’ll talk about comics that are just starting (number ones and two for the win!) and some that you may want to think on jumping in on anyway. So let’s go!

This week DC Comics is starting up its segue to a new Justice League helmed by one of my favorite writers Scott Snyder along with James Tynion IV and Josh Williamson with pencils by Francis Manapul. This spins out of JL Metal which I had a hard time following. I am not a metal head, I guess. 

This is a cosmic adventure tied to the Earth so we get all the Green Lanterns and Amanda Waller. So you know, a little for me and a little for others. We also get some weird interesting team-ups. Like Starro and the Man of Steel. I don’t think we’ll see “Fuck you Have some cupcakes Superman!” from Starro but I can dream. The art and team-ups are weird interesting enough that i’ll be be back to for more cupcakes Justice!


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Now  some second issues. Barrier from Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin debuted on FCBD will be out weekly and here we are with issue 2. Vaughan and Martin you would think would produce a great comic and you’d be right. (Their last team up was The Private Eye and like that one was first published digitally by Panel Syndicate in 2016. So if you missed it then or just prefer your comics sequentially in paper this is for you. The first issue weighed in about 50 pages and set up a story that incorporates both immigration and aliens. But it worked and, yeah, it was great. 

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Sorry I missed the first issue of this newest from Gail Simone a few weeks ago. I tried to pick it up during FCBD but just read it digitally. And it was worth it. Rule of thumb of Simone - the worse behaving the characters and her writing goes to 11. Domino will be appearing in Deadpool II so this is great way to catch up with her.

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Love this movie and love this series because I love the movie and the writer Kelly Thompson (or sorry that’s Ms. EISNER NOMINEE Thompson). 

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That’s it for me this week. I’m gearing up for a lot number ones from DC in July - can guarantee Catwoman by Joelle Jones will be at the top of my list.

What are you picking up today?

May 4 '18

Tomorrow is FREE Comic Book Day!

Comic lovers tomorrow is your national day of celebration - Free Comic Book Day. Local comic shops through the country will be giving out FREE comics and many will having sales on Graphic Novels, back issues and collectibles. Some even have creators on hand to sign comics. 

I’ll be hitting up some of my local shops to pick up some of the comics created for the day and also dropping a little cash as a present to myself (and my kids).

Here’s a guide to the comics available (including some previews) so take a look and see what you might want to pick up.

And remember while the comics are free to you, they are not to the shop owners so if you can also pick up some non-free comics as well. Have fun!

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Apr 18 '18

Happy 80th Anniversary Lois Lane!!!

It’s been 80 years since the first issue of Action Comics came out and introduced the world to one of the greatest characters in comics.

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I’m speaking, of course, of Lois Lane. (Superman also made his debut in this issue).

For her 75th anniversary I spoke to a number of creators who have written her through the years. Take a look!

Greg Rucka

Dan Jurgens

Bryan Q. Miller

Jerry Ordway

Kelly Sue DeConnick

Kurt Busiek

Colleen Coover

Mindy Newell

I also spoke with a two authors of books on Superman about Lois

Larry Tye
Brad Ricca

Tell me why you love Lois. Who is your favorite portrayer of the character?

Apr 16 '18

Vulture’s 100 Most Influential Pages That Shaped Comics is Missing One Important Page

Lists! Comics! How can there not be an argument, right? Today Vulture published a list of the 100 pages that transformed comics. It’s a good list and it was put together by a team that include people I know and respect such as Heidi MacDonald, Brian Cronin and Abe Reisman. But there is one page that I was very surprised not to see on the list. I won’t keep you in suspense, it’s this page from Green Lantern #52 from 1994.

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This page where Kyle Raynor found his girlfriend Alex DeWitt is the page that led Gail Simone to write her famous and important essay, Women in Refrigerators/WiR about propensity of violence against women in comics and led to the concept of a character (usually a woman) being “fridged” (killed or injured to advance the plotline of a male character.) Two now classic examples of “fridging” which proceeded the creation of WiR are included in the list - the death of Gwen Stacy and the shooting, stripping and sexual attack on Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke.

Simone’s essay put the issue of violence and women into the world at a time when the internet and comics were hitting critical mass and bringing more fans, particularly women, into the discussion about the medium (and in particular the superhero genre). It help shape and advance the discussion of how women were treated in comics and overtime put publishers and writers on notice that treatment would be called out by fans.

Comics changed as result of WiR and it would make sense that this page be acknowledged.

Again go read the article las it is very good reading. And let me know if there are other pages you’d include.

