Weekly Comic Reviews Part 2 - Batgirl Issue 1

         
       Batgirl Issue 1 (DC's New 52) - "Shattered."

DC Comics

Written by Gail Simone.

Pencils by Ardian Syaf. Cover Art by Adam Hughes.

  
Characters: Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Commissioner Jim Gordon, Mirror*,, Graham Carter, The Brisby Killers, Mr and Mrs Otega, The Joker (brief flashback cameo), Alysia*, Heidi, Theodore Rankin and two Gotham Police Detectives - Mel McKenna* and her partner. 

 The Plot: A mysterious villain called "Mirror" is targeting the lone survivors of horrific accidents who by some miracle survived their ordeal and Barbara Gordon is next on the list. He kills Graham Carter in his back garden, showing him his "true face." Meanwhile in another part of Gotham, Batgirl swings into action to take out the Brisby Killers - a gang of horror-masked criminals that break into homes and torture their victims. Batgirl interrupts the Brisby Killers threatening Mr and Mrs Otega and takes out the gang leader with taunts and a swift batarang to the hand. Despite the fact that she is back in action, we learn that she's nervous about being back in the field and she's still physically and emotionally fragile.

Old memories run deep for Barbara Gordon.

We cut to Barbara at home, reliving her ordeal with the Joker. She reveals she was brutally shot by him and left paralysed and in a wheelchair for three years, until a miracle happened and she was somehow, slowly able to walk again. We have a brief and touching scene between Barbara and her Dad, Commissioner Gordon. Her Dad is protective of her, but she announces she's ready to find a place of her own again and get back on her own two feet - literally and figuratively. We see Babs show up at a new apartment and get shown around by her new quirky room-mate Alysia, who quickly gives her a new nickname "GBG" and announces that she is an activist and paints by day and tends bar by night. Some girl-bonding ensues! Yey! Unfortunately followed by Alysia noticing the wheelchair ramp on Barbara's moving van and making an inadvertent "ableist" comment. Barbara can't begin to tell her new roomie about her recovery and condition and so keeps silent, feeling awkward.
Meanwhile two Gotham cops Mel McKenna and her partner are at Sacred Hands Hospital keeping watch over Rankin - the injured leader of the Brisby Killers. We see Mirror enter the hospital and punch a receptionist - he's here to see Theodore Rankin - and he's prepared to shoot security guards who get in his way. Barbara has been taping into Gotham Police's text alerts using her phone and sees that there's trouble going down. In true super-heroine style, she makes her apologies to Alysia, grabs her Batcycle from the back of the van and gets her costume on to ride to the rescue. Mirror enters the room holding Detective McKenna and her partner, shoots McKenna's partner dead and turns on McKenna. Apparently Rankin is on Mirror's list and must die.  Batgirl races to the door and finds Mirror's gun trained on her spine, she has a horrific post-traumatic flashback to the Joker's shhoting of her and completely freezes up, unable to act. Rankin pleads with her to help, but she is frozen in place as Mirror launches Rankin out of the 14th floor window in his hospital bed. Mel McKenna trains her gun on a horrified Batgirl - accusing her of murder.

                   DAN DAN DAN! EPIC CLIFF-HANGERY MUSIC!
 

Best Lines:  Gail Simone writes amazing interior monologues for Barbara and that's where her writing really shines. I've highlighted a few examples I loved in this issue:

"I'm not Batgirl. Not tonight. Not Batman's former star pupil, as I used to be. Not the girl who did everything right...who danced through Gotham and dazzled everyone she met. Tonight, I am Barbara Gordon. She of the eidectic memory. She who never forgets. Never. Except how to breathe sometimes." - Barbara/Batgirl.

"I panicked every time I heard a doorbell for months after. But I survived. The Joker never beat me. The bullet never beat me." - Barbara/Batgirl.

 "It's tempting to stay where you are most loved. But as with everything...sometimes you have to let go." - Barbara/Batgirl.
  
I love Simone's take on Barbara - She's smart, possesses an absolute steel core of emotional and physical strength and tenacity and yet there's an emotional fragility and a quiet wisdom to her that makes her endlessly relatable. Also, I'm a bit of a Daddy's girl myself and the relationship between Babs and her father is one of the most touching parent/child dynamics in comics. Having just left home to try to stand on my own two feet myself - I can relate to that need to get out into the world and make a difference, yet being nervous about what could happen. Moving from safety to independence. She's not superhuman, she's just a girl trying to make the world a better place and that's what makes her so easy to warm to.


"Come on. I'll help. Then I'll make some tea and we can discover what things we both hate." - Alysia
"Really? That'd be...that'd be nice." - Barbara/Batgirl
"But, just fair warning okay? I'm kinda an activist. All good?" - Alysia
It took a while, after the shooting, to let strangers back in. It'd be nice to have someone to have tea with. - Barbara/Batgirl.
  
I admit it. I'm a sucker for well-written nuanced female friendships in comics and entertainment in general. Buffy and Willow are my OTF (One True Friendship - it's a phrase. I'm coining it.) and I would really like to see more relatable female friendships in comics. It's something Simone does really well. I really like Alysia, she has a strong voice and I love Barbara's tentative hope that she can make a new friend. Plus tea? Who doesn't love tea and good conversation right?

"That's my biggest fear, being trapped in a chair like that. Can you imagine? Like prison." - Alysia
 "She doesn't mean anything by it. I know she doesn't. She doesn't know what the chair helps you do. And I guess I don't feel like explaining that to her able-bodied-but-well-intended-self right now." 
- Barbara/Batgirl.
  
These lines made me so sad for Babs. It's so hard when people judge or misread without thinking. The comment comes off as insensitive, but unintentioned. I still winced though. I'm really glad they didn't write off Babs' struggles as if they never happened. It's far more respectful to the character and I expect physically disabled people have to deal with off-the-cuff unthinking comments like this every day. It sucks.

