Hey everyone, and welcome back to another brand spankin’ new edition of Fangirl Ramblings. First, I have to tell you guys, you are the best. To, Cameron, Tim, Tim’s wife who should read this column, Paul, David, our fearless editor Kevin, Lorenzo, Soak, MrXForever, and Joe, you guys are awesome. You made this little fangirls day a little bit brighter with your emails, feedback and compliments. It’s simple acts like this, that make you realize people are reading, and they do seem to care. Thanks again guys, you rock!
Now it seems from all the feedback I did receive, a few things became apparent. People would like to hear my opinions. They would like to know what I think, about the ways and working of the comic book world. They want a little bit of that female perspective that I can provide. And they want to know what I think about DC’s big giant event of doom, Infinite Crisis.
Being that these are the people who emailed me. My bread and butter, my yin to all their yangs, I’m going to listen to them. I’m going to take their suggestions and give you dear readers, my opinions of DC.
It is only fair that I share some DC love. I did explain to all of you my love affair with Marvel and how it all started. It’s time for me to tell you about my other love, my DC love.
I guess you could say my love for DC started at a much younger age then 13. I chronicled in the past how I started out my comic book reading. It was a bright Saturday morning and I fell in love with the X-Men cartoon in junior high. This had me seek out the comic, starting me down the path of that I am on now. DC’s affair with my heart started at a younger age, believe it or not. At the time, I did not realize that this love was a growing love. I thought it was a mere childhood crush, but it seems it escalated further down the road, much to my surprise.
I’ll take you back to a young girl, sitting in her living room watching TV. She was maybe, 7, maybe 8. The age really doesn’t matter. Much like her love for the Monkees TV show, she found herself in love with another. The 60’s Batman TV show was a staple of her after school viewing habits. The campy adventures of Batman and Robin filled her heart with glee as they POW!, BAM!, and BOOMED! all over the screen. The Joker, Riddler, King Tut, Egghead, Bookworm, they all made her laugh with glee. She loved the episodes where Batgirl guest starred and she wanted to be her, in her purple sparkly outfit. But being that Batgirl only starred in a handful of episodes, her love blossomed for a young boy named Robin.
Yes, I admit it, I crushed on a young Burt Ward as Robin. Not only did I dance around in my pajamas when I was in first grade to Daydream Believer, wanting Davey Jones to marry me. I also fell for a boy in green tights, hoping he’d come sweep me off my feet. I fell in love with Dick Grayson.
Now, lets fast forward a little bit to many years later. Here I’ve been reading my X-Men comics, enjoying them immensely, but I’m wanting more. Some new station on our cable provider started playing the re-runs of the old Batman TV show, and next thing you know, a love was awakened. I remembered my childhood fondness for Batman and Robin, specifically Robin, and went in search of some more comics. I came across in a stores rack, the first four issues of one of the Robin mini-series written by Chuck Dixon. I couldn’t wait to read all about the adventures of my childhood friend, Dick Grayson.
That’s when it happened. There was no Dick Grayson. He wasn’t Robin. There was this other kid, this impostor, named Tim Drake, wearing the Robin costume. I felt as if my childhood had been shattered. Had I been being lied to. Who was this Tim Drake and where was my Dick Grayson?!
It was a little while later that I came to realize, Dick Grayson had become another character named Nightwing. As you probably already figured out, I had a new obsession. I would only read books that had Nightwing in them. I scoured back issues bins hoping to find other issues where he was featured. This is when I came to realize all the other things that were happening in the Batman world. Barbra Gordon wasn’t Batgirl, she couldn’t even walk. Batman, he wasn’t even Batman for awhile. Some other guy was. It was a lot for my young teenage mind to handle. Where had my Adam West Batman gone. Where was Burt Ward’s Robin, in his green tights and silly little gloves.
After awhile, I began to accept it. I formed a new love for this Nightwing guy. He was after all, still my Dick Grayson. He just grew up and shed his green tights for a nice form fitting body suit. I began a love for Barbra Gordon too, in her new persona as Oracle. But poor Tim Drake, I never did love thee. I had a hard time accepting this new Robin in my life. He just didn’t ever feel right to me. I tried. I did. But it seems in my heart, there is only one Robin who deserves the loyalty and respect of Batman.
With these characters, I started to delve into other parts of the DC Universe. Nightwing chilled out with the Titans, so I started collecting back issues of that. I scowled at Starfire trying to get the love of my Nightwing. I disliked this alien girl, with her orange skin and her long flowing hair, that always bothered the hell out of me. Wasn’t there a tension between Robin and Batgirl. Didn’t they belong together. I was watching the Batman animated series and there was a romance building. That’s when I realized, I had turned into one of those people. One of those scary fans who obsesses over a character like they were real. I wanted Dick Grayson and Barbra Gordon together, and in love. I even began collecting original artwork showcasing the beginnings of their relationship. (I even own 2 pages from Birds of Prey #8, the famous, first date issue.)
Many years have passed now since I started reading DC comics. As I mentioned before, I ventured into other areas. In the beginning of my career as a comic fan, certain characters helped fuel my buying habits. Then, after a few years, I became a fan of certain artists, and followed them from book to book. Now, more recently, I’ve become a writer centric reader. I follow certain writers from book to book and that’s how I became entrenched in other DC areas.
I read Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow run, and continued on with the book for many issues. I became a fan of Greg Rucka and followed him all around, from Batman, to Gotham Central, to Wonder Woman. Usually though, my DC buying habits stayed in Gotham City, and Bludhaven, because that’s where my heart lie.
Today, I only read a few DC titles. I love Birds of Prey. It’s probably one of my top books right now, only because it’s so damn fun. I found a new love in the Black Canary. Blonde, with fishnets, and a kick ass martial artist. You can’t go wrong with a character like that. I still read Nightwing, and I occasionally glance at a Bat book here and there. It all depends on who might be writing it, and what is going on. I do love Gotham Central, and will be incredibly saddened when it does end. I also read quite a few books in trades. Teen Titans, The Outsiders, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow, I devour them in trade when they come out.
As for my opinion on that great big cross over of doom that’s going on over in DC land. I’m digging it. I loved Identity Crisis and I’m enjoying Infinite Crisis. My theory is, any book that can explain to me Crisis on Infinite Earths in four pages, is good in my eyes. I’m interested to see what is going to happen. At the moment, I’m in the middle of reading the new Teen Titans TPB that came out. It is quite amazing how long they have been planning this little event. There are talks about the crisis event in the story-line, when the Titans of the present meet the Titans of the future. I’m curious to see how this is going to affect all the books in the future and what this is going to entail for my favorite characters.
Will Dick Grayson stay Nightwing? Will he end up with his one true love, Oracle? Will I ever get to own a original page of art of the two of them kissing? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.
I hope you all enjoyed this little visit down memory lane. You got to see another glimpse into the world of this rambling fangirl. And, if you want more, because you know you want it, you can now check out my new Livejournal. The user name is FangirlRambling. It’s a great way for me to make little comments here and there about what I’m reading or thinking about in the comics world. Sure, you might say, but isn’t that what this column is for. Well, yes, you are correct, that’s exactly what this column is for. But frankly, blogging is the new thing, and I want in on the action.
Plus, it’s a great promotional tool to get more exposure for this column. I want to get the word out. So, if you’ve got yourself a livejournal, look me up and add me to your friends list. If not, just check the link every once in awhile and see if I’ve added anything new and exciting to it. I’m not promising daily updates here people. But I’ll do my best to keep it fun and exciting.
See ya next week. Love ya.
