Dread
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Guess no one wants to make a topic for a slow week, eh?
A slow week for comics, as the shipping schedule sometimes goes from feast to famine. But my wallet doesn't mind, especially after a $30+ wallet-buster last week. It also makes typing reviews easier. Overall, a good week. And I even got two FREE comics!
As always, I am an OMEGA LEVEL SPOILER! ALL BOUGHT/THOUGHT THREADS ARE LOADED WITH SPOILERS!!
Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 8/29/07:
AVENGERS: INITIATIVE #5: Solicted for August and just barely sneaking in before the last month of summer leaves us, even Diamond was seemingly caught unaware that this issue was coming. The obligatory 2-issue tie-in with WWH ends and y'know what? This tie-in was the best I read, because it didn't seem very obligatory; even some of the issues of Hulk's own solo have felt a bit tedious (anyone remember that "filler" flashback one 2 months ago?), but not this. Slott is a master of advancing his own plot forward as well as acknowledging what other books are doing. In one fell swoop this issue has ties not only into WWH, but THE ORDER, NEW WARRIORS, and even a tad from the just-completed WWH: X-MEN #3. Slott is so good at it that it literally boggles your mind that many other writers seem to lack this care for the concept. Bendis, I am looking right at you. When some writer gives an interview at Newsarama or Ass-Lickers (also known as Wizard) and trucks out the old, "continuity gets in the way of great stories" baloney, merely remember some of Slott's work to realize that statement for what it is; an excuse for those who lack the imagination to intertwine the works of others with their own (or an excuse for their ego). Despite the previews, most of the issue isn't about the Initiative Kids vs. the Warbond. Most of it is narrated by Gyrich and details his "Shadow Initiative" black ops team, made up of Bengal, Constrictor, Trauma, the Scarlet Spiders, and a woman merely called Mutant Zero, a mutant who doesn't exist according to any record, but seems to be a combat phenom, able to dispatch a half dozen Death's Head robots at hyper-speed before vanishing. Part of me is honestly tired of silent, mysterious, perfect femme fatale killing machines because it is a cliche I have seen run into the ground completely within the last 10 years (so much so that they almost make me want to see muscle men without shirts shooting through a 100 soldiers in the jungle again like Rambo, or Contra, or no end of riffs from the 80's), but I'll give Slott the benefit of the doubt for now. The cover doesn't list any credits and that is a shame because Caselli's art is phenominal as always, delivering breakneck action and mood when it is warrented. Slott even is mindful of his last series THE THING and has Nighthawk interact with Constrictor, who wants to go straight (or at least as straight as Sabretooth's ex-partner can get). Those relationships between characters that bonds them together as friends or allies, that some writers consistantly want to destroy for cheap effect? Slott likes them, and utilizes them for full benefit, even if only for a panel or two. In fact the only real downside of the issue is Gyrich himself. Not that Slott writes him poorly, but because his utter apathy for any superhuman being, whether mutant or not, or even whether they are skilled humans with no actual powers (like Bengal) is crystal clear. He sees superbeings as nothing but weapons with legs, and if they can't be controlled like robots, they are nothing to him. Sure, Gauntlet's an arse, but he has far less power over the Initiative as Gyrich has. And we also know Gauntlet is due some come-uppance next issue. Gyrich's sheer glee at the concept of stripping Armory of her gauntlet is rivalled only by the fact that no one else can use it, adding fuel to conspiracy buffs who wonder if that horrible negligent "accident" with her wasn't somewhat planned. When Moonstar shows she's helped Trauma control his gifts to be a therapist, Gyrich is disgusted, only wanting a human gun to shoot at people. Gyrich is seemingly the living embodiment of everything Magneto ever said about humanity, and stands as an example of why any character with superpowers should never entrust their welfare into a mere mortal. In fact the only military executive character in recent memory who was more disturbing than Gyrich was Gen. Lazer from SENTINAL O*N*E*, who was a near-fascist mutant-hater. I'd mention that Gauntlet doesn't even seem to like Gyrich much, but, Gauntlet doesn't seem to like anyone much. There is Slott's brand of dark and sarcastic humor amongst the Shadow Initiative, who are assigned to go in and retrieve the AWOL kids (Rage, Thor Girl, Ultra Girl, Cloud 9, Hardball, Slapstick) whether they are dead or alive; not