Amidst the eternal partisan bickering between DC and Marvel fans is the debate about which company has amassed a greater legacy. Marvel fans are cocky about the fact that they’ve had the superior sales number for years now, and can point to a remarkably consistent continuity dating back to the dawn of the Marvel Age in the 1960s as proof. DC can still argue that it’s been around longer, and that Batman and Superman are still more iconic than Spider-Man and the X-Men.
Me, I still like to talk in derivatives. Deadpool, the wisecracking “Merc with a Mouth,” is in some respects the mutant version of Spidey (as if the mask isn’t, well, a dead giveaway), who is in many ways a knockoff of Robin, the Boy Wonder sidekick of Batman introduced decades earlier. Robin is also known as Dick Grayson, who in later years evolved into the character known as Nightwing (who has just completed a second and very successful run as a replacement Batman, thank you very much). The one thing, beyond smart aleck humor, that Spidey and Dickey have in common is that they were both originally intended to be reader surrogates, someone young fans could identify with. Both have gone a long way toward growing up, however, and much as the median age of fans has gone up, so too has the base age of Misters Parker and Grayson.
When Mark Waid envisioned the future of the DC Universe, he paired Grayson with his sometime Teen Titans love Starfire, and even gave them an offspring, who looked a lot like mommy and went by the name Nightstar in her own crime-fighting career. When he revisited the Kingdom in 1998, he made it a point to spend some time with young Nightstar. I’ll begin this column’s issue commentary with a few of these KINGDOM spotlight spinoffs, more comics I caught up with years later…
THE KINGDOM: SON OF THE BAT (DC)
From February 1999.
Waid had no idea that his seminal KINGDOM COME would not actually endure as a symbol of DC’s future. How could he? When Magog finally appeared in regular continuity and actually got his own ongoing series, fans responded with apathy. What’s more, Grant Morrison decided to capitalize on the obscure scion of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, daughter of the Demon, Ra’s al Ghul, reshaping him as Damian and the other star in BATMAN AND ROBIN (along with…Dick Grayson!). Waid had previously fashioned the youngster as Ibn al Xu’ffasch, which very cleverly translated as, well, “Son of the Bat,” but…didn’t necessarily roll off the tongue. Still, as Waid envisioned him, his future was bright indeed. He was indeed the heir apparent, but he couldn’t quite figure out, even as an adult, to which legacy, to his father, or perhaps to his grandfather. What’s more, he carries on a romance with Nightstar. Egad, could this dude’s life be any more complicated?
THE KINGDOM: NIGHTSTAR (DC)
From February 1999.
Hah! Ibn, you have it so easy! The daughter of Dick Grayson and Starfire is even more angst-ridden! She’s haunted by the legacy of death her family seems to dwell in, constantly fearful that she, too, will lose her parents. (Still, she’s got great genes!) Moreso than with Ibn or any other legacy of KINGDOM COME, Nightstar represents an organic continuation of DC continuity, at least as far as the New Teen Titans go (Dick has since been better linked to Babs Gordon, the once and future Batgirl, naturally), and as such, always stood as the most likely of any future comics prognostications to actually happen (I’m looking at you, Marvel 2099, though unlike virtually everyone else by the end of that extended experiment, I actually enjoyed it more than its more contemporary counterparts). Needless to say, I’d read an ongoing Nightstar series, even today. For anyone who isn’t strictly interested in THE KINGDOM and its obsolete Hypertime outcome, this is something you can still easily read and enjoy. (For anyone who actually is, you’ll find a whole alternate explanation to the origin of Magog, including just who Gog is, which conflicts with the one Geoff Johns later established in the pages of JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA. But, after all, this was originally Waid’s tale.)
THE KINGDOM: KID FLASH (DC)
From February 1999.
The Flash was surprisingly tangential to the overall story in KINGDOM COME, despite the fact that Mark Waid was at the time best known for writing the continuing legacy of the speedster (it was even unclear whether the Mercury-esque figure he and Alex Ross depicted in the 1996 mini-series was Wally West or Jay Garrick). He seemed to make up for that when he got around to THE KINGDOM, and specifically this one-shot, which now stands like a lost gem in the Mark Waid/Flash firmament. Kid Flash in this instance is Iris West, the daughter of Wally West, who has a brother named Barry who’s perpetually disgruntled over the lack of affection they’d gotten from their father, and has rejected the chance to inherit the mantle. Not that Wally has stopped running. In fact, that’s all he ever does, to the point that he’s completely overlooked his daughter’s eagerness to follow in his footsteps (hah!). This whole issue is about Iris trying to get through to him, like a microcosm of Waid’s efforts to establish Wally’s own credentials in the regular FLASH series. As comics fans of 2011 know, Waid did eventually write about Wally West and his two children, but sort of like the immediate follow-up to KINGDOM COME, he was met mostly with disinterest. Funny how things sometimes work out.
One of the themes I routinely return to in this blog is the great exodus I undertook from comics reading in 1999, and how that has regularly provided me with material to revisit for the first time. In some respects, the KINGDOM comics I just wrote about were part of the run-up to this event (Countdown to Schism!), since although I was certainly interested in what Mark Waid had to say about the further adventures of his seminal KINGDOM COME work, I didn’t have the money to read all of them on original release. As I’ve suggested this column, Nightwing/Dick Grayson has been a character I’ve followed throughout my comics experience. His attainment of an ongoing series in 1996 was one of the most important developments of that experience, and something I necessarily had to try and forget when I stopped reading. Nightwing was hot for a short period following the debut of that series, but he was never going to be someone, say in the pages of Wizard magazine, fans in general would breathlessly await the latest storylines concerning. He was always going to play second-fiddle to those he most closely resembled: Batman, Spider-Man, even Daredevil. Aside from the fact that he used to be Robin, Dick just wasn’t in himself an icon. That helped make it easy for Dan DiDio to at one point consider him possible cannon fodder during INFINITE CRISIS. (No, seriously!)
Still, Nightwing comics kept getting written. Chuck Dixon had launched NIGHTWING as writer, and was still at it three years later, and wouldn’t leave the book until 2002. His successor, Devin K. Grayson, was still at it by the time I came back in 2005, but had run afoul of the fans by apparently emasculating Dick in her Tarantula storyline. Anyway, here’re some comics from the limbo period I eventually tracked down:
NIGHTWING: OUR WORLDS AT WAR (DC)
From September 2001.
OUR WORLDS AT WAR was an otherwise forgotten crossover event that symbolized the kind of comics DC was attempting to make at the time, that broke all the rules the previous decade had established, thereby theoretically making it safe for new fans, made famous by the black background amended to Superman’s famous shield, and the incidental timing of the fallout issue released soon after 9/11. Nightwing got his own spotlight special, written by Dixon, in which Dick and Barbara Gordon become entangled in a mostly unrelated plot filled with mind-bending time-travel. See what I mean about Starfire?
NIGHTWING #65 (DC)
From March 2002.
Dixon’s still writing, sharing the Dick Grayson spotlight with the “Bruce Wayne: Murderer?” crossover event, one that’s been completely forgotten. Completely miring these efforts is artist Trevor McCarthy, whose cartoony style is a worthy successor to Scott McDaniel and precursor to Phil Hester, at least as far as the Nightwing sequences go, but is completely out of place otherwise. I’m reminded, however, that it was as much letterer John Costanza as Dixon and McDaniel who set the tone for the series, whose style Willie Schubert continues to evoke this issue.
NIGHTWING #69 (DC)
From July 2002.
Dixon has a different artist this issue (William Rosado, for the record), but is still hip-deep in crossover, this time “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive” (of course it’s related to the other one, silly). It’s actually Dixon’s penultimate issue on the book, before his “Nightwing: Year One” arc some thirty issues later.
NIGHTWING #71 (DC)
From September 2002.
Devin Grayson’s debut! Having previously written a Nightwing/Huntress mini-series, not to mention the BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS ongoing title, Devin wasn’t a completely unknown commodity, but judging from letters column comments, she wasn’t an entirely trusted one, either (must have made the backlash all that much easier). I will go on record as saying I probably prefer Devin Grayson’s Nightwing work to just about any other run, including Chuck Dixon’s, which had previously set the standard (and was probably Dixon’s best work).
NIGHTWING #96 (DC)
From October 2004.
Well into Devin’s run, the offending event has already taken place, Tarantula has killed Blockbuster, and everyone’s primed for the big NIGHTWING #100 (which I did get to read upon release!). Serialized comics storytelling just doesn’t get any better than Devin’s Dick Grayson, especially how she managed to so easily transition Dixon’s work into a crescendo that eventually saw Dick “mobbed up” (how these comics have never been collected is one of modern comics’ biggest crimes) and witness to the destruction of his adopted (if horribly named) hometown during INFINITE CRISIS.
NIGHTWING #150 (DC)
From January 2009.
From Grayson there was a succession of writers, including Bruce Jones (never got a chance to find his groove), Marv Wolfman (actually did some interesting things), and Peter Tomasi, who had the chance to illustrate the transition from Nightwing to Batman, as this issue helps explain. This is not, however, the last issue of the series. That bugger proved to be a hell of a challenge to find. At the time, I had just lost Heroes & Dragons as my regular comics supplier, and had not yet chosen Midtown-online as its replacement. I relied instead on a combination of trips to Escape Velocity (never a strictly regular occurrence) and my friend Daniel to stay on top of “Batman R.I.P.,” by far the most important event from that period. I remained obsessed with reading the final NIGHTWING for the next several years. I already had this one.
I have other Nightwing adventures to write about in later editions of Quarter Bin, including, yes, the holy grail I’d sought for so long...
