Review: Superman Family #206 - Lesla Lar!

I recently guest starred on the Waiting For Doom  Podcast where Paul and Mike and I reviewed the times Supergirl crossed paths with the whole Patrol. Two of the issues we reviewed were Superman Family #191, #192 and #193. Within that story there is a disembodied foe, manipulating events to destroy Supergirl.

On that podcast, I reveal that the spirit villain is none other than Lesla Lar, an old time villain in the early Supergirl issues of Action Comics, #279, 280, and 281. Given that Lar works her way through much of Supergirl's Superman Family stories, I thought I owed it to folks to review her eventual defeat.

I actually love that Lesla Lar was a part of this long play arc. Supergirl, at that point (and some might say even now), had very few true rogues. Lesla appeared in a three parter back in 1961. That could be considered a 'major arc' back then. So bringing her back was a very nice homage to Supergirl fans. I also find it interesting that Lar was such a big part of these Superman Family books, spanning several different writers! I wonder if there was some editorial control about this.

All that said, despite being a major part of Supergirl's Superman Family stories, the finale to her story isn't great. So let's review it.

'Strangers at the Heart's Core!' was written by Jack C. Harris and drawn by Win Mortimer and Vince Colletta. Harris wrote a bulk of Supergirl's stories in Superman Family and had first reappeared way back in Superman Family #186, 20 issues earlier! Now all of these reappearances are either in flashbacks or as a disembodied energy blob. But still ... she was a villain working her powers against Kara for nearly 20 issues!

We start out with Supergirl having a nightmare, where her two sets of parents are trying to claim her. This is unsettling to Kara, causing her to toss and turn in the night until she is awakened by a phone call. It turns out that Edna Danvers, her stepmother, is calling to let her know she will be appearing with a surprise for Linda the following day.

Now certainly, when Kara first learned that her parents survived Argo City in the Survivor Zone, she had some emotional issues of loving two sets of parents. But she had come to grips with that in the past. So this is revisiting some more juvenile issues within Supergirl's life.

As for the art, I think Win Mortimer drew a fine Supergirl. Here he gives us some fan service, having her appear rather buxom in lingerie for the first few pages.

Heading to work, Supergirl is distracted by Superman flying around the New Athens Experimental School campus. Supergirl discovers that the 'Superman' is an actor who will play Superman in an upcoming movie on wires. This irks Supergirl, wondering why fake heroes get more adoration than real heroes.

This seems a bit catty for an established super-hero.

I also have to say, these felt like wasted pages given how insanely fast the rest of this issues rolls out.

The surprise of Mrs. Danvers is a drop-in visit to see Linda and have lunch.

But then something strange happens. Slowly, Fred and Edna Danvers morph into Zor-El and Alura. From their looks to their clothes to even there fingerprints, Supergirl's adoptive parents become her birth parents.

It is insane. And suddenly, perhaps weakened by this craziness, Supergirl finds herself attacked on the astral plane.

It is Lesla Lar! We see in a nice flashback panel all the plots that Lesla was involved in during Supergirl's recent adventures, all the times she was manipulating events to weaken Supergirl.

Now I suppose a brief history of Lesla Lar is warranted. Lesla lived on Kandor and looked exactly like Kara. She was also a brilliant scientist. Looking on from Kandor, she became obsessed with hate for Supergirl. Why should Kara live normal sized as a hero while she was stuck in the bottle city. In those early adventures, Lesla traps Kara in Kandor and then replaces Kara as Supergirl on Earth. While posing as Supergirl, Lar releases the Phantom Zone villains. Those villains then vaporized her with some weapon.

But apparently she survived.

She survived, evolving into living energy and psionic power, and still loathing Supergirl.

But then things get even nuttier.

Lar has become more deluded, thinking herself to be Kara's twin sister who was abandoned by Alura and Zor-El. And therefore, to reclaim her life, she will fight within Supergirl's mind to control Kara's body. And then she will confront Zor-El and Alura about leaving her in Kandor. So she used the powers she now has to mutate the Danvers into the Els.

