Comics are Awesome III

[andersonh1]

I can understand that. Some things translate well to live action and some don't. I wouldn't mind some tweaks to the traditional Aquaman look, but I think they've gone way too far, to the point that I really can't see the live action and the comic version as the same character at all.

Personally, I get a 'hook hand era' vibe from the movie version. Long hair, beard, armor on one arm... He's just got brown hair, tattoos (which sorta resembles the scale look of his orange shirt) and no hook for a hand. I still see the comic book influences in the character's appearance at any rate.

Yeah, that's what they're going for I think. If he had blond hair, I'd be able to make that visual connection a lot better.

[andersonh1]

This is the week of Convergence I've been waiting for, when the older characters get to shine. I got the Justice Society of America, World's Finest (the Seven Soldiers of Victory/Scribbly), Shazam (pre-Crisis Captain Marvel), Detective Comics (Earth-2 Robin and Huntress), Blue Beetle (pre-Crisis Charlton characters) and Action Comics. I haven't had much time for reading so far, but I'll post reviews as I read. Dom, let us know what you think about Detective Comics.

Convergence: Justice Society of America #1
How could I start with any other book? The setting is pre-Crisis Earth 2 in Metropolis. The book focuses on only four of the JSA: Jay Garrick/the Flash, Alan Scott/Green Lantern, Carter Hall/Hawkman and Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate. The dome has cut off their powers just like everyone else, and it's ended what had slowed down their aging, so they've become genuinely old, with all the problems of old age affecting them. Kent Nelson is in a coma, but the other three are still as active as they can be. Alan Scott is an on-air personality, trying to organize and keep up the morale of Metropolis. Carter Hall is working on growing food. They don't say what Jay does, but the story follows him at first as he goes to visit Kent Nelson and then Carter. He makes it a point to climb the fire escape to Carter's rooftop garden rather than take the elevator. All the characters muse about how they were always getting old, but they never noticed it with their powers and abilities allowing them to live such an extraordinary life. There's a scene between Carter and his son Hector where they discuss whether or not the JSA will come back even if the situation ends, and that Infinity Inc. is the future. This is most of the issue, and as much as I wanted to be annoyed that we don't see these characters in costume and in action, it's honestly all compelling. We so rarely get to see DC characters who are older and who are at the end of a long life and career, that it's well worth taking an issue to explore that topic.

And then things start happening. Alan Scott calls Jay and Carter to come to the hospital, where Kent Nelson is talking. They get there, the dome comes down, and the city is attacked by a machine from Qward. And then Kent offers the other three and himself an option. As Doctor Fate, he can give them all back their youth, but it won't last long and it will end their lives when their time is up. And of course, that doesn't stop any of them. They choose that one last time to be young and strong and do what they've done all their lives: protect the innocent and weak. This is an excellent and genuinely moving issue. It doesn't look at this point as if the JSA will survive, but here's hoping they do.

Convergence World's Finest #1
The story is narrated by Scribbly Jibbet, former boy cartoonist (and Golden Age feature by Sheldon Mayer) who is now working as a cartoonist and reporter at a small paper in Earth-2 Metropolis. Not the Planet or the Star, but a much smaller paper that allows him to pursue his love of cartooning along with reporting. We get scenes of the Crimson Avenger foiling a robbery, the Shining Knight saving someone's life, and other short vignettes with the Seven Soldiers. But that's all we get to see of the full group, because the book goes right up to the Crisis where Green Arrow and Speedy die, and then right as Earth-2 is disappearing, the city is snatched away and deposited in the dome. The Shining Knight loses his youth and Winged Victory loses his wings. The other Soldiers who are still around are active, since this entire group apart from Justin have no superpowers, but during the year under the dome, Stripesy/Pat Dugan dies of pneumonia, due to a lack of medical supplies. I'm not sure how he can die here and live to become Stargirl's stepfather, so perhaps there is something to the fan theories I've seen about these being quantum duplicates rather than the actual originals. Which would make sense since Jay Garrick and the other JSA members also survived the Crisis, and yet they're trapped under the dome as well.

