Possibly
the biggest DC Comics-related news from the past month is that Warner
Brothers appears to have pretty much won the court case that began
long ago when the Siegel and Shuster heirs tried to recapture the
rights to Superman
that the creators signed away to National Comics 'way back at the
dawn of modern comics history, attempting to nullify a deal the heirs
themselves had subsequently concluded with Warner Brothers, who now
owns DC:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324442304578233962555228832.html.
I'm no lawyer, and I have no idea if this means this long-enduring
mess is now over for good – my bet would be not given the nature of
litigation and the astronomical worth of the property, but maybe I'm
wrong. Regardless of the tough issues surrounding creators' rights –
and there are deeply-held convictions both ways – that in itself
would be best, in my opinion.
Beside that, there was also news that Keith Giffen's tenure on Legion of Super-Heroes will last only two issues, which seems quite a sudden and unexpected change of course. So much so that it's a bit worrisome. Paul Levitz seemed to delight in the prospect of working with his old cohort again, and I thought he had more clout than that. There's plenty of other indication that editorial at DC is in shambles ...
... None more so than the supreme bad judgment and worse taste that was just announced a few days ago that the comics coming out in April will be branded "WTF Certified": http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=43478. It does not stand for "World Trade Federation," either. That is juvenile and offensive. I can hardly wait to explain it to my wife when she sees my comics are all "WTF Certified."
As my son would say, "SMH." Let's look at some comics....
Beside that, there was also news that Keith Giffen's tenure on Legion of Super-Heroes will last only two issues, which seems quite a sudden and unexpected change of course. So much so that it's a bit worrisome. Paul Levitz seemed to delight in the prospect of working with his old cohort again, and I thought he had more clout than that. There's plenty of other indication that editorial at DC is in shambles ...
... None more so than the supreme bad judgment and worse taste that was just announced a few days ago that the comics coming out in April will be branded "WTF Certified": http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=43478. It does not stand for "World Trade Federation," either. That is juvenile and offensive. I can hardly wait to explain it to my wife when she sees my comics are all "WTF Certified."
As my son would say, "SMH." Let's look at some comics....
“Heaven
Sent”
In the
aftermath of the Battle of Washington DC, the Earth is recovering
quickly and the new Wonders are the talk of the world. Hawkgirl
tracks down Alan Scott, who is having a hard time dealing with the
death of his lover, but who is no more willing to join any “team.”
The World Army's rapprochement with Sloan places him on the same
command level as Khan, who continues covert operations against his
new “partner” with the help of Dodds and the Sandmen. The latter
recover Michael Holt – the refugee from the main DCnU Earth (does
it officially have a number? – I don't think it's Earth 1), who has
undergone a bit of an attitude adjustment since last we saw him
(issue #1?). Sloan is also continuing his effort to develop his own
“New Wonders.”
The
art this time is by Yilderay Cinar, still great and perfectly fitting
this story that is, honestly, continuing to interest me more than
most of the rest of the New 52. A couple of questions/comments …
Why are they making the new android Red Tornado obviously female? –
Why either specific gender? – I notice (and this may have been
revealed previously) that Hawkgirl is now Kendra Munoz-Saunders,
apparently a clone of Tomb
Raider's
Lara Croft in her civilian identity.
Annotations
and Commentary:
http://atthehallofjustice.blogspot.com/2013/01/earth-2-7.html
“Family
Matters, Part Two”
 |
| Page 1 - Art by Kevin Maguire |
But
the issue is not all Kara … Once again we have separate stories as
Kara on the one hand and new sort-of brother-sister team of Damian
and Helena follow up two leads as to who's been stealing Wayne
Industry's money. Kara is in the Congo when she encounters the
aforesaid child-soldiers – not Joseph Kony's but she has seen Kony
2012
– wielding aforesaid honking big blaster, which is Apokoliptian.
And then the children and the satellite dish she was investigating
are Boom Tube'd out of her grasp – but she has the weapon she
captured as proof that Darkseid is involved on this Earth to show
Helena. … Who already knows. With Damian, Helena encounters in a
snow-covered landscape first a pack of super-wolves, then manages to
recover some data from their own target satellite dish, then is
attacked by an Apokoliptian man-wolf. In the end, Damian must tell
“Father” about the Apokoliptian presence on Earth, but agrees to
leave Helena's existence out of it. … And the inevitable
and-man-I-want-to-see-it
meeting of sort-of father and daughter is put off....
I'd
just be repeating myself to say how much I love
this title.