Now there is so much that is bizarre here. The idea that Lar thinks she is Supergirl's twin is crazy (although Kara does admit they are identical - a cosmic coincidence). But it also is wild that she has enough power to transmute the Danvers effortlessly ... some power. If she has that much power, you would think she would have a better way of exacting her revenge.

Lastly, I don't know why Mortimer has Lesla and Kara fighting with glowing psionic rocks.

The battle weakens Kara enough so much that Kara's astral presence is kicked out of her body and Lesla takes over.

It appears that Lesla Lar has won!

Lesla then confronts her 'parents' calling them Zor-El and Alura (remember they are actually Fred and Edna Danvers).

Of course, a daughter would never call her father by his first and last name, nor her mother by her first name. So the fake Zor-El and Alura make Lesla confront her own mistake. (But since this is really Fred and Edna, is this Lesla making them say this?)

Distraught that she might not be Supergirl's sister, Lar's hold on the body weakens.

And so, mentally anguished, Lesla's control on the bodies of "Zor-El and Alura" dissipates. Suddenly Fred and Edna are back. And with that Kara is able to cast out Lesla and regain control of her body.

That attack destroys Lesla's energy integrity. She dispersed in the astral plane, utterly defeated. So did Kara kill her?

I also don't get Linda's last statement, saying Lesla gave her some 'last moments' with Zor-El and Alura. They are alive! She's had plenty of moments with them!

And that panel where Linda has inhabited her body is odd. Why cover her face?

So what do I think of this issue? I love that Lesla Lar was the mastermind of all these issues. That was a great callback to Supergirl continuity. But her powers are immense and her plot seems foolish if she wields such command of reality itself. (Of course, she is insane ... maybe it makes sense to her.)

I also think the battle with Lar feels rushed. It is crammed into 6 pages! The first 5 are the set up of the bad dream and the Superman movie star. The Lar battle deserved some of that time!

Still, overall, a long winding plot done in an anthology book is pretty cool, especially when it leans on a character's past. I don't know if you need to have this in a Supergirl collection but it does show how some Silver Age elements worked their way into the Bronze Age.

Overall grade: B

Supergirl Episode 5ish: Livewire

Supergirl Episode 4 "How Does She Do It" was shelved for a week when its plot of terrorist time bombings around National City was felt to be too close to the attacks on France to be aired. As a result, this week, we got to see Episode 5 "Livewire" one week early.

"Livewire" was a very good episode focusing as much on character development as it did on action. This was a world-building episode, adding history to all the female characters of the show. We got to see how expectations and mentoring can mold people. We learned that too much pressure can make someone crack. And we learned that a lack of a role model can create a monster. All of this was extremely well done. Brit Morgan played a great Livewire villain. The standout performance was by Calista Flockhart who  showed that Cat Grant  may appear callous and sometimes shallow but whose waters run deep. The standout scene was between Chyler Leigh and Helen Slater where Alex finally confronted her mother Eliza about unrealistic expectations and disappointment.

That doesn't mean Supergirl is absent. Melissa Benoist still brings a positive vibe  and joy to the role. There is humor. There is maturity. There is optimism. There is fierceness. Supergirl is a complex character because of the breadth of her emotions. Benoist shines, capturing it all. And her wire work and action sequences are improving weekly.

I don't want these reviews to be a simple rehash. So I'll try to hit the high points.

The episode starts with Supergirl stopping an alien who has escaped and is running amok in the DEO headquarters. It is an excellent action sequence with this alien tossing agents through windows and Kara eventually body slamming it into submission with flight powers. The choreography is great. Kara uses fighting technique. And there is a definite emergence of a little body quirk, Kara floating/flying with her right leg bent at the knee and flexed. That is 'her' pose.

But the best part of the fight is when Kara learns this behemoth was female and gives a quick 'respect'. That flip from determined combatant to quipster is perfect.

Helen Slater is in the episode as Eliza Danvers, the girls' mother visiting for Thanksgiving. One thing that is obvious is that Alex walks on egg shells around her. Eliza has put a lot of pressure on Alex to protect Kara. And Alex knows Eliza won't be happy about Kara's coming out as Supergirl. In an interesting turn, Eliza doesn't know that Alex works for the DEO. She thinks she is still just a lab rat, not a field agent.

