Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I’m so sorry, guys. I was travelling from Wednesday through today, so I missed this when it first got mailed. Here it is, though, and better late than never...
Cormorant here, and like any fun-loving comic fan, I’m still trying to find reasons not to eat a shotgun after reading Moriarty’s breakdown of the downright evil J.J. Abrams script for the next Superman movie. The one thing that’s kept me from pulling the trigger, aside from the fact that I don’t own a shotgun and I love the sweet nectar of life, is the fact that the comics themselves that Hollywood so often sees fit to trample…the comics themselves are doing okay. Sometimes even pretty damn good. Sometimes even ass-spankingly GREAT.
So! Here’s what we’re reviewing this week, in order that you, the readers, might divine the ass-spankers from the…um….non-ass-spankers: UNCANNY X-MEN, AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO, BLACK SUN, MAN OF STEEL, PARADIGM, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS, Y – THE LAST MAN, and the latest issue of ROBIN. Rounding things out is an edition of TALES FROM THE CREVICE, in which Vroom Socko brings to light a lesser known Vertigo series from the past few years that I happened to really dig too.
Now let’s talk us some comics.
UNCANNY X-MEN #413
Published by Marvel Comics
Written by Chuck Austen
Drawn by Sean Phillips
Reviewed by The Comedian
O.K. Let’s cut to the chase. When the Big-X relaunch happened over a year ago, Uncanny pretty much got the short end of the stick. Grant Morrison either wowed, disappointed or befuddled most critics and fans alike with his cynical, oh-so-hip storylines and characterizations in New X-men. Chris Claremont just disappointed and befuddled them with X-Treme X-men. While Milligan & Allred torched the established rule book and cashed in big time with X-Force. Uncanny X-Men on the other hand has received little or no notice from most readers and has pretty much drifted and slept its way through the past year and a half worth of storylines. Joe Casey tried too hard to stay neck and neck with Morrison on the hipster front, introducing such villains as that K.I.S.S. Army reject who could suck people into his mind, storylines like Chamber’s short-lived tabloid romance with the Britney Spears clone & “Banshee The Fascist”, not to mention characters like Stacy-X (originally named X-Stacy) whose only power is that she can read and manipulate pheromones (yup, that’ll be really useful against the Sentinels.). Now that Casey’s gone and Chuck Austen has taken over as writer, there’s some industry buzz building that Uncanny X-Men is back on track. One would hope, since it’s the oldest and dearest of all the X-books.
Well, I picked up Uncanny X-Men #413 chiefly because nothing else that great came out last week so I figured I’d give it a gander. What I read contained many familiar set-ups and traits of previous X-Men stories with a few new spins. I can’t say that I’m all too impressed with it but the familiarity is comforting.
The issue is told mostly from the perspective of Annie Ghazikanian, a young single mom and nurse who’s got a thing for Havok. Yup, Havok’s back from “Mutant-X” land and the experience has more or less left him a catatonic vegetable. Either that or he’s seen that goddawful TV show (Thank You! I’ll Be Here All Week! TRY THE VEAL!). Apparently he was found in a convalescent hospital and Annie’s been taking care of him ever since. She’s even agreed to move into the X-Mansion to take care of him full time. The issue begins with Annie and her son entering the gates of the School and we learn through her voiceover that she really doesn’t like Mutants. She is greeted at the door by Paige Guthrie, who’s now apparently all grown up from the awkward, goody-two-shoes of Generation X to a smokin’ hot Hawaiian Tropics Bikini model. At Xavier’s instruction Paige brings Annie to a makeshift triage room where the Uncanny team is recuperating after whatever crazy shit went on last issue. Paige gets into it with Stacy-X over Archangel (who I personally think is too freekin’ old for either one of them) and leaves crying. Paige makes a great comment about the new X-Men uniforms that seems almost lifted from a fanboy bitchfest. Archangel (who’s not Blue anymore BTW) chastises horny, lizard girl and then everybody goes to see about Alex. Professor X tries to contact Alex on the Astral Plane but is only confronted by Alex’s apparent loneliness and despair. Then he makes with the “we’ve all got to learn to live together through peace and harmony, please join us, I swear we’re not a cult!” spiel and Annie agrees to stay. In the end we find out that her little boy is apparently a telekinetic. Oh yeah, and Juggernaut’s on the team now. I know, I think it’s goofy too.
