Oh man, you guys!
So last night, I’m cruising around Liberty City in a Sabre GT that I just stole, you know, just rollin’ around all high-speed like Gone in 60 Seconds
And later, I got a hooker, and brother, if you thought they were freaked out by Mass Effect, then–
Huh?
Oh, right. Comics.
Yes, should you ever doubt my commitment to the ISB or my benevolence to its readership, just keep in mind that it’s Thursday night, and I’m putting down the controller to bring you the Internet’s Most Egregious Comics Reviews!
Here’s what I picked up this week…
And here’s what I read between missions!
Avengers: The Initiative #12: I like Dan Slott’s work an awful lot, and while I’ve had my problems with this title in the past–mostly centered on the coloring–this week’s issue shows exactly why The Initiative is one of Marvel’s best team books.
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a lot of simple storytelling tricks–or for anything that gives the indication that a writer thought about a story for longer than it actually took to type it–but in tying the last page of his first year to the first page of the first issue, Slott does more than just provide a circular structure for the story. In those two pages, the results of everything that’s happened to Cloud 9 over the past twelve issues are brought to the forefront, along with everything that the Initiative itself stands for, both good and bad. When we first see her, she’s essentially just goofing off with her powers, whereas now, she’s using them to help people with the experience and teamwork that the program was designed for. But, like the mother that she’s saving says, this is her job now, and while she’s far more efficient, all the joy and freedom that comes with a power like being able to fly around on your own Monkey King-esque cloud is gone.
It’s a great bit, and it does a lot more to point out the opposing sides of the SHRA and put them on equal footing than Civil War even attempted. It’s a great book, and if you haven’t… well, you know the drill
Blue Beetle #26: As you may already be aware, this one was done as a special “Spanish Language” issue, and almost all of the dialogue for the story–which takes place at Jaime’s family reunion–is, well, in Spanish. Sort of self-explanatory, that.
In any case, I’ve seen people speculating on the fan reaction to this issue since it was solicited, and while the comics-reading audience is notoriously fickle, I didn’t think there’d be much of a problem. After all, if you’re already a Blue Beetle reader–and statistically speaking, a heck of a lot more people should be
This issue, though, falls squarely into the latter category. As has been pointed out on a couple of occasions, my grasp of Spanish is pretty much nil, but even with my limited knowledge, I had no trouble following Jai Nitz’s script. Obviously, I read the translation in the back to get the full picture, but a lot of the credit goes to Mike Norton, who really keeps things moving with some nice storytelling. And to be honest, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out “Gracias por el voto de confianza, abuela. Significa mucha para mi.” Let’s hear it for common linguistic roots!
As for the story itself, beyond the novelty, it’s a pretty straightforward super-hero punch-out, but the real fun lies in Jaime’s interaction with his supporting cast, and that alone proves that Nitz understands what makes Blue Beetle such a fun book to read.
DC Universe Zero: Brace yourselves, kids, it’s about to get spoilery:
So, fifty cents? Yeah, that’s about right.
Ah, but I kid. I like the cheap books that DC does to get people excited about their upcoming crossovers–or at the very least, I prefer this tactic to Marvel’s tendency to put out trades collecting stuff that came out, you know, the week before, and yeah: I’m lookin’ at you here, Secret Invasion. As for the content, well, they don’t leave me a heck of a lot colder than this.
To be honest, I really don’t care about Barry Allen coming back. Its tempting to say that he should’ve stayed dead–because he should’ve; Kevin put it best when he said that Barry works better as an inspiration to be lived up to than he ever did as an actual character–but let’s be real here, folks. Barry Allen never has stayed dead. He’s come back like eight times, and that’s not even counting The Return of Barry Allen
So really, it’s nothing that we haven’t already seen, and since the storytelling options seem to be having even more Flashes running around than we already do or having Barry–and this is crazy, so bear with me–sacrifice his life to save the universe in a shocking plot twist, I’m fully prepared to just shrug it off and move on. No big.
