This week, I'm pretty proud of the spotlights I've written. The first is a spotlight on AfroFuturism, as it appears in Johnnie Christmas' Tartarus. Then, to memorialize the final issue of Sex Criminals, I go off about the patriarchy a little and talk about how the series pushed back against that mentality. Finally, this week is the final issue of Batgirl, so I go over some favorite moments of Cecil Castellucci's run, and talk about my theories on what the future holds for Barbara Gordon.
In total, there are thirteen titles I'm reading and discussing. A gorgeous SEVEN are indie comics, which is a great sign, and one book for both the X of Swords and Death Metal events. Without further ado, Continue Reading to see what's up in comics this week!
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Spotlight on People of Color in Comics: Tartarus and AfroFuturism
In this age of ever changing terminology and "political correctness," there are usually two choices: adapt and learn, or remain uneducated and bitter. I am a big proponent of educating yourself, and sharing your knowledge when applicable. âAfrofuturism is a term that I've been hearing more and more lately, since first encountering it in recent history in a Johnnie Christmas interview regarding Tartarus. It was interesting to come by for a number of reasons, particularly because I hadn't even consciously realized how "unusual" it is for a comic to feature so many characters of color. I'm not sure if that's a symptom of my belief we should be seeing more realistic spreads of characters (IE, more minorities than the usual cape comic) in comics, or if I was just reading passively. Either way, I've begun to enjoy Tartarus more thoroughly now that I understand where Christmas was coming from in creating it. The whole idea behind Afrofuturism is that it is the intersection of African diaspora culture and technology. The themes explored involve feminism, alienation, reclamation, and other topics particular to those who the diaspora has and continues to affect. As much as it almost seems impossible, so much of Black American culture goes back to the days of slavery in this country, so it makes sense that Afrofuturism is likewise influenced. For an easy to find example of this concept, look no further than 2018 blockbuster Black Panther. The country of Wakanda is founded in the idea of Afrofuturism, although the term hadn't been coined when their King first took up the mantle of Black Panther. It wouldn't be until 1993 that anyone would actually use "Afrofutirism" in any sense. Wakanda, in both Marvel comics and cinema, is a secretive African nation with an abundance of wealth and technological power, primarily due to their ancient stores of a metal called vibranium. Through the years, Wakanda and it's king have changed this way and that, but the roots remain the same. For an intensive list of Afrofutirstic films, there is this handy-dandy Wikipedia article, including a great deal of non-American films and short films. The late Octavia Butler was an African-American writer well-known for her works of science fiction, such as Bloodchild and the Xenogenesis trilogy. Her works went from short stories to novels, usually taking place in far away worlds full of all manner of life. Butler remains a pillar of the African-American science fiction history community, although some would argue she didn't work with Afrofuturism as much as others claim. The argument is that since Butler involved so many fictional species of life form, her works don't align with either a primarily White or Black outer space. However, as I have come to understand it, Afrofuturism has evolved in it's meaning, broadening to include any science-fiction universe where human-kind is represented as Afrocentric in appearance. That being said, I'm hardly an expert, and am always looking to add more to my understanding of such things. Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat explored unique ideas of Afrofuturism in his art by tying ideas of technology, wealth, integration, and his Black experience in abstract and thought provoking paintings. Basquiat died in 1988 at the age of 27, but his works continue to influence modern art and commentary to this day. In 1993, Maya Angelou released a children's book called Life Doesn't Frighten Me, featuring unrelated art pieces by Basquiat as illustrations. Just this year, the Strokes released their sixth studio album, featuring art from Basquiat's Bird on Money. Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z is an outspoken fan of Basquiat, collecting a large number of his life's works. In researching Afrofuturism, I came across Renee Cox, my new favorite photographer. Cox's skill behind the lens is unmistakable, framing even the simplest shots to appear high-end. Further than that, Cox is a photographer who uses her camera to tell stories, specifically those of her fellow Black Americans. Her career started taking off in the 1990's, when Cox would use her own body as the model for many of her photographs. Her photo series' and shows would often retell classically "white" stories in a Black perspective, or switch out traditionally white characters with Black ones. Flipping the Script was one such show, trading out white, mostly theological characters of