The scene is quick but lays the foundation of the relationship. Alex is under the microscope and feels the pressure.

And we learn that Kara's favorite pie is chocolate pecan. It is 'the best dessert on 12 planets'. Does this mean Kara has visited other planets? That other planets visited Krypton so she sampled other alien confections? Hmmm ...

We then get a montage of Leslie Willis, CatCo's shock jock. And Willis aims her wrath at Supergirl. In a mini-monologue she insults Supergirl's looks, her 'adorkable' nature, her idiotic costume of skirt and tights, her 'Sapphic' vibe. She wonders who would try to penetrate the chastity belt of steel and if Kryptonian genitalia is horrific.  It is a nice scene. We see everyone's reaction to specific parts of the rant. So Winn hears about the costume. James rolls his eyes about the sexuality. It is nothing but the attack of a bully, trying to shame Supergirl.

And Cat isn't going to let it go on. First off, CatCo wants a 'relationship' with Supergirl. Cat would 'adopt' Supergirl if she could. In a great line, we hear Cat say that Supergirl's presence is changing National City to something more optimistic, a place of hope. That is phenomenal.

But personally, Cat realizes she should have been a better mentor for Leslie. It is here that we begin to see more of Cat. It isn't all about ratings. It is sometimes about doing what's right.

Despite Leslie's threat that Cat will regret it, Grant demotes Leslie to a traffic reporter in the 'Cat Copter'.

 As I said above, this is episode 5. Episode 4 was skipped.

The only speed bump to that was James seemingly being back together with Lucy Lane. This should get explained more in that fourth episode. But James is off for a long Thanksgiving with Lucy.

 Leslie's first broadcast as a traffic reporter is in a thunderstorm and soon the helicopter is out of control. Supergirl has to swoop in for the rescue. There is something very classic about a copter save, evocative of the Donner movie.

But while grabbing Leslie, a lightning bolt hits Kara. The energy courses into Leslie, turning her hair blue and knocking the DJ into a coma.

The effects on this show is brilliant. The lightning/electric powers this whole episode is just great.

 The Eliza and Alex friction increases during the show. Eliza blames Alex for letting Kara get herself into this situation. I love how Eliza says that Kara just assumes that everyone is as good as she is. That is the Supergirl optimism and brightness I love.

We then flashback to seeing Kara flying over Midvale with Alex when they were kids. It's a dangerous silly thing to do.

But what I love was Malina Weissman adopt that same 'right leg bent' flying pose. It is continuity nods like this that enrich a show like this.

 Finally, filled with the liquid courage of wine, Alex tells her mother that she is a DEO agent. It absolutely ruins Thanksgiving dinner. But at least the air is cleared. Eliza should be proud of Alex. She should know that Alex is helping and protecting Kara in that role. Her mother shouldn't be disappointed in her.

Alex has been pushed by Eliza and has accomplished so much. It should be enough to garner respect. This theme is woven throughout the show.

I also like Kara standing up to Eliza. Kara decided to be Supergirl. It was her decision. The mother shouldn't be deriding Alex.

Alex storms off. Winn slinks away. And Kara is called to CatCo.

Meanwhile, Livewire has awoken from her coma and loves her new powers. She absorbs the energy from the city and confronts Cat in the CatCo office.  Kara is there and the two run for cover. Cat tells Kara to run 20 floors down to get security. It allows Kara to slip away and become Supergirl. There are lots of clues that Cat knows Kara is Supergirl. This is one of them.

Livewire and Supergirl fight in another great scene. The effects are great, especially a spot were we see Supergirl rise outside the window of the CatCo building and fly through the glass. And we again see more fighting technique from Kara: heat vision, haymakers, and head butts.

 The Alex/Eliza relationship builds up until we get a powerful scene between the two. Alex sheds tears as she asks her mother why she has never been good enough for her mother. Eliza admits that Alex makes the tough decisions. Alex is better than Eliza could hope to be. And Eliza calls Alex 'her Supergirl'.

This is so well acted. The best scene of the episode for me.

