Comics are Awesome III

[Dominic]

Flipped through the Marvel Previews yesterday. And, "Hyperion" was not listed. Looks like that series has an issue or two left. Marvel did not even give it a chance. (I could have seen cancelling "Squadron Supreme". That series has no direction, and the premise has had to be re-worked so severely that it might not be worth keeping. But, "Hyperion" was following from the Hickman era, and delivered on being "the Superman story that DC cannot do".

[andersonh1]

Aquaman #2
It's easy to see this done-in-three Black Manta storyline as something of a repudiation of the Black Manta storyline that ran from issues 6 to 13 of the New 52 Aquaman volume. Whereas that story was drawn out, overly violent and featured an Aquaman that was almost as bad as Black Manta, this storyline wraps up in a few short issues and gives us a much more thoughtful and balanced Aquaman, who tries and ultimately succeeds in getting through to his enemy. Instead of beating him down, he offers to give him what he wants and then points out that it will never be good enough. Revenge will never satisfy, and Manta is just rational enough to realize that he's right, or at least that killing an unresisting Aquaman won't be very satisfying. It's a major contrast in tone from "The Others" and it leaves Aquaman in a far more positive place at the end of the story. Manta is arrested and taken away, only to be kidnapped by someone who wants his services. We're not told who this individual is just yet.

And Manta has done some damage to the diplomatic outreach, without a doubt. The Spindrift embassy has undergone a terrorist attack, with all the resultant bad publicity and death and destruction that implies, which means work ahead for Aquaman and Mera in repairing the damage.

One of the potentially problematic aspects of bi-weekly comics is the need to have more than one art team, given that the time between issues has been cut in half. That's fine if both artists are pretty much on par, but for Aquaman #2, there's a big disparity in quality between the art in issue 1 and the art from issue 2, and it's very noticeable. The art for issue 1 was very strong, while the art for issue 2 is serviceable, at best. I hope there's an upgrade down the line. Otherwise, good issue.

Superman #2
Superman ends up rescuing a sub that's without power out at sea, while Jon watches and learns. There are all sorts of good character moments that make the relationship between Superman and his son enjoyable to read. There are other things going on as well, including some kind of sea monster that disabled the sub. We find out that Jon can burn Superman with his heat vision, and that he isn't entirely invulnerable, for reasons that will be explored in the next issue, apparently. And the Eradicator makes an appearance in humanoid form. I don't know how it differs from the post-Crisis version, but I'm sure there have been changes.

The dead cat plotline is resolved as Jon tells his dad what happened and what he did, and then tells his mom, so he steps up and takes responsibility, something he was afraid to do last issue. It turns out that Superman was aware that he'd used his heat vision, and had guessed what went wrong. I enjoy the fact that we actually get to see Superman and Lois doing some parenting. Superman is now Pa Kent, albeit a Pa Kent who has the very powers that his son is developing, so he can teach by example. This remains such a strong concept for the series.

Justice League Rebirth #1
Bryan Hitch of JLA writes and draws the issue. It's fairly boilerplate JLA, though on a nice grand scale. There are two plotlines running through the book. The first is the literally city-sized tentacled alien Reaper who is rounding up humans and controlling them for some purpose. The second is the integration of Superman into the Justice League, who see him as a stranger who looks and sounds just like their dead friend. Batman wants him where they can keep an eye on him and learn about him, and Lois Lane urges him to join, because the League clearly needs him. The threat is colorful, every character has a distinct voice, and Superman proves his worth when he shows up and the alien is driven off. I still don't like Cyborg with the League instead of the Martian Manhunter, but having the two rookie Green Lanterns work with them makes sense. It's not quite the big seven, but it's close enough. I'm still undecided on whether I want to pick up the monthly series or not. It will depend on the quality of the storylines and the quality of the character dynamics. I'm thinking Titans is probably going to be the team book that's more to my liking.

[andersonh1]

Dan Jurgens interview about Action Comics: http://www.comicosity.com/interview-dan ... on-comics/

[Dominic]

The fan reaction to the dead cat plot was almost enough to make me sign on for this series.