“Superman
at the End of Days”
Well,
this is about to be as fractured a write-up as is time itself in the
story, which is … well, no other way to put it but “pure
Morrison.”
We
get to see Clark's prom night, and him talking with Ms Nyxly and
getting the full story on Mxyzptlk and Vyndktvx, before last issue?,
a flash-forward to a future show-down with the Anti-Superman Gang.
We find out that Superman doesn't drink – that ain't new – that
her 5th-Dimensional words sometimes come out with such thunder that
they make his ears bleed (but wouldn't they then destroy Metropolis
at the same time?). Reading along, I immediately perceived that the
“million-pointed multi-spear” has something to do with the
Multitude. It seems that Jor-El's and later his son's successful
resistence of the Multitude thwarted the designs of Vyndktvx, who is
now taking his revenge on Clark's whole
life at once.
Ma and Pa Kent died in a truck crash, instigated by Vyndktvx,
on the night of Clark and Lana's prom. It seems that in this
3rd-Dimensional life Ms Nyxly has three wishes: The first brought
her to this world and reunited her with Mxyzptlk for a while. The
second erased Clark Kent's “death” a few issues back. The third
– oops, she's killed before she can wish it. And in the climax
Superman is challenged across all the time of his life, on the
rooftop cradling Mrs Nyxly's body, at the prom having just learned of
the death of Ma and Pa, and in the future seeming defeated by the
Anti-Superman Gang – “THERE
YOU ARE!”
And
next, we're promised “The Second
Death of Superman” (my emphasis).
I'm
like the guy in the Sonic commercial – Whoaaahhhh
ya hah! My mind is blown!
And
that's not all …
“For
My Next Trick...”
…
is
a short study of Mxyzptlk and Nyxly … Ferlin
Nyxly, whom Anj recalled
as a 1970s-era villain. Mxyzptlk's greatest trick? – having a son.
Reviews:
http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-action-comics-15.html
and ...-back-up-feature.html
“Death of the Family: The
Dirt Nap”
This
issue takes place after Batman
#14. The Penguin must go away due to his encounter with the Joker in
the back-up of that issue. He leaves Ogilvy in charge, but as I'm
sure we all saw coming, Ogilvy himself is angling for control as
“Emperor Penguin.” Ogilvy digs Poison Ivy up from where he had
left her buried alive, and makes a deal with her to work together.
But the main battle in the issue is Batman against Clayface. Batman
figures out how Ivy was controlling Clayface, even constructing false
memories of a life and marriage together in order to secure him as
her back-up. In breaking Ivy's hold over the monster, he seemingly
breaks Clayface. It's well complemented by the second feature....
“Love
in Bloom”
…
which
gives the background on Clayface in Arkham Asylum, being courted by
Ivy's false letters of love. This is what Clayface remembers, his
rage building, until he leaves the Gotham sewers bent on revenging
himself on Poison Ivy.
Oh,
this is so much better than that crap Tony Daniel was giving us for
the first year or so!
“Lost
and Found”
Even
though this is a new writer, Fabian Nicieza, whom I normally like,
I've lost so much interest in this series that I've already dropped
it from my pre-order. Maybe I'll keep getting it digitally, maybe
not. With the given that Nicieza's working at a handicap at least
for this issue, finishing off a pre-existing arc, there's nothing
here to keep me coming back. The conclusion of the Father Lost
story, thank goodness, and not before the police woman all but
discovers David is Batwing, but even that's not enough to make me
look forward to the next issue. I'll read it if I get it, probably
get it digitally if I don't, just to get a better idea of a more
Nicieza Batwing
… but this title is in real danger of falling off my radar
completely.
“H'El
on Earth: Shattered Steel!”
Well,
this is a bit of an unexpected treat. I always liked Roger
Robinson's art in the early 2000s on Gotham
Knights.
He provides the bulk of the pages here.
In
order to save Superboy, Superman takes the stricken clone to his
arctic Fortress of Solitude, remotely consults both Cyborg and Dr
Veritas in his efforts to stop the deterioration of his
three-stranded
DNA
(human-Kryptonian-unclassifiable),
but ultimately he himself hits on the idea of garbing the lad in his
own Kryptonian armor (donning one of his old tee-shirt and jeans sets
from early Action
Comics).
Superboy is saved – but his powers then go wonky. Meanwhile, H'El
continues his subversion of Supergirl, who has let her longing for
her homeworld's restoration basically drive all critical reason from
her mind, then leaves her to go attack Superman and Superboy in the
Fortress.