When the dome drops, it happens while Scribbly is visiting Sir Justin, who gets his powers back. When Telos gives his now familiar speech, Justin challenges him, and Telos actually responds to him, noting that he is by far the oldest "specimen" among all those captured, and wondering how that will affect his attempt to fight and survive. The issue ends with an attack by an unknown foe as Scribbly figures that he's about to die.

None of these characters have had a regular series since the Golden Age, so I applaud DC for giving them a book of their own during Convergence. My only real complaint is that we never get to see all seven members of the group act as a team in the story. Everyone gets some solo action, and then three of the members get killed, before the focus is narrowed down to Scribbly and the Shining Knight. Maybe that's why DC went with the "World's Finest" title rather than Seven Soldiers of Victory. It might have been fun to see the book titled "Leading Comics" since that's where the Soldiers appeared in the 1940s.

[andersonh1]

I neglected to pick up Multiversity #2 yesterday, so I went by and picked it up today. The new job is about five minutes from the comic book shop, as opposed to the 25 mile round trip I used to have to make, so a second visit isn't a big deal. I haven't had time to read it yet, but I'll do that this evening. Dom, what did you think? How did you like Multiversity as a series?

Convergence Shazam #1
It's been a good year for fans of classic Captain Marvel. First we got Thunderworld, and now this two part Convergence series that takes place on a pre-Crisis Earth populated by just the Fawcett Comics characters. Ever since Thunderworld, I've been of the opinion that Captain Marvel works better on his own Earth, where he can be the top dog and not be overshadowed by Superman. And that's what we get here, though it takes awhile for Captain Marvel to show up since the dome is blocking his power. What we get in the meantime is a story that stuffs a ton of characters into the plot but still manages to be coherent. In addition to all the Marvel family heroes and villains, we get cameos from Bulletman and Bulletgirl as well. Jeff Parker is two for two between this book and Hawkman. And the art is excellent as well. You can tell who's phoning it in on these Convergence books and who is really trying to create a solid tribute to the character and the era being depicted, and this is definitely the latter.

The plot involves the Monster Society of Evil, who have been working to take over even while under the dome, and by the time this story begins, they're just about ready to execute their plan. Only the timely removal of the dome and the accompanying return of all the Marvels powers is able to stop them. Every character gets a few moments to shine before the dome falls and the city is attacked by dirigibles. The solicits mention the Gotham by Gaslight universe as the antagonist, so it looks like we'll see them next issue.

Convergence Detective Comics #1
The Golden Age/Earth-2 Batman was killed off way back in the 70s by some no-name villain, either in All-Star or Adventure Comics after All-Star was cancelled. I've read the story, so I'm reasonably familiar with the Earth 2 Huntress and Robin, who spend the issue both fighting crime and debating who should take Batman's place. And in a nice change of pace, they aren't each fighting the other to claim the mantle. They each refuse to take over for Batman, and urge the other to do it instead. Helena wants Dick Grayson to step into Batman's shoes, while he thinks she should take over. The discussion is not resolved by the end of the issue.

The other nice touch is just how much page time Red Son Superman gets, and how he's just a little bit off from the genuine article. He participates in the state propoganda to try and keep his city calm, and even fakes still having his powers. He's pretty much the third protagonist of the storyline rather than an out and out villain. He's willing to try and avoid conflict as he and Robin negotiate at the end of the issue, and he keeps that attitude even after Huntress has tried to kill him. I haven't read Red Son, but based on this issue I may have to check it out sometime. Like the Superman of "Mastermen", he retains enough of the genuine Superman's character to make him recognizable, while he's still different due to having been influenced by his environment.