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Knight and Squire and Zombies!
Let me just state for the record that I loved CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13. That being said, I kind of prefer Paul Cornell being a DC writer.
While most readers who’ve followed him since the switch know Cornell for his Lex Luthor arc in ACTION COMICS, there was also KNIGHT AND SQUIRE, based on characters created by Grant Morrison, seen previously in the Club of Heroes and, believe it or not, the Ultramarine Corps (actually having made their debut in 1999’s JLA #26 as one-page replacement members). One of the original international Batmen, Knight now has the distinction of being a de facto charter member of Batman, Inc., and with the imminent debut of BATWING, officially the first of them to have his own book.
KNIGHT AND SQUIRE was a six issue mini-series that straddled 2010 and 2011, and as such bumped into the comics partition I’ve valiantly attempted to enforce this year. I caught a few issues here and there, but always knew this would be something that would be a natural addition to my trade collection. Cornell obviously had a blast writing it, and was granted liberties not usually available to comics creators, including the chance to totally immerse himself in an outright British style, which happened to necessitate a running commentary/translation at the end of every issue, in which he explained the origins of characters and phrases as they related to British history and pop culture. I’m a sucker for extras, which is just another reason I’m glad the letters column has been reinstated as an institution, but any time a creator actually has the space to talk about their project (early issues of AIR allowed G. Willow Wilson essay space; James Robinson got to talk about the characters he’d chosen in JUSTICE LEAGUE: A CRY FOR JUSTICE), I feel a little more included.
The book itself is jokey, but it also takes itself seriously, and comes off feeling like a giant tease for a greater comic detailing a whole comics line, really, of the characters Cornell ends up chronicling (in many ways, almost like [forty-five], Andi Ewington’s innovative graphic novel). Knight and Squire, obviously, are a British Batman and Robin, but there’s also Jarvis Poker, the British Joker, whose role increases dramatically as the story progresses (eventually involving the Joker himself); Hank the Incredibly American Butler; the Time in a Bottle enchanted pub where heroes and villains can interact peacefully; the resurrected Richard III; and many other amusing details. The fact that Cornell was allowed to write this book is just another testament to the creative freedom available at DC. His work on CAPTAIN BRITAIN was easily one of my favorite Marvel projects, but it always felt a little hamstrung. Combined with his expansive work on ACTION COMICS, with KNIGHT AND SQUIRE Cornell has easily demonstrated himself to be one of the most inspired writers in comics today, and has two New 52 books (DEMON KNIGHTS and STORMWATCH, both of which seem like DC versions of CAPTAIN BRITAIN) to prove the company’s continued interest in him.
For the record, the trade collection does feel the need to tack on “Batman” to the title, even though the mini-series got off without it. If you feel you need any such excuses, I won’t get in your way, but you’d be doing yourself a favor catching this one. Cornell, it should be noted, is ably assisted by artist Jimmy Broxton, who also contributes to the reprinted extras pages with amusing fake ads for such products and services as Mad Hat Harry’s Felons of High Barnet and Hexo Magic Seasoning. You’ll just have to read it to get it, I guess…
While most readers who’ve followed him since the switch know Cornell for his Lex Luthor arc in ACTION COMICS, there was also KNIGHT AND SQUIRE, based on characters created by Grant Morrison, seen previously in the Club of Heroes and, believe it or not, the Ultramarine Corps (actually having made their debut in 1999’s JLA #26 as one-page replacement members). One of the original international Batmen, Knight now has the distinction of being a de facto charter member of Batman, Inc., and with the imminent debut of BATWING, officially the first of them to have his own book.
KNIGHT AND SQUIRE was a six issue mini-series that straddled 2010 and 2011, and as such bumped into the comics partition I’ve valiantly attempted to enforce this year. I caught a few issues here and there, but always knew this would be something that would be a natural addition to my trade collection. Cornell obviously had a blast writing it, and was granted liberties not usually available to comics creators, including the chance to totally immerse himself in an outright British style, which happened to necessitate a running commentary/translation at the end of every issue, in which he explained the origins of characters and phrases as they related to British history and pop culture. I’m a sucker for extras, which is just another reason I’m glad the letters column has been reinstated as an institution, but any time a creator actually has the space to talk about their project (early issues of AIR allowed G. Willow Wilson essay space; James Robinson got to talk about the characters he’d chosen in JUSTICE LEAGUE: A CRY FOR JUSTICE), I feel a little more included.
The book itself is jokey, but it also takes itself seriously, and comes off feeling like a giant tease for a greater comic detailing a whole comics line, really, of the characters Cornell ends up chronicling (in many ways, almost like [forty-five], Andi Ewington’s innovative graphic novel). Knight and Squire, obviously, are a British Batman and Robin, but there’s also Jarvis Poker, the British Joker, whose role increases dramatically as the story progresses (eventually involving the Joker himself); Hank the Incredibly American Butler; the Time in a Bottle enchanted pub where heroes and villains can interact peacefully; the resurrected Richard III; and many other amusing details. The fact that Cornell was allowed to write this book is just another testament to the creative freedom available at DC. His work on CAPTAIN BRITAIN was easily one of my favorite Marvel projects, but it always felt a little hamstrung. Combined with his expansive work on ACTION COMICS, with KNIGHT AND SQUIRE Cornell has easily demonstrated himself to be one of the most inspired writers in comics today, and has two New 52 books (DEMON KNIGHTS and STORMWATCH, both of which seem like DC versions of CAPTAIN BRITAIN) to prove the company’s continued interest in him.
For the record, the trade collection does feel the need to tack on “Batman” to the title, even though the mini-series got off without it. If you feel you need any such excuses, I won’t get in your way, but you’d be doing yourself a favor catching this one. Cornell, it should be noted, is ably assisted by artist Jimmy Broxton, who also contributes to the reprinted extras pages with amusing fake ads for such products and services as Mad Hat Harry’s Felons of High Barnet and Hexo Magic Seasoning. You’ll just have to read it to get it, I guess…
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Quarter Bin #16/the life story of the Flash
On this special occasion, this flashpoint, I’m bending the rules a little, talking about back issues and new comics at the same time, and while the New 52 is technically the impetus, the subject, once again, is really Geoff Johns, a man whose impact on comics is still only emerging.
The Quarter Bin contribution (which for the record actually set me back two bucks in this particular instance) is AVENGERS #58 (473) from November 2002, as well as STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E. #12 from July 2000. These are among his earliest notable titles, relatively speaking (Johns actually began writing comics in 1999), but both adequately demonstrate the penchant he’d pursue into 2011. As I’ve detailed previously, I was not actively reading comics during this period, so early Geoff Johns has always been something of a wash for me. I wasn’t even totally sold on him after GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH, so what exactly am I supposed to say I know?
STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E. is the first ongoing series Johns launched, a sort of pastiche to the Golden Age that dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st century, updating a couple of obscure characters who might otherwise have deserved to be consigned to comics limbo. Combined with the relaunch of the Justice Society, STARS was an indication that Geoff had no qualms looking to the past for inspiration, even if he wasn’t slavishly devoted to the specifics of what he looked at. By the time he worked for Marvel, however, I had a much different impression of what kind of creator he actually was.
In short, there was one particular moment that got noticed by the Internet community circa 2003, and if you know what I’m talking about, great, because otherwise I don’t want to confuse the matter here. Suffice it to say, but my first real impression of Geoff Johns boiled down to the opinion that he was a new breed of writer that equated salacious and immature material as an appropriate way to write modern comics. I’ve never been much of a Marvel fan (though I’ve worked on that in recent years), and so combined with the fact that I wasn’t actually reading comics at the time, I took it for granted that this was still the case, and that I wanted nothing to do with the career of Geoff Johns.
All of this is to say, at least in the case of AVENGERS #58, I probably couldn’t have been farther from the mark. Even with the big movie and all the momentum headed into next summer, I will probably never be much of an Avengers fan (a bad experience with a much-hyped Kurt Busiek relaunch probably didn’t help), but I know enough about the team and its importance to Marvel lore (especially under the auspices of Brian Michael Bendis, who’s done everything in his power to elevate the team to the level of the X-Men franchise). There’s definitely a core team of all-star Avengers, but most of its membership seems to have consisted of the same general mediocrity that the Justice League regularly devolves into, despite the perennial efforts to concentrate on the heavy hitters.
Periodically, the Avengers get that same kind of treatment (now would not be one of those times, since everyone and their mother has been a member in the modern era of one incarnation or another). At least as far as my impression of AVENGERS #58 and Geoff’s overall ambitions seem to have been, it would seem Geoff Johns was very much a proponent of the all-star iteration. This particular comic is part of a greater epic which sees the world on the brink of a fantastic crisis, with the team called on to lead the world in a very overt manner, with most of the onus falling on Captain America, something he seems incredibly reluctant about (in fact, prior to Ed Brubaker, Steve Rogers was very much a Hal Jordan kind of guy, bucking authority; CIVIL WAR was his last great, or perhaps greatest, moment in that regard).
It makes me wonder what kind of impact Geoff might have had at Marvel if he’d made a stronger commitment. Don’t get me wrong; I’m extremely glad that he’s basically become the face of DC. The thing is, his departure from the House of Ideas left the door open for Bendis to swoop in and assume control of the Avengers, which has become a series of crossover events that have arguably done nothing but weaken the concept of the Avengers Geoff apparently worked hard to strengthen, including the moment I will continually refer to as the most infamous moment of modern comics, “No more mutants,” the most gratuitous and backward development that still has yet to be untangled (and even the Young Avengers’ efforts in that regard has since been overlooked, since Bendis has done such a great job of obscuring the message).
