Comics Fondle

Wow. Mike W. Barr has really done something here. He’s turned in the most sexist superhero origin I’ve ever even heard of. Looker is a homely woman–as homely as a woman in a mainstream comic book can get, anyway–who gets turned beautiful. With this change, she can finally give her husband what he deserves, which, apparently, is marriage to another woman.

Besides that astounding rational, these issues aren’t bad. Barr contrives to get Metamorpho kidnapped, then brings the Outsiders together searching for the equally–pre-beautiful–kidnapped Looker. Shockingly, they were kidnapped by the same mysterious party, an underground civilization.

I guess it all ties in to older Outsiders issues, but it seemed like a main to go back and check.

There’s one of Barr’s single-minded turns of events–Halley’s Comet is going to hit Earth, with enough time for it to make a newspaper, but, you know, Superman can’t just go and take care of it. Or Supergirl. Or Wonder Woman. Or Martian Manhunter. Or, gee, Green Lantern. No, only his new superhero, Looker, can take care of it and she does it in an extreme long shot panel. One panel it’s headed towards Earth, the next away. Crowds cheer.

Alan Davis’s art is still problematic. Lots of problems with figures and expressions. His Batman is positively goofy-looking.

I’m trying hard to think of a really good element in the comic but I’m coming up totally empty. The plot’s lifted from Edgar Rice Burroughs, only with superheroes thrown in.

But it’s not terrible–it’s a competent, middling superhero comic book–just the most sexist thing I’ve ever read. I mean, you’d think Barr would try to get his name taken off a story like this one.

C