Reading Comics 153 "Blasts from the (Recent) Past"

Detective Comics #29 (DC)

Ever since Detective Comics #27 (the second one), I've been itching to read if not the rest of then at least more of "Gothtopia," the what-if scenario John Layman introduced in the anniversary issue that proposed a happy Gotham and an appropriately coordinated Batman family, free from the grim nature more common to both.  Layman was third tier in the Batman titles after Scott Snyder (in Batman) and Peter Tomasi (in Batman and Robin), so getting the chance to have an extended crossover event of any size was a considerable acknowledgement for what he'd been doing.

To my dismay, no one really seemed to pay attention to the arc, and because Detective proved frustratingly difficult to find in a store before the Manapul/Buccellato run that succeeded Layman's, catching up on "Gothtopia" outside of the eventual collection (and not digitally) seemed like a lost cause.

Obviously I've managed to correct that, somewhat, at last.

The arc occurred in the pages of the 27th and 28th issues of Detective, Batwing, Birds of Prey, and Catwoman, as well as Batgirl #27 and Detective #29, the issue I found.  Before even the first act of "Gothtopia" was over, the cat was out of the bag (not Catbird or even Catwoman, just the metaphorical one) that the whole thing was the result of Scarecrow's fear gas in a new manifestation, lulling the city into a false sense of security.  Which was fine.  I'm assuming the intermediary issues still had some fun with the illusion the gas conjured.

By Detective #29, the illusion was over and it was time for Batman to put Scarecrow away again.  Layman, who is best known for his curious culinary experience known as Chew, proved to be a deft handler of Batman's rogues, and his Scarecrow was no different.

I wouldn't mind reading the whole thing.  If it weren't for Snyder and Tomasi, I think a lot more attention would have been given to "Gothtopia."  One of its signature elements was a New 52 acknowledgement of a classic Batman subplot, the on-again/off-again quasi-romance between Batman and Catwoman, which will surely help it stand out for future Bat-archivists.

Action Comics #25 (DC)

The only Greg Pak Superman I'd read prior to this was the debut issue of Secret Origins.  What made me pick this one up wasn't Pak but rather it's tie-in with "Zero Year," one of Snyder's Batman crossover arcs, which expanded into a number of non-Batman comics, making a limited glimpse into the New 52's past as a whole.

 Overall I wasn't hugely impressed with the issue, but in some ways I was, too.  I chose this particular image to represent it because I like how Pak depicts the young Superman.  It's rare to see Clark gleeful about his powers.  The only other young Superman the New 52 had to this point was Grant Morrison's opening run in the series, which clearly was intended to set the pace.  Pak chooses a time prior to Morrison's take, when Superman is still learning his limits, but already in the t-shirt look that Rags Morales helped make instantly iconic (the Geoff Johns Superboy had this look previously, but it has been, uh, superseded).

Perhaps more notable for me was the back-up feature, also written by Pak.  The artist for all but the final page (which, along with the main story is from Aaron Kuder) happens to be Scott McDaniel.  He's long been a personal favorite, so it's always nice to catch more recent art, especially since he seems to have been relegated to supporting work after the failure of his Static Shock at the start of the New 52 (I still owe the guys at Collected Editions the answer to their challenge of reading the run and coming to a more positive impression than they did; you can read a version of how the series imploded behind the scenes here, although for the record, the difference may still turn out to be their awareness of what happened between the creators, which is far too often the case, above and beyond the material itself).

This wouldn't be the first time McDaniel has worked on Superman (he handled the Man of Steel and also Batman in the early part of the new millennium following his best-known work, on Nightwing), so this is actually a welcome return on multiple levels.

Yeah, I always love his work.  (That's another reason I think Static Shock, on an art level alone, must be worth more than the poor reputation it gained.)  Hopefully, if he's in a doghouse or not, McDaniel can get back to some level of prominence.

Swamp Thing: Futures End #1 (DC)

The more I read of Charles Soule's Swamp Thing, the more I wish I'd been reading it all along.  The Futures End issue is another prime example of how excellent it truly is.

