April Wrap-Up
finally entering the world of comics
This month I managed to stick pretty closely to the theme; everything on the list is superhero-related except for two odd ones at the end. I have been meaning to get into comics for a long time because I want to understand the genre more, and I think that only interacting with superheroes in the form of movie adaptations gives you a very limited view of the characters. Thankfully, some friends who know more about comics helped me pick some series to read, and I think having someone to guide me on this was really useful because there are a lot of comics out there. Without further ado, here’s what I read and watched in April.
🪲 Blue Beettle, dir. by Ángel Manuel Soto.
This became one of my favorite superhero movies, like 15 minutes in. It’s a great origin story that doesn’t rely on its expanded universe, and having a smaller scope lets the movie flesh out its characters and give them proper arcs instead of trying to tie in as many other characters as possible. Instead of saving the world, this is just about a guy saving his family, and his family saving him. While I do think it’s a bit of a cliché to make a Mexican superhero be all about family, I think it doesn’t feel forced in this movie—we spend the necessary time developing the bond they share, establishing how important they are to one another, and they all contribute something to the story. I like how the antagonists are more than just an obstacle in the plot but also work as foils for the main cast. The conflict between the heroes and the antagonists actually works with the themes of the story, and to develop the characters, the antagonists are more than just someone to beat in a big fight at the end. While Carapax saying that "family makes you weak" and Jaime replying that his family made him strong was a bit corny, I appreciate when a movie is not afraid to be cringe and the creators don't feel the need to include self-aware humor to undermine the emotional moments (yes, I'm talking about the MCU). Jaime coming up with that huge anime sword was silly, and I loved it. Sometimes, silly things are good. The humor was great, the entire cast was well developed, the romance plotline was natural, and will you look at that, this movie actually has something to say about capitalism and imperialism! It’s dumbed down for the kids, obviously, but it’s better than nothing. The final Carapax scene > almost every Phase 4 Movie, yes, that’s another MCU dig. 4.5/5
The Boys (Season 3).
This wasn't the best season, but it was solid. Homelander is still a terrifying villain, and he grows more and more threatening every episode. The show knows how to build up tension and the actor is great at portraying how on edge Homelander is at all times. The situation gets more and more dire until you can’t see any way for the Boys to make it out alive at the end. It’s hard to keep the audience worried about the safety of the main cast, but even though they are the protagonists it still feels like they could die any second. Butcher and M.M. had me worried the entire season. On the other hand, it felt like the show regressed on some of the character arcs. I was really frustrated with Butcher and Hughie, and despite how things turned out in the finale, I still think some of the conflicts with these two this season felt forced, especially the situation with Butcher and Ryan. Ryan is a very inconsistent character, and I think the show messed up in the final scene with him and Homelander, because I can get behind Ryan going to his dad after what Butcher said, but that final scene makes his storyline in season 2 completely useless. The whole point of Becca raising him was that she had to do it so he wouldn’t turn out like his father, but it seems like this kid has no moral backbone if having one argument with Butcher makes him okay with brutal murder. If he was younger or his childhood was more deprived of love, I’d get it, but this is a 12-year-old who had a pretty happy life and was raised with, you know, normal values like not hurting others. I think it would have made more sense for him to be conflicted about Homelander in the end, not just accept all of it. He didn’t even like being with Homelander in season 2, before anything bad happened. Ryan is a very weak character, just there to cause conflict and make a situation worse every time he’s on screen. Also, The Deep is still annoying, but I guess I just have to endure his presence because he’s the comedic relief of the show. Besides all that, I did enjoy this season; I love where A-Train’s arc is going, and I will always root for him; I liked Supersonic as a character that shows good people still exist outside the Boys; I thought Maeve’s arc ended pretty well; and I think Soldier Boy was an interesting addition to the story. Black Noir became a quick favorite for me, and I hope his story isn't done yet. Frenchie and Kimiko, as always, are the best part of the show, and I loved every scene they were in. The musical number was amazing. 4/5; I can’t wait for next season.