On a more positive note, though, the lettering in this comic is top notch. The way the captions move from black, gradually fading into red until the lightning bolt comes up from the background? That’s good stuff, so take a bow, Nick J. Napolitano. You did some excellent work.
Helen Killer #1: I’m essentially just putting this one out here to remind everyone that it should be available at your local comic book store. Apparently, some stores got it last week, but since it’s finally made its way to the sunny Southeast, it ought to be everywhere.
Anyway, I already covered this issue here, and rest assured that it holds up well on the second reading–because really, “Helen Keller’s berserker rages” is a concept with some staying power–and as you can see above, it definitely meets your daily requirement of alleyway facekicking. I would like to add one thing, however: For bonus awesomeness, read this issue while listening to the song Phantom
Immortal Iron Fist #14: At its heart, “The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven” is really just another version of the All-Valley Karate Tournament, as seen in the greatest movie of all time
In fact, while I was reading this week’s issue, I found myself thinking, “You know, The Karate Kid would’ve been better if instead of using the Crane Kick on Johnny, Daniel had mastered his chi-power and shot himself like a bullet so that he could punch a train in the face,” and I can assure you, that is a thought that I have never had before. Probably because I never stopped to think about whether or not trains had faces, but now we know they do.
And we know they can be punched.
Legion of Super-Heroes #41: Let’s see here… How can I put this delicately… Who knew Saturn Girl was such a submissive?
For those of you who haven’t read this week’s issue, that probably requires a bit of explanation. Right in the middle of this issue, Lightning Lad’s recovering from a long day of running the Legion, and a scantily clad Saturn Girl walks in with something of an unusually worded request, and not only does that overshadow the punchline–Lightning Lad goes to answer the phone and a disappointed Saturn Girl zips up her top and gets ready to go to work–but it pretty much overshadows the rest of the issue.
For my money, I’ve got to imagine that Jim Shooter’s thought process was less “Oh, right, Saturn Girl’s really into BSDM” than “What’s another synonym for ‘take’?” but the effect is a little more eye-catching. Unless… Hey, maybe she meant she wanted Lightning Lad to pwn her! I mean, I hear GTA IV‘s got some pretty awesome multiplayer, so…
… Nah.
Thor: Ages of Thunder: I’m willing to admit that I may–may–be a little biased on this one.
After all, the fact that I’ve got three oversized comics written by Matt Fraction on my pull list this week is a pretty obvious sign that I’m a fan of the guy’s work, and as someone who loves Thor, I’ve been waiting for a Thor comic where something actually happens for a couple of years now. So really, this one’s right up my alley.
It really is a great read, though: With this one, Fraction’s taking the idea of the Ragnarok Cycle and using it to tell stories about a Thor that in a lot of ways is different from the version of the character that we’re used to: Far more selfish and brutal, and far less noble and concerned with his fellow gods. In those respects, he’s a lot closer to the original version, and so it’s fitting that Fraction’s using him to adapt some of the classic myths, including my all-time favorite from when I was a kid about the giant who rebuilds the wall of Asgard. Although now that I think about it, he does sort of skip past the part where Loki ends up having sex with the giant’s horse and giving birth to Slepnir the Eight-Legged Steed of Odin, but, well, there’s probably a good reason for that.
The art, too, is just beautiful, with Patrick Zircher and June Chung (the art team behind the first story) and Khari Evans, Victor Olazara and Jeena Kevic Djurdjevic (the folks behind the second) just knocking it right out of the park. The story’s largely done in double-page spreads that are divided up into smaller panels, and, well, flip through it. You’ll see for yourself how good it looks.
But like I said, I’m pretty much predisposed to like this stuff, and if you’re going to get your reviews from a biased source, you ought to go the whole nine yards with it. So to that end, here’s what Ages of Thunder writer Matt Fraction has to say. After all, he’s the guy who described this book in an interview as a Thor comic for people who like Led Zeppelin III
Truer words, my friend, have never been spoken.
