Tag Archives: DC Comics

Fangirl #23 – Madoka and Owls…and The Once-ler

Whoo! We got some Fangirlin’ to do today! :D

Anime

Madoka Magica: Okay, so I’m watching this series episode by episode over on Crunchy Roll just to check it out after all the hype and fandom I see. Up to Episode 9, I thought it was a creative, dark take on Magical Girls. The twists were good, the animation was fantastic, and I was enjoying it–but nothing that I was too crazy over. Or rather, I didn’t mind waiting a few days after they released the episode to watch it, I should say. It was good, but nothing I was totally in love with.

And then Episode 10 happened, “I Won’t Rely On Anyone.”

Akemi Homura.

This is approximately 21:00 minutes into the episode. I literally shouted, "Yes! You are awesome and I love you!"

This. Was. Amazing. I don’t want to spoil it–but this is how you do “Homura’s Power” right.  This is the episode that validated & made the rest of the series amazing, made me fall in love with Homura, her relationship with Madoka in its entirety, and has me itching for the next few episodes. Love it. So good.

Recorder and Randsell: I’d just like to stick in here that this show is still freakishly adorable and the episodes should be longer.

Comics

Supergirl #8: New Artist! It threw me a little, but it wasn’t bad. Just a different style, but it all still looked good. Actually liking the Silver Banshee storyline. New girl Siobahn is fun and her & Kara were great interacting off each other. Seriously, people wanting awesome females in comics should be reading this. >.> It’s just been one great girl after another.

My only complaint is the Silver Banshee costume is…ew. *Shiver*

Kori and Roy Adorable

Yes. Yes. Yes. 1000x Yes.

Red Hood and the Outlaws #8: This….has easily become my favorite issue of the series. 10/10 no question. It had everything.

It was fun, funny (hilarious, really), adorable, sweet, heartwarming, and full of action all packed together in a smooth narrative. I were to list my ‘favorite parts’ I’d pretty much quote the entire thing, but, for highlights’ sake: 1) I now ship Roy and Kori 100% and if that happens I will squeal in fangirl joy. 2) The Tim & Jason moment was amazing and well, perfect. Sooo good. I might actually hunt this one down in print. <3

Nightwing #8: I dropped Nightwing back at issue #3, but I was informed this was a must have as far as the Owl’s arc was concerned. So I went ahead and snatched it…and I’m glad I did. Definitely an improvement from what I was reading earlier & the cliffhanger was amazing. Can’t wait for #9. :D

Batman #8: This would be the one everyone’s talking about and waiting for. And they are right to do so:

“…I now know that you can spend your whole life learning Gotham from deep inside, and still know nothing about it at all.” -Bruce Wayne, Batman #8: Attack on Wayne Manor

Jaw dropping issue. If I were to paste the best screens, it’d be the entire book. Amazing writing, amazing artwork & top form cover to cover. I don’t know who was better, Alfred or Bruce. You’ve read the summaries elsewhere, so I’ll just say go read it as a second opinion (or probably a third or forth or fifth since I’m behind. XD) I had reservations when the Court of Owls thing first started, but this is an amazing cross-issue arc and I recommend it full force. <3

And, since that’s all the drama and action you need, we’ll just end with this one:

Movies

The Once-ler

He's adorable.

The Lorax:  Loved this movie. Love the soundtrack more though: Ed Helms can sing and be hilarious at the same time. It’s an amazing combination.

I didn’t think I’d like this movie, mostly because movies that push the ‘Go Green!’ thing tend to bug me, but hey! I liked Captain Planet, right?

Anyway, the green-thing wasn’t nearly as in your face as I thought it might be, and giving The Once-ler some character and motivation worked very, very well. He also got the best musical number in the movie–“How Bad Can I Be” never really leaves your head. And Once-ler is amazing…because he’s adorable and I loved him. So much. I drew so much fanart of him and I really, really want the DVD to come out already so I can take screens of him in his suit and stare at them all day.

*cough* But aside from being obsessed with The Once-ler, it was funny and Ted’s Mother made me laugh more than Betty White as Grandma Norma.

And the sounds cut from the movie and/or the original demos are amazing. Love the soundtrack. Buy it. :D

ONCE-LER IS LOVE.

Hawk & Dove #8 – Final Issue

This is by far my favorite cover...save for Dove vs Swan maybe.

And Hawk & Dove #8 arrives. The final issue.

Content wise, it ends the ‘Hunter’ arc, making it a solid two-parter.

There’s not much to tell you other than that–it’s got some great action (can we say ‘ninjas’ and monster fight? :D) and a conclusion to the storyline. It felt a tad  rushed (you can tell it was meant for more issues before the series was canceled), but both Hank & Dawn get some great last moments with the series.

The most important part: I enjoyed it. It was a good last issue & I suggest picking it up if you can. Give Hawk & Dove a little love! :D

Conclusions

Victory Walk

I don’t care what anyone says, I loved this series. I love the characters Hawk & Dove, and I’ll read anything that features them.

But for this particular case, I think Gates & Liefeld did the characters justice throughout its 8 issue run. They both had their own take on the characters and each brought out something different with them.