Mar 8 '18

New Label DC Comics Offers Two Wonder Woman Books

DC Comics announced today a new prestige label designed for adults that will feature standalone, out of continuity stories featuring their top tier characters. The DC Black label will feature two Wonder Woman books. The first  Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons features Kelly Sue DeConnick returning to DC Comics since she wrote Supergirl for a few issues in 2011 pairing with long time Wonder Woman creator Phil Jimenez.

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The second book Wonder Woman: Diana’s Daughter will be written by Greg Rucka who recently wrote the main book as part of DC Comics Rebirth. No artist was named.

The label will also included the previously announced The Other History of the DC Universe from John Ridley. The book will focus on stories behind Vixen, John Stewart, Renee Montoya and others.

The line will be edited by Mark Doyle who most recently was the editor on the Batman and Wonder Woman books including Rucka’s run on the book. Doyle was also a long time editor on Vertigo.

There are other titles as including Batman: Last Knight on Earth by the characters most recent favorite team Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.

The first book (a Superman book by Frank Miller and JRJR) will be out in August. No other dates were provided.

This imprint has the potential of providing some fantastic comics but it is pretty disappointing that we have an all male set of creators save DeConnick. One would hope that there would be a female creator on the Rucka Wonder Woman book or the History of the DC Universe.

I have a long list of creators I’d like to see on either book. I’m sure you do too.

Feb 22 '18

Meet the New Comic Shop Opening the Door for Inclusion

The news has not been good for Local Comic Shops this year. Many shops are closing as the market shifts. But a few weeks ago a new shop opened up in Lexington, Massachusetts. Lexington has a strong connection to superhero comics as writer Kurt Busiek was raised there. And now Lexington has Omar’s World of Comics whose proprietor has a enthusiastic love of comics that he shares with everyone who comes in.

Omar Masood, who is 22, is a student in a High School program designed for students with special needs. Omar will age out of the program this year and he is now working at his chosen vocation - comics.

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When I visited the store earlier this week, Omar and I talked a bit about his love of comics. His favorite superheroes are “Black Panther, Spider-Man, Hulk and Captain America.” And as you can see by his shirt, Superman. That said if he had to pick two comics to bring to a desert island it would be Batman and Green Arrow. He has pretty firm opinions on the actors who have best portrayed superheroes - Adam West as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman. 

,As you can probably guess, I asked him who his favorite female superheroes were and he quickly said Wonder Woman and Batgirl.

Clearly, Omar has excellent opinions. 

But there’s more to this store than just the man whose name is on the door. The shop is big, brightly lit and welcoming. 

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Inside there is clearly marked are for kids comics.

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There is lots of comic related merchandise including the very popular DC Superhero Girls and stuffed toys for the youngest fans.

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The store has the newest comic floppies and shelves of graphic novels.

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In addition to comics and comic related merchandise the store also features games and game nights.

The store is being backed by Omar’s parents according to Wicked News with less of a focus on profitability and more providing an opportunity for Omar.  The store has a manager, Sally Hoops, who told me she is a newcomer to comics. 

Omar also hires his friends, interns from the same program he is graduating from, to work in the store. 

The store also has a rock hard code of conduct policy that states, they “are dedicated to providing a harassment-free shopping and event experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, or religion, or any other factor.”

A few weeks ago I discussed on Twitter the challenges of the LCS and the hard fact that the market is changing and the market will need a new strategy. More focus on trades and toys for one thing. And of course a realization that they must reach out beyond their traditional demographics. Omar’s shop is the kind of shop I was thinking of. It’s family friendly, it has a good mix of products. And there is no question it is welcoming to all.

You can find out more about Omar’s World of Comics here.

Feb 20 '18

Opening the Gate: The Future of DC Comics is Diversity and Women

How many times have you heard me and other say the future of comics is a dark one if it continues to cater to a white, straight, male audience? (OMG come on about a billion, trillion times)

The direct market is in bad shape. Sales are down. Shops are closing. LCS owners are concerned.

And yet here we are again seeing the concept of “diversity” in comics being the ruination of the superhero comics.

We see mediocre creators and sad little angry trolls blame the “SJWs”, the “gays” the women.

They are why Marvel is now rebooting again. Yes, their cootie filled milkshakes are the reason why comics sales are down. Certainly not poor management and a billion too many variants.

Not that the bag and boarder “Wednesday Warriors” are no longer a growing but slowing demographic.

Not that digital is easily available day of and if you wait a bit cheaper.

Not that the buying model is shifting to trades rather than floppies.

But here’s the thing.

These hateful trolls are wrong.

So wrong.

The Beat recently spoke to a number of LCS owners. And here’s the thing.