I’m not here to argue the top writer between DC and Marvel. I’m not a Marvel guy, so maybe Brian Bendis really is awesome, and his work is worthy of being at the forefront of the industry’s top publisher. All I know for sure is, I infinitely prefer Geoff Johns, and I have new reasons every year to affirm that belief. FLASHPOINT has lately confirmed it all over again.
As with any success story, there’s always a backlash that seeks to undermine that popular by saying it’s not actually earned (and so, you might say, my opinion of Bendis). The critics will say Johns milks Silver Age nostalgia, and writes in generalities, barely covering the minimum requirements for storytelling by glossing biographical material for entire issues at a time. To me, that kind of writing is endlessly fascinating. Any writer who can get inside the head of a fictional character has more than done their job by my book. I don’t just want to follow a lot of action, or some twisting adventure. I don’t care if I’m reading something I’m infinitely familiar with, or something brand-new. It takes a great fool to imagine something new, after all, but a greater fool not to acknowledge something that already exists.
FLASHPOINT, ultimately, isn’t really about some flashy event with an alternate reality or launching some bold new era, but rather the culmination of the story Geoff has been telling with Barry Allen since FLASH: REBIRTH. Where most fans saw only a character who’d met a noble end two decades ago, a favorite member of a distinguished superhero lineage, Geoff saw potential. He didn’t just see the man who’d idolized Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, but a figure who could live out the fantasy so many other comic book superheroes could never touch, someone who could revisit the greatest tragedy of his past, and find out the consequences of interfering.
I honestly don’t know if the death of his mother was a touchstone event for Barry prior to Geoff Johns, because the reference material I have readily available doesn’t even mention it, but that’s what Geoff has been meditating on since Barry’s return, his extreme guilt, and incredible rage upon learning the truth, that it was his mortal enemy, the Reverse Flash, who caused it. No other writer has shaped a whole crossover event on such a personal story, and stuck with it (there was Hal Jordan’s insane quest in ZERO HOUR, and the Scarlet Witch in HOUSE OF M, but mostly, it’s usually just everyone reacting against some inciting event). I would argue that FLASHPOINT #5 is ultimately the most emotionally satisfying denouement for such an event.
I’ve been seeing a parallel with the TV show FRINGE throughout FLASHPOINT, perhaps even its very nature (as Barry and Thomas Wayne would themselves argue, given the chance), and for this, this is a very good thing. A great story will always take inspiration from the most appropriate sources, no matter the original medium. FLASHPOINT is a different kind of comics event because it tells a different kind of story, and without Geoff Johns, that wouldn’t have been possible. He understood that Barry Allen had at least one other great story in him, and it had nothing to do with all the things others had previously believed were obvious. He took a look at Barry himself, and never looked back.
The more I read FLASHPOINT, the more I realized I would have to read the whole thing. I really wasn’t supposed to. As I’ve been trying to make clear throughout the year, 2011 is supposed to represent a break in reading comics for me. I’ve come to blame FLASHPOINT for the zip line that has strung me along the last few months. I know the New 52 is upon us, but in many ways, I’ve now reached the break line (if I can manage it). Barry’s back in the blocks. Here’s the rest of the stuff I should not have bought:
MYTHICA
This is a “rough cut” preview for a local indy project Escape Velocity had on display on its counter, from the mind of Matt Campbell. Its concept is actually not that bad, but I worry that Matt might be confusing the actual storytelling with a more generic adventure narrative than he really needs. Anyway, worth a look.
RETROACTIVE 1990s – GREEN LANTERN (DC)
Ron Marz and Darryl Banks back together is a reunion I’m very happy to experience, even if it’s patently nostalgic. Kyle Rayner very much became my Green Lantern, and this is the team that helped make that possible. Coupled with a flashback to Kyle’s relationship with Donna Troy (how’s it she has never had her own series?), one of his many failed relationships (which also include Jade and Soranik Natu). Even the cover was absolutely classic!
RETROACTIVE 1990s – THE FLASH (DC)
Brian Augustyn, who was a regular collaborator on the book during the decade, was tapped for this one mostly because Mark Waid is engaged elsewhere these days, but this is an interesting look at what he might have done on his own (then again, my blackout from just about the end of that period might have overlooked Brian’s brief solo run, apparently alluded to in a note). There’s also a Mark Millar flashback, for the record.
RETROACTIVE 1990s – SUPERMAN (DC)
I couldn’t possibly be happier that the SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL team of Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, rather than Dan Jurgens (who otherwise would have been the obvious choice) was tapped for this one. I always felt they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. This tale more than demonstrates that neither has lost a step. How about a comeback?
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 (DC)
The book I’ve been calling a de facto All Star series was not a disappointment, and hey, is also written by Geoff Johns, featuring Jim Lee on art. A sort of answer to Lee’s more official All Star effort with Frank Miller, we get to enjoy the often-overlooked dynamic between Batman and Hal Jordan (with some terrific insights, I might add), plus the reintroduction of Cyborg, Vic Stone, whom Johns has been itching to use more extensively for a while (if the FLASH OMNIBUS was any indication), and a really unusual look at Superman, too. I may have to officially call this a can’t-miss book.
RETROACTIVE 1990s – JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA (DC)
The infamous team of Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire is back together again! (Remember all the nostalgia tours last decade?) Also, please note Multi-Man, also seen in CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE!
RETROACTIVE 1980s – SUPERMAN (DC)
I was extremely confused why a bunch of ’90s elements were featured in this one, until I actually read it. Pretty clever, Marv Wolfman (though, really, who would argue that John Byrne didn’t deserve this one?). I’d been avoiding the older decades in these retro specials mostly because I was less familiar with them (and thus reading them would have been less enjoyable), but that was a clever ploy to trick me into this one, I must admit. Worth it.
FLASHPOINT – ABIN SUR: THE GREEN LANTERN #3 of 3 (DC)
I don’t know much the conclusions to these individual books will affect the New 52, but wouldn’t it be awesome if White Lantern Abin Sur actually did pop up?
FLASHPOINT – DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #3 of 3 (DC)
I love the conclusion to this one, just so horribly appropriate.
FLASHPOINT – CITIZEN COLD #3 of 3 (DC)
As the event itself progressed, it became easy for me to forget that Cold was originally one of my motivating factors to be interested, because Geoff spent almost his exclusive focus in the main book on Barry Allen, with most of the rest on Thomas Wayne (which again, made that ending so powerful). Not surprisingly, our good Citizen doesn’t get away with his deception, but reading a Rogues book is always fun. Shouldn’t there be an ongoing by now?
FLASHPOINT – HAL JORDAN #3 of 3 (DC)
What a poignant and tragic ending. That was another benefit, for sure. I didn’t read the Wonder Woman or Aquaman titles, but I have to figure theirs were appropriate, too. I took a look at the conclusion to PROJECT SUPERMAN, and that one had a similar conclusion. This whole event was good for that whole Elseworlds vibe. Wouldn’t it be nice if Elseworlds came back?
FLASHPOINT – KID FLASH LOST #3 of 3 (DC)
This is another one I wish I knew how much the conclusion actually affects the New 52. Do I consider this the death of Bart Allen? I guess we’ll just have to find out. I like the nod Max Mercury receives, though. I still hope for more sustained Max goodness!
WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS AFTERMATH #2 of 2 (DC)
Tony Bedard concludes one era of Green Lantern lore with a cliffhanger! Still, it was fun to see the dynamics of the Corps at a climactic occasion, and there were some clever developments and moments. What’s to become of Ganthet?!?
BATMAN INC. #8 (DC)
Almost overlooked this one (for some reason the latest issue was a shelf below the other one), but I made a vow to read every issue of this book, and so was glad that I finally spotted it. Clever digital shenanigans and a demonstration of Bruce Wayne’s business sense, something that was necessary for the whole Batman Inc. concept that the character has made integral to both aspects of his life. Only Grant Morrison could have told a story like this.
ACTION COMICS #904 (DC)
The last issue (before the first one, as Mike pointed out on the other side of the counter!), written by Paul Cornell, ostensibly wrapping up the latest Doomsday story, but really making a final statement on the Man of Steel in this particular era, plus revisiting Lois & Clark, perhaps for one last time, at least for now!
The Quarter Bin contribution (which for the record actually set me back two bucks in this particular instance) is AVENGERS #58 (473) from November 2002, as well as STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E. #12 from July 2000. These are among his earliest notable titles, relatively speaking (Johns actually began writing comics in 1999), but both adequately demonstrate the penchant he’d pursue into 2011. As I’ve detailed previously, I was not actively reading comics during this period, so early Geoff Johns has always been something of a wash for me. I wasn’t even totally sold on him after GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH, so what exactly am I supposed to say I know?
STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E. is the first ongoing series Johns launched, a sort of pastiche to the Golden Age that dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st century, updating a couple of obscure characters who might otherwise have deserved to be consigned to comics limbo. Combined with the relaunch of the Justice Society, STARS was an indication that Geoff had no qualms looking to the past for inspiration, even if he wasn’t slavishly devoted to the specifics of what he looked at. By the time he worked for Marvel, however, I had a much different impression of what kind of creator he actually was.
In short, there was one particular moment that got noticed by the Internet community circa 2003, and if you know what I’m talking about, great, because otherwise I don’t want to confuse the matter here. Suffice it to say, but my first real impression of Geoff Johns boiled down to the opinion that he was a new breed of writer that equated salacious and immature material as an appropriate way to write modern comics. I’ve never been much of a Marvel fan (though I’ve worked on that in recent years), and so combined with the fact that I wasn’t actually reading comics at the time, I took it for granted that this was still the case, and that I wanted nothing to do with the career of Geoff Johns.
