Okay! If I'd written this earlier, I'd be talking about less, but here we are and now there's more...
Apparently it was DC's decision for Tom King to leave Batman itself to finish the story in Batman/Catwoman? Or maybe there's an explanation that doesn't sound sinister? But, in news that's only relevant to people who aren't on the internet (yay troglodytes!), King's work is still appearing in the Superman 100-Page Giants found at Wal-Mart. I confirmed this (but have yet to read it) with the recently released Superman Giant #12.
Apparently DC has cancelled the Vertigo imprint. There will be a lot of fans freaking out over this, how DC's killing a part of its soul or whatever, but really...I don't see a real problem here. Vertigo hasn't really been Vertigo since Scott Snyder backed off of American Vampire, which was the last major series launched under the imprint. And in that regard, the big send-off for trade-friendly Fables might be considered the real end of the imprint, getting a trade-size (and published in trade format, no less) final issue. Fans will say it's because Karen Berger was released as managing editor, but Fables and the most recent issue of American Vampire were released in 2015. That's a long time for the imprint to linger in irrelevance. Meanwhile, times changed. The Walking Dead, which in a lot of respects was a Vertigo title published by Image, was a game-changer. Image itself transitioned into a Vertigo mentality after pushing the superhero format in the '90s. And there are dozens of smaller publishers now operating that also follow the Vertigo template, which itself began by collecting a number of existing DC titles that were intended for mature readers, which...
And that's the new plan, by the way. The new DC Black Label will now be the destination of anything that might've once been Vertigo. There's also Brian Michael Bendis's Jinxworld, which is its own DC imprint, which in earlier times would have been part of Vertigo. (Bendis was operating more or less this way with Marvel, too, which never made a serious move to expand into other creators producing creator-owned material.)
So again, I say there's nothing to complain about here. Paul Cornell was able to retrieve the rights to Saucer Country, which for all intents and purposes was a post-Berger Vertigo series, and continue it at IDW as Saucer State. The Vertigo mystique did nothing to salvage G. Willow Wilson's seminal Air, which sputtered under little critical or fan attention under Berger's watch from 2008 to 2010. What Fables did was itself signal the end of an era, in which Vertigo was previously known for dark genre instead became home to light genre material, which couldn't sustain the same cult following.
Anyway, here's some comics I read recently:
Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1 (DC)
Here's Snyder and Greg Capullo reuniting for one last grand Batman story. As suggested previously and as I hoped to see since Snyder's contribution to the 'New 52" era Detective Comics #27, it's finally an extended look at the concept of Batman producing a series of clones to continue the crusade past his original lifetime. I'm not sure this debut entirely squares with the concept, but I do love that Snyder heavily leans into his concept that Batman and the Joker are essentially an odd couple, having progressed well beyond hero-and-villain status. The idea of Batman carrying around the disembodied head of the Joker is the best thing I've come across in a Scott Snyder comic, where he's finally and truly gone as wild as he could imagine.
Daredevil #6 (Marvel)
Chip Zdarsky's wonderful run continues. I hope fans are registering its existence.
Ascender #2 (Image)
Lemire and Nguyen's Descender sequel continues.
Doomsday Clock #10 (DC)
I made sure to buy this issue (I committed to tradewaiting the series after missing too many previous issues, including the first one) after coming back to the Geek Twins, a break that corresponded with the death of my mother and the exploding of what had been a regular blogging habit, and finding that they heartily recommended it as a unique way for DC and/or Geoff Johns to once and for all reconcile the multiverse by redubbing it the metaverse. This issue sees Doctor Manhattan explaining his journey post-Watchmen by, in part, revisiting all the times DC has rebooted its continuity, starting well before the famous Crisis on Infinite Earths. And my fears that Doomsday Clock would duplicate what Johns had done previously in Infinite Crisis were alleviated. Basically the pivotal issue of the series and a landmark in DC lore in general.
Heroes in Crisis #9 (DC)
There ended up being a lively discussion as to what exactly this series accomplished over at Speed Force, and then DC solicited Flash Forward, which will act as a sequel and spotlight for Wally West, and I wonder if any of the fans upset over what Tom King "did to him" will begin reconsidering. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Me, as I tend to, I thought King's work was brilliant.
The Immortal Hulk #2, 18 (Marvel)
Al Ewing put himself on the map with this one. Essentially an in-continuity of the classic Hulk TV series, Bruce Banner's back as the Hulk, but he's skulking around the country trying to keep the beast at bay, and stumbling into horror stories along the way. Anyway, it's good reading, and fans have certainly noticed, and I'm glad I had a look.
Naomi #5 (DC)
The other Bendis imprint at DC these days, Wonder Comics, launched Naomi with the promise that eventually it would seem important. Well, I finally got to have a look, and with exactly the right issue, in which we learn that she comes from an alternate Earth, which is an idea that surprisingly hasn't really been done before, even though DC has visited dozens and dozens of alternate realities over the years. The closest is Superman, probably, who in current continuity is actually a survivor of a previous one (which is something you don't need to know to enjoy his latest adventures, but sounds exactly like the insanity that led to Crisis on Infinite Earths to begin with).
Sasquatch Detective 64-Page Special (DC)
Originally a back-up feature in Mark Russell's Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, this is essentially DC allowing itself to have some family-friendly fan with something that isn't based on an existing franchise. If it were Marvel, there'd already have been an ongoing series and several dozen more concepts exactly like it. DC restraint!
Superman: Leviathan Rising (DC)
Originally previewed in Year of the Villain, this intro to the Bendis event conveniently called Event Leviathan was most appreciated by me for its preview of Matt Fraction's Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, which was a real treat to read. And for those wondering, the Bendis Leviathan is the same as the Morrison Leviathan, this time with (seemingly) less Talia. So yeah, Morrison's Batman is the gift that keeps giving.
Showing posts with label Matt Fraction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Fraction. Show all posts
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Monday, March 7, 2016
Quarter Bin 69 "Eight Below"
As always, "Quarter Bin" is a figurative term. This is a back issues feature.
The title of this edition comes from the fact that I bought the following comics from the store Five Below (basically another dollar store), two different packs of four comics each. These are not the first comics I've gotten from Five Below, and not even the first bargain packs I've picked up in the last few months, but there's one excellent, and several good ones, reason to write about this set first (I'll get to the others later). Namely, it gave me my first look at one of Grant Morrison's Marvel projects I hadn't gotten around to yet. Without further adieu, let's dive in:
New Avengers: Illuminati (Marvel)
From September 2006.
Civil War was kind of better in a handful of one-shots specials than it was for the event itself or the comics that followed it. Here I'm mostly thinking about the ones concerning the death of Captain America (I'm sorry, "death"), but this is another of the literate stories Marvel let slip through, Brian Michael Bendis getting to write about the Marvel landscape in frank terms, setting up a cabal (that kind of went nowhere but was intended to be more significant), a meeting of the heads of the big guns before everyone started to become Avengers (even before the movies made it cool). I guess I'll never understand why Namor has been such a tough nut for Marvel to crack, I guess just too difficult to reconcile with the more juvenile instincts of the company, even though he's one of its founding creations. He's a standout here. Conspicuous by his absence? Captain America.
Daredevil #253 (Marvel)
From April 1988.