They are seeing diversity as a problem.

many direct market retailers worry that the industry isn’t adequately serving a comics marketplace that includes a growing number of women, children, LGBTQ people, people of color, and fans uninterested in the traditional superhero comics they have sold in the past.

That’s the people who sell the comics. But what about the people who SELL the comics?

Well here’s what DC Comics is doing. 

They are creating two new imprints designed to cater to new younger comic readers. 

DC hit a home run FINALLY focusing on girls with their DC Super Hero Girl line and now they are doubling down with young adults with their new DC Ink line. Mariko Tamaki who wrote Skim and This One Summer is doing a Harley Quinn book

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Danielle Paige, who wrote Dorothy Must Die is doing a Mera book.

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And Lauren Myracle (ttyl, ttfn and l8r, g8r) is writing a Catwoman book

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I have a teen daughter and I have had books by all these authors in my house right now. This is going to be big.

But wait. Do you feel this is a little … white centric so far?

Yes. So there is a multi-cultural Gotham High coming from writer Melissa Cruz. Bruce is part Chinese and Selina is Latina.

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DC is also launching a Zoom line for younger readers. 

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And that has a great line-up as well including Meg Cabot (Princess Diaries) on a Black Canary book.

Oh and Gene Luen Yang on a book that I don’t care is written for little kids.

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You can hear and see many of these authors talk about their books (along with Jim Lee and Dan Didio) talking about the imprints in this video. There’s some other exciting titles coming so really give it a look,

The verdict from watching this?

DC Comics is wising up.

The future has been identified and the “male, white” demo is not enough.

Young and not male and not white?

DC Comics is now into you.

Marvel? Well I have SO many concerns about them right now. 

But they have one thing in their favor. My fellow former 3 Chicks Kelly Thompson is now under contract there. 

That’s good.

Also Marvel MUST simply be spinning this morning to know that THEY who once hand waved diversity in comics saw Black Panther destroy every stupid excuse around Black superheroes be utterly destroyed this weekend.

So expect change at Marvel soon.

And the angry little trolls clenching their fists and ranting about diversity and comics?

The gate to the future is open to comics is open for everyone.

But do we really care if they stay behind?

Nov 13 '17

Eddie Berganza No Longer Works At DC Comics

Last year I wrote a blog post about Eddie Berganza continuing to work at DC Comics despite being a serial harasser. That post was titled Eddie Berganza still works at DC Comics.

I am happy to report that as of today he no longer does. This is attributable directly to the piece in Buzzfeed that dropped over the weekend and more importantly to the women, Janelle Asselin, Joan Hilty, and Liz Marsham who all spoke to Buzzfeed about Berganza. Also to the writers who took the story on.

Eddie Berganza should have been fired years ago for what he did. He wasn’t. Those women all left DC Comics and he got to keep his job.

The question we need to ask is “why?”

There were people who pushed back against him - Greg Rucka for one. Berganza was the Group editor for the Superman and Wonder Woman books. That’s why Wonder Woman got moved to the Bat office when Rucka came back. I wish more creators did that.

But others watched women walk out the door while Eddie stayed and did nothing.

That’s frustrating.

But Eddie Berganza is gone from DC Comics and that is a good thing.

It will be nice to be able to read the books I’ve avoided because his name was on them.

But more importantly it is knowing that there will be less chance that another woman will see her career in comics cut short because of harassment.

There are still other harassers out there in comics. I hope they are sweating bullets and shitting bricks.

The game is over.

Oct 11 '17

DC Women Kicking …the Flu?

A chance to hear about a bunch of the ladies of DC Comics coming together was what it took for me to return to posting after a few months. Today DC Comics released Batgirl and the Birds #15 which starts a new arc “Manslaughter” which sees the DC women coming together after an outbreak of flu downs the men. I spoke with the writers, sisters Shawna and Julie Benson about what readers can expect, the return of Oracle (!) and which Bird is has a big take out bill!

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I’m so excited to see DC women coming together and kicking ass in the Manslaughter arc. How did you come up with the idea of a flu that hits only the men?

We wanted a story that would allow us to bring together a lot of women in the DCU. It seemed like the best way to bring both heroes and villains together was to give them common cause. Taking out ALL of the men of Gotham felt like a way to do that. Once we landed on that idea, the rest of it clicked into place. A story like this hasn’t really been done before in DC. Sure, there are a few BoP/Sirens team-up’s and individual cross-overs, but this felt unprecedented and well overdue. To their credit, DC JUMPED on the opportunity when we pitched them the idea. We weren’t sure how they would take, “So… all the men in Gotham are sick and out of commission.” But they were down from the start.

