Tag Archives: dc comics

May 22, 2015

Mystery Comic 4: Wonder Woman 178

By Jasomania

Comic (4)

Wonder Woman 178 is a good example of how confusing a comic can be if you try to just pick up a random issue. It’s hard to say what exactly is happening in this issue because I have no context for what is going on.

It starts off with a teenage girl and her friend reading through fan mail. We are told this is Cassie Sandsmark and she is the new Wonder Girl. We don’t really get much other information about her other than that. When going through her fan mail she finds a letter from her father which she is upset/surprised about? It looks like she hasn’t talked to her father in a long time but we really get no information about it. That’s pretty much the entire story involving Cassie.

New Skitch 3

So sandwiched between this story is a Wonder Woman story. And it revolves around Wonder Woman going on a date with a guy named Trevor Barnes, who is not Steve Trevor. So their date is them going to dinner and they have a snowball fight afterward. Trevor comes back to Wonder Woman’s place where some sort of dimensional warp or something has opened and some guy named Garth appears. He tells Wonder Woman that he needs her help to recover Aquaman’s trident which has been stolen. She agrees and tells Trevor they will finish their date when she gets back and the comic ends with a hydra coming through the dimensional portal and attacking Trevor.

There is also a backup story in this comic too called “Troia in Post Cards from the Edge”. It stars Donna Troy who is Wonder Woman’s sister and Wonder Girl (or generally is, who knows with this Cassie situation). The backup is only a couple pages and its Donna visiting Themyscira and taking pictures. She going to the training area where they convince her to suit up and spare with them, and when she does suddenly Fury is there and beating the shit out of her friend Rhea.

So the Cassie story is pretty confusing, I guess something recently happened that made her Wonder Girl and they have some plans for that but they don’t give you a lot to go off of. We also don’t know why she’s Wonder Girl and not Donna Troy.

The Wonder Woman story isn’t really very interesting either. I don’t know who that guy is she’s dating or really care that she’s going on a date. The only interesting thing to happen is this new quest she gets to find Aquaman’s trident but that is at the end and left as a cliff hanger.

New Skitch 2

The backup was all right but again really just raises a lot of question and not much happens.

I think this is one of those strange in between arc issues where they are sort of wrapping up a previous arc and sort of going into a new arc. It’s like those episodes of Dragon Ball Z where they just flex a lot and get ready for a fight and absolutely nothing is moved forward story wise. When done well this can be an opportunity for a comic series to have a good one off story in between major story arcs. However in this case it’s just an issue where nothing really happens. The art is also very so-so. The cover is done by Adam Hughes and is gorgeous, but the interiors are done by Roy Allan Martinez and very bland. It’s not the worst art and at times looks good but has this weird style that when it’s of close ups of peoples face makes them look like aliens.

New Skitch 1

It reminds me a little of Tim Sale’s art which I have the same on the fence feeling for where I can’t decide if I don’t like it because of how stylized it is. The story is pretty lame. I’m sure it makes more sense in context with a few issues around it but as a stand-alone comic it doesn’t really work. The rule is that any comic is some one’s first issue and it should give the reader enough to follow along with no context. This book could have done that with a little more explanation and with how little actually occurs in the issue its confusing why it didn’t.

Lastly, here are the two best ads from the comic, one for Rollerball and one for Disney channel.

Wonder Woman 178 Image 3

Wonder Woman 178 Image 5

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May 15, 2015

DC Comics Bombshell Variants Return!

By Jasomania

DC Comics Bombshells Issue 1

If you are a fan of DC Comics Bombshell Variants from last June (June 2014) then strap in, because you are in for a treat.  First up will begin releasing a new Digital first series centered around the Bombshell characters.  It will be written by Marguerite Bennett and have art by Marguerite Sauvage.  The series “Introduces retro-bombshell versions of Batwoman, Wonder Woman and Supergirl in an alternate reality where super-powered female heroes are on the front lines in WWII (DC Comics).”  The series will begin releasing digitally first in July with the first print version released August 12th.

Ame-Comi Girls

I assume the series will be like most of their other digital first series where digital versions will be released weekly for 99 cents and print versions will collect every three to four digital issues and release for 2.99 to 3.99.  This isn’t the first time DC has released a comic series based on one of their lines of figures.  Back in 2012 they had a Digital first series based of the Ame-Comi statues that was actually pretty good (check it out here on Comixology).