Hopefully, the baggage that "Action Comics" is carrying (more or less by obligation) will get sorted. Carried baggage is my biggest problem with post-"Secret Wars" Marvel. ("Squadron Supreme" is the worst, but hardly only, offender in this regard.) I could see having a character from "the old world" show up as a sort of reader proxy, to map "the new world". But, even if "Action Comics" was doing that with Superman, I am not sure that Superman is the character to do that with.

[andersonh1]

"Superman as a father" is turning out to be a really good concept. And yeah... poor Jon and the cat!!


Wonder Woman Rebirth #1
Rebirth is, in an overarching sense, about rewriting the narrative of the DC Universe. History occurred in one way before Flashpoint, then a different history occurred afterward, and now DC has begun to go "back to spec" as it were, all the while trying to make these changes happen as actual events within the fictional universe they publish. The universe and the timeline change around the characters, affecting them as it happens, though they're generally unaware of this.

Greg Rucka has decided to base his story around the fact that Wonder Woman has in fact become aware that her history keeps changing. It's the type of "we know old continuity happened even if the characters don't" storytelling that winks at the reader. Sometimes this works very well. Serialized comics are somewhat unique in that there is so much history over so many years with so many different visions for the character that the narrative can sometimes be about that history. And that appears to be what we have here.

Diana is aware that she has a "multiple choice past", and she's questioning the truth of her life and who she is. Apparently she became the God of War during the New 52 run, because she has the helmet of Ares or something. She is able to crush it, which should not be possible. She take her lasso of truth and subjects herself to it, learning that she has been deceived. She heads to Olympus, and is attacked. She suspects that it is not truly Olympus, since as the God of War she should be welcome. She sets off on her quest to learn the truth, which is where Wonder Woman #1 picked up. She ditches the New 52 costume with the silver trim and wears a red, blue and gold outfit with a skirt, which looks a lot like a brighter movie costume. There is a two page spread of incidents from her history, and one of the panels shows her in a very post-Crisis looking costume, together with Superman in his traditional costume, red shorts and all.

Is Dr. Manhattan the villain of the story? Is Diana sensing what he's done to the DC universe? I don't know, but I may continue to follow this series for awhile and see where it goes.

[Dominic]

I was wondering how Rucka would handle it. I always saw him as being similar to Bendis in that he wrote better at street-level than he did as the super-level.

"Superman as a father" is turning out to be a really good concept. And yeah... poor Jon and the cat!!

As soon as I saw that page (while flipping through the comic), I knew the angle the writers were going for. The kid was trying to do the right thing, and a lack of training resulted in a disaster. I also predicted the hilarious fantrums.

Marvel is going to be launching a "Renew Your Vows" series in October, likely following up from the "Secret Wars" tie-in. And, it will be written by Ordway. In other words, there will be a retro-writer on a "hero as father" book from Marvel. (I will be giving this one a look.)


And, this week's Previews confirms that "Nighthawk" is going to be ending. Cannot say I am going to miss that series too much. "Squadron Supreme" is continuing. Hopefully, it will have more direction. ("Ultimates" will be getting re-launched, with the same team and tone. So, I am still getting the "Squadron Supreme" series that I have wanted.)

[andersonh1]

As soon as I saw that page (while flipping through the comic), I knew the angle the writers were going for. The kid was trying to do the right thing, and a lack of training resulted in a disaster. I also predicted the hilarious fantrums.

Yep, the little guy has got to learn the ropes. I'm sure we haven't seen the last disaster. Kids make careless or emotional mistakes. Mine certainly do. Imagine a kid with the power of Superman messing up... it'll be huge. I think it's good writing.

Marvel is going to be launching a "Renew Your Vows" series in October, likely following up from the "Secret Wars" tie-in. And, it will be written by Ordway. In other words, there will be a retro-writer on a "hero as father" book from Marvel. (I will be giving this one a look.)

You'll have to let us know how it works out. I just figure not all characters can stay young and single forever. If we want to see their story progress, sooner or later some of them are going to get married and start families. It opens up new story possibilities. Superman essentially has a kid sidekick now, but the fact that he's his son makes the relationship completely different.


Today's books: Detective Comics #936, Wonder Woman #2, Action Comics 959 and HJ&THGLC Rebirth #1. I'm sure I'll keep on abbreviating that long title in future.

