Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Have you ever smelled your own hard drive smoking? I enjoyed that tactile sensation this weekend, and this is officially my first update from my new computer. I used to have an E-Machines thing that I was very appreciative of... it was sent to me at a particularly bad time by an AICN reader... and it served me as well as it could for the last few years. I got lazy, though. I settled into using it instead of treating it like what it was... a temporary measure. And as a result, when it crapped out, I didn't have a plan in place. I got caught napping. And I had to go out and get a whole new system. This new one is like riding a Harley compared to how I used to travel on foot. Still, it'll take some getting used to. I'm going to try to put up a few stories tonight, but my e-mail box got screwy over the last few days. If you tried to e-mail me and it bounced back, or even if it didn't, you may want to try me again.
In the meantime, here's this week's collection of madness from our own resident lunatics, the TalkBack League Of @$$Holes...
Don’t you hate holiday weeks? You go through the week, minding your own business. Doing what you normally do. Following the same old routine. So when Wednesday rolls around, you totally forget about the day off you had earlier in the week. As usual, you look forward to that special time when you can get to the comics store and pick up this week’s new books. The day seems a bit brighter. You have a bit more energy than usual; an energy that intensifies with every step closer to your local comics peddling establishment. So you throw open the doors and rush into comics shop with a broad smile and an expectation to see a rack filled with new comics and a clerk eager to take your hard earned money, and what do you hear?
Have you ever smelled your own hard drive smoking? I enjoyed that tactile sensation this weekend, and this is officially my first update from my new computer. I used to have an E-Machines thing that I was very appreciative of... it was sent to me at a particularly bad time by an AICN reader... and it served me as well as it could for the last few years. I got lazy, though. I settled into using it instead of treating it like what it was... a temporary measure. And as a result, when it crapped out, I didn't have a plan in place. I got caught napping. And I had to go out and get a whole new system. This new one is like riding a Harley compared to how I used to travel on foot. Still, it'll take some getting used to. I'm going to try to put up a few stories tonight, but my e-mail box got screwy over the last few days. If you tried to e-mail me and it bounced back, or even if it didn't, you may want to try me again.
In the meantime, here's this week's collection of madness from our own resident lunatics, the TalkBack League Of @$$Holes...
Don’t you hate holiday weeks? You go through the week, minding your own business. Doing what you normally do. Following the same old routine. So when Wednesday rolls around, you totally forget about the day off you had earlier in the week. As usual, you look forward to that special time when you can get to the comics store and pick up this week’s new books. The day seems a bit brighter. You have a bit more energy than usual; an energy that intensifies with every step closer to your local comics peddling establishment. So you throw open the doors and rush into comics shop with a broad smile and an expectation to see a rack filled with new comics and a clerk eager to take your hard earned money, and what do you hear?
In the meantime, here's this week's collection of madness from our own resident lunatics, the TalkBack League Of @$$Holes...
Don’t you hate holiday weeks? You go through the week, minding your own business. Doing what you normally do. Following the same old routine. So when Wednesday rolls around, you totally forget about the day off you had earlier in the week. As usual, you look forward to that special time when you can get to the comics store and pick up this week’s new books. The day seems a bit brighter. You have a bit more energy than usual; an energy that intensifies with every step closer to your local comics peddling establishment. So you throw open the doors and rush into comics shop with a broad smile and an expectation to see a rack filled with new comics and a clerk eager to take your hard earned money, and what do you hear?
Don’t you hate holiday weeks? You go through the week, minding your own business. Doing what you normally do. Following the same old routine. So when Wednesday rolls around, you totally forget about the day off you had earlier in the week. As usual, you look forward to that special time when you can get to the comics store and pick up this week’s new books. The day seems a bit brighter. You have a bit more energy than usual; an energy that intensifies with every step closer to your local comics peddling establishment. So you throw open the doors and rush into comics shop with a broad smile and an expectation to see a rack filled with new comics and a clerk eager to take your hard earned money, and what do you hear?
“The new comics will be in tomorrow because of the holiday.”
The clerk says this as if it were the thousandth time he has said it that day; probably because he has said it a thousand times that day. There’s a deflation. You feel ashamed and stupid for not remembering the holiday. Don’t play cool. You’ve done it. I’ve done it. We’ve all done it. You stand there for a moment in disbelief. You make a courtesy lap around the store, stare at the empty shelf where the new comics will be tomorrow, and then walk out the door defeated, disappointed, and empty handed. Head lowered. Hands in your pockets. Dragging your feet. You see another guy heading for the store with that same look of excitement that you had just seconds before. For a moment, you consider saying something. You could stop him from making the same mistake that you did, but you don’t. He has to experience the disappointment for himself. Damn holidays.
