Secret Origins

Action Comics #0 (DC)
writer: Grant Morrison 
artist: Ben Oliver 
September marks DC's second ever Zero Month (the original being from 1994 in conjunction with Dan Jurgens' Zero Hour), and where else would I want to start but with Grant Morrison's Superman?  Since the launch of the New 52 a year ago, this has been the all-star of the crop, which is ironic, because of course Morrison also once gave us All Star Superman, which was as big-picture as the Man of Steel has ever gotten.  Action Comics has been small-picture from the start, a more intimate Superman than perhaps anyone not dealing almost exclusively with Clark Kent has ever gotten.  The redesign (two-fold in the New 52; the armor that the present version has, and the jeans-and-tee-shirt version in these pages, set five years in the past) has been a standout feature, and the origin of that t-shirt has been something Morrison has been teasing.  One of the things this issue does is settle that once and for all.  There's also the matter of the Kryptonian cape that's indestructible, and has also been a prominent element of the book.  It falls into the possession of a boy whose father has been terrorizing the family, and the effects are interesting enough.  But again, there's more to the issue!  The dynamic between Clark and Jimmy Olsen is another highlight.  (They're all highlights.)  The guest art of Ben Oliver (who's been crushing Batwing) is another.  The backup feature written by Sholly Fisch is another!  It's a riff on the Captain Comet story that Morrison has worked on previously, a secret origin that probably makes Captain Comet more interesting in a few pages than he's been in decades.  (Though one of the more memorable images from 52 involves him, though in pretty grim fashion.)

Cobra #16 (IDW)
writer: Mike Costa
artist: Antonio Fuso
I can never get over how awesome this book is.  It's been running for years, and has remained completely awesome, and redefined IDW's approach to the G.I. Joe franchise, and still doesn't have near the amount of awareness that it deserves.  It's awesome.  In the beginning, the focus was on a single Joe (Chuckles, in Chuckles' most relevant story ever) attempting to infiltrate the mysterious Cobra organization.  Recently the focus has shifted to the Joes working with Cobra defectors (some defecting a little more honestly than others).  It's a very post-9/11 approach to G.I. Joe.  Costa, who worked on Blackhawks for a few months and didn't do anything like his work here, has been one of the best writers of character in comics.  In this issue, he makes the mystique of Firefly pop off the page, and potentially another breakout personality to work with in the future.  The whole run has been filled with stuff like that.

Green Lantern #0 (DC)
writer: Geoff Johns
artist: Doug Mahnke
Speaking of the post-9/11 world, Geoff Johns gets to introduce his very own Earth Green Lantern this issue (has it really taken so long?!?) in the form of Simon Baz, who's in the midst of being mistaken for a terrorist when a green ring finds him in one of the most awkward pieces of timing ever.  It's hard to understand this development not being a bigger deal, though I guess Superman and Wonder Woman over in Justice League does tend to eclipse a lot of things (another Johns book, by the way).  Not only is it a huge twist in a series of huge twists in the Johns run on the franchise, but it's potentially the one with the longest-lasting effect (after all, each of the four previous humans to become Green Lantern are still running around, each of them decades old).  This is the equivalent of Brian Michael Bendis introducing a new Spider-Man.  This will be extremely interesting to follow in the coming months.  And there's also that whole Third Army business coming up!

Scalped #60 (Vertigo)
writer: Jason Aaron
artist: R.M. Guera
I haven't read this series in a couple years, but this being the final issue and all, the moment I learned the end was coming, I knew I was going to have to read it.  I actually had a conversation about it with the cashier at the store (I usually don't do that), who had never read Scalped.  I remarked that the end was about as inevitable as you can get in a story, something very bloody.  Inevitable in a good way, we both decided.  Dashiel Bad Horse in the lead character of the series, but the central figure of the issue is someone else, which is perfectly befitting of Aaron's style.  Jason Aaron has become a hotshot over at Marvel since he began working on Scalped, but aside from a short piece in a one-shot years ago, I've never found anything like the sheer amount of inspiration in his superhero work that he's consistently brought to one of the best comics of the past five years.  And just as I assumed, the issue was easy to appreciate and derive resolution from, even if I missed a good chunk of storyline.  Dash's story could easily continue, but Scalped has definitely concluded.

The Secret History of D.B. Cooper #s 4-5 (Oni)
writer/artist: Brian Churilla
Apparently these are the final issues of the book, depicting the inevitable conclusions of the first three, in which CIA agent D.B. Cooper is exposed for revealing secrets to the Soviet Union in his efforts to escape the program he's been blackmailed into continued participation in thanks to the kidnapping of his daughter, using an alternate dimension to carry out hits.  In that dimension, he's been hanging out with a teddy bear, and these issues reveal the bear's identity, as well as the fateful events that lead to the November 1971 plane incident that was only reported as a hijacking and dramatic escape by Cooper.  Yes, this is all fantasy, but Churilla handles it so brilliantly that you not only accept his conclusions as plausible, but invest it with real emotion.  Five issues is a pretty good haul for a small press book, but I would have loved to read this one for years.  It'll make a very nice trade collection for your bookshelf, though.

