Wow! For a second month in a row, I'm finished with the previous
month-end shipment of comics before the end of the month, and with a
week to spare as I begin writing this! Maybe I can work on catching up a backlog of
collections and graphic novels.
One thing I'm a bit disappointed about. Here we are, five issues
into the New 52, and the letters columns, just reintroduced sometime
within the past couple of years after most of a decade's absence from
the pages of DC Comics, are nowhere to be found. I know the argument
is sometimes made that in today's world of message boards the idea of
a letters column is antiquated nonsense, but I disagree. Yes,
message boards are a good way to see what current readers are
thinking, but how easy is it to go back a couple of years and see
what then-current readers were saying about the comics they
were reading? Not very. Especially when, as reemphasized just
tonight (Wednesday, 22 February) that existing message board might go
poof at any time. (In announcing a total website revamp, the
DC Source blog advised, “As part of its online makeover, DC
Entertainment will be shutting down the current message boards in
early March. Active board users are encouraged to save their
favorite conversations leading up to the closure.”) A well put
together, published letters column is, by way of contrast, a snapshot
of a point in time, preserved for the future. I've mentioned but not
elaborated on the library-bound volumes of comic books I had put
together within the past few years. For a couple of years before the
chaos of last year that was my current comics obsession. This blog
is of course my now-current obsession, but I do intend to get
back into binding. And I do still intend to put together a survey of
my library bound comic collection some time … maybe that's what
I'll do during the slack time I anticipate before the February
month-end shipment arrives. (Until I do so, to get an idea of what
I'm talking about, see the message boards here
and here,
as well as my bindery of choice here.)
… Anyway, although some of my fellow comic binders discard the
letters pages from their old comics in the process of prepping for
binding, I don't. I specifically leave them in there, because I
always get a big kick out of going back and reading them for their
historical value. I am an historian after all. Sure, they're not
really impartial representations of current reactions, filtered
through selection and editing as they are, but they are something.
It's cool going back and seeing today's creators' comments from when
they were fans, published in old comics. Gives me kind of an “I
knew them when...” feeling. It's also cool for me to be able to
point to the letters page in Superboy [starring the Legion of
Super-Heroes] #202 (Jun 1974) where my name has the distinction
of appearing right next to Dan Jurgens' as we both pointed out the
Easter Egg appearance of Mr. Spock in issue #200 (Feb 1974)!
* * *
Justice League
International #5
“The
Signal Masters”
Booster
Gold's force field and Guy Gardner Green Lantern's ring save the team
from the destruction that seemed so certain at the climax of last
issue, then they manage to take Peraxxus on in space, successfully
penetrating his ship. The others distract him while Batman and
Rocket Red find the Control Room. Rocket Red takes control of the
computers and crashes the ship. Peraxxus teleports away, vowing to
return (of course he will); our heroes, working together, manage to
get out of the ship … Briggs doesn't seem very thankful: “This
is how you solve a crisis? … By crashing an enormous starship?”
Booster Gold stands up to him, “Let's step back and analyze the
situation, Briggs. … Did we prevent Earth's destruction?” –
“Yes.”
– “Once the ship took out the giant, did the others cease to
function?” – “Yes.”
– “Were any major cities destroyed? Was there a massive loss of
life?” – “No
and no.”
– “Do I consider this mission a success? … Damn
straight.”
But we end with an ominous panel – they are being watched by
person or persons unknown on a monitor: “Amazing. They succeeded.
I can't abide that. Accelerate plans for their demise.”
Overall,
however, this was a rather ho-hum ending to a ho-hum story. I want
to like this comic more than I do. It has some good stuff. I like
the characters, I like the writer (um … Dan Jurgens – see above).
But it really hasn't caught me. Effective with this month's
pre-order, in fact, I'd dropping this to a digital purchase. I may
regret it if it gets better, but I'm looking for places to start
cutting my monthly pre-order bill, and this is one of the first that
came to mind.
Action Comics
#5
“Rocket
Song”
The
lead story is mostly told by baby Kal-El's ship's Brainiac Artificial
Intelligence, and provides some interesting twists on the often-told
story of the Origin of Superman while keeping the essence. Among
those twists is Jor-El's initial plan to take refuge in the Phantom
Zone, and Krypto's sacrifice when the villains threatened the
desperate family. (Really? That's always bugged me, Krypto's name,
I mean – I can actually see Superman renaming his dog from the old
homeworld after that homeworld, but would Jor-El really have named a
pet after the planet they lived on? It would be like me naming my
dog “Earthy,” wouldn't it?) Jonathan and Martha's role in
throwing off the government authorities who almost immediately
investigated the crashed space ship is new, and provides a clever way
to explain the hexapedal “alien” creature that Luthor thought
must be Clark's real
form. That must have been some messed-up DNA for the government not
to have quickly perceived something fishy was up, though! What
follows I found a bit confusing, but I think the gist is that somehow
Kal-El's rocket ship created
the Age of Superhumans through the catalyst of the Coming of the
Collector...? Action shifts to the Fortress, where the ship, now
crystalline, is the target of a break-in by the “Anti-Superman
Army” … Who exactly are they?, and what happens to them? Their
long-time waiting for revenge on “the House of El” first made me
think of Phantom Zone villains, but I don't think so. They steal the
Kryptonite engine with ominous portent. Then appear, too late, an
older Superman and the three founders of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
Time Trapper gets name-dropped along the way.
