Metropolis - The Queen Has Spoken!

It's Official - Wonder Woman #602 / LOSH #3 and more...

2010-08-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Wonder Woman #602

Last time, we were talking about Wonder Woman #600, her new costume, what was cool, what was not so cool, and how the changes would affect her future. Last month, a lot of our customers were saying they weren't too sure about #601 and the direction the story was going.

I don't know how long the changes will last, or how permanent they'll be, but I'm sooooo IN. With #602, the story begins to really solidify, and though a few diehard fanboys jumped off after last month's installment, I am not one to stick to the old when the new is just soooo good.

For starters, it feels a lot like Babylon 5. I loved Babylon 5. Until Battlestar Galactica came along, I thought Babylon 5 was probably the best TV series ever. The thing I hate about JM Straczynski is how long he can sometimes take to set up all his pins before really moving the story along. That's not the case here - after only 3 installments, the wheels are definitely on and the train has left the station. The things I love best about JMS are his handling of mythologies and his handling of female characters, and here, he is shining so brightly he's like the sun.

So the question for most of the hardcore fans is: is this Wonder Woman?

I think maybe the true answer is, "Not the Wonder Woman you've known." But it most certainly is Diana.

The great thing about this is that it's deconstructing the character so that she can be reconstructed with better materials, and hopefully, with better hope for the future. This Diana is fierce and smart, and we're getting a front row seat into what makes a legend. She's learning to wear the mantle of leadership and authority that are hers by birthright, and earning her powers in the process. As a future queen of the Amazons, she's learning that she needs to be strong, she needs to be decisive, and she will have to make painful decisions. Not only that, but she'll need to know when she has to act contrary to what she's told while she's waiting to be the one calling the shots. And she does - though she was told that her first priority was to protect herself, because the Amazons' hope rests in her, she risks her life to save them. She takes on an army, for crying out loud. That's heroism.

JMS is defining a character that will, I hope, do away with all the previous arguments. Is she an Amazon Warrior? Is she an Ambassador of Peace? Which side of her nature will win? In this story, we're seeing a coherent, integrated confluence of the two, rather than the fractured and completely unbelievable character we've been seeing before, when every month when you picked up the book, it was a crap shoot as to whether Diana was going to be kicking superhero ass, or kissing it.

The one problem I am having with the book is the outfit. I really hate those hand things. The bracers are nice, the trousers are nice. But the jacket is so dated. And then she takes it off. And there they are. The straps. Dear God in heaven, what the hell are those? They look like ballet shoes gone rogue attacked her arms. How would you fight in that? Who the hell ties them on her every day? Come on.

I know the fanboys are crying foul, outraged that Gail Simone is no longer writing and that JMS is doing radical things with their personal icon. But fanboys alone cannot keep Wonder Woman alive - she, like the Olympian Gods of old, needs more followers to keep her legend alive and her flame burning. I think this Wonder Woman deserves more than a chance - she deserves your respect.

God, I've been dying to say that for years. Thanks, JMS, for finally making that possible.

Legion of Super-Heroes #4

I want to like this more than I do so far. It's beginning to finally start to fire on all thrusters, I think, but there are still some little things about this series that bother me.

First, I think Paul Levitz is finally finding the characters. They're beginning to gel at last into recognizable individuals. That's good. I'm not a great lover of fictional swear-words, which used to pepper the speech of the Legionnaires. I don't know if "nass" was one of his, but the last run had one that I don't even remember. I do remember seeing "florg" in the new Doctor Solar, which Jim Shooter's writing (and which, btw, is quite good, despite that) - dumb. I did like "grife" and"sprocking", but the others just sort of grated, so if we're not going to say "Grife, Timber Wolf, get your sprocking temper under control!", then I'd rather we didn't say anything. Levitz has toned some of that down, and that's good.

Second, I think the story is beginning to come together. But I have to say, it's been a slow build to get here so far. I have felt like he was trying to do too much with too many characters, too fast. Finally, though, it seems that he's sowed enough seeds that they're beginning to sprout and twine toward one another, and join up into something that's beginning to make sense.

But I'm still ... I don't know. I guess it feels a little old school to me. That being said, I'm a big fan of the Silver Age stuff, and I actually was one of the three or four people who enjoyed the Birnbaums' run on the book (the grown-up Legion). But I wasn't a huge fan of the 70's stories, or even the 80's for that matter. And this feels that way to me. I know comics can be written with a cool retro feel - look at Astro City. That's a great take on Silver Age books with a very contemporary edge. Love it. This Legion, though, feels a little stuck in old times, and not current. So I guess I like it, but don't love it.

Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom #1
Now this is could turn out to be a comic book. Although the B plot is rather tired (a writer whose creations are coming to life), the main part of the story is terrific.

Doctor Solar is reintroduced into the 21st century with great aplomb by veteran comic honcho, Jim Shooter (former editor in chief of Marvel, Valiant, Defiant, and perhaps, tomorrow, THE WORLD). The character is vintage and storied, from its beginnings back in the Gold Key days to its Valiant run under Shooter's watchful eye, to its reintroduction here as a Dark Horse property.

Without a lot of annoying exposition, Shooter deftly retells the origin story of Doctor Solar - similar to Dr. Manhattan's, from Watchmen - but adds a couple of little twists or nuances. First, there's a terrible incident in a nuclear plant, from which Doctor Solar eventually recovers - he wills himself to re-form. He then realizes he can manipulate energy, even time. He re-writes an inconvenient 8-seconds, and the resulting ripple creates his first nemesis (the aforementioned writer). It's a good read, opening a lot of possibilities for future storylines - for example, the corporation who owned the nuclear plant clearly knows more than it's saying. Did they cause the accident specifically to create a Doctor Solar? To discover if more could be created? Or did they know what would happen at all? Will more happen (there are little "pockets" of weirdness cropping up all over)?

The artwork is only competent. While Dennis Calero manages to use color very nicely to illustrate Solar's powers, most of it feels hacked. There were a couple of panels where I couldn't tell exactly what was going on (I think Doc was levitating), and a few where I felt like he just didn't really have much energy for the project. I hope that changes - this book needs a more stylized approach than standard super-hero fare, and unless Dennis comes to the party quick. I think people might pass on the book simply because the art just isn't there.

Still... It's an interesting premise - I've always liked this character, and if I had my druthers, Shooter would still be at Valiant AND Marvel, so having him on the book is a definite plus - although I do wish he would forego the concocted swear-words. "Florg" just does not have the same ring to it as "frak."

Wonder Woman #600, Royal Historian of Oz #1

2010-07-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

Wonder Woman #600

Even I was surprised at the number of comments, complaints, praises, and general remarks made about Wonder Woman #600, which of course mostly centered around the redesign of Wonder Woman's so-called "iconic" costume. I'll get to all that in a moment.

First, though, I'd like to say what a wonderful issue this was - this truly was what a centennial issue should be like. After the disappointing Batman #700 and the moderately good Superman #700, WW#600 really pulled out the stops to make this a bang-up read, and succeeded where her more commercially popular partners failed. There were six stories in the issue, three utterly forgettable, three pretty nice ones, plus an array of pinups done by some really fab artists. My favorites were Nicola Scott and Adam Hughes, and of course the Phil Jimenez 2-page splash was amazing.

Now to the stories that mattered - the first was by Gail Simone, one of my favorite WW writers; this was called Valedictorian. The beginning of the story outlined a huge, epic battle against IVO's Cyber-Sirens, who are able to brainwash and stupefy men, but not women. So we get almost the entire DCU's roster of female heroes fighting alongside WW, who is leading the charge. This was nice for me because of the level of reverence and awe the other hero-grrlz have for Wonder Woman; the Question struggling to strike up the courage to ask for an autograph, and Batwoman inviting her out for a drink - it was really really fun. The second part of the story didn't work as well for me. WW flies off after the big victory, turns herself into Diana Prince, and attends the college graduation ceremony of Vanessa Kapatelis. This was mainly a nod to older readers - but I have to say that someone coming into the stories as a newbie would have a tough time figuring out the relationships here. On top of that, I'm no great fan of George Perez's, as heretical as that may be. I frankly thought his cover for this issue was not just not really special, but downright ugly.

Still, Simone's skill wins through every time, and the touching interaction between Vanessa and Diana brought a tear to my eye, after all they had been through. I will miss Gail Simone on this character, as I thought she was finally hitting her stride with WW, and had begun to draw a real and memorable personality for her. I hope that after JMS completes his run, she'll return to the series and pick it up from there.

The other story worth discussing was the Amanda Conner piece, "Fuzzy Logic" - OMG, this was beautiful! First off, seeing Conner drawing both Power Girl and Wonder Woman for five whole pages was Swoon City for me. Conner is a truly great penciller for women, and she nails both of them. The dialogue was a bit stilted for me, but a little artistic license here is allowable because it made the story play even cuter. It all centered on a little-used ability of WW's - she can talk to animals. When PG asks for "relationship help" and WW agrees to mediate the situation, we realize that it's PG's cat that's the problem. It was cute and funny, and everything a short story should be - a completely satisfying resolution, while still feeling like a Wonder Woman story.

The other stories were entirely forgettable - a mystifying Geoff Johns piece that just seemed to be a recap or retelling of her history - no idea why that was even in there except to serve as a prologue to a prologue, which is what JMS's story ends up being.

OK. Now to the outfit. She has pants now. I like that. She has a cropped leather jacket, which would be totally bitchen ... in 1990. Dude, it is sooooo dated! Designed by Jim Lee, there are more good things about the costume than bad, but that shortie jacket is stupid. I really am totally over the star-spangled bikini panties, and just generally hate the trend of skimp-wear on female heroes. I really do appreciate Batwoman, the Question and Cassandra Cain's Batgirl, for that reason. I mean I know they're skin-tight, but at least they're realistic fighting duds. Beyond that... so what? Superheroes change costumes quite often, really. Look at Batman. Or Superman. Or Green Arrow. Whatever. None of them are running around in their panties (well, they are, but at least they're also wearing pants under them ;D ). I just think it's much ado about nothing.

The story itself is the big drama in my mind. So here's the premise: WW suddenly steps out of her own life into a completely unfamiliar reality, with no memory of what was. She is one of the very few survivors of a massacre on Themyscira, raised by Amazons in a shelter someplace beneath New York City (?). She visits the Oracle, who used to be the Oracle at Delphi or something, but now is a blind goth chick living under a bridge. The Oracle has knowledge of the other reality, and tells Diana she is "everything and nothing that she was before," and then proceeds to show Diana her vision of the destroyed Paradise Island.

Here's the good: JMS has a history of writing tremendous female characters. His Commander Ivanova, Ambassador Delenn and Lyta Hall (from Babylon 5 - heavenly choirs sing praises, amen) were paragons of strength, compassion, and intelligence, and all while remaining utterly female, mostly not bitchy, etc. This is, apparently, nearly impossible to achieve, if you look at the way most people - including women - write female characters. I hate it when stridency, shrillness, and bitchiness are used to represent strength. I also hate it when female characters take every opportunity to emasculate, castrate, and otherwise render null, all males in their wake, and this is something I've seen far too much of in film, television and comics. So, I have hope that JMS will be able to fashion a true and real person out of Diana at last.

The bad: How do you explain to the rest of the DCU that Wonder Woman just doesn't exist? Where did she go? Do any of them remember her? I realize the Justice League no longer really involves the Holy Trinity (btw, that's stupid, DC peeps), but seriously? And this story arc lasts just a year or so - then do we just reset to the status quo?

The ugly: I am so over the deconstruction and reconstruction of big superheroes. So now what's going on in the DCU? Batman is fighting his way back from the dead (decon/recon). Superman is fighting his way back from New Krypton and The 100 Minute War by walking - not flying - around the country (decon/recon). And now Wonder Woman is gone, too, and is no longer even the person she used to be. Her history, her family, her world ... phhhhht (decon/recon). Notice that I don't say "retcon." None of her past will be erased, I think. But still... there certainly is an epidemic of this sort of thing going on in the DCU, and it's hardly original when you think about it.

The pragmatic: Wonder Woman constantly circulates in numbers just high enough to prevent cancellation - the bottom of the Top 100. As one of DC's Big Guns, Wonder Woman should be a Top 20 title. It's all about making the character someone we can care about - someone we can know. That hasn't happened, in all of her 69 years of history. Is she a formal / awkward / royal? Is she a warrior, stoic and silent? Is she a warm, compassionate woman? Is she all of these, none of these, some of these? I've seen her written different ways when different writers take over. There should be a unified version of the original Warrior Princess - and that's my bone to pick. I know Xena better than I know Diana, and Diana's got 60 years of history on Xena (well, story-wise, I mean). If JMS can solidify her character and personality into someone winning and wonderful, then I think that any good writer should be able to come in after the shake-up and take over. In the meantime, we've had a lot of people who normally do not pick up Wonder Woman getting the issue and reading the story. There's been a lot of buzz around WW. That's a good thing. We don't need to keep on writing to please the fanboys who have just kept WW in circulation - that's not enough. We need to interest everyone else, and convince them to stick around for the ride. Let's hope it's a good one.

