New comics, Heroes in Crisis, Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Jack Cross

New comics!

Ragnarok: Breaking of Helheim 5

I was going to stop buying this, but I figured I’d finish it out when I found out there were only two issues left to go.  Stupid completionist me.  It’s...fine.  Not very memorable, but I suppose Walt Simonson drawing any kind of Thor is worth picking up.

Strange Adventures 2

Tom King is so on his game, and Mitch Gerads and Evan Shaner are playing right along with him.  I love this iteration of Mr Terrific.  There’s a horrible, ominous sense of impending melancholy and tragedy.  This is going to be amazing.  

Breathtaking.

This hits like a sledgehammer to the gut.

Heroes in Crisis 1-9

Of course, I thought the same thing seven issues into Heroes in Crisis.  I wrote a lot about this series while I was reading it month to month, and everything I said a year ago still holds true.  Tom King writes some great character moments and a mystery that’s engaging right up until the point where Wally West makes his confession.  The final two issues are a complete mess from a story standpoint, and they still make me angry.  My objection is to the use of Wally West.  What I wrote the first time around:

“However, I believe that’s the point King is trying to make - this is what PTSD can do to even the best of people.  He’s clearly writing this from a place of personal experience, and I think the fact that I find Wally’s actions so far out of whack is exactly the cultural incomprehension that he wants to address.”

Reading this the second time, I don’t care - Tom King is saying some really important things about PTSD and how it’s perceived in our society, and I’m grateful to him for that.  But from a story point of view, I just hate it.  The ending takes an amazing, well crafted story and completely ruins it.  The dichotomy of the two sections merits this story the rare “Huh” rating.   

So subtle I missed it the first time around.  Masterful work by Clay Mann.

Will Eisner would be proud.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Huh.

Identity Crisis 1-7

This may be the bleakest, grimmest, least fun mainstream comic story I’ve ever read.  This is torture porn set in the DC universe.  The sheer number of screwed up things boggle the mind - It starts with Sue Dibny’s murder.  It flashes back Dr Light raping her.  Then Captain Boomerang kills Tim Drake’s father.  Somewhere in there, we learn that the JLA’s been mindwiping their enemies for years.  Not only that, they did it to Batman as well when he found out what they were doing.  

What the hell.  This is not why I read DC and Marvel.  Perhaps in other comics, but not here.  And that also makes it hard to rate; This is not poorly written.  This would be rather good if it didn’t feel so completely askew of my expectations for a DC comic in both characterization and tone.  

Love the colors on this cover by Michael Turner.

Not a Rags Morales fan.  He botches what could be a powerful moment with some ugly faces.

And an even uglier bowl cut.

Though I've got to give him credit for really capturing the horror of this moment.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Huh.

Two Huhs in a row.  DC really knows how to publish events that confuse…

Countdown to Infinite Crisis 1

This would have been a fun little mystery if it didn’t end with Ted Kord getting shot in the head.  What the hell was DC Editorial thinking in this era?

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Infinite Crisis 1

A trash story, wasting the talents of Geoff Johns and Phil Jimenez.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid (Cutting)

Jack Cross 1-2

One of Warren Ellis’ weaker works.  Past me didn’t even get the last two issues of the miniseries.  Present me sees no reason to keep the first two.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Disliked (Cutting)

Doomsday Clock, Heroes in Crisis, Clue

New comics!

Clue: Candlestick 1

I bought this based off a positive review I read somewhere and the fun graphic designs of writer/artist Dash Shaw.  Like many, I grew up playing Clue, and seeing the classic characters on the page brings back fond memories. The murder mystery nature of the game makes it a natural fit for comic book adaptation, and Shaw creates a decent enough story that I’m up for more.  His art style, with the deadpan faces, reminds me of Mike Allred or Melinda Gebbie.

Melinda Gebbie's Lost Girls

Mike Allred.  Same bug eyes and expressionless faces.

Heroes in Crisis 9

What a clusterfuck.  So many things wrong with this issue:

There’s a huge leap of logic here that makes no sense:

(I cut out the irrelevant scenes in between.)  So...how did Blue Beetle’s intervention magically convince future Flash to go from willing homicide victim to extremely effective trauma counselor?  (That’s what I think’s going on, but I honestly don’t care if I’m wrong. This story isn’t worth my brain power.)