I
have to say that, much as I generally like Rags Morales' art, I like
Andy Kubert's more.
“Baby
Steps”
Like
last issue, this back-up story essentially plays off of a scene in
the lead story. Overall, it tells the back story of Jonathan and
Martha Kent leading up to the moment the rocket ship crashing. It
mainly focusses on their futile attempts to have a child before baby
Kal-El literally falls into their lives. My main question here is:
What kind of Baptist church is that? It's identified as “First
Light Baptist Church,” but the overall architecture and décor is
all wrong. Since I'm almost three decades away from having been
Baptist, I consulted with my sister-in-law, who also grew up Baptist
in North Carolina and attends a Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas.
Here are some excerpts from her response when I sent her a scan of
the main page depicting the Kents' church:
“Baptist
churches are not usually so ornate or elaborate with all the stone
work and beauty of other churches … inside or outside. I've found
they are pretty basic in general.
“[Reacting
to the depiction of the same preacher in robes at Jonathan and Martha's
wedding earlier in the story,] The pastors don't usually wear robes.
In more formal churches, the pastor will wear a suit and tie …. In
more casual churches, the pastor will wear a basic solid-color shirt
with khakis or jeans.
“There
are mixed race Baptist churches in Kansas and elsewhere …. I'm not
sure what the time period is for this comic but it was probably not
common to see a lot of mixed race churches if this was an earlier
time in the 20th
century. [There certainly weren't to my knowledge in Louisiana
during the 1960s-early 1980s when I grew up Baptist.] …
“In
conclusion, I agree that it looks more Methodist than Baptist.”
Thanks,
Kristal!
Just for interest's sake, here's a couple of pictures of the Baptist
church I grew up in, in north Louisiana. Note the plain cross, lack of ornateness. Take
away the tacky square banner at left and screen at right and it still
looks just like it did last time I set foot in it in the early 1980s:
And
here are a couple of pictures of Methodist churches from the American
Midwest. Keep in mind that there can be quite a bit of variety in
church décor and architecture:
Yes,
the Kents' church looks more Methodist than Baptist, which tallies
with how they have been traditionally portrayed. Adherents.com
has an excellent overview. I think this is just an error on the
creators' part. It is just my own quirkiness that finds it a
particularly annoying error, when creators, as good as their
intentions may be in accurately portraying the positive source of
strength that faith would probably have provided to rural Kansas
farmers like the Kents, nonetheless don't have the background or do
sufficient research to differentiate between various flavors of
Christianity. (Similarly, early in this second season of The
Walking Dead,
the group comes across a small rural Georgia church … identified as
a Baptist church – with a big ol' crucifix complete with a corpus
front and center. Cross, yes. Crucifix? – Not in any Baptist
church I recall
ever seeing!)
Despite
which, overall, Action
Comics
continues to WOW
me and remains probably my favorite series of the New 52. Actually,
I don't think there's any “probably” about it. Both stories are
excellent, introducing tweaks to the Legend that work – at least as
Grant Morrison plays them. How much remains canonical (until the
next reboot) remains to be seen....
Detective Comics
#5
“Wheel
of Misfortune”
What
did I say? – Yep, a Joker cult. Which looks like the form that
“Occupy Gotham” takes in the DC nUniverse. Sounds more likely to
me than the cartoon (?) my colleague has on his door. Anyway, a new player crashes a criminal transaction that Batman was
staking out, and a clue points Batman toward the new Iceberg Casino.
Bruce stands up the date he has for the opening, but she's just as
happy – she's really an investigative journalist investigating the
Penguin. Too bad she doesn't know the short guy's on to her.
“Russian
Roulette”
Maybe
this trend where back-up stories play directly off of the main story
is a new DC standard. I doubt it, because supposedly both Batman
and Detective
are about to be telling stories having to do with Batman's
“Court of Owls” plot. In any case, this one does. Here we meet
a son of Hugo Strange in a short tale tangential to the lead story in
that it partially concerns the Russian mobster whose transaction
Batman was staking out. Eli Strange mainly serves as a plant working
with Catwoman who wants to teach the Russians a bit about the crime
hierarchy in Gotham, but Hugo is observing and narrating the story,
and decides to take his estranged son under his wing.
I
hope this issue does portend that we are past the gratuitous gore of
the first story arc. I actually found the second story more
interesting than the first, even though the art (not by Daniel, who
both wrote and drew the lead but only wrote the back-up) muddy and
confusing. This does remain probably my least favorite Batman
book, probably would be slated for culling were it not
a Bat-book.
Huntress
#4 of 6
“Crossbow
at the Crossroads, Part Four”
This
was another solid, enjoyable issue, with good writing and good art,
that I nonetheless can't find much to say about. The main movement
of the issue is when Helena single-handedly take's on Moretti's
yacht, captures him, and leaves him to the tender mercies of a couple
of his female victims whom she has freed. I think the little
“SPLASH”
beside the boat doesn't bode well for him, although its placement on
the panel is a bit odd.
One
thing I do want to comment on: I really get the feeling that Levitz
and/or the artist Marcus To did a bit of on-site research for this
miniseries. There is an aura of realism here for the locale of
Amalfi that is very similar to that of the ruins of Pompeii last
issue. I like it!