  
The Artwork: Adam Hughes' front cover art is gorgeous. This is a dynamic portrayal of the new Batgirl and the use of bats in the background art reminded me of the recent Christopher Nolan Batman films. I really like the new Batgirl costume and that they've kept purple in the colour scheme. It still has that classic feel. I also love the new Batgirl logo. Everything about this cover makes me happy.

I think what really helps me key into Batgirl as a character is that she's not as heavily sexualised in the way she is drawn, unlike Power Girl's infamous "boob-window" and Catwoman. As much as I enjoy Catwoman as a character, Selina Kyle is a character that is defined by her sexuality and depicted in artwork as a highly sexualised character. I'm fine with healthy expression of sexuality, but not when its expression overwhelms a female character's depiction to the point where that becomes all I can see and no substance. There's a fetishistic subtext to Catwoman's whip and leather cat-suit that's hard to ignore. She's a dominatrix in appearance and a femme fatale by nature and it's hard to get away from that in how she is drawn. Selina is a compelling and interesting character to me, but the way she is drawn is often incredibly male-gazey.  If you don't believe me, take a look at the fervour surrounding the first issue of the"New 52" Catwoman and the craziness its artwork and storyline caused online recently. (It depicted a softcore sex scene between Catwoman and Batman that wouldn't look out of place in R-rated fanfic and the first image you see of Catwoman is not of her face, but of her breasts and then her arse.  No. Really. There are no words.)

One LJ blogger "drvonfangirl" heavily critiqued the direction of the new Catwoman first issue and I'm inclined to agree with her. Check out her detailed response here.

The "New 52" Catwoman cover.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

 Getting back to Batgirl. Adain Syaf's pencils render her beautifully. She is womanly, youthful and dynamic, without being over-exposed or posed in any anatomically impossible positions. Barbara is drawn as an appealing young woman and I have to say I really like the artwork. One thing I love is that he's not bad at drawing detailed backgrounds. So many comic artists are great at drawing faces, anatomy, you name it - but phone-in their backgrounds and make them really shabby and it takes me out of the story, so thumbs-up for Syaf for giving us a better view of Barbara's world. His art is expressive and dynamic. I look forward to seeing more of both artists! 

Batgirl swinging into action.

Reflections and Verdict: There has been a lot of controversy surrounding DC Comic's 'New 52' reboot this September. In a nutshell, the company has taken all 52 of their comic's titles (including Action Comics and Detective Comics - which have been running since the 1930's and 40's) and rebooted many character's origins and story-lines. There's been a huge amount of changes - some which have hit long-time DC Comics readers hard - mainly in the pursuit of gaining new younger readers in a difficult economic market. I'll admit I'm one of those readers who has used the New 52 line-up as a great "jumping-on" point, but I'm determined to honour the growth of these iconic characters and intend to read what has gone before as well.

No change has been more controversial than the decision to make Barbara Gordon Batgirl again; to give you an idea of the controversy, I'm going to give you all a little background, not only into the history of Batgirl/Oracle in comics, but also what she meant to me growing up.

Barbara Gordon as Batgirl:
Barbara Gordon has always been a smart and capable female character in Batman comics.  Her character actually originated in the 60's Batman TV series as a way to attract female viewers, but her popularity was such that she soon became part of Batman/Detective comics canon in 1966. Played by the - quite frankly gorgeous - Yvonne Craig in the TV show, she high-kicked her way across the screen and into my tiny little heart. You see, even as a child of the Nineties, I grew up on Sixties Batman re-runs and Batman: The Animated Series.  Gawky, bookish nine year old me was desperate for any kind of female ass-kicking role models to emulate and look up to. In that sense, Batgirl was a goddess-send. I used to put on my brother's Batman costume and run around our house and garden fighting imaginary criminals - socking and kapowing them into oblivion. I wanted to be Batgirl. She was amazing and inspiring to me! Plus, I look good in purple okays?

Yvonne Craig - The Batgirl of my childhood.

Barbara Gordon was Police Commissioner Jim Gordon's daughter and Head Librarian at Gotham Public Library by day and put on her cape to fight crime as Batgirl by night. Her popularity was such that she became one of the iconic female heroines of the Silver Age of comics. She was an independent crime-fighter, not a side-kick.

The turning point for her character came 20 years later in 1988 with Alan Moore's The Killing Joke. This saw the Joker enact a horrifying act of violence on the Gordon family, shooting Barbara in the spine, stripping her near-naked and photographing her many times as she cried out in agony. The injury to her spinal-cord left Barbara paralysed and in a wheelchair. Her career as Batgirl had seemingly come to a traumatic end.

The turning point in Barbara's life.

One Batgirl fan who was outraged by the physical and sexual violence perpetrated on her favourite character at the time and on female characters in comics in general was Gail Simone. In the Nineties, she created a website called Women In Refrigerators - to critically challenge the ways in which female characters were mistreated and made victims of violence as a recurrent plot device in comics. 
 An incredibly worthy cause in this fan-girl's eyes. 

Through that one act of genuine moxie, Gail managed to her getting a gig writing a comics column and then getting into writing comics for the characters she loved like Wonder Woman and created a career-defining run writing DC's premier female crime-fighting team Birds of Prey. She's now writing the new 52 Batgirl. Not bad for a Batgirl and comics fangirl (and a great writer).

 Barbara Gordon as Oracle:  
Luckily there were others besides Simone who objected to the sidelining of one of DC's most beloved heroines. In 1989, a year after Barbara's devastating accident, writer Jim Ostrander and editor Kim Yale reinvented Miss Gordon as Oracle - a brilliant computer hacker and information broker. Despite being in a wheelchair, Babs was able to save the world by using her research skills and her sense of empathy to catch criminals and mentor heroes. She also trains in eskrima, a form of martial arts that enables her to fight even whilst in her wheelchair.

Creating and co-commanding her own team of female heroines - the Birds of Prey, through her friendship with Black Canary, Barbara was able to find new meaning in her life.  The comic in its original incarnation became the longest running female team-up series in comics history, running for 16 years from 1995-2011. Over the past 22 years, Oracle has become a beloved character in Modern Age comics and an icon for disabled and handi-capable readers. Framed as Batman's intellectual equal and the key source of information and tech support for all DC heroes and heroines, Barbara became a formidable presence in Gotham City, despite the cards life had dealt her.

