Recently, I put out a Twitter call for DC recommendations, and my YouTube conversation partner #1 Marmaduke Fan offered this one up as a must read. Do I agree with his assessment? Obviously! I wouldn't be mentioning it here if I didn't. This classic Teen Titans storyline from the 80's is a solid action-adventure -- that also has some pretty deep things to say about the dangers of pride and the corruption that often comes with power. And best of all? It features heroes who are truly humble and sympathetic -- and an antagonist whose villainy is even more subversive today than it apparently was in the year it was written. Indeed, I think any creator who tried to write a Terra in 2020 would be howled out of the room in an instant. Acknowledge that cute little girls are quite capable of brattiness and sociopathy? Not on your life!
Admittedly, Geoff Johns' notion here that there are multiple versions of the same character feels too clever by half -- but this is still a quality book. What was it in particular that pulled me in? The personal drama. I only have Wikipedia-level knowledge on the travails of the Bat family, but I was very, very interested in all the scenes that deal with Jason Todd's evident PTSD -- and equally entranced by the scenes that tackle Bruce's guilt over the same. A-grade stuff!
DC's young adult line is famous for being terrible, but this one actually avoids the woke garbage and focuses on telling a fun story about a likable - and original - female superhero (which is probably why, as YouTuber Comics Perch discovered in his research, it's been more successful). Ashley's mischief inspires real laughter at points -- and her struggle to rise above the influence of her criminal father grounds a development arc with actual meaning. This right here is how you write comics for kids: instead of pandering, you hew to universal principles of good writing. Definitely give this one a try -- or, alternatively, hand it to the nearest pre-teen girl.
I think what grabs me most about this space opera series is the watercolor art -- but the story is decent too. Essentially, the protagonist - a child android - lives in a universe that has just suffered a major robot-related cataclysm -- and is therefore caught between bio-characters who are deeply suspicious of all synthetic life and robot characters who are suspicious of organic life in return. Pretty standard sci-fi plot -- but it's executed competently and includes plenty of well-written sequences that held this reader's interest.
Other announcements:
- My review for Iron Man #4 is up. Once again, I can't give it a recommend unless you really, really like pretty art.
- I'm going to be doing another livestream with #1 Marmaduke Fan on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM EST. We will be discussing Iron Man #4 and two Iron Man stories from the Tales of Suspense run. Please stop by!
- Comixology is running big-time sales for Marvel & DC right now, and there are good old trades in the mix. In fact, I went ahead and bought a bunch of Masterworks titles at pennies to the issue so I can start exploring some other Marvel characters outside of the Ironfam. Keep an eye out for my reactions to these in future posts!
- And finally: this will be my last post for 2020. I shall return with more reviews and commentary on January 15, 2021!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my readers!
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