Meanwhile, the DEO has helped Kara by creating a sort of capacitor trap that reminds Supergirl of Ghostbusters. I love that the Ghostbuster quip falls flat in the serious conference room of the DEO. Perfect.

But better than that was Henshaw saying it is a trap modified to capture a Zarolatt! That is a deep cut reference to the 80s mini-series The Weird!

 Echoing the sentiments from the Alex/Eliza scene, we hear from Cat how she should have mentored Leslie in a better way. Cat's mother pushed and pushed Cat all her life. Sometimes it is unhealthy, but it has made Cat who she is. It is why Cat pushes those she cares about (admitting Supergirl is one of those people). She is trying to bring the best out of people. She didn't do that with Leslie. Cat created this monster.

The trap is set with Cat and Supergirl luring Livewire to 'where it all started', her first radio station. In another great small thing, we see Leslie's first show's poster. It is a smiling Leslie. The font is cursive, not the sharp style of her current show. We see how Leslie has changed without guidance.

Again, small things like personality quirks and continuity nods, and this visual prompt of Livewire's past adds so much to a show.

 Supergirl and Livewire brawl in the street and it is beautiful. The effects are stunning, especially seeing Livewire teleport into wiring and wielding lightning whips. Just spectacular.

The Ghostbuster device fails so Supergirl has to fall back onto an old favorite to beat an electric villain. She grabs a water main and douses Leslie, shorting her out. I liked that this was Kara needing to think on her own and not use a gadget of the week.

Look at this screen grab. Those are unreal effects.

The fallout from the defeat are varied.

Cat decides that she won't run nonsense about celebrities (one getting drunk at Club Apokolips?) and instead will run positive stories instead. Supergirl's positivity is working its magic here?

Winn tells Kara that he is jealous of her family. His father is a bad person and is in prison. He didn't name drop Toyman. But we know that.

And Eliza lets her girls know a secret she has been keeping. We see in flashbacks that young Kara's flight with Alex got the attention of the DEO back then. A more hirsute Henshaw wants Kara to be taken in. Instead, Jeremiah Danvers makes a deal. He will work for the DEO and Kara will stay put. Jeremiah knows everything there is to know about Superman (a bit meta coming from Dean Cain). All Danvers' research and expertise will now be in the DEO's hands. This explains why the DEO has Kara's ship, knows so much about Kryptonite, and knew to recruit Alex. And while Jeremiah died 'in a plane crash', Eliza thinks something else happened.

I can't believe this is a heel turn for Henshaw. And it echoes a bit too much like Harrison Wells to me. I guess I'll have to see where it goes.

If I had one complaint about the episode, it is Kara calling Eliza her foster mother. She doesn't call her mom, she calls her Eliza. I was hoping for something more familial here. Like 'adoptive mother'. She considers Alex her sister. Why not think of Eliza as a mother figure? She can still love Alura.

But that seems a quibble in comparison to all the backstory and character building we saw here. Just great stuff. And the battle scenes and effects were top notch.

My prediction? In the season finale, Cat reveals she knows Kara is Supergirl.




Each episode seems like it is getting better.

Sales Review: October 2015

I follow monthly sales on ICv2 and I continue to be amazed at what I am seeing unfold before me. Because I think I can safely say that the days of the Big Two is over. Because Marvel has won.

The sales numbers for October are up at ICv2 and DC got squashed. Marvel almost doubled DC in sales and dollar revenue. Doubled.

Now part of this could be because Marvel is in the midst of rebooting. Plenty of the big sellers for Marvel are new titles with rare variants. There is a lot of Marvel's edge that could be a one month deal. But what strikes me is the acceptance there has been for this Marvel reboot. The Secret Wars book which has led to the reboot is still going on. And yet here we have post-reboot books out.

I can only imagine what would happen if DC's multiverse changing event was delayed and new books were already running. The sky would be falling. I think maybe Marvel fans just go with the flow. It also can't hurt that Marvel is part of the Disney/ABC/ESPN monolith, getting nods and recommendations from everywhere in that media giant.

But even this reboot of the entire Marvel universe has just been more accepted than DC's similar attempts. On to the sales.

