Unearthed: The Batman Chronicles #5

Today has been International Women's Day and I hope your day was... womanly...?

To that end, leave us take a look back one of comicdom's greatest female characters and a beloved woman comic writer; neither one is with us today, yet the legend lives on.

Alan Moore originally didn't intend for his Batman: The Killing Joke one-shot to be part of DC Comics' continuity, much less for it to be considered one of the definitive works in the Batman mythos - yet, it certainly has been since its publication in 1988. Even then, the comic elicited a strong reaction over the scene in which Barbara Gordon was shot by the Joker. It brought an end to her career as the costumed hero Batgirl. At the time, DC were certainly determined to pare Batman down to the status of a loner as he'd likewise lose his sidekick Robin (only Nightwing was spared as he wasn't considered a Batman character then, but was instead a Teen Titans character). Many fans felt the offhanded way in which Batgirl's career ended was unworthy of her.

Among those fans were John Ostrander and his wife Kim Yale. In the pages of Suicide Squad they introduced a mysterious computer hacker named Oracle who began assisting the Squad and, over the course of about two years, was finally revealed as the wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon. This new identity proved a clever one as in the 1990s the internet's usage spiked dramatically, making Oracle's mastery of computers all the more relevant. She was soon welcomed back into the Batman family as an indispensable ally, led her own team the Birds of Prey and joined the Justice League! Pretty gratifying for a character who could have easily been kicked to the curb. Through it all, she remained a heroine despite her circumstances which helped inspire many fans who were themselves dealing with one form of disability or another.

And then in the 21st century DC Comics went, "Whoa! Look at my navel! Why have I never realized how amazing this navel is? Check it out, everyone!" And so, Babs went back to being Batgirl. Pity. But I'm not here to talk to you about that; in 1996, Ostrander & Yale finally gave Babs a proper origin story to detail how she went from the hospital in Killing Joke to becoming the mistress of information. It's called "Oracle: Year One - Born of Hope" and appeared in The Batman Chronicles #5, an anthology comic with various creators offering tales about Batman characters. This was one of three stories in that issue. The cover above was drawn by Howard Victor Chaykin & Tommy Lee Edwards, while the story itself was drawn by Brian Stelfreeze and Karl Story.

The story opens with Barbara in the hospital shortly after The Killing Joke. Batman visits Babs, but she's not particularly happy to see him. You see, Batman knew all of her secrets as Batgirl but had never told her he was Bruce Wayne and there was some lasting resentment between them due to this (something which also came up in Ostrander & Yale's Suicide Squad). Babs sums up what the Joker did thusly:

"Shooting me... kidnapping my Dad... it was all just a way to get to you. Do you understand how humiliating, how demeaning, that is? My life has no importance save in relation to you! Even as Batgirl, I was perceived just as some weaker version of you!"

The Killing Joke ended with Batman and the Joker laughing together. Babs remarks: "I heard how you two stood there, laughing over some private joke. Tell me -- was it me?" Batman exits the hospital. "Good. I hope I've hurt him." Babs states. When she finally leaves the hospital with her father her first attempt to enter her Dad's car is shown in great detail as it takes more than a page for the task to be done, Babs' first taste of how complicated her new life will be. Of the next six months she concludes: "Worst of all was the fear I felt -- of being physically helpless, unable to defend myself, of having no sense of self, of feeling that I meant nothing, that my life was now over." She also worried that if her father died in the line of duty she would be left to live on charity.

Deciding to revisit her old investigative skills Babs puts together a computer lab with some financial aid from the Wayne Foundation (and thus, Batman secretly repays part of his debt to her). With her computers, Babs becomes engrossed with the internet. One day, her father mentions the trouble the department is having with a computer-based felon called Interface (a villain from Ostrander & Yale's Manhunter) who has the metahuman ability to link herself to computers. Babs tries to use the internet to dig up information on Interface but is noticed by the villain, who catches up to Babs one day in the street and shoves her wheelchair in front of a car. Babs survives, but now finds she has the determination to see this investigation through to the end.

