Reading Comics 181 "Always a Fan"

I went shopping again, in part because Christian Mock got a letter in a comic book, and so I'll be heaping further praise on Tom King's masterful Omega Men, plus some other thoughts.

First, a word on Comic Shop News.  This is a free weekly newsletter you can find in most comic book shops (although I've had a rough time finding it in recent years with a lot of stores simply not making enough to give away stuff like this).  It's basically the last print source for fans in the age of the Internet, which is probably what killed Wizard.  While its interior content is more or less superfluous these days, its main articles are an excellent resource, the rare all-inclusive source for notable projects throughout the medium.  Without it, for instance, I may never have heard of Andi Ewington's breakthrough 45.  I'm talking about it at all because I picked up a copy, which turned out to be #1,500, which is a milestone if there ever was one.  The cover feature this issue concerns Paul Dini's forthcoming graphic novel Dark Night: A True Batman Story, which looks like an amazing project.

Before I get into the comics I bought, it's also worth noting that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is opening this weekend, and the merchandising blitz is in full force, including select cereal boxes including mini-comics.  Most of these mini-comics aren't much to write about, but Jeff Parker's "Playground Heroes" turned out to be a pretty good one.  In it, he explores Superman's impact on a boy struggling with how to respond to bullies.  It's a worthwhile character study where these things tend to be fairly generic storytelling.   Presumably, the other three mini-comics in the set are equally worth reading. 

Plus, y'know, that movie they're technically hawking is a pretty big deal.  As a fan of Man of Steel, I'm glad the Justice League franchise is spinning out of it.  Even if fans still prefer the irreverent hijinks of the Avengers and Deadpool at the box office, this is still some of the best superhero material on the big screen, ever. 

Anyway, onto the comics proper:

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #3 (DC)
I nearly bought the deluxe version of the second issue.  In my more limited comics experience these days, I won't read the complete story until the eventual collected edition.  I previously read the first issue digitally.  As of this issue, I would equate DKIII with DC's previous Before Watchmen, with Brian Azzarello once again stepping up to help make it a reality.  Frank Miller's voice is still there, but there's clearly a filter this time around.  I decided to pick up this issue because the mini-comic this time features Green Lantern, apparently from the perspective of the ring itself rather than Hal Jordan.  It's interesting stuff. 

Martian Manhunter #10 (DC)
I figured I had to revisit this series when the cover boasts, "The Secret Origin of J'onn J'onzz," which otherwise means Rob Williams is getting around to explaining exactly what's been going on, and that's exactly what this issue is all about, a new version of Mars mythology and origin of the Martian Manhunter, how J'onn is involved, and why he ended up splitting himself up into a variety of guises, including Mr. Biscuits.  I liked it.  Should anyone be interested in expanding on these concepts, they could easily once again tie in Bloodwynd with the rest of it, as confused readers two decades ago...

The Omega Men #2, 4, 5, and 9 (DC)
While accidentally duplicating my print collection of #5, now I'm only missing #3, which I'd read previously in digital form.  I can't get over how brilliant this series is.  Tom King obviously got to write the greatest non-Geoff Johns Green Lantern story of the New 52 era by making the ostensible leads the terrorists/freedom fighters Omega Men, making alien politics as realistic and intriguing as possible, and featuring a heavy dose of Kyle Rayner to move the narrative along, including #9 finally featuring him reuniting with the white ring.  I think Omega Men represents what DC has routinely done better than Marvel, which is to look deeper into the superhero narrative, looking for alternatives in storytelling approach.  Marvel does it on occasion, like Frank Miller's Daredevil, Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, and King's Vision, but more often than not it clings to the tradition more than anything else, even in the Ultimate Comics experiments.  DC, meanwhile, routinely pushes the boundaries of literature storytelling, not as exceptions but increasingly as the rule.  It frustrates fans to no end.  They want simplicity and familiarity above everything else.  They want what they always had.  Omega Men flies in the face of all the rules.  Nine issues in and we're still waiting for Kyle to pick a side.  Shouldn't it be obvious?  Isn't it obvious?  And yet King is writing something truly great here, buried in a series that has some of the worst sales of DC's whole catalogue, which DC itself saved from cancellation in order to give King the chance to complete his story.  Because, as I've said time and again, DC knows better than the readers what it has with Omega Men, and King.  Word is that King will be writing Batman once the full details of DC Rebirth are revealed.  I couldn't be happier.