Poison Ivy talking like Swamp Thing annoys the heck out of me.  But I still thought Harley’s reunion with her was super cute.

Though what was the point of Harley in all of this besides murder frame victim?  And what did Batgirl accomplish besides look cool?

Booster Gold still sucks ass and I hate that he’s somehow the guy who figures it all out.  Not that it makes any sense. And seriously, “Bros before heroes”? Lame and stupid.

I would say that all of this pisses me off, but that would require me to care about anything that’s been going on in the DC Universe as a whole.  It’s kind of like the DC movies. I’ll chalk it up as another flagrant misfire, ignore what Tom King did to Wally like the fourth Indiana Jones movie, and move on with my life.  I will say that I expected so much more from King. How does he get from Vision and Mister Miracle to this?

Good things:

Clay Mann finishes up his string of amazing title splash pages.:

All of King’s talking head pages are little thumbnails into how he views these characters.  And some of them are hilarious.

This has to be a Vision nod :)

I’m definitely keeping this, despite my displeasure.  The art is way too good. I’ll just ignore the words that make me sad.  

Doomsday Clock 10

Geoff Johns is so adept at aping vintage Alan Moore’s voice in this series, I barely care about the quality of the story itself.  Half of this issue is spent on the life and death of Carver Colman, the actor in the film noir movies that have been playing in the background of previous issues.  Colman’s annual meetings with Dr Manhattan at the diner remind me greatly of Hob Gadling’s rendezvous with Morpheus every century in Sandman.

One of my favorite issues.

Johns finally gets to the point of this series - Superman is the focal point of the Multiverse, in a special world called the Metaverse.  Here, every one of the multiple Superman origin stories that I’ve been reading has happened, each one creating ripples in the multiverse.  I don’t know if it really makes any sense, but I like what Johns is trying here. It’s a bold, crazy idea, and the execution is nifty. No idea if it’s going to hold up in the last two issues, but it’s a far better effort at an event than Tom King’s failure.

It's the Dr Manhattan narration that makes this so effective.

Skyward, Heroes in Crisis, Runaways

New comics for the week!

Skyward 12

Joe Henderson tells us how Lilly, Willa’s mother, stayed alive all this time.  She’s been living in the underground city that Nate, Willa’s father, secretly developed.  (He’s like Jor-El, planning for disaster that no one else saw coming.) In the twenty-one years since gravity first disappeared, the city’s developed an extreme isolationist attitude towards the outside in the name of security and safety.  All contact in or out is prohibited.

After the explanation, Lilly’s new husband, the mayor of the city, destroys the (only?) door out of the complex trapping Willa and Barrow in with the rest of the inhabitants.  It’s very much a table setter of an issue, and the thought of reading about a close minded society is really leaving me unenthused right now.

Heroes in Crisis 8

Wally West did it.  All the pressure and trauma of past events finally got to him, and in a moment of weakness, he released an explosion of speed force that killed everyone in Sanctuary.  In response, his fragile mind decided to cover it up and frame Booster Gold and Harley Quinn for the massacre, leaving him just enough time to perform some as-of-yet unspecified redemptive task while Batman and the others sift through the muddled evidence.  

This issue’s stirred up a lot of controversy on the internets.  Personally, I hate what Tom King’s done to Wally. I love this Flash from the Mark Waid days, and this is such a departure from his established personality.  I imagine this is how a lot of people felt when Hal Jordan went nuts in the aftermath of Coast City’s destruction during Reign of Supermen.  

However, I believe that’s the point King is trying to make - this is what PTSD can do to even the best of people.  He’s clearly writing this from a place of personal experience, and I think the fact that I find Wally’s actions to far out of whack is exactly the cultural incomprehension that he wants to address.  

I went into this issue thinking that I knew the effects of PTSD, and how it can change someone’s personality and state of mind.  My revulsion at Wally’s actions, and quick impulse to proclaim it a result of poor writing (despite all my previous praises for his top notch skills) rather than a realistic depiction of the disorder shows how much I have left to learn.  I’m choosing to believe that the disconnect is in my knowledge base, not in King’s ability to write a good story.

Runaways 20

Going to another comic that deals directly with psychological trauma, Victor attempts to commit suicide in a heart-wrenching issue.  His silent agony, his inability to share his nightmares with his friends, and his final solution are harrowing in their despair. As terrible as it all is, I couldn’t help but think, “This makes sense,” following Heroes in Crisis.  I could relate to Victor, I couldn’t relate to Wally.  And that makes this a “better” issue for me.

