This will be a quick hit but it is hard not to cover a book with art by Amanda Conner which features, albeit briefly, Supergirl.
Batman #68 is an interesting issue showing the presumed bachelorette party for the Bruce/Selina wedding. It also again shows the interesting dynamic between Bruce and Clark as they have the most sedate bachelor party I have been privy to.
In the end, it looks like this all might in Batman's head as it ends with him hooked up to a mind machine of some sort. So did this happen? Is this what Bruce thinks would happen at a Selina/Lois party?
Anyways, much like the double date Batman/Superman issues by King were fantastic, this semi-sequel was just as fun. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments. And it ends with something of a pithy character comment about the World's Finest different views of life.
And, no surprise, the artwork by Conner is just incredible.
We start with a splash of Supergirl standing before the door of the Fortress of Solitude. I love how she is tossing and catching the white dwarf star key needed to unlock the door.
Of course, Conner is a natural for Supergirl. I love her take on Kara.
Once Supergirl opens the place up, she flies off to intercept a meteor.
I do love her awkward sort of pauses as she wonders what Catwoman could see in Batman.
I also love the wonderfully giddy expression on Lois' face in the second to last panel. She is thrilled to have access to the fortress for this party.
It is a brief Supergirl moment but wonderful.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Clark sort of stammer through a conversation.
You can see that Clark really feels awkward, almost trying to get out of staying there to intercept that meteor only to see that Kara is on it. After all, both Bruce and Clark cleared this evening by having friends cover their patrols, etc. There is no getting out.
I mean that second panel shows just how uncomfortable this whole thing is for Clark. Just perfect.
Meanwhile, Selina and Lois are getting drunk, having a spa day, and watching Superman robots strip. Totally bawdy.
I did love the page of all the different liquors from different planets sent to Superman. Unstable Durlan stuff? Diamond drink from Bismoll? Poison from Khundia? Blood from the Dominion? Makes my Legion heart swell.
In the end, there is this hard turn. Seems like something mean for Clark to say which makes me wonder how much of this is a fever dream in Bruce's head.
But it is a good moment. Clark loves being Superman but hates that he has to. Bruce hates being Batman but loves that he has to. Hmmm ... something to mull over.
Still, despite the darkish turn, this is overall a fun issue and well worth buying!
4 comments:
It's one of many issues in which Batman is dreaming, apparently because Tom King had business in Hollyood, so paused the ongoing storyline. Then Amanda Conner apparently said in passing she wished she'd drawn the Lois and Superman double date issues, so TK wrote this for her.
How I miss Palmiotti, Gray and Conner on Power Girl!
This was truly a lot of fun throughout, despite the dark turn.
Did regular readers of Batman already know he's hooked up to a dream machine? I just went with it.
So, obsessive point: no one saw Supergirl in her new costume from Supergirl #21 - she donned it and went right off to space.
Batman should be dreaming with the old costume in mind, so we're going to have to assume the Green Lanterns sent pictures of her incursion on Mogo back to earth, and Batman made a mental note. (I can fill the plot hole with the best, or probably the worst, of them.)
Of course Conner has been drawing the amusing Supergirl covers lately, so she's familiar with this costume, and no one would have wanted to tip readers off by drawing an older costume anyway.
I suspect few Batman readers would know the difference. It's already a lot to ask them to try to keep up with the large number of Batman-related titles published each month.
T.N.
I would pay good money indeed to get Amanda Conner on a Supergirl ongoing....and if a decent writer could be arranged, Sterling Gates, Landry Walker, Mark Waid, Jerry Ordway, Steve Skeates...is Jack C. Harris still around???
:)
JF
Don't forget Conner's Supergirl story in Wednesday Comics! Anj covered that in detail on this site. Does a single story spread over 12 pages count as an ongoing? I guess not.
Some thoughts on writers:
It would probably be bizarre, but try to imagine Bendis writing Supergirl. It wouldn't be dull. It would get us talking!
More seriously, how about Bryan Q. Miller? Has he written much beyond Batgirl and Smallville?
I thought Tom Taylor a good job with the character in Injustice 2.
If anyone let him near Supergirl again, what would Peter David cook up? Maybe Supergirl would merge with Krypto and together they'd be an Animal Spirit.
G. Willow Wilson? I'm enjoying her Wonder Woman run, and she was very well liked on Ms. Marvel.
Kelly Sue DeConnick was just barely going when Supergirl's entire universe was cancelled at #67, but that was promising. She has Danvers experience - she's beloved by the Carol Corps. Point is she knows how to write powerful (and perhaps alien) women.
T.N.
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