It took a few months-- one or two-- but I finally bought the last Cassandra Cain Batgirl books from Comixology. Even those few issues I loathe. Most of them now live on my iPhone, where I can read them whenever I want. Waiting for the bus, during commercial breaks while watching television, when I'm waiting for the English Club to show up after school.
With back issues increasingly difficult (impossible in Japan, thanks to me!) to find and the Cass trade collections largely out of print and commanding ridiculous premiums on Amazon.com (and possibly elsewhere; I haven't looked), Comixology is the best option for Cass fans determined to read all 73 issues of her title. Unless you're one of those fans who needs the tactile experience of holding the actual magazine. Which is my preferred method of reading comics, too.
The thing is, I've already done that more than once. And I live in Japan. Living in Japan adds another layer of difficulty to reading Cass the old comforting in-your-hands way, so it's DC and Comixology to the rescue. Instead of trucking a massive box of Cass comics across the Pacific, I brought her here this time via electronic waves of some kind I can barely comprehend, much less understand. And I carry my iPhone everywhere I go here in Nihon, so why not carry Cass around, too?
You know what? It's nice to know Cass's backlist is available. We haven't been able to up her profile with any of our little campaigns, but she's still kicking around in a convenient fashion for today's comic book consumers, waiting for rediscovery. Introduce a friend or relative to Cass on Comixology. Come on, I'm not getting paid to write this. I really believe in her.
Seventy-three issues worth! Plus a few books in which she makes guest appearances, even if I hate the main characters!
Showing posts with label Comixology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comixology. Show all posts
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Friday, March 1, 2013
Catch me if you can, Cass fans!
I bought more Cassandra Cain Batgirl on Comixology last night. I now have up to issue #60. While there are some concepts I like during this era, it's probably my least favorite run of issues. Cass becomes something of a mope, the stories are pretty generic, the supporting cast dull and under-developed (although that might be more due to the creative team having to end things rather abruptly before fully fleshing out everyone) and the art kind of dull.
Here's a quick rundown of things I like about these issues, but with a little commentary on why they just don't work for me:
1. Bludhaven. The name sounds like something out of Thimble Theatre, where Popeye and pals might meet some kind of sea witch, but giving Cass her own city was a smart move. She inherits the setting from Nightwing, but it's a place of greater possibilities for original storytelling than Gotham City, which is pretty much Batman's turf. Not having read Nightwing, I don't really know who lives in Bludhaven, or all that much about its geography, history or social structure, which I'm going to suggest was true of a lot of this book's fans at the time who weren't all that into DC as a whole. The creative team could have approached the setting as largely a blank slate and invented a Bludhaven that plays to Cass's strengths as a character, or to her weaknesses as well.
2. Penguin. Pitting Cass against a formidable foe gave her a purpose she'd been lacking for a while after resolving her death wish and father issues. This could have been Cass's version of Batman's Year One story, featuring her taking down a lot of street-level thugs and disrupting the Penguin's crime empire so much he turns to-- well, anyone other than who he actually turned to. I make this comparison a lot, but at this point, the creatives should have been taking cues from Koike Kazuo, whose Lone Wolf and Cub and Lady Snowblood really showed how to tell long-form stories (with enough room for stand-alone plots) pitting protagonists against seemingly overwhelming odds and finding the humanity with all the bloodshed. Rather than simply capes against talking apes.
3. Romance. While the one she got is pretty paltry and features a complete dishrag of a potential boyfriend, the idea of Cass finding herself exploring the alien territory of love could have made for some compelling stories. I mean, what happens when a girl whose first language is movement and isn't particularly fond of ordinary social interaction finds herself falling for someone? Dylan Horrocks gave it a half-hearted try and came up with a spun-sugar confection that curdled and sickened, but that doesn't mean Anderson Gabrych couldn't have eventually taken Cass in this direction and found something poignant. Or thrilling.
