June 10, 2009

Hi, and welcome back to The DC2 Pull List!

Check back every Monday for member reviews of each week's new issues! We will also spotlight one title every week to critique and discuss, interview the writer and artist and celebrate the talent and effort that goes into creating the #1 DCU fan fiction/art site on the web!




On Earth-One, the titles of the DC2 showcase and explore a shared continuity that is at once both familiar and novel, from the white-hot The Flash to the break-out DC2 original, The New Outsiders. But there's a whole Multiverse out there, and nowhere is the rich diversity of the DCU celebrated better than on the DC2's sister-site, the DC3. Here you will find classic heroes in a modern remix (Earth-Five), the sons and daughters of the Silver Age JLA (Earth-Two), Fawcett characters (Earth-S), Charlton characters (Earth-Four)--- and much, much more! But one of the most acclaimed and longest-running titles is Gotham Girls, starring Batgirl, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy written by DC3 stalwart (and co-writer of the upcoming Birds of Prey sereis at the DC2) Samantha Chapman. The title is a certified crossover hit, with fans like Brian Burchette ("I have read every issue of this since it has come out and [...] I do want to say that this is one heck of a consistently fun, enjoyable read. Sam has these characters down perfectly. Personaly, I would love to see what she could do with some of the other female characters in the DC universe... like say... Wonder Woman."), House Of Mystery("AWwwwesome! Loved this issue!"), and Boris Mihajlovic ("Sam, you have me hooked. This series is so awesome. If I could, I would give you 10 stars.").

This week's Spotlight Title is Gotham Girls #18, and joining me are Brian Burchette (writer New Outsiders, Green Arrow, Titans West), House Of Mystery (writers Detective Comics, DC2 Nemesis, The Question), Jay McIntyre (writer Teen Titans, Titans: Resistance, Elseworlds Editor-in-Chief), Don Walsh (writer, Justice League, Danger Trail, Ultimate All-Star, Mightiest Mortals, DC3 Editor-in-Chief) and representing the creative team for this issue is Samantha Chapman (writer Gotham Girls, Last Sun of Krypton, co-writer Ultimate Teen Titans).

As always, beware of SPOILERS below!





SAM: First, I just want to say how really honored I am to be sort of the representative for E5, at least for now. It means a lot to me that enough people like me to be getting this spotlight I've loved working with and readng all the other work on E5 and DC3, and I'll take this chance to plug all the other wonderful stories being told.

Now bring on the questions

DAVID: This is the first issue of Gotham Girls that I've ever read, and I was impressed and delighted with the characterization and the whimsical nature of the story. It seems obvious that this issue is an interlude, coming on the heels of a big story, so it was easy to jump in and get to know the Girls. But for those of us who are new to this book, Sam, can you give us the general idea of what this title is about? For instance, I get the impression that Renee has a much bigger role to play...!

SAM: Hm...that's actually sort of a difficult question XD Gotham Girls is about the combined and interacting stories of Batgirl (Renee Montoya), Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, and all the people around them. It's tough for me to give an overall description, because I try to work in story arcs. Year One was very much about Harley Quinn, and the story of her relationship with the Joker. That was the arc of the year as a whole, but of course there were stories where we could get to know Batgirl, and Ivy had some time to herself apart from being Harley's confidant. Year Two is very much about Renee and the way that her past and present careers come together-- the same theme will be explored with Ivy in issue 19, but we've just come off of a four-part story involving Two Face's very first crime in E5 Gotham.

I think it's difficult to give an "about" for a lot of books like this-- if I had one big story, it would be over too soon! But it is very much a character piece, not a big action-y one. I've had so much fun working with James Steel and building up the Gotham underworld, thinking up interesting connections for the characters to have with each other -- for example, it's alluded in here that Harley was in Jonathan Crane's college psychiatry classes, and she thinks of him as a mentor. Renee was a rookie cop when Harvey Dent was DA, and she looked up to him very much-- then had to take him down. Harvey Dent has a grudge against Poison Ivy, who got herself off on a technicality the one time he got her to trial, and who scarred his face that same day. Gotham Girls is about those kinds of relationships and interactions and the stories that come out of them.

