Stopped in at a Target for the first time in about a year, and discovered that they've joined the retail crowd offering discounted comics grab bags. So I grabbed a couple. I think the results were pretty good:
Deathmate: Yellow (Valiant/Image)
from September 1993
Deathmate was one of the projects that helped spoil the Image mystique, galvanizing the complaints of the company's inability to keep a publishing schedule. But it also gave Valiant a spotlight. Twenty years later Valiant was rebooted, brilliantly, but in this incarnation, it was just trying to get its concepts out there. It's strange, because there are repeated WildCATs crossovers in here, and sometimes they're obvious and other times they're not. I know most of the Valiant characters who appear, other than HARD Corps. Shadowman comes off...incredibly '90s. Ninjak should really be better exposed than he is. Toyo Harada continues to be the best name in comics that doesn't really have the spotlight worthy of it. Archer & Armstrong...I guess this is a buddy concept that's really just about the buddy concept, because other than the basic setup I never really get why I should care about them. The best any Image character comes off is Zealot, mostly because she gets the best spotlight, even though as far as I can tell there's absolutely no effort to explain her WildCATs context. Grifter's here, but his mask looks terrible. Makes me wonder why anyone ever thought it was a good idea. If it can be made to look like a face curtain, it's a bad idea. So I don't think this comic would've made me interested in either company, if it'd been my first exposure. After a while, the idea of the companies locked in a death match (hence the title) gets old, especially since no effort is made to explain why it's happening.
Fantastic Four: 40th Wedding Anniversary Special (Marvel)
from January 2006
After a rocky start, this ends up being an incredibly charming look at the relationship between Reed Richards and Sue Storm. It features a premise where they end up meeting versions of themselves from throughout their lives, including points in the future. Any Marvel editors really struggling to understand the concept could do worse than read this again. It also features a reprint of the 1965 wedding, with an embarrassment of guest-stars (read: just about everyone).
House of M: Fantastic Four #3 (Marvel)
from November 2005
This proves that the recent Secret Wars drew a lot of inspiration from House of M, the famous "no more mutants" event that saw the Scarlet Witch decimate both the Avengers and X-Men. This spin-off features Magneto (the "M" of House of M) at war with Doctor Doom, because they're the two most iconic villains of Marvel comics. It's kind of strange, a comic where you're forced to root for a bad guy because they're your only options. But it's kind of neat, too. Subtly, even though it doesn't feature the actual Fantastic Four, Ben Grimm ends up the central character, who turns out to be the real winner in the mayhem.
Starman #20 (DC)
from March 1990
The later James Robinson Starman basically reduced any Starman who didn't have the Knight surname to a supporting player in the saga, making this incarnation all but meaningless, which readers of the run, as represented in the letters column, would surely have found shocking, because even if they were small in number, they ate this stuff up.
DC Comics Presents: Superman and OMAC #61 (DC)
from September 1983
OMAC was one of Jack Kirby's many later DC creations, from the same period as the New Gods. The original version was later adapted into the Infinite Crisis era OMAC army (kind of ironic, as Kirby envisioned OMAC as a "One Man Army Corps") controlled by Brother Eye (where Kirby's was kind of like Booster Gold's Skeets). Watching the original in action, even if it's not Kirby running the show, is fascinating. Later, the New 52 revived the original (pretty much). But let's talk about Dick Giordano's Meanwhile...column. In it he lists DC's projects for the coming year, as well as stuff that was happening at the time. I love reading old comics almost because of stuff like this. Frank Miller's Ronin was being published. This used to be one of DC's perennial classics, until Miller's legacy collapsed into his Batman work. Omega Men had just launched, and I recently talked about its final issue (heh). Star Raiders is listed as DC's first graphic novel. Apparently this was an Elliot S! Maggin comic, based on an Atari game. The real historic draw would be the art of Jose Garcia Lopez. Superman III was being released in theaters (the prizes listed for a contest advertised in the issue are pretty neat; they include for some reason Superman peanut butter). Someone honestly thought it was worth mentioning the JLA/Avengers crossover project, which wouldn't actually happen for something like...thirty years. Anyway, later Giordano projects into 1984 and attempts to guess what projects will become a reality. He references DC's recent acquisition of the Charlton superheroes, which nearly became Watchmen, but later became the successful integration of characters like Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and the Question. He seems to reference what became a renaming of Firestorm's comic. He mentions Greg Potter joining the company (misspelling his first name with one too many "g"s). Potter launches Jemm: Son of Saturn in 1984, which ends up being...his only significant contribution to the company. He references a Robert Loren Fleming mini-series in development, probably Ambush Bug. The biggest scoop? Mentioning Marv Wolfman's upcoming mini-series ("Some of the creative people have promised me bodily damage if I divulge too much..."), which is probably the continuity-restructuring Crisis On Infinite Earths. Also interesting to note that readers in the letters column responded passionately to a different continuity-restructuring, that of the Atomic Knights, who'd later get a revival post-Infinite Crisis (that's called irony).
WildStar #2 (Image)
from May 1993
This was part of Image's second wave of titles. Most notable, as far as I'm concerned, for its Jerry Ordway art. I'm familiar with Ordway from his Superman and Power of Shazam! work, so it's neat seeing it in a different, very Image context (as far as the storytelling goes). The character lasted two mini-series and then...drifted into obscurity. Ordway didn't work on the second one. Fascinating to see him associated with Image at all, though. His work is pretty much the opposite of what you'd associate with Image's early days.
X-Factor #76 (Marvel)
from March 1992
Seems about par for the course with Marvel comics at the time.
New X-Men #145 (Marvel)
from October 2003
Slowly catching up with Grant Morrison's X-Men. By the time it was wrapping up I was getting back into comics, but I made no effort to read it. I had been a huge fan of Morrison's JLA, but it wouldn't be until the Seven Soldiers of Victory project that I got back into him (just a few years later), so I didn't really appreciate how much I would actually be interested in it, later. I don't know if I've read this one already, but the material with Wolverine reading his Weapon X profile, and learning for the first time who he used to be (before Origin spelled it out) looked familiar, however I'd seen it previously. Obviously Morrison had a much different idea than what Marvel ended up doing (as with the rest of his New X-Men), as reflected in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But Marvel's loss was once again DC's gain, and he's never looked back.
Showing posts with label Starman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starman. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Quarter Bin 87 "Back to Automatic Kafka, and more from recent back issues blitzes"
Automatic Kafka #3, 4, 5, 9 (WildStorm)
From November & December 2002, January and July 2003
Joe Casey's comic caught my eye in previous rummaging through back issue bins, so I figured I'd read more of it. Thankfully, #9 is the final issue and adequately explains what the hell he was doing with the rest of it. Basically this was a post-modern superhero comic, in the tradition of Wasteland and Grant Morrison's Animal Man (Casey liberally appears in the final issue, speaking directly to Kaf and the reader), from the more cynical perspective of early millennium superhero comics, which had been turned on their head by stuff like The Authority, which would give birth to The Ultimates and somewhat strangely, the Marvel movies we all enjoy now, which are on the whole far less concerned with taking superheroes seriously than the comics that spawned them. It's classic satire, the Kafkaesque version, if you will, of Loeb & Sale's formative collaboration in The Challengers of the Unknown Must Die!, a previous big find in the back issue bins recorded in previous editions of this column.
Black Magick #1 (Image)
From October 2015
Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott are past and present Wonder Woman creators. Their pasts previously aligned in this series about a magic practitioner who's also a cop, which is kind of luck summarizing and simplifying Charmed. Figured I'd finally have a look.
Blackhawks #2, 3, 4 (DC)
From December 2011, January & February 2012
As a huge Mike Costa fan...when he's writing his brilliant G.I. Joe/Cobra stories over at IDW, I always like to check in on his other stuff. When the New 52 was announced, I was automatically intrigued at his Blackhawks, but then financial restraints got in the way and I was only able to check back in well after the fact. This is the second such time I've read some of it, and I'm far more impressed now than the last time. The big beef I had the last time was that I didn't really get the Mike Costa feel, that in having to create a whole team right off the bat, he didn't have the chance to dazzle with an intense single-character drama, like he did at IDW. Well, I stand corrected, and even more curiously, the passage of time and further comics experience informs me that his Blackhawks reads like a preview of Valiant's current Bloodshot comics. So I will definitely make a better effort at reading the complete short-lived run in the future.
Cairo sneak preview (Vertigo)
This graphic novel was G. Willow Wilson's comics debut, originally released in November 2007. I later became hugely enamored with Wilson through Air, while other readers made her Ms. Marvel a leading member of Marvel's new generation. I've always wanted to read Cairo (which is also Wilson's first collaboration with Air artist M.K. Perker), and so this teaser is a pretty good start.
