Rogê Antônio

She-Hulk: Jen, Again collects the first five issues of Shulkie’s series written by Rainbow Rowell with art by Rogê Antônio and Luca Maresca, colors by Rico Renzi, and letters by Joe Caramagna with cover art by Jen Bartel. The series focuses on Jennifer Walters rebuilding her life as an attorney, working for a former rival, while trying to make a new life in a former apartment that Janet Van Dyne once leant her. Jen must also make peace with former enemies like Titania, realizing that she show more wants a way to blow off steam through combat without the normal stress of a superhero career. Just as she’s getting a handle on the situation, her former love Jack of Hearts reappears. She thought him dead after absorbing her gamma radiation and exploding in space, but he’s just as untethered as Jen feels. She alternates between work, secretly helping superpowered people with legal matters, helping Jack reacquaint to life, and carving out time for herself. In Rowell’s writing, Jen can be vulnerable and powerful, honest and private, while her world feels familiar even as it has cosmic powers beyond imagination. The introduction of Mark and April reminds readers that power doesn’t make life magically perfect. A great contribution to the She-Hulk canon. show less

It’s funny coming off of the Cameron Stewart “Batgirl” Series and jumping into the new “Batgirl and the Birds of Prey” series, if only because the same character is interpreted in such different ways. As much as I did like the more quirky and insecure Batgirl that Stewart created, a self assured and assertive Batgirl is more in line with what I am looking for in Barbara, and the Benson Sisters are really delivering in that regard. When we left off, Batgirl, Huntress, and Black show more Canary had reformed the Birds of Prey, with a new Oracle by the name of Gus. Gus is a hacker who seems to be a HUGE fan on Batgirl and her adventures, and is capable with the computer. Of course, is anything ever that easy in Gotham? Rarely. So along with the new faces in this series, we also get to see some old ones, faces that I was VERY happy to see when all was said and done!

The first thing that really struck me with this volume was that while Batgirl is the leader of this rag tag group of kick ass ladies, it definitely gives a lot of time to her compatriots. We saw a lot of Huntress and her backstory in the previous volume, but this time some of the attention and shine was focused on Black Canary, aka Dinah Lance. You all know how I feel about her so I will spare you yet another screed on her excellence, but it was nice seeing her get some meaty plot points this time around. Not only does have a lot of opportunities to show off her entire repertoire of fight skills, she also has moments of emotional growth and pathos. It’s easy to forget that of the Birds, she is the only ‘metahuman’, aka person with supernatural powers. Even though she’s a member of the team, she is the Other, and while Babs and Helena may see past this, Dinah is always aware of it. When other metahumans are being targeted and manipulated by a mysterious villain named Blackbird, Dinah takes it upon herself to go forth, undercover, and try to take her down. I loved this storyline because Dinah not only had a lot to do, but we got to see some of her insecurities, and she moved beyond being the sarcastic badass that she usually is within these stories. Also? ALSO????…… Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, shows up, and his main purpose is to look on at Dinah lovingly. There is a moment where he is encouraged to think about what he loves most in this world as his motivation, and he repeats ‘Dinah’ over and over and over again. As a gigantic Dinah/Oliver shipper, this turn of events was quite excellent.

But it’s not just Oliver that makes an appearance I wasn’t expecting! Because two of my very best lady anti-heroes of DC also decided to drop in for fun, Catwoman and Poison Ivy! And these appearances harken back to older Birds of Prey realities, in some ways, as while Catwoman has always been a potential ally to the heroes and heroines of Gotham (if you’re willing to risk a future backstab), Poison Ivy has been in the Birds of Prey rotation in past iterations of the team. For her to come back and have a role, and hints at future interactions, is great not only for nostalgia, but also for the concept of girl power. DC has been KILLING IT in the girl power departments, as between this series and “DC Bombshells” ladies are taking charge and getting shit done.

And finally, we are now seeing some hints about Gus, our new Oracle. I was open minded about Gus as a member of the team (in spite of the fact I was hoping that Frankie was going to be Oracle), though it was obvious at the end of the last collection that he was perhaps hiding something. All of that comes out in the open in this collection, and while I don’t want to spoil TOO much, I do feel like it should be stated that one of the major components involves mental illness. I’m always worried that in stories, particularly in comics or more adventure-y tales, mental illness can be used in an irresponsible way to either bring in conflict or to give excuses for bad or violent behavior. But when it comes to Gus’s issues, it is made clear by her partners that not only is he still one of the team, but that he isn’t broken and that they will try to support and understand him in any way that the can. So not only do we have a character who has a disability, we have other characters who are willing to break down the stigma and still treat him as an equal. It was very heartening to see.

But sadly, it was recently announced that “Batgirl and the Birds of Prey” was cancelled by DC. So my love and enjoyment of this series has an expiration date. With this information, I’m considering just stopping my reading journey with these characters right here. It wraps up in a way that was personally satisfying to me, and knowing that it’s going to end (and with rumors of some questionable plot twists that make my blood boil) makes me feel like I should quit while I’m ahead. DC, as per usual, you are really, REALLY making it difficult to be a fan of yours (AND YES I’M STILL PISSED AS HELL THAT YOU CANCELLED BOMBSHELLS!!!!)! I swear, the moment they kill Catwoman to give Bruce some man pain (AND I WOULDN’T PUT IT PAST THEM!), I am OUT, so help me GOD!!!

For now, I’m just happy that I did get to spend some fun arcs with some great chicks who kick serious ass. “Batgirl and the Birds of Prey”, you burned brightly, and did justice to characters that I love. show less

First we had X-Wing/Rogue Squadron series of novels - both prose and comics/graphical novel. Then we had series inside series with Baron Fel as a main protagonist. These were action packed stories with very interesting characters fighting in both small and big conflicts and working very hard to defeat the empire (Rogues) or find their place in the universe (Fel).

This book acts as a continuation of stories about fearless Star Wars universe fighter-pilots. We follow elite Imperial Shadow Wing show more as they track and mercilessly hunt down the rebellion forces.

Story itself is very interesting but I had a feeling I am missing something and that something is new story lore about the Empire-Rebellion conflict. Namely I am missing the story of the so called Alphabet Squad that is very tightly linked to Tie Fighter narrative. So if you are like me you will be left scratching your head by looking into some of the cover art, otherwise you will definitely connect the dots and get more out of this book.

Art is excellent, very dynamic and wide shots of the inter-ship battles are just great.

Recommended to all fans of Star Wars but keep in mind that book is just a part of the puzzle that starts with the Alphabet Squadron novel (that I am now on the lookout for). show less

Although it had potential I ended up at the end of run wondering what on earth had happened, what was the point and was that the past or present? It had really interesting characters and a great set up and ultimately suffered for being treated just as a prequel for the Alphabet Squadron novel rather than a story in its own right. Perhaps it will make a lot more sense once I've read the novel - which as a Rogue Squadron fan I've been extremely excited for - but on its own it severely lacks show more for me. show less