Here
I am, back again, a little late because we had our family vacation at
the beginning of June which put me behind getting and starting to
read my May-released comics. Then, by the time I finished the Man
of Steel
post (link)
I was a bit blogged out.
And,
not really meaning to start out on a downer (again), because there are a lot of things I liked in the comics I read, the various news items
that hit in the past month or so make me less and less able to get
excited about DC Comics as a brand. Particularly damning was yet
another disheartening creator rant, another creator basically walking
out and telling DC (and Marvel) “A
pox on all your houses!”
(link)
This time it's Paul Jenkins, who wrote Batman:
The Dark Knight
for a while after David Finch figured out writing is a lot harder
than it looks as well as Stormwatch
after Paul Cornell left that title. Whether or not I really cared
that much for what
he wrote, in either case, is immaterial – something is dreadfully
wrong there. A company can't piss off that many creators otherwise.
Where there's smoke....
Then there was the unwelcome – and as far as I know – unannounced extension of the lag time before the dollar-drop on day-and-date digital comics from one to two months. I was availing myself of that discount for what new digital comics I was buying, taking the hit of waiting a month to pay that dollar less. I just can't bring myself to pay full price, especially when it's $3.99, for something that is ultimately as precarious in my real ownership as DRM'd digital comics are. If I could archive them on my own hard drive, back them up, not be dependent on using a software platform that, honestly, may or may not be here in the future, that may be different. But I can't. And waiting two months? – hey, by then, maybe I can live without it anyway. In other words, this is a disincentive for me to buy their day-and-date digitals.
Mid
month, the early online solicitations for September-released comics
hit (link).
In “celebration” of two years of the New 52, DC is doing a dumb
“Villains Month” gimmick. Made dumber by instead of simply
highlighting an associated villain for each ongoing title, no,
they're suspending their monthly titles for the month and publish 52
(?) specials in several “families” … sort of. Four Superman
titles, one a week, numbered as per the previous month (therefore
#23) point
1, 2, 3, 4
– e.g. Superman
#23.1,
#23.2, etc. No Supergirl.
No Superboy.
Oh, but there is – rather are
– four Action
Comics
– #23.1.... Several titles get that treatment – a lot
of titles fall by the wayside altogether. Dumb dumb
DUMB.
Gimmicks, gimmicks, gimmicks. Having read Marvel
Comics: The Untold Story
just a month ago, I say it again – DC Comics in the early 2010s is
looking a whole lot like Marvel Comics in the early 1990s. And that
ended up with Marvel Comics in bankruptcy. To make a long story
short, it's another disincentive for me, and I will pre-order less DC
Comics for September than I have in the New 52 era. (Right now I'm
planning on about 19 or 20 as opposed to 26 for August. [Later note:
Well, I ended up ordering 22.])
Oh,
and whereas the bulk of DC Comics have indeed “held the line at
$2.99” for the past several years, all
of these “Villains Month” Specials will be $3.99. With
lenticular 3D covers. AAARRRGGGHHH!
[Which means, of course, that I'm paying DC more
money for that month than usual. Yes, I keep feeding the beast. And
I expect them to stop? I am part of the problem....]
Finally,
DC announced two new titles for sometime after
September. Legion
of Super-Heroes
has been cast aside not for a remolding of the Legion into a sort of
Justice League, but rather a new
Justice
League 3000
that will have little or no connection to the Legion – but look
like bastardized versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green
Lantern, and Flash. Only Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire make this
look remotely interesting, and if Giffen doesn't stop mouthing off
he's going to kill what curiosity I have, as well as hope that they
might be able to duplicate their old Justice
League International
success.
The
other new title is Superman/Wonder
Woman.
Really?
Really?
A
friend of mine who is a fan of both characters is not even going to
be picking this up. I think he's speaking for many when he says he's
not interested in seeing stories – much less a series – about
what is ultimately an uninteresting “romance.” Superman
belongs with Lois Lane, DAMMIT!
