My fourth Forbidden Geek mystery box actually is sort of my fifth. The fourth got lost in transit. Realizing it was not going to come when Forbidden Geek was setting up the next shipment, I contacted the company, which responded promptly and shipped a replacement box immediately. That was cool of them!
The resulting box had a Funko statue from Shazam! (I think it was Eugene), a copy of the Batman/Superman: Their Greatest Battles trade collection (a duplicate for me, so I earmarked it as another eventual gift for one of my nephews in Maine, whenever I get to see them and/or ship off the stuff I've been collecting for them), and the following comics:
(Nothing older than 2011 this time, but that's okay.)
Ame-Comi Girls #1 (DC)
from December 2012
The bulk of this is the Palmiotti/Gray/Palmer version of Wonder Woman's origin, with Amanda Palmer happily on art. Until, for whatever reason, a far inferior artist fills out the issue. I've mentioned before how inexplicably terrible I find the title of this series, but the contents are good.
Batman: Arkham Knight #8 (DC)
From November 2015
One of several Howard Porter covers in this selection. Even though Tomasi is writing, I don't really care about this one.
Before Watchmen: Moloch #1 (DC)
from January 2013
I love being a fan who isn't pissed off that Before Watchmen happened. I have a theory that the New 52 wasn't officially written off by fans until Before Watchmen happened. Anyway, I was very happy to see this comic in the selection, as I'm pretty sure I didn't read either issue of Moloch on original release. The creative team is J. Michael Straczynski and Eduardo Risso (a typically strong team for Before Watchmen, typically performing at peak capacity). This first issue explains Moloch's origins, how being treated as a freak (because of those ears, chiefly) led him astray, and how he entered a path of redemption. Until, y'know. At its best, Before Watchmen brilliantly expanded (rather than needlessly duplicated) Watchmen lore (here I'm thinking of Comedian, which I recently reread), and Moloch, it seems, was Before Watchmen at its best. I'm not always Straczynski's biggest fan, but this really is him functioning at peak potential.
Birds of Prey #12 (DC)
from July 2011
One of the 2011s! I'll get back to the significance of this a little later, but as for this comic: Gail Simone. I'm just not a fan.
Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #4 (DC)
from April 2018
Because blogging, I somehow ended up following Tony Isabella's blog. Isabella is Black Lightning's creator, and is still basically all he's known for, including his periodic revisits of the character (including a great-looking '90s run that I still want to check out). If not this issue specifically, then this mini-series was featured on his blog just before I got the box, so it was pretty fortuitous when I opened it up and found this comic. But, alas, I didn't much care about its contents. Sort of like the CW series (although it was still great to see the character finally show up in the Arrowverse during Crisis).
Earth 2 #24 (DC)
from August 2014
Still one of my favorite things from the New 52, this issue is from the Tom Taylor period (years before he wowed readers with DCeased), already proving his dynamic understanding of DC lore. This issue is pretty neat, as it features both the new Earth 2 Batman (Thomas Wayne) and Superman (Val-Zod), which sort of stole the thunder from the quasi-Justice Society but still made for fantastic developments in that continuity.
The Flash #55 (DC)
from November 2018
The other Howard Porter cover in the selection (this time a variant), featuring the budding expanded "forces" concept Josh Williamson brought to the Scarlet Speedster, sort of his version of the emotional spectrum in Green Lantern lore.
Green Lantern Corps #19 (DC)
from June 2013
The final issue in the Green Lantern family of titles before Geoff Johns' final issue of Green Lantern, as "Wrath of the First Lantern" weaves its way through them. Volthoom! Still a great name, right up there with Larfleeze. I'm not kidding! (I still want another Larfleeze series!)
Red Robin #21 (DC)
from May 2011
Tim Drake borrowing the name and costume from Dick Grayson's Kingdome Come future, but it's not all one-way, as the issue also features an appearance of a version of the red variant of his own costume Nightwing was going to sport in the New 52. Don't think I didn't notice, DC!
Superman #20 (DC)
from July 2013
Clearly DC thought this issue was going to leave a far bigger impact than it did (hyped in the "News Channel 52" feature as it was, a war between Wonder Woman's "two suitors"), as the Man of Steel clashes with Orion! But it's a fun story all the same, which makes the New Gods' lackluster presence in the New 52 all the more painful. There was such potential!
The Unwritten #29 (Vertigo)
from November 2011
I just read the two collections from The Unwritten: Apocalypse, the sequel series that ended this saga, so it was great to get a further glimpse into more of what happened previously (someday I will probably read the whole thing). But more importantly: 2011! So here it is. Just before the New 52 era, DC tried a few things to lure fans back, including "drawing the line at $2.99" and...bringing back letters columns! Which means, all three comics from 2011 featured...letters columns! DC quickly dropped them again with the New 52, which was kind of disappointing, but not before making it clear that they did have their value, a concentrated forum for fans (not angry internet people) to share knowledge and appreciation (which again, not angry internet people). I remember visiting DC's official message boards when they had switched from letters columns to the belief that the internet somehow replaced them, and that's where I found the fans hopelessly devoted the return of Hal Jordan as a clear-cut good guy (I think there was even a dorky name for the movement, but I don't remember what it would have been). I just don't think anyone realizes what's lost when there are big shifts in how things are done, that it matters that some things are lost even while other things are gained. I never understand the rush to shuck off old things, things that can't be replaced, no matter how much change improves things. On the other hand, we now live in an era where the margin for success is wider than ever, that things with a smaller audience can still thrive for years, where they would've been aborted quickly before. So the more things change, the more they stay...interesting. I bet DC brings letters columns back, again, at some point. After all, the more things change, the more they stay the same, too. Sometimes you just have to wait. Like those Hal Jordan fans.
Showing posts with label Earth 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earth 2. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Back Issue Bin 122 "The Batgirl of Burnside and other Throwbacks"
Batgirl #42 (DC)
(from September 2015)
The Batgirl of Burnside will be remembered as a turning point in DC lore, not only for permanently reviving Barbara Gordon's superhero career, but as part of the youth movement that also saw Marvel introduce Kamala Khan and a whole generation of young heroes, as well as inspiring the brief DCYou era. I was already well into a more limited comics reading experience by the time Batgirl went to Burnside, but I appreciated the idea even if I didn't get a chance to read it myself. (There's a silly notion that just because you haven't personally enjoyed something you somehow automatically count as uninterested; that's poor perception of economics.) The Burnside revival began in Batgirl #35, and it was as much cosmetic as approach. Babs suddenly looked youthful again, and she was given a bold new costume and art direction, the latter of which was another primary feature of DCYou. This issue features a different redesigned member of the Batman family, namely Batman himself, or rather Commissioner Batman, James Gordon. Y'know, Batgirl's dad. Commissioner Batman was also a bold creative left turn, always meant to be temporary. It was only fitting for Batman and Batgirl to team up during this era, so I'm glad it happened.
Batman #457 (DC)
(from December 1990)
Ah! This was Tim Drake's costumed debut! Tim Drake, otherwise known as the third Robin, after Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. In the Rebirth era, continued efforts to distinguish Tim led to his "death" in Detective Comics, as part of the Oz arc that eventually revealed the mystery figure to be Superman's dad Jor-El. Tim was originally designed to be a dynamic new Robin, a faithful partner of Batman in standing with tradition, but "Knightfall" and its aftermath actually shoved him into full-fledged independence. He eventually assumed the mantle of Red Robin in an ode to Kingdom Come, even wearing the same costume Dick does in that comic. In the New 52, even though he was the first Robin to have his own ongoing series, Tim had to make do with leading the Teen Titans while Dick starred in Nightwing and then Grayson, and Jason in Red Hood and the Outlaws while Batman's kid Damian Wayne costarred in Batman and Robin. For a generation of Robin fans, Tim Drake is the Boy Wonder, so this is a landmark issue. It's the first time the traditional costume gets a complete overhaul, too!
Captain America #698 (Marvel)
(from April 2018)
Okay, so this one's pretty recent, a victim of a cover tear and subsequent banishment to the cheap bin. I love that stuff! This is one of Mark Waid's early comics in the post-Secret Empire revival, Marvel's effort to redeem the character after spending roughly a year with him operating as a natural born agent of Hydra. Waid kicks off an arc where Cap wakes up after having been frozen again, with America in the grip of tyranny. Only Captain America can save the day! Ironically!
Earth 2 #25 (DC)
(from September 2014)
After James Robinson set up the concept, Tom Taylor took over and got to use versions of Superman and Batman. I loved the New 52 Earth 2. The Society continuation wrapped up in the early days of the Rebirth era, but at that point really only the DC office cared, which was too bad. The Earth 2 Batman was actually Thomas Wayne! I don't know if this was inspired by the Flashpoint Batman, but it was fun to see DC revive the idea in some fashion. Obviously Batman couldn't dominate the title, even if he makes the cover this issue, at least the Batman 75th Anniversary edition. Because the issue also features Val-Zod, the Earth 2 Superman, finally decide to embrace being Superman, so he rates the standard cover.
And there he is! Both the Earth 2 Batman and Earth 2 Superman had unique costume variants on the classic templates. Thomas Wayne Batman had red where Bruce Wayne typically has white, and Val-Zod sports silver where Clark Kent has red, with a red substitute as the field behind the s-shield. As events later developed, neither Thomas Wayne nor Val-Zod were adequate substitutes for the icons who died in the first issue, but Dick Grayson later assumes the mantle of Batman in Convergence and Earth 2: Society, marking a true progression in the lineage he only gets to temporarily fulfill in regular continuity.
The Flash #48 (DC)
(from March 1991)
With no offense to William Messner-Loebs (help him here!), Wally West didn't properly become the Flash until Mark Waid started writing him. That may have something to do with the fact that I was introduced to Wally as Flash by Waid's comics. So I like to look into Messner-Loebs' work when I get the chance. Among the interesting guest-stars this issue include Elongated Man Ralph Dibney (as a Flash continuity nerd it's surprising that Waid never got around to that) and a severely aged Vandal Savage (really want to read that next issue now!). Plus Wally learning new things about his mom. Waid was definitely part of the mythology movement that came to dominate DC, whereas Messner-Loebs embodied the more grounded ideas of the receding era that came before it. It's not surprising their takes on Wally were different.
Gotham Academy #7 (DC)
(from August 2015)
Batman tends to dominate DC's publishing schedule, as he's been their most consistent seller for...fifty years? That's about right. So that gives him a lot of sway, and gives creators a lot of space to play in. This concept takes place in Gotham but doesn't necessarily involve Batman, although I chose this particular issue because it features his kid, Damian Wayne. At this point, really only Grant Morrison and Pete Tomasi had written Damian, so this was an opportunity for a fresh set of eyes. The result is a much softer version, which stands to reason, as Gotham Academy was itself a much more kid-friendly Batman comic.
Grayson #11 (DC)
(from October 2015)
It's sometimes easy to assume Tom King ended up getting the Batman assignment because of DC's respect for his Omega Men, but it's really down to his work on Grayson, where he got to explore the Batman landscape with a writing partner (Tim Seeley, who later built on Grayson's legacy with his Nightwing Rebirth material). And King even had Mikel Janin on art! Janin later proved to be a signature collaborator in the pages of Batman, too, of course, which makes it all the more obvious how important Grayson was for both their careers. This issue, with a typically fantastic cover from Janin, helps the title reach a culmination of the Spyral arc it continued from Grant Morrison's Batman Incorporated (first volume). Really, even I sometimes underestimate the importance of this groundwork material for King. Someday I hope to read the complete run, add it to my King collection. I have pretty much everything else already.
