Comics are awesome.

[Dominic]

So, Armor War II is out tomorrow. Who else is getting it?

Dom

[andersonh1]

Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come vol. 1 trade paperback

The title of this volume is somewhat misleading, since the “Thy Kingdom Come” storyline doesn’t really get started until halfway through. As one might suspect from the title, the plot deals to some degree with the events of Mark Waid’s “Kingdom Come” mini-series from the 90s. Since this is a collection of the monthly issues, the first few chapters unrelated to TKC are included in the book for the sake of completeness, and to be fair they are pretty good. They contain foreshadowing of the coming story as Magog slaughters “false gods” by shooting a hole in their chest, though we don’t know who the murderer is at first.

The early chapters deal with various members of the team and serve as character studies. Liberty Belle is the focus of one chapter as she helps calm down Damage, who is trying to get revenge on the reverse-Flash for destroying his face. Citizen Steel makes his first appearance on the scene and his story arc from the first JSA volume is at least partially resolved. The daughter of Black Lightning is introduced, so now there are three teenage girls on the team. And I just noticed that Stargirl has braces.

The actual “Thy Kingdom Come” storyline begins with Power Girl having a nightmare/premonition about her dead cousin, the Golden Age Superman Kal-L, who died during the events of “Infinite Crisis”. We get a little background about how she’s the last survivor of the multiverse, a fact that she learned during “Infinite Crisis”. And since the recreated multiverse plays a major role in this story, the sequence is very relevant. The rest of the society is having a cookout at a local fire station whose firemen had helped to capture Vandal Savage. This is a fun sequence as most of the characters on this massive team get a scene or two to shine. The firemen are called out to put out a fire, and the JSA go with them and assist. It turns out that some b-grade demonic villain was killed and it’s his body that’s set the factor ablaze. The magical nature of the fire can harm even Power Girl and Green Lantern, so Starman attempts to open a black hole to another dimension and dump the body there. As expected, it doesn’t quite go right, and Superman from “Kingdom Come” is pulled through the breach.

This is where things really get interesting as the Justice Society question Superman and try to learn where he came from. Power Girl in particular is distressed since this Superman so closely resembles her cousin. There’s a creepy scene where she goes to the grave of Kal-L and Lois Lane, and she can see them where they’re buried thanks to her x-ray vision. I don’t think I’d want to see my dead relatives in their graves.

Superman is treated with suspicion at first, but his identity is confirmed via various means, and Cyclone makes him a new costume to replace the tattered one he’s wearing. When the Justice League offer to help him return home, he reveals that he believes that his Earth is gone, destroyed by the nuclear blast seen in issue 4 of “Kingdom Come”. He joins the JSA, and then helps the team rescue Judomaster from attack. The final scene of the book is the new Mr. America, having encountered Magog, staggering into JSA headquarters to tell them what he’s learned.

Having summarized much of the plot, what do I think? I’m a big fan of the Kingdom Come mini-series and Alex Ross’ art. He not only does the covers for the chapters, but also the panels within this story that are set on Earth 22, the “Kingdom Come” universe. I’m not sure how believable it is to take Superman from that moment in issue 4 where the nuke explodes and give him this adventure, but the character is well written and his interaction with the bereaved Power Girl offers good dramatic possibilities.

The Justice Society itself is getting quite large, and recruiting for new members goes on throughout the chapters that make up the tpb. The upside is that the group feels like a genuine “society” rather than a small club, but the downside is that some characters get very little to do. And it’s interesting how some of the characters' powers are more of a curse than anything else. Lightning can’t touch anything electrical without shorting it out, so driving a car or watching TV are problematic for her. Sand can’t sleep without having nightmares. Citizen Steel is incredibly heavy and strong and virtually indestructible, but can’t feel anything. These characters seem like the very opposite of wish fulfilment characters like the Flash or Superman, who have human abilities magnified to incredible levels, but who can generally live normal lives.

This particular collected volume just barely gets into the main storyline advertised on the cover, but if you’re a fan of the Justice Society concept or characters, I’d say it’s worth having. The focus of the chapters are somewhat scattered, but since it’s a collection of monthly issues, that’s only to be expected.

[Dominic]

It is beyond me why DC split "Thy Kingdom Come" between 2 very thin volumes. The only reason I can think of is to get people to come back and/or buy more comics while waiting. I grudgingly give Johns credit for part 2 being good as well.

The thing to remember is that none of the 52 are actually previously established settings. Some just look a whole hell of alot like previously shown settings. This is one of the few things that DC has been consistent on.

Dom
-notes how DC has done next to nothing with the multiverse aside form making it less defined since bringing it back.