4. Deathstroke. Another grandly dangerous enemy for Cass, and one with his own daughter issues. Thematic resonance. Gabrych came pretty close to making this count, and DC later tossed us a bastardized form after turning Cass into a villain, but there's no reason Batgirl couldn't have gotten a lot of story mileage out of an extended Cass-Deathstroke war. Or rather than the drugged-to-evil aspect, a more organic mentoring relationship challenging the one she had with Batman. Cass could have found herself drawn to someone who could possibly increase her own capabilities-- a father of a similarly capable fighter no less- only to find this path taking her perilously close to the edge and alienating her from the people who truly care for her. Then the inevitable fight between the two and a return to the fold.
5. Lady Shiva. With her father issues largely behind her, Cass turns her thoughts to her biological mother. This leads to an identity quest of sorts. This could have echoed the troubled relationship she had with David Cain and provided a much-needed shot of deeper emotions and exploration of just who Cass really is to the book. Instead, we get a lot of nonsense with a troll and then with Mr. Freeze, who has no thematic connection to Cass whatsoever and only distracts from the Batgirl-Lady Shiva dynamic. When they told us Cain had trained a lot of others before Cass, it cheapened her as a character as well. Some seriously muddled storytelling here.
6. Birds of Prey. It would have been nice to see Cass interact with a few more of the other DC universe characters, and the Birds were a natural fit because of the Barbara Gordon connection. As it is, we get a single issue.
With so many possibilities, it's even more a shame the series' energy flagged around this time. Wealth squandered. There's also a very good chance I'm not remembering these very well at all because it's been several years since I last read these books.
Still, you have to have them to complete the set and there's Comixology right there and very convenient. What are you waiting for? Cass is in limbo and desperately needs your (financial) support to escape! After all, Spoiler did it for her and she's was actually dead at the time.
Here's a quick rundown of things I like about these issues, but with a little commentary on why they just don't work for me:
1. Bludhaven. The name sounds like something out of Thimble Theatre, where Popeye and pals might meet some kind of sea witch, but giving Cass her own city was a smart move. She inherits the setting from Nightwing, but it's a place of greater possibilities for original storytelling than Gotham City, which is pretty much Batman's turf. Not having read Nightwing, I don't really know who lives in Bludhaven, or all that much about its geography, history or social structure, which I'm going to suggest was true of a lot of this book's fans at the time who weren't all that into DC as a whole. The creative team could have approached the setting as largely a blank slate and invented a Bludhaven that plays to Cass's strengths as a character, or to her weaknesses as well.
2. Penguin. Pitting Cass against a formidable foe gave her a purpose she'd been lacking for a while after resolving her death wish and father issues. This could have been Cass's version of Batman's Year One story, featuring her taking down a lot of street-level thugs and disrupting the Penguin's crime empire so much he turns to-- well, anyone other than who he actually turned to. I make this comparison a lot, but at this point, the creatives should have been taking cues from Koike Kazuo, whose Lone Wolf and Cub and Lady Snowblood really showed how to tell long-form stories (with enough room for stand-alone plots) pitting protagonists against seemingly overwhelming odds and finding the humanity with all the bloodshed. Rather than simply capes against talking apes.
3. Romance. While the one she got is pretty paltry and features a complete dishrag of a potential boyfriend, the idea of Cass finding herself exploring the alien territory of love could have made for some compelling stories. I mean, what happens when a girl whose first language is movement and isn't particularly fond of ordinary social interaction finds herself falling for someone? Dylan Horrocks gave it a half-hearted try and came up with a spun-sugar confection that curdled and sickened, but that doesn't mean Anderson Gabrych couldn't have eventually taken Cass in this direction and found something poignant. Or thrilling.
4. Deathstroke. Another grandly dangerous enemy for Cass, and one with his own daughter issues. Thematic resonance. Gabrych came pretty close to making this count, and DC later tossed us a bastardized form after turning Cass into a villain, but there's no reason Batgirl couldn't have gotten a lot of story mileage out of an extended Cass-Deathstroke war. Or rather than the drugged-to-evil aspect, a more organic mentoring relationship challenging the one she had with Batman. Cass could have found herself drawn to someone who could possibly increase her own capabilities-- a father of a similarly capable fighter no less- only to find this path taking her perilously close to the edge and alienating her from the people who truly care for her. Then the inevitable fight between the two and a return to the fold.
