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AICN COMICS!: @$$holes on X-MEN, SPIDER-MAN, SUPREME POWER, PLANETARY, And More!!
Hey @$$holes, Village Idiot here.
Timely, topical -- This week's column is ripped from today's headlines!
* Is Cap on the juice? Jon Quixote rips the lid off Superhero Steroid Abuse with his review of CAPTAIN AMERICA/THE FALCON #2!
* Troubled Teens! What will happen when comicdom's favorite sidekick is UNMASKED? I'll shine a light on the situation with my review of ROBIN #124!
* How much longer can Chuck Austen skate on the love and goodwill of internet fandom? Ambush Bug asks the tough questions in this week's CHEAP SHOTS!
* Plus potpourri tips from CORMORANT'S KITCHEN!
All this and more, just a few scrolls away!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
PLANETARY #19
SPIDER-MAN: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN STACY (TPB)
CAPTAIN AMERICA/THE FALCON #2
PUNISHER: THE END
AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS #2
ENGINEHEAD #1
ROBIN #124
B.P.R.D. – PLAGUE OF FROGS #1 & #2
Cheap Shots!
PLANETARY #19
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by John Cassaday
Published by Wildstorm/DC
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
Fair weather fans raise your hands! C'mon, join me.
PLANETARY was my favorite comic book until Ellis and Cassaday stopped doing it for a year or so. Since they've started again, I haven't been able to generate the same interest. It's like getting back together with an old girlfriend...or at least what I imagine getting back together with an old girlfriend must be like...stupid restraining orders.
My apathy toward my once-favorite book, about a group of adventurers chronicling the secret history of the 20th Century (which is our pop culture), has as much to do with some of the inherent flaws in the brilliant series as it does the creators' break. I've come to realize I don't care much for the fact that the Planetary team has super powers. Or that they're really a super-team/organization going up against a dark version of the (Fantastic) Four. I love the Four and some of you will tell me that they are the FF with realism but your idea of realism and mine are vastly different. This stuff isn't real, it can't be compared to reality unless you want to look like a dork so let's all just accept the fact that we're adults who love comic books, 'kay?
I think I'd like our little Planetary trio better if Elijah was just some old dude who didn't age, and Jakita and Drums were a pair of adventurous techies. If there are superheroes in this universe, why is their history a secret? PLANETARY has treated us to twisted versions of the Hulk and Thor, 1950s American giant bug movies, 1960s Japanese giant monster movies, Vertigo, Hong Kong action flicks, 1930s pulp heroes etc. The conceit, a great one, is that all of this was really going on in the fringes of the world. But it doesn't work as well if the Authority can appear over New York City at any time.
The main villains, the Four, are supposed to be awful because they have all this Reed Richards, outer space technology and they're hoarding it for their own amusement. That is a cool way of looking at the FF. They could cure cancer. They could end war and hunger. Instead, they explore the Negative Zone? But it was bothering me that Planetary was running up against the Four, confiscating and backward engineering their technology...and not doing anything with it. Ellis has addressed this in recent issues, with Elijah Snow saying that he's letting out their secrets as quickly as he can, but still isn't the Planetary calling the Four black?
Okay. Issue at hand. Giant, solemn, still, beautiful images by Cassaday. What is the reference? Some of you may have more of a clue than I do, but I would say that the space angels and the dead giant are the Planetary version of the Silver Surfer and Galactus, or Jack Kirby's Celestials, but I could be way the hell off.
It's cool. It's mysterious and it's beautiful. And for all my bitching, I'm there for issue 20 because the Four's version of the Thing, whom we have yet to see, has arrived on the scene at the end.
Okay, I'm back.
SPIDER-MAN: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN STACY (TPB)
Writer: Stan Lee
Artists: Gil Kane & John Romita Sr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
"Tell 'im he can shove it, Jameson! Evidence don't mean nothing unless ya can use it! And Sambo ain't never gonna use it!"
