Civil War: Frontline #5
You know that you're perhaps going about it all the wrong way when you make a liberal sick of liberal propaganda.
I just can't imagine how Quesada and Millar could possibly have known about the directions and storylines that this series was going to portray and still said with a straight face, "Civil War will represent both sides equally." Let's face it: when you got people like Agent Hill and JJ Jameson on your side, pretty much the only way you can look worse is by shooting a puppy in the face. While we haven't yet reached the puppy-shooting portion of the show yet, I'm thinking that it's not for lack of trying. SHIELD agents manage to be both tyrannical and sleazy in this issue, Reed Richards apparently utilizes emotionless robots as prison guards...y'know, back in the day when Ultimates was only a few months late as opposed to half a year or so late, I often criticized Millar for presenting a cheaply biased view of politics; it's easy to win the debate when you've rigged everything in your own favor, after all. Frontline suffers from the same problem, except they deny that they favor one side over another.
(6 out of 10)
52 Week 14
Not much to say other than the usual: another week, another solid issue.
I like the fact that Renee -- and by connection everyone else in America -- has this preconceived notion of Kahndaq as being a decrepit, lawless nation of public executions ruled by a madman...and yet, when she actually gets there, she sees the truth that it's an incredibly functional country with very happy citizens.
Interesting subplot with Magnus and the Metal Men...I wonder what the larger scheme of it all is.
DC has been promising us that the ball gets rolling real quick and that the proverbial s**t is about to hit the proverbial fan...and I can't wait for it all.
(8.6 out of 10)
Martian Manhunter #1
I'm...cautious...but also intrigued.
When I read the MM chapter in Brave New World, my unfortunate first impression was that this was just another example in a long line of examples of "clean" heroes all of a sudden getting an edgy, XXXtreme, hardcore, decidedly darker sort of makeover. It's happened to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow...I guess it was only a matter of time before happening to J'onn as well.
My impression of this "reboot" for J'onn still hasn't changed, but at the least I'm thinking there might be a decent story to come out of all this. There's nothing horribly original about the plot -- evil secretive government fckers fck with the hero and act mean and governmentish -- but so far I like how J'onn is written and how he's portrayed. Mostly he's not meaner or less rational or anything, just more of a badass. He's pissed. And it's not like he's never been pissed before in his existence.
I also like how the book doesn't beat around the fact that
J'onn has always been one of the most intriguing regular DC characters and while I'm not sure that turning him into a controversial, subversive antihero is the best course of action for the character, at the least it's an...interesting...start.
(7 out of 10)
Green Arrow #65
On the one hand, I love seeing Mia back in action. On the other hand, she doesn't seem like she's changed too much at all with this past year; what was the big fuss about making it seem like she had disappeared or was missing or whatever if we're just going to bring her back exactly the same as when we last saw her?
After a bit of a slow start, I'm getting to really like Mayor Oliver Queen. While Winick's grasp of politics isn't nearly as shrewd or, well, exciting as Rucka's, he obviously has a grasp of what he's saying and says it well. In a lot of other books, the sort of dialogue as seen in this issue might appear excessive and awkward -- especially since the very same issues were brought up several times in books prior -- but considering what a political and socially-conscious character that GA has always been, Winick gets to get away with it. Unlike a lot of other things which have happened OYL, GA being mayor really, really clicks with the character, fitting with his prior mold as opposed to trying to fit him into a new one.
I'm sick of Drakon. There, I've said it. He was a cool character when Winick introduced him way back when because he was so subtle and badass. Poor Judd, unfortunately, has a way of taking badass villains of the "less is more" variety and cutting away all of the subtleties to make them a generic, monologuing, one-dimensional "SUPERVILLAIN!!!!" type of character. He did it with his own creation, he did it to the Riddler, and he did it to Dr. Light. Here's to hoping that Drakon is just here in a supplementary role and we're not heading for a "Evil midget attempts revenge on Team Arrow...AGAIN!!" sort of story.
I don't mind Deathstroke in this book, but for some reason McDaniel has a way of drawing him that makes him look too smug and self-absorbed and Machiavellian. And to me, Slade shouldn't be that way. Sure he has to be manipulative and layered, but personality-wise he should be incredibly straightforward and direct and to-the-point, not cracking eeeevil smiles and long paragraphs. Winick layering him with verbosity and "SUPERVILLAIN!!!!"esque expressions just goes along with my earlier rantings about how Judd just refuses to show restraint and be subtle for once about these characters.
(7.9 out of 10)
