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25th April 2024

DG Stewart

DG Stewart is the editor of WCBR and is a content contributor. He completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in literature at the University of Western Australia in 1989, and is an Adjunct Professor at Murdoch University in Australia.

Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad #1 April Fool’s Day Special (review)

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Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad #1 April Fool’s Day Special (review)
(DC Comics, May 2016)
Writer: Rob Williams

The publication, “Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad #1 April Fool’s Day Special” is a story which skims thematic tones and mise-en-scenes like a hockey puck on ice. American comic book publisher DC Comics has issued this, no doubt, to tie in with the forthcoming motion picture, “Suicide Squad”.

In trailers for the film, Australian actress Margot Robbie steals the show in her role as the psychotic character Harley Quinn. Harley Quinn, an adversary.of DC Comics iconic hero Batman, is a brawler with no super powers, and as such the character property’s status as a fan favourite is a little unique. Harley Quinn has as a foundation an almost Japanese combination of madness, violence, and raw coquettishness, triggered and perpetuated by an “amae” relationship with one of the most vile and murderous of all comic book villains, The Joker (“Amae” is a Japanese word meaning a subconscious sense of reliance, a desire to be loved, and submissive desire).

This issue, as the title suggests, focusses on Harley Quinn, with other Japanese manga elements. For most of this issue the story is light-hearted and effervescent. The beginning of the story involves Harley Quinn in a state of “hikikomori”, hiding from society in a room eating junk food, with poor hygiene, and suffering delusions.

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REVIEW: Symmetry #1

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Symmetry #1 (review)
(Image Comics/Top Cow, December 2015)
Writer: Matt Hawkins

This intelligent, compelling comic by writer (and editor) Matt Hawkins has its roots manifestly embedded in “The Time Machine”, a book written by H.G. Wells in 1895 (Heineman).

In “The Time Machine”, the nameless English voyager in his time travelling machine heads into a far future (802701 AD) where humans have evolved into two different species: the golden, beautiful, harmless and thoughtless Eloi, who live above the world’s surface, and the brutish subterranean Morlocks, who tend to machines, perform tasks the purpose of which is long forgotten, and who prey upon the frivolous Eloi. It was and remains a haunting tale which has not dated at all, but it carries a significant social message.

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Marvel Vehicles: Owner’s Workshop Manual (review)

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Marvel Vehicles
Owner’s Workshop Manual (review)
(Haynes Publishing, 2014)
Writer: Alex Irvine

Haynes manuals are well-known to car and motorcycle enthusiasts as an eminent resource for the maintenance and repair of certain types of vehicles. The series of manuals covers approximately 300 cars and 150 motorcycles.

Occasionally however Haynes branches out into areas outside of motor vehicles. This manual, on the vehicles appearing in US comic book publisher Marvel Comics, is one such example.

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Extraordinary X-Men #10: Hiding the dust of time under the rug

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Extraordinary X-Men #10 (review)
(Marvel Comics, July 2016)
Writer: Jeff Lemire

“Uncanny X-men” is the title of a long-running comic book series published by US comic book publisher Marvel Comics. The extraordinary success of the title can be laid squarely at the feet of meticulous character writer Chris Claremont, who penned the first series of the title for a phenomenal sixteen years (from 1975 to 1991). During this period Mr Claremont introduced innovative staple elements to the title and its many spin-offs. Some of these are very esoteric but popular with readers: a multiplicity of new and complex characters, nasty mutant xenophobia, the Shi’ar alien empire, the rehabilitation of arch villain Magneto, the poignant death(s) of mainstay character and telepath Jean Grey, and, significantly here, time travel as a vehicle for demonstrating how far down the protagonists of the title and the world can descend into dystopia should the X-Men fail.

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