On S+WW and Justice League of America by Geoff Johns and David Finch

Dear all Zimmertainment column fans,

It’s been a busy summer, and I am back!! Between interning and being between jobs, it was a tough summer but your captain of comic and movie coverage is back. His topic this week will be two items of interest to DC fans:

Wonder Woman and Supes smooching in this week’s issue of Justice League by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee and the new Justice League of America comic by Johns and David Finch at Toronto’s Fan Expo.

 

The importance of the WW/S relationship is one I do not want to tread on lightly. This will have major implications in the DC Universe, and may be one of the causes of the new League forming up. However, I do not see their new found love to be anything to write home about. They did the same thing in the DC Comics Presents: Superman and Wonder Woman #32, Superman Annual #11, and Action Comics #600 in the eighties while it made reappearances in 1997’s Kingdom Come and  2002’s The Dark Knight Strikes Again. It is nothing special which will go away with time.

However, thinking who would make more sense for Wonder Woman to be with would be Batman. He is a character defined by tragedy that has lost a lot while Wonder Woman is a character proud of her legacy and is a character who has received a lot. Naturally by their differences, they would be able to fit into each other’s lives better based on their psychological profiles.

This was done in WB’s animated show Justice League Unlimited where Wonder Woman began to admire Batman for who he was and not just for his strength. She saw in him a soldier who has to continue on his tragedy for the good of Gotham City and the world. There, she develops empathy and compassion that evolves into love as their working partnership develops into something different.

This shocked DC fans who expected the usual but got something different. The most DC fans would normally see would be WW/S which we are getting now. However, it was different on that show, and the pursued relationship makes me wonder about what will happen to Lois Lane?

She is the main love interest of Superman, and it does not make a lot of sense to me that if he has her, why does he care about Wonder Woman so much? That has yet to be seen.

However, another big development occurred over the weekend with the emergence of a new Justice League of America series set to replace the great and unfortunately cancelled Justice League International.

This team includes characters like Martian Manhunter, Catwoman, the new Green Lantern Baz, and Green Arrow. It seems like quite a promising book especially with its cast of characters surprisingly including Steve Trevor since given his status in Johns’ and Lees’ current Justice League arc. I hope Johns (who is according to rumors leaving Aquaman for this) is able to handle himself given his writing three books including Green Lantern.

Yet, time has proven again and again Mr. Johns can, and my hat’s off to him. My hat is off to the entire DC team that given the recent incident caused by Mr. Liefeld that they are trooping forward. Current Batman writer Scott Snyder is an excellent writer, and does not deserve to be bullied by those insecure about themselves. I hope Mr. Liefeld gets the help he needs, and he certainly seems to need it if he goes after a friend of his who is apparently a champion of his work.

Best to all current friends of Fanboy Buzz, and hoping you stay tuned to my columns set for the coming weeks.

Sincerely,

Tommy “Zimmertainment” Zimmer.

Teen Titans #12 review

Wonder Girl has some real issues. She is unable to control her armor she wears, and she has new friends who care about her. Our heroine continues to remain unstable as Scott Lobdell’s Teen Titans rages on.

Tim Drake and Kon-El have major troubles on their hands. They have to somehow get Cassie out of her shell of armor. However, it is unclear to them whether she is actually controlling her actions or not. Regardless of that, Red Robin and Superboy are successful in doing that but something else lurks in the distance. A mysterious figure named Diesel comes out to cause havoc for Ms. Sandsmark once she is free from her armor. There is no time for Red Robin to tell Cassie how he feels about her or for Connor to even compete….. Diesel apparently has them both beat.

Now with all the event nonsense over with, Lobdell is back to focusing on this one book. It is a relief for me as I was not a fan of the recent crossover with the Legion books and Superboy called “The Culling.” I felt it was over encumbered and against what the New 52 was all about. With our writer back in focus, he hammers out another solid issue back to focusing on the story of this team; not any other team.

Meanwhile, Brett Booth returns, and IG Guara is gone from filling in as a terrible guest artist. Booth’s smooth pencils along with his signature detailed features are back. His abilities are on full display here, and elevate the series to its former glory once more.

While this series had some strange shakeups in the past months, it seems this book won’t be doing anymore of the crossover stupidity. Hopefully, DC keeps the book by itself for the foreseeable future.

Links:

http://paperdragonink.com/?p=8991

http://www.fanboybuzz.com/2012/08/teen-titans-12/

Batman Incorporated #12 review

Batman Incorporated’s mysterious third issue arrived into stores this week. After the tragedy in Colorado, this issue was pushed back due to content proposing “revolution.” However with the tragedy behind us, comic readers can now bask in the return of the Bat-franchise’s best series to date.

Matches Malone goes undercover in this issue. He is seeking to learn more about the mysterious Leviathan. He meets with Goatboy, the assassin who kills Damian, and questions him. However as he begins to do some more sleuthing including meeting a mysterious woman singer named Lumina Lux, he is stopped by Batman. This intrusion causes Mr. Malone to have to retreat back.

Back at the Batcave, Bruce puts together connections between the events that have occurred throughout Morrison’s run and the greater plans Talia has. Batcow makes a return appearance, and has quite an important role to play actually. However, Bruce makes his way back to going out on patrol while the mysterious Redbird takes off to rescue a periled Batman from the clutches of Leviathan.

Grant Morrison continues to make this the best book on the shelves. From his characterizations of minor characters to his ability to move the book into different arena, he proves himself as the grand architect he is.

Chris Burnham really goes to town in this issue. From his scenes in a school to those in a late night club, the art jumps off the page. He is able to draw just about any character, and add lots of detail like former Morrison alum Quitely did. However, Burnham draws a fine line between too much detail and just the right amount (where critics have said Quitely uses too much).

Unfortunately, now I have to wait for another two months before I see the next issue……

Links:

http://www.fanboybuzz.com/2012/08/batman-incorporated-3-2/

http://paperdragonink.com/?p=8994