All of this is to say, at least in the case of AVENGERS #58, I probably couldn’t have been farther from the mark. Even with the big movie and all the momentum headed into next summer, I will probably never be much of an Avengers fan (a bad experience with a much-hyped Kurt Busiek relaunch probably didn’t help), but I know enough about the team and its importance to Marvel lore (especially under the auspices of Brian Michael Bendis, who’s done everything in his power to elevate the team to the level of the X-Men franchise). There’s definitely a core team of all-star Avengers, but most of its membership seems to have consisted of the same general mediocrity that the Justice League regularly devolves into, despite the perennial efforts to concentrate on the heavy hitters.
Periodically, the Avengers get that same kind of treatment (now would not be one of those times, since everyone and their mother has been a member in the modern era of one incarnation or another). At least as far as my impression of AVENGERS #58 and Geoff’s overall ambitions seem to have been, it would seem Geoff Johns was very much a proponent of the all-star iteration. This particular comic is part of a greater epic which sees the world on the brink of a fantastic crisis, with the team called on to lead the world in a very overt manner, with most of the onus falling on Captain America, something he seems incredibly reluctant about (in fact, prior to Ed Brubaker, Steve Rogers was very much a Hal Jordan kind of guy, bucking authority; CIVIL WAR was his last great, or perhaps greatest, moment in that regard).
It makes me wonder what kind of impact Geoff might have had at Marvel if he’d made a stronger commitment. Don’t get me wrong; I’m extremely glad that he’s basically become the face of DC. The thing is, his departure from the House of Ideas left the door open for Bendis to swoop in and assume control of the Avengers, which has become a series of crossover events that have arguably done nothing but weaken the concept of the Avengers Geoff apparently worked hard to strengthen, including the moment I will continually refer to as the most infamous moment of modern comics, “No more mutants,” the most gratuitous and backward development that still has yet to be untangled (and even the Young Avengers’ efforts in that regard has since been overlooked, since Bendis has done such a great job of obscuring the message).
I’m not here to argue the top writer between DC and Marvel. I’m not a Marvel guy, so maybe Brian Bendis really is awesome, and his work is worthy of being at the forefront of the industry’s top publisher. All I know for sure is, I infinitely prefer Geoff Johns, and I have new reasons every year to affirm that belief. FLASHPOINT has lately confirmed it all over again.
As with any success story, there’s always a backlash that seeks to undermine that popular by saying it’s not actually earned (and so, you might say, my opinion of Bendis). The critics will say Johns milks Silver Age nostalgia, and writes in generalities, barely covering the minimum requirements for storytelling by glossing biographical material for entire issues at a time. To me, that kind of writing is endlessly fascinating. Any writer who can get inside the head of a fictional character has more than done their job by my book. I don’t just want to follow a lot of action, or some twisting adventure. I don’t care if I’m reading something I’m infinitely familiar with, or something brand-new. It takes a great fool to imagine something new, after all, but a greater fool not to acknowledge something that already exists.
FLASHPOINT, ultimately, isn’t really about some flashy event with an alternate reality or launching some bold new era, but rather the culmination of the story Geoff has been telling with Barry Allen since FLASH: REBIRTH. Where most fans saw only a character who’d met a noble end two decades ago, a favorite member of a distinguished superhero lineage, Geoff saw potential. He didn’t just see the man who’d idolized Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, but a figure who could live out the fantasy so many other comic book superheroes could never touch, someone who could revisit the greatest tragedy of his past, and find out the consequences of interfering.
I honestly don’t know if the death of his mother was a touchstone event for Barry prior to Geoff Johns, because the reference material I have readily available doesn’t even mention it, but that’s what Geoff has been meditating on since Barry’s return, his extreme guilt, and incredible rage upon learning the truth, that it was his mortal enemy, the Reverse Flash, who caused it. No other writer has shaped a whole crossover event on such a personal story, and stuck with it (there was Hal Jordan’s insane quest in ZERO HOUR, and the Scarlet Witch in HOUSE OF M, but mostly, it’s usually just everyone reacting against some inciting event). I would argue that FLASHPOINT #5 is ultimately the most emotionally satisfying denouement for such an event.
I’ve been seeing a parallel with the TV show FRINGE throughout FLASHPOINT, perhaps even its very nature (as Barry and Thomas Wayne would themselves argue, given the chance), and for this, this is a very good thing. A great story will always take inspiration from the most appropriate sources, no matter the original medium. FLASHPOINT is a different kind of comics event because it tells a different kind of story, and without Geoff Johns, that wouldn’t have been possible. He understood that Barry Allen had at least one other great story in him, and it had nothing to do with all the things others had previously believed were obvious. He took a look at Barry himself, and never looked back.
The more I read FLASHPOINT, the more I realized I would have to read the whole thing. I really wasn’t supposed to. As I’ve been trying to make clear throughout the year, 2011 is supposed to represent a break in reading comics for me. I’ve come to blame FLASHPOINT for the zip line that has strung me along the last few months. I know the New 52 is upon us, but in many ways, I’ve now reached the break line (if I can manage it). Barry’s back in the blocks. Here’s the rest of the stuff I should not have bought:
MYTHICA
This is a “rough cut” preview for a local indy project Escape Velocity had on display on its counter, from the mind of Matt Campbell. Its concept is actually not that bad, but I worry that Matt might be confusing the actual storytelling with a more generic adventure narrative than he really needs. Anyway, worth a look.
RETROACTIVE 1990s – GREEN LANTERN (DC)
Ron Marz and Darryl Banks back together is a reunion I’m very happy to experience, even if it’s patently nostalgic. Kyle Rayner very much became my Green Lantern, and this is the team that helped make that possible. Coupled with a flashback to Kyle’s relationship with Donna Troy (how’s it she has never had her own series?), one of his many failed relationships (which also include Jade and Soranik Natu). Even the cover was absolutely classic!
RETROACTIVE 1990s – THE FLASH (DC)
Brian Augustyn, who was a regular collaborator on the book during the decade, was tapped for this one mostly because Mark Waid is engaged elsewhere these days, but this is an interesting look at what he might have done on his own (then again, my blackout from just about the end of that period might have overlooked Brian’s brief solo run, apparently alluded to in a note). There’s also a Mark Millar flashback, for the record.
RETROACTIVE 1990s – SUPERMAN (DC)
I couldn’t possibly be happier that the SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL team of Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, rather than Dan Jurgens (who otherwise would have been the obvious choice) was tapped for this one. I always felt they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. This tale more than demonstrates that neither has lost a step. How about a comeback?
JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 (DC)
The book I’ve been calling a de facto All Star series was not a disappointment, and hey, is also written by Geoff Johns, featuring Jim Lee on art. A sort of answer to Lee’s more official All Star effort with Frank Miller, we get to enjoy the often-overlooked dynamic between Batman and Hal Jordan (with some terrific insights, I might add), plus the reintroduction of Cyborg, Vic Stone, whom Johns has been itching to use more extensively for a while (if the FLASH OMNIBUS was any indication), and a really unusual look at Superman, too. I may have to officially call this a can’t-miss book.
RETROACTIVE 1990s – JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA (DC)
The infamous team of Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire is back together again! (Remember all the nostalgia tours last decade?) Also, please note Multi-Man, also seen in CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE!
RETROACTIVE 1980s – SUPERMAN (DC)
I was extremely confused why a bunch of ’90s elements were featured in this one, until I actually read it. Pretty clever, Marv Wolfman (though, really, who would argue that John Byrne didn’t deserve this one?). I’d been avoiding the older decades in these retro specials mostly because I was less familiar with them (and thus reading them would have been less enjoyable), but that was a clever ploy to trick me into this one, I must admit. Worth it.
FLASHPOINT – ABIN SUR: THE GREEN LANTERN #3 of 3 (DC)
I don’t know much the conclusions to these individual books will affect the New 52, but wouldn’t it be awesome if White Lantern Abin Sur actually did pop up?
FLASHPOINT – DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS #3 of 3 (DC)
I love the conclusion to this one, just so horribly appropriate.
FLASHPOINT – CITIZEN COLD #3 of 3 (DC)
As the event itself progressed, it became easy for me to forget that Cold was originally one of my motivating factors to be interested, because Geoff spent almost his exclusive focus in the main book on Barry Allen, with most of the rest on Thomas Wayne (which again, made that ending so powerful). Not surprisingly, our good Citizen doesn’t get away with his deception, but reading a Rogues book is always fun. Shouldn’t there be an ongoing by now?
FLASHPOINT – HAL JORDAN #3 of 3 (DC)
What a poignant and tragic ending. That was another benefit, for sure. I didn’t read the Wonder Woman or Aquaman titles, but I have to figure theirs were appropriate, too. I took a look at the conclusion to PROJECT SUPERMAN, and that one had a similar conclusion. This whole event was good for that whole Elseworlds vibe. Wouldn’t it be nice if Elseworlds came back?
FLASHPOINT – KID FLASH LOST #3 of 3 (DC)
This is another one I wish I knew how much the conclusion actually affects the New 52. Do I consider this the death of Bart Allen? I guess we’ll just have to find out. I like the nod Max Mercury receives, though. I still hope for more sustained Max goodness!
WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS AFTERMATH #2 of 2 (DC)
Tony Bedard concludes one era of Green Lantern lore with a cliffhanger! Still, it was fun to see the dynamics of the Corps at a climactic occasion, and there were some clever developments and moments. What’s to become of Ganthet?!?