As far as I can tell, Soule has followed in the footsteps of Geoff Johns from the pages of Green Lantern (and to a lesser and/or unknown extent, Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow) and Aquaman, building a whole mythology out of existing material.  I know Scott Snyder began the series at the start of the New 52, and that the idea of the Parliament of Trees and the Green were introduced by Alan Moore in his seminal Saga of the Swamp Thing run, but a significant amount of what Soule has been doing (and will soon conclude before that oft-lamented Marvel-exclusive contract officially kicks in) seems to be derived from his own imagination.

As with other Futures End month issues I have previously discussed (headlined by Grayson and Soule's own Red Lanterns), Swamp Thing took the opportunity to look five years into the future as a chance to piggy-pack a conclusion to a creative run that will obviously not be in-place five years hence.  So I'm glad to have had another chance to catch this one.  Although I have a feeling I will be reading the complete Soule Swamp Thing at some point.

The included artwork also brings up Soule's inclusion of the white ring (from Green Lantern lore, currently in the possession of Kyle Rayner as depicted in New Guardians) originally featured in Blackest Night and its sequel, Brightest Day, the pre-New 52 series that saw Swamp Thing (as well as others) make his in-continuity return.  I like it when a creator has an expansive look at what's been done before them.  Obviously, few will be quite as obsessive about it as Grant Morrison (his Batman is as close to a doctorate on the subject as anyone outside of Kurt Busiek is likely to get in comics), but seeing Soule accept the challenge will always be an excellent reason to admire his work.

(And meanwhile, I will at some point find out exactly how much his Swamp Thing owes to past creators.  It doesn't really matter, though, does it?)

Dead Run (1Ton Comics)

Dead Run started life as a screenplay that reached the quarterfinals of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences's Nicholl Fellowship competition.  Dale Taylor conceived of the story as a comedy, but in this graphic novel it has become a kind of direct-to-video urban drama.  Zombie aficionados and horror film fans will probably enjoy it a great deal, especially in how it solves that pesky issue of reconciling slow- and fast-moving zombies.

The story becomes a little like Stephen King's The Stand as it follows three survivors of a dirty bomb attack that leads to the undead plague.

Taylor's grasp of the comic book format, or at least 1Ton Comics' execution, produces interesting results, which the digital art mitigates by creating a potent atmosphere.  The art is Dead Run's main draw.

Not exactly an experience comparable to the grim realism of the TV or comic book Walking Dead, but a fine alternative, finding a little more humor and social commentary.

Reading Comics 152 "Bull Moose Bargains V"

Got a bunch more cheaply-priced recent-ish comics from Bull Moose recently...

B.P.R.D. #114 (Dark Horse)
Part of the "Hell on Earth" arc, the series is the first expansion of the Hellboy franchise from Mike Mignola as featured in the movies.

B.P.R.D.: Vampire #4 (Dark Horse)
Both of these are from 2013.  I'm not sure, but these might be my first Hellboys.  The most interesting thing about them are the letters columns, which might almost be automatically the case for any comic book still featuring letters columns.  Otherwise a little hard to get into, being randomly available inexpensive purchases as they are.  As samples, I guess I would have to say that this is probably the reason I haven't read Hellboy until now.  They're comics for other readers.

Batman: Li'l Gotham #8 (DC)
These are fun comics (even referenced in The Multiversity Guidebook, for the record!) from a couple of dudes lucky enough to have their own little sandbox where they can use whatever continuity they want, which is to say, unconstrained by the wider New 52 mandate.  In some ways, this is also the Damian series that will never happen otherwise, what Batman and Robin would be like if Pete Tomasi weren't so concerned with, y'know, trying to make a permanent legacy and all.  Good comics for kids without being simplistic or derivative to some cartoon series.

FBP #4 (Vertigo)
Not to be confused with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development (see above), the Federal Bureau of Physics is the focus of a comic I hoped, when it launched, would become a new favorite.  But it didn't.  This was my chance to confirm I didn't make a mistake.