Heroes in Crisis, Skyward, Ironheart, Detective Comics

More new comics!

Heroes in Crisis 7

Clay Mann has really been going all out with these opening splash pages.  

Writer Tom King made sure to give Mann and colorist Tomeu Morey all the credit in the world - The flowers were not a digital effect, they were all hand drawn and colored.  Check out the before!

As for the rest of it, I’m not a fan of King’s portrayal of Wally West.  His Flash lacks the self-awareness he had on Mark Waid’s run, still my benchmark for the character.  King also disappoints me by having Batgirl specifically prevent Harley from killing Booster Gold. Don’t tease me like that.  

If only she'd stopped at seven.

This is yet another filler issue, with only two left to go.  But it’s still got great art and King’s has a nice ear for dialog, so net positive.  

Skyward 11

There are some serious storytelling problems this month:

There's no gravity.  How is she coming back down?

The time jump between the previous page and this one is jarring.

But still fun, still beautiful.

Ironheart 4

I feel like it’s been forever since the last issue came out.  Anyway. Lots of bad guy origin story this issue, which conveniently disappears Midnight’s Fire’s twin halfway through the retelling.  I’m sure that’s not going to become a plot point down the road. By the way, having a possessive in your name is just poor form.

Detective Comics 1000

I really shouldn’t have gotten this.  These anthologies are never worth the price.  My micro impressions:

1. Snyder/Capullo - Lame, implausible story about a guild of detectives that Slam Bradley and Martian Manhunter somehow got into first.  
2. Kevin Smith/Jim Lee - Turns out the metal chestplate under the bat symbol was made from the melted down gun that killed Bruce’s parents.  Okay...that’s just a touch too morbid for my tastes.
3. Dini/Nguyen - Tale of the most incompetent henchman ever.  Moderately amusing even with the pushing-it-a-bit-too-far twist at the end.
4. Ellis/Cloonan - Has Ellis completely lost his talent for writing good comics at this point?
5. Denny O’Neil/Epting - Horrible.
6. Priest/Neal Adams - Incomprehensible.
7. Bendis/Maleev - Moderately amusing.
8. Geoff Johns/Kelley Jones - Made no sense, and pointless to boot.
9. Tynion IV/Alvaro Martinez-Bueno (The first artist I don’t recognize) - Unnecessary addendum to the Robin origin story.
10. Tom King/Tony Daniel & Joelle Jones - King again shines with the banter, it’s very Bendis.

Heh.

My first time identifying a colorist before seeing the name.  The Batgirl costume tipped me off.  (See Morey's work in Heroes in Crisis above.)

The nice moments aren’t worth the junk that I had to slog through.

Infidel, Heroes in Crisis, Mage

Infidel 1-5

I picked this off the shelf at the library.  The cover proclaimed that NPR selected it as one of their 100 favorite horror stories of all time, so I thought, “Why not give it a try?”  I’m not usually a horror fan, but I’m okay with it in comic book form. (As Jeff Lemire notes in the afterword, sound and jump scares don’t fit in the comic equation.  Since those are the biggest two contributors to why horror movies are so effective against me (and why I hate watching them), their absence keeps this from my “avoid at all costs” list.)

A spirit feeds on the xenophobic feelings of an apartment building’s residents, leading to violence, death, and explosions.  It’s well executed by Pornsak Pichetshote and Aaron Campbell - The mood is sufficiently creepy, the monsters are scary, and the deaths are gruesome.  But I contend that it would have been even scarier if they had muted the presence of the creatures. Pichetshote does such a good job of conveying the barely hidden fear and hatred of the neighbors’ racism, which is terrifying enough.  Amplifying that, and keeping the ugliness internalized (where all these feelings are festering), would have ratcheted up the tension and made the ensuing mayhem all the more intense.

That said, there’s no way I’d watch a movie version of this.  It would scare the shit out of me.

Regret borrowing: No

Would buy: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Fine

Some of this week’s new comics:

Mage: The Hero Denied 15

I wish I hadn’t bought this series.  Even without rereading them, I also regret buying the previous two Mage series.  Not that they suck, but I’ve never had the urge to re-read either them or this most recent run.  They’re the definition of a good library borrow. I’m far more inclined to read Grendel if I want a great Matt Wagner yarn.  