We are now 4 months into The Truth. This story was supposed to reenergize the Superman books.

Sales haven't budged too much.

And while the story has garnered lots of discussion. It hasn't all been good. I know I have had my issues with the arc.

Superman #45 sold 42K in October.

Squirrel Girl sold more.

Now I love Squirrel Girl. This isn't a knock against her book at all.

But how can DC at all feel happy if one of their greatest characters and oldest books is only the 48th best selling book.

Of all the Superman books, I have always trumpeted the Pak/Kuder Action Comics book.

It also has been rolled into The Truth. So I don't know if people would head there on a whim. And it is a shame. Their issues when not bogged down by crossovers (like Doomed and now The Truth) have been wonderful.

Last month saw the release of the Superman Lois and Clark book. That book was much more of a Classic Superman, bringing the pre-Flashpoint Superman into the current world.

Lois and Clark opened pretty strong with 35K in sales, just 1500 units behind Action.

It will be interesting to see if sales hold strong on this book. It is scheduled for a 12 issue run. What if sales hold on par with the other Super-books? Will there be an ongoing? A rethinking of the Superman mythos?

Lastly, I have to look at books where Supergirl stars.

DC Bombshells continues to sell well, hitting 32K in sales.

But the more classic Kara is only in Justice League 3001.

Justice League 3001 #5 slipped to 15K in sales. I really am loving this book. I just hope DC has faith and doesn't pull the plug!

I don't know what to think about DC Comics as a whole though. I have been thinking they needed to clean out the C-suite for a while now. There seems to be no vision or a poor vision.

Review: Batman/Superman #26

Batman/Superman #26 came out last week, another chapter in the seemingly interminable 'The Truth' story arc. I have talked about how this depowered angry Superman isn't for me. I have talked about how Superman hasn't acted the way I want Superman to act. And in this comic, last issue, we saw him eager to rush to action, even when it was ill-advised.

Now this issue, we see a calmer Superman. He realizes his limitations. And he becomes a decent teammate with the Batman Family. And so part of me was happier with this characterization. Outside of one moment, this Superman acted in a decent way. So at least this issue has that going for it.

But the overall arc of 'The Truth' has been pretty rough. And if the end cliffhanger of this issue is the big reveal of this storyline, I will be even more disappointed. But more on that when we reach those pages.

The art here is done by Adrian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes, and Cliff Richards and it is lovely. In particular, I adore the Batgirl in this book. She is just wonderfully depicted.

But I know that I am losing patience with this arc based solely on the length of my reviews. When things get brief, when I don't have a lot to say, I think I'm fading.

Last issue, Superman and Batgirl stumbled upon some camp Vandal Savage has established in Siberia. There are humans working as labor, getting uranium from decommissioned nuclear missiles. It is clear that Clark and the Batman Family need to save these people and scuttle this operation.

The heroes approach the team and, after an initial period of distrust, decide to work together. And Superman acts as a sort of leader. This is the weakest we have seen him physically (he bleeds when stabbed by a fork). But this is the best we have seen him.

Everyone has their role.
Batgirl will try to figure out a way to get the people out or stop Vandal from getting there.
Dick will set up new identities so everyone will be safe once they escape.
And Jason will be their battle leader, figuring out what to do if Savage should come back and a scrap needs to happen.

This felt very classic to me, like when the Justice League would split up based on mission needs and team makeup.

Savage arrives at the camp via a teleporting disk. Batgirl is trying to figure out the device. Maybe she can use it send the people away. Or maybe she can use it to send Savage somewhere else should he try to come.

While I like what this Superman is doing in this issue, he does go a bit dark here, wondering if Savage can be teleported into a solid rock. I don't think he is joking here. I think he is fearful. And is contemplating it, even for a second.

But I love Batgirl's response. She is really laughing there. Because to her, Superman wishing someone to be killed is so wrong it is hysterical.

And this temptation is fostered a bit from Jason. Red Hood knows the handful of guns and few bricks of C4 explosive probably can't hurt Savage too much. The heroes have a choice. They can try to subdue Savage, which seems futile, and then watch as Savage kills all the campers. Or they can kill him, by luring him there and blowing up the nukes. Sure it'll be an ecological disaster. But Savage will be gone. And the people will be alive.

