Review: Batman/Superman #31

Peter Tomasi has been given the keys to the super-kingdom in the time between The Truth's ending and the official #Rebirth. And, for the most part, Tomasi has done a very good job. Leaving behind the nastiness of The Truth and embracing some of the more classic tones and themes of Superman mythos, Tomasi has made 'The Final Days of Superman' a very good read.

Now last week's Superman/Wonder Woman issue was something of a step backwards, rekindling the Clark/Diana romance which I thought had been extinguished. Luckily, this week's Batman/Superman #32 righted the ship a bit. In fact, this issue reads the most like a Silver or Bronze Age book in some time; I mean that in the best of all possible ways.

There are a lot of classic comic bits working their way through this issue. We see the Trinity smiling and joking with each other, declaring their friendship! There is the classic 'heroes fight before they realize they are on the same side' trope. And we get an evil scientist whose evil project escapes (and will probably become good; shades of Red Tornado!). That is just about as classic as you can get!

The art is wonderful inside and out. I have really been enjoying Yanick Paquette's covers on this book. In particular, this busy cover works well. The Trinity are a down the center, grabbing my eye immediately. I especially like Diana here. And Doug Mahnke is on the internal pages, inked by a bevy of creators. As always, Mahnke is fantastic.

On to the review:

Supergirl Show Rumors-Canceled? Shuffled To The CW?

Like many, I have been waiting to hear about a Supergirl Season 2.

I have read many thought pieces about the show and have responded to some of them.
I have read articles that talk about how bad the ratings were.
I have read articles about how good the ratings were.

I have read articles that talk about how great it is to have a feminist show like this.
I have read articles that lambast the show for not being feminist enough.

I have read articles that the show is going to be renewed for CBS.
I have read articles that the show is going to be canceled.
I have read articles that the show is going to be moved to a different network.
I have read articles that it is moving production to Canada.
I have read articles that it will be renewed but with fewer episodes.

I have read so many articles and heard so many rumors that I felt exhausted. I showed support here and in social media. But I realized that I just needed to wait for a decision to be announced.

But then this article came out which sounded less like an opinion piece and more of a news item:
http://www.thewrap.com/supergirl-renewal-drama-talks-center-on-possible-jump-to-cw-budget-cuts-exclusive/

The article talks about how Supergirl is an expensive show and the ratings didn't blow anyone out of the water. And maybe, a move to the CW with the concomitant slash in budget is the eventual destiny of the show. Here are a couple of blurbs.


CBS boss Leslie Moonves is deep in talks with Warner Bros. Television about the fate of its super-expensive comic-book series starring Melissa Benoist, which wrapped up a less-than-superlative first season last month. 
That has set the stage for a last-minute stare-down between Moonves and Warner Bros. TV chief Peter Roth. CBS will announce its fall schedule in two weeks at the upfront presentations in New York, so the clock is ticking to hammer out a deal. The youth-skewing CW already has “The Flash” and other superhero franchises (there was a crossover between “Supergirl” and “The Flash” this season), and its audience is much more aligned with “Supergirl” than is CBS’ much-grayer viewership.
 Fans have suggested such a move for months and lately the Hollywood rumor mill has gone into overdrive that “Supergirl” is flying to CW. But that move would be fraught for both producers and fans, as budget-conscious CW shows don’t tend to collect huge license fees for the studios. The upshot of a CW shift is that there would very likely be big budget cuts in the offing for “Supergirl.”
You never like to see the verb 'embroiled'. That has a negative connotation, one of conflict.

And then yesterday, Deadline had an article that had a few more details about costs, locations, and tax breaks. But it had no specifics on what was actually happening. Here is that link: http://deadline.com/2016/05/supergirl-season-2-renewal-move-vancouver-reduction-cost-cbs-cw-1201750208/
(Hat tip to Supergirl.tv and Mart Gray)

And a couple of blurbs:

WBTV is looking to trim the budget of Supergirl as the studio is in conversations with CBS about a second-season renewal. The show commands a very high license fee, and a reduction of that and/or the number of episodes ordered by the network are considered a possibility. Then there is the possibility of the show not getting renewed by CBS.

I can understand how moving to Vancouver, dropping effects, and trimming episodes would save money. But would it be the same show. It is said to be the most expensive show on CBS right now between production costs and license fees. Something has to give.

And then some optimism from Deadline:

Still, despite the fact that its numbers tapered off significantly after a strong start,Supergirl, aided by a solid DVR play, averaged a 2.4 rating among adults 18–49 in a competitive time slot, ranking as the No. 1 new CBS drama and No. 4 new network series overall (behind only Blindspot, Life in Pieces and Quantico) in the demo this season. It is CBS’ youngest-skewing new drama and averaged nearly 10 million viewers.