…
But,
God help me, I'm buying both JL3K
and the Superman-Wonder Woman “slash” book.
[It's
a sickness....]
Seriously,
these kind of team-up books are hard to pull off as an ongoing
(unless it's a natural story-driven pairing as Huntress and Power
Girl in Worlds'
Finest),
and I would rather they not even have started up Batman/Superman.
Better would have been a revival of The
Brave and the Bold,
with the first arc being Batman and Superman, then the second arc
being Superman and Wonder Woman, then.... But in this day and age
those quasi-anthology books don't seem to thrive.
…
And
that is all 'way more than I wanted to write to begin what is
typically a grotesquely overlong monthly round-up post. Especially
since it's all so negative. Really, I don't like to be. But damn
it, DC's making it hard. Anyway, let's just jump to the comics.
“World's
Most Dangerous, Chapter Three: The Forest and the Trees”
Unfortunately,
this is not a good one to start with. This issue was several weeks
late shipping, hence the last-month's-gimmick fold-out cover. It
should have been read before
last month's Catwoman,
because it sets up the dumb plot to have Catwoman get captured and
thrown into Arkham so she could break out and infiltrate the Secret
Society – see my comments last month to that issue. Honestly, I'm
not really getting anything out of this title, and once the “Trinity
War” event is resolved in a few months, I'm pretty sure I'm
dropping it.
“The
Tower of Fate, Part 3: The Man Who Was Fate”
Okay,
this is better. Thank God. Unfortunately, see last month's news
that James Robinson is leaving. The announced replacement (with DC
you never know if it'll pan out) is a bit of an unknown quantity to
me. I've only just started picking up the first digital issues of
Injustice:
Gods Among Us,
being put off initially by what I was hearing of the plot, to check
out Tom Taylor. Surprisingly, given that I don't particularly like
that plot – which was reportedly dictated to him – the writing
itself is, so far, really good and does overall capture the
characters. Hopefully he can do the same with the Earth
2
microverse.
Anyway, here Doctor Fate fights Wotan,
coming to an uneasy accommodation with Nabu. There is more explicit
use of Egyptian mythology and imagery than in the past. Meanwhile,
Hawkgirl and Green Lantern have been tracking the mystery of why
Alan's lover Sam was targeted and killed, finding a deeper mystery of
dead Apokoliptian Parademons in cold storage. Then the Green takes
Alan off to Boston where Doctor Fate, Flash, and Jay Garrick's mom
emerged from the magical dimension. Fate defeats Wotan while Green
Lantern and Flash work together to hold off the World Army, then
takes them all to Alan Scott's home which he opens up to them.
Finally there is a sense of a team coming together – just in time
for news to hit that Steppenwolf is in Dherain and the world is about
to attack.
Excellent issue, as usual.
“The
Price of Fame”
This
is a typically episodic issue with different artists for different
beats. Power Girl's appearance in Supergirl
happens between scenes in this issue, because that's where she
actually gets her “new-old” costume – an odd decision on the
part of DC for such a monumental and, frankly, clamored-for change to
take place outside “her own” title.
As
hinted on last issue's cover, only Helena and Karen can see DeSaad
rather than the illusion of Michael Holt. Therefore they have to
flee. And the attacks on Starr Industries continue, until DeSaad
himself attacks Karen's island home and personally slaughters her
workers and friends, including her main aide whom I'm pretty sure was
in love with Karen. Power Girl and Huntress find the horrific scene
and swear vengeance on DeSaad. Noteworthy in this issue is a short
bit where Power Girl explains to Helena her love of the limelight –
just as she's forced to give it up.