MPH #3 (Image)
I resisted picking this one up for the longest time, because it's Mark Millar's version of speedsters and having cursory looks didn't seem to suggest I'd be as jazzed about it as Starlight.  Boy was I wrong.  Plenty of superhero comics (and other stories) try to do the modern Robin Hood thing, but Millar has done a terrific job of nailing it.  This is a collection of youths who've discovered a drug giving them super speed, which they use to rob from the rich and give to the poor.  These are still times where that's a prescient topic.  A little like Brian Michael Bendis's Brilliant, but with greater relevance.  Glad I finally got this one.

The Walking Dead #115 (Image)
I don't know, it gets to a point where the story of Walking Dead is just repetitive.  Rick and pals are backed into a corner and must cleanse their situation of other survivors who are bad examples of humanity.  The reason I liked the second season of the TV so much was because the conflict came from within, Rick and Shane's reckoning.  To me, that's ultimately the only relevant thing Walking Dead can do, if it really won't address what caused the zombie apocalypse to begin with, as Robert Kirkman has suggested.  If it's not The Stand, with a clear beginning, middle and ending, then that's the only thing worth telling otherwise.  Maybe that's where Carl is headed?  If that's the case, then maybe, eventually, Walking Dead will be worth all the hype.  But spinning wheels is still spinning wheels.

Reading Comics 151 "Wonder Woman"

via DC Comics

It continues to be a very good time to be a fan of Wonder Woman.

In the pages of Superman/Wonder Woman, Peter Tomasi is acknowledging that the Amazon was indeed a crucial element of Kingdom Come, which can sometimes be overlooked.  You may have heard that Magog, who was once called Mark Waid and Alex Ross's answer to Marvel's Cable, has made his New 52 debut.

Tomasi has introduced a revelation concerning the character.  Even if he started as Cable, he always had the potential, equally, to be that character who bridges the gap between Superman and Wonder Woman.  That was always in the design, too.  Perhaps now, that's all you'll see?

via DC Comics

The commentators I've read have been less than impressed with Tomasi and Doug Mahnke's run so far, and they were even less impressed with seeing Magog enter the picture.  For me, both continue to excel.  Tomasi borrows elements of the classic Magog origin as Waid outlined it in The Kingdom but updates it for the all-important starting point of the New 52, the opening arc of Justice League.  Skeptics wonder why the young David Reid would fixate on Superman and Wonder Woman when clearly there were many other future Leaguers involved, but Superman is always the most prominent hero, and Wonder Woman in this continuity was making her spectacular debut in Man's World.

So much for that.

In Wonder Woman, the Finches have been receiving an equally dubious response, for the most part, but the critics are warming a little.

It probably doesn't hurt that they're starting to make it their own, and joining the company-wide re-introduction of long-absent characters.  In this instance, Donna Troy.  The former Wonder Girl has been brought in to replace Diana as ruler of the Amazons.  Diana, meanwhile, is struggling with the idea of being the God of War, the biggest ripple of the Azzarello years.  It was noted early on that Meredith Finch didn't seem completely familiar with how the outgoing writer ended things, but as brilliant as Brian Azzarello was, he also stuck Wonder Woman into a pocket.  Finch and husband David Finch are expanding it.  Batman and Superman appear in the issue just as if this were right alongside Justice League and Superman/Wonder Woman, which of course it is.  David Finch as always does excellent work, the opposite in style of outgoing Cliff Chiang.  Meredith, new to the game, proves surprisingly adept.

All this and Gal Gadot as the first film version of Wonder Woman, coming up next year...

Supreme: Blue Rose #6 (Image)

via Image

writer: Warren Ellis

artist: Tula Lotay

This genius revision of Alan Moore's version of Rob Liefeld's Supreme will go down as a classic.  I'll keep saying that so that there's at least one voice saying it on the ground floor.  History in the making.

The problem, if there is one, is that perhaps it's history that will perhaps best be understood in the future.  That is to say, when the thing is collected and you can read it all at once.

The problem is that an issue like this one perhaps doesn't read like history because it doesn't itself ring like anything special.  But it's a necessary link in the chain.