The Adventures of Superman Annual #3 (DC)
(from 1991)
The Armageddon 2001 annuals arc was one of the early themed events DC did that helped set the precedent for what it would later make an annual tradition in the New 52. In fact, this particular arc is not all that different from Futures End, a kind of fast-forward. Waverider, a character who could really use a revival, peers into the future of every hero trying to determine who becomes the villainous Monarch. DC lore has it that it was originally intended to be Captain Atom, who in fact does become a different Monarch years later in the pages of Extreme Justice, but in the meantime it was switched to Hawk of Hawk & Dove (soon to appear on television!). At any rate, it was never going to be Superman, right? This issue instead focuses on the then-recent introduction of Maxima as an alien who fancies Superman to be her ideal mate. Ah...they're later in Dan Jurgens' Justice League together!
Adventures of Superman #632 (DC)
(from November 2004)
There's a number of things Greg Rucka is known for in his first run with DC (Wonder Woman, Gotham Central chief among them, and eventually Batwoman), but writing Superman isn't one of them. And yet here he is! There are two things to know about the issue: one is that Lois has been shot and is possibly dying (hindsight says probably not), and that Ruin is trying to become the next great Superman villain (hindsight says probably not, possibly owing to the fact that he's basically Lex Luthor). Please also note Paul Pelletier on art!
Marvel Knights: X-Men #5 (Marvel)
(from May 2014)
Industry observers hailed Marvel Knights, along with the Ultimate line, to be one of Marvel's creative saviors in the early millennium. Somewhere along the way both of them petered out, the Ultimate comics with a bang, the Knights with a whimper. This is one of those projects that just kind of happened. It's an ambitious attempt by new creators to give the X-Men new creative relevance (which was the Knights mandate as a whole) without necessarily reinventing the wheel. Maybe the results this time were a little too woolly to stick the landing, too caught up with the emerging indy aesthetic Marvel would come to try and embrace across its line. So it didn't really stick out. But for an X-Men comic it still looks unique. I think the problem mostly was that it tried to introduce new characters but didn't trust them to guide the story. The X-Men gained new life when new characters started guiding the story. Maybe time to try that again?
(from September 2015)
The Batgirl of Burnside will be remembered as a turning point in DC lore, not only for permanently reviving Barbara Gordon's superhero career, but as part of the youth movement that also saw Marvel introduce Kamala Khan and a whole generation of young heroes, as well as inspiring the brief DCYou era. I was already well into a more limited comics reading experience by the time Batgirl went to Burnside, but I appreciated the idea even if I didn't get a chance to read it myself. (There's a silly notion that just because you haven't personally enjoyed something you somehow automatically count as uninterested; that's poor perception of economics.) The Burnside revival began in Batgirl #35, and it was as much cosmetic as approach. Babs suddenly looked youthful again, and she was given a bold new costume and art direction, the latter of which was another primary feature of DCYou. This issue features a different redesigned member of the Batman family, namely Batman himself, or rather Commissioner Batman, James Gordon. Y'know, Batgirl's dad. Commissioner Batman was also a bold creative left turn, always meant to be temporary. It was only fitting for Batman and Batgirl to team up during this era, so I'm glad it happened.
Batman #457 (DC)
(from December 1990)
Ah! This was Tim Drake's costumed debut! Tim Drake, otherwise known as the third Robin, after Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. In the Rebirth era, continued efforts to distinguish Tim led to his "death" in Detective Comics, as part of the Oz arc that eventually revealed the mystery figure to be Superman's dad Jor-El. Tim was originally designed to be a dynamic new Robin, a faithful partner of Batman in standing with tradition, but "Knightfall" and its aftermath actually shoved him into full-fledged independence. He eventually assumed the mantle of Red Robin in an ode to Kingdom Come, even wearing the same costume Dick does in that comic. In the New 52, even though he was the first Robin to have his own ongoing series, Tim had to make do with leading the Teen Titans while Dick starred in Nightwing and then Grayson, and Jason in Red Hood and the Outlaws while Batman's kid Damian Wayne costarred in Batman and Robin. For a generation of Robin fans, Tim Drake is the Boy Wonder, so this is a landmark issue. It's the first time the traditional costume gets a complete overhaul, too!
Captain America #698 (Marvel)
(from April 2018)
Okay, so this one's pretty recent, a victim of a cover tear and subsequent banishment to the cheap bin. I love that stuff! This is one of Mark Waid's early comics in the post-Secret Empire revival, Marvel's effort to redeem the character after spending roughly a year with him operating as a natural born agent of Hydra. Waid kicks off an arc where Cap wakes up after having been frozen again, with America in the grip of tyranny. Only Captain America can save the day! Ironically!
Earth 2 #25 (DC)
(from September 2014)
After James Robinson set up the concept, Tom Taylor took over and got to use versions of Superman and Batman. I loved the New 52 Earth 2. The Society continuation wrapped up in the early days of the Rebirth era, but at that point really only the DC office cared, which was too bad. The Earth 2 Batman was actually Thomas Wayne! I don't know if this was inspired by the Flashpoint Batman, but it was fun to see DC revive the idea in some fashion. Obviously Batman couldn't dominate the title, even if he makes the cover this issue, at least the Batman 75th Anniversary edition. Because the issue also features Val-Zod, the Earth 2 Superman, finally decide to embrace being Superman, so he rates the standard cover.
The Flash #48 (DC)
(from March 1991)
With no offense to William Messner-Loebs (help him here!), Wally West didn't properly become the Flash until Mark Waid started writing him. That may have something to do with the fact that I was introduced to Wally as Flash by Waid's comics. So I like to look into Messner-Loebs' work when I get the chance. Among the interesting guest-stars this issue include Elongated Man Ralph Dibney (as a Flash continuity nerd it's surprising that Waid never got around to that) and a severely aged Vandal Savage (really want to read that next issue now!). Plus Wally learning new things about his mom. Waid was definitely part of the mythology movement that came to dominate DC, whereas Messner-Loebs embodied the more grounded ideas of the receding era that came before it. It's not surprising their takes on Wally were different.
Gotham Academy #7 (DC)
(from August 2015)
Batman tends to dominate DC's publishing schedule, as he's been their most consistent seller for...fifty years? That's about right. So that gives him a lot of sway, and gives creators a lot of space to play in. This concept takes place in Gotham but doesn't necessarily involve Batman, although I chose this particular issue because it features his kid, Damian Wayne. At this point, really only Grant Morrison and Pete Tomasi had written Damian, so this was an opportunity for a fresh set of eyes. The result is a much softer version, which stands to reason, as Gotham Academy was itself a much more kid-friendly Batman comic.
Grayson #11 (DC)
(from October 2015)
The Adventures of Superman Annual #3 (DC)
(from 1991)
The Armageddon 2001 annuals arc was one of the early themed events DC did that helped set the precedent for what it would later make an annual tradition in the New 52. In fact, this particular arc is not all that different from Futures End, a kind of fast-forward. Waverider, a character who could really use a revival, peers into the future of every hero trying to determine who becomes the villainous Monarch. DC lore has it that it was originally intended to be Captain Atom, who in fact does become a different Monarch years later in the pages of Extreme Justice, but in the meantime it was switched to Hawk of Hawk & Dove (soon to appear on television!). At any rate, it was never going to be Superman, right? This issue instead focuses on the then-recent introduction of Maxima as an alien who fancies Superman to be her ideal mate. Ah...they're later in Dan Jurgens' Justice League together!
Adventures of Superman #632 (DC)
(from November 2004)
There's a number of things Greg Rucka is known for in his first run with DC (Wonder Woman, Gotham Central chief among them, and eventually Batwoman), but writing Superman isn't one of them. And yet here he is! There are two things to know about the issue: one is that Lois has been shot and is possibly dying (hindsight says probably not), and that Ruin is trying to become the next great Superman villain (hindsight says probably not, possibly owing to the fact that he's basically Lex Luthor). Please also note Paul Pelletier on art!
Marvel Knights: X-Men #5 (Marvel)
(from May 2014)
Industry observers hailed Marvel Knights, along with the Ultimate line, to be one of Marvel's creative saviors in the early millennium. Somewhere along the way both of them petered out, the Ultimate comics with a bang, the Knights with a whimper. This is one of those projects that just kind of happened. It's an ambitious attempt by new creators to give the X-Men new creative relevance (which was the Knights mandate as a whole) without necessarily reinventing the wheel. Maybe the results this time were a little too woolly to stick the landing, too caught up with the emerging indy aesthetic Marvel would come to try and embrace across its line. So it didn't really stick out. But for an X-Men comic it still looks unique. I think the problem mostly was that it tried to introduce new characters but didn't trust them to guide the story. The X-Men gained new life when new characters started guiding the story. Maybe time to try that again?
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Reading Comics 205 "Trips from the past month"
Here's a rundown of what I've been reading lately, sort of a hodgepodge of new and slightly less new material (new titles in bold, slightly les new titles in italics):
Batman #23, 25, 26 (DC)
Tom King is still doing wonders in this title. The first issue is the Swamp Thing issue, while the latter two are the beginning of "The War of Jokes and Riddles". I was thwarted in my attempts to find a copy of #24 (the proposal issue) and Batman/Elmer Fudd, alas.
Dark Knight III: The Master Race #9 (DC)
Miller/Azzarello/Kubert finally delivered the conclusion of this story. I like how the ending is basically that Batman is finally acknowledging that he can learn from someone else. Seems like a metaphor, Miller's concession that it was okay for Azzarello to help out.
Codename: Baboushka #1, 3 (Image)
What with Atomic Blonde hitting screens soon (based on his Coldest City graphic novel), I figured it was time I had a look at another Antony Johnston spy comic. It's good stuff.
Dark Days: The Forge (DC)
The title of this event and the manner of starting it are peculiar things that still elude me, but this particular piece struck me as pure Scott Snyder. He may not be my favorite, but I'm glad he's finally getting to tell a DC event comic.
Earth 2 #24 (DC)
Funny to go back to the early days (relatively speaking) of Earth 2 and read the story where this reality's Superman first reveals his costume. Also interesting to see the Thomas Wayne Batman in action. That's honestly one of my favorite Earth 2 elements to this day.
Earth 2: World's End #7 (DC)
The weekly comic spinoff got crapped on ten ways to...Wednesday, I guess. But it reads okay to me, every time I sample it. Includes a nice nod to the "lost" Alan Scott gay storyline from Earth 2's early days.
The Flash #14 (DC)
It's, I don't know, hilarious or sad, but I was reminded recently that Josh Williamson worked on Captain Midnight, a Dark Horse comic that received a Free Comic Book Day back in Williamson's pre-DC days, and a collection I received from one of those crate companies a few years back. I was not a fan. I outright dismissed it both times. So this is one of the more remarkable turnarounds I've experienced as a reader, because I remain a fan of Williamson's recent work. I'm torn about rereading the Captain Midnight collection. What if I dismissed it for all the wrong reasons? What if I convince myself I like it now just because I now associate good things with Williamson? Anyway, this issue begins a Rogues arc.