Oracle. Comics' original Net-Girl Extraordinaire.

On the New 52 Reboot Controversy:
This September the announcement came that Batgirl and many other titles were to be rebooted and Barbara was to become Batgirl once again. Oracle was to be no more. The main argument being that Barbara Gordon has always been the most recognisible  Batgirl in popular culture and as a disabled female heroine in a comic-book world where miraculous healing Lazarus Pits exist and even Batman could be seen to recover from a broken spine, it seemed illogical that Batgirl never recovered from her injuries. A cynic might say the main idea for the change was reckoning on nostalgia and character familiarity to sell comics. It's no secret that despite the recent comic book blockbusters, the industry is still struggling right now and DC's decision to go back to the drawing board every few years is a symptom of that. I'd argue Marvel's "event" grand-standing every few years is for the same reason.

Many perspectives on Babs were bandied around online and many were rightly vocal about these changes to a beloved character and a symbol of hope for disabled readers that life doesn't have to stop as a result of an illness or handicap. One very poignant commentator was Jill Pantozzi - a female comics blogger and writer for both her own blog  Has Boobs, Reads Comics and geek girl go-to site The Mary Sue - who wrote an impassioned post for her Newsarama column about her love for Oracle. Jill has Muscular Dystrophy - a condition that means she has to spend a lot of time in a wheelchair. She even been known to dress up as Batgirl at conventions. Her love for Oracle is clear in her post, which you can check out here. 

The response was so vocal that Gail Simone herself responded by arranging a two-way interview between herself and Jill about the character changes and they both raised some interesting points. 
Check it out here.

Is really as simple as walking away from Oracle?

My own perspective is this. I have a genuine love for Babs and will follow this character where ever she goes as long as the writing stays true to the essence of the character. As far as diversity representation goes, Oracle's absence as a mentoring figure and a beacon for the disabled community is a real blow. It's a shame the two aspects of her character can't co-exist, so I have to make them do so in my own mind.

Author's note: I recently read all of Bryan Q. Miller's run with Stephanie Brown as Batgirl with Oracle as Steph's mentor and really enjoyed the character dynamic between the two. I really hope they find a way to bring Stephanie back, but fear it'll be an undoing of some great character development. Also, the "New 52" Birds of Prey line-up isn't really clicking for me without Oracle and Black Canary's friendship at the helm. The Birds were very much part of Barbara's path in making something of herself after her accident, so it seems weird to see the Birds team-up without that being the guiding factor in their origins.

  

I can see why Batgirl commentators and genuine fans such as Jill Pantozzi feel short-changed at Oracle's loss. I feel the only way I can really compartmentalise the two aspects of the history of Barbara as a character is to treat this new incarnation of Batgirl as an "alternate reality - what-if?" tale. What if Barbara had recovered from her injuries over time? What if she did return to fighting crime as Batgirl after suffering such trauma? How would it affect her? Where would it take her as a person and as a heroine? These are the questions the new Batgirl comic will hopefully answer and I trust that with a strong female writer such as Gail Simone at the helm, who has a clear genuine love of the character, she is in safe hands. For me, Oracle still exists out there as another side of the coin. Another path Barbara's story could've (and has) taken. I can still pick up my old Batgirl and Birds of Prey trades and see her saving the day. 

Either way, this is a woman who would never let the horrific hands she has been dealt beat her - whether in or out of a wheelchair - and that's what makes her so compelling. She never gives up. So I'm not giving up on reading about her.

 Score - 4/5  A compelling new beginning, that still remains true to Barbara and Batgirl's emotional journey.

Speculation:  This issue ended on a real cliffhanger where it was clear Barbara had not fully gotten over her ordeal at the hands of the Joker. I'd like to see her becoming strong again and putting these bad memories to rest. I'm sure she will, but it'll be a tough road getting there. What I love so much about Simone's writing of Barbara is that she keeps the emotional centre of the character at the forefront of her actions. I'm just as interested in Barbara's life outside of Batgirl as I am in her kicking ass. I really like Alysia - Babs' new roommate and hope there's room to develop a budding friendship between the two women.  I like Mirror as a villain and love that his motivation is so strongly tied into Barbara's emotional issues. I look forward to seeing them clash and finding out his origins. I predict that the consequences of Batgirl's inaction will be felt and I can't wait to see where this comic goes.  
I think I both discovered and rediscovered a heroine I'm going to love for a long time to come.

Weekly Comic Reviews - Angel and Faith Issue 1

I have a confession. I never used to regularly read comics until about four years ago. Being the literature geek that I am, I always thought having art alongside the words lacked imagination. BOY, was I dead wrong and I apologise to my future/current comic loving self profusely and to one of my exes whom I teased as a teenager by saying graphic novel was just a pretentious way of saying comic book. I WAS WRONG!

Believe me, I'm making up for it now - grabbing hold of everything from Sandman to Watchmen, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Promethea, Batwoman, Ultimate AND Amazing Spiderman, old Batgirl comics and Claremont era X-Men.

Don't get me wrong - I loved super-heroes as a kid. I was lucky to grow up in the Nineties when we had the likes of Batman Animated, X-Men, Spiderman and the Marvel Action Hour to keep us entertained. So I knew all the main characters and tropes from Marvel and DC pretty well when the comic book movie explosion of the Noughties (and still counting) happened. I was happily on board for the ride as   X Men (2000), Spiderman (2002) and many others were released. But it wasn't the same as reading the stories on inked pages.

One thing in March 2007 changed everything for me - turning me into someone that would search Ebay every month for first printings and variant art covers and show me the wonder of great artwork mixed with serial story-telling. That thing was Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight. 

Buffy: Season Eight - 40 issues. 4 years. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

 Anyone who knows me knows Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my all-time favourite show, so to see my favourite characters continue their journey in comic book form was far too much of a temptation.

