Comics are Awesome II

[Sparky Prime]

Come on, man! That's my catchphrase! I say it every time the words "Cloning," "Time travel," or "alternate universe" are uttered in a casual comic summary.

Not every story involving cloning, time travel or alternate universes is stupid though. Actually, some of the best comic stories involves some of those elements. Look at X-Men's "Days of Future Past", or "Age of Apocalypse" as two examples.

He's not the only one. George Perez has had some damning words for editorial. And I think some others have as well. There's a pattern, not just one or two disgruntled DC employees leaving.

Perez didn't leave DC, he just dropped out of writing. He still does artwork for World's Finest. Liefeld is the first person I've seen actually say they were leaving DC because they weren't happy with how editorial was running things.

[andersonh1]

Perez didn't leave DC, he just dropped out of writing. He still does artwork for World's Finest.

I didn't say he left, just that he criticized the editorial process, both for his book and DC in general. He found it impossible to write in those conditions. He didn't know what was going on the other Superman book, his plots kept getting changed, and even in the case of drawing he had to redesign Power Girl's outfit at the last minute.

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/20 ... -superman/

Renowned creator George Perez, who stepped down as writer and breakdown artist of DC Comics’ relaunched Superman after just six issues, revealed he couldn’t wait to leave the high-profile title because of frustrations over repeated rewrites and a lack of creative freedom. “It was not the experience I wanted it to be,” he said.

“Unfortunately when you are writing major characters, you sometimes have to make a lot of compromises, and I was made certain promises,” Perez said in a recently released Q&A video from this year’s Superman Celebration, “and unfortunately not through any fault of Dan DiDio — he was no longer the last word, I mean a lot of people were now making decisions [..] they were constantly going against each other, contradicting, again in mid-story. The people who love my Superman arc, the first six issues, I thank you. What you read, I don’t know. Because the fact that, after I wrote it I was having such frustration that I told them, ‘Here, this is my script. If you change it, that’s your prerogative, don’t tell me. Don’t ask me to edit it, don’t ask me to correct it, because I don’t want to change something that you’re going to change again in case you disagree.” No no, Superman is a big character. I was flattered by the responsibility, but I thought this was getting a little tough.”

Perez also divulged that he hadn’t been told that Grant Morrison would be relaunching Action Comics as part of the New 52, or that the title would be set five years before the events of Superman.

“I had no idea Grant Morrison was going to be working on another Superman title,” he said. “I had no idea I was doing it five years ahead, which means … my story, I couldn’t do certain things without knowing what he did, and Grant wasn’t telling everybody. So I was kind of stuck. ‘Oh, my gosh, are the Kents alive? What’s his relationship with all of these characters? Who exists?’ And DC couldn’t give me answers. I said, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’re deciding all these things and you mean even you don’t know what’s going on in your own books?’ So I became very frustrated …”

http://www.craveonline.com/comics/artic ... n-problems

In doing Worlds' Finest, everything’s still being decided at the last minute. They needed a design for Power Girl, they didn’t ask me.They finally gave me the design, they needed to get it out solicitations, got it drawn, got it coloured, got it printed in the solicitation, they called me a week later, we changed our mind on the Power Girl costumes, so now I have to do a patch on the first issue cover and for a mercenary, practical and financial point of view, I just lost the resale value on my artwork, because now the character’s not the same character that appears on the cover and they screwed me out of that, and I shouldn’t have to be thinking about that but you guys really have to make up your minds!

[Sparky Prime]

I didn't say he left, just that he criticized the editorial process, both for his book and DC in general.

You also said there was a pattern of disgruntled DC employees leaving. The way you worded that gave the impression you were suggesting he'd left the company, like Liefeld is, and that there are several other creators that have left for the same reasons. I know Perez wasn't happy with how editorial kept changing their minds last minute, I've seen those interviews, but he hasn't left the company at all, just the writing. And I haven't seen any other creators say they were leaving, except for Liefeld, because of editorial's management. So where are you seeing this pattern of disgruntled employees leaving if it's only one guy?

I also think Perez is wrong about the resale value of his original artwork. I know there are plenty of fans out there that would love to have the pages as they were originally meant to be drawn. If anything, that could make those pages more valuable to those collectors.

[andersonh1]

I didn't say he left, just that he criticized the editorial process, both for his book and DC in general.

You also said there was a pattern of disgruntled DC employees leaving. The way you worded that gave the impression you were suggesting he'd left the company, like Liefeld is, and that there are several other creators that have left for the same reasons.