Anyways, overall I found this issue to be interesting because even though it was basically just rehashing old X-Men plot points it all seemed more familiar in a comforting way as opposed being a stale rehash. Annie’s whole deal was done before with Archangel’s black cop girlfriend, Dr. Cecilia Reyes (the self-hating forcefield mutant) and Moira MacTaggert herself. The outsider who learns to trust Xavier and his kooky cult...I mean mutant super-team. Juggernaut joining the team isn’t so much a “whaaaa!!?!?” moment when you look at what a revolving door Xavier’s has been for former enemies doing brief stints on the side of the angels. Magneto, Mystique, Sabertooth, Emma Frost: they’ve all spent time laying low at the at the x-crib between attempts at wiping out its inhabitants. Even Stacey-X doing the annoying bad girl with an attitude bit goes back to Rogue and more recently Marrow. In fact the Stacy & Paige confrontation was the only thing that really annoyed me. It was like some bad Facts of Life episode where Paige was Blair and Stacy was Joe. I guess my point is that it seems like Austen is merely aping Claremont, but unlike all the 90’s writers on this book he’s doing it in a way that has just enough distinction of its own. Kind of like how the Paul Jenkins run on The Incredible Hulk more or less aped the cooler qualities of Peter David’s run. I didn’t hate this issue but I can’t “highly recommend” it either. Still, I think I’ll pick up the next few issues to see if it grows on me. From what I’ve heard they’re getting this new manga inspired artist soon who, leather jackets be damned, is going to put the Uncanny team back in costumes again. That might be worth the read alone.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO #2 (of 3)
Writer: Harvey Pekar
Artist: David Collier
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
After criticizing THE ULTIMATES some weeks back for its cynical re-creation of the Avengers as mercenaries, wife-beaters, and glory-hounds, I noticed some folks breaking out the defense that these very flaws would make the characters seem that much more heroic when they finally got around to doing the right thing. Maybe. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch have a 24-issue plan, supposedly to include such moments of growth, but frankly, I’m not interested in the whole superheroes-as-super-scumbags approach. If I want to see truly down-to-earth, flawed, and even unlikable protagonists, I’ll take ‘em outside the overly-deconstructed superhero genre. Give me comics like QUEEN & COUNTRY, Y – THE LAST MAN, or the topic of this review, the long-running autobiographical comic, AMERICAN SPLENDOR.
As of today, AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO, is my first and only foray into Harvey Pekar’s AMERICAN SPLENDOR series. I tend to be very close-minded about biographical and autobiographical comics, largely because so many of them just wallow in the unoriginal angst of slackers who can’t get laid. Hey, numbnuts creators, I can get that kind of story lookin’ in the mirror! Pekar’s stuff always had me curious, though, ever since I saw him reading one of his comics aloud in the indie-friendly 80’s comic documentary, COMIC BOOK CONFIDENTIAL. Yeah, Pekar still celebrates the slice-of-life, mundane stuff, but for the luvva god, at least he’s not a slacker who can’t get laid! He’s written about his love of jazz, about how he and his wife coped with his bout with cancer, and about his uncomfortable and confrontational appearances on David Letterman – interesting mundane stuff.
With UNSUNG HERO, though, Pekar turns his unbiased, documentary style of storytelling not to himself, but to the life experiences of one Robert McNeill, a black veteran of the Vietnam war. In the first issue, we saw glimpses of McNeill’s early life – transcribed precisely from his own words in interviews with Pekar - and the circumstances that led him to volunteer for the Marines in his late teens. He’d been forced to repeat second grade three times as a kid, first because he was behind, a second time as a result of the vagaries of transferring between schools, and a third time, unbelievably, because the third grade classes were “overcrowded.” He explained how this formative experience led him to be resentful of adults, and come high school, he dropped out and ended up getting two girls pregnant. Not very uplifting so far, and the rest of the first issue chronicled his grueling early experiences in Vietnam, including some moments of camaraderie and pride, but also horrific instances, like his teammates carving A’s (for “Alpha Company”) into the skin of dead opponents.
The second issue begins with a focus on the controversy that occurred when high-ranking Marine officers became nervous about some of the black pride rituals that McNeill and other black soldiers engaged in to maintain their spirits. The rituals ranged from meetings where the McNeill and his friends would just end up getting high, to black-pride armbands tied around the wrist, to the elaborate handshake known as “the Dap.” As McNeill describes the Dap: “When they gave it to me, it went on for twenty minutes…I got tired of it, but if you refused, they called you an Uncle Tom, so I went along with it.”
These anecdotes are interesting in and of themselves, but more importantly, they slowly build up a picture of McNeill as a sort of everyman, going with the flow when need be, but also finding a sense of pride and the sort of on-the-spot heroism that’s perhaps the one ennobling aspect of war. McNeill’s far from a saint, though, as Pekar’s straightforward narrative reveals. He visits hookers while on leave, takes speed a few times, and even smokes pot on guard duty; this is no movie war hero – just an average, flawed man, making the best of a shitty situation.
And yes, his imperfections do lend a sudden sense of urgency to the one instance where he might end up playing a pivotal role in protecting his company. On the anniversary of the Tet Offensive, as everyone’s paranoia is at a peak, McNeil spies a little girl on the outskirts of the base, and she tells him, simply, “VC come tonight.” That night he pulls guard duty, and panic sets in as he senses vague, shadowy movement in the tall grass surrounding the compound, and smells a particular smell on the wind that’s associated with the Viet Cong. But…is it real or the aftereffects of the reefer in his system? That I’ll leave as a mystery to be discovered should you investigate the book, but the impressive thing about the scenario is that it’s a taut suspense scene even though Pekar never succumbs to melodramatic storytelling to heighten the mood. Every panel of the story is accompanied by the exact description McNeill gives Pekar, and it’s all presented with clarity and no editorializing. David Collier’s art is appropriately non-flashy as well, accurately reflecting the story in a realistic, gritty, and slightly underground style.