I had to get hold of every issue and sure-fire I did. All 40 issues every month on and off over 2007-2011. The story had a lot of ups and downs - there were many things they did with certain characters I wasn't keen on, but there were a lot of things to love. Especially Jo Chen's gorgeous artwork.

Why am I mentioning this? Because September 2011 is the month where everything changes. Dark Horse Comics are launching two new Buffy/Angelverse titles - Angel & Faith, set in London following our favourite brooding vampire and tough Boston slayer and Buffy Season Nine, in which Buffy, Xander, Willow, Dawn and Spike have relocated to San Francisco and Buffy is a waitress - and the only Slayer - again.

Pretty sure I left my heart here somewhere...

Both titles will run for at least 20 issues alongside each other as the characters all come to terms with what happened in the climactic ending of Season 8: 

 HIGHLIGHT TO READ THE SEASON 8 SPOILERS: Angel was revealed as the villainous Twilight.Working at the will of an entity from another reality, Angel manipulated Buffy in order to create a reality in which they both could live happily ever after, but she could never see her friends again.  Refusing his offer, Buffy returned, but the walls of reality thinned, bringing demons pouring into our world. A trip to Sunnydale and a quest to protect the source of all magic lead to an epic battle and tragedy as a Twilight-possessed Angel killed Rupert Giles, Buffy's beloved Watcher. Acting in shock, Buffy destroyed the seed - the source of all magic - shattering the Slayer Scythe in the process. No more Slayers can be called beyond the girls who have already been called as Slayers and Willow has lost her access to the magical realms completely. No more magic, but still vestiges of demons and vampires out there that need to be dealt with. At the reading of Giles' will he hands over all his possessions, including his London flat to Faith, who has vowed to help a shell-shocked Angel deal with his inadvertent act of murder. Buffy can't even look at him, but has been handed down one last gift from Giles: the VAMPYR book he first handed to her when they first met - meaning that she is still the Slayer - and there is still work to be done.  END SPOILERS.

In every generation there is a chosen chick who has to read this book.

The reason I'm throwing all this "Buffyverse" exposition out there is because I've decided to do weekly/monthly comics reviews on my blog. Whilst I'd really love to be as comprehensive as possible in covering every comic readers want me too - at the moment I'll be reviewing the ones I'm following at the moment.

This will also include some iconic super-heroines such as Supergirl Kara Zor-El, the controversially rebooted Batgirl Barbara Gordon and our two favourite Slayers Buffy and Faith as well as a few other Whedonverse goodies. I'm also up for reviewing any reader's recommendations - if the comics titles have the female reader firmly in mind!

On with the reviews....

Angel & Faith Issue 1 - Live Through This Part 1

Dark Horse Comics.

Written by Christos Gage & Joss Whedon.

Art by Rebekah Isaacs & Steve Morris (Cover), 

Jo Chen (Variant Cover) and Georges Jeanty (25th Anniversary Cover).

Characters: Faith Lehane, Angel, Rupert Giles, Hannah,* Anne,* Plagiarus Demon,* Jenny Calendar, Nadira* (A British Slayer), Whistler, Nash* and Pearl.   * = New characters.

The Plot: The story opens a few months on from the devastating events of Buffy Season Eight where Angel was left catatonic after his horrific actions. Faith and Angel are living in Giles' apartment in London. They're solving unresolved demonic disturbances using Giles' old Watcher Diaries as a guide. Angel "seems" to be coping, but Faith sees right through his smokescreen. They both go to the aid of a woman named Anne, whose daughter Hannah is being used as a host by a Plagiarus demon. We learn in flashback that Giles had bound the demon in the girl many years before to save the mother and child. However, the spell required a sacrifice from his own life: the loss of experiencing the best day of his life and the memory of it wiped out of existence. Unsure how Angel will react, but having faith in him, Faith watches as Angel feigns biting the girl, releasing the demon from its host and allowing them to kill it. As they do, Angel experiences a vision of the day Giles lost: happiness with Jenny Calendar. The day that would've occurred if Angelus had never killed Jenny. Angel is overwhelmed with guilt at the deaths he has caused.  

As Faith and Angel leave, Anne and Hannah now safe, Angel decides to head home alone. Meanwhile Faith heads into Brixton and ambushes Nadira, another Slayer out on patrol. It seems Faith hasn't totally neglected her Slayer squad duties and is looking out for other remaining Slayers in the aftermath of the war against Twilight. They both head to a club for dancing and to compare notes. Nadira tells Faith what happened to the slayer training squad she belonged to in Azores. They were ambushed by Twilight (who was in fact, Angel) and two of his cronies: Pearl and Nash, who murdered the entire squad while Twilight watched. Willow found and healed Nadira and got her to safety. Now Nadira has vowed vengeance against Twilight and anyone who aided him in killing Slayers. Faith feels incredibly conflicted as very few know she is harbouring Angel at the flat. She choses to remain silent. You can bet this will have consequences....

Octo-demon babysitting is nobody's favourite past-time.

 We cut to an old friend in a pub. No, not our favourite blonde vamp, sadly. It's Whistler - and it seems he might not be as neutral an advice giver as BtVS fans first thought. Having convinced Angel to take up Twilight's aims and seen him fail, Whistler is determined to finished what was started to restore the cosmic balance and he's got Pearl and Nash willing to help him do it. *gasp!* Also Pearl and Nash have brutally slaughtered everyone in the pub. Eeek. Angel better watch his back!   :O

Back at the flat, Faith pleads with Angel to tell him that his actions in the Azores weren't him. He can't. He explains that he tried to manipulate Pearl and Nash into his plans, but they were unpredictable. The guilt of all the actions he took for what he believed was the greater good weigh down on him. Faith says she's fine about helping the Slayer girls and using Giles' diaries to right wrongs, but Angel needs to stop obsessing over his recent actions. Angel has a plan though....to resurrect the one person he believes they truly need...the man he killed.