[andersonh1]

It is beyond me why DC split "Thy Kingdom Come" between 2 very thin volumes. The only reason I can think of is to get people to come back and/or buy more comics while waiting. I grudgingly give Johns credit for part 2 being good as well.

It's actually three volumes. I've got the first two, but I still need part three to finish the story. Each one has about six or seven issues included, so that's not too bad. I've seen all three in paperback and hardback, so I'm assuming DC publishes the hardback first, then the paperback later on.

[Dominic]

I could have sworn the compilations were thinner than 6 issues.

Weird.


Anyway, this was an odd week for me in terms of comics. I picked up two single issues of movie tie-ins and two compilations. One of those compilations is of material that is 20+ years old...and ties in with a movie.


I will review this week's regular comics in the next few days. (There are still piles of FCBD books to read through.)




War of the Supermen #0 (DC):
As the title and numbering implies, this is the zero issue for the next "Superman" event. Robinson hits a good balance between reviewing the characters' setting and history, establishing the status quo, and giving an over-all direction. If not for my post-"Final Crisis" aversion to DC and being sick of event books, I would actually consider picking up the story this sets up for. While I normally take off points for new-content in a FCBD like this one, (as it pits old and new fans against each other), DC is pretty reliable about reprinting this stuff.
Grade: A



Owly and Friends (Top Shelf):
As ever, Top Shelf's FCBD offering is nigh unreadable. Two of the features, Korgi and the titular Owly, are nearly wordless. And, Johnny Boo is just tedious. Owly and Korgy are fit only for the wee-est of readers. They have a certain limited charm, but are best for the pre-literacy set. Johnny Boo's continued presence in a field with product by greats like Byrne, Michelinie, Simonson, Roche, and Perez is frankly inexplicable.
Grade: B


Irredeemable/Incorruptible (Boom!):
I will say one thing for Mark Waid and Boom! studios. They really know how to work the FCBD angle. Normally, flip-books either showcase partial issues or very short stories. Not so here. Boom! presents 2 complete issues of two separate, but related, titles. I am not a fan of either title. But, Boom! is doing everything it reasonable can to let people know what is out there.
Grade: A+


Dom
-this post epitomizes the FCBD standard I hold. An "A+" is a truly rare grade.

[andersonh1]

Brightest Day #0

I hadn’t intended to follow this series, but the mix of characters and the mystery behind their resurrection and the white ring interests me. And it’s a limited series, so there’s a finite storyline and number of issues to commit to.

When it comes to the characters that “Brightest Day” focuses on, I’m actually interested in about half of them. Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkgirl are characters I’ve enjoyed reading about in the past. Deadman’s situation is such a reversal of the character’s normal status quo that I want to know what’s happening with him even though I normally don’t really care about the character at all. Jade is reasonably interesting, and the future glimpse of her wearing Alan Scott's ring has me curious. The Firestorm sections of the story don’t really hold my attention at all, and neither does the Hawk and Dove plotline. And what’s up with Maxwell Lord? I remember his mind control that caused nosebleeds, but he’s turned into a psycho here. Then again, I remember reading that he killed Ted Kord, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

Issue 0 gives the reader a series of vignettes that establish all of the characters in the story and a brief glimpse of the situation they now find themselves in, courtesy of Boston Brand and his white ring which he cannot remove and which directs his actions. The Martian Manhunter wants to bring life back to Mars, which seems like a great quest to put the character on. Aquaman is worried about returning to the water, and sees a reflection of himself as a black lantern in the water. Max Lord gets a massive nosebleed and gives himself a transfusion as he falls into a tub of ice in a very grotesque scene. The Hawks reflect on their past lives. Hawk and Dove fight somebody. Firestorm’s two component individuals fight each other. And there's a scene between Barry Allen and Captain Boomerang that seems to have no relation to anything else.

As an aside, it's good to see Aquaman looking clean-cut again, with his old orange and green uniform and both hands. Back when I was buying his book and Peter David was the author, Aquaman had a beard and long hair and had his hand chewed off by pirhanas, after which he replaced it with a hook and grapple like. Very 90s. He was also cheating on his wife with Dolphin, apparently.

Overall: as I said, about half the storylines actually interest me, but I’m in for now. Especially considering that some of these comic-book resurrections appear to be not quite right. I should wait for the trade, like I’m doing with Blackest Night, but the story and the biweekly nature of the series have made me decide to go ahead and bite the bullet.