I wish the series would have been given more of a chance if only to bring some love to these characters who deserve more time in the spotlight, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way we’d like.

Hawk & Dove was great and I’m happy I got the 8-issues I did. The Trade Paperback is already on Pre-Order & I can’t wait to get my copy. :D

And for those of you who hate on the artwork, or the writing, or whatever all you want–I only have one response: it was a good series & I’m happy to have read it. :) I’m sorry you don’t agree, but that’s how it is. *shrugs*

Also, Dawn & Hank are adorable.

Dawn and Hank.

Future

I plan to continue posting whenever I see Hawk & Dove popping up in the new 52. So, let me know if you spot them and I’ve missed them.

We were promised they’d make some rounds with the other comics, so here’s hoping DC keeps true to that. <3

With that – I love Hawk & Dove. Proudly! :D

 

Hawk & Dove #7

Hawk & Dove #7: Hunted

The second to last issue of the Hawk & Dove series (insert sobbing here), and another solo for Rob Liefeld writing & drawing. Also worth noting is the new colorist Andrew James Troy.

As for the usual little previews for this issue–you only get one:

Dawn at a Night Club

This is the only frame that matters.

And now that I’m finished drooling over Dawn from Page 1…let’s continue!

Story

Dawn’s gone crazy after the old break up with Deadman and starts partying it up at the local club scenes. Hank gets dragged along to be her wingman (Ha ha. I love puns, you don’t understand how much I do.) but more ends up her bodyguard when the guys get too fresh. He can’t take watching her like this anymore and drags Dawn out into the alley for a one-on-one intervention.

They argue & have a cute little makeup session before…BAM! Interrupted by our new baddie: The Hunter. He’s out for our Bird-Themed heroes and thus ensues a great fight scene. The Hunter takes a couple souvenirs from our main duo (you have to read it…the one he takes from Hawk is particularly amusing) and the fight is held up by the appearance of newcomer Xyra, and the Hunter leaves.

Turns out there’s a cult that worships hawks and that means Hank, our favorite Hawk, is on their ‘false god’ list. Hank & Dawn team up with Xyra for more information and Hunter retreats to the real big bad who has a bit of a prediction of things to come.

Artwork

Okay, this was the first issue where the art was weak in places. There may have been a cross eyed look here or there and some panels where the coloring seemed a little off with the inking. While most of the book looked great, it was just these few spots that looked slapped together.

I can’t blame them too much, with so many other projects it’d make sense that the canceled series gets the least attention or could hurt motivation. Overall though, these are minor complaints and Liefeld’s art style still holds true and the new colorist did a good job trying to keep the style familiar to previous issues. And hey! We got the pic of Dawn above. That makes up for anything else in the issue. XD (Xyra’s not too bad herself in sweats, either.)

Overall

Good issue and I like where the story is going. I look forward to the last issue and I hope Hawk & Dove gets to go out with a real hitter. Definitely pick this one up if you can. It’s got some good stuff from Dawn & Hank bonding and seeing the stress in their relationship.

Hawk & Dove is still my favorite series of the New DC 52 and I can’t wait for this duo to show up in other titles. :3

Hawk & Dove #6

Hawk and Dove 6

I love this cover. I'm such a sucker for little things like that. XD

So, I’m a little behind with my review of Hawk & Dove–I was punishing myself with a ‘No Comics’ rule as I worked on things I had put off. Finally getting to read Hawk & Dove was my motivation to finish!

“Batman” & Dove #6,  is the first issue with Rob Liefeld going solo with both writing & artwork (With Matt Lackey  as the colorist~).

Not only is this issue a crossover with Batman & Robin, but it’s also a self-contained one-shot. So, short & sweet–Actually, this is a great issue to jump in on if you wanted to get into the series.

But I digress (Yes, I’m still very bitter Hawk & Dove was canceled when I love it so).

Blockbuster

He is a lot of fun. And how can you not love that grin?

Summary:

Our issue starts out with Hawk chasing down Blockbuster in Gotham. Blockbuster and Hawk duke it out on the building tops until Dove crashes the party–and she’s still in super-agressive mode from the last storyline.

And of course, since this is a crossover (covers never lie, right? :D)–their chase down is interrupted when Robin takes out Hawk for stepping in on their turf.

Hawk doesn’t take it well.

It’s Robin vs Hawk & Dove for as long as it takes Batman to drop down. (Dove telling Robin/Damian off was particularly amusing: “Dove. And you don’t want any piece of me, kid.”)

Batman vs Blockbuster

Yes Hawk, Batman has some moves. XD

As it turns out, Blockbuster was working for a higher up Necromancer–who Batman and Robin were after–so they all team off to confront the big bad.

The bickering between groups is a given, Hawk & Robin being particularly antagonistic to each other–they’re about the same maturity level, so it all works out! :D

There’s a big free for all for magic artifacts, and Blockbuster going wild, and all that fun stuff you get from an action scene.

They take down the big bad, and part ways with Batman acknowledging that Hawk & Dove will be a formidable team in the future (if they survive each other long enough).