I was super excited to see Lois Lane in this because she’s always fun when she hangs out with the Birds once every decade. Which lady or ladies were you most excited to get to write and include?

We love writing all of the characters! But we were very excited to try our hand at Gotham Girl, Batwoman, Orphan, Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman. Coming up with a way to bring Lois Lane to Gotham was a huge victory for us. We knew there weren’t many non-Gotham women we’d be able to include due to canon and availability, so getting her felt like a big win.

Anyone you wanted to include that you couldn’t?

There were so many – when you think of writing a story like this, the “ultimate female team-up” you want to have everybody – but we knew we’d have a tough job balancing the 13 or 14 we were already jamming into the issue. Supergirl would have been a lot of fun. We talked about others like Hawkgirl, Power Girl, and Barda… But again, their availability was limited to  us, so we took who we could and ran with it!

One of things I’m looking forward to are the alliances between characters who don’t often get together. Are there two characters you were excited to put together.What’s the most interesting team-up that you think we’ll see?

We’ve had such fun with unlikely pairings, like Poison Ivy and Huntress. Bouncing these other women against our core Birds of Prey team was such a fun idea, so we couldn’t wait to mix them up a bit. Batwoman going toe to toe with Catwoman felt fun – especially since there’s another level of relationship there that can’t be discussed (see Tom King’s “Batman” to understand that!) Harley with everyone was exciting as was getting to play with Gotham Girl, who Tom King created and we felt was a really good fit here.

The men of Gotham seem to be handling their illness in different ways. Who were you most excited to send to their sickbed? Who is the biggest baby? (Say Bruce, it’s Bruce isn’t it?)

We definitely felt that Jim Gordon would be the worst patient ever. But Bruce probably comes a close second. He’d be the guy too stubborn to realize he’s really sick. We included Grayson because if someone was going to be a big drama queen about it, it would have to be him!

So I noticed that Barbara was back at the keyboards in this issue, with Gus gone will she start doing double duty as Oracle and Batgirl?

Yes! That’s been a slow story burn for us through the series. We wanted to get Barbara back to being Oracle, but without losing her Batgirl side. It’s an issue that causes a lot of conflict for Barbara, which for us means, great stories to tell.

You’ve been writing the Birds for 15 issues. Do you feel you have a good feel for the characters? Care to answer a few questions?

These ladies live rent-free in our heads now. We love them as if they were real people – they ARE real people, to us. They are living, breathing, heroines and we are SO LUCKY to get to hang with them every month. We have enjoyed writing every issue of this book and are excited for people to see where we are taking them. As for questions, ask away!

Which Bird spends the most on delivery food?

Dinah. We estimate she burns like 3000 calories a day, more if she’s busting out the Canary Cry. She needs to stay fueled. Tacos, pizza, kale salads, she’s open to it all.

Which Bird spends the most time on SnapChat?

Now that she knows all about those kinds of apps, Dinah, for sure.

Which Bird takes the most selfies?

Dinah. (Sensing a pattern?) Helena wouldn’t want her face too be out there on too many facial recognition apps and Barbara is probably too busy to care.

Which Bird has the most unwashed laundry?

Once again, Dinah. She kinda got used to living out of suitcases when she was on the road. Helena probably has the most drycleaning, what with her professional day job.

Thanks Julie and Shawna!

issue #15 is out today and it is a fun read; pick it up.

Jun 2 '17

I Saw Wonder Woman And I am Happy

How long? How long did we wait for this? For me, it was decades. 

Did you know I had my doubts it would get made? And I my misgivings? And my worries? That I was very concerned with the actress they cast? That I was very, very concerned after first director left. And how white that cast looked. * Oh, and how very disappointing both B v S and Suicide Squad were.

But finally the Wonder Woman movie is here. And for me, it was glorious. I hope it is for you too.

Patty Jenkins has delivered one of the best superhero movies ever. Gal Gadot was just the right balance of fish out of water and kick ass. 

There were tears from both me and my daughter at the end of our viewing last night. I am going back to see it again tomorrow.

So go. Go see a female superhero on the big screen. Go see a movie where a woman can be heroic and human (even if she not quite). Go get shivers as Wonder Woman makes her debut on the field of war. And go and see what a good DC film looks like.

And let me know what you think. 

* I would still trade out Antiope for Phillipus.

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Originally posted by dcfilms

Mar 15 '17

Comics to Read, Post Pi Day, Ides of March edition

Greetings from the land of Snowpocalypse (not really). Sadly I did not have any pie yesterday for Pi day but will send a postcard to the White House for the Ides of Trump. 