[Dominic]

"Multiversity" #2 was a good wrap-up to an excellent series. The biggest problem is that a reader has to know and care about either comics or high-concept stuff like viral information to appreciate it. Those are not impossible hurdles. But, they do lock-out some readers. I am a bit annoyed by the ending. It all but promises/obligates a sequel. But, unless something has changed in the last year or so, we know that Morrison is more or less done with comics. (He could come back, but has no stated commitment to do so.) Following up on "Multiversity" is going to take the right creative teams. And, given how shallow DC's talent pool is at the moment (mostly unknown guys and others who are well past their prime), I am not as confident about follow-ups as I would like to be. (It amusing that "Multiversity" had an "anti-event" stance in the middle of DC's "Copvergence" and the same week that Marvel is launching "Secret Wars".)


And, if the Previews catalogue that shipped this week is anything to go by, we should not expect much follow-up from either "Multiversity" or "Convergence". Ah well, after Saturday (Free Comic Book Day 2015), we should have an idea about what "Divergence" promises.

I'm not sure how he can die here and live to become Stargirl's stepfather, so perhaps there is something to the fan theories I've seen about these being quantum duplicates rather than the actual originals. Which would make sense since Jay Garrick and the other JSA members also survived the Crisis, and yet they're trapped under the dome as well.

It does not matter. Most of the characters and settings being used were long ago struck from DC's history. If Stripesy dies....it changes nothing relevant. As the guy at the comic shop put it, "Convergence" is a throw-away event meant to cover DC's move to the west coast. None of it is likely to to meaningfully stick. (I am still annoyed that DC is using their multiverse for a stupid event.....right after they said they would not in "Multiversity" interviews.)

Ever since Thunderworld, I've been of the opinion that Captain Marvel works better on his own Earth, where he can be the top dog and not be overshadowed by Superman.

That is probably why Morrison established that Earth 5 has different moral physics (for lack of a better term). It allows Captain Marvel and the others to be softer than average characters, and not get killed.

Convergence Detective Comics #1
The Golden Age/Earth-2 Batman was killed off way back in the 70s by some no-name villain, either in All-Star or Adventure Comics after All-Star was cancelled.

And, it was terrible. (Seriously. It is damned near unreadably bad. It reads like something a kid would play.)

I am less interested in the single issue of this, and more interested in the (admittedly remote) prospect for an ongoing series. Helena Wayne is a character that I like the concept of, though have yet to see handled well.

I haven't red Red Son, but based on this issue I may have to check it out sometime.

"Red Son" is arguably the best Super Man comic ever.

Like the Superman of "Mastermen", he retains enough of the genuine Superman's character to make him recognizable, while he's still different due to having been influenced by his environment.

There are definite similarities. Both effectively inherit a system that they know is intolerable (and have actually helped build). And, neither sees any viable alternative to that system, obligating them to support the very thing they want to see broken. "Red Son" is a concise statement against the "moral hazard" concept in politics. But, "Master Men" has the potential to be better with the right creative team.


And, here is some bullshit.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/04/16/ ... r-wars-12/


Remember when Paper Cutz/WWE thought it was a good idea to distribute an issue of their "WWE Superstars" series through Hot Topic? And, remember how, besides obligating readers to visit a non-comic store, the promotion obligated them to buy piles of merchandise in order to get their comic?

Guess what Marvel is doing.....

This really pisses me off. I am going to explore a few options for getting ahold of this book. But, i will be damned if I pay $25 for merchandise and the chance to get the damned book. Similarly, I am not going to buy single issues of a series that I cannot get a full run of.

The obvious solution is to buy $25 worth of shit, get the comic, and return the toys. But, the likelihood of that plan working increases if I go back to the store for a second trip. And, the nearest TrU store is far enough away that I do not necessarily want to make even one trip, let alone two.

Alternatively, I could wait for the compilation (and only buy it if it has the 1/2 issue.


My initial hope that the 1/2 issue would be a preview of the first full issue has proven to be in vain, given that the two issues have different creative teams (and thus different content).