I thought this would be a Frank Miller issue (shows how much I know, I guess), but it ended up being Ann Nocenti, one of the more long-lived female comic book creators who has been involved in DC's New 52 initiative recently, writing Green Arrow and such. She writes about what you'd expect from Daredevil. It's telling, what fans were thinking, or at least what Marvel was thinking, from the letters in the back lamenting the grim turn in then recent years, which would be the Frank Miller era, which was not yet completely over. The editor suggests to readers still searching for a good Kingpin story Daredevil: Love and War, Miller's graphic novel from two years earlier. Well, anyway, what's perhaps best to talk about is the debuting artist in the issue, none other than John Romita, Jr., at least as described in the letters column (which was always months behind), actually three issues into his run at this point. Romita would go on to make quite the name for himself (probably known at the time very much as "Junior"), and a distinctive style. Which is hard to find in the work here. So I spent perhaps more time trying to find the Romita I know than to anything else. But it was still worth checking out for all three reasons.
DC Universe Presents #11 (DC)
From September 2012.
James Robinson, just starting his comeback, though everyone seemed to ignore The Shade (despite its generally excellent quality), writing a Vandal Savage arc, uniquely featuring him as something other than the villain, trying to make peace with a rebellious daughter while trying to avoid the sins of his past. As the antagonist of Legends of Tomorrow and having apparently resurfaced in the Superman titles recently, Savage is experiencing a renaissance of significance lately. He's a compelling character, and Robinson certainly helps sell him better than the norm.
Fantastic Four: 1234 #4 (Marvel)
From January 2001.
I assume Marvel did a roundabout second printing of this, because the copyright fine print says "Vol. 2" and the cover features a 9/11 memorial logo, even though the publication date still lists it as the beginning of the year...Either way, this is the first time I've read anything from this Grant Morrison's project. Morrison's Marvel work is better known for his New X-Men and Marvel Boy, but there's also this to consider. And now having read some of it firsthand, I would almost consider it his response to Marvelman/Miracleman, a dystopian twist on a traditional superhero property. Aside from a classic comic book twist that undoes it, the issue features Dr. Doom turning the team against each other, against themselves, all of that, in ways Alan Moore's opus never adequately explained, except that he just didn't understand superheroes anymore and wanted them to "grow up." This is a whole thing among fans, the relationship between Moore and Morrison, how Morrison tried to write in his own contribution to Moore's work on that property (to be printed years later by Marvel), and how they've been "rivals" ever since. It's a fairly one-sided creative conversation, though. Morrison did his version of Watchmen in Pax Americana (within the greater Multiversity construct). But few observers seem to have perceived 1234's commentary. It even makes Dr. Doom credible for the first time...ever. So that's good to read, too. Now on to Skrull Kill Krew!
Force Works (Marvel)
From January 1995.
The Image explosion caused chaos across the board, and one of the weirdest effects was forcing (heh) Marvel and DC to try and ape the style approach, which meant as much about the art as the less subtle storytelling (which eventually gave way to more subtle storytelling, so on the whole it was probably a good thing). DC created a Justice League that starred in the series Extreme Justice, Marvel created an Avengers called Force Works. I originally learned about the latter in a calendar I had as a teenager. I admit, I liked the title. So now I read an issue for the first time ever. Scarlet Witch is taken semi-seriously, in a kind of stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold kind of way. U.S.Agent is in a costume I don't recognize. There's a Mandarin story that doesn't really feature Mandarin all too well (Iron Man 3 wants its plot back!), and Tony Stark is being a shmuck. On the whole, seems about right.
Hawkeye #11 (Marvel)
From August 2013.
I think I've read this issue already. Or maybe Matt Fraction used the dog gimmick again later? Either way, this is the dog gimmick issue, which features a dog and the only words the reader gets to read are the ones in the dialogue the dog would understand. Otherwise, it's the various associations the dogs would make, conveyed via icons. I don't want to underestimate the uniqueness of the artistry, certainly in a mainstream work, that Fraction manages to bring to Hawkeye. In any other era, this would have been hailed as the second coming of Frank Miller. For whatever reason, that just never happened with this series. I don't think anything groundbreaking was achieved, except to highlight that no one really has a definitive Hawkeye story they figure is worth telling (except, you know, that he debuted as a villain?), which even the movies acknowledge, so that Fraction literally could do anything, like this dog issue. But that's still a breakthrough for a mainstream superhero comic.
Prime #3 (Malibu)
From December 1995.
I used to think that Prime was basically a Captain Marvel) (DC version) ripoff, but after this issue, I guess he's kind of more like the Spectre, a powerful entity that needs a human host to anchor it. Which obviously was otherwise poorly conveyed. In hindsight, Prime is just too comically overmuscled. I mean, was that deliberate?
Professor Xavier and the X-Men #1 (Marvel)
From November 1995.
I think I got this comic back in the '90s. I guess it doesn't particularly matter. It's a '90s version of the early X-Men years. It still baffles me that Marvel has never considered using Jean Grey more productively. Here's a character who used to be known as Marvel Girl. She's the center of one of the most famous X-Men, if not Marvel in general, stories ever in "The Dark Phoenix Saga." And even the movies had her as second lead after Wolverine. She's the lead character in this issue, too. And still...Nothing. Talk about missing a golden opportunity.
The title of this edition comes from the fact that I bought the following comics from the store Five Below (basically another dollar store), two different packs of four comics each. These are not the first comics I've gotten from Five Below, and not even the first bargain packs I've picked up in the last few months, but there's one excellent, and several good ones, reason to write about this set first (I'll get to the others later). Namely, it gave me my first look at one of Grant Morrison's Marvel projects I hadn't gotten around to yet. Without further adieu, let's dive in:
New Avengers: Illuminati (Marvel)
From September 2006.
Civil War was kind of better in a handful of one-shots specials than it was for the event itself or the comics that followed it. Here I'm mostly thinking about the ones concerning the death of Captain America (I'm sorry, "death"), but this is another of the literate stories Marvel let slip through, Brian Michael Bendis getting to write about the Marvel landscape in frank terms, setting up a cabal (that kind of went nowhere but was intended to be more significant), a meeting of the heads of the big guns before everyone started to become Avengers (even before the movies made it cool). I guess I'll never understand why Namor has been such a tough nut for Marvel to crack, I guess just too difficult to reconcile with the more juvenile instincts of the company, even though he's one of its founding creations. He's a standout here. Conspicuous by his absence? Captain America.
Daredevil #253 (Marvel)
From April 1988.
I thought this would be a Frank Miller issue (shows how much I know, I guess), but it ended up being Ann Nocenti, one of the more long-lived female comic book creators who has been involved in DC's New 52 initiative recently, writing Green Arrow and such. She writes about what you'd expect from Daredevil. It's telling, what fans were thinking, or at least what Marvel was thinking, from the letters in the back lamenting the grim turn in then recent years, which would be the Frank Miller era, which was not yet completely over. The editor suggests to readers still searching for a good Kingpin story Daredevil: Love and War, Miller's graphic novel from two years earlier. Well, anyway, what's perhaps best to talk about is the debuting artist in the issue, none other than John Romita, Jr., at least as described in the letters column (which was always months behind), actually three issues into his run at this point. Romita would go on to make quite the name for himself (probably known at the time very much as "Junior"), and a distinctive style. Which is hard to find in the work here. So I spent perhaps more time trying to find the Romita I know than to anything else. But it was still worth checking out for all three reasons.
DC Universe Presents #11 (DC)
From September 2012.
James Robinson, just starting his comeback, though everyone seemed to ignore The Shade (despite its generally excellent quality), writing a Vandal Savage arc, uniquely featuring him as something other than the villain, trying to make peace with a rebellious daughter while trying to avoid the sins of his past. As the antagonist of Legends of Tomorrow and having apparently resurfaced in the Superman titles recently, Savage is experiencing a renaissance of significance lately. He's a compelling character, and Robinson certainly helps sell him better than the norm.