Global Frequency #12 (WildStorm)
From August 2004
Thanks to Transmetropolitan and later works (such as the aforementioned Authority), Warren Ellis became known as one of the most progressive writers in comics (I dubbed his Supreme: Blue Rose as a landmark work). Global Frequency was one of the several projects from the same general period that helped solidify his reputation. At least in this final issue, it's a terrifying vision of government population measures. I think I've read it before. Didn't hurt to read it again.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 1 (DC)
From 1993
I've long wanted to have a look at DC's adaptation of Douglas Adams' classic story of Arthur Dent's terrifying vision of government population measures (heh). For now, I'll have to settle with this first installment, featuring very, very '90s art. No, not the Image kind. What everyone else had when all the Image artists went to Image, or were employed in Marvel and DC books desperately trying to look like Image books. If that helps.
Inferno #2 (DC)
From November 1997
I've read the complete mini-series before, but I wanted to have another look (those issues were lost in one of the purges). This was Stuart Immonen's writer/artist tryout, I think, for DC, before he was allowed to assume the same responsibilities in his Superman comics. His Inferno is a good reminder that there's a whole set of young readers who read comics because they identify with the human qualities these characters can exhibit, not the desperate attempts to be cool that some companies began to think were necessary to find them. It's yet another example of the timelessness of Immonen's work, and why it's sad he's never really gotten another chance since that time to explore this side of comics.
Nova #3 (Marvel)
From March 2016
Ah...bad timing, Nova. Because this latest incarnation of the Jeph Loeb vision for the character is the opposite everything I just talked about...
Our Love is Real (Image)
With his sensational work in Green Lanterns recently, I've gotten more aware of the name Sam Humphries, so when I saw this one-shot, I figured I really should have a look. It's kind of a shameless parody of sexual diversity, and the artist draw sideburns like Howard Chaykin. That's all I'll say about that!
Resistance #6 (WildStorm)
From July 2009
Here's Mike Costa again, doing another military comic, only this time it's based on a video game. But it's excellent Costa material all the same.
Starman #6 (DC)
From January 1989
The Will Payton Starman, like the rest of them, popped up in James Robinson's later Starman series. Here will is very much at the start of his career, and in the thick of the "Invasion" crossover arc, and contending with the Power Elite But more on superhero Elites in a moment...
Action Comics #775 (DC)
From March 2001
The introduction of Manchester Black was one of those legendary events from early millennium Superman comics, and I always wanted to catch up with it. Here was a character meant to help explain what makes Superman continually relevant, because he reflects all the violent tendencies that had been cropping up since the likes of Alan Moore and Frank Miller complicated such things. This was a whole era in Superman comics dedicated to making him cool again, which really wouldn't work until Superman/Batman (somewhat ironically). At the end of this issue, Joe Kelly makes him looks like he's stooped to Black's level, but then cleverly explains how he didn't, while still making Superman look pretty badass. Black's Elites, who starred in a twelve-issue Justice League Elite, were another response to Ellis's work.
Superman: Last Son of Krypton FCBD
From 2013
This is the first issue in the Geoff Johns/Richard Donner run, that reads as well now as it did when originally published.
We Stand on Guard #4 (Image)
From October 2015
Brian K. Vaughan is one of the guys who formed his reputation in the years following Ellis's dominance in the progressive movement, and in recent years he's been doing some even edgier stuff. We Stand on Guard is a curious little thing, in that it tackles America's current reputation from the perspective of a future war with Canada. It totally makes sense if you ignore the fact that Canada and the United States have generally been okay with each other since the unfortunate business of the war of 1812 and the business of trying to add Canada to the rest of America...
Ultimate X-Men #7 (Marvel)
From August 2001
Mark Millar explores the Ultimate version of Weapon X. Predictably edgy outlook.
From November & December 2002, January and July 2003
Joe Casey's comic caught my eye in previous rummaging through back issue bins, so I figured I'd read more of it. Thankfully, #9 is the final issue and adequately explains what the hell he was doing with the rest of it. Basically this was a post-modern superhero comic, in the tradition of Wasteland and Grant Morrison's Animal Man (Casey liberally appears in the final issue, speaking directly to Kaf and the reader), from the more cynical perspective of early millennium superhero comics, which had been turned on their head by stuff like The Authority, which would give birth to The Ultimates and somewhat strangely, the Marvel movies we all enjoy now, which are on the whole far less concerned with taking superheroes seriously than the comics that spawned them. It's classic satire, the Kafkaesque version, if you will, of Loeb & Sale's formative collaboration in The Challengers of the Unknown Must Die!, a previous big find in the back issue bins recorded in previous editions of this column.
Black Magick #1 (Image)
From October 2015
Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott are past and present Wonder Woman creators. Their pasts previously aligned in this series about a magic practitioner who's also a cop, which is kind of luck summarizing and simplifying Charmed. Figured I'd finally have a look.
Blackhawks #2, 3, 4 (DC)
From December 2011, January & February 2012
As a huge Mike Costa fan...when he's writing his brilliant G.I. Joe/Cobra stories over at IDW, I always like to check in on his other stuff. When the New 52 was announced, I was automatically intrigued at his Blackhawks, but then financial restraints got in the way and I was only able to check back in well after the fact. This is the second such time I've read some of it, and I'm far more impressed now than the last time. The big beef I had the last time was that I didn't really get the Mike Costa feel, that in having to create a whole team right off the bat, he didn't have the chance to dazzle with an intense single-character drama, like he did at IDW. Well, I stand corrected, and even more curiously, the passage of time and further comics experience informs me that his Blackhawks reads like a preview of Valiant's current Bloodshot comics. So I will definitely make a better effort at reading the complete short-lived run in the future.
Cairo sneak preview (Vertigo)
This graphic novel was G. Willow Wilson's comics debut, originally released in November 2007. I later became hugely enamored with Wilson through Air, while other readers made her Ms. Marvel a leading member of Marvel's new generation. I've always wanted to read Cairo (which is also Wilson's first collaboration with Air artist M.K. Perker), and so this teaser is a pretty good start.
Global Frequency #12 (WildStorm)
From August 2004
Thanks to Transmetropolitan and later works (such as the aforementioned Authority), Warren Ellis became known as one of the most progressive writers in comics (I dubbed his Supreme: Blue Rose as a landmark work). Global Frequency was one of the several projects from the same general period that helped solidify his reputation. At least in this final issue, it's a terrifying vision of government population measures. I think I've read it before. Didn't hurt to read it again.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Book 1 (DC)
From 1993
I've long wanted to have a look at DC's adaptation of Douglas Adams' classic story of Arthur Dent's terrifying vision of government population measures (heh). For now, I'll have to settle with this first installment, featuring very, very '90s art. No, not the Image kind. What everyone else had when all the Image artists went to Image, or were employed in Marvel and DC books desperately trying to look like Image books. If that helps.
Inferno #2 (DC)
From November 1997
I've read the complete mini-series before, but I wanted to have another look (those issues were lost in one of the purges). This was Stuart Immonen's writer/artist tryout, I think, for DC, before he was allowed to assume the same responsibilities in his Superman comics. His Inferno is a good reminder that there's a whole set of young readers who read comics because they identify with the human qualities these characters can exhibit, not the desperate attempts to be cool that some companies began to think were necessary to find them. It's yet another example of the timelessness of Immonen's work, and why it's sad he's never really gotten another chance since that time to explore this side of comics.
Nova #3 (Marvel)
From March 2016
Ah...bad timing, Nova. Because this latest incarnation of the Jeph Loeb vision for the character is the opposite everything I just talked about...
Our Love is Real (Image)
With his sensational work in Green Lanterns recently, I've gotten more aware of the name Sam Humphries, so when I saw this one-shot, I figured I really should have a look. It's kind of a shameless parody of sexual diversity, and the artist draw sideburns like Howard Chaykin. That's all I'll say about that!
Resistance #6 (WildStorm)
From July 2009
Here's Mike Costa again, doing another military comic, only this time it's based on a video game. But it's excellent Costa material all the same.
Starman #6 (DC)
From January 1989
The Will Payton Starman, like the rest of them, popped up in James Robinson's later Starman series. Here will is very much at the start of his career, and in the thick of the "Invasion" crossover arc, and contending with the Power Elite But more on superhero Elites in a moment...