The Royal Historian of Oz
Slave Labor Graphics has long been a favorite publisher, putting out a small number of really good books each year, most of them graphic novels. SLG often stays away from serial comics, probably due to the capricious nature of them. But this book is a winner, I think - written by Tommy Kovac (Stitch, Skelebunnies, Autumn), it's whimsical and atmospheric, just like his art. Tommy's not pencilling this however, more's the pity. The art is being handled by Andy Hirsch. The book's a black & white, no color, and Hirsch's work is fine, even though I think I would enjoy it more had Tommy been able to pencil it himself.

Story-wise, it's super fun. Jasper Fizzle is obsessed with Oz, and continually writes bad Oz stories. He is warned repeatedly by the copyright holders to cease and desist, but simply can't. As luck would have it, Jasper happens upon the Silver Slippers from the original Oz stories, and incredibly, they are no movie prop. When he puts them on, he is transported to Oz because their magic transcends the Spell of Sealing put on Oz by Glinda the Good Witch - to keep people like Jasper from exploiting the denizens of Oz. Jasper's son, Frank, is the person telling this story, so we see it all from his perspective. When Jasper returns from Oz with a flying monkey in tow, then shows Frank the caravan he's brought along to house all of the treasures he has "appropriated" (illegally), it's as if Frank is stepping into some Oz-ian TARDIS - the wagon is much bigger on the inside, and filled to bursting with artifacts, books, and more. Jasper is delighted because he is sure that now all he needs to do is write down things that really happened, and he'll be a published author, writing about the land he loves. But back in Oz, Glinda and Ozma are none too happy with Jasper's filching, and are preparing to dispatch their crack team to track him down and take something of value to him in order to persuade him to trade for all he has stolen (his son, of course). And so, next issue, we'll see The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion, accompanied by Scraps, the rag doll, as they begin the hunt for Frank Fizzle, son of the man who fancies himself the Royal Historian of Oz.

It's so great when we get all-ages books worth reading by readers of ALL AGES - not just kiddie books that parents have to endure in order to get their kids involved in comics and reading. Even though I wish the book were in color, for the sake of involving more children, the story is good enough that if parents will take the time to read along with their kids, I believe all will have a merry time. And for the bargain price of a buck - yep, this first issue is just ONE DOLLAR, peeps - there's little to lose. I highly recommend this book.

So, what do you think? Wonder Woman's outfit? Great? Horrible? Why? Royal Historian - worth buying? (I think so) Let me know!

Why Don't I Review More Marvel?

2010-06-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've been asked about this, and I know my blog and all of my reviews on our dork show (Metro After Hours, for those of you not watching yet - we do a 10 minute episode every so often and you can see it at www.youtube.com/metrohero ) are very heavily weighted to DC and indie companies - more DC than anything.

The answer is that I talk about what I read, pure and simple. On After Hours, we have found ourselves talking sadly about Marvel comics, more than anything lately. And it is kind of a shame - Marvel has some of the most creative minds in the business working for them, yet recently, their books are mostly just not really worth the paper they're printed on.

In my opinion, it's really about glut. Somehow, in Marvel's collective mind, quantity seems to equal quality. They figure if one Deadpool book sells well, they should have... well, they should have this many:

If they were ALL good, that wouldn't be a bad thing, would it? But they aren't all good. They aren't all fun. Some of them are just hack jobs. The recent Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth was good fun, and a worthwhile, and recommended, read. These, for the most part, are not. And they are bizarrely numbered starting at something like #893 - all this to give us an issue #900, presumably to compete with DC's recent Batman and Superman #700 (those, by the way, are legitimate numbers, come by honestly over the past 75 years. Marvel has only been producing superhero comics since 1963, so they cannot come close to DC's numbering. They shouldn't try).

The same is true for Avengers. We have Avengers, Secret Avengers, Avengers Academy, Avengers Prime, and Avengers: The Origin.

Oh my.

Secret Avengers is actually kind of good. The rest... meh.

The problem is trying to wade through all the drek to get to the good stuff. Marvel apparently decided that the average comic fan has unlimited wads of disposable dough and wants to spend it ALL on Marvel comics, and that the Avengers or Deadpool or Spider-Man (or whatever) True Believers will just plop down their cash to make sure their collections are complete, even if it bankrupts them - not a stretch to think it could happen what with Marvel's recent move to a standard cover price of $3.99.

What they fail to realize is this: the average fan does not have infinite money. But they're right about one thing: the True Believer must have every issue of Avengers. Or none at all. See, what happens is that these guys get overwhelmed. They feel they can no longer afford to keep up. Rather than continue to buy just the comics they actually read and like, the True Believer will drop them all, rather than go without some.

It's sad to see, actually. There are a couple of good books. Runaways has been quite good. Secret Avengers. Spider-Girl. The Hulk books - there are only 2: Hulk and Incredible Hulk. And actually, the Hulk books are excellent - one is being written by Jeph Loeb, who is a mixed bag at times for me, but the other is being written by the Hulk's most gifted scribe, Peter David.

But except for these few, most of what Marvel has been doing of late is trying to catch DC's fantastic success with Blackest Night and the relaunch of the Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps books (just the 2 titles there, folks), the return of the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, and Blackest Night sequel, Brightest Day.

It all just feels a bit desperate. Instead of simply doing their thing and agreeing that sometimes DC gets lucky and hits on an inspired idea. Sometimes, Marvel does. Marvel's own zombie story, Marvel Zombies, was a great, tongue in cheek, but still very exciting and suspenseful story. House of M was a great story. Wolverine - The Origin. NYX. These were all really interesting, fresh, original stories. Civil War - it may not have been completely original, but it was still well told. But instead of continuing in that vein, Marvel has served up Siege - an utterly misbegotten story on an epic scale. OK. Everyone craps out once in awhile, no big deal. But to keep on frantically grasping at straws by just chucking more and more garbage at the wall in hopes that something - anything - sticks... it's not a great plan.

Meanwhile, DC has been planting the seeds for their year-long epic over the course of several years, patiently waiting for the moment when they can let the flower bloom and reveal all the glory inside. While DC patiently threaded its story through its entire universe, Marvel just began blowing their universe up and re-starting the whole thing. Now that the misguided Spider-Man story, "One More Day," (Mephisto offers to save Aunt May in exchange for Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane) has resulted in loss of sales and huge tanking all over the world, Marvel plans to rebuild, it seems. The latest Spider-Man (spoiler here, so just highlight it to see it) shows Spider-Man being killed so that his blood can be used as a sacrifice in order to bring Kraven back from the dead. Seems that perhaps Spidey will be getting a re-match with Mephisto and seeing about getting his girl back. Good for him. Maybe people will care about him once again.

The thing is, the idea was fine - to put Peter Parker back at his beginnings, all alone. But why is it that writers these days have a hard time just writing the character as he is? Why the constant need to deconstruct and reconstruct? It's baffling, and it's become so passe and tiresome.

And DC isn't lily white in this regard either. The upcoming Superman story, "Grounded," seems to feature a Superman who, once again, has all this angst about being Superman, so he leaves off patrolling and saving the world and stuff, and instead goes on some sort of de-powered walkabout to meet the "real people" and ... oh for heaven's sake. If it were anyone but Joe Straczynski writing, I would have some pretty scathing things to write here. But because it's the great JMS (creator of Babylon 5, Rising Stars, and writer extraordinaire), I am willing to wait and see.

But a little advice to Marvel: you're starting to look a little like a PC next to DC's Mac. A little dumpy. A little desperate. A little late to the party. And always saying you were there first. But the truth is, you don't have to arrive first to be the life of the party - just put out good comics again and we'll have lots to talk about.

Echo ... Batman...

2010-06-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

Echo 22

Everyone should read Echo. It's so much more interesting than any other comic book out there right now. Written by Terry Moore, the writer of Strangers In Paradise, Runaways, and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, it's a huge departure from what I'd come to expect from him. The most recent installment begins the run-up to the end - it's a limited series, in 30 parts. This is part 22.

The story begins with a bang - literally. Julie Martin is recovering from a divorce, out at Moon Lake (a dry lake bed) with her camera when BLAM! Something explodes in mid-air, pelting her with drops of silvery metal, which will not come off her skin. Instead, the drops merge into a kind of breastplate, covering most of her upper body and one arm.

A doctor tries to touch it, and it takes his fingernail off. Anyone with violent intent toward Julie is either thrown off or killed, all without Julie being able to control what the suit is doing. And it's growing - the alloy attracts stray droplets of itself, and the more it attracts, the more Julie hears... an echo.

What Julie doesn't know is that the metal is an alloy from a very special suit created by physicist Annie Trotter for the Phi Project. The big bang Julie witnessed (and is now wearing the fallout from) was Annie testing the suit. Boom. But Annie isn't completely gone. The alloy bonds with the wearer at the quantum level, bonding DNA to itself. Somehow, the echo of Annie survives, and the more of the alloy Julie wears, the more strongly Annie is able to come through. And boy, do they need her to come through.

Turns out that the Phi Project, like so many earthly organizations, doesn't know its own strength. They are committed to running this alloy through their collider (you know, like the Large Hadron Collider at Cern...?). Annie knows that when they do this, it will be the last act of man - it will create a wormhole, a black hole, that will swallow up the entire earth, the solar system, maybe the universe itself. So the race is on to stop that collider - Julie is aided by Dillon, Annie's boyfriend, and Ivy Raven, an agent sent to retrieve her, but who switches sides to help Julie.

Echo is a book that, while I love Terry Moore's clean, elegant line work, would really benefit from color. The story is complex and it's sometimes hard to tell one character from another at key moments. It can be figured out without a lot of brain bending or eyestrain, it's just that with color, I think it would just be a bit more organic to follow.

The book is a fascinating read, combining elements of physics, metaphysics and psychology; it's the Dan Brown equivalent of an analysis of religion. heh heh. It's also nominated for an Eisner award, so I'm not the only geek who thinks it's worth a look. Not only that, but Terry Moore's latest creation has caught the attention of Hollywood - Lloyd Levin, producer of the Watchmen, Hellboy, The Rocketeer and others, has optioned the series for a movie. Check it out.

Batman 700

Batman #700 - that's a LOT of Batman comics, man. First of all, the cover is amazing. Beautiful work by David Finch. The story by Tony Daniel (first half) and Grant Morrison (second half) is uneven, however.

Still, "Time and the Batman" - cleverly, this is the answer to the riddle/joke that is posed again and again in the story - is an interesting read, using several different artists, among them Frank Quitely and Adam Kubert, to tell a tale of many Batmen.

I liked the way the characterization of Batman-Dick is progressing. He smiles. He asks the cop about his child. He's a kinder, gentler Batman. I liked the way the characterization of Batman-Damian shows him to be a different man, and a different Batman altogether. I loved seeing Terry MacGinnis in continuity for the first time (I think it was the first time, anyhow). Batman past, present and future - it was a great idea, and some of it worked well.

Some of it was a bit obtuse, however (that's Morrison for you). I got the ending, I guess, but it really felt a bit disjointed and hyper at the end. I know they were going for a manic feel, especially in the Damian timeline, but it just got very confusing for me, and the artwork was too busy and felt a bit rushed - anniversary issues sell forever, it's not good to rush them. Overall, I recommend the book, but with the reservation that if you like a good, clean, readable story, this may not fit the bill in all areas. But where it works, it's very good, and a fun and worthwhile investment.

The Lost Finale

2010-05-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

Since Lost is arguably one of the most influential TV shows of our time, I thought the finale bore mention here. As I said in my first post, I like to talk about pop culture, and this certainly qualifies.

I have mixed feelings about the finale. On one hand, there were elements of it that I loved. Frankly, I loved every minute of it, up to the last ten. Then, I felt my mind screaming, “No. No. Noooooooo!” I wanted to love it, but in the end, it felt a bit hollow to me. It might be deemed a success because of the amount of debate it’s certain to generate, but in my mind, it doesn’t compare to the great endings of Battlestar Galactica (the recent reimagining) or Babylon 5 – despite the problems it had to face to come to an end at all. While those also generated a lot of debate, they were more satisfying overall, and for that reason, I feel that the Lost finale fell a bit short. Nevertheless, let’s examine my thinking.

WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND

The Bad – Such Ado About Nothing

First, I want to talk about the stuff I felt really bitter about, because they weren't explained enough for my liking: The Dharma Initiative, polar bears, the Smoke Monster, all the intensity about fertility and babies, the weirdness around Walt (remember that from Season 1?), the big Tawaret statue and all those hieroglyphics, the temple and Dogen, the episode with Allison Janney that explained the origin of Jacob and his brother, that whole mess with Richard Alpert, the Numbers, for God’s sake, the Pendulum and Eloise Hawking, and the idea that you have to “kill him before he says a word to you. If you let him talk to you, it’s too late.” (which is exactly the way the Man In Black kills Allison Janney in the origin episode). And Seriously ? A literal “plug”? I realize all the fertility hysteria mean something, but I wasn't prepared for it to end up with such an “earthy” depiction, pardon the phrase - but saving the island by jamming a giant, phallic rock into a hole? Pretty primal there. Not too scientific. Some answers were provided, but many of them, we’re told are “up to your interpretation.” I’m sorry, but that’s lazy storytelling. I didn’t expect every answer to every question. But the answers provided were, in many cases, questionable, and in the end, there were far too many unanswered questions. Did they all die in the crash of Oceanic 815? Or did everything happen? The wreckage shown over the credits felt ominous and final.

