World Enough and Time

I am not currently reading Batman. I'm not reading anything at DC, partly because I can't afford it, partly because I prefer the Marvel Universe, and partly because I a miffed with the policy at DC of changing continuity so often that most of my favourite characters do not exist, or are changed beyond recognition - and sometimes I don't even know which.

But today A headline caught my eye: Carrie Kelley Returns? DC Tease a New Robin.

I knew they were going to do away with Damien as Robin - not a good move, in my opinion, because I've loved Damien's Robin over the past while. When I was reading Batman, Damien was the reason for it. Assuming that Dick Greyson is out of the running to be Robin because he's Nightwing, and adult, my choices as Robin would be:

3. Tim Drake
2. Damien Wayne
1. Stephanie Brown

So now they pull Carrie Kelly out of the hat. If you don't know, Carrie was the Robin who accompanied the aging Batman in Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. An alternate future story. As far as I know, she's never been in regular continuity.



She isn't Stephanie Brown - but then, she hasn't been messed with until she was hardly a character any more. Stephanie was manipulated and then sent away by Batman, tortured, killed, reborn, rebooted, renamed, and switched around so often I lost interest: she was too many things, and she had been perfect as Robin.

Could Carrie Kelly take her place? Sure, of course, yes. It would be fun to see her in regular continuity. Regular Batman readers may already have done so; I don't know.

Frankly, if we can't have Stephanie, I'd rather they kept Damien. I know change boosts sales; I don't have to like the atmosphere of constant change in comics. I'd rather get to know, love, and stick with the characters we have.

Also: They aren't saying Carrie Kelly is going to be Robin. This is a tease, not a return... so far.

I suppose I might be happy with an entirely new Robin. Selina Kyle's daughter? Yeah, I know, her baby was retconned away along ago and Helena Kyle doesn't exist, but in this new world, anything is possible.

Or: a child of Damien, come from the future. Or a child of Dick Greyson, or other Bat-related character.

I read this article, The Big Sexy Problem with Superheroines and Their 'Liberated Sexuality' today, and then I was sorry I did, because I found it disturbing. Not because of the things that angered the author, Laura Hudson, but because the more she tried to explain what angered her, the more I failed to understand.

I am a feminist, and a comic book reader, and yes, there is sexism is comics. But I think there is more sexism in television and in advertising. I am upset by the changes in characterization of DC's characters with their latest reboot, because so many of the heroes seem less heroic than they were - I'd be ranting more if I was more of a DC fan. But that isn't what's bothering Laura Hudson. It doesn't seem to be so much the bad characterisation that bothers her, but the combination of bad characterization, sexist art, and the red lacy bra.

I read her reasons for her anger and I felt vaguely guilty: as if I'm a failed feminist or a bad comic book reader. I don't know if I'd like those comics - I haven't read them - but should I feel guilty that I think the idea of Batman and Catwoman having sex on a rooftop is, well, kind of hot? And pretty much in character, too.

I can't tell if the problem is what happens in the comic, or how it happens. Bad dialogue, or bad ideology, or both? I am tempted to read these comics - well, the Batman/Catwoman story, anyway - to see what I think. Sometimes I read articles like this, and I wonder if the author is just reacting to any depiction of sexuality that includes what men like. I don't think Hudson was doing that - but I wondered why she reacted so strongly to these stories.

Problem is, it's one of those triggery subjects that I don't even like to bring up. Because so many people feel so very strongly when they see things as wrong, particularly demeaning depictions of women - and yes, so do I. I just seem to have... unusual triggers. Frankly, Hudson's anger made me feel so uncomfortable I didn't finish the article. Why, and why not? I don't know. I'll have to think about it.

I do wish we saw a half-dressed Batman more often. But he has his moments. And generally speaking, I love the stories where Batman gets sex or romance.

An nice antidote to this article was reading the latest issue of X-Men Legacy by Mike Carey this evening; a comic full of strong and interesting women. And strong and interesting men, too.

A rainy Sunday.

I made another quiche. Watched Doctor Who ("The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood"), Sherlock (second episode), The Professionals ("Blind Run") and Batman:
Under the Red Hood with and maaseru. I already knew the general outline of the story from the comics - but enjoyed seeing the way it was handled in the movie. I didn't much like the way they drew the adults, but I really liked the writing and acting at the climax.

I enjoyed it all, especially The Professionals, which was, if anything, better than I remembered - except that probably isn't possible.

did a rather amazing job of hooking up her computer with my TV. I was impressed.

Did many arm exercises.

I'm a Marvel girl through and through, but I've always loved Batman.

Batman: Broken City is a story by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso that appeared in Batman #620-625, back in 2005. I liked the cover of the hardcover version. And I have in the past enjoyed Brian Azzarello's writing, though usually not as much as I'd like to.

