Mortlake on the Schuylkill

With Birds of Prey #96, Gail Simone delivers another nice issue. Oracle and crew provide a tribute to Ted Kord that was as moving as it was unexpected. And no one writes Black Alice like GS does.

I was especially pleased to see Black Canary honor and re-establish a relationship that had long been missing from her life:



I tried to like Supergirl #8, and I failed. It was just too much work. Poor pacing, an inept conclusion, inconsistent art, and lame exposition all conspired to leave a sour taste in my mouth.

I didn't actually check, but I'm fairly certain that there's no textual reason that can explain the damage to Power Girl's Kandor armor, which creates the familiar peep-hole over her chest. (Man, I'd actually like to read a comic in which Power Girl appears in business attire [or a track suit] for the whole time, I really would.) I know Supergirl blasted an opening into PG's armour several issues ago, but I am sure that PG acquired a new outfit in the interim.



It's been suggested to me that Marvel's crossover is best enjoyed from the sidelines, rather than head on. After reading New Avengers #22, Amazing Spider-Man #534, Civil War: Frontline #4, and Runaways/Young Avengers #1, I whole-heartedly agree.

In his own title, Peter Parker finally shows some welcome thoughtfullness (and respect for Captain America), two things which were missing in his appearance in CW #3.

And in New Avengers, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones mete out a prolonged (and welcome) verbal smackdown to Iron Man and Carol Danvers, making an eloquent case for resisting the registration act. (Jessica has the added advantage of being able to unload her verbal a-bombs while she's cradling her new-born infant.) Later, in conversation with Jessica, Luke utters the crossover's best lines, so far:

I ain't going to have my kid grow up to find out that after all we been through, her daddy buckled to the man. ... The people of this neighborhood know me. I want them to see what they do to me for standing up for what I believe is right.

So far, the She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, two heroines I bonded with during my first iteration of comic fandom, have been written onto the wrong side of this conflict. I was relieved to see that over in X-Factor, at least Siryn has got her head on straight. I look forward to learning how Spider-Woman declares her allegiances.

Birds of Prey was a high point this week; a pleasure to read from start to finish. However, I have to admit that after slogging through Supergirl, it was the two pages from The Amazing Spider-Girl appearing in Marvel Previews that actually restored my faith in humanity.

Here's the final page, in which Spider-Girl's startling change of physique and hair color are explained:



I laughed for about an hour when I set eyes on the muscle-bound and bunion-headed Spiderman depicted in the top panel.