Oh yeah, I’m Ambush Bug. This is the Talkback League of @$$holes comics review column. Enjoy.
JOHN CARPENTER’S SNAKE PLISSKEN CHRONICLES
Written by William O’Neill
Art by Tone Rodriguez & Digital Chameleon & Chris Blythe
Published by CrossGen/Hurricane Entertainment
Call me…Jon Quixote
Escape from New York. Cult Classic, emphasis on the latter. The best kind of action movie: Imaginative and intense, with kick-ass set pieces, a wry sense of humor, and a little subtext thrown in to give the whole thing some real substance. Plus, it gave us Snake, one of the baddest anti-heroes ever to put his mug on celluloid and exhibit A in the case of Kurt Russell is the coolest motherfucker on the planet.
Escape from L.A. Ca Ca. The worst kind of sequel. Dull and derivative, it actually repeats plot points from the first movie, is loaded with garish performances, and the whole thing seems to be built on a foundation of tired Hollywood jokes. On the other hand, it gave us more Snake. But, then again, it gave us Snake playing basketball, which I really don’t think anybody asked for – gangsta-posturing aside, real tough guys don’t play a game where if you bump an opposing player, a short white dude gets to bitch you out; needless to say, it didn’t do much for his mystique.
To this uneven duo we now add the Snake Plissken Chronicles comic book. And if you’re anything like me, you’re not only devilishly handsome, but you’ve also been dying to find out which side of the Escape fence it’s going to fall on.
Con: It opens with a pointless, space-eating poorly drawn action sequence. Snake fighting some scuzzies who took a wrong turn at The Road Warrior, and ended up in Jersey. A couple get shot, then they erect a barricade, which Snake cunningly…drives through. About as generic an action sequence as you’ll ever see.
Pro: It has Snake.
Con: About half way through it introduces Marrs, one of Snake’s few friends. We know he’s Snake’s friend, because the narrator tells us so, even though he spends about three pages doing little but insulting Plissken before betraying him. I don’t want to brag, but I kinda saw it coming.
Pro: It has Snake.
Pro: It sets up a really cool casino heist where the goal is to steal JFK’s limo.
Con: The bad guys forget to wait until after the heist to betray Snake. Marrs’s thugs knock him out. But instead of killing him, they decide to put him in a crab cage, wait for him to regain consciousness, taunt him for a while, and then drop him in the ocean to drown. The reason they do this: none of the three have ever watched a single movie in their entire lives. At least, that’s what I’m guessing.
Pro: It does have Snake.
Con: The third person narration calls him Snake so many times, I start to feel a little stupid that I’m reading a story about a guy named Snake. It doesn’t help that Plissken’s Christian name is wedged into dialogue like “Snake doesn’t bother to look back. Snake never looks back. Too much pain. Too much war. Too much history.” Too much fucking blah blah blah. I had no idea he was such a sensitive soul. Maybe in issue #2 we’ll be privy to some of his haiku.
Pro: There’s this one moment, where Snake’s getting his ass kicked, he delivers a classic Plissken line, and you can just hear Kurt Russell’s voice ringing in your ears. Right then, I see The Real Snake, the reason people will buy this comic book.
Con: One panel, out of 22 pages. I was kinda hoping for a little more The Real Snake in my comic. Plus, not once did I laugh, smile, or chuckle during the whole comic. That’s pretty unforgivable.
The Verdict: Anti-hero rides into town, explains heist, gets betrayed and placed in death trap. Yawn. Even the death trap – a crab cage – is boring. I guess Snake Plissken Chronicles ain’t horrible, but it’s about as bland as a comic gets: completely devoid of any wit or imagination. Yeah, it’s a Snake Plissken comic, but he only sporadically resembles the Snake we know and love – the rest of the time he’s generically haunted warrior-guy.
There is hope: the generic heist - I’d offer a cookie to everyone who can guess how they plan to get past the security cameras (shh, video looping), but I can’t afford to buy infinity cookies - at least has an original objective, and sometimes it feels like comic Snake is about to bust out in some bad-ass movie Snake coolness. It could get better.