Brightest Day #1

Something’s clearly wrong with at least some of the resurrected characters. Aquaman and Mera attack a ship and rescue some kidnapped children. When Aquaman tries to use his telepathy to summon sea life to help, he summons a dead giant squid and shark, who he then cannot control or influence. The Martian Manhunter is attempting to grow plant life on Mars when he gets a disturbing telepathic vision of strangling professor Erdel, which never happened. And someone has taken the bones of Hawkman and Hawkgirl’s original incarnations. Deadman is still incorporeal, and points out what I as the reader was thinking, that if he can’t be seen and can’t influence events around him that he might as well still be a ghost.

Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris and Sinestro discuss the white lantern. No one can lift it, and Hal makes an analogy to the sword in the stone, which only Arthur could remove. The obvious candidate is Deadman, who is still wearing the white ring, but that almost seems too obvious.

Oh, and the two guys who make up Firestorm argue some more. Who cares? Well, I suppose Firestorm fans do, but I don’t.

Overall: better than issue 0, and most of the storylines concern the characters I’m reading the series for. And I got a free White Lantern ring with the issue, woo!

[138 Scourge]

As an aside, it's good to see Aquaman looking clean-cut again, with his old orange and green uniform and both hands. Back when I was buying his book and Peter David was the author, Aquaman had a beard and long hair and had his hand chewed off by pirhanas, after which he replaced it with a hook and grapple like. Very 90s. He was also cheating on his wife with Dolphin, apparently.

I remember those days. Actually, I liked that a lot. The beard and hair worked to give him a more regal look, and kind of played to a pirate/mariner sort of image at the same time. The hand, though...eh, I didn't mind it, really. Again, kind of iconic mariner thing, and the second hook he had wasn't that bad. Different tastes. Still, much as I liked the nineties version, I've got nothing against the orange and green. That's an awesome color combination.

As for Dolphin, though..to be fair, I think Mera was dead at the time, and had just tried to kill him or something. I seem to remember her being in another dimension, maybe? I don't know, she almost seemed like one of his villains at the time. Whatever happened to Dolphin, anyhow?

[Sparky Prime]

Oh, and the two guys who make up Firestorm argue some more. Who cares? Well, I suppose Firestorm fans do, but I don’t.

I think the more important part of the scene is where they try to split apart but it causes them great pain and are forced to remain fused together as Firestorm. Professor Stein and Atom saying they have same bad news would suggest they already know about the problem keeping them fused together. So it's a classic case of two heroes who hate each other forced to work as one in a situation they cannot get out of. Personally, I'm interested to see how things will unfold with Firestorm.

Really, I'd have to say Brightest Day as a whole has me intrigued so far. It's interesting to see these characters haven't exactly been resurrected back to the way they were.

Whatever happened to Dolphin, anyhow?

She was shown at a Black Lantern, so she is dead. From what I can find, it's thought she was killed when Altantis was destroyed.

[Dominic]

"Brightest Day" will likely finish the reset. Dolphin will likely come back. Firestorm will be Raymond and Stein. Rusch will likely die heroically after a (not totally unjustified) attempt at revenge against Raymond goes awry. And so on....



Iron Man (Public Identity) #1 and #2:
This is a bridging story between the first and second movies. From what I have seen of the movies, this series might actually be doing a better job of delivering a basic Iron Man than the movies it ties in with or other media. Justin Hammer looks to be changed from his original incarnation. But, unlike Stane from the first movie, the changes here likely have more justification than "we need to make him fit so we can use Iron Monger".
Grade" B/C


Dom
-and Marvel will have "Heroic Age".... At least that is written by Bendis.

[138 Scourge]

So I bought some comics the other day:

I, Zombie: Stupid Vertigo one-dollar comics. Actually, I like this a lot, and I'm glad that there's a lot of Vertigo product that I'm enjoying right now. Mike Allred's artwork is amazing, but I feel like when he's doing his own writing, he gets carried away by his own style, if that makes any sense. Anyway, this book still has a lot of retro-sixties kickiness to it, especially thanks to the ghost go-go girl that's the title character's best friend. Said title character? Zombie that day-jobs at a "green" graveyard and has to eat a brain once a month, and is then compelled to solve the murder/fulfill the last wish of the brain's owner. That's some high-concept stuff, and the contrast with Allred's brightly-colored and very cute artwork works for me.

Secret Six #21: 'Bout the same as last issue. Fortunately for me, I enjoy seeing Catman just go on this rampage. You gotta figure that a guy that can hold is own against Batman, even for a minute, is probably tougher than most. Also: Estrogan the Demon. So yeah, even though I'm pretty much over DC right now, I just can't quit this book.

Spider-Man: Fever #2: Prowl, did you get this one? I remember you asked about it last month. Anyway, the second issue has me convinced. This is awesome. Spider-Man goes wandering around is some crazy-assed Steve Ditko-esque psychedelic astral plane. Amazing, amazing artwork.