Fantastic Four: 1234 #4 (Marvel)
From January 2001.
I assume Marvel did a roundabout second printing of this, because the copyright fine print says "Vol. 2" and the cover features a 9/11 memorial logo, even though the publication date still lists it as the beginning of the year...Either way, this is the first time I've read anything from this Grant Morrison's project. Morrison's Marvel work is better known for his New X-Men and Marvel Boy, but there's also this to consider. And now having read some of it firsthand, I would almost consider it his response to Marvelman/Miracleman, a dystopian twist on a traditional superhero property. Aside from a classic comic book twist that undoes it, the issue features Dr. Doom turning the team against each other, against themselves, all of that, in ways Alan Moore's opus never adequately explained, except that he just didn't understand superheroes anymore and wanted them to "grow up." This is a whole thing among fans, the relationship between Moore and Morrison, how Morrison tried to write in his own contribution to Moore's work on that property (to be printed years later by Marvel), and how they've been "rivals" ever since. It's a fairly one-sided creative conversation, though. Morrison did his version of Watchmen in Pax Americana (within the greater Multiversity construct). But few observers seem to have perceived 1234's commentary. It even makes Dr. Doom credible for the first time...ever. So that's good to read, too. Now on to Skrull Kill Krew!
Force Works (Marvel)
From January 1995.
The Image explosion caused chaos across the board, and one of the weirdest effects was forcing (heh) Marvel and DC to try and ape the style approach, which meant as much about the art as the less subtle storytelling (which eventually gave way to more subtle storytelling, so on the whole it was probably a good thing). DC created a Justice League that starred in the series Extreme Justice, Marvel created an Avengers called Force Works. I originally learned about the latter in a calendar I had as a teenager. I admit, I liked the title. So now I read an issue for the first time ever. Scarlet Witch is taken semi-seriously, in a kind of stripper-with-a-heart-of-gold kind of way. U.S.Agent is in a costume I don't recognize. There's a Mandarin story that doesn't really feature Mandarin all too well (Iron Man 3 wants its plot back!), and Tony Stark is being a shmuck. On the whole, seems about right.
Hawkeye #11 (Marvel)
From August 2013.
I think I've read this issue already. Or maybe Matt Fraction used the dog gimmick again later? Either way, this is the dog gimmick issue, which features a dog and the only words the reader gets to read are the ones in the dialogue the dog would understand. Otherwise, it's the various associations the dogs would make, conveyed via icons. I don't want to underestimate the uniqueness of the artistry, certainly in a mainstream work, that Fraction manages to bring to Hawkeye. In any other era, this would have been hailed as the second coming of Frank Miller. For whatever reason, that just never happened with this series. I don't think anything groundbreaking was achieved, except to highlight that no one really has a definitive Hawkeye story they figure is worth telling (except, you know, that he debuted as a villain?), which even the movies acknowledge, so that Fraction literally could do anything, like this dog issue. But that's still a breakthrough for a mainstream superhero comic.
Prime #3 (Malibu)
From December 1995.
I used to think that Prime was basically a Captain Marvel) (DC version) ripoff, but after this issue, I guess he's kind of more like the Spectre, a powerful entity that needs a human host to anchor it. Which obviously was otherwise poorly conveyed. In hindsight, Prime is just too comically overmuscled. I mean, was that deliberate?
Professor Xavier and the X-Men #1 (Marvel)
From November 1995.
I think I got this comic back in the '90s. I guess it doesn't particularly matter. It's a '90s version of the early X-Men years. It still baffles me that Marvel has never considered using Jean Grey more productively. Here's a character who used to be known as Marvel Girl. She's the center of one of the most famous X-Men, if not Marvel in general, stories ever in "The Dark Phoenix Saga." And even the movies had her as second lead after Wolverine. She's the lead character in this issue, too. And still...Nothing. Talk about missing a golden opportunity.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Reading Comics 171 "A Frustrating Week"
Last week I ended up skipping on Justice League: Gods and Monsters - Batman #1 (DC), but I decided to get it this week, along with JL:GaM - Superman #1. These are comics that help flesh out Bruce Timm's return to the animated DC fold after helping shape its legacy (along with Paul Dini) in the '90s and early 2000s with Batman, Superman, and Justice League cartoons. I initially skipped out because the art inside Batman was nothing like the Timm I know, but I guess if these spin-offs go in a different direction artistically, it only goes to emphasize the stories more. Batman features Kirk Langstrom, the erstwhile Man-Bat, in the role of the Dark Knight, having transformed himself, instead of a giant bat, into a vampire. But the neat thing about the story is that it focuses on the matter of whether or not Batman does what he does because he enjoys it or out of a sense of justice. Superman features a Man of Steel, meanwhile, who ends up being raised by Mexican immigrants, ending up more resentful as a superhero as a result. I guess these are the variations that make them monsters...
Anyway, when I entitled this week's edition "A Frustrating Week," I wasn't really thinking about Gods and Monsters, but rather a couple of comics I tried for the first time because of my familiarity with the writers. (J.M. DeMatteis, by the way, wrote both GaM tie-ins.) The first sampling was Low #8 (Image) from Rick Remender, and the second was Sex Criminals #11 (Image) from Matt Fraction. Remender is one of those writers I seem to constantly go back and forth on. Recently I had gotten around to liking him again thanks to his Captain America work. Fraction, meanwhile, just concluded what ought to be considered a seminal run on Hawkeye. Both are well-known for their creator-owned work, as well. The problem is, these particular efforts seem to have been greenlit by Image with the express interest of trying to duplicate or at least build off the momentum of Saga (which in effect makes them like all the superhero comics that all these nonsuperhero comics are constantly trying to say they're more interesting than for the simple fact of being more original in a vast sea of superhero comics...).
Low, for instance, is the latest in an increasingly long list of comics that hinge a great deal on their art and distinctive coloring, not to mention general sci-fi adventure flavoring. In a lot of ways, Saga provoked Image into returning to the art-heavy days of its origins, but in a more thoughtful, nuanced way. The problem is, if Image starts to produce a lot of comics with the same general artistic interests (what is otherwise termed a house style), they all begin to be lost in the shuffle.
Like Deadly Class, Remender apparently takes Low personally, and has attracted, or so the letters column suggests, an audience that seems to have instinctively gotten exactly whatever it is he's trying to accomplish. Because the results, as with Deadly Class, are somewhat impenetrable. And again, part of that is because the art so thoroughly dominates the storytelling, the story itself becomes lost in the shuffle.
Sex Criminals, meanwhile, is one of those comics intended to appeal to that hip audience that gravitates to taboo material, or otherwise "mature audiences" that premium cable seems to think must include, well, sex. Graphic sex. And again, Saga opened those doors. The gimmick behind Fraction's comic is that the central characters stop time every time they have sex. This would be an excellent gimmick indeed, if this were any other medium besides a comic book, which by nature exists in static images. Which sort of limits the ability for time being stopped looking like anything other than your typical comic book panel...
But the thing is, Fraction seems to have gotten how slim a gimmick that really is, because Sex Criminals is at its best as metafiction, as he addresses the reader directly, explaining certain matters of the art that he talks over rather than allows to be depicted (but not the sex, naturally).
But are either worth reading, at least for someone like me? I wish. I really wish, because these are writers I want to like, and every time Remender talks about how personal something is or how much he's risking to do this particular project...I want to believe in the material, too. But I don't. I see creators doing stuff because no one told them to try harder. They go for something easy, or attempt to cash in on some other hot project...