There will also be new Bombshell statues!  DC released pictures of the first two featuring Killer Frost and Cheetah.

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It is no secret that the of the DC Comics Variant Cover theme months the most popular by far has been the Bombshell themes.  Since their release DC has put their Bombshell characters on statues, glass wear, t-shirts, lip balm, you name it.  So it’s pretty exiting then that DC have just announce that they will be releasing another set of 21 Bombshell variant covers this August!  Not only did they just announce they are coming out but they also released them all on their website! So check them out and start saving your money now!

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May 11, 2015

Catwoman 75th Anniversary

By Jasomania

Catwoman - Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale (2004)

This year marks the 75th Anniversary of Catwoman.  She made her first appearance in Batman issue 1 which came out in April 24th, 1940.  In her 75 year history a lot has happened to Catwoman and there have been a lot of interpretations of the character.  She’s had three on going comic book series, been in TV (animated and live action), and in two different movies!  So in honor of her 75th birthday (I saw she doesn’t look a day past 60!) we are going to go over 9 facts about her you may not know.

1) Catwoman has been Portrayed in Film by TWO Academy Award Winning Actresses

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Not only have both Halle Berry (Catwoman 2004) and Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises 2012) have both portrayed Catwoman and won Academy Awards but Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns 1992) has been nominated for Academy Award as well.  Julie Newmar (Batman TV 1966) has won a Toni award for best actress in a musical and Eartha Kitt (Batman TV 1966) has won a Daytime Emmy for Best Actresses.  Lee Meriwether (Batman TV 1966) has been nominated for two Golden Globes and one Emmy.  So far the only Catwoman actress not to win or be nominated for a major award has been Gotham’s Camren Bicondova, but seeing as she is only 15 I don’t think it will be long before she joins this list as well.

2) Catwoman was Ranked on IGN’s top Heroes AND Villains List

Catwoman Jail

Is Catwoman a hero or a villain?  During IGN.com’s 2009 rundown of the greatest heroes and villains Catwoman ranked 20th on the list of greatest heroes and 11th on the list of greatest villains.  So it seems our femme fatale is a little bit of both, as Selina Kyle says in The Dark Knight Rises, she’s adaptable.

3) Catwoman has been a Member of the Justice League

Justice League of America Vol 3 1

In 2011 the reboot of DC Comics entire line of comic books was centered around the Justice League comic book which started at the origin of the team.  After some misadventures Amanda Waller of the shady government agency A.R.G.U.S. decided America needed their own Justice League in case something were to happen and the original Justice League went rogue.  This lead to the creation of the Justice League of America whose members included: Steve Trevor, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Hawkman, the new Green Lantern Simon Baz, Stargirl, Katana, Vibe, and Catwoman.  Each member was meant to counter a specific member of the original Justice League with Catwoman on the team as direct counter to Batman.

4) She was Once a Flight Attendant

Batman 62

Comic books be crazy yall.  I was unaware of this but going through the DC Wiki there was an origin story of Catwoman in which she used to be a flight attendant but during a crash got amnesia which lead her to her life as a criminal.  You can’t make this shit up.  I’ll let the DC Wiki tell the story since it is not available digitally and I wasn’t able to read the issue first hand.

“When Catwoman leaves her hideout, she finds Batman and Robin waiting for her. They try to give chase, but she throws a box at them with angry cat inside it. Batman runs towards falling debris, and Catwoman realizes he will be killed. Instead of escaping, she leaps to save Batman’s life and gets hit in the head by a brick.

They wake her up in the Batcave, where she feverishly screams about airline rules. It’s revealed that Selina Kyle was a stewardess, who fell out of a crashing plane and got amnesia. Kyle is horrified to hear that she’s become a criminal in her amnesiac state. Batman asks about her obsession with cats, and she explains that her father used to own a pet store. He taught her all about cats, and she subconsciously remembered that through her amnesia.”

5) On Earth-2 She is Married to Batman and They Have a Child

Huntress TPB

Yes its true! Gotham’s favorite on again off again couple had a love child!  Well, technically this takes place in an alternative reality, I tried to avoid dipping into the Elseworlds stories of Catwoman but I can’t avoid this one.  The character of the Huntress has grown in popularity and had her own mini-series and ongoing series in the new 52.  She has appeared as the main star of the short lived Birds of Prey TV Series along with a few guest appearances in the CW’s hit Arrow.