I
don't remember where I saw it, but I think we have now had
confirmation that this is indeed the Earth-2 Huntress who will be
appearing in Levitz's upcoming Worlds'
Finest.
Bravo!
Stormwatch
#5
“The
Dark Side, Part 5”
A
representative of the Stormwatch Shadow Cabinet “kills” Adam One,
which means they assume him into the Shadow Cabinet – uhh... Huh?
The newly appointed leader is Projectionist, which is not to the
others' liking apparently. Meanwhile, Midnighter and Apollo have
skedaddled, and have a little bit of alone time. Yes, it's gay
flirting, which I knew was coming since Cornell said that aspect of
their characters from the original Wildstorm series would be carried
over. Anyway, a proximity alarm goes off and Apollo launches off
into hyperspace – remember, that's where the Stormwatch space
station is located. Midnighter finds Swordsman engaged in a bit of
sabotage. In the end, Projectionist ends up taken by the Swordsman
just before the station explodes. “Stormwatch HQ, this is Harry
Tanner [Swordsman] – a recorded message from me, anyway. … I want
you all to know – especially you, Angie – I felt I had
to set a device to blow the alien horn. … It's the quickest way to
destroy the Eye.
… And in that confined space – Your deaths should be
instantaneous.”
So. The horn. Next, “2012: The End of the World Starts Here!”
With consequences in Stormwatch
#6,
Superman
#6, and Grifter
#6.
I
don't get Grifter,
don't intend to. Here's where we'll find out if a connected story
will be comprehensible without all the connected titles. And, the
fact is, Stormwatch
is probably about to fall out of my monthly pre-order … Not that
I'm disliking it, but I'm deciding it's just not that essential to my
overall DCnUniverse reading even though there are more hints
regarding how extensive Stormwatch's activities have been and may
continue to be – in a “reborn” form as blurbed for next issue.
I'll probably stick with it digitally, but.... (Bear in mind the
time lag inherent in the pre-order system. If I drop it from my next
pre-order, I think I will still receive through issue #7 before
actually dropping back to digital for issue #8.)
Superboy
#5
“Breakout”
The
Superboy (don't they always generally put the definite article on it
now? – reemphasizing that he's an artificially created being? –
or is that just Templar?) is showing more independence and arrogance.
By the way, this issue takes place before the confrontation with the
Teen Titans
in that title.
Briefly,
in this issue, Superboy rescues Caitlyn from the transport to “the
Colony,” we find out there's a bit more to the weird head honcho
Templar, and there are hints toward the new storyline to come with
references to “the Culling.”
Batman and Robin
#5
“Mutineer”
Parent-of-the-Year
Bruce has driven Damian away completely, to join Ducard. Bruce's
ruminations during his desperate search give us back-story on the
Ducards. Ducard tests Damian in a raid against human trafficking
centered in an embassy, building to a cliffhanger ending where he
demands proof of Damian's sincerity – he must kill the perpetrator.
I'm
not sure, but I get the feeling – hope? – that this is indeed all
a ruse by Damian ….
Batwoman
#5
“Hydrology-5:
Evapotranspiration”
Kate
figures out a way to disperse the murderous water spirit. It's a bit
harrowing that she must face her own ghosts in so doing, but she
succeeds – and also gets a cryptic clue regarding where the missing
children are. What is Medusa? Then, in her own home, she gets a
surprise visit from Agent Chase and Director Bones, who know her
identity beyond any doubt. Kate learns of Bette's condition, which
is critical but stable, and in the end accepts a deal to fight for
the DEO rather than have her dad, estranged though they are, going to
prison. At the end of the issue, she visits Bette in the ICU, where
she is warned by Batman that working with the DEO will inevitably put
Batwoman at odds with him, then she goes off to swear to the parents
of the missing children that she will find their kids.
Broken
record: Beautiful art. Is Kate slightly less pale here? …
Continuing with something that struck me after my write-up for last
issue. In the context-setting recap (?) that most if not all DC
Comics begin with, generally identifying the characters very briefly
in case there's a totally new reader coming aboard (despite the fact
that, lamentably, most issues are not
very first-time-reader friendly), it ends with the statement: “Now
[Kate Kane] is many things: estranged daughter, grieving sister,
proud lesbian, brave soldier, determined hero. … She is BATWOMAN.”
– “Proud lesbian”? Sorry, I get the sense she's a bit of an
emotional wreck, and has been for a while. Is that directly
attributable to her sexual orientation? Maybe, maybe not. I get the
sense it's part of it. In any case, is that really so central
to such a short intro to the character? Yes, it's essential to her
history as written, but putting it forward like that just seems
needless to me. By all means let it be part of the story where
appropriate, but making it a defining characteristic? Isn't she so
much more than that? I think it's a disservice to a generally
well-written, compelling character.
Review: http://batman-news.com/2012/01/13/new-52-batwoman-5-review/
Batgirl
#5
“A
Candy Full of Spiders”
In
rapid succession – the opening splash-page of this issue and the cover of Legion
Lost
(below), we see something that really bugs the hell out of me. Why
do (male) artists so frequently depict heroines in poses with their
legs spread immodestly
– and sometimes even inhumanly – widely? That is a rhetorical question, by the way! – I think we
all know the answer and it does not reflect very well on the
creators' own sexuality, I think. Nor does it reflect very well on
comic book readership. I'm embarrassed for my wife to see me reading
things like this. (Having those images shoved at me in quick
succession given the order I read my comics, I initially jotted down
a note to address this issue regarding Dawnstar on the Legion
Lost
cover, but I think the Batgirl
splash page looks even more ridiculous.)