What did it all mean? Seriously. If you want to take on the concept that this is all basically from Jack’s point of view, and it’s all about him letting go and being ready to move on to the next spiritual plane, that’s fine. But then, why weave this intricate, complex bunch of ideas about time and space, electromagnetism and mathematics, the wheel, all the scientific stuff you had there? Why this mythology about not allowing the other person (both MIB and Jacob gave the same instructions to people at one time or another) to speak to you before burying a knife in his belly? Why have The Others? What the hell?

I really wanted the ending to tie all of this stuff in somehow – maybe not answer every question I had, but I wanted something a bit more science-fiction-y, I guess. I’ve seen a lot of discussion that says that the way you take the ending depends on how spiritual or religious you are. I disagree. I’m a devout Christian, and I still wanted some science with my faith, here, thank you very much.

The Good – Stuff I Loved

Just because I’m bitching about some parts of the writing being lazy doesn’t mean I felt that way about everything. The filmmaking was breathtaking at times, just beautiful, and nothing lazy about that at all. I loved the resolution each and every character found. I loved the fact that Jack was finally able to "fix" Locke. I loved seeing Locke smiling, achieving complete redemption after being "UnLocke" all season long. I loved seeing Vincent come to lie down beside Jack, and in this way, thwart the “live together, die alone” portent. I remembered the repetition of the phrase, “What happened happened.” I choose to go with this idea, and believe that everything actually did happen, except for Sideways World, which I believe was a sort of “limbo”, the playing out of some realities for the purpose of final examination and resolution.

The Desmond storyline, depicting Des as wealthy but inwardly empty was great. As he achieves awareness of his “other life”, his love of Penny impels his drive to awaken the others, and this was very compelling. The “reunions” of Charlie and Claire, Ben and the Rousseaus, Sawyer and Juliet were among the most touching moments I’ve seen in a long time. The reunion of Sayid with Shannon was also quite lovely, and I felt that while others complained “why wasn’t it Nadia?” the reason for this was clear to me: Nadia and Sayid were never able to make a really pure connection. The reason for Sideways World was resolution – for some people, it’s hard to admit that having is not always so pleasurable as wanting. With Sayid, Nadia was the love that could never hope to last – it was tainted by her knowledge of his past and his guilt - with her, he could never "let go". But his connection to Shannon was just as real, if more brief, and though he admitted his past to her, she never experienced him as that man, capable of those things. The Sayid she knew had already moved on in that sense, and so the connection to Shannon was Sayid’s way of resolving (letting go of) that tattered past.

So, I’m going to have to choose to believe that the Oceanic crash victims did not die in that crash. I’m going to go with the idea that all of this stuff actually did happen, does exist, is real. That it had a purpose. That “what happened happened.” That the survivors of Oceanic 815 actually lived together on that island for a time. That the Oceanic 6 escaped to the mainland and returned to the island. That the Dharma Initiative was there on the island to investigate and research the effects of that incredible electromagnetic field there, and that Eloise Hawking was a brilliant scientist and the mother of Daniel Faraday – their names alone dictate to me that the science was important, otherwise, why nod to these great men of science. I’m going to believe that Rose and Bernard continued to live on the island, that Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Richard, Miles, and Lapidus returned home and lived for who knows how many years after that. I’m going to say I think Hurley and Ben managed the island for many years – thousands, even. I think what we saw in the end was Jack’s struggle to find the balance between the science he was trained in, and the need to find something more – to balance science with faith. And in the end, he does just that, and saves, not only the island, but the world.

There was all this symbolism to help us see Jack at peace – which I did love. Vincent lying down beside Jack, and Jack’s joyful acceptance of Vincent’s gift (simply being with a person can be the greatest gift you can give at some moments) - it allows Jack, in his final moments of life, to be at peace… with dog. (Get the anagram? Though a bit heavy-handed, it makes clear that the man of Science finally has made the complete conversion to Faith) Jack’s guide, Christian Shephard, tells him, “There is no “now” here,” and helps finally get Jack to where he is ready to “let go” and move on. So Sideways World really was just the “waiting room” where they all gathered to help Jack move on, and they gathered there after their deaths, which were probably many years after Jack’s. All of them are ready to move on now. Ana Lucia is not there, because as Desmond said earlier, “She’s not ready yet.” Michael and Walt are not there, because the island people are not the ones who are so important to them. Walt and Michael got off the island. Walt probably moved on with his grandmother, while Michael may never move on after murdering Ana Lucia. But why is Aaron there as a toddler? Why is Libby missing, if Hurley is there? Problematic. More questions.

The imagery was undeniably beautiful in most cases. However…

As much as I can say that I get it, I understand where they ended up (and I believe my analysis proves that), I still have to admit, the ending did not satisfy me. In fact, as the last ten minutes unfolded, I could hear my inner monologue going, “Uh oh. Uh oh. No. No, they wouldn’t go there. That’s too easy. That’s too "first season debate." No. Noo. Nooooooooo!”

It was like, they had a great thing going. The balloon was filling. It was getting fuller, and bigger, and more amazing throughout the entire two hours and twenty minutes, and then, someone just …. Let out the cork. And like a giant balloon would, it all just deflated in a horrid slow motion. Pfffffffffffttttttttt.

It was a letdown.

Why? Because it felt like Twin Peaks redux. Or The X-Files. Or Dallas. It felt to me like they had three years, knowing when they were ending, they had all this time to figure out a great place to end up. And this is it? You’re all dead, and you’ve been witnessing a purgatory-like existence, and now you have come to a place of spiritual enlightenment, and can move on. WTH?

One of the guys I was watching with said, “Well, do you all feel a great disturbance in The Force?” And I said, “Like a billion minds all crying out in pain?” and we laughed. But it was true. It was so Star Wars. So X-Files. So what? In the end, it made all of the great stuff kind of not matter.

Why didn’t they consult with Ray Bradbury for God’s sake, if they wanted this to be as important as they thought it was going to be? In my opinion, one of Bradbury’s greatest novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes, dealt with this exact idea – at the moment that Charles Halloway finds self-acceptance after fighting his self-hatred because of his age, his tiredness, his ordinariness, and is finally content with who and what he is, the evil forces he is fighting are quickly dispelled and the characters all move on. But the way Bradbury examined this idea was so lyrical and transcendant that it didn’t feel simplistic or cheap at all. He’s still alive, you know. You could have at least made the call.

Or me – Jeebus, I think I could have done a little better. I was thinking, Damn, this is awesome, I’ll bet they tie this all together by saying this isn’t an alternate or parallel universe, but rather, it’s a parallel timeline. In finest “Crisis on Infinite Earths” style (you knew I had to bring comics into it somehow), you have to operate on the premise that there can be only one. All of the multiverse must resolve into one cohesive universe. I thought, I’ll bet what they finally do is jolt everyone out of their sleepy, hollow lives and get them to remember the other timeline.

The idea of free will and choice comes into this when each character must decide – will s/he “let go” of all of the pain and wariness, and allow himself to experience the life s/he was meant for, reaching out for help and love, not trying to do it all (and walk) alone – and stay in the Sideways Timeline – or hold on to all the anger, suspicion, isolation, and unbelief, continue to attempt to control or bend life and others to their will – and stay on the island. I felt we were seeing the timelines beginning to merge (the blood on Jack’s neck, the shiner Ben had on the island and in Sideways World). I was sure that, by the end, each of these characters had one final choice to make, and that those who chose to “let go and believe” would end up in Sideways World, retaining the knowledge and memories of the island, and those who chose to hold onto their hate and anger and control issues would remain on the island – which would be at the bottom of the ocean by the end of the episode.

Barring them consulting with the Great Ray Bradbury, or with me for that matter, they could have given us a bone in one key way that they chose not to: when each of them had their flash of recognition, as each one saw their life on the island and remembered, they could have had Kate, Sawyer and Claire - even if they left out Miles, Lapidus and Alpert - remember the island, yes, but then continue on and remember their whole lives - flashes of Kate getting married (whether to Sawyer or someone else), having children, growing old; flashes of Claire in a psychiatrist's office, with Aaron, as Aaron grew up; and so on. This would have clued us in that the Ajira flight made it safely home, and that they lived on, and only showed up in the Sideways Land church when Jack was ready to move on - this is a Jack-centric episode. So all that happened, happened. And more. And when it was time, they all showed up for Jack.

And so. The saga of Oceanic Flight 815 comes to an end. Certainly, this will all be debated for years. Undeniably, the show was influential and unique. I just wish that when all was said and done, the writers hadn’t been so lazy and relied so heavily on material we’ve all seen a hundred times since … as someone pointed out to me… Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” back in 1930. I know there’s nothing new under the sun, but Lindecuse could have put this together in a much more inventive way and given us all a better ending. For a show that seemed to be all about resolution, it’s a shame this one wasn’t more complete and satisfying.

Caesura

2010-05-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

That's a pause in the proceedings. Because today is an auspicious and sad day for me, and for all Americans.

The beginning of the end of an era, truly, today. The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off on this brilliant afternoon for its final flight. After that, Discovery will make her final voyage in September, and Endeavour takes her final ride in November or December… and with that, ends the manned space program of the United States of America.

I have been welling up all day, just thinking about the finality. President Obama says he wants to land a human on an asteroid by 2025. WTH? Pardon me, but … WHY? Why cancel the Constellation program, which was to return us to the moon and then go on to Mars with mining expeditions, colonization efforts, etc., paving the way for privatized tourism? In this economy, we're cancelling all of the jobs that program would generate. Why cancel all of that? Because we have "more pressing problems at home." Definitely. The answers may lie up there, however, and now we're not going to be able to find them. We have always had problems on Earth to solve, and always will - to quote Jesus Christ Himself, "...you will always have the poor." That's not just about the poor, by the way. That was His way of saying, "You're always going to have stuff going on. That doesn't mean you stop striving for the highest and best you can achieve, even as you are trying to lift those in dire circumstances out of their holes." And what about all of our hardware up there in orbit?

We have an interest in the International Space Station, at least until 2020 - that’s ten years from now. How do we get there? Obama plans to hitch a ride on a Soyuz with the Russions if necessary. Seriously? We’re putting our nation’s security at risk if you ask me, in a huge and dangerous way. Dig it:

How many satellites does it take to keep the web of connectivity running, the internet, satellite TV, radio, GPS, all that? What would happen if even one of those went down? Was disrupted? And we have no way to get there except for the Russians? I know they’re supposed to be our friends now, but I don’t trust Putin at all. I am old enough to remember Kruschev threatening us on an almost daily basis, promising to bury us, and pointing nukes at us from as long as I can remember. I don’t forget that easily. If I’m a Russian Prime Minister, and I’m in bed with the next great world power (China), why do I care if the US has a hard time tweaking its satellites from Houston? Don’t I secretly love it if that happens?

I love SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and all the other private companies that are coming up with new ways to travel to space that don’t rely on government funding. I know that our hope for the future lies with them. Frankly, I get sick of people bitching that "to get this economy back on track, America really needs to get manufacturing back. People should buy products that say Made in USA, and that would put a lot of people to work." Really?

Do you want to go to work painting the eyes on little die cast horses? Or pouring the metal into the molds to make those little die-cast horses? And do you want to accept the wages that are paid to the people in Mexico and India and Taiwan and China, the people who make them? Get real. Our past may have relied on American manufacturing, but Unions and plain old practicality make that impossible today: those jobs simply do not pay enough. Or, conversely, we would have to pay American workers so much more to do those jobs that the items we now obtain cheaply from other nations would skyrocket in price. Do you want to pay 17.99 for a 2-pack of Hot Wheels? $3500 for a chair? Because that's what it would take, people. That's why our future is NOT in bringing back manufacturing - let that go to other countries. Get into college, get your degrees, and get better jobs - where? In pharmaceuticals. In medicine. In aerospace, avionics, engineering, robotics, architecture. Because THAT's where the future is, idiots. Get yourself to work in a privately funded aerospace company - I have a feeling that the people smart and fortunate enough to do that now will find themselves very glad indeed when it comes to retirement age. The private space programs are what we're going to have to rely on just to service the satellites we presently have in orbit - not to mention deploying any new ones.

But there is a national point of pride in our space program, in NASA. I … I guess it all goes back to Star Trek, to tell you the truth.

I just … ever since I was old enough to imagine, to read, I’ve always loved stories about going out there. Traveling in outer space. Some of the imaginings and stories were fantastical and wonderful, magical and amazing. Some were scary and honest and real. I loved them all. I believed with all my heart that we were supposed to go on and go out there. I watched Star Trek, I saw Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, just going out there, and my heart sang, “Yes! Yes, that’s right. That’s where we’re going. That’s what it’s going to be like someday. I might live to see it.” And I just couldn't wait.