Thankfully Batgirl is again there to say just how stupid the idea is. There has to be something better than 'everyone dies' or 'nuke the world'. I love she stands up to Jason calling him stupid. Perfect.

It is this teamwork and this discussion is what I loved about this story. You can only have Superman questioning his ethics and decisions if he is depowered.

During this preparation, the Shadow Demons of Wrath show up. Everyone wades in. And when they see Superman tearing through them like paper mache, they know these things aren't sentient. Kendo blades and bullets are allowed.

But ... when did we learn that?

We have seen people in Metropolis go from human to demon. We have seen Lee infected by the shadows. When did this go from demonized humans to mindless automatons? Like many parts of this nonlinear multi-title storyline, I felt I needed more information. Maybe we learn about this later?

There are a lot of shadow demons. Luckily Superman's wild card, Batman, just happens to arrive at the time of the battle. Even Superman knew he needed more firepower. And with friends at a minimum, he had to call in this frenemy.

But even this irks me a bit. Not Diana. Not the Flash. Not a Green Lantern. The unknown armored Batman. Really?

And, of course, he didn't call Kara, his blood family. Because ....

Well we will never get an answer to this question.

Of course, it does seem odd that Vandal would have so many shadow demons nearby to defend this place. The uranium can't be worth so much to require so many shadow defenders. Why not have Savage's live  troops? Why not stay himself? What could be going on? And maybe Savage is trying to hide something in plain sight? Defend only with shadows and only when needed?

Superman realizes that all of Savage's gambits are about stealing energy, from his own, to villain's, to the portable sun. All that energy has to be being prepped for something big. The heroes use the C4 to blow up the snow to see if there is something beneath the surface.

It seems a bit idiotic to me that Savage wouldn't stash the pieces of his anti-Superman plot in a safer, more defended place. Did he think that burying his ill-gotten gains in the snow would be the right move? Of all the places Savage must have around the globe, putting these critical elements in an open space was the best idea?

Okay, he is a stupid super-villain. Maybe he thought it was wise.

But what is it he is hiding??

Oh my god.

It's a nazi gunship.

First off, he buried a portable sun under snow? A sun we know is strong enough to vaporize a city. Am I to guess that the green globe dampened the sun's power so much that it didn't melt the snow?

But next, Savage's grand plan to defeat Superman and rule the world is a giant Nazi gunship? This thing is what he needs the Quarmer's for, what he drained Superman, Atomic Skull and everyone else for? This is what he needs a small sun for? And uranium for?

A Nazi gunship?

Now I feel even more cheated. Talk about a hackneyed plot device. Talk about something that could probably be taken down by just about any super-hero group. This just felt silly. Especially when we have been told that The Truth is supposed to be some deep, mature exploration of who Superman is and what he represents.

I guess I should wait to see what this thing ends up being. But I laughed when I saw this. And not in a good way.

So overall, I like Clark in this issue, a true rarity in The Truth. But the lack of explanation about the demons lack of life, the idea that Savage would leave his major gains buried and virtually undefended, the fact that his coup de grace is a giant Nazi warship made me question the story-telling here.

As I said, the art is very easy on the eyes. The Shadow Demon melee is energetic.

Overall grade: C+

Review: DC Comics Bombshells #4

DC Bombshells #4, the print version of the digital first book, came out this week and I find this book wonderfully compelling and entertaining. Writer Marguerite Bennett continues to bring a depth to the character and a great historical feel to this book. And maybe that is why I am so amazed. This is a book based on the Varga Girl style merchandise. I think this book would be very different if done by Zenescope studio. Instead we get this wonderful exploration of these heroic women in this time.

We get three stories within the book. Artist Bilquis Evely really shines in the Supergirl/Stargirl chapter, echoing Soviet propaganda posters while maintaining a sort of scratchy realism. Mirka Andolfo handles the Harley Quinn chapter and brings a sort of zany quasi-manga feel to that chapter, a style which nicely fits the tone. And Laura Braga continues to hit it out of the park with the Wonder Woman pages.