Rant
over. I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunity for similar diatribes
in the future, though. (See some of my previous discourses on the
inappropriate, overly sexualized depictions of the teen-aged
Supergirl,
e.g. here.)
Anyway,
in this issue more hints are dropped as to how Babs got the use of
her legs back – reference is made to “neural implant surgery.”
Reference is also made to when she was “briefly Batgirl the first
time.” We find out that Jim Gordon never married after his wife,
Babs' mother, left – and they do seem to be her parents.
So, no marriage to Sarah Essen, nor the emotional devastation
inflicted by her murder by the Joker during No
Man's Land
(which, of course, may never have happened). Oh – Jim seems not to
have a clue that Batgirl is his own daughter – he puts Detective
McKenna in charge of bringing her in, which I don't think he would do
so blatantly if he did. It's always been an open question, I think,
as to how much he knows, how much he chooses to ignore – similar to
the question of whether he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. I think it's
less a question now. When he calls McKenna, she's been working out –
if those are meant to be drops of sweat running down her cheeks, they
are unfortunately placed to look like tears. Hey, we get another
version of “Occupy Gotham” – which seems quick a bit more
respectable than the Joker groupies in Detective
Comics.
Other
stuff: Babs and her mother have a heart-to-heart, we are introduced
to a new villainess called Gretel, some mystery surrounding the
numbers “338,” all culminating in Bruce Wayne attacking Batgirl.
As Babs says, “Oh, bad.”
Demon Knights
#5
“The
Traitor”
… Turns
out not to be Horsewoman. She
had a perfectly reasonable motivation for shooting Exoristos, and
knew she wouldn't kill her. Just wanted to hurt her and show her how
mad she was at getting the little girl killed last issue. Of course,
the Amazon exile is also dealing with the guilt of talking the girl
into a suicide mission.
The
core of the issue is Mordru and the Questing Queen appearing in some
kind of astral form to each of the warriors to tempt them away from
the coming battle. All refuse, except ….
The
Traitor is Vandal Savage. Dang, it was just this morning (actually
the morning before I read this comic a week and a half or so ago)
that I told a colleague how my favorite character in this book is,
surprisingly, Vandal Savage, for whom I've frankly never had a whole
lot of use for. Then we get to see how thoroughly evil – or just
plain amoral – he is. He murders a boy who had come to idolize him
while making his escape from the village. Kids don't fare very well
in this series! And Savage returns
to the Questing Queen to lead her army. Can't like that guy … and
yet this is still the best
Vandal Savage characterization I've ever seen!
Despite
which, I think this title is probably going to join Stormwatch
in the digital purchase queue. Same reason – not bad, just not
that essential either. I think both of them may well end up reading
better in trade, which may actually be the way I end up going.
Legion Lost
#5
“Under
Pressure”
Regarding
the cover, see Batgirl
above. Continuing the rotating narrators, this issue is narrated by
Tellus, beginning with himself and Dawnstar vs.
Alastor and being forced to call for help from their teammates –
who are in the middle of their confrontation with the police.
Wildfire and Tyroc head out, leaving Timber Wolf behind – he
managed to get away. We finally get some history on Alastor, and
Tellus ultimately perceives an unintended benefit to the human race
provided by the hypertaxis pathogen. He was of course trying to
pre-empt the development of human anti-alien xenophobic terrorism
that had claimed the life of his sister Maryessa by unleashing the
pathogen in the past and destroying humanity. Tellus: “You seek …
'justice' for Maryessa's death … but those you punish now … have
yet to commit … the crimes which you blame them for. … In truth,
you have … given the human race … a great gift … You have freed
them … ultimately enabling them to elvolve
… from their culture … of species segregation
… In the centuries to come … they will never become …
xenophophes … For the hypertaxis will … eventually eliminate
… the barriers
of skin color … religion or … geography. … You have turned a
race … of diverse, diffident, diffuse Homo Sapiens … into a
unified future
race of Hypersapiens...
Rather than reviled … as their scourge
… you will be revered
as their savior
… the man who created
the race … that will one day … change the stars. … As
punishment … for their crime … you have rewritten
history …
and made the human race … the best
hope
… for a better
future ...”
Alastor's response: “NOOOOO!”
The issue thus ends on a note of hope, especially since Gates
unexpectedly makes his reappearance. But the cliffhanger has Timber
Wolf picked up by the Martian Manhunter, who is in full-on Stormwatch
aggressive mode.
Despite
some sloppy art/editing inside – Does Dawnstar have or not
have a pair of black bands spanning the deep V-cut (to her navel!)
between her rather ample breasts? The cover doesn't show any such bands,
of course, but on pages four and five in quick succession we are
treated to first a shot with
the bands, then one without,
then one with
again! – Even more ludicrously, the latter two images are paired
shots at the bottom of the respective pages, in which her torso is in
almost the same pose right side by side (with her breasts thrust out,
of course), which means it is, I think, impossible
not to notice the artistic inconsistency. Did he say 'Hypersapiens'?