But it's not going to happen, at least not now. And that is profoundly depressing to me. To think that, my whole life, I believed and hoped and waited and wanted so damn much to see it all happen. Part of it did. I have my “personal communicator.” Cell phones are so ubiquitous we don’t even think about how much their design, their very existence, was fueled and inspired by kids who watched Star Trek and said, “I want that,” and because they did, they grew up to become engineers and electronics whizzes and scientists, and they did the research and created the technology (a lot of that tech was born in space, by the way – crystals small enough to conduct electricity in a cell phone, for example) and, with apologies to Captain Picard, made it so.

And now, here we are. On the day the last flight of the Atlantis heralds the last flight of each of the remaining shuttles. And no plans to return a citizen of the United States to outer space. None. All that inspiration. All that hope. All those dreams. All that tech. All of that space out there.

And we’re not going.

Great Week for Pop Culture - and Free Comic Book Day is May 1st!

2010-04-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

The Brave & The Bold #33
I’ve very much been enjoying The Brave and The Bold for the past couple of years, mainly because it’s a throwback to Silver Age sentiments when superheroes didn’t always just exist in their own microcosms, but instead teamed up occasionally to help one another. The interactions were always fun and some were unexpected.

The first series featured random pairings. It lasted 5 or 6 years this way, but eventually ended up as a vehicle to team Batman with some other superhero, and that iteration of the book went something like 150 issues. The next idea was to team Green Arrow with the Question, and finally, the Flash and Green Lantern.

But when this newest series was started, it came as a reboot of the original idea of random teamings. It’s been good reading, but this latest issue was particularly notable. The issue is part of the “Lost Stories of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” arc that’s currently running through the comics.

Written by the excellent J. M. Straczynski, the story is called Ladies’ Night, and it’s a lovely, light story about Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), all going out together, just to kick up their heels and dance the night and their superhero burdens away. Zatanna tells Wonder Woman that she wants to be sure the night is special; they have to practically drag Batgirl away. The story itself is charming, with great emphasis on the characters, and great little details that just make it all so believable. Some examples: Barbara runs off to the restroom to nurse her aching feet because her shoes are terribly uncomfortable, but when Zatanna offers to make them more bearable with an incantation, Barbara waves her off saying that her father caught her admiring them in a magazine and saved for months to buy them as a birthday gift for her. Because of that, she wants them exactly as he gave them to her. Later in the evening, Diana goes missing, so Barbara goes to see if she’s in the restroom – a logical assumption. When she opens the door, she sees Zatanna and Wonder Woman locked in an embrace. She discreetly turns and leaves, saying, “There’s something you don’t see every day.” I chuckled out loud, knowing that couldn’t have been what it looked like, no matter how much I might have wished it were.

The truth turns out to be ever so much more poignant than amusing, and although I began to see where he was going with the story quite a ways before the ending, I still had tears in my eyes when I got there. It was a lovely, unexpected issue of this book, and one of those rare moments in comics that just make wading through the dreck all worth the effort.

The art, by Cliff Chiang, is simple and declarative – not quite animation style, but very stylish and attractive, clean and clear, just the way I like it. There was a clear focal point or direction to each panel or page, and the last panel of the second to last page was terribly touching, drawn with great tenderness.

For me, this was a perfect comic book. It used the art to move the story along, and it didn’t put me to sleep explaining things that I could easily see by simply looking at the excellent illustrations. There was plenty of detail, but not so much that you couldn’t see the story unfolding – and see it is exactly what you did, because there wasn’t so much exposition that you had to sit and slog through it.

I give this issue of Brave and the Bold my highest recommendation, and hope you will seek it out. Even though you need to know a little history of the characters, particularly this Batgirl, it is a true gem. It’s sold out from DC now – word has gotten around. And watch for J.M. Straczynski to start making serious waves very soon as he begins his run on Superman next month.

Walking Dead #71
The Walking Dead continues to be one of my favorite comics, which is weird, because I really am not a fan of zombie stuff. Issue #71 was on the rack this past week, and as usual, it was a solid issue. Nothing earth-shattering happened in it, but I can feel things moving around in there. Stuff is going on that will shape the story for the next year or so, it’s almost certain.

At this point in time, our little band of 12 or so has run into a guy named Aaron, and this guy has convinced Rick and company to come with him to where he lives – a walled community. It’s just a couple of streets, but several families are living there in relative safety. They’ve been welcomed and assigned jobs (everyone must pull their weight) by Douglas, the leader. But there seems to be an undercurrent of strangeness underneath the pleasant façade. Carl notices it. He tells Rick that he’s afraid they will become soft and weak if they stay, and then they won’t be able to survive outside if they need to any longer. The boy tells his father that he feels everything is “pretend.” Rick wants so badly to believe that they could be safe and leave the madness of the outside world behind that he is willing to go all in. But by the issue’s end, even Andrea has remarked that the place feels fake.

So now my antennae are quivering. I’m sensing that things are going on that we’re not getting. It turns out that this issue with no zombies whatsoever has creeped me out a lot more than some of the gorier ones. Despite the fact that the book is in black and white, it feels a lot creepier and freakier than a lot of more splashy and sensational books – quiet little engine that could.

And because the TV show on AMC is premiering this October, I wanted to highlight this book ahead of time. Obviously, the tv series will be its own entity, separate from the continuity of the book. But writer Robert Kirkman is trying to stay as involved as possible, to keep the tv writers on the straight and narrow, so I have high hopes for it. Apparently, the network has foregone the usual “let’s air a pilot and see how it goes” process, and has simply ordered 6 episodes. There will be at least that many, and it looks pretty good for more to come.

The Doctor … #11
Come on, I couldn’t let this pass. I’m a great fan of Torchwood and Doctor Who. The passing of the torch from the Tenth Doctor to the Eleventh… I had to have something to say, but I wanted to make my comments as objective as possible.

I say that in the full understanding that David Tennant makes my heart go pitter-pat, because he is just that good. When I knew he would be leaving, I wondered if I would still love the series as much. So let’s talk Doc.

I loved Christopher Eccleston’s dark, edgy energy Ninth Doctor in the first year of the revival series. He was a little crazy, a little tough – he was channeling Tom Baker, so it seems, and probably was cast for his more than passing resemblance, since Baker’s image is seemingly the iconic one, unsurpassed. Until 2005, when David Tennant became the Tenth Doctor. My favorite Eccleston episodes: Rose, The Unquiet Dead, The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances.

From the very beginning, I was captivated by the younger Doctor – his energy was robust, witty, sharp, fun. Like Jennifer Garner in Alias or the lifeguards at Baywatch, Tennant was always running – and that was the genius of him, he was always in motion. Not just on the outside, but also on the inside. You could see the restless intelligence in every gesture, you could see that he had an inner life, and that he embodied the role entirely.

I saw his “Hamlet” the other night, and was very impressed. He gave an interview afterward, and in it, he did not do as I’ve seen countless other actors do – when talking about the role, most actors will say, “Mulder is haunted by all of his demons and I do my best to bring him out,” or “This is a woman trying to work something out.” No. Tennant says, “When I have to see Ophelia being buried, when I realize that it’s Claudius behind everything…” I think that’s the key. Like the great Patrick Stewart (who, incidentally played Claudius in the Tennant version of Hamlet), who says, “I shrug there.” He doesn’t say, “When Claudius shrugs.” He says, “I shrug.” Tennant likewise inhabits his character so fully that it’s not Hamlet who sees poor Ophelia buried, it’s himself. “I see her buried, I love her so much that I go a little crazy…”

And I think it’s that which makes the difference for me. Tennant becomes the Doctor is such a vibrant, immutable way that it’s hard for me to love anyone in the role as much. Favorite episodes of his run: The Girl In the Fireplace, Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead, Blink (actually nominated for a Nebula award for Best Script), Turn Left and Journey’s End, which was, for me, a perfect end to a perfect run.

The Eleventh Doctor’s arrival was a little less than auspicious – a weak premiere episode left me wondering if my love was about to die. Never fear, though, the second episode in the new Doctor’s run was magnificent. The new companion, Amy Pond, suffers from the worn device of the runaway bride syndrome, however, she’s lovely and perky and smart, so we’ll overlook that for now. Although Matt Smith is a bit odd looking, in the second episode, The Beast Below, he is revealed to be a capable torch-bearer for the franchise. His performance as he realizes the horror being perpetrated on the people of Britain, their Queen, and the marvelous StarWhale they have “captured”, was layered, believable, and entirely wonderful. Companion Amy Pond was no less sensational, as the creepy story peeled back one new layer of weirdness after another.

So after a weak start, the new Doctor seems to be finding his footing. I suspect it will be a little while before he truly settles in, and there are bound to be rough spots, but for now, I will be traveling with the Doctor.

I wish American TV would make up its mind about whether or not to do an American version of Torchwood. Apparently, this is why the BBC is delaying making another series of Torchwood for the UK. Frankly, I’d rather this stayed as a BBC program. It’s hard for me to think Torchwood without Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper. She and Captain Jack are the beating heart of that show, and separated, I’m not sure the show would fly as well. Give up your option, Fox, and let the show go back to the UK!

Siege / Green Lantern / Green Lantern Corps

2010-02-18T15:40:00.000-08:00

I see by reviewing some of my last posts that I've been reviewing mainly DC titles - I didn't intend for this to happen, but I have to face the awful truth: Most of the Marvel books out right now aren't very good. Nevertheless, the big story at Marvel these days is Siege.

I tried to read Siege, I did. But I found Siege #1 to be a disjointed, jarring editorial disaster. I could hardly make heads or tails out of what was supposed to be happening. It had such dense narrative that it was more like trying to read a poorly illustrated novel than a comic book - a graphic medium. For heaven's sake, writers, remember that it's a comic book! Shut up and leave the artist a little room to illustrate the action! And I don't mean to imply (by "poorly illustrated") that the art is substandard - it's actually beautiful. The problem for me is that the art is attempting to illustrate the writer's vision, but the writer's vision is so disconnected that the artwork isn't able to bridge the gap and fill us in.

Then, along comes Siege #2... (shudder). A couple of our customers told me this was awesome, but also shuddered. I read it just to see what all the hubbub was about. Highlight for spoiler: Sentry rips Ares in half and splatters blood, bone, intestines and the disembodied spine of the War God across two pages for all to see. Gross. Also unfortunate: we now have to top rack this item and refuse to sell it to kids, for fear of some unsuspecting parent getting hold of it. Last thing I need is some irate mom or dad coming in to tell me all about little Johnny's nightmares ever since he read that god-awful thing. But the problem here was reverse of the last issue - last issue, too much exposition, not enough graphic interface. This issue, rampant violence with no explanation. To find out WHY Sentry is on the rampage, you have to go read Dark Avengers. In some ways, it's a good departure: most of us feel that the past several months of Marvel's books have had the Avengers, etc., sitting around talking over their feelings rather than doing much. Here, we finally see something happen. But did it have to be quite so graphic? Holy Mother of God - this is SO graphic it almost feels like abuse. I thought they were saving this stuff for Kick-Ass and their Icon imprint books. I remind you this is happening in a so-called mainstream Marvel comic book.

This is the way Marvel ushers in their new "Heroic Age"? (their answer to DC's Brightest Day) Oooookay.

On to Green Lantern #51: Had to be one of my favorite reads of the past couple of months. I want to mention that this issue was barely edged by Blackest Night #6 - the last page was one of those moments in comics that felt like coming from a dark hallway and opening a door, and light pouring out onto you. I felt my grin start, and it just didn't go away for hours. It was the first time since the beginning that I felt the darkness of the Blackest Night story beginning to lift, and it was a great, uplifting experience. Green Lantern #50 and 51 continue this story, and thus are critical tie-ins to the Blackest Night saga. Geoff Johns is a brilliant writer, and this story continues to shine with small moments amongst the bigger story - some of the most entertaining coming from the conflict between Agent Oranges Larfleeze and Lex Luthor. Hilarious exchanges. Meanwhile, however, Hal Jordan has his hands full, having released Parallax and given himself over to the yellow entity in order to fight the Black Lantern Spectre, who wants Hal to reunite with him.

This, of course, results in Hal turning on the Corps once again, and the battle royale that follows is expertly rendered by Doug Mahnke, whose storytelling talents rival Johns's. By that, I mean that the artwork is really important in a sequence where it's all action, all the time. Otherwise, the story gets lost in all the flash and glitter. In this case, Mahnke keeps us focused on what's important and doesn't allow himself to get bogged down in superfluous details or overly flashy paneling. It's fast-paced and exciting.

There's also some interesting interplay here between Nekron and the Spectre, and I believe they've left the Spectre ripe for a new series of his own. And then there are the little things: as mentioned, the Larfleeze / Lex Luthor thing is snicker-inducing, and Sinestro shows that he still hates Hal Jordan with an acidic bitterness suitable to his being Jordan's worst nightmare (except Parallax, of course). The story proceeds apace, and really feels like it's building to the climax here.