Robin: Son of Batman #5, 6 (DC)
These are the remaining issues under Patrick Gleason's creative direction (although I guess I missed #4) in the follow-up series to his and Pete Tomasi's brilliant Batman and Robin.  The more issues I read, the more I'm convinced that Gleason had more creative input in Robin: Son of Batman's predecessor than previously thought, because he proves a deft hand as writer, so similar to and in the same spirit as it that it's a seamless continuation.  These issues features Damian's reunion with his mother Talia, confronting the matter of what happened in Grant Morrison's Batman, Inc. while also exploring Goliath's secret origin and rounding out Maya Ducard's story.  I have no idea why fans wouldn't embrace this series.

Superman #50 (DC)
Gene Luen Yang's final issue is a big one, concluding both the 'Truth" and "Savage Dawn" arcs.  I follow two blogs that both savaged (heh) the issue, and weren't particularly keen on Yang's run in general.  For me, putting aside my incomplete reading of it to this point, it was a natural extension of Geoff Johns' (it's rare when two different writers can do this; previously I can think of Chuck Dixon and Devin K. Grayson in the pages of Nightwing, and...really, that's about it, except for maybe Karl Kesel and Stuart Immonen in the Superman comics).  The whole point of it, taking away Superman's powers, was to provide one of those extreme situations that the '90s did on a constant basis.  And in fact, Superman lost his powers in the '90s, too (in the wake of The Final Night).  This time, however, his identity was exposed at the same time.  He began to feel hounded, and no longer knew who to trust.  For a lot of readers, this didn't feel true to character.  Yang's fight club, I think, was what most alienated readers.  It's a common trope, but as far as I could tell from the issue that debuted it, Yang's version was uniquely positioned to explore Superman's insecurities, kind of like if he'd ended up in the Bottle City of Kandor instead, or some other environment where he had to rediscover what being Superman means.  Because that's really what it was all about.  It was a place where he was safe when he felt unsafe everywhere else, both because of the powers and the identity being compromised.  So this issue has him dealing with Vandal Savage, who presents him with further options, ultimately forcing Superman to once again affirm what he does and why he does it.  At the end of the issue, he's reunited with Lois (and Jimmy), who tell him, "Go be Superman!" and, "Go be Clark."  Because far too often, there's confusion as to which he is.  When he's really both.  Which, again, was the whole point of this crisis.  We've become too comfortable with the notions of Superman and his secret identity.  The modern era has been trying to dismantle that for twenty years.  I guess it'll have to keep trying.

All-New Wolverine #5 (Marvel)
Mock's letter appears in the letters column of this comic.  It's one of those letters from a fan who has found a comic that's let them be a fan again.  Mock as been a reader longer than I have.  He's probably a different kind of fan than I am.  Which is fine.  This is another of the many Marvel series in recent years featuring a new character in a familiar guise.  It's an old DC trick but one Marvel has only recently begun to embrace.  A lot of them have been about switching the gender.  This is one of them.  Since Death of Wolverine (which some have interpreted as Marvel's campaign to undermine the X-Men movies by removing the most popular mutant from the comics landscape, except in the pages of Old Man Logan), classic Wolverine has remained dead.  In his place is now the character formerly known as X-23 Laura Kinney.  This particular issue reminds me a great deal of Valiant's Bloodshot Reborn, which features a character who is very much a Wolverine variant himself.  I can't say I find this to be a bad thing, because it's always nice to see the big guys pay attention to the competition, and to have a comic that pays attention to mythology in general.  I can't say the issue made me want to read the series faithfully (all told, I guess I'm more interested in Bloodshot Reborn), but it was certainly worth reading at least once.  Cheers, Mock!

I guess, if there's an overall lesson to be learned from this particular post, it's that I'm always going to be a fan, no matter how my readership evolves.