historical art for Black counterparts. Possibly most notable, Cox nude in place for Jesus in her remake of Da Vinci's The Last Supper, titled Yo Mama's Last Supper. While the pictures set of a blaze of scandalous pearl clutching, I think Cox made her point as clear as she could, and responded to critics with this glorious quote: "I have a right to reinterpret the Last Supper as Leonardo Da Vinci created the Last Supper with people who look like him. The hoopla and the fury are because I'm a black female. It's about me having nothing to hide." Much, if not most, of Cox's art features herself as a model, unapologetically and beautifully. My favorite of her works, The Signing, is a "redo" of the famous painting of the American forefathers signing the Declaration. Replacing the white men with Black men and women dressed in garb from every era and varying levels of sci-fi elements, Cox photographs each character individually as well as in the group shot. The HBO Max series, Lovecraft Country, recently had a fantastic episode almost entirely about Afrofuturism. In the episode, taking place in the American 1940's, a recently widowed Black woman called Hippolyta is on a journey to discover what happened to her husband. In the process, the show-runners do a fantastic job of highlighting just how smart Hippolyta is--smarter than everyone around her. She is the only one to figure out a massive, cosmic mystery part of the Lovecraft Country story, and she does it all on her own. Hippolyta winds up in a dimension where she could travel to any place or time in history she ever wanted, and meets an apparent ruler of said dimension: a tall, sleek, futuristic, dark skinned Black woman. She speaks with such enormous commanding presence, and she ultimately helps Hippolyta come to terms with the universe, and herself. She returns to her home-time with brilliant blue hair, a perfect throwback to science fiction alien designs of the era. There are even musical groups that call themselves Afrofuturistic, drawing from classic science fiction and fantasy themes to build concept albums. Parliament-Funkadelic is one such group, unsurprisingly rocking electronic beats. As a white American woman, Afrofuturism isn't a concept made to be used by me, written about me, or even meant for me necessarily. All the same, it is there for those who are willing to receive it, and take it for what it is. For as much as I knew about the topic going in to this spotlight, I've learned so much more. If Afrofuturism interests you, I encourage you to respectfully take it in, come to understand it, and enjoy it for what it is meant to be. As our world evolves, no doubt so will this term's definition, and the material which falls into that category. Johnnie Christmas' Tartarus continues to impress, and the unique Afrofuturistic viewpoint only adds to the series' character and individuality.
Spotlight on LGBTQ+ Topics in Comics: Sex Criminals #69
Discovering Sex Criminals was one of the most fulfilling comics reading experiences I've ever had. It addressed subjects of sexism, sexuality, and sexism-regarding-sexuality, in ways that explored the cast of characters on every level. There is so much stigma against talking about sex--real, consensual, messy sex--in our society. There always has been, for as long as modern history can recall. It seems to be especially notable in modern American culture, where an artists drawing of a woman breast feeding can get removed from Instagram, but a photo of Chris Evans' small dog on his large, bare chest is perfectly acceptable. Brie Larson is cast as Captain Marvel, then harassed online and sent death threats, but her Avengers co-workers are silent until Chris Pratt's severely problematic ties are questioned, and they rush to his aid. Men across the comics industry tweet a "pledge" to make sure women and minorities are represented fairly among their ranks, yet Marvel and DC continue to publish anthologies with as little as 1/6 of the women as men, and no one talks about it. You see what I'm saying. Women are unfairly treated in media and their own lives, still, and that extends to topics about sex. It goes without saying the terms "slut" and "prude" are both commonly used--often to the same subject-- in a patriarchal way to tear down women who usually don't come anywhere near fitting their actual definitions. The standard for male and female sexuality is so far from one another, they're on different planets altogether. And even beyond purely misogynist ideals, American culture is several decades behind much of the rest of the world in terms of treatment of "alternate" sexual identities. Today, we are mere weeks away from an election that could change the course of history for the LBGTQ+ communities, in a severely negative way. Steps have already been put in place to renounce same-sex marriage laws enacted less than a decade ago. And that goes without mentioning the treatment of trans people, colored queer people, or all the others who would be negatively impacted by such an outcome. What it comes down to--America isn't mature enough to be honest about out own sexual desires, and that's sad. Sex Criminals, in comparison, was a breath of fresh air. It felt almost scandalous to read, in the beginning, which I think is a little bit of the