“Hybrid,
Part 2” – “The World of Krypton, Part 1: Discovery”
In
the main story, we get what I think is the chronologically earliest
appearance of Dr. Shay Vertias and a cryptic reference to a
previously unseen adventure that apparently brought she and Superman
together, the “Stream of Eternal Maelstroms.” When are we ever
going to get the scoop on this intriguing character? So far, the
post-Grant Morrison Action
has continued to be great, even with Andy Diggle's prematurely
reduced involvement this issue. Lex engineered a nanite virus to
mutate Superman and others around him as part of a scheme to
discredit the Man of Steel and put himself forward as the savior of
the world. So this story is still playing on the idea of humanity's
lingering distrust of Superman, but with Lex's constant agitation and
the post-9/11 climate of fear and suspicion compounded with the
palpable trauma the DCU has obviously gone through at the hands of
super-beings in recent years, is such a xenophobic tendency really
surprising? It's not the DC that I'd ideally like to see – it's
'way to Marvelesque, and when it's used as a story crutch it gets
tiresome, but when it's done well – as, I think, here – it can
make for good stories.
In the beginning of a new series of
backups, Jor-El misses a Science Council meeting because he's
discovering a lost civilization that might not be extinct.
Meanwhile, Lara, who is some kind of guard to the Council and
incidentally disdains Jor-El, witnesses the beginning of some kind of
coup by a figure who had better be Zod....
“King
for a Day” – “Empire of the Son”
We get a very abrupt end to the “Emperor
Penguin” story, but with a hint that Ogilvy is not really down and
out...
In
the first story, Ogilvy has taken a cocktail of serums – Venom +
Man-Bat + something from Poison Ivy – that go together to make him
super-humanly strong and fast. He beats up Batman and literally
hangs him from the highest tree … not “'til dead,” however,
because the charges against Cobblepott didn't stick, and he's free
just in time to help Batman, who wades back in and takes Ogilvy down
with
prejudice,
like the monster he is. That's the key – at first he fought
Emperor Penguin like a man. Anyway, the epilogue has Cobblepott
concede the people of Gotham's acclaim to Bruce Wayne in favor of the
safety of the shadows, even as another hot and inappropriately
dressed assassin looms on the skyline. She looks very Amazonish.
The backup has more on the origin of
Ogilvy in the context of his repositioning himself as “Emperor
Blackgate,” his “Emperor Penguin” venture not working out so
well. But what the hell was that creature hitherto “the Boss” of
Blackgate?
“World's
Most Dangerous, Chapter Four: The Good, the Bad, and the Shaggy” –
Martian Manhunter in “Trial by Fire”
Catwoman's subterfuge is discovered and
her brains are blown out at point-blank range, execution style.
Yeah. Right. Meanwhile, the rest of the JLA is searching for her,
and fight Dr. Ivo's “Shaggy Man” android. Another of those DC
villainous characters I have no use for. Never have. Somewhat
interestingly, Dr. Light is at least for now working for ARGUS.
Maybe the appeal is wondering if he is still the pedophile and
pervert he had become before the New 52, and when will he go bad.
Overall, I find this comic has an
unappealing cast in an uninspired story. And Booth's art this issue
does not make it any better. Substitute artist? – already?
And I really don't like the overall
portrait of Martian Manhunter in the New 52, making this maudlin
story purporting to explain his vulnerability to fire in survivor's
guilt a snooze. I'm more and more certain that I'm dropping this
book soon as “Trinity War” is done. You know, that New 52
Cross-Over Event that's been teased now for nigh on two years. The
one I'm looking forward to mainly so it will be over. DC needs to
put out a tee-shirt for the fans: “I Survived Trinity War.”
“A
Wretched H.I.V.E.”
I think this is the first post-Lobdell
issue, i.e., a new writer, Justin Jordan. I'll reserve overall
judgment, but I immediately do not like the story structure of a
teaser scene that then shifts back in time to begin showing how we
got to that point – but doesn't, at least not in this issue. The
gist of the main story is that the New-52 Doctor Psycho tries to
establish contact with Superboy, but only when they're both attacked
by agents of HIVE does Superboy agree to work with him.
