Comics are Awesome II

[Sparky Prime]

The other Ultimates look pretty well like the movie characters. There was less need to change them between page, screen and back.

The other characters look like they've always looked like in the Ultimate universe. None of their costumes were changed at all from what I can tell, except for Iron Man.

[BWprowl]

Dom, those were quote tags, not spoiler tags...

Spoiler

Blake being 'Robin' works as a Nolan-y/'realistic' interpretation of the Robin concept/role, and signifies the way he's an amalgamation of the first three Robins, yet still his own character (it's a new, non-comic continuity, after all). Really, I would've understood that he was Nolan's 'Dark Knight' version of Robin even if they hadn't thrown the name out at the last second for the less-perceptive members of the audience.

Spoiler

Bruce living was significant in the story since the whole damn thing was about him realizing that he could live his life without being Batman; that he didn't have to play the role 'til he died, that he was able to grow and move on and leave the role/mission to the next guy. I personally think they could have been slightly more ambiguous about it (maybe just show Alfred at the cafe and have him nod towards the camera, roll credits, since that would lend more credence to the foreshadowing of his desires earlier in the movie), but to have Bruce die as Batman would have been a slap in the face to everything the movie had built up to til that point.

[andersonh1]

I'm down to two DC books, and Aquaman's on the fence at the moment. The book started out good, but the story is dragging and dragging... Geoff Johns needs to read, memorize and live by James Roberts statement in the TFW2005 interview: "Both John and I agreed early on that we wanted to tell more standalone or two-part stories, rather than stretch things out to fill five or six issues. Writing shorter stories forces you to come up with more ideas, which is good!"

I've got the same problem with Green Lantern #11. The story is interesting, but it's taking forever to tell it. 11 issues ago we were shown the Guardians plans to find the first lantern and to create the third army, and that still hasn't happened. Almost a year later, it hasn't happened. We've instead watched the Hal and Sinestro show (and at this point, I'm really tired of Sinestro being so prominent in the book) in which Hal is written as shallow and shortsighted so that Sinestro can outthink him at every opportunity. And lest you think the Guardians have always been this bad, Geoff Johns himself noted in this week's Comic Book News interview that "absolute power corrupts absolutely, and the Guardians' moment has arrived". And yes, I know the Guardians are watching and manipulating Sinestro in order to get the Book of the Black to find the first Lantern, but the pace... is... so... glacial....

It's odd reading this book, and reading Hal and Sinestro discuss Blackest Night and the Black Lanterns. I've grown so accustomed to just assuming that everything pre-Flashpoint is gone or up in the air that hearing a storyline from the old 52 referred to in such a casual way feels weird. It's like this book is pretending to coast along as though nothing has changed when in reality everything has. Though to be fair that is why I'm still reading, to see how storylines set in motion before Flashpoint and the reboot play out. As I said, there are some decent ideas, it's just taking forever to get anywhere. Do I really need to see Black Hand recreate his family as zombies, buy them Chinese takeout and then have dinner with them? Is that a good use of the few pages we have per issue? Is there a better way for him to explain his dastardly plot? Surely there is.

And we get a vision of the new Green Lantern with his ski mask and gun, looking like he's ready to knock over the local 7-11. Wow, I just love these modern, updated costumes. :/

[BWprowl]

No Watchmen this week, it was Comedian’s release, and my comic shop was sold out of that one when I got there anyway (Fresno confirmed for the shittiest of shit taste). So that makes a perfect opportunity to catch up on reviews of the previous couple of books!

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #2
While still mostly in a recounting/flashback format, a more coherent story starts to form in this issue, rather than just being a collection of anecdotes. Cooke definitely has a handle on all the Minutemen’s personalities, showing how they associate with each other, and form friendships/relationships (Comedian and Dollar Bill got along, who knew?). We also get a little more up-close and personal with the relationship between Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis, which had merely been strongly hinted at in Watchmen Proper; this book paints it as a fair bit intense. Along with that and the grim-ending child-kidnapping subplot (which this issue might actually just be kicking off, we’ll have to see) it becomes clear that Hollis’s admitted nostalgic optimism about this period was as much of a front as he admitted it was, and that the world these characters occupy was every bit as gritty as we expect from the setting. Jumping this far off the dark end so early does come across as ‘trying too hard’ a bit, but it’s certainly better and more interesting than the highlight reel this book merely was last issue. It actually has places to *go* now, and it’ll be interesting to see where those places are. Honestly, if Cooke can actually commit, and this book can go full-hog *really* dark within the shiny setting of the Golden Age, I think I could end up actually impressed.

Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2
After the small-scale, well-implemented mundane interest of Laurie as a rebellious teenager that made the first issue work rather well, this second one takes something of a left-turn into 70’s drug conspiracies and more generic coming-of-age-superhero-action. Here’s the thing: This wouldn’t be a *bad* plot normally, the idea of record producers of the era employing new-age hippie scientists to engineer drugs specifically to push hippie culture into a more consumerist role is amusing, and at least works in such a historical setting, but oh man does it feel out of place in a Watchmen book, which previously played by some much more serious, real-world rules. It’s especially jarring when, after the previous issue had Laurie using her pragmatic superhero training to brutally subdue the school bitch, this one has her reduced to dance-fighting disco-chick henchwomen working for an EEVIL drug dealing street-overlord. The juxtaposition of kids growing up/finding their way in the 1970’s big city feels pretty generic too, and might’ve worked if their interactions were more tightly woven into Laurie’s super-heroing, but the most we get is her roommate making a costume for her and her sneaking out of her bedroom to fight crime. Admittedly, the two world come together a bit more at the end, but the ‘twist’ of how they meet feels a little forced, and an issue dramatically closing as a drug trip ensues is hardly the most compelling or original bit in the world. This book isn’t strictly ‘bad’ yet, but there was a lot of potential in the setup of the first issue that feels squandered by the goofy, generic elements this second part employs. It’s only a four-issue series, so the next issue will have to be *spectacularly* bad for me to drop it before it wraps up, and admittedly it could even pick up instead, but for now I’m just kind of disappointed that this series so far seems to be less than it appeared at first glance.

Almost nothing was out that I wanted this week (MTMTE #7 was all, really) so I sprung for the first issue of the new Axe Cop series, which I’d only read sporadic installments of previously. I’d love to hear Dom’s opinion on this series, it and its popularity probably drive him crazy.

[Dominic]

And, this week.....nothing. Or, more accurately, "nothing directly for this thread".

I ended up with "More than Meets the Eye" #7, "Autocracy" and the third UK volume. And, I tried reading some shitty TFCC comics last night.

But, the most interesting thing I picked up comics wise was this week was CSN.

DC is setting up for a new GL story, (by Johns no less), that I am kind of interested in. Even putting aside the fact that it will probably help to sort out how much pre-"Flash Point" GL still counts, the high concept is interesting enough. (The more "Flash Point" and post-"Flash Point" changes stick, the more receptive I will be to DC's hype events.) Apparently, Johns is going to drop any pretense of the Guardians being even remotely good.


And, more information about "Marvel Now" has been released. The best way to describe it is "Heroes Reborn, but with less ambition". It is set in 616, and involves more half-assed rebooting and back-writing that will be self-defeating by virtue of making 616 Marvel *more* convoluted. I see another "Crossing LIne" style cluster-fuck on the horizon, this time for the "X-Men" books.


Speaking of convoluted, and generally bad, writing, I also picked up a (free) "Spider-Man" primer. Oi. The Jackpot related summaries and character entry read like the kind of frantic back-writing that Gruenwald had to do in order to reconcile pre-"Avengers" #4 Captain America appearances back in the 80s. The difference is that Gruenwald was reconciling problems that predated him, rather than just juggling to cover for sloppy writing. Oh, and Kraven the Hunter came back, and.....

My god, "Spider-Man" might be the worst mainline superhero comic on the racks.

"Both John and I agreed early on that we wanted to tell more standalone or two-part stories, rather than stretch things out to fill five or six issues. Writing shorter stories forces you to come up with more ideas, which is good!"

Some ideas do merit longer arcs though.

And, if you are buying the book every month, why is is such a big deal if an arc takes more than two issues? You are coming back for the next issue anyway.

I am not even a fans of Johns and I think you are being unfair on this point.

The other characters look like they've always looked like in the Ultimate universe. None of their costumes were changed at all from what I can tell, except for Iron Man.

What I was saying is that Ultimate Captain America and Thor look like the movie characters to begin with. (Or more accurately, the movie characters look like the Ultimates.)

No Watchmen this week, it was Comedian’s release, and my comic shop was sold out of that one when I got there anyway (Fresno confirmed for the shittiest of shit taste). So that makes a perfect opportunity to catch up on reviews of the previous couple of books!

Maybe people are reading it for train-wreck value? To be honest, I am kind of tempted.....

Almost nothing was out that I wanted this week (MTMTE #7 was all, really) so I sprung for the first issue of the new Axe Cop series, which I’d only read sporadic installments of previously. I’d love to hear Dom’s opinion on this series, it and its popularity probably drive him crazy.

Not familiar with it. It just strikes me as "another indy book". Who is on it?

And, Dark Knight stuff. (We can probably lose the spoiler tags next week.)

Spoiler

Black being Robin just came off as forced. It was an Easter Egg.....painted in neon, sitting under a sign that said "here there be Easter Eggs". It would have worked better to just show him finding the cave in a montage at the end. The most "punch in the face" obvious thing should have been a cut that reminded more forgetful audience members that the cave was directly under the orphanage. And, even that would have been pushing it.


Bruce did not need to live. And, did they really need to have the scene in the cafe? Really.

Having Bruce die could have been a demonstration of him realizing that his true purpose was to be a symbol and hero for the city.

Dom, those were quote tags, not spoiler tags...

Sorry, been *really* tired lately.


Dom
-likely to get to retro comics next week.