Returning to the internet, Babs looks for someone to teach her a new form of self-defense to avoid another episode like the one with Interface. Batman, using his identity of Matches Malone, directs Babs to Richard Dragon, the 1970s DC martial arts hero. Dragon teaches Babs how to fight using the escrima method, learning how to wield twin batons as weapons. One night, Babs has a dream in which she appears as Batgirl and confronts the oracle at Delphi; the oracle turns out to be Babs as well and this gives her the idea for her new identity. Now disguised as Oracle, she contacts Interface and sets a viral trap in Interface's own computer so that when she attempts to link to it it causes Interface to be caught in an unending loop. To win her freedom from Oracle, Interface agrees to admit all of her crimes to the police.

The story ends with Babs taking again to the streets, now more confidant than before. "I am no longer a distaff impersonation of someone else. I'm me -- more me than I have ever been. My life is my own. I embrace it, and the light, with a deep, continuing joy."

One year later, Kim Yale died of breast cancer. She is still survived by her husband, John Ostrander.

"They've humbly described themselves as the wrath of God by way of loser assassins." Copra #1-3 review

The independant comic book series Copra began in 2012 and word of it began to spread around the internet on sites I frequented. Unfortunately, it had very scarce distribution and wasn't available from my local store, nor on the internet shops I utilized. At last, it is now on Comixology and I've begun to slowly read through (currently through #3).

And why should this series interest me so much? I hadn't read anything of writer/artist Michael Fiffe's work before. Quite simply, because it is an ode - an homage - or, if you like, fan fiction - of John Ostrander's 1980s series Suicide Squad.

Although DC Comics is about to launch a Suicide Squad motion picture and have been printing a Suicide Squad comic since the launch of their "New 52," these projects don't have much to do with the beloved Ostrander series. In truth, DC hasn't seemed particularly interested in the series over the years. The Suicide Squad team have appeared around DC almost non-stop since Ostrander's version debuted in 1986. However, since the series ended in 1992, Ostrander himself was only invited back to use the concept again on a handful of occasions and the efforts at reprinting the series in trade paperbacks have been either stalled or cancelled until recently.

Michael Fiffe's Copra, then, is the true inheritor of Ostrander's tales, rather than the in-name-only series currently being printed. Copra is unashamed and unapologetic of its pilfering from Ostrander's work. The mercenaries of Copra include a man with laser-wielding powers who looks a lot like Doctor Light; a fellow from another dimension wears a distortion vest and hairstyle very much like Shade the Changing Man; there's a sharpshooter in red and silver named Lloyd, not unlike Floyd Lawton, Deadshot; there's an amnesiac warrior woman ala Duchess and the squad is led by a heavyset black woman whose assistant is named Flo (deep cuts like Flo & Duchess demonstrate Fiffe has taken the time to absorb the Ostrander run; his Flo even seems to have unrequited feelings for his Bronze Tiger).

Suicide Squad is not the only comic book referenced in Copra; look-alikes of Marvel's Doctor Strange and Clea guest star in issues #2-3. How does Fiffe get away with it? Well, his copyright identifies Copra as a work of parody so I guess he's safe. But while the internet commenters brought up this series because they thought it was neat to see a Suicide Squad homage, that alone wouldn't secure interest beyond one issue. What makes Copra worth checking out regardless of one's interest in the Ostrander Suicide Squad is Fiffe's own storytelling skills. Here's a guy doing what almost no one in today's mainstream super hero comics can achieve - great fight choreography!

Check out the above page which depicts a killer wielding a flamethrower as he's shot in the first panel. The Copra members continue to act in the background, while the flamethrower explodes. It's simple action--> reaction stuff, but comics have become so unduly obsessed with appearing like motion picture storyboards that these old tricks look startling and new. It is, as Fiffe remarks in the first issue, a series which "taps into the spirit of immediacy, the raw inspired nature of entertainment. Exhuberant, direct, fun." Hear, hear! The mainstream is quickly forgetting everything Kirby, Eisner, Ditko and Wood pioneered; thank goodness the independants are still having fun!

If you liked Ostrander's Suicide Squad, then this is the follow-up project you always wished for. If you haven't, then why not approach Copra as something new, something fun, something to remind you that yeah, this is comics.