Batman
and Red Hood
#20
“Rage”
This
issue takes place before Red
Hood and the Outlaws
#19. Carrie Kelley is pressing Bruce to know where Damian is, and
ends up hired by Alfred to take care of Titus the dog a few days each
week – which I'm sure Bruce won't particularly like. Bruce
recruits Jason to go with him to Ethiopia against the bounty hunters
who gunned for Damian per Talia's contract. No killing, of course –
but he does permanently kill the nerves in the bounty hunters' hands.
But his real reason for bringing Jason along was that, in the
country where the second Robin was killed by the Joker, he tries to
get Jason to remember how he was brought back to life.
Understandably, this incenses Jason, leading to a fight. In a non
sequitur
tag, Two Face contemplates suicide.
This
is still the one series that is really dealing with a Batman unhinged
by grief over Robin's death. I think that when Bruce told Carrie
that Damian would call her in a few days he was not lying – he
really believes he'll find some way to bring him back. But he's
progressing – no, burning
– through his former wards and allies at a pretty good clip, here,
albeit not in order. I really do wonder what the future of this book
is, though.
“Nowhere
Man, Part 2 of 2” – “Ghost Lights, Part 2 of 2”
In
the lead story, Batman defeats Clayface and manages to protect his
own secret identity. Along the way he ends up in a garbage compactor
with Lucius Fox à
la
Star
Wars,
and busts out using a scrapped prototype Bat-suit that looks just
like Batman
Beyond.
I don't think it's ever explained exactly why it had been scrapped.
Clayface torments him at the end with the visage of Damian – big
mistake. The story concludes with Bruce and Alfred indulging in
virtual reality “home movies” of Batman and Robin. I wonder how
these stories connect up with what Peter Tomasi's doing over in
Batman
and XYZ,
especially given Bruce's seemingly better spirits here. For
instance, his assuring Alfred that “I'm
not losing myself this time. Not like I did with Jason”
just before they immerse themselves in memories.
The backup concludes the Will o'the Wisp
story. Superman is weakening because his body rejects magic – an
interesting facet. Batman opens himself to the ghost of the teenager
who conjured the spirit regarding his and Clark's friendship, and
manages to incant the Will o'the Wisp away just in time. Finally, he
thanks Clark for the concern which brought him to Gotham. It's a
pretty good little character story.
“The
Spark and the Flame, Part 3: The Big Smoke”
This
is another book I'll probably drop after “Trinity War.” It's
good enough, but probably a better read in trade. This issue
completes the first story arc with the destruction of the Compass in
John Constantine's typically devious trickster way.
Justice
League #20
“Prologue
to Trinity War, Chapter 2: Secrets”
– “Shazam!
Chapter 12”
In
this continuation from last issue's main story, the three new kids
(Firestorm, Element Woman, and Atom) take on Despero in the
Watchtower satellite as it falls from orbit, but in the end it is
Martian Manhunter who appears and takes him out. Despero has a
Kryptonite ring, but a sliver of the stone is missing. The
Watchtower crashes at Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, and the Justice
League moves into a cave for temporary headquarters. There is a bit
of an epilogue to the prologue, an exchange between Superman and
Batman about Batman's contingency plans – and we find that the
reason he has a problem with Superman and Wonder Woman hooking up is
that his only plan to take down Wonder Woman if such becomes
necessary is indeed Superman. Finally, the Atom is revealed as a
Justice League of America spy for Waller and Trevor. This story is
continued in Justice
League of America
#5....
Okay,
Cyborg can't 'port the big guns up to the Watchtower to confront
Despero because it's falling out of orbit and therefore its position
is changing. That makes absolutely no sense, seeing as two objects
in space are always
moving in relation to each other unless they are moving together on
exactly
the same vector, which I would imagine happens so rarely as to be
essentially never.
A satellite in orbit is moving relative to its orbital focus; two
planets at remote positions in space, such as Earth and Apokolips,
are moving relative to one another. That's just bullshit.
