Is It December Yet?
Ooo! Ragnell linked to JSA preview art!!! Since JSA is the series I'm waiting most excitedly for, aside from this month's Green Lantern because it's late and I want more Hal, Guy, Manhunter shenanigans.
I have a few responses:
1. I've never particularly liked Rick Tyler. I didn't dislike him, mind. It's just my first exposure to the guy was in Hourman, where he wasn't particularly impressive. Then in JSA, where the whole Rex-Rick switcheroo thing kept me from really getting a handle on the character. (Though I liked him in Stealing Thunder.)
But in this. All of a sudden. Rick got hot. And I'm not sure how to deal with this. But I'm suddenly looking forward to that Bane versus Hourman story.
2. Proof now that Jessie Chambers is Liberty Belle. This pleases me to no end actually. From what I've seen, poor Jessie suffered tremendously from Jade-syndrome. She's the female Flash-type, but with a just different enough identity to not be a Flash herself. (Jade being a Starheart's daughter, Jessie's a Quick not a Flash). Both portrayed as a bit less competent than the male counterparts. Both portrayed with a little dash of mother-inspired abilities which never made up for being weaker. Both got involved with pretty awful stuff regarding infidelity and the like.
This though, this could be the redemption of Jessie Quick. Because it really is all about the packaging. A character is only as weak as the way you express him/her. I mean compare this for a second: a speedster who is not as fast/capable as the others with fluctuating bouts of super-strength OR:
A Liberty Belle with a extra dash of super-speed.
Doesn't one sound infinitely cooler than the other? By giving Jessie a more direct maternal tie, and emphasizing both sets of powers, the character suddenly seems a lot more formidable.
It's part of why I'd always wished they'd stuck with Jade's plant powers and worked them in tandem with the Starheart "pulse" powers. Tie it to the idea of "Green Magic" that shows up in fantasy. Green tying to nature and life. "Pulse" also carries that sort of tone. On their own, as a replacement for Green Lantern powers, the plant stuff was kind of lame. But packaged together? Emphasizing Jade as not so much a standard Lantern-type conjurer but as some sort of nature/green magic wielder? That could have been cool.
3. What the heck is going on with Grant? Or is it Al? I've heard that there was confirmation that that's Damage in the costume, so I'll go with Grant.
Anyway, this is a story related "what the heck" not a characterization gripe. I want to know why he looks annoyed or even jealous. Did something ever happen between Damage and Jessie? I'm very curious now.
4. While I shouldn't judge as I don't know the context, I could wish that the image was a bit less "Rick shows off super-strength, Jessie hangs off him adoringly." She's got super-strength too! I suppose there's probably some interesting characterization/plot reason, but the image on its own is mildly irksome to me. I might be over sensitive, admittedly.
But anyway, is it December yet?
I have a few responses:
1. I've never particularly liked Rick Tyler. I didn't dislike him, mind. It's just my first exposure to the guy was in Hourman, where he wasn't particularly impressive. Then in JSA, where the whole Rex-Rick switcheroo thing kept me from really getting a handle on the character. (Though I liked him in Stealing Thunder.)
But in this. All of a sudden. Rick got hot. And I'm not sure how to deal with this. But I'm suddenly looking forward to that Bane versus Hourman story.
2. Proof now that Jessie Chambers is Liberty Belle. This pleases me to no end actually. From what I've seen, poor Jessie suffered tremendously from Jade-syndrome. She's the female Flash-type, but with a just different enough identity to not be a Flash herself. (Jade being a Starheart's daughter, Jessie's a Quick not a Flash). Both portrayed as a bit less competent than the male counterparts. Both portrayed with a little dash of mother-inspired abilities which never made up for being weaker. Both got involved with pretty awful stuff regarding infidelity and the like.
This though, this could be the redemption of Jessie Quick. Because it really is all about the packaging. A character is only as weak as the way you express him/her. I mean compare this for a second: a speedster who is not as fast/capable as the others with fluctuating bouts of super-strength OR:
A Liberty Belle with a extra dash of super-speed.
Doesn't one sound infinitely cooler than the other? By giving Jessie a more direct maternal tie, and emphasizing both sets of powers, the character suddenly seems a lot more formidable.
It's part of why I'd always wished they'd stuck with Jade's plant powers and worked them in tandem with the Starheart "pulse" powers. Tie it to the idea of "Green Magic" that shows up in fantasy. Green tying to nature and life. "Pulse" also carries that sort of tone. On their own, as a replacement for Green Lantern powers, the plant stuff was kind of lame. But packaged together? Emphasizing Jade as not so much a standard Lantern-type conjurer but as some sort of nature/green magic wielder? That could have been cool.
3. What the heck is going on with Grant? Or is it Al? I've heard that there was confirmation that that's Damage in the costume, so I'll go with Grant.
Anyway, this is a story related "what the heck" not a characterization gripe. I want to know why he looks annoyed or even jealous. Did something ever happen between Damage and Jessie? I'm very curious now.
4. While I shouldn't judge as I don't know the context, I could wish that the image was a bit less "Rick shows off super-strength, Jessie hangs off him adoringly." She's got super-strength too! I suppose there's probably some interesting characterization/plot reason, but the image on its own is mildly irksome to me. I might be over sensitive, admittedly.
But anyway, is it December yet?
Labels: JSA
posted by kalinara @ 7:34 AM
7 Comments:
At September 09, 2006 12:15 PM,
Anonymous said…
Well, this does look interesting.
And yes, I'm suffering from a deficit of Hal/Guy bonding too.
At September 09, 2006 6:01 PM,
Anonymous said…
Yeah, the pose is kinda stupid, but I'm glad it's Jesse.
At September 09, 2006 6:35 PM,
Flidget Jerome said…
Since my chief exposure to Jessie was when she was being incredibly annoying in the 1993 JSA series her hanging adoringly off a JSA member seems pretty in-character.
At September 09, 2006 6:37 PM,
Marc Burkhardt said…
You know, that would have been a cool way to redefine Jade. Hope DC doesn't blow this second attempt to redeem a heroine with Jesse.
At September 10, 2006 3:45 PM,
Doc Hall said…
Although I not at all familiar with the JSA, outside of what i've read in JSA: Classified, I thought I'd give it a look.
I'm not going to get bogged down in history with it, am I?
At September 10, 2006 9:26 PM,
GamerGuy said…
It's Grant. I'm thinking that Grant is going to be the Angst Monkey of the series because I'm betting cold cash that underneath that hood he's horrifically disfigured from his ordeal at the beginning of Infinite Crisis. So he's all brrody and jealous of handsome Rick doing cool stuff and having the pretty woman at his side, something he'll now never have.
Mainly because both DC and Maver seem determined to cut down any teenaged character that shows the least bit of promise.
At September 11, 2006 9:13 AM,
kalinara said…
sally: I'm so impatient! :-)
ununnilium: :-)
flidget: I guess there is that. :-)
keeper: I'm hoping. We need more good female characters.
doc: there's a lot of history, but they're pretty good about keeping it on an approachable level.
gamerguy: :-) A bit cynical? Personally I'm optimistic. It's not like Damage has been doing much of anything until now. :-)
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