because he cares about them at all, but because the concept of reckless, untrained teenage heroes going into battle being led by a former New Warrior in Rage no less is a P.R. nightmare he doesn't want. I was surprised no one mentioned Rage was also a former Avenger, although that was brought up last issue (when Triathalon tried to pull rank on him), so I didn't mind. Nevermind the fact that Gyrich was equally reckless with the training session that ended in MVP's seeming death (although he seemed to be alive last issue, or at least cloned or impersonated), or throwing the kids at HYDRA (albeit with full supervision from the adult heroes). Actually, as the issue goes on, you see more layers than one suspects to the actual enterprise; Justice is glad to see that the New Warriors have been reformed and some folks out there remember them as heroes, and notes that youthful excitement and independance can't be "trained out". Out of everyone in the Initiative so far, the only adult who I feel gives a damn about the kids at all is Justice, with maybe Yellowjacket second and War Machine a distant third (although he seems to care more when Stark hides stuff from him). Slott also estimates the actual number of mutants at 300, "just 198 are catalogued on record", which is another number to add to the endless waves of estimates from other books (10% of "a few hundred thousand, a million maybe", or some books that take 198 as set in stone, etc). The Shadow Initiative save the other kids, at least in time for Gyrich to have their heads perhaps, and Trauma easily is the Hero of the Day (an in-joke for Hulk fans, if you are obscure enough). The look on Korg's face when he unleashes his fear of Thor is priceless, and he lasted longer against the Hulk than half the X-Men. The lesson, naturally, is his powers not only won't work against robots, but against someone who is truly fearless, as the Hulk is. Of course he is. He's fearless, endlessly regenerates, has endless strength, and can punch his way through magic, telepathy, or time. All the qualities that in the past made him boring to me. But, as one large menace that unites heroes, Hulk fits; he's done that before. I also liked how Slott has some sense of the "sliding scale morality" in current comics; when Trauma sees Cloud 9 using her powers in a potentially lethal way against Alloe, he is appalled and later offers to help her get over what she is scared of becoming. That is the other problem with Gyrich's style; he isn't training them to be heroes, but soldiers, and remourseless ones at that. The biggest problem is in real life, you can't become a soldier unless you are at least 18, and many of these characters are younger. That should pose ethics issues; someone under 18 is being trained to kill enemies just because they're superhuman (or terrorist fodder, like HYDRA agents)? That should be ringing morality alarm bells, but aside for Justice, Trauma, and sometimes Yellowjacket, the rest don't care. So I see two schools of thought in the Initiative, one hard like and one with more empathy, and I wonder if they will continue to struggle or one side might win. And while some people dislike the fact that the Initiative is so heavilly flawed and sometimes downright unlikeable, I think that works. I mean, look at Bendis' MIGHTY AVENGERS, where heroes who backstabbed their friends, teamed up with murderous villains, made cyborg-clones, stomped over the Bill of Rights like it was the sidewalk, and exploit Cap's death to try to arrest said friends, are painted as saintly superheroes everyone should root for; despite the good art and action, that doesn't wash. Not so soon after CW with no attempt at redemption. Slott avoids that mistake by showing that The Initiative is hardly perfect and in fact has deep rooted flaws in the leadership mentality. But there are signs of hope in some, and an constant source of internal conflict that always makes things dramatic. Every team as a "traitor" within the first year now, but this one has a good reason; the higher-up's are training these kids to be monstrous robots and kicking out anyone who doesn't agree. They spit on the honor of actual heroes like the New Warriors who seem forever punished for one mistake, while training their own recruits to be far more remourseless (had Namorita simply decapitated Nitro when she had the chance, rather than sarcastically offering him a chance to surrender, Stamford would have been averted). But a team of united heroes who rely on each other may form, it just may form against Gyrich or Gauntlet and some who have never been heroes who claim to train them to be some. And with all this, Slott throws in continuity, action, and some very humorous dialogue at times that takes the edge off. A very good read, and a title that deserves it's spot in the Top 15-20 sellers.