Considering 2010: Comics

During 2010 the flow of comic books into my home took on a crazed life of its own. Marvel themselves provided me with a hefty supply of titles, but I also bought into plenty of graphic novels and continued to branch out into other publishers' work.

So, I think it makes the most sense to divvy up 2010 into what I most enjoyed from Marvel...and everything else.

MARVEL

Many years ago (before I was a freelancer) I toyed with the idea of telling the story behind Jeff Mace, the man who (via retcons) served as Captain America circa 1946-1950. I was fascinated at the idea that he was a normal man filling in for a believed-dead hero at a time when no one (including readers) cared about super heroes. Fortunately, Karl Kesel has finally told this story in Captain America: Patriot and he hit on every point I wanted to see covered. This book hits the notes of continuity perfectly (which as a handbook writer I'm still impressed by), but I felt it also did a fine job of characterizing Mace and his personal struggles filling a role he didn't really want for people who don't really want him. Also, Kesel's Sub-Mariner is an absolute delight.

I'm constantly impressed at the work editor Stephen Wacker does on Amazing Spider-Man, employing some of my personal favourite writers (Mark Waid, Fred Van Lente, Roger Stern, Dan Slott) and teams of excellent artists, most notably Marcos Martin. In recent issues, I was stunned to find how much I enjoyed Humberto Ramos' art, having been disappointed with his work almost a decade ago. However I felt about the Ramos of 2001, the Ramos of 2010 is worth following!

As part of a research assignment, I went over Peter David's X-Factor, which I don't normally follow. I already knew some of the details of his most recent storylines, but it was eye-opening to read them for myself. In particular the X-Factor Special: Layla Miller which detailed the young mutant Layla surviving in a totalitarian future, X-Factor#39 with the birth of Jaime Madrox's son and X-Factor#40 featuring Madrox's grapple with life were some of the best stories of David's on this title.

Like so many on the internet, I loved Roger Langridge & Chris Samnee's Thor: the Mighty Avenger, sadly cancelled after a mere 8 issues. Written in a stand-alone continuity intended to bring in fans of the upcoming movie (who will, I guess, get to buy the trade paperback anyway), this is the best Thor comic I've read in about 15 years. The gentle humour and fun characterizations are part of what makes it so engaging, but more than anything it's that Langridge takes nothing for granted - nothing. He doesn't waste the reader's time and he doesn't invest in characters or scenes that aren't worth investing in. Every page and every panel matter to the story, so they matter to me.

Avengers Academy is Christos N. Gage's new series to replace Avengers: the Initiative. The concept - superhuman teenagers considered potential super villains being taught to be heroes by the Avengers - has endless potential. Although the series spun out of the Initiative it's actually the spritual successor to Brian K. Vaughn's Runaways as a series about teenagers grappling with their morality.

Even though Greg Pak returned to Incredible Hulk last year, I felt it wasn't up to the standards of Pak's earlier Planet Hulk or World War Hulk. Well, with an exception: Incredible Hulk#611 in which the Hulk battles his son Skaar led to an exceptional pay-off not only for readers of Pak's work, but for anyone who followed Bill Mantlo or Peter David's Hulk.

Fred Van Lente is always good (and needs to get his Comic Book Comics to ship regularly), but I felt his best work in 2010 was on the mini-series Shadowland: Power Man, featuring a teenager who adopts Luke Cage's old "Power Man" handle, along with Cage's old "Hero for Hire" job. Van Lente crafts a believable picture of life in Harlem...or, at least, the Marvel Universe version of Harlem where you're as likely to meet a ninja as anything.

...EVERYTHING ELSE

Sticking with super heroes, I've been giving Grant Morrison a sober second look lately by trying out some of his most esteemed work. So far that's included All-Star Superman, WE3 and the beginning of his Animal Man. I'm definitely learning to appreciate his writing, although I prefer him on stand-alone projects rather than his shared universe work at Marvel and DC. All-Star Superman has at least three panels which struck me with their visual, emotional power; I want to see more of his work. I blogged some more about WE3 here.

