#infinityinc

DC round-up for this week! I did not get Absolute Superman because it was already sold out when I got to the comic shop. It was noon or even slightly early, but it was still sold out. So i'll have to wait for the next printing.

Batgirl #1 is a solid start. Lady Shiva shows up in Gotham to tell Batgirl that some evil super ninjas are out to kill them, and they need to work together to survive. Cass is understandably reticent about teaming up with her evil mom. They have a well written back-and-forth about it. Batgirl's taciturn nature is conveyed very well. Mom and daughter are at an impasse, but nothing ends an argument like a bunch of sword-wielding mfers crashing through the window. This was very good. The characters are on point. The fight scenes are exactly what you want in a martial arts inspired superhero comic. I first noticed Takeshi Miyazawa's art like twenty years ago when it was much more manga-like. That influence is still there, but the line weights and types are a lot more varied now. Poses, storytelling, and facial expressions are excellent.

Birds of Prey #15 also prominently features Batgirl. She's undercover here, infiltrating an evil company that has abducted several Amazons. Things don't go well for Cass' mission, but she badasses her way through it. There's a line where Black Canary says that Cass is everyone's favorite in every scenario, and I was like, you're fucking right she is. All of the character stuff in this issue is aces. Barda's big lovable violent scary self, Dinah showing top tier leadership chops, Onyx and Grace's instant camaraderie, all great. Onyx is a cool deep cut. I don't know if she's shown up somewhere else recently, but it's cool to see her featured more prominently. The villains in this arc are well done, too. They are smarmy and full of shit in a very big corporate way that rings true. You really want to see them get what's coming to them. Heels are hard to book in 2024, so congrats to Kelly Thompson for that. Consistently one of the comics I most enjoy.

JSA #1 -- I wasn't sure if I'd dig this one or not, but I did. The mix of generations is not new to Justice Society series, but the inclusion of the Infinity, Inc. versions of Wildcat and Doctor Mid-Nite is very welcome. Those two should have been back a long time ago. Plot-wise, this hits the ground running. Many members of the team are missing or in the hospital after a mysterious attack. It's unclear whether this happened in some earlier comic (maybe in the Absolute Power event?) or if the story is just being very in media res about things. Regardless, it wasn't hard to follow. There's a good opportunity here for some of these characters to get more fleshed out, contemporary character development. The team is having a lot of conflict, some of which might seem a bit too ordinary, except that it's due to an imposter in their midst. The last page is out here on tumblr, but I won't give away the details. I'll just say that a conspiracy of villains that is several steps ahead of the good guys is a trope that I will always pop for. Don't believe I've seen artist Diego Olortegui's work before, but I like it. All of the characters look great, the faces are very expressive, everything is clearly told, and dude does not skimp on the backgrounds. Loads of cool stuff here.

A world without trans people never existed. They were always there, we just never noticed them.

Amazing Woman, formerly known as Fury

After the mega crossover even Infinite Crisis in DC Comics back in 2006, the main DC Trinity took a break for one year, and the comics company decided to follow the lives of more ordinary heroes. Among them was an ill-fated team calling themselves Infinity Inc.

While I was re-reading 52 a few weeks back, when I got my curiosity piqued and decided that I wanted to know whatever happened to Infinity Inc, in the aftermath of 52.

Among the original roster of Infinity Inc was a shadow of a character called Erik Storn, codenamed Fury. He was the violent guy of a group. Wanna be wolverine with hands that turn into claws.

In the aftermath of 52, several of the Infinity Inc roster began manifesting new powers and dealing with mental health issues. And we see Erik stumbling through figuring out his gender identity, which is manifesting as an almost separate personality, with a separate gender identity and the power to BECOME a different biological gender.

It's nowhere near perfect as representation. None of the members of Infinity Inc were cut out to be heroes in the long term. But I like it as a time capsule. A young person questioning their identity, and not having the language to express what they're feeling. They're so deep in denial that being gender-fluid is a thought that can't enter their mind.

Erik Storn was a unconfident, stuttering want-to-be everyman. Their gender-flipped side was a confident, invulnerable hero, that why she was known as Amazing Woman.

But, they just couldn't hold themselves together.

Erik Storn died before the Flashpoint. The pressure of being a hero proved too much for them. They died as part of one last heroic mission. Erik / Erika were part of a deep cover operation to prevent a war between planets. Sadly, they were executed for knowing too much.