Comics are Awesome II

[138 Scourge]

Sorry, man. I only had the first three issues when I sent 'em your way. The next three are even better, so I'd highly recommend getting the trade.

[Dominic]

Hey, I am not going to complain about free comics. (But, I still have to be picky about what stays, ya know?)

I will definitely keep the compilation on my radar.


Dom
-needs to cut back on comics again.

[andersonh1]

Browsed the comics today since the second bunch of new DC titles are out. I was disappointed to see that Animal Man remains horror-based, since I preferred the character before his book morphed into a Vertigo title, and I was hoping that his use in 52 meant that DC was going back to the old Buddy Baker. No such luck. Passed on Detective Comics, which could have been titled "Butcher Comics". Batman's a favorite, but I can do without the Geoff Johns-style gore. I did buy Action Comics after planning not to, along with Captain America 1 and 2 and Transformers 25. I had expected to enjoy the Cybertron story arc more, but this issue set on Earth and following Prowl's investigations was far more interesting.

I'll review the other issues later once I've had time to read them properly.

Action Comics #1

I didn’t intend to buy this issue, being annoyed with the stupid new costume and the renumbering of the series which has run nearly uninterrupted since 1938. No other monthly series except for Detective Comics can make that claim, and even Detective Comics hadn’t quite made it to 900 issues. A little bit of comics history has been tossed aside here, and it’s a shame.

Action Comics reboots Superman again with probably the most changes since John Byrne’s reboot back in 1986. There have been a few origin changes since then, but basically we’ve had the same Superman from 1986 to 2011. This new version goes back to the original Action Comics for inspiration by giving us someone who resembles the Superman of the late 30s. The original version was far less powerful than he later became, and he wasn’t afraid to rough up those he saw as lawbreakers. It’s a back to basics approach, combined with some tweaking of the characters and elements that have been added over the years. Superman can’t fly, and isn’t invulnerable, as shown when he is injured at one point and his landlady comments on his “beat up” face. He bleeds at one point in the story while trying to stop a runaway train. He’s strong and fast and very tough, but one gets the sense that a powerful enough weapon could hurt or kill him.

The plot is serviceable, though Grant Morrison falls back on two very tired clichés when it comes to villains. There’s the “corrupt corporate executive” (and no, it’s not Lex Luthor, though Luthor does make an appearance) who rubs his hands, metaphorically counting his money and chuckling while his employees suffer and work for near-slave wages. The second cliché is the “renegade general” Sam Lane, who can unleash tanks in the streets of a major metropolitan city and cause all sorts of destruction with no regard for civil law and get away with it. Imagine David Petraeus, or some other US General trying that and tell me it’s even remotely plausible. I’m gritting my teeth trying to get into this new version of Superman while being beaten over the head with cardboard stereotypes as foils for him. It’s frustrating. It would be a lot more interesting if the world Superman inhabits were drawn with a little more resemblance to reality and a few more shades of grey. It’s easy to be an idealist when fighting straw villains. Put the fantastic character against the real world, and watch the drama unfold.

The new status quo is a tweak of the old one rather than a wholesale revision. Superman still disguises himself as Clark Kent, which allows him to escape police pursuit since he’s a vigilante. The secret identity has a very practical purpose. He still works for a newspaper, though it’s a rival paper to the Daily Planet. He and Jimmy Olsen are friends, rather than Jimmy and Superman being friends, and they’re close to the same age, or at least it appears that way from the art. Clark lives in an apartment and apparently lives “paycheck to paycheck”. He uses Superman to go after crooks, and his work as a reporter seems to be used for the same goals, given what little we get to see so far.

Overall: I like Superman as a character, but I’m fairly attached to the version I’ve read for the last 20 years. I’m not too happy about the reboot, but DC apparently felt it was necessary to revitalize the character. If it does that, then that’s fine. The character is still recognizable, even with the changes. Superman is still Superman. He hasn’t become a dark, angsty character, and that’s good. I almost feel like I’m reading a comic set in the Marvel Universe where the authorities and public aren’t all that happy with the costumed superheroes in their midst. I may or may not keep buying Action Comics, but this isn’t a bad issue, if filled with straw villains.

[andersonh1]

Captain America #1 and #2
Marvel can thank DC and my irritation with the reboot for me being willing to browse their titles. Daredevil got me in thanks to Mark Waid's writing, which was thoroughly enjoyable. Captain America has mainly the art of Steve McNiven to thank, though on paper the character seems like one that I would favor, given that I like the old school Golden Age characters in the Justice Society. Steve Rogers isn't all that far removed from that type of character. I always found him boring when my youngest brother used to collect the book, but that was a long time ago.

The book wisely gives the new reader like me an encapsulated background on who the character is and where he's coming from, via a funeral of someone he knew during WW2. And from there on it's action and explosions as agents of a group called Hydra attack Steve Rogers and his cohorts, and Steve sees someone he hadn't seen since WW2. There are flashbacks and motives and explanations, and I'm generally able to follow the plot despite not being all that familiar with the characters or rogues gallery. As long as certain unknowns are explained in future issues, I'm good.

And the cliffhanger is Captain America being attacked by a giant Captain America robot named Ameridroid. If that isn't a very retro comic book villain, I don't know what is. Too funny. In what other genre could something like that be pulled off? I can't think of one.

Overall: Well, it's not quite the gem that Daredevil turned out to be, but it's fun stuff. I'll give it a few more issues and see how the story resolves itself, at least. I really like the art.

