Issue #1. Art and story were on the same page after that the story just went off like a rocket and the art cannot keep up. Story rapidly lost impact as we sling shot-ed about. Dumb Bunny = Janina, or did she disappear basically
The Sasha recaps since I didn´t get the comic...nor was it available still in Spain (here now they´re starting Dawn of DC) and even it did I wouldn´t have gotten it. Not just because I wasn´t interested but because of the increase in prices and how some titles are being sold here.
Too true! I spent the weekend watching them all, and considering I have never read a Punchline comic, I am surprised by how much I now know thanks to CC.
I seriously hate when people use the genre of "comedy" as an excuse for terrible writing. Just because something is supposed to be funny that doesn't mean that it also has to be worse in quality.
Yeah. It wasn't even really funny. Comedy is probably THE hardest thing to write. Most people can tell a decent joke or make a funny quip once in a while but most people cannot write an actual funny story.
@@floofzykitty5072 I've never heard of that term before, so it's essentially just a toxic way for the writer to always have it their way no matter what?
It's so frustrating that no writer seem to want deepen Punchline dynamic with any character. They took her away from Joker and now they barely interact. Her and Harley don't really acknowledge the glaring issue between them, Harper row was setup to be her rival and been thrown out and now Catwoman doesn't really seem to care about her outside surface level crap.
I think part of it is just overcoming the intensely loud part of the fan base that hates anything new. Too many writers get discouraged. Batman has had plenty of bad and absurd story arcs. So have all of the staples. Folks need to chill out, open their minds and just relax.
Agreed. Imo this Gotham Sirens book is anyway a dumpster ground and not a basis for a successful career as a comic book character. But if we are fair, getting Harper Row (Bluebird) assigned as your archenemy is already someone in editorial giving that character the death kiss. I don’t see DC assigning top talent to any Bluebird/Punchline book and not enough of a fandom for these characters to make any low effort Bluebird/Punchline book a big success.
@@w1-em4nqI know that feeling. As somebody who only sometimes reads DC comics, I thought myself that Harper Row isn’t canon anymore and must have disappeared in one of those crises events. 😅
I like White Rabbit as a character but its pretty clear at this point that the writers have no idea what to do with her or tap into her potential to create a compelling storyline for her.
From what I have seen here, I think the writer barely has enough ideas for what to do with Punchline. Even the Sirens seem to be off for most of the book.
Wild theory: White Rabbit has the ability to further split but there can only be two beings at a time. White Rabbit split and spawned Dumb Bunny, this made Jina disappear from the cell. Later WR and DB fused together to bring back Jina
You can certainly read material contrary to the intent of a piece; reading “what if” as if it were canon, for one. To an extent, you could view most forms of post-modern critique as forcibly applying “lenses” that the text was obviously not designed using, then pretending you can read the author’s mind as a result. Not that either of these were what applied here, more “I read it at this pace, so I didn’t notice, you’re obviously reading too slow.”
It works for some but certainly not all. Like, I like it for Harley. I liked it for White Canary on Arrow/Legends. But notice that’s basically 1 per universe? (Also WC is a hero/vigilante, not an anti-hero/villain/criminal) I also think most assassin/spy type characters should be “overly-sexualized” because honestly that’s like the #1 thing in their arsenal: seducing dudes, especially. However, occasionally doing the same with women seems smart. Could even do something clever with that. Like basically, “I have to be effectively be bi for my job but I’m actually straight.” (Or lesbian. Would work either way) I can almost guarantee you a CLEVER author could really make that work. (Although someone like me could never, but there’s a reason I don’t even try to write stories lol) But yeah, outside of those 2 specific types of character, I feel like it can get redundant. Especially when it seems to be used as more of a DEFINING character trait, than just a character trait. For example, I felt Supergirl’s writers really let down Alex in s2. She went from a badass agent to THE lesbian. And to be clear, idc if someone isn’t straight or even bi. They don’t have to be into dudes, despite me being one lol. But it seemed like that was what her character was REDUCED TO. Her ONLY trait at that point. And I dropped the show soon after. I know that Sara/White Canary was bi, but honestly aside from a dalliance with John Constantine, she was basically put in a lesbian relationship and that was the rest of the show. So although I can’t ENTIRELY point to her as like, “See?! A lesbian I don’t dislike!” I feel like I can still kinda point to her for my point. She was way more than JUST her sexuality. Honestly, I think you could point to characters like Iris West from The Flash as another kinda bad example. Sure, she wasn’t defined by her sexuality… but rather her relationship with Barry. Despite having way less chemistry with him than Caitlin or the cop from like s2. And it felt like the spent most of the rest of the show trying to make her relevant as more than just his love interest, and a lot of people didn’t really seem to like her anyway. 🤷♀️ (Just to point to some actual lesbians or potential lesbians that I think were way more than just that since I only gave the 1 “bad” example… I love Ellie from The Last Of Us although TLOU 2 mostly sucks it’s not cuz of her lol, and Max and Chloe from Life Is Strange. Now technically, Max can end up with Warren, I think? So she’s “player sexual” I guess, meaning whatever the player decides. But c’mon, it’s clearly Max & Chloe as the OTP there. Korra and Asami in The Legend Of Korra, although I’m not sure if Korra is actually lesbian? I think I remember her having a bit of a thing for Mako for a second, maybe? Oh and, most might not get this but Beau and Yasha from Critical Role c2. I think it’s been long enough I can spoil that by now. They’re over 100 episodes into c3)
I got completely derailed by the third art shift and by the Dumb Bunny questions. Like Dumb Bunny definitely seems like her own third distinct entity, especially when White Rabbit says DB is only four hours old. Okay cool, she was created four hours ago . . . how? Was Punchline trying to clone her as another avatar to sell and something when wrong? If not where did she come from then? And then the panel the panel with the two of them and Jaina happened and I had no clue what that panel was supposed to be implying. It was very strang and jarring
Honnestly I thought she was being over the top sarcastic which would have been funny in of itself, but no they messed it up by Ivy making the obvious pandering jab.
