Shit I Read for April 26, 2007

Shit I Read for April 26, 2007

Apr 26

Back in the day, I wrote regular comics reviews for a fledgling pop culture website and for usenet under the pretentious title “Four-Color Critiques.” I had aspirations to model myself after a Randy Lander or Elayne Wechsler-Chaput. My “output” lasted for several months, at which point I got sick of it.

Let’s see how long it takes me to get sick of it again. Random, capsule-ish reviews of the comics I read every week (though not necessarily the comics that came OUT that week), posted every Thursday. And it WILL post every Thursday, whether it’s done or not–I’m setting the timestamp now.

That’s right–another comics reviewer on the web. Oh, joy.

This week: Catching up on Detective Comics, 52, and more, plus a few oldies-but-goodies, Star Wars and Transmetropolitan. In alphabetical order, cause I know that’s how you like it, sweetie poo.

52 #50
World War III. There’s something strange about the term itself. First and foremost, it’s been used already by Grant Morrison in his JLA series. Second, the term has become shorthand for any big, crazy conflict, whether said conflict is actually big or just has illusions to such–you could conceivably hear “World War III” used to describe two squabbling co-workers who are about to have a dust-up about replacing the toner in the fax machine.

So just as a name, it lacks inspiration. Yet with that flat name, I hoped the writers would pull a rabbit out of their hat and introduce an actual new WORLD to fight against, since the hints have been coming hot and heavy that the multiverse is returning.

Instead, it is what it is–a big world fight between Black Adam and a lot of superheroes, one that strains credibility if you think about it too much. Taking what’s on the page, it wraps up this big storyline in about as well a fashion as can be imagined, especially considering the arc has been developed over 49 weeks and has to conclude in 22 pages.

Whatever happens in 52, however, I find it hard to actively dislike the series. Even its misfires feel more like failed ambition than just plain stinky work. At least they’ve been seriously TRYING to do something great and new. If anything will cripple the immediate reaction to however this series concludes, it will be the built-up expectations of us geeks. I’m already dreading the mild let-down that will inevitably follow the final page of issue 52. But in a couple years, I bet looking back on it will provide the response it deserves.

52 #51
There’s something almost valedictory about this next-to-last issue of 52; it’s like the writers are taking a victory lap of all the stories they’ve told over the past fifty weeks. As such, it’s got a sense of playfulness and looseness that’s welcome; we’re still an issue away from the true end of the series, but at least we got one issue near the end to just have fun with some of these characters in these pages one last time, and to give them a proper send-off.

I’m not quite totally sure yet what next week will bring, but I must admit I’m dying to find out; the teased “return of the multiverse” seems to be confirmed by this issue, but it’s not been dropped upon our heads as a major plot point, just slipped into bits of dialogue and suggestive artwork (the cover of this issue, for example, with its Earth-shaped gears spilling out of Red Tornado’s head).

Detective Comics #829-830
I recall reading some slightly negatory buzz on these issues when they came out, which was months ago, but I thought this two-parter was a tight, solid Batman/Robin story with a decent hook–basically, Die Hard starring Robin, cause Bruce Wayne’s stuck at a diplomatic engagement or some such. It may have been considerably more clever if they’d followed through more heavily on the whole Robin solo against a terrorist vibe, instead of inserting Batman/Bruce into the story so much–I got the sense that the editor basically demanded an appearance by Batman at some point, since, y’know, it’s HIS BOOK and all. So the ending where Batman swoops in to finish the job felt a little out of place. Still, if not quite up to Dini standards, a fun Bat-romp.

Detective Comics #831
I don’t really share Paul Dini’s obsession with Bettie Page stand-in figures–busty ladies built like fifties’ pin-up models who get involved in cute, wacky hijinks–so the appeal of Harley Quinn is largely lost on me. Thus, this one-off story in which she finds herself head to head against Scarface and the new Ventriliquist (another entry in Dini’s gallery of pin-up villains) didn’t do too much for me, especially given the issue’s final twist–Bruce Wayne, as a member of Arkham’s parole board, casts the vote that allows Harley to go free.

Wonderful…except she’s NUTS and a KILLER. I understand the post-IC Batman/Bruce Wayne is a more balanced, probably more forgiving fellow, but still. That felt all kinds of wrong.

Justice Society of America #5
Have I mentioned how I think all the 52 writers are hitting much stronger individual strides now that the timesink at the center of each of their professional lives is essentially over?

Well, now I have. Geoff Johns is a mixed bag for me; when he nails it, he’s great at delivering slick modern superhero comics. When he doesn’t, it can be boring; hell, even when he does, his reliance on graphic violence leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so it requires copious doses of good to overcome that metallic tang at the back of my tongue. You know, the one from tasting all that four-color blood.

On JSofA, I think he’s doing good to great work. This issue is his first installment in the JLA/JSA crossover he’s splitting with Brad Meltzer, and I like the way it’s flowing–a classic super-team team-up vibe, with the various splinter “teams” heading off to take care of their own pieces of the mission. I’m not a Legion of Super-Heroes fetishist so much of this is lost on me, but I like how it feels, anyway–it’s the right kind of continuity porn, the kind that actually gets you off and leaves you seeking more.

(Actually, strike that–porn leaves you limp and sticky and wanting nothing except a nap.)

Star Wars (Marvel) #1
Over the past couple years, I’ve developed a perhaps unseemly fascination with the Marvel Star Wars series. It seems like maybe the only truly great “expanded universe” creation, because it’s the only one that captures the spirit of the original films, even if it falls short sometimes in the realms of, say, “logic” or “common sense.” In issue 1, Howard Chaykin pencils with an energy that has all the swash and buckle of the movie, and later, Carmine Infantino will contribute a run of issues as penciler that somehow manages to effortlessly bridge the gap between the modern Star Wars saga and the great sci-fi comics of the fifties. It’s easy to imagine Luke’s adventures as just another ongoing tale from Mystery In Space.

Transmetropolitan: Gouge Away (TPB)
What occurred to me most of all as I read the trade this morning: It must have been an awesome single-issue ride. I remember picking up some, maybe most, of the floppies back in the day, but they are long since lost in some box in my parents’ basement. Yet it never struck me till now how so many of these issues are stand-alone stories that contribute to the overall plot and tone of the book, but have a distinct beginning, middle, and end. It’s a great read in trade format that would have been just as great if I owned all the floppies as they came out. That’s more and more a rarity these days.

Watchmen #1-5 (TPB)
I’m re-reading this for a conversation on Kevin Church’s recently-launched forums, and in case you’ve forgotten, it’s still amazing. One tidbit shared on the boards that I’d never even noticed: Issue #5, entitled “Fearful Symmetry”? Take a look at the first page, then the last page, then the next-to-first, then the next-to-last, and so on. They mirror each other right up until the center, where the character at the heart of the plot stands in a page-crossing center panel. In other words, the comic itself is in perfect visual symmetry. AWESOME.