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There are two versions of this character, the first is Helena Bertinelli, the daughter of a crime boss that shows up in the main continuity stories of DC Comics.  Bertinelli is the version they used for the TV Series Arrow.  The other version is Helena Wayne, the daughter of Catwoman and Batman.  Helena is the version that is used for the TV Series Birds of Prey. Helena is also the version of Huntress that was used in the recent on going comic series Worlds’ Finest which was centered around her and Powergirl (Earth-2’s version of Supergirl).

Worlds' Finest Issue 1

6) Catwoman Has her Heart Removed by Hush

Heart of Hush

The popular villain Hush returned during “Heart of Hush” story arc that took place during the larger Batman RIP story.  In this story Hush performs plastic surgery on himself in order to make him self look identical to Bruce Wayne.  His plan is to kill the actual Bruce Wayne and live the rest of his days off of the Wayne fortune.  During a scuffle with Catwoman she tears his bandages to reveal his new face and give away his plan.  He manages to subdue Catwoman and removes her heart.

Heart of Hush 1

Batman tracks down Hush who uses a paralyzing gas and reveals his big plan.  Batman is able to over come the gas and eventually over take Hush.

Heart of Hush 2

Batman gets Catwoman’s heart back to Doctor Mid-nite and he is able to return her heart back into her body.  He warns her however that she may not ever return to her former level of physical prowess again.  However in true Catwoman fashion Selina enlists an all-star team of friends (Oracle, Holly Robinson, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Slam Bradley) to find and drain all of Hush’s bank accounts leaving him penniless.

7) Catwoman is Currently the Head of a Mafia Family

Batman Eternal 37

During the year long Batman Eternal comic event it was revealed that Catwoman is the daughter of mafia boss Rex Calabrese.  Rex is a new character who was the cell mate of James Gordon who was in jail while being tried for murder.  Rex had been in prison for a some period of time and used to be known as “The Lion” due to the scars on his face and his sharpened teeth.  Catwoman breaks into Blackgate to speak with Rex where he tells her to seize power and unite the crime families of Gotham under her leadership.

Selina’s crime boss story picks up in the on going Catwoman series starting with issue 35.

Catwoman 35

8) Catwoman has a Side-kick Catgirl

Catwoman & Catgirl

In Batman issue 695 Catwoman steals the contents of a safe belonging to the Falcone crime family.  When she returns home she finds Kitrina, a teenaged escape artist and Carmine Falcone’s long lost daughter, breaking into her apartment.

Selina leaves Kitrina bound in a locked room and calls Batman to her house in order to turn her over to the police, but discovers that Kitrina had managed to free herself.  This impresses Selina, who had tied up Kitrina using an “inescapable” knot that Bruce had shown her years earlier.  Following a massive battle with Black Mask and his henchmen, Selina agrees to take on Kitrina as her new sidekick, Catgirl.

Catgirl

During the legendary story by Frank Miller, the Dark Knight Returns, Carrie Kelly took up the mantle of Robin.  Well in its sequel the Dark Knight Strikes Again Carrie Kelly has ditched her role as Robin and continued her work under the title of Catgirl.  In the Miller-verse Selina Kyle exists and is the Madam at a brothel, having long retired as her role as Catwoman.

9) Catwoman has a Sister Named Maggie

Maggie Kyle

Selina Kyle’s parents both died pretty grisly deaths (her mother committed suicide and father died of alcohol poisoning) while Selina and her sister Maggie were young.  Maggie went to an orphanage and was quickly adopted while Selina grew up on the streets.  The two lead pretty different lives and while Selina entered the criminal world her sister Maggie became a nun.  Selina’s criminal activities have had a big impact on Maggie in that she was at one point kidnapped and beaten by Black Mask.  Things get worse for Maggie Black Mask then forces Maggie to eat her own husbands eyes.

Maggie Eyes

Selina does get revenge however and kills Black Mask, shooting him in the head.  Maggie however goes insane and is committed to a mental institution.  She later escapes and takes on the villainous persona of Sister Zero after killing a nun and using her nun-tools as weapons.  Sister Zero then hunts down Selina and attempts to kill her believing that her soul has been taken over by a Cat Demon.

Sister Zero

That’s it folks!  I hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something new about every ones favorite feline femme fatale!