@@stryke-jn3kv When Sasha showed the panel, I expected that the next panel was going to be her saying something along the lines of "Well... Not that hard, but it's definitely expensive!"
Leah Williams is probably a wonderful human being, and I wish her well... in some other career. With your critiques of this series and that of Power Girl, I think it's safe to say I won't be seeking out her work.
Personal I hate it when art style (or artist) changes book to book or halfway (or partway) through a single storyline... unless it's changed to showcase that a character is on drugs been hypnotized or something has changed they way they now see their reality / world. DC could really use you as an editor 🙂
Sasha Wood: Aka, Punchline, but if she was a Hustler baby. Once again, people at DC trying to force Punchline happen, and it's just not landing. If wasn't for you, i'd completely miss this.
The series went from a Turn Your Brain Off, Popcorn film type series to crashing so quickly. And given Punchline’s scheme is just following a successful manipulation of Gotham and the Gotham Game arc, nothing about this plan and how the series resolves it just feels cohesive.
My problem with this series (and many Leah Williams series for that matter) is that she tends to write characters ooc just to make a quick reference to Internet brainrot and it absolutely takes me out of the issue. This happened during this issue many times and made me just not like the issue. Punchline was a victim of that type of writing and she even killed her (not really) at the end. Very messy series for me. A highlight for me was White Rabbit, she was hilarious for me, maybe because I don't know a lot about her character to determine if she was well written or not.
There's a chance that the final panel with both bunny's and Jaina isn't meant to both combining to Jaina, instead it's probably a just some kind of reference that they are kinda the same person, or just means that they are getting back to their "Home" which is Jaina. If this was true, the panel don't convey it very well, they should have made so that Jaina was transparent and both bunny's were more visible
You've actually made me start coming around to the idea of punchline. I think she works as a villain in gotham. I wish they hadn't started by advertising her as the joker's girlfriend, Because I think that turned off more than a few people to the idea.
I was at a con today and saw a really cool Punchline cosplay, and got very excited not because I've ready anything with Punchline, but simply because I'm a fan of your channel
Perhaps the book being cut short is the explanation, but I think we've seen this a lot with modern comics - an interesting setup, barely any kind of second act, then a hasty, if not perfunctory resolution. (I hesitate to call it a "climax" since they're usually anti-climactic) I haven't read it, but based on your rundown that seems to be the case here as well.
I have noticed the same thing with new tv series, really strong start, then it seems to flounder around and then rush everything for the the last episode(s) to end the season. It is like they have written the start and the end point but nothing between.
With white rabbits I think they should cut the Jenna part out because it’s adding a layer of confusion. And just make her a living copy machine that can control certain abilities each copy can get and do. You could get into body horror too if you wanna take her more seriously against Batman
No body found = she's a-okay! I want to side on art mistake and just assumed Dumb Bunny mutated out of White Rabbit after she was dosed before. Does feel this mini was rushed out to be filler while DC readies for thier All-In relaunch between the different artists, inconcsistencies, and the fact the entire mini came out in one month and replaced each siren's ongoing title.
Wow. This series just kept getting more chaotic and nonsensical with each issue. And I agree, being a "comedy" is no excuse for Batwing sized plot holes. Punchline has so much potential... she just needs a writer who can execute properly.
I do like the loony tunes art shift for Ivy and DB, it seemed to work better for them, but Punchlines jaw was going in every direction and even for a cartoony style it didn't feel attached at times, but art is subjective, so that could just be a me thing.
I have similar feelings, the art of this comic series varied wildly from issue to issue. First issue artist being my favourite, not really liking the second and then culminating on The Mask comic style in the 4th issue.
Personally, as a queer person, the concept of punchline calling harley the F-slur is extremely hilarious to me. She would do that, she's a Gamer™ after all
Idk that she would though, tbh. She idolizes The Joker, who's a historically very queer coded character, so her having homophobic opinions and stuff would feel kinda off imo.
@negligible_reality I would argue that Punchline idolizes a version of the Joker that only exists in her head. Since she embodies the reactionary side of the internet, rejecting queerness right in front of her feels like a natural fit.
The thing that has really started to annoy me recently is the censoring of swear words. Just put them in there. Like this book, its rated 13+ , you can have gratuitous violence being shown and people don't even bat an eye at it. But show some tame naughty words, then its all about 'Think about the children'. Its just stupid. Its even more stupid when its a Black Label title. Like I read the first issue of the new Jenny Sparks book. She curses like its going out of fashion, but its still censored in this "for mature readers" comic.
Wait, seriously? They're censoring swearing in Black Label books too??? That's completely absurd, but also unsurprising since they also had a controversy a while ago about showing Bruce Wayne naked (in a completely non-sexual way btw) in a Black Label book and it was censored upon reprint. Why are they so quick to censor things in the books that are specifically labeled as being for mature audiences only????
the whole run just seems so...amateurish given that it was written and drawn by pro comic creators working for a massive company. i'm honestly tempted to call it non-canon based on how badly put together it was and how little it made sense.
I agree the story seemed rushed or incomplete, too many things just didn't make sense. I also had a real tough time getting past the art, especially at the beginning on #4. Opening it up and seeing the faces on pg 1 just threw me off so much I couldn't recover.
I'm not saying that Batman needed to be added or involved, but when things like this happen, I do wonder where he is. Like, he not notice this? How? I just get so curious.
Hmm, maybe the final White Rabbit panel wasn't meant to be them recombining into one person, but them all just speaking the same sentence while still being in different locations since they've established they have the whole mindmeld connection going on. It's still very confusing and it's probably a reach, but it could be read that way.
Honestly, I think the White Rabbit mystery can’t be solved as it looks like even the writer didn’t really care (and the editor gave up early as well). But if I would have had a say, I would have gone with the original person creating White Rabbits as short term extensions of herself and that would have been the reason for Punchline to be after her (that ability being plan B due to her XO punch thing becoming known aka being easily stopped).