 Best Lines:     
 "I killed the woman he loved. He forgave me. He paid the price." - Angel   
This sums up the whole dramatic crux of the next few issues. Beautifully delivered and Issacs' artwork makes it a heartbreaking callback.

"The parents I know -- well, that is to say, the good ones--would do anything for their children. They place them first, no matter how difficult that may be. I must place the greater good above all. Regardless of how difficult that may be." - Giles
 This line sums up Giles' character perfectly. He's the gang's father figure and always has been. He's always done the hard thing to protect the world. He would do anything for Buffy and he did.

"The fabric holding the spell together was my life. Specifically one of the best days of life. I'm not certain which one. That day is gone from my memory now. I don't know precisely what I've lost. But it's absence leaves an ache I believe I shall carry with me forever." 
- Giles   One of the best lines in the comic. Poignant and poetic and so sad!

"Nothing to worry about, the street's lit up like daytime. Maybe if chavs hadn't smashed out half the lamps. And not a copper in sight, of course...bloody austerity...measures..." - Nadira 
American writers don't always get British turns of phrase quite right, but this was hilarious. I'm British and the use of chav made me laugh a lot as did the dig against the coalition's recent cuts policy and the very subtle reference to the August London riots. Gage knows his setting and it shows. We don't always call them coppers these days though...  ;)

"Your whole Twilight phase makes about as much sense as a David Lynch movie." - Faith to Angel.

Faith says what we've all been thinking and she's right!

 "Earth's cut off from the mystic dimensions. The only magical crap that works is stuff that's self-powered. I can't contact my bosses at Powers That Be LLC and my precognitions all outta whack. Like trying to watch scrambled porn." - Whistler's unique take on the situation.

The Artwork: Okay, I'll own up, I was absolutely thrilled when I heard Angel & Faith was going to be set in London. As a Brit myself, the idea of the Buffyverse inhabiting my home country fully filled me with inner squeeage. I bought all three available covers for this first issue. All are gorgeous in different ways. Steve Morris' cover artwork is fantastic. His image of a fog covered autumnal London is spookily atmospheric and just right for this time of year. It captures  "supernatural" London very well. It's gothic and dark as a Buffyverse cover should be and having Angel and Faith in the graveyard is very symbolic. I love the little details such as the goblin, stone angel and epitaph. I think I'm going to enjoy seeing the rest of his cover artwork and I love his depiction of Faith sat on the gravestone. Whilst his colour palate is mainly earthy and dark, this seems to suit these two characters down to the ground.

I can say nothing wrong about Jo Chen's artwork. Her covers for Buffy Season Eight were beautiful and extraordinary in capturing the likenesses of these well-known characters. Her Angel & Faith cover is no different. Angel and Faith are shown, again, in a fog shrouded London with a wonderfully drawn Big Ben looming in the fog behind them. Her painted likenesses are gorgeous to behold and almost photo-real. As I said, no bad words to say.  ;)

Jo Chen's gorgeous variant cover

Georges Jeanty is an artist I'm a bit hit and miss with. I find his Buffy artwork too cartoonish. He depicts many of the Buffyverse's characters as far too "young" to me and I find I like other artist's illustrations better. However, he does draw certain parts rather well. His cover is less exciting composition wise. We again get another drawing of Angel, Faith and Big Ben, but what I really liked about this one is how the rain blurs the logo and the image down the cover. As well as the way the rain flows down the pavement to the drain. Lovely visual stuff and it's definitely one of his better covers, but not in the same league as Morris and Chen.

Add captGeorges Jeanty's variant cover with added London rain.i

I am really loving Rebekah Issacs' interior artwork. She draws Faith and Angel's likenesses wonderfully and very expressively.  You can clearly tell who each character is, though her rendering of Giles is a bit hit and miss and better in close-up. All in all her art is gritty, expressive and fluid, without the overly cartoonish style that bugs me occasionally in Jeanty's work. She can draw movement well and the female characters are drawn proportionally and respectfully (something you don't always see in the comics industry). She's a great choice for the book and some of her designs - the tentacles of the demon and the Giles/Jenny panels are wonderful. She gets bonus points for adding a Chelsea FC poster on a bus stop in one of her panels too. It's a great cultural touch.

Reflections & Verdict: I'll be honest. I was devastated by one particular death at the end of Buffy Season Eight. I think I'm still getting my head around it - as are the fans; as are the characters and that's one of the reasons this new Angel & Faith comic works so brilliantly. It doesn't shy away from it. The presence of that character and their legacy is felt on every page of this issue. Including an incredibly poignant moment where we discover what might have been between Giles and Jenny. It's incredibly bittersweet. Made even more so by the fact that Angel - Jenny's killer- is the only one to see it. Equally, we see more aspects of Giles - revealing that he has always been prepared to do what others will not to protect the greater good. It's such an important facet of his character and Gage's writing really shines in these sequences. Normally I'm not a big fan of narrative ret-cons, mainly because they screw with what has been established and accepted - sometimes unnecessarily so (I'm looking at you Warren Mears. Grrr.) - but the motive behind Giles' sacrifice and the loss of Jenny is so poignant that I adored it. It totally works for me and in turn gives their "what could've been" romance even deeper significance.

Saddest comics panel ever. Jenny and Giles we hardly knew you. *sniff*.

I was anxious to see how Dark Horse would approach Angel as a character in the aftermath of the "Twilight" reveal debacle in the last few arcs of Buffy:Season Eight. I never felt we understood his motivations for doing what he did. Like this sudden change of character happened behind the scenes and we were left to "facepalm" ourselves into oblivion as the narrative jumble at the end of Season Eight came to a close. This wasn't the Angel I knew from his own show, where no matter the costs, he still kept a moral heart at the centre of his actions. He was ruthless, but he wasn't amoral. That was Angelus. And then that all got thrown out of the window in one comic last December that changed the 'verse. There was one particular line in this current issue that made me shudder and wince as I read it.  I won't say which one until you read it for yourselves...but yeah, I'm emotionally entangled in these characters and those lines were horrible to hear. Even if Angel was faking it. Do I still like Angel as a character? I'm finding it hard at the moment and his plan seems incredibly misguided. If anything he will have to fight greater for redemption than he ever has had to in the past.