In
the interminable backup about the Hero Formerly Known as Captain
Marvel, Billy learns Adam's background, as part of which revelation
the wizard reveals that the power of Shazam may flow through
families. I bet “family” includes foster
families … and the other “Bromfield kids” really need the power
by the end when Adam threatens them. I still say this is headed
toward the Flashpoint
model of all seven kids combining to form Shazam.
“Home
Invasion”
Well,
new writer Michael Alan Nelson sure knocked it out of the ball park
with this his first issue – taking up right from a cliffhanger in
the middle of a story arc. This is good stuff! Kara's undersea
Kryptonian Sanctuary's A.I. ultimately decides that Supergirl's
the clone, expels Power Girl, and sets about trying to eradicate
Supergirl – exhibiting a dry sense of humor right from the start,
on page 1: Supergirl: “Sanctuary, stand
down!” – Sanctuary:
“I
can't do that. Primary genetic conflict dictates immediate action.
A clone has been detected.”
– Power Girl: “I
am not a clone.”
– Sanctuary: “Chance
of clone: 93%. Doppelganger: 44%. Random imposter: 13%. And a
repeating .0457% chance of quantum anomaly. Ergo – clone.
/ Though I could be wrong.”
– Power Girl: “You
think?”
– Sanctuary: “No.
Not really. Please remain still while eradication protocol is
implemented. Your compliance is greatly appreciated.”
And so it goes for the whole bloody issue. Hilarious! Ultimately,
Supergirl gets to demonstrate her smarts and teamwork with Power Girl
– trapped outside the dome – to destroy Sanctuary (well, almost,
as suggested by the epilogue), which is the biggest misstep of this
issue if it's truly gone. It could be a great addition to the
supporting cast of this book. I immediately like it as much as I
like Booster Gold's A.I. Skeets. (If, on the vanishingly small
chance Sanctuary ever appears in a film and requires a voice actor,
it has
to be Jim Parsons. Reread those lines above in Sheldon's voice. –
See?)
And
there's other good character interaction as Nelson slides right into
the place vacated by the departing writer Michael Green. Supergirl
might lose her home in the end, but she does gain a big sister, a
relationship which I hope continues to be reflected here and in
Worlds' Finest.
Particularly funny is her commentary on Power Girl's new costume –
which Supergirl thinks she's too old for! And again, Asrar's art
shines, skillfully depicting Power Girl as indeed an older version of
Supergirl. Aaaand
more (ahem) developed.
The cover could use a little toning down in that area, but other
than that (which I would have no problem attributing to editorial
mandate to emphasize PG's most … memorable … feature...s
…), perfection.
I
don't think there's anything to criticise here. This is as close to
a perfect comic issue as I've seen in the New 52. It's that good.
“The
Cruelest Cut”
Don't
you just love it when artists draw characters so disproportionate as
to be caricatures? As here, where Starling's head is both too small
and perched on a giraffe's neck. So many artists today don't have a
basic grasp of anatomy – most often of the female form – it's
sad.
Anyway,
this issue happens before Batgirl
#20. Starling – who, not for the first time, I think, but it never
seems to stick with me, is called Evelyn – really does betray the
Birds, although she tries to broker an alliance between them and her
cohort Mr. Freeze. Canary will have none of it. Freeze does find
the secret of the Owls' regeneration. Starling and Batgirl fight to
a stand-off. When Freeze and Starling ultimately flee, Batgirl takes
Strix out to thaw, only to find Calvin Rose attacking – see Talon
#20 below.
An
interview I read with writer Christy Marx recently says that Starling
is out of the Birds for now. Count me disappointed.
“A
Splinter Where My Heart Should Be”
Well,
it seems to me that Birds
of Prey
is further out of synch with Batgirl
than indicated there. I did not care for this issue. At all.
Barbara is having a crisis because she believes she killed James Jr.
