Comics are Awesome III

[Sparky Prime]

The DS9/new Trek crossover continues. Sisko and Odo take Kirk to Earth, which is controlled by the Klingons and ruled by Worf. In this version of history, the Dominion came through the Bajoran wormhole much earlier than they did in the prime timeline, but while the Federation tried a diplomatic solution, the Klingons decided to just take over everything and wage war.

Sounds a bit like one of the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes where the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance had conquered the Terran Empire, only with the Dominion thrown into the mix as well.

[andersonh1]

The DS9/new Trek crossover continues. Sisko and Odo take Kirk to Earth, which is controlled by the Klingons and ruled by Worf. In this version of history, the Dominion came through the Bajoran wormhole much earlier than they did in the prime timeline, but while the Federation tried a diplomatic solution, the Klingons decided to just take over everything and wage war.

Sounds a bit like one of the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes where the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance had conquered the Terran Empire, only with the Dominion thrown into the mix as well.

Yeah, it's not an entirely original storyline by any means. But the addition of Q and the new Trek crew add enough new elements to keep it entertaining. And it's just nice to see the DS9 characters again. We got that one DS9 mini-series from IDW and then nothing.

[JediTricks]

So I didn't talk about the new comic shop much. The night before the change-over, I drove by after Comics Ink's normal close and the new guys were working with ladders into the night. The next day, I called to see what time pull lists were filled - turns out they fill them in the morning instead of throughout the day, so instead of "don't come in until after 6:30pm on Wednesdays" it was "come on in!"; my mom wanted to check it out too so I picked her up and drove her down there to pick up my single pulled issue and just see the changes. And changes there were. First change: people! Lots of customers at 1 in the afternoon for once. Next change, all the back issues boxes were in the windowed front office! Then we walked in for a bunch of surprises - the regular new comic racks in the middle of the room? GONE! New comics were temporarily in the back room lining the walls, and there's no AC back there so they had to get a vertical fan. The main room was just product on the walls for now, graphic novels, and a table for free Krispy Kreme donuts, and a secret signing - I forgot who it was, but he was the creator of whatever it was. Apparently they had been working on the place until 3am, and it'll be weeks before everything's in order. The internet that they ordered to run the pull lists wasn't up so they were working off printouts, but they clearly have a modern system in mind - my credit card swipe had to wait until the phone call was done so the machine could use the phone line. They had boards but forgot bags, the intention is free boards and bags for every comic purchased - I didn't take boards. One of the new comics my mom wanted they hadn't ordered for the store, they said it was a low-order at their other location so they only get a couple copies, they'll be bringing one to my pull list from now on, and will pull that week's for my list the next day. I asked about discount, they said they were still working on the policy but it was looking like either off $15 or as a rewards system - then they gave me 10% off for asking. The atmosphere was very lively, lots of chatter and music, quite different from the somber tone of Comics Ink and I'm not sure if I prefer it one way or the other yet. I didn't ask but did get the sense that they charge extra for variant covers, something Comics Ink would only do with RI covers, but I need to investigate further. So goodbye to Comics Ink and hello to The Comic Bug (Culver City), overall it was a positive experience with just a few hints of potential issues.


Changes from my comments about Thor #1:

Spoiler

Thor hasn't drowned, he's lost his arm but survives and is given a robotic arm.
Thor didn't grab a random weapon, he grabbed a specific axe of his.
The inscription on Mjolnir changes from "if he be worthy" to "if she be worthy".

Star Trek #37
The Q Gambit part 3

The DS9/new Trek crossover continues. Sisko and Odo take Kirk to Earth, which is controlled by the Klingons and ruled by Worf. In this version of history, the Dominion came through the Bajoran wormhole much earlier than they did in the prime timeline, but while the Federation tried a diplomatic solution, the Klingons decided to just take over everything and wage war.

First off, just "ugh". Second though, did they explain what drove the timeline change to push the Dominion towards exploring the Wormhole and beyond, or was that just left to coincidence?

I suspect he’s using Photoshop, but I don’t really care. I’m just glad to see Trek characters in a comic who look right for once.

Well, there's always John Byrne's mirror universe photonovel.

It will probably be explained next issue. Why are you so upset by this?

Are you so disconnected from reality that you can't figure out why teasing an all-new Thor, putting her face square on the cover, making news by pushing press releases about this change for months, and then bait-and-switching $4 and that reading time might be a goddamned problem? You are so out of touch it's shocking.

The hammer does not make somebody Thor. It confers the power of Thor. Thor (the Asgardian) gets his Thor-power (which sets him above normal Asgardians) from the hammer. But, the Thunderstrike had Thor's powers in the 90s. And, Beta Ray Bill has a hammer that works like Thor's hammer in that it gives him Thor type powers.

This new Thor series is probably going with that idea.