point. Creators Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky designed a world that is definitely only parallel to our own, with similar-but-different branding and mega-corporations. I can only imagine the amount of childlike giggling Zdarsky did as he penciled, inked, and colored a literal plethora of dicks, dildos, breasts, labias, and god-knows what else's through the series' 31 issues. Whenever there was an opportunity to turns a regular business' signage into a pun about something to do with sex, he'd do it, and they were a joy to find. Sex Criminals was excellent in how it talked about female and male sexuality, uncomfortable topics for different reasons. The main characters of Sex Criminals, Suze and Jon, both explore various sexual life experiences in coming to terms with who they are at their core. For women, the name-calling and slut-shaming starts early on in life, as soon as we start hitting puberty. The idea of a baby boy running around naked, grasping tightly to his penis is entertaining to a lot of people--look at him, he's hilarious, this is fine! But if those same people thought about a baby girl doing the equivalent, many would be horrified. There are boundless jokes about teenage boys and stiff socks or pillow cases, but nothing socially acceptable for young women of the same age. Young girls are generally taught to be chaste, modest, and save themselves for marriage. Young boys aren't usually taught the same, just to be safe when they stick it in. Suze explores memories from her childhood, of discovering masturbation, and then discovering the Quiet. She's driven to go to the Quiet due to a variety of reasons; mother with a drinking problem, long-past father, relationship woes. We see bits and pieces from Suze's past, the sex she's had and who she's had it with. In general, Suze was a fairly sexually aware woman, but faces the same societal stigmas. For men, the expectation of masculinity starts just as early. Boys are told not to cry or talk about their feelings, to be a man and fight, or to be the bread winner for his family. Toxic masculinity seeps into and tears down men just as much as it does women, leaving a trail of unhappiness in an ever-revolving cycle. But just as much as men are told to be dominant sex gods to every woman they date, they're told not to explore any other sexuality, otherwise be pigeonholed. Gay men are categorized by physical appearance and treated like accessories in popular media--and especially treated as if they are not "real" men. Bisexual men are categorized as gays in hiding, because how could a man be into both? Women ourselves are too often perpetrators of this form of abuse, ending relationships of all kinds if the male counterpart comes out as queer, bi, or even having just had that one drunken time at that party years ago. Being a man isn't tied to sexuality, by any means, but society has yet to evolve that far yet. Jon explores his sexuality throughout Sex Criminals, through flashbacks and current events. When he and Suze break up for several issues of the series, he winds up in an open relationship with a black woman, and the two regular a local sex club (think orgy, but as a business). The front desk registration requires recent STD/STI test results, government ID, and asks that you pick a wrist-band based on your desired level of involvement during the orgy. When it's his turn, Jon picks the band for "anything goes." A lot for readers might have expected him to take the "no butt stuff" or a similar band, but this was a phase of Jon's sexual life where he was actively trying new things. Even so, in a flashback or two we learn that Jon has dated men before, and he discusses his queer identity a little with Suze when their relationship was in a better place. It's been an incredible journey to read Sex Criminals, watching these adults evolve with their sexual identities in a very realistic, relatable way. Jon and Suze, after a long, complicated series of events, are back together again, and the Quiet which turned their lives upside down is gone. Even having split for months, their relationship is stronger because they've come to terms with who they are, and what they expect out of a romantic relationship, including what they want out of sex. You can't possibly be comfortable and fulfilled in a relationship where you aren't able to talk about something as primal and common as sex, and Jon and Suze have finally passed that marker. Sex Criminals has been a blast, a revelation, and has busted down doors closed due to societal "awkwardness." While the journey of Sex Criminals is over, I hope Matt and Chip have inspired enough creators to continue the trend of sexy, plot heavy, almost educational comics. For now, the only similar series I know of is Faithless by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet, which has similar NSFW covers like Sex Criminals. Speaking of their NSFW cover, this final issue features not one but TWO XXX variants, one by Jamie McKelvie and one mysteriously labelled "Chum Cover." On Image's website, you can see this one is going to be photo by a man called Ed Peterson. No word on what any of it might be, but Matt and Chip were tweeting pictures of them climbing around a kid's playground several weeks ago, so that's my theory.