[andersonh1]

It does not matter. Most of the characters and settings being used were long ago struck from DC's history. If Stripesy dies....it changes nothing relevant. As the guy at the comic shop put it, "Convergence" is a throw-away event meant to cover DC's move to the west coast. None of it is likely to to meaningfully stick.

It's definitely an "enjoy it while it lasts" type of event.

[Shockwave]

It does not matter. Most of the characters and settings being used were long ago struck from DC's history. If Stripesy dies....it changes nothing relevant. As the guy at the comic shop put it, "Convergence" is a throw-away event meant to cover DC's move to the west coast. None of it is likely to to meaningfully stick.

It's definitely an "enjoy it while it lasts" type of event.

Sounds like my last relationship. That is a terrible way to go into a story.

[andersonh1]

It does not matter. Most of the characters and settings being used were long ago struck from DC's history. If Stripesy dies....it changes nothing relevant. As the guy at the comic shop put it, "Convergence" is a throw-away event meant to cover DC's move to the west coast. None of it is likely to to meaningfully stick.

It's definitely an "enjoy it while it lasts" type of event.

Sounds like my last relationship. That is a terrible way to go into a story.

Well, it is only a two-month event, and they'll be going back to the New 52 universe as soon as it's over, even if they aren't calling it that any more. But honestly, that's probably a good thing. I usually buy 6-7 books a month, and I've been buying 6-7 books a week, so my comic book expenses have gone up. It's been well worth it, and I've been enjoying most of the issues, but two months of that is plenty. If they want to give us some further ongoing series with older characters in future, I'd be interested, but I'm not expecting it.

Convergence Blue Beetle #1
Set in the Charlton, Earth-4 time period, the book follows the Question, Captain Atom and Blue Beetle as they try to contain the growing unrest in Hub City and try to escape. One of my planned future archive purchases is the one that collects the Charlton comics featuring these characters, but having not read that book yet, I can't say how authentic the characterization is here. Vic Sage is a reporter keeping an eye on the police as they deal with rioters, Captain Nathaniel Adam is heading law enforcement in the city, and Ted Kord is working non-stop to penetrate the dome. And for a moment it looks like he might have succeeded, but it's a time travelling Booster Gold that briefly restores everyone's powers before he phases out and they lose them again. The novelty of this book is seeing these characters and their enemies on their home turf, so to speak, since I think we first saw Earth-4 during the Crisis.

Convergence Action Comics #1
Again the story goes back to the Red Son Superman, and I suspect we're being set up for Earth 2 Superman vs. Red Son Superman, though no one is powered throughout this issue. Superman and Lois are married, as the Earth 2 versions were at this time, while Power Girl is having a hard time dealing with being as human as everyone else around her. Lex Luthor taunts Stalin and Lois has had enough of the dome. We really needed more than we got from this issue. The majority of this book is a lot of talking and exposition, which doesn't quite fit a book called Action Comics. There's very little action, though I'm sure they'll remedy that next time.

Convergence Booster Gold #1
If I'd read Futures End Booster Gold, I"d likely be more up to speed for this issue. New 52 Booster interacts with Rip Hunter and apparently pre-Flashpoint Booster Gold, and it's revealed that the planet everyone is trapped on is near Vanishing Point. The issue ties in with the main series in that part of the action takes place in Skartaris, where several dozen time travellers have been imprisoned. I can't identify all of them, but Per Degaton is there, and Monarch, and the Atoms old enemy Chronos, and several Time Trappers. Extant is even there. The two Boosters meet and compare notes, and it turns out that the older one is phasing through time with no control over where he goes, and it's killing him. And of course, older Booster encounters Ted Kord at the end of the issue, and can't believe that he's alive, while the others look for a way out of the situation.