FANTASTIC FOUR #549: McDuffie's Four isn't dark or complicated most often, and that can be good. We went from a space adventure to yet another fight with the Frightful Four, now up to Five with Klaw being awakened by Wizard, and it's nothing terribly original, but it is good superhero action with spiffy banter and solid art from Pelletier. I still say Wizard was a complete idiot for allowing his entire team to get momentarily defeated before unleashing Klaw, when he could have unleashed Klaw at the start and had even odds. But he's always been a bit of a fop when it came to strategy, so it works. What also works is Sue shedding her role as hostage and utterly going to school on Wizard and the rest of the team, showing why they likely targetted her first. It was also nice that Sue was allowed to have some edge to her without someone wondering if she was becoming Malice again, which is what happened when she led the team in the 90's (in a blue, near dominatrix outfit, no less). The amusing thing is the villains are placed in a spacepod that will take over 6 years to reach Earth, yet we know the Four will HAVE to pick them off off-panel because it won't be 6 years before we see any of these folks again. They also have to face the fact that some aliens have caused the universe to start unravelling. All in a day's work for the Four. Again, this is nothing terribly unique, just Four fundamentals, but after CW it is appreciated. Got to love how the bar code is the only thing saving Storm from having her ass on camera for the cover. This isn't terribly highbrow entertainment and isn't the Four's best, but it's good enough fun to me. Hydro-Man gets pwned far too easily, though.
WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #3: The end of the X-Men's obligatory inclusion into WWH not for Hulk's sake, but for the X-Line's so the X-Line has a book that matters; M-Day has left their line struggling to be competitive for a year. Believe it or not, this outsells DC's COUNTDOWN. I actually pick these up for my friend, who gives me the money for them; I end up reading some for free, as I did with WWH: X-MEN #1-2. The story is really superficial and serves as nothing aside for a bare excuse for the Hulk to tear through three generations of X-Men for 3 issues. He asks Xavier a retorical question, whether if he'd been on the Illuminati at the time, he'd have voted to exile Hulk. Xavier answers honestly, surrenders, and the X-Men refuse to accept it, so the X-Men throws them all a collective beating. After tearing through the New X-Men and the Astonishing X-Men (and Juggernaut on loan from Excaliber), now is time for X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men, where Warpath is their heaviest hitter. DiVito as always draws excellent action, and Gage at least makes what amounts to a DBZ plot at least seem readable, and seem like it means something, to his credit (lord, does Gage need to be on more important Marvel titles, when he can make a 4th grade testosterone plot read better than it should). Alas, the fights are predictable; no matter who Hulk faces, whether Strong Guy or a Juggernaut at full power, we know he can't lose, and he never does. In fact, he rarely seemed challenged except for when Juggernaut returned at full power; presumably, this is the bit that may carry over into another book, that Juggernaut is at his full Cyttorak levels again. They throw everything from the Blackbird to Wolverine at him and it isn't enough until Mercury shows the Hulk that the X-Men have lost loved ones too, and appeased that someone is as miserable as he is, Hulk departs (incidentally, the GAMMA FILES Handbook revealed this outcome a week earlier, to those taking notice). Humorously, the only character as of yet who has even tried to absorb gamma radiation to weaken Hulk was Darwin, not uber genius types like Iron Man or Mr. Fantastic. This isn't high opera, but for what it is, a fight scene where the Hulk smashes the collective X-Men and goes on his way, it delivers. I wouldn't say I would have wanted to pay $8.97 to read it, but I don't regret reading it for $0. I'm sure it will provide Hulk fanboys with Vs. debate fodder for years to come. It was a sidequest, however, and one that really seemed to make Hulk less rootable as he picked a fight with a franchise that bore him no ill will.