Green Valley #1, 2, 3 (Image)
Max Landis made a name for himself writing the movie Chronicle, but I became a fan reading Superman: American Alien. I'm glad I got around to reading some of his original concept comic Green Valley, about knights being confronted with what as of the last issue I read seems to be a time-traveling dude from more or less the present with future tech he doesn't really understand.
Justice League Dark #35 (DC)
Focuses mostly on Zatanna. Honestly, if her main distinguishing feature weren't casting spells by speaking backwards, Zatanna would be so much bigger. Also glimpsed: Frankenstein and the lead from I, Vampire, two relatively short-lived New 52 characters whose series I caught up on in their collections a few months back. Also, Zatanna's Identity Crisis actions are coming back to haunt her in the Rebirth era. That's cool.
Justice League #33 (DC)
Funny to see what's become of the concepts Geoff Johns was exploring in this issue: 1) the Doom Patrol, in a different incarnation, now stars in a Young Animal series, 2) Jessica Cruz now stars in Green Lanterns, and 3) Lex Luthor has continued his strange heroics in the pages of Action Comics. Clearly fruitful ideas, Geoff!
Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 (DC)
Love that DC gave Williamson a soft event book. He deserves it. Also love that Max Lord is revealed as the villain on the last page.
King #1 (Jet City)
I really wish Joshua Hale Fialkov could enjoy greater exposure. This thematic update of Kamandi, however, is probably not the best way to go about it, entertaining though it may be.
Monstress #1, 12 (Image)
This is one of those books I've heard and heard and heard about, and so I figured I should finally have a look at it. The extra-length first issue was reprinted at $1.99, so I scooped that up, plus what's counted as the most recent issue for a few months now (returning from hiatus soon!). Marjorie Liu actually kind of interests me more as a creator who like Gene Yang is bringing an international voice to the table. Seems a lot like Saga, insofar as it includes random elements of mature material.
Saga #43 (Image)
Speaking of which! This special twenty-five cent issue (it's Image's 25th anniversary, yo!) was practically a gimme on two scores: 1) the price, obviously, and 2) the price combined with the fact that I've been a faithful reader in the past, but've lapsed in recent years. So here was my chance to catch up. Again the series seems almost as interested in cheap shock tactics as decent storytelling, which is what bumped me off the bandwagon, the seeming increased inability to balance these instincts. I guess at this point it seems necessary, the cheap shock tactics. The tactics this issue, of all issues (!), where potential new readers might have no idea what they're in for, include what's apparently a flippant trip to an abortion clinic, which is such a galvanizing issue, where you'll either get people to love or hate you depending on your conclusions. And what's become typical of Saga, it reaches different conclusions (probably) than what they initially seem. So I don't really know if I should care about this series again...
Saucer State #1, 2 (IDW)
I could not have been happier when Paul Cornell announced that his short-lived Vertigo series Saucer Country was due for a revival at IDW. So when I had a chance to scoop it up, I scooped it up. Funny that artist Ryan Kelly seems to have somewhat changed his style since the last time he drew these characters, but colorist Adam Guzowski does what he can to keep thing fairly consistent. The story itself remains intriguing, by the way!
Superman: Doomed #2 (DC)
I've been trying to track this down (not too hard, but y'know) for a while, so I'm glad I finally succeeded. This update of Doomsday not only led to the short-lived Doomed series that saw an updated Alpha Centurion debut in the New 52 (!), but also featured Brainiac a relative handful of months before his big New 52 event, Convergence, which this issue, knowingly or otherwise, alludes to. There were so many complaints about Superman in the New 52, but I think a lot of them were a result of previous complaints that just kept snowballing rather than had a real basis in the comics themselves. This was good stuff.
Superman #33, 42 (DC)
Speaking of Gene Yang (a little earlier; feel free to scroll up a little!), the latter issue is one of his, while the former is Geoff Johns'. I think this was an especially good time to be reading Superman, personally, and yeah, it was New 52 material.
Wonder Woman #1 (DC)
Greg Rucka got a lot of hate, surprisingly, for his Rebirth run. I guess he was too ambitious. He ruffled feathers by contradicting Brian Azzarello's New 52 run (even though it wasn't all that popular...until fans didn't much care for the Finch run that followed it). I still want to get around to reading more of it. It's funny that the origin story is being revisited so much lately. Just goes to prove how neglected the character has been. If she were as popular as she is important, this would not be happening.
Batman #23, 25, 26 (DC)
Tom King is still doing wonders in this title. The first issue is the Swamp Thing issue, while the latter two are the beginning of "The War of Jokes and Riddles". I was thwarted in my attempts to find a copy of #24 (the proposal issue) and Batman/Elmer Fudd, alas.
Dark Knight III: The Master Race #9 (DC)
Miller/Azzarello/Kubert finally delivered the conclusion of this story. I like how the ending is basically that Batman is finally acknowledging that he can learn from someone else. Seems like a metaphor, Miller's concession that it was okay for Azzarello to help out.
Codename: Baboushka #1, 3 (Image)
What with Atomic Blonde hitting screens soon (based on his Coldest City graphic novel), I figured it was time I had a look at another Antony Johnston spy comic. It's good stuff.
Dark Days: The Forge (DC)
The title of this event and the manner of starting it are peculiar things that still elude me, but this particular piece struck me as pure Scott Snyder. He may not be my favorite, but I'm glad he's finally getting to tell a DC event comic.
Earth 2 #24 (DC)
Funny to go back to the early days (relatively speaking) of Earth 2 and read the story where this reality's Superman first reveals his costume. Also interesting to see the Thomas Wayne Batman in action. That's honestly one of my favorite Earth 2 elements to this day.
Earth 2: World's End #7 (DC)
The weekly comic spinoff got crapped on ten ways to...Wednesday, I guess. But it reads okay to me, every time I sample it. Includes a nice nod to the "lost" Alan Scott gay storyline from Earth 2's early days.
The Flash #14 (DC)
It's, I don't know, hilarious or sad, but I was reminded recently that Josh Williamson worked on Captain Midnight, a Dark Horse comic that received a Free Comic Book Day back in Williamson's pre-DC days, and a collection I received from one of those crate companies a few years back. I was not a fan. I outright dismissed it both times. So this is one of the more remarkable turnarounds I've experienced as a reader, because I remain a fan of Williamson's recent work. I'm torn about rereading the Captain Midnight collection. What if I dismissed it for all the wrong reasons? What if I convince myself I like it now just because I now associate good things with Williamson? Anyway, this issue begins a Rogues arc.
Green Valley #1, 2, 3 (Image)
Max Landis made a name for himself writing the movie Chronicle, but I became a fan reading Superman: American Alien. I'm glad I got around to reading some of his original concept comic Green Valley, about knights being confronted with what as of the last issue I read seems to be a time-traveling dude from more or less the present with future tech he doesn't really understand.
Justice League Dark #35 (DC)
Focuses mostly on Zatanna. Honestly, if her main distinguishing feature weren't casting spells by speaking backwards, Zatanna would be so much bigger. Also glimpsed: Frankenstein and the lead from I, Vampire, two relatively short-lived New 52 characters whose series I caught up on in their collections a few months back. Also, Zatanna's Identity Crisis actions are coming back to haunt her in the Rebirth era. That's cool.
Justice League #33 (DC)
Funny to see what's become of the concepts Geoff Johns was exploring in this issue: 1) the Doom Patrol, in a different incarnation, now stars in a Young Animal series, 2) Jessica Cruz now stars in Green Lanterns, and 3) Lex Luthor has continued his strange heroics in the pages of Action Comics. Clearly fruitful ideas, Geoff!
Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 (DC)
Love that DC gave Williamson a soft event book. He deserves it. Also love that Max Lord is revealed as the villain on the last page.
King #1 (Jet City)
I really wish Joshua Hale Fialkov could enjoy greater exposure. This thematic update of Kamandi, however, is probably not the best way to go about it, entertaining though it may be.
Monstress #1, 12 (Image)
This is one of those books I've heard and heard and heard about, and so I figured I should finally have a look at it. The extra-length first issue was reprinted at $1.99, so I scooped that up, plus what's counted as the most recent issue for a few months now (returning from hiatus soon!). Marjorie Liu actually kind of interests me more as a creator who like Gene Yang is bringing an international voice to the table. Seems a lot like Saga, insofar as it includes random elements of mature material.
Saga #43 (Image)
Speaking of which! This special twenty-five cent issue (it's Image's 25th anniversary, yo!) was practically a gimme on two scores: 1) the price, obviously, and 2) the price combined with the fact that I've been a faithful reader in the past, but've lapsed in recent years. So here was my chance to catch up. Again the series seems almost as interested in cheap shock tactics as decent storytelling, which is what bumped me off the bandwagon, the seeming increased inability to balance these instincts. I guess at this point it seems necessary, the cheap shock tactics. The tactics this issue, of all issues (!), where potential new readers might have no idea what they're in for, include what's apparently a flippant trip to an abortion clinic, which is such a galvanizing issue, where you'll either get people to love or hate you depending on your conclusions. And what's become typical of Saga, it reaches different conclusions (probably) than what they initially seem. So I don't really know if I should care about this series again...
Saucer State #1, 2 (IDW)
I could not have been happier when Paul Cornell announced that his short-lived Vertigo series Saucer Country was due for a revival at IDW. So when I had a chance to scoop it up, I scooped it up. Funny that artist Ryan Kelly seems to have somewhat changed his style since the last time he drew these characters, but colorist Adam Guzowski does what he can to keep thing fairly consistent. The story itself remains intriguing, by the way!
Superman: Doomed #2 (DC)
I've been trying to track this down (not too hard, but y'know) for a while, so I'm glad I finally succeeded. This update of Doomsday not only led to the short-lived Doomed series that saw an updated Alpha Centurion debut in the New 52 (!), but also featured Brainiac a relative handful of months before his big New 52 event, Convergence, which this issue, knowingly or otherwise, alludes to. There were so many complaints about Superman in the New 52, but I think a lot of them were a result of previous complaints that just kept snowballing rather than had a real basis in the comics themselves. This was good stuff.
Superman #33, 42 (DC)
Speaking of Gene Yang (a little earlier; feel free to scroll up a little!), the latter issue is one of his, while the former is Geoff Johns'. I think this was an especially good time to be reading Superman, personally, and yeah, it was New 52 material.
Wonder Woman #1 (DC)
Greg Rucka got a lot of hate, surprisingly, for his Rebirth run. I guess he was too ambitious. He ruffled feathers by contradicting Brian Azzarello's New 52 run (even though it wasn't all that popular...until fans didn't much care for the Finch run that followed it). I still want to get around to reading more of it. It's funny that the origin story is being revisited so much lately. Just goes to prove how neglected the character has been. If she were as popular as she is important, this would not be happening.
Friday, May 26, 2017
Earth 2: Society #22 (DC)
This is the final issue of Earth 2: Society, as well as the conclusion to the whole New 52 version of Earth 2. I'm glad the series stayed on the publishing rolls well into the Rebirth era, that Dan Abnett was given a chance to give the concept a proper ending. I may not have been a dedicated reader, but I loved that Earth 2 was always an alternate to the New 52, right from the start, an Elseworlds book, in some respects, in which alternate versions of characters and concepts were given a chance to breathe, for quite a lengthy period of time.