DON: One of the elements that Gotham Girls does best, one of the writer's real strengths, is the quiet character moments that can make a whole issue pass without even realizing it. Most of the series has been characters with many layers interacting with each other, acting on their own agendas, those agendas sometimes working together or at odds in surprising ways, punctuated by action, rather than action punctuated by quiet character moments (or "day in the life" issues). In this one, we see a completely new, and minor, character take the center stage in his debut, bringing a new love story to the fold and giving Harley and Ivy something new to have to consider. We're quickly invested in the new guy, and left wondering where his future will take him now that he's chosen to see things (that may or may not be there). And yet, we're never left without seeing the rest of the world move around him with our stars. And as someone who doesn't care for villain books usually, it's impressive with how much I enjoy this one; but then, the Girls are a heroine and a criminal, while Ivy is more an anti-hero with good intentions and unlawful means, which helps. So I'd like to know: how do you manage to juggle the emotional agendas and personal lives of the "Girls" and keep that the focus of the story; and was it your intention to "soften" the Earth-Five Ivy into a more sympathetic anti-heroine?

SAM: l'm not really sure when I decided Ivy should be an anti-hero, but it worked out the best for the book, I thought. I'm still sort of cowardly for writing a villain book, and I didn't want her to really be doing anything too nefarious. She had to be relatable and likeable, and giving her a heroic motivation made that a little easier on me. She's come into her own much more clearly in year two, now that I've had the time to spend with her and Harley. I did want her to be someone who could be a good influence on Harley, and that also helped her character solidify. Plus, I'd been watching BTAS, so that was a big influence on her personality from the start.

As far as the personal and emotional lives, that's really been the focus of the story all along, for me. If i had nothing but my way, I'd just be writing a soap opera with superheroes in it XD I was thankfully convinced early on in the series that i should make it more of an actual superhero story, but all the action that I have done starts with a motivation and a character behind it. When I did the first crime story, "Don't Say a Word", I couldn't have come up with any of the action scenes if I didn't know the motive and story behind the villain to start with. For the series as a whole, I knew I wanted to tell my own Harley Quinn story, and I built year one around that. Every issue had to show some change in her relationship with the Joker, because that was the overarcing plot. Frankly, it's so much easier for me to be keeping personal conflicts and romances straight than to come up with the kind of intricate plotting and schemes that you come up with, Don!

BRIAN: I've loved every issue of Gotham Girls and I'm embarrassed to admit that it is the only title in DC3 that I keep up with on a regular basis.

I'm curious to know which of the girls seems the easiest to write for and which is the hardest?

And the same goes with Joker and Two-Face. You did both phenomenally well, by the way. The Two-Face arc is probably my favorite to date.

SAM: Harley's by far been the easiest for me, for reasons probably better left unsaid . She always manages to just flow off the page adorable and I pretty much always know what it is she would do next.

Ivy's been the hardest for me, because for a long time I didn't really give myself the chance to work out who she is, and what she's doing there, beyond being Harley's friend. Hopefully that's changed by now, but we'll see how successful GG19 is, and whether I've really worked out how she ticks.

CHARLIE: Renee-as-Batgirl is compelling here-- more so than she has been in the DCU proper for a long time-- and there are so many nuances to these characters that I believe that I'd miss if I were the one writing them. Poison Ivy is such an intricate character, so many motivations have been stapled onto her since her introduction, and it's cool to see such a succinct presentation of her month-in-month-out is a thrill. Harley Quinn, on the other hand, is a character I've never much cared for, but here she's fun-- and whilst I don't see the attraction many a fan has for her, I can enjoy her in those short bursts I mentioned earlier ( ) because you make her fun without dripping with syrup, one of the things I think some writers make the mistake of!