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May 8, 2015

DC July Variant Covers: Teen Titans Go!

By Jasomania

Teen Titans Go!

DC continues their theme variant covers in July (2015) with Teen Titans Go!  There will be 23 total spanning across various books.  This is going to take place once the Convergence Event is over so there are a lot of new titles joining the fold this time.

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May 3, 2015

Top 6 Killer Catwoman Moments

By Jasomania

In honor of Catwoman’s 75th Anniversary (who’s first appearance was on April 24th, 1940) DC All Access has released the following video with some her best moments.

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April 27, 2015

Mystery Comic 1: Detective Comics: Batman – 734

By Jasomania

Comic (1)

This is a great comic to start with because it’s a batshit (pun intended) crazy. First of all its part 20 of the of 88 “No Man’s Land” crossover event that took place during the entire year of 1999. Let’s take a minute to let that marinate. There was a crossover Batman event in 1999 that took place across 13 titles and various one shot comics. So if you were trying to follow along in this series back in 1999 you would have had to buy 88 issues costing roughly $175 dollars. Even though that’s over an entire year that’s a hell of a lot of comics if you want to get the entire series. It also means is confusing as shit if you were to be a new reader trying to get into a certain comic.

Comic 1 - 6

It’s intimidating enough when you see a number like 734 next to a book. If you are new to comics you are going to ask yourself, “Do I need to read 733 issues to know what’s going on?” Not only that but this is part two of a two part story, “No problem!” you exclaim, “I’ll just buy Detective Comics 733 and all will be well.” So you go to Detective comics 733 but when you do its list as “Crisis of Faith” not “Mark of Cain”. No “Mark of Cain” part 1 is in Batman Comics issue 567. And not only is Detective Comics 733 not the first part of the story you were looking for but it also is part 16 of No Man’s Land not part 19. So within one month you have lost three parts of the No Man’s Land arc.

This is a perfect example of why it’s so hard to break into comics if you are an outside reader. Of course with the internet its easier now to find out what is happening with comics month to month but it’s still pretty damn difficult. If comic book companies are scratching their head to why people don’t buy comics this serves as a huge example. First it’s a huge crossover that involves close to 100 books, second they are spread out randomly across 13 titles, and third within a year afterward none of the events of No Man’s Land even mattered. I get the need to keep the status quo when it comes to a character like Batman. You can’t really kill or injure characters and so that happens the impact that stories are going to have. But to have an event like this that last an entire year and involve so man titles have all most no lasting impact in the Batman or DC universe, its little wonder how this kind of thing can lose more readers than it gains. It’s another example of the comic industry desperate for sales squeezing as much money from their base as possible rather than do something that might gain new readers.

Ok enough rant back to the comic itself.

So needless to say it’s a little confusing coming straight into this book. You get a one sentence blurb kind of describing what No Man’s Land is and then it jumps right in. Cain is trying to kill Commissioner Gordon and his daughter tackles him out a window to stop him. Batman saves the both of them holding on to Cain with a rope and Cain holding on to his daughter by the hands. He drops her and it picks up with Cassandra (his daughter) in a graveyard (hanging out not cause she’s dead) not exactly explaining how she survived the fall.

Batman then talks to Cassandra for a while (no explanation why or how he got there) and finds out that Cassandra can’t speak any language, she only knows the language of violence.

Comic 1 - 1

Are you shitting me? The language of violence… I know enough about Batman to know that Cassandra Cain later will become Batgirl. I have also read enough Batgirl that they use this whole she can’t speak thing for a while in the comics. It leads to interesting stories but she understands language she just can’t speak it. I don’t know how this kind of thing works but it seems to me if you can understand English perfectly you should be able to speak it to some extent. It lead to some interesting stories but they winded up dropping the whole thing by a very random contrived method. They had some random meta-human who we have never met and never see again. He has the ability to fix peoples brains and he happens to run into Cassandra, fix her brain, and leave. So from then on Cassandra can speak and write. It was a total cop out and you can tell it was only done because the writers were tired of skipping around how she couldn’t speak and picked an easy out. So knowing what I know about the character this whole section about Batman’s shock at her only knowing the language of violence is pretty lame.