BATMAN INC. #8 (DC)
Almost overlooked this one (for some reason the latest issue was a shelf below the other one), but I made a vow to read every issue of this book, and so was glad that I finally spotted it. Clever digital shenanigans and a demonstration of Bruce Wayne’s business sense, something that was necessary for the whole Batman Inc. concept that the character has made integral to both aspects of his life. Only Grant Morrison could have told a story like this.
ACTION COMICS #904 (DC)
The last issue (before the first one, as Mike pointed out on the other side of the counter!), written by Paul Cornell, ostensibly wrapping up the latest Doomsday story, but really making a final statement on the Man of Steel in this particular era, plus revisiting Lois & Clark, perhaps for one last time, at least for now!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Challengers of the Unknown must live!
It’s easier to find a movie, say, or a book, or some music act that most other people seem to be overlooking or undervaluing, than a comic book. I don’t mean a series that doesn’t sell very well, or something from the indies (which by definition is swimming against the current). Most serious comics fans will usually know better than filmgoers seeking out the latest blockbuster or whatever moves them specifically, book buyers seeking out their own familiar commodities, or music lovers grooving on their favorites, just what exactly is available. Sometimes it’s merely a matter of not having enough funds to cover everything that looks interesting in the comics shop, or a lack of general availability, that prevents certain titles from being read. Most comics that sell worse than others usually suffer from a lower profile, or perhaps a lack of a galvanizing creative direction, which again circles back to the fact that there are many comics published on a weekly basis, and very few readers capable of actually buying them all. There are certainly really good books that seem to sell not so much really well for reasons that don’t sound quite that good, but again, that may simply be that they just don’t have the buzz, or that most the buzz is going elsewhere, and whatever remains simply isn’t enough, or that unwarranted bad buzz or an inexplicable lack of buzz swallows perfectly worthy projects whole…
I could probably talk circles around that, so let’s just move on. The point of this introduction is, it can sometimes be a little difficult to understand how a really good comic book can be overlooked, given the kind of community exists around this medium (and inversely, really easy to understand, given the community as we all know it). I mean to talk about Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN book, originally published as a mini-series 1991, and eventually reprinted as CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE!, after the team had become famous for such works as BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN and SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS. Still, I’d wager that very few people know this story even exists, and it’s a darn shame.
Loeb has in recent years distanced himself from comics work, having achieved a great deal of success with such recent efforts as SUPERMAN/BATMAN and HULK, not to mention to epochal collaboration with Jim Lee on the Batman story arc “Hush,” partly as I would assume to the fact that many fans have found it increasingly difficult that he has any real talent, beyond a massive amount of hype. I find this to be a terrific travesty, because to my mind, Jeph Loeb is easily one of the finest writers of modern comics, capable of finding an inner monologue to any given character, whether iconic or obscure, and maybe it’s just because that’s exactly the kind of skill I admire in a writer, but that’s not by far a bad attribute. Those fans claim he’s horribly formulaic and predictable, that his stories always feel less inspired in their conclusions than in their blockbuster setups. I would perhaps counter-argue that any good story ought to have an ending worth talking about, especially if the rest of the story was as compelling as everyone made it seem, but maybe that’s just me being difficult and contrary again. If it seems too “comic booky,” then maybe it’s the creator’s way of making the reader think about the medium in a more serious way. That’s exactly the kind of ending CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE! concludes with, with a villain that only really appears at the climax of a story that had spent all its time examining the individual members of the Challs, as they’re affectionately known, as they perhaps never have been before.
Along with Loeb, of course, for this story, is his most famous collaborator, artist Tim Sale, whose most recent claim to fame was his work on the TV show HEROES, which turned out in later seasons to be more unfortunate than it first seemed. Sale initially provided the finished paintings of a clairvoyant artist in the early episodes, and it was a clever link for a series that otherwise shunned comic book conventions. Then, of course, Sale’s art reappeared in the second season, well after that original character had been killed off, and like the series as a whole, Sale’s continued participation was viewed in terms of stagnation rather than inspiration (or perhaps, continuity!). Aside from what now appears to be an aborted project (CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE) begun a few years back, Sale, too, has all but vanished as a regular comics presence.
It does seem appropriate, that Loeb and Sale might have ended in without much ceremony their comics careers, since their Challengers work was equally overlooked. Readers of this blog might recall that I originally discovered, or at least started reading it, thanks to a series of quarter bin raids that forced me to track down the rest of the story. Appropriately, I found a dirt-cheap used copy of the trade collection. I can honestly say that this earliest Loeb-Sale effort is, in my opinion, their finest. I wish I could then properly explain how it was left to and remained in obscurity, except that really good things usually fail to find a really big audience.
This was Loeb’s first comic, even! I confess to still not have all that much experience with his screen work, from before or after, but the remarkable maturity and complexity on display in …MUST DIE! is enviable by any standard, in any medium, clear in some ways that Loeb was not at the time concerned with conventions. He tackled a team of heroes who for decades were viewed as Fantastic Four knockoffs, even as they remained something of a DC underground favorite, as with many Jack Kirby creations, popping up every now and again, rebooted past the conclusions in MUST DIE! for later appearances, though it’s probably been about a decade or more since the last time. In the first issue of the eight-issue mini-series, Loeb and Sale reduce the team of four plus one (members Prof, Rocky, Ace, and Red, along with assistant June) to three, after blowing up Challenger Mountain and most of Challengerville, not to mention Prof and June. For the remainder of the series, Rocky, Ace, and Red, having disbanded, redefine themselves, growing apart, and assume the civilian lives they left behind when they originally “cheated death” and started “living on borrowed time.” (When you think about it, the Challs would have made a picture-perfect 1980s TV show, and then 2000s summer blockbuster.)
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE! deserves to be remembered as a comic book classic, and ought to be part of the perennial reprint parade, prepped for an Absolute edition, and lauded loudly as the first genius pairing of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, as well as its definitive legacy. What many creators struggle for many years to accomplish with a given franchise they managed in eight issues, and in many ways, it’s almost better that the Challengers belong to obscurity before and after, since there really aren’t any fans to argue with over such a monumental story. If the team must be remembered for something, this more than earns such a distinction. It’s a calling card for potential, proved to be exactly that for Loeb and Sale, for what a comic book could do, and what even C-level characters can accomplish. What more could you ask for?
I could probably talk circles around that, so let’s just move on. The point of this introduction is, it can sometimes be a little difficult to understand how a really good comic book can be overlooked, given the kind of community exists around this medium (and inversely, really easy to understand, given the community as we all know it). I mean to talk about Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN book, originally published as a mini-series 1991, and eventually reprinted as CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE!, after the team had become famous for such works as BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN and SUPERMAN FOR ALL SEASONS. Still, I’d wager that very few people know this story even exists, and it’s a darn shame.
Loeb has in recent years distanced himself from comics work, having achieved a great deal of success with such recent efforts as SUPERMAN/BATMAN and HULK, not to mention to epochal collaboration with Jim Lee on the Batman story arc “Hush,” partly as I would assume to the fact that many fans have found it increasingly difficult that he has any real talent, beyond a massive amount of hype. I find this to be a terrific travesty, because to my mind, Jeph Loeb is easily one of the finest writers of modern comics, capable of finding an inner monologue to any given character, whether iconic or obscure, and maybe it’s just because that’s exactly the kind of skill I admire in a writer, but that’s not by far a bad attribute. Those fans claim he’s horribly formulaic and predictable, that his stories always feel less inspired in their conclusions than in their blockbuster setups. I would perhaps counter-argue that any good story ought to have an ending worth talking about, especially if the rest of the story was as compelling as everyone made it seem, but maybe that’s just me being difficult and contrary again. If it seems too “comic booky,” then maybe it’s the creator’s way of making the reader think about the medium in a more serious way. That’s exactly the kind of ending CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE! concludes with, with a villain that only really appears at the climax of a story that had spent all its time examining the individual members of the Challs, as they’re affectionately known, as they perhaps never have been before.
Along with Loeb, of course, for this story, is his most famous collaborator, artist Tim Sale, whose most recent claim to fame was his work on the TV show HEROES, which turned out in later seasons to be more unfortunate than it first seemed. Sale initially provided the finished paintings of a clairvoyant artist in the early episodes, and it was a clever link for a series that otherwise shunned comic book conventions. Then, of course, Sale’s art reappeared in the second season, well after that original character had been killed off, and like the series as a whole, Sale’s continued participation was viewed in terms of stagnation rather than inspiration (or perhaps, continuity!). Aside from what now appears to be an aborted project (CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE) begun a few years back, Sale, too, has all but vanished as a regular comics presence.
It does seem appropriate, that Loeb and Sale might have ended in without much ceremony their comics careers, since their Challengers work was equally overlooked. Readers of this blog might recall that I originally discovered, or at least started reading it, thanks to a series of quarter bin raids that forced me to track down the rest of the story. Appropriately, I found a dirt-cheap used copy of the trade collection. I can honestly say that this earliest Loeb-Sale effort is, in my opinion, their finest. I wish I could then properly explain how it was left to and remained in obscurity, except that really good things usually fail to find a really big audience.
This was Loeb’s first comic, even! I confess to still not have all that much experience with his screen work, from before or after, but the remarkable maturity and complexity on display in …MUST DIE! is enviable by any standard, in any medium, clear in some ways that Loeb was not at the time concerned with conventions. He tackled a team of heroes who for decades were viewed as Fantastic Four knockoffs, even as they remained something of a DC underground favorite, as with many Jack Kirby creations, popping up every now and again, rebooted past the conclusions in MUST DIE! for later appearances, though it’s probably been about a decade or more since the last time. In the first issue of the eight-issue mini-series, Loeb and Sale reduce the team of four plus one (members Prof, Rocky, Ace, and Red, along with assistant June) to three, after blowing up Challenger Mountain and most of Challengerville, not to mention Prof and June. For the remainder of the series, Rocky, Ace, and Red, having disbanded, redefine themselves, growing apart, and assume the civilian lives they left behind when they originally “cheated death” and started “living on borrowed time.” (When you think about it, the Challs would have made a picture-perfect 1980s TV show, and then 2000s summer blockbuster.)