Wildguard Insider #1: If you’re reading this, I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’ve got at least a passing interest in super-heroes, and if that’s the case, you really ought to be reading Wildguard. In case you missed it, Todd Nauck–probably best known for drawing Young Justice started the series as something along the lines of a superheroic parody of American Idol, where the readers could vote for the last member of a pre-fab super-hero team. It’s a neat gimmick that did a fun job of getting its fans involved, but the real draw was the sheer amount of characters that Nauck created to flesh out the competition.
They’re all fantastic, from the core team members like Red Rover all the way down to also-rans like Power Temp, the Travel Agent and The Mover and the Shaker, put together with a sense of humor that often overshadows the creativity and effort that Nauck put into his work. It’s great fun, and really, it offers more heroes per page than anything since Jim Kreuger’s Alphabet Supes. Check it out, it’s well worth it.
Kirby Five-Oh: With this one–a big ol’ slice of the Jack Kirby Collector that includes articles where pros vote on their favorite Kirby covers, designs, and pieces of unused art–I think I officially own more books about Jack Kirby than I do about Abraham Lincoln and William Shakespeare combined, a piece of news which I’m sure will surprise absolutely nobody. Suffice to say, though, this thing is awesome: Just from flipping through it a couple of times, I’ve found a dozen things that remind me of why I love Kirby’s work so much, but I think the absolute best has to be one that just cracked me right up.
It’s a design sketch that Kirby did with a note written at the bottom reading: “Roman Field Soldier – My Version – (On the whole, it’s really accurate).”
Knowing what we know about Kirby’s version of accuracy–which he assured us of in the text pieces of Devil Dinosaur, right before the aliens showed up to fight the cavemen and dinosaurs–I’ll let you imagine what it looks like. Fantastic!
The Punisher: Circle of Blood Premiere Hardcover: For those of you keeping score at home, this represents the third version of the first Punisher mini-series that I own, and while that’s not exactly up there with Mike Sterling’s ten copies of House of Secrets #92, I think that puts me well on my way. And really, since I like the Punisher about three times more than anyone actually should, it’s just appropriate.
For those of you who don’t already own it, though, I’ve got to say: This is the version to get
Clearly, my purchase is completely justified.
And that’s the week, but before we wrap it up, a quick couple of things:
First off, between the time that I started the reviews and finished them, I had a chance to see the new Iron Man movie, and I’ve gotta say, it’s great. Very, very fun.
And second, as I hope you all know, this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, which–at least in some circles–is commonly regarded as being better than Christmas. Stores all across the world are going to be giving stuff away and hosting guests, so please: Head on down to your local shop and see what’s going on. At the very least, you’ll get some free comic books, and that’s very, very rarely a bad thing.
Now then, onto the usual stuff: As always, if you’ve got any questions about something I read this week, or you just want to talk about how the new issue of Usagi Yojimbo was a great jumping-on point for new readers, or how lamentable it is that The Order was just too, too solid for this world, feel free to drop a line. As for me, I’ll be… Well at this point, do I even have to say?
I just wish Nitz had been willing to focus the ENTIRE issue on Jaime and his family and the extended family all meeting his anglo girlfriend. Heck, his parents have only met her once that didn’t involve fighting aliens and that was at the post beatdown bbq. And for the record ALL Alien Invasions should end with a 4th of July style BBQ. Instead he wusses out and spends half the issue on the utterly meaningless Parasite fight…
Better than Christmas? Please. My past experience with the event have lead me to rank it somewhere above Earth Day, but bellow Veteran’s Day.
coincidentally, I just bought the Karate Kid collection the other day.
“Sometimes killing a fuck-ton of ice giants is its own reward.â€
it’s like reading the words of Shakespeare.
That Saturn Girl moment was kuh-reepy. I think I’m about done with Shooter’s Legion, which I’d been enjoying approximately not at all even before that frame.
It might turn out to do odd things to your relationships to female characters to have first professionally written them while you were going through puberty.
So I didn’t buy even half of what you did this week but everything I picked up was great. Nothing was a chore to get through and I was smiling with idiotic glee every other page or so.