I didn't say Mjolnir made someone Thor, I asked why Thor's alter ego changing would change Thor himself. Beta Ray Bill didn't turn into Thor, it just conveyed his powers and costume - Bill was worthy of lifting Mjolnir, not actually BEING Thor. Thor doesn't get his powers from Mjolnir, he is still the mighty god of thunder with or without the hammer, he just uses the hammer for flight (by flinging it and then holding on) and channeling lightning, and for using the enchantment involved to change into and out of his alter-ego, as well as a few lesser abilities. Mjolnir did not change Captain America into Thor when he was briefly deemed worthy to lift the mighty hammer, nor the Hulk or any of Thor's family members who have successfully wielded Mjolnir.

Because the big fucking push for this book was "Girl Thor!" and the book apparently didn't even deliver that properly in the first issue? The entire reason JT (and pretty much everyone else) grabbed this book was because of all the hype over New Girl Thor, and when the actual comic released is just Old Regular Thor for twenty pages with New Girl Thor only showing up at the end FOR NO RAISIN, you gotta expect some backlash.

Well said. It really is just regular ol' Thor story picking up right after Original Sin, thus calling this issue #1 an almost-total farce. And really, it's just nowhere near enough story either, it's woefully decompressed, I'm surprised they're not drawing panels of people blinking at this rate.

Also got a REALLY entertaining horror-themed issue of Edge of Spider-Verse. That series might make this potentially-messy Spider-Verse thing worthwhile, 'Spider-Man as an anthology series' has turned out to be a pretty terrific idea.

Aw fuck, I was sooooo tempted to grab that but am feeling broke so I passed, and the worst part is that they gave me a discount anyway. Glad to hear it works, if I remember next time I go in, I'll pick it up.

So why not open by exploring that idea like the people going in for this want to see instead of just having Old Regular Thor punching dudes for twenty pages?

Yup! Except he's not even punching dudes, he's just moping while people talk to him, and then he gets off his ass to do something so he gets 2 pages of punching people, then the 2 pages of Lady Thor. I get that some prefacing has to be done to carry the story over, but 98% of the issue?!?

[andersonh1]

Star Trek #37
The Q Gambit part 3

The DS9/new Trek crossover continues. Sisko and Odo take Kirk to Earth, which is controlled by the Klingons and ruled by Worf. In this version of history, the Dominion came through the Bajoran wormhole much earlier than they did in the prime timeline, but while the Federation tried a diplomatic solution, the Klingons decided to just take over everything and wage war.

First off, just "ugh". Second though, did they explain what drove the timeline change to push the Dominion towards exploring the Wormhole and beyond, or was that just left to coincidence?

They haven't explained it yet, no. With three issues to go, they may or may not, but I was wondering the same thing myself. I have to wonder if the disappearance of the Enterprise somehow led to someone finding the wormhole earlier than they did in the Prime timeline, because in the television show the Dominion seemed content to remain on their side of the galaxy until the Federation started exploring their territory, so I'm assuming the same is true here until told otherwise. In this story, Sisko said he grew up on Klingon occupied Earth, so it's been at least 30-40 years since the Dominion came through and established themselves.

I"ll be curious to see if an explanation is offered at some point.

I didn't say Mjolnir made someone Thor, I asked why Thor's alter ego changing would change Thor himself. Beta Ray Bill didn't turn into Thor, it just conveyed his powers and costume - Bill was worthy of lifting Mjolnir, not actually BEING Thor. Thor doesn't get his powers from Mjolnir, he is still the mighty god of thunder with or without the hammer, he just uses the hammer for flight (by flinging it and then holding on) and channeling lightning, and for using the enchantment involved to change into and out of his alter-ego, as well as a few lesser abilities. Mjolnir did not change Captain America into Thor when he was briefly deemed worthy to lift the mighty hammer, nor the Hulk or any of Thor's family members who have successfully wielded Mjolnir.

Don't forget Superman holding Thor's hammer (and Captain America's shield) without becoming Thor. I really need to track down that crossover.

[Dominic]

The next day, I called to see what time pull lists were filled - turns out they fill them in the morning instead of throughout the day, so instead of "don't come in until after 6:30pm on Wednesdays" it was "come on in!"

Some stores actually pull the books on Tuesday night. (I think the place I go to pulls on Tuesdays, but does not sort until Wednesday, which can take the entirety of the day.)

The internet that they ordered to run the pull lists wasn't up so they were working off printouts, but they clearly have a modern system in mind - my credit card swipe had to wait until the phone call was done so the machine could use the phone line.

At least it looks like they plan to invest for the long term.

They had boards but forgot bags, the intention is free boards and bags for every comic purchased - I didn't take boards.

Why not? Boards do help keep the comics in better condition. (On a related note, I need to buy some more boards next week.)