Final judgment: I love escapism. Probably 95% of the comics I read are straightforward escapism in one way or another. Nothin’ wrong with that, but that does mean that a comic like AMERICAN SPLENDOR: UNSUNG HERO can be a surprisingly refreshing change of pace. No macho posturing, no impossible anatomy, no smart-ass satire – just the real world looking you right in the face, and challenging you to wonder if you’d be as good a person…or better…or worse, in the same situation. Recommended to fans of documentaries, to war buffs, and simply to those who, like me, could use a break from clichéd heroes and villains every once in a while.
BLACK SUN # 1
written by Mark Andreyko
art by Trevor Scott and Udon
published by WildStorm/ DC
reviewed by Buzz Maverik
In an effort to better serve our readers who abuse drugs, this review will be translated for the stoned and/or wasted. No one can say that we here at Talkback @$$holes are not politically correct.
With BLACK SUN # 1, my anticipated reactions turned out to be exactly the opposite of my real reactions (TRANSLATION: heh-heh-heh-heh-arrrrrgh!). I thought I'd like Mark Andreyko's writing but hate Trevor Scott's manga art (TRANS: man-ga! maaaaiiiin-ga! mangle! Main-gel!) But I don't hate manga after all. It's fine for stories and characters conceived that way like Lea Hernandez's KILLER PRINCESSES or BLACK SUN # 1 here. Don't worry, though, I still hate manga X-MEN and manga-SUPERMAN (TRANS: ogawdogawdogawd!).
In the opening sequence of BLACK SUN # 1, Hong Kong cop Inspector Maggie Sun asks a perp, "How did you subdue your victims? With bad dialogue?" He might have asked her if that's how she apprehends criminals. (TRANS: Buhm-mer.)
You see, Maggie is a tough cop. Like there's any other kind in fiction. And she's a bit a renegade. Tough, renegade cop. The originality is just beginning here. Her commander, who also happens to be her Dad, yells at her for grandstanding. I think he says, "STARSKY! HUTCH! MY OFFICE NOW! I WILL NOT HAVE MY OFFICERS ACTING LIKE A COUPLE OF COWBOYS! IS THAT CLEAR? DO YOU HOTSHOTS UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE COST THE TAXPAYERS OF THIS CITY WITH YOUR LOOSE CANNON CRAP? I HAD THE MAYOR IN HERE, IN MY FACE..." (TRANS: You know that the cops take our bud and get wasted on their lunch breaks.).
That Maggie Sun. She's a female who KICKS ASS. You don't see that...except in about every comic book and cop show since Marion Ravenwood punched Indiana Jones in the mouth. And, guys, Maggie is just like you. She likes sex. We're treated to her having a tongue war with her reporter boyfriend who just can't slow down that Maggie. I don't remember the boyfriend's name so I just call him by the name Matt Groening is holding in reserve for the SIMPSONS' Comic Store Guy: Louis Lane. After sex, Maggie wants to watch BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER on T.V. just like a guy. As soon as she sees a news report of a crime, she's off just like a guy. Here, Andreyko falters. If she were just like a guy she'd be asleep after the sex. This is the kind of comic book where I want to tell the creator, "Quit calculating and write a character and tell a story. I'll have my own reactions!" (TRANSLATION: That's uncool, man.).
I have to admit that about all I know about life in Hong Kong is from THE KILLER and HARDBOILED. But I doubt like hell if a female Hong Kong cop, when called "bitch" by a monster, would say, "I'm sooo over that word." Everybody speaks like American T.V. characters in BLACK SUN. Maybe that's how they do it in Hong Kong. Of course, when one of the monsters says, "These fleshbags breaks easy", our little Maggie again criticizes their dialogue by saying, "Why are you talking like you're in a CONAN movie." The translation of the CONAN movies must really affect the dialogue in HONG KONG because neither of the CONAN movies contain BLACK SUN style bad dialogue. (TRANS: Poptarts go good with malt liquor.).
What we have here is a book filled with new clichés and tired role reversals. If you like being pandered to and having your intelligence insulted, you may not mind. (TRANS: I'm crashing, man. I'm crashing too fast! I've crashed too fast!).
MAN OF STEEL #130
Mark Schultz – Writer
Brandon Badeaux – Pencils
Mark Morales – Inker
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
Bottom line: MAN OF STEEL #130 wasn’t so hot. I’ll be going into greater deal about why towards the end of the review, but first I'd like to take this opportunity to say a few words about Terra Man.
Yes Terra Man. One of the most ludicrous supervillains in the history of supervillainy.
Terra Man first appeared in SUPERMAN #249 way back in 1972, cooked up by the feverish brain of Cary Bates, a man whose stories sometimes had the cringe-worthy sensibility of Ed Wood. When I first read Terra Man’s debut story in the compilation SUPERMAN IN THE SEVENTIES, I hated it. I mean, how are we supposed to take seriously a supervillain who's just a cowboy who rides around on a winged horse? A cowboy in a yellow shirt and green poncho. A guy who looks like a cross between John Doe, singer in the 80s punk band X, and William Sanderson, the guy who played Larry of “Larry, Darryl and Darryl” fame on the show NEWHART. It didn’t help that the story also revolved around something called “Kryptonian Birthday Sickness,” and somehow managed to squeeze in Edith and Archie Bunker, and even Andy Griffith. It was supremely awful.