I know plenty of readers complained about the quality of the material over the years, especially after James Robinson left and World's End seemed to entirely dilute a product they no longer saw as worth the attention. But DC, to its credit, kept the concept alive, and World's End as a weekly companion series still led to an actual Earth 2 event, Convergence, that ended up leading indirectly to Rebirth.
Society ended mostly because DC decided to bring back the classic Justice Society concept. Earth 2 was always an alternate JSA, an effort to reinterpret some of DC's oldest characters, to take them out of the Golden Age and make them contemporaries in every sense to their successors. It's a shame, actually, that we never got a proper team-up between Earth 2 and Justice League. Just imagine...!
But Abnett ends it perfectly. Quietly. Just a meditation on things finally settling down, and the last rolls of how Earth 2 diverges from the rest of continuity. Dick Grayson's son has become Robin. Helena Wayne, Bruce Wayne's daughter, has become Batman. If this were Marvel and if Helena had been in her own series, that would've been a huge problem for some fans. But Earth 2 kind of became DC's Astro City, a self-contained story with a huge cast of characters, each with their own legacies (which is to say, different from the Legion of Super-Heroes).
Abnett probably realized that of all the characters appearing in the final issue, the new Batman and Robin most deserved being singled out. In a lot of ways, Batman had become the unspoken lead of Earth 2. In the original concept, Bruce Wayne was among the icons to die in the alternate version of how the first arc in Justice League played out. But another Batman later emerged: Thomas Wayne's. This was one of the most clever things Earth 2 did over the years, creating an ongoing version of a character who first appeared in Flashpoint. But eventually, even Thomas died, and Dick Grayson took over. Apparently Dick died in the penultimate issue of Society, and so Helena's ascension to the role is something that happens between issues.
Well, like I said, in some other reality, Earth 2 and Society itself continues, because that's the kind of storytelling that made it all worth it.
I know plenty of readers complained about the quality of the material over the years, especially after James Robinson left and World's End seemed to entirely dilute a product they no longer saw as worth the attention. But DC, to its credit, kept the concept alive, and World's End as a weekly companion series still led to an actual Earth 2 event, Convergence, that ended up leading indirectly to Rebirth.
Society ended mostly because DC decided to bring back the classic Justice Society concept. Earth 2 was always an alternate JSA, an effort to reinterpret some of DC's oldest characters, to take them out of the Golden Age and make them contemporaries in every sense to their successors. It's a shame, actually, that we never got a proper team-up between Earth 2 and Justice League. Just imagine...!
But Abnett ends it perfectly. Quietly. Just a meditation on things finally settling down, and the last rolls of how Earth 2 diverges from the rest of continuity. Dick Grayson's son has become Robin. Helena Wayne, Bruce Wayne's daughter, has become Batman. If this were Marvel and if Helena had been in her own series, that would've been a huge problem for some fans. But Earth 2 kind of became DC's Astro City, a self-contained story with a huge cast of characters, each with their own legacies (which is to say, different from the Legion of Super-Heroes).
Abnett probably realized that of all the characters appearing in the final issue, the new Batman and Robin most deserved being singled out. In a lot of ways, Batman had become the unspoken lead of Earth 2. In the original concept, Bruce Wayne was among the icons to die in the alternate version of how the first arc in Justice League played out. But another Batman later emerged: Thomas Wayne's. This was one of the most clever things Earth 2 did over the years, creating an ongoing version of a character who first appeared in Flashpoint. But eventually, even Thomas died, and Dick Grayson took over. Apparently Dick died in the penultimate issue of Society, and so Helena's ascension to the role is something that happens between issues.
Well, like I said, in some other reality, Earth 2 and Society itself continues, because that's the kind of storytelling that made it all worth it.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Reading Comics 194 "DC Rebirth Week Six, Earth 2, Millarworld Annual, The Vision, Old Man Logan"
Covered this edition: Detective Comics #936, Earth 2: Society #14, The Flash #2, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1, Millarworld Annual 2016, Nightwing: Rebirth #1, Action Comics #959, New Super-Man #1, The Vision #9, Old Man Logan #8, and Wonder Woman #2.
Gosh, so I kind of got all the DC Rebirth releases this week...
Detective Comics #936 (DC)
This isn't the first Detective Comics issue of the Rebirth era, but I was curious to read an issue because the spotlight was on Batwoman, Kate Kane, a character that's fascinated me since her debut in 52. As one of the more high profile openly homosexual characters in comics, Batwoman has had a certain level of prominence over the years, although since she was created by Greg Rucka and had J.H. Williams III as her artist for a number of years, she was allowed a great deal of creative freedom, too, up to and...excluding, infamously, a wedding in her New 52 series. The writer of Detective Comics is James Tynion IV, whom I've somewhat unfairly judged over the years due to his association with Scott Snyder, whom I've sometimes found difficult to appreciate. But Tynion is a pretty good writer, and as this issue is a pretty good Batwoman story, I may have to once and for resolve to consider Tynion positively going forward.
Earth 2: Society #14 (DC)
I'm not sure how much Dan Abnett is commenting on the creative reputation of the series he inherited several issues ago or if it's just coincidence, but there's much ado about the broken nature of the new society this alternate world of heroes represents. Still, there's a strong focus on Dick Grayson's Batman, which hasn't really happened since Convergence, and that was good to see, as was the return of his son. Which, all told, Dick himself is far less pleased about, given the unfortunate circumstances...I still think Earth 2, under its various creative directors, has been one of the shining successes of the New 52 era.
The Flash #2 (DC)
Barry Allen begins training his friend and colleague August Heart, who has just acquired access to the Speed Force, and that's fun in and of itself, their contrasting stances on what they should do with it, when the series takes a page from the unrelated TV show and has STAR Labs become the source of trouble, revealing who's behind the freak lightning storms, and what they're after. It's such a good feeling, knowing I love reading The Flash again...
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 (DC)
Maybe it was because I never intended to read it full-time, but Robert Venditti's Green Lantern eventually lost its status as a worthy creative follow-up to the work of Geoff Johns, in my estimation, and once it fell, it plummeted. Funny enough, Venditti explains his thought process in this issue, and it has great relevance in the policing controversies spread across newspapers seemingly every day for the past few years. I have no idea where Venditti started the idea, but it begins to make more sense, seeing it all laid out, and where he has Hal Jordan continue to go with it. So I'm glad I can finally say I get his take. It's not Johns (but few could be). And I'm okay with that.
Millarworld Annual 2016 (Image)
Putting all the cards on the table, the international competition for this thing that sought submissions from new creators was something I entered last year, basing my entry on Starlight, which you can look elsewhere to see how much I enjoyed. I've been a member of the Millarworld message boards ever since, and so was able to keep tabs on when this would be released. Obviously I had something of a vested interest in it. The writer I got to know the best from the boards, perhaps somewhat naturally, was Deniz Camp, whose Starlight effort did win. I can admire Camp, because he too admires Grant Morrison. But the standout entry in the annual, for me, very easily, was Cliff Bumgardner's American Jesus script (just as amazingly illustrated by Steve Beach), which took a moment out of time from Mark Millar's original comic (originally titled Fallen) and explored the consequences of saving a dog's life, which was to inadvertently have the effect of stopping death from occurring, during those moments, around the whole world. It gave me chills to read. It was like reading Stephen King, or at any rate, a first-fate professional. Kudos, Cliff!
Nightwing: Rebirth #1 (DC)
This was exactly the connecting story fans of Dick Grayson could have hoped for, as Dick's adventures with Spyral aren't just unceremoniously dumped, but incorporated into his greater adventures, as he realizes he probably really does have to become Nightwing again, an identity Tim Seeley (Dick Grayson's amazing co-writer, along with the incomparable Tom King, but more on him a little later) explains, as been explained many times before but still comes out fresh, because for the duration of the New 52 it was kind of ignored, as having been inspired by Superman and not Batman, as might be easy to assume. There's also some good Parliament of Owls stuff in the issue, proving that maybe that whole story really should have been Dick's all along...
Action Comics #959 (DC)
The Rebirth era Doomsday saga continues, with parallels popping up all over the places, plus a few new wrinkles, like Superman being forced to concede that the New 52 Lex Luthor may not actually be an exact match for the one he used to know. Otherwise, the reader will just have to continue waiting to see just where the new wrinkles are really headed...
New Super-Man #1 (DC)
I loved, loved, loved Tony Bedard's The Great Ten, which was about a group of Chinese superheroes. Each issue told each member's story. It was a true overlooked masterpiece. Fortunately, someone realized China is perhaps a hotter topic today than when Great Ten was published only a handful of years ago. And even more fortunately, a writer of Gene Luan Yang's quality is around to explore the landscape all over again. Yang's Superman wasn't everyone's cup of tea, perhaps unfortunately coinciding with the "Truth" arc that wasn't really what anyone wanted to read in the Man of Steel's adventures. His New Super-Man features as unlikely a protagonist as you'll find. When first seen he appears to be a jerk! (Bonus points to the Silver Age for being relevant again.) But his personality is entirely in keeping with Chinese society, which is an extreme example of what we experience in the States (and you thought it was bad here!), with income disparity resulting in social dynamics that will probably surprise readers. Yang's origin continues along so that his Chinese Superman ends up kind of being a DC Captain America, with his powers literally being infused into him (and making Chinese Superman to be something of the Rebirth Superboy). I applaud DC and Yang for coming up with this, and I hope enough readers are culturally curious enough to keep it going a while.
The Vision #9 (Marvel)
For me, there was no question that Tom King's greatest superhero work of the past year was The Omega Men, to the point where I was willing to sell his Vision short (heh). Yet, as of this issue, which details how Runaways character Victor Mancha went from uncle to murderer, explaining all over again how rich a creative source King's war experience really is, I'm completely sold on it. So clearly King had room for two masterworks, in a very short time. Here's hoping he has many more.
Old Man Logan #8 (Marvel)
This spin-off of Mark Millar's original story, generated in the wake of Secret Wars and I'm not sure how related to a similar Brian Michael Bendis mini-series during that event, was something I was slow to give much credit to (there I go again), because I just didn't see the point. But if comic book logic counts for anything, then something like this makes its own kind of sense. And it can't possibly hurt to have Jeff Lemire writing. This is the story of Wolverine, decades older, whose whole life and world crumbled in the wake of a catastrophic supervillain victory (think Final Crisis or Forever Evil, but more permanent), and he was left virtually alone to pick up the pieces. Somehow he was transported to the present. This issue, Lemire helpfully spells out the whole thing, and helps Logan come to a kind of peace with his situation. He's been in constant dread that he's going to have to experience the fall all over again. Curiously, the time-displaced Jean Grey, from Bendis's (it figures, right?) All-New X-Men, is the one who helps him. This is Jean at the start of her career. She hadn't even met Logan yet, when she was pulled from the past. And all over again, the value of Jean Grey is exhibited. Great issue.