I wanna be a positive people, but unfortunately, I found this whole episode, jarring, and the ending very unsatisfying in the fact that they didn’t further punchline character and basically she was just generic bad guy and very rushed. Very frustrating.
They couldn't even get a 4 issue mini drawn by 4 artists, nevermind the 1 that would make sense. Did they just rush this out the door because it was deemed unacceptable to launch as part of All In?
I was about a year behind on casually comics videos about a month ago, and this is the first one I've seen since i caught up, and im watching it the day it came out. Feels good to be back in the present
I LOVED the PIECES of this story, but the threads were too loose. IF it were 8 issues or longer, they could've really made these unique points Shine through as well as have all of them seamlessly flow in and out of ongoing stories/plot points of each characters story! (I do believe it is 3 rabbit clones since in the end Jaina never changed clothes, but thats my vague 2 cents lol) Glad we got to explore this cute series as a channel! 💜💚
@@CasuallyComicsWell, her losing most of her subscribers will just help her getting even more unhinged. Time for Punchline 3.0 to up the ante even more on social media related crime.
The whole White Rabbit/Dumb Bunny situation seems to me like a very poorly executed attempt on what they sort-of tried to do with the TV version of Moon Knight (and a few other characters throughout the ages) - a super that is their own unreliable narrator. Their identity switches from panel to panel, and even splits and recombines as dictated not by cause and effect, but by the metanarrative. Dumb Bunny begins to exist not because of a directed choice on Jaina's part, but as a natural response of Jaina's abilities to the needs of the (meta)narrative. Same with the reality of where "Jaina" is - her (and the narrative's) point of view changes where White Rabbit is, and where Jaina is. This would also (kinda?) tie into her namesake - a character from Alice in Wonderland, a story famous for it's subversion of logic.
Perhaps some of the Tank Girl. I wouldn't say first 4 albums by any stretch. Honestly I'd be more curious to see how it compares against Phoo Action, but that's a problem in logistics at the mo.
The only good thing about this comic is Ivy, Harley, Selina, White Rabbit, and Dumb Bunny defeating Punchline and destroying her XO Punch. That’s it. The few things I can criticize are the art and dialogue and trying to end it as a giant-size issue or an annual because Leah Williams wanted to wrap things up.
Im not going to lie. I hate this... I waited so many years for a sirens reunion and this was so disappointing on so many levels.. I would tell you what didn't work for me but my thumb doesn't have the energy to write that book.
Based on the abomination, that is her Power Girl, Series, I don’t think one can expect Leah Williams to write a good comic. This is especially true when it comes to characterization and character history and substance. This is like a number of contemporary series that get worse the more you think about them. If you can manage to read it and not think about it again it’s mediocre to OK. However, if you think about it at all it starts to get worse… And worse… Power Girl is like this, the current birds of prey, like this, and Bendis’ Superman was like this. Things just don’t make sense when you put a little bit of Thought Into what you’ve read. It’s style over substance in very superficial.
I’ve really enjoyed this series of vids, even as someone who isn’t interested in Punchline at all! I think getting into how being comedy-first doesn’t mean it’s free from critique was great, I feel like I all-too-often see people use how funny a book is (or is to them) as a shield, when that shouldn’t be the case. As always, love the vids! Also, at 2:03, I just noticed that the DC wiki must’ve recently changed Plastic Man’s pre-Crisis’ name to just O’Brian, instead of “Eel” O’Brian or Patrick O’Brian. It’s a neat change, given how it took until 2001 for Patrick to become his official name
Welp, it was a wild ride, that's for sure. I'm probably in a minority, but I really don't care much for where Punchline seems to be heading. In her initial appearance, she gave out a really malevolent vibe. She had potential to be a cool, nihillistic villain whose skill in reading and manipulating the social trends could make her quite effective and scary. While her following appearances haven't quite measured up to the very strong beginning, I enjoyed Gotham Game and her part in Joker War. However, from Knight Terrors and now this series, it seems to me that she is destined for one of the two default avenues for female villains in comics - "I'm so wacky and not that serious! Lol! Random! Funny!". I don't know... maybe I'm over interpreting it, but it looks like a waste.
It kinda feels like a result of metatextual factors. Like, because writers changed or they didn't know what to do with the character, her plans all just fizzled out. This leaves us with a character who starts off strong and competent, but it's now the pattern that everything falls apart. I predict it's gonna be one of those things that gets retconned in a few years to make it look intentional.
@@Chronoplague You're right, it certainly seems that way. It's a pity, because while it is relatively easily to turn a serious threat into a joke, the reverse is much harder to pull off. Still crossing my fingers for her, since I really like her early character and design, but this latest outing does not inspire hope in me.
Question for those who read the comic, did we see Jaina standing there when White Rabbit and Dumb Bunny disappear? If no then it's possible Jaina was in Gotham while White Rabbit made Dumb Bunny as her copy, which makes the end of the last part an art error
I genuinely loathed this series. I felt like the characterization for almost everyone was off, ESPECIALLY Punchline. The hot tub streamer thing is way outdated and feels like a 'how do you do, fellow kids?' moment. I think that angle would have worked way better if Alexis had been Vtubing instead of hot tub streaming - and she already has a vtuber avatar she could use with Pipi! The plot inconsistencies, the whole Jaina/White Rabbit situation, the overuse of the word 'whore' getting thrown back and forth...reading these four issues genuinely just felt bad for me. I'm a huge fan of almost every major character in this - Ivy and Alexis are two of my absolute favorites - so seeing Leah Williams writing them this badly just genuinely makes me sad, especially with how underused Punchline is and knowing it might be another year before she pops up again. Man, I wish we could have gotten the Tini Howard / Babs Tarr take on the Sirens that they were hinting at...