Back to the story, Batman finds Cain and fights him while Cassandra dons a black mask and attacks/steals money from Two Face. It cuts back to the Batman/Cain fight and right before they land a devastating blow on each other Cassandra breaks up the fight distracting them by throwing the money she stole from Two Face at them. Then it cuts to Batman introducing Cassandra Cain to Barbra Gordon (Original Batgirl) who thanks her for saving her father and tells her she was once Batgirl. It ends with Batman saying to Oracle “Oracle. Call them”, with no explanation of what that means.

Comic 1 - 7

Over all it’s not a bad comic just really hard to follow completely out of context. I luckily had some history about No Man’s Land and Cassandra Cain but which helped a lot. Had you just picked this up without any context it would probably be a lot of non-sense. Overall I give it a 6 out of 10.

Here are a couple of my favorite vintage ads from it.

Comic 1 - 3

Comic 1 - 4

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April 25, 2015

Dark Knight Part 3 Announced!

By Jasomania

Dark Knight 3

Yesterday (4/24/15) at C2E2 it was announced that Legendary Comic Book writer Frank Miller will be returning to his Dark Knight series with one more book.  Joining Miller on writing duties will be Brian Azzarello who said, “For the past six months, I’ve been working with Frank Miller to bring the next chapter in the ‘Dark Knight’ to light.  It’s been humbling. I’ve learned a lot, and I call him sensei. It’s a really, really big project.”

We don’t know much else so far.  Miller won’t be drawing the comic and we don’t know who will.  There were rumors that there won’t be a single artist but it will instead be a rotation of several high profile artists.  The release date is set for this fall.

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April 23, 2015

Mystery Comics Project: The Arrival!

By Jasomania

I know that I only posted about this a couple of days ago but in reality it’s been close to two weeks for the comics to get here.  Now I know this is just me being spoiled from using amazon prime but seriously two weeks to ship something is ridiculous.  I love me some woot and have gotten some great deals from it in the past but don’t ever order anything from them you might need quickly.  So up top are scans of all the covers that I took last night.  I was actually pretty surprised by the quality of the comics that I got.  They were pretty diverse selection some going back to 1990 and some from as recent as 2012.  Also there was a lot more number 1 issues that I could have hoped for.  This will certainly make reading these a little easier and prevent me from being completely lost.

One minor gripe was that included in these comics was the following issue of Batman.  It is was a free preview version of the graphic novel Batman: Earth One that was released last year to coincide with the release of The Dark Knight Rises.  It’s not really a comic book and it was a free give away so it’s a bit of a cop out from original description of the order I made.  I was pretty annoyed initially but the quality of the other comics is better than I expected so I’m going to let it slide.  However as far as this project goes I am going to switch it out with another book.  I had picked up a bunch of random comics while I was at the local comic book convention and am going to a random issue of Detective Comics from 1999 (Detective Comics 734) instead.  Since I was promised a Batman comic if feels like a solid replacement.

Batman Earth One: Special Preview Edition

 

So here is the complete list of the comics that I got.

  • Detective Comics: Batman – 734
    July 1999 – DC Comics
    $1.99
  • Fantastic Four – 383
    December 1993 – Marvel
    $1.25
  • War Heroes – 1 of 6
    July 2008 – Image
    $2.99
  • Wonder Woman – 178
    March 2002 – DC Comics
    $2.25
  • Catwoman – 1
    August 1993 – DC Comics
    $1.95
  • Hammer of God – 2 of 2
    1991 – First Publishing
    $4.95
  • Squalor – 4 of 4
    August 1990 – First Publishing
    $2.75
  • Blackest Night R.E.B.E.L.S. – 10
    January 2010 – DC Comics
    $3.99
  • Day of Vengeance – 1
    June 2005 – DC Comics
    $2.50
  • Wolverine – 27
    June 2005 – Marvel Comics
    $2.25
  • Secret Avengers – 1
    July 2010 – Marvel
    $3.99
  • House of M – 1 of 8
    August 2005 – Marvel
    $2.99
  • Exiles – 48
    August 2004 – Marvel
    $2.99
  • X-Men – 27
    June 2012 – Marvel
    $3.99
  • Ultimate Spider-man – 78
    August 2005 – Marvel
    $2.50
  • X-Patrol – 1
    April 1996 – Amalgam
    $1.95
  • Zorro – 6
    October 2005 – Papercut
    $2.95
  • Hercules: The Knives of Kush – 3 of 5
    October 2009 – Radical Comics
    $2.99
  • Bullets and Bracelets – 1
    April 1996 – Amalgam
    $1.95
  • Adventure Comics – 504
    October 2009 – DC Comics
    $3.99
  • Wrath – 1
    January 1994 – Malibu Comics
    $1.95
  • Wrath – 6
    June 1994 – Malibu Comics
    $1.95
  • Deadman – 6
    July 2002 – DC Comics
    $2.50
  • Negation – 9
    September 2002 – Crossgen Comics
    $2.95
  • Transformers: Generations – 1
    March 2006 – IDW
    $1.99