Multiversity #2
Good ending, and as Dom said, it clearly leaves things open for a sequel. The Empty Hand is out there, and while the heroes of the many worlds have won the day and rescued Nix Uotan, the Hand and the Gentry don't so much escape as tell them "we'll kill you when we decide to." It's been a good series, and one that I've really enjoyed. There are all sorts of ways to read into what the Empty Hand said, and maybe Morrison will come out of retirement and expound on it at some point. Or, if the Empty Hand is nothing more than a culture that ruins one perfectly good fictional universe after another, maybe we'll get to watch it all play out in real life. They did come from Earth 33 after all...

[Dominic]

Well, it is only a two-month event, and they'll be going back to the New 52 universe as soon as it's over, even if they aren't calling it that any more. But honestly, that's probably a good thing. I usually buy 6-7 books a month, and I've been buying 6-7 books a week, so my comic book expenses have gone up.

Sounds like "Secret Wars" is shaping up to be for me. "Secret Wars" effectively continues two books I have been liking for the last year or so ("Avengers" and "New Avengers"). And, if I do buy in on a cross-over, I limit myself only to the stuff that I might like (rather than forcing myself to slog through everything). But, "Secret Wars" has plenty that interests me.

After it shakes out, (August or so?), I plan to cut back to 5 books.


In other news, I am getting rid of comics fast enough that I am "negative" for the year so far.

[andersonh1]

A good review of Multiversity #2: http://rikdad.blogspot.com/2015/05/mult ... mment-form

The reality of what's happening in Multiversity #2, as real as the stakes in the previous issue, Ultra Comics, is driven home at the beginning, when the font and second-person narrative speaks to us, literally to us, in a panel stylized as many pages, one after another, and an eye. The story goes on, with or without you. Whether we read or stop reading, whether it's from boredom or death that we stop, the story goes on. Last issue, this was Ultra's salvation and his curse, that his story goes on with or without us, forever. After we die, someone else will read Ultra comics, and someone else will read Multiversity and the comics that come after it. That's the first truth of Multiversity.

Later, when the overt threat of the bad guys called the Gentry have been defeated (Or have they?), and the Empty Hand makes an ominous debut and disappears, Superman of Earth-23, Cal Ellis, looks right at us as he refers to Earth-33, our Earth, and though he uses third-person, he's speaking to those around us in the real world, fans and creators alike: The source of all the heroes' troubles is really in our world, not theirs, and that's the fight that he and the Justice League of the Multiverse called Operation Justice Incarnate, must fight. Maybe Grant Morrison hopes that this team of alternate Justice Leaguers will appear in more comic books in the future, but that's not the real message. What Multiversity has been about since the beginning is the threat to comic books, the fact that its spirit and business wax and wane, and the things which sustain the industry could be corrupted or damaged critically in the future. The Gentry, a wave of unpleasant content, is defeated for now, by the idea of the Justice League and superheroes in general, but more threats remains.

[JediTricks]

I think there should be some room for reinterpretation going into live action personally. I mean, there are some characters that I do think need to get the basic look right because of how iconic their appearances are (like Superman, Batman, Spider-Man), but there are others I think don't need to be so strictly adherent to their comic book counter-parts. Take the X-Men for example. I really can't imagine Hugh Jackman as Wolverine wearing yellow spandex, but the leather costumes they came up with for the live action films works instead. Aquaman is one of those I can't really see looking all that great on the big screen if he looked just like the comic book character.

Aquaman should be colorful, we're going to have a hard time seeing him underwater, and his look is based on fish which are often colorful. There should be some room for interpretation but not so much that the character's iconic appeal is lost, that's all half the DC lineup really has.

Look at Wonder Woman's movie costume color change:
http://io9.com/wonder-womans-costume-in ... 1699013166
There was color and character integrity, then they removed it, a closer look:
http://comicbook.com/2015/04/21/batman- ... er/#Image1
It's like they're ashamed of where they come from, turning Wonder Woman into 300 in pursuit of "grim and gritty". The leather of the X-men suits was meant to be armor, but why does Wolverine need armor? It'll just slow him down. Look at Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Guardians, these successful comic book films adapt without throwing the baby out with the bathwater, the outfits are still colorful and alive.