Green Lantern Corps #45 is a great companion piece to GL #51, it all being part of the same story. Here, the remaining Corps are left to deal with Red Lantern Guy Gardner, who is berserk and out of control. While some begin to lose hope, Mogo comes riding in with a solution. First of all, I just want to say, Mogo has some awesome ideas. Last issue, he solved the zillions of Black Lanterns on the attack problem with very little ado. You say it was too easy, I say, Mogo is a frakkin planet, he can do what he wants. What would be hard for a planet to do? Sit down and have dinner with your mom. Okay, point taken. But handle a gazillion bad guys? Not a problem for Mogo. He's a badass. His solution to Guy's situation is not to kill him, but rather, to flood him with Green Lantern energy to counter the Red ring. The result is almost cinematic, with Guy's life passing before his eyes, and before it's through, we have a much clearer picture of why Guy is the way he is, what drives him. It is a battle within himself that his companions can only watch - it is Guy's battle alone. Peter Tomasi is an excellent writer in his own right, and shows his understanding of the larger story he's telling while taking time to make it a personal and intimate one, as well - bravo. Patrick Gleason's art - not such a big fan. It's a little on the simple side, even for me. I love artists like Ed McGuinness, Stuart Immonen, Frank Cho - very clean, minimal, even cartoony at times. But Gleason's stuff feels a little like he just didn't have time to put in a lot of details. I think the point of minimal art is to have it look like you meant to do that, not like you didn't have time to do anything else. So, for me the art was competent, but nothing to really rave about.

Still, this issue was one of my fav reads of the week, and I cannot wait to see how this all plays out in the end. As I said, I feel a definite "lightening" across the DCU, and I like it. Look at the covers and see how the darkness of each of the images is beginning to give way to brighter, more colorful ones.

The end of the Blackest Night is in sight!

How About Them Saints? WHO DAT? WUT WUZ DAT?

2010-02-08T10:54:00.000-08:00

Usually, I use this space to talk comics, but I like to keep my finger on all of pop culture, and the SuperBowl, whether comic folk like to admit it or not, is part of that. Between the innovative (and super expensive) ads, the half time show, and the game itself, it's certainly something lots of families and folks look forward to, and talk about afterwards. In my book, that makes it worth knowing about. Plus I'm a just a fan of New Orleans - after traveling there a few months ago, I think about it a lot and want to go back and spend more time there. And then there's Mardi Gras next week - also a big pop culture phenom.

The game itself was fun for me - the Saints played bold, daring, and true, and to me, that's the mark of the champion. Although Peyton Manning (for non-sports folks, he's the quarterback of the Colts, the opposing team) is revered as one of the great QBs of all time, and rightly so, he was the one who made the fatal mistake (threw a late-game pass that was intercepted by the other team and run all the way for a touchdown). It was wonderful to watch Drew Brees (young QB of the Saints) throw and complete pass after pass. And the onside kick was brilliant - it was a huge gamble, but did it ever pay off. It changed the course of the entire game.

Once more, for those who aren't football fans, an onside kick: After the Saints scored, they needed to kick off to the Colts. Instead of kicking it hard to make it go as far back as possible so that the Colts would have far to go to bring it back, the Saints kicked it shallow - they "bent it like Beckham". The ball has to go at least 10 yards, but if it does, then the kicking team can recover it, without letting the opponents have a chance at it. It was awesome to see it - the Colts were completely unprepared for the short kick, and the Saints recovered the ball themselves, very close to their own goal line, just as they planned. This maneuver is risky and seen as a desperation move, something ordinarily done in the final minutes of a game by a team down in the point department. Usually, it doesn't work.

But because it happened in the opening minutes of the second half - only halfway thru - even though the Saints were behind, the Colts never saw it coming. The Saints had already scored on them once, and then they were able to take that recovery and score again. It changed everything, and the Colts were never ahead in the game again. Great play, great game, great to see the city of New Orleans celebrating.

And those guys party like nobody I've ever seen. We traveled there in November - November! It was Saturday night, I think the night before a big Saints playoff game, and on Bourbon Street, the party was in full swing! It was bright and loud and vibrant, and it smelled like amazing food, and the streets were filled - filled with people. No cars can drive through those narrow streets on those nights, and no one wants to! They get out and walk and join the party. For us, it was an amazing experience, everything I'd ever heard about NOLA and Bourbon Street. As we walked among the partyers - who were friendly and inviting, though we looked obviously like tourists - we heard music. New Orleans jazz, dixieland stuff. Along comes a band - decked out in marching uniforms, I tell you - and behind them a wedding party, guests waving hankies and napkins in the air as they danced their way down Bourbon Street, this impromptu parade cheered by everyone in the streets and balconies, Mardi Gras beads raining from the rooftops.

It was dazzling and wonderful. And then we walked a few streets down, and it was quiet. The sense of history is cool, yes, but the vibe. Dude, if you want to write atmospheric stuff, you got to go to New Orleans. To catch that vibe, the way the place just feels, it's indescribable, and like no place else I've ever been.

I cannot imagine what Mardi Gras would be like there, if that was just another Saturday night. You know, the city closed the schools for the day after the SuperBowl, and all the government offices, and they planned a parade for the Saints on Tuesday - win or lose. Now that's spirit, and that is the heart of a lion - and a deserving champion. The Saints themselves have been so involved in New Orleans' recovery after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city several years back, and New Orleans appreciates and loves its team like few other places in our country. So win or lose, the city considered its Saints winners one and all, and planned to celebrate accordingly. I don't think Indianapolis plans any parties for its fallen heroes. That's too bad, because they fought a good fight - they were simply outplayed by a braver, hungrier team.

The ads this year were only okay for me. The ones I found funniest: The Letterman/Oprah/Leno spot - hilarious because it was so unexpected. The Doritos commercials - most of them were very entertaining, and most were submitted by amateurs who entered a contest with their ad ideas. The one called House Rules seems to have been the winner of most polls, but I liked the dog with the No-Bark collar. The Snickers commercial with Betty White and Abe Vigoda was very entertaining. And the talking baby with the girl troubles was very funny. Maybe we've gotten to the point where we expect so much from these commercials that we can't be satisfied any more. But really, some of them were downright stupid. And there were SO MANY. We were looking at one another going, "Could we watch a little football now?"

The Who. Well. Um. Roger Daltry, what was he wearing? And Pete Townshend, I know he can play guitar, but that first solo - my God, it sounded like his pick got caught in his strings and never got untangled. Terrible. Vocals were only okay - Daltry is getting too old to hit some of those notes any more, and the strain in his voice had me on edge. Overall... this time, I don't think it worked all that well. I think it's time to have some newer, edgier bands - maybe in kind of a shootout, like the time they had the Backstreet Boys and Aerosmith - that was cool. How about Beyonce? She's really good, and she's big enough to do the SuperBowl.

The pre-show stuff: Queen Latifah was great. Her "America" was beautiful and heartfelt, and wonderful. And I actually liked the Jay Z thing, unusual, but he was good. Carrie Underwood... not as great. Big surprise since Carrie is one of my favorite singers, ever, and usually not at all pitchy. I don't know if she simply couldn't hear herself or what, but she was all over the place, and though she hit the money notes fine, she was so flat on the final note I couldn't believe she didn't hear it and correct, as she held it for a loooooong (painful) time.

What was your take on Superbowl Sunday? Did you watch? Did you care? Did you visit your local comic shop rather than sit through a football game?

Next week - or maybe later this week - we'll talk comics again.

Wednesday Comics Concludes / More Stuff

2009-09-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Comics

With last week's issue of Wednesday Comics, DC's adventure concluded. My favorite turned out to be Supergirl, as I suspected from the beginning. Easy reading, superb art and characterizations, a nice, simple story that worked perfectly in this format, and a very amusing ending, all worked together to make the best of all the features included in the series.

Also excellent: Metamorpho (hilarious sub-dialogue from Java), and the Green Lantern feature. Both were stylish and fun.

Honorable Mention: Batman, Kamandi, Metal Men, Teen Titans, Strange Adventures, Hawkman, Sgt. Rock. Each of these had some great moments, and were all well crafted and great quality.

Superman, Deadman and Catwoman/The Demon were just a'ight for me. They were all nicely drawn, but the story was weak in each. The ending of the Catwoman story was kind of nice, though.

What didn't work for me: Wonder Woman. It just never gelled. The artwork was nice, what you could see of it - but so much of it was obscured by the sketchy technique (usually something I love, because you can see the loose framework of the drawing beneath), weird color scheme, and the incredible amount of dialogue. I could never tell which "panel" was supposed to be next - it just didn't flow at all.

So ends DC's latest foray into weekly serial comics. I felt this outing was superior to Trinity and to DC Countdown. I think the Powers That Be at DC are really enamoured of this weekly idea, and since the success of 52 have continued to try to recapture that lightning in a bottle. Wednesday Comics came closer to doing that than either of the latter two efforts. Will they do it again? My vote for now: no. Let it rest here with a modicum of success. Concentrate on finishing up Blackest Night. Think about doing something new over the summer if you must. What do you think? Does DC need a weekly serial?

Superman: Secret Origin

Ho hum, yet another retelling of the origin story of Superman, which everyone already knows, right? Well... everyone already knows the basics. But this series is different - and worth your time and money.

First off, it's no ordinary retelling. It's Geoff Johns doing the telling. Johns is arguably the best writer working in comics today (standing alongside him are Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Mark Millar, and a few notable others). Although the others are also great, Johns' vision is perhaps clearer than anyone else's. He has a keen sense of where he is going. His stories begin to pull together almost immediately - you always have a sense of forward motion, that you're being propelled toward new information, new adventure, somewhere that is an actual destination, as opposed to spinning in circles while the writer figures out how to wrap things up. His payoffs are huge - he may make you wait, tantalize and tease, frustrate hell out of you along the way, but in the end, you almost always end up satisfied, saying, "That was good."

Second, it's Gary Frank doing the art. His work is interesting for its realism and oddness (a strange combination, to be sure, but it's true). The pencils have a quirky look, a definite style. The people have true features - he's not just drawing the same generic features on everyone and changing hair styles slightly, or dressing them differently - he's actually drawing people you might recognize if you saw them on the street.

The story contains elements of a lot of different origin stories: the original rocket ship falling to earth, Jonathan and Martha Kent, Lana Lang, Pete Ross, and Lex Luthor from the comics; the images of Jor-El and Lara, the crystals, the look of the young Clark Kent from the Donner Superman movies and the John Byrne Man of Steel series; the development of his powers slowly, also from the Byrne series, and from Smallville; the design of his outfit from the wonderful Superman Birthright. Johns adds some twists of his own: Clark's dismay and apprehension at the development of his powers, using the crystals from the rocket ship as lenses for Clark's glasses because of their useful properties.

It's a great approach - touching on almost all of the backstories available is great, because it makes them all feel as right as this does. Seriously, this could end up being considered the definitive origin story of Superman. There's plenty of fun for the old school fan, and because of the wonderful character development and nice backfilling of info for the newbie, I think it will be quite popular for years to come.

I highly recommend this series for its stylish retelling of the Superman origin - it's a great read, even if you think you know what happened, already!

Power Girl

2009-08-24T11:48:00.001-07:00

I suck at this because I'm so busy with the store and my life that I just have no time to do this as regularly as I want to. But -

I'm still pushing through and I want to talk about Power Girl.

With issue #4, I can positively say that this is one of my favorite new comics. Back in other titles, I used to think Amanda Conner's art was hit and miss. I don't know what she did, but her art is as close to perfect as it gets for me. Great facial expressions, very stylish, strong, recognizable style - and can she draw girls!

But this is one of those wonderful books where it isn't just about the art - it really is a match made in heaven, much as the Steve Niles/Ben Templesmith pairing for 30 Days of Night is.. The writing is snappy, light and fun, and it can also be touching and lovely. With all the darkness of the Blackest Night going on, and all the Dark Reign stuff from Marvel, I've had about all the dark I can handle.

Power Girl is a fun romp, and all the grrl power stuff is handled deftly and with great humor and heart. I love seeing Karen / PG developing a real personality aside from all the "who am I and what is my place in this world" stuff she's done over the years. I wasn't loving the bitter/melancholy Power Girl of the past, but this more determined, upbeat Power Girl goes straight to the top of my reading list every time it comes out.

The writing is snappy, the dialogue is witty, and the artwork so elegantly supports the storytelling - it's exactly like a comic book should be. The relationship between Terra and Power Girl is very cute, and it's nice to see PG with a personal life - complete with friends. In this issue, Terra learns a very important lesson (always wear your costume under your clothes), Power Girl is called "Busty Airborne Lass" by a misguided villain (hilarious interchange there), and Terra runs around in her panties, in an effort to make up for the not wearing the costume thing and trying to emulate PG. This issue was so cute and funny, I loved every minute of reading it.

If you're a little burned out on all the zombie stuff (leave it to the publishers to pile on - if one zombie book is good, a hundred will certainly be great, huh?), give Power Girl a try - you will not be sorry, if for no other reason than the wonderful artwork! Certainly, you will find Power Girl a light, refreshing alternative to the current crop of dark and depressing comic offerings.

