A hella late B/T from me...and crammed with two weeks' worth of reviews! Christ on a horse, this took a while.
Countdown #43 and 42
For every step forward, there just seems to be several steps back.
#43 focuses on the funeral of Bart Allen, and already it feels far from genuine. These writers try to evoke emotions by drawing to Bart's past and his continuity, and yet...Palmiotti and Gray never wrote about Bart Allen. Dini never wrote about Bart Allen. None of them even wrote of his death, from a writer who only wrote about Bart Allen for a short while. Everything they bring to the table here feels fake. "Yeah hey Bart was in Young Justice and Teen Titans and then y'know he had friends with these people and stuff." And then they bring out his
taped message and I'm just...wow. This is one of the fakest, least genuine character deaths I've ever witnessed. They try to capitalize on work that
other writers like Johns and PAD and Waid have done on the character and make it feel like their own, and it just feels fake. This is not their work. I said the same thing when Mark Millar killed Northstar out of the blue; the only reason that his fans "feel" for the occasion is because of work and progress that
other writers had put into the character. And then some random nobodies come and take it away and...we're supposed to think that they're doing great work? No thanks.
Oddly enough though, this issue is written reasonably well compared to how the rest of this series had been going. The dialogue flows and feels natural and unstilted. And Piper and Trickster's interactions are, as usual, a pretty good read. So, yes, there is progress here of a sort.
And then we get to issue #42 and...boy. "Retread" doesn't even begin to cover it.
There is time devoted to pretty much all of the various plots here, and yet not enough time to make any of them matter. And there is so little
content in each of these scenes that they might as well have just not even bothered! Mary Marvel has an adventure with the Riddler which shows that she's dark now or something, which we already knew. Holly The Other Catwoman establishes that she's with Harley Quinn -- which we already knew -- and blabs about their situation which we already knew and how the Athena that they met is somehow a goddess though I can't imagine how they came to that conclusion. Trickster and Piper get captured by some villains for gods-know-what reason and thrown out of a plane, which we also already knew was going to happen. Jimmy Olsen decides to be a hero...which he decided last week already. Donna and Jason and Bob the Monitor meet up with Ryan Choi The Other Atom's supporting cast and the dialogue is
so fcking stilted I can barely stand it. And again, there is so little actual content here that I can't understand why they didn't just put this scene in the Atom's actual book where it would have been much better served and probably a whole helluva lot better executed.
For every step forward we take, we get pushed several steps back. The longer this goes on, the less I care, and I've already dropped the book. And the more I
hear about what's going to happen soon with this series -- Lord Havok and the Extremists from Earth-8? Seriously? Wait,
seriously? -- the less I want to know.
(6.5 out of 10 for issue #43)
(3.8 out of 10 for issue #42)
Thor #1
I was worried here. JMS is an...unsteady writer, at the best of times. To compound that specific problem, he repeats himself a bit. Or a lot. For instance, the whole "god dreaming that he's a man, man dreaming that he's a god" thing in this issue was not only overdone already during "The Other," to make it worse it isn't even an original quote. For that reason, the preview of this comic did not impress me. There are other examples of this from throughout the years; like scenes of MJ and Peter together in AMS tend to go in cycles, cloning themselves from scenes that he'd written before in that book or in other books or even from his TV shows.
So my point is...when he's off, he's really off. As with a lot of writers of this type, however...when he's on, he's
really fcking on. Which brings us to this book, in which he proves me pretty much wrong.
Nothing here makes me want to jump out of my seat and go "HOLLA BACK YOUNGINS this sht is TIGHT!!!! WOOO!!!!!" and yet everything still feels very right. To put it simply, JMS is getting it right, here. There were a lot of ways he could have gotten it wrong and he got it right. Thor's return from the Void. Donald Blake's return from the Void. The time, reason, and circumstance of their return. It even makes me forgive that whole dumbass return of Mjolnir and Doom and the whole non-CW connections last year in Fantastic Four.