- Scumbag politician, Sam Bullit, threatens Robbie Robertson in SPIDER-MAN: THE DEATH OF GWEN STACY
There are any number of remarkable moments in this trade, but that burst of racist dialog is among the most striking of them. Penned by Stan Lee in 1971, it's a perfect example of his ability to bring an edgy touch to his superhero comics, something perhaps forgotten by modern comic readers, eclipsed by Stan's larger-than-life personality or creaky projects like his JUST IMAGINE series for DC. But let me tell ya, folks, rediscovering Stan at his peak is one of the many reasons to own this trade. The untouchably great art of John Romita Sr. and Gil Kane is another. The fantastic battle sequences with Doctor Octopus, still another. And right up there with these enticements I'd put the response of J. Jonah Jameson to having his African-American city editor threatened by a racist, fascist politician. It may be Ol' Skinflint's most redemptive moment ever.
But this is an action story, dammit - let's talk about the action! The first chapter opens with an imprisoned Doctor Octopus learning to mentally summon his tentacles from a great distance, a historic moment in Spider-Man comics that's been repeated a zillion times since, but you see it here first. As a longtime fan of Doc Ock, I was pleased to see Ock played as Spider-Man's deadliest foe in this arc. Spidey struggles just to handle the runaway arms, acknowledging that were they being manipulated more directly by Ock, he'd be totally overwhelmed. If you're one of those who think of Octopus as just the tubby villain sporting Elton John's haircut, this trade will set you straight (no pun intended). Ock's an acknowledged killer in this story and clearly beyond Spider-Man in sheer power, bad haircut or no. Plus, he coolly refers to himself in the third person, as when he hijacks a plan and warns the police not to rush the plane when it lands: "Doc Ock isn't in the mood for crowds!"
Stan's dialogue is on in this story. His Ock is at his exasperated best (no villain is better at getting pissed beyond all reckoning), his Gwen Stacy is a seductive vixen, and his little nods to life in the early '70s are sure to bring a grin (check out the air pollution protestors excited over a possible visit from Ralph Nader). By modern standards, the stories have their fair share of corny dialogue too, from guest-star Iceman shouting "Zowie!" to Spider-Man constantly expressing aloud thoughts that should be part of an internal monologue. Of course, it's Stan's dialogue, and that means that even the corny stuff is somehow endearing. At one point Peter's getting pretty morbid in his fears of tangling with Doc Ock, and when he finally screws up the courage to face him: "After all, being a swingin' superhero is almost like being in show biz! And like they always say – the show must go on! Altho' I never figured out why!"
Classic Stan, classic Peter Parker.
The showdowns themselves are grueling, memorable action sequences. Some modern readers are perfectly willing to dismiss all old-school comics as "mindless slugfests," and I'll accept the "slugfest" descriptor, but "mindless"? Not a chance. Stan and his artists choreographed these battles with as much innovation and panache as the best Hollywood actioneer. One sequence has Spider-Man hiding behind a chimney, and when Ock's arms coil around to snare him, he webs the ends together, vaults off the building dragging the webbed bundle, and pulls the Ock headfirst into the chimney! Daaaaamn! Then Ock retracts his tentacles with blinding speed and pulls Spider-Man straight back into the other side of the chimney – this needs to be in the movie!
Most of these stories are drawn by Gil Kane with inks by Romita Sr, and I have to admit, my knowledge of Kane has always been minimal. I thought, based on anecdotal glimpses, that maybe he was a bit overrated – an otherwise unremarkable anatomy-specialist. That was until I saw his Spider-Man work in this and the DEATH OF GWEN STACY trade. I know now that I've been an idiot. I was practically getting vertigo watching his rooftop action sequences, as dynamic and wild as anything McFarlane ever did, but with anatomy and general realism that's a hundred times more convincing. In fact, the McFarlane cover and a few bonus pin-ups (covers he did for Spider-Man reprint comics) are the only artistic downside of the trade. McFarlane's work has aged with all the grace of a block of cheese.
The emotional crux of the story is, of course, the death of Gwen Stacy's police captain father. Again, I only knew the moment from a modern context, the retelling of the scene in a page of Kurt Busiek's MARVELS (among the cool bonus materials in the back is this very page), but it's a powerhouse. I never knew that Captain Stacy was supposed to have figured out that Peter Parker and Spider-Man were one and the same, so I suppose I was as surprised as audiences in '71 at the poignant moment when Peter Parker realizes this as the old man dies.