– can I say 'hypersexualization'? – and sloppily executed?!
 |
| page 4 bottom |
 |
| page 5 bottom |
Argh!
Editor Brian Cunningham, Assistant Editor Darren Shan – do you two
even look
at this stuff? (Hey – is that the same Darren Shan as in Cirque
du Freak?
– not that I've read any of those books, but my kid has.)
Wow,
that paragraph got totally
derailed! … what I meant to say was: Despite some sloppy
art/editing inside, this was an unexpectedly better issue, a pleasant
change. Too bad it's most of the way through writer Fabian Nicieza's run,
because even if he's finally getting a handle on this book, next
issue is his last. His replacement by Tom DeFalco was announced a
couple of months ago.
Justice League
#5
“Part
Five”
The
brand new assembly of heroes vs.
Darkseid … who hands them their collective butts. Superman is
captured. Batman and Green Lantern Hal Jordan have a heart to heart,
well worthy of quotation: Batman: “Waht are you trying to prove?”
– GL: “I'm not trying to prove anything.”
– “Then who
are you trying to live up to?” – “Don't
act like you know me. You don't.” – “I bet no one really
does.” – “Is that
your superpower? Psychoanalysis?” – “We're just somewhat …
alike.” – “You and I are nothing
alike,” GL scoffs. – “We're alongside an alien,
an Amazon,
a human lightning
bolt,
a cyborg
and an Aquaman,”
Batman explains. “As far as I can tell, you
and I
are the only normal people here.” And there we have the
explanation for why
the early focus of this series has been on these two characters …
the only “normal” humans in the midst of demigods. (In Wonder
Woman's case, I mean that literally, although at this point in her
history even she does not know that – remember, this is five years
ago.) Not that GL necessarily buys it: “Wearing a batsuit is
normal?”
– “No, it's insane,” as Bruce starts to peel back his mask. –
“So you're taking it off? Now?”
– Bruce stands unmasked: “My
name is Bruce Wayne.”
– GL's reaction?: “Who the hell is Bruce
Wayne?”
So, just five years in the past, one of the richest men in the
DCnUniverse can stand unmasked and unrecognized?!
Wouldn't that be like Donald Trump standing unrecognized in front of
somebody in our world? Or maybe Hal Jordan is
that dumb and uninformed?
Anyway,
Bruce goes on to let himself be captured to save Superman – sending
GL to rally the others. Actually, GL is
maturing rapidly as a character: “Stay focused, Barry. This is
the End of the
World,
remember? This isn't about me.”
Which dumbfounds Flash: “This isn't
about you?
I'd say hell had frozen over … if it wasn't right in front of us.”
Of course, the “hell” they face is nothing compared to what
Bruce ends up in – Boom Tubed through to Apokalips!
Then
there are more sketch pages: Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Do
we finally get a back-up next issue? Please?
Wonder Woman
#5
“Lourdes”
This
issue introduces a new character called Lennox who claims to be
Wonder Woman's brother. He tasks her with being on the Tower Bridge
in London at a certain time, where appears Poseidon … who looks
more like a cross between a squid and Boss Nass from Star
Wars Episode I.
We find out some more about the fallout of Zeus' supposed death.
A
couple of random notes. Wonder Woman refers to Zola as her “aunt.”
Wouldn't she be her “step-mother,” in a sense? The art in this
issue is not By Cliff Chiang; it looks okay except for Wonder Woman's
eyes which look “off,” a bit goofy-looking.
This
is a polarizing series, it seems. There are people who loath the
series, there are people who love it. I'm somewhere in the middle.
I've generally been enjoying it, but it doesn't seem to be going much
of anywhere real fast. One thing I really didn't notice so much
until after reading reviews of the earlier issues, but the
self-consciously “clever” wordplay is starting to annoy me now
that my attention has been called to it.
I'm
strongly leaning toward dropping this comic back to digital.
Supergirl
#5
“Homecoming”
The
red sunstone leads Kara to a blue star system, where she finds the
dead Argo City – and then starts telling her the story left by her
father when he put her into suspended animation in a pod before the
death of Krypton. Then, just before the sunstone's recording plays
out, she sees her father evidently killed – after shouting, “<You!
How
did you get in here?! … What are you doing? Stop!
You can't
– >” An alien appears, they fight – this girl fights a lot.
It turns out the female creature that attacks her is one of the
World Killers – which leaves her for dead, pinned like a fly
against a wall, and heads for Earth.
The
World Killer is not alone if the opening page's dialogue is any
indication. A couple of questions: So her powers are weakened
under the rays of a more energetic blue sun? I thought previously
the idea was that blue suns “supercharged” Kryptonians' powers?
That mysterious “heat power” appears again – and Kara makes
conscious use of it. But she could have accomplished the same thing
with her heat vision, right?
One
thing that remains great on this series is Mahmoud Asrar's art,
especially Kara's facial expressions as waves of emotion crash over
her.
Batman
#5
“Face
the Court”
Whoa!
The core of this book cannot be adequately summarized, just
described in vague terms. Weakened by a week's captivity in a maze
of horrors, maddened by hunger and thirst conveyed very well by an
almost desiccated look to his face, thirst that can only be slaked by
reluctant sips from a fountain that he knows is drugged, Bruce is
being driven slowly insane. There is an effectiveness in the
depiction of this that can't be reproduced here; Capullo uses even
the orientation of the page to convey his faltering grip on reality.