It's interesting to see JMS depict Thor's fellow Asgardians as outright literal gods when, in the past, they were more often than not just treated as regular joes...just, y'know, superstrong and ageless. More often than not, they were just spoken of as "Asgardians" as opposed to having the actual titles of gods. Certainly I've never seen Balder or Sif shoot blasts of power or perform overtly metahuman feats; let's just say that if Superman fought the average Asgardian "god" pre-Ragnarok, there's no way in Hel he's losing 'cause the whole "they might hurt him with magic powers" element does not factor in the least. Now that JMS has eased my fears of what he'd do with this title, I'm looking forward to how these new gods (heh) will be depicted in JMS's cosmology. The whole "gods are powerful when men believe in them" thing is no longer as fresh or original as it was maybe several years ago, but it's a solid outline for this. There's a risk of making Marvel's "gods system" too much like DC/Vertigo's, but I don't think it's a very big risk. For one thing, contrary to popular misconception, DC's gods don't actually draw their power from belief.
Here's the thing: as far as I can recall, Neil Gaiman never wrote "The gods are only as powerful as mankind's faith." George Perez and Greg Rucka never wrote "The gods are only as powerful as mankind's faith." I completely see why people would describe their system that way, but there is a subtle but important distinction to make here because what they wrote was this: "The gods have power only as long as they can avoid obsolesence." Lack of faith is part of their problem but it is not their actual problem. It doesn't matter if no one worships Susano'o or Ares; what's important is for those gods to be able to adapt with the times. If the Japanese pantheon absorbs aspects of modern Japanese culture into their fold, they can be just as relevant as they were in the past. If Ares isn't stuck in the archaic battlegrounds of the BC times and adapts his interests to the worldwide conflicts of modern warfare, he becomes more powerful than he ever was. That's the sort of thing I'd like to see here, because Thor and the Asgardians are
completely and utterly relevant to the Marvel universe. Thor the Avenger, Thor the superhero is an
entirely vital backdrop to the collective Marvel universe consciousness. There are layers upon layers of possibilities for this series.
A lot of writers complain about "magic" characters and "magic" books, saying that magical characters are often too powerful with no boundaries and how magical stories are too open-ended and hard to write. I say thee nay. With magical characters, it becomes
much more important to establish rules and limits...it's just that the rules and limits can be whatever you want them to be. And we all know what those should be! I mean, look at innately magical mainstream universes like Harry Potter or LotR or -- I have to say it -- Buffy, and anyone who knows those things know
exactly what sorts of magical things "should" probably be allowed and what sorts of magical things take you right out of the universe. And we all know how those things should go, because people have been writing those kinds of stories for years and years and years now. Magical characters are only problems when you yourself have a poor understanding of how magical storylines work.
Bring out all the old tricks. Bring out the Cryptic Prophecies. Bring out the Chosen Ones. Bring out the Evil Overlords and the Canny Princesses and the Artifacts of Power and the Proud Godbeasts and the Demonic Tricksters. Those are the things that feel right, here. There are
so many doors that are opened when you partake in a fantasy setting which -- it has to be said -- would look silly in other settings, so many more opportunities available than there are shut off. So it's set in the modern day real world? All the better! Look at the gratuitous amount of fantasy settings set entirely in modern day. In this genre, I feel like it's
comic books that's lagging behind other mediums for once. There's an opportunity here for JMS to rectify that; let's hope he takes it.
(9 out of 10)
Justice Society of America #7
I'm glad this book exists because there is no single social group in existence more PC than Nazis when you need someone to throw out a window. And this book is filling that niche quite nicely! And I'm sorry, I really am...I get such a ***** for legacy characters and not just because of that Alex Ross cover. It sucks when they don't work out -- and a lot of them don't -- but Geoff Johns has a knack for getting what he wants to work out. And Citizen Steel is working out nicely. He's got a facefull of tragic origins with just enough hope and positivity that he doesn't end up as another emotari.