5. Lady Shiva. With her father issues largely behind her, Cass turns her thoughts to her biological mother. This leads to an identity quest of sorts. This could have echoed the troubled relationship she had with David Cain and provided a much-needed shot of deeper emotions and exploration of just who Cass really is to the book. Instead, we get a lot of nonsense with a troll and then with Mr. Freeze, who has no thematic connection to Cass whatsoever and only distracts from the Batgirl-Lady Shiva dynamic. When they told us Cain had trained a lot of others before Cass, it cheapened her as a character as well. Some seriously muddled storytelling here.
6. Birds of Prey. It would have been nice to see Cass interact with a few more of the other DC universe characters, and the Birds were a natural fit because of the Barbara Gordon connection. As it is, we get a single issue.
With so many possibilities, it's even more a shame the series' energy flagged around this time. Wealth squandered. There's also a very good chance I'm not remembering these very well at all because it's been several years since I last read these books.
Still, you have to have them to complete the set and there's Comixology right there and very convenient. What are you waiting for? Cass is in limbo and desperately needs your (financial) support to escape! After all, Spoiler did it for her and she's was actually dead at the time.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Reading Batgirl on an iPhone is a better reading experience than I'd expected
One of the fun aspects of going digital with Comixology (and possibly Dark Horse as well, although I have yet to experiment) is having the ability to download your comics to your iPhone and read them through Comixology's app. Yes, this traditionalist finds reading comics on an iPhone fun. I downloaded all my Cass Cain Batgirl issues to my phone (plus my Nexus, New Mutants and old school Valiant titles) over the weekend and they really came in handy yesterday as I ran errands and spent a lot of down time just waiting for others to handle their end of my very important business.
My initial objection to doing this involved not being able to scan the entire page.
I believe page layout to be a dying art in this age of "widescreen" storytelling, where artists generally just stack a lot of horizontal panels on top of each other, then break it up with a vertical close-up inset shot of someone screaming. There aren't that many Will Eisners or Bernie Krigsteins or even Jim Sterankos walking around. It's gotten to where I prefer someone just doing the ancient "three tier" format because you don't have to figure out panel order and sometimes the panels come closer to that pleasant "golden ratio" centuries of Western art has taught us to recognize and love. For example, Jamie Hernandez with his beautiful drawings and simple, clean, fun page layouts.
Page layout is just as important as the panel-to-panel stuff in leading your eyes around and through the action. A good storyteller remembers all that plane of action stuff and where the characters are relative to each other within each panel, but also helps the reader understand what's happening by doing the visual equivalent of expert tour guiding. Plus all those tricks Will Eisner talks about in his books, varying panel sizes and shapes to create the illusion of time passing at various speeds. It all goes back to layout. As a reader, you approach the page as a whole, then delve into the little squares and rectangles within which your favorite characters strut their stuff. I didn't want to lose that.
Anyway, to my surprise, I discovered Damion Scott's Batgirl actually reads better on the iPhone, which takes you through with the rest of the page cropped out, than it does when you have the actual comic in front of you. While he's an excellent action-based storyteller in panel-to-panel terms, sometimes his pages are a bit busy. On the iPhone, some of Scott's panel-to-panel transitions almost animate themselves as you click through. It's a neat effect.
Some of the other books I looked at didn't fare as well. Panels had to be awkwardly snipped to fit on the screen and then "slide" so you could get the entire scene. Sometimes it would give a nice cinematic pan instead, which was often a revelation. Usually, though, this would have a "pan-and-scan" effect like watching a movie cropped to fit one of those TVs like the ones I grew up with, the heavy, wood-framed beauties that were as much furniture as they were entertainment centers. It creates reading pauses that run counter to the artists' intentions.
The small size of the iPhone reduces the figures, which simplifies them slightly so you're losing a bit of the rendering the artists worked so hard on. That's a bit of a disappointment. Again, it serves Scott well because he specializes in broad acting, big, bold expressions and stylized faces that show up quite clearly on the iPhone screen. Some of the artists who use a lot of subtle, fine-lined work tend to soften. I wouldn't suggest any artist change his or her drawing style to fit this medium, but I think artists with simpler looks with fewer lines and lots of black spotting like Mike Mignola and Bruce Timm won't lose a whole lot on iPhone.