Still, it looks like this comic is only for the die-hards. Like me. I’ll probably stick around for issue 2 and hope for a reversal of fortune, but at this point, I’m thinking Jack Burton Chronicles would have been a much better idea.
TITANS/YOUNG JUSTICE: GRADUATION DAY #1 and #2
Writer: Judd Winick
Penciler: Ale Garza
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
I’m one of those people who feel obligated to pick up a lot of these miniseries and crossovers to keep up with characters and keep track of what’s going on. I was a regular reader of both YOUNG JUSTICE and the most recent incarnation of TITANS. GRADUATION DAY is supposed to be a bridge between those two cancelled books and the new incarnations they’ll be returning as this summer. When they come back it will be with Winick scripting THE OUTSIDERS and fan favorite Geoff Johns writing TEEN TITANS.
Since this book is a bi-weekly, I figured I might as well review the first two issues of this three-parter together. There are certain things that seem consistently good about the series so far from a writing perspective, as well as certain things that are consistently bad.
First, the good: Winick has some decent characterization and dialogue of the long-standing characters we all know. It isn’t particularly groundbreaking, and a lot of it just references the same things as we’ve already seen laid out in the past by other writers, but Winick does a decent job with it. He seems to have a good ear, and I think with time we may see that he has a pretty good handle on the characters in THE OUTSIDERS. From what I’ve seen in GREEN LANTERN, this is Winick’s strong point—he writes believable dialogue that isn’t too obsessed with making sure it seems clever or cute, which has been a downfall with some of those who’ve handled these characters in the past.
Now, the bad: The storyline itself is supremely uninteresting. For as big a deal as this mini is supposed to be, it really doesn’t do much to keep you reading. The first issue kicks off with portentous dreams that suggest Donna Troy is going to play a pivotal role in the mini. This foreshadowing is then completely set aside, other than a brief one-page discussion near the end of the second issue. Instead, we get two issues of an unknown cyborg ‘porting in and out, roughing up some cyborg characters in the DCU, and knocking the crap outta YJ and the Titans for no reason.
The pacing is really terrible here, folks. The cyborg thing just drags and drags—it takes up like 70% of the two issues, and nothing has happened with it yet other than lots of people getting beaten up and hospitalized. The Troy thing, which looked like it was gonna be big, is completely glossed over. Worse yet, there’s a death of a Titan near the end of the second issue that has very little time to sink in since it’s in the last couple pages. Then, before we’ve even seen anybody’s reactions or how they cope with the death, we get a teaser box letting us know somebody else is gonna get whacked in the final issue of the series.
So we now have one final issue in which we’re supposed to see a resolution of the Troy thread, find out who the cyborg is and why she’s here, find out whether either team will accept the offer from yet another big international conglomerate that wants to fund a superteam for their own questionable reasons, see the ways the various team members will cope with a long-standing character’s death, discover who else dies and how…I mean, come ON. Nothing happens for two issues, then we cram it all into the final issue? Less threads, more issues or more editing were clearly required here.
As for Ale Garza’s art, it’s pretty uneven too. There are some really great panels. Unfortunately, they’re accompanied by some really horrible ones, where the characters' faces look ridiculous (especially Arsenal and Superboy) or the details (like Robin’s mask) look goofy as all heck. Consistency is pretty important in comic art—I don’t mind if it looks different from one issue to the next, but when it looks different from page to page or panel to panel, it suggests the art was rushed and breaks up the flow of the storytelling.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be back for the third issue, and I’m looking forward to the launches of the two new series this summer. It’s just that this series isn’t a particularly auspicious start for them, and considering how far in advance we started hearing about this series, it seems like they should have had enough time to clean it up and put out a really kickass mini. It’s not the worst thing I’ve read lately, but I was expecting more from the series, and I’m kinda disappointed. Still, if you’re somebody who’s been following these characters for long and you want to make sure you know what’s going on when THE OUTSIDERS and TEEN TITANS launch in a month or two, go ahead and grab them. I just don’t know if they offer much to new readers; if you’ve never followed them before, you’re better off just waiting for the monthlies to launch.
FANTASTIC FOUR #69 (#498)
Mark Waid - Writer
Mike Wieringo - Penciller
Karl Kesel - Inker
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
So I've jumped on the FANTASTIC FOUR bandwagon.