Action Comics #775 (DC)
From March 2001
The introduction of Manchester Black was one of those legendary events from early millennium Superman comics, and I always wanted to catch up with it. Here was a character meant to help explain what makes Superman continually relevant, because he reflects all the violent tendencies that had been cropping up since the likes of Alan Moore and Frank Miller complicated such things. This was a whole era in Superman comics dedicated to making him cool again, which really wouldn't work until Superman/Batman (somewhat ironically). At the end of this issue, Joe Kelly makes him looks like he's stooped to Black's level, but then cleverly explains how he didn't, while still making Superman look pretty badass. Black's Elites, who starred in a twelve-issue Justice League Elite, were another response to Ellis's work.
Superman: Last Son of Krypton FCBD
From 2013
This is the first issue in the Geoff Johns/Richard Donner run, that reads as well now as it did when originally published.
We Stand on Guard #4 (Image)
From October 2015
Brian K. Vaughan is one of the guys who formed his reputation in the years following Ellis's dominance in the progressive movement, and in recent years he's been doing some even edgier stuff. We Stand on Guard is a curious little thing, in that it tackles America's current reputation from the perspective of a future war with Canada. It totally makes sense if you ignore the fact that Canada and the United States have generally been okay with each other since the unfortunate business of the war of 1812 and the business of trying to add Canada to the rest of America...
Ultimate X-Men #7 (Marvel)
From August 2001
Mark Millar explores the Ultimate version of Weapon X. Predictably edgy outlook.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Quarter Bin 84 "Spider-Man, Starman, Superman, '90s edition"
This penultimate edition of a series covering comics found in an actual quarter bin is no indication that this feature's title can always be taken literally.
Sensational Hornet #1 (Marvel)
(Sensation Spider-Man #27)
From May 1998.
This was part of a storyline in which Peter Parker felt his Spider-Man persona was becoming more trouble than it was worth, and so he adopted several new superhero identities. Clearly a nod to the Superman replacements of a few years earlier (although as far as I know none of these identities made it past this arc, in any form), this was '90s Spider-Man once again taking a direct page from DC, as anyone would easily argue that extended Clone Saga was created to do, to the chagrin of readers who had absolutely no interest in it. For me, I had a look at the issue for the Mike Wieringo art, which if you'll remember was also the intent with the Flash comic I read earlier in this series of Quarter Bin columns (follow them alphabetically, or just root around the recent ones). Ringo was a big part of my enjoyment of '90s comics, whether in his Flash or Robin runs. Like every other creator that decade, he went on to launch a creator-owned series, Tellos, except fate played a cruel trick on him, and his fans, and comics fans in general, when he died unexpectedly in 2007, at the far-too-young age of 44. His was a playful, expressive style that proved incredibly adaptable, and he was a natural to draw Spider-Man's adventures.
Spider-Man: Blue #4 (Marvel)
From October 2002.
The magic team of Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale produced a series of stories for Marvel's superheroes, each of them featuring narration directed at the biggest influences in the characters' lives. For Spider-Man, they chose Gwen Stacy, whose untimely death in a 1973 comic forever altered the destiny of Peter Parker, again. Interestingly, both this and the above issue feature one of Spider-Man's most intriguing, and oldest villains, although the Vulture takes the latter title pretty literally. I would almost say that the melancholy Sandman of Spider-Man 3 might almost have been better replaced with Vulture, who still has yet to appear in the movies.
Starman #45 (DC)
From August 1998.
For a lot of fans, James Robinson's Starman was the comic that redeemed '90s DC as something that wasn't merely reacting to the scene around it but producing something new, a commentary on the superhero tradition. Which admittedly, for me, already existed in the pages of Mark Waid's Flash, but Robinson's efforts were perhaps easier to spot because he began them in a fresh title, with a fresh, new character in Jack Knight, who as of this issue launches himself into space, which someone observes in the issue is only appropriate for someone calling himself Starman. His task is to locate one of his predecessors in the role, and he's accompanied by another of them, an alien who happens to also be gay. For me, I always kind of saw Starman as being perhaps a little too impressed with itself, although its role as the DC equivalent of what had previously resulted in the birth of the Vertigo line remains a unique achievement, duplicated in brief by such efforts as Chronos and Primal Force, and most recently by Tom King's Omega Men, but on the whole a lasting testament to what's possible when a creator is allowed truly free reign in a mainstream comic, has the talent to pull it off, and seizes the opportunity.
Superman #57 (DC)
Action Comics #667-668 (DC)
From July, August 1991.
The truly sensational thing about the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Superman was that it was allowed to break all the rules. Superman reveals his secret identity to Lois. Lex Luthor dies. The death. The wedding. And now, because of the Convergence rebirth, even a child. There was also the time Superman executed some of his foes, and the Eradicator, a Kryptonian menace that presaged Doomsday, and in fact was incorporated in the monster's aftermath. The first two of the three comics above feature the end-battle with the first humanoid version of the Eradicator, who originally appeared as a robotic relic with a mission similar to what later played out on the big screen in Man of Steel. The replacement Superman with the visor? That was the Eradicator, too. First, Superman engages in mortal combat with this foe, and is probably the moment this generation of creators first dreamt of going all the way with such a scenario. The last issue features the specter of Lex Luthor, who had died, ironically, due to Kryptonite exposure, having worn a ring embedded with a chunk of the stuff. Later, the clone would be introduced, and later still, be magically reborn following a lethal clone illness back into the familiar bald form we all know (the clone, "his son," had the youthful look of the vision of the villain's father as portrayed in Smallville). The issue is fascinating, because it opens the door to the perception that among ordinary citizens of Metropolis, Lex Luthor really was seen as the good guy, which is usually impossible in comics that relentlessly feature his war against Superman. The creator involved include Roger Stern and Dan Jurgens, both classic members of the '90s generation, Stern near the end of his career and Jurgens near the beginning. I'd known the post-Doomsday comics I enjoyed the rest of that decade were a direct continuation of material I hadn't read, and so every now and then I like to have a look at the earlier stuff. And now, this period gets little respect, but it deserves it. For anyone who started reading at, and only ever cared about, Doomsday, the lasting impression probably makes perfect sense. But it really doesn't. This was truly a rich vision, an impressive tapestry, a whole era that saw some of the best-ever Superman stories told, a cohesive, comprehensive story that didn't end until the end of the millennium, when DC started looking at ways to "make Superman relevant again." The stories changed, the vision changed, but it took a while for anyone to even approach getting better than what had come before...
Sensational Hornet #1 (Marvel)
(Sensation Spider-Man #27)
From May 1998.
This was part of a storyline in which Peter Parker felt his Spider-Man persona was becoming more trouble than it was worth, and so he adopted several new superhero identities. Clearly a nod to the Superman replacements of a few years earlier (although as far as I know none of these identities made it past this arc, in any form), this was '90s Spider-Man once again taking a direct page from DC, as anyone would easily argue that extended Clone Saga was created to do, to the chagrin of readers who had absolutely no interest in it. For me, I had a look at the issue for the Mike Wieringo art, which if you'll remember was also the intent with the Flash comic I read earlier in this series of Quarter Bin columns (follow them alphabetically, or just root around the recent ones). Ringo was a big part of my enjoyment of '90s comics, whether in his Flash or Robin runs. Like every other creator that decade, he went on to launch a creator-owned series, Tellos, except fate played a cruel trick on him, and his fans, and comics fans in general, when he died unexpectedly in 2007, at the far-too-young age of 44. His was a playful, expressive style that proved incredibly adaptable, and he was a natural to draw Spider-Man's adventures.
Spider-Man: Blue #4 (Marvel)
From October 2002.
The magic team of Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale produced a series of stories for Marvel's superheroes, each of them featuring narration directed at the biggest influences in the characters' lives. For Spider-Man, they chose Gwen Stacy, whose untimely death in a 1973 comic forever altered the destiny of Peter Parker, again. Interestingly, both this and the above issue feature one of Spider-Man's most intriguing, and oldest villains, although the Vulture takes the latter title pretty literally. I would almost say that the melancholy Sandman of Spider-Man 3 might almost have been better replaced with Vulture, who still has yet to appear in the movies.
Starman #45 (DC)
From August 1998.
For a lot of fans, James Robinson's Starman was the comic that redeemed '90s DC as something that wasn't merely reacting to the scene around it but producing something new, a commentary on the superhero tradition. Which admittedly, for me, already existed in the pages of Mark Waid's Flash, but Robinson's efforts were perhaps easier to spot because he began them in a fresh title, with a fresh, new character in Jack Knight, who as of this issue launches himself into space, which someone observes in the issue is only appropriate for someone calling himself Starman. His task is to locate one of his predecessors in the role, and he's accompanied by another of them, an alien who happens to also be gay. For me, I always kind of saw Starman as being perhaps a little too impressed with itself, although its role as the DC equivalent of what had previously resulted in the birth of the Vertigo line remains a unique achievement, duplicated in brief by such efforts as Chronos and Primal Force, and most recently by Tom King's Omega Men, but on the whole a lasting testament to what's possible when a creator is allowed truly free reign in a mainstream comic, has the talent to pull it off, and seizes the opportunity.
