Hey, Folks!
I’m beginning to think that there is something broken in me and my sense of humor. As many of you are already aware, I am NOT a fan of 99% of DC Comics film/cartoon output. My typical complaints include the overall darkness of the tone as well as the portrayal of some of my favorite comic book characters as amoral and murderously incompetent. I have been complaining about this ever since I went to see Snyder’s Man of Steel travesty. Pretty much every DCU movie effort that I have attempted to enjoy since then has been marred by the same issues for me. I mean I have rather gone on full rant mode at earsplitting levels of dissatisfaction for quite some time about it.
That is, until James Gunn’s Suicide Squad was released.
I’ll admit that I was going to just skip it, but one of my customers (the incomparable Mark McKee) told me to put on my big boy pants and watch it. He knew of my endearing love for John Ostrander’s 80’s Suicide Squad comic book series and thought that I would like the homage to it that Gunn had crafted. Well, Mr McKee was right. I DID love it and for pretty much the reason he thought I would. James Gunn managed to inject a level of screwball dark comedy into the film and, despite the crazed level of violence, it just plain worked for me. I could mention that I would have liked to see a little more of the soap opera drama that Ostrander used in his comic stories and the protracted Harley Quinn bits were not my cop of tea, but that is just quibbling. It was the first DCU film that I had honestly enjoyed in a long time.
Then I was bored one evening and I was doing tedious laundry chores and I decided to give the Harley Quinn animated series another shot. I had tried the first episode a few months before and I must admit that it appealed to the ten year old inside of me the way all of these long standing DC icons kept dropping F-bombs like they were getting paid for it. I’ll admit that every time Poison Ivy or Joker or Harley let loose with a string of expletives I giggled like a small child. I was not, however, prepared for the nearly operatic intensity that the cartoon’s soap opera shenanigans and increasingly filthy language that eventually spills forth. Three episodes after that constant use of the F-word would normally grow tiresome for me I found myself rivetted by the crisscrossing subplots and characters in this twisted and hilarious DC world. And, of course, when Doctor Psycho directs the ultimate curse word at Wonder Woman in the middle of a pitched battle causing birds to fall out of the sky and the world to stop spinning (also being drummed out of the Legion of Doom for a potty mouth and disrespect for woman), well, I was just as stunned as the cartoon wildlife. I finished the entire two season run in record time.
Bolstered by those two experiments, I decided to tune into the Peacemaker series that has been heavily pushed by HBO Max. I am around 5 episodes into it and I must admit that it is every bit as filthy and entertaining as the above two examples. James Gunn is back, writing and directing multiple episodes, as his use of characters on the fringe of the DCU (such as Judomaster and Vigilante) is a formula that works well for his particular talents. The storyline itself is as silly as the plot of Suicide Squad, but holds everything together admirably and gives each of the main characters moments to shine. There’s just enough drama involving Peacemaker’s back story as well as the POV character Laota (played by Danielle Brooks) and her marriage to keep things somewhat grounded, but the humor remains as raunchy and unapologetic as anything from the movie it is based on.
So why can I only seem to enjoy DCU projects when they are THIS outrageously hilarious and filthy? I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now. I mean, my main problems with the entire slate of Snderverse pictures is their unrelenting darkness of tone and color and their rejection of just about every Silver Age convention that I tend to hold dear when it comes to DC projects. So why do I give these projects a free pass? I think the answer is that they have a definite sense of humor that for me elevates the material and stops it from being such a drag. It is a juvenile sense of humor, no argument from me, and it is VERY dark indeed, but at least it is bringing a smile to my face rather than 3 ½ hours worth of depression. Despite how dark the humor gets it is still humor and keeps things from getting too sad. And I guess that I just prefer that tone versus the tone of the rest of the movies/cartoons. I’ll be interested to see how Peacemaker wraps up its storyline at the end of the season as well as if we will see a brand new dance routine for the credits of season two…
We still have a about two weeks left in Monarch Comics’ Annual Post-Holiday Sale so if you had your eye on a particular back issue or trade paperback currently in stock then take advantage of the big savings while you can. We just picked up some new comics recently and there will be a lot of new material going into the dollar boxes this week as well. If you are a fan of diving into he dollar boxes then definitely check them out this weekend! I’m also happy to announce that we have managed to restock the Ultra Pro current size comic bags this week and topped off supplies on some other items. Next week’s shipment is a little lighter than usual from the big companies so it will be a good time to catch up on other things in the store!
I also wanted to mention that there are several big projects coming out from D.C./Marvel in the next six months or so and big projects generally means multiple open order covers. Just a reminder that, for the most part, I don’t carry much in the way of open order variants on the rack so if you see something that you want then please let me know ASAP so that I can get the order in for you. I’m thinking mostly of the 124,365 variant covers for the new upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #1, but really it applies to anything else that has multiple variants. Of course, you can always ask after FOC, but my ability to guarantee it drops dramatically after that point.
OKily dokily…that’s it for me this week. I am feeling rather remarkable efficient this week as I have most of my paperwork caught up, my taxes effectively dealt with, and all of the bills caught up. Planning on spending this afternoon at the store chitchatting with customers and completing my weekly Penguin Random House FOC. If I’m feeling cute and have a spare moment I might unpack some stuff that comes out next week. Have a great weekend and hope to see you in the store soon!
Eddie