Wonder Woman #2 (DC)
Greg Rucka's origin of Wonder Woman begins. Suddenly, there are a million Wonder Woman origin stories going on. There's Legend of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman: Earth One, the upcoming Wonder Woman movie, the upcoming Wonder Woman: The True Amazon... Yet, for all that, it is worth visiting and revisiting. Every creator has a fresh perspective, and with Wonder Woman, finally getting her creative due, it's more relevant than ever before. This is a character who's always been touted as one of DC's most important characters, but she's never been near as popular as Superman or Batman, and as such her origin isn't as well-known. As more fans come to check out what she's all about, it presents, obviously, a rich opportunity to explore, right from the beginning of the story. Rucka's vision is pretty focused, as the Amazonian princess Diana is alone interested in a world she never knew, as she's the first of her kind to be born since they were sealed off from Man's World. He assumes you already know, or don't care, about the particulars of her birth (although the alternating arc in this twice-monthly series does feature exactly that), and just runs from there. The in-house ads talk about each series of the Rebirth era featuring a new epic that starts now, and as far as I can tell, that's exactly what DC has been delivering. Azzarello set such a high mark in the New 52 with Wonder Woman. Rucka seems intent to, and capable of, surpassing it.
Gosh, so I kind of got all the DC Rebirth releases this week...
Detective Comics #936 (DC)
This isn't the first Detective Comics issue of the Rebirth era, but I was curious to read an issue because the spotlight was on Batwoman, Kate Kane, a character that's fascinated me since her debut in 52. As one of the more high profile openly homosexual characters in comics, Batwoman has had a certain level of prominence over the years, although since she was created by Greg Rucka and had J.H. Williams III as her artist for a number of years, she was allowed a great deal of creative freedom, too, up to and...excluding, infamously, a wedding in her New 52 series. The writer of Detective Comics is James Tynion IV, whom I've somewhat unfairly judged over the years due to his association with Scott Snyder, whom I've sometimes found difficult to appreciate. But Tynion is a pretty good writer, and as this issue is a pretty good Batwoman story, I may have to once and for resolve to consider Tynion positively going forward.
Earth 2: Society #14 (DC)
I'm not sure how much Dan Abnett is commenting on the creative reputation of the series he inherited several issues ago or if it's just coincidence, but there's much ado about the broken nature of the new society this alternate world of heroes represents. Still, there's a strong focus on Dick Grayson's Batman, which hasn't really happened since Convergence, and that was good to see, as was the return of his son. Which, all told, Dick himself is far less pleased about, given the unfortunate circumstances...I still think Earth 2, under its various creative directors, has been one of the shining successes of the New 52 era.
The Flash #2 (DC)
Barry Allen begins training his friend and colleague August Heart, who has just acquired access to the Speed Force, and that's fun in and of itself, their contrasting stances on what they should do with it, when the series takes a page from the unrelated TV show and has STAR Labs become the source of trouble, revealing who's behind the freak lightning storms, and what they're after. It's such a good feeling, knowing I love reading The Flash again...
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth #1 (DC)
Maybe it was because I never intended to read it full-time, but Robert Venditti's Green Lantern eventually lost its status as a worthy creative follow-up to the work of Geoff Johns, in my estimation, and once it fell, it plummeted. Funny enough, Venditti explains his thought process in this issue, and it has great relevance in the policing controversies spread across newspapers seemingly every day for the past few years. I have no idea where Venditti started the idea, but it begins to make more sense, seeing it all laid out, and where he has Hal Jordan continue to go with it. So I'm glad I can finally say I get his take. It's not Johns (but few could be). And I'm okay with that.
Millarworld Annual 2016 (Image)
Putting all the cards on the table, the international competition for this thing that sought submissions from new creators was something I entered last year, basing my entry on Starlight, which you can look elsewhere to see how much I enjoyed. I've been a member of the Millarworld message boards ever since, and so was able to keep tabs on when this would be released. Obviously I had something of a vested interest in it. The writer I got to know the best from the boards, perhaps somewhat naturally, was Deniz Camp, whose Starlight effort did win. I can admire Camp, because he too admires Grant Morrison. But the standout entry in the annual, for me, very easily, was Cliff Bumgardner's American Jesus script (just as amazingly illustrated by Steve Beach), which took a moment out of time from Mark Millar's original comic (originally titled Fallen) and explored the consequences of saving a dog's life, which was to inadvertently have the effect of stopping death from occurring, during those moments, around the whole world. It gave me chills to read. It was like reading Stephen King, or at any rate, a first-fate professional. Kudos, Cliff!
Nightwing: Rebirth #1 (DC)
This was exactly the connecting story fans of Dick Grayson could have hoped for, as Dick's adventures with Spyral aren't just unceremoniously dumped, but incorporated into his greater adventures, as he realizes he probably really does have to become Nightwing again, an identity Tim Seeley (Dick Grayson's amazing co-writer, along with the incomparable Tom King, but more on him a little later) explains, as been explained many times before but still comes out fresh, because for the duration of the New 52 it was kind of ignored, as having been inspired by Superman and not Batman, as might be easy to assume. There's also some good Parliament of Owls stuff in the issue, proving that maybe that whole story really should have been Dick's all along...
Action Comics #959 (DC)
The Rebirth era Doomsday saga continues, with parallels popping up all over the places, plus a few new wrinkles, like Superman being forced to concede that the New 52 Lex Luthor may not actually be an exact match for the one he used to know. Otherwise, the reader will just have to continue waiting to see just where the new wrinkles are really headed...
New Super-Man #1 (DC)
I loved, loved, loved Tony Bedard's The Great Ten, which was about a group of Chinese superheroes. Each issue told each member's story. It was a true overlooked masterpiece. Fortunately, someone realized China is perhaps a hotter topic today than when Great Ten was published only a handful of years ago. And even more fortunately, a writer of Gene Luan Yang's quality is around to explore the landscape all over again. Yang's Superman wasn't everyone's cup of tea, perhaps unfortunately coinciding with the "Truth" arc that wasn't really what anyone wanted to read in the Man of Steel's adventures. His New Super-Man features as unlikely a protagonist as you'll find. When first seen he appears to be a jerk! (Bonus points to the Silver Age for being relevant again.) But his personality is entirely in keeping with Chinese society, which is an extreme example of what we experience in the States (and you thought it was bad here!), with income disparity resulting in social dynamics that will probably surprise readers. Yang's origin continues along so that his Chinese Superman ends up kind of being a DC Captain America, with his powers literally being infused into him (and making Chinese Superman to be something of the Rebirth Superboy). I applaud DC and Yang for coming up with this, and I hope enough readers are culturally curious enough to keep it going a while.
The Vision #9 (Marvel)
For me, there was no question that Tom King's greatest superhero work of the past year was The Omega Men, to the point where I was willing to sell his Vision short (heh). Yet, as of this issue, which details how Runaways character Victor Mancha went from uncle to murderer, explaining all over again how rich a creative source King's war experience really is, I'm completely sold on it. So clearly King had room for two masterworks, in a very short time. Here's hoping he has many more.
Old Man Logan #8 (Marvel)
This spin-off of Mark Millar's original story, generated in the wake of Secret Wars and I'm not sure how related to a similar Brian Michael Bendis mini-series during that event, was something I was slow to give much credit to (there I go again), because I just didn't see the point. But if comic book logic counts for anything, then something like this makes its own kind of sense. And it can't possibly hurt to have Jeff Lemire writing. This is the story of Wolverine, decades older, whose whole life and world crumbled in the wake of a catastrophic supervillain victory (think Final Crisis or Forever Evil, but more permanent), and he was left virtually alone to pick up the pieces. Somehow he was transported to the present. This issue, Lemire helpfully spells out the whole thing, and helps Logan come to a kind of peace with his situation. He's been in constant dread that he's going to have to experience the fall all over again. Curiously, the time-displaced Jean Grey, from Bendis's (it figures, right?) All-New X-Men, is the one who helps him. This is Jean at the start of her career. She hadn't even met Logan yet, when she was pulled from the past. And all over again, the value of Jean Grey is exhibited. Great issue.
Wonder Woman #2 (DC)
Greg Rucka's origin of Wonder Woman begins. Suddenly, there are a million Wonder Woman origin stories going on. There's Legend of Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman: Earth One, the upcoming Wonder Woman movie, the upcoming Wonder Woman: The True Amazon... Yet, for all that, it is worth visiting and revisiting. Every creator has a fresh perspective, and with Wonder Woman, finally getting her creative due, it's more relevant than ever before. This is a character who's always been touted as one of DC's most important characters, but she's never been near as popular as Superman or Batman, and as such her origin isn't as well-known. As more fans come to check out what she's all about, it presents, obviously, a rich opportunity to explore, right from the beginning of the story. Rucka's vision is pretty focused, as the Amazonian princess Diana is alone interested in a world she never knew, as she's the first of her kind to be born since they were sealed off from Man's World. He assumes you already know, or don't care, about the particulars of her birth (although the alternating arc in this twice-monthly series does feature exactly that), and just runs from there. The in-house ads talk about each series of the Rebirth era featuring a new epic that starts now, and as far as I can tell, that's exactly what DC has been delivering. Azzarello set such a high mark in the New 52 with Wonder Woman. Rucka seems intent to, and capable of, surpassing it.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Reading Comics #180 "A Brief Check-in"
I think I can, I think I can...
So I went back to Hampton, VA's friendly Heroes & Villains comic book shop last week. It was my first visit this year. I was sorely tempted to buy the deluxe copy of DKIII #2 available, but I didn't. I've been keeping tabs on what's going on in comics since I wrapped up my most recent ongoing readership experience last fall. Marvel's preparing an official Civil War II (I contend readers will find a perfectly good follow-up in the Secret Wars spin-off), while DC is still in the midst of unveiling its latest brand revision under the Rebirth banner (which includes bringing Action Comics back to its original numbering in time to let the series reach #1,000 without looking like another cheap publicity stunt). This is a period where I will be happy, as a reader, to begin reading in the trades. Yes, it finally happened. Although obviously I'll have to keep informed to know what's worth reading in the trades...
So every now and then, I have to check back in! So, here's what I read. Mostly, it was checking in with previous favorites or things I was merely curious about. Without further adieu:
Captain America: White #5 (Marvel)
The final issue in the latest Loeb/Sale collaboration left me wishing there was more than simply Cap pining for the lost Bucky, but the Loeb/Sale Marvel titles have all been written in some way under that model. It's a reminder, at the very least, that there was a considerable period in Cap's history where he truly did believe Bucky was gone forever. So this is a useful testament all the same. At some point I will read the complete story.
Earth 2: Society #7-8 (DC)
The first issue is Daniel H. Wilson's last on the series. Honestly, I think fans didn't care for his run because they're still unaware that Wilson is technically a big deal. His breakthrough novel, Robopocalypse, was optioned instantly by Spielberg (whether it's been in development heck because of Spielberg's association with the Transformers movies I can only speculate), and has subsequently lost the luster of, say, The Martian, which obviously became a very successful movie in the meantime. I've argued his Earth 2's merits previously, and Society's in particular. It's a fascinating concept, but it's bound to irritate traditionalists, especially ones who saw Earth 2 begin under the auspices of the far better established James Robinson. However, Wilson's day is now done. The second issue is the first under Dan Abnett's tenure. Abnett is best known in his collaborations with Andy Lanning, but as a solo act I previously found his Conspiracy scintillating. His opening pages with Hawkgirl, and then concluding ones where Hawkgirl meets Fury, are some of the things that affirm what a great idea Earth 2 and Society remain. So that was all good to experience.