It's
interesting – and I hadn't noticed it before – that H'El's
backwards “House of El” \S/ is not
visible when he is with Supergirl.
“Death
of the Family: But Here's the Kicker”
 |
| Page 1 |
Whoa.
I must say that is one creepy-looking
opening page. I haven't liked the idea of the flayed-face Joker ever
since he … uh … lost
face
… in Detective
Comics
#1. But here – and in last month's Batgirl
as well, it makes for a downright frightening
visual.
Opening
and closing with a parallel inner'logue by Bruce, we get some insight
into his physiopsychological attempts at “reading” the Joker. It
depends on interpretation of pupil dilation, but as you might
imagine, the Joker's eyes … well, in Batman's words: “His pupils
stay fixed,
tiny points of blackness, the eyes of someone who hates everything,
everyone. // Eyes that let in no light, that see through the
darkness, stare into you, each pupil a tiny black pearl fixed in
space. // A bullet coming at you. Eyes that say he's more than a
man, eyes that say he knows
you.” I maybe would have expected likening them to a sharks' eyes,
but this is maybe as disturbing. And it gets … more so.
It
might have ended up being more effective if the revelation at the end
of this issue hadn't been telegraphed in some of the crossovers.
Anyway,
the main conflict here is between Batman and his associates,
assembled in the cave, who now have plenty of reason to believe that
the Joker does know their identities, and who only now learn that
Batman has always had reason to believe the Joker discovered the
location of the cave in one of their early encounters. We get a new
explanation for the giant Joker card, implicitly a continual warning
to Bruce of the ever-present danger, actually subconscious since he
will not admit, seemingly even to himself, the very real possibility.
Bruce argues that setting the Bat-family against each other is
exactly what the Joker wants, and by turning on him they are playing
right into his hands.
Oh,
and the Joker has had control of Arkham Asylum for a long time right
under Batman's nose.
At
the end, we get The Revelation – Batman's inner'logue again: “So
now, Bruce, … tell yourself he's just a man, like you. // Prove it
to yourself. // Stare back at him, into those damn eyes. Stare into
them until he flinches. // Until you see them work like human eyes.
Until you see the pupils change. // It happens all of a sudden, just
a tiny shift, but there it is. You stare back and you see it. The
smallest flicker in the pupils, but still. And you say to yourself,
see? Beneath it all he's just what you thought he was. // A man. //
And ignore the fact that what you saw those tiny pupils do was
expand.
Expand for you after you stared back long enough. Ignore the face
that what you saw those black points expand with … // … was
love.”
Yeeesh.
Were
it not obvious that the Joker has forced his way inside Bruce's head,
the cover brilliantly makes it explicit!
“Red
Light, Green Light”
The
Joker and the Riddler in Arkham. What is it that the Joker shows the
Riddler at the end that rattles him so?
I
must say I'm enjoying this story arc much more than I did the whole
“Owls” thing. This was a great, complex issue, with easily the
creepiest Joker I've seen ever. And that's including Heath Ledger in
The
Dark Knight.
“Death
of the Family: Little Big Man”
This
takes place immediately after the main story of Batman
#15. Damian has been left in the cave, ostensibly to hold the fort.
He's incensed that the “Wing, Reds and Girls” are out there –
even though “They
pointed their fingers at him”
while he, Damian, was “the only
one who stood by him.” Notice it's “Wing,” Nightwing; “Reds,”
Red Robin and Red Hood; “Girls,” Batgirl and – ? – I think we
see how Damian views his “brothers” in the “family.” Heh.
Anyway,
obedient as always, Damian undertakes to find Alfred. He tracks him
to the zoo – and ends up captured by the Joker who proceeds to
mentally torture him until he identifies his and Batman's greatest
fear being responsible for the other's death. Giving rise to the
cliffhanger of a Batman-clad figure to attack Damian.
Some
people don't like this title. I do. After the first story arc,
which ultimately did pay off but almost lost me along the way, I've
found it consistently good and definitely the title that strives most
to track with what's happening in the main Batman
title. This issue also refers quite a bit to the events recounted in
The
Killing Joke,
solidifying those events in some form being part of the current
continuity. Wasn't it a circus in the original? Because I
definitely got the feeling this zoo was meant to be the same place
the Joker tortured Jim Gordon.
 |
| Page 8 |
“Death
of the Family: Collision – Part Two: Engagement”
I'm
finding this issue hard to summarize, so I'm just fleshing out some
of my notes. Batgirl ends up having to play along with the Joker in
order to save her mother. In an intermittent flashback, the Joker
(face intact) torments his psychologist in Arkham. James is
apparently not working with the Joker but rather manipulating him.