2010 was also the year I discovered Joe Sacco via Palestine, Safe Area Gorazde and Footnotes in Gaza. With all the flat-out fiction I read, it's nice to experience something of the real world in my comics. Sacco's work has done a lot to educate me on Israel and Bosnia and inspired me to learn more; it also helped inspire me to commit myself to a mission in Angola for 2011. After all the suffering I witnessed in Sacco's books, I felt the need to get overseas and help people. I blogged some more about Palestine here.

From Sacco I took an interest in How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden. This is an autobiographical story where the author goes on a birthright trip to Israel and confronts her prejudices about the Israelis. She never really confronts the issues about Palestine which formed her beliefs so her story's finish is a letdown...but that's real life, eh?

After promising myself for years that I would delve into Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, I finally took the plunge in 2010 and it's been providing me with some of the most consistently enjoyable stories on my bookshelf. With more than 20 volumes of trade paperbacks in print Usagi seems daunting to outsiders, but as fans in the know promised me, you can start almost anywhere in the series and find the story easy to flow into; I'm currently devouring the snake at both ends, working my way through the trades in order while buying the new issues as they ship.

The concept of a cat-man who solves crimes sounds simplistic, right? It is. What isn't is the art of Juanjo Guarnido, whose ability to render a lush, verisimilitudinous "funny animal" version of 50s noir made Blacksad an instant favourite. The fact that John Blacksad has whiskers is a tool to catch your attention, and it certainly worked on me. I'm eager to see more of Blacksad as it's translated. I blogged some more about Blacksad (and Usagi Yojimbo) here.

James Turner's Warlord of Io seems to have run its (troubled) course, drifting from serialized print format to electronic-only to trade paperback. It's much more plot driven than Turner's earlier Rex Libris, but the plot - video game crazy Zing being named emperor but facing an immediate coup - serves to introduce all sorts of fun characters, situations and opportunities for Turner to flex his artistic muscles. I blogged some more about Warlord of Io here.

Two of my favourite humourous writers came out with projects in 2010: Jim Rugg with his blaxploitation satire Afrodisiac and Bryan Lee O'Malley with Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour. Actually, while Afrodisiac is straight-up satire on every page (to the point where you can predict the outcomes - Afrodisiac gets every woman because every woman wants him; lather, wash, repeat), O'Malley's final Scott Pilgrim took itself with a smidge of seriousness when it came to Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers' relationship (as in the previous volume).

I took a gamble on American Born Chinese, but considering it had already won a few awards, it seemed like a safe bet. This book collects seemingly-unconnected tales about people who want to be something other than what they are (notably the titular Chinese-American protagonist). I can't know how growing up Asian in a mostly-white society feels, but I empathized with the feelings of otherness and ultimately, it's why I read fiction - to gain insight into other people's experiences.

For decades now, Batton Lash has been producing Supernatural Law - currently on the web - yet it's seldom brought up in comic book circles and the collections are difficult to locate. Happily, I found the volume Sonovawitch! in which Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre, represent a man accused of bewitching a woman to love him. In reality, he's a victim of his witch mother, who just wants her son to get married. Sonovawitch! is just one of the stories collected in that trade but it's typical of Wolff & Byrd's misadventures; I look forward to finding the rest of the series.

Finally, I delved into two well-described titles by John Ostrander: Grimjack and the Spectre. The Grimjack Omnibus was a nice little tome with interesting mash-ups of detective, horror, science fiction and comedy; my favourite was a story where Grimjack was hired by a vampire to catch his killer. Ostrander's Spectre may be the best of his work I've read; over 60 issues he delves into Jim Corrigan, a murdered police man bound to the spirit of vengeance, cursed to combat evil until he understands it. Corrigan's journey through the series, particularly his grief at losing his closest mortal friend, a fight with Superman that's unlike any I'd seen before, the character's philosophical and theological discussions with the level-headed Father Craemer and that final issue, with Corrigan's funeral...seek out the Spectre; back issues can be difficult to locate, but it's well worth the effort.

Tomorrow: books!

Suicide Squad#67: what's the point?

As part of their long-running (and top-selling) Blackest Night crossover, DC is issuing a "theme month" around the idea of "resurrected" comic books. Just as the crossover involves people rising from the dead as "Black Lanterns," these theme books are all once-beloved titles which were cancelled years (even decades) ago and are now "risen" for a single month of resumed publication.