Along with these comics I also got 10 packs of random non-sports cards.  Five unopened packs of Pukeymon Cards and 5 unopened packs of Johnny Quest Cards.  I also got random assortment of opened Desert Storm cards as well.

They are pretty fantastic as well and don’t worry I’ll make a special blog post just about them.

The total retail cost of the comics would have been $68.50 and the retail cost of the cards would have been $19.90 bringing the total value of the package at $88.40 retail.  I paid 14.99 which is 17% of retail value.  The most valuable comic of the bunch is Catwoman 1 which goes for $5.00 today which is 2.56 times its original cost.

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April 21, 2015

Mystery Comic Book Project

By Jasomania

Woot Picture

Full disclosure this and a few posts related to this were actually written on another blog that I do that is dedicated to Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice.  “Well that’s a weird thing to post on a blog about Pride and Prejudice?”  It doesn’t!  Which is why I am moving these posts over here to Comic Books and Cats!  So basically what has started as an impulse purchase will now be a new project for the website.

Here is what was listed on the website of what my mystery comics will include:

Every bundle is guaranteed to include, among the 25, at least:

  • 1 Avengers book
  • 1 Batman book
  • 1 Fantastic Four book
  • 1 Spiderman book
  • 1 Wolverine book
  • And 1 X-Men book

You will receive vintage comics, and some that may have high value!

Includes Marvel, DC, Dark Horse comics and more

Also Includes a BONUS of 10 unopened packs of non-sport collector cards that just might include DC, Marvel and/or Star Wars.

If the picture is any indication it looks like all stuff from the 90’s during the big speculation boom. Those comics are generally worth very little since they printed so many in those days but they also happen to be the comics of my formative years. The plan will be to read all of them and write short reviews along with pictures and scans of what some of the “collector’s cards” are. I’ll make another post when it arrives that details what all I winded up getting. Hopefully they come in the next few days, I love woot but they are terrible when it comes to delivering things and it usually takes at least 2-3 weeks. Any ways stay tuned and I hope you are as excited as I am (which I doubt you are).

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April 13, 2015

Top 8 Cat Moments in Comic Books

By Jasomania

Number 8: Catwoman Vol. 3 Issue 1

Catwoman 1 - 6

I probably could have put together an entire list of just Cat moments in Catwoman (and still might) so I decided to just pick one.  I picked the first issue of Catwoman in Vol. 3 because it occurs in the first few pages of the book and sets the tone for the series.  In 2011 DC Comics rebooted every comic book they had with new artist and writers back to issue 1.

PhotoGrid_1428369365057

This was a big moment for comic books.  It served as an introduction to comic books to a whole new set of fans who have never read a comic book before.  Therefore it is important that the books made a good first impression right away.  This opening scene set the mood for the whole series and this did a great job.  It’s Catwoman working on the fly, her door is getting knocked down and she’s grabbing what she can to make an escape.  It’s a fun scene and is just a taste of the shenanigans to come.

Number 7: Batman Issue 406 (Batman Year One)

Batman 406 DC 1987

This is basically another Catwoman moment, but it could be seen as the first Catwoman moment!  There is a suspenseful moment in the Batman Year One story where Batman is pinned down by cops and a cat gives away his position.  They start shooting and Batman could have just left the cat behind but he scoops the cat up on his way out and gets it out of the building to safety.

PhotoGrid_1428371386823

It’s one of my favorite moments in the story, not just because Batman saves the cat from certain death but because it also establishes a good relationship between Catwoman and Batman.