Right. I'm going to love
seeing how well that works out for Junior! Visually, he reminds me a
lot of Elijah Wood's character from Sin
City.
Demon
Knights
#15
“In:
The Moment of Forgetting”
The
storytelling in this issue provides interesting visuals with
intermittent flashes of the violence of battle popping in here,
there, and yonder in the midst of the main narrative. It's quite
cinematic. Merlin revives, the rain of Avalon washes away all
enchantments and sends the invading armies packing. With Arthur, the
wizard forges the Demon Knights into his Watchers for the Storm
(e.g., Stormwatch) and sends them back to Earth … where they go
their separate ways. We find that as in legend, Merlin does age
backwards, but it's not steady, rather in bursts. Oh, and Etrigan is
reunited with Jason Blood.
There
is a lot in this issue, which suddenly wraps up all the first arcs –
the next issue will take up thirty years later. Without Paul
Cornell. I was already losing interest in it, and with his departure
I think I'm dropping back to digital, perhaps even wait-for-trade.
“The
Black Diamond Probability, Mission 1.3: Darkness Rising”
“Is
it just going to be more cryptic unhelpful BS you've been giving us?”
I agree, Slade.
The
Team makes it to Sentinel Island and Slade ends up possessed by
Eclipso. Other stuff happens along the way, but I'm just not into it
and may even set aside the one more pre-ordered issue I have coming.
I'm outta here....
Legion
Lost
#15
“Heroes
Die!”
Continuing
the battle of the Lost Legionnaires plus the Ravagers plus Harvest and his
goons vs.
the invading aliens. Wildfire's containment suit is destroyed, and
for maybe the first time there is in-story acknowledgment that the
loss of the suit doesn't kill him, but that here in the past there is
no way to get him into a new suit, which means he's consigned to a
sort of formless limbo. Really horrible if you think about it.
Gates has a crisis of confidence and therefore I'm sure he will be
key to victory in the end – next issue. Captain Adym has a plan
but risks killing millions here in his past to save quintillions in
the future. Nobody wants to go that way except Harvest, who turns on
his own allies, like I didn't see that
coming.
Just
one more issue to suffer through.
Hopefully
the loss of this second Legion
title will lead to at least a marginal increase in the rather
lackluster sales on the main title, if only from elimination of
oversaturation. I'm not terribly optimistic about that, however,
because I wonder how many non-Legion
fans such as myself – who were already getting both just because
they're Legion
– were getting just this crappy title and would then be motivated to try out
LSH.
“H'El
on Earth: Into Kandor”
Although
on the cover Supergirl should be able to see the backwards \S/ on
H'El's chest, nowhere is that the case inside. That's obviously a
story point. The cover is, of course, not part of the narrative, but
rather a sales tool.
Back
in her own undersea fortress, Supergirl continues to be duped by
H'El. It's got to be that, or this has turned into a character I
can't really like. It's hard enough watching her be fooled.
“Can't
really like” goes a little too far … for now.
Anyway,
she remembers a friend she left behind on Krypton. H'El returns from
Superman's Fortress and takes her
there, continuing to work on her. He sends her into Kandor, where he
projects an image of himself as he supposedly once was, claiming that
he himself cannot enter Kandor. Why? Is it even true? He
manipulates her into taking Kandor's power crystal. I'm tempted to
call it the omegahedron.
Kara encounters her comatose friend, and the possibility of saving
her tips Supergirl into finally submitting to H'El's plan, sealed
with … a kiss.
Yeesh.
Creepy as all hell. Accommodating the fact that this is an
emotionally vulnerable young girl who has gone through a lifetime
worth of trauma in a very short time only goes so far.
I'll
never be able to unsee that image. Thanks, DC.
Unless
I'm missing it on the typically artistic but hard to follow first
page where the credits are wound along the spiraling body of a
serpent, there's no individual chapter title for this side story of
Maggie Sawyer confronting her own demons and managing a little
victory by keeping one of the desperate parents from becoming a
martyr. JHW3 only provides the art for the framing first and last
pages, which are designed to complement each other while setting the
context for Maggie's momentary reverie during the moment when
Batwoman and Wonder Woman are dropping out of the sky into Gotham
City.
Birds
of Prey
#15
“Sayonara,
Katana”
Finally,
we find out the Daggers' nefarious plot. They set the bomb to
devastate Yokohama and implicate Katana in the genocide. They intend
to die with her knowing that her name will be forever reviled. But
the Condor discovers them, and separately he and the Birds arrive to
share in Katana's final battle against the Daggers, which ends with
Katana chopping the bomb in half and averting the tragedy. Okay.