And yet, Terra Man was SO bad, he's good; like the movie ROAD HOUSE. Both Terra Man and ROAD HOUSE are SO sublimely cheesey, they've managed to circumnavigate the cheese continuum to the point where they're actually good.
I was able to pick up the original Terra Man issue not too long ago; an issue that includes his backstory as the back-up story. And I'll be damned if that hasn't become an honorable mention on my list of favorite comics of all time. I’ve come to appreciate the absurdity, the surrealism, the kitsch. And in some weird way, I think I’ve even come to appreciate Terra Man on his own terms. I like Terra Man. Long live Terra Man!
Unfortunately, the guy in MOS #130 wasn't Terra Man. He's a post-reboot attempt to update the character that first appeared in the early nineties; an effort to ground him with a sensible backstory. Oh he's bad too, no question. But not to the Olympic levels of badness of the old Terra Man. The new Terra Man is just lame; mundanely lame. He’s an eco-terrorist with hi-tech weapons. The closest he gets to being a cowboy is his southern accent.
I bring all this up because I was hoping against hope that somehow MAN OF STEEL #130 would reintroduce the classic Terra Man. I figured there was a chance he'd make an appearance because I know Geoff Johns is involved with this story arc, and he isn't afraid to dip into the goofy and pull out something wonderful. But alas, no such luck.
The story to MAN OF STEEL #130 was serviceable. As part of the “Ending Battle” storyline, it’s more of Superman protecting the people in Clark Kent’s life after they’ve been systematically targeted by an onslaught of his entire rogues gallery of supervillains. This time around he faced Evilstar, someone called Rock, Killgrave, and yes, the newer and lamer Terra Man. To put it simply, I wasn’t dazzled. The premise was sound, but he villains never seemed to get enough traction to where they felt truly menacing; consequently, the action was a little limp. Plus, I was subjected to Lois’s awkward narrative captions throughout the story. The issue wasn’t horrible, but as I say time and time again, you all deserve better than “just okay.” And Schultz has done better.
Brandon Badeaux did the art for one of my favorite Superman issues, ACTION #785. He tends to draw his characters a little more realistic, which I like. But I have a gripe about Badeaux that was finally crystallized with this issue: he draws everybody with big noses. I’m serious. For some reason, Badeaux likes to lay on the schnozzes. I have no problem with people with big noses; in fact, if it had to go either way, I’d say I’m actually inclined to like people with bigger noses. And yet, when everybody in a comic book begins to resemble Judd Hirsh, I have to lodge a complaint. I just don’t like Badeaux’s noses. Aside from that, I thought the art was as serviceable as the story.
Next week, Joe Kelly takes his shot at this story arc, and from the previews, it looks like it might be interesting: Superman and Luthor finally lay the cards on the table about the secret identity. Kelly has been on a roll with JLA lately, and I’m hopeful some of this magic will rub off on his Superman work. Here’s hoping. Meanwhile, unless you’re a hardcore Superman fan, you can probably skip MAN OF STEEL #130.
PARADIGM #1
Matthew Cashel, Jeremy Haun
Image Comics
reviewed by >A HREF=mailto:neverwhere333@angelfire.com>Lizzybeth
Yes, Image comics has snatched up yet another interesting independent property to re-release under its banner. With the attention and wide distribution they are bringing to projects like this, they leave comics fans no excuse not to discover the quality creator-owned comics that are waiting just beyond the Big Two publishers. PARADIGM, previously self-published under the banner of Two Irish Guys Press, is a smart little book that gets off to a strong start here despite a few first-issue stumbles. The Image edition adds 3 additional story pages and some editorial material to the original release, complete with a snazzy new cover, so whether you’ve already caught on to PARADIGM or are looking for a new series to start with at the beginning, this is a good issue to pick up. Plus, depending on whether you consider a black-and-white comic to be a bargain at $3.50, the nearly 40 pages of material gives you a good long introduction at a reasonable price.
PARADIGM starts out with a nice little slice-of-life scene between a man and his girlfriend and quickly goes… somewhere else. In a fleeting moment of violence, Chris Howells, our protagonist, is immediately uprooted from the thirtysomething relationshippy book he belongs in and dumped into a strange soup of bewildering occurrences and almost menacing pop culture references. After the initial shock of a traumatic experience, Chris starts to see people, see places, hear things that may not really exist, and he treats them with a casual acceptance that’s almost creepy. PARADIGM keeps Chris half-awake in a world gone slightly wrong. It’s clear that he’s a genial sort of guy who’s taken a wrong turn into a story that is not going to be nice to him. There’s something at work in the background of these events, the way Chris describes his relationship with Emma in terms of the sitcoms they watch together, the way Chris can carry on a conversation about a film he doesn’t remember with a man who may not really exist, the way he can’t quite believe an event really happened until he can read about it in the paper. His inability to really react to even the most startling events is directly linked to the obsessive pop culture references scattered throughout. “It’s has to be her television programs. They’ve lulled me to sleep,” he thinks, when trying to psyche himself up to take some action.