Spotlight on Women in Comics: Barbara Gordon, Batgirl #50, and its largely female creative team
This week marks the solemn ending of Cecil Castellucci's Batgirl run. I've loved every moment of it, and it's brought Barbara to some incredible moments. She's had love, fear, brilliant triumph and incredible losses. New status quo's have been set in her life's relationships, and her story is only ever continuing to evolve. One of my favorite things Castellucci has done for Barbara was give her a moment of closure over the events of The Killing Joke. In her Batgirl #47, Castellucci put Babs face to face with the Joker, overtaking her in her own apartment. The way she writes the encounter is striking, putting clear focus on Barbara during the interaction, not her abuser. Although the situation ended with Babs needing severe medical attention and the Joker got away alive, it was an encounter that closed a lot of old, moldy doors for her character. Castellucci tied her response to the Killing Joke up with a beautiful fourth-wave feminist bow, in an issue that felt as satisfying as it did integral to Babs' future characterization. I've been theorizing for some time now that the end of Castellucci's Batgirl is going to leave Barbara in the position of Oracle, maybe for good. During 2019's Year of the Villain, each DC title was "overtaken" by a villain from that character's history. In Batgirl, Castellucci wrote the AI Oracle as Barbara's villain to overcome. That version of Oracle wasn't exactly defeated, as I understand it, but probably won't be coming out of hiding anytime soon. This leaves the position of Oracle up for grabs, if the AI portion of it is gone. In recent Batgirl issues, the team made a point of Barbara and Luke Fox discussing how her implant is on its last leg, and once it's done, she'll never be able to use that kind of fix again. It was clear to me, then that this was Castellucci setting Babs up, mentally, to leave the Batgirl mantle behind. Furthermore, it's been confirmed that Luke Fox is going to be a new Batman, and his appearances in Batgirl make me think his and Babs' relationship hasn't finished evolving yet. James Tynion's tragic Batman series had a moment of inspiration during his Joker War event, when Barbara became Oracle for issue #101, addressing heroes and citizens of Gotham alike. While this wasn't necessarily a confirmation of her role from her on out, it is definitely a sign my theory is still in the right direction. It's also worth noting, to back my theory further, that Barbara Gordon has not made an appearance in the recent DC Future State titles. Future State is taking place I'd guess 10-30 years into the future, when the heroes and their monikers are not what we're used to. Some heroes, like Diana's Wonder Woman and Kara Danvers' Supergirl (or in this case, Superwoman), have simply aged into their role as a more mature version of the hero we know. Others, like Bruce Wayne's Batman Clark Kent's Superman, seem to be in less-than-ideal positions across the universe. The announcement of Future State has brought a series of revelations, such as a lost tribe of Brazilian Amazon warriors, Diana's Wonder Woman adding Immortal to her title, and Green Lantern Jo being a future Justice League member, which have come with great surprise and delight to many fans. However, there is still no mention of Barbara Gordon so far, whatsoever. While this may be wild speculation, I believe DC is waiting for the premier of Batgirl #50 this week before announcing her role in Future State, as it will likely spoil her series' ending. If Babs becomes Oracle again like I think, it makes sense she'd be Oracle for a hero or two in Future State. While the future is nothing if not uncertain, I trust that Barbara Gordon is headed in the right direction. Whether or not she ends up in a relationship with Luke Fox, or becomes the permanent new Oracle, or even if she can walk or not, Barbara Gordon has a spirit none will forget anytime soon. I trust Cecil Castellucci when she says that Babs is in good hands, no matter how much I see DC working against women and minorities elsewhere. I do believe we'll see Barbara Gordon again, and soon. Castellucci has also done another incredible feat in getting three separate female artists on board! Emanuela Lupacchino, Aneke, and Marguerite Sauvage take the lead as artists on the last issue of Batgirl. I tweeted Castellucci about this last week, and she confirmed her request of an all-female art lead team was on totally on purpose. I'm more than pleased to see women in the comics industry sticking up for other women, and making sure women are spotlighted where women need to be. Inkers Mick Gray and Wade Von Grawbadger join female colorists Jordie Bellaire and Patricia Mulvihill to round out the art team, leaving the entire creative team as more than heavily female led. Interestingly, the Dodsons are the only variant cover, alongside Joshua Middleton's ethereal main cover. Make sure to pick up this historic final issue of Batgirl, as it's bound to set a new status quo for Barbara Gordon in the future of DC comics.
X of Swords: Stasis #1
This is the only X of Swords comic coming out this week, following last week's X-Men #13. It's chapter 11 in the X of Swords event, to be followed by next week's X-Men #14. X of Swords; Stasis is co-written by Head of X Johnathon Hickman and usual Excalibur writer, Tini Howard. Howard is an excellent writer with a solid voice in the Dawn of X universe, so I'm excited to see what she brings to this issue. As for what will actually be happening in this issue, I have to assume the main characters involved will be the Sword Bearers from Arrako. All the other mutants have their own books to appear in, and after the reveal of Apocalypse's wife in the last issue of X-Men, I imagine they'll want to expand on what happened to her. We had been left to assume she was the character Annihilation, but just learned that she wore the Annihilation mask, which completely takes over the body and mind of the wearer. Plus, we learned that Isca the Unbroken is his sister-in-law--her abandoning their side of the fight is part of what broke his wife. I'm looking forward to seeing what else went wrong enough to drive Apocalypse's entire progeny against him, to destroy him at all costs.