DAVID: It's hard to see Harley as a villain at all, as she's so damn adorable in this issue--- but then I have no other frame of reference, never having seen an episode of Batman: The Animated Series; in fact, I don't think I've even read a DCU book with her in it! But given what I'm reading in Gotham Girls, you may have sold me on Dini's upcoming Gotham City Sirens (see, DC/Warner Bros, the DC2/3 is good for your business ).

And while that book may have the art stylings of the brilliant new find of Guillam March, you have our very own wunderkind Boris Mihajlovic on this cover, and last issue's cover by Carlos Galvez may well have been one of the fiercest most emotional images I've seen anywhere (Batgirl lashing out against an enemy). Tell us a little bit about the aesthetic of Gotham Girls, the look and feel you are trying to cultivate in this title--- it certainly doesn't particiapte in the grim and gritty vibe of a lot of Batfanfic.

SAM: I don't really think very visually about my writing-- it's a flaw, in that it can be very difficult for me to describe things properly. But as far as 'grim and gritty' goes, I've tried to keep the mood pretty flexible. Gotham Girls is really episodic, and it's been nice to have that flexibility. I've just come off a very gritty sort of tone in Facades, but I can turn right around and have a piece of fluff like this. For the most part, I have tried to keep GG from being too overly dark and dramatic, just because I do want to still be able to come back to the fluff and the silliness that I loved so much in the flash cartoons.

CHARLIE: This issue was a really cool continuance of all the themes we've seen since #1 of your run, and that cover is simply beautiful. Always cool to see new work from Boris!

DAVID: I think the writer deserves kudos for adressing the sexuality of Renee Montoya (and Ivy, too, unless I've misinterpreted) without making it "what the character is about"--- frankly, I'm more disturbed by Harley's obsession for a murderer like the Joker!

How difficult is it to write about characters we mostly recognize as villains, and make them sympathetic? I mean for the most part, these characters are presented as dishonest, violent, psycopathic and despicable personalities yet here they are... downright charming.

Also, we have a Batwoman and Batgirl, but I've seen no sign of a Batman on Earth-Five... How does Gotham work without its Dark Knight Detective?

SAM: Batman is alive and well, in Ultimate Batman and Robin, Dave . It's only that the title has been on a bit of a haitus, not that Batman isn't around. Bruce makes a cameo appearance in GG12, even.

I did have a little bit of work to do figuring out how to deal with Renee's sexuality, but in the end I don't think it was that difficult at all. Renee was never going to be the mushy type anyway, and romance isn't very much on her radar. So I waited to say anything until it was relevant. As for Ivy, I definitely think of her as bi, but again, I haven't had the guts to put much emphasis on Ivy's seduction.

I think starting off with Harley made it pretty easy for me to work sympathetically. It's not even so much that I want them to be great people, you just have to like them. Harley was the protagonist in year 1, and I never set out to make Joker in any way not a villain (just had to make him funny). It's easy to feel bad for Harley, and then it's easy to like Ivy when she takes in her friend. It helps that I really don't think of the girls as that bad, as Gotham villains go. Two-Face, Scarecrow, Joker, they've all been actually bad people-- Ivy's been in retirement since the series began, and that helps her get into the reader's sympathies. Honestly, a lot of it might just be my own unwillingness to write them as terrible people and to go that far with them-- it may just be that none of us have seen them at their worst.

JAY: I must admit it's been some time since I read this title. Right about when the Joker "broke up" with Harley, in fact. I never had a problem with the writing, nor do I now....it just got lost in the shuffle, as so many things do.

The story was nice in it's way, but I really do beleive that poor Jack is gonna be dead meat, sooner or later.

I do like Harley's cheerful reminiscence about how she got through school though. Harley's cheerful naughtiness is one of the things I like about her. Sweet yes. Naive at times....but never innocent.