This week, Suicide Squad#67 came out among the first wave of one-shots. The original Suicide Squad ended with #66 back in 1992 but they've continued to be a part of various DC titles ever since. Suicide Squad#67 is co-written by John Ostrander (who wrote all 66 issues of the previous run), but he's joined by Secret Six author Gail Simone on the writing side. Art is by Jim Calafiore.

Laying aside whether this comic is any good or not, I have a lot of misgivings about the way the story is told and marketed.

First, this is part of a crossover; Blackest Night is topping the charts currently, giving DC a chance to compete neck-and-neck with Marvel for the first time in quite a while. However, the event itself isn't explained for the benefit of people not reading Blackest Night (like me).

Second, this comic is Suicide Squad in name only. True, the Squad appear, but in a minor role as one of the groups of antagonists. The real protagonists are the Secret Six. If you bought this comic wanting to see the Squad, you might be a little miffed to see yourself suckered into stealth-buying an issue of Secret Six.

Third, this isn't a one-shot, if that's what you thought you getting into. From the solicitations, it seems like most of these "resurrected" titles are one-shots, but this is a lead-in to a Blackest Night storyarc (also by Ostrander, Simone & Calafiore) that lasts for at least the next two issues of Secret Six.

Fourth, given that the titular Suicide Squad aren't the real stars, more effort should have been devoted to introducing the Secret Six for the benefit of those not reading their comic (like me). The only people who would know who Scandal or Ragdoll are would be the people already reading Secret Six. Ongoing character developments and subplots are used without framing them for a new reader's benefit. Can't an effort be made to grow the audience base, given the potential new readers who will be coming aboard for this special? Most of the Six are familiar to me with the exception of someone called Jeannette. I don't think I've ever seen her in a comic before and the story makes no effort to explain her powers, assuming she has any. Does she even have a codename?

Fifth, this story has three dueling narrators, not counting the omniscient narrator.

I will be coming back for the concluding chapters in Secret Six. Expect more grumbling.

Great Comic Book Supporting Characters: Rev. Craemer

One of my all-time favorite comic books is Suicide Squad, which ran for 66 issues under the authorship of John Ostrander. It concerned a secret squad comprised mainly of super villains who were sent on suicide missions by the US government in exchange for clemency. The Squad was run by the pragmatic Amanda Waller and based out of Belle Reve, a prison in Louisiana. In issue #10 (1988), we met Belle Reve's new chaplain, Father Richard Craemer:

Although most of the Squad members were unrepentant villains, there were also some heroes on the team and the nature of the Squad's missions often took a toll on them; Craemer was there for everyone on the team:

Although initially the Squad had a psychiatric staff to treat the team's often-warped members, the staff eventually resigned in protest of the way Waller treated the inmates. Craemer stepped up as the team's defacto counselor and issue #31 (1989) followed a day in his life as he looked in on the Squad's members and support staff, a format called "Personal Files" which had been used in previous issues back when the psychiatrists were around:

The highlight of the issue was Craemer's confrontation with Waller, where he serves as her conscience:

This last week, Ostrander returned to Craemer in Secret Six#15, where ex-Squad member Deadshot seeks help in controlling his homicidal urges:

Boy, it was great seeing Craemer again! Ever since 1988 he's been one of the best Christian characters in comics, and as a revisit--

Wait, he's Episcopalian now?!

Huh. Well, if he can't be Anglican, I'll take that. Cool.

Are you a John Ostrander fan?

I know I am. John Ostrander's Suicide Squad is among my favorite comic books and I also enjoyed his Deadshot limited series, the Manhunter series he co-wrote with his wife Kim Yale and the late 90s Heroes for Hire comic he did for Marvel which had a wonderful sense of humour. I even enjoyed his run on Firestorm and that one didn't go over well with the hardcore Firestorm fans. Among his significant contributions to DC Comics was building up Deadshot to one of DC's top tier villains and repositioning Barbara Gordon into the cyber-heroine Oracle.

John Ostrander has glaucoma and being a comic book professional, he's not exactly swimming with money. Fortunately, Comix4Sight has been established to generate donations to help him pay his bills and save his sight; if you consider yourself an Ostrander fan, you would do well to aid him. I know I will.