This story and this review series prompted me to go back and look up the history of White Rabbit and honestly it's a bit sad. Generally she's just inserted into villain crowd scenes or plays some kind of associate/eye candy for the main villain. Most ridiculous of all, when she and Jaina were first introduced, Jaina is shown as a possible romantic interest for Bruce Wayne and he almost immediately suspects she is White Rabbit on no evidence other than they've just met. Because apparently everything in Gotham revolves around Batman and he can't even meet someone socially without them secretly being a villain. The mini itself feels undercooked. It should have been sent back for another draft so it made sense. And how they could manage 4 issues without a consistent art style just baffles me. Some nice stuff in it. I'm just sad that so much of its potential was wasted.
Is it possible that creating dumb bunny made Jaina disappear from the cell? Like she's limited to having two bodies at once or something? So dumb bunny split off from white rabbit outside the cell and Jaina disappeared. The other three were still unconscious when she woke up.
Pretty much agree with everything you said Sasha. I loved this series and I did kind of turn a blind eye to the plot holes and convinces and contrivances so that allowed me to get more into it. When you start to question it the story sadly doesn’t hold much water. Although the ideas and premise are excellent. I really hope we see punchline developed more because I weirdly love her! I got her two collections and her figure and now this series. I have been obsessed since the joker war. Here’s to hopefully more appearances of her and maybe even as reoccurring sirens villain!
Honestly, I didn't keep up with these comics, but I'd go back and read solely because of the art style. It's giving early 2000s American-anime graphic novels and looks so expressive. Punchline actually works in this style and White Rabbit looks pretty cool. Just don't care for Harley or Ivy, but I honestly haven't like any recent Harley designs lately, so that's personal bias on my part.
Right on, Sasha. There are Inconsistencies I have point outed. For example: Leah Williams’ *Power Girl House of Brainiac tie in.* Leah wrote the reason why The Brainiacs didn’t kidnapped Power Girl because she is from Earth 2. That inconsistency is a big contradiction of *DC’s Convergence* where Brainiac is capable of kidnapping worlds from different earths and timelines. Including both Original and New 52 Earth 2. There are many inconsistencies that shouldn’t be ignored. Including current Iron Fist comics and The new NYX. Art inconsistencies. The only one I have point out is art of Jarret Williams’ Speed Force. There a lot of art changes within the comic.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
What was your favorite part of this series?
Issue #1. Art and story were on the same page after that the story just went off like a rocket and the art cannot keep up. Story rapidly lost impact as we sling shot-ed about.
Dumb Bunny = Janina, or did she disappear basically
My favorite part? The drug trip moment had some pretty slick art I guess, if I had to pick a moment.
Harley and Ivy casually feeding someone to a plant lol
The Sasha recaps since I didn´t get the comic...nor was it available still in Spain (here now they´re starting Dawn of DC) and even it did I wouldn´t have gotten it. Not just because I wasn´t interested but because of the increase in prices and how some titles are being sold here.
first issue i really enjoyed the premise and what could be , unfortunetly i agree that later back of series was lacking
From now on, I would like a running gag that Harley never remembers meeting Punchline. Which frustrates and enrages the attention obsessed Punchline
That would be hilarious.
They're never doing it cause it's simply too clever 🙃
Sasha has read so many Punchline comics that she is slowly turning into her
Punchline is inevitable lol
If she starts getting into chemistry, we should start getting worried
@@BlUsKrEEmshe'll transform into Walter White lol.
Too true! I spent the weekend watching them all, and considering I have never read a Punchline comic, I am surprised by how much I now know thanks to CC.
@@CasuallyComics Stay *away* from the hot tub!
I seriously hate when people use the genre of "comedy" as an excuse for terrible writing.
Just because something is supposed to be funny that doesn't mean that it also has to be worse in quality.
Agreed. You read my mind, but that last part was kind of a stretch. This mini-series was never "funny" to begin with.
its also odd that they have so many clown characters and not one joke amongst any of them. where. are. the. jokes.
Yeah. It wasn't even really funny. Comedy is probably THE hardest thing to write. Most people can tell a decent joke or make a funny quip once in a while but most people cannot write an actual funny story.
Also the "Schrodinger's Satire" defense where if you don't like a message it's ironic, but if you do it's profound satirical commentary.
@@floofzykitty5072 I've never heard of that term before, so it's essentially just a toxic way for the writer to always have it their way no matter what?
Forget 3 Jokers because 3 Bunnies is the real mystery.
It's so frustrating that no writer seem to want deepen Punchline dynamic with any character. They took her away from Joker and now they barely interact. Her and Harley don't really acknowledge the glaring issue between them, Harper row was setup to be her rival and been thrown out and now Catwoman doesn't really seem to care about her outside surface level crap.
Harper Row is still around? Is Duke, Gordan RoboBat?
Not really a fan of Punchline.
just need to bring them all up
@@w1-em4nq I think they mean they just abandoned the set up of having them be rivals.
I think part of it is just overcoming the intensely loud part of the fan base that hates anything new. Too many writers get discouraged. Batman has had plenty of bad and absurd story arcs. So have all of the staples. Folks need to chill out, open their minds and just relax.
Agreed. Imo this Gotham Sirens book is anyway a dumpster ground and not a basis for a successful career as a comic book character. But if we are fair, getting Harper Row (Bluebird) assigned as your archenemy is already someone in editorial giving that character the death kiss. I don’t see DC assigning top talent to any Bluebird/Punchline book and not enough of a fandom for these characters to make any low effort Bluebird/Punchline book a big success.
@@w1-em4nqI know that feeling. As somebody who only sometimes reads DC comics, I thought myself that Harper Row isn’t canon anymore and must have disappeared in one of those crises events. 😅
I like White Rabbit as a character but its pretty clear at this point that the writers have no idea what to do with her or tap into her potential to create a compelling storyline for her.
From what I have seen here, I think the writer barely has enough ideas for what to do with Punchline. Even the Sirens seem to be off for most of the book.