SAM: I like to say she's as evil as the person she's sidekicking for. When she was with the Joker, she was doing some pretty terrible things (although I did give her some pangs of conscience). With Ivy, she's clearly a criminal but she's not out to hurt anyone. If you could get her to hench for someone on the good side, I'm sure she'd be able to handle that, too. It's actually kind of an important part of her character that she 'imprints' on people that way-- it's part of what makes her so susceptable to the Joker's influence.

BRIAN: Can you tease us with any upcoming villains or story details to entice us even more?

SAM: I've got a bit of year two left to round out, with what I hope will be a very unique Two-Face story at the end, as Harvey tries to rid himself of his curse. I've got Killer Moth waiting in the wings for a two-parter focused on Renee, and a few glimpses of her former life as a cop. And Harley and Ivy get to have a bit more fun when I add a new family member or two into that little house .

CHARLIE: I have to say, I'm loving the plans for the future Sam has for this title-- so many weird, quirky things are in store for the title, and they're sure to impress. I'm a terrible ongoing reader of this book, as in, I'll read three issues in a go, and then vanish back into the DC2, which is a shame, Gotham Girls is continuously one of the most compelling titles on both sites, and Sam one of our DC2/3 unsung heroes! I just want to see her write something ongoing for DC2, because I think she could do marvelous things.

Sam, do you have wanting to write a book like Batman? Or any other titles? I know you're writing Ultimate Wonder Woman, I think, over on Earth-5, but is there a book in your heart-of-hearts that you really want to write? Or is Gotham Girls that title?

SAM: Gotham Girls might be pretty close to that book. I'd love to do something really epic and fantastic, but I'd need the ideas for that one first. (I remember reading something once about a Princess of Gemworld that seemed sort of up my alley...) But really, Harley and the Joker was very much the kind of tale I like to tell. I am doing Ultimate Wonder Woman, and co-writing Ultimate Teen Titans, where I have quite a few plans to eventually take on Terra (Because i'm looking forward to writing a completely DIFFERENT messed-up relationship between a young girl and a supervillain ). But I still don't have a lot of faith in my action writing, so something like Batman where people would be expecting a lot more fighting would be difficult for me to get into.

Don't worry though Charlie-- there are plans in the works for me to get involved over here on DC2, when Don and I launch our own Birds of Prey!

But I do hope that everyone can try to remember the other sites, because there are so many great stories all around both I've been just as bad about trying to get into back issues of a lot of DC2 stories.

DAVID: I, for one, would be extremely excited by an Amethyst series--- bring it on, Sam!


And now for our reviews of this week's new issues:



(click on cover to go straight to the issue)

Written by: Pat Owen
Cover by: Knightreaver studios
Reviewed by: Jay McIntyre

Morgan Edge has a secret. Superboy has a problem. And Pete Ross is haunted by the evil that Lex Luthor left in his wake. There's several subplots at play here, all of them clever, but the big issue is Pete Ross, who is captured and blamed by a group of small-time villains who were created and manipulated by Luthor. But they have a new member, and at his urging they've blamed Ross for their situation....and now they're targeting Lana Lang.



(click on cover to go straight to the issue)

Written by: Brian Burchette
Cover by: Jamie Rimmer
Reviewed by: Jay McIntyre

Two alien races battle in the streets of San Francisco. A shocking secret of parentage is revealed. And one Titan pays a terrible price... Throughout the history of "official" DC Comics, they have tried on numerous occsions to get a second Titans team off the ground, and only very recently have they had any real success. Brian, here, is doing on the first try what it took "official" DC many attempts to manage.



(click on cover to go straight to the issue)

Writer: Ellen Fleischer
Cover: Roy Flinchum
Reviewer: Brian Burchette

Ellen Fleischer is the Queen of the Elseworlds titles and after reading issue #7 of The Salem Protocol, I can say that with absolute certainty. Batman and Nightwing are at their best in the hands of this writer (who really should be working in DC proper). If you'd like to know the way it should be done over at DC, read this! It's a testament to what a fan with true artistic abilities can do. Hey Didio! Over here!