The drawback is that this issue could have really
used page numbers at a couple of points … when you're reading a
book that is inverted 180 degrees, turning the right page takes you
backward
in the story.
This
tale is bookended by Gordon and Bullock's helpless vigil by the
Signal, which Bullock has christened “Siggy.” Gordon meditates
aloud why they keep hanging on to hope. He mentally surveys “the
other guys” – Batman's allies – although this is done from the
point of view of an omniscient narrator unless we are to understand
that Gordon knows one of those allies is Bruce Wayne's butler. I
doubt that's the case, at least explicitly. … Then the Signal
burns out, and …
… Robin says
“Please.”
I had
to mark this on my calendar!
I
can definitely see why this issue created such a buzz. The following
review assesses it a perfect ten out of ten.
Birds of Prey #5
“Chokepoint”
Confusion
reigns, and not just for the reader. The Birds have different
memories of what just happened. Is this now a dream or an
hallucination? The issue is narrated by Black Canary, therefore
would it be hers? Whatever, after beating back an assault on them,
they go their separate ways, which allows for some good character
development. Black Canary does think she knows what's up with the
overall plot. They regroup, but Starling does not show – she has
gone to a different location where she is ambushed – and thinks
Canary set her up. (That last bit's not narrated by Canary, which
seems to blow my hypothesis – I don't think it was strong enough to
be a theory anyway.)
The
only think I didn't like in this issue is an old issue I don't think
I've commented on – the coloring around our heroines' noses.
They're always red, looking like they've all got ths sniffles. Take
some Claritin already! – I said “in this issue. For the first
time, I really don't like the cover by Finch. Although painted, it
looks too manga-esque,
and I particularly don't like Starling's face.
Catwoman
#5
“This
has got to be dirty.”
Selina
manages to save herself from her half-mile fall – the physics are
unlikely, but …. We find in her inner'logue that it's been a few
weeks since the death of her friend Lola, and exactly what she was up
to becomes a little clearer. She manages to defeat Reach, who graces
us with a verbal explanation of her power – regarding Catwoman's
survival, “That
was impressive. And this is coming from a metahuman who fires
anti-gravity beams
from her hands. … You can imagine that I'm not easy to 'Wow'.”
Anyway, Selina nonetheless puts her down, seteals her bag … and
later finds to her astonishment that it is almost a half-million
dollars. She'd thought it was about ten grand. Sometimes March's
art is
priceless – the look on Selina's face as she's just counted the
money. Unfortunately, she doesn't know that it's dirty
Gotham cop money,
which brings down overwhelming force which succeeds in capturing her.
In the meantime, we do get to see her briefly living it up, treating
herself in a spa.
Yep,
this book continues to be a bit of a dirty pleasure.
Nightwing
#5
“'Til
Death Do Us Part”
My
initial note said, “New Orleans, but I don't think that
specif[ically] plays into story.” I was wrong. Where else would
you put a story that is driven by a black voodoo witch? With that
realization, I kind of just have to sigh at the cliché.
Anyway,
as to the overall plot being developed, Dick is still mystified over
the Book of Names. He fights a demon and its (black voodoo witch)
conjurer who is trying to take one of the clowns from Haly's Circus
who had apparently made the mistake of marrying her then leaving.
Maybe he found out she was a voodoo witch? Ho hum as far as that
goes. But in the last scene of the book, it turns out that Raya –
Dick's old redheaded friend in the circus he's been hooking up with
but who's now giving him the cold shoulder is actually conspiring
with the villain Saito (from the first couple of issues) – who is
revealed to be one Raymond, one of Dick's old circus friends, whom he
thought was killed in the same incident (I think) as the Flying
Graysons.
Legion of Super-Heroes
#5
“One
Day a Thousand Years from Now...”
I'm
pretty sure this is the first time the great Walt Simonson has drawn
a complete issue of Legion.
According to the Comic Book Database, he did a couple of things during the 1990s Reboot
era, but just short stories such as in that current iteration's
Legion of
Super-Heroes
#100. I must admit that, as much as I like Simonson in most things
he's done – Thor in the 1980s, Orion ca. 2000 most specifically
– I
don't think he's a perfect fit for the Legion. It's not bad, by any
means. Just not quite right. In my opinion. It may partially be
the inkers, but I'm not sure.
Anyway,
this issue is a bit of a break, an hour-by-hour day-in-the-life tale,
one- to two-page vignettes focussing on individual or small groups of
Legionnaires. It's something Levitz has always done well, balancing
character-development pieces with progression of plot and hints of
things to come. Do we see every current Legionnaire? – The absence
of XS is distressing to me! Please bring her back.
I
am struck (stricken?) by how much things have changed in a generation
or so (really, has it been almost forty
years?
Good Lord!). Way back in 1974 there was a definite sense that Dave
Cockrum was sneaking something naughty by the Comics Code Authority
with what looked very much like Star Boy's head poking out from the
covers in Dream Girl's bed. (“The Silent Death,” p. 2, Superboy
[starring the
Legion of Super-Heroes]
#201, Apr 1974 – of course, SB must have been sleeping pretty
deeply not to have been awakened by her “SHREEKKK!