I loved Nadira and Faith's interactions and I'm glad that the "helping wayward slayers" plotline for Faith hasn't been dropped entirely. I like the maturity her experiences have gained her and I completely understand her motives for believing in Angel's right to earn redemption. These two characters understand each other in ways the other characters in the Buffyverse can't fathom. They've  both killed unreservedly, they've walked back from that edge time and time again and they want to believe they are better than their mistakes. Angel believed in her when she hit rock bottom and now she's returning the favour. It's almost as if the two of them are coming full circle and it's a testament to Faith's character development over the course of both Buffy and Angel and the comics that I can believe in her as a steadying influence and have even grown to like her. She was definitely not on my faves list when she first appeared on the TV show. Now, I find her fascinating.

New villains Pearl and Nash and their unique take on "decorating".

 Gages has captured the character's voices and personalities very well and nothing feels out of place. Even the secondary characters like Nadira feel like they belong in the Buffyverse. I can't get enough of Pearl and Nash as the series' new villains. They appear almost elvishly Aryan and their back story and unique powers are awesome. They reminded me a little bit of early Season 2 Spike and Dru so I have high hopes. The Whistler reveal was quite shocking initially, but had a great pay-off for long-time fans and a lovely callback to the classic episode "Becoming" in the dialogue. With a strong emotional cliffhanger and a story that gets right to the heart of the things I love about the Buffyverse: character development and emotional moments; I'm totally along for the ride with this one and can highly recommend Angel & Faith to Buffy fans.

Score: 5/5 - Excellent story-telling and a great opening issue.

Speculation: I don't think I'll win any awards for predicting that Angel's plan will go horribly, horribly wrong. Any Buffy fan who has seen "Forever" knows that resurrection spells are very bad news. His plan is entirely fueled by what has always been his motivation: guilt and a need to atone, but this - blended with his grief- might not be the best course. I'm interested to see what Pearl, Nash and Whistler have planned for Angel. I'd love to see confrontations between them and Angel and I think we're going to get them. I can't wait to see Nadira's reaction to the knowledge Faith is helping Angel and I'm hoping that while Faith might support Angel initially, that as the plan gets further out of control, she'll know when to draw the line. All in all the new series kicks ass!    
Spec

15 T-Shirts Every Geek Girl Should Own (Or At Least Squee Over).

I have an unhealthy obsession with making lists, it's nearly equal to my passion for all things nerddom, so why not combine the two?

My dear friend Paul has been admonishing me for not blogging more often and sharing my passions with the world - after all, you should never ask for permission to be creative, you should just get on and do it!  Right?

The sci-fi community still needs more female voices making their feelings known...and quite frankly I've never been known to shut up for longer than about five nano-seconds.

SO MUCH LIKE THE DOCTOR - SF GIRL REGENERATES AND FIRES BACK INTO LIFE!

 

Yes, I realise this is River Song, but quite frankly: She's AWESOME!

With that shiny new regeneration in mind, I'm hoping this will be the start of a whole host of new things; and far more frequent spewings forth from the inner workings of my crazy little geekette brain. Oh you poor bastards...don't say I didn't warn you!  :O It's going to be a mad exhilarating ride, so you'd better hold onto something and don't forget to bring a Fez.  Stetsons, bow-ties and Jammie Dodgers are also acceptable.


So what to discuss first? Well, one thing I've noticed in the past few months is the rise of custom t-shirt websites. Namely, websites that offer one-off specially designed tees for a very limited period - usually a day to three days max, then print them on demand on a limited print run, thus making sure the tees will stay unique and have a "cult" appeal. (Although some tee designs do pop up on other sites - ZeroBriant's epic Doctor Who: The Silence vs. The Weeping Angels t shirt, for instance - which is the current favourite in my wardrobe, though it is up against some strong contenders).

The epic battle of who blinks first?

 The two biggest "limited t-shirt" websites I've come across are the US Teefury and the UK's Qwertee - where t-shirts are around £10 including postage, meaning you get a fun and unique t-shirt for a fairly reasonable price.  The most enjoyable thing about these sites are the extremely geeky pop culture mash-ups that make up so many of the popular designs from a poster spoofing the "Back to the Future" movie poster with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan replacing McFly and the Doc to a bajillion Doctor Who and Firefly inspired t-shirts because quite frankly, both shows will never not be eternally popular among the geek community! I highly recommend you take a look at both sites- you might just snap up a wonderful "must-have-it" bargain.

This list is dedicated to t-shirts I've found and adored across the interwebs and wanted to share. As a female sci-fi & fantasy fan - when I'm not dressed up all fancy to go out, I'm usually vegging out in jeans and a t-shirt and it feels good to wear my interests firmly on my literal sleeves. Generally, I tend to prefer the closer cut of baby doll tees, which my Mum moans about because I'm a pretty curvy girl, but there should be a few tees here to suit girls (and guys) of all sizes and fandoms. Enjoy!

1) "Self Rescuing Princess" Tee from ThinkGeek.

Why it's awesome: Everyone knows that the REAL reason why Princess Peach was in the next castle was because she'd gone ahead and rescued herself anyway! Besides who wants to wait for a Italian plumber to rescue you when you have your own wits and cunning at your side? I love this t-shirt because it totally encapsulates SF Girl's mission statement: that women are capable, strong and able to take the lead in difficult situations. No rescues required here boys - sisters and princesses are doing it for themselves.  

You can buy it HERE for $19.99 or £12.66 on ThinkGeek. UK buyers be warned though that ThinkGeek's US international postage is very steep so best to buy a few tees to make it worth your pocket money.

2) "We're All Mad Here" - Purple 'Alice In Wonderland' tee from ThinkGeek.