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN MUST DIE! deserves to be remembered as a comic book classic, and ought to be part of the perennial reprint parade, prepped for an Absolute edition, and lauded loudly as the first genius pairing of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, as well as its definitive legacy. What many creators struggle for many years to accomplish with a given franchise they managed in eight issues, and in many ways, it’s almost better that the Challengers belong to obscurity before and after, since there really aren’t any fans to argue with over such a monumental story. If the team must be remembered for something, this more than earns such a distinction. It’s a calling card for potential, proved to be exactly that for Loeb and Sale, for what a comic book could do, and what even C-level characters can accomplish. What more could you ask for?
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Quarter Bin #15 "American Splendor"
I do seem to write most about superhero comics, but that’s not all I’m capable of processing. For instance, let’s swing the other way and spend some time with the one guy who probably did the most to give readers a completely different concept, Harvey Pekar.
Technically springboarding off:
AMERICAN SPLENDOR #1-4 (Vertigo)
From November 2006-February 2007.
Most people will know about Pekar through the movie of the same name, the 2003 AMERICAN SPLENDOR starring Paul Giamatti (the big role that helped ignite his leading man career, after years of standout supporting roles). Noting that it came out in 2003 is kind of big for me, because that’s by no means the year I first saw it. It’s another of those things that’s a little of a mystery to present me, but for some reason, even though I was always a fan of Giamatti, I grew more and more hesitant to see the movie the more critics gushed over it. It was only Giamatti, in fact, who finally convinced me to give it a chance. The truth was, I’d never heard of Harvey Pekar before, and to suddenly have all this praise going to a guy who for all intents had been completely invisible a year earlier just seemed like typical critic bullshit to me, gobbling up the peculiar new item on the block just because it was exotic and seemed to prove some point or other, and otherwise probably wouldn’t have been noticed at all. You might recall that for a while, Pekar became quite the hot commodity, writing pieces for a variety of high profile publications, putting comics storytelling in places it wasn’t typically seen. I found at least that interesting.
Anyway, I finally did get around to seeing it, and while preparing to write this piece, I watched it again, and it strikes me almost as a junior cousin to MAN ON THE MOON, the 1999 Jim Carrey movie about avant garde comedian Andy Kaufman, in which Giamatti happens to costar. You may recall that one of Kaufman’s most infamous public appearances was on David Letterman’s old NBC show back in the 1980s, in which he had a confrontation with professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (there was coffee involved). Pekar was a regular on Letterman’s show, and may have made his biggest pop cultural mark on his last appearance, in which he finally rethought his participation. I assume there was a certain amount of appeal in telling the story of how exactly that happened, just who this Harvey Pekar really was. The Letterman connection interests me, anyway.
In many ways, Pekar really is another Kaufman, a social oddity whose sensibilities don’t easily translate, which is funny, because he tried to make a living (never really happened, though) talking about his everyday problems in comics form, one of the first true independent voices, who got to have his chance at the limelight thanks to the underground movement that grew out of the 1960s scene that also gave us R. Crumb, someone Pekar knew personally (and no doubt facilitated his ambition more than he ever appreciated).
In a lot of ways, Pekar’s comics are a direct predecessor to the Twitter generation, whose ilk includes bloggers like yours truly and the Facebook crowd. (Imagine Harvey with a smartphone!) While he tended to write about only the depressing episodes and thoughts that reflected his general pessimistic outlook on life, Pekar still managed to chronicle his life in a way that had previously been reserved for biographies, all in comics form (since he couldn’t draw his own, Harvey relied on a vast network of illustrators, including Crumb). He originally published his comics out of his own pocket. Obviously by the time of the movie, there was interest in providing him with slightly wider distribution. DC imprint Vertigo handled Pekar’s graphic novel THE QUITTER, and then the new AMERICAN SPLENDOR I eventually got my hands on.
It’s funny about that, too, because a friend of mine gave me those, and I was originally reluctant to read them, because as you can tell, I don’t typically read comics that don’t feature superheroes (I admit it!). Pekar’s writing isn’t the most eloquent, and his episodic storytelling can border on the trivial if handled incorrectly. In many ways, it’s like reading a comic book TV show (which does make you wonder if Pekar wasn’t subconsciously drawing on television for inspiration, or why no one has thought to turn AMERICAN SPLENDOR into a small screen project; HBO released the movie, I might add), a sitcom or one of those dramas that would probably get high critical praise but generally terrible ratings. The film itself is a mix between documentary, some static animation, and typical movie storytelling. You could turn Harvey’s life into a cartoon, or even a comic strip, and still not lose much in translation. One might almost imagine PEARLS BEFORE SWINE’s Stephen Pastis drawing inspiration from Pekar.
As you might imagine, “American Splendor” is a pretty ironic epitaph for this enterprise, but in the end, is pretty reasonable, too. Harvey Pekar was a man who very much trusted his worldview, and despite his own cynicism managed to make a real mark, simply by telling his own story, one mundane anecdote at a time.
Technically springboarding off:
AMERICAN SPLENDOR #1-4 (Vertigo)
From November 2006-February 2007.
Most people will know about Pekar through the movie of the same name, the 2003 AMERICAN SPLENDOR starring Paul Giamatti (the big role that helped ignite his leading man career, after years of standout supporting roles). Noting that it came out in 2003 is kind of big for me, because that’s by no means the year I first saw it. It’s another of those things that’s a little of a mystery to present me, but for some reason, even though I was always a fan of Giamatti, I grew more and more hesitant to see the movie the more critics gushed over it. It was only Giamatti, in fact, who finally convinced me to give it a chance. The truth was, I’d never heard of Harvey Pekar before, and to suddenly have all this praise going to a guy who for all intents had been completely invisible a year earlier just seemed like typical critic bullshit to me, gobbling up the peculiar new item on the block just because it was exotic and seemed to prove some point or other, and otherwise probably wouldn’t have been noticed at all. You might recall that for a while, Pekar became quite the hot commodity, writing pieces for a variety of high profile publications, putting comics storytelling in places it wasn’t typically seen. I found at least that interesting.
Anyway, I finally did get around to seeing it, and while preparing to write this piece, I watched it again, and it strikes me almost as a junior cousin to MAN ON THE MOON, the 1999 Jim Carrey movie about avant garde comedian Andy Kaufman, in which Giamatti happens to costar. You may recall that one of Kaufman’s most infamous public appearances was on David Letterman’s old NBC show back in the 1980s, in which he had a confrontation with professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (there was coffee involved). Pekar was a regular on Letterman’s show, and may have made his biggest pop cultural mark on his last appearance, in which he finally rethought his participation. I assume there was a certain amount of appeal in telling the story of how exactly that happened, just who this Harvey Pekar really was. The Letterman connection interests me, anyway.
In many ways, Pekar really is another Kaufman, a social oddity whose sensibilities don’t easily translate, which is funny, because he tried to make a living (never really happened, though) talking about his everyday problems in comics form, one of the first true independent voices, who got to have his chance at the limelight thanks to the underground movement that grew out of the 1960s scene that also gave us R. Crumb, someone Pekar knew personally (and no doubt facilitated his ambition more than he ever appreciated).
In a lot of ways, Pekar’s comics are a direct predecessor to the Twitter generation, whose ilk includes bloggers like yours truly and the Facebook crowd. (Imagine Harvey with a smartphone!) While he tended to write about only the depressing episodes and thoughts that reflected his general pessimistic outlook on life, Pekar still managed to chronicle his life in a way that had previously been reserved for biographies, all in comics form (since he couldn’t draw his own, Harvey relied on a vast network of illustrators, including Crumb). He originally published his comics out of his own pocket. Obviously by the time of the movie, there was interest in providing him with slightly wider distribution. DC imprint Vertigo handled Pekar’s graphic novel THE QUITTER, and then the new AMERICAN SPLENDOR I eventually got my hands on.
It’s funny about that, too, because a friend of mine gave me those, and I was originally reluctant to read them, because as you can tell, I don’t typically read comics that don’t feature superheroes (I admit it!). Pekar’s writing isn’t the most eloquent, and his episodic storytelling can border on the trivial if handled incorrectly. In many ways, it’s like reading a comic book TV show (which does make you wonder if Pekar wasn’t subconsciously drawing on television for inspiration, or why no one has thought to turn AMERICAN SPLENDOR into a small screen project; HBO released the movie, I might add), a sitcom or one of those dramas that would probably get high critical praise but generally terrible ratings. The film itself is a mix between documentary, some static animation, and typical movie storytelling. You could turn Harvey’s life into a cartoon, or even a comic strip, and still not lose much in translation. One might almost imagine PEARLS BEFORE SWINE’s Stephen Pastis drawing inspiration from Pekar.