Then we walked in for a bunch of surprises - the regular new comic racks in the middle of the room? GONE! New comics were temporarily in the back room lining the walls, and there's no AC back there so they had to get a vertical fan.

Few stores put new books in the front. They want people walking towards the back (and past other merchandise) to get to the new stuff.

Your store had actual racks for new books?

Are you so disconnected from reality that you can't figure out why teasing an all-new Thor, putting her face square on the cover, making news by pushing press releases about this change for months, and then bait-and-switching $4 and that reading time might be a goddamned problem? You are so out of touch it's shocking.

Maybe it is set up for something in a later issue? Maybe they are not assuming that people read "Original Sin", and that said people might want some explanation for where the real Thor is? Maybe some of the dialogue with Thor and others is explication for the rest of the run?

Aw fuck, I was sooooo tempted to grab that but am feeling broke so I passed, and the worst part is that they gave me a discount anyway. Glad to hear it works, if I remember next time I go in, I'll pick it up.

"Spiderverse" almost reads like Marvel's answer to "Infinite Crisis" (the new game book) or "Multiversity". Leaning towards "Multiversity". But, I am a few issues behind on "Spiderverse". Might have to wait for both to resolve before calling it.


"Avangers" and "New Avengers" are what is holding my interest now. And, "Superior Iron Man" launches next month.

[JediTricks]

They haven't explained it yet, no. With three issues to go, they may or may not, but I was wondering the same thing myself. I have to wonder if the disappearance of the Enterprise somehow led to someone finding the wormhole earlier than they did in the Prime timeline, because in the television show the Dominion seemed content to remain on their side of the galaxy until the Federation started exploring their territory, so I'm assuming the same is true here until told otherwise. In this story, Sisko said he grew up on Klingon occupied Earth, so it's been at least 30-40 years since the Dominion came through and established themselves.

I"ll be curious to see if an explanation is offered at some point.

Thanks for clarifying. This is the sort of thing that Trek writers really need to consider, otherwise their premise comes off as just lazy fantasy because their audience WILL be thinking about it. There are some types of fiction where a writer can get away with not explaining it, but Star Trek surely wouldn't be one of them. Glad it struck you as oddly while reading as it did me seeing it in your synopsis. At least Q didn't do it randomly, that would have been worse... unless he did, they haven't explained it at all, I just realized.

Don't forget Superman holding Thor's hammer (and Captain America's shield) without becoming Thor. I really need to track down that crossover.

I didn't forget that one, your point is apt and in fact I had just read an article about various characters who wielded Mjolnir and that was one of them, as was Conan the Barbarian. I left it out only because I wanted to stay in-universe with my point.

Some stores actually pull the books on Tuesday night. (I think the place I go to pulls on Tuesdays, but does not sort until Wednesday, which can take the entirety of the day.)

My stores never have until now, here or in Hollywood. But I also didn't used to care as much.

At least it looks like they plan to invest for the long term.

Yeah, they're also planning to put up a TV in the main room, they definitely are looking for the long term. My only concern is that their plans may not jive with the area, we're not as hip and funky, they may be trying to make an event store in a neighborhood that won't support it.

Why not? Boards do help keep the comics in better condition. (On a related note, I need to buy some more boards next week.)

What good is a board without a bag?

Few stores put new books in the front. They want people walking towards the back (and past other merchandise) to get to the new stuff.

Your store had actual racks for new books?

Comics Ink had a very small retail space, so all the new releases were on the free-standing racks in the center of the store, organized by publisher, the front window display being the shorter rack with Archies and kids comics (it was a working rack, not merely a window display). The Comic Bug seems to want new releases to actually be the second front room, the one that used to be the game room/office with the store's other big window, so that would not only be up front but a totally separate environment from the rest of the product. I actually don't think that's a very good idea, but I get the feeling what they're really doing is considering knocking down the center walls to make it one big retail space instead of 3 rooms - the only problem with that being (besides the idea of knocking down walls in a small mini-mall) that there would be no back area for employees or stock at all, I think.

BTW, Meltdown Comics in Hollywood (my old store) has the new release racks halfway into the store, parallel to the register, also by publisher but then also alphabetical. Golden Apple Comics on Melrose (my older old store) has new releases stretching on the west wall from the front of the store to the back in alphabetical order regardless of publisher I think, so it's the face of the store. Those are 2 of the most successful comic shops I know of, and like The Comic Bug, they all do it different from each other, there's no one right way.

Maybe it is set up for something in a later issue? Maybe they are not assuming that people read "Original Sin", and that said people might want some explanation for where the real Thor is? Maybe some of the dialogue with Thor and others is explication for the rest of the run?