Dark Nights: Death Metal- Rise of the New God #1
After the awfulness that was last week's Death Metal tie-in, I'm half uncertain if I should even bother with this issue. Written by James Tynion and Bryan Edward Hill, I'm even more at odds with if this issue will be any good. Hill has an excellent reputation with Batman related characters, but Tynion doesn't. However, this issue will contain two separate stories. One is about the new form the Batman Who Laughs has taken, and one follows up on the events of the Multiverse's End tie-in from about a month ago. Tynion wrote that particular tie-in, which makes me think he'll be the one writing this issue's follow-up, leaving Hill the more touchy topic of the Darkest Knight. I'd very much prefer it that way, but I'm not certain if that's what it will all be.
Department of Truth #2
Although I'm outspokenly very negatively critical of James Tynion's DC work, his independent comics tend to be worlds better, to the point that you can't imagine they're written by the same person. Department of Truth is one such series, only on it's second issue this week. The solicitation of Department of Truth #1 wasn't quite accurate to the contents. It wrote that a man discovers every conspiracy theory he's ever known is true, but that isn't quiet it. True, he's taken by a group of old, white men to a number of secret locations, and shown evidence of various truths to popular conspiracies. But when it comes down to it, and after all those men are killed, what we're dealing with is a Tulpa. I first came across the idea of a Tulpa in the TV show Supernatural a few years back. Basically, as I understand it, Tulpas are things created real purely by the belief in them. In Supernatural, it was some fictional monster or another that a child believed into reality, I think. In this case, it was a wide array of people believing in things like the Flat Earth enough to actually make it the truth. If they had shown this temporary reality of the Flat Earth to the world, the entire world's belief in it being real would make it the permanent new reality, and even make it historically the way it has always been. If that explanation doesn't make sense, there's plenty of resources on Tulpas out there--or just read the first issue!
An Unkindess of Ravens #2
It's safe to say I was impressed with the first issue of An Unkindess of Ravens. The series is simple on the surface, but bubbling with potential and signs of excellence early on. The story is somewhat recognizable, a mash of Sabrina and Mean Girls. As the new girl in high school, Wilma has discovered she's a shocking near-replica of a student who's recently gone missing. TO make things more confusing, two rival cliques of "girl-gangs" have taken a liking to her, and both want her to join their ranks exclusively. Wilma has already been shown that one of the groups, the Ravens, have magical powers. In this issue, we'll learn that they believe Wilma does, as well, which should be an interesting journey to discovering. She hasn't shown any signs so far of magical ability or interest, so clearly these young witched know something Wilma doesn't, and it almost certainly has to do with their school's missing girl. The solicitation hints that the Ravens are just as wary of the other, more popular clique as they are of the Ravens, but these other girls don't seem to be magical. It's possible they have some other secret the Ravens know about, but Wilma will just have to be the one to find out for herself.
Bliss #4
Sean Lewis and Caitlin Yarsky's Bliss is a gothic enchanting tale of magic and tragedy in a world not too far off from our own. The last issue gave precious insight to the mystical beings of the world, the only real difference between theirs and ours. They said that the creatures just showed up, one day, and no one thought anything of it because they didn't want to be a bother. But before anyone realized, the magical creatures had taken deep root in their society, poisoning it from within. The story of the boy's father is still playing out, and getting darker with each flashback. According to the solicitation, the boy's father, Benton, is taking his first steps into the story outside of flashbacks. His son has given his testimony, and now it's his turn to make a move. The ravens of Lethe want him dead and gone, so he will likely have to do something drastic to save his son and whats left of his city.
Tartarus #6
This issue of Tartarus is the end of this arc, setting off a new path for the story to pickup in 2021. We discovered a number of key facts about the story in the last issue, most importantly that Surka was not killed on that fateful day decades ago, but rather transported off the planet. With this revelation came the news that she was now back to finish what she started. The story of Tartarus has been a ton of fun to follow along with, with changing allegiances and mind blowing futuristic apparatuses. Now that Surka is back, the entire dynamic of Tartarus is going to change, and certain people are going to have to pay for what they've done in her absence.