And I'm glad that Johns is putting out these short story one-shots; when I read through an issue like this, I'm literally amazed at just how much some writers are able to fit into so short a space. In
one single issue, Nathan Heywood has gone through more progress and characterization than perhaps what every single main character from New Avengers and Countdown
combined go through in six. Possibly I exaggerate. Probably not.
(9.3 out of 10)
And speaking of the devil...
New Avengers #32
Copying and pasting what I said otherwhere...
It starts off sort of reasonable with Logan making the obvious suggestions that do, in fact, make sense...Jessica Drew, a Skrull? Sure, why not. Echo, a Skrull? Possibly. Hawkeye, a Skrull? From their perspectives, it's more than likely. Spider-Man, a Skrull? Eh, possible, but eh.
And then it gets riddikulus. Luke Cage is a Skrull because he changed his outfit and got married! Danny Rand is a Skrull because he owns a jet! Dr. Strange is a Skrull because they don't know where he was during the Civil War even though he told them where he was during the Civil War! Wolverine is a Skrull because he's everywhere!
It's stretching credibility in order to force a point, which was unneeded and only made the whole situation look like a big joke.
Meanwhile, I hope Bendis can come up with a remotely-plausible explanation for why Strange can't just cast a spell to figure out who the Skrulls are. Considering Bendis'...volatile...handling of Strange's magic to date, I somehow doubt it.
Man. Speaking of ways to get magical characters completely wrong.
Look. My gut tells me that Dr. Strange is not
intrinsically wrong for New Avengers. I frankly think that the whole argument people throw around of "He's too powerful!" are a bit shortsighted because we've seen dozens upon dozens of comic books in the past wherein teammates had
astronomical power differences -- almost every X-Men team, for instance -- and yet still found a way to make the ubergods fit in. The problem is not the power level. The problem is the story. If Dr. Strange is going to look like an incompetent dork in a certain situation, then you probably shouldn't write those situations! What's more ridiculous is that not only will Bendis write a situation where Strange's power levels are completely out of whack, he will then
add to the original problem, building up layers upon layers of stupidity.
First, Strange can't somehow save a falling plane. He can do battle against gods and demons and stop the course of a war with a single gesture, but he can't stop a falling plane. Okay.
Then, Strange can't make his cloak work "under these conditions." Under what conditions? Strong winds?? He can do battle against gods and demons and stop the course of a war with a single gesture, but
strong winds confound and hinder him?
And to add insult to injury, Dr. Strange apparently needs his cloak of levitation now in order to fly. Fcker!!
Dr. Strange does not need his cloak of levitation to fly!! He, like every single other magician in Marvel universe history, has telekinesis!
On that note, if Spider-Man had the time to go outside and web up a...the best I can describe it is probably "cushion"...for the plane, then shouldn't he have had the time to web up some parachutes like he's done in the past? But I guess that would presuppose us actually caring about characters have done in the past here. I can't believe I actually defended Bendis a few weeks ago on the idea that he does actually know what he's doing with Strange. Oh, he definitely knows what he's doing. The problem is that what he thinks he knows is wrong.
Meanwhile things are still ludicrously decompressed to the point of self-parody. The one good thing I can say about the issue is sort of a double-edged sword; Jessica Drew suggests bringing the Skrull body to Stark (and probably does so at the end) and Luke Cage along with pretty much everyone else immediately thinks it's a ******ed idea. Okay. Why, though? What possible bad could come from it? If he is a Skrull, they've just confirmed their suspicions. Sic Dr. Strange on Skrark and call it a day. If he isn't a Skrull, then they've just given valuable info to someone who can actually do something with it. Where is the downside here? But then again, of course Luke Cage would object to it. He's completely, personally vendetta'd against Stark right now. Everyone on the team is at least to a small degree. They're not going to be at their most rational regarding him. So, in making all of these people fools who make horrible decisions, Bendis has inadvertantly given them a valid character quirk. Yay?