Some reviews from our group here at AICN have taken issue with the repeated abuse of the pop culture references, and in many cases I find it useless and distracting. But here, not only does this element add to the book, and ground it for better or worse in the year 2002 (the way other books may not really want to do), it actually may be essential to the plot. As for the plot, I was a little bewildered by the end of this issue – there’s a little bit of mystery, just a touch of suspenseful action, some police procedure, skillfully casual dialogue, and no small amount of inexplicable weirdness. Fortunately, it all comes together nicely in a believably befuddled main character and his self-assured spooky foil of a girlfriend (the fascinating Emma, who I hope will remain a fixture) and that’s what has me eagerly awaiting the next issue.
PARADIGM owes an obvious debt to recent comics creators such as Gary Spencer Millege (writer/artist of STRANGEHAVEN, who offered a pretty complimentary blurb for an early cover) and Brian Michael Bendis (repeatedly mentioned in the editorial material), with maybe a bit of Brian Wood and Neil Gaiman for good measure. There are some clear weaknesses in this first issue which make the action even more confusing than the creators may have wished. Jeremy Haun’s photo-realistic artwork has the opposite problem of many beginning comic artists, in that he draws human figures excellently and inanimate objects not quite so well. This and a few clumsy panel progressions make it difficult at a few spots to determine just what’s going on. With all the plot-related balls in the air, the visual clutter only makes it harder to follow the story. However, when the images are distilled down to a face, or a gesture, the artwork is really striking, with excellent detail and facial expressions, and it matches the sullen tone of the story perfectly. PARADIGM already has a confident voice of its own, and with Image Comics behind it I hope to see this title develop into a strong series.
Title: BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #33
Writer: Scott Beatty
Penciler: Mike Collins
Inker: Bill Sienkiewicz
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
I wanted to sound out in outrage upon hearing the early word about the big shockeroo at the end of BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #33, but then I read the issue and kind of liked it. This story contains a revelation that, if true, will have major effects on the Bat-Universe from here on out. I know that just saying that there is a shockeroo ending is a bit of a spoiler, so I guess the cat’s out of the bag in that sense. But I’ll try to keep my lips sealed on the exact details.
Now that the “Bruce Wayne: Murderer” story arc is behind us, it’s time for a new mystery. BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #33 takes popular storylines from Batman’s past, throws in major Bat-menaces, and advances the ongoing fight against an eternal evil to the next level. Let’s have a recap, shall we?
Ra’s Al Ghul (The Demon’s Head) is a megalomaniac who wants to wipe out the Earth’s population and rule the world himself. Ra’s is quite old and has stayed nimble all these years after repeated bathings in his Lazarus Pits, which are strategically placed along ley lines around the world. These pits grant him eternal youth and a bit of madness after each bathing. Ra’s knows Batman is Bruce Wayne and sees him as a worthy adversary. He even offered his daughter, Talia, to Bats as a sign of respect, but Batman turned him down, which infuriated the madman, especially since Talia may or may not be Batman’s baby’s momma. Recently, Daddy Ra’s tried to pawn Talia off onto another suitor, the mammoth man-monster named Bane.
Bane is said to have been raised in a prison on the island of Santa Prisca. Like Batman, Bane saw an omen in the form of a bat and read it to be a representation of what he must overcome in his life. So of course, he sets out to destroy Batman. Bane succeeded in this goal by breaking Batman’s back, but Bats got better and handed Bane his ass shortly thereafter. On the mend, Bane teamed up with Ra’s Al Ghul, but their partnership was short lived. After Talia rejected his advances, Bane set out to destroy Ra’s and his empire. When we last saw Bane, he was on a quest to destroy all of the Lazarus Pits, ending the madman’s grasp on eternal youth and dreams of world domination.
The story of Batman, Ra’s Al Ghul, Talia, and Bane has been unfolding for almost twenty years. Not all of their stories have been great, but to look back on it all, one has to admire the intricate soap opera that has unfolded between these characters. The greatest strength and weakness of issue #33 lies in the fact that it takes everything that has gone before this issue and makes a story out of it. This may alienate new Bat-readers, but, as a long-time Bat-fan, I can appreciate it for expanding on stories I remember reading years ago. This story is a nice nod to those who have stuck with Bats and Co. for years, but I can see why some would not want to sift through all of this history to enjoy this issue.
In BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #33, the thot plickens. Bane blackmails Batman into helping him find and destroy the last Lazarus Pit. In return, Bane offers an interesting tidbit of information. What unfolds between these two points of this story is pretty good. The action is well done. The initial throwaway fight scene with the costume-less Signal Man, Kite Man, and Corrosive Man was fun in that we get to see Batman and Robin together again. I don’t know when the last time I saw these so-called partners fight crime, but it was good to see that, after all of their recent problems, they still make a pretty good team (I go into this further in my ROBIN #106 review, later in this same column).
The rest of the Bat-Family are present too and their interactions help reveal important info about Batman’s history with Bane and Ra’s Al Ghul. It’s nice to see Nightwing’s overprotective side towards Batman surface when Bane infiltrates Wayne Manor. Writer Scott Beatty knows these characters well. Their trust in Batman has been damaged, not because they thought Bruce Wayne actually killed Vesper Fairchild, but because all through the “Bruce Wayne: Murderer” story arc, Bats didn’t trust them with the truth. Because of this, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Oracle spend a lot of time gabbing about their mentor behind his back. Of course, Alfred is the only one with enough balls to call Batman out to his face. Their frustration builds because they care about their mentor and think that he may be going a little battier than usual when he decides to help Bane.