Doctor Doom #8
Victor Von Doom is back in Latveria as King, and the plot of Doctor Doom is finally back on track. If you recall, the series started with the idea that Doom had been dreaming/prophesying of saving the world, a future he became convinced was bound to occur. He was certain in convincing the heroes to turn off the black hole generator on the moon, he'd save the world and subsequently become the hero he saw in his visions. Instead, the generator blew, causing several deaths and massive damage. Understandably, the various people in charge decide Doom was at fault, given his many warning to shut it down, which sounded a bit like threats. After dying, returning to life, and regaining his thrown, Doom is finally back to trying to save the world. This issue will likely be mostly Latveria battling the neighboring country of Symkaria, which the solicitation says will end with Doom realizing once more he's the only one who can save the project on the moon.
Undiscovered Country #9
The solicitation for Undiscovered Country this week caught me off guard, because as a long solicit, it was only a short amount of information given on the actual comic. The rest of the blurb was dedicated to Hollywood news, announcing the purchase of Undiscovered Country's film/TV rights for adaptation by New Republic Pictures. Various creators, including writing team Snyder and Soule, are attached to the development, so it', be fun to hear about that as it goes forward. For now, we just have this ninth issue. The team has been making their way through the second new American zone, called Unity. There's obviously a lot going wrong in Unity, hidden under the hive-mind of all the citizens. No doubt something nefarious out there is planning on stopping the team's journey at Unity, forever.
Red Sonja/Vampirella #11
The last issue of Red Sonja/Vampirella left the women in an awkward state: trans-located to a different time again, and now Sonja's amulet has broken. As the stone dies, the women will presumably be stuck together as they age in...wherever they are. âThis is the penultimate issue of Red Sonja/Vampirella, and I've had a ton of fun with the series so far. Jordie Bellaire has done a great job making just a strictly enjoyable story of the two nineties powerhouse heroines, and sparked a friendship I hope lasts for ages to come.
Batgirl #50
The last issue of Batgirl comes with a plethora of mixed emotions. Cecil Castellucci's run has been my favorite Batgirl I've ever read, and I'm very sad to see it going so soon. But it's a new era for Barbara Gordon, as I talked about in my Spotlight on Women, and there is a lot to be looking forward to in her future. This issue had a phenomenal female led art team to go alongside whatever Castellucci has for us in terms of final stories. The previous issue wrapped up the Batgirl tie-ins for Joker War, so this issue is strictly for Castellucci and her team to give their appropriate sendoff. I'm going to miss her Batgirl, I can tell already. Whatever the future holds for Barbara Gordon in comics, I hope Castellucci gets to write her again.
Sex Criminals #69
In the last issue of Sex Criminals, the numbering of #69 is not only a horny joke--it's meant to indicate a several year time jump. We'll be seeing the various characters created by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, as they will end up in the (near?) future. The solicitation jokes that everyone is doing fine, so I'm picturing this to be more or less like the final episode of Parks and Recreation. Which brings up another good point about Sex Criminals, and a trend in the comic industry. More and more series, especially "indie" ones, are getting to pick their own finish dates. Much like Parks and Rec style shows that finished off on their own terms, Matt and Chip have retained control of what they're putting out all through to the end. While this is more than likely going to be a feel-good follow-up of the characters' lives, I still definitely expect some deeper moments to leave us thinking. The oft-assumed lighthearted topic of sexuality strikes home in everyone who reads this comic, and I fully look forward to whatever final thoughts and wisdom these two creators are leaving us with.
Wonder Woman #765
Mariko Tamaki's Wonder Woman has been enjoyable enough, so far, but to be honest, it's not to the level of her writing I am used to. I blame this almost entirely on the fact DC seems to be getting most their core writers to create new, YOUNG villains to fight, therefore bringing in a new, YOUNG audience. While I can see the attraction in perhaps doing that, in practice it doesn't usually work out. I can be almost certain the Wonder Woman villain, Liar Liar, is not taking off anytime soon. With that in mind, I choose to pay attention to the GOOD parts of Tamaki's story, like Diana's evolving relationship with Maxwell Lord. While Liar Liar is supposedly his daughter, Max and Diana have their own shit to hash out, beyond just her. I'm glad certain aspects of their history, such as Diana killing him on live TV, have been brought up, and I hope it gets discussed further as we go along. The "Saga of Lords" ends with Wonder Woman #769, about eleven issues after it began. It also marks the last Wonder Woman issue of the year, coming out December 22nd. The first Wonder Woman issues of 2020 will actually be for DC's Future State, where for January and February, all their titles will be fast forwarded an unknown number of years into the future. As far as I can tell, things will go back to normal in March, but there are a number of titles in Future State worth checking out!
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