My bad. Sometimes it's clear in my head when I'm typing, but it doesn't come across in the post. The only other person I can think of off the top of my head that's quit was John Rozum, the writer of Static Shock, and I'm not sure if he's still with DC or gone entirely. He too had complaints about editorial if I remember right. I had thought there was someone else in the last few months who had left, but I'm drawing a blank so I could be mistaken.

I doubt the problems are confined to George Perez and the books he's worked on.

[Sparky Prime]

The only other person I can think of off the top of my head that's quit was John Rozum, the writer of Static Shock, and I'm not sure if he's still with DC or gone entirely. He too had complaints about editorial if I remember right.

According to his blog, the reason he quit Static Shock was because he felt like he was "benched" by Harvey Richards and Scott McDaniel who worked on the book with him and that little of his own work making it into the comic. He actually points out that his negative experiences was directly because of those two, not with anyone else at DC Comics who did not know the situation, and that he'd like to continue creating work for DC for as long as they'll have him.

I had thought there was someone else in the last few months who had left, but I'm drawing a blank so I could be mistaken.

Judd Winick announced he's leaving DC comics for the time being, although he says he's got some other projects going currently that isn't allowing him the time to work on a monthly title.

I doubt the problems are confined to George Perez and the books he's worked on.

Possible, but if that were true you'd think more than just two creators would have complained about it by now.

[Shockwave]

Star Trek: The Next Generation/ Dr. Who: Assimilation^2

Been eyeing this one for a while and finally pulled the trigger on it last time I was in. I'm usually leary of these kinds of cross overs because they usually wind up reading like bad fanfic. This though reads more like watching a lost episode of TNG. And ever since I've seen the Cybermen I've wondered how they would fare with the Borg. The two issues I have (2 and 3, not sure how many this will run) have been pretty good so far. I have mixed feelings about the art. It's a little blurry like Chaos was but I think the art style results in better likenesses of the characters. All in all, I would recommend it if you like either TNG or the current Dr. Who (since it's 11th Dr., Amy and Rory who appear in this one).

[andersonh1]

The two issues I have (2 and 3, not sure how many this will run) have been pretty good so far.

I believe it's supposed to run for eight issues. I got part four today, but haven't read it yet. The art's a little sloppier than before, but still pretty decent.

Green Lantern Annual #1

I may have just bought my last DC comic. Probably not, but when I ask myself what I like about the comic book characters and stories that I’ve been reading for 23 years now, the answer is “Not much at the moment.” And with the removal of Hal Jordan from the monthly Green Lantern title, there’s one less thing to like in the new 52.

The year long quest for “the first lantern” is finally over as the Guardians locate this mysterious being, guarded by a previously unseen group of Guardians for millions of years. The First Lantern has been imprisoned for all that time, and he has some as-yet unrevealed powers that the Guardians intend to tap to create their “Third Army”. The Guardians of the Universe are now full-fledged villains, willing to kill, maim and rob everyone in the universe of their free will, even their own long-lost brothers and sisters. And I have to ask what has happened to the beings who have dedicated their lives to protecting life throughout the universe? I simply don’t like this character turn. Maybe it makes sense in the “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” philosophy, but to me it’s just the end result of a regrettable trend of either killing or vilifying the Guardians of the Universe over the last few years. This whole storyline leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

And then there’s Hal Jordan, who almost feels like his old pre-Flashpoint self in this story, apart from his mooning over Carol. He makes the curious statement that the Guardians kicked him out of the Corps for questioning them once too often, when in fact they kicked him out for killing Krona. I guess that’s another retcon we can chalk up to the New 52. He digs himself out of the grave that Black Hand put him in, and between him and Sinestro they almost defeat Black Hand, until the Guardians show up to put a stop to it. The Guardians don’t just kill Hal and Sinestro outright (which would make the most sense), they get Black Hand to do it (so Hal can return as a Black Lantern later on). And then the Guardians create the first of their new army, who can physically transform others into being like himself. Their insane plan is evidently to change everyone in the universe into one of these things.

And that’s it. Am I interested in the Third Army storyline? Not really. Does the prospect of a new, more diverse Green Lantern lead with a ski mask and a gun excite me? Not at all. Do I think Geoff Johns has exhausted his creativity when it comes to Green Lantern. Yeah, I think so, and this is coming from someone who thought “Rebirth” and “The Sinestro Corps War” were great storytelling and some of the best GL storylines in years. Even “Blackest Night” was pretty good, though it owes a lot of its ideas to Alan Moore, and is not entirely original with Geoff Johns. And to be fair, the same can be said of the Sinestro Corps War as well.