Somehow her victory over the Daggers' leader renders his underlings
impotent (not that way – or rather, I don't know...). The Birds
leave Japan, but Katana stays in her homeland (setting up her
appearance in her own new book and – one way or another – in
Justice
League of America).
Black Canary is still having sensations and runaway powers that she
associates with her “long dead” husband Kurt Lance. Back in
Gotham City, Batgirl proposes a new member to replace Katana … the
female Talon from her own book and annual. Starling figures, “Crap.
We're dead.”
“In
the Zone”
After
her encounter with the Joker, Selina is acting more reckless. She
takes a commision to break into some archives, where she seems to
become possessed by Eclipso. Oh. Him again. Yay. Other than that
gist, I don't know. It was a confusing mess that I'd just as soon
forget. If I honestly took anything away from this issue to
forget.
Andrew
Asberry's review cited below makes for far better reading.
“Death
of the Family: It Only Hurts When You Laugh”
This
crossover is doing its job from a marketing sense at least, in that
it's getting me to buy titles I otherwise wouldn't. I'm still not
getting everything
branded “DotF” – I'm still avoiding Suicide
Squad
– but this issue, like last, is better than I would have thought
given how bad the first issue was, and the fact that the writer is
still Scott Lobdell.
Incidentally,
there is a change in writer coming, and when Scott Snyder's cohort
James Tynion II comes along, I may well add this title to the
pre-order list.
Anyway,
this issue takes place sometime after Batman
#15, which means that Red
Hood
#14 does also.
Jason,
naked but for a towel around his waist and holding an overdosed girl
in his arms, is confronted by Harvey Bullock and the GCPD.
Naturally, he resists arrest, and the towel proves to be amazingly
adherent as he flits here, there, and yonder and manages to fight his
way to freedom. On the Outlaws' island base, we're treated to Roy's
technobabble as he works on their ship's “flux capacitator” (I
guess the extra “-at-” makes it a space ship rather than a time
machine) and Kory's continuing promiscuity, although she doesn't come
across as quite the goldfish-minded simpleton that she did in issue
#1. Their exchange is quite humorous, actually: Kory, “When I
first met you, I wanted to lie with you just to shut
you up.
/ Now, all I want to do is listen to you talk and share your genius
with me.” – Roy, “'Genius'? / Okay, I'll take that.” – “And
I, you.” Yowza. … Jason has gotten away from Harvey and his cops, all
right, leaving his girl friend in their care – he knows Harvey's a stand-up guy and will get her to a hospital – but then walks right
into a trap by the Joker, is captured and tormented toward the end of
convincing him the clown's been part of his life from the very
beginning, long before he ever became the second Robin. Finally,
he's dropped into a pit where there is already the unconscious Red
Robin. Harvey quickly puts evidence together to perceive that
Jason's been set up and uses the girl friend's cell phone to redial
its last call to “J/First Class,” telling him so. Roy and Kory
intercept the call and come running to Gotham City (her back in her
basically pasties attire, yeesh) but divert in response to a call
from Batgirl to help the Teen Titans who are also confronting the
Joker's minions.
“Death
of the Family: Cleaning House”
It's
clear by now that despite Bruce's protestations, the Joker does know
their identities. Just the fact that the
Batman
showed such a lapse of judgment is, I'm certain, going to be a major
take-away from this story arc. How can his associates put their
faith in him again?
Chuckles
comes for Dick through Haly's Circus. He kills the clown Jimmy,
breaks her out of Blackgate, Jokerizes her, and ultimately she dies
fighting Nightwing. In her final moments, briefly lucid, she
expresses her sorrow for all she did. Then he finds written on her
abdomen a message regarding the Joker's planned Big Event at
Amusement Mile, with entertainment to be provided by Haly's Circus,
whom he believed he had already sent safely away.
Earlier,
Dick had also tried to get Sonia to leave Gotham, but she stayed.
They end up kissing – but Dick pulls away again, unable to get out
of the shadow of her father's crime.
“Once
Upon a Dream”
Is
this a throwaway issue? Were it any other writer than Levitz I would
say so. But he tends to play for the long game, and plot
developments here will probably pay off long after I've forgotten
this issue. Well, except for the Legionnaires fighting dinosaurs.