Superman #57 (DC)
Action Comics #667-668 (DC)
From July, August 1991.
The truly sensational thing about the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Superman was that it was allowed to break all the rules. Superman reveals his secret identity to Lois. Lex Luthor dies. The death. The wedding. And now, because of the Convergence rebirth, even a child. There was also the time Superman executed some of his foes, and the Eradicator, a Kryptonian menace that presaged Doomsday, and in fact was incorporated in the monster's aftermath. The first two of the three comics above feature the end-battle with the first humanoid version of the Eradicator, who originally appeared as a robotic relic with a mission similar to what later played out on the big screen in Man of Steel. The replacement Superman with the visor? That was the Eradicator, too. First, Superman engages in mortal combat with this foe, and is probably the moment this generation of creators first dreamt of going all the way with such a scenario. The last issue features the specter of Lex Luthor, who had died, ironically, due to Kryptonite exposure, having worn a ring embedded with a chunk of the stuff. Later, the clone would be introduced, and later still, be magically reborn following a lethal clone illness back into the familiar bald form we all know (the clone, "his son," had the youthful look of the vision of the villain's father as portrayed in Smallville). The issue is fascinating, because it opens the door to the perception that among ordinary citizens of Metropolis, Lex Luthor really was seen as the good guy, which is usually impossible in comics that relentlessly feature his war against Superman. The creator involved include Roger Stern and Dan Jurgens, both classic members of the '90s generation, Stern near the end of his career and Jurgens near the beginning. I'd known the post-Doomsday comics I enjoyed the rest of that decade were a direct continuation of material I hadn't read, and so every now and then I like to have a look at the earlier stuff. And now, this period gets little respect, but it deserves it. For anyone who started reading at, and only ever cared about, Doomsday, the lasting impression probably makes perfect sense. But it really doesn't. This was truly a rich vision, an impressive tapestry, a whole era that saw some of the best-ever Superman stories told, a cohesive, comprehensive story that didn't end until the end of the millennium, when DC started looking at ways to "make Superman relevant again." The stories changed, the vision changed, but it took a while for anyone to even approach getting better than what had come before...
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Quarter Bin 68 "Grant Morrison, etc."
This is a back issue feature, which features all these this edition: The Filth #6, Green Lantern (1990) #1 and 46, Green Lantern Corps #38, The Helmet of Fate: Zauriel #1, The Invisibles #6, Justice League America #74, JLA Classified #45, JSA #81, Legion of Super-Heroes #0, Marvels #1, The Mighty #1, Millennium #5, Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #3, Starman #46, Adventures of Superman Annual #5, All Star Superman #1 and 5, Sweet Tooth #13, Tangent: Superman's Reign #12, Wisdom #1, and New X-Men #149.
The Filth #6 (Vertigo)
From 2002.
I have previously owned the entire Filth collection. When I purged a vast amount of my things two years ago, this and Supergods didn't survive, despite my professed great admiration for Grant Morrison. There are limits to everything. When I originally read the complete Filth, I was in a different place. I was still in the midst of figuring out what exactly it was I liked about Morrison. Turns out, I like it best when he's not trying so hard to be weird. Stuff like this and his current Nameless are definitely Morrison trying hard to be weird. And the thing about Filth is even when I reread this particular issue, I had some thoughts about what helped make it seem less like Morrison trying hard to be weird, but now I've forgotten. So again I'll walk away from it and not wonder whether I'm missing something crucial. I guess it's supposed to be social commentary, and not necessarily about, well, filth, and maybe how some people really do try too hard. And so maybe Morrison took on Filth in full irony. I think I read once that it is or was his personal favorite, and at one point I described it myself as possibly the Invisibles experience condensed...Still, obviously personally, I've backed off from it, and I think Morrison has done a lot of stuff since then that's far superior, not just Joe the Barbarian and Annihilator, but...I mean, even Seven Soldiers is in some ways Filth repackaged. Made better. Moving on...
Green Lantern #1 (DC)
From 1990.
It seems odd to think today that Hal Jordan ever had a problem being the headlining Green Lantern act. I mean, other than everyone who wants the cinematic Green Lantern to be John Stewart (mostly because of the animated Justice League adventures where he was). And yet there was a considerable period where Green Lantern had in fact been retitled Green Lantern Corps, and this particular reboot was all about Hal taking back the spotlight. It was also the debut of the white temple look, which Geoff Johns later retconned as the first indication of Parallax taking control. The Hal in this issue is drawn directly from the Green Lantern/Green Arrow era. I mean, Hal was regularly depicted as bucking authority and reluctant to be a good little Green Lantern, which was the whole reason Guy Gardner and John Stewart had rings to begin with, but this was making it not just a phase, but a defining part of his character. Sticking around, being Green Lantern, and still fretting about all that. And this was the beginning of the modern era, too. The franchise was in fact about to begin. Guy and John both got their own ongoing series before long, and they were in this issue to assert their continuing presence from the start. And to think, fifty issues in and everything would change...
Green Lantern #46 (DC)
From 1993.
I don't know who decided to begin a new Green Lantern on the heels of Superman's big death-and-return saga, but they were a genius. How often does that happen, linking one such event to another, however tangentially? Mongul and Cyborg Superman incidentally destroy Coast City at the end of "Reign of the Supermen," which is Hal's city, and it drops him off the deep end. In this issue, it looks like he might be able to get over it. He gets his revenge on Mongul, he's the one who gets to defeat the other major villain of the big Superman climax. And it still ends up resulting in "Emerald Twilight," the end of Green Lantern as it had existed as a property since the dawn of the Silver Age...and yeah, eventually, Hal's big redemption and the return of everything, supersized...But at this point, the next issue is the last Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-up (in its original combination; strangely even upon Hal's return it's never happened again). To me, this moment has always stood as about as iconic as "Emerald Twilight" itself. The original Green Lantern trade collections of that time never included it. There were separate "Emerald Twilight" and "New Dawn" (the start of the Kyle Rayner era), and then "Emerald Twilight"/"New Dawn" collections. And this major component of the story was left out. Every time. I don't know, did the "Reign of the Supermen" collections include it?
Green Lantern Corps #38 (DC)
From 2009.
This is from the Tomasi/Gleason era that kicked off the series, the best non-Johns Green Lantern comics from that time, and enhanced in hindsight by their later collaboration in Batman and Robin, which was a definite amplification of their efforts. So good, in fact, that I tend to forget what their GLC was actually like, other than the distinctive presence of Soranik Natu (this issue she tries to erase her just as distinctive face tattoo because it's a constant reminder of her father...Sinestro). The Guardians are ramping up to going totally insane, executing bad guys, with the Corps somehow having a problem with that. But it's that cover that is the best thing about the issue. Not totally relevant to the contents, but it's strong Pat Gleason all the same, before Gleason truly came into his own (again, Batman and Robin). It's not my favorite cover from this selection of back issues, however. We'll get to that.
The Helmet of Fate: Zauriel #1 (DC)
From 2007)
This was a part of the late Steve Gerber's last big project, an attempted reboot of Doctor Fate. Gerber's legacy will arguably always be Howard the Duck, which luckily these days once again means a good thing. I read the complete Helmet of Fate at the time of its original publication, so it was good to revisit. Zauriel was one of the less obscure characters featured in this kind of condensed Seven Soldiers (the issue recaps every other encounter to that point, which was actually the last before the intended big payoff). Zauriel was a Grant Morrison creation from the pages of JLA, a literal angel, a surrogate Hawkman (several reboot attempts from that period had soured that particular character, who would need a dramatic comeback within Geoff Johns' JSA in order to become relevant again), and his story is ably recapped in the issue as well. He got a new incarnation in the New 52 in the pages of Phantom Stranger, but it's not quite the same.
The Invisibles #6 (Vertigo)
From 1994.
You know what's ironic? Every time I randomly come across a back issue of Invisibles, it's always from the Say You Want a Revolution collection, the first volume of the series. And that's awful, in a way, because Say You Want includes the most of what I've read from one of Grant Morrison's early seminal works. And darn it if I don't want to read something else from it!
Maybe there's a message in that?
In the meantime, I'll instead talk here about the On the Ledge feature in the back of the issue, the Vertigo press page that speaks about the Paradox Press experiment, which today is known, if for anything at all, for Road to Perdition, which later became a Tom Hanks movie. But this hype feature also references Jerome Charyn in Paradox Press's stable of writers. Years later, Charyn became a favorite writer of mine, and it amused me to learn that he sometimes dabbles in comics, and apparently, so I learned here, he was in fact part of the Paradox Press experiment. The result was published in 1995, Family Man. I will read that at some point.