And I’ll say this: at least we’re not getting a rehash of Emerald Twilight here. In a broad sense, it seemed as if that might be the case with Hal prophesied to become a villain, and a new “kewl” replacement for him taking over the main GL title. It’s déjà vu all over again. I’m waiting to see all the DC mainstays tell Baz “You are the Green Lantern” just like they did with Kyle Rayner, against all reason. Maybe we won’t get such blatant character shilling this time. At least Hal hasn’t gone crazy and tried to remake the universe. That’s the one thing that might keep me at least browsing the books for awhile longer, just in case DC brings him back. But having dropped all other DC books at this point, it’s tempting to just drop this book too and be done with it.

[Sparky Prime]

Not having read the GL Annual yet, I plan on writing some comments about it later, but there are a few things I want to comment on here...

The Guardians of the Universe are now full-fledged villains, willing to kill, maim and rob everyone in the universe of their free will, even their own long-lost brothers and sisters. And I have to ask what has happened to the beings who have dedicated their lives to protecting life throughout the universe? I simply don’t like this character turn.

The Guardians dedicated themselves to fighting evil and creating an orderly universe, not simply just to protect life. You have to look at this from the Guardians point of view here. Emotionless robots failed to protect life in an entire sector having had their programming corrupted, the Green Lanterns weren't enough on their own to stop the chaos of Blackest Night and the other Lantern Corps have only added more unrest to the universe, not to mention have the tendency to question the Guardians decisions. So how do you protect a chaotic universe? Eliminating free will and making everyone the same. Is it a cold hearted choice? Yes. But this is the Guardians we're talking about here. They forsook emotion eons ago and don't relate to life as they once did. So to them, this is a perfectly logical decision for the greater good in both protecting life and ending chaos across the universe.

He makes the curious statement that the Guardians kicked him out of the Corps for questioning them once too often, when in fact they kicked him out for killing Krona. I guess that’s another retcon we can chalk up to the New 52.

Actually, when the Guardians discharged Hal from the Corps, they said "Do not think we forgive his previous transgressions before Krona's attack". So it wasn't just because Hal killed Krona that they kicked him out, that was just the last straw in a long line of Hal fighting against the Guardians in one way or another.

Do I think Geoff Johns has exhausted his creativity when it comes to Green Lantern. Yeah, I think so,

You and I are clearly reading two different books here.

[Dominic]

Smoke and Mirrors:
Oh, thank you Mike Costa.

The high concept of "Smoke and Mirrors" is that a stage magician from our world is (somehow or another) transported to a world where magic isthe norm. The physics and science of our world are swapped with actual magic. (In that setting, if a small child asks their parents how the lights work, the parents could credibly and correctly reply "magic".) The plot feels almost like an inversion of a typical "Disney summer" plot. The school-aged son of a disabled widow is befriended by a dimensionally displaced "magician". Eventually, the boy and his friend or intruded on and menaced by an evil Steve Jobs-esque wizard.

The two worlds are more similar than proper realism would allow for. But, conceptually the similarities are necessary. Costa does a good job of showing practical applications for commerically available magic as well as showing how a person with a rare skill-set that few people understand would be able to prosper, despire the physics of their world working against them. Just as in real life, most of the people in "Smoke and Mirrors" do not really understand how technology/magic works.

Grade: A. Anybody who is not reading this book should be burned at the stake.


Justice League International Annual #1:
And, some stuff happens. The satellite era has either been retconned out, or is at least being repudiated pretty hard by Johns in this issue. OMAC does some stuff and reference is made to past OMAC/Brother Eye stories....even if those events likely would not have happened in the new timeline. And, uh, to be continued..... Given the price of these annuals ($5 compated to DC's normal $3), and that annuals are traditionally self-contained or only tied in with other annuals, the fact that this (and several other annuals) is continued in to the next year's worth of comics is more than a bit irksome.
Grade" C

Comic books are fucking stupid.

Hear hear.

You're judging that opinion based on a very incomplete picture. It was actually a pretty good story all things considered.

O6 has a point. Cloning, time travel and alternate universes are generally red flags for "bad comics", even when they are not used to reconcile sloppy or indecisive editing.

I have seen good time travel stories. I have seen good clone stories. But, those are the exception.

Generally speaking, if a summary of a comic sounds like the breathless ramblings of a 12 year old,l that is a bad sign. And, many comics, particularly those involving cloning and such, obligate that kind of summary.

You are the first person I've seen say that about the Avengers vs. X-Men event.