Number 6: Supergirl Vol. 5 Issue 14

2015-04-06 21.31.13

So there is a bunch of Superpets.  If you are aware of any of them (which you probably aren’t) you probably are aware of Krypto the Superdog.  But there is clearly one pet that is the best and that is Supergirl’s pet cat Streaky, the Supercat.  I’ll have a future blog post devoted just to Streaky but I picked this issue because it is a different non-super version of Streaky.  In this version Streaky gets his name from completely non-super power related reasons…

Supergirl 14 - 1

Number 5: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 1

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 1

Every one needs a sidekick, from Batman and Robin to Tango and Cash, every one just works better in pairs.  So our number five selection is Sabrina the teenage witches’ side kick Salem.  I’m not super familiar with all things Sabrina so it’s nice they added a little info comic in the back up to explain things.

Sabrina 2

Salem serves as Sabrina’s voice of reason and occasional wit and humor.  Now lets hope they eventually release issue 2!

PhotoGrid_1428375105516

Number 4: Wonder Woman 600

Wonder Woman 600

As these types of anniversary issues tend to be Wonder Woman 600 is an anthology issue which includes several stories from various writers and artists who have had an important runs in Wonder Woman history.  Part of this included a story drawn by Amanda Conner in which Wonder Woman and Power Girl have a heart to heart over a cat.  It’s not specifically said that this cat is streaky… but… its Streaky.

Number 3: Wednesday Comics

Wednesday Comics 12

Wednesday Comics was a weekly anthology comic book that came out in 2009 and lasted for 12 issues.  It featured short 1 page stories featuring various takes on DC characters from different writers and artists.  Throughout it’s run Amanda Conner did a few Supergirl stories and most of them featured Streaky.  I tried to find as many as I could but this series isn’t digital yet so I found as many as I could.

Number 2: Saga Chapter 14

Saga 14

If you aren’t reading Saga right now go ahead and close this out and start reading it right meow.  It is not only the best comic that is coming out monthly right now but could very well be one of the greatest comics of all time.  That is pretty high praise so with that I will say that the following page from chapter 14 is my favorite moment of the entire series (so far).  Lying cat is a character that has been around from the beginning of the series.  He (she possibly?) is the side kick of an assassin named “The Will”.  This particular assassin has been given the bounty of taking out our main characters so he is a bad guy but has managed to win our hearts over.  Lets just hope he never does actually kill our main characters…

Lying Cat has the ability of being able to tell if any one is telling the truth.  If they are being honest Lying cat says nothing, but if a person is lying, Lying Cat will say “lying”.

The back story of this scene is that The Will went to a pleasure planet called Sextillion for some carnal pleasures.  When he asked for a woman of the night he was presented with this 6 year old slave girl.  The Will did not approve and killed this girls pimp and took her off planet to protect her.  This scene takes place after their escape.  It’s touching, its simple, its why this series continues to be amazing.

Saga - 1

Number 1: Sandman Issue 18

Sandman 18

The Sandman is arguably one of the greatest series of all time, read any best of comics list and you are sure to find Sandman firmly in the top 5.  This story is a one shot story that takes place in issue 18 titled “Dream of a Thousand Cats”.  This story is a sad one about a cat who lost her kittens due to some human cruelty.  I really don’t like that part, it almost spoils the entire story for me but the rest of the story is so unique and interesting that I still enjoy it.

Apparently a long time ago cats were the dominate speices on the planet and people were their subjects.  The humans band together and a group of a thousand dreamed the same dream and were able to change cats in to smaller subordinate animals.  Our main cat in this story seeks out Dream (the Sandman) who tells her if she can get a thousand cats to dream together they can change the world and turn things back.  Our main cat goes from place to place to tell her tale and gather enough cats to dream together.  However cats are independent and skeptical of her tale and dismiss it as myth.

Like I said before the cat violence part really turns me off of the story but there is a lot to like in this story.  Neil Gaimen does a great job of getting to the essence of what it is to be a cat.  Their intelligence, their independence, their inquisitive nature.  It’s a great story and really nothing like anything thing else I’ve read in the series.

Bonus Cats! Green Lantern 55

Green Lantern 55

Strap in kids because this one is going to hit you right in the feels.  The Red Lanterns symbolize the emotion of rage.  Initially at least they could not talk and could only scream and puke blood.  So of course they got their own series during the re-launch of the new 52…

Any who this was the knowledge I had of them so I was never terribly interested in reading them.  I was aware that there was a Cat that was part of their team named Dex-Starr but little else.  I did not know that this cat was given and origin story and that it was heartbreaking.

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