Super Crooks.
I dropped this after 4 episodes. I really tried to get into it; the concept was fun and the animation was great (especially during action sequences), but the story itself was just boring. The characters were plain, the comedy didn’t land, and there was a general lack of creativity that made it a slog to get through every episode. There was only one character with an interesting superpower (The Praetorian), but they went with the most simple execution of it. Basically, he gets random powers every time, and he doesn’t know what powers he’s going to get on any given day from the thousands he has… and then the powers he gets on the episode are fire, teleportation, cloning and reflection. Such a cool idea with such a generic result—that's the show in a nutshell. Maybe it gets better later on, but I wasn’t going to waste more time. 2/5
Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons, by Kelly Sue DeConnik, Phil Jiménez, Gene Ha and Nicola Scott.
This is a short series that provides an in-depth backstory to the Amazons. Their society is given a lot of detail, going over all the different tribes within the Amazons and, because this predates the birth of Diana, giving the spotlight to other members and the goddesses that created them. The main thing to talk about in regard to this series is the art style, which changes every issue and can be overwhelming at times. The story itself is quite simple, but it still packs a lot of emotion and important themes, and it had one of my favorite interpretations of the Greek pantheon. 4.5/5
Hellboy, by Mike Mignola.
I’m only a third of the way done with this series, so these are just my initial thoughts. I love Mignola’s art style; Hellboy’s character design is top-notch, and the same goes for all the supernatural creatures. This is heavily influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, and I’m not exactly a fan, so I was worried I wasn’t going to like this, but I think Mignola handles that very well by also mixing in some folklore and myths that have nothing to do with Lovecraft. I also love Hellboy as a character; he’s really charming and funny, and the whole concept of supernatural detectives is right up my alley. I’m excited to see where the story goes!
Watchmen, by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins.
Another series I wasn’t able to finish before the end of the month, but that I can tell will be a favorite of mine. I came into this with some spoilers because I actually watched the HBO show some time ago, which was an insane thing to do, but there’s still a lot that I wasn’t aware of, and I have been thoroughly enjoying it. I’m trying not to compare it with the show, but I can’t help but notice how some of the changes the show makes retroactively elevate the source material (and if you have seen the show, you know what I’m talking about). Anyway, I’m loving this take on superheroes. I was expecting it to be more cynical, but it’s far more nuanced than that. My favorite character so far is Dr. Manhattan, I find his story deeply tragic, and I love his relationship with both Janey and Laurie. It's sad from all angles. I like the use of in-universe texts, like comics and the novel fragments at the end of some issues. My favorite example is issue#3, where the comic narration highlights the internal struggle of Dr. Manhattan in regard to Laurie. Basically, any time the focus is on Dr. Manhattan, it’s the best part of the comic. Roscharch… he’s exactly the type of character that you should not agree with, but men will do that and completely misunderstand the point of the story. That’s the issue with cautionary tales. He’s not a bad character by any means; he’s intriguing, and I liked seeing his past and what made him the way he is. I will have more in-depth thoughts after I finish, but I just want to say that I’m glad I finally got around to reading this.
We Are Robin, by Lee Bermejo, Rob Haynes, Jorge Corona and Khary Randolph.
This series focuses on a group of Gotham teens doing some vigilante work to help the city, taking up the Robin name, and occasionally getting help from the Cave and the “official” Robins. While most members of the group have some time to shine, Duke Thomas is obviously the main character, and he’s also the one I liked the most. His backstory and his current situation are truly heartbreaking, and seeing his efforts to find his parents and help the city was very compelling. The other characters are… not so great. I didn’t like the way the latine characters were handled; they fell into some offensive stereotypes, and there were also some weird fatphobic undertones regarding another character. This girl had the fewest appearances from the rest of the group, and all of them revolved around her weight, like her mom insisting that she eats, her being in the gym and someone commenting on her losing weight, someone being surprised that she isn’t fat, etc. It was hard not to notice. There was also a forced love triangle storyline that didn’t make sense between Duke and two of the girls, despite Riko never showing any romantic interest in Duke beforehand. I also felt a bit conflicted about Riko and her hallucinations; I’m not sure what the point of that was. The art wasn’t for me, particularly the character designs, but the issue that focuses on Riko has a unique style that really stood out. The fights were cool, especially when the Bat-Kids came in. They don’t have a big presence, but I thought Damian, Jason and Tim had a fun dynamic here. In general, I enjoyed reading this, but mostly because Duke is such a loveable character and I like stories about the common people rising up to do the right thing and help their community. 3/5
Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale.