Action Comics #959
Good issue when it comes to ... uh... action, but the plot doesn't really move at all. The book ends pretty much where it began, with the Doomsday fight still ongoing and nothing resolved. Lois and Jon narrate, essentially, with Lois well aware that Superman died the first time he ran into the creature, and unwilling to really fill Jon in on all the details. There's a different artist this week, which is going to be the norm with bi-weekly books, and he throws in panels throughout the issue that replicate panels from the Death of Superman, complete with red shorts and red boots on Superman, so the artists on this book have done their homework in going back to the original story to try and recapture some of the look and feel of that fight. Superman is constantly trying to think his way through the fight and come up with a way to put Doomsday down. He does his best to keep him at a distance as well. But he's not really doing any damage.

Luthor's armor is trashed after the last issue, but he has a Mother Box (presumably from the events of Darkseid War) and is able to repair it and get back in the fight. This time around he listens to Superman and actually take his suggestion to get the people out of the way while Superman holds off Doomsday. The issue ends with a massive explosion that takes out a good chunk of downtown Metropolis, apparently.

It's an issue-long fight scene, with a few character moments sprinkled in. Superman talks to Clark Kent, and so does Lex Luthor. Luthor and Superman reach a temporary understanding. And Mr. Oz is still monitoring the whole thing and taking Superman to task for not thinking his way through the fight instead of trying to win with force, which he can't do. Again, it's a good issue, with the problem that the plot is spinning its wheels here. A bit more resolution or at least advancement of at least a few of the subplots are needed at this point.

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Rebirth #1
I'm sure Sparky could tell us why Sinestro looks so old and worn out here. He has Warworld moved to where Oa used to sit, and declares the war with the Green Lanterns won, with the Sinestro Corps having taken their place. Meanwhile Hal has decided that it's the power gauntlet that has been turning him into a creature of pure willpower, and he has to get rid of it. He forges himself a new Green Lantern ring, something he notes the Guardians always said only they knew how to do, but he manages it. He recites his oath and abandons the renegade outfit, going back to his Green Lantern uniform. As he forges the ring, various familiar groups throughout the universe can feel the energy of willpower responding, from John Stewart and the Corps in their white void, to Ganthet and Sayd, to Carol Ferris. No sign of the Templar Guardians though, unless I just missed them. Hal laments that his plan to restore the good name of the Corps by taking the fall was all for nothing, but he's determined to continue to try and bring back the prestige.

So the book wraps up plot threads from Sinestro and the previous run of Green Lantern, puts Hal back to spec, and looks set to get back to some GL basics as Hal and the Corps will clearly be busy dealing with the Sinestro corps for awhile. .

[andersonh1]

Oh, and the Snickers ads were great.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/07/13/ ... -spoilers/

[Sparky Prime]

I'm sure Sparky could tell us why Sinestro looks so old and worn out here.

Haven't been to the comic book shop to get a copy yet... But the last we saw of Sinestro, he was still weak after his battle with the Paling Bishop, and was about to become host to Parallax again. I'd have to guess due to his already weakened condition, rather than just a streak of grey hair, Sinestro's overall appearance was affected.

Edit: Ok, so I see Sinestro has yet to become host to Parallax again, so I've got no clue why he looks so old here. Also, Parallax wasn't being used to power War World, he was being used to stabilize the core of the prison planet Sinestro took over and renamed New Korugar. Doesn't seem that Venditti did a very good job finding out what happened in Sinestro's title before writing this. And I've got no clue how the continuity with Darkseid War is supposed to work when that showed Hal already back in his GL uniform, Oa was still in one piece and the GLC wasn't missing... But that one I'd say is Geoff Johns fault.

It's ironic. After Flashpoint, Green Lantern was one of the few titles to have the strongest sense of continuity. But with Rebirth, it's got one of the weakest.

[andersonh1]

I'm sure Sparky could tell us why Sinestro looks so old and worn out here.

Haven't been to the comic book shop to get a copy yet... But the last we saw of Sinestro, he was still weak after his battle with the Paling Bishop, and was about to become host to Parallax again. I'd have to guess due to his already weakened condition, rather than just a streak of grey hair, Sinestro's overall appearance was affected.