(4.2 out of 10)
All Star Superman #4
I liked this, but apparently a lot of people liked this more than I did. I found the whole Bizarro speech thing far too much effort to keep up with, made a bit worse by the fact that I wasn't crazy in the first place about the All Star reimagining of Bizarro as a zombie world thingy. Though of course I loved all the requisite zaniness here and...c'mon, the rocket was bloody brilliant.
(7 out of 10)
Nova #4
Wow, the sht hits the fan pretty literally here.
I'm not...crazy...about the appearance of the Kree doctor woman Nova. Up until now, I've had the luxury of willfully turning a blind eye to the unfortunate notion that Nova and the Nova Corps are ultimately a preeeeetty solid ripoff of the Green Lantern Corps. As long as it never actually factored into the story -- which of course is solid in its own right -- I was fine with it. But here it is, and it's factoring. I'm sure it'll turn out fine -- in fact it may even turn out badass -- but I'm soundly aboard the wait-and-see bus.
I dunno quite what I think of the Phalanx yet...the whole mind-control thing is really not as impressive as it should be.
What they
did do really, really well here was to give a valid threat to the powered-up, fully-Nova-Forced Richard Rider. See, this is how it's done. People
whine about characters being too cosmic and too powerful to write, and yet here Nova is, being perfectly challenged and perfectly parleyed with in a manner that is consistent with his abject power level. It can be done. It is done all the time. Good for it being done.
(7.6 out of 10)
Wraith #1
Huh.
The obvious fear here is that this is going to be Forerunner v2.0...y'know, some kind of hardcore new character with MYSTERIOUS HONOR or something. Thankfully it's not quite that, yet, though I can't imagine my patience for MYSTERIOUS LONERS WITH MYSTERIOUS PASTS lasting very long. There's some good stuff here; we see just what's going on with the occupation at Hala and just what's going done on the part of the Kree. The pieces are moving into position for the check and I looove the "pieces moving into position" part of these kinds of stories. And that cliffhanger? Fck me. That's some cliffhanger.
(7.2 out of 10)
Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America: Iron Man: Acceptance: #5: Civil War: Initiative: A Marvel Comics Event: Electric Bugaloo
For whatever it's worth, I just gotta say damn...this issue has pretty much the single best artwork I've seen in a comic book this year. Those splash pages? Those splash pages where like
damn.
I think the issue with Hawkeye was possibly my favorite issue of this mini, but this comes in a close second. What's here is pretty much what you'd expect to see: the funeral, with all its requisite sadness, and eventual burial. But damn, all that pretty. This was a pretty issue.
What else to say? Pretty good work from Loeb for the series...some of it was necessary, a lot of it wasn't. A lot of it was cliche, some of it wasn't. It could have been a lot, lot worse. I'm glad it wasn't.
(8 out of 10)
Runaways #28
Good thing we've finally gotten around to examining the plot here, 'cause I was kinda getting bored with the whole old lady flying monsterman time piece thingy from earlier issues. Obviously they're the dancing girl and flying not-monster of this time period, which all of a sudden has me interested in the plot again. Also, I completely didn't see that ending coming, which was sexcellent. ZOMG it's Gert's parents oh noes teh dramarama! Now that Whedon has my attention again, looking forward to the next issue.
Notable note: Xavin purposefully transformed into a white man instead of a black man. To avoid attracting attention perhaps? But on the other hand, Nico is still a Japanese girl...which, when you think about it, would actually be
more out of place in early-1900s New York than a black man would be. It's not a very important point, but it is a point.
Chase is...interesting here. He still finds the time to make flippant jokes about stuff, but we get a glimpse back at a slightly more...intense...side of him after he starts suspecting Leapfrog's ties to his father. I like this way of handling it. I like that he's not the perpetually angsty angster of recent Vaughan memory, and yet that's still a side of him that's always going to be around. Possibly we'll see more of this soon, as the Yorkes come into play.
Best part of the issue, though? The Adjudicator's record of conflict and transgressions. I laughed. I admit it.
(8.2 out of 10)
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Lily Adler#forthecontent! 📹 (she/her)