And it's the penultimate issue.  Characters are figuring out where they've been headed.  Darius Dax plays his hand.  We're one issue away from finding out what exactly happened to Ethan Crane, the erstwhile Supreme.

Warren Ellis and Tula Lotay are brilliant even in isolation from what makes the project in itself brilliant.  

That's about all there's to say this time.

Secret Origins #9 (DC)

via DC Comics

writer: Charles Soule (Swamp Thing), Paul Levitz (Power Girl), Van Jensen (John Stewart)

artist: Alessandro Vitti (Swamp Thing), Alisson Borges (Power Girl), Pat Broderick (John Stewart)

The last DC commitment Charles Soule is concluding Swamp Thing, a series I've caught on occasion and thought filled with typical Soule brilliance.  I haven't read regularly, so I hope to catch up at a later date, which means an aside like this origin/recap is extremely welcome.  And that's what was so great about Secret Origins, a chance for readers to catch up on or be introduced to not merely characters but creators.  A hugely underrated experience.

Paul Levitz, a DC institution, catches readers up on the new Power Girl spinning out of World's Finest and Batman/Superman and into Teen Titans.

But aside from Soule's Swamp Thing, the other entry worth writing about is the John Stewart origin.  John's the Green Lantern some fans still think ought to be the new mainstream face of the franchise thanks to his appearances in the animated Justice League, a rare black hero of significance in DC (wait, that sounds bad...).  The writer is Van Jensen, who along with Soule was one of the newbies who came into the GL titles after the end of the Geoff Johns era.  Since I really only read Red Lanterns at that point, I'm not hugely familiar with Jensen's work, so it's really just a matter of appreciating the rare opportunity to revisit John Stewart's story.  Soldier.  Architect.  Green Lantern.

...If I'm right, in what I've guessed recently, we may be headed toward a new John Stewart solo title.  Maybe reason enough for DC to reprint Mosaic?  Please?

Reading Comics #150 "Red Lanterns"

via DC Comics

Charles Soule is now all but done with DC.

...Sorry, got a little emotional there.  The transition within the pages of Red Lanterns, one of his signature runs, turns out to be better than I could have imagined.

His final issue, Red Lanterns #37, is also a "Godhead" tie-in, but Soule doesn't let that get in the way (much).  A lot of writers like to comment directly on their departures.  Based on his theoretical continuation of the tradition, and keep in mind I haven't looked directly into this, but Soule seems to make comments to the effect that DC done him wrong, in a manner of speaking, and so that's why he signed the exclusive with Marvel.  He wouldn't be the first one to make such claims, but it's certainly sucks, because he's another writer I would've loved to see help build the future of the company.  His work is frequently sensational, and his grasp of continuity, and how to push it forward, is exceptional.

"People being petty, and bitter, and refusing to give something unless they get something in return.  Broken trust.  People who refuse to see how good they've got it."

That's some caption narration from Guy Gardner.  Then again, it could also suggest that Soule somewhat regrets making that deal with Marvel.  Who knows?  Charles Soule.

But the new writer, Landry Q. Walker, in Red Lanterns #38 turns out to be a pretty good continuation of Soule's run, focusing on Guy's return to Earth and witnessing the lingering effects of the "Atrocities" arc.  He's kind of lost all hope, and so Walker's captain narration is bleak to go along with what Guy experiences, but it reads as immediately relevant to what's come before.  Too often in the past, I've seen replacement writers, especially those coming in at the end of a series (Red Lanterns ends in March; whatever may or may not appear in July, after the two-month Convergence event, is anyone's guess, although I've started to wonder if Guy and John Stewart and Kyle Rayner won't simply receive solo titles) muff it.  But that's not what happens here.

It doesn't hurt to have artist J. Calafiore for continuity between runs.  Calafiore's been dependable for years, and that's all the more welcome to see in Red Lanterns, where he's done excellent work with Guy Gardner, helping to shape a new era for the character, one that grounded Guy far better than the caricature he's sometimes been.  Walker's script even helps provide some context: "You wear a ring long enough, you stop seeing real people.  All you see is costumed nut jobs and super-powered idiots."

Let's hope this ride continues in some form.