Like the rest of you, I tried out the 9-cent issue a few months ago, and at the time I found the sucker to be a pleasant but otherwise unremarkable comic; nothing to turn me off, but nothing to get me hooked either.
Then #67 came along.
For those of you who don't know, FANTASTIC FOUR #67 was an issue that brought Dr. Doom back in a big way. Fed up with being bested by Reed Richards in every single one of his nefarious scientific schemes, Doom decides it's time for life-change and abandons science in favor of magic. And when Doom made this transition, writer Mark Waid gave me something unique and rare in my recent comic reading experience: He gave me surprise. I knew going in there would be a surprise; I even had a sense of what was coming, but somehow he was able to surprise me anyway.
It's now a couple of issues later, and Waid hasn't managed to top the punch of that issue. And that's okay, I'm not sure my nerves could take it. Instead, Waid has managed to keep the ball rolling with some pretty sharp storytelling; storytelling that overcomes what I feel to be some of the title's obstacles. Yes, I am on the FANTASTIC FOUR bandwagon all right, and for the most part, I'm finding it to be a clever and rollicking ride.
Of course, those of you who remember the 9-cent issue know what I mean when I say "rollicking." As with that issue, Waid manages to keep things moving at a pretty brisk pace. This time, the Richard's son Franklin has been sucked into hell, the Richard's daughter is a little possessed, and all things technological are breaking down or melting. Everything falls apart before they realize it's all Doom. The Four somehow manage to pull themselves together and speed their way to Doom's country of Latveria to confront him, which they do, violently, shortly after landing. Okay, crashing.
Again, it was rollicking., helped along by Mike Wieringo's peppy art. The good news is that the art kept the energy up. The bad news is that it took a chunk out of the story's tension. It's hard to be gripped when everybody looks like a Disney character. And so there's a scene where the Human Torch is in hell trying to save little Franklin from the demons. Remarking to himself: "'The Ring': No longer scary." Uh, not exactly, Johnny; unless you find Godzilla movies scary. In fact bringing up THE RING like that only reminded me how completely un-scary that Hell was. And yet for whatever lack of seriousness that the art put into the situation, Waid made up for with plot and dialog, which I thought were, on the whole, pretty clever.
Too clever for some of you, I know. I had a discussion with a fellow Talkback frequenter about the fact that at times he felt the book seemed distractingly clever, clever for clever's sake, and obviously written; where you can almost see the Waid writing the comic as you read it. (I'm sure he'll elucidate in the Talkback.) I didn't really have this problem. I noticed witticisms, but only to enjoy them. Moreover, the cleverness that I really admired from the story came more from the plotting. Like the fact that little Val's first word uttered at the end of the previous issue was "Doom." Or the fact that Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, returns from Hell - burnt! Or the dilemma that they found themselves in at the end of the issue had a real sense of danger, yes, even though they looked like a bunch of Disney characters. I was feeling it.
There were some other minor problems to the issue that I had a little trouble with. For example, was Franklin really in THE Hell? The Judeo-Christian, afterlife Hell? Perhaps Whedon-esque Hell dimension? A planet that looked an awful lot like Hell? What? Obviously I need to bone up on my knowledge of the Marvel Universe cosmology, but Waid could have filled me in. Another more specific glitch was a moment when they were trying to rescue Franklin from Hell, and he was less than twenty centimeters away from the door. Forget the fact that Mr. Fantastic with the infinitely stretchable arms could have simply reached in there to pull him out; I could have reached in to pull him out. I mean, come on.
But these are really just nitpicks. Waid's biggest hurdle was the lightness of the art, and managed to clear it just fine. Moreover, I really enjoyed the FANTASTIC FOUR #69. It was the first book that I read this week and is set a nice standard for the rest of the reads. Like I said, I'm now on the FANTASTIC FOUR bandwagon, and it's looking to be a pretty fun ride.
JLA: SCARY MONSTERS #3 (of 6)
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Joshua Hood
Inker: Sean Parsons
Reviewed by superninja
Here I am doing the very thing I promised myself I wouldn't do. After JLA: Scary Monsters #2, I told myself, "This is going nowhere, fast. That's it, I'm done." That's because nothing really happened in the second issue that couldn't have made it into either the previous issue or the one I'm reviewing. In #2 the JLA meanders about trying to find out what the hell is going on and doesn't have a clue. The cliffhanger is that Superman gets his ass kicked and Wonder Woman gets trapped under ice in a lake by some nameless evil that apparently has the power to freeze the water during summertime.