Why it's awesome: When I started SF Girl, I wanted to be cover all aspects of geekdom from science fiction to fantasy, fairy tale, comic books and steampunk. With that in mind, how could I resist such a brilliant Alice In Wonderland tee design? Taken from original illustrations from Lewis Carroll's classic novel and featuring a sentiment anyone would be proud of, this tee makes it clear that everyone's a little mad sometimes so why not embrace your inner weirdo? After all, we're all a little bit odd sometimes - just ask the Cheshire Cat. 

You can buy this gorgeous tee HERE for $19.99 or £12.66 on ThinkGeek.

3) The Guild - Official Cast Tee from Jinx.

Why it's awesome:  The Guild is quite possibly the funniest show to come out of the Internet in the past five years. The brain child of everyone's favourite geek girl Felicia Day and a hilarious take on the perils of online MMORPG addiction - the show has gone from humble DIY beginnings to a becoming a bona fide worldwide hit. Now you can have Bladezz, Vork, Zaboo, Codex, Clara and Tink on your t-shirt, using the show's cartoon title logos. If you are already a fan, you'll love this shirt, but if you've never seen the show, hop to it and get watching at www.watchtheguild.com. 

The Guild's fifth season is premiering online every Wednesday and Thursday on Bing, Xbox Live and Zune  with some very special guest stars including Nathan Fillion, Neil Gaiman, Brent Spiner, Erin Grey, Doug Jones and Richard Hatch.  

You can get this official t shirt for $19.99-$20.99 or £12.66-£13.29 HERE at Jinx.

4) The Girl Who Waited -  Little Amy and Raggedy Doctor Tee - designed by James Hance.

Why it's awesome: I can't even begin to describe how adorable this  t-shirt is. James Hance has become known in the geek community for his adorable artistic mash-ups of childhood favourites with sci-fi tropes from the cuteness of his Star Wars/Winnie the Pooh series 'Wookiee the Chew' to his recent Muppets/Firefly set: 'Firefrog'. This has to be my favourite however, as it captures a very young Amy Pond cradling her raggedy doctor doll, playing inside her cardboard Tardis, waiting for her Doctor to return and dreaming of the stars.

What makes it for me is the way in which it has a nostalgic childhood feel and a kitschy cuteness combined with an image that stays true to the relationship between Amy Pond and her childhood imaginary best friend The Doctor. Bonus points for the misspelling of "Police Box" too. Personally I think this tee looks best on a light blue background, but there are many colours to choose from and I'll definitely be purchasing this ahead of my trip to the Entertainment Media Show next month.

You can purchase this tee for $25.62 or £16.23 HERE from RedBubble. Also check out the rest of James Hance's amazing geeky artwork at www.jameshance.com.  I promise you won't regret it!

5) Jean Grey/Phoenix and Mystique - X Men Nouveau Tees from ThinkGeek - designed by Megan Lara. (Rogue Nouveau tee only available in the US through Mighty Fine).

 

 

           

Why they're awesome: In a world eclipsed by Batman, Superman and Spiderman t-shirts it can sometimes be impossible to find t-shirts for women and men dedicated to some of Marvel and DC's most iconic super-heroines and villainesses. Especially ones that don't depict them in a compromising light. With that it mind, I cannot praise Megan Lara's work enough.  

It's official: I'm a total Megan Lara fan girl!  

Here she depicts some of X-Men's most iconic women including the villainous shape-shifter Mystique, Southern Belle Rogue and my personal favourite: the unstoppable force of nature that is Jean Grey a.k.a The Phoenix. Megan often takes inspiration from the sinuous lines of Art Nouveau artists such as Mucha and the results are beautiful and unique artwork that also allows you to geek out at will. The women of the Marvel Universe have never looked better!

I cannot get enough of her artwork and she also has completed a line of limited edition posters depicted the female crewmembers of Serenity: Zoe, River, Kaylee, Inara and even Saffron. They are stunning and well worth a look. Megan has also produced t-shirt and art prints depicting iconic female characters from video games such as Samus Arran from Metroid,  Princess Zelda, Princess Peach and Chell from Portal.  

She also has a Kara Thrace/Starbuck design in the works that should be amazing!

The Mystique and Jean Grey/Phoenix designs are currently available from ThinkGeek priced at $21.99 or £13.94 each.  The Rogue design is currently only available in the US from MightyFine (who don't offer international shipping yet, which is a mighty big shame) for $25.00.

You can check out more of Megan's work at www.meganlara.com or join Megan's Facebook Group where she posts often and is happy to chat on all things art and geekdom with fans. 

I predict great things for her!

6) And Then Buffy Staked Edward. The End. Tee from Jinx.

Why it's awesome:  Do I even have to explain this one? Haha. For many of us women who have not been remotely enamored by the Twilight phenomenon and fervently hope it'll crawl under a rock and die very soon: this is the t-shirt for you.  Quite frankly if you want to get rid of the sparkly emo little twerp who are you gonna call? Only the biggest female vampire slaying badass pop culture has ever known. Buffy we need you to roundhouse kick some sense into these wimpy "Bella-wannabes". Kinda now.

You can purchase this shirt (guaranteed to get up the noses of any of your Twihard friends) HERE for $19.99 or £12.66 from Jinx.

7) Cake Dress Kaylee - Jason Palmer Studios exclusive Sereni-tee.

Why it's awesome: Yes, it's very pink and very girly, but it's dedicated to one of the coolest chicks in the Verse - Kaywinnit Lee Frye of the Firefly class ship Serenity. Very feminine, but still one of the boys, Kaylee was the cheery ship's mechanic with a bright side for everything.  A character well loved by fans; this would be a treat for any female Browncoat (That's a Firefly fan for the uninitiated). This shirt depicts her in her classic "Shindig" frilly ballgown and allows the wearer to be girly, whilst still getting her geek on. 

It's available as a tank top or a cap-sleeved tee with pink ribbon edging for the shiny sum of $25 or £15.84 from Jason Palmer Studios . Those of you looking for something a bit more kick-ass can check out the rest of Jason's Sereni-tee designs on that link which include designs depicting both Jayne and Mal and the Serenity itself.