As you might imagine, “American Splendor” is a pretty ironic epitaph for this enterprise, but in the end, is pretty reasonable, too. Harvey Pekar was a man who very much trusted his worldview, and despite his own cynicism managed to make a real mark, simply by telling his own story, one mundane anecdote at a time.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Heroes and Dragons and Vampires
Last week I had my first opportunity to visit Heroes and Dragons in probably two years. This particular comics shop used to have two locations in Colorado Springs, both sides of town. I was a regular from practically the moment I moved into town, having quickly determined that it was the most convenient store in town (I had two other options; Bargain Comics, which later became Escape Velocity, was always close second). When the recession forced it to consolidate and basically stay on the other end of town, I sniffed back a few tears, said goodbye to another great era of my comics experience (did I ever mention the horrible irony of three different stores either moving or closing during my original period reading comics? I miss thee, Zimmies and Ray’s 3Cs, and still wish All About Comics and Hobbies had stayed put, and probably not renamed itself The Keep, which was another horrible irony), but was prepared to move on. Not in the way that I “have” moved on this year, “quitting” reading comics for the second time, but onto Escape Velocity and Midtown Comics.com.
I don’t want to sound too flippant, because I really did miss Heroes and Dragons, was sad to see it go, and kept obsessing on a way to visit its new location, no matter how impractical it seemed. (Should I mention here that I am differently-mobile, in that I don’t drive, and rarely take the bus?) I had some personal time to eat up thanks to Borders going out of business, so I took a vacation last week, stayed with my sister, and that happens to be on that end of town. I timed my visit for Wednesday. As if you have to ask why.
I’ve got to say, I don’t think the move was as terrifically beneficial as the owners thought it would be (not that, in some ways, it wasn’t necessary, thanks to draconian and increasingly elitist mall financial practices). It may be actually, that business is actually quite good, but I arrived only a few hours after the store had opened, timed so that the new product should have been put out already. (Okay, so the clerk had lots of boxes clearly sitting out in the open, and seemed to think his time was better spent with aerobics; I’m being literal here.) Still, I wasn’t greeted with great comparisons considering my recent experience with Escape Velocity. I was generally appalled. The store seemed only tangentially interested in new releases. I don’t know if it reorders more furiously than it initially orders, or if “Richard Simmons” was even lazier, relatively speaking, than he seemed, but suffice to say, I was disappointed. The trade collection, meanwhile, was basically exactly the same as it had been two years ago. Yay for consistency! Boo for complacency! That’s a matter of business, too, but come on! Anyway, I did end up with several great back issues, though, which I will write about in a future Quarter Bin, and the new RASL, which brings me to the concluding portion of this latest post. You know the drill.
DC COMICS: THE NEW 52 (DC)
This is the official preview of the September relaunch (next month!), complete with the JUSTICE LEAGUE excerpt from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee that leads me more and more to consider it a de facto ALL STAR JUSTICE LEAGUE, which only makes me feel better about it. Anyway, aside from the fact that the giant stack of these freebies was sitting away from customer reach on the counter, I was very happy to find it available.
GREEN LANTERN #67 (DC)
The concluding chapter to “War of the Green Lanterns.” I know I’ve previously stated that, aside from the other exception I’ve talked about elsewhere, I decided I could wait for the collection to finally read this arc, but c’mon! It was there! In so many ways, stripping Hal of the ring is absolutely the smartest thing Geoff could have done. Next to giving it back to Sinestro. Suffice to say, I’m a happy Emerald Reader.
RASL #11 (Cartoon)
Along with BATMAN, INC. this is the book I’ve deliberately continued to read in 2011, and I’ve been darn lucky to find each new issue of both. This one was particularly serendipitous, since I’d overlooked the particular shelves it was located on, even though I’d tried to be as thorough as possible, trying to find the magic I ultimately decided simply wasn’t there anymore (then again, maybe a store like Escape Velocity can give me that magic on a sporadic basis, and Heroes simply can’t). Jeff Smith’s follow-up to BONE continues to dazzle at least this reader. To October!
SUPREME POWER #1 of 4 (Marvel MAX)
Kyle Higgins, writer of the forthcoming new NIGHTWING series, came to my attention during a recent visit to the Comic Book Resources message board as someone far more worthy of my attention than I’d previously considered. I was able to find this particular example of his recent efforts to confirm this newfound faith.
FLASHPOINT #4 (DC)
I love how the “Captain Thunder” family is used this issue. I’m also glad that I’ve managed to read every issue so far of this event book. One more to go!
MYSTIC #1 (CrossGen/Marvel)
Surprisingly or not, I never got into the original CrossGen experiment. Most attempts to build an entire comics line at the drop of a hat usually tend to create a bunch of comics that are patently ripping off something else, or otherwise trying too hard to duplicate, well, something else, all with the guise of “being something different.” I’ll admit CrossGen had art that was basically the complete opposite of what originally put Image on the map (which has now been converted to Comics Characters Welcomed), but in my experience, when writers try to write new stories with an artificial impetus like “create new comics line,” the results aren’t pretty. Dark Horse (and many other companies) has discovered that the more times you, say, recreate Doctor Solar, the more likely you’ll actually create something perhaps worth looking at. That may be the case here, too. Besides, the real reason I bought this one was AIR writer G. Willow Wilson. Maybe the original MYSTIC actually was awesome, or even comparable to this experience. Maybe my sister has been having me watch too much CHARMED lately (very disappointed Heroes didn’t have that comic, or IDW’s G.I. Joe, which Escape Velocity doesn’t carry, even though the COBRA books are some of the best comics I’ve ever read; which is another irony, because the IDW preview for its acquisition from DDP was among the last comics I bought at the old location; please stop me if I’m referencing far too much to keep up with). Anyway, Wilson does not disappoint. The one thing I will absolutely say positive about Marvel in 2011 is that it is giving G. Willow Wilson money to write comics. Thank you, Marvel.
SUPERMAN #714 (DC)
The final issue before Reboot City concludes “Grounded” and is basically J. Michael Straczynski and/or Chris Roberson’s answer to “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” I thought that was a nice touch.
WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS AFTERMATH #1 OF 2 (DC)
Please, as if I was going to pass up this opportunity. Written by Tony Bedard, too, who will have my everlasting gratitude for penning the classic GREAT TEN, hopefully one day to receive its proper appreciation as a masterpiece. Need I go on?
Which brings us to one final note, something I bought at Wal-mart:
GREEN LANTERN SUPER SPECTACULAR
This is a magazine-format collection of several issues from the would-be movie icon’s past, the second edition (I skipped the previous one I’d found at Escape Velocity), including “Nor Fear” from GREEN LANTERN #s 1-3 (the first time I’ve read the whole story, since for some reason back in 2005 I wasn’t prepared to read Geoff Johns doing GL on a monthly basis, something that didn’t last even a year), plus an Alan Moore story from GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #2 featuring a previous version of Abin Sur’s grand undoing, and the same (ALL STAR) JUSTICE LEAGUE preview I talked about earlier. I like something like this being available for wide consumption. The comics industry will never recover in my eyes until you can find issues of the books you’ll actually want to read at places like Wal-mart and Toys R Us. I won’t hold Sam’s Club to the kinds of packs they used to have. I will one day blackmail them.
I don’t want to sound too flippant, because I really did miss Heroes and Dragons, was sad to see it go, and kept obsessing on a way to visit its new location, no matter how impractical it seemed. (Should I mention here that I am differently-mobile, in that I don’t drive, and rarely take the bus?) I had some personal time to eat up thanks to Borders going out of business, so I took a vacation last week, stayed with my sister, and that happens to be on that end of town. I timed my visit for Wednesday. As if you have to ask why.
I’ve got to say, I don’t think the move was as terrifically beneficial as the owners thought it would be (not that, in some ways, it wasn’t necessary, thanks to draconian and increasingly elitist mall financial practices). It may be actually, that business is actually quite good, but I arrived only a few hours after the store had opened, timed so that the new product should have been put out already. (Okay, so the clerk had lots of boxes clearly sitting out in the open, and seemed to think his time was better spent with aerobics; I’m being literal here.) Still, I wasn’t greeted with great comparisons considering my recent experience with Escape Velocity. I was generally appalled. The store seemed only tangentially interested in new releases. I don’t know if it reorders more furiously than it initially orders, or if “Richard Simmons” was even lazier, relatively speaking, than he seemed, but suffice to say, I was disappointed. The trade collection, meanwhile, was basically exactly the same as it had been two years ago. Yay for consistency! Boo for complacency! That’s a matter of business, too, but come on! Anyway, I did end up with several great back issues, though, which I will write about in a future Quarter Bin, and the new RASL, which brings me to the concluding portion of this latest post. You know the drill.
DC COMICS: THE NEW 52 (DC)
This is the official preview of the September relaunch (next month!), complete with the JUSTICE LEAGUE excerpt from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee that leads me more and more to consider it a de facto ALL STAR JUSTICE LEAGUE, which only makes me feel better about it. Anyway, aside from the fact that the giant stack of these freebies was sitting away from customer reach on the counter, I was very happy to find it available.
GREEN LANTERN #67 (DC)
The concluding chapter to “War of the Green Lanterns.” I know I’ve previously stated that, aside from the other exception I’ve talked about elsewhere, I decided I could wait for the collection to finally read this arc, but c’mon! It was there! In so many ways, stripping Hal of the ring is absolutely the smartest thing Geoff could have done. Next to giving it back to Sinestro. Suffice to say, I’m a happy Emerald Reader.
RASL #11 (Cartoon)
Along with BATMAN, INC. this is the book I’ve deliberately continued to read in 2011, and I’ve been darn lucky to find each new issue of both. This one was particularly serendipitous, since I’d overlooked the particular shelves it was located on, even though I’d tried to be as thorough as possible, trying to find the magic I ultimately decided simply wasn’t there anymore (then again, maybe a store like Escape Velocity can give me that magic on a sporadic basis, and Heroes simply can’t). Jeff Smith’s follow-up to BONE continues to dazzle at least this reader. To October!