Thoughts: I wasn’t sure what I was expecting coming into this issue, but I did like it. You can tell the difference in writing style between Gates & Liefeld almost immediately, and I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But I was eating up the increase of puns in the text–but that’s me.

Robin vs Necromancer

Hawk is such a dork for a football jock--I love that about him. XD

Artwork wise, it’s continuing to step up issue to issue. Matt Yackey’s coloring is still a perfect match for Liefeld’s pencils & inks and it looks great. It’s bright and colorful without being blinding or too in your face. There were some great shots in this issue–and a spread of The four characters soaring over Gotham was amazing. Loved it!

I think my only comment would be that Damian looked…a tad too old. I’m so used to him being a little pipsqueak that seeing him look about Tim or Dick’s age (and height) was a tad off-putting. On the bright side, his attitude and personality seemed pretty on the mark from what I remember in the old Batman & Robin series, so all good there. *thumbs up*

The most interesting thing about this issue though, was almost all of it was from Hawk’s single point of view. That in itself was an experience–Hawk’s not the brightest toolshed in the box. Never has been, and the thought bubbles fit that. He made puns, obvious observations, and occasionally bad mouthed Batman. (A line about feeling sorry for Robin after a Bat Lecture made me chuckle.)

On Batman’s note, after seeing Hawk & Dove in the Birds of Prey series, I had to remind myself that this was probably the first time they’d seen each other…and it made sense it’d be antagonistic. Hawk & Dove don’t really do the ‘team’ thing outside of their own duo (as we can see how well the Deadman thing turned out–and even in Birds of Prey they sort of did their own thing), so the clash between the characters was a good match up.

Dove

I just really loved this frame enough I had to share--Dove looks so pretty here. <3

Final Thoughts: Before Hawk & Dove, Batman was really the only comic-character I was really fond of thanks to the Cartoons and Movies (and my first venture into comics via some Trade Paperbacks I got from Borders XD). So, seeing them together with my Favorite DC Characters was a lot of fun! :D

The only downfall to it all, was that I’m reminded yet again this series was canceled. There’s so much potential for these two in their solo series no matter who is writing them.

But that won’t deter me from hanging in there to the end!

We’ve got two more issues from Rob and I just know they’re going to be good. So check them out & let’s make sure this series goes out with some all time high sales!

*hugs Hawk and Dove*

Fangirl #18 – TF Prime is Awesome

I’ve been so busy editing, I haven’t had time for much fan action lately. But I did sneak in one movie during my editing spree:

Transfomers Prime: Darkness Rising

I ordered the box set for Transformers Prime a while ago, but it hasn’t arrived yet. So when I saw Darkness Rising at Wal-Mart for cheap, I figured “why not?”

It’s the 5 episode mini-series packaged together as a movie and It. Is. Awesome. Seriously, I loved this thing. It was everything I loved about Transformers G1 and Animated mixed together. This series gets way too much hate from the Pony crowd. It’s good–really, really good.

Plus, the voice acting is superb. Cullen is back as Prime, and Welker as Megatron. That can’t go wrong no matter how you shake it. The star player so far? Steve Blum as Starscream. That’s right–Roger Smith aka Spike Spiegal aka Kazuma in S-CRY-D as Star-freaking-scream.

And it works.

I had to see it to believe it. And man does it work.

Anyway. Love it, and I can’t wait to get my season 1 box set so I can drool over Knock Out and Breakdown, too.

Oh, I only have one issue with the series–that blue motorcycle? I call her Chromia in my head. Don’t get me wrong, I love her character. She’s awesome. She’s kick-ass. I pair her with Jack like you wouldn’t believe. But she’s not Arcee. Not my G1 Arcee, anyway. Not even the Animated one. No–that chick is Chromia. *stands firm*

Comics

I’m really behind on my comics. I think I’ve bought them but haven’t gotten around to reading them. I may or may not mention them unless they really wow me. XD

But there’s only one fangirl bit from me that I’m repeating from a plea over at WaM word for word:

DC canceled Hawk and Dove — the 8th issue will be its last. This makes Liliy very upset. Very, very, upset. Show DC we still want to see them! (Okay me, but I’m already buying their comics and it hasn’t done anything!) If it even looks remotely interesting, and you read comics anyway, buy an issue. Please? *holds hands clasped up in front of her* I hate to play this game with my readers, but I really don’t want Hawk & Dove to go away. XD

The 1980’s series first five comics & the 2011 reboot are both on Comixlogy for $1.99 an issue!!  …at the very least maybe Comixology & DC will post the rest of the old series if those sell well enough up to the cancelation.

End message.

Now for the more fangirl version:

THEY CANCELED HAWK AND DOVE! WHY!!!?? WHY DC, WHY!?

I’m good now.

They also canceled Static Shock, which is also as disappointing. I can see why though, the current storyline is confusing and I’m not getting into it no matter how much I like the characters. I was even getting attached to his sisters even though I had no idea what was going on. Honestly, I was hoping for the series to get past this arc and then things would look up, but I guess it won’t get that chance.

I bet Static gets shipped over to Teen Titans again. XD