Justice League America #74 (DC)
From 1993.
This issue is the reason there are fans who think Bloodwynd was in fact Martian Manhunter all along. That's because at the end of the issue, that's exactly what it seems like. Apparently all those fans never read the next issue, which explains what's really going on (maybe comics just shouldn't try and confuse readers so often...). Bloodwynd's always been a favorite of mine. He's the Dan Jurgens creation not named Booster Gold, and for my mine, infinitely more fascinating. And yet he's got a scant publishing history, and it was Grant Morrison himself who explained why in the pages of Supergods, calling him a example of the worst the '90s had to offer. But then Morrison himself dragged Bloodwynd back into comics in the pages of The Multiversity.
And you want to know the saddest thing about Bloodwynd? This is his only spotlight cover, and you can't even see his face! Okay, that's a total lie. That face is splashed across Justice League America #88. But still! I've said all along, he's a great character. Time to help everyone else realize that, I say.
JLA Classified #45 (DC)
From 2007.
Speaking of Martian Manhunter, this is my favorite cover from this selection, and it was instantly one of my favorites at the time of its original publication, too. The contents are pretty good, part of the "Ghosts of Mars" arc that was part of the foundation of the character becoming one of my all-times favorites. The material at that time was the strongest in the character's history. And it's absolutely, so far as I'm concerned, the basis for the new ongoing series.
JSA #81 (DC)
From 2005.
This is pretty far into Geoff Johns' JSA, but I figure if it's before the Justice Society of America reboot (where I read every issue), but it's a good issue to randomly read because it puts Stargirl, Courtney Whitmore, in the spotlight, who was also the first character Johns ever wrote for DC, in the pages of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. The issue, in fact, delves deeply into Stargirl's world, so it's almost a complete reprise/update of the prior series, so all around it's a nice one to have chosen (there were several others available), if not randomly sampling one of Johns' formative arcs (I've done that; it's not as easy to be satisfied that way) then to definitely catch it at its best.
Legion of Super-Heroes #0 (DC)
From 1994.
One of my ambitions is to own the complete Stuart Immonen Superman. I'd planned to chronicle the run here at Comics Reader, but I don't have that kind of readership, alas. Anyway, Immonen made his mark at DC, originally, within the pages of Legion, and he was suited to that in the original clean look he had at this time in his career, before he talked himself, or allowed others to talk him, into a busier look. I sampled the Legion books (including Legionnaires) a lot during that time, and I'm certain now that I had this in my collection (until an earlier purge than the one referenced above), so I had already begun appreciating Immonen before I realized it. But I didn't stick around Legion, so I in fact officially discovered Immonen in the pages of Superman comics. Just so you don't wonder, I don't intend to track down the complete Immonen Legion, too...
Marvels #1 (Marvel)
From 1993.
One of the most famous comics of the '90s, this was also the epitome of Marvel's self-mythologizing, not just a character, but its entire line, the fictional version of Stan Lee, as it were. I've always wanted to read it. The first issue, it turns out, is not wildly impressive. Photographer Phil Sheldon is a wimpy lead character, not exactly the Norman McCay of Kingdom Come. Devised to be an everyman observing Marvel's giants from street level, Phil Sheldon is instead a Jimmy Olsen/Peter Parker who otherwise has nothing interesting going for him, just a random romance. Yes, there are three other issues to the story, but I'm not as interested, now, to read the rest of the story. The depictions of Namor, the Human Torch, and Captain America are a mixed bag. The Human Torch is easily the superhero who comes off best. But if later superheroes are treated more like Namor, who blows up the realism of the approach, it kind of ruins the concept. And anyway, it was as much if not more so the art of Alex Ross that made Marvels such a sensation.
Curiously, Marvels, other than the stories of mini-series of Jeph Loeb (incredibly, Captain America: White is finally, finally on the publishing schedule, with a September debut, after the preview released in...2008), remains the lone example of Marvel taking an actual sober approach to superheroes. Other than random issues of Ed Brubaker's Captain America, further examples just don't exist. And that's why I'm a DC guy.
The Mighty #1 (DC)
From 2009.
Until Batman and Robin, this was my first indication that Peter Tomasi would be a truly exceptional writer. The Mighty is one of those rare creator-owned projects published under the DC banner (Chris Claremont's Sovereign Seven was another...and I can't think of a third), and it's also one of the best alternate Superman stories ever told. Curiously, at the time there was considerable competition. Mark Waid's Irredeemable was one, and The Life and Times of Savior 28, from J.M. DeMatteis, was the other. Yet The Mighty jumped out from the pack. There was talk of a movie adaptation. IDW later put out the trade collection. Turns out from this revisit, it really stands up. So next time I have an opportunity to pick up the complete collection, I just might...
Millennium #5 (DC)
From 1987.
This was the Manhunters event, the third big DC crossover event after Crisis On Infinite Earths and Legends. But as I now realize, maybe it was also an attempt to capitalize on the New Age guru sensation, because that's what's going on in this particular issue, and it confuses me, otherwise, a great deal, to see that going on in the middle of a big DC crossover event. And so even though it's the big Manhunters event that helped establish them, I've probably read about all I need to from it, I really have. Because it's baffling. I guess I perhaps should have known how confusing it was, because I already knew Millennium featured the big Manhunters story as a story of infiltration. Which otherwise, conceptually, makes little sense in Manhunters context.
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #3 (Vertigo)
From 2005.
As the title suggests, this is a Neil Gaiman story, actually an adaption of his first novel, the career shift that helped establish him as a cultural phenomenon. Comic books fans will always consider Gaiman's legacy unquestionably to be Sandman, but readers at large, and movie audiences, wouldn't know him unless he'd made the transition to prose. It wasn't until American Gods, arguably, that he had his true breakthrough. I remember when Neverwhere was released. I never got around to reading it myself, so I figured sampling the comic book adaption might give me an idea what it was like. And I guess it's really obvious that Gaiman hadn't yet shaken himself out of the comic book mode, because if this issue of this adaptation is any indication, he wasn't quite ready yet. It's too busy, too unfocused. The main character becomes lost in the shuffle. In Sandman, the main character was always lost in the shuffle, and in that context, it made absolute sense. But Gaiman eventually figured out that in books, the rules are different. Unless you've got something to say creatively. With Neverwhere, I don't think he did.
Starman #46 (DC)
From 1998.
Starman is another thing I want to read in total at some point, ideally catching up with the rest of the omnibus collections (I've read the fifth volume) because James Robinson provides extensive commentaries in those. I picked this issue at random because it was a "Times Past" issue, so there was no chance of catching a story midstream, and because "Times Past," as well as the "Conversations with David" issues, was one of the best things about the series, the reasoning behind which is actually explain in this issue's letters column. Although of note is acknowledging original artist Tony Harris's departure from the series. He later collaborated with Brian K. Vaughan on Ex Machina, and Robinson managed to muscle his way through the rest of the series even though it got progressively less fun as, well, time passed. Because this issue also acknowledges the death of original editor and DC icon Archie Goodwin, who was also the reason the series happened at all. So this was an excellent random issue to sample.
Adventures of Superman Annual #5 (DC)
From 1993.
From the Bloodlines event that attempted to present an entire new generation of superheroes, perhaps rightly criticized, so I later discovered, as trying desperately to cash in on the budding Image phenomenon. But I found a bunch of characters I loved from it, including Sparx, who would go on to costar in Superboy and the Ravers, one of my all-time favorite comic books. What's fascinating about Sparx, and was hardly capitalized on outside of this debut, is that she comes from a whole family of metahumans, who apparently needed to activate their powers (presumably no two alike). Donna Carol "D.C." Force somewhat rashly, along with the dubious consent of her Uncle Harry, chooses the alien parasites going around activating new superheroes during Bloodlines. Also in this issue is Superboy, and this is actually at the end of the "Reign of the Supermen," literally, apparently taking place just before the final battle with Cyborg Superman.
But as much as I love Sparx, the most amusing thing in this issue is an add for Zero Hour way, way in advance. I mean, Superboy didn't even have his own series yet, and Superboy #8 was released the month every DC title started interacting with the event. Moving on...
All Star Superman #1 and 5 (DC)
From 2006.
Wait, they sold me a FCBD release? Unscrupulous merchants! Actually, that's pretty common in the back issue trade, alas. Anyway, this is what is commonly considered one of Grant Morrison's definite works. And I liked it just fine at the time (in the annual QB50s, it went from 12 to 37 to 17 from 2006-2008, always playing second-fiddle to Geoff Johns' Action Comics, among other material).
