With Saga on hiatus, I have began picking up other weekly titles in the search of a new obsession. I found three. Batman/Superman, The Movement, and the new X-men are all new releases without a lot of back story to wade through. So, if you're interested in starting something new, read on, and I'll try to break down these three great titles for you.
Before I get started, I have to warn you that I am not a big fan of the New 52, and as such, I haven't really been keeping up with any of the titles. So whether or not the story line of the new Batman/Superman book links back to the main story line of the 52 is a mystery to me. I hope not, but we'll see.
So, first off, I have to tell you that so far, the star of this book is the art. It is, no exaggeration, breathtakingly gorgeous. There were pages where I simply stopped and stared for awhile. This should come to no surprise to those who have seen Jae Lee's work before, but honestly, this goes above and beyond the already fantastic quality of his usual work. I feel like there is a huge influence here from J.H. Williams III, particularly in the area of page and panel layouts. The character design has been brought up to date too. Out of costume, both Bruce and Clark wear clothes that actually look like they were purchased at a store, in *gasp* 2013. Clark is every inch the tech savvy journalist, while Bruce's attire speaks to his need to blend into a crowd. Thankfully, neither wear dress clothes or suits. The colorist deserves a medal too.
So far as the story goes, well, there isn't much to go on yet. It begins with a possessed Catwoman burglaring in Metropolis, and out two heroes attempting to stop her. For what few lines Selina actually gets, they capture her personality perfectly. She's extremely charming and simultaneously frank. There is also a very nice meeting of the two while in their secret identities, which implies that they don't know each other yet (or at least know each other's secret identities). Like any good comic about two superheroes first meeting up, they inevitably get into a fight, which is very well done. There is a twist at the end, leading to the mystery I feel the series will actually be about. Very intriguing.
Probably my favorite of the three, The Movement strives to recreate the tumultuous political and cultural upheaval we ourselves are experiencing, in the DC universe. Deep in the slums of a corrupt city, the mysterious new hero Virtue decides to fight back, and forms The Movement, a rag-tag group of super-powered beings struggling just to survive. First and foremost, they are at war with a police force that has abandoned their duty and instead chosen to take advantage of the turmoil that surrounds them. They have also armed the citizens of their home with the tools they need in order to fight for themselves. The every man is rallying around their mission, and slowly yet surely they are winning their homes back. And finally, Virtue operates a shelter for the destitute and downtrodden. Definitely a busy woman.
Fans of The Movement are celebrating the diversity of this team, led primarily by women and containing members of various nationalities, beliefs, and abilities. In many ways, this is the book female fans have been begging for. Gone are damsels in distress and barely clad warrior women; each member of The Movement is strong, smart, talented, and thank goodness, fully dressed in functional clothing. Some call this a gimmick, I call it a breath of fresh air. In addition to this, the characterization is brilliant. I'm in love with the tough but adorable Vengeance Moth, and my heart breaks for the rodent swarm-controlling Mouse every time he loses one of his individually named rat friends.
The art for me is reminiscent of the original TMNT, chunky, with thick black outlines. The colors are rich and the movement (ha!) is fluid. The more I read, the more I like it. For such a gritty story, the rough edges and strong lines are a fantastic match.
Finally, we have the very controversial all female X-men. This move seems at once very much overdue and simultaneously perhaps a little ill conceived. On the one hand, the X-men certainly paved the way for strong female characters in comics. From the beginning, X-men has embraced female characters. Jean Grey was one of the founding members, and remains the most powerful that they have ever dealt with. On top of that, the X-men have always been more female heavy than any other team in the Marvel universe (and most of the DC universe too, barring the Birds of Prey), often times with more women on the team than men all together. Also, there is a very good reason for this book to be all female: with all of the other X-men tied up in other titles (Uncanny X-men, Age of Apocalypse, etc...), these are literally the only characters left to guard the X-mansion.
On the other hand....I know as well as anyone else that the comics industry's treatment of their female characters has been less than fair for the majority of its history. Indeed, only recently are we beginning to see real equality in the number, treatment, writing, and depiction of female characters. But does that mean that men should be excluded from the team? Well surely, you might think that one all female outing of the X-men isn't that big of a deal. And besides, although he isn't being included in the official roster, Beast has been present during both issues of this series, quietly working and helping down in his lab. But something just feels off to me. First off, the story thus far has not been super impressive. It's not bad, but it is nothing to write home about. It's nice to see the X-women in outfits that actually cover and support them, but the art isn't really anything special either. To me, as of its second issue, the main draw of this book is still its all female cast, which makes it feel like a novelty. Female empowerment should not feel like a novelty.
Another point is that although women haven't received the best treatment in team books, I cannot think of a team that has completely excluded women. Male comics writers, constantly struggling with the privilege and bias ingrained in them, have still made a conscious effort to include women. They often fall short. Very short in a lot of cases. But the women are there, and if they hadn't been included in the first place, this book wouldn't have been possible. Am I saying we should be thankful just to be included? No. Women deserve to be written prominently and well. But what's past is past, and all we can do now is work towards a better future.
It's hard not to compare this new run of X-men with the above The Movement. Both have been lauded as break through "feminist" superhero books, appearing prominently in the Big Two. And yet, the quality of The Movement far surpasses that of the X-men. Sure, Storm has lead the team before, but in this case, it very much feels like it is only because both Wolverine and Cyclops are out of the picture. At one point, they even mention having to "explain all this to Wolverine". Even though he isn't there, they are still thinking of him as the de-facto leader. In The Movement, a woman is the leader based on her ambition, determination, and skill, and none of the male members have made a move to challenge her. She is respected, and her leadership is unquestioned. She treats her male and female teammates equally. Gender, although we as readers are focusing on it, has not been the point of the series. To me, that makes it 10x stronger than X-men. Feminism isn't about separating women and men. It isn't about women being superior to men. It is simply about the equality of women and men. That seems to be a lesson Marvel is still learning.
But hey, it's not all bad though. Maybe it sounds like I hate this book, but I don't. I am curious to see where it goes, and particularly interested in the fate of the baby Jubilee has adopted. All I'm saying is, if you can read both, do that. They're both worth the money. But if you can only read one, go for The Movement.
Grades:
Batman/Superman A-
The Movement A+
X-men B-
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