Still, Supergirl has been part of traditionally older-skewing CBS’ effort to attract younger demographic via newer dramas like Supergirl‘s Monday companion Scorpion. The network brass likely will weigh in all these factors as they head to New York during the next few days to start working on the network’s 2016-17 schedule.

Frankly, I'm trying to wrap my head around all these talks.

I'll start out by saying I absolutely loved the show. I felt it captured everything that I love about the character. It is appointment watching by me and my daughters. I ... have ... loved it.

Supergirl was the highest rated new show on CBS. But it has never felt like a CBS show. It never was really embraced by the network which didn't air any repeats to see if it could pick up new viewers. But the show ended up losing about 50% of the audience it had for the premiere.

It is an expensive show. But the effects have been great. The show has felt Super with the fights on wires, massive heat vision battles, satellite-hoisting super-strength, and shape-shifting. The episodes have felt like mini-movies at times. Can the network afford to keep up that level of action and effects?

It is a heartfelt show and does have women in positions of authority on all levels. But at times, the gender politics have seemed simple.

Unfortunately, I can see both sides of this conundrum.

So what will make me happy ...

Well, in the best of all possible worlds, CBS picks up the show and leaves the budget untouched. But I fear that isn't going to happen.

The next best option would be WB decreasing the license fee so that the show's production budget remains intact. Hopefully Warner Brothers sees the potential for recouping the lost cash on merchandise and building a new franchise.

If the budget is going to be slashed, the show will feel very different. But, if there are going to be major budgetary changes, I actually would want the transition to the CW where it might grab a bigger or steadier audience. Also, the numbers Supergirl generated on CBS which are said to be lackluster would be tremendous for the CW so all the talk of cancellation might evaporate.

That said, if we don't see Supergirl flying, if we don't see super-feats, if we don't get that epic nature, I worry the show's quality will suffer.

I just don't know.
I feel like I am working through my stages of grief when it comes to Season 2. First I was in denial about any problems. Then I was angry that it hadn't been renewed already. Now I am bargaining.

Head to the CW?
Stay on CBS with less cash?
Get canceled and end on a high note?

What do you all think?

DC Superhero Girls Action Figure

 It took a little effort and visiting a couple of Target stores but I finally was able to snag a DC Superhero Girls action figure for the collection.

I have been pretty happy with the portrayal of Supergirl in the DCSHG shorts and special. She is upbeat and energetic, trying to learn how to use her powers to help people.

And I don't mind the quirky polo shirt, red skirt, Chuck Taylors look for the character. It has a much more 'student' feel to it than some of the others in the line do. Plus the blue shirt/red skirt motif mirrors other venues close enough to feel like it is on a costume spectrum for the character.

Add in a Gwen Stacy headband and I'm sort of sold.

The doll itself is pretty good with articulation at knees and elbows. The face is a little cartoony but this is based on a cartoon.

I found it hard to get it to stand on my display shelves but luckily I had an S-shield base from another figure lying around.

The back shows decent detail work on the hair and nice folds in the short cape and skirt.

Not bad.

 

The packaging is a little odd though.

"Includes cape" seems unnecessary.

I wonder if all the other figures come with something else ... a lasso, giant mallet, plant vine, etc. So maybe they felt Supergirl needed something too. I'd have preferred a kitten.

All in all, a nice addition to my collection. Glad Supergirl is a big part of this promotion.

 She went to the 'variant' corner of the collection with the Flamebird armor figure, AmeComi, Superwoman, and Hot Wheels car. 

A couple of items are on order. Promise to do a full collection post soon.

Review: Justice League 3001 #11

You can't have a Rebirth without some death I suppose.

And unfortunately Justice League 3001 has been cancelled. This doesn't really surprise me given the sales result. But it does sadden me. This book (and its predecessor JL3000) was a nice melange of all the crazy corners of the DCU.

Justice League 3001 #11 came out last week and is the penultimate issue of the series. Writers Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis are unfortunately faced with something of an impossible task. They have to try to wrap up this pretty complex, multi-layered comic in 40 pages. And as a result, this issue felt somewhat rushed. There are a lot of questions that I am hoping will be answered. There are a lot of questions I think won't be answered. And there is a ton of backstory, explaining everything about this universe and these characters, that I don't think I will ever get. And that is a shame.

Scott Kolins does an admirable job on the art bringing the grime of this flawed future. I also like the design of the heroes here as well as the corrupted Legion and the other aliens. Kolins' look definitely fits the title perfectly.

I promise not to curse the darkness here. I got 2+ years over two titles to read these characters. That's a light I should celebrate. On to the issue.