TV / Movies / Torchwood: Children of Earth

2009-07-27T08:19:00.000-07:00

I watch a lot of TV. I love TV - I like it better than movies most of the time. Movies of late have become very formulaic: A well-paced or drearily tedious setup (depends on the writing, acting and director), the reveal of the plot device the story will turn on, some sort of love interest (i.e., sex scene - necessary or not), an F-bomb from a grade-schooler or grandma, a pee joke (usually dog pees on hero's/villain's leg), some other potty humor, a car chase, a fight sequence (also well-paced or tedious), a heroic victory, and denouement, the end.

Meanwhile, television has hours and hours to pace its storylines. Character development is richer and deeper, and maybe the car chases are fewer and further between, just like most of the fight scenes. Maybe the sex scenes are tamer (thank God). Maybe there's less language (do we really need that ALL the time - I am a cussing connoisseur and even I find the language in movies egregious and way too much). Maybe there's less money to do CGI effects - and thank God for that, because I am sick to death of obvious and even less obvious CGI - I'd much rather see practical effects (that's when they use masks or suits or puppets to make aliens, instead of having the actors talk to tennis balls and then flying in the character via computer animation later). Television in the past 8 or 9 years has had a more organic quality, one that makes things feel a little more real to me than movies have been able to over the same time.

Because you have more time in TV, the viewer has more chances to get to know and like or dislike characters, understand subtle ideas that are introduced over the course of a season, etc. You get more emotionally invested in the characters. For me, this happened in a big way over the past three years with Torchwood, a BBC spinoff of the venerable Doctor Who. I love this show so much, because it's such fun, so surprising week to week, so quirky and strange. But this season, Torchwood took a big risk, and instead of running a normal 13-episode season, they put all their money and effort into just 5 episodes. Just 5. These 5 remarkable episodes have stuck with me over this past weekend. I still feel this story, way down deep. It resonated on a lot of levels. So I did a review of it and I wanted to share it with you in hopes that you'll watch if you haven't yet.

This is a re-post of the review I did for the Metropolis Comics forums.

Since it began, Torchwood has been a favorite of mine. I love the campy, fun feel which can switch on a moment to poignant and real. Though I've never been a regular Doctor Who fan (I watch from time to time and enjoy it that way), this spinoff has always captured my imagination the same way that X-Files used to. The characters have been interesting and unpredictable - Captain Jack, the leader of the covert unit is dashing and daring as Indiana Jones while being as enigmatic as Fox Mulder. Gwen Cooper, the former policewoman, lends tenderness and a sexy spirit of fun to her role - she has the most beautiful green eyes, and is as lovely as a movie star; then she smiles, and her charming gap-toothed grin makes her feel like the girl next door. Ianto Jones, the "butler" turned field agent was gallant yet innocent, cuddly yet capable.

Children of Earth is the third season. The BBC produces TV programming that is not reliant on advertising dollars - television is produced by the crown; a certain amount of money is allotted per season, period. Rather than doing the usual 13 shows, this year, the Torchwood producers elected to make just 5 shows and tell just one very big, very intense, very compelling story. A very risky gamble by American standards.

But does this gamble ever pay off.

Though unquestionably some of the darkest moments I've ever seen on TV are contained in these five hours, this might be the very best TV I've ever seen, out of the UK or Hollywood.

Briefly, the plot centers around an attempt to destroy the Torchwood agency entirely (assassination attempts on the lives of our heroes), in an effort to contain a terrible secret: in 1965, the British government makes a deal with the 456 - aliens so named for broadcasting on one frequency - the 456 will provide an antiviral agent to to combat an impending flu epidemic that might have a casualty rate as great as the one in the early 20th century. In return, the British government will give the aliens 12 children. Of these, 11 are taken, and one escapes. The official in charge of the handover: Captain Jack Harkness. Today, the 456 have returned. And what they want now is more terrifying than we could have ever imagined.

With Torchwood crippled, the world's governments try to negotiate with the dreadful aliens, but are stymied and feel they have no choice but to capitulate - and cover it up. In the end, of course, a sacrifice is required, and it is here that Jack's dark past catches up, and all the sins of the past must be repaid.

What is normally a camp romp through a monster-of-the week style formula matured into a terrifying political thriller. The scope of the show suddenly became so much larger than it has ever been. You see every bit of that extra money on the screen, every episode, and some of the scenes were so raw and terrifying, I held my breath. Throughout the show, I wondered whether I was more afraid of the aliens or our own governments. All of them - all over the world. Given the choices they had, I wondered about the notion that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. I also wondered whether I'd want to live in a world where this terrible devil's bargain was made and the cover up the governments were trying to arrange came off successfully - at least as successfully as something like this could ever manage to be done.

Torchwood Children of Earth is compelling and disturbing, and it's haunted me every moment since I saw the ending. It was sad, frustrating, and amazing. Torchwood has never been vapid or silly, but this season especially points out the power of television, when it puts its mind to being really, really good. I cannot recommend this highly enough (and I beg you to then go back and watch seasons 1 and 2 so that you can shake off the sorrow and have some fun). It'll stay with you forever. If you have children of your own, make sure you have someone next to you, to hold your hand. You'll laugh a little in the beginning, you'll feel the dread and hopelessness and heartbreak in the end. And if you believe in Captain Jack and Torchwood, you'll have hope, too.

Wednesday Comics / Blackest Night

2009-07-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

After a lengthy absence (just too much new stuff going on), I return to talk about some of the new stuff hitting the stands. There are a couple of high-profile titles that just started, namely Blackest Night and Wednesday Comics. So let's get into it:

Wednesday Comics

Rather than review single issues, I'd like to deal with the book generally. This is the big, foldout, newspaper style experiment coming out weekly from DC, attempting to capture a weekly audience while evoking old-style Sunday comics. Using a 14x20 format, featuring one storyline of a different superhero per page, and showing off the talents of a tantalizingly eclectic group of creators, Wednesday Comics is a 12-issue extravaganza.

There's no doubt that some of the strips fare much better than others. Superman is a fully painted, beautifully executed examination of our hero's feelings of disconnection from the people he protects. It has everything Super-fans hope for in a great Superman story: a big fight with a super-foe, a sci-fi element - in this case, the foe is a big, ugly alien - and guest appearances by fan favorites like Lois Lane, Batman, and so far, the pacing, the paneling, the artwork are perfect. There's just the right amount of exposition and dialogue, the story seems to read at a glance, and yet the eye wants to linger and take it all in, in all its panoramic, big format glory.

Also beautiful is Supergirl, by Palmiotti and Conner - Amanda Conner has just gotten better and better, and so has Palmiotti. The story is simple and amusing - Supergirl chasing Krypto chasing Streaky chasing ??? Embarrassing problems ensue, and Supergirl spends a lot of time apologizing and mugging impishly, which is very funny and cute. My other favorite is Green Lantern by Busiek and Quinones. Kurt Busiek is a reliably good writer; Quinones' art is stylish and suits the time period the story is set in very nicely.

I'm very impressed with these three strips in particular, mainly because, as I mentioned, these ones seem to really take the best advantage of the unusual format and make the most of it. The others that I like but am not as crazy about as my top 3 are Batman, Kamandi, Metamorpho, Teen Titans, and Strange Adventures. These are also excellent, don't take my "not as crazy" remark as meaning they aren't good - they are. Actually, Kamandi is shaping up to be on par with my Top 3 if it continues on its present path - it may be that it's just a slower starter.

The rest are fine, but they are not the ones I can't wait to read, if that makes sense. I read them, I like them okay, with one exception - Wonder Woman. Coming from an animation background, I want to love this strip. But I don't. Frankly, I don't really get it. I love Wonder Woman. I'm loving Gail Simone's run on the regular Wonder Woman series. But this... it's a mess, in my opinion. It's got so many panels, there is so much dialogue, everything feels so crowded. This is a 14x20 piece of paper, and Ben Caldwell is suffering from Kevin Smith-itis.

It's almost impossible to figure out what's going on panel to panel, you have to really look to see what's happening. Maybe Ben wants us to squint and really really look at his beautiful little drawings, but that's not how comics are supposed to read. The art is lovely and stylish. But if there was ever an illustration as to why an artist needs a writer (or an editor), this is it. I want Wonder Woman to stop being put back in the B and C tier of comics, I want her out front and proud, part of the Big Three of DC's lineup. But this is not the way. Squishing panel on top of panel, and trying to do a novel in what essentially becomes a 12-page story is not smart. I can see DC shrinking down all the other strips and making a trade paperback or a hardcover out of them. If they do, I think they will have to omit Wonder Woman, and that's a shame.

Still, if Wednesday Comics is an experiment, I think on the whole, it's a successful one. So far, the awesome factor of most of the material outweighs the cheesy paper and the few strips that are less than totally engrossing. I love it, and look forward to it each week.

Blackest Night

So far, disturbing and cool. I love the idea of a War of Light, of all these different lanterns, and of the ancient Guardians being shown why it's never a great idea to think you know everything. Geoff Johns is an amazing writer, and he explores things we all feel using superheroes in comic books most of the time, to our very great enrichment.

To me, this book so far feels like a horror story with superheroes - a super-cool concept. You have to wrap your head around how much more horrifying things can get in this world - Sue and Ralph Dibny being the instruments of doom for Hawkman and Hawkgirl was completely ironic and wonderfully horrible as it gets. The Martian Manhunter as a decaying zombie... brrr. Bruce Wayne's skull stolen. Yikes. Who knew he was Batman besides Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian, and Alfred Pennyworth? Jason Todd, yeah? But he's alive. We think. The plot thickens.

For Green Lantern fans, this past few years has been a great ride, and this summer promises to take us places we have never been - that's something long-time comic fans sometimes have a hard time doing. We've seen it, been there, done that. But for this long-time fan, I want to be in for the great romp I see Blackest Night becoming because it feels like something completely new. I can't wait to find out more about the Star Sapphires, the Indigo Tribe, and the other lanterns. I love it.

Let's Talk About Batman ... or not

2009-05-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

Battle for the Cowl #3

What a letdown. I want to talk about it for a minute, and probably only a minute. Why? Because, my friends, we have seen every bit of this story before, in one way or another, and it reveals nothing new, says nothing new, and in fact, says it in a very stilted, wooden way. SPOILER ALERT - if you care, I will reveal the ending. But I suspect you wouldn't be surprised by it anyhow.

This story started out with a whimper, and ends with a bang - a whole lotta bang, and not a lot more. The storyline here is tissue thin. If you like action movies, you'll probably dig it, but for me, this entire series was poorly conceived.

As a writer, Tony Daniel does not really excel. As mentioned, the plot is barely there, and what does exist is snippets from Knightfall and No Man's Land. The dialogue is forced and wooden, and the character development - well it's just bad. In the first pages, the Huntress and the rest of the Network are summarily dismissed to track down the mad bomber, or whatever (and btw, we're supposed to believe that some 18 heroes are insufficient to cover for Batman? I know he's a badass, but... really?). The impostor Batman, Jason Todd (wooo surprised? No? me either) is reduced from an interesting character who might have employed different methods in his efforts to emulate his mentor to a one-dimensional, not nearly as interesting Joker wannabe (psycho, doesn't care who he kills, yada yada yada). "Overcompensating." Do ya think? In the last pages we see the most cliched ending possible - Jason falls (voluntarily) to his "death" (yeah, right) and Dick assumes the mantle of the Batman. Just as we knew he would from looking at the cover of BFTC #1. I think I would refer to this book as BFD #3 if I thought anyone would appreciate it.

As an artist, Daniel is somewhat better, however I find his interior art, particularly the big two-page spreads and splash panels, quite over-posed. It's like he's channeling his Image days, and not in a good way. In other places, he is quite good and does turn out some excellent panels, but his storytelling is so rushed in places... this is one of those issues that needed to just slow down and breathe a little. The pacing was terribly off, and I found myself just trying figure out wtf was going on from time to time. He needs a writer so he can focus on the artwork.

Some mysteries are left unsolved. For example, what happened to the Huntress and the rest of the Network? Who blew everything up? Who is the dude pretending to be Two-Face (is that really Two-Face? Because he doesn't feel like Two-Face to me). And who is the Black Mask?

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn, based on this series. Whatever. Somebody, let me know whenever they reveal it.

Overall, this was a pretty ho-hum experience for me. Been there, done that, wore the t-shirt. Didn't you? Well, if you didn't, you will. I, for one, am pretty tired of the hackneyed "Death of...(insert your favorite character's name here)" which turns out a year later to be a big old hose job. Tim, of course, has survived Jason's attempt to kill him, big surprise, and Damian returned to add his bratty little interjections (which were actually some of the more entertaining bits, between him and the Squire). It all just fell flat for me.

The end.

So let's move on to something infinitely more interesting:

Umbrella Academy: Dallas #6

Loved the whole thing, for the same reasons as I loved Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite. It's really the continuation of that story, and this is the complete opposite of the book we just discussed.

The plot, by Gerard Way, is key to everything here, but perfect counterpoint is Gabriel Ba's odd, angular, and very highly stylized art.