What strikes me about it now, especially All Star Superman #5, which ties in with what I'll be talking about a few comics later (the last one, in fact, to assure you that this is not an infinite list of nonsense), is how Morrison handles the villain, who in this case is Lex Luthor. The whole idea behind All Star Superman was to create an iconic, and perhaps to say definitive, version of the Superman mythos. Which makes this Lex Luthor all the more interesting. This Lex is strictly interested in his Superman obsession because he sees himself as a world-conqueror Superman has blocked from fulfilling his ambitions. I'm not sure how I should feel about that. I like nuanced characters. I love Geoff Johns' Lex Luthor in the pages of Justice League. This is not that Lex. He's in fact about as brilliant as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's eponymous villain, with clear holes in his logic and not nearly as threatening as he seems. Which is to say, all bark and no bite. Where Morrison's Superman is meant to be exactly the all-powerful Superman that everyone has always the character is and therefore completely unrelatable...his Lex is in fact all but the exact opposite.
Which is actually kind of fascinating, when you think about it...I've never reread the complete All Star Superman. That could be interesting.
It's also worth noting that the issue also features a promo section for a WildStorm reboot, the one that Morrison was supposed to be a significant part of, writing both WildCATs and The Authority. I know Keith Giffen ended up writing the latter almost immediately. The WildCATs experiment was even more brief. I didn't even remember about that one. There was also a Garth Ennis Midnighter series. Which surprisingly didn't really catch on. You'd think it would somehow be completely natural. But this was pretty much the end of WildStorm, so maybe the whole thing fizzling out isn't so surprising after all.
Sweet Tooth #13 (Vertigo)
From 2010.
This was one of Jeff Lemire's early signature works, along with the earlier Essex County. I remember when it launched, and it was impossible for me to think of it as anything other than the comic featuring the boy with the antlers. I never read it. Later, I finally did come to appreciate Lemire's brilliance (Descender), so I figured I'd finally sample Sweet Tooth. Turns out it's pretty interesting. Not having gotten into it originally, I really had no idea what the boy was doing having those antlers. Turns out it's a little like the second season of Dark Angel, a TV series I happen to love a great deal. I don't know if Lemire had Dark Angel in mind, or The Island of Dr. Moreau, or something else I don't currently know about. Either way, I guess this is to say, I really ought to read more Lemire.
Tangent: Superman's Reign #12 (DC)
From 2009.
Convergence brought back a lot of old concepts and eras, and I was happy to see Tangent Comics among them. This was an idea from the '90s that sought to recapture the feel of the dawn of the Silver Age (and, I guess, Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating...) by taking familiar names and reimagining them. I loved it. When it was revisited in the pages of Tangent: Superman's Reign, I loved it all over again, even though there was a significant attempt to broaden the appeal by bringing in the more familiar versions to sort everything out. Since the writer is Dan Jurgens, it features somewhat blunt storytelling, not exactly what you might have seen out of Tangent Superman in the pages of Convergence: The Flash (if you even knew clue one about Tangent Superman to begin with). I don't remember reading the conclusion to the mini-series originally. Although I didn't really miss much, other than the sacrifice of Tangent Batman. #sadpanda
Wisdom #1 (Marvel)
From 2006.
Paul Cornell's Captain Britain and MI13 was one of the series that made me a fan of Marvel (the other was Incredible Hercules) for a few years, just something with a vibe I'd never seen from the company before. It made me an immediate fan of Cornell, who I was happy to later read within the pages of Action Comics and Knight & Squire, not to mention Saucer Country. Then he went back to things more British-centric, like Doctor Who. Wisdom, as in Pete Wisdom, was Captain Britain's predecessor, with a sterling reputation but otherwise something I knew nothing about. I assumed it was a story about Pete Wisdom. But as it turns out, it's basically as deliberate a predecessor to Captain Britain as you can get, the exact same approach with only a variation of the cast of characters. So I guess I didn't miss anything wildly different. The other notable thing about Wisdom is artist Trevor Hairsine, whom I later enjoyed in the pages of Divinity. That's worth noting about Wisdom.
New X-Men #149 (Marvel)
From 2003.
And now we've reached the end. While discussing The Filth, I discussed that I have a more complicated history with Grant Morrison than it can sometimes seem. While discussing All Star Superman I was able to get into a little of how I don't necessarily always agree with his creative choices even when I don't find them particularly weird.
And here's where I concede a point to Marvel. Maybe they weren't wrong to retcon Morrison's X-Men run. This issue is late in the run and is just after Xorn, the mutant healer, was revealed to be Magneto all along. Morrison's Magneto is little different from Morrison's Lex Luthor. They're both evil. End of story. In fact, as of this issue Magneto has all but won. Like he does in Final Crisis, which is far different context but also wildly unpopular with fans, Morrison writes a story in which the bad guy manages to win. Whereas the story in comics never really advances, the X-Men in particular have tended to be stagnant (except when House of M forced them to advance to a more ludicrous point than even Morrison managed), so to see New X-Men reach a point like this must have been disconcerting to Marvel, not because Morrison revealed Xorn to be someone else all along, regardless of who that was, but because of what happened next.
Morrison's last X-Men arc was "Here Comes Tomorrow," his version of "Days of Future Past," presenting an outcome fraught with mutants everywhere. Yes, the mutants "win," but at great cost. This is the opposite of what he'd done with JLA, the model by which he'd been brought in with great fanfare. Except Morrison always goes for what he sees as the big picture, and his big picture is just about bigger than anyone's except maybe Geoff Johns. So having him do X-Men was probably a mistake to begin with, if Marvel wanted something more safe than it turned out to be.
And putting all that aside, back to Tony level, yes I had become a fan of Grant Morrison through JLA, like a lot of other fans, but when I had to break from comics at the start of the millennium, I found it difficult to get back into him, once I started reading again. I remember seeing New X-Men on the stands when I started wading back in 2004, and although I knew what was going on, I didn't want to read it. Even when Morrison helped kick off JLA Classified, I skipped that, too. I only came back with Seven Soldiers, and then in a very big way. Once I understood that Morrison's scope was bigger than anyone else's, at the time, I gave him the time of day. And I've rarely been disappointed since.
From 2002.
I have previously owned the entire Filth collection. When I purged a vast amount of my things two years ago, this and Supergods didn't survive, despite my professed great admiration for Grant Morrison. There are limits to everything. When I originally read the complete Filth, I was in a different place. I was still in the midst of figuring out what exactly it was I liked about Morrison. Turns out, I like it best when he's not trying so hard to be weird. Stuff like this and his current Nameless are definitely Morrison trying hard to be weird. And the thing about Filth is even when I reread this particular issue, I had some thoughts about what helped make it seem less like Morrison trying hard to be weird, but now I've forgotten. So again I'll walk away from it and not wonder whether I'm missing something crucial. I guess it's supposed to be social commentary, and not necessarily about, well, filth, and maybe how some people really do try too hard. And so maybe Morrison took on Filth in full irony. I think I read once that it is or was his personal favorite, and at one point I described it myself as possibly the Invisibles experience condensed...Still, obviously personally, I've backed off from it, and I think Morrison has done a lot of stuff since then that's far superior, not just Joe the Barbarian and Annihilator, but...I mean, even Seven Soldiers is in some ways Filth repackaged. Made better. Moving on...
From 1990.
It seems odd to think today that Hal Jordan ever had a problem being the headlining Green Lantern act. I mean, other than everyone who wants the cinematic Green Lantern to be John Stewart (mostly because of the animated Justice League adventures where he was). And yet there was a considerable period where Green Lantern had in fact been retitled Green Lantern Corps, and this particular reboot was all about Hal taking back the spotlight. It was also the debut of the white temple look, which Geoff Johns later retconned as the first indication of Parallax taking control. The Hal in this issue is drawn directly from the Green Lantern/Green Arrow era. I mean, Hal was regularly depicted as bucking authority and reluctant to be a good little Green Lantern, which was the whole reason Guy Gardner and John Stewart had rings to begin with, but this was making it not just a phase, but a defining part of his character. Sticking around, being Green Lantern, and still fretting about all that. And this was the beginning of the modern era, too. The franchise was in fact about to begin. Guy and John both got their own ongoing series before long, and they were in this issue to assert their continuing presence from the start. And to think, fifty issues in and everything would change...
From 1993.