And so naturally, I went out and picked up issue #3. Of course, I gave it a quick scan in the shop, just to make sure something happened in it. Why? Because I thought the first issue had decent parts, and I guess I didn't want to give up on it. (C'mon, you guys have all been there.) After reading issue #3, I found that it's still a mediocre series, but it has some interesting things going for it. Or, more or less, it picks up on the same things that I found interesting in issue #1.
The premise is that the JLA are at a resort right out of The Shining. Down in the valley, an ancient evil that threatens the world…blah, blah, blah - you get it. In this issue, the JLA free Wonder Woman from the icy lake with some silly superhero science, then retreat to the resort as Superman covers the rear. Superman gets another ass whoopin' by the Lovecraftian evil that resides in the resort's valley (magic's not his thing), but escapes thanks to Green Lantern and his girlfriend Jade yanking him out of harm's way. With everyone safely inside, they bolt the doors, and the fun begins. The JLA is on the defensive. They've been on the defensive before, but never in such conventional horror circumstances. Think Aliens or Resident Evil. Claustrophobia. They're trapped, and they can't fight their way out. They have to wait for what's coming for them while they try to figure out how to survive.
That's what I liked about this issue. Batman ordering Flash to do surveillance, only to discover that the architect, Abel Carmody, had planned for it all along. Wonder Woman, and several others, have been infected by the nameless evil as Green Lantern and Jade scoot off the vacationers to the sub-levels. Abel Carmody's descendant, Kishana, is the key to the past, and J'onn taps into her brain to unravel history as they're attacked. Wonder Woman fights, but then admits that the evil controlling her wants to kill Dishana.
Not a great issue, and the art is decent. We know how it's going to end, but I liked the horror vibe.
THE CREW #1
Written by Christopher Priest
Illustrated by Joe Bennett
Reviewed by The Comedian
We’ve seen a lot of gimmicks from the House of Ideas over the past two years. Some have been splendid surprises while others have just stunk up the racks somethin’ nasty. Unreadable crap featuring Gay Cowboys, Underground Supervillain Fight Clubs (The first rule of Fight Club? Uh guys, people stopped talking about Fight Club 4 fucking years ago!), and a lame-as-all fuck parody of the “Distinguished Competition”.
These turds are freekin’ ambrosia compared with some of the asinine things they’ve done with their Black characters. That wannabe Blaxploitation Cage (Yeah let’s give him headphones, that’s Urban) and the obnoxiously unreadable “Truth” are easily two of the worst comics I think I’ve read in the past five years. “Truth” was such a profound fuck-up. As a Black reader I really wanted to like it more than anything. In the end it was a cheap tease. It just seemed like they were more concerned with stirring controversy than actually saying or showing us anything meaningful. The shitty plot structure and the worst story-to-art juxtaposition EVER tanked it for me after three issues. Any of you out there still following that piss poor train wreck can fill me in later. For me, it was just another asinine, cheap, empty gimmick.
The Crew is none of these things. The Crew is a Godsend. O.K. maybe not a Godsend but it’s a pretty good fucking read. I’ll skip the plot summary since this review is a week late and those of you who’ve read it already don’t really need one.
Priest’s characterization of Jim Rhodes as a burnt-out, misanthropic has-been is pure gold. The set-up scene with the dorky accountant is some of the best acid-tongued dialogue I’ve read in some time. The scene with him and the bimbo is pretty funny too. Like that’s the lowest he could go, blowing 200 dollars on dinner with some bleach blond gold digger. When I first read it I was waiting for the next scene with them in a hotel room with an 8 ball and a bottle of Cuervo.
Of course that didn’t happen since Rhodey got the phone call about his sister. The Brooklyn stuff was cool too. My only complaint is that Priest shouldn’t go the cheesy DC route making up a fictional neighborhood. It kills the realistic mood of this book. Brooklyn is full of shitty, ghetto hellholes. Why not just set this in Cypress Hill, Bushwick, Red Hook or East New York. “Little Mogadishu?” Okay, maybe if it’s a neighborhood chiefly populated by African immigrants (plenty of those in Brooklyn too). But it just seemed to me like that came from a guy who’s just seen Blackhawk Down too many times. It’s a small complaint, but it bugged me. I’m guessing off the top of my head that Josiah X is the Truth Cap’s grandson or something.