THE 99: FIRST LIGHT: Can't resist free comics, as this is the second offering from Teshkeel Comics to hype their #1 issue from newcomer Al-Mutawa (as well as Fab Nic co-writing). Dr. Ramzi, still on his quest for the mystical Noor Stones that hold ancient collective knowledge from the Middle East that can empower humans who use them, finds his second student in Dana, a spoiled rich girl put through hell by kidnappers and who finds one stone that allows her to literally see and control various areas of "light", especially the aura within people. Becoming disturbed at the corruption all around her, she sees Ramzi's side only when she sees his soul is pure. There is a second story where the gang goes after someone who is using a Noor stone to put perpatrators of vehicular homicide in the hospital, and stumble on John, who can use a Noor stone to inflict pain on people; they manage to convince him to relent, all while learning other forces are aware of the Noor stones and hunting for anyone who has them. This had less historical exposition than the last installment and thus I enjoyed it more. The art from McCrea's not the best and reminds me of B-List Image or Malibu art from the 90's, but it's hardly unpleasant, either. The concept of having the build-up to a team being free and the assembled team adventures being the #1 that you pay for isn't a bad idea; too often many of us get weary on spending $3 an issue for a team comic where the team doesn't assemble until the 5th or 6th issue. I'm not quite sure if I like the property enough to actually start paying for it in October, but I do like the promotion approach and it offers a Middle Eastern perspective on superheroes without being stereotypical or offensive. My first impressions are at least favorable.
A slow week for comics, as the shipping schedule sometimes goes from feast to famine. But my wallet doesn't mind, especially after a $30+ wallet-buster last week. It also makes typing reviews easier. Overall, a good week. And I even got two FREE comics!
As always, I am an OMEGA LEVEL SPOILER! ALL BOUGHT/THOUGHT THREADS ARE LOADED WITH SPOILERS!!
Dread's BOUGHT/THOUGHT for 8/29/07:
AVENGERS: INITIATIVE #5: Solicted for August and just barely sneaking in before the last month of summer leaves us, even Diamond was seemingly caught unaware that this issue was coming. The obligatory 2-issue tie-in with WWH ends and y'know what? This tie-in was the best I read, because it didn't seem very obligatory; even some of the issues of Hulk's own solo have felt a bit tedious (anyone remember that "filler" flashback one 2 months ago?), but not this. Slott is a master of advancing his own plot forward as well as acknowledging what other books are doing. In one fell swoop this issue has ties not only into WWH, but THE ORDER, NEW WARRIORS, and even a tad from the just-completed WWH: X-MEN #3. Slott is so good at it that it literally boggles your mind that many other writers seem to lack this care for the concept. Bendis, I am looking right at you. When some writer gives an interview at Newsarama or Ass-Lickers (also known as Wizard) and trucks out the old, "continuity gets in the way of great stories" baloney, merely remember some of Slott's work to realize that statement for what it is; an excuse for those who lack the imagination to intertwine the works of others with their own (or an excuse for their ego). Despite the previews, most of the issue isn't about the Initiative Kids vs. the Warbond. Most of it is narrated by Gyrich and details his "Shadow Initiative" black ops team, made up of Bengal, Constrictor, Trauma, the Scarlet Spiders, and a woman merely called Mutant Zero, a mutant who doesn't exist according to any record, but seems to be a combat phenom, able to dispatch a half dozen Death's Head robots at hyper-speed before vanishing. Part of me is honestly tired of silent, mysterious, perfect femme fatale killing machines because it is a cliche I have seen run into the ground completely within the last 10 years (so much so that they almost make me want to see muscle men without shirts shooting through a 100 soldiers in the jungle again like Rambo, or Contra, or no end of riffs from the 80's), but I'll give Slott the benefit of the doubt for now. The cover doesn't list any credits and that is a shame because Caselli's art is phenominal