On the other hand, the text remains surprisingly clear and readable. So there are trade-offs to the convenience of being able to carry with you at all times as many comics as your iPhone's storage capacity allows. I see it this device more as an adjunct to your reading experience than a replacement for larger formats. It's a matter of convenience reading.
Now my main qualm about Comixology and Dark Horse digital comics is you're paying the same amount as you would for the print issue, but you don't actually own the comic itself, just a license to read it on your computer or phone. At home, I can't download the comics I've paid for and read them offline. I have to visit the websites. I can understand this from a standpoint of preventing piracy, but to be frank, that Black Pearl has already sailed. For now, this kind of like buying comics but keeping them at your friend's house and reading them through a window while she holds them up and turns the pages when you ask.
Even so, here in Japan where American funny books are difficult to come by, digital comics are your best bet for immediate gratification. Walking Dead has been making me kind of sick lately, but at the same time, I can't look away. When #107 comes out, I'm going to be there on the first day rather than having to wait for a collected edition or make a trip to Tokyo in hopes it hasn't sold out at Blister. And it's nice to know I have access to every issue of the Cass Cain Batgirl no matter where I am or what time it is.
My initial objection to doing this involved not being able to scan the entire page.
I believe page layout to be a dying art in this age of "widescreen" storytelling, where artists generally just stack a lot of horizontal panels on top of each other, then break it up with a vertical close-up inset shot of someone screaming. There aren't that many Will Eisners or Bernie Krigsteins or even Jim Sterankos walking around. It's gotten to where I prefer someone just doing the ancient "three tier" format because you don't have to figure out panel order and sometimes the panels come closer to that pleasant "golden ratio" centuries of Western art has taught us to recognize and love. For example, Jamie Hernandez with his beautiful drawings and simple, clean, fun page layouts.
Page layout is just as important as the panel-to-panel stuff in leading your eyes around and through the action. A good storyteller remembers all that plane of action stuff and where the characters are relative to each other within each panel, but also helps the reader understand what's happening by doing the visual equivalent of expert tour guiding. Plus all those tricks Will Eisner talks about in his books, varying panel sizes and shapes to create the illusion of time passing at various speeds. It all goes back to layout. As a reader, you approach the page as a whole, then delve into the little squares and rectangles within which your favorite characters strut their stuff. I didn't want to lose that.
Anyway, to my surprise, I discovered Damion Scott's Batgirl actually reads better on the iPhone, which takes you through with the rest of the page cropped out, than it does when you have the actual comic in front of you. While he's an excellent action-based storyteller in panel-to-panel terms, sometimes his pages are a bit busy. On the iPhone, some of Scott's panel-to-panel transitions almost animate themselves as you click through. It's a neat effect.
Some of the other books I looked at didn't fare as well. Panels had to be awkwardly snipped to fit on the screen and then "slide" so you could get the entire scene. Sometimes it would give a nice cinematic pan instead, which was often a revelation. Usually, though, this would have a "pan-and-scan" effect like watching a movie cropped to fit one of those TVs like the ones I grew up with, the heavy, wood-framed beauties that were as much furniture as they were entertainment centers. It creates reading pauses that run counter to the artists' intentions.
The small size of the iPhone reduces the figures, which simplifies them slightly so you're losing a bit of the rendering the artists worked so hard on. That's a bit of a disappointment. Again, it serves Scott well because he specializes in broad acting, big, bold expressions and stylized faces that show up quite clearly on the iPhone screen. Some of the artists who use a lot of subtle, fine-lined work tend to soften. I wouldn't suggest any artist change his or her drawing style to fit this medium, but I think artists with simpler looks with fewer lines and lots of black spotting like Mike Mignola and Bruce Timm won't lose a whole lot on iPhone.
On the other hand, the text remains surprisingly clear and readable. So there are trade-offs to the convenience of being able to carry with you at all times as many comics as your iPhone's storage capacity allows. I see it this device more as an adjunct to your reading experience than a replacement for larger formats. It's a matter of convenience reading.