So I was happy indeed to have broken my usual alphabetical reading order and started out with Superman #42 (DC), the continuation of Gene Luen Yang's origin behind the "Truth" crossover event. This issue we find out who the villain is, a cult figure who calls himself Hordr_Root. This is another instance of John Romita, Jr. remaining as continuity past the Geoff Johns run paying dividends, because along with the solar flare thing, this is truly a new era for Superman, with new villains popping up, sharing a similar technological bent that speaks to modern times (needless to say, but this guy is similar to but distinctive from Machinist). If you have no interest in "Truth," then Yang's storytelling at least has something to say about today's controversies over privacy.
Romita, meanwhile, continues to evolve. If his Superman remains the same, it's striking how his Lois Lane looks a lot like Ron Frenz's. Frenz was a Superman artist in the '90s. I actually hated his work a great deal. But to see it, in a roundabout way, again is to recognize that if just a few things had been different about it, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. This is ironic, because Romita's Superman work has received a great deal of criticism, too. But I'd still take Romita's over Frenz's any day.
Needless to say, but Superman was my favorite read of the week, followed by the expectation-challenging Gods and Monsters and then whichever of the two remaining I can form a more favorable opinion at the given moment...
I won't be checking in for a couple of weeks, as I'll be visiting family in Virginia and hopefully finding a bunch of comics duly pulled for me. But I won't know for sure until I visit the shop next. We'll see!
Anyway, when I entitled this week's edition "A Frustrating Week," I wasn't really thinking about Gods and Monsters, but rather a couple of comics I tried for the first time because of my familiarity with the writers. (J.M. DeMatteis, by the way, wrote both GaM tie-ins.) The first sampling was Low #8 (Image) from Rick Remender, and the second was Sex Criminals #11 (Image) from Matt Fraction. Remender is one of those writers I seem to constantly go back and forth on. Recently I had gotten around to liking him again thanks to his Captain America work. Fraction, meanwhile, just concluded what ought to be considered a seminal run on Hawkeye. Both are well-known for their creator-owned work, as well. The problem is, these particular efforts seem to have been greenlit by Image with the express interest of trying to duplicate or at least build off the momentum of Saga (which in effect makes them like all the superhero comics that all these nonsuperhero comics are constantly trying to say they're more interesting than for the simple fact of being more original in a vast sea of superhero comics...).
Low, for instance, is the latest in an increasingly long list of comics that hinge a great deal on their art and distinctive coloring, not to mention general sci-fi adventure flavoring. In a lot of ways, Saga provoked Image into returning to the art-heavy days of its origins, but in a more thoughtful, nuanced way. The problem is, if Image starts to produce a lot of comics with the same general artistic interests (what is otherwise termed a house style), they all begin to be lost in the shuffle.
Like Deadly Class, Remender apparently takes Low personally, and has attracted, or so the letters column suggests, an audience that seems to have instinctively gotten exactly whatever it is he's trying to accomplish. Because the results, as with Deadly Class, are somewhat impenetrable. And again, part of that is because the art so thoroughly dominates the storytelling, the story itself becomes lost in the shuffle.
Sex Criminals, meanwhile, is one of those comics intended to appeal to that hip audience that gravitates to taboo material, or otherwise "mature audiences" that premium cable seems to think must include, well, sex. Graphic sex. And again, Saga opened those doors. The gimmick behind Fraction's comic is that the central characters stop time every time they have sex. This would be an excellent gimmick indeed, if this were any other medium besides a comic book, which by nature exists in static images. Which sort of limits the ability for time being stopped looking like anything other than your typical comic book panel...
But the thing is, Fraction seems to have gotten how slim a gimmick that really is, because Sex Criminals is at its best as metafiction, as he addresses the reader directly, explaining certain matters of the art that he talks over rather than allows to be depicted (but not the sex, naturally).
But are either worth reading, at least for someone like me? I wish. I really wish, because these are writers I want to like, and every time Remender talks about how personal something is or how much he's risking to do this particular project...I want to believe in the material, too. But I don't. I see creators doing stuff because no one told them to try harder. They go for something easy, or attempt to cash in on some other hot project...
So I was happy indeed to have broken my usual alphabetical reading order and started out with Superman #42 (DC), the continuation of Gene Luen Yang's origin behind the "Truth" crossover event. This issue we find out who the villain is, a cult figure who calls himself Hordr_Root. This is another instance of John Romita, Jr. remaining as continuity past the Geoff Johns run paying dividends, because along with the solar flare thing, this is truly a new era for Superman, with new villains popping up, sharing a similar technological bent that speaks to modern times (needless to say, but this guy is similar to but distinctive from Machinist). If you have no interest in "Truth," then Yang's storytelling at least has something to say about today's controversies over privacy.
Romita, meanwhile, continues to evolve. If his Superman remains the same, it's striking how his Lois Lane looks a lot like Ron Frenz's. Frenz was a Superman artist in the '90s. I actually hated his work a great deal. But to see it, in a roundabout way, again is to recognize that if just a few things had been different about it, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. This is ironic, because Romita's Superman work has received a great deal of criticism, too. But I'd still take Romita's over Frenz's any day.
Needless to say, but Superman was my favorite read of the week, followed by the expectation-challenging Gods and Monsters and then whichever of the two remaining I can form a more favorable opinion at the given moment...
I won't be checking in for a couple of weeks, as I'll be visiting family in Virginia and hopefully finding a bunch of comics duly pulled for me. But I won't know for sure until I visit the shop next. We'll see!
Friday, July 17, 2015
Reading Comics 169 "Comics from 7/15/15"
Covered: Robin: Son of Batman #2, Book of Death #1, Hawkeye #22, Justice League #42, and Martian Manhunter #2.
Pat Gleason picks up where...Batman and Robin #0 left off, delving more deeply into Damian's formative years with Talia, while also further introducing the new Nobody (totally counts as this Boy Wonder's first romance) and not really getting much more into how exactly Goliath became Robin's new partner except to say that he's probably more rude to the Man-Bat than he's been to anyone else (even Pennyworth!). And it's another fantastic issue. I love that Gleason has turned out to be such an excellent chronicler as well as illustrator. He knew he had plenty to build on. And he's making the most of it.
Book of Death #1 (Valiant)
Robert Venditti is definitely one of those writers I have a tough relationship with. Understandably, Geoff Johns had to leave Green Lantern at some point, but I hoped his replacement would be some version of inspired and thus not be a complete disappointment. Venditti hasn't been a complete disappointment (the funny thing for me to remember is that I didn't think Johns himself was as good as his Rebirth suggested when he first launched the ongoing), but I've just never been able to get into his Green Lantern. Then over at Valiant, which is where he first came onto the scene with X-O Manowar, I wasn't overly impressed with his material there, either. So to see Book of Death, a direct sequel to The Valiant, which I found brilliant, written by Venditti was a cause for concern. Turns out, the only thing immediately objectionable about it is how the lettering seems enlarged, or done in bold, whatever the case may be. Just makes the issue seem off. But it's not Venditti's fault! Probably. So maybe I will continue reading Book of Death. For now.
Hawkeye #22 (Marvel)
Apparently much, much delayed (although not really), this is the final Matt Fraction issue of Hawkeye (a Jeff Lemire reboot comes next). I've caught enough of the series to know that this was something special, a truly unique "indy style" comic featuring a mainstream superhero (pretty much), the kind of storytelling you only wish Daredevil had received post-Miller (instead of endless rehashes or attempts to ignore Miller entirely). Some of the impact of the issue is lost on me, as I didn't really have anything invested in the big showdown, but it was still fun to see and be a part of.