Wild theory: White Rabbit has the ability to further split but there can only be two beings at a time. White Rabbit split and spawned Dumb Bunny, this made Jina disappear from the cell. Later WR and DB fused together to bring back Jina
You’re already thinking about it more than the writers
This is what I was thinking.
that would make sense but you know THEY SHOULD PROBABLY EXPLAIN THAT
"You are reading [x] wrong" is a ridiculous statement. Reading, or media consumption in general, always carries a subjective component.
Well, there's the satire defense--reading Swift's "A Modest Proposal" as if it were an actual policy suggestion, for example.
You can certainly read material contrary to the intent of a piece; reading “what if” as if it were canon, for one.
To an extent, you could view most forms of post-modern critique as forcibly applying “lenses” that the text was obviously not designed using, then pretending you can read the author’s mind as a result.
Not that either of these were what applied here, more “I read it at this pace, so I didn’t notice, you’re obviously reading too slow.”
I choose to believe that Punchline took a page from Silver Age Lois and the bleeped word was her calling Harley a Dame.
If Punchline is meant as a rival for Harley...I dont know.
Every female character being a "sassy bisexual criminal" is all kinds of lazy writing.
It works for some but certainly not all. Like, I like it for Harley. I liked it for White Canary on Arrow/Legends. But notice that’s basically 1 per universe? (Also WC is a hero/vigilante, not an anti-hero/villain/criminal)
I also think most assassin/spy type characters should be “overly-sexualized” because honestly that’s like the #1 thing in their arsenal: seducing dudes, especially. However, occasionally doing the same with women seems smart. Could even do something clever with that. Like basically, “I have to be effectively be bi for my job but I’m actually straight.” (Or lesbian. Would work either way) I can almost guarantee you a CLEVER author could really make that work. (Although someone like me could never, but there’s a reason I don’t even try to write stories lol)
But yeah, outside of those 2 specific types of character, I feel like it can get redundant. Especially when it seems to be used as more of a DEFINING character trait, than just a character trait. For example, I felt Supergirl’s writers really let down Alex in s2. She went from a badass agent to THE lesbian. And to be clear, idc if someone isn’t straight or even bi. They don’t have to be into dudes, despite me being one lol. But it seemed like that was what her character was REDUCED TO. Her ONLY trait at that point. And I dropped the show soon after.
I know that Sara/White Canary was bi, but honestly aside from a dalliance with John Constantine, she was basically put in a lesbian relationship and that was the rest of the show. So although I can’t ENTIRELY point to her as like, “See?! A lesbian I don’t dislike!” I feel like I can still kinda point to her for my point. She was way more than JUST her sexuality.
Honestly, I think you could point to characters like Iris West from The Flash as another kinda bad example. Sure, she wasn’t defined by her sexuality… but rather her relationship with Barry. Despite having way less chemistry with him than Caitlin or the cop from like s2. And it felt like the spent most of the rest of the show trying to make her relevant as more than just his love interest, and a lot of people didn’t really seem to like her anyway. 🤷♀️
(Just to point to some actual lesbians or potential lesbians that I think were way more than just that since I only gave the 1 “bad” example… I love Ellie from The Last Of Us although TLOU 2 mostly sucks it’s not cuz of her lol, and Max and Chloe from Life Is Strange. Now technically, Max can end up with Warren, I think? So she’s “player sexual” I guess, meaning whatever the player decides. But c’mon, it’s clearly Max & Chloe as the OTP there. Korra and Asami in The Legend Of Korra, although I’m not sure if Korra is actually lesbian? I think I remember her having a bit of a thing for Mako for a second, maybe? Oh and, most might not get this but Beau and Yasha from Critical Role c2. I think it’s been long enough I can spoil that by now. They’re over 100 episodes into c3)
White Rabbit being able to summon avatars that specialize in one area reminds me of the old Avengers villain Lord Templar. It's a visually cool power.
I got completely derailed by the third art shift and by the Dumb Bunny questions. Like Dumb Bunny definitely seems like her own third distinct entity, especially when White Rabbit says DB is only four hours old. Okay cool, she was created four hours ago . . . how? Was Punchline trying to clone her as another avatar to sell and something when wrong? If not where did she come from then? And then the panel the panel with the two of them and Jaina happened and I had no clue what that panel was supposed to be implying. It was very strang and jarring
I feel like adding whites rabbit (an already messily written character) just muddies the story
“Oh wow!” said the small but passionate Punchline fan base!
This comic hurt me. Poor Punchy.
I'm part of her fanbase!
This comic just makes me sad. :/
I think the better joke for DC would be if unethical billionaires ARE hard to find because most of them become masked vigilantes 😅
Honnestly I thought she was being over the top sarcastic which would have been funny in of itself, but no they messed it up by Ivy making the obvious pandering jab.
@@stryke-jn3kv When Sasha showed the panel, I expected that the next panel was going to be her saying something along the lines of "Well... Not that hard, but it's definitely expensive!"
Leah Williams is probably a wonderful human being, and I wish her well... in some other career. With your critiques of this series and that of Power Girl, I think it's safe to say I won't be seeking out her work.
Personal I hate it when art style (or artist) changes book to book or halfway (or partway) through a single storyline... unless it's changed to showcase that a character is on drugs been hypnotized or something has changed they way they now see their reality / world.
DC could really use you as an editor 🙂
When the CasuallyComics icon turns into PunchLine run
Sasha you've been read so much Gotham City Sirens that you have finally become Punchline!
"... I still had questions..." and that's what I really enjoy about this channel.
Absolute Batman looks at Dumb Bunny’s legs… nice thickness lol
To quote Homer Simpson, “Clown College? You can’t eat that.”
Wayne Gayce would disagree.
Sasha Wood: Aka, Punchline, but if she was a Hustler baby.
Once again, people at DC trying to force Punchline happen, and it's just not landing. If wasn't for you, i'd completely miss this.