I'm sure it is a setup for a later issue, but if you spend 98% of your time setting up for a later issue, you've failed to tell the story you promised. And again, this is 3 pages of story AND BACKSTORY decompressed into 20 pages, leaving ZERO story for the actual event, and btw, that's zero story across 2 pages, which is even more insulting. Does anybody really want to read a whole page of someone walking up to an object? This is the very definition of burning your audience. If this had come midway through the story, it might have been excusable as building a moment, but instead it IS the moment and that's just wrong.

[Shockwave]

What good is a board without a bag?

For me, plenty. I have drawn many a picture on comic book backer boards, one of which was so good my Mom actually had it framed and hung on the wall.

[andersonh1]

Thanks for clarifying. This is the sort of thing that Trek writers really need to consider, otherwise their premise comes off as just lazy fantasy because their audience WILL be thinking about it. There are some types of fiction where a writer can get away with not explaining it, but Star Trek surely wouldn't be one of them. Glad it struck you as oddly while reading as it did me seeing it in your synopsis. At least Q didn't do it randomly, that would have been worse... unless he did, they haven't explained it at all, I just realized.

Q's actions seem to me to mirror his in "Q Who", the episode that introduced the Borg, in that he's trying to knock the captain's arrogance down a peg or two and teach him something about how dangerous the galaxy is. This whole sequence of events was set off because Q found Kirk's refusal to accept a no-win scenario intriguing, and so he decided to put him in the middle of one.

As to whether Q caused the Dominion to invade early, that will depend on whether the disappearance of the Enterprise is the cause of the change in history. If it is, it can be blamed on Q since he caused the Enterprise to travel to the future in the first place. But there may be another explanation. It's hard to know at this point. This issue feels like they've finally finished the setup, establishment of the situation and the introduction of characters and are moving on to the real point of the story, so maybe explanations will start appearing.

It just occurred to me, and I don't have the first part of the story in front of me to confirm this, but Q blamed the older Spock for the changes if I remember right. I'll have to go back and re-read it and see.

[Sparky Prime]

As to whether Q caused the Dominion to invade early, that will depend on whether the disappearance of the Enterprise is the cause of the change in history. If it is, it can be blamed on Q since he caused the Enterprise to travel to the future in the first place. But there may be another explanation. It's hard to know at this point.

It just occurred to me, and I don't have the first part of the story in front of me to confirm this, but Q blamed the older Spock for the changes if I remember right. I'll have to go back and re-read it and see.

I'd have to say this universe has inherent differences to begin with, considering there are differences between it and the 'Prime' universe that cannot be explained away by the Romulans/Spock's arrival changing history. For this particular story though, I can see how the Enterprise disappearing might change the Klingon's views of the Federation, given Kirk's reputation with them they probably wouldn't feel humans have it in them to be warriors. As for the Dominion invading so much earlier, if Q is blaming it on Spock, the only thing I can think of is maybe he revealed the existence of the wormhole before it was supposed to be discovered.

Also wanted to mention, I saw a couple of preview pages from this comic and noticed something odd... The Klingon ships were shown fighting Sovereign Class starships. If Sisko grew up on a Klingon occupied Earth, those ships shouldn't have existed yet. Not even the Galaxy Class would have been around yet when he was a kid.

[andersonh1]

Green Lantern Godhead #1
I debated on buying this, but I decided to go ahead and see how the story begins, since we've got this crossover going on for a few months. It's a mix of good and bad, though more good. I did enjoy the story, just not what it took to get there.

The good: DC has really embraced the multiverse concept. There's one set of New Gods led by HIghfather for the multiverse, just as there's one Darkseid. Darkseid wants to conquer everything, while the New Gods want to prevent that. While studying the source wall, Metron comes across Relic and learns of the white light, and apparently learns of the Lantern Corps for the first time. How that's possible when the Corps has existed for billions of years is not explained, and it honestly hard to believe, but that's what the story claims. HIghfather decides that if all the rings together form the white light that they can use that to counter Darkseid, and he sends his various people to capture one of each ring. They take the rings with ease. Some by force, such as Arkillo's and Mogo's, some with bargains (such as the unnamed Red Lantern who surrenders hers willingly after she's taken revenge on a number of people), and some they just walk up and take, such as St. Walker's and Larfleeze's. So they build a weapon, HIghfather uses it, and it doesn't work as expected. So they decide that only the White Lantern himself will do, and they target Kyle.

The bad: It's my usual New 52 complaint: to get this story to work, the New Gods have been reinvented. They're more powerful, but also more ruthless, though some show reason and compassion. And even a being as ancient as HIghfather isn't allowed to look old. He's lost his white hair and beard for darker hair and beard. And once again we have to pretend that these are new characters and that they've never met the Green Lanterns before when we know they have. And as I said, even in-story it makes no sense that they've never heard of Green Lanterns before considering how long the Corps has been in existence.