A Legionnaire is
dying!!”
And, of course, I wasn't thinking of such things as twelve-year-old
me was gazing in pubescent lust at her negligee! How practical was
it? – I didn't think of such things, either,
just drooled....) Now there are routine multiple, clear
indications of sexual relations between the various Legionnaires,
both heterosexual and homosexual. Sometimes, when I think about it,
it's a little creepy that fifty-year-old me is reading stories about
Whatsit Boy
and Whosit Girl
containing such elements. Of course, they are not drawn
as “boy” or “girl” at all.
Aquaman
#5
“L^O^S^T”
(Like
how I included the Atlantean glyph in the title just as it was on the
page?) This issue is mainly a character piece. The US Navy calls
Arthur in. They have retrieved the “black box” from the crashed
ancient Atlantean ship in the Trench and it's doing weird things,
giving off a piercing shriek. Atlantean raiders attack; Arthur
pursues them. The airship they're making a getaway in blows up, and
Arthur falls out of the sky, landing with a great THOOMM
in the middle of a desert. (Okay, a little geography here: The
Trench was in the Mid Atlantic, right? The Navy would doubtless have
taken their find to a base on the eastern coast of the US, right?
Atlantis is in the Atlantic Ocean, right? – So how come the
Atlantean “aquajet” flying over a desert?) Aquaman – lost in
the middle of a desert – that ain't good. Or, as he himself puts
it: “Uh-oh.” He finds the wreckage, and some water, as well as
the “black box” – which activates, displaying a holographic
record of the ancient Atlantean ship's last message. And gives hints
that there is more to the sinking of Atlantis than Aquaman ever knew.
Conveniently, the Navy shows up and rescues Arthur – leading to
humorous headlines and more fodder for comedians' jokes, e.g., “Did
you hear about what happened to Aquaman? … He got lost
in the desert. … Talk about a fish out of water.
… So what will he do next?
… Take a nap in a tuna net?” Returning to the lighthouse, he
finds that Mera has gone out for dog food. Next issue focusses on
her adventures there....
The
character development here is provided in the context of Arthur's
time in the desert, where as he grows more and more dehydrated he has
hallucinations, his insecurities come to the surface. One thing –
I don't think the old hour-out-of-water limit works any more. I may
have commented on this before, but he and Mera seem to sleep on in a
regular bed in an air environment. I'd hate to have to get up and go
get a drink (breath?) of water every
hour just to sleep in a regular bed! Also note that both he and
Mera seem to be amphibious. The Atlantean raiders, on the other
hand, wear water-filled “space-suits” for their foray into the
surface world.
Superman
#5
“Menace!”
Is
Superman insane? Has he gone fascist? These are the questions that
Metropolitans ask themselves as he tears through their city,
“cleaning up” loose ends (that is, captives from past adventures)
by wiping them out. He's displaying elemental type powers as he
resorts even to murder. Incidentally, the plaintive look in Titano's
eyes just before Superman fries him is truly moving.
That's good art, good storytelling. Kudos to Nicola Scott! Clark
is, of course, nowhere to be found – and his coworkers, including
Lois, try frantically to find him, culminating in her screaming out
“CLARK!”
just as Superman drops his most vehement media critic from high in
the Metropolis sky. Look, I don't know, but the way I read it
there's a strong hint she knows Clark and Superman are one and the
same.
The
last page – floating in orbit around the Earth, covered with the
“roaches,” Superman hears.
You
know, the only thing I don't like about George Perez's run opening
the New 52 Superman,
which is ending too soon with the next issue, is the overall theme of
distrust of superheroes. I just don't think that was the way to
begin. But it's being carried off very well.
Batman: The Dark
Knight #5
“Handful
of Dust”
Scarecrow
torments Bruce with his fears, especially that he won't and can't
save everyone. Then he hits him with the new toxin and flees.
Superman arrives as Bruce goes into full-on 'roid-rage mode. Is the
shot of his blow to Superman's jaw as a double-page spread really
necessary? – or just egregious story decompression? It really
doesn't add anything to the story, which I think would read just as
well jumping from the page before to the page after. The same is
arguably true of the single-page pinup shot of Superman gazing down
on Bruce right after he arrived. Oh, but really, this book is more
about Finch's art than anything else. It's certainly not about
story-logic. Superman graciously declares his regret as he knocks
Batman from high up in the sky – how'd they get 'way up there,
anyway? This issue is just a lot more prettiness that doesn't hold
up so well. “Prettiness”? We didn't get our shot of the White
Rabbit or Jai this issue. Darn.
Justice League Dark
#5
“In
the Dark, Finale: There was a Crooked Man”
One
question that occurred to me when reading this was, “How can
Deadman be seen and communicate with people without a host-body?”
The explanation is here.
All
this story ends up being much ado about nothing in a certain sense:
Madame Xanadu created the crisis to bring the team together to
confront some greater but still unspecified menace – but only
succeeded in alienating them. Tragically, June ends up back in
Enchantress and all is “well” on that front, but worse is now
coming ….
As
good as this issue continues to look, I'm leaning strongly toward it
joining some of those other titles as digital purchases....
Teen Titans
#5
“Over
Before It's Begun”
The
answer to the cover question is, No.