"Some of Punchline's lines are hit or miss..." so you're saying some of Punchline's lines lack punch? Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
we're losing Sasha. Soon she'll be completely Punch-pilled and give in to her inner clown.
committing to the bit, i see
lol I've come this far...
I think White Rabbit follows multiplicity rules. The more she splits the less stable the copy of the copy is.
The series went from a Turn Your Brain Off, Popcorn film type series to crashing so quickly. And given Punchline’s scheme is just following a successful manipulation of Gotham and the Gotham Game arc, nothing about this plan and how the series resolves it just feels cohesive.
My problem with this series (and many Leah Williams series for that matter) is that she tends to write characters ooc just to make a quick reference to Internet brainrot and it absolutely takes me out of the issue. This happened during this issue many times and made me just not like the issue. Punchline was a victim of that type of writing and she even killed her (not really) at the end. Very messy series for me. A highlight for me was White Rabbit, she was hilarious for me, maybe because I don't know a lot about her character to determine if she was well written or not.
Perhaps the real Gotham Sirens were the Punchline wigs we made along the way
This is probably the best story White Rabit has had... Which isnt aaying much. Hopefully this is a sogn that someone has plans to develop her.
This is her second outing within a few years, it's White Rabbit's time, lol
There's a chance that the final panel with both bunny's and Jaina isn't meant to both combining to Jaina, instead it's probably a just some kind of reference that they are kinda the same person, or just means that they are getting back to their "Home" which is Jaina.
If this was true, the panel don't convey it very well, they should have made so that Jaina was transparent and both bunny's were more visible
Hmm, that's definitely a possibility.
Sounds like the writers went "Consistency is overrated. Just wanna tell a cool story, bro..."
You've actually made me start coming around to the idea of punchline.
I think she works as a villain in gotham. I wish they hadn't started by advertising her as the joker's girlfriend, Because I think that turned off more than a few people to the idea.
Sasha has gone full Punchline. What matters most is that she's living her best life 💜
I need me a Sasha reproduction of the "putting on clown makeup" meme, but with her becoming Punchline.
What's that old line? One of the first rules of comedy is you must have reality. I dunno if that applies here but I always remember it.
In today's episode of Casually Comics, Sasha loses her damn mind.
Worth if for the wig alone. I wouldn't mind a longer series with White Rabbit as part of the Sirens.
Shouldn't Punchline's real arch nemesis be the Marvel anti-hero The Pun-isher?
should be Spoiler
@@mattyt1961That’s a great statement. It really works a joke and as a serious comment. 🎉
I was at a con today and saw a really cool Punchline cosplay, and got very excited not because I've ready anything with Punchline, but simply because I'm a fan of your channel
Perhaps the book being cut short is the explanation, but I think we've seen this a lot with modern comics - an interesting setup, barely any kind of second act, then a hasty, if not perfunctory resolution. (I hesitate to call it a "climax" since they're usually anti-climactic) I haven't read it, but based on your rundown that seems to be the case here as well.
I have noticed the same thing with new tv series, really strong start, then it seems to flounder around and then rush everything for the the last episode(s) to end the season. It is like they have written the start and the end point but nothing between.
It's easy to come up with a good hook, but following through and maintaining that momentum is almost a superpower.
With white rabbits I think they should cut the Jenna part out because it’s adding a layer of confusion. And just make her a living copy machine that can control certain abilities each copy can get and do. You could get into body horror too if you wanna take her more seriously against Batman
Thanks for spending part of your holiday discussing comics with us.
I keep forgetting that you had that make-up when comics were on the screen. Then suddenly *Clown Horn noise*.
Oh hey I got a call out! =D Speaking of, why didn’t Punchline use her immortality and indestructibility nanites on herself?
lol there must be side effects we don't know about.
No body found = she's a-okay!
I want to side on art mistake and just assumed Dumb Bunny mutated out of White Rabbit after she was dosed before. Does feel this mini was rushed out to be filler while DC readies for thier All-In relaunch between the different artists, inconcsistencies, and the fact the entire mini came out in one month and replaced each siren's ongoing title.
Turned up for the synopsis stayed for the make up
Ivy didn't recognize her own pheromone? Hmmm... you never smell your own...
...Yes, I am going back to the corner.
Sorry, sorry, sorry... "How hard is to find billionaires who are morally bankrupt"? Literally they wouldn't be billionaires if they weren't 🤨
Wow. This series just kept getting more chaotic and nonsensical with each issue. And I agree, being a "comedy" is no excuse for Batwing sized plot holes.
Punchline has so much potential... she just needs a writer who can execute properly.
I do like the loony tunes art shift for Ivy and DB, it seemed to work better for them, but Punchlines jaw was going in every direction and even for a cartoony style it didn't feel attached at times, but art is subjective, so that could just be a me thing.
I have similar feelings, the art of this comic series varied wildly from issue to issue. First issue artist being my favourite, not really liking the second and then culminating on The Mask comic style in the 4th issue.
I know my live action Punchline movie fan cast...
You wouldn't think it would be that hard to edit a 4 issue story, so that it remains consistent and addresses everything brought up in the story.
Personally, as a queer person, the concept of punchline calling harley the F-slur is extremely hilarious to me. She would do that, she's a Gamer™ after all
Idk that she would though, tbh. She idolizes The Joker, who's a historically very queer coded character, so her having homophobic opinions and stuff would feel kinda off imo.
@negligible_reality I would argue that Punchline idolizes a version of the Joker that only exists in her head. Since she embodies the reactionary side of the internet, rejecting queerness right in front of her feels like a natural fit.
what's an F slur, is that a kind of new age toothpaste?
@@kavinskysmith4094It's the old slur of gay people.