But on to comics! And today I have three for you (I might have had four but Dark Horse dropped me from their reviewers list). I am most excited for the arrival of yet another first issue for one of my favorite characters.

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The 0 issue was a good, necessary introduction or reintroduction of the character. This issue puts Kate smack in the middle of a case and it is expert piece of writing and art. I want to start with the art by Steve Epting which is smart, sharp and expedient in its story telling while also offering beautiful backgrounds and character work. Epting is known for his work on Marvel’s Winter Soldier but he did equal if not superior work on Image’s Velvet and he is the perfect pick for this book. The writing by James Tynion and Marguerite Bennett is also very strong. If you read Detective you know Tynion “gets” Kate but I can see Bennett’s hand too and look forward to her flying solo. Batwoman has been through so much in the last decade and its good to see the book is back in strong hands with a team who respects her past and is building an exciting engrossing future. Jump on board this.

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I’ve enjoyed each issue of this book but while I was reading this crazy train issue I thought how much it will be good to reread this all the way through once it reaches its climax. This issue runs into the Mad Hatter and he Mad Hats the fuck out of Batman with his mind altering. The art by Giuseppi Camuncoli reflects that mind-hatting experience with a surreal, pop feel. I don’t often note lettering work but Steve Wands is a standout here in creating the mind altering feel of the book. The Batfamily shows up here and it leads to one of my favorite Snyder/Bat lines. I’ll let you discover it.

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LIz Prince’s Tomboy was one of my favorite graphic novels from a few years back and she has been busy doing sequential work for the Boom folks. Today her all ages Coady and the Creepies debuts and its is engaging first issue crossing multiple genres - All girl band ala Jem and Josie? Check. Mystery solving team ala Scooby Gang? Check. Energetic romping feel with younger chacters ala Gotham Academy and the Lumberjanes? Check. I think that says what you need to know if you’re going to pick this up, which I recommend you do.

That’s it for me this week. I am still engrossed by Riverdale and my daughter and I have been obsessed with rereading Archie comics since the holidays. This past weekend we discussed the show, Jughead being Ace and the need for the show to include more characters (My daughter demands Nancy) on a long trip from a college visit. That’s why I am going to give a shout out to this comic from a few weeks back that leads into the new series launching next month. It’s the backstory to the show and is a must for anyone who is into this show (although I can understand the issues of those who aren’t). 

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That’s it for me this week. What’s on your list?

Mar 4 '17

Wonder Woman Slurpie Cups Spotted

I’m told these cups are out in Canada 7Elevens. Hope we get them here.

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(Source: twitter.com)

Feb 25 '17

Wonder Woman Movie Snack Swag looks … You Guessed it

I’m excited and nervous about the Wonder Woman movie debuting just three months from now. They held a preview last Saturday and as you can expect the spoilers have been hitting the internet. I was sent two different accounts - the first scared me, the second not so much.

But really what would keep me from seeing this. And now we have a look at some of the in-theater stuff.

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That WW cup? Mine. Wonderful.

Feb 15 '17

Comics To Read -2/15 Batwoman Edition

Happy Half Price Chocolate Day! And new comic day. So let’s get to the list because there’s a book I know a lot of you have been waiting for is back. Warning this week is heavy on DC Comics.

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Kate Kane gets her own comic. Again. (I wrote about the long road to his first #1 a few years back here). If you aren’t familiar with Batwoman this is a good intro of her story to date with some set up for the first arc. 

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This book was part of the Rebirth reveal from a (almost exactly) a year ago and is now debuting after a a delay or two. The sons are Jon Kent and Damian Wayne. It’s as fun as you would hope. The art by Jorge Jimenez gives the book the right light touch and the writing captures the diametrically opposed light and dark of Wayne and Kent.

I’m not down with the SuperOffice but if you are you’ll enjoy this book.

Not sure I’ve featured this series and it’s already issue 3 but this series is meeting hopes. The art is great and I really wish it was an ongoing.

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The first issue was a mixed bag - the art definitely carried the load for the first issue which offered some great moments but seemed a bit challenged with narrative after a impressive beginning. But I am still looking forward to this second issue (which i have not read).

Feb 13 '17

Wonder Woman Movie Dolls Up

We are a little over three months from Wonder Woman finally showing up in her own movie on the big screen and today we got a look at the dolls Mattel will offering for the movie via Entertainment Weekly. And, Great Hera, they are getting me excited. There is one of her in the classic costume but we saw a lot of those from BvS. I’m more interested in these.

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Yes Polly on her horse and Diana gets the same. All of these look fun and they are running in SRP of $19.99 for a single doll to $29.99 for the doll in the horse.

Which is your favorite?