Gotham City Sirens: A Conflicted Goodbye

I’ve been thinking about Gotham City Sirens a lot lately.  Mainly because in recent months I have really enjoyed it after being indifferent for most of its run.  As a concept I think it was always doomed to fail for two reasons.  The first being that Catwoman, despite her moral flexibility is not a villain, and the second that Harley Quinn, although lovable, is not sane.

The series began with Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy moving in together like some bastardized version of Charlie’s Angels, and right off the bat these three characters lost some of their depth.  One of them would get into a jam and the other two would have to get them out.  Obviously this is a simplification, but to be perfectly honest, not a large one.  I would read it every month and think, “It was okay.”  Selina Kyle and Ivy don’t need partners.  Catwoman is conflicted between looking out for number one and wanting to help the good guys, but she isn’t one to trust people.  Especially not Poison Ivy, who also has severe trust issues.  I will admit, I’m not a lover of Poison Ivy.  She is cold and charmless and was the only character who actually benefited from this series, but that too is a recent occurrence. 

I realize that this is coming across as a very negative outlook, so let me switch over to why lately, this is has become one of the books I really look forward to.  The mirrored relationships of Batman and Catwoman to Joker and Harley Quinn have been established in a brilliant way.  Obviously the issues between Bruce and Selina are staggeringly different from Joker and Harley, but in the end, both are relationships that can’t logically work but can’t end.  The Joker is hands down, the scariest character in the DCU but the unconditional, insane love that Harley Quinn feels for him makes him scarier and her oddly endearing.  We all know that one of these days, he’s actually going to succeed in killing her if the mood strikes him.  Quick sidebar, the implication that Joker and Harley had a sexual relationship was terrifyingly awesome. 

So this most recent arc which is bringing the series to its close has put all three characters at odds because Selina and Harley have chosen the roads we all knew they would choose from the very beginning and Poison Ivy is alone, and more than that, she’s lonely.  What does Poison Ivy do when she’s angry?  She tries to kill someone and right now Selina is at the top of her hit list.  But what’s fascinating is that Poison Ivy is still trying to save Harley, and I like her better for it.

With one issue to go before the relaunch, I have to say that part of me will be sad to see this dynamic trio go.  The new Catwoman series is at the top of my reading list come September but Harley on the Suicide Squad is leaving me feeling hesitant because I can’t help but think it’s going to be the same problem all over again.  

A Little Bit of Everything

Wow, so I’ve fallen behind.  There has been a lot of big stuff this week.  SDCC is going on right now!  Obviously Paul and I aren’t there, but I’ve been following twitter pretty closely.  Today’s tidbit that left me kind of sad was that Wally West will not be part of the new Flash series.

There have been a TON of released previews of the upcoming relaunch pages and I have to say that despite my relaunch reservations, there is some really beautiful art.  Adam Hughes cover of Batgirl #2 is simply stunning.  I did a bit of a double take today though when looking at the Green Arrow pages, I’m really confused about the direction that series is taking.  It’s moving to a place that is just so far from the things that I love about Green Arrow, but I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll be pleasantly surprised.  Ollie looks a lot younger and the costume changes seem very tech heavy, not as bad as the new Deadshot design though.  I know I’ve talked about that before, but what can I say, I’m still flabbergasted.

 

Flashpoint has been so much fun.  I know in the midst of the relaunch it’s easy to forget about, but I’m really enjoying it.  The Amazon/Atlantean war is boring, I’m not going to lie, but the Batman story is fantastic!  Who knew that Gotham could get creepier?  The Frankenstein story has completely piqued my interest about the new series.  My indifference has given way to excitement because lets face it, Jeff Lemire is great.

The Amazing Spiderman trailer was released this week.  I know it’s an origin story that we’re all really familiar with, at least in tone, but I still want to see this movie.  Yes, I think Andrew Garfield is a little too pretty to be Peter Parker, but come on, it’s Hollywood and he’s an excellent actor.

The Bane photo…remember the first Bane photo that had great shadows and the promise of something amazing?  Well, seeing the mask full on was a bit of a disappointment.  There is a teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises out, but if you’ve seen the first two films, you’ve basically seen the teaser trailer.



The rumor mill is raging and as soon as announcements are confirmed I promise we will be discussing them.  Before I end this post though, I’m curious to know what everyone thinks about the end of The War of the Green Lanterns.  Sinestro back with the corps, how do you think that’s going to go?