Justice League #42 (DC)
"Darkseid War" continues, and Geoff Johns reveals that both the female warriors he's introduced are basically villains, not only Grail, the daughter of Darkseid, but apparently even Myrina Black, Grail's mother, who willingly conspired with Darkseid (including, ah, knocking boots) in a thorough rejection of Amazonian dogma. Maybe either or perhaps both will get a little more nuance later. Because I'm still digging Johns' depiction of the New Gods, especially Metron, who loses "his" Mobius Chair (remember, "Mobius" is actually the Anti-Monitor!), with Batman taking seat and finding out disturbing things. One is that Joe Chill murdered his parents. This we knew. But he also finds out Joker's real name. No, Johns doesn't spill the beans. But this is something DC has been teasing in Scott Snyder's Batman for a few years now. Somehow I have the feeling that we finally are going to have a definitive origin for the Joker (although I'll always be partial to "Lovers and Madmen" from Batman Confidential). Batman's reaction when he finds out? "No. That's not possible." I love it.
Martian Manhunter #2 (DC)
Continues to be a pleasant surprise. This issue is trickier than the first one. At first Eddy Barrows seems to have stumbled in a simplistic "Angry Martian Manhunter" presentation as Superman and the Justice League attempt to intervene. But Rob Williams backs Barrows up in the script, explaining the central premise of this arc and thus vision of the character, that pretty much everything we know, anyone knows, including Martian Manhunter himself, is subject to telepathic overwrite. It's brilliant. Why is this the first time anyone has ever thought of that? This is a series that will challenge the reader in nearly every way. I say it's a worthy challenge.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Digitally Speaking...52 "Hawkeye, Henchmen, etc."
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| via Comic Vine Artwork from Hawkeye #1. |
H.G. Wells' The Chronic Argonauts (New Baby)
From 2013.
Based on an obscure Wells book published prior to his well-known classics, as demonstrated by this comics adaptation Chronic Argonauts is actually pretty interesting. Not having read the original prose edition, I can only speculate how much was altered, although it seems to be conspicuously faithful to a fault at times. But the thing is, it gets better as it moves along, becoming far more comfortable with its considerable world-building, which may not be as iconic as, say, The Time Machine or straight-forward as War of the Worlds. A kind of Doctor Who adventure taken to its logical conclusions with no concern to whether or not there will be another adventure next week, the fate of mankind is in the balance and the echoes of history examined, and maybe, just maybe we have an alternate look at, say, how Tesla could have turned out if he'd created a time machine.
Hawken: Genesis #1 (Archaia)
From 2012.
Apparently a preview for a graphic novel based on a video game...If I were more into video games, the prior sentence would not have included the word "apparently." But that's where we are, folks. Video games, it should be understood, are excellent at world-building, but the thing is, that's usually where the story ends, because actual game-play tends to be pretty...static. Which is one of the many reasons why I don't generally play video games. (Which is to say, another is that I'm actually pretty horrible at them.) So this preview features world-building. And only world-building. And it must be said, excellent art. Because art tends to be pretty important to video games, too. In fact, of the things video games and comics have in common is the importance of art. Good comics have good storytelling as well. Good video games have...visceral qualities. Which is why they're popular, like porn one of those hugely significant subcultures that's hard to talk about adequately in mainstream society, because it's just hard to talk about. Anyway...
Hawkeye #1 (Marvel)
From 2012.
So, this is the little comic that helped revolutionize mainstream superhero comics, which is a ripple effect that is being felt more and more across DC's and Marvel's lines. But the thing is...if it had been any other title but Hawkeye, the series that achieved this would be considered an instant classic. And that probably won't happen for Hawkeye. Writer Matt Fraction has parlayed this and other success into making a name for himself, but I wonder if he'll have the same amount of overall exposure as, say, Frank Miller or Mark Millar before him. What Fraction achieved with Hawkeye was making a mainstream superhero title into an indy book. But instead of, say, Daredevil, it stars Hawkeye(s). And really, no one cares about Hawkeye. He has no solo track record. He's an Avenger. This comic happened at all because of the movie The Avengers, where Hawkeye is one of two members (Black Widow) who will probably never have a solo movie (as opposed to the rest of the team). And so while Hawkeye gets a series out of it, Marvel let Fraction do whatever he wanted because it just didn't care. And fans still talk about whatever it is Mark Waid's been doing in the pages of Daredevil even though creatively it's not in the league of Fraction's Hawkeye. And with an impact that's much greater...
FCBD 2011 Headache Preview (Kickstart)
From...2011.
Written by Lisa Joy, wife of Jonthan Nolan (brother of...Christopher Nolan), this is one of those variations-on-the-Greek-gods stories. Knowing the Nolan connection, I wish there had been the full Nolan approach, focused on a strong character perspective. Except there really isn't. Jonathan frequently collaborates on his brother's films. Now it seems he'll be working with his wife on such projects as a Westworld reboot. I don't know. Hopefully she's better than this...
Henchmen #1 (Robot Paper)
From 2014.
If I were better at math, I could come up with a convincing statistic concerning how much of this comiXology stuff I've got that ends up being a pleasant surprise. A lot of it's mediocre or worse, but I've found a few really good ones in the mix. Henchmen is one of those. Although something of an awkward mix that may be selling the concept a little too hard, this is the story of, yes, henchmen, the goons who support the supervillains who are usually as dispensable as the redshirts in Star Trek. Except Henchmen focuses on Gary, the guy whose world has crumbled around him, which means losing his job, his wife, and discovering a fortuitous ad in the paper while recovering from a somewhat obscured medical emergency. Which is an invitation to become a henchman. Some of the rough edges in the storytelling are easy to overlook because overall it's pretty darn good. I can't say how Henchmen: I, Henchbot (what's currently being published) compares, but as far as how the story begins, there's a lot that's done right. So it receives a recommendation from me at the very least.
The Heroes of Echo Company #1 (Joseph Henson)
From 2013.
What's with all the military comics at comiXology? Because as you may or may not be able to tell from the title, this is one of them. It's also a space-based comic, and one that kind of awkwardly tries to meld military with superhero comics (in the way G.I. Joe has code names and only sometimes outlandish costumes to go alone with them, and more often than not for the villains...this comic has the costumes and code names...taken from hero history...for reasons not properly relevant to the rest of the story, at least as presented here). Something like that. I think actual military-enthusiasts would like this one more than I did, but I'm not convinced at all that the concept was figured out. Maybe it gets better? But I'll never know...
Friday, March 21, 2014
Hawkeye #16 (Marvel)
(via CBDB)
writer: Matt Fraction
artist: Annie Wu
I was long kind of interested in sampling Hawkeye. It's Marvel's indy-as-mainstream comic, featuring a character who's best known as an Avenger and was even included in the cinematic universe, but was once considered expendable enough to be killed off by Brian Michael Bendis in his "Disassembled" arc, brought back in a different guise, and replaced by a teenage girl.
Actually, the teenage girl was part of Allan Heinberg's Young Avengers. Her name was Kate Bishop, and although she's the member of that team who got the most official sanction to carry on the legacy, she's also better known as...Kate Bishop.
To be clear, this series more regularly features the original Hawkeye, Clint Barton. But this particular issue features Kate. It's not really familiar storytelling to Kate fans who originally followed her in her Young Avengers days. It's very much an indy-as-mainstream comic. And I really liked it.