Glorith
is mysteriously transported to 31st
-century Barcelona, which is brilliantly described by Mon-El as
“Totally beautiful and bizarre … An ancient religious temple,
grown to cover a whole city. // Long story about the architect, and –
/ no...” That last is when he catches sight of the temple-city
overrun by dinosaurs.” Portela captures the astonishment on his
face very well.
 |
| From Wikipedia |
The “temple” would be the Church of the Sagrada
Familia,
the centerpiece of the work of 19th
-20th
-century architect Antoni Gaudi í
Cornet. From Wikipedia, s.v. Barcelona:
“Especially remarkable is the work of architect Antoni Gaudi,
which can be seen throughout the city. His best-known work is the
immense but still unfinished church of the Sagrada Familia,
which has been under construction since 1882, and is still financed
by private donations. As of 2007, completion is planned for 2026.”
I guess they miss that target … by
about a thousand years!
… Portela's magnificent double-page spread when Mon-El and Ultra
Boy fly in reveals a believably extrapolated cityscape of a
millennium hence. Well, “believable” … except for the
dinosaurs....
Anyway,
it turns out that Glorith is unintentionally serving as the focus of
a major time storm that the Legionnaires are forced to deal with by
putting out fires (pun intended – one is time-shifted medieval
villagers about to burn “the witch” at the stake) – and
fighting dinosaurs – until they figure out what's going on and
Glorith constructs a shield cutting herself off from the temporal
fluxes. The issue ends with them clueless who might have been behind
the incident, however.
I'm
betting it will have something to do with the new Fatal Five, because
that's what's coming up, which we are reminded of by the Legion
Espionage Squad meeting and starting to think laterally regarding
their ongoing unsuccessful search for Tharok and the new Fatal Five.
And
did I mention the Legionnaires fight dinosaurs?
“Throne
of Atlantis, Chapter One”
Well,
“Shazam” is on the cover as part of the group shot. Is he going
to become part of the JL in this story?
After
a pretty much useless waste of a first page, a US ship's missiles
mysteriously bombard Atlantis. In retaliation, the Atlanteans
implement war plans designed by Aquaman himself. The first strike is
to send tidal waves striking the US coastal cities of Boston, Gotham,
and Metropolis. Superman and Wonder Woman are continuing their –
or are on another – date, with Wonder Woman getting a lesson in the
use of simple glasses to create a secret identity, and spring into
action to save some people. Superman is busy when he witnesses Vulko
save Lois. Aquaman is with Batman in Gotham, having come to consult
with his detective colleague (it's clear they're not friends)
regarding the mystery of fish fleeing (from where?), like before the
Trench event which opened Aquaman
#1.
 |
| Page 10 |
Ivan Reis' debut on art, however, looked as stunning as I've come to expect from him. I especially like Mera's sleeveless costume here, reminiscent of her classic 1960s garb.
“Shazam,
Chapter 8”
Billy
and Freddy are still pigging out on the money they acquired when last
we saw them. Billy seems to be a magnet for nefarious activity, and
witnesses some kind of apparition in a storefront window, warning him
of the coming of Black Adam … just in time for speak-of-the-devil
to appear, ready to throw down. Through the dialogue before that, we
find that saying “Shazam” doesn't cause Billy to change, but
rather just calls down lightning. Huh? Are there any damn rules and
– dare I use the term?, 'cause I sure as hell
ain't gonna say “continuity” – consistency with what has always
been part of the definition of the character here? If you're going
to take an old, extremely beloved character like the original Captain
Marvel and so transmogrify him that nothing
is recognizable anymore, why not just create your own damn character?
Or would that take too much work? It is, after all, easier to
destroy than to create.
 |
| Countdown #47 |
 |
| Final Crisis #3 |
Oh my
God. I just had a horrible thought. What happens if he decides to
go ahead and make Mary into … well, what would he call her? Mary
Shazam? We've already had one of the most wholesome characters in
comics history perverted beyond all recognition a few years ago (was
it by Grant Morrison?) as “Dark Mary Marvel.” I never want to
see anything like that again.
Annotation
and Commentary: To be added.
Aquaman
#15
“Throne
of Atlantis, Part Two”
So
it's “Part” here and “Chapter” in Justice
League.
I call authorial and
editorial FAIL.
Maybe
the flood in Gotham City is not as deep as it appears a first glance.
Maybe the Bat Signal was ripped off the roof by the tsunami and is
falling through the water on the first page when it looks to be at
least several yards beneath the surface. In any case, I bet this
event is never even referenced in the Bat
books. Ditto Metropolis in Superman
and Action.
DC “Universe” my ass.