Either way, it was a strong enough debut. Priest, if you’re reading this, just promise me you’ll keep Brother Voodoo and Rocket Racer the hell away from this book and we’ll be just fine.
JLA # 81
Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Duncan Rouleau
Inks: Aaron Sowd
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
Those of you who are not reading the JLA right now are missing out on a phenomenal run. This run is far better than the much ballyhooed, Grant Morrison, “big spectacle” stint that started this series’ relaunch. The big budget, “summer movie” catastrophes still plague the League, but Joe Kelly has added a factor that Morrison’s run lacked: characterization. The faces and costumes in this book may be familiar, but Kelly is writing these characters the way few do in comics. He’s not just throwing out another alien attack or super-villain team for these icons to face. Kelly is allowing these larger than life characters to show emotion. Their masks no longer hide the intense feelings that go along with the job. Issue #81 is a showcase for Kelly’s talent as a writer and the intense emotions that these heroes often face while fighting the never-ending battle for good.
Issue #81 is the midway point for “The White Rage,” the current story arc running through the JLA title. It started out with a group of JLA-ers acting as middlemen in a standoff between government agents and a compound for people with superhuman powers. The scene is reminiscent of the FBI foul-up at the Waco compound, and like that standoff, it ends in tragedy. At the end of issue #80, the compound explodes killing every man, woman, and child inside its walls. The second chapter deals with the ramifications of this tragedy.
Kelly writes each member of the JLA perfectly by highlighting each of their strengths and weaknesses. Superman is wrought with guilt. He turns himself in to the authorities and sits silently in his jail cell, taking full responsibility for the tragedy and punishing himself for not being able to save so many lives. Wonder Woman, as usual, is the level-headed negotiator and diplomat, visiting Superman in his jail cell in an attempt to smooth things over between her friend and the police who watched their hero fail when he was needed the most. Batman, as always, is suspicious and wants to get to the bottom of all of this. Atom cooly investigates the crime scene with a driven, scientific mind, and proves himself as a superior field leader when the shit hits the fan in the end. Firestorm floats around in awe that he is actually hanging with the Big Guns.
Kelly juggles each of these characters with ease. He knows these characters and builds an interesting story around the best and worst of their character traits. This is no generic story that has a bunch of heroes crammed in. This is a story that revolves around the characters. The plot considers each personality and is driven by challenging those personalities. This is an emotionally charged issue. Kelly has a heck of a lot going on between all of these characters, but not once does any character seem short-changed or rushed to get to the cool “money shots.” Kelly gives screen time to each member of his large cast and each character's story and reaction is equally important to the plot and interesting to read. And when the money shots do come…Whoa Nelly! Are they big.
So is this a perfect issue? No. There are definitely areas that could’ve been better. The story is a bit convoluted. The plot revolves around a secret group of super-powered beings who reveal their true colors to the League at the end of this issue. Token new character Faith is somehow involved in all of this. There is a lot of mystery so far in this arc and this issue left me with more questions than answers, but Faith seems to hold the key to the answers and I have faith that Kelly will reveal all by the time this story concludes next issue. Kelly knows that every story has to have a main character and team books are no exception. Kelly did this before with Wonder Woman in “The Golden Perfect” and Green Lantern in “The Obsidian Age.” This time he has chosen Faith as the centerpiece for this whole story to revolve around. By rotating the central character, Kelly offers a new and interesting perspective for each arc, but since no one really knows anything about this new character, it is harder to feel emotionally connected with her. Kelly’s choice to use Faith as the pivotal character in an arc that evokes such personal feelings in the rest of the team is an interesting metaphor since the underlying theme of the story is the each member’s loss of faith. Plot holes abound in this issue and the twists may be a bit confusing, but I’m going to hold off until the final act plays out next issue before I pan this story for its plot convolution.
Other than frustrations about not knowing what the hell is going on in the book, I have a few other minor beefs with this issue. First off, I have to state that I think that Kelly’s inclusion of Manitou Raven into the ranks of the JLA was a stroke of sheer genius. I nearly leapt out of my seat in glee when he spoke the words “Inukchuk!” at the end of “The Obsidian Age” and the character has become one of my favorite members of the League. This updated version of Apache Chief from the old SUPER FRIENDS cartoon tickles me every which way.
