Preview of Huntress #1

[aeka]

Newsarama released the first four pages of Huntress #1 by Paul Levitz, and so far it looks like this will be the only book in DCnU I'll actually be picking up besides Birds of Prey and Earth-2 JSA.

(Though should this really surprise anyone on here at this point? XP)






So far I'm really digging the art in this issue and the writing looks pretty solid. One thing I *am* a bit worried about though is Levitz writing Helena B too similarly to his Helena Wayne version (ie, drugging a guy to sleep for example was more Helena Wayne's modus operandi than Helena B's who is more likely to beat a guy unconscious). But other than that, I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of this issue on Wednesday :)

Comments

[mrstatham]

Nice art, but I'm not sure about the narration, especially the parts with her coming across as a man-hater and especially the line with her pondering how many corpses to leave behind..

[aeka]

Hence why I brought up the slight *concern* that he may end up writing her as he did Helena Wayne back in the 70s and 80s. Not that Helena Wayne was a man-hater per se, but Levitz always wrote her as being critical of men, and the line about "wondering how many corpses [she'll] leave behind," doesn't give me much hope that fully understand this version of the character.

Still I hope the actual book proves me wrong about her characterisation, but the story-wise, it's looking pretty solid so far. :P

[richardak]

Actually, wondering how many bodies she's going to leave behind sounds exactly like Helena Bertinelli to me. Also, the comments about men don't strike me as hateful, necessarily; the comment about Berlusconi just sounds accurate, if understated.

[aeka]

I didn't think the comments about men were hateful either, I just don't recall Helena B as ever being critical of men/male behaviour, though this was done a lot with the Helena Wayne Huntress in the 70s and 80s.

Actually, wondering how many bodies she's going to leave behind sounds exactly like Helena Bertinelli to me

What bothered me most about the corpses comment was that it felt out of place and inconsistent with the rest of the narration. At best it felt like it was just thrown in there at the last minute to remind readers early on that this was the more "psychotic willing-to-kill" Helena Bertinelli Huntress and not the "soft-as-kittens" Helena Wayne Huntress.

If the narration had started off with Helena actually thinking about her objective or the people she was about to face off with, I would have believed the corpses comment a lot more. But the fact that the narration here reads as "I'm here in Italy-I wonder how many corpses I'll leave behind-Men are so easily distracted-what are the rules for importing lethal weapons?" shows that her thoughts are all over the place, which doesn't give the impression Levitz fully understand how version of the character thinks. What's more is that this is also how he wrote the Helena Wayne Huntress when she first started out.

Like I said it's only a minor concern, and that hopefully the rest of her characterisation is presented better in the rest of the book. Aside from that, the writing for this looks pretty solid.

[richardak]

I get what you mean, but I don't think the internal monologue is too scattered, considering the time frame it happens over. After all, it starts when her plane is on approach and ends when she's in her hotel room, so I don't think it comes across as too "all over the place." Most of the big jumps come at the major time-skips: she's thinking about being back in Italy as her plane is landing; she's thinking about men being easily distracted as she enters her hotel, presumably at least the better part of an hour later; she's thinking about lethal weapons up in her room as she unpacks, presumably at least a couple of minutes later. So given that some time passes in between, I don't see her thoughts as being all over the place the way you do. Also, I think the line about leaving bodies behind is a good character-establishing moment, and a good way for Levitz to make clear that he's writing Helena Bertinelli, not Helena Wayne. So I think I see where you're coming from, but I can't say I really agree.

[aeka]

It was just the randomness of the line in comparison to the rest of the narration that made it feel like a last minute add to remind readers this is the Helena Bertinelli Huntress. In other words, I didn't really feel like it really fit in with the rest of the narrative and was only thrown in there as an afterthought.

[omnipotent]

The comment about Berlusconi is extremely accurate. He's pretty much useless.

[whitesycamore]

Yep. It's the perennial problem of how to wrote a Strong Female Character's sexuality.

Looks like Levitz is going to go the easy route of deciding not to let her have her one at all (at least not until she meets that strong manly dominant fellow who is just SO strong and manly and dominant that he will sweep her off her feet and melt her icy heeeaaart ♥ , transforming her into a beautiful warm flower of non-man hating, tender womanliness)

But that's a traditional, nostalgic kind of narrative, so everyone will probably be cool with it. :/

[aeka]

Or until she meets a bloke she's attracted to because she thinks "he'll understand and accept me as I am," but turns out to be the misogynistic "only men can be heroes, women only get killed" douche she has trouble dumping...

[whitesycamore]

Oh yes, there is that old chestnut.

Points if she proves him wrong and he Learns a Valuable Lesson though.

[aeka]

Do those points still apply if the Joker put that theory to the test, not once but twice?