Edit: Ok, so I see Sinestro has yet to become host to Parallax again, so I've got no clue why he looks so old here. Also, Parallax wasn't being used to power War World, he was being used to stabilize the core of the prison planet Sinestro took over and renamed New Korugar. Doesn't seem that Venditti did a very good job finding out what happened in Sinestro's title before writing this. And I've got no clue how the continuity with Darkseid War is supposed to work when that showed Hal already back in his GL uniform, Oa was still in one piece and the GLC wasn't missing... But that one I'd say is Geoff Johns fault.

It's ironic. After Flashpoint, Green Lantern was one of the few titles to have the strongest sense of continuity. But with Rebirth, it's got one of the weakest.

That was one of the selling points of DC You: story over continuity. I thought it was a bad idea, and continuity mix-ups like the one you describe prove the case. You should have been able to read the final issue of Sinestro's series, then pick this issue up and have them flow seamlessly together in a continuing narrative. But instead there are discrepancies that get in the way of just enjoying the ongoing Green Lantern narrative, because characters are not where they should be, and there is no explanation. Maybe one will be forthcoming. Green Lanterns #1 showed Hal in his GL uniform with his ring, when he had last been seen with the Gauntlet and renegade outfit in his own series, and there was no explanation, but we got it this week. Things were just published out of story order. So maybe we'll get an explanation for Sinestro's condition that fits with his series. We'll see.

Did you notice that on the cover, the design of Hal's ring changed between the ads for this book that appeared last month, and the final cover this month? In the ads, Hal has an old style ring with Sinestro reflected in it. On the actual cover, it's the band with the curved symbol that we see in the issue itself.

Detective Comics #936
I called it. I said Batwoman's father, a general, would be the villain of this story. To quote myself: "He's in the military, so in comic book land, that makes him automatically shifty and evil. No doubt he's running some secret black ops program that's off budget and is his own little private army. And he knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne, so that automatically makes him suspect." This type of villain and this type of plot is so cliched. It doesn't speak well of the creativity of the writer here. And that's a shame, because he does a nice job keeping the other characters distinct and likable, and they interact well with each other. Tim Drake in particular shines in this issue.

So last issue ended on a cliffhanger with an army of the bat-men attempting to capture Batman. We find out this issue that they succeeded. Batman himself only appears in footage taken by the Batmobile cameras, being beaten in the fight. Tim calls in Batwoman once he sees the footage, and then she calls in Spoiler and Orphan. She also calls in her father, General Kane, and of course he betrays them all and calls in the bat-men, because he's "doing his duty to his country", blah blah blah. I'm just rolling my eyes at this point. I can't take a "rogue general who gives patriotic duty speeches" as villain seriously any more. Tim and Clayface get everyone out, so the little group of Gotham vigilantes is on the run, and Batman is in the custody of the military.

Good art, great cover, good mix of characters that are well written, but the plot is old and stale. The sooner this story is over, the sooner I can see if future issues can provide something better in the way of storylines and if I want to stick with the series or not.

Wonder Woman #2
The odd-numbered issues are set in the present day, while the even-numbered issues are a "Year One" storyline. If you're familiar at all with Wonder Woman's origin story, this issue ends about where the original began, with Steve Trevor's plane crashing on Paradise Island, so we don't get far into the origin story at all. The book spends its time alternating between Diana's life on the island, and Steve Trevor's life on the mainland, showing how different the two of them are, but also a few similarities. Their relationships with others, leisure and work activities and other aspects of their life are shown, so this is more of a character establishing issue than a plot-heavy issue. It's a series of vignettes rather than a story per se. It does a good job presenting Diana as far more young and innocent than we ordinarily see her, and it also shows her as unique among the others Amazons as someone who looks out to the horizon, wondering what's out therei, clearly hinting that she'll be the one to leave the island, even if we didn't already know that was going to happen.

The most interesting incident is near the end, when Diana is out exploring the island. She's near a tree, when a snake bites her and nearly kills her. She takes weeks to recover. I'm not sure of the significance of this incident, unless it's meant to simply show that life on Paradise Island isn't as unalterably idyllic as it's been presented throughout the issue so far. But given the Greek mythology roots of Wonder Woman's backstory, there could well be more too it. The crash of Steve Trevor's plane is given a more tragic aspect than in past tellings of the origin by showing that he was not the only person aboard, and his friend that we've seen him with all through his scenes, who got married and just saw his child born before he and Steve left on the mission, dies in the crash.