My complaint has to do with the way Kelly is allowing Manitou to discover what happened to the Native Americans throughout history. You see, Manitou Raven is a Native American from the past. He missed out on all of the wars with the white man and the slaughtering of the Native American tribes. There is a scene in issue #81 that borders on melodrama. When Manitou Raven discovers a casino stands on the sacred ground where his tribe used to meet, it seemed forced. I know Manitou needs to find out about his history and that discovery should have a great impact on his character, but the scene played too heavy for me and teetered closely towards self-parody. It reminded me of the clichéd “crying Indian” from the “Don’t Pollute” ads from long ago, and I don’t want to be distracted with this image when I am reading about this interesting character on his road of discovery.
I am also annoyed with Manitou’s (and Kelly’s) use of Native American magic. Magic characters always annoy me in comics. Scarlet Witch annoys me. Zatanna annoys me. These characters seem to have unlimited power. Whenever trouble occurs, all the magic character has to do is reach into his or her bag of tricks to pull out a spell that is the perfect solution for that situation. And there’s no real rhyme or reason behind it. There are no rules. No limitations. It always seemed to be a writing cop out to me; as if the writer uses this plot device, shrugs, and says “Hey, I don’t have to explain it. It’s magic!” Well, that shit don’t fly with me. Manitou Raven is cool. I like the way he bursts into a flock of crows and grows forty stories high. But I think the character would be much more interesting if his powers were limited and he didn’t have the answer to every problem in his bag of tricks. Just a personal beef, but I had to say it.
Lastly, the subplot with J’onn J’onnz working through his phobia of fire with Scorch, a 5th tier fire-villainess, is doing very little for me. I really don’t understand why J’onn chose a criminal to work through his fire phobia with instead of Fire from the old JLI series, with whom he had a pretty good relationship. I guess it makes for a more interesting story to have J’onn team up with a villain to work through his problems, but the logic behind it all is questionable and a bit of a contrivance.
I’m not the biggest Dincan Rouleau fan, but I don’t hate him as much as a lot of people do. He has wisely toned down his cartoony style of artwork for this arc and his panels do not distract from the serious tension and emotions running through the story. His depictions of Firestorm and Manitou Raven are especially good. As is his panel with Superman in chains. But he still draws Wonder Woman as if she were a GLOW wrestler, taking away almost all of her feminine beauty and replacing it with too much muscle. The final panel though is classic comic book art, revealing the entire team of baddies in a single splash page shot. Nice stuff.
So far we’ve seen some intense emotions from the team and next issue it looks as if we are in for a good old super-hero team vs. super-villain team battle royale. The villains, Axis America, are a racist group who represents “The TRUE America.” This may look like another group of villains, but the hate behind their words and actions bring an intensity that I haven’t seen in past baddie super-groups. It makes sense that a team of racists would show their true colors and challenge the League when the JLA invites non-white characters into their ranks. These real world problems that plague today’s headlines may turn off die hard comic book fans, but Kelly tweaks it enough to fit into the DC Universe without taking away from the intensity and ugliness of the villains words and actions.
Despite the above minor complaints and some plot bumps, I’m really enjoying this arc and Kelly’s entire run with this title. He’s brought these icons down to earth by giving them feeling and emotions and filling their stories with cool characters and interesting situations. I can’t wait to see how this arc ends.
INHUMANS #1
Writer: Sean McKeever
Penciler: Matthew Clark
Inker: Nelson (Not the band. I think.)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G
We’ve been reviewing a slew of these Marvel #1 issues lately here at the TL@ Clubhouse, and so far the results have been mixed. #1 issues can be tricky things, and not all writers are able to get the blend of action, characterization, and interesting storyline quite right straight out of the gate.
INHUMANS #1 comes pretty close, though. It’s the newest member of a family of stories I’m pretty fond of: using a tale of super-powered teens to address the universal issues we all face at the age. The difficulties, the joys, and the heartaches of growing into an adult, and maybe not the one we were expecting—it’s a genre rich with potential. It’s the sort of metaphorical technique that resonates with its audiences when done well. We’ve seen it before, most recently in places like the BUFFY and X-MEN universes, but there are still a lot of stories to be told.
This issue pretty much hits the ground running. It touches on the crucial underpinnings of the Inhumans mythology pretty quickly. The Inhumans live in Attilan, which is now found in the Blue Area of the moon. When they reach a certain point in their teenage years, they go through a rite of passage which requires they enter a chamber which is filled with “terrigen mists,” unlocking their genetic potential. Of course, anybody who’s ever read anything involving the Inhumans knows all this, so McKeever smartly touches on it just enough to remind us all of the basics and fill in any newbies.