Jason also does beautiful very limited edition art prints for a HUGE range of shows and film fandoms from Serenity to Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Underworld, Indiana Jones, Alien and many more. The likenesses are incredible and the standard of the artwork is very high. You can take a look at some of it HERE.  Prepare to have thy geek mind blown.

8) Ninja Kitty Tee from ThinkGeek

 

Why it's awesome: I wouldn't normally post something that wasn't blatantly sci-fi related, but quite frankly: IT'S A CAT THAT'S A NINJA! :D Let's face it, everyone knows cats are stealthy furry balls of fighty scratchy death. That's why we love them. They meow us in to a false sense of security. I'm always a fan of t-shirts that bring a big giant kid-like grin to my face and this is one of them. Grab this sneaky kitty t-shirt at ThinkGeek for $24.99/£15.84.

9) The Dice Are Trying To Kill Me - Fitted Tank-top from ThinkGeek.

Why it's awesome:  Female D & D and dice-based RPG players are well aware that a game can turn on just one roll of a nine-sided dice. This shirt celebrates the inevitable moment where a game night's worth of bad luck descends into hilarity. If you are going to get killed, at least let it be an amusing death. Roll on baby and enjoy this fun tank-top. We'll bring the snacks, the dice will provide the adventure. Grab this top at ThinkGeek for $19.99/£12.67.

10) Geek Is The New Sexy t-shirt from SnorgTees.

Why it's awesome: Normally I wouldn't advocate such a blatant statement on a t-shirt, but hear me out. I've said a lot about the treatment of female sexuality in science fiction and comic book depictions, which seems to pander only to the male gaze.  However, I am all for a frank and empowered stand on female sexuality. An approach that favours how women wish to show themselves outside of how male-dominated media tells them they should behave or look.  

I'm not happy with some of the "pornified" images used to sell these shirts on the Snorgtees website, but I can agree that it's the computer age and nerds are very much in now. It's finally cool to be a geek and if being smart is the new sexy, then I'm all on board with that. 

Cover up with this tee and still proclaim your geekdom for $19.95/£12.65.

11) Padme Nouveau Tee from Her Universe.

Why it's awesome: It's quite possibly the most beautiful Star Wars t-shirt design I've ever seen and it's designed exclusively for female Star Wars fans. Another Art Nouveau creation depicting the plight of the Skywalker family over the course of the six films with Padme put firmly in the foreground. All your favourite characters are given space from Anakin to Luke, Leia, Han, Yoda, Obi-Wan and the droids and the image is framed in gold ink on a regal red background.

It's a gorgeous image and one any female Star Wars fan will cherish. Her Universe was set up by LA actress Ashley Eckstein, who voices female Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano in the Star Wars: Clone Wars CGI animated series as a response to her bewilderment at their being barely any clothing or collectables designed with the female Star Wars fan in mind. They stock exclusive Star Wars t-shirt designs for women and even jewellery and have a thriving online forum.

This t-shirt can be yours for $25/£15.84 HERE.


12) "I Love You." " I Know." 
Han and Leia Tee from Her Universe.

Why it's awesome: Celebrating one of the most iconic kisses in sci-fi screen history and one of it's golden couples: the irrepressible scoundrel Han Solo and the feisty Princess Leia. It's a subtle design on a grey t-shirt, which wouldn't look out of place out and about or at the gym, but would definitely show off your geek credentials.  A very sweet design and you don't even have to out fly an Imperial Star Destroyer to get it! Don't be a scruffy nerf herder, grab this t-shirt at Her Universe for $25/£15.84


13) Nerd Rage Tee from Jinx.

 

Why it's awesome:We've all been there - you start a conversation with someone and they tell you the little green guy in Star Wars was called Spock, they tell you they never saw Firefly because it looked boring or that aliens and spaceships are strictly for kids. Maybe you started a argument with your geek friends about who would win in a fight or the importance of canon and the heated debate went on for HOURS. Soon a white hot feeling decsends on you: you've been hit with a severe case of NERD RAGE!!!

There's a reason we geeks are so passionate and there's a line where years of learning trivial knowledge turns into pedantic nit-picking at levels never seen before by man or Silurian. It's why the internet forum was invented! Celebrate the full force of righteous geekery with this rather amusing shirt from Jinx for $19.99/£12.66 Because hell hath no fury like a geek scorned.

14) Batgirl Costume tee from ThinkGeek.

                 
Why it's awesome:  Now you too can fight crime in Gotham and be a super-heroine - same Bat time, same Bat channel. One of the most iconic female DC super-heroines Batgirl (Sorry Wonder Woman!) has been turned into a "costume" t-shirt by ThinkGeek. An easy way to make a cosplay costume or a fun way to walk around your friendly neighbourhood - whether you're Barbara Gordon or Stephanie Brown  high-kick and sucker punch your way over to ThinkGeek and grab this shirt! Or if you're after some Eighties nostalgia, there's also a She-Ra costume shirt as well.

All three shirt designs are priced at $19.99/£12.66. 

15) You Never Forget Your First Doctor Tee from ThinkGeek.

Why it's awesome: Does Matt Smith have your heart or is David Tennant your number one?  Maybe you've an old school yen for the likes of John Pertwee, Tom Baker, William Hartnell or Peter Davidson? No matter what the era, no one forgets their first Doctor and the sense of magic, terror and adventure Doctor Who conjures on screen and has done for nearly 50 years.

This t-shirt celebrates Whovian fandom in all its glory and is perfect for fan girls and fan boys of all ages. You can grab this shirt from ThinkGeek for $16.99-$19.99 /£10.77-£12.66 (Mens) and click here for the Women's Babydoll cut $19.99 /£12.66 The shirts have been selling like hotcakes - so you'd better get in there quick! Better than a trip to Gallifrey. Well nearly.

And thus concludes my little intergalactic trip into the galaxy of geek chic shopping. Many more delights lie in store dear readers, but until then live long and prosper!