Part of that might be because Matt Fraction used the whole story to tell a version of the Beach Boys saga, a troubled musical prodigy (Brian Wilson) who has a less talented brother who becomes jealous, and their history goes from great collaboration to far less impressive results, including a lost work of genius that seems destined to be lost forever. Now, in the real world, Wilson actually released that project (Smile!) ten years ago. In this version, the ending is not as happy. Which is fine. If it leads readers to the source material anyway, all the better.
Good stuff. Good...vibrations.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Freebies & Previews
General Mills Presents: Justice League #1 "Unstoppable Forces"
From a box of delicious Reece's Puffs comes this mini freebie featuring a Justice League lineup of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Aquaman, all classic costumes, from writer Scott Beatty and artist Christian Duce. The story features Shaggy Man (I believe last seen in Grant Morrison's JLA, shaved), and isn't completely terrible, just a tad simplistic (why the team would drop a mountain on an enemy and assume that'd be the end of it is never really explained). By "isn't completely terrible," I do mean it's amusing, a nice little promo for kids (and people deliberately buying delicious cereal like Reece's Puffs, possibly for the express purpose of getting this comic or its three brothers) who might then get the idea to start reading comics.
Avenging Spider-Man Daily Bugle #1
Eleven pages pulled directly from the actual comic, plus four pages of pencil art and an extended note from Stephen Wacker. It should be noted that the writer for this series is Zeb Wells, one of the "Brand New Day" writers on Amazing Spider-Man, plus the artist is Joe Madureira, who was a huge deal during the 1990s. Personally, I think he might've been surpassed in his style by Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle, American Vampire), and that the central gimmick of this book, that Spidey somehow has time between his ASM adventures and Avengers (hence the title), which is brought up in the script itself, might be something of a stretch to hang a whole new book on, but it's still nice that Marvel put this preview together (yay!).
Defenders/Avengers: X-Sanction Preview Book
Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson's Defenders is another team book for Marvel, which has been swimming in Avengers books (not to mention X-Men) for years now. Fraction's main task here is to sell the necessity for another team book, and so his focus is on selling the individual members and his passion for writing them. On that score, he actually does pretty good, except the actual preview of the book, which runs four pages, doesn't actually feature any of them, instead focusing on The Hulk...Sooo, a little confused on that score.
Avengers: X-Sanction/Defenders Preview Book
Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness reunite, and the story is much the same as the flipbook, with five preview pages that barely seem to be aware that it's Cable and not the Avengers who is the main character. The difference is that I'm more familiar with Loeb than Fraction, so there's a greater chance of me trusting that Loeb will eventually do what he says he will in this dealie, which sounds extremely intriguing, given that so few Marvel books seem interested in actually delivering a payoff to a great setup (in this case Cable's origins and his recent X-Men arc as Hope's guardian; the only other instance where something like this has happened is Avengers - Children's Crusade, which finally continues what House of M began).
From a box of delicious Reece's Puffs comes this mini freebie featuring a Justice League lineup of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Aquaman, all classic costumes, from writer Scott Beatty and artist Christian Duce. The story features Shaggy Man (I believe last seen in Grant Morrison's JLA, shaved), and isn't completely terrible, just a tad simplistic (why the team would drop a mountain on an enemy and assume that'd be the end of it is never really explained). By "isn't completely terrible," I do mean it's amusing, a nice little promo for kids (and people deliberately buying delicious cereal like Reece's Puffs, possibly for the express purpose of getting this comic or its three brothers) who might then get the idea to start reading comics.
Avenging Spider-Man Daily Bugle #1
Eleven pages pulled directly from the actual comic, plus four pages of pencil art and an extended note from Stephen Wacker. It should be noted that the writer for this series is Zeb Wells, one of the "Brand New Day" writers on Amazing Spider-Man, plus the artist is Joe Madureira, who was a huge deal during the 1990s. Personally, I think he might've been surpassed in his style by Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle, American Vampire), and that the central gimmick of this book, that Spidey somehow has time between his ASM adventures and Avengers (hence the title), which is brought up in the script itself, might be something of a stretch to hang a whole new book on, but it's still nice that Marvel put this preview together (yay!).
Defenders/Avengers: X-Sanction Preview Book
Matt Fraction and Terry Dodson's Defenders is another team book for Marvel, which has been swimming in Avengers books (not to mention X-Men) for years now. Fraction's main task here is to sell the necessity for another team book, and so his focus is on selling the individual members and his passion for writing them. On that score, he actually does pretty good, except the actual preview of the book, which runs four pages, doesn't actually feature any of them, instead focusing on The Hulk...Sooo, a little confused on that score.
Avengers: X-Sanction/Defenders Preview Book
Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness reunite, and the story is much the same as the flipbook, with five preview pages that barely seem to be aware that it's Cable and not the Avengers who is the main character. The difference is that I'm more familiar with Loeb than Fraction, so there's a greater chance of me trusting that Loeb will eventually do what he says he will in this dealie, which sounds extremely intriguing, given that so few Marvel books seem interested in actually delivering a payoff to a great setup (in this case Cable's origins and his recent X-Men arc as Hope's guardian; the only other instance where something like this has happened is Avengers - Children's Crusade, which finally continues what House of M began).
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Escape Velocity
Okay, so you’ve already slogged through my so-called “Comic Book Memoir,” so you know that I have technically quit the business of reading comics. What further relevance can I have for those who want to read about new comics? For starters, I have not given up completely, even though it’s financially unfeasible to continue the habit as I’ve have pursued it throughout my regular experience. I will continue to read, in altered ways, in a more limited capacity. For instance, I will become the very monster I had once vowed to fight with my life. I will “wait for the collections.” I also work at a bookstore, so I’ve got a limited selection of first-run issues still available. I’ve got DC represented pretty well there, GREEN LANTERN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS, THE FLASH. (Okay, so I’ve got Geoff Johns pretty well represented.) ACTION COMICS is another, which I’m thrilled about, because I love what Paul Cornell has been doing, and that big anniversary issue is coming up. I can still keep tabs on Tony Daniel’s BATMAN (which is a bestseller there, so I need to be fleet of foot, if I want to read it, if not buy it). There are a few others, and of course some that aren’t DC.
But that’s the future, that’s potential and possibility. Back in the present, I’ve made a new vow, and so far so good. I haven’t gotten a comic book in over a week (woo!), whether in a store or via a shipment from Midtown. The subject then, for this week is my last-for-now trip to a store, Escape Velocity in downtown Colorado Springs. I made it in the full knowledge and after canceling all my subscriptions with Midtown. Though I still had one final shipment awaiting me, this was technically how my comics habit came to an end.
I should backtrack a little. I can’t completely acknowledge my motivations for this decision without mentioning the inciting incident. I live in an apartment. I never truly appreciated the differences in postal service from carrier to carrier until I moved to Colorado Springs. I had tremendous experiences, growing up in Maine and in Burlington, MA, with postal carriers, met some really good ones, even had some really good relationships and even friendships with them over the years. When I moved into this particular apartment, however, and started depending on Midtown to read comics, I crossed over the postal matrix, and finally experienced the flipside. Not all carriers are created equal. Unfortunately, it seems most of the carriers here come from the Dark Side. Still, not to dwell too much on the negative, since it was one of Midtown’s random decisions to ship with UPS that allowed some hooligan to steal the package mere hours before I could have taken it into my door that really concluded the series of unfortunate events that seem to have gone hand-in-hand with packages and this apartment, that finally convinced me that peace of mind and security were more important than spending money I did not technically have. So, thank you, hapless carriers, hooligans, and assorted other rogues. Your apathy and devilry helped me do the right thing.