I love Batman and Gotham so much. This series was great from beginning to end; it reminded me why Batman is a hero to so many people and not just an angsty badass. His deep love and compassion for the citizens of Gotham made me genuinely emotional; it’s easy to forget that Batman is not just a guy that beats “mad” people; he’s someone who wants to help others and who empathizes with his fellow man. He cares about every person in Gotham. One of my favorite scenes was in the Thanksgiving issue, when he has Thanksgiving dinner with Jonathan Crane in the sewers. I love when Batman is allowed to be more than “vengeance”. My other favorite scene is during the Mother’s Day issue: Bruce running away from the cops, thinking they are his parents’ murderer, him crying out to his mom and clutching her gravestone. We know that Bruce hasn’t fully recovered from the loss of his parents, but that moment shows the little child inside him that fuels him to do what he does. He’s Batman so no other child has to be scared like that. It was beautiful; it made me want to cry; it was everything you could ask for in a Batman story. While the plot itself was a little predictable, it still had a surprising twist at the end. I really liked Harvey Dent here—he's not the most popular Batman rogue, but I thought his relationship with Batman and his growing frustration with the justice system were fascinating and made me want to read more about him. The art and the character designs in this series are also on point; I especially loved how Selina Kyle and Poison Ivy looked. 5/5
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote.
This book was fun, and it had some emotional moments towards the end. I didn’t particularly love it, but I can see why it is so famous and why it would resonate with people. Holly is a much deeper character than I initially thought; she seemed like your average “Manic Pixie Dream Girl,” who is so wild and so quirky, but we slowly get to understand her as she gets closer to the narrator. The scenes where she gets to be vulnerable are the best part of the book. The ending gives the reader hope that she has a happy life somewhere, and I liked that optimistic tone. I expected something more tragic for her, so I was pleasantly surprised. I had some gripes with the portrayal of latine people, but it’s fine; I can live with it. 3.5/5
A Sign of Affection.
Finally, the Shoujosei Renaissance is here. While romance is not my favorite genre, I do enjoy a good love story, and I’m extremely happy to see more shoujo anime being made. I checked out the first three episodes on a whim because, for some reason, Crunchyroll dumped all three together on YouTube (I couldn’t find them again, so I assume they took the video down). Crunchyroll should do that more often, because I was instantly hooked. This show is too damn cute. Every scene with the main leads gave me cuteness overload, like a good rom-com should. I think the show not only handles romance really well, but it also puts a lot of effort into portraying the life of a deaf person. The comparisons with “A Silent Voice” don’t do this show justice—instead of focusing on the “normal” people and the way they react to the deaf character’s disability, “A Sign of Affection” puts the spotlight on Yuki herself. She’s not a tool for the development of the other characters but a whole person of her own, and I think her character is very well-rounded and charming. I had some issues with Yuki and Itsuomi’s relationship; sometimes it felt like they were at completely different stages of maturity, but overall, this was an adorable rom-com and I hope we get more shows like this in the future. 4/5
The next couple of months will have a lot of superhero releases: My Hero Academia is coming back, as well as The Boys, and there’s going to be a Suicide Squad anime in July. I will also continue reading comics, so superheroes will be a staple in my monthly wrap-ups for a while, but I will try to balance them out with some other stuff.