Big week for Marvel comics this week, as their CIVIL WAR series comes to a close and the event itself seems to be ending. Or not. We still have FRONTLINE #11 next week, some more tie-in's, aftermath, BACK IN BLACK, etc. Essentially, the neverending crossover event. Hellow, 1995! To be fair, though, modern touches improve on older storytelling, and DC is doin' it too. It's the writing on the wall.
DREAD'S BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 2/21/07:
52 WEEK #42: The issue focuses on resolving Ralph Dibney's storyline, and the twist was interesting, but it just felt so sudden; like, "40 weeks of buildup to THAT" and naturally as a fan I felt Dibney deserved a better ending then, gasp, more tragedy. In this issue, Elongated Man dies. He dies in order to trap Felix Faust, who was posing as Fate the entire time, and Neron, the demon he was hoping to appease with Dibney's soul. But he still dies and it is a reminder that as much flack Marvel is getting for plunging head-first into depressing nihilistic tragedy 24/7, DC made that trend uber popular again with IDENTITY CRISIS. So you can scratch off another member of the JLI team. Oh, and DC's new Question attempts to see herself, and GA gets an origin. After all that work to recover from his loss, uncovering Supernova, and going through the trials of Fate to save his wife, he just goes and gets killed for his effort anyway, his only prize is mystically entrapping two C-List DC villians even hardcore fans might not care about. How depressing. What next, Marvel kills Aunt May again?
Nevermind. So, just wasn't into this issue. Now I know that DC is also playing the "perpetual crossover event" card and making ANOTHER weekly series after 52 ends. Talk about a one-trick pony, eh? I likely won't be aboard.
INVINCIBLE #39: Screw CW, this was easily my favorite book of the week. Unlike both of the Big Two at the moment, who seem to thrive on perpetual tragedy and agony with their superhero universes, INVINCIBLE dares to be more complex and has major things like humor happen, or positive stuff. This issue naturally has Invincible and the rest of the durabile heroes confront the incoming Sequid invasion from Mars, all the while Grayson's love life gets complicated after he backs off his kiss with Atom Eve, wanting to work things out with Amber, while Amber, frustrated by yet ANOTHER "hi and bye" superhero message from Invincible, is sniffing around for the new guy she just met. See, this is the thing that made Spider-Man (and USM) great, mixing in the real life angst with the superhero tapestry. Because sometimes that involves stuff like "victory" or "levity", Marvel & DC are completely uninterested as they continue on slaughter/rape-fests, so I'm left enjoying Kirkman & Ottley's terrific series, thanks. A shame the big two are so insistant on surprising readers that they forget to please them, as if it is some impossible dream or unworthy goal, seeing a reader who smiles vs. having a wince on their face because _____ just got murdered. INVINCIBLE does it. No one who reads it hates it. The problem is that so few read it. If you enjoy superhero comic books, then you need to give it a try. The first HC is calling for you. They also have a preview for another Image superhero series coming up, DYNAMO 5, and I may give that a try because BKV is quoted as likin' it. Anyway, another great issue. I will admit, however, that I could be in the zone of approval here where I look over Invincible's flaws because I enjoy the product as a whole, and as it sells like garbage, it has that underdog appeal (trust me, Image WISHES it sold as well as RUNAWAYS). But I can't help it. It's a great book. Been a pleasure from trade to monthly. I'm just irked it took me so long to get into it.