@@kavinskysmith4094 no that's what you have between your ears
The thing that has really started to annoy me recently is the censoring of swear words. Just put them in there. Like this book, its rated 13+ , you can have gratuitous violence being shown and people don't even bat an eye at it. But show some tame naughty words, then its all about 'Think about the children'. Its just stupid. Its even more stupid when its a Black Label title. Like I read the first issue of the new Jenny Sparks book. She curses like its going out of fashion, but its still censored in this "for mature readers" comic.
Wait, seriously? They're censoring swearing in Black Label books too??? That's completely absurd, but also unsurprising since they also had a controversy a while ago about showing Bruce Wayne naked (in a completely non-sexual way btw) in a Black Label book and it was censored upon reprint. Why are they so quick to censor things in the books that are specifically labeled as being for mature audiences only????
Or at least make the censorship funny. Slap "BONK" stickers over Harley's swear-words, or something like that.
11:07 Holy smokes, I made it into a casual comics video… In the middle of a long Labor Day workday, so it was a nice surprise
the whole run just seems so...amateurish given that it was written and drawn by pro comic creators working for a massive company. i'm honestly tempted to call it non-canon based on how badly put together it was and how little it made sense.
Nice Punchline cosplaying Casually Comic cosplay.
I agree the story seemed rushed or incomplete, too many things just didn't make sense. I also had a real tough time getting past the art, especially at the beginning on #4. Opening it up and seeing the faces on pg 1 just threw me off so much I couldn't recover.
I'm not saying that Batman needed to be added or involved, but when things like this happen, I do wonder where he is. Like, he not notice this? How? I just get so curious.
Hmm, maybe the final White Rabbit panel wasn't meant to be them recombining into one person, but them all just speaking the same sentence while still being in different locations since they've established they have the whole mindmeld connection going on. It's still very confusing and it's probably a reach, but it could be read that way.
Honestly, I think the White Rabbit mystery can’t be solved as it looks like even the writer didn’t really care (and the editor gave up early as well).
But if I would have had a say, I would have gone with the original person creating White Rabbits as short term extensions of herself and that would have been the reason for Punchline to be after her (that ability being plan B due to her XO punch thing becoming known aka being easily stopped).
I wanna be a positive people, but unfortunately, I found this whole episode, jarring, and the ending very unsatisfying in the fact that they didn’t further punchline character and basically she was just generic bad guy and very rushed. Very frustrating.
Maybe they'll make a Director's Cut hardcover that will explain better.
As if
No, just cut the losses.
Really liked following this series with you Big S! Can't wait to see your next big thing
They couldn't even get a 4 issue mini drawn by 4 artists, nevermind the 1 that would make sense. Did they just rush this out the door because it was deemed unacceptable to launch as part of All In?
I was about a year behind on casually comics videos about a month ago, and this is the first one I've seen since i caught up, and im watching it the day it came out. Feels good to be back in the present
Yay you did the punchline hair!
Lol, the ponytail did not get as high as hers, but it happened.
Sasha thank you for the consistently great videos over the years! You rock!!!!
I LOVED the PIECES of this story, but the threads were too loose. IF it were 8 issues or longer, they could've really made these unique points Shine through as well as have all of them seamlessly flow in and out of ongoing stories/plot points of each characters story!
(I do believe it is 3 rabbit clones since in the end Jaina never changed clothes, but thats my vague 2 cents lol)
Glad we got to explore this cute series as a channel! 💜💚
I liked it when punchline said a slur that was very accurate to the internet 😅😢
Lol she has achieved her final form
@@CasuallyComics yeah she’s getting cancelled on twitter for that one 😂
I hope she owns a Ukulele she already had to apologize during the trial. She needs to up the ante, lol.
@@CasuallyComics fr 😂
@@CasuallyComicsWell, her losing most of her subscribers will just help her getting even more unhinged. Time for Punchline 3.0 to up the ante even more on social media related crime.
I think they had an extremely interesting direction for Punchline and they just totally goobed it. It's been goobed.
One pill makes you larger,one pill makes you small🎶🎶🎶
I feel like if they did 6-8 issues instead of 4 it would have benefited the series way more
i honestly didnt even see Jaina in the cell. I thought she was safe back at the Siren hideout, and dumb bunny split off from white rabbit
Didn't know reading too much punchline csn turn you into one
The whole White Rabbit/Dumb Bunny situation seems to me like a very poorly executed attempt on what they sort-of tried to do with the TV version of Moon Knight (and a few other characters throughout the ages) - a super that is their own unreliable narrator. Their identity switches from panel to panel, and even splits and recombines as dictated not by cause and effect, but by the metanarrative. Dumb Bunny begins to exist not because of a directed choice on Jaina's part, but as a natural response of Jaina's abilities to the needs of the (meta)narrative. Same with the reality of where "Jaina" is - her (and the narrative's) point of view changes where White Rabbit is, and where Jaina is. This would also (kinda?) tie into her namesake - a character from Alice in Wonderland, a story famous for it's subversion of logic.
not to take it to seriously was kinda why I compared it to Tank Girl both in style and art ❤❤
I need to read Tank Girl, I've only ever seen the movie.
If you do I hope you do a video on it.
Perhaps some of the Tank Girl. I wouldn't say first 4 albums by any stretch.
Honestly I'd be more curious to see how it compares against Phoo Action, but that's a problem in logistics at the mo.
The only good thing about this comic is Ivy, Harley, Selina, White Rabbit, and Dumb Bunny defeating Punchline and destroying her XO Punch. That’s it. The few things I can criticize are the art and dialogue and trying to end it as a giant-size issue or an annual because Leah Williams wanted to wrap things up.
This Punchline doesn't deserve a spot in my deck, but she'd make a good coaster for my drink
Im not going to lie. I hate this... I waited so many years for a sirens reunion and this was so disappointing on so many levels.. I would tell you what didn't work for me but my thumb doesn't have the energy to write that book.
