Broken Frontier

Hello, everyone! Welcome to Guiding Lines! My name is William Gatevackes. Let’s take a look at the comics arriving in stores tomorrow, July 12, 2006.

52 #11 hits stores this Wednesday and features the first cover appearance of the new Batwoman. The character has been getting a lot of press for DC because, in case you haven’t heard, she is a lesbian.

Yes, DC’s been getting a lot of publicity, but not a lot of it negative. This is quite a change from 50 years ago when just the appearance of homosexuality in comics almost caused the death of the medium.

The 1950’s were a dark period in the history of comics. The super-heroes that were popular enough to launch them were waning in popularity. They were replaced by Westerns, crime, romance, war and horror. Only Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and a few other costumed heroes survived this period.

The genres that replaced the super-hero were popular, but also very violent. EC comics were known for their gore and crime comics which sometimes featured their criminals getting away scot free. All of this got the attention of psychologist Dr. Frederic Wertham.

In his 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent, Wertham made the case for a link between comics and juvenile delinquency. While most of his focus was on the horror and crime books, the remaining super-heroes did not escape unscathed.

Wertham also pointed out what he thought were damaging sexual themes in the book. He made an issue of the frequent use of bondage in the Wonder Woman books (which, to be honest, there were plenty examples of). But Wertham also called in the sexual orientation of the characters, believing Wonder Woman showed a lesbian lifestyle and that Batman and Robin exhibited signs of a homosexual relationship.

Even though over half a century has passed, I still think it’s a positive sign that we have grown so much as a country that DC can make a member of one of their biggest franchises gay without causing a furor. Especially when back then just the possibility of a homosexual relationship was a call for concern.

Of course, it should be said that there is no furor so far. And while we have become more accepting of those who are outside the “norm”, there are still people in the world who don’t approve of this lifestyle. The pessimist in me thinks that this might be the calm before the storm, but the optimist in me says this is a sign of the maturing in the way the medium is viewed and a maturing of the world in general. And the optimist is winning out this time.

Civil War: X-Men #1 is the start of a mini-series which serves four purposes. First, it allows the X-Men to participate in the Civil War crossover without interrupting the burgeoning storyline in Astonishing X-Men or interfering with the creator shake-up in Uncanny and 'adjectiveless' X-Men. Second, it is a sequel to the mini-series X-Men: The 198. Third, it, along with X-Men: The 198, acts as a bridge between the House of M and Civil War crossovers. And finally, it continues to follow the characters and stories that were started by writer David Hine in District X.

And you thought it was just a throwaway, tie-in miniseries! I like the way Marvel has subtly allowed David Hine to have what amounts to a 28-issue series (if you add District X, Mutopia X, X-Men: The 198, and Civil War: X-Men together) set in the X-Universe. Hopefully, we’ll see even more if Hine has another series set after this one featuring the same characters.

Gumby #1 marks the triumphant return of the character to comic book pages, this time in an ongoing series from Wildcard Productions. The title is written by Bob Burden, the creator of Flaming Carrot. Burden also wrote the excellent 1987 Gumby’s Summer Fun Special, which holds a place in my heart as one of my favorite comic books ever.

Burden is joined on art by the legendary cartoonist/illustrator Rick Geary. Geary’s work has been seen in National Lampoon, MAD, and Rolling Stone magazines. Most recently, he is known for the “Tales of Victorian Murder” book series from NBM.

If past work is any indication, this series should feature absurdist humor at its finest, beautifully drawn by a master of the game. Whether you are a fan of Gumby or have never heard of him in your life, you might want to pick this series up.

Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters #1 begins yet another mini-series spawned from Infinite Crisis, this time via the Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Bludhaven series. But what sets this series apart from the legion of other spin-offs is the creative team involved.

The series is written by the team of Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, the team also responsible for the aforementioned The Battle for Bludhaven. I’m sure that I am sounding like a broken record, and I don’t mean for this column to become a Palmiotti and Gray fan club newsletter, but I truly like the work this team has done.

Be it Jonah Hex or Monolith, Daughters of the Dragon or Hawkman, I have yet to be disappointed by their writing. Even their work of lesser quality is better than half the other writing out there. I am truly impressed by their talent and if my saying so in this column helps to get them more exposure, I will be happy.

They are joined on art by Daniel Acuña, billed by DC as a “rising superstar”—a billing I believe to be true. Acuña’s artwork has been featured primarily on covers in the past, but it still shows a unique style and dynamic presentation that many superstar artists wish they had.

Combined, this team made this series a must for my pull list. If it’s not on yours, perhaps you can pick up the first issue and give them a try.

Finally, from Imperium Comics comes Pierce #1. This is a series that has a solicitation blurb in Diamond Previews so unique that I just have to reprint it here, verbatim:

“Everyone wants the man called Pierce: the cops, the mob, mysterious men in black, even an ancient order of monks. All for various reasons, but most for the same result—they want him dead. And someone succeeds. Now, armed with mysterious powers he doesn’t understand, Pierce sets out to avenge his own murder.”

See? Isn’t there a lot of stuff going on there? This seems to be a comic that combines the crime, supernatural, martial arts, mystery and superhero genres. This book is the only one in today’s column that my local comic shop is not holding for me, and this solicitation alone is almost enough to make me visit a store tomorrow to pick one up.

That is, if it actually comes out tomorrow. This issue was originally solicited in June’s Previews catalogue and was also on Diamond’s advance list of comics coming out last week. As a matter of fact, I almost covered the title in last week’s column.

I’m not trying to pick on Imperium Comics at all, because this is a problem with most independent comics today. Screwtooth #1, which I profiled last week, has shown up on the Diamond advance list again for this week, meaning it should be coming out tomorrow.

I am not criticizing all independent books either. What I am trying to say is that I am trying to promote all kinds of interesting books in this column, independents as well as Marvel and DC. Forces beyond their control might cause these indies to become delayed, but that shouldn’t stop you from picking them up. If you see any book in this column that piques your interest but isn’t at the comic shop the next day, don’t just walk out the door. Simply ask the retailer to set the book aside for you.

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William Gatevackes is a writer living in Mamaroneck, NY. Fortunately, unlike Pierce, nobody wants him dead. Well, except maybe wife Jennifer, sometimes, when he really gets on her nerves. But he is still alive, so he’s got that going for him, which is nice. Next to Guiding Lines, he also writes the periodic comic review at PopMatters.