Problem is, James Sr. believes Batgirl killed his son as well, and
swears to bring her in. Logically, this should be reflected in the
other Bat-books
because surely this would cause a rift between Gordon (and the GCPD)
and all
of them. There's also a very confusing chronology within the issue
with the epilogue seeming to happen before the prologue, unless
that's some pretentious non-sequential story-telling device. Other
bizarre developments include the introduction of a revolting new
Ventriloquist. I generally like Gail Simone's writing, and this
title, but if this were my first issue I'd never touch it again. And
if it continues down this road I may be departing anyway.
“This
Blood is Thick: Cells”
The
DEO really does have Beth, and uses her to leverage a deal with Kate
– Batman's identity for the Kanes' freedom from the DEO. Then when
Kate gets back to Maggie's, she finds her family – Maggie, Jacob
and his wife, and Bette – basically doing an intervention. Bette
bugged her, and they heard it all.
Is
Kate's dissing Bones' “Scout's
honor”
a commentary on the Boy Scouts' traditional anti-homosexual stance? –
if so, it's a bit juvenile, but even more so shows how current events
can pass attempts at topicality by.
“Flying
Blind”
Dick's
still in Chicago, still looking for Tony Zucco, who is secretly
working for the mayor and knows Nightwing is on his tail. Chicago
hates “masks,” but has a new villain who happily takes on
Nightwing by issue's end.
Higgins
continues to introduce new supporting cast, including Dick's new
roommate who typically hates “masks” and already had
a
female roommate who's not actually supposed to be there just now but
who unexpectedly finds dick in her bed which the guy had sublet!
Both look interesting, but I miss what was being developed before,
particularly the Capulet and Montegue budding romance between Dick
and the daughter of the man who killed his parents. If I didn't know
better, I'd think this “new direction” resulted from a new
creative team.
It's
a good issue, but I'm hoping this Chicago mission is just a phase.
“Confessions”
A.k.a.
“This Is Your (Crappy) Life, Jason Todd.” The little mysterious
guy tries to show Roy and Kori that Jason wanted the memory wipe, and
in so doing reveals that Kori is not so memory impaired as she's been
putting on, as well as that Nightwing is indeed still part of her
story. I may try going back and reading the early issues of this
book with that spin in mind. There's more to the little mysterious
guy than he lets on, though, and meanwhile Green Arrow has discovered
that the Outlaws are all targets of bounty hunters and sets out to
save Roy “again.”
Legion
of Super-Heroes #20
“Vanishing
World”
X
minus three issues.
Things
continue to go from bad to worse for the Legion as leader Phantom
Girl apparently bugs out back to Bgztl, Polar Boy and Invisible Kid
are in the ghost dimension, Black Witch and Glorith save the
Sorcerer's World from Validus by taking it out of this universe
altogether, Brainiac 5 and others sit around moaning, and Chameleon
Boy and Ultra Boy appear back on Earth in time to see Persuader
standing over a dead Duplicate Damsel.
Aquaman
#20
The
Others in “Skinwalker”
And
now for your regularly-scheduled filler issue. As such, this one is
better than most. It feels like they're grooming anOther
new title. Based on how much I enjoyed this filler issue, which is
not
by Geoff Johns but rather by John Ostrander, I may be in. Basically,
the Others (what the hell does that name even mean? – “other”
than what?) accept a mission from Aquaman to retrieve one of the lost
Atlantean weapons from an Apache reservation in Arizona, and along
the way seem to pick up a new member.
Note
that this issue's cover is the first of my books this week to sport
the Man of Steel
advert cover banner. Preaching to the choir.
“Wham!”
Scott
Lobdell has varied from tolerable to gibberish on his other books in
the New 52, but so far I've really been liking his Superman, especially post-H'El. The cover seems very retro to me, in a good way. Basically, it's an
Orion vs. Superman slugfest until Wonder Woman gets involved,
surprised and a bit awkwardly because Orion and Wonder Woman have
been together in her title, which I haven't been reading (but
incidentally it appears that the events of that title are
happening concurrently with her other appearances in the New 52 – a
colleague and I were speculating that they were in the past or
future), and it appears there's been kissing involved. Anyway, it
turns out that Hector Hammond has been hiding out in Superman's
brain, causing some kind of hallucinations to him and others around
him, maybe living vicariously? It also makes him privy to some
dangerous information, but Mother Box deals with that – perhaps not
fully as it turns out. The cliffhanger seems to hint at a tattered
shred of a memory of an idyllic life married to Lana Lang remaining
in Superman's subconscious.