Huck #4 (Image)
I belong to the Millarworld message board community these days. This is the first issue of Huck I've caught. To me, it's clearly a Superman analogy, if based on nothing but the evidence in this issue. But no less an authority than Mark Millar himself insists otherwise, that it's actually a Captain America metaphor. The empirical evidence certainly disagrees further. Maybe Millar is more sarcastic than I previously knew...
Omega Men #7-8 (DC)
This is me literally picking up where I left off. These issues bring Kyle Rayner forcibly into the team's plans, by showing him what happened to Voorl, why they recruited him in the first place. It also features a typically tragic origin for another member, Doc, who was originally programmed to enact the Voorl tragedy itself. That's the kind of writing from Tom King that has made me a bona fide believer.
Robin: Son of Batman #9 (DC)
Patrick Gleason's final issue as writer/artist returns the series full-circle to its Batman & Robin origins, having Damian realize that now he's the one that's been left behind, just Batman was before him. It's depth that was probably unexpected and unwanted by readers who just wanted to see Robin being a smart aleck, as is still what most fans know about him. Even though I missed a few issues, I'm glad to see that Gleason also wrapped up his Maya arc in a satisfactory manner. I don't know if there ended up being a Goliath origin story somewhere in there, but this is a series I will be proud to add to my trade collection, alongside its predecessor, as one of the great experiences I've had in comics.
Superman #45 (DC)
The most recent new issue that the shop had was also the next issue after the last one I'd previously read, which was pretty neat. Readers apparently took poorly to Gene Luen Yang's run, but I found it fascinating. This issue began the Mythbrawl arc, sort of the traditional underground fighting trope mixed with Neil Gaiman's ideas from American Gods. Which, needless to say, I found fascinating. To have Superman included in such an idea is novel, and takes in the concept to a greater scope than most writers often consider. Too often he's dismissed by fans as being too godlike in his abilities. (Never mind that the New Gods are hardly ever presented as godlike at all!) Here's an example of taking that concept to its next logical step. Cheers, Yang. Bonus points for Howard Porter on art!
Telos #3 (DC)
Jeff King's Convergence spin-off was quickly dismissed as roundly pointless by fans, but I find it to be a continuation of DC's interest in expanding its space mythology, which is often relegated to the Legion of Super-Heroes, Adam Strange, and Green Lantern. Along with Omega Men, I think Telos does a good job of filling that gap, not only in further expanding the Brainiac narrative, but by including the New 52 versions of Captain Carrot and Captain Comet (the latter of which last seen in Grant Morrison's Action Comics). I think Telos as a new character fails for the same reason Bloodwynd failed in the '90s, because his origins are deliberately cloaked in mystery. Fans don't tend to like that. They like the instantly iconic. It worked with Wolverine mostly because fans didn't even realize or care that Wolverine appeared without origins. He was just cool, and was different enough from the rest of the Marvel landscape (he debuted in the pages of a Hulk comic, remember, not X-Men) that he stood out without needing everything spelled out immediately. It doesn't stop me from liking characters like Telos and Bloodwynd, but then, I'm a crazy person who actually took Mark Millar's sarcasm seriously at first...
So I went back to Hampton, VA's friendly Heroes & Villains comic book shop last week. It was my first visit this year. I was sorely tempted to buy the deluxe copy of DKIII #2 available, but I didn't. I've been keeping tabs on what's going on in comics since I wrapped up my most recent ongoing readership experience last fall. Marvel's preparing an official Civil War II (I contend readers will find a perfectly good follow-up in the Secret Wars spin-off), while DC is still in the midst of unveiling its latest brand revision under the Rebirth banner (which includes bringing Action Comics back to its original numbering in time to let the series reach #1,000 without looking like another cheap publicity stunt). This is a period where I will be happy, as a reader, to begin reading in the trades. Yes, it finally happened. Although obviously I'll have to keep informed to know what's worth reading in the trades...
So every now and then, I have to check back in! So, here's what I read. Mostly, it was checking in with previous favorites or things I was merely curious about. Without further adieu:
Captain America: White #5 (Marvel)
The final issue in the latest Loeb/Sale collaboration left me wishing there was more than simply Cap pining for the lost Bucky, but the Loeb/Sale Marvel titles have all been written in some way under that model. It's a reminder, at the very least, that there was a considerable period in Cap's history where he truly did believe Bucky was gone forever. So this is a useful testament all the same. At some point I will read the complete story.
Earth 2: Society #7-8 (DC)
The first issue is Daniel H. Wilson's last on the series. Honestly, I think fans didn't care for his run because they're still unaware that Wilson is technically a big deal. His breakthrough novel, Robopocalypse, was optioned instantly by Spielberg (whether it's been in development heck because of Spielberg's association with the Transformers movies I can only speculate), and has subsequently lost the luster of, say, The Martian, which obviously became a very successful movie in the meantime. I've argued his Earth 2's merits previously, and Society's in particular. It's a fascinating concept, but it's bound to irritate traditionalists, especially ones who saw Earth 2 begin under the auspices of the far better established James Robinson. However, Wilson's day is now done. The second issue is the first under Dan Abnett's tenure. Abnett is best known in his collaborations with Andy Lanning, but as a solo act I previously found his Conspiracy scintillating. His opening pages with Hawkgirl, and then concluding ones where Hawkgirl meets Fury, are some of the things that affirm what a great idea Earth 2 and Society remain. So that was all good to experience.
Huck #4 (Image)
I belong to the Millarworld message board community these days. This is the first issue of Huck I've caught. To me, it's clearly a Superman analogy, if based on nothing but the evidence in this issue. But no less an authority than Mark Millar himself insists otherwise, that it's actually a Captain America metaphor. The empirical evidence certainly disagrees further. Maybe Millar is more sarcastic than I previously knew...
Omega Men #7-8 (DC)
This is me literally picking up where I left off. These issues bring Kyle Rayner forcibly into the team's plans, by showing him what happened to Voorl, why they recruited him in the first place. It also features a typically tragic origin for another member, Doc, who was originally programmed to enact the Voorl tragedy itself. That's the kind of writing from Tom King that has made me a bona fide believer.
Robin: Son of Batman #9 (DC)
Patrick Gleason's final issue as writer/artist returns the series full-circle to its Batman & Robin origins, having Damian realize that now he's the one that's been left behind, just Batman was before him. It's depth that was probably unexpected and unwanted by readers who just wanted to see Robin being a smart aleck, as is still what most fans know about him. Even though I missed a few issues, I'm glad to see that Gleason also wrapped up his Maya arc in a satisfactory manner. I don't know if there ended up being a Goliath origin story somewhere in there, but this is a series I will be proud to add to my trade collection, alongside its predecessor, as one of the great experiences I've had in comics.
Superman #45 (DC)
The most recent new issue that the shop had was also the next issue after the last one I'd previously read, which was pretty neat. Readers apparently took poorly to Gene Luen Yang's run, but I found it fascinating. This issue began the Mythbrawl arc, sort of the traditional underground fighting trope mixed with Neil Gaiman's ideas from American Gods. Which, needless to say, I found fascinating. To have Superman included in such an idea is novel, and takes in the concept to a greater scope than most writers often consider. Too often he's dismissed by fans as being too godlike in his abilities. (Never mind that the New Gods are hardly ever presented as godlike at all!) Here's an example of taking that concept to its next logical step. Cheers, Yang. Bonus points for Howard Porter on art!
Telos #3 (DC)
Jeff King's Convergence spin-off was quickly dismissed as roundly pointless by fans, but I find it to be a continuation of DC's interest in expanding its space mythology, which is often relegated to the Legion of Super-Heroes, Adam Strange, and Green Lantern. Along with Omega Men, I think Telos does a good job of filling that gap, not only in further expanding the Brainiac narrative, but by including the New 52 versions of Captain Carrot and Captain Comet (the latter of which last seen in Grant Morrison's Action Comics). I think Telos as a new character fails for the same reason Bloodwynd failed in the '90s, because his origins are deliberately cloaked in mystery. Fans don't tend to like that. They like the instantly iconic. It worked with Wolverine mostly because fans didn't even realize or care that Wolverine appeared without origins. He was just cool, and was different enough from the rest of the Marvel landscape (he debuted in the pages of a Hulk comic, remember, not X-Men) that he stood out without needing everything spelled out immediately. It doesn't stop me from liking characters like Telos and Bloodwynd, but then, I'm a crazy person who actually took Mark Millar's sarcasm seriously at first...
Friday, July 10, 2015
Reading Comics 168 "7/8/15 - One of the Best Weeks of the Year"
To say last week was disappointing for a comic book addict like me would be an understatement. This is not to say that there nothing worth reading, but nothing that interested me, nothing from my pull list and, well, nothing else that I wanted to read.
So this week was an embarrassment of riches. Very good (or very bad) for a comics addict. I ended up reading a bunch of stuff I hadn't read previously, or continuing to read stuff that I don't typically read, or enjoyed a bunch of new stuff, and of course a bunch of stuff I've been reading all along.
Kicking off is Batman #42 (DC), the second issue of the Bat Gordon era. Visually the costume in full armor still looks and will always look ridiculous, and Gordon's military haircut looks ridiculous, but...this is still the best Batman Snyder has ever written. It's the first time he's allowed himself full control, and it shows. The fact that astute readers knew Bruce Wayne was never dead, and Snyder has shown every willingness to play along, keeping him in every issue "post-death," including the issue with "his death" after "his death," this is what I've been waiting for. This is an exercise in patience. Obviously this is an exception, and if it hadn't been hugely popular from the start, DC would never have stuck around this long. But thankfully this is an instance where popularity eventually gives way to material justifying the hype. I don't know how popular this material will be, in the short- or long-term, but I have to imagine, however much longer Snyder sticks around, he will be back to writing Bruce Wayne as Batman, and will be the better for having this experience under his belt.
It's also clear that the villain concept was in part an excuse for Capullo to do a version of Clayface after discovering how well he does it visually in Batman #20 (excellent cover). I would have maybe capitalized on the horn concept and named the villain Horn (although I guess there are other members of the gang, so there's always a chance, right?).
And even with surprises, such as Bloodsquirt. Kind of like Bloodshot's Bat-Mite, Bloodsquirt is part of the hallucinations Bloodshot is experiencing as he tries to deal with his situation (the other person he sees is the woman responsible for taking away his powers, but in this scenario, unlike House of M's Scarlet Witch, the late Geomancer was a good guy who was very much Bloodshot's friend, which is why she did what she did, right before she died). The nanites, meanwhile, that previously gave Bloodshot his powers have been infecting other people, and he's able to absorb them back when he finds these people. Anyway, the whole thing is pretty fascinating, and executed perfectly. I'm once again glad that Valiant exists, and that I've found my way in.
This is written by Charles Soule. When his exclusive contract with Marvel was originally announced, I conceived of it as a nightmare scenario, not because I had enjoyed his DC work so much, but because I feared Marvel wouldn't know what to do with him. But as it turns out, that wasn't really the case at all. If anything, he might be perfectly suited at Marvel, where he can use his best instincts to bring out Marvel's best instincts. This is in fact a best case scenario. At DC he was for the most part marginalized. At Marvel he has the opportunity to become the company's next signature writer, succeeding Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman. I would be very happy to see that happen.