My main problem with the issue is that the story is reliant on the fact that Bane has a secret and Batman wants to know what it is. Batman would never allow himself to be manipulated by a foe like this. Batman is the control freak here. He would have tried anything but helping Bane to find out his secret. It’s pretty obvious that the writer needed a little action to unfold before unveiling the dramatic revelation at the end of the issue, so Bats had to go along for the ride to make it a 22 page story.
Another problem I had with this story is the fact that they are trying to make Bane into a noble villain. Like Venom, Catwoman, Sabertooth, Deadpool, Deathstroke, and the Punisher before him, Marvel and DC seem bent on turning good villains into bad heroes. How many times have you heard this line from the hero to the villain-turned-hero?
“Remember what I said! No killing!”
And then the villain-turned-hero almost kills someone. And then the hero and the villain-turned-hero almost get into a fight. But the villain-turned-hero reluctantly backs down and they continue on their merry way. Sure it’s a good interaction that shows the difference between these characters, but this conversation has been played out so many times over the years that it has become another comic book cliché. I would love to see the tides turned and have the villain-turned-hero convince the hero that killing is good. Now that’d be cool. I hope they don’t make Bane into a hero. Batman has enough allies. Bane is more interesting as a challenge for Batman.
The art on this book reminds me of the Jim Aparo days of Batman. Mike Collins pencils look like they are from a nice classic-looking 80’s-90’s Bat-title. Since this is the era where most of the backstory of this tale occurs, the art fits nicely with the story. Bill Sienkiewicz is simply an amazing artist. His inks give more mood to an already moody story. Some of the panels are a bit too dark, but for the most part, Sienkiewicz’s inks are top notch.
This issue also features a cute little BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE tale that focuses on Gotham City and a monument that is built as a tribute to Batman. The story is a lot of fun, showing everyone’s reaction to the controversial statue that casts its shadow over Robinson Park. These BLACK & WHITE installments are hit and miss. It’s fun to see stories with a more innocent feel, set in a time when Batman wasn’t so grim, but more often than not, the back-up offers a forgettable, cartoony escape and nothing much else.
Most storylines that promise earth-shattering effects fail to deliver in the end. They come and go without real precedence. This is another chapter in the story of Batman, Bane, and Ra’s Al Ghul. The ending of this issue was a shocker, but the character stuff in between make the shocker worth while. Of course, this revelation could be a hoax and all of this could be for naught. Issue #33 isn’t the strongest Bat-tale I have ever read and the shockeroo is a bit contrived, but the twist ending will force me to pick up the next issue to see what happens.
Y – THE LAST MAN #3
Written by Brian K. Vaughan (& Jon Quixote!)
Art by Pia Guerra & Jose Marzan
Published by Vertigo Comics
Review by Jon Quixote
Now that I’m practically a co-writer on Y – THE LAST MAN, the break-out book of the year, I feel it is my duty….no, my right to point out a few missteps Brian K. Vaughan has taken in telling the story of a young man who is the only survivor of a mysterious plague that kills every other male on the planet. Namely, we have a character who discovers he is the only man on a planet now comprised entirely of women, and, three issues in, we’ve yet to witness a SINGLE orgy! Sure, the book is immaculately paced, with a great sense of humor and more tension than Clinton/Starr blind date. And if it isn’t the best comic on the market right now, it’s certainly the most creative but where are the effing orgies? Hell, this dude hasn’t even scored yet, and we find out in this issue that it’s been months since he was awarded the Mr. Universe title by default.
Boy, I tell you, if Vertigo ever lets me graduate from writing their cover promotional blurbs to plotting this book, there are gonna be some major changes. Just imagine the possibilities. Imagine. Imagine. Imagine…
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Q – The Last Man
JQ: My name is Jon Quixote, and I am the Last Man. A mysterious plague has killed all other men on the planet, leaving me the sole remaining male in a world full of women. It’s my old prom-date’s worst nightmare, because now I am the last man on Earth, Gina, and I’m going to take my time getting to you. Who’s the drunken loser now?
SEMICOLON: Eee Eee Eee
JQ: Oh yes, that’s SemiColon, my monkey. A few days before the mysterious plague hit, I bought a monkey, mainly as a way to pick up chicks. I even named him “SemiColon” so the ladies would know that I’m not just some creep with a monkey, but that I’m a smart, creative, and very literate NON-creep with a monkey. Of course, given that dating now should be like shooting fish in a barrel, showing up with a monkey would be like using a hand grenade. But I can’t seem to get rid of him, and now all my clothes smell like monkey shit. Still, it doesn’t matter because…I am the last man on the planet!
SEMICOLON: Eee Eee Eee
JQ: Now, some of you may think being the last man on Earth is all fun and games. The sad truth is that I’m faced with some very hard decisions to make. Namely, blonde, brunette, or redhead. Wait…what a coincidence.
3 Women, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead, approach.
JQ: Ladies. How you doin’?
BLONDE: Oh my God! Is that a man?
BRUNETTE: It is. And he has a monkey!
3 WOMEN: Awwwwwwwww.
SEMICOLON: Eee Eee Eee
REDHEAD: Wait, I thought all the men were dead.