Anyway, the comics I will be writing about this week come from that fateful trip to Escape Velocity, and they all come from either the third week of January or the first week of February, 2011, the former replacing the essentials from that lost package, and the latter representing the fact that I made the trip on a Wednesday (it was both convenient and appropriate).
BRIGHTEST DAY #18-19 (DC)
In many ways, this is the title I most regret not being able to follow, because there are really only a handful of issues left, and I was really enjoying it. As a huge fan of 52, which quickly became one of my all-time favorites, not because of the weekly gimmick, but because the four writers (Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, and Greg Rucka) proved why they were and are some of the top writers working in comics today, I had followed DC’s subsequent efforts at successor projects. COUNTDOWN was the closest until BRIGHTEST DAY (and probably reads better in collections, where it more appropriately takes on the air of a quasi-event, an old-school one, anyway, and maybe that’s why so many current fans found it hard to enjoy). Johns and Pete Tomasi have absorbed the lessons well, and have made BRIGHEST DAY a mix of the two, following semi-obscure characters (which both previous books did) as they embarked on extremely personal quests (which 52 did) that have wide-ranging implications elsewhere (which COUNTDOWN did better; Booster Gold rediscovering the multiverse is not the same as the Fourth World smackdown). These two particular issues help to point out the further direction of the book, especially the surprising act of killing off both Hawkman and Hawkwoman, well in advance of the conclusion (an act similar to the death of Osiris; while lacking in visual impact, infinitely more significant). Then Aquaman finally gets a huge moment, probably the first huge moment he’s ever gotten, building on a lot of his lore, and suggesting that there’s always been more potential in this character than any writer seems to have ever bothered. I would suggest anyone who hasn’t been reading this book to either start now, or join me later in the collections.
CHARMED #5 (Zenescope)
This is a book I’ve been reading/buying partly because I’ve been passing it on to my sister, who’s a huge fan of the TV series. This issue seems to bring about a premature end to the Source arc that helped launch the comic, but in fact plays right into further developments. My sister said she wonders how this would have played out on television. I figure the arc would have been a single episode, and that’s probably it would make most sense. Of course, in comics, this represents pretty much a collected edition (I can’t call it a trade paperback, because there’s almost as strong a push these days for hardcovers), which is a strange way to equate the material covered in TV and comic book formats. But let’s move on, shall we?
DC UNIVERSE ONLINE LEGENDS #1 (DC)
A comic book that’s basically supposed to be a promotional gimmick has absolutely no right to be this good. From Tony Bedard and Marv Wolfman (with art this issue by Howard Porter) comes an extraordinarily compelling story to launch the series about how Lex Luthor comes to regret making a bargain with Brainiac, both as he sets the deal up and then prepares to pay for it, after they’ve actually won. Clearly a story that could not be told in regular continuity, and is all the better for it. Seriously, you need to read this one.
G.I. JOE: COBRA #12 (IDW)
I have no idea why this book has such low readership, and apparently even this landmark issue was virtually ignored, because it has, since the original mini-series, been among my absolute favorites, a psychological thriller that has followed Chuckles’ efforts to explore the mysteries of Cobra, most of the time tracking the activities of the Paoli brothers, Tomax and Xamot. Well, this is the big climax (which I’m hugely grateful to have been able to recover), in which Chuckles finally plays his hand, and assassinates Cobra Commander, an event so unprecedented that IDW will actually (and not just by necessity) be reshaping its whole slate of G.I. Joe books around. Christos Gage, who has been helping shape this book from the beginning, will be moving on, but Mike Costa, the best G.I. Joe writer since Mark Powers (who worked over at DDP; IDW got the rights to the franchise, and trust me, we lost the other great G.I. Joe book of the modern era) will continue on.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #56 (DC)
Tony Bedard also works his magic here. Bedard has quickly become one of the best writers working in comics today; this may be the platform where he is finally noticed. Since taking over from Pete Tomasi, he has been writing one huge event after another, first rewriting the Alpha Lanterns, and now summoning the Qwardians back into Green Lantern lore, with the Weaponer, who forged Sinestro’s original yellow ring, becoming a formidable adversary, and probably the only guy besides Hal Jordan capable of provoking him. This is the kind of work Tomasi consistently aspired to in the book, but only really reached when some big event necessitated a crossover. Bedard can’t seem to help himself.
IRON MAN #500 (Marvel)
I’m not a regular reader of this book and/or character, but I’d heard enough intriguing things about Matt Fractions’s plans for this issue that I had to read it. Unfortunately, it seems to fall into the same trap so many other Iron Man stories do, in failing to completely grasp the potential of the character. Much of Fraction’s work seems to be inspired by the Jon Favreau movies, but without a singular and concentrated vision, that sort of approach doesn’t work in comics, and the bigger the scale Fraction attempts to handle, the less he’s able to grasp it. The story spans several generations of Starks, and maybe it holds more significance either for those who have been reading the book, or the ones Fraction hopes will be reading later, but it just feels desperate to me, a grandiosity assumed but not earned. (I’ll have more such Marvel thoughts in two weeks.)
IRON MAN #500.1 (Marvel)
I don’t really get why Marvel is doing these issues, especially with the potentially confusing gimmick with that numbering. Are they assuming regular readers don’t need to read them? That’s my underlying assumption, anyway. The good news for IRON MAN, though, is that I bought another issue all the same. This one reads better, even if it dips into the incredibly obvious pool, the one that’s rarely actually explored but dipped in whenever convenient, that Tony Stark used to have a drinking problem. Fraction acquaints readers with Stark’s history via an AA meeting. One of the things I hate about Marvel is that every writer is forced to accept every single that every other writer before them ever wrote, dating back decades. It’s literally all canon. No matter how little everything actually gels, it’s all got to fit in. In the retconned context of most of Stark’s history being explained by either his relapses or recoveries, this story really makes sense. Of course, I was reading a little of Iron Man around CIVIL WAR, and I know that his regular comics did everything but actually work on his character. It’s disingenuous to suggest to new readers that they can expect intimate explorations of Tony Stark. That’s the last thing on the mind of a regular Iron Man writer (which again, made it so ironic that the best parts of the Iron Man movies had everything to do with Tony Stark and very little to do with Iron Man) Anyway, still a comic worth reading, good timing, all that.
What sucks about the pilfered package is that it also contained some stuff I would have written about elsewhere in this blog, as part of the regular Quarter Bin column. It contained a few issues of DEATHSTROKE: THE HUNTED and one of GREEN LANTERN: MOSAIC. I really wanted to read those comics. And some day, when I either find or order them again, I will have another opportunity. But it probably won’t be soon. Still, I have plenty of comics to talk about, and plenty more to read. But that’s a matter for the future.
But that’s the future, that’s potential and possibility. Back in the present, I’ve made a new vow, and so far so good. I haven’t gotten a comic book in over a week (woo!), whether in a store or via a shipment from Midtown. The subject then, for this week is my last-for-now trip to a store, Escape Velocity in downtown Colorado Springs. I made it in the full knowledge and after canceling all my subscriptions with Midtown. Though I still had one final shipment awaiting me, this was technically how my comics habit came to an end.