as always, delivering breakneck action and mood when it is warrented. Slott even is mindful of his last series THE THING and has Nighthawk interact with Constrictor, who wants to go straight (or at least as straight as Sabretooth's ex-partner can get). Those relationships between characters that bonds them together as friends or allies, that some writers consistantly want to destroy for cheap effect? Slott likes them, and utilizes them for full benefit, even if only for a panel or two. In fact the only real downside of the issue is Gyrich himself. Not that Slott writes him poorly, but because his utter apathy for any superhuman being, whether mutant or not, or even whether they are skilled humans with no actual powers (like Bengal) is crystal clear. He sees superbeings as nothing but weapons with legs, and if they can't be controlled like robots, they are nothing to him. Sure, Gauntlet's an arse, but he has far less power over the Initiative as Gyrich has. And we also know Gauntlet is due some come-uppance next issue. Gyrich's sheer glee at the concept of stripping Armory of her gauntlet is rivalled only by the fact that no one else can use it, adding fuel to conspiracy buffs who wonder if that horrible negligent "accident" with her wasn't somewhat planned. When Moonstar shows she's helped Trauma control his gifts to be a therapist, Gyrich is disgusted, only wanting a human gun to shoot at people. Gyrich is seemingly the living embodiment of everything Magneto ever said about humanity, and stands as an example of why any character with superpowers should never entrust their welfare into a mere mortal. In fact the only military executive character in recent memory who was more disturbing than Gyrich was Gen. Lazer from SENTINAL O*N*E*, who was a near-fascist mutant-hater. I'd mention that Gauntlet doesn't even seem to like Gyrich much, but, Gauntlet doesn't seem to like anyone much. There is Slott's brand of dark and sarcastic humor amongst the Shadow Initiative, who are assigned to go in and retrieve the AWOL kids (Rage, Thor Girl, Ultra Girl, Cloud 9, Hardball, Slapstick) whether they are dead or alive; not because he cares about them at all, but because the concept of reckless, untrained teenage heroes going into battle being led by a former New Warrior in Rage no less is a P.R. nightmare he doesn't want. I was surprised no one mentioned Rage was also a former Avenger, although that was brought up last issue (when Triathalon tried to pull rank on him), so I didn't mind. Nevermind the fact that Gyrich was equally reckless with the training session that ended in MVP's seeming death (although he seemed to be alive last issue, or at least cloned or impersonated), or throwing the kids at HYDRA (albeit with full supervision from the adult heroes). Actually, as the issue goes on, you see more layers than one suspects to the actual enterprise; Justice is glad to see that the New Warriors have been reformed and some folks out there remember them as heroes, and notes that youthful excitement and independance can't be "trained out". Out of everyone in the Initiative so far, the only adult who I feel gives a damn about the kids at all is Justice, with maybe Yellowjacket second and War Machine a distant third (although he seems to care more when Stark hides stuff from him). Slott also estimates the actual number of mutants at 300, "just 198 are catalogued on record", which is another number to add to the endless waves of estimates from other books (10% of "a few hundred thousand, a million maybe", or some books that take 198 as set in stone, etc). The Shadow Initiative save the other kids, at least in time for Gyrich to have their heads perhaps, and Trauma easily is the Hero of the Day (an in-joke for Hulk fans, if you are obscure enough). The look on Korg's face when he unleashes his fear of Thor is priceless, and he lasted longer against the Hulk than half the X-Men. The lesson, naturally, is his powers not only won't work against robots, but against someone who is truly fearless, as the Hulk is. Of course he is. He's fearless, endlessly regenerates, has endless strength, and can punch his way through magic, telepathy, or time. All the qualities that in the past made him boring to me. But, as one large menace that unites heroes, Hulk fits; he's done that before. I also liked how