But beyond the character growth we got here, we also get interesting commentary on war. Where do you draw the line? How do you treat your enemy? How do you define yourself when war sometimes labels you?

It's just all so interesting. And when you grab a grizzled comic veteran like me, you know you have succeeded.

As I said, the Soviet machine has made 'Supergirl', the Woman of Steel and Stargirl, of the Cosmic Staff into propaganda devices. Almost every page is set up with action sequences which look like propaganda posters. The art is compelling with all the symbolism of the state - bayonets, airplanes, soldiers.

Now I still question why the government would sanction these particular outfits which seem incredibly unique and individual, not consistent with the idea of equal comrades for the state.

The Cosmic Rod is also a sudden inclusion here. We hadn't seen of it or heard of it prior to this. Was Kortni's father hiding this thing all this time?

I do like that the upbringing of Supergirl and Stargirl is an important part of who they are. We already know that their mother was a superstitious woman, steeped in legends. We also know that their father was a scientist who was thrown out of the Cosmonaut program for accusations of sedition. These two aren't exactly married to the concept of State, raised by these individual thinkers.

The two are tricked into almost demolishing a faux Nazi camp which turns out to be a Soviet prison. Now, it might seem a bit contrived that the military leaders would send their ultra secret weapons to kill helpless prisoners. Why open up the possibility that they would discover this atrocity? Even if this was a photo op, why do it?

Because, of course, they do discover this and they aren't going to take part in it.

In a nice panel, we see them turn their back on the motherland. They aren't going to be defined by these posters.

This panel is great as we see them step out of the imagery and walk away. Suddenly small and human, not these icons charging in larger than life, this panel visually tells you all you need to know.

This must be why the two defect to the USA.

We cut to England where Harleen Quinzel is an American physician practicing medicine in an asylum there. We hear a bit of her back story as well, hopefully one we will hear more of in the future. She wasn't accepted as a physician in America. We also hear that Harleen was involved with a crime boss back in the states as well. I guess we are talking about the Joker. Harleen seems to want to put that stuff behind her and so headed to London.

On Christmas Eve, Harleen is on rounds when she checks in on one of the inmates, Shondra Kinsolving. Shondra was colleague of Harleen's before she went mad from 'visions'. Shondra shares another dream she had, of a Joker-sounding man spreading a shadow, monsters, and fire across the land. That vision seems to trigger a psychotic break in Harleen.

Shondra is a sort of deep cut by Marguerite Bennett. Kinsolving was a little known character and was a physician, psychic, telekinetic in the Batman book back in the 80s.

Harleen's emotional break seems to physically manifest itself and she suddenly is in clown make-up.

An asylum janitor who seems to want to assault Harleen walks in during the transformation and ends up being thrashed. But I love how Harleen says she 'needs me', a sort of statement that she needs the Harley Quinn persona.

The janitor looks sort of like the Joker, perhaps another trigger for Harley?

I do wonder if there is some emotional or physical trauma between Harley and the Joker because Harley seems to want to save women from the clutches of men.

Dressed like a naughty Christmas elf, Harley skips into a dance hall and pulls all the women away from the soldiers there, calling the men boring, boorish, boars. And when one of the men gets upset, saying the girls belong to the men, Harley physically attacks him.

We all know that Harley is damaged in the main DCU, although she seems to be more in control of herself these days. So I wonder if we will see more.

All that said, she doesn't seem to mind using her feminine wiles to get what she wants from men.

Here, perpetual womanizer Hal (presumed Jordan) thinks he is luring Harley away for a tryst. And she coos and purrs into his ear making him think she is willing. But back in the hangar, she knocks him out and steals his plane. She then uses the plane to drop gifts on London.

We are just meeting this Harley. So I guess I need to get a better sense of her arc before deciding how much I like her.

The last chapter in the arc is Wonder Woman. Recall she has brought a very psychologically scarred Steve Trevor back to the mainland. She also has joined the Allies, helping to fight the Nazis.