CIVIL WAR #7: At last, it ends, months late and with a good dozen or so more one-shots and mini's than originally expected. While the mini itself ends, the event itself drags on with subsequent tie-ins, reactionary titles, and so on, so the effects of the event are going to linger for at least most of 2007 into 2008. For those who absolutely hate this event, that will be a drag. I've hated parts of it. The parts I like? The 50 State Initative thing is a great idea. It makes sense and in coming up with these teams, we should be getting some creative rosters and some backlogs might be filled with new potential. And because it is Millar, it had plenty of action. Even for slow issues of CW, more happened there than in maybe 3 issues of HOM; I know I have said this a lot of times, but it is worth reminding that even at it's worst, CW as an event was a large improvement over 2005's offering (or dropping). However, the biggest problem with CW is that it is a story that is almost impossible to do in a satisfactory way in a universe where some ideas cannot go to their full conclusions, and to pretend so is dishonest. Millar also turned it into the backdrop of an action movie and Marvel into the premise for crossover explosion events, and so as a story itself it is minimal. Just an excuse for a lot of pretty punching and to boost ASM's sales dramatically for an extra 6 months. If you want to see this story played out as an actual story and not an action blockbuster, you'd need to read Wildstorm's RED MENACE, I hear. Perhaps the biggest problem with CW #7 is that the finale relies on you having sympathy for the Pro Reg side, which the main title did nothing to promote. Not a thing. It was the tie-in's, CASUALTIES OF WAR, FANTASTIC FOUR and ASM to some degree that hoped to add some depth to what the CW proper title showed as a one-sided thing. Iron Man & Co. were jolly stomping over people who didn't sign a paper, recruiting vicious killers as henchmen, cloning murderous cyborgs, and growing suspicious and paranoid against anyone in their ranks who showed the slightest hints of compassion or mercy (apparently if you find yourself at odds with old teammates and friends, you have to be remorseless). This issue all but pretends it didn't happen and attempts to play catch up. Yes, yes, they had the tie-in's. But the tie-in's in a way were after the fact (hell, the essential CASUALTIES OF WAR one-shot never would have been printed if not for lateness for CW issues) and you need a story with an outright antagonist to root against, otherwise it is a waste of time. With heroes like these who needs villians? Besides, with impreganble prisons and Punisher slaughtering all the villians in bars, and the Thunderbolts, soon there will be no worthy villians to fight. CW was also a story where the requirements of the event overruled what made sense to the character, and even when they get some bits right, as CW #7 does in the end, it feels a little empty. Like when Spidey switches sides when his position should have been obvious from the start. Like when Cap suddenly realizes that having 100 metahumans fighting in the middle of the city is counterproductive, when even Pres. Bush wouldn't have ordered Cloak to do what they did this issue (yes, at that moment I saw the ending coming, and groaned. "C'mon, Cap. After all the moaning about how stupid the New Warriors were for engaging Nitro in a residential area just like every superhero who has ever fought Nitro has done, surely you know that dumping this brawl into midtown is more dangerous. Surely." But he didn't, until the climax required him too. Mr. Fantastic doesn't seem to care about his wife and about the costs of acting like a Nazi doctor, until here where he suddenly shows remourse and compassion. Say whatever you want about CW, but you cannot say it was a story done with the hearts of the characters in mind, because many of the key players were only allowed to show that heart when the moment on the checklist was near. Otherwise, they had to act like however they had to in order to guarentee the slugfest. Hell, people have been rightly claiming that Cap played his hand rather poorly and crudely after CW #2. Of course, yes, yes, I am not an idiot. A taut, cerebral event where characters engage in political manuvering would never sell 300k. Punching and death does.
Whedon came up with the ending, and considering how DANGER ended, I can understand it; the man is easily fond of anti-climaxes, which can be okay after a 44 minute episode, but after a half year event can feel like running headfirst into a wall. On the other hand, Millar is so extreme that he might have killed Cap or Iron Man otherwise. I've said it before, but it is possible that the MU created after this event will be better than the event itself. Just a shame that event couldn't have played as more than a dumb action movie.