It is not a bad event in and of itself. I just cannot see any reason to bother given that none of the big changes are likely to stick because it is Marvel. And, even after only reading the first half, I could see signs that the last round of "big changes that are never getting undone" is going to be undone, never mind other things that have already been undone.

I will probably buy the last issue just to see how my correcvt my early predictions were. But, it is hard to even get excited about that given how predictably this is likely to play out.

Liefeld left DC and has said some pretty damning stuff in the wake of it. It's Liefeld, so, you know, grains of salt and all that--but I can't help but feel he's got a little bit of truth in there somewhere.

When Rob Liefeld thinks you're running your comics company like shit, maybe it's time to reevaluate things.

If it were just Liefeld, it would be easy to dismiss. But, Perez's comments are to credible to ignore, even after his lack-luster showing on "Superman". The learning curve that DC is experiencing right now is similar to what they went through (and should have learned from) 25 years ago. Johns and Lee should have planned this out more beyond "what Johns wrote is generally going to stick" and "Lee wants to redesign characters".

The zero issues that are shipping this month might clarify some things. But, there is no credible reason to think that the clarifications were planned.

I doubt the problems are confined to George Perez and the books he's worked on.

A lack of communication and planning, with the wholly predictable results of poor execution, go back to "Countdown". So, this is likely not isolated at all.

Green Lantern Annual #1

I may have just bought my last DC comic. Probably not, but when I ask myself what I like about the comic book characters and stories that I’ve been reading for 23 years now, the answer is “Not much at the moment.” And with the removal of Hal Jordan from the monthly Green Lantern title, there’s one less thing to like in the new 52.

I have not read it yet, (maybe tonight, I dunno), but I feel obligated to point something out. The "new thing that you liked as a kid" probably existed, at least in part, because somebody else's childhood favourite was supplanted. Years ago, Jordan supplanted Scott as GL. Allen supplanted Garrick.

but to me it’s just the end result of a regrettable trend of either killing or vilifying the Guardians of the Universe over the last few *decades*.

Fixed.

The Guardians have always kind of sucked at their self-appointed job.

And I’ll say this: at least we’re not getting a rehash of Emerald Twilight here. In a broad sense, it seemed as if that might be the case with Hal prophesied to become a villain, and a new “kewl” replacement for him taking over the main GL title. It’s déjà vu all over again. I’m waiting to see all the DC mainstays tell Baz “You are the Green Lantern” just like they did with Kyle Rayner, against all reason. Maybe we won’t get such blatant character shilling this time. At least Hal hasn’t gone crazy and tried to remake the universe. That’s the one thing that might keep me at least browsing the books for awhile longer, just in case DC brings him back. But having dropped all other DC books at this point, it’s tempting to just drop this book too and be done with it.

The more this sticks,the happier I will be. I am *really* sick of "Hal is the bestest Green Lantern ever". They need to either kill him or make him bad....and leave him that way.


Dom
-falling behind in reading.

[andersonh1]

I have not read it yet, (maybe tonight, I dunno), but I feel obligated to point something out. The "new thing that you liked as a kid" probably existed, at least in part, because somebody else's childhood favourite was supplanted. Years ago, Jordan supplanted Scott as GL. Allen supplanted Garrick.

I didn't start reading comics until I was about 18, so it's not a case of childhood favorites here. In any case, I'm sure those older fans who lost "their" characters were just as unhappy. Though I'd point out that there was a decade between the time the Golden Age characters stopped selling and the Silver Age versions were introduced, and even then the GA versions were brought back, so it's apples and oranges here. Even Crisis had a better respect for the history of the characters than the New 52 has displayed.

The more this sticks,the happier I will be. I am *really* sick of "Hal is the bestest Green Lantern ever". They need to either kill him or make him bad....and leave him that way.

DC keeps telling the same story. We've seen the Guardians taken out of the picture twice, and now they're going bad. We've seen the Green Lantern Corps depowered twice, and now a third attempt is being made, though I don't anticpate seeing them entirely removed from the picture this time. And I don't think we're actually seeing a replay of Emerald Twilight here. Hal's stint as a black lantern is all part of the story and will be corrected once the tale is told. Or else all of Geoff John's work in rebuilding the Corps and Jordan from the ground up will have been for nothing.

The character who has been run into the ground at this point and should be retired is John Stewart. For years, his only character note was "he let Xanshi die, he feels guilty". Now he's going around killing other Green Lanterns. The writers can't seem to find anything new to do with him. He's one of DC's most prominent minority characters, so he's probably safe, but there's a character that seriously needs some rescuing.