We finally get to see her in the true Bombshells outfit, the 'We Can Do It' version of the Wonder Woman costume. I love this design. I think it is great. And Wonder Woman likes it as well, especially the inclusion of the stars. She thinks this garb is that of the goddesses of America. But she points to the paintings adorning bombers and tanks.

As I said, Trevor is shell-shocked. He is an intelligence officer who has seen the atrocity of war and is having a hard time putting it behind him. I suppose keeping him in the ragged clothes he was wearing during the crash on Paradise Island as well as the unkempt hair and beard hammers home he is not back to normal. But please, if Diana has time to have a new costume made, he could take a shower and put on some khakis.

Still, he knows that the other soldiers think he is weak. They think he is faking illness so Diana will care for him. And they think he isn't a true soldier because he won't kill everyone who crosses him.

I have really loved Bennett's more classic take on Diana, an ambassador of peace who only resorts to violence when she must. Here she says that the decision to kill isn't easy, their lives will never be easy, but at some point they will be together in peace.

Finally, a glimpse of the Diana I want to read.

And the point gets hammered home when the Allies bring in Nazi prisoners of war. The American soldiers want to slaughter the captured foes. The Nazis have been staining the landscape with atrocities. Why should they be spared?

Diana feels that helpless prisoners are helpless. They shouldn't be killed. She steps in between.

And that could be labeled treason, punishable by death.

Perhaps the best way for me to sum up this issue and this title is that it is wildly entertaining. I just love it. And these versions of the characters are so engaging. They are treated with respect. They are fancifully dressed but that is just a superficial rendering of more three dimensional characters.

I hope this book is a success in all its formats. Because it is a ton of fun, written well and lushly drawn.

Overall grade: A

Rhode Island ComicCon Rundown

This last weekend I went to the Rhode Island Comic Con.

This is a relatively new convention and is a Comic Con in name only really. There is an artists alley. But the big draw seems to be the pop culture celebrities in attendance. I was heading there mostly to meet Mike Grell and Chris Claremont.

You might recall that last year there was something of a ticket disaster. The con was oversold. People couldn't get in. The floor was overcrowded. Things didn't seem to be run well.

This year, the convention seemed to answer a lot of those questions for better. Tickets were now plastic badges that were scanned to keep an accurate count. The attached Dunkin Donuts Civic Center was added to the floor plan, increasing floor space tremendously. That was the good.

Now onto the bad. If you bought tickets online, you were subjected to ridiculous fees which nearly doubled the price. It still felt oversold and overcrowded on the Saturday. And there was no map at the con. The show said there was an app to download which I did. But on Saturday, the second day of the con, many artists tables were still listed as TBD.

Okay, enough overall review.

I was thrilled to meet Mike Grell. I consider his Legion run to be my first comic books. I have loved his work all my collecting life. So I brought some issues to sign and hoped to get a sketch. As you can see from the first pic, I was successful. Given my predilection to 70s Grell, I opted for the hot pants costume.

I would have loved to talk to Grell all afternoon but his table was pretty busy. I was able to grab a handful of signatures (more talk below).

I also got to meet Chris Claremont. I am not a big Marvel person and certainly wasn't a fan of the Xmen in the 80s and 90s. But I still had a smattering of issues to get signed by him. That XMen/Titans crossover is a favorite issue in my collection.

It was also interesting to see how charging for comic signatures has sort of proliferated. Here is the breakdown of prices for signatures and then how many comics I got signed.

Neal Adams, $30 per signature. No books.
Chris Claremont, $5 per signature. 5 books.
Simon Bisley, $5 per signature (told to me). No books
Joe Rubinstein, $5 for Claremont/Miller Wolverine book, $3 otherwise. No books.
Mike Grell, $3 per signature. 5 books.
Rich Buckler, $2 per signature. 1 book.
 Ale Garza, $0 per signature. 5 books.

The one regret was not meeting Amy Jo Johnson. I was a big fan of the Pink Ranger. But she was in a sort of VIP room and the line to get in was huge. I didn't even get a line of sight on her.

I can't really complain. I met Mike Grell and got a Supergirl commission from him.

And thus ends Convention Season 2015.