Civil War, then, is a kind of audition. I mean, arguably all of these Secret Wars spin-offs are auditions, either for talent or for the continuing viability of old concepts. In that, Marvel again has an edge over DC. With Convergence, DC was letting fans know once again (and I do mean once again) that it hasn't forgotten its own history, but it was never going to revive anything. DC is always looking forward, aggressively, often to the detriment of fans who want desperately to cling to the past. Marvel isn't like that. It's often just as merciless as DC when it chooses to change things, but it usually goes out of its way to assure fans that things are going to be okay (unless you're a mutant). Anyway, it's always trying to do things organically, whereas DC is that pesky genetic engineering that everyone has such a passive-aggressive relationship with.
All that's to say, Civil War, and Soule along with it, is once again a fascinating concept. The problem Marvel has, despite all its virtues (and I'm convinced Marvel fans celebrate the virtues and ignore everything else, on the whole), is that most of the time, once it's come up with an idea it really has no idea what to do with it. The idea eventually, inevitably, peters out, or mutates so many times that it become irrelevant.
What Soule accomplishes here, as he usually does, is succeed in once again grounding the original idea without losing sight of how to once again progress it. The original hook of the original Civil War is played out to its logical conclusions, going full American Civil War by creating separate nations: The Iron, which obviously is led by Tony Stark, and The Blue, which is led by Steve Rogers. Perhaps with the less comic booky version of Captain America's assassination (otherwise, the opposite of what Brubaker chose to do) in the original in mind, Soule has an attempt by Stark and Rogers to negotiate sabotaged by a gunshot. This Civil War is not dominated by meaningless battles between superheroes, but as a true war of ideology (which is what Kingdom Come was so good at depicting, but more on Mark Waid later).
It's also nice to see Leinil Francis Yu at work again. He's been a signature Marvel artist for years. Linking Yu and Soule is hopefully symbolic of past and future. Although they could certainly continue working together.
And we learn this through the most grisly means possible. I guess I haven't read enough Lemire to know how typical this is for him, but as far as Dustin Nguyen goes, I wouldn't have expected it, certainly not in his current mode of looking about as innocent as a comic book can, especially with killer robots running amok (although Driller, who is a Killer, can run amok as much as he wants, as far as I am concerned).
Which is to say, Dr. Quon is tortured, in the most direct way possible: a buzz saw is used to amputate his left hand. Without no warning, mind you!
So Descender continues to surprise, and this is a very good thing, for a series that is proving more and more that what Saga started, other can and might actually do better. Which is something fans of Saga probably never expected in a million years, let alone less than a handful of them. (Luckily, ah, Dr. Quon still has a hand to grab things with. But he won't be clapping again any time soon...)
One has the sense that IDW, and Chris Ryall, totally got that Adams was always a guy interested in nutty concepts and great dialogue, because that's what's to be found here, unabashedly.
And for those keeping score, I offered the theory in my review of the previous issue, which had never occurred to me before (because I hadn't given much thought to Adams's past) that Dirk Gently is another Doctor Who figure for his creator. And the guys behind the comic seem to think so, too, because (and I can't name which one, because I'm not nearly as big a fan of Doctor Who as I am Douglas Adams) at one point Dirk dons a hat and looks the spitting image of one of the regenerations of Doctor Who.
So there's that.
Traditionalists, purists, and other such individuals would probably have preferred the Justice Society of America concept to remain exactly as it was originally conceived, which is what the Justice League continues to represent. And I think Geoff Johns pushed the original vision as far as it could go. So, much like the Silver Age gave birth to a new Green Lantern and a new Flash, the same has been done for the Justice Society.
Here's where it truly begins to pay off, because now there is a society, and it's as literal as you can possibly get (in a good way), a whole society defined by the superheroes at its heart, survivors of an obliterated Earth. And now we see what transpires next. Terry Sloan, the original Mr. Terrific, has been transformed into a leader of questionable ethics manipulating events to his benefit. I think there was some resistance to this previously, but at any rate I wasn't reading that material, and as presented here it works wonderfully, and he's in a situation that fully exploits his potential. The same, hopefully, will be true of all the characters, including Dick Grayson as Batman. This is a series that is going to take its time unfolding the story, and two issues in that's definitely what's been happening. There are more introductions this issue, oddly enough, which might as well mean anyone who was reluctant to give it a try before has another opportunity to come aboard.
Because this is suddenly some of the best comics around. Good storytelling, great art (and I liked Jorge Jimenez's work instantly last issue), and builds on a concept that is becoming better and better all the time.
This time, however, Moore seems to be interested in what might actually be his true legacy: creating comics that attempt to be as literally the embodiment of the term "graphic novel" as you can get. While fans might know him for Watchmen or Batman: The Killing Joke, Moore is also known for V for Vendetta and From Hell, both of which are very much relevant to any discussion of Providence. When he tells a superhero story, Moore is able to disguise or even distort his best instincts. But elsewhere he can't. Even the Guy Fawkes mask can't obscure his real interests. I have this theory that Moore is actually ambivalent about the comic book medium, or at least superheroes, whatever possibilities they might have, because for him they're nothing but memories he formed decades ago. When he tells a story about superheroes, it is about them, not with them. Later, with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, he did tell stories with them, but superheroes of a different kind. The difference is often hard to reconcile.
Anyway, Moore is interested in telling stories about characters interested in what he is. Providence is a story of the occult, but in the way Stoker's original Dracula was, as something that's stumbled into like The Blair Witch Project. This is the second issue, mind you, and I didn't read the first, but I'm not sure how much story I missed because of that. The Alan Moore that exists today will never again have the impact he did in the '80s. I don't know how he feels about that, but I think he's becoming comfortable with that. In the '90s he was still trying to recapture what he'd lost by abandoning DC. Providence might be the first time he's tried to move past that, return to what he once was, before superheroes dominated his legacy. So if you're interested in that, you might be interested in Providence.
As for me, I found it interested if sedate. If there must be irreconcilable differences between fans of Alan Moore and fans of Grant Morrison, this is what you would compare, say, Annihilator against. And as different as the approaches are, for me there is no comparison. Give me Morrison and Annihilator any day of the week. Providence, meanwhile, glimpses for a moment the world Morrison's Nameless exists in. Considering that I wish Nameless were a little less lunatic, maybe Providence actually represents the bridge that might still exist between them...
The issue also presents a "season finale," which is something I hope future trades will help distinguish (ideally, I guess I'm arguing, there would be distinct collections for each "season," which is to say the material that exists between hiatuses). For some time now, the story of Alana and Marko has been defined by their being apart. They finally stumble back into each other's company.
The other major thing is that our helpful narrator Hazel once again reveals something major about what the future looks like, which in this instance (it hasn't always been as artful) is a very good thing, with excellent timing (which is another reason why I think the "season finale" concept should be better emphasized): she won't be returning to mommy and daddy any time soon.
In a way, Saga is taking on the feel of Lost (which Vaughan worked on), recognizing the inherent drama of reunions between characters who have complicated relationships with each other. For me, this is another very good thing. Sometimes I struggle to see what exactly Saga hopes to accomplish. As of now, this is my conclusion, and I'm happy with that.
I want Costa to do the kind of material I love Costa doing, but that's just not happening with G.I. Joe. I liked Avengers: Millennium, saw the potential to get close to what I wanted, so I decided to give Spider-Verse a shot. And it seems to be even closer than Avengers: Millennium. As you may or may not know, Spider-Verse means the Spider-Man version of DC's multiverse, endless variations of the character. The most famous one recently isn't of Spider-Man himself, but his dead lover Gwen Stacy, who is officially known as Spider-Gwen, and apparently wildly popular. She's more or less the lead of this issue, too. Costa has figured out how to present these characters in a group the way he normally does individually in his Cobra stories, focusing on their varying perspectives. This I was glad to see.
What's great is that it also gives me a chance to read a good issue of two properties that aren't currently giving me much in that regard. (As always, I provide the John Byrne caveat; because my local shop doesn't regularly stock his work, I don't have a chance to read it regularly, unless I wanted to go the digital route.) I haven't read IDW's Star Trek work with any regularity in a few years, and more often than not discover that I'm not missing much. Robert Venditti's Green Lantern, meanwhile, is much the same.
This issue takes place in IDW's favorite Star Trek sandbox at the moment, stories set in the Abrams reboot era. I think it's a mistake to routinely feature Kirk's Enterprise adventures at a time when new movies are still being produced. Once in a while is fine. I think there's much more valuable opportunity looking around the corners, which is what IDW used to do, even in the Abrams era. Anyway, but that's exactly what this comic is doing, too, except with Green Lantern.
Or more accurately, the corpse of Ganthet. That's a wonderful image. With all the times the Guardians have been slaughtered over the years, I never imagined such an image would be so impactful, but there you are. Until Hal Jordan (presumably) shows up on the final page, there isn't even anything to worry about time-wise. Ganthet could easily have lived to Kirk's time (the Guardian's are the universe's oldest beings in DC speak). He brought the last rings across the whole spectrum (red, yellow, blue, violet, orange, and indigo) created or embellished by Geoff Johns, and as Kirk's crew examines the corpse and the rings, the comic has ample opportunity to let the reader enjoy the Abrams era for what it is, a distinct version of familiar Star Trek.
Again, I have no idea what the next issue does to affect the continuing viability of the concept, but so far so good...
As I've mentioned repeatedly, I had great misgivings when Soule went exclusive to Marvel. His Red Lanterns was the work that made me a fan of Soule, and I didn't want to see it end. (Well, DC ended it anyway, in the end.) When I saw Lando announced, with Soule as writer, I saw it as the best chance to see Soule in the mode I knew best from him.
Turns out it's better than that. Never mind what I already said about Soule above, this one's better than I could have imagined. It not only features Lando, which is obvious, but takes him in new and unexpected directions. Now, I'm about to reference Lost again. Unlike a lot of fans, my affection for it not only didn't go away after the way it ended, but was actually amplified by it. I loved the whole final season, in fact. This is relevant, because in Soule's mind, Lando is something of a Sawyer, a con man who given the chance could absolutely go straight. When we meet Lando in Empire Strikes Back, that's exactly what happened to him, but the Lando we meet is difficult to imagine as anything else. I read and enjoyed the L. Neil Smith books, too, but they were part of the whole thing that suggested if Lando had ever been any different, he was basically Han Solo.
Which is not very imaginative. Given a chance, Han would never have become an administrator. But Lando loves a good con, because a con is basically an opportunity, and that's what con men love. As a con man, Lando suddenly makes perfect sense. And his Cloud City buddy Lobot becomes fully alive in the comic, too, plus a number of nefarious associates that make it seem just as if Star Wars: Lando is the first time anyone really tried to do additional Star Wars material. Because this is exactly what Star Wars was always meant to be.
And so why care about Lando at all? I liked him because he really wasn't involved in Luke's adventures. Other than snatching Luke from that weathervane, if you think about it Lando really has nothing to do with him in his two movie appearances. But this doesn't stop him from being, arguably the most confident man in the room, even when he quickly realizes he's got to switch allegiances. That deal he strikes with Vader turned out to be a bad idea. So he flips. He's the only character to do that, too. Han, if you'll remember, spends most of his time actively trying to avoid entanglements. That's what he had in common with the old Lando. He didn't see the opportunity Luke represented even though it was staring him in the face. He came back because he grew to care about the boy. Not Lando.