This issue is one long fight. The new “Teen Titans” are not a
team, but rather fight a series of individual battles. Impulsive Kid
Flash is taken out early. Superboy ultimately wins, but between Red
Robin and Solstice's exposition, enough doubt is instilled in him to
send him against NOWHERE wanting answers.
One
interesting turn of phrase in here: (Don't-Call-Me) Wonder Girl
boasts that her lasso is a “grift” from the gods. The little
thief! Is she still the daughter of Zeus? If so, when is Hera going
to show up...?
See
previous comments … despite which, I'm liking this series. It's
not the “Teen Titans,” no matter what it's called. Which brings
to mind something that occurred to me since last month. I haven't
checked back, but didn't Superboy and the creepy Templar refer to
them as “Teen Titans” early on in the Superboy
series … and yet at the end of last issue Tim seemed to be naming
them something out of the blue...?
Legion: Secret Origin
#4 of 6
“Coming
Together”
The
threats both through the wormhole near planet Anotrom (does that name
have anything to do with Trom, Element Lad's homeworld?) and against
R. J. Brande on Earth escalate. The Security Directorate seems to do
a lot of talking but not much else until they call in the young
Legionnaires for help. Even with new members such as Chameleon Boy,
Colossal Boy (Admiral Allon's son), and Invisible Kid, they need more
raw power. Phantom Girl is the one who thinks of recruiting Superman
from the past.
Continued
solidness. I think, as is often the case, it will read better in
whole, though.
A
comment and a question: I like the reference to an Asimov circuit as
something that supposedly keeps robots from harming humans. Somebody
remind Brainiac 5 to put one in COMPUTO, all right? Speaking of B5,
since when is his force field belt unique technology? That means
there's only the one, right? Now, Booster Gold from the 25th
century but currently in the 21st
century still sports a Legion Flight Ring he stole from a museum,
along with one of Brainiac 5's force field belts...? Oops.
Star Trek/Legion of
Super-Heroes #4 of 6
(IDW)
The
two mixed teams in different times ultimately find the two points of
temporal disturbance: 1) In the deep past, Brainiac 5, Spock,
Chekov, Saturn Girl, McCoy and Cosmic Boy find cave-man Vandal Savage
with futuristic technology (the question is begged: Has the Legion
ever gone up against Vandal Savage?); 2) on this alternate
23rd-century
Earth, Kirk, Sulu, Uhura, Lightning Lad, Shadow Lass, and Chameleon
Boy find Emperor Flint. I think Savage and Flint are the same guy,
indicated by the final page where each team realizes who they are up
against being split right down the middle of his face. There is some
interesting repartee between the respective crews in their mixed
groups, some of it predictable, some of it a bit stilted. So far,
for all that this is a dream pairing, and Roberson's a good writer,
this story is not so impressive. And the art is still disappointing
– Moys, did you forget how to draw since you had what I considered
to be a very good run on the 1990s Reboot Legion?
And colorist – Lightning Lad should be a ginger, not have sandy
brown hair as he does here. And editor(?) – Timber Wolf, shown on the cover, is not appearing in this series.
Questions
and Comments: Is Emperor Flint's Castellan supposed to be a Vulcan?
Or a Coluan? His features look Vulcan, but the skin is more Coluan
emerald green. And hasn't Brainiac 5 been established to have red
blood in past LSH
stories? No, I don't have a reference, unfortunately – except for
a fan fiction piece published long, long ago in The
Legion Outpost
which would not be canonical. Well, here Dr. McCoy is non-plussed to
see that he has green blood too.
(Random
Rambling: Maybe Coluans and Vulcans are really the same race in
alternate universes? I actually had thought 'way back when Star
Trek: Voyager
came on that a deeper green skin color like a Coluan's would have
been a more … er, logical
… racial variant for a Vulcan than the black African skin tone of
Tuvok. By the way, I wonder how many people really pick up on the
fact that Spock is supposed to actually have a light green cast to
his skin and was usually made up that way. He's certainly not
colored that way here, where his skin tone is the same pinkish as his
Caucasian human companions.)
I
am liking some of the background and design work here. In the
spaceport on Earth, several different models of (30th-century)
Legion Cruisers can be seen. The uniforms of the Imperial Planets
Star Fleet are like the movie Trek
(23rd-century)
in cut, actually a bit cooler looking in the blue-grey color here;
what I take to be Marines have uniforms much like (30th-century)
Science Police.
There's
a lot to like here – but mainly because I'm predisposed to like it
because I love both properties. With two more issues to go, chances
are waning to ramp things up to something more than pedestrian.
*
* *
Digital
comics, with a common Bat-theme this month ....
I, Vampire
#5
This issue is narrated by Tig, the girl accompanying Andrew and his human friend – Tig being the girl who would just as soon see him dead as all the other vampires. They are in Gotham City, where of course Batman is immediately on to them, but they end up in an uneasy alliance and face to face with Mary....
Batwing
#5
Batman goes to Africa to help David with the guard unit in the opening of a new museum to the Kingdom, which of course ends up destroyed. But David continues to follow clues toward Massacre, toward Giza. Of course, this is Africa. We must see the pyramids.
Cheers!
And thanks for reading and reading and reading and reading and
reading.....
Wed 22 Feb-Sun 26 Feb