Review: Adventures Of Supergirl #8

The television show Supergirl has ended and its future is still up in the air. Lucky for fans, the comic version of this incarnation of Kara is still going strong.

Adventures of Supergirl #8 came out digitally this week and continued to unravel this complex story which takes place during the early episodes of the program. We are three mini-arcs in here with three different villains who have attacked Supergirl. But rather than this being a 'monster of the week' sort of book, writer Sterling Gates has been weaving a big story arc through these supposedly separate events.

That is really what I love about this book. The idea that there is a big plot running through this that has been slowly revealed over time has been a great way to keep me engaged as a reader. Yes, the 'episodes' with Rampage, Vril Dox, and Psi have been wonderful as stand alone issues. But this deeper plot has me guessing and wondering. And that makes me happy as a reader.

This chapter finally lets us peek behind the curtain a bit, showing us who has been pulling the strings. It is a great reveal which works nicely with the television shows arc and answering a couple of questions I have had since the show started. Kudos to Gates for fleshing out the show's universe even more.

The art this chapter is by Carmen Carnero. I'll be honest, I had never heard of Carnero before this. But her stuff is powerful. There is a fine lined sensibility and photo-realistic feel to the work here which fits the serious tone of this chapter. I hope to see her work on other books.

On to the book.

Review: Superman/Wonder Woman #28

Superman/Wonder Woman #28 came out last week and was the first sort of stumble by Peter Tomasi since he started the post-Truth rehabilitation of the character of Superman.

Now, as a reviewer, I have to acknowledge my own biases when I look at these books. And frankly, I have never been someone to get behind the the Clark/Diana romance. It has just never felt right to me. So I always have side-eyed the relationship and this title, waiting for someone to write the characters in a way that felt natural.

I also have to acknowledge that another of the things I have very much liked about Tomasi's current run is that it seems to re-establishing some classic elements of the Superman mythos. He is good friends with Batman. He is loved by Alfred. He cares about Supergirl and wants her to carry on in his absence. He has a good relationship with Lois. These last few super-issues have been wonderful to a fan like me who has questioned a lot of what has happened to Superman over the last 10 years or so.

This issue seemed to look backwards instead of looking forward. I suppose the relationship with Wonder Woman needed to be addressed. We had to deal with some of the lingering subplots from the prior years. But after the joy of the last weeks, this felt like a step backwards as it brought back things I would rather forget or move away from - the Diana romance and Ulysses.

The art is done by Ed Benes. With Benes you know what you are getting. There is a cheesecake feel to Diana throughout the book (although this isn't as gratuitous as other Benes books.) But even Benes feels like a look back.

And I desperately want to move forward. On to the book ...

Supergirl Comic Box Commentary Is Eight Years Old

All The Eights

Eight years ago I started a blog about Supergirl. 2.8 million page hits later I am still blogging about her.

It started out as a dalliance. I needed a creative outlet for when life got stressful. And I wanted to let the world know about how cool I thought Supergirl was, especially since she was mired in some dreadful stories.

I didn't think it would end up being this long a journey.

It is amazing for me to look at the changes we have seen in this character over the course of my blogging. In comics, this blog has been around long enough to see two different DC continuities and therefore two different Supergirls.

Another continuity/version is around the #Rebirth corner. I have seen rehabilitation, darkening, and re-rehabilitation of the character. The new Steve Orlando/Brian Ching book sounds like it is going to be a great interpretation from the get-go.

Over these years, I have seen her in animated features like Super Best Friends Forever, Superman/Batman Apocalypse, and Superman Unbound. Now she seems to be a headliner in the DC Superhero Girls series.

And the biggest news of the year? Well, now I have seen her as the star of a television show.

Suddenly, Supergirl is something of a household name. There are now numerous websites, podcasts, and Twitter accounts devoted to her. People are talking about her and not as the butt of jokes, not as a reference for perceived irrelevance, not as an outdated character. They are talking about how important she is to comics and pop culture.

And I'm thrilled. She is finally getting the recognition she deserves.

As always, I'd like to thank everyone who visits here, reads my (overly) long blog entries, and joins in the conversation. I'm glad people feel they can come here to talk about Supergirl in all her incarnations and in all forms of media. I don't think I'd still be doing this if it weren't for the Supergirl community that checks in.

The only major change that happened over this year on the site is that I cut back from posting 6 days a week to 5. As of now, I don't have any major plans for the site over the next year. I'll continue to review books, look back at Supergirl's history, cover her appearances in all media, and continue to talk comics in general. If anyone has any suggestions or things they'd like to see me try here, please let me know! I know that I still have to do a review of the Helen Slater film ... how have I not done that yet!

Anyways, happy anniversary and thanks again for stopping by!