The
Batman of Japan in “Interlude: A Bird in the Hand”
This
is the month for fillers, isn't it? Grant Morrison lets Chris
Burnham write an adventure of the Batman of Japan and his hot little
sidekick Canary. Burnham channels Morrison, all right – it's truly
bizarre – but it's not really memorable.
Talon
#8
“Don't
Be Afraid of the Dark”
Calvin
Rose is dead. Long live Calvin Rose. Or is it “un-live”?
Calvin Rose did die last issue, but here he's reanimated by the Owls
to find that Casey and Sarah are being held hostage for his toeing
the Owls' line. And tortured for good measure. His first mission is
to put down the renegade Talon whom the Birds of Prey call Strix –
and this issue ends on the very same cliffhanger as Birds
of Prey
#20, to be continued in the next issue of that title. Meanwhile,
Bane and Sebastian Clark are on Santa Prisca preparing an all-out
assault on Gotham City.
The
next issue or so will tell me whether this book can keep my interest
now that the hero is, you know, dead!
“Down,
Down, Down”
Well,
like I didn't see that
coming. The Mad Hatter has kidnapped Natalya, and he ultimately
kills her by dropping from a helicopter directly onto the Bat Signal
when she won't be his “Alice” or
reveal Batman's identity. All right after Bruce has given in to
Alfred and is considering giving up The Mission for her. Since we
know Batman will neither stop nor turn into an outright
“Punisher”-type character, he either has to foreswear any
relationship or realize that his only hope is someone who can give as
good as she gets. I imagine Talia's out at this point, and not
really an option anyway. Catwoman, on the other hand....
Justice
League Dark #20
“The
Horror City, Part 2: The Nightmare Gospel”
This
title is really going through a dry spell for me. Or maybe this
issue will read better in trade. I don't know. I don't care for
Swamp Thing, and don't think Flash really fits in. But with Flash's
help, the JLD finds the House of Mystery and the current Big Bad, who
claims to be Madame Xanadu's son Doctor Destiny.
Teen
Titans #20
“Only
Begotten”
This
issue mainly provides back story on the New 52 Raven. The cover has
nothing to do with the issue other than that Red Robin acknowledges
that he's not been acting quite like himself lately – which is a
stretch. The Titans are split on trusting Raven, then her three
Trigon-looking brothers show up.
Is
that a thought balloon I spy on page 2? – they're so rare these
days. And Lobdell seems to be channeling Chris Claremont at that
point as well with Kid Flash's bathetic self-doubt!
“Secrets
and Origins”
This
is basically just another issue of the series, most notable because
it introduces a mysterious new Batman for Earth 2, but it also
focuses a bit more on Atom as well as introducing Captain Steel,
Mister Miracle, and Big Barda. It does further the story gearing up
toward another world war – i.e., the world vs. Steppenwolf's
Dherain, while revealing that the New God Kanto is also trapped on
Earth 2. Quid
plura?
It's James Robinson. It's Earth
2.
It's great.
Except, all things being equal, I'd prefer not to introduce new analogues to the big three. If they're really needed, return Huntress and Power Girl to Earth 2 (but keep those new identities) and reform Fury.
Except, all things being equal, I'd prefer not to introduce new analogues to the big three. If they're really needed, return Huntress and Power Girl to Earth 2 (but keep those new identities) and reform Fury.