Slott has some sense of the "sliding scale morality" in current comics; when Trauma sees Cloud 9 using her powers in a potentially lethal way against Alloe, he is appalled and later offers to help her get over what she is scared of becoming. That is the other problem with Gyrich's style; he isn't training them to be heroes, but soldiers, and remourseless ones at that. The biggest problem is in real life, you can't become a soldier unless you are at least 18, and many of these characters are younger. That should pose ethics issues; someone under 18 is being trained to kill enemies just because they're superhuman (or terrorist fodder, like HYDRA agents)? That should be ringing morality alarm bells, but aside for Justice, Trauma, and sometimes Yellowjacket, the rest don't care. So I see two schools of thought in the Initiative, one hard like and one with more empathy, and I wonder if they will continue to struggle or one side might win. And while some people dislike the fact that the Initiative is so heavilly flawed and sometimes downright unlikeable, I think that works. I mean, look at Bendis' MIGHTY AVENGERS, where heroes who backstabbed their friends, teamed up with murderous villains, made cyborg-clones, stomped over the Bill of Rights like it was the sidewalk, and exploit Cap's death to try to arrest said friends, are painted as saintly superheroes everyone should root for; despite the good art and action, that doesn't wash. Not so soon after CW with no attempt at redemption. Slott avoids that mistake by showing that The Initiative is hardly perfect and in fact has deep rooted flaws in the leadership mentality. But there are signs of hope in some, and an constant source of internal conflict that always makes things dramatic. Every team as a "traitor" within the first year now, but this one has a good reason; the higher-up's are training these kids to be monstrous robots and kicking out anyone who doesn't agree. They spit on the honor of actual heroes like the New Warriors who seem forever punished for one mistake, while training their own recruits to be far more remourseless (had Namorita simply decapitated Nitro when she had the chance, rather than sarcastically offering him a chance to surrender, Stamford would have been averted). But a team of united heroes who rely on each other may form, it just may form against Gyrich or Gauntlet and some who have never been heroes who claim to train them to be some. And with all this, Slott throws in continuity, action, and some very humorous dialogue at times that takes the edge off. A very good read, and a title that deserves it's spot in the Top 15-20 sellers.
FANTASTIC FOUR #549: McDuffie's Four isn't dark or complicated most often, and that can be good. We went from a space adventure to yet another fight with the Frightful Four, now up to Five with Klaw being awakened by Wizard, and it's nothing terribly original, but it is good superhero action with spiffy banter and solid art from Pelletier. I still say Wizard was a complete idiot for allowing his entire team to get momentarily defeated before unleashing Klaw, when he could have unleashed Klaw at the start and had even odds. But he's always been a bit of a fop when it came to strategy, so it works. What also works is Sue shedding her role as hostage and utterly going to school on Wizard and the rest of the team, showing why they likely targetted her first. It was also nice that Sue was allowed to have some edge to her without someone wondering if she was becoming Malice again, which is what happened when she led the team in the 90's (in a blue, near dominatrix outfit, no less). The amusing thing is the villains are placed in a spacepod that will take over 6 years to reach Earth, yet we know the Four will HAVE to pick them off off-panel because it won't be 6 years before we see any of these folks again. They also have to face the fact that some aliens have caused the universe to start unravelling. All in a day's work for the Four. Again, this is nothing terribly unique, just Four fundamentals, but after CW it is appreciated. Got to love how the bar code is the only thing saving Storm from having her ass on camera for the cover. This isn't terribly highbrow entertainment and isn't the Four's best, but it's good enough fun to me. Hydro-Man gets pwned far too easily, though.
WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #3: The end of the X-Men's obligatory inclusion into WWH not for Hulk's sake, but for the X-Line's so the X-Line has a book that matters; M-Day has left their line struggling to be competitive for a year. Believe it or not, this outsells DC's COUNTDOWN. I actually pick these up for my friend, who gives me the money for them; I end up reading some for free, as I did with WWH: X-MEN #1-2. The story is really superficial and serves as nothing aside for a bare excuse for the Hulk to tear through three generations of X-Men for 3 issues. He asks Xavier a retorical question, whether if he'd been on the Illuminati at the time, he'd have voted to exile Hulk. Xavier answers honestly, surrenders, and the X-Men refuse to accept it, so the X-Men throws them all a collective beating. After tearing through the New X-Men and the Astonishing X-Men (and Juggernaut on loan from Excaliber), now is time for X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men, where Warpath is their heaviest hitter. DiVito as always draws excellent action, and Gage at least makes what amounts to a DBZ plot at least seem readable, and seem like it means something, to his credit (lord, does Gage need to be on more important Marvel titles, when he can make a 4th grade testosterone plot read better than it should). Alas, the fights are predictable; no matter who Hulk faces, whether Strong Guy or a Juggernaut at full power, we know he can't lose, and he never does. In fact, he rarely seemed challenged except for when Juggernaut returned at full power; presumably, this is the bit that may carry over into another book, that Juggernaut is at his full Cyttorak levels again. They throw everything from the Blackbird to Wolverine at him and it isn't enough until Mercury shows the Hulk that the X-Men have lost loved ones too, and appeased that someone is as miserable as he is, Hulk departs (incidentally, the GAMMA FILES Handbook revealed this outcome a week earlier, to those taking notice). Humorously, the only character as of yet who has even tried to absorb gamma radiation to weaken Hulk was Darwin, not uber genius types like Iron Man or Mr. Fantastic. This isn't high opera, but for what it is, a fight scene where the Hulk smashes the collective X-Men and goes on his way, it delivers. I wouldn't say I would have wanted to pay $8.97 to read it, but I don't regret reading it for $0. I'm sure it will provide Hulk fanboys with Vs. debate fodder for years to come. It was a sidequest, however, and one that really seemed to make Hulk less rootable as he picked a fight with a franchise that bore him no ill will.
THE 99: FIRST LIGHT: Can't resist free comics, as this is the second offering from Teshkeel Comics to hype their #1 issue from newcomer Al-Mutawa (as well as Fab Nic co-writing). Dr. Ramzi, still on his quest for the mystical Noor Stones that hold ancient collective knowledge from the Middle East that can empower humans who use them, finds his second student in Dana, a spoiled rich girl put through hell by kidnappers and who finds one stone that allows her to literally see and control various areas of "light", especially the aura within people. Becoming disturbed at the corruption all around her, she sees Ramzi's side only when she sees his soul is pure. There is a second story where the gang goes after someone who is using a Noor stone to put perpatrators of vehicular homicide in the hospital, and stumble on John, who can use a Noor stone to inflict pain on people; they manage to convince him to relent, all while learning other forces are aware of the Noor stones and hunting for anyone who has them. This had less historical exposition than the last installment and thus I enjoyed it more. The art from McCrea's not the best and reminds me of B-List Image or Malibu art from the 90's, but it's hardly unpleasant, either. The concept of having the build-up to a team being free and the assembled team adventures being the #1 that you pay for isn't a bad idea; too often many of us get weary on spending $3 an issue for a team comic where the team doesn't assemble until the 5th or 6th issue. I'm not quite sure if I like the property enough to actually start paying for it in October, but I do like the promotion approach and it offers a Middle Eastern perspective on superheroes without being stereotypical or offensive. My first impressions are at least favorable.
Anyway, it's an ultimately unsatisfying conclusion given that, regardless of Granny Goodness' inclusion, Hippolyta was still Hippolyta, making the events of AA just as much a blemish on her previously heroic legacy as before. Hurray for character assassination and its ever-astounding ability to create god-awful stories!