SUPREME POWER #1 of 4 (Marvel MAX)
Kyle Higgins, writer of the forthcoming new NIGHTWING series, came to my attention during a recent visit to the Comic Book Resources message board as someone far more worthy of my attention than I’d previously considered. I was able to find this particular example of his recent efforts to confirm this newfound faith.
FLASHPOINT #4 (DC)
I love how the “Captain Thunder” family is used this issue. I’m also glad that I’ve managed to read every issue so far of this event book. One more to go!
MYSTIC #1 (CrossGen/Marvel)
Surprisingly or not, I never got into the original CrossGen experiment. Most attempts to build an entire comics line at the drop of a hat usually tend to create a bunch of comics that are patently ripping off something else, or otherwise trying too hard to duplicate, well, something else, all with the guise of “being something different.” I’ll admit CrossGen had art that was basically the complete opposite of what originally put Image on the map (which has now been converted to Comics Characters Welcomed), but in my experience, when writers try to write new stories with an artificial impetus like “create new comics line,” the results aren’t pretty. Dark Horse (and many other companies) has discovered that the more times you, say, recreate Doctor Solar, the more likely you’ll actually create something perhaps worth looking at. That may be the case here, too. Besides, the real reason I bought this one was AIR writer G. Willow Wilson. Maybe the original MYSTIC actually was awesome, or even comparable to this experience. Maybe my sister has been having me watch too much CHARMED lately (very disappointed Heroes didn’t have that comic, or IDW’s G.I. Joe, which Escape Velocity doesn’t carry, even though the COBRA books are some of the best comics I’ve ever read; which is another irony, because the IDW preview for its acquisition from DDP was among the last comics I bought at the old location; please stop me if I’m referencing far too much to keep up with). Anyway, Wilson does not disappoint. The one thing I will absolutely say positive about Marvel in 2011 is that it is giving G. Willow Wilson money to write comics. Thank you, Marvel.
SUPERMAN #714 (DC)
The final issue before Reboot City concludes “Grounded” and is basically J. Michael Straczynski and/or Chris Roberson’s answer to “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” I thought that was a nice touch.
WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS AFTERMATH #1 OF 2 (DC)
Please, as if I was going to pass up this opportunity. Written by Tony Bedard, too, who will have my everlasting gratitude for penning the classic GREAT TEN, hopefully one day to receive its proper appreciation as a masterpiece. Need I go on?
Which brings us to one final note, something I bought at Wal-mart:
GREEN LANTERN SUPER SPECTACULAR
This is a magazine-format collection of several issues from the would-be movie icon’s past, the second edition (I skipped the previous one I’d found at Escape Velocity), including “Nor Fear” from GREEN LANTERN #s 1-3 (the first time I’ve read the whole story, since for some reason back in 2005 I wasn’t prepared to read Geoff Johns doing GL on a monthly basis, something that didn’t last even a year), plus an Alan Moore story from GREEN LANTERN CORPS ANNUAL #2 featuring a previous version of Abin Sur’s grand undoing, and the same (ALL STAR) JUSTICE LEAGUE preview I talked about earlier. I like something like this being available for wide consumption. The comics industry will never recover in my eyes until you can find issues of the books you’ll actually want to read at places like Wal-mart and Toys R Us. I won’t hold Sam’s Club to the kinds of packs they used to have. I will one day blackmail them.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Quarter Bin #14 "Genesis"
For some reason or another, I can no longer explain, but back in 1997, I originally only read the first and fourth chapters of the GENESIS crossover event. This was back when DC was doing annual crossover events that typically played out weekly in the main title, and spread into the ongoing series then being published during that month. I don’t think there’s a lot of respect going around for those events these days. Readers are more used to sprawling mini-series that play out over half a year and involve not just crossovers but spinoff mini-series, stuff like that, and there’s been plenty of backlash, because since CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS and SECRET WARS, there seems to have been an event, several events, every single year, and it’s always a struggle to keep up with, whether because of the sheer number of books or the basic cost.
Anyway, I’m not really going to talk about crossover events in general, but GENESIS specifically. Or rather:
GENESIS #s 1-4 (DC)
From October 1997.
These event books were typically assigned to some of the big-time creators, the ones who happened to be hot at that time, such as Dan Jurgens with ZERO HOUR (1994), Mark Waid’s UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED (1995) or Grant Morrison’s DC ONE MILLION (1998). John Byrne, who wrote GENESIS, had been a creative force since the 1980s, with THE MAN OF STEEL chief among his DC credentials. During this particular period, he was involved in WONDER WOMAN and JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD, both titles being mythology-rich, which was appropriate, given that GENESIS was itself another attempt to bring, well, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World back into relevance.
The whole reason why I’m talking about it today is not that it’s somehow relevant again (even Morrison couldn’t do that with the epic FINAL CRISIS) but because I was always bothered by the fact that I didn’t read the whole thing. Flashforward to a few years ago and a trip to Escape Velocity, then known as Bargain Comics, which at that time had a whole space devoted to displaying bagged collections of original-issue runs for famous story arcs. There it was, the whole set, all four issues, plus the original teaser preview.
Byrne, it should be noted, spares no such thing as subtlety with this one. That’s usually the kind of thing I go for, but big epic tales certainly have their attraction, too, and very few comics properties have that to quite the same degree as Kirby’s Fourth World, the only successful, original mythology to have ever been attempted, and come back to repeatedly, not because the publisher wanted to, but because fans continually demand it. Trouble is, few fans regularly support the Fourth World, which includes Darkseid, Orion, Mister Miracle, and Mother Boxes that “ping.”
You probably have to be familiar with a lot of it to make any sense of GENESIS, and even then the story’s remarkably light, probably one of the thinnest of its kind even from that era (in contrast, Neron juicing old villains with bigger powers really doesn’t seem that cheap an excuse). The short of the short of it is that there’s a “Godwave” that’s supposed to explain superpowers, and its contracting makes said powers all wonky for a little while, and then cause some changes around the DCU (a clever way to doing some spring, or in this case fall, cleaning). It makes sweeping generalizations that really don’t hold to much scrutiny, but then, it’s far more about the Fourth World than about any of the many superheroes it brings together (and even then, the available characters seem to be a thin lot, and they really don’t do all that much except react for four issues).
In that sense, it’s pretty disappointing, but for those who do care about the Fourth World (Highfather dies in the FOURTH WORLD book during the month, an event that is barely mentioned in GENESIS), it remains a pretty entertaining and noteworthy event, one that makes even less sense for modern readers than to those who experienced it upon release, and not just because the New Gods have lain dormant since FINAL CRISIS, but still worth the effort for anyone who might nonetheless be curious, an odd link in a chain that still has great potential.
Given another opportunity (since JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD really was better than GENESIS might suggest), I’d be more than happy if John Byrne were interesting in another visit.
Anyway, I’m not really going to talk about crossover events in general, but GENESIS specifically. Or rather:
GENESIS #s 1-4 (DC)
From October 1997.
These event books were typically assigned to some of the big-time creators, the ones who happened to be hot at that time, such as Dan Jurgens with ZERO HOUR (1994), Mark Waid’s UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED (1995) or Grant Morrison’s DC ONE MILLION (1998). John Byrne, who wrote GENESIS, had been a creative force since the 1980s, with THE MAN OF STEEL chief among his DC credentials. During this particular period, he was involved in WONDER WOMAN and JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD, both titles being mythology-rich, which was appropriate, given that GENESIS was itself another attempt to bring, well, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World back into relevance.
The whole reason why I’m talking about it today is not that it’s somehow relevant again (even Morrison couldn’t do that with the epic FINAL CRISIS) but because I was always bothered by the fact that I didn’t read the whole thing. Flashforward to a few years ago and a trip to Escape Velocity, then known as Bargain Comics, which at that time had a whole space devoted to displaying bagged collections of original-issue runs for famous story arcs. There it was, the whole set, all four issues, plus the original teaser preview.
Byrne, it should be noted, spares no such thing as subtlety with this one. That’s usually the kind of thing I go for, but big epic tales certainly have their attraction, too, and very few comics properties have that to quite the same degree as Kirby’s Fourth World, the only successful, original mythology to have ever been attempted, and come back to repeatedly, not because the publisher wanted to, but because fans continually demand it. Trouble is, few fans regularly support the Fourth World, which includes Darkseid, Orion, Mister Miracle, and Mother Boxes that “ping.”
You probably have to be familiar with a lot of it to make any sense of GENESIS, and even then the story’s remarkably light, probably one of the thinnest of its kind even from that era (in contrast, Neron juicing old villains with bigger powers really doesn’t seem that cheap an excuse). The short of the short of it is that there’s a “Godwave” that’s supposed to explain superpowers, and its contracting makes said powers all wonky for a little while, and then cause some changes around the DCU (a clever way to doing some spring, or in this case fall, cleaning). It makes sweeping generalizations that really don’t hold to much scrutiny, but then, it’s far more about the Fourth World than about any of the many superheroes it brings together (and even then, the available characters seem to be a thin lot, and they really don’t do all that much except react for four issues).
In that sense, it’s pretty disappointing, but for those who do care about the Fourth World (Highfather dies in the FOURTH WORLD book during the month, an event that is barely mentioned in GENESIS), it remains a pretty entertaining and noteworthy event, one that makes even less sense for modern readers than to those who experienced it upon release, and not just because the New Gods have lain dormant since FINAL CRISIS, but still worth the effort for anyone who might nonetheless be curious, an odd link in a chain that still has great potential.
Given another opportunity (since JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD really was better than GENESIS might suggest), I’d be more than happy if John Byrne were interesting in another visit.
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