I don't know who decided to begin a new Green Lantern on the heels of Superman's big death-and-return saga, but they were a genius. How often does that happen, linking one such event to another, however tangentially? Mongul and Cyborg Superman incidentally destroy Coast City at the end of "Reign of the Supermen," which is Hal's city, and it drops him off the deep end. In this issue, it looks like he might be able to get over it. He gets his revenge on Mongul, he's the one who gets to defeat the other major villain of the big Superman climax. And it still ends up resulting in "Emerald Twilight," the end of Green Lantern as it had existed as a property since the dawn of the Silver Age...and yeah, eventually, Hal's big redemption and the return of everything, supersized...But at this point, the next issue is the last Green Lantern/Green Arrow team-up (in its original combination; strangely even upon Hal's return it's never happened again). To me, this moment has always stood as about as iconic as "Emerald Twilight" itself. The original Green Lantern trade collections of that time never included it. There were separate "Emerald Twilight" and "New Dawn" (the start of the Kyle Rayner era), and then "Emerald Twilight"/"New Dawn" collections. And this major component of the story was left out. Every time. I don't know, did the "Reign of the Supermen" collections include it?
From 2009.
This is from the Tomasi/Gleason era that kicked off the series, the best non-Johns Green Lantern comics from that time, and enhanced in hindsight by their later collaboration in Batman and Robin, which was a definite amplification of their efforts. So good, in fact, that I tend to forget what their GLC was actually like, other than the distinctive presence of Soranik Natu (this issue she tries to erase her just as distinctive face tattoo because it's a constant reminder of her father...Sinestro). The Guardians are ramping up to going totally insane, executing bad guys, with the Corps somehow having a problem with that. But it's that cover that is the best thing about the issue. Not totally relevant to the contents, but it's strong Pat Gleason all the same, before Gleason truly came into his own (again, Batman and Robin). It's not my favorite cover from this selection of back issues, however. We'll get to that.
From 2007)
This was a part of the late Steve Gerber's last big project, an attempted reboot of Doctor Fate. Gerber's legacy will arguably always be Howard the Duck, which luckily these days once again means a good thing. I read the complete Helmet of Fate at the time of its original publication, so it was good to revisit. Zauriel was one of the less obscure characters featured in this kind of condensed Seven Soldiers (the issue recaps every other encounter to that point, which was actually the last before the intended big payoff). Zauriel was a Grant Morrison creation from the pages of JLA, a literal angel, a surrogate Hawkman (several reboot attempts from that period had soured that particular character, who would need a dramatic comeback within Geoff Johns' JSA in order to become relevant again), and his story is ably recapped in the issue as well. He got a new incarnation in the New 52 in the pages of Phantom Stranger, but it's not quite the same.
From 1994.
You know what's ironic? Every time I randomly come across a back issue of Invisibles, it's always from the Say You Want a Revolution collection, the first volume of the series. And that's awful, in a way, because Say You Want includes the most of what I've read from one of Grant Morrison's early seminal works. And darn it if I don't want to read something else from it!
Maybe there's a message in that?
In the meantime, I'll instead talk here about the On the Ledge feature in the back of the issue, the Vertigo press page that speaks about the Paradox Press experiment, which today is known, if for anything at all, for Road to Perdition, which later became a Tom Hanks movie. But this hype feature also references Jerome Charyn in Paradox Press's stable of writers. Years later, Charyn became a favorite writer of mine, and it amused me to learn that he sometimes dabbles in comics, and apparently, so I learned here, he was in fact part of the Paradox Press experiment. The result was published in 1995, Family Man. I will read that at some point.
From 1993.
This issue is the reason there are fans who think Bloodwynd was in fact Martian Manhunter all along. That's because at the end of the issue, that's exactly what it seems like. Apparently all those fans never read the next issue, which explains what's really going on (maybe comics just shouldn't try and confuse readers so often...). Bloodwynd's always been a favorite of mine. He's the Dan Jurgens creation not named Booster Gold, and for my mine, infinitely more fascinating. And yet he's got a scant publishing history, and it was Grant Morrison himself who explained why in the pages of Supergods, calling him a example of the worst the '90s had to offer. But then Morrison himself dragged Bloodwynd back into comics in the pages of The Multiversity.
And you want to know the saddest thing about Bloodwynd? This is his only spotlight cover, and you can't even see his face! Okay, that's a total lie. That face is splashed across Justice League America #88. But still! I've said all along, he's a great character. Time to help everyone else realize that, I say.
JLA Classified #45 (DC)
From 2007.
Speaking of Martian Manhunter, this is my favorite cover from this selection, and it was instantly one of my favorites at the time of its original publication, too. The contents are pretty good, part of the "Ghosts of Mars" arc that was part of the foundation of the character becoming one of my all-times favorites. The material at that time was the strongest in the character's history. And it's absolutely, so far as I'm concerned, the basis for the new ongoing series.
From 2005.
This is pretty far into Geoff Johns' JSA, but I figure if it's before the Justice Society of America reboot (where I read every issue), but it's a good issue to randomly read because it puts Stargirl, Courtney Whitmore, in the spotlight, who was also the first character Johns ever wrote for DC, in the pages of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. The issue, in fact, delves deeply into Stargirl's world, so it's almost a complete reprise/update of the prior series, so all around it's a nice one to have chosen (there were several others available), if not randomly sampling one of Johns' formative arcs (I've done that; it's not as easy to be satisfied that way) then to definitely catch it at its best.
From 1994.
One of my ambitions is to own the complete Stuart Immonen Superman. I'd planned to chronicle the run here at Comics Reader, but I don't have that kind of readership, alas. Anyway, Immonen made his mark at DC, originally, within the pages of Legion, and he was suited to that in the original clean look he had at this time in his career, before he talked himself, or allowed others to talk him, into a busier look. I sampled the Legion books (including Legionnaires) a lot during that time, and I'm certain now that I had this in my collection (until an earlier purge than the one referenced above), so I had already begun appreciating Immonen before I realized it. But I didn't stick around Legion, so I in fact officially discovered Immonen in the pages of Superman comics. Just so you don't wonder, I don't intend to track down the complete Immonen Legion, too...
From 1993.
One of the most famous comics of the '90s, this was also the epitome of Marvel's self-mythologizing, not just a character, but its entire line, the fictional version of Stan Lee, as it were. I've always wanted to read it. The first issue, it turns out, is not wildly impressive. Photographer Phil Sheldon is a wimpy lead character, not exactly the Norman McCay of Kingdom Come. Devised to be an everyman observing Marvel's giants from street level, Phil Sheldon is instead a Jimmy Olsen/Peter Parker who otherwise has nothing interesting going for him, just a random romance. Yes, there are three other issues to the story, but I'm not as interested, now, to read the rest of the story. The depictions of Namor, the Human Torch, and Captain America are a mixed bag. The Human Torch is easily the superhero who comes off best. But if later superheroes are treated more like Namor, who blows up the realism of the approach, it kind of ruins the concept. And anyway, it was as much if not more so the art of Alex Ross that made Marvels such a sensation.
Curiously, Marvels, other than the stories of mini-series of Jeph Loeb (incredibly, Captain America: White is finally, finally on the publishing schedule, with a September debut, after the preview released in...2008), remains the lone example of Marvel taking an actual sober approach to superheroes. Other than random issues of Ed Brubaker's Captain America, further examples just don't exist. And that's why I'm a DC guy.
From 2009.
Until Batman and Robin, this was my first indication that Peter Tomasi would be a truly exceptional writer. The Mighty is one of those rare creator-owned projects published under the DC banner (Chris Claremont's Sovereign Seven was another...and I can't think of a third), and it's also one of the best alternate Superman stories ever told. Curiously, at the time there was considerable competition. Mark Waid's Irredeemable was one, and The Life and Times of Savior 28, from J.M. DeMatteis, was the other. Yet The Mighty jumped out from the pack. There was talk of a movie adaptation. IDW later put out the trade collection. Turns out from this revisit, it really stands up. So next time I have an opportunity to pick up the complete collection, I just might...
From 1987.
This was the Manhunters event, the third big DC crossover event after Crisis On Infinite Earths and Legends. But as I now realize, maybe it was also an attempt to capitalize on the New Age guru sensation, because that's what's going on in this particular issue, and it confuses me, otherwise, a great deal, to see that going on in the middle of a big DC crossover event. And so even though it's the big Manhunters event that helped establish them, I've probably read about all I need to from it, I really have. Because it's baffling. I guess I perhaps should have known how confusing it was, because I already knew Millennium featured the big Manhunters story as a story of infiltration. Which otherwise, conceptually, makes little sense in Manhunters context.
From 2005.