Once again making with very witty dialogue, fun twists and turns, and the wonderfully elegant explanation to the entire conspiracy theory surrounding the Kennedy assassination, Gerard Way weaves a story that involves temporal mechanics that actually does not suck. That's pretty hard to do. Briefly, No. 5 must journey back in time to prevent himself from assassinating the President, or face the end of the world in a fiery cataclysm. As some factions of the very dysfunctional Umbrella Academy seem fractured beyond repair, others seem to be pulling together to fight the future, and there is a deft handling of the sense of accomplishment as well as the whiff of despair running through them. Ba's artwork conveys humor, excitement, and the weary sadness of some characters with equal skill; it is nothing short of a joy to read and study.

Seeing the apathetic, obese Spaceboy rouse himself one more time to try, and then the revelation involving the Rumor in this issue was a rare comic book treat - these characters are quite touching, and I credit the writer with imbuing them with that spark of life that makes a lasting impression. No. 5 builds his model of the solar system - sans Earth. What it means is up for grabs - perhaps it is his comment on just how high the stakes in this thing were. Perhaps it means that he failed to avert the coming disaster and knows it. These are mysteries worth investigating, and I hope to be there to see it all play out. It will have to wait awhile as Gerard Way is now recording the new My Chemical Romance album, plus becoming a father. I'm certain that with both happening at the same time, it'll be a little while before we get another Umbrella Academy. Whenever it comes, on the strength of the 12 issues that exist now, it will be worth the Way-t. Get it?

The contrast between my two picks this week is huge: while one is full of cliched writing, stilted, forced dialoge, and other tired bullshit, the other is chock-full of fun, dynamic action, wit, and great storytelling. Battle for the Cowl attempted to, in Crisis-style, include everyone who's anyone in the Bat-Universe. But to what end? They weren't used - at all. They were simply in there so that they could be seen. Unfortunately, this franchise, like Star Trek before it, has become so strangled by its own mythologies that it is doomed to continue to repeat itself until it breaks the boundaries and does something fresh and new (I cited Star Trek as proof that this can be done successfully). I hope that will be sooner than later, because by the end, I could wait for it to be over, and I never want to read those stories again - for the third or fourth time, I forget which now. Meanwhile, Umbrella Academy added freshness and depth to the characters we met in the earlier series, gave us a bunch of nice, punchy dialogue that people in similar situations might actually be able to say - though being in situations like these would be highly unlikely. The little twist at the end between Luther (Spaceboy) and Allison (Rumor) and Five (00.05) was super cool, and lent a lovely, aching wistful quality to the denoument at the end - the pacing was superb, and when the book ended, I wanted to read it again, and then read another one just like it.

What did you read this week?

Free Comic Book Day - May 2, 2009

2009-05-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the theme of discussing comics and pop culture events, I wanted to say a few words about Free Comic Book Day.

First of all, it rocks because it puts three great words together in the same phrase: Free. Comic. Book. Second of all, it rocks because it gets families together, or it gets people to come out - and even if all they think they want is free swag, what they really get is so much more, if of course they go to a store like Metropolis. We do free raffles throughout the day, we have guests in to sign and sketch and just meet folks. We have costumed superheroes (mostly friends of the store, not hired hands) who just get a kick out of being there. And the kids who show up get their pictures taken with their favorite heroes who show up - I have a great story to share from last Free Comic Book Day, and then one about this one.

Last year, I approached my niece, Ashley, about asking her boyfriend, Ryan, to put on a Superman costume for the event. Ryan is 6'5", 270 pounds of brawny hunk. His face is ... well, it's him in my profile pic with me. His face is perfect, I think. He's so handsome it's crazy, but he's not so pretty that he's offputting. His features are kind and open, and he is quick to smile. At first, he was absolutely against it. He was embarrassed just thinking about it - he's only 20, after all, and Superman is not thought to be cool by his generation. He was shaving his head at that point (it was Easter and there were only four weeks until Free Comic Book Day - definitely not enough time to develop a spit curl in front). I told him I didn't care, just to grow his hair out for the month. I didn't care if he came in with a scruff on his chin. The thing for me was that he just felt right.

Partly because I was okay with some of his objections, I think, and partly because he loves Ashley so much, he finally agreed (after much coaxing). I rented the best suit I could find for him (it was the only one that would come close to fitting him, at any rate). When the day came, as he was putting it on, he started freaking out, saying it was retarded, and he looked stupid. Ashley came to get me to see if I could calm him down. I took one look at him, and my niece tells me I actually took a step back. He was perfect - so perfect I just wasn't prepared. When he turned around, and the cape swirled behind him, I forgot all about the fact that the suit wasn't perfect. He was. I grinned and said, "Ryan, please trust me on this - you are not going to look stupid out there. You are going to be a rock star today. People are going to clap, and they're going to want to touch you, and they're going to stare and want their picture taken and ask for autographs. I guarantee it. Plus I'll give you $50 if you do it."

He calmed down finally. We did a big buildup, played the Superman theme, and one of our guys called out a big introduction, "He's a strange visitor from another planet, he's come all the way from the Fortress of Solitude to be with us today...yada yada" As this was all happening, we were behind a curtain, waiting for the cue. Ryan looked at me nervously. "What do I do?" he asked. "Once I get out there, I mean?" I just smiled. "Just be nice." Finally we heard them say, "The one, the only ---- Superman!!!"

Ryan stepped out from behind the curtain and stopped, a little uncertain. When he did, just as I had, the crowd took a step back, and I heard more than a couple of people gasp. He looked back at me, and I just nodded and motioned for him to go ahead and walk in among them. As he took a step forward, the crowd cleared to let him through, as people just gaped in awe. He looked very impressive. One little girl was frozen in her place. She was dressed all in pink, and she just looked up with eyes as wide as saucers and her mouth forming a little pink "o".

Ryan looked at me for a hint as to what to do. I just nodded and said again, "Just be nice." He stepped up to her and smiled. She was still just a statue. He knelt down and ever so gently, held his hand out to her. Almost in slow motion, she placed a tiny hand in his giant one, and his big fingers closed over it as his eyes twinkled in a sweet smile for her. "Hello," he said to her. Then she just fell into his arms, doing her best to get her arms around him. "Oh, Superman," she sighed, "I've been waiting for you!" Ryan just folded his arms around her.

Ashley was in tears, the little girl's mom was in tears, I was in tears, it was just so sweet. Ryan looked up at her mom and softly asked, "May I?" he motioned to pick her up. The mom nodded, so he lifted this little girl up onto his shoulder and paraded her through the store, while everyone applauded, and the little girl just beamed like the sun. It was bliss for everyone. Ryan couldn't stop talking about it. I think he was very surprised at the way he was received by everyone - people were trying to touch his cape all day, trying to get close to him - just like a rock star. And that little girl was one happy little kid. And all because of Free Comic Book Day.

And by the way - when I offered him the $50 I'd promised, he waved it off and asked for $20 - just for gas money. I slipped the rest to my niece and told her to take him to dinner. He deserved it for being such a great sport.

And as I predicted, Superman was the biggest thing to happen to everyone that Free Comic Book Day - and this year, when I asked Ryan if he would consider an encore, he quickly agreed - no coaxing necessary. He was terribly disappointed when we discovered that the Superman outfit we'd rented the year before had been destroyed. He tried it on but it was ruined. I asked if we might do a "battle-damaged" Superman. He said it would be more like a "homeless" Superman. No good.

So we improvised a peek-a-boo Clark Kent outfit - again, he was perfect. It wasn't as visually stunning as last year's, but it was just as wonderful. Next year, Ashley wants to be Supergirl, and I think she'll be perfect - a beautiful little blonde. I'll have to remember to tell her that she's Superman's cousin - otherwise it'll be a little creepy.

But this year's story was a little boy named Jacob who came for Free Comic Book Day. Jacob's grandmother told us that Jacob is suffering from cancer, so finding ways to keep him smiling can be a challenge. But Jacob was all smiles on Saturday, and grandma told us that the little boy was more excited and happy than she'd seen him in a while. Dude, it just doesn't get much better than that at a comic shop - kids happy are what we are all about.

Free Comic Book Day is more than just a retailing opportunity - it's a chance for everyone to get out of their homes and go to a book store where they are much more likely to see something amazing than in any other book store. It's a chance to get kids excited about reading. It's a chance to get parents involved in stuff their kids can be interested in without it being a grind - let's face it, Candyland is fun, but after a while, the folks want something a little more substantial.

Long live Free Comic Book Day!

Action Comic #876, Walking Dead #60

2009-04-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Action Comics #876

A lot has been made of the current run of Action Comics, DC's most venerable ... well, at least their most aged title. Frankly, I thought it was a bit silly to make so much of it, considering they've already done the whole World Without Superman schtick - way back in the Death of Superman days.

Back then, they came up with a fun, engaging storyline - the Reign of the Supermen was an action-packed mystery with superheroes, all claiming to be Superman. It was great, even though I didn't like the Death story at all.

Today, I was more skeptical, having been through the first time around, and figuring there would be little they could do to top the Reign of the Supermen.

But still... so far, so good. I'm not saying this does the trick and tops that great story. But it's good so far. Greg Rucka is a wonderful writer, and in his hands, the book is building a solid foundation for the entire run.

Briefly, this installment is kind of a long fight scene - but in it, we do learn some interesting and intriguing things about our new main characters. The new Nightwing and Flamebird (a takeoff on the waaaaaay olden days stories of the heroes of the shrunken city of Kandor) turn out to be one of the Kryptonians and none other than Lor-Zod, the son of Ursa and Zod, but whom we all know very affectionately as Christopher Kent, the foster son of Lois and Clark Kent. Chris has grown up quite a bit. Literally. He's, like, years older than when we last saw him. Still a very young man, but a man, not a little boy any more.

Ursa goes hunting for them and when she learns it is her own son in the Nightwing outfit, she shows her displeasure and disappointment in the boy by attempting to murder him with a kryptonite dagger. Unfortunately for Ursa, Chris (as he insists she calls him), having been born in the Phantom Zone, does not react to kryptonite quite like other Kryptonians. He also has some other strange quirks, which are not fully explained.

The story is well-written and fast-paced without feeling rushed. The art... well, I have to say that there is a two-page spread that I know was intended to be very dramatic, but... It was just too much. First of all, I'm tired of all the blood flying everywhere all the time. It's just like a My Chemical Romance song - "Give them blood, blood - gallons of the stuff! You can give them all you've got and it will never be enough!" Between this trend and the Red Lanterns barfing it up all the time (great superpower... oy), I've had about all I can take. On top of that, the anatomy was really hard to make out - it was a large enough spread that everything should have been crystal clear, but there's so much extraneous stuff going on that even though I scrutinized it hard, I was unable to find Ursa's "payoff" hand (the one holding the knife), and unable to distinguish whether or not she had hit home with her blow. Artists - note: you're supposed to be drawing an action, not a pinup poster for your portfolio. No matter how cool you think it looks to shower us with a gazillion unnecessary details, the first thing on your mind - and on the drawing board - really should be the action you are illustrating, and making sure that action "reads" coherently.

Please don't dismiss that notion in favor of putting out eye candy. I will remind you of the Image stable - most of those guys are now working for others, and the Image-style, over-rendered, overdrawn, overblown action pinups is not really the vogue these days. I point now to Andrew Robinson's vaguely spooky cover on this issue. Not a lot of action. Not over-rendered. But evocative, and highly effective, imho.

Overall, I'm looking forward to finding out what is happening to Chris Kent, how Ursa will fare knowing she's being poisoned by the kryptonite she's been carrying, and how Greg Rucka pulls his story together over the next few issues. It's a good read, even without Superman being featured - it does have the flavor and spirit of a Superman book present and accounted for. This issue is a bit bloody for little kids, so keep it to teens and up.

The Walking Dead #60

Let me just make it clear one more time that I really don't like zombie shit - I am just not a fan of the whole genre.

That re-established, The Walking Dead is one of my favorite comics, and goes to the top of my Read list every month.

Why?

Because, most of the time, it's not about the zombies. It's about what's left of the human race surviving alongside the zombies. Zombies are brainless, shuffling, creepy, nasty nothings. But people are fascinating.

And again, that said, in this issue, the zombies are front and center, and the number of times I had to shift in my chair shows just how uncomfortable that made me. As Rick, Abraham, Carl and Morgan try to get back to camp, they are beset by a gigantic "herd" of them. The shuffling horrors are relentless, and in numbers like this, almost impossible to elude. Rick wants to take a different way around to camp to avoid leading the herd right to it, but they soon realize that a direct approach is the best - they must reach camp and help everyone escape as quickly as possible, because this herd is too large and too close to take any chances with. Meanwhile, back at camp, Dale wants to settle on this lovely farm they've taken refuge in. He figures the twins will flourish here (though they are picking at the remains of a dead cat or something awful like that) and doesn't want to keep moving. Maggie and Glen finally talk about "the elephant in the room" (her suicide attempt), and she affirms she wants to live after all.