I should backtrack a little. I can’t completely acknowledge my motivations for this decision without mentioning the inciting incident. I live in an apartment. I never truly appreciated the differences in postal service from carrier to carrier until I moved to Colorado Springs. I had tremendous experiences, growing up in Maine and in Burlington, MA, with postal carriers, met some really good ones, even had some really good relationships and even friendships with them over the years. When I moved into this particular apartment, however, and started depending on Midtown to read comics, I crossed over the postal matrix, and finally experienced the flipside. Not all carriers are created equal. Unfortunately, it seems most of the carriers here come from the Dark Side. Still, not to dwell too much on the negative, since it was one of Midtown’s random decisions to ship with UPS that allowed some hooligan to steal the package mere hours before I could have taken it into my door that really concluded the series of unfortunate events that seem to have gone hand-in-hand with packages and this apartment, that finally convinced me that peace of mind and security were more important than spending money I did not technically have. So, thank you, hapless carriers, hooligans, and assorted other rogues. Your apathy and devilry helped me do the right thing.
Anyway, the comics I will be writing about this week come from that fateful trip to Escape Velocity, and they all come from either the third week of January or the first week of February, 2011, the former replacing the essentials from that lost package, and the latter representing the fact that I made the trip on a Wednesday (it was both convenient and appropriate).
BRIGHTEST DAY #18-19 (DC)
In many ways, this is the title I most regret not being able to follow, because there are really only a handful of issues left, and I was really enjoying it. As a huge fan of 52, which quickly became one of my all-time favorites, not because of the weekly gimmick, but because the four writers (Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, and Greg Rucka) proved why they were and are some of the top writers working in comics today, I had followed DC’s subsequent efforts at successor projects. COUNTDOWN was the closest until BRIGHTEST DAY (and probably reads better in collections, where it more appropriately takes on the air of a quasi-event, an old-school one, anyway, and maybe that’s why so many current fans found it hard to enjoy). Johns and Pete Tomasi have absorbed the lessons well, and have made BRIGHEST DAY a mix of the two, following semi-obscure characters (which both previous books did) as they embarked on extremely personal quests (which 52 did) that have wide-ranging implications elsewhere (which COUNTDOWN did better; Booster Gold rediscovering the multiverse is not the same as the Fourth World smackdown). These two particular issues help to point out the further direction of the book, especially the surprising act of killing off both Hawkman and Hawkwoman, well in advance of the conclusion (an act similar to the death of Osiris; while lacking in visual impact, infinitely more significant). Then Aquaman finally gets a huge moment, probably the first huge moment he’s ever gotten, building on a lot of his lore, and suggesting that there’s always been more potential in this character than any writer seems to have ever bothered. I would suggest anyone who hasn’t been reading this book to either start now, or join me later in the collections.
CHARMED #5 (Zenescope)
This is a book I’ve been reading/buying partly because I’ve been passing it on to my sister, who’s a huge fan of the TV series. This issue seems to bring about a premature end to the Source arc that helped launch the comic, but in fact plays right into further developments. My sister said she wonders how this would have played out on television. I figure the arc would have been a single episode, and that’s probably it would make most sense. Of course, in comics, this represents pretty much a collected edition (I can’t call it a trade paperback, because there’s almost as strong a push these days for hardcovers), which is a strange way to equate the material covered in TV and comic book formats. But let’s move on, shall we?
DC UNIVERSE ONLINE LEGENDS #1 (DC)
A comic book that’s basically supposed to be a promotional gimmick has absolutely no right to be this good. From Tony Bedard and Marv Wolfman (with art this issue by Howard Porter) comes an extraordinarily compelling story to launch the series about how Lex Luthor comes to regret making a bargain with Brainiac, both as he sets the deal up and then prepares to pay for it, after they’ve actually won. Clearly a story that could not be told in regular continuity, and is all the better for it. Seriously, you need to read this one.
G.I. JOE: COBRA #12 (IDW)
I have no idea why this book has such low readership, and apparently even this landmark issue was virtually ignored, because it has, since the original mini-series, been among my absolute favorites, a psychological thriller that has followed Chuckles’ efforts to explore the mysteries of Cobra, most of the time tracking the activities of the Paoli brothers, Tomax and Xamot. Well, this is the big climax (which I’m hugely grateful to have been able to recover), in which Chuckles finally plays his hand, and assassinates Cobra Commander, an event so unprecedented that IDW will actually (and not just by necessity) be reshaping its whole slate of G.I. Joe books around. Christos Gage, who has been helping shape this book from the beginning, will be moving on, but Mike Costa, the best G.I. Joe writer since Mark Powers (who worked over at DDP; IDW got the rights to the franchise, and trust me, we lost the other great G.I. Joe book of the modern era) will continue on.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #56 (DC)
Tony Bedard also works his magic here. Bedard has quickly become one of the best writers working in comics today; this may be the platform where he is finally noticed. Since taking over from Pete Tomasi, he has been writing one huge event after another, first rewriting the Alpha Lanterns, and now summoning the Qwardians back into Green Lantern lore, with the Weaponer, who forged Sinestro’s original yellow ring, becoming a formidable adversary, and probably the only guy besides Hal Jordan capable of provoking him. This is the kind of work Tomasi consistently aspired to in the book, but only really reached when some big event necessitated a crossover. Bedard can’t seem to help himself.
IRON MAN #500 (Marvel)
I’m not a regular reader of this book and/or character, but I’d heard enough intriguing things about Matt Fractions’s plans for this issue that I had to read it. Unfortunately, it seems to fall into the same trap so many other Iron Man stories do, in failing to completely grasp the potential of the character. Much of Fraction’s work seems to be inspired by the Jon Favreau movies, but without a singular and concentrated vision, that sort of approach doesn’t work in comics, and the bigger the scale Fraction attempts to handle, the less he’s able to grasp it. The story spans several generations of Starks, and maybe it holds more significance either for those who have been reading the book, or the ones Fraction hopes will be reading later, but it just feels desperate to me, a grandiosity assumed but not earned. (I’ll have more such Marvel thoughts in two weeks.)
IRON MAN #500.1 (Marvel)
I don’t really get why Marvel is doing these issues, especially with the potentially confusing gimmick with that numbering. Are they assuming regular readers don’t need to read them? That’s my underlying assumption, anyway. The good news for IRON MAN, though, is that I bought another issue all the same. This one reads better, even if it dips into the incredibly obvious pool, the one that’s rarely actually explored but dipped in whenever convenient, that Tony Stark used to have a drinking problem. Fraction acquaints readers with Stark’s history via an AA meeting. One of the things I hate about Marvel is that every writer is forced to accept every single that every other writer before them ever wrote, dating back decades. It’s literally all canon. No matter how little everything actually gels, it’s all got to fit in. In the retconned context of most of Stark’s history being explained by either his relapses or recoveries, this story really makes sense. Of course, I was reading a little of Iron Man around CIVIL WAR, and I know that his regular comics did everything but actually work on his character. It’s disingenuous to suggest to new readers that they can expect intimate explorations of Tony Stark. That’s the last thing on the mind of a regular Iron Man writer (which again, made it so ironic that the best parts of the Iron Man movies had everything to do with Tony Stark and very little to do with Iron Man) Anyway, still a comic worth reading, good timing, all that.
What sucks about the pilfered package is that it also contained some stuff I would have written about elsewhere in this blog, as part of the regular Quarter Bin column. It contained a few issues of DEATHSTROKE: THE HUNTED and one of GREEN LANTERN: MOSAIC. I really wanted to read those comics. And some day, when I either find or order them again, I will have another opportunity. But it probably won’t be soon. Still, I have plenty of comics to talk about, and plenty more to read. But that’s a matter for the future.
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