This
issue sees increasing friction between Aquaman and the Justice
League, as they demand he bring Orm in. When the brothers'
confrontation doesn't look like it's working out that way, the League
jumps into action. And Aquaman strikes back.
These
two first chapters – er, parts – of “Throne of Atlantis” are okay, but still
nothing fantastic – and irksome in certain respects. Paul Pelletier is definitely a worthy successor
to Ivan Reis, however.
“H'El
on Earth: Because I'm a Scorpion”
Well,
this issue definitely has the funniest laugh-out-loud line of any
this month – Superboy's reaction upon meeting the Flash. Superboy:
“Wild – Are you, like, Man
Flash?”
– Flash: “What? Who would ever call himself 'Man Flash'?” –
“Well, I know this kid … uh
–”
Superman
and Superboy have a prison consultation with Lex Luthor that has a
creepy Silence
of the Lambs
vibe to it. Luthor drops hints as to Superboy's origin; either he
knows more than he's letting on or he wants to seem like he does. I
bet on the former. Our heroes must get into the Fortress of Solitude
before H'El uses the alien tech there to destroy the Solar System to
provide the power to go back in time to before the destruction of
Krypton. Ultimately, Superman calls the Justice League his side –
for the very first time ever, according to Cyborg – to aid him in a
desperate attempt to penetrate the Fortress.
I'm
generally liking Kenneth Rocafort's art more and more. But here it's
hard to tell whether Lex Luthor's face is scarred, presumably from
some past encounter with Superman, or if it's just an illustion of
Rocafort's style.
“Garland
of Skulls”
It's
the custody battle from hell! – Bruce vs. Talia in a deadly war of
wits over the fate of Damian, punctuated by plenty of obstacles she's
throwing at him. The others are listening from the Cave, where Jason
raises Damian's ire by dissing “Batcow.” The members of Batman,
Inc. whom I thought were killed in the blast last issue were not.
But Squire was almost
killed, and Knight may indeed be dead by the end of this
issue....
Batman:
The Dark Knight
#15
“Cross
to Bear”
Here
are the unedited notes I made as I sat contemplating this book before
starting the read it. “Don't even want to read it … So why am I
buying it? OCD truly a disease...”
 |
| Page 1 |
I
steeled myself and read it anyway – and I actually enjoyed it.
It's the best of this Scarecrow arc by far even if it's based on
possibly dodgy medicine. I'm not that kind of doctor, but really?
– spraying a crowd with blood that happens to contain antibodies in
order to inoculate them against a bioterror disease? … … …
Really?
But the art is especially striking, most of all the sumptuous view
of Bruce's bedroom on page 1. That's
the room of a multi-millionnaire!
The
resolution of this interminable (at least it seemed so) Scarecrow arc
(finally!) sees Bruce nearly sacrifice himself for the city. And
there is a fitting twist at the end when Scarecrow's backup plan to
get right back out of Arkham again backfires on him.
Finch
is a great artist, no question. The problem with the past several
issues – this series as a whole, to tell the truth, hasn't been the
art. Of course, as of next issue, Finch is leaving and this arc's
writer is staying....
“The
Death of Magic, Part I”
Tim
Hunter and Zatanna appear in a forest. Zatanna finds her magic has
been amped up as they immediately come under attack by some king of
enforcer from an organization called “Epoch.” They suddenly are
swallowed up by the ground where they find various magical beings to
be in awe of the “Hunter.” Back in Nanda Parbat, the others
manage to activate the Books of Magic to open a portal to the same
(doubtless otherdimensional) destination, but each experiences the
revelation to all of their true inner self – Black Orchid
transforms into some kind of purple Swamp Thing-like creature; Madame
Xanadu appears to be her true age of over a thousand years;
Constantine is manifestly quavering in fear; and Boston Brand
(Deadman) is “ALIVE!
// [He's] REALLY
ALIVE!”
–
BLAMM
–
oops,
never mind … He's really dead. … The enforcer is taking a much
more aggressive stance against these newest interlopers. He's been
upgraded and is determined that these will not elude him as well.
Mikel
Janin is back on art, and his Zatanna remains delectable. I'm
enjoying Jeff Lemire's writing as well.
“Death
of the Family: Teen Scream”
While
Red Robin is held captive by the Joker, undergoing his tender loving
care, he provides the inner'logue as the Teen Titans meet Batgirl
from whom they get their marching orders. Searching for Red Robin,
Kid Flash inadvertently spreads Joker toxin throughout Gotham City,
infecting its population. The Titans are forced to fight the people
while trying not to hurt them, then Arsenal and Starfire appear to
help them, dovetailing with the last page of Red
Hood and the Outlaws
#15.