As the title suggests, this is a Neil Gaiman story, actually an adaption of his first novel, the career shift that helped establish him as a cultural phenomenon. Comic books fans will always consider Gaiman's legacy unquestionably to be Sandman, but readers at large, and movie audiences, wouldn't know him unless he'd made the transition to prose. It wasn't until American Gods, arguably, that he had his true breakthrough. I remember when Neverwhere was released. I never got around to reading it myself, so I figured sampling the comic book adaption might give me an idea what it was like. And I guess it's really obvious that Gaiman hadn't yet shaken himself out of the comic book mode, because if this issue of this adaptation is any indication, he wasn't quite ready yet. It's too busy, too unfocused. The main character becomes lost in the shuffle. In Sandman, the main character was always lost in the shuffle, and in that context, it made absolute sense. But Gaiman eventually figured out that in books, the rules are different. Unless you've got something to say creatively. With Neverwhere, I don't think he did.
From 1998.
Starman is another thing I want to read in total at some point, ideally catching up with the rest of the omnibus collections (I've read the fifth volume) because James Robinson provides extensive commentaries in those. I picked this issue at random because it was a "Times Past" issue, so there was no chance of catching a story midstream, and because "Times Past," as well as the "Conversations with David" issues, was one of the best things about the series, the reasoning behind which is actually explain in this issue's letters column. Although of note is acknowledging original artist Tony Harris's departure from the series. He later collaborated with Brian K. Vaughan on Ex Machina, and Robinson managed to muscle his way through the rest of the series even though it got progressively less fun as, well, time passed. Because this issue also acknowledges the death of original editor and DC icon Archie Goodwin, who was also the reason the series happened at all. So this was an excellent random issue to sample.
From 1993.
From the Bloodlines event that attempted to present an entire new generation of superheroes, perhaps rightly criticized, so I later discovered, as trying desperately to cash in on the budding Image phenomenon. But I found a bunch of characters I loved from it, including Sparx, who would go on to costar in Superboy and the Ravers, one of my all-time favorite comic books. What's fascinating about Sparx, and was hardly capitalized on outside of this debut, is that she comes from a whole family of metahumans, who apparently needed to activate their powers (presumably no two alike). Donna Carol "D.C." Force somewhat rashly, along with the dubious consent of her Uncle Harry, chooses the alien parasites going around activating new superheroes during Bloodlines. Also in this issue is Superboy, and this is actually at the end of the "Reign of the Supermen," literally, apparently taking place just before the final battle with Cyborg Superman.
But as much as I love Sparx, the most amusing thing in this issue is an add for Zero Hour way, way in advance. I mean, Superboy didn't even have his own series yet, and Superboy #8 was released the month every DC title started interacting with the event. Moving on...
From 2006.
Wait, they sold me a FCBD release? Unscrupulous merchants! Actually, that's pretty common in the back issue trade, alas. Anyway, this is what is commonly considered one of Grant Morrison's definite works. And I liked it just fine at the time (in the annual QB50s, it went from 12 to 37 to 17 from 2006-2008, always playing second-fiddle to Geoff Johns' Action Comics, among other material).
What strikes me about it now, especially All Star Superman #5, which ties in with what I'll be talking about a few comics later (the last one, in fact, to assure you that this is not an infinite list of nonsense), is how Morrison handles the villain, who in this case is Lex Luthor. The whole idea behind All Star Superman was to create an iconic, and perhaps to say definitive, version of the Superman mythos. Which makes this Lex Luthor all the more interesting. This Lex is strictly interested in his Superman obsession because he sees himself as a world-conqueror Superman has blocked from fulfilling his ambitions. I'm not sure how I should feel about that. I like nuanced characters. I love Geoff Johns' Lex Luthor in the pages of Justice League. This is not that Lex. He's in fact about as brilliant as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's eponymous villain, with clear holes in his logic and not nearly as threatening as he seems. Which is to say, all bark and no bite. Where Morrison's Superman is meant to be exactly the all-powerful Superman that everyone has always the character is and therefore completely unrelatable...his Lex is in fact all but the exact opposite.
Which is actually kind of fascinating, when you think about it...I've never reread the complete All Star Superman. That could be interesting.
It's also worth noting that the issue also features a promo section for a WildStorm reboot, the one that Morrison was supposed to be a significant part of, writing both WildCATs and The Authority. I know Keith Giffen ended up writing the latter almost immediately. The WildCATs experiment was even more brief. I didn't even remember about that one. There was also a Garth Ennis Midnighter series. Which surprisingly didn't really catch on. You'd think it would somehow be completely natural. But this was pretty much the end of WildStorm, so maybe the whole thing fizzling out isn't so surprising after all.
From 2010.
This was one of Jeff Lemire's early signature works, along with the earlier Essex County. I remember when it launched, and it was impossible for me to think of it as anything other than the comic featuring the boy with the antlers. I never read it. Later, I finally did come to appreciate Lemire's brilliance (Descender), so I figured I'd finally sample Sweet Tooth. Turns out it's pretty interesting. Not having gotten into it originally, I really had no idea what the boy was doing having those antlers. Turns out it's a little like the second season of Dark Angel, a TV series I happen to love a great deal. I don't know if Lemire had Dark Angel in mind, or The Island of Dr. Moreau, or something else I don't currently know about. Either way, I guess this is to say, I really ought to read more Lemire.
From 2009.
Convergence brought back a lot of old concepts and eras, and I was happy to see Tangent Comics among them. This was an idea from the '90s that sought to recapture the feel of the dawn of the Silver Age (and, I guess, Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating...) by taking familiar names and reimagining them. I loved it. When it was revisited in the pages of Tangent: Superman's Reign, I loved it all over again, even though there was a significant attempt to broaden the appeal by bringing in the more familiar versions to sort everything out. Since the writer is Dan Jurgens, it features somewhat blunt storytelling, not exactly what you might have seen out of Tangent Superman in the pages of Convergence: The Flash (if you even knew clue one about Tangent Superman to begin with). I don't remember reading the conclusion to the mini-series originally. Although I didn't really miss much, other than the sacrifice of Tangent Batman. #sadpanda
From 2006.
Paul Cornell's Captain Britain and MI13 was one of the series that made me a fan of Marvel (the other was Incredible Hercules) for a few years, just something with a vibe I'd never seen from the company before. It made me an immediate fan of Cornell, who I was happy to later read within the pages of Action Comics and Knight & Squire, not to mention Saucer Country. Then he went back to things more British-centric, like Doctor Who. Wisdom, as in Pete Wisdom, was Captain Britain's predecessor, with a sterling reputation but otherwise something I knew nothing about. I assumed it was a story about Pete Wisdom. But as it turns out, it's basically as deliberate a predecessor to Captain Britain as you can get, the exact same approach with only a variation of the cast of characters. So I guess I didn't miss anything wildly different. The other notable thing about Wisdom is artist Trevor Hairsine, whom I later enjoyed in the pages of Divinity. That's worth noting about Wisdom.
From 2003.
And now we've reached the end. While discussing The Filth, I discussed that I have a more complicated history with Grant Morrison than it can sometimes seem. While discussing All Star Superman I was able to get into a little of how I don't necessarily always agree with his creative choices even when I don't find them particularly weird.
And here's where I concede a point to Marvel. Maybe they weren't wrong to retcon Morrison's X-Men run. This issue is late in the run and is just after Xorn, the mutant healer, was revealed to be Magneto all along. Morrison's Magneto is little different from Morrison's Lex Luthor. They're both evil. End of story. In fact, as of this issue Magneto has all but won. Like he does in Final Crisis, which is far different context but also wildly unpopular with fans, Morrison writes a story in which the bad guy manages to win. Whereas the story in comics never really advances, the X-Men in particular have tended to be stagnant (except when House of M forced them to advance to a more ludicrous point than even Morrison managed), so to see New X-Men reach a point like this must have been disconcerting to Marvel, not because Morrison revealed Xorn to be someone else all along, regardless of who that was, but because of what happened next.
Morrison's last X-Men arc was "Here Comes Tomorrow," his version of "Days of Future Past," presenting an outcome fraught with mutants everywhere. Yes, the mutants "win," but at great cost. This is the opposite of what he'd done with JLA, the model by which he'd been brought in with great fanfare. Except Morrison always goes for what he sees as the big picture, and his big picture is just about bigger than anyone's except maybe Geoff Johns. So having him do X-Men was probably a mistake to begin with, if Marvel wanted something more safe than it turned out to be.
And putting all that aside, back to Tony level, yes I had become a fan of Grant Morrison through JLA, like a lot of other fans, but when I had to break from comics at the start of the millennium, I found it difficult to get back into him, once I started reading again. I remember seeing New X-Men on the stands when I started wading back in 2004, and although I knew what was going on, I didn't want to read it. Even when Morrison helped kick off JLA Classified, I skipped that, too. I only came back with Seven Soldiers, and then in a very big way. Once I understood that Morrison's scope was bigger than anyone else's, at the time, I gave him the time of day. And I've rarely been disappointed since.
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