It's nice that Robert Kirkman can visit these characters very briefly and really create a feeling that is personal and real and touching in the midst of the horrors all around. For Kirkman's survivors, finding the will to go on can sometimes be a real challenge, and he really nails that point in very poignant ways. I would like to find out a little more about the Doctor in their midst - the guy who supposedly understands so much about these zombies. He's been around several issues now, and we know precious little more than we ever have after five years. That's a minor gripe in general, not about just this issue, which is intense and exciting from cover to cover.

That's right - five years! That's quite a milestone for a black and white comic, by any standards! Charlie Adlard's consistent work makes the book a breeze to read - very much in contrast to some of the more popular superhero books.

This book is HIGHLY recommended for adults. Though it is thankfully presented in black and white, it is far too graphic and intense for children, even some older ones.

Okay, that's all I got right now. Except...

Are you watching Harper's Island? That's a bit of fun.

Echo 11, World Of New Krypton 2, Green Lantern 39

2009-04-09T12:49:00.001-07:00

So, I'm a little lax - I've been busy, people.

But here are a few reviews for books out this week, and in a much more timely manner than I've been able to do this past couple of weeks (tax time, kids). For your perusal:

World of New Krypton #2
In only two issues, Greg Rucka and Pete Woods have created what looks to be a new classic.

World of New Krypton is a fascinating look at morality, an all-but-extinct civilization, family values, and the character of Superman. Most people who know me realize that I'm a big fan of Superman. I've always felt like writers who call Superman a character so powerful he's boring are just not big enough themselves to write a character this potentially exciting and fun. Now, with a 70-year old character, Rucka begins to show us how fascinating Superman - now living as Kal-El among the Kryptonians - can really be in a way no one so far, except Grant Morrison in the excellent All Star Superman - has.

There are a great number of intriguing ideas being explored in this series, the best of which are the morality ideas. Pete Woods' art is clean and his storytelling style is clear and well suited to Greg Rucka's pacing in the plot department. We get a lot of information about the Kryptonian Guild system - a caste system at odds with the supposed advanced nature of this civilization. We get some insight into each of our characters, sometimes in unexpected ways. And we get a lot of story packed into each issue - all in all, completely worthy of DC's flagship character and franchise.

The very provocative problem of Kal-El being assigned to the Military Guild under General Zod, despite his personal code against killing of any kind begins to come front and center in this issue. After putting a stop to the "initiation" of Non into his unit (by stopping the teasing and torture of an animal), now placed under Kal's command, Superman establishes his leadership. Soon, Kal is ordered to put a stop to a stampede of Kryptonian Thought Beasts before they can destroy an atmosphere-generating station - "by any means necessary." All of his unit agree that the easiest way to stop the frightened, angry animals is simply to kill them, but Kal insists that his soldiers follow his lead and do some "ranching". This entails a little laser-eye ditch-digging, which one man remarks with distaste "is work for the Labor Guild." Kal takes it in stride, saying there's no shame in that. With the beasts finally contained, the unit grudgingly sees that perhaps killing off a herd of creatures who already close to extinction is not a good idea. A parallel is drawn between the Thought Beasts and the Kryptonians themselves (near extinction) - another provocative idea.

There are two moments in the story that were quite touching - one with Alura, and one with Supergirl. And there's plenty of Action here (get it?) - as the Labor Guild decides that, with a new beginning on this new world, they should stand as equals and peers to the other Guilds, and not be treated like second-class citizens any longer - the start of a revolution, or at least, an uprising. All readers should find something to love in this book, and it's particularly appropriate for 10 and ups - read it with your kids and talk about the situations presented!

I recommend this book for ALL readers except the very youngest!

Echo #11

Terry Moore's ASIP (After Strangers In Paradise) indie book is a mixed bag for me, so far. The first few issues were a little slow building. The concept interested me, and I trust Moore as a writer - and as always, his art is impeccable - so I stuck with it despite the slow start.

Briefly, Echo is the story of Julie, who went out into the desert with her camera one day, and saw something she wasn't supposed to see - an explosion, caused by an experimental weapons test. She took some pictures - again, not really supposed to - and got caught in the "fallout", which was like silvery drops of metallic rain. But what hit her didn't just roll off - it stuck to her and then coalesced around her shoulders and bust as a sort of half-shield. Scared and confused, and also grieving the breakup of her marriage, Julie is at a loss as to what to do. She doesn't realize it, but some government officials are looking for her - they want their silvery stuff back. What the government doesn't realize is that the silvery stuff contains the residual intelligence - an echo - of the woman who helped design it, and who was testing it at the time it went ballistic. That echo is trying to make contact with Julie, and later, with Dillon - the boyfriend of the echo's former self, Annie - who has met and is helping Julie avoid the authorities until they both get some answers about what happened.

The thing is, Julie doesn't know or understand what it is that has attached itself to her, and so she has no control over the things it does. Anyone with violent or ill intentions who touches her gets blown back violently, and ... well, let's just say that when the feds caught up with her last issue, it wasn't pretty. And if that weren't enough, another guy - a crazy looking "prophet" sort of dude - who has part of that silver stuff on him appears - and not in a good way. With last issue's frightening developments, I was curious as to how Moore would begin to pull some of the threads of his story together.

The story is definitely ramping up and getting better as more is revealed, and now I'm actively interested in the next issue. Still, the book is a short 18 pages per issue, and each issue ends so abruptly that I end up turning through every one of the following 4 pages of ads, not believing there's no more there. I'm sure it reads great as a collection, but man, it makes for some confusing reading issue by issue. I find myself going, "Wha hoppen'?" and "Is that it?"

That's a bone of contention that I think is rather minor, considering, though - if the worst thing you can say is that you wanted another couple of pages, well, that's a pretty good book! As I mentioned earlier, Moore's art has only improved over the years. His lovely, sensitive facial expressions, body language, and all the little details that really make the work live are right at home here, and you hardly notice that the book is black and white. His line work is the most elegant in all comics, I believe - young inkers, take note. And his stuff is not overworked or overdrawn at all - young pencillers, pay attention.

I recommend this book for older readers - 15 / 16 + - because of violence; adults will certainly enjoy the book on many levels.

Green Lantern #39

The Agent Orange story kicks off with a huge bang! I have to admit, I've been breathlessly waiting for this story to get underway - Green Lantern has been great since Geoff Johns has been writing it - best it's been since the long-gone days of the Hard Traveling Heroes.

The beginning of the story is just creepy and great - we open with some Darkstars-looking dudes called The Controllers, heading down into a cavern-like underground palace. Meanwhile, the "voiceover" is someone in an orange box saying "Mine Mine Mine" basically. Delicious! When the Controllers find Larfleeze (the Orange Lantern's ring-bearer)... they wish they hadn't. And all because nobody taught Larfleeze to share. It's really fun. In a really gruesome sort of way.

We then discover what has happened to Hal Jordan since he was taken over by the red ring - apparently the red rings don't ask permission, they simply take their chosen host and impose their power on him or her. Jordan, resisting, was aided by Saint Walker, who jammed a blue ring on his finger. It forced the red rage out of him, and he shed the red ring, but now he is stuck in a sort of blue-green limbo - the blue ring does not have any power other than flight and a sort of protective aura so the wearer can fly through space, unless a Green Lantern is nearby. Apparently, hope is useless without will.

Sounds like a soap opera: "Will Hope find the Will to live, the Hope to go on? Or will Will have to settle for hope if Hope can't find the will to live?" Heh. Anyhow, interestingly, the blue and green are not the only rings that form a symbiotic relationship - the blue rings supercharge the green, and the green enable the blues to be used as weapons. The indigo are also a part of this little trinity, as Hope evidently should be working with Compassion. Whew! Lots of emotion here! I can only imagine what the Star Sapphires (Love) will bring. And now with the orange (Greed/Avarice) in the picture, will it feed the Sinestro Corps? Doesn't Greed breed Fear (of loss), and vice versa?

And what has happened to Green Lantern Stell, since his encounter with Larfleeze? He's looked better.

The things I love: All the colors/emotions. The Controllers. Larfleeze. The artwork. The writing (dialogue is crisp and realistic, not stilted, story is compelling).

Things I hate: Jordan and the Guardians are all dumb. Jordan just rails and rants all the time any more - come on, Johns. "I have nothing to hope for." Really? For crying out loud, why not just hope that the blue ring will come off soon, or that you can get Carol Ferris alone someplace for a quickie?

I know this writer can do better than this in terms of character development. The Guardians continue to stubbornly refuse to believe all that's happening, despite the evidence right in front of them. Some Guardians, huh? With Guardians this stupid and stubborn, it's no wonder Earth is in such a mess. Why do they continually say that Jordan's will is strong enough to power the entire Green Lantern Corps, yet expect us to believe he cannot summon the will to take off that blue ring? Huh? Sigh. Things like this, as much as I love the overall story, make me a little crazy.
Still, this book is recommended - I think it's the best superhero book going, except for JSA. It's a bit violent (Larfleeze tears some people in half) so I don't recommend it for younger or more easily disturbed kids, but it is really good for older kids, perhaps 14 +. I like it and I'm way older than that.

Superman #685

2009-03-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

The beautiful, sad, almost iconic cover of Superman #685 seems a little puzzling at first, but once you've read the entire issue, it'll make more sense - perfect sense, really.

The story kicks off the World Without Superman story as New Krypton gets underway. The story starts with a jolt as Mon-El lays dying in Superman's arms, in an eerie replica of the cover. This, I felt, lent gravitas to Mon-El's re-entry into the living world, and along with another, later development, gives the reader an emotional pull, which will hopefully sustain us as we now watch Mon-El assume Superman's duties while Superman deals with the Kryptonian issue.

Most of the issue deals with Superman wrestling with the news that Earth has passed a resolution banning all Kryptonians - except him. Knowing that Zod is among the Kryptonians, knowing that Alura is behaving like a facist-in-the-making, he believes he also knows what he must do, but he needs to talk it over with Lois and Martha Kent. Superman desperately wants to help his people, but is torn and filled with sorrow at the way he feels he must do so. Nevertheless, he makes the difficult decision, and the stage is set for New Krypton.

It was a great issue, story-wise. I didn't feel the artwork really stood up to this story, however - it was very ... plain. I mean, I am not a fan of super-busy, overworked pencils, but I do like some details. I do have to admit the facial expressions were very good, it's just that there wasn't really much else there, most of the time. The art on the backup feature was very good, however, more detailed, and just felt a little more complete.

New Krypton looks like it will provide nearly as much fun as first time we saw a World Without Superman - that was way back during the Death of Superman. The Reign of the Supermen was the most fun I'd had reading comics in years, and I can only hope to say the same of the New Krypton storyline once it's done! Let's hope so...

Finally - Down to Business!

2009-03-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

I set this blog up awhile back, intending to review new and old books alike, and then promptly forgot about it. Rrrrr. But now that I remember it, I guess we should get started:

Wonder Woman #29

In an odd disconnect, this issue seems to have last month's cover (it features Wonder Woman fighting Genocide, who opened a large can of whoopass on the Amazon Princess last issue), while last month's featured Cheetah (who faces off with WW this issue). Weird.

Still, even though it's the mid-point of an 8-issue story arc, it's a good read despite the cover confusion. Apparently, Genocide leaves some sort of residual depression or rage, and Donna Troy flies off threatening to kill Diana if she sees her again - and Diana looks only a little worried. The plot is thickening around Genocide, her abduction of Etta Candy, the return of Steve Trevor, and the taking of Wonder Woman's lasso. Elsewhere, Zeus went medieval on Kane, the Polynesian god dude. That's bad, because I like Kane. But maybe it is finally getting to the point - it is called "Rise of the Olympian," no?

Gail Simone is so good at what she does, and nobody could illustrate that better than Aaron LoPresti, whose art is a delight to behold. The plot here is almost incidental to the revelations of character. As Donna flies off, Diana's expression is dazed, confused - but still regal. Her murmuring "Be strong. Be Amazon." as she contemplated Etta Candy being held by Genocide was so lovely, and so perfect in the wake of the poor fragile seeming creature whose very core seemed to have been shaken by Genocide. I want my Wonder Woman strong, heroic - Amazon. And it looks like Gail Simone is about to give her back to us this way - her defeat of Cheetah paves the way there.

The only thing I didn't care for so much was - as usual - the always-superfluous Tom Tressor. Sorry, he just doesn't do it for me - the pairing feels forced, like Worf and Troi on Star Trek The Next Generation. A little creepy like that. Here's hoping Tressor soon dies a valiant, heroic death. Sorry, Tressor fans.

The Origins and Omens story was, at first glance, the backup feature version of Tressor (superfluous), since Simone just recounted Diana's origin story in the last arc. But look again, Fellow Reader: Hippolyta fights a dread creature to get the clay to create her baby. And there's the payoff. That's the whole reason the Circle thought she was going to be this horrid demon baby and turn into a monstrous dragon - because of where that clay came from, and what it did for the creature guarding it. So it's worth looking at, after all!

Looking forward to the rest of this story - and that's a great way to feel after the very shaky start to this volume of WW's adventures.