[Dominic]

I flipped through a few of the relaunched DC books, but skipped 'em all. They had a reboot 3 years ago, and that one was all about how nothing has any meaning. So, uh, why should I care about these books?


My haul for this week:

GI Joe Cobra #4: Ain't read it yet. 4 months behind on this book and counting.

Transformers #25: Reviewed in the dedicated ongoing thread.

New Avengers Annual #1:
Wonderman and some other malcontent heroes attack the Avengers as retribution for the many screw ups by the team in recent years. The story continues in the main "Avengers" annual, which I may or may not pick up. If I did not know better, I would think that this story was Bendis' good bye to the series, as it has that kind of vibe.
Grade: C

Moon Knight #5:
Moon Knight and Echo fight there way out of last issue's cliff-hanger ending. Some stuff happens. It is all very decompressed. If I cut a book at the end of this year, it might be "Moon Knight". It is not a bad book, but it gives little enough reason to stick around.
Grade: C


Dom
-also finished the latest "Horus Heresy" book last night.

[Onslaught Six]

I flipped through a few of the relaunched DC books, but skipped 'em all. They had a reboot 3 years ago, and that one was all about how nothing has any meaning. So, uh, why should I care about these books?

I heard Batgirl #1 has all sorts of references to the fact that Barbara was crippled at one point, but now isn't.

DC, this isn't how you do a clean reboot. You pretend she was never crippled ever.

[andersonh1]

I flipped through a few of the relaunched DC books, but skipped 'em all. They had a reboot 3 years ago, and that one was all about how nothing has any meaning. So, uh, why should I care about these books?

I heard Batgirl #1 has all sorts of references to the fact that Barbara was crippled at one point, but now isn't.

DC, this isn't how you do a clean reboot. You pretend she was never crippled ever.

I flipped through the book and she does think about the events of "The Killing Joke" which is the story where she was crippled. I should have read a little more in detail to find out how it was undone.

[Sparky Prime]

They had a reboot 3 years ago, and that one was all about how nothing has any meaning. So, uh, why should I care about these books?

How was "Infinite Crisis" all about nothing having meaning? I thought someone like you would find tons of meaning in that story.

DC, this isn't how you do a clean reboot. You pretend she was never crippled ever.

This was never intended to be a clean reboot. There was no way DC was just going to just toss all of that continuity.

I flipped through the book and she does think about the events of "The Killing Joke" which is the story where she was crippled. I should have read a little more in detail to find out how it was undone.

I haven't read it myself, but as I understand it, they don't detail it. They explain how the bullet hit her L1 vertebrae which left her paralyzed for 3 years and then "a miracle happened". Not sure if that's supposed to mean the injury wasn't as severe as previously established, allowing for her to heal, or if something else was able to repair the injury.

[138 Scourge]

DC, this isn't how you do a clean reboot. You pretend she was never crippled ever.

This was never intended to be a clean reboot. There was no way DC was just going to just toss all of that continuity.

Man, I dunno. Because it looks like everything's all different in Action Comics, and from what I understand everything's all different in Justice League, but GL and Batman have the same stuff. So it's like, half reboot? Or maybe all the Superman stuff still happened, but his early years are different? I dunno, I really don't. GL can kind of get away with it, because so much of the stuff takes place in space, but I have no idea how they'll explain three or four Lanterns from Earth without all those years of continuity. Chalk it up to stuff we'll see what happens with.

I heard Batgirl #1 has all sorts of references to the fact that Barbara was crippled at one point, but now isn't.

DC, this isn't how you do a clean reboot. You pretend she was never crippled ever.

This is probably wise, really. Why fuck up "The Killing Joke", a book by a big-name comics writer that has a kind of timeless appeal and is a regular seller for DC? I guess if the crippling never happens, then Killing Joke's right up there with Dark Knight and the like, stuff that is good, but clearly never happened in main continuity, but apparently DC ain't willing to burn that bridge yet.

Anderson, glad you dig the Cap book. May I recommend the Cap and Bucky book? It's Cap and Buck in WWII, and by the same writer. Good stuff.

Action Comics #1

The second cliché is the “renegade general” Sam Lane, who can unleash tanks in the streets of a major metropolitan city and cause all sorts of destruction with no regard for civil law and get away with it. Imagine David Petraeus, or some other US General trying that and tell me it’s even remotely plausible.

Nah, that's silly if you try to picture that being something plausible, but when you figure, what would Patraeus do if there was a super-powerful alien running around US streets? I mean, I like to believe that the US military has an answer to anything that might come up, but I doubt that there's an established playbook for such a scenario. Especially when said alien superbeing starts targeting the rich and powerful.

[Sparky Prime]

Man, I dunno. Because it looks like everything's all different in Action Comics, and from what I understand everything's all different in Justice League, but GL and Batman have the same stuff. So it's like, half reboot? Or maybe all the Superman stuff still happened, but his early years are different? I dunno, I really don't. GL can kind of get away with it, because so much of the stuff takes place in space, but I have no idea how they'll explain three or four Lanterns from Earth without all those years of continuity. Chalk it up to stuff we'll see what happens with.

Well there are certainly some exceptions, but still, DC clearly hasn't wiped away all of the continuity seeing that so much of it has been retained in the relaunch. Swamp Thing as well as Hawk and Dove I've read both reference events from Brightest Day. Batgirl, as discussed here, kept events from "The Killing Joke". GL will pick up right where it left off. And so on... The changes they've made seem to be very situational, with it being somewhat extreme for some characters, while little to nothing changes for others.