Now my main qualm about Comixology and Dark Horse digital comics is you're paying the same amount as you would for the print issue, but you don't actually own the comic itself, just a license to read it on your computer or phone. At home, I can't download the comics I've paid for and read them offline. I have to visit the websites. I can understand this from a standpoint of preventing piracy, but to be frank, that Black Pearl has already sailed. For now, this kind of like buying comics but keeping them at your friend's house and reading them through a window while she holds them up and turns the pages when you ask.
Even so, here in Japan where American funny books are difficult to come by, digital comics are your best bet for immediate gratification. Walking Dead has been making me kind of sick lately, but at the same time, I can't look away. When #107 comes out, I'm going to be there on the first day rather than having to wait for a collected edition or make a trip to Tokyo in hopes it hasn't sold out at Blister. And it's nice to know I have access to every issue of the Cass Cain Batgirl no matter where I am or what time it is.
Monday, January 14, 2013
iBatgirl: Cassandra Cain lives on my iPhone-- I bought more Batgirl from Comixology
It's a three-day weekend here in Japan (Coming of Age Day was today, Monday, January 14) so with some free time on my hands, I decided to go ahead and buy Batgirl all the way through issue #25 (because I want to review and discuss the whole deathmatch with Lady Shiva storyline on this blog at some point) and then a few more from the Rick Leonardi run. The writing around that time is spotty-- sometimes great, sometimes kind of wonky-- but there's no denying the attractiveness of Leonard's visuals, especially inked by Jesse Delperdang. The James Jean covers are gorgeous, as a set my choice for best Cass one-off illustrations.
Instead of sleeping Saturday night, I downloaded the Comixology app for my iPhone and now Cass lives there, too. I can take her everywhere I go, and whenever I'm bored or have nothing in particular to do, I can call up an issue of Batgirl and read it. At home, at work, on the train, at the doctor's office, you name it.
It's actually pretty nice and I've noticed that as you flip through some of the panels of the Damion Scott issues, they almost animate themselves. A little tribute to his storytelling abilities.
Instead of sleeping Saturday night, I downloaded the Comixology app for my iPhone and now Cass lives there, too. I can take her everywhere I go, and whenever I'm bored or have nothing in particular to do, I can call up an issue of Batgirl and read it. At home, at work, on the train, at the doctor's office, you name it.
It's actually pretty nice and I've noticed that as you flip through some of the panels of the Damion Scott issues, they almost animate themselves. A little tribute to his storytelling abilities.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
How Brian Bolland sees Cassandra Cain
This is the cover to Batman: Gotham Knights #2 (April, 2000), which hit the stands the same month as Cass's monthly series. It's ol' Batman and his then-newest partner. I just bought this from Comixology because if an artist of Brian Bolland's stature takes a crack at drawing Cass for a comic book cover, I have to own said comic book. Unfortunately, while it's lovingly drawn, it's not one of Bolland's most exciting covers.
Very static, bland poses, 2/3 body portrait, no action, nothing really design-y about it compared to some of his other covers in this series, many of which feature the same finely-detailed rendering as this one-- a Bolland given-- but also loads more dynamism to go with the typically well-observed anatomy beautifully modeled with that almost machine-like Bolland hatching and crosshatching (I used to try so hard to emulate it and failed because I'm naturally shaky and lack his precision and control). Lots more fun than this, although I do admire Batman's slouchy insouciance. I would have preferred an action shot of Batman and Batgirl leaping right out at me.
Also, Cass is largely blocked by Batman. Let's take a closer look at her, shall we?
Ah, that's better!
No two artists ever seem to draw Cass the same way, and it's up to you to choose your favorite. I'm split between Damion Scott and Rick Leonardi, probably leaning a little more Leonardi due to my own traditionalism. But Scott was the artist of record when this book came out (how I miss the title's spectacular early days) and did more to establish the character visually than anyone. So let's compare Bolland to Scott.
