tinaanderson's reviews
267 reviews

I just finished this...and I avoided buying it for months because, everyone just kept bashing it, I'm glad I bought it. It was more plot intensive than some recent books I've read, but it was also dark. I beleive one reader I encountered said of this series, it was...a grumpy mini.

This is not a lighthearted book, it's a downer. While J'onn is loaded with angst in this one, the plot devices are a bit too convenient to appreciate [sexy enemy Green Martian?]; the Justice League members being so unyielding and quick to judge? The Wonder Woman line really got me...this was the same woman who killed a man because he said he'd never change his ways?? She's now suddenly judging J'onn for taking out a special ops who tried to kill him? Hmmm someone needs to bone up on recent character trends. J'onn's personal life comes through here and it's very well written--[I can't help but think...man, they should set a J'onn J'onzz story on Mars]. The only thing I enjoyed about the book? The White Martians, so much to work with there--I'm glad to see that there's an actual White Martian now on the Teen Titans.

Not always a big fan of 'retcon' mini series’; but I can appreciate them. You have Bats and Supes meeting Diana for the first time. It's cool stuff if you're a fan of DCU’s big three; my only beef is, of course, the ‘foe’ choices. The device in the story in regard to the villains seems to be: let’s bring in three 'memorable' characters from each of the trio's past stories. Why Artemis was chosen, I have no clue. Why she was made an angry teen...NO CLUE. I'm still scratching my head as to why Ra's al Ghul needed Bizarro? If you're a die-hard DCU reader--you can probably skip this book; but if you love the big-three, it's a must have.

What shines about this book is the mythology that the artwork and the books design have brought to DC. Many of the grand and heroic themes we're inundated with today, on the animated series' for Justice League, are served up here by the clever artwork made for this book by Wagner. The covers, the sketches, the poses…it’s what DC Comics superheroes are all about. In summary, it's a handsome series design, and a nostalgic take on 'how Wonder Woman' met Batman and Superman. ^_^.

Though the cover is complete crap, the book itself is not that bad. Is it on par with 'Paradise Lost'? No. The first story is rather silly--but its great stuff if you're a Wonder Woman fan...Circe appears again, with a male Cheetah. The concept of a male Cheetah is pretty hot [hat tip to Jimenez, and even though I tire of seeing Circe as a villain in WW comics--she really is the only one who could possibly get away with making a 'male Cheetah'!

The main bulk of the book is the 'Her Mother's Daughter' storyline; about Earth being dragged into a dimensional war with an alien race. ***SPOILERS***

Quite frankly, I was happy to see Hippolyte go. As a queen without a country, she came off as a bitter woman with little to do except 'be bitter'. Donning the suit and helping with the final battle, was a very noble way to take her out--despite the very uncool way she gave up her crown. I love the way the Amazons under Phillipus and Artemis were so battle ready and prepped for the fight--and of course, the whole connection between Diana and Darkseid [I only wish it played out without the inclusion of the Teen Titans].

We're then treated to another Circe story, which I hated. It was the typical tripe that makes me hate Circe stories--the only good point about the story was watching how the Amazons dealt with their island being destroyed again--after the last story 'Her Mother's Daughter', and seeing all the Earth female heroes and villains team up, to take out the male/animals and Circe. Not only that, we get to see male Cheetah again, and Superman cry like a toddler.

The last story is Paradise Found--and it's quite cool in a weird 'all is fixed' Hollywood sort of way. Themyscira is in the Bermuda Triangle, Phillipus and Artemis are in control of the two main city-states, the ghost of Hippolyte is happy, and Wonder Woman might have another shot at getting into Trevor Barnes pants. All is well in the world.

I have the one with the gorgeous cover--not the one pictured here. (^_^) This is marvelous book, and I don't throw that word around too much. It opens with the 'Gods of Gotham' mini that has Gotham villain Maxi Zeus [a guy who thinks he's Zeus] making a deal with an old Titan war-god, creating a cult, and turning some key Gotham villains into Greek gods. Artemis and Wonder Woman arrive to help Bats, Huntress, Donna Troy, and Nightwing try and stop him...then Robin and Wonder Girl show up--it was cool to see Wonder Woman and Bats working together [though it was cooler seeing Huntress and Artemis working together!] 'Gods of Gotham' was too short for it's own trade, so I'm glad to see it collected here. Next is the Devin Grayson plot [scripted and fleshed out by Jimenez] called 'Who is Troia'. I was able to stomach the Donna Troi-lovefest because of the cool way Jimenez brought out the personalities of unknown and lesser known Themysciran and Bana Amazons. It was nice to see just how different they were [Themysciran Amazons being the Athenian types and Bana Amazons being the Spartan types]. It's a clever set-up to the main 'Paradise Island, Lost?' story, that enfolds later. Also established in this story is the lesbian relationship between Iphthime [a Themysciran Amazon] and Anaya [a Bana Amazon], which eventually serves as a angst-ridden subplot for the 'Paradise Lost' storyline.

In the main story of 'Paradise Island, Lost?' we see Hippolyte as Wonder Woman with the JSA [not the typical JLA, which is where Diana is Wonder Woman]. She's not on Themyscira, she's too busy fighting alongside the JSA, and liking it. Meanwhile, in her absence, Phillipus has ruled in her place--and has allowed the Bana Amazons to cultivate their culture and build a city state on the other side of the island. This isn't sitting well with the Themysciran Amazons...they don't like how Bana utilize the man's world technology and make it better--the Bana are not so reliant on divine-tech and religion--they're militaristic and practical, and growing more powerful each day. While building their capital city, they're constantly being sabotaged--equipment is being blown up--Bana are getting hurt. On the other side of the island, Themysciran temples and monuments are being defaced, and blown up--each side thinks the other is out to get them.