What follows is a classic tragedy in the Marvel tradition. Gwen, along with everyone else in the city, mistakenly blames Spider-Man for the death of Captain Stacy. And from a guy's perspective, it's just that much more heartbreaking because Kane and Romita Sr. make her such a damn hot little number in those short skirts, go-go boots, and black tops. Mercy! Along the way, Stan's tale dabbles in politics, plays up the anything-can-happen appeal of the Marvel Universe with a guest-spot from Iceman, and generally reminds us why Spider-Man is the all-time great hard luck hero. I want to try to be more critical of it, but how can I be?
Simply put, this is the goods.
CAPTAIN AMERICA/THE FALCON #2
Written by Priest
Art by Bart Sears
Published by Marvel Comics
A JonQuixote Commentary
Superheroes are more than just the masked men who protect us whenever The Absorbing Man has a bad scalp day and wants to take it out on Brooklyn. They are also role models, representing a pinnacle of physical and ethical achievement towards which we can aspire. In this regard, none are quite so exemplary as Captain America and his longtime teammate, The Falcon. Or were.
I don't know why the industry has remained silent on this for so long. Perhaps because they are cowed by the powerful heroes union, because millions of dollars in television contracts are at risk, or because the public is still wary after the Heroes Reborn debacle and frankly needed the recent heroic "achievements" in order to rekindle their interest in an industry that lost its innocence a long time ago.
It is apparent to those with open eyes that there is a huge problem facing the superhero industry today – the use of performance-enhancing chemicals. Steroids. Illegal drugs pumped into the veins of our "heroes," so that they can run faster, punch harder, dodge bullets better.
What proof do I have? My very own eyes.
I want you to take a look at Captain America from his rookie year. A strong build, to be sure, but sleek. Lithe.
Here we have Cap as recently as a couple years ago. Stockier than the early pictures, but we were willing to write it off as better training techniques, a healthier diet, and maybe even just natural filling out.
Here's Captain America as he appears in CAP/FALCON #2.
Kind of like watching The Jason Giambi Story on rewind, huh? Our very own Captain America, the physical representative of human athletic achievement, has become a lump of flesh so disfigured by its own musculature that he makes Lou Ferrigno look like Marilyn Monroe.
Say it ain't so, Cap. Say it ain't so.
Throwing an adamantium shield so that it bounces off two robots and a henchman before knocking a death ray out of Baron Zemo's hands is one of the hardest tasks to accomplish in professional superheroism. The pressures of competing against so many powered or technological foes must be incredible. And there is an argument to be made that what they do with their own bodies is up to Cap and Falcon. Tell that to the young heroes, struggling to crack the Avengers roster, who see Falcon sitting in on meetings, ripped up like an East German biathlete. Should they have to put their health and their spandex at risk by doping up? I, for one, do not want the rest of the heroic community feeling the pressure of having to distort their bodies into inhuman proportion just to compete.
Capt and Falc have accomplished so much during their storied careers. It would be a shame if their records were to be marred with asterixes. Their appeal is their humanity, their ability to perform acts of heroism and fortitude without having to shrivel up their testicles along the way.
I long for the days that I could open up a comic such as the otherwise excellent CAPTAIN AMERICA/FALCON and not wonder if the protagonists had been stung by a bee. Such blatant disregard for the human body casts a pall over the proceedings, and it's unnecessary.
It needs to stop, before others succumb to the pressure, and every hero looks as though he or she was conceptualized by Rob Liefeld. Cap, the Falcon, and Priest's CAPTAIN AMERICA/FALCON deserve so much better.
PUNISHER: THE END (one-shot)
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Richard Corben
Publisher: Marvel Comics / Marvel MAX
Reviewed by Cormorant
You guys know about Marvel's semi-regular series of "The End" one-shots, right? Stand-alone hypotheticals about the final adventures of their most famous heroes? The series opened strong with HULK: THE END, re