But I can enjoy dumb action, and while it feels like a kiddie cartoon compared to ULTIMATES 2, it still delivers. Spider-Man, perennial punching bag, actually gets some high octane action. He actually acts like a hero with enhanced SPEED and AGILITY, with EXPERIENCE. Hot damn. And at least Taskmaster got to take down Solo, Mr. Fantastic (in taking a shot for his wife from the crazed soldier) and some othe dude before Sue flattened him; considering how everyone can beat Taskmaster these days, he needed some wins on his belt. The panel of the event naturally goes to Hercules for smashing Clor, although Giffen did these sorts of scenes better and more often in the last half of ANNIHILATION. Plus the Namor cavalry was nice. But in a way I think the explosions at the beginning were so big that at the end one couldn't help but underwhelm slightly, a trait Millar sometimes shows in stories. And in the end I just feel numb to all this; the concepts of villians being outdated, heroes fighting heroes, and there is no one who is wrong, and thereby no one can be right either. Why does Joe Q feel that the "genie" of giving superheroes a worthy reason to fight to the death whenever they see each other needed to be "put back" (much like he feared the concept of the mutant population actually being sizeable enough to be treated like a minority community vs. a rare geek novelty confined to fighting aliens). It was a progressive way to go back to the 70's, which was an era most Marvel fans weren't even reading...because they couldn't yet. I read Marvel for certain things and seeing all these characters who should have known better from their various standpoints act like this for so long, I just felt numb to it. It was a better issue than some of the last but could never live up to vaulted expectations. I'm ready to move on. Of course, it would be nice if the tie-ins could keep the battle straight. FRONTLINE and ASM are making it seem more vicious than it is (and if they are supposed to connect, why are Taskmaster and Deathstrike going back to jail, when they never killed anyone, and not Venom, who supposedly killed Typeface in FRONTLINE? Or does that even matter?). Not a bad issue unless you try to connect everything and then seems like it wasn't enough. And then at the end, Cup O' Joe comes and says, "Thanks for reading CW, want some more CW issues now? We intend to milk this as long as we can." DC did it too this week in 52, but for F's sake, let me recover from the end of one event, eh? So, no, CW #7 wasn't bad and in a way I am glad no one major got offed. But I have gotten so numb to villianless stories, seeing longtime heroes make mistakes not even Kim Jong Il would make, and yet another event where the heroes lose. The ending tries to make it seem like a triumph, but after the last few issues it is hard to suddenly see the pro reg's as right. Marvel insisted that "it was coming" but rather than attempt to make it feel natural, they expected us to suddenly root for Iron Man because Cap was too stupid to consider bystanders. I'm ready to move on. Not bad, had some great thrills, but I am ready to call it a day on CW and see what comes up from the ashes. The only positive thing you could take out of it is that Cap's belated realization of common sense probably saved his comrades from worse injury and death, and that there should be some good stuff coming out of the ashes amidst all the continued "governent is evil until Hillary is President" stuff from NA (because the world thrists for "underground" heroes where even HYDRA can leave heroes to be arrested). Enjoyable issue, I am just so tired of this motif. Give me a villian and a real victory any day.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #538: Tying into CW #7, although they get the matchups wrong and make it seem like Spider-Man took more of a beating than he did. It also goes full circle because almost 12 years ago, they killed off Aunt May, and now that seems on track to happen again. Yes, Kingpin's hitman shoots and hits the old bird. The one who doesn't look good in a bikinni. Y'see what Marvel missed was that her death in ASM #400, although mixed into the Clone mess, was actually done tastefully. It wasn't due to some villian or explosion, but old age. And she had a poignant speach with Peter and acceptted him. Then in an attempt to reverse course, we got the "genetic actress" bit maybe 4 years later (1998-1999). This is the modern Marvel way; ugly, violent, and sudden. No one dies naturally. That's too normal. But, I really don't care, in fact when I saw that panel, I didn't so much as gasp but think, "Oh, AGAIN?" May's always the most expendable out of Peter's supporting cast it seems. Of course it's not proven if she dies, but then again, why would Peter wear black if she were merely "mortally wounded"? And you have to love how one crossover ends and merges into another; CW tie-ins end and the "Back in Black" Spidey crossover begins. Yes, it is back to the 90's where ASM needs constant crossover injections to keep the writers interested and sales within the Top 10. What Marvel AND DC have to realize is that if you fish us enough death and violent, tragic ends over and over and over and over, you get numb to it like a wound that you pick at too long. That is how I am now. Kill Aunt May. Have Betty Brant get gang raped and then stuffed in a dumpster, I bet it'd be the story of the year and everyone would come out of the woodwork about how great a character Brant is now. The irony of course is that May's death comes at the hands of the only writer who actually did something with May after Mackie revived her. I love INVINCIBLE because each issue gives me more to look forward too than more dark stuff like THIS, like watching Peter's "mother" in a sense being gunned down by a gunman, because we need an excuse to get Spidey all black and bitter conviently in time for a F'ing movie that will be over and done with by Fall.
More later. I also got NA: THE ILLUMINATI #2, IMMORTAL IRON FIST #3, PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #4, ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR # 39 & X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #6.
Did they really need Joss to come up with this? What did he come up with? The pro-regs winning? Cap's realization & voluntary submission? I don't know. It seems like big idea men like Bendis and Millar could've come up with that themselves. They were probably just talking the idea up as Joss's to rally support around it, or shove off blame if it sucked.
. And the end, seeing Stark talking down to now Deputy Director Hill was great (note she was looking at comic book websites). It was, as most are, an odd event, but it was well done, and it actually had a logical ending. Yay to Marvel for not putting Bendis on this one.