Based on the abomination, that is her Power Girl,
Series, I don’t think one can expect Leah Williams to write a good comic. This is especially true when it comes to characterization and character history and substance. This is like a number of contemporary series that get worse the more you think about them. If you can manage to read it and not think about it again it’s mediocre to OK. However, if you think about it at all it starts to get worse… And worse… Power Girl is like this, the current birds of prey, like this, and Bendis’ Superman was like this. Things just don’t make sense when you put a little bit of Thought Into what you’ve read. It’s style over substance in very superficial.
I’ve really enjoyed this series of vids, even as someone who isn’t interested in Punchline at all! I think getting into how being comedy-first doesn’t mean it’s free from critique was great, I feel like I all-too-often see people use how funny a book is (or is to them) as a shield, when that shouldn’t be the case. As always, love the vids!
Also, at 2:03, I just noticed that the DC wiki must’ve recently changed Plastic Man’s pre-Crisis’ name to just O’Brian, instead of “Eel” O’Brian or Patrick O’Brian. It’s a neat change, given how it took until 2001 for Patrick to become his official name
Welp, it was a wild ride, that's for sure. I'm probably in a minority, but I really don't care much for where Punchline seems to be heading. In her initial appearance, she gave out a really malevolent vibe. She had potential to be a cool, nihillistic villain whose skill in reading and manipulating the social trends could make her quite effective and scary. While her following appearances haven't quite measured up to the very strong beginning, I enjoyed Gotham Game and her part in Joker War. However, from Knight Terrors and now this series, it seems to me that she is destined for one of the two default avenues for female villains in comics - "I'm so wacky and not that serious! Lol! Random! Funny!". I don't know... maybe I'm over interpreting it, but it looks like a waste.
It kinda feels like a result of metatextual factors. Like, because writers changed or they didn't know what to do with the character, her plans all just fizzled out. This leaves us with a character who starts off strong and competent, but it's now the pattern that everything falls apart. I predict it's gonna be one of those things that gets retconned in a few years to make it look intentional.
@@Chronoplague You're right, it certainly seems that way. It's a pity, because while it is relatively easily to turn a serious threat into a joke, the reverse is much harder to pull off. Still crossing my fingers for her, since I really like her early character and design, but this latest outing does not inspire hope in me.
Question for those who read the comic, did we see Jaina standing there when White Rabbit and Dumb Bunny disappear? If no then it's possible Jaina was in Gotham while White Rabbit made Dumb Bunny as her copy, which makes the end of the last part an art error
I think a terrific example of what you brought up about humor comics was the Sugar & Spike miniseries?
This series barely gives GCS but a Punchline mini. I get a feeling this series might be ignored by future works.
Dumb Bunny is a massive problem now, yay.
Sounds about like a Leah Williams book.
I genuinely loathed this series.
I felt like the characterization for almost everyone was off, ESPECIALLY Punchline. The hot tub streamer thing is way outdated and feels like a 'how do you do, fellow kids?' moment. I think that angle would have worked way better if Alexis had been Vtubing instead of hot tub streaming - and she already has a vtuber avatar she could use with Pipi!
The plot inconsistencies, the whole Jaina/White Rabbit situation, the overuse of the word 'whore' getting thrown back and forth...reading these four issues genuinely just felt bad for me. I'm a huge fan of almost every major character in this - Ivy and Alexis are two of my absolute favorites - so seeing Leah Williams writing them this badly just genuinely makes me sad, especially with how underused Punchline is and knowing it might be another year before she pops up again.
Man, I wish we could have gotten the Tini Howard / Babs Tarr take on the Sirens that they were hinting at...
Dammit Punchline, you're going to lose your number one fan. And she might be your only fan!
I had a feeling that that would be the case with this series.
This story and this review series prompted me to go back and look up the history of White Rabbit and honestly it's a bit sad. Generally she's just inserted into villain crowd scenes or plays some kind of associate/eye candy for the main villain.
Most ridiculous of all, when she and Jaina were first introduced, Jaina is shown as a possible romantic interest for Bruce Wayne and he almost immediately suspects she is White Rabbit on no evidence other than they've just met. Because apparently everything in Gotham revolves around Batman and he can't even meet someone socially without them secretly being a villain.
The mini itself feels undercooked. It should have been sent back for another draft so it made sense. And how they could manage 4 issues without a consistent art style just baffles me. Some nice stuff in it. I'm just sad that so much of its potential was wasted.
Will your cosplay include the chaps?
Is it possible that creating dumb bunny made Jaina disappear from the cell? Like she's limited to having two bodies at once or something? So dumb bunny split off from white rabbit outside the cell and Jaina disappeared. The other three were still unconscious when she woke up.
I like this idea!
I like how animated the expressions are in this strip
Pretty much agree with everything you said Sasha. I loved this series and I did kind of turn a blind eye to the plot holes and convinces and contrivances so that allowed me to get more into it. When you start to question it the story sadly doesn’t hold much water. Although the ideas and premise are excellent. I really hope we see punchline developed more because I weirdly love her! I got her two collections and her figure and now this series. I have been obsessed since the joker war. Here’s to hopefully more appearances of her and maybe even as reoccurring sirens villain!
Honestly, I didn't keep up with these comics, but I'd go back and read solely because of the art style. It's giving early 2000s American-anime graphic novels and looks so expressive. Punchline actually works in this style and White Rabbit looks pretty cool. Just don't care for Harley or Ivy, but I honestly haven't like any recent Harley designs lately, so that's personal bias on my part.
Right on, Sasha.
There are Inconsistencies I have point outed.
For example:
Leah Williams’ *Power Girl House of Brainiac tie in.* Leah wrote the reason why The Brainiacs didn’t kidnapped Power Girl because she is from Earth 2.
That inconsistency is a big contradiction of *DC’s Convergence* where Brainiac is capable of kidnapping worlds from different earths and timelines. Including both Original and New 52 Earth 2.
There are many inconsistencies that shouldn’t be ignored.
Including current Iron Fist comics and The new NYX.
Art inconsistencies. The only one I have point out is art of Jarret Williams’ Speed Force. There a lot of art changes within the comic.