[andersonh1]

Dom, I'm just finally getting tired of decompressed storytelling, where characters run around and around and things happen, but there's no story resolution. Geoff Johns can write well sometimes, but sometimes he just really drags things out, and that's what's happening in Green Lantern right now. Probably so the big story climax can happen right about the time the zero issues come out. String the readers along with lots of filler in between the major events. That seems to be the writing model here.

[Onslaught Six]

Spoiler

The most "punch in the face" obvious thing should have been a cut that reminded more forgetful audience members that the cave was directly under the orphanage.

Spoiler

It's not though? It's under Wayne Manor, like it was in Begins.

Not familiar with [Axe Cop]. It just strikes me as "another indy book". Who is on it?

Nobody important or known; that's the schtick. And Axe Cop is far from "another" indy book.

Axe Cop is what happens when a comics artist has a 5 (now 8) year old brother. The kid writes the stories. The guy illustrates them. Hilarity ensues. It's endearing in a way that other comics aren't. (It began as a webcomic, so you can read some of it online for free.) http://axecop.com/

[Sparky Prime]

And we get a vision of the new Green Lantern with his ski mask and gun, looking like he's ready to knock over the local 7-11. Wow, I just love these modern, updated costumes. :/

Er... How is it a modern, updated costume when this is a new GL character?

Apparently, Johns is going to drop any pretense of the Guardians being even remotely good.

It's not that the Guardians aren't good, they've just decided that their method of protecting the universe with the Green Lantern Corps isn't working as well as they should, but their ultimate goal here is to still protect the universe.

What I was saying is that Ultimate Captain America and Thor look like the movie characters to begin with. (Or more accurately, the movie characters look like the Ultimates.)

That's my point, it's not that the Ultimate versions look like the movies, it's that the movies were based on the Ultimates look. Except for Iron Man in that comic, who was based on the movie version.

[Dominic]

Well, did not buy all of my comics this week, but I did buy a few. (It was a pretty heavy week, and I did not feel right leaving too much in my file at the comic shop.)

The "Ultimates" books are having a cross-over. I plan to buy the first chapters for each series. But, this could possibly break me of reading "All-New Spider-Man" if it goes on for too long.

-Worlds' Finest #4:
And, the first story arc more or less wraps up. The title characters fight a big monster in Tokyo Bay...and more of the same from the last few issues. Shit happens. For whatever reason, Levitz is treading water. Yes, we get it. Power Girl and Huntress are from an alternate timeline. Yes, they are fighting the big radioactive fucker. Yes, we get it. Physics work a bit differently for them than for people native to the timeline the series is set in. Why does anybody care? I am having trouble answering that question. Perez gets an assist on the art. And, while the art is not bad, (in fact it is some of cleanest I have seen in a while), it is not enough to make this book worth reading. I will likely pick up next month's zero issue and then drop this book.
Grade: C/D


-Earth 2 #4:
The team more or less, albeit informally, assembles in this issue. Robinson seems to be drawing on some retro-90s backstory with Pratt and Kendra. Grundy does a fair amount of damage to the world with his powers. But, given the setting, that will likely fade in to the background. Robinson has spent the last few issues on the characters, and will hopefully get to defining the setting in the next arc.
Grade: B


-Age of Apocalypse #6:
This issue reads a bit more coherently than the last few. (I actually re-skimmed them last night. Many of the problems that troubled me on the first reading are still there.) Lapham blurrs the lines between the factions in this issue. Trask and the Reavers may be the best chance humanity has in the AoA timeline. But, Lapham does not gloss-over what they are in the main 616 timeline. It is less a question of them being better people in the AoA and more a question of their personality traits simply being beneficial to people in this setting. Lapham also seems to be done raising characters from the dead as of this issue. He has consistently portrayed the McGuffin used to raise the dead as being "rare tech", and the Beast's lab was pretty well destroyed in the previous issue.
Grade: C

Nobody important or known; that's the schtick. And Axe Cop is far from "another" indy book.

Axe Cop is what happens when a comics artist has a 5 (now 8) year old brother. The kid writes the stories. The guy illustrates them. Hilarity ensues. It's endearing in a way that other comics aren't. (It began as a webcomic, so you can read some of it online for free.) http://axecop.com/

And people actually pay to read this?

What the fuck? Seriously. I am looking for a proper grown-up job, and people are actually spending money on this shit? Really? That really is the kind of self-indulgent, whimsical bull-shit that makes me cringe whenever I hear the phrase "indy book". (Yes, I know that there are legitimately talented and hard-working people who are making a go of self-publishing. And, stuff like this only makes them look bad.)


Dom
-might be time to start paring down the pull list.

[andersonh1]

Daredevil #16

One of the interesting things about reading a Marvel series on an ongoing basis is discovering how many equivalent characters there are between Marvel and DC. DC has Ray Palmer, the Atom, while Marvel has a similar character who can go inside Matt Murdock's brain and clear out all the nanobots that Dr. Doom's people infected him with. Ant-Man? And he somehow experiences Matt's memories and comes to really understand just what drives the guy. Of course, we finally find out what Foggy found in Matt's desk, and I wonder whether Matt really did put it there or not.