It comes to a head when Artemis [the Bana's chief political leader] and the 'Shimtar' [the Bana version of a top general or a 'Wonder Woman' but without the Godlike powers] organizes a meeting in the Bana city assembly [think, congressional hall]-- Wonder Woman and Donna attend, along with Ipthime - but Hippolyte shows up and starts throwing her weight around. Artemis reminds her that Bana business is not her business, because she's not 'their queen'. Hippolyte counters with - 'if you're on my island, I'm your queen.' and this sets off a seriously hostile precedent.

It allows the real villain here, a woman named Ariadne [the woman who killed Bana's queen Antiope--centuries ago] to manipulate Themysciran extremists and spark a civil war. What's sad is the anticlimactic ending--Fury violently killing Ariadne--it's an action that puts off all involved, especially Hippolyte; who in response abolishes the monarchy [removing her and Diana from royal status.]

The final story is a cool read, though I'm not a fan of nostalgic 'Diana is very human' style of stories. (=_=); It’s got Lois Lane following Diana around for a 'behind the scenes' look at a day in the life of Wonder Woman. She watches her appear before a government assembly; she attends a women and children's shelter with her; she watches her meet with President Lex Luthor; Diana attends her television interview on 'Coffee and Lipstick' [wow Jimenez and Joe Kelly should get props for inventing 'The View']; she sees her volunteering a diabetes research center [cornball moment!], and best of all, Lois watches Wonder Woman hit on a guy named Trevor Barnes, and get turned down. Overall, it's better than anything Heinberg came up with on his recent run of 'Who is'...

This collection contains Wonder Woman issues #94-100--right before Byrne happened. (>.>) Sorry, if you're a fan of Byrne, I apologize--but I am not. So, why 3 stars?

Overall, it's an "ok" read. I was never keen on the whole Boston Mafia thing, or Wonder Woman's new outfit and job, but I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction between Artemis and Diana; I loved how Artemis realized that donning the suit also means you need to have a inkling of compassion, because dealing with humanity isn't always black and white--it's a constant walk through gray areas.

I liked seeing Joker show up to start trouble [though I feel WML as a writer, just don’t do Joker justice]. Also, the White Magician was just too shallow of a villain here--his build up was minimal and his power at the end just seemed to unreal--even for a superhero story. The end was sad, knowing full well that Artemis was honorable all along, and Diana--feeling dishonored because of Artemis's sacrifice.

The writing being uneven with high and low points, didn't help the book overall because of the exploitive artwork. How can anyone take Diana seriously in a mini-bustier, and Artemis doesn't need a thong to be strong. Sometimes you can stomach the art if the story has some depth, but not even the script kept me from getting annoyed at the cheesecake.

This book has an unofficial sequel of 6 individual issues never collected in paperback from by DC - it's called 'Artemis: Requiem'. Again cool stories, if you can take the oversexed artwork.

The weakest of the trio of Stand Alone Complex novels. Shaky narrative and a weak plot. Compared to Volume 1 and Volume 3, it's hard to believe this is the same author. :/

This is a must have for Bat-Family fans. Includes Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, as well as Bruce Wayne's son, Damien.

This is a good one...based on the TV series Ghost in The Shell, Stand Alone Complex, this one is about a faction of terrorists that implant a real-life tragic event into a manufactured sexual memory, in order to provoke angry violent thoughts in the cyber-brains of teenagers; these thoughts force them to commit suicidal terrorists acts. Section 9 needs to figure out who's behind it all, before they strike their next target: an Islamic diplomat.

This is a light novel, so it isn't high lit--it's something written for older teens; but it's well done!

Based on the TV show; I always wondered what happened to Tokyo after seeing its sunken remains on the show-- this book takes us into future Japan's refugee zones, and it doesn't pull any punches in depicting Japan's racism [present day presented here as the past] toward other Asians. The book starts out simple enough - a case that involves vampire-like murders, where the victims are bitten, and through their skin are injected with tiny viral nanites [not the word I'm sure]that wipe their memories clean, and turn any form of comforting thoughts into hatred that must be acted on with violence. As always, the victims lives lead to the real culprit-- which takes Kusanagi into the heart of dystopic Tokyo. Great fighting scenes in this book, strong plot, and a tragic ending.

I definitely recommend books 1 and 2 of this series.

Due in stores November 1, Manly is a hardcover full color gay-comic collection from German publisher Bruno Gmunder Verlag--written by Dale Lazarov, illustrated by Amy Colburn--with colors by Dominic Cordoba. Manly isn't just another hardcover color 'gay sex book'; it's a book about 'romantic sex' between men.

As always, Lazarov works without words - allowing the panels to speak for themselves. This is tricky to do if you don't have the right artist and lucky for Lazarov, he has Amy Colburn. Thanks to Colburn's expressive art, you feel the intimacy between these men and as you read each story you'll realize, as I did, this isn't about one-time encounters between older men and their younger lovers; what ties these beautifully illustrated stories together isn't casual sex-it's the erotic-closeness. I got the strong impression, after reading Manly, that these vignettes aren't depicting one-time dates; each story was more about 'the first time we did it'. Ever ask a couple how they hooked up? Often, you'll get an exciting and somewhat romanticized on-the-spot retelling of what basically is a first sexual encounter. I suspected each of these older men are still with their young lovers--in a relationship somewhere in Lazarovland, and Manly is just Lazarov's way of telling us 'how they met'.