Marvel Adventures won best panel again this week with Howard Stark’s bug-eyed “It was the greatest thing I’d ever seen…ON THE HISTORY CHANNEL!”
Chris I am sure this is old news to you, but you have seen the No More Kings video for Sweep the Leg haven’t you? Best Karate Kid follow up ever. If you missed it somehow check it out here.
I will vouch for the fact that FCBD is way, way, way better than Christmas.
Way.
As a die-hard Flash-fan who once had a full run of the Barry Allen series, I used to be on the Barry-Is-The-Patron-Saint-Of-The-DCU-So-Should-Stay-Very-Very-Dead-(Besides-In-Retrospect-He-Always-Kinda-Sucked) side of things.
But Scipio over at The Absorbascon casually mentioned that, in this era of nonstop forensics shows and 24-hr Law & Order marathons and such, there might never be a more perfect time for a comic starring a “police scientist”. I instantly changed my mind about Barry, and I’d love to see something done with him.
And let’s face it, the Flash franchise is in dire straights right now, with the terrible death of Bart and Wally’s less-than-stellar Incredibles rip-off. I want Barry for no other reason than allowing the others time to recuperate in the healing aura of Comic Book Limbo.
Helen Keller *totally* needs to team up with Florence Fightengale.
Since when have you ever even thought about JUSTIFYING a comics purchase? We all assume that everything you do is not only justified, but AWESOME!
“there might never be a more perfect time for a comic starring a “police scientist—
So, what, we can’t make up a new one or something?
I’m also still confused why the Daily News felt it was worth the column ink to notify people that a comic book character with no name recognition who died more than 20 years ago is now back from the dead. I worked with a guy in the 90’s when the TV show was on who was named “Barry Allen” and HE didn’t even know who the character was.
Also, the lack-of-Spanish link in the Blue Beetle review reminded me that 1) it’s Cinco de Mayo soon, and 2) I don’t believe we have had a properly labeled FREAKING TOWARDS OUTSIDE moment for a while.
Humph. “When the TV show was on in the 90’s, I worked with a guy named ‘Barry Allen’, etc.” Clearly I need more coffee to avoid mangling the English language like I just did.
Thor: Days of Thunder was amazing…I’d love to see Fraction on the main Thor title, and boot the slow-pokey, navel gazing JMS whose glacial pacing drains the character of the vitality Fraction delivered in spades.
“Kevin put it best when he said that Barry works better as an inspiration to be lived up to than he ever did as an actual character”
…and yet, I’m guessing you never really experienced the “actual character” when he was actually being published. Speaking for the people who did, Barry was a great character. Sure, he conformed to the conventions of the time (as did most comic book characters), but trust me…he was much more interesting that the hagiographic gutter he’s been confined to since Crisis.
As for being a “shameless slave to nostalgia”, I think that’s kind of a cheap shot. More than any other comic publisher, DC’s comics have always been infused with nostalgia. After all, when they sparked the Silver Age of comics with Flash in Showcase #4 (1956), it was a revival of a previous Flash published in the 40’s. “Shameless nostalgia” or, as I see it, incorporating good ideas from the past into a new context?
Look, if you don’t like Barry Allen, that’s fine….but I don’t think the people who do need to be viewed as ghosts haunting the lonely hallways of Nostalgia. Comics are about telling fun stories (as anyone who loves a good kick to the face should know), so I don’t get the alot of the weird negativity surrounding Barry’s return.
Speaking for myself, Barry was a great character.
Fixed that for you.
Do you want to say why Barry is great character? Or why reading his stories “as they were being published” (as opposed to in a Showcase collection or some other reprint) makes him better?
Because I’ve always found Barry’s character pre-1986 pretty uninteresting, but stories featuring him after 1986 (Return of Barry Allen, JLA: Year One), which are tinged by knowledge of his future sacrifice and play up his role as inspiration for other heroes, pretty great.