JQ: Well, they all are. Except for me. I’m Q-The Last Man. I’ll bet you’re glad to see me. So, how do you want to work this? Do you want to draw numbers, or all go at once? Or maybe…
BLONDE: Let’s kill him, so we can be sure his kind never walks the Earth again.
JQ: Umm, whoa? I don’t really think that’s what I…
BRUNETTE: No, let’s make him our Slave! Get over here, Slave Boy, and lick my boots clean!
JQ: Uh, I think that’s really more SleazyG’s thing. Y’know, I’m probably just gonna take off, and maybe I’ll catch…
REDHEAD: No, let’s use him to start a Brothel! Women would come from all over the world to be sexually serviced by him. We’d make a fortune.
JQ: Okay, you I like.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: Hey, what’s going on here??
BLONDE: Who are you?
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: Can’t you read? I’m Brian K. Vaughan. Now, who authorized this unauthorized parody?
JQ: Um, hi. I just thought, y’know, that if I was the last man on Earth, that, like, y’know…I maybe could use it to, uh, get some somethin’ somethin’. Know what I’m saying?
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: I do not. You’re making a mockery of my work. Y-THE LAST MAN is about deconstructing that stupid sexist fantasy about a lone male in a world full of women. It’s about showing what a frightening concept that really is.
JQ: ‘Cause Oprah would be President?
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: No! Because he’d be an alien, an outcast in an unfamiliar world. It wouldn’t be a 24 Hour Sex-a-thon. He’d be so vulnerable and endangered that any chance for a normal life would be annihilated.
JQ: I thought chicks dug vulnerability. That’s what it says in my ‘Dating for Dummies’ book.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: No, no, no! You’re missing the point. You’re getting it all wrong. And another thing, monkeys don’t go “Eee Eee Eee”, they go “Ak oh oh.”
SEMICOLON: Ak oh oh
JQ: Holy shit.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: To use my work as a vehicle for a pathetic sexual fantasy goes completely against what I’m trying to say. It isn’t about hormones. It’s a hyperbolic metaphor for what it must be like for women to live in a male-dominated society. And furthermore…
The blonde comes up to Vaughan and starts running her hands through his hair
BLONDE: Hey, the smart one’s kind of cute.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: And, uh, furthermore…
The brunette walks up behind him and starts kissing the back of his neck. JQ grabs the redhead and starts grinding up against her.
BRUNETTE (whispers huskily to Vaughan): You know, it’s been a long time.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: And, uh, furthermore…oh, fuck it.
Vaughan spins around and starts making out passionately with the Brunette. JQ grabs the blonde and uses her and the redhead to make a Quixote sandwich. The monkey starts playing with himself, as monkeys are wont to do.
JQ: Pretty sweet, eh?
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: Oh God! You’re so right. What was I thinking? This, THIS, is what I should be doing with my comic.
The women stop cold. You can almost hear the skid.
BLONDE: Eww, you write comics?
JQ: *snicker* Busted.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: Wha? Oh yeah, well he REVIEWS comics!
The redhead pushes JQ away. He hits the ground with a thud.
REDHEAD: Gross.
BRUNETTE: Forget it girls. Let’s go back to my place and watch the All-Trading-Spaces channel.
The women lock arms and walk away, leaving Vaughan and JQ in shock.
JQ: Girls! Wait! Come back! I have a monkey! (to Vaughan). Great. I’m one of only two guys on the planet, and I still get cockblocked. Thanks a lot, dipshit.
BRIAN K. VAUGHAN: It’s probably for the best. There’s more to life than just finding ways to get off. Once we men understand that, the world will be a far better place.
The two men stare at the sky, pondering this notion.
JQ: So…how you doin’?
Title: ROBIN #106
Writer: Jon Lewis
Penciler: Pete Woods
Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
If there’s one thing Chuck Dixon did correctly with his 100 issue run on ROBIN, it was that he made Robin interesting as a stand-alone character. The stronger the character got, the further away he moved from Batman, and the classic stories featuring the adventures of the Dynamic Duo appeared with lesser frequency. During the multi-issue crossover, “Bruce Wayne: Murderer”, Robin doubted Batman’s innocence mainly because Bruce shut himself off from the rest of the Bat-Family and didn’t allow them to help him when he couldn’t solve the case alone. Batman and Robin’s relationship has seen better days. Like any teenager, Robin is challenging the authority of his mentor. Even though he knows that it annoys the hell out of Batman, he calls him Bruce, even when he’s in the mask. Robin no longer looks up to Batman as this ominous figure that demands respect and awe. Robin sees the man behind the mask with all of his flaws. As he grows into adulthood, Robin is questioning Batman’s motives and methodology and becoming an independent hero in his own right.
ROBIN #106 is one of those stand alone issues that has just about everything. There are some great quiet moments between Batman and Robin as Bats checks in with the Boy Wonder to see if there still is such a thing as the Dynamic Duo anymore. The biggest change that came out of the “Bruce Wayne: Murderer” storyline is that Batman is actually trying to reach out now instead of shutting his team out when a problem occurs. He’s checking in with Oracle and Robin, putting faith in Nightwing, and actually listening to Alfred a little. This is a major evolution for a character, who, over the last few years, has been isolating himself from those who care about him.