Anyway, Wagner wraps up his Kevin Matchstick saga with a neat little bow.  The good guys live happily ever after, but the journey wasn’t interesting enough to justify the trip.  I’m not sure if I’m going to keep this when I get to the full review, but that’s a ways off in the future.

Heroes in Crisis 6

A complete filler of an issue.  (Tom King had mentioned that two of the issues in this nine-parter were initially intended to be crossover issues.  This may be one of those, especially since Mitch Gerads did most of the art.) In flashback, King gives us some insight into the psyches of Gnarrk, Wally West, and Harley Quinn right before all the death.  I like it, despite the superfluous nature of it all.

Gnarrk (whom I did not know about before this), has the Steve Rogers frozen-in-ice origin, only he’s an actual caveman.  That’s the reason for his primitive speech patterns, though that apparently doesn’t prevent him from smoothly quoting huge blocks of Keats’ poetry.  The juxtaposition is amusing, as are Gnarrk’s deep thoughts as he contemplates the works of Plato and his place in this new, modern work.

I also like Harley’s interactions with Ivy.  Ivy’s attempts to provide therapy for Harley involve repeated holodeck simulations of killing the Joker in creative ways.  Works for me, as does their romantic little moment sitting atop the pile of Joker carcasses.

Adorbs.

Also, it appears more and more like Booster Gold’s the killer.  I hope it’s true, because a heel turn means that he’ll get beat up a lot more by the good guys.  Hate the guy.

Action Comics, Skyward, Heroes in Crisis

New comics!

Action Comics 1007

At this point, I’m looking back at Brian Michael Bendis’ runs on both Action and Superman and thinking that I have no real desire to read either of them over again.  I’ve got to take that as a signal to stop buying both. I’ve given them seven issues apiece, and there hasn’t been enough improvement.  Sigh, that’s such a huge disappointment, I so wanted these to be good. Eh, if they improve, I can pick up the trades. (Which is actually cheaper, anyway.)  

So what happens this issue?  Jimmy Olsen realizes he’s dating a member of Kobra.  (Isn’t that where things were going with Ganke’s girlfriend in Spider-Man at the end?)  Lois tells her dad that Clark is Superman.  Whoa, that’s a major big deal. Did she even run that by Clark?  Seems like a horribly misguided decision.

I may never discover how it turns how.  I can live with that.

Nice alt cover by Patrick Gleason.

Skyward 10

Skyward is more fun when it’s exploring how reduced gravity has affected the world, less so when it gets involved with the plot. This is a plot issue, and ends with everyone in a race to reach Chicago first.  Necessary to get the story moving, but not as fun as some of the earlier issues.

Heroes in Crisis 5

Who’s supposed to be taking these photos on the cover?

I still hate Booster Gold.  Still love Clay Mann’s art.

Beautiful use of shadow here.

Superman’s speech is Tom King overtly talking to the readers about real life soldiers and the sacrifices they make for their fellow citizens.  It’s well written, and worth reading. (It also succeeds in its ostensible purpose as Superman’s attempt to mollify the unthinking masses.)

This is going to be a joy to read in its entirety.

Runaways, Heroes in Crisis, Action Comics

New comics!

Runaways 17

The kids spend most of the issue debating whether or not to follow Alex’s plan to prevent world destruction.  They finally agree, then reverse their decision again after Gib comes to the realization that maybe humans aren’t worth wiping out after all.  They fight Bo and Rim, lose, and the issue ends with Alex prepared to go through with the sacrificial rite after all (with Victor as the lamb).  Not one of this run’s stronger issues, but it’ll do. I’m still waiting for Alex to take a long walk off a short pier. Also, this had better not be the end of Doombot.

Action Comics 1006

Stuff actually happens, so thumbs up.  Bendis continues to hit the little moments out of the park, while struggling with the larger plot points.  With gems like the ones below, I’ll take it.

It's the car!!!

He must give the best hugs.

He's so good at these speeches.

Perfect, even if it is a mirror of...

Heroes in Crisis 4

I haven’t mentioned it until now, but I’ve been loving the covers depicting classic moments of trauma from DC history.  

The pace picks up, which is great.  Even greater is Clay Mann’s art, which is causing me to audibly exhale in awe when I see some of these panels for the first time.

Love the ears.  Also, a sobering scene.

Tomeu Morey on colors.

Total fan service, but very well done.