The Shade #12 (DC)
writer: James Robinson
artist: Gene Ha
The final issue of this series comes after a year's journey through the mind of experiences of a reformed villain who's lived centuries on the edge of ambiguity, and at last reveals his secret origin.  Perhaps not so surprisingly, it's more of that ambiguity, Richard Swift finding himself in a bad situation because of an ego that got out of control (which would explain why he's been so careful ever since, and is a rare villain who has managed to take himself out of that role).  Like D.B. Cooper and Scalped, there are obvious ways to keep the story going, but as far as the series go, it's the appropriate note to end on.  (Yes, it's odd in hindsight to have gotten all three issues at the same time, and coincidentally appropriate.)  James Robinson I hope has finally convinced some readers that his Starman reputation (for those who liked it; I received a comment from one visitor a while back that suggests not everyone shares it, and that's fine, too) isn't something that's been forsaken since that time.  He can still do that work.  It can sometimes be baffling when a creator does a different kind of story than what their fans know them for, but that doesn't mean the creator has suddenly lost the ability to do the work those fans recognize.  The Shade is in fact different from Starman, too, more intimate, more studied (though those are the very terms that fans of the latter would cling to; I'd use "legacy" and "expansive").  The resulting collection, with its various artists, may prove quite interesting to read.

Thanos Quest (Marvel)
writer: Jim Starlin
artist: Ron Lim
I must admit, my favorite part from this summer's The Avengers remains the big reveal in the credits of Thanos, the rock-jawed Titan whom some comic book fans might mistake for Darkseid (hey, it could happen!), star of the crossover events Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War.  This book is a reprint prequel, revealing how Thanos acquired the Infinity Gems, basically talismans of power that fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine might find similar to the Orbs of the Prophets, in his efforts to woo Death.  To my mind, Thanos is easily the most fascinating character in all of Marvel, and Thanos Quest helps make that point.  He's Jim Starlin's baby, and I'm not sure Starlin has ever found a worthier subject for his talents.  This is classic, epic material.  Why Marvel's summer event involves the Phoenix rather than Thanos can only be considered baffling.  Did the company not know what Joss Whedon was planning?  Thanos is used so sparingly, though, and maybe that's what helps him keep his appeal.  But I'd seriously wonder if the House of Ideas still didn't have something for him by next year.

Have Muse, Will Travel

Baby did a bad, bad thing.  See, I was about town when I discovered there’s a new comics shop in Colorado Springs, called Muse.  It carries a wide assortment of titles and keeps older issues around for continuing titles.  See, this is bad because I had a chance to catch up with some stuff I’ve missed recently.  I quite reading new comics last year because I am not, as they say, flush with cash, and since I lost my job recently, I really ought to have repeat that feat, not gotten a bunch more comics…But I’m an idiot savant (or perhaps just an idiot), so I told myself, These are good stories and need to be read.  And so I listened to myself and here’s what I got:

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #s 6-8 (DC)

Readers of this blog may know that I have a soft spot for the Challengers of the Unknown, basically the DC equivalent of the Fantastic Four without fancy powers, who’ve gone through a number of incarnations the past few decades (including the excellent and seminal Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale version depicted in THE CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE!, and a Howard Chaykin cycle that’s very Howard Chaykinian), so when I first heard of the New 52 anthology title doing a Challengers story, I worried that I’d miss out, because Heroes & Dragons does not carry the entire New 52.  Muse corrected that but good, having the complete arc (which like I said is par for the course).  This version postulates the team as stars of a reality adventure show (playing fast and loose with the concept), but otherwise keeps the concept of risk-takers living on borrowed time intact (even if many of them actually die in the story), and to my mind is a worthy take on the team.  It reads as incredibly self-contained, in case you were wondering, which is only natural for a concept that has existed since 1957 but has never been popular, making every appearance special and finite.

THE LABYRINTH: A TALE OF JORGE LUIS BORGES/NEPOTISM (Spleenland)

Muse also had a small selection of local work, which is always nice.  This one was published in 2003, and comes from the mind of Geoffrey Hawley, reading like one of the best independent comics no one ever read, which is a shame.  The lead story is based on writer Jorge Luis Borges, a philosophical kind of guy, and is like a cross between Fred Van Lente and Jeff Smith.  There are a couple of shorter works as well, and they’re fine, but the lead story is the best thing here, easily.  