Scott gives Cass a great big head, a wiry body, huge belt pouches and an overall shiny patent leather (or PVC) costume. Bolland gives her a smallish head. I'm a little troubled by that one neck vein that seems to run right over
Cass's jawline and onto her cheek. For it to poke through the material
like that it must be thick. Cass on steroids? I hope not! The head size makes her seem taller than the Scott's Batgirl, and Bolland also draws her in a more subdued costume with textural differences between the body stocking and the mask, cape and gloves. Very similar to his Batman costume's cowl, cape and gloves and their almost satiny, TV-show appearance. Her mask has a zig zag stitch closure, unlike Scott's large shoelace stitching. Little Bat-symbol on her belt buckle, small pouches. Bolland's Bat-symbol is more angular yet less ostentatious than Scott's and rides higher on Cass's chest. The Scott version tends to wrap around and emphasize Cass's bosom. Not so here. Two distinct takes, resulting in what appear to be almost two different characters.
Well, I have to love it because it's Bolland drawing Cass. I'd be over the moon if this comic art legend ever produced another take. An action shot!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
I had to "Fight On, Cass" a little early!
So what I did was get on Comixology yesterday and buy the heck out of a BUNCH of Cassandra Cain Batgirl issues. I bought the first twelve because I wanted the first year (and because I couldn't buy #1 during the Save Cass campaign and needed to make it up to the nice people who came up with that idea), then #37 like a good little Cass fan and a smattering of other issues I simply enjoy for my own reasons. Of course, I own all of these issues in print form and many of them in trade collections, but the point is to show a little financial love for Cass so maybe-- just maybe-- DC will decide she's not so toxic after all. And it's better to do than just to complain.
Here's what part of my Batgirl digital library looks like:
I'd have posted the entire thing, but it's pretty long.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
January 26, 2013-- Another pro-Cassandra Cain campaign!
There are only two places that regularly talk about Cass these days and if you're reading this, then you've found one of them. The other is The Outhouse, which usually pokes satirical fun at both Cass and Stephanie Brown's fanbase in Sean O'Neal-Onion A/V Club-newsfeed-style posts by someone calling himself Jude Terror. Terror, as his nom de guerre implies, practices a type of slash-and-burn humor. Since I sometimes do the same thing and because I try to be laid back about these things and poke fun at myself as well, Terror's posts aren't anything I get upset about. At least he's writing about Cass.
Zechs, however, seems to be genuine. Either that, or he is weaving the silken web of deceit into a cloak of devilishly subtle satirical artistry (in which case I must kneel and kiss the ring of a true master). Here's Zech's new pro-Cass suggestion, which will probably prove about as successful as the Save Cass Campaign from last fall but is worth a shot because at this point anything is better than nothing.
Come January 26, 2013, Zechs asks all Cass fans everywhere to go to Comixology and buy Batgirl #37. Why that issue and not #1 again? Because it's Cass's birthday (I need to go back and read this again because I'm not sure if that's her biological birthday; I'm pretty sure in #36 she and Batman arbitrarily chose another day as a kiss off to bio-dad David Cain). It's also the final issue by Kelley Puckett and Damian Scott. Zechs also has a few other smart reasons contrasted with last August's Support Cass Day. If you're in, you should try to publicize this far and wide, on your blogs, your Tumblrs, various message boards. Reach out to other Cass fans and stir things up.
So, are we up for this? All twenty of us?
Zechs, however, seems to be genuine. Either that, or he is weaving the silken web of deceit into a cloak of devilishly subtle satirical artistry (in which case I must kneel and kiss the ring of a true master). Here's Zech's new pro-Cass suggestion, which will probably prove about as successful as the Save Cass Campaign from last fall but is worth a shot because at this point anything is better than nothing.
Come January 26, 2013, Zechs asks all Cass fans everywhere to go to Comixology and buy Batgirl #37. Why that issue and not #1 again? Because it's Cass's birthday (I need to go back and read this again because I'm not sure if that's her biological birthday; I'm pretty sure in #36 she and Batman arbitrarily chose another day as a kiss off to bio-dad David Cain). It's also the final issue by Kelley Puckett and Damian Scott. Zechs also has a few other smart reasons contrasted with last August's Support Cass Day. If you're in, you should try to publicize this far and wide, on your blogs, your Tumblrs, various message boards. Reach out to other Cass fans and stir things up.
So, are we up for this? All twenty of us?
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