All of which is to say there was always unexplored potential in Lando. As of now, there's less. Or, more.
Whereas Alex Ross has been trying to recapture his Kingdom Come glory ever since (just as the project itself was originally embraced as "the next Alex Ross project" after Marvels, which Kurt Busiek followed up with the similar Astro City), Waid seems to have been incredibly reluctant, which is probably because initially he didn't understand what he'd accomplished. Before Kingdom Come, Waid was a fan who became an editor who got to write The Flash and then anything else he wanted. But along the way, he had the opportunity to do something big, Kingdom Come. Even though fans (like me) claim the best of his Flash was incredibly hard to surpass, that's exactly what he did. He set the bar higher than anyone could have imagined, and I think like Waid himself, everyone has been struggling to catch up with it.
This was transcendent material, for Waid, for superheroes, and in some ways, comic books in general. Snooty fans won't even take superhero writers seriously, will try and create mainstream credentials by being anything but. What Waid realized was that this wasn't by any means necessary. But having someone like Alex Ross around to make it visually distinctive would probably help.
Here he was J.G. Jones, whose most visually distinctive work previously was on the landmark covers of the weekly series 52, which are among the rare covers to get their own collection. Jones has gone to some trouble to evoke Alex Ross, but where Ross tends to be minimalist, Jones sketches in the rest.
Otherwise the rest is entirely Waid. The only other times he's invoked Kingdom Come was to try and recapture the scope of superhero storytelling, which resulted in lesser works like The Kingdom and the Irredeemable/Incorruptible universe. Strange Fruit is nothing like that. And considering the charged nature of race relations, and even the status of the Confederate flag (interested observers can make much of the issue's final image on that score), it's beyond timely. It's timeless in the best Kingdom Come manner. It's Waid coming home to Boom!, yes, but it's also Waid coming to terms with a part of his legacy he has finally come to embrace, a challenge he set aside and has returned to at last.
At its heart, Strange Fruit is a variation on Superman. It even evokes Django Unchained. But it is distinctly its own, too. It looks at politics, too, by the way, but at its heart is a social landscape at turmoil with itself, trying to come up with easy answers and finding that to be a difficult task. And suddenly, there's this black man standing there, tearing the whole scene asunder, come to Earth like Superman, in a rocket that crashes in a field, but this is a full-grown man.
Who and what he is are matters for the three remaining issues. I highly recommend you investigate the results for yourself. And welcome back, Mark Waid. It's been a long time.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Reading Comics 164 "Comics from 6/10/15"
Featuring Batman #41, Descender #4, Earth 2: Society #1, Nameless #4, and Saga #29.
Batman #41 (DC)
This whole issue is Scott Snyder doing the hard sell for his new direction. This can be seen as a good thing, even a smart thing. But it might also be considered...an acknowledgment that maybe it's not such a good idea after all. Veteran comics readers know how this game works. Original character is replaced. New character attempts to solidify their right to the role. Original character returns. Snyder has been playing a little fast and loose with the concept from the start, "killing off" Bruce Wayne while also making it clear (to anyone paying attention) that this didn't actually happen. And this issue makes that clear, too. He's sitting in a park on the first and last pages. Some readers will wonder, is that really Bruce Wayne? Of course it is.
And that's really Jim Gordon playing at being Batman, too. Even he pokes fun at the new getup, by the way. As I said, Snyder plays with fire in the issue. And it's a little hard to swallow after a while. I know what you'll say, you veteran of this blog. I've acknowledged problems reading Snyder in the past. The conclusion to "Endgame," I said, might have been the point where I put all that behind me. But I guess it really doesn't work that way.
So this is Snyder trying to do his version of the replacement trope. As you can see from the above panel, Snyder even gives lip service to all the reasons why this typically happens. The oddest thing is that there's no one saying Batman needs this right now. And so why is Snyder even doing it? Because he's subverting even that part of the narrative? Hey, since when was Scott Snyder even known as a guy who subverts expectations anyway?
So the issue is actually pretty uncomfortable, and once again I'm telling myself, I'm done with Snyder. I won't be fooled again!
We'll see...
Descender #4 (Image)
In strict contrast to Snyder and even to a comic I'll be talking about a little later is this one from the combined genius of Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen. I happen to love comics, or stories in general, with a lot of moving parts, which is to say components that are being used not necessarily in direct conjunction with each other but that keep things interesting, and this has nothing to do with being simple or complicated, but a general awareness that the creator(s) have figured out what they're doing in an obvious, even if subtle, way. This means, for instance, what's illustrated above. What Snyder's done in Batman has sometimes seemed like it wanted to do something like this, but then it turns out most of that was geared toward Batman Eternal and not Batman itself, which is fine and all, but there's a clear difference, and the distinction is that Snyder himself didn't want to affect what he was doing in trying to create an iconic Dark Knight by introducing a lot of dynamic new elements (Court of Owls notwithstanding, or perhaps included).
The above illustrates the difference nicely. The Driller is somewhat one-dimensional, but serves as a nice contrast to Tim, the little boy robot who's the heart of Descender. Tim convinces Driller not to be a killer because that would be bad for its future. But later in the issue, when more mayhem surrounds Tim, he releases Driller from this restriction. Lemire writes this perfectly, and of course Nguyen is doing the same killer work he's done since Batman: Li'l Gotham. While Tim's creator Dr. Quon remains about as one-dimensional as Driller, there's also Telsa to be considered. This is the issue where we begin to find out what makes her interesting. At first not only as one-dimensional as Driller but as function-centered, she's a reflection of what the series may ultimately be about, breaking away from what others perceive you to be (and hence a sign that Quon will likely receive similar treatment at some point). Tim himself, especially to Telsa, is just a boy robot programmed to be a "real" boy's best friend.
Anyway, while Lemire has been careful to keep the action and plot moving, he doesn't do that at the expense of character development, and not just development, but exploration, which is a concept that is usually ignored. Snyder, for instance, constantly flirts with it, but only in the safest ways possible, which was he allowed himself, and was allowed by DC, to do such a radical Batman/Joker story as "Endgame" ended up being. But he always backs away. When other writers aren't backing away, they aren't even attempting it. Lemire pushes boldly ahead. Descender, this is to say, is looking like an all-around classic.
Speaking of character exploration, the thing I liked best about Convergence was how it took Earth 2 and made it better. When James Robinson started that series, it was about as character-centric as anything DC was publishing at the time. Convergence came around and took one of Earth 2's characters, Dick Grayson, and pushed him forward. And interestingly, as with Convergence as a whole, the story clearly didn't end there. This is to be understood as a hook. If you care at all about the character, you will want to know how the story continues. The debut issue of Society keeps that idea going.
The panel above once again is selected for illustrative purposes. A lot of the successful comics these days are ones that feature a hook for the real world. The paralyzed Dick Grayson will hopefully join those ranks. Most of the issue he is in fact running around, but this is also an issue that jumps back and forth in time. The hook, then, is for the reader to want to continue reading the series, see how exactly Dick reaches the point where he is running around again. Likely for the same reasons he was in Convergence, because he has some sort of artificial support. This should be no big problem for someone looking to him as a role model. Amputees, for instance, are very familiar with this narrative.
So for me, my interest in Earth 2 was absolutely elevated by Convergence, which I believe was one of the main points of the event, and Society is an excellent way to keep that momentum going.
Nameless #4 (Image)
For those two panels (the rest of the page becomes much like the rest of this particular story), Nameless evokes Grant Morrison's own We3, which is one of the best things he's ever done. The problem is, Nameless is otherwise hellbent on being the weirdest thing Morrison has ever done, The Filth taken to the next level. Weirdest as in most disturbing. It's very easy to interpret Nameless as the culmination of Morrison realizing his Batman Inc. collaborator Chris Burnham as being capable of this exact kind of story.
For some comics readers, the weirder is in fact the better. Comics, in their view, are supposed to shock. And they have been shocking readers for many decades, sometimes deliberately so. And Nameless is also a culmination of Morrison's own basic instincts, by the way.
But it's still very hard to enjoy. I didn't particularly like Burnham in the pages of Batman Inc. either, by the way. He's a definite proponent of gross-out material. It's sad, because in those panels above, he is clearly capable of stuff that doesn't need to do that. (Sometimes I assume people who specialize in gross-out do it because they think they need to.) To link more of this edition of Reading Comics together, Burnham can perhaps take lessons from Fiona Staples. (I've been leading toward Saga. There.) Staples can do a lot of things. Saga in one sense is designed to let her do a lot of things. Some of it is explicitly to let her shock the reader. But it never quite seems as shocking as what Burnham has routinely demonstrated in Nameless.
And it gets in the way, too. That's the thing. It distinctly feels as if Morrison is letting Burnham sell most of the concept for him. And Morrison is routinely guilty of letting the story sell itself rather than bothering to explain it himself. And when this works, it absolutely works. But sometimes it doesn't. And I think that's ultimately why I backed away from The Filth, too, because the more I thought about it, the more I wished Morrison didn't rely so much on the actual filth. Imagine how much more readers would have hated Final Crisis if it had done that!
So more and more, that's what I think about Nameless. I wish it evoked Morrison's best instincts more often. But I also think this whole project is Morrison working his worst instincts out of his system, or simply trying to prove that old image he created of himself was real after all. Except more and more, I'm convinced it really wasn't. But what do I know?
Saga #29 (Image)
This issue is something of a bloodbath for supporting characters in Saga. If this were Star Trek, it would be the redshirt issue.
And there's an image that's not about that at all, and may be one of the defining gross-out images of the whole series, and that's all I'm going to say about that. Visually, this is about the sum of everything anyone who doesn't like what they've seen could possibly fear to see throughout a whole issue.
Which is also to say, just another issue of Saga. But really, this really is Saga to the extreme. And this is definitely one of the odder things about the series. It doesn't need any of that to be awesome. Why Brian K. Vaughan has done it at all, and repeatedly, is probably just because he absolutely knows he can get away with it, or because he just really always wanted to see a sci-fi story do it. There are plenty of people who like their stories like this. I'm not necessarily one of them. Usually it's kept to a minimum, one shock per issue, and usually with a bunch of issues that don't feature this sort of thing at all (mostly).
And the thing of it all is that Fiona Staples otherwise has some of the most lush art around, and could as easily sell itself without any of that as Vaughan could write Saga without any of these distractions. And yes, at this point it has to be considered one of the primary elements of the series, so there's little use complaining about it, especially so many issues into the series, and from a reader who has read a majority of the series...
Anyway, some of this was absolutely inevitable. And I suppose Vaughan's greater point is that sci-fi that isn't dirty is simply ignoring a great too many realities. But the long-term potential of Saga is somewhat compromised if this sort of issue will be routine. Walking Dead does this all the time. And I've mentioned before that I absolutely think Walking Dead was ruined by making this sort of thing routine. You can't do a long-term story where the same thing happens over and over again. After a certain point, the idea becomes routine and therefore pointless, especially if the writer clearly has nothing to say.
The point of this particular issue is that the things that have been happening throughout the series really have been messy, and are doomed to messy conclusions until and perhaps even when the same mistakes stop being made. We'll see if that's where Vaughan is actually going with this. The important thing is, the important people are still alive. For now.
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