I am intrigued by what Gail Simone is cooking up in Wonder Woman, which got hinted in DC #0. I won’t spoil here, even though the idea got covered in the comic news outlets…but I will say that I talked to her two weeks ago at NYCC, and she assured me that the end result will not be as grisly as Wonderman from the last Search For Ray Palmer issue with the gender-flipped characters.
My shop didn’t have Wildguard, but I will get it soon. I got character sketches from the book from Nauck. Nice guy…he loves making characters with wacky names, and he loves MST3K. How can a geek not like him. If only we could get a retroactive Young Justice/Wildguard book. Maybe once DC gets “Superboy” back.
Chris, any thoughts on Ex Macchina? I’m thinking Motorcycle Girl will probably kick somebody in the face within the next few months.
…and yet, I’m guessing you never really experienced the “actual character†when he was actually being published.
Yeah, because I never read and love comics that were published before I was born, like, say, Metamorpho, or the Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes, or Iron Fist or the vast majority of Bill Mantlo and Bob Kanigher and Bob Haney’s work, or Jack Kirby’s New Gods, or Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen. Clearly, I just don’t understand.
Also, I never take cheap shots.
I’m guessing you never really experienced the “actual character†when he was actually being published.
By that argument, to enjoy and appreciate Shakespeare, I would have had to have been born in the 1500s?
Did DC bring Shakespeare back from the dead too?
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised. (And that would actually be kind of awesome.)
I don’t understand how some comic fans treat “reading Silver Age comics when they first came out” like they saw the Stones at Altamont and they’re talking to someone who only saw the Stones’ most recent money-grabbing tour. It’s not like you can claim that you knew Barry Allen before he got old, bloated, and incoherent.
As someone who did read the Barry Allen Flash when it was originally published, I don’t feel like that gives me some special cache that’s any better than getting the same material from reprints. Heck, I was also getting a lot of my comic knowledge from Golden Age reprints at the time.
For whatever it’s worth, the last DC book I read regularly before becoming a full-fleged Marvel zombie was the whole “Trial Of Barry Allen” that went on right before the crisis. I haven’t read any of it in years, but I still have fond memories of the story and the character of Barry Allen. I was just old enough to full grok why his death in the Crisis was such a big deal, not only story-wise but here was a major character everyone knew ’cause he was on “Super Friends” and he was dead. And I don’t think there had been any major resurrections at that point, either, so dead was dead.
I don’t understand why he has to be brought back just so the character can be used. I don’t understand why someone can’t write neat-o CSI-inspired stuff and just pretend it happened between panels, like Untold Tales and “X-Men First Class”. It’s just the people who’re paying attention to continuity that care anyway, so it’s not like they’d get confused. Hell, give ’em something to argue about, keep ’em off the streets.
I used a time machine to go back to Altamont and see all of Shakespeare’s plays at the Globe Theater, so I am all set now, thanks.
And I picked up a whole stack of Superman #1s for my retirement.
And, uh, for those of you who found Saturn Girl’s come on creepy – uh, how many of you have actually had a girl (a real living one) come on to you?
Time to get out of your parents’ basements, methinks.
I’m glad you mentioned the awesomeness of Avengers: The Initiative but I’m a little disappointed you didn’t point out how awesome Taskmaster and Ant-Man are in this book. They’re King Douchebags Supreme and therefore deserve their own book. Who’s with me? Huh? Huh?
And, uh, for those of you who found Saturn Girl’s come on creepy – uh, how many of you have actually had a girl (a real living one) come on to you?
Time to get out of your parents’ basements, methinks.
Where do you live so I can meet these pillow-talking harlots that you seem to think are commonplace?
And, uh, for those of you who found Saturn Girl’s come on creepy – uh, how many of you have actually had a girl (a real living one) come on to you?
Not in a Saturn Girl costume, Mister Beethoven.
I hate it when people use the word “methinks.” Save it for the role playing campaign, Ranger Darkstrider.
I think the art for the second story in Ages of Thunder is a little hit and miss at time.
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/1154/ugmowy9.jpg
Looks like Thor got hit by the uglystick.
I’ll grant that some of JMS’s issues didn’t have too much happen, but c’mon. Issue 3, he’s knocking the tar out of Iron Man. Issue 4 he’s out in the world bringing back the warriors three and explaining yet again why he can’t be rocking the status quo hard. Issue 5 he has a drag-out brawl with the Destroyer and brings back a whole ton of Asgardians. Issue 6 was back to being slow, but it had a lot of nice character moments and wasn’t just Thor/Blake talking to each other. 7’s got a bit of an Odin/Surtr fight, but it’s really a two-parter touching on continuity for than continuity porn’s sake. Issue 8 has Thor and Odin teaming up to fight Surtr and we see where Sif is. Stuff’s happening, man. How much do you need?
Oh, and incidentally, I also want to know where you live, Alex Beethoven – I want to move to your fantastic land where women who beg men to own them are as common as blades of grass.
And, uh, for those of you who found Saturn Girl’s come on creepy – uh, how many of you have actually had a girl (a real living one) come on to you?
I’m going to guess you haven’t.
Sidetracking a bit, has it ever been explained why the Punisher mini-series’ creative team changed on the final issue? Or why they could never come up with a stable number for how many issues it should have been (ie; “2 of a 4 part limited series” on one issue; “4 of a 6 part limited series” on another)? I used to have issues 2, 3 and 4 when I was a kid, but sold the issues around 1989, so it’s not like I was a huge fan, but I’ve always wondered these questions, and you seem like an, uh, informed fan of the story so maybe you could learn me. Thanks.
Stuff’s happening, man. How much do you need?
Maybe I should’ve specified: I’d like a Thor book where stuff happens and it doesn’t suck ass.
I though DCU:0 was a pretty good promotional book. They defined what a Crisis is without making your eyes cross. The teasers were short and punchy. And I really liked the framing idea, where you have this faceless narrator re-forming from the universe to be its champion against evil. KRA-KKOOOMM! Barry Allen or not, that shit’s just cool.
Heaven forbid that a female actually engage in what is known as “pillow talk” or “talk dirty”, even telepathically. What, she can’t have needs and wants, even if they involve William Moulton Marstonesque fantasies of being trussed?
Man, them future bitches be crazy.
May you all some day encounter a woman who makes Saturn Girl’s come on sound like she’s selling Girl Scout cookies.
Didn’t Jim Shooter write a diagram of all the Legion members, with labels for who’s sleeping with who, who’s secretly gay who’s threesoming with who and which lad is secretly a lass.
There WAS a Legion of Superheroes sex chart, right?
Tell me I’m not imagining the Legion of Superheroes sex chart.
(And if I’m not: Well, Saturn Girl might be a bit submissive.)
And now people will find this blog after searching Google late at night for the “Legion of Superheroes sex chart”.
Oh, SNAP! Take that, JMS’ Thor run.
You know, I’m as pro FCBD as anyone, but of all the Saturdays to do it, does it HAVE to be on Derby day? I know comics > horse racing, but gambling > inessential comics. Even free ones. And mint juleps > > > life. So couldn’t we push this crap up to March?
Because, Jason, most of the comics-buying world think that Derby Day is a holiday for the world’s greatest hat.
Which is totally as it should be.
Really? No one picked up on (or immaturely thought that) Saturn Girl was asking Lightning Lad to give her the shocker?
Now that I’ve had a chance to read the issue, I don’t know about a chart, but the issue did feature cham making a pass at a space parrot. In that context, Saturn Girl suddenly talking like someone with a closet full of collars and corsets makes -well, actually, it’s still pretty out of character.
Yes, there are actual women who will phrase a come on like that. But they all have a closet full of collars and remarkable shoes, and date men who have some remarkable accoutrements stashed somewhere around the place. Or at least a dog-eared copy of the Story of O on the bookshelf.
Huh, you know what it reads like? BDSM-themed Slashfic. PG-rated, of course.
Or why they could never come up with a stable number for how many issues it should have been
Supposedly it was not promoted by Marvel (the powers that be did NOT like the character), just published and put on shelves, only for it to sell so well that they had to expand the series.