Thursday, August 20, 2009

Review: Wednesday Comics #7


This week's Wednesday Comics was one of the better overall weeks in the comics run with almost all the strips being very entertaining.

But in one of those curveballs throws you, despite the overall issue being great, this was one of the weaker chapters in Supergirl.

This week's theme seems to be shocking. I would be shocked if an octopus handed me a clam phone too.


As we saw last week, this Aquaman is one busy guy with a ton of emergencies he needs to prioritize. When Kara asks him to talk to Streaky and Krypto regarding their erratic behavior, Aquaman reads her the riot act. Of course he can only speak to marine life. Why would Supergirl think he could talk to her pets?

I don't know why she would think that.

In fact his diatribe while funny (I can understand why sharks hate Steven Spielberg) brings Supergirl to near tears. Okay, so it isn't full fledged crying but those are plump tears dangling from Kara's eyes. I know ... I suppose that it makes sense here for a youngish appearing Kara to well up when a veteran superhero screams at her. That said, I have grown pretty tired of seeing Supergirl cry. At least Aquaman has the decency to apologize.



Aquaman at least points her in the right direction. He thinks she should take the pets to Dr. Mid-Nite for a check-up.

Kara is able to gather herself and thank Aquaman.

I like this scene at the end. When Kara points out how she feels the animals are helpless Aquaman says he understands. Aquaman is really the defender of the ocean and all it's life. I thought that last panel with him surrounded by fish and sea mammals was a very nice ending to the Aquaman part of this story.


As I feared, The Flash comic has become a jumble of multiple Flashes coexisting. I have to say, even I didn't think there would be this many. The story is pretty wild with Grodd creating a new pocket universe where he rules. The Flash sees apes in our reality meaning maybe some of that new universe is spilling into ours? Sounds like something from a Philip K. Dick novel.

Otherwise, I was pleased with Metamorpho for the first time in a while as the story actually moved forward.

Strange Adventures includes a Golden Age Dr. Fate sighting ... too cool.

Demon/Catwoman keeps creeping up the ranks. Nice to see Catwoman again rather than a big saber-toother panther.

Heck, even Teen Titans and Sgt. Rock were pretty enjoyable this week. Only Superman and Metal Man left me empty.

And, as usual, the Kamandi strip is simply great. The human girl has the name Ororo. And we see a great shot of the tiger army limping home. Ryan Sook has really hit a home run here.

Overall grade (Supergirl): B
Overall grade (Wednesday Comics): B+

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I dunno, aren't we in danger here of creating a collection of "Supergirl no-go's"
She can't cry...
She can't wear athletic shorts under her skirt
She can't get into peril
She can't ask her older cousin for advice....
What is gonna be left with which to construct stories?
Lets not fall into "teary politics" the way we have "panty politics" today.
To me the Wednesday Comics Supergirl seems to be a lot closer to 12 than she is to 20, so a dressing down from an older hero has a different consequence than it would if she was older and more experienced.
BTW is it me or is Krypto a really frisky puppy in this one? Usually he is depicted as a sort of friendly fully grown albino retriever...here though he could fit in the pouch of Kara's cape.
And if I had a theory as to what is causing their behavior, I say Supergirl herself is the catalyst, I could be wrong on that though, I freely admit.

John Feer

Nikki said...

Everything in moderation John. She can cry but crying everytime she makes a mistake is a no no. Of course she can get into peril as long as she can put up a good fight. Finally asking her cousin for advice just shows bad judgement, seriously. He's Superman, the George W Bush of superheroes.

Anj said...

John said:

Well, I dunno, aren't we in danger here of creating a collection of "Supergirl no-go's"

Nikki said:
Everything in moderation John. She can cry but crying everytime she makes a mistake is a no no. Of course she can get into peril as long as she can put up a good fight.

I think this is my take on it.

As I said her tears made more sense here than in other places. And I didn't even mention them in Cosmic Adventures when Lena is hurt (made perfect sense there).

But I think her crying can be an overused device. I just think I see it too much.

Maybe I shouldn't have hammered it here ...

Overall I think the Wednesday Comics strip is delightful.

Saranga said...

I think Kara crying fit in well with the story considering the bollocking Aquaman just gave her. Although before this issue I'd placed her age at about 17/18. After this issue I'd place her at more like 13. Or a very hormonal 18 yr old.

TalOs said...

Agreed, Saranga.

Gene said...

Amanda Conner talks about her work on Wednesday Comics at Newsarama:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080920-Wednesday-Thursday-Conner.html

Anj said...

I think Kara crying fit in well with the story considering the bollocking Aquaman just gave her. Although before this issue I'd placed her age at about 17/18. After this issue I'd place her at more like 13. Or a very hormonal 18 yr old.

Thanks for the post.

Someone on this blog said this felt similar to the Cosmic Adventures Supergirl which should make her a younger teen.