Re: Comics are Awesome III
Posted: Wed May 04, 2016 11:05 am
I bought the Neal-Adams mini-series "The Coming of the Supermen" #4 this week, but I haven't read 2 and 3 yet. Adams isn't really the artist he once was (though he draws a great Darkseid). It may be that his inkers helped him in the past, whereas here he's inking his own work. He's a far better and more creative storyteller than many modern artists though. Too bad he's not drawing Green Lantern instead of Billy Tan.
Green Lantern #52
It's pretty much Hal versus the Gray Agents, or as Trapper puts it, a lawman pretending to be a criminal versus criminals pretending to be lawmen. Hal talks tough, as Vendetti has had him do throughout this entire year-long story arc, and though the fight goes back and forth, in the end he wins and send the Agents running, though they promise to be after him. The fact that he faked becoming a renegade is restated, much to the amusement of his two traveling companions. In the end he sends them on their way, reasoning that he's just too dangerous to be associated with. He also continues to become the green energy the more he uses the gauntlet. I wonder if this won't set up the reason he has to return to using his power ring once Rebirth hits.
This is the one in-continuity series I have kept ever since the New 52 began, with the exception of the Third Army and First Lantern issues, because I was ready for a change from Geoff Johns at that point and did not care for those storylines at all. I don't think Vendetti has had the creative flair that Johns did, but it's been a decent run on the book, and I don't mind that he's sticking around. I appreciate that he remembers Hal has a family, and has brought them into the series on more than one occasion. Billy Tan has been a terrible artist for Hal, so I'm glad we're getting Van Sciver back. The main reason I kept this book was because it most resembles the old continuity that DC threw out with Flashpoint. Apart from Hal turning into an idiot for the first year of this series, the storylines and themes and character relationships have continued much as they were before the New 52 began. And since most of the storylines were out in space, there weren't a lot of reminders that the rest of the universe had changed.
Hal the Renegade has pretty much run its course though, and it'll be good to get back to him being a Green Lantern. Hard to believe it's been a year since this whole thing began. I hope we get an explanation about how the Corps got sent to the previous universe, where the Templar Guardians have been, and what Krona was up to... but I'm not holding my breath.
Batman/The Man from UNCLE #5
Jeff Parker has clearly had this sort of development in mind for a long time, ever since the "Arkham Institute" was introduced in Batman '66 along with "Dr. Hugo". I figured he was this continuity's version of Hugo Strange, and that's finally been revealed in this mini-series rather than the main series. He's basically the master villain behind everything, having spent time psychologically profiling Batman's rogues, as well as Batman, Robin and Batgirl. He wants to use UNCLE and THRUSH, along with the popular and respected heroes, to run the world from behind the scenes. Psychology is the key to everything, he says.
I always tend to think that humor is what makes this version of Batman work well. It's what distinguishes him from other iterations of the character. There's a lot of plot and little humor in this issue, though it still works well enough. Hugo attempts to psychoanalyze the characters and makes some good points, though characters as silly as these don't really stand up to much real scrutiny. In the end they escape, only to be attacked by a giant octupus... which had to happen, given the underwater base and the James Bond-style villainy of Dr. Hugo. Next issue will finish this story, to be followed by the Batman/Avengers (Steed and Mrs. Peel Avengers) mini-series, so we're not done with this version of Batman yet.
Green Lantern #52
It's pretty much Hal versus the Gray Agents, or as Trapper puts it, a lawman pretending to be a criminal versus criminals pretending to be lawmen. Hal talks tough, as Vendetti has had him do throughout this entire year-long story arc, and though the fight goes back and forth, in the end he wins and send the Agents running, though they promise to be after him. The fact that he faked becoming a renegade is restated, much to the amusement of his two traveling companions. In the end he sends them on their way, reasoning that he's just too dangerous to be associated with. He also continues to become the green energy the more he uses the gauntlet. I wonder if this won't set up the reason he has to return to using his power ring once Rebirth hits.
This is the one in-continuity series I have kept ever since the New 52 began, with the exception of the Third Army and First Lantern issues, because I was ready for a change from Geoff Johns at that point and did not care for those storylines at all. I don't think Vendetti has had the creative flair that Johns did, but it's been a decent run on the book, and I don't mind that he's sticking around. I appreciate that he remembers Hal has a family, and has brought them into the series on more than one occasion. Billy Tan has been a terrible artist for Hal, so I'm glad we're getting Van Sciver back. The main reason I kept this book was because it most resembles the old continuity that DC threw out with Flashpoint. Apart from Hal turning into an idiot for the first year of this series, the storylines and themes and character relationships have continued much as they were before the New 52 began. And since most of the storylines were out in space, there weren't a lot of reminders that the rest of the universe had changed.
Hal the Renegade has pretty much run its course though, and it'll be good to get back to him being a Green Lantern. Hard to believe it's been a year since this whole thing began. I hope we get an explanation about how the Corps got sent to the previous universe, where the Templar Guardians have been, and what Krona was up to... but I'm not holding my breath.
Batman/The Man from UNCLE #5
Jeff Parker has clearly had this sort of development in mind for a long time, ever since the "Arkham Institute" was introduced in Batman '66 along with "Dr. Hugo". I figured he was this continuity's version of Hugo Strange, and that's finally been revealed in this mini-series rather than the main series. He's basically the master villain behind everything, having spent time psychologically profiling Batman's rogues, as well as Batman, Robin and Batgirl. He wants to use UNCLE and THRUSH, along with the popular and respected heroes, to run the world from behind the scenes. Psychology is the key to everything, he says.
I always tend to think that humor is what makes this version of Batman work well. It's what distinguishes him from other iterations of the character. There's a lot of plot and little humor in this issue, though it still works well enough. Hugo attempts to psychoanalyze the characters and makes some good points, though characters as silly as these don't really stand up to much real scrutiny. In the end they escape, only to be attacked by a giant octupus... which had to happen, given the underwater base and the James Bond-style villainy of Dr. Hugo. Next issue will finish this story, to be followed by the Batman/Avengers (Steed and Mrs. Peel Avengers) mini-series, so we're not done with this version of Batman yet.