In this issue, Batman and Robin have it out. Not with fists, but in a tense conversation filled with heart. There’s a great scene where Batman and Robin are riding together in the Batmobile. The conversation is from Robin’s perspective, but one can see that Batman is trying hard to heal the wounds he has created. Robin is not quick to forgive, but still gives Batman respect by controlling his temper, even when Batman oversteps his bounds concerning Robin’s relationship with the Spoiler. A theme has been surfacing in the Bat-books. Batman’s mental state is more in question now than ever. He may be trying to patch up relationships, but the Bat-Family is actually taking care of Batman and not the other way around. Robin holds back emotions and chooses his words wisely in this issue as a parent does when working with a child. That says a lot about Robin’s maturity and Batman’s immaturity. Of course, the Dynamic Duo’s conversation is cut short when a possible crime is spotted. Both Batman and Robin are relieved when the chance to drop all of this relationship stuff comes up. It’s much easier to bust some skulls than deal with their own feelings.
I have been tight-lipped about Jon Lewis’ writing so far. I found his intro issue to be convoluted and the following story arc did absolutely nothing for me. I felt the pop culture references were heavy handed and didn’t think he had a firm grasp of who this Robin was. Issue #106 has changed my mind about this writer. All I have to say is that the action scenes are pure fun. It’s Batman and Robin in a car chase. They’re not fighting the Joker or Penguin or Two Face. There are no lives hanging in the balance, except for a lousy stool pigeon’s and who cares about him. It is just Batman and Robin forgetting about their problems with one another and doing the stuff that they were born to do. I don’t want to ruin it for the readers, but there are some really funny moments in this issue. After a rocky start, I think this Jon Lewis is going to be okay if issue #106 is any indication.
Pete Woods talent with the pencils has been growing with leaps and bounds over the last few issues. His style has that cartoony edge that all of DC younger hero books have, but he does something that other manga-ish artists don’t - he draws the kids like kids and the adults like adults. I’m sure Robin works out, but he’s no over developed roid-monger. Not all of Woods’ characters are ripped and buff. Body shapes vary. There aren’t too many comic book artists that know this, but Woods does. His figures are dynamic and the action is clear to read. That’s what good comic book art is all about.
Say what you want about the Bat-Universe. It may be repetitious and reliant on major shocker crossovers to sell books, it may be overcrowded with grim and gritty characters filled with unquenchable angst, but the editorial team behind all of it is keeping things coherent and consistent. Themes in this month’s GOTHAM KNIGHTS issue crossover with ROBIN which crossover into BIRDS OF PREY and BATMAN. These guys know the Bat-Family; a family that is arguably the most well developed cast in comics. This is not the Batman from five years ago. He has subtly evolved and Robin is evolving with him.
TALES FROM THE CREVICE: BOOKS THAT FELL THROUGH THE CRACK
By Vroom Socko
Over the past few months, several of my friends have been steering me towards this or that title or creator, as if they needed my validation of their taste in comics. True, two of these people were the creators of Oddjob (of which all the Slave Labor Graphics issues are now available in a handsome TPB, plug plug,) but most of the time these people are showing me stuff I’ve already read, or at least heard of. That is, except for this week’s Tale. Loaned to me by one of my drinking cronies, USER is one of those books that not only looks amazing, but is thought provoking as well.
This is not to say that the book has no problems. Primarily, the ending just doesn’t work for me. It’s too saccharine. The bulk of the story, however, is solid. Writer Devin Grayson manages to…
Wait! Come back! Don’t hold “Ghost Rider: Hammer Lane” against this book. Please? At least listen to what the story is about.
Megan is a tech support drone for an unnamed company. Both her work and home life are, in her eyes, a meaningless exercise. She only begins to find purpose in life when she joins an online role-playing game, where she becomes Sir Guilliame, a wandering paladin and decorated warrior. Soon her entire existence revolves around her gaming life. She loses her job, and her home life turns to shambles. She doesn’t notice any of this, until her father sells her computer in order to pay the phone bill.
Grayson manages to make Megan both a believable protagonist as well as an obviously unbalanced individual. Meg forms relationships with her fellow gamers that she finds important, nothing wrong with that. However, she does go too far with another woman she has cyber-sex with. Her use of a male character is also emblematic of not only her hatred for the mother who abandoned her, but her own self-loathing. This is one of the most disturbed characters I’ve seen in a Vertigo miniseries. For God’s sake, she uses the phrase ‘LOL’ in non-internet conversations.
Normally for me the selling point of a comic is the writing, but this time the art had just as big an effect. Sean Phillips draws the real world with a monochrome detachment that makes Meg’s breakdown a little more palatable. It’s also the perfect counterpoint to John Bolton’s vibrant rendition of Meg’s gaming world. As I said, this book was a loaner, but I’d buy it for the art alone.
Even if the final three pages just fall flat, the road up until then is still fun. This series is still uncollected, so if you’re so inclined, you can pick up the first issue and decide if the whole story is for you. At the very least you’ll have some great art.
Question For Discussion
What is the bigger draw for you in a comic book story, fantasy or reality?
I’ve got another @$$holes column bouncing around here somewhere, too...
"Moriarty" out.