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1 (DC)

The first issue of the series was always a curiosity for me, considering that’s when the Starfire controversy that still dominates its reputation came from.  It’s actually interesting, because Starfire receives a soft reboot in the story, revealed as having a short memory, basically, which explains at least why she’s ignored Dick Grayson since almost marrying him (but still doesn’t explain Dick’s silence on the matter since that time).  The issue actually revolves around Roy Harper, and Jason Todd’s rescue of him, which explains why they hang out now.  And anyway, I love this book, and it was just nice to see how it started.  I recently learned that Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort are taking over SUPERMAN, which might be what I need to finally read an issue of that series in the New 52.

THE SECRET HISTORY OF D.B. COOPER #s 1-3 (Oni)

I’ve got a couple of biographies waiting in development at Bluewater Press, and I mentioned that I was interested in doing something with D.B. Cooper, and although I didn’t received a favorable response on that, I was a little chagrined to learn of the existence of a series called THE SECRET HISTORY OF D.B. COOPER not so long after.  I mean, what are the chances that D.B. Cooper will have two comic books, much less one, on the stands at the same time?  Cooper famously hijacked a plane in the ’70s and got away.  I figured it’d be interesting to provide an account of the search for this bogeyman.  SECRET HISTORY is about an alternate explanation for why he’s been so elusive for forty years.  Stop me if you’ve heard this one, Chuck Barris.  It postulates that he’s an agent of the C.I.A. whose career as an assassin is aided by access to a pocket dimension where he uses a sword and fights monsters that are analogies for his targets.  The creator is Brian Churilla, whom I first encountered as artist of THE ANCHOR, which is almost exactly this book, but not as awesome.  I thought THE ANCHOR was awesome, by the way.  It was written by Phil Hester, one of my favorite comic book creators (though he doesn’t seem to get a lot of respect otherwise).  So I knew what SECRET HISTORY would look like, but I had no idea how it would actually read.  It’s like a mix between AWAKE, the short-lived TV series about a man living parallel lives, and THE ANCHOR (which I’ve already alluded to, and is only appropriate).  And it’s absolutely brilliant, richly layered and featuring a teddy bear as Cooper’s main companion.  It has quickly vaulted into my favorite books of 2012.

THE SHADE #s 5-7 (DC)

That makes twice this year I’ve miraculously been able to catch up with this series, which inexplicably has been all but ignored by pretty much everyone, even though it’s James Robinson at his finest.  Featuring a supporting character from Robinson’s STARMAN, the basic story is about trying to figure out who tried to kill The Shade, and why.  So far it’s caused a lot of introspection and revisiting of his history (and just begging anyone to care enough so we can read this as an ongoing series), and in these three issues a visit with Spanish heroine La Sangre, a vampire caught in the midst of an epic feud with the Inquisitor, with his own rich history.  This whole story is steeped in history, and maybe I love it because I love stuff like this and maybe not a lot of other people do, but I love depth in comics, and that’s what THE SHADE is all about.  These are the best issues so far, too, and that was a treat to discover, and what makes it all the more wickedly fantastic that I was able to catch them.  Our antihero would approve.

THE TWELVE #s 9 & 11 (Marvel)

The interval years since the first eight and then the last four issues meant fans of this J. Michael Straczynski/Chris Weston mini-series that reads like a modern WATCHMEN means that anyone who wasn’t already thinking about it was forced to do exactly that, especially now that BEFORE WATCHMEN has come upon us.  A comic book that seeks to explore the origins and motivations of superheroes cannot help but have comparisons to WATCHMEN, even if Alan Moore’s legacy became about deconstructing superheroes rather than building them up.  THE TWELVE doesn’t deconstruct or build anyone up.  It’s a version of the Captain America story where twelve heroes were put into cryogenic suspension in WWII and then reawaken in 2008.  It’s a story about generations, but really the changing of social mores and the ability to remain relevant, to understand oneself (very few of the characters in WATCHMEN seemed interested in that, but most of them thought they did).  Straczynski isn’t interested in creating individual narratives so much as weaving a tapestry.  I suspect the whole thing reads better in one sitting, but it also reads well in single issues, and that’s most of the point, that these are characters who figure things out in increments.  Both WATCHMEN and THE TWELVE have a thru-line of a character being revealed as murdered (the Comedian and Blue Blade, respectively) and then trying to figure out the who and the why.  Both stories are then about figuring out how the resulting revelation explains everything.  THE TWELVE has a couple of happy endings, where things end badly for just about everyone in WATCHMEN, where the illusion of control is key.  THE TWELVE is about the lack of control, and whether one can find peace with that.  Each character has some kind of reckoning with that.  You don’t need to know or care about WATCHMEN to enjoy THE TWELVE, by the way.  But it doesn’t hurt to love comic books, and good storytelling.