I should have read the blurb, which promised a "neo-noir flavor and grimy realism". Or the forward by editor Bob Shreck that said it was inspired by Risso's "love for Batman and respect for Frank Miller". "Inspired" being a euphemism for "Eduardo Risso decided to draw this comic in Frank Miller's style, but he doesn't do it as well as Frank Miller." It makes a person think of the continuum (or perhaps it's just a slippery slope) between a tribute, a copy, a rip-off and a lack of originality on the part of the artist. This isn't the Frank Miller of Batman: Year One either, it's the Batman of Sin City. What, you thought Batman lived in Gotham City? The difference is subtle.

There are two ways of looking at Batman: as the sane man in a mad world, and a heroic, tragic figure; or a crazy man in a crazy world, and a dangerous, tragic figure. I like the first approach. Azzarello follows the second, in which Batman is over-muscled and psychologically troubled. He likes to beat up crooks and brutalize informants. This isn't my Batman. This Batman is way crazier than I like. And though I don't mind a Gotham City full of distorted villains and whorish vamps, I was left feeling that this comic just wasn't written for my demographic.

Not that I entirely disliked it: it had some good lines, especially in the narration. It starts with an extended metaphor of God using rain to piss on Gotham City. (That's why when it rains, it's not so much water, as it's a relief.") And:

Dawn. For an optimist, it's the start of a new day.

For a pessimist? Same thing.

Or the femme fatale's line to Batman:

Gotham's a big place. It's easy to get lost. You should try it sometime.

I read Batman R.I.P. by Grant Morrison, beautifully drawn by Tony S. Daniel.

It has the sexiest Batman scene I've ever seen, and believe me, Batman has had some sexy scenes. In this one, Batman comes back to Wayne Manor after a hard night's work fighting crime, goes past Alfred and Robin up the stairs, down the corridors, shedding his cowl, cape and shirt as he goes, stripping until he gets to his bedroom, where he steps into Jezebel Jet's arms in a passionate kiss.

Whew. Hot.

Sometimes they get it right. Done right, Batman is the sexiest character in comics.

The whole comic is a nice orchestrated (and utterly creepy) story of psychological horror in which a villain named the Black Glove leads a band of loonies to attack Bruce Wayne with drugs on deep psychological levels, in order to destroy him - and it becomes a game of oneupmanship as to who holds the upper hand, who holds the key to Bruce's identity - and his sanity.

All this in a beautiful deluxe hardcover so beautifully printed and coloured I was stopping just to savour the more luxurious panels.

Best line: Alfred says to Robin:

It's an American Idol era of equal opportunity supercrime, Master Tim. Every Tom, Dick or Harry with a make-up box and rampant Tourette's fancies himself the next Joker.

Today was a day to watch movies. I was ensconced on maaseru's sofa from an early hour, watching movies with josanpq, maaboroshi and lunacy_gal.

We watched:

• Ice Blues, the fourth Donald Strachey movie, which I'd seen before;
  
  
• Big Eden, which I'd also seen before, but which I think I enjoyed more the second time round, knowing what to expect. I certainly enjoy watching Eric Schweig!
  
  
• Shakespeare Retold: The Taming of the Shew, with Rufus Sewell and Shirley Henderson. Rufus Sewell is one of those actors I adore and would watch in anything - and Petrucchio just might be his best role yet. Shirley Henderson was Ursula in the remarkable Doctor Who episode "Love and Monsters" and Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter. This adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew was magnificent, in my opinion: it is in so many ways one of Shakespeare's more problematic plays for our time, and yet, done right, is exceptionally clever and funny.
  
  Actually, the more remarkable thing about Henderson's performance here is that she reminded me of the first woman I ever fell in love with. I imagine that gave me an extra bit of identification with Petrucchio.
  
  
• Theatre of Blood, with Vincent Price and Diana Rigg, from 1973. A wildly lurid and somewhat silly story about an actor who, driven mad by critics' opinions of his play, become a serial killer enacting revenge upon the critics by killing them in the manner of murders in Shakepeare's plays. It was a real treat to see the young Diana Rigg again. In one scene, a man's beloved poodles are brutally murdered; I couldn't help thinking of Captain John Hart.

Then maaseru and I actually ventured out into the world to see The Dark Knight at a movie theatre. I had many thoughts on the movie. As always, I'm fussy about movies based on comics, especially comic and characters I love, and I certainly love Batman. The movie Batman is not the comic book Batman, and I generally prefer the one in the comic - with the caveat that there is no one comic book version of the character. None of the Batman movies capture what I most love about Batman¹, but I do like Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne. ( A few specific thoughts, and too bad I don't have time for more. )