On
p. 18, is that Kurt Lance amping up Black Canary's powers even as he
seems to be affecting Kid Flash's? – the panel with Canary refers
the reader to “Check out Birds
of Prey
#15 for what's happening,” and that's the only thing I can figure.
We
get the second part of what looks to be at least a three-part tale of
“The Redeemer: The Reckoning.” Even though it's pure Kubert, I
didn't care for the first part and am holding off on reading this
second (and maybe subsequent) chapters until I've got the whole story
in front of me. Another of Sam Glanzman's U.S.S.
Stevens
memoirs appears in “Snapshots.” Kubert's own pencilled (?) tale
of a boy on a whaling ship, “Spit,” gets a continuation from the
first issue. And Brian Buniak gives us a third chapter of “Angel
and the Ape” continuing their investigation as to who might have
killed the client they'd succeeded in keeping from killing himself.
Reporter Noel Kurt sure looks a lot like Lois Lane, doesn't she...?
Digital
“Here
Comes Your Man”
I'm a
bit disappointed that this title has been announced for cancellation,
with its last issue being #19, I believe. It has been one of the
surprisingly good series to come out of the New 52, although its
sales have always been weak. I'd hoped the good sales that resulted
on the trade collection of the first story arc would save the
monthly, but it was not to be so. I will miss it.
And
apparently we're not even going to get Andrea Sorrentino's art on the
last few issues. Not that Dennis Calero's is bad. He does an able
job duplicating the style, but it's still not the same.
I'm
not sure if they'd established it before and I just missed it, but
the Bennetts were the Lords of Glastonbury. Glastonbury is a cool
place, significant in Arthurian as well as Christian legend.
In
this issue, John, Mary, and Deborah conjure up the ghost of Andrew's
former coachman, and thereby Mary discovers an unpleasant truth
regarding her and Andrew's separation centuries ago. The Cain –
Andrew's sire – appears, as human as is Mary herself. There is a
reference to Mary having cavorted around for centuries totally naked,
which is definitely how she was drawn in her vampire state.
Meanwhile, Andrew and Tig attack the Van Helsings on their home turf,
penetrating all the way into the vampire hunters' pocket dimension
armory.
“Sting
of the Past”
Even
though I've decided I really like this title, I think I'm scheduled
to get the next two issues digitally. This is a difficult hobby to
change your mind on! In New York City, Calvin makes contact with
Casey, the woman whom he loves, went rogue for, and ultimately left
in order to protect her. She's been busy. She's put together a big
network saving people from all kinds of evil organizations like the
Owls. She proposes an alliance with Calvin (and Sebastian, whose
system she hacks) to heist a bank containing the Owls' treasury. But
it all goes bad when the Talon guard suddenly recognizes and grabs
Calvin. This is a surprisingly good book.
“Chapter
One: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know”
A
US military unit in Afghanistan is captured and turned into
programmed sleeper human bombs, but something about Michael Taylor's
physiology renders him able to control his own explosions and survive
others. He discovers this when a member of his old unit appears at
his construction job at Ground Zero among a wave of explosions across
Manhattan. Uncle Sam and SHADE are seeking Taylor.
It's another Palmiotti and Gray Freedom Fighters character, reimagined, with good art by Jerry Ordway, but something about this issue doesn't click with me like Ray and Phantom Lady did. For one thing, I just don't find the main character engaging like those were right out of the gate.
It's another Palmiotti and Gray Freedom Fighters character, reimagined, with good art by Jerry Ordway, but something about this issue doesn't click with me like Ray and Phantom Lady did. For one thing, I just don't find the main character engaging like those were right out of the gate.
“Haunted,
chapters 4-6”
Clark
gets a glimpse of Bart's speed demon and takes him to start searching
for Jay Garrick for some expert advice. Lois gets a clue who's holed
up in Lex's mind. And Chloe starts a memory dive into the head of
her dead doppelganger and sees Lois killed.
“Effigy,
part 2”
With
Batman's help, John Jones puts clues together to realize that the
White Martian has been stalking him. They barely get to Jones'
apartment building to interdict an attack that his neighbors are
right in the middle of. Batman hears the White Martian call Jones a
murderer – which Jones acknowledges. As to time frame, a
television news story makes reference to a phenomenon that has been
occurring in the main “Haunted” story, so this must be happening
concurrently.
Reviews:
To be added.
…
And,
that's it for this month. Cheers, and Thanks for reading!
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