He does this while putting us all on even footing by introducing us to an entirely new cast of characters. San is a teenage boy getting ready to go through the ritual exposure to the mists and find out what he’s destined to become. Unfortunately, San has made the mistake of building up his expectations of what he’s to become. He’s trained and developed his physical abilities because he assumes that he’ll become a warrior like his father and grandfather were, members of the Royal Guard. This was a mistake on the handsome, athletic, popular San’s part, because there’s no knowing what the outcome of the exposure will be. When San’s exposure results in something different from what he was expecting, he becomes disappointed with himself and finds himself feeling isolated from his family and friends. Fortunately, he has one friend named Nallo who’s already been through the same thing to talk him through it a little. By the end of the issue, there’s big unexpected news for San in the form of just the kind of cliffhanger you want at the end of a #1.
The art, by Matthew Clark, is pretty good. There are definitely some interesting character designs. Attilan seems varied enough that it won’t become too boring to look at, which is a danger in such a limited space (how boring has Aquaman’s Atlantis become?). Much of it is open and airy feeling, but he’s also got the feel of the buildings indoor and out nailed. It’s enough to make me want to see what else he’ll do with the city and its denizens as the series progresses. There was only one confusing panel in the book—the second to last page is one big splash page, and I’m not quite sure if the object in the background is meant to be an actual physical object or not—but that’s a minor problem, really.
Of course, here I am at the end of the review, and I still haven’t addressed the one thing you all want to know: where are The Inhumans? You know, the “real” Inhumans? Well the answer is, they’re not here much. We see glimpses of Black Bolt, Medusa, and Gorgon, but that’s about it. They’re there to provide background, to offer a setting we’re familiar with. They’re clearly individuals San respects and wants to emulate. It seems, though, like the book is going to be more about the next generation of Inhumans. It’s trying to tell stories about a new group of Inhumans just discovering their abilities with all of the benefits and difficulties that entails.
I’m sure we’ll see more of the original characters as the series progresses, but I don’t think they’ll be the focus. So far, though, that’s okay. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always liked the Inhumans. That’s why I picked this book up. I definitely look forward to seeing a lot more of them. It’s just that the core concept behind them is strong enough that I think it can be somewhat flexible and be used to tell some really great stories. As long as McKeever doesn’t completely abandon them and has the good sense to incorporate the classic characters regularly, I think the series can also support the new characters. There’s plenty in this first issue to suggest McKeever’s got some interesting things planned, and I’ll be sticking around for a while to find out.
And now a word from Indie Jones herself, Lizzybeth…
As was reported by Head Geek a few days ago, Fantagraphics Books has fallen into some financial trouble and are putting out word that if their comic inventory doesn’t get converted to bill-paying cash real quick, there’s a strong possibility that they will be going under. If you’re anything like me and have a mental bookshelf of titles you’ve been meaning to get, now is the time to check out the Fantagraphics website and pick up some of those wish-list comics while they’re still around. While some of these books will find new outlets if Fantagraphics goes out of business, many will not, and these artists need your support.
Fantagraphics makes great comics happen. Period. That’s the first and best reason for purchasing their books at this critical time -- so please, take a look at the Fantagraphics website . You’ll find books from such luminaries of alternative comics as Robert Crumb, Roberta Gregory (NAUGHTY BITS), Peter Bagge (HATE), Daniel Clowes (GHOST WORLD), Chris Ware (ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY), and Los Bros Hernandez. In addition there are some ongoing titles that I strongly recommend: Charles Burns’ BLACK HOLE, Jessica Abel’s LA PERDIDA, and continuing favorite LOVE AND ROCKETS. There are some terrific new graphic novels, like Phoebe Gloeckner’s novel/comic DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL, BEG THE QUESTION, PALESTINE, the previously hyped in this column MAIL ORDER BRIDE, and two breathtaking volumes from Norwegian artist Jason: HEY WAIT and SHHHHH. There are also some great collections, from newer comic strips like MAAKIES to reprints of classics like POGO and KRAZY KAT. And these are just *my* favorites! In its quarter-century of business, Fantagraphics has put out an amazing array of quality comics. The industry would not be the same without them.