“Once
Upon a Midnight Dreary”
This
is a great standalone story. Bruce Wayne buys Batman a night off –
on Hallowe'en – by luring the Penguin, the Mad Hatter, and
Scarecrow into essentially a haunted house and letting their own
inner demons torment them. It has some clever bits, especially early
on when they're filled with bravado and mutually grousing about
Batman. But I don't see how it could possibly
happen any time
in the present – I can't see Batman being so blasé about Scarecrow
and especially Mad Hatter being on the loose after what Hurwitz
himself has put him through at their respective hands in the main
series.
“Trust
Fall”
This
is definitely part of the narrative, fitting between issues #20 and
21. Green Arrow inadvertently leads Cheshire to the Outlaws'
headquarters, and she gives them a run for their money. Meanwhile,
Jason discovers the truth about his mercenary assassin life whose
memories had been stripped away from him – and he is horrified,
fleeing. By the end, Green Arrow is revealed to be scouting for
Trevor, but he cuts a deal for Trevor to leave the Outlaws alone.
Nevertheless, it seems that Cheshire's assault was more a scouting
mission for Bronze Tiger and the League of Assassins ….
DIGITAL
First
we had the rather muddled end of “Valkyrie.”
Cat
Scaggs has a pleasing art style, but she definitely needs to work on
her narrative skills. Right now, she is a much better cover artist
than she is a story-teller. In short, Lois and Lana defeat Corbin,
but Lana no longer has her Kryptonanite (not a typo)-endowed powers –
but she does have a purpose and accepts Lois and Clark's love for one
another.
Then
we have the three concluding parts of “Argo.”
1) Booster Gold and Skeets are being aggressively interrogated by
Nidrigh. Kara is enraged by the desecration of Faora's tomb, and
attacks Earthgov troops. Which brings her into conflict with Clark
who defends them a fights her down – whereupon they each
independently get word that Argo is under attack by Doomsday, which
popped out of a Boom Tube. 2) Booster Gold and Skeets break out of
captivity. The Legionnaires discover that Argo is responding to
Doomsday's attack by launching a Gravity Bomb at Metropolis. The
Legion try to intercept it but fail. Superman fights Doomsday,
ultimately determining that the only way to destroy it is to push it
into the sun – but he knows he will not be able to escape the sun's
gravity well. 3) This is where it breaks down. The conclusion
seems rushed and hard to follow, and it seems like Booster and
Skeets' role was forgotten. Suffice it to say that all works out in
the end, with an inspiring scene of the Legionnaires making a human
chain to pull Superman out of the sun. In the end, Argo and Earth
are suddenly at peace and cooperating. Obviously, a lot happened
off-screen. Did the introduction of the side stories a few months
ago compel a last minute restructuring of the main story arcs?
“Argo” is the first nine-parter we've had; previously the stories
have been twelve-parters. If so, I am not
happy. What had up until now been a very good story that I enjoyed
up to this final chapter kind of went pfffft.
And the Legion gets shafted again. No, I am not happy at all.
And that's now it for the digital stuff that I'm keeping up with more or less as it appears. I do read quite a bit of other digital, but it's often older stuff, often from the '90s, that I missed during my long all-but-abstention from comics (graduate school), and I may or may not blog those individually or in the occasional "Quick Hits," but with the demise of I, Vampire, as well as DC's greedy extension of the wait-for-digital-discount, I'm far less likely to pick up a monthly digital, and the weekly digital-first stuff I find kind of hit or miss. I am occasionally dipping into some of it, but not consistently. As I said above, I am also catching up with Injustice: Gods Among Us, and surprisingly given what I'd heard, I'm liking it. So far it seems far less a Superman story than a study of how the other heroes and villains would react to him going all Irredeemable on them. And I just read in #5 probably the best Harley Quinn and Green Arrow story I've ever read. I have high hopes for the writer taking over Earth 2.
* * *
So this has been a
really mixed month – some really good stuff (Supergirl) and
some really bad stuff, but a good bit of blah. And developments at
DC continue to give the impression that management and editorial are
in shambles. That's what's most worrisome.
I'm not feeling so
cheery right now, but I do thank you for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment