You know, Ed Brubaker really understands kicks to the face and comics:
You said it, brother!
In fact, that’s the guiding principle behind these, the Internet’s Least Helpful Comics Reviews! Here’s what I got this week…
…and here’s what I thought of ’em!
Comics
Avengers: The Initiative #21: On Tuesday, I was having lunch with my pal Chad–of Impossible! and Monster Plus fame–and asked me if I’d seen this issue, because it had one of the busiest covers he had ever seen. Putting aside the fact that yes, my friends and I while away our lunch ours discussing cover layouts, I thought he was exaggerating, until Wednesday rolled around and I actually saw it:
Ah yes, another action packed issue of Dark Reign Avengers The Initiative Disassembled! I’m going to go ahead and assume that this was an intentional gag–because really, there’s no way that the team behind this book could let that cover go out the door without realizing that the top third looked like the marketing department’s junk drawer threw up on it–so the question here is why’d they stop with only three crossovers on the cover?
Me, I woulda gone all out!
Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1: I mentioned back when it debuted that I was having a lot of fun with the new Brave and the Bold cartoon, and with the exception of the episode that involves both Red Tornado and the revelation that Bruce Wayne’s parents died on Christmas because he was being a total dick to them, it’s held up pretty well. I mean, there is an episode where Batman and Plastic Man team up to fight dinosaur-riding gorillas by beating them with money, and if that’s not as as we can get to my Platonic Ideal of Batman, I don’t know what is. So I’ve been looking forward to seeing what they’d do with the comic, and I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a perfectly serviceable story in the style of the show that has a few really fun moments, and I’m sure all The Kids These Days just love Power Girl, it’s missing something. I think it’s fair to say that Marvel’s raised the bar for kids’ comics over the past few years with the Marvel Adventures line, but even when you stack it up against its predecessors like Batman Adventures and Superman Adventures, or even the original Brave and the Bold
But really, that doesn’t matter. I am going to read every issue of this book, because it started off with a cover–and an interview–by producer James Tucker that promises Batman teaming up with Bat-Mite, Kamandi, and OMAC. And that is going to be rad.
Captain America #46: With this issue, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting continue to turn in one of the best and most consistent books on the stands with all the intrigue and action you could want from the adventures of Bucky Barnes, none of which appear to take place during daylight. But that’s not news.
What matters for this issue is that there’s a character named Sims, and I’ll admit that was nice to see. I mean, considering that he doesn’t show up and start telling the Black Widow how stoked he was to see Cap get a boot to the jaw from Batroc ze Leapair in the last issue, I don’t think he was named after me, but “Sims” isn’t all that common a name, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’d shown up in Cap. And since the Sims of the Marvel Universe is drunk, lecherous, and knows a heck of a lot about super-heroes, maybe there is a connection!
Final Crisis #7: Loved it.
Punisher War Zone #6: …but I loved this one a little more.
I think it’s fair to say that I’m a fan of the Punisher, and while I’ve got a lot of affection for the stories by guys like Mike Baron and Carl Potts
When his run finally ended last summer, I mentioned that what I really wanted was for Steve Dillon to come back for one last story that would tie it all together and give a little closure to a run that I’ve spent most of the past decade reading, and that’s exactly what War Zone has been. It’s the perfect sequel to Welcome Back, Frank, and this is the best issue of the run; not just because it’s Ennis and Dillon on the Punisher, but because it’s Ennis and Dillon at their rip-roaring best, doing a story with all the violence and comedy that you’d expect from those two. And it does have comedy: There are scenes in this thing that are only outdone by the “It’s bears!” scene in the original in terms of making me laugh aloud while I read it.
It’s everything I wanted it to be, and if this is actually the last time Ennis writes the Punisher, it’s a great note to go out on. And seriously, mark my words: “It’s like feminism never even happened!” is the catchphrase of the year.
Which in turn brings us to…
Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose 54: Someone alert the media, because this is the first issue of Tarot ever that is not also the worst issue of the run when it’s published. It’s not for lack of trying, though, but after last issue? It’s nothing.
The plot, such as it is, revolves around Raven Hex, Tarot’s sister whose bustiness led her to a life of witchity crime, wandering through the world of fairy tales and accosting the Disney princesses (plus Red Riding Hood) in scenes that even the crew over at Zenescope would think was exploitative. In the end, it all turns out to be a fever dream–unlike the usual issue of Tarot, which only seems like a fever dream–but the general thrust (ha!) of the matter is that fairy tale heroines are setting a bad example for young girls by not… well, by not getting naked in front of the mentally ill (Snow White, modeled by Holly G., Balent’s wife and colorist), getting naked and hunting down your enemies with a pistol (Riding Hood), wearing bondage gear to a fancy party (Cinderella, who is shown in, I shit you not, a glass corset), or getting naked, getting a tattoo, and making out with a prince who looks suspiciously like Jim Balent (The Little Mermaid).
Dubious lessons aside, this issue does have some of the best lines of the run, including, in the hard-boiled Riding Hood vignette, “Now it’s Little Red’s turn to do the stalking. That’s why she removed her clothes. She’s bait.” which just makes me laugh and laugh.
Oh, Tarot. Don’t ever change.
Trades
Mr. T: Believe it or not, I sometimes exaggerate for humorous effect here on the ISB, but there comes a time when I have to set aside any pretense of comedy and just lay out the facts, and this is one of them. Everything I am about to say about this book is completely true.
This new Graphic Novel, which casts Mr. T as a world-traveling bodyguard with an indestructible suit of bulletproof armor and a sidekick named Indigo Jo, is divided into six chapters, each of which starts with an homage to a classic Marvel cover.
In the first one, Mr. T punches out a guy in a cybernetic battlesuit.
In the second, Mr. T punches out rednecks.
In the third, Mr. T punches out ninjas.
In the fourth, Mr. T punches out his evil doppelganger, a white guy with a mohawk named Mr. C.
I don’t know what happens in the other two parts, as I had to stop before my head exploded from radness, but I do know that writer Christopher Bunting is currently working on a sequel called–and again, I am one hundred percent serious here–MR. T VS. DRACULA.
This is the greatest comic book that has ever been published.
And that’s the week! As always, any questions on something I got this week, or even just chit-chat about the appealing design of the new DC Comics Classics Library
In the meantime, I’ll be trying to figure out if the world is ready for Mr. T vs. Dracula… and hoping that it takes place on the moon.
Dracula I think will be bored with the Moon at that point. I mean he’s already shown his place off to Dr. McNinja and Dr. Doom. When he meets up with Dr. Mr. T (Doctorate: Fool Pitying) he’ll probably want to show off one of his other pimp castles. Like the one on the Rings of Saturn or inside of a whale…
Now I’ll get out of the way of the Are You Kidding/Of Course He’s Not debate thats bound to take over your comments section regarding Final Crisis…
This is the greatest comic book that has ever been published.
Is it better than “Dark Xena”? IS IT?
Phalanx Covenant . . . wow.
You’ve gotta give me something when it comes to Final Crisis, because it seems to me that even people who love it don’t even really know why they love it, and will freely admit that there isn’t any way to explain or defend it to someone who doesn’t get it.
Which is why I suspect you wrote all of two words about it.
To me, the entire series was a hilariously incoherent pile of pretentious authorial masturbatory fluid, willfully nonsensical and arranged seemingly at random by taking various frames of obscure DC heroes of yesteryear punching each other, throwing them up in the air, and publishing them in whatever order they came down. It has all the narrative flow of a hyperactive six-year old flipping channels every two seconds, and despite all of its reverence and nostalgia for comics, heroes, and their long storied histories, demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of what makes each hero (ie. Batman) tick.
That it is purposefully arranged in this bizarre, incomprehensible format is no excuse, because it still makes no sense, still changes nothing, and is still bizarre and utterly unreadable.
So, yeah. Hated it.
Those Mr T guys are something of an enigma to me, to be honest. When they released a book a year or two ago, they sent me a press release mailshot thing telling me about how awesome the book was and if I was interested in reviewing it, let them know.
Wrote back, no reply.
Same again late last year – another mailshot, another request for reviews – I write back, nothing comes my way.
I mean shit, if you don’t intend to reply to people who take an interest, TAKING ME OFF the mailing list might be an idea, Mr T people, if you’re reading this.
/ end Mr T related rant
The fact that it took 20 years to come up with “Mr. C,” the evil reverse-Mr. T concept, shows just how far we, as a society, still have to go. My mind is LITERALLY BOGGLING that no one came up with that before in any of the other cartoons or comic books.
Yes, we do love Power Girl.
But “Spoony One,” tell us how you REALLY feel.
Say what you will about the Christmas episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, I haven’t seen much recently that tickled my funny bone as much as Red Tornado (whose entire function in the comics is (1) be as emo as possible, and (2) get destroyed in every fight) being blown to bits by the spirit of Christmas.
Okay, did you love Final Crisis #7 because it’s the LAST ISSUE?
And all the kids these days love Power Girl. I mean, who doesn’t love Power Girl?
Now ending my “all about the love” post.
IMHO, Mr. T’s evil doppelganger would be a white guy with a huge afro that has a stripe shaved down the middle. A kwahom, if you will.
Mr.T vs Dracula?
Truly, we live in the best of all possible worlds.
Re: Spoony One
Oh so it’s like every other single DC crossover ever?
The scary thing is, FC #7 was probably the best in the series, and even then, it wasn’t all that great.
Having not really enjoyed it, and now having to realize that it will NOT be any better in collected format (worse, actually), I STILL had to admit that #7 was a fun if worthless issue. Many elements (Mandraak) were stupid, and shoehorned in (Mandraak) at the expense of anything we might have cared about (After 43 months of build up between issues 2 and 5, did the Flashes actually DO anything?), and having the final defeat of Darkseid at Wonder Woman’s hands relegated to one panel so we could get more Mandraak (Mandraak), and that has to dissapoint. Still, we did get Apollo, Sentry, Majestic, Captain Marvel, and Obama Man teaming up with Captain Carrot… Only really dissapointed that Flex Mentallo didn’t show up and flex to fix reality at the end.
Just a random idea that popped in my head: wouldn’t it be cool if Mr. T had to fight an evil duo called “Jibba” and “Jabba”?
Or has it already happened? I’m afraid that I’m not up to date with Mr. T comics
As for Final Crisis, I loved the whole thing. I thought it was ambicious, different and most importantly fun.
But even if you hate it, you have to admit that everybody’s talking about it.
This is how you break the internet in half, Bendis!
I haven’t read Final Crisis at all (I have no interest in it) but I’m kind of surprised that anyone thinks Sims isn’t serious about genuinely loving #7. Have you read his reviews of the last few issues? It’s pretty clear that he was digging the series in general. After the sheer number of words he’s used to express his love for the series in the past few months, I don’t see why there’s any need for more than two words here.
I’ve waited decades to see who would win in a fight between Mister T and Richie Cunningham’s dad.
“I haven’t read Final Crisis at all (I have no interest in it) but I’m kind of surprised that anyone thinks Sims isn’t serious about genuinely loving #7. Have you read his reviews of the last few issues? It’s pretty clear that he was digging the series in general. After the sheer number of words he’s used to express his love for the series in the past few months, I don’t see why there’s any need for more than two words here.”
Well, actually, he expressed dissapointment in either issue #4 or 5, but then he remembered that he LOVES GRANT MORRISON WITH EVERY PART OF HIS BODY, EVEN HIS PEE PEE, and promptly made like Tarzan on his balls once more.
Again, that said, FC #7 featured Super Afro Man teaming up with Captain Carrot to take on a Space Vampire. That’s fun stuff, even if it was a barely coherent, unreadable mess that belittled everything that was built up in the last 6 issues.
Ok, the photoshopped DR:A:TI:D cover gave me the best chuckle of the week, particularly when referencing Lifeform in the alt-text. It’s a shame you couldn’t somehow wrap the logo of “Operation: Galactic Storm” around Mjolnir. (Assuming that is Thor and not some rebooted Clor, holding Cljolnir.)
I’m waiting for the trade (or, I suppose, hardcover) regarding Final Crisis. I haven’t read it, so I really have no room to talk, but even if it’s terrible, I’d still rather read failed ambition than another comic about people with super-powers standing around a table talking to Norman Osborn.
Steve–
Douglas Wolk does a very thorough explaining why he (and, incidentally, why I) liked Final Crisis over at savagecritic.com.
*very thorough job
Bah, no coffee before posting equals typos.
…
Mr. T vs. ninjas may be the most mind-meltingly awesome concept I’ve ever heard of.
I’m a bit shocked by the flak that FC has received from some quarters (but not here). Not everyone’s going to like it, great art divides opinion and all that, but you’d think someone had burned a flag!
I personally loved it, found the storytelling refreshing, challenging and involving, able to convey broad strokes of drama and emotion on an initial read, then crammed full of detail that rewarded second on third reads.
I found myself re-reading my old Kirby comics and they seemed even fresher than before, invigorated by this modern take on his great myths. And not just in a thematic sense (I took the reinvention of Earth 51 as an invitation to re-read/seek out all of Kirby’s Kamandi/New Gods stuff) but as a rallying cry to return to the comics of hyperbole and wonder, where dark evil and uniformity is defeated by Captain Carrot just because he exists! Where Tawny Tiger kicks tiger tea ass! Where love conquers all!
And above all, Final Crisis is a love story, and who doesn’t like those? How can you fail to be moved by Nix and Weeja, whose love was strong enough to save the universe, even though it meant they were absorbed out of existence at their moment of reunion?
By the way, comments like “demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of what makes each hero (ie. Batman) tick” is a bit sweeping. Who exactly is the arbiter of what makes each (ie. Batman) hero tick. You? Me? Dan Didio? Bob Kane? Denny O’Neill? Bob Haney?
Your Dark Reign Avengers Initiative Disassembled cover is bladder-spasming funny. If only EVOLUTIONARY WAR or CITIZEN KANG could’ve made it on there somewhere.
Bravo.
I haven’t finished the reviews yet, but HAD TO comment on the fact that your mock-up for Initiative # 20 is a MUCH BETTER overall product than what was officially released.
Somehow, your additional cover-crap balanced the whole thing out.
Chris Sims; even when he’s TRYING to make a royal mess of a comic… he makes a better comic than Marvel.
Damn…
~P~
oops…I meant Initiative # 21.
whatev.
Somebody needs to find me a copy of the Mr T GN. And Greatest American Hero #1, because my collection will not be complete without either.
Batman: TBATB is missing some of the excitement of the Avengers title, but I’m giving it a break for being the first issue. They can’t all be MA: Super Heroes. However, they really need to fix the character models for Power Girl and (no spoiler) in this comic. I certainly didn’t think it was him for the first few pages, but I like PG’s secret identity. Did she have one in DCU proper?
Jesus, man…why do some of you people even bother to read comic books?
Oh, good, more people yelling about how Final Crisis sucks and if you liked it you’re just a Grant Morrison fanboy who never criticizes the man. I haven’t seen that since yesterday, I was starting to get worried.
I personally don’t have anything against morrison. His animal man run was one of the best things i’ve ever read. I want to like final crisis but i can’t. It is presented in a fashion that gives no exposition or explanation. Stuff like “The monitors represent the writers and superman is so pure that he can change a a bad writer’s (mandraak) ending.” The problem is that i didn’t get a bit of that from the comic, but only from reading stuff online. it’s a confusing mess.
Chris, I do hope you’ll provide a Crayola version of Final Crisis, because a lot of it went over my head. And about “Super ‘Bama”…I tell myself it’s the one-shot Earth-D from the Legends Of The DC Universe, where Superman and Supergirl were husband and wife (not cousins…mind out of the gutters, people), and most of the JLA were made up of “minority” versions of heroes, as well as a more alien-looking Aquaman.
Not only is that Avengers cover way too busy, it’s ugly as pus. I mean, Thor is almost Liefeldian there.
Tarot: What, no haunted vaginas? Disappointment.
Acts of Vengence was good and all, but it was no Cross-time Caper!
Re. Tarot: When I saw the haunted vagina from the last issue review, I made reference to it to my wife. Let’s just say that it wasn’t the best of ideas, seeing that she’s pregnant and all…
Andy G,
We weren’t moved by the “love story” because it only had half a panel committed to it (Mandraak). It, Mandraak (Mandraak), and so many other things were vomited onto the pages of #7 with so little build up, while entirely dismissing anything done in the previous issues as to leave nothing carrying any weight whatsoever.
That said, again, there was some fun stuff in #7, and it was probably the best issue in the lot… But it was like its own poorly edited miniseries crammed into one issue, leaving the other six poorly written/edited/scripted issues to just rot on the vine behind it. Even they had some great moments, but none of FC held a candle to Morrison’s other work on All-Star Superman, JLA, or damn near anything else he’s done…
…except RIP, which was worthless.
I’m going to borrow a page from David Willis to explain why I don’t like Final Crisis.
“It doesn’t matter that DC will just bring Batman back soon.
Why should I be upset? Just because DC killed their most popular character in the stupidest way possible? That his death was a b-story in a confusing big-event book? That he broke his most sacred principle without any real buildup or signs of remorse?
Because it reminds me of the JLU episode “Epilogue”, when Batman was told he had to kill Ace to save the city, and he STILL found another way? Because that’s what he is, and that’s what makes him GREAT.”
I really didn’t have a problem with FC #7 and after reading Morrison’s interview on it, yeah, I actually get it. I can very easily see how some people wouldn’t get it or like it, though. Unlike the rest of the series 7 was legitimately crazy and confusing at times.
It doesn’t really excuse the dip in comments quality to near Newsarama levels however.
I loved FC 2-6 (Issue 1 dragged on, but it’s not it’s fault, since it was trying to set up the story), but issue 7 just left me completely cold. I don’t know, it’s just, a lot of stuff fell flat to me. The Lanterns Showing up and not doing much other than killing Ultraman, Mandrakk just showing up to be lame (Which is weird because he was great in Superman Beyond).
Darkseid’s death was great though.
RE: “Jesus, man…why do some of you people even bother to read comic books?”
You know, looking back at series like Amazons Attack, Civil War, Final Crisis, Countdown, One More Day, and World War 3, I honestly don’t think I can answer that question without a bottle of whiskey and a loaded handgun.
Um, i did forget to mention… despite all my problems with FInal Crisis…
the final two pages are pretty damn sweet.
The irony is, I’m almost sure that Sims limited his review to “Loved it” to try and avoid the very flareup that’s taking place right now.
A noble attempt, sir.
(Seriously, THIS is the event that gets the major backlash hate machine going? Rapes and dismemberment and twincest and crypto-fascism and THIS is where fandom draws the line?)
Apparently, what Tarot needs to do to get out of this rut she’s in is to have an issue where she punches out her mohawked, redneck ninja lookalike in a cybernetic battlesuit. Heck, if she kicks her in the face while standing on a shark… oh, man.
That’s nice.
“Stuff like “The monitors represent the writers and superman is so pure that he can change a a bad writer’s (mandraak) ending.†The problem is that i didn’t get a bit of that from the comic, but only from reading stuff online. it’s a confusing mess.”
None of those theories (and that one’s pretty half baked) are necessary to understand what’s going on in Final Crisis.
Real Simple: Humanity’s Propensity For Imagination Can Overcome Any Obstacle. Here’s Proof.
At least now we understand what happened with Countdown and DoTNG being completely out of sync with plot elements in FC. Almost certainly, no one at DC had any clue what Morrison was describing to them. They probably still don’t.
There’s an episode of G.I.JOE named “the Wrong Stuff” where Cobra starts an EVIL television station that airs Cobra propaganda and altered versions of TV shows and movies. They show bootleg Smurfs that tell kids to give in to peer pressure, King Kong wins because superior force always wins out. Everyone’s favorite is the C-Team starring a white bootleg Mr. T named Mr. C who has a C-shaped mohawk. This is also the episode where we find out that space is the place to punch Destro in the face.
That doesn’t make the Mr. T comic sound any less awesome and it’s now on my must-buy list.
Sooo… The ASM Extra worth picking up?
I didn’t think that Myspace Dark Horse Presents v2 was out yet. Did you get an advance copy, Chris? What did you think of it?
{Insert mandatory Final Crisis comment here}
The Dan Slott story is kinda worthless, but that might just be more reflective of my opinion of Eddie Brock than any actual quality. The second story, though, has Paolo Rivera on art and the best “Wolverine-is-Drunk” part that I’ve ever seen, by the pleasantly surprising Zeb Wells. I wouldn’t go out of my way to grab it at $3.99, but it’s better than I thought it’d be.
I didn’t get an advance copy, and I haven’t had a chance to actually read it yet. But! It has BPRD by Guy Davis, a Two-Gun Bob story by Jim and Ruth Keegan, Milk & Cheese, Wondermark!, and some already-reprinted Umbrella Academy, so I’m expecting good things.
Plus, there’s no sign of that abysmal Sugarshock thing that was in the last one. Yeesh, that was dire.
So…no opinion for Legion of Superheroes 50? I was all pumped to see the finale of Shooter’s and Mananpul’s run–my favorite Legion in ten years–so I was dissapointed, to say the least, in finding out that they were not at all involved in the issue. The fact that they were replaced with hacks is icing on the turd. At least the cover was pretty.
Ok, I actually laughed so hard at that cover with all the crossovers that my side is actually HURTING.
The Mr. T comic sounds BRILLIANT.
How can you fail to be moved by Nix and Weeja, whose love was strong enough to save the universe, even though it meant they were absorbed out of existence at their moment of reunion?
I dunno, maybe because there were less than 10 panels devoted to that plotline in the entire series.
Please tell me if the DC Comics Classics Library Superman book is as pretty as it looks. I may have to break open my piggy bank if it is…okay my son’s piggy bank.
Speaking of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, did you catch tonight’s episode? I love it’s version of Aquaman. “We shall call this tale…” Priceless.
I loved FC 7, personally. Or course, it brought back Sunshine Superman, the raddest character of all time with less than 4 on panel appearances over nearly 20 years, so I’m biased.
I loved Final Crisis #7. Reading it made my week.
I’m also not at all surprised that Chris Sims liked it, since this site is one of the only places on the internet where people (usually) don’t blindly hate everything.
The thing is- if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have read past the first or second issue. Why buy an entire mini-series you know you hate, just so you can hop online and talk about how awful it was? Why not spend your time and money on more worthwhile endeavors?
That Thor cover looks suspiciously like it was drawn by Blizzard Entertainment concept artist Samwise Didier.
Jesus christ.
“I pity the fool that thinks ‘Ezer Good'”
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=B0vrX8eTcmI
A lot of people seem to be under the delusion that you have to buy comics to read them, or that disliking one has to mean you hate it so bad you won’t read it to see what’s going to come out of it.
FC was NOT as bad as Batman RIP, but it was far more flawed.
Still, issue #7 was blast, even if I hope the “channel surfing” style dies a cruel, cruel death. It was a pretty dissapointing send off to a pretty disjointed series, and the Mandraak thing was like a kick in the teeth.
If your hobby consists of reading things you don’t enjoy just so you’re better equipped to complain about them, you’re doing it wrong.
A lot of people seem to be under the delusion that you have to buy comics to read them, or that disliking one has to mean you hate it so bad you won’t read it to see what’s going to come out of it.
Wow.
I just…there are no words. I’ll just echo what Karsten said.
Danicus, David Willis didnt say that, Ethan did.
I love it when people say FC was not as bad as RIP, since as RIP was awesome it therefor means that they think FC was super-awesome.
My Take on FC:
Thematically it’s about everything Grant considers evil as represented within the “world (the comics)” by Darkseid and from outside the fourth world by “the Dark Monitor” (Mandaark, everything you need being in the names), so all this badness crashes down, hatred, anti-freedom, lack of thought and creativity… thematically, that there’s just too much imagination around and it comes from every different area to allow this stiffling villiany to succeed… that’s just great. It’s abstract, but a similar theme to Planetary’s “It’s a strange world, let’s keep it that way.”
Now- the pacing and we’ll get to how this theme pays off with Mandaark –
Time in comics is portrayed over space (See Understanding Comics for way more on the subject). In a story where time is splintered, using the distortion of the placement of events accross the page (and even passages within panels) is a clever use of the medium that couldn’t be accomplished say in a television show or book.
Stories, even warped stories, take place over time in space. When you jumble the time aspect you aren’t left with what is, by most definitions, a story, but you do have a particularly clever device specific to the comic medium where events occur and readers are left to use the phenomenon known as closure (again, see Understanding Comics) to piece together the plot. What we get is important scenes from the plot while we’re left to piece together their relation, proper order, and all that other stuff that’s usually handled by the chronology in a story. It’s a fucking brilliant use of the medium that cannot be duplicated. Imaginaaaaation.
Unfortunately, the weakest of the FC tie ins became most important (SuperMan Beyond)- Darkseid is the evil within the universe, he broke things…. but this was set up by the Monitor’s corruption, even those with good intentions… besides Nix Uotan, the one Monitor who didn’t interfere, merely pieced things together. With Superman (the Superteam) set up as the simple embodiment of Fictions last line of defense in Superman Beyond (the iconic, simple storytelling that everyone can get behind- All Star Superman) the Monitors got to represent Editors and Readers refusing to think, refusing to put things together and trying to make changes as they see fit. Of Course, Superman in all his creative glory can destroy that and Unite a people. Do I think this was the story for that tacked on at the end? No, but if you want to tie up the Monitors story, it is one hell of a clever way to do it.
Wow, that Mr. T book has resurfaced? I talked to those guys a few years back and they assured me it was going to be the biggest thing ever. I was a little erm… skeptical of that, especially considering the premise and the lame, lame writing. But then, I only saw one issue. Apparently, the comic is so bad, it’s good!
Something is seriously wrong with Thor’s jaw up there.
Kids: Let this be a lesson. Do not drink golden mead after it’s expiration date.
Man, Incredible Hercules was probably my favorite of the week. I liked FC, but I really need to re-read the whole thing to bump it higher than that. And Punisher was funny, but I laughed way more at Herc – and I haven’t thought this was the strongest arc, even.
Rereading Morrison’s JLA run from the 90’s I’ve seen a few of the ideas he infused in FC being only touched on the surface on his JLA run.
The WW3 trade especially only skins the surface of the Fifth World he brought to the FC books. Can’t wait to see where all these loose ends go and if DC can pull it off. (Of course they will, they throw money at a lot of things.)
“You know, looking back at series like Amazons Attack, Civil War, Final Crisis, Countdown, One More Day, and World War 3, I honestly don’t think I can answer that question without a bottle of whiskey and a loaded handgun.”
Solution: Stop reading indifferently-made editorially-driven event-comics from Marvel and DC. It’s not rocket science.
I will always like the first Christmas episode of The Brave and the Bold cartoon show (with Red Tornado) for one reason. Batman says, “Crime doesn’t take a holiday, and neither do I!” It’s already become my new catchphrase at work.
Naked Holly Golighty? That’s um.. yeah. Something. I knew about her from that White Stripes song and then her cool album and then this? its a bit weird
Is a lot of the confusion that people seem to be having with FC #7 due to spending time complaining about it on the internet instead of reading it? I don’t know about any of you, but when a series or a story arc comes to a conclusion I like to re-read it in one sitting. It’s one of the nice things about reading seriialised fiction, comparing the month on month reading experience with the done-in one, and the frisson between the two.
And I’m sorry, the Nix and Zeela love story wasn’t thrown in at the end, it was clearly established in issue #1 and continued through each episode. The power of Zeela’s love was strong enough to inspire Nix to recall his destiny, and his destiny was to bring about the downfall (or ascention if you prefer) of the monitors. If you don’t find that moving you have my sympathies.
“Is a lot of the confusion that people seem to be having with FC #7 due to spending time complaining about it on the internet instead of reading it? I don’t know about any of you, but when a series or a story arc comes to a conclusion I like to re-read it in one sitting. It’s one of the nice things about reading seriialised fiction, comparing the month on month reading experience with the done-in one, and the frisson between the two.
And I’m sorry, the Nix and Zeela love story wasn’t thrown in at the end, it was clearly established in issue #1 and continued through each episode. The power of Zeela’s love was strong enough to inspire Nix to recall his destiny, and his destiny was to bring about the downfall (or ascention if you prefer) of the monitors. If you don’t find that moving you have my sympathies.”
…
…
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
That whole sub plot was clown shoes, and was handled with almost as much emotion and fanfare as Wonder Woman defeating Darkseid.
“HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!
That whole sub plot was clown shoes, and was handled with almost as much emotion and fanfare as Wonder Woman defeating Darkseid.”
Such cutting commentary. why isn’t a writer with your gift for expresion working for DC instead of Grant “the terrible ringmaster” Morrison and his terrible “clown shoes”.
Perhaps you’d like to avail us with a few of your own comic book highlights of the past few years to gauge your own definition of “emotion and fanfare”?
Or on second thoughts don’t. This kind of back and forth has no place in a blog as funny and warm as this one. Cheerio.
Ok, not sure if this is the correct place for this or not, but since Chris mentioned it in his review, and he thinks more about the Punisher than anyone on the internet…
So in regard to the conclusion of Punisher War Zone (Spoiler Alert!): if all the resurrected Mas were crippled folks, doesn’t that mean Frank’s killed an innocent woman when he dropped a grenade on her back in (I think) issue 2?
I guess PWZ takes place in the same Marvel 616 universe where “Welcome Back Frank” took place, so resurrections aren’t unheard of, even for non-mutants.
I only mention this because being insufficiently careful as to avoid civilian causalities is why Frank killed the group that included the original Elite at the conclusion of Welcome Back Frank.
Just chiming in to say that I thought FC was imperfect but really enjoyable.
I think Morrison was trying to squeeze in every crossover ever, and to pull it off, he had to do some unnatural things to the pacing. I think he’s just hinting at comic book stories, and trusting you’ll use your imagination and knowledge of comic book tropes to fill in the rest.
I’d quibble on the things he chose to spend time on — Two panels of the Zoo Crew and no explanation of the thing Hawkman smashes at the end? But count me as someone who liked it a heck of a lot.
This kind of back and forth has no place in a blog as funny and warm as this one.
Funny and warm?! That’s a first.
if all the resurrected Mas were crippled folks, doesn’t that mean Frank’s killed an innocent woman when he dropped a grenade on her back in (I think) issue 2?
Not really, if you look at them as being hired hands in a criminal plot, more along the lines of hitmen than anything else. The scientist states that they were paid and had a choice to get involved, so I don’t think that crosses over into the Punisher’s definition of “innocent.”
I guess PWZ takes place in the same Marvel 616 universe where “Welcome Back Frank†took place, so resurrections aren’t unheard of, even for non-mutants.
Welcome Back Frank actually opens with the Punisher himself being brought back from the dead (or at least mentioning that happening in the previous miniseries), so…
“I’d quibble on the things he chose to spend time on — Two panels of the Zoo Crew and no explanation of the thing Hawkman smashes at the end? But count me as someone who liked it a heck of a lot.”
I took the Zoo crew to be representative of the diversity of the DC universe, there to combat the uniformity of Darkseid and Mandrakk. It’s a symbolic battle, so the logistics of how they appear is less important than why.
The Hawks perished destroying the Brother Eye/Maxwell Eye hybrid Lord Eye from FC #6 before it shut down the dimensional tunnel the heroes were escaping into, thus both saving lives and fulfilling their death wish (to be reborn again in a new universe as lovers).
Not sure if anyone will read this or care for that matter since it’s been half a year since the last comment, but having just read Punisher War Zone i felt so disgusted with the way Ennis wrote the story that i just needed to vent…. (yes that’s true so who cares if this is read or not)
[i]Not really, if you look at them as being hired hands in a criminal plot, more along the lines of hitmen than anything else. The scientist states that they were paid and had a choice to get involved, so I don’t think that crosses over into the Punisher’s definition of “innocent.â€[/i]
Not really to your Not really, since we never know for a fact why they chose to add them in their plot against Punisher, what if they only did it out of desperation, the need for money for them or their families, would Punisher consider a crime any attempt against his life? ‘How dare they? When i only mean good’, is that how he justifies it?, that’s just ridiculous and lousy writing
What if they weren’t explained the whole thing thorough?
What if they deemed his death as neccesary in order to protect, again, themselves or their families from, lets face it, a psycho, is it a crime to be concerned about your life or your owns?
Besides, Frank doesn’t know until (how convenius) the last issue that they were paid to do it, the woman that he blows to pieces could have been a hostage, a kidnanpped woman, forced to go into the extreme Gnucci make-over,…, but no, all Garth, i mean, Frank has to say is “If it was her i sent her back to Hell, if she wasn’t, well, bitch shouldn’t have been there anyway” or some stupid dialog like that
Doesn’t matter how you look at it they cannot be all considered guilty just because you had a couple of panels with some of them talking more stupid dialog so Frank should now kill himself for “having joined the enemy”
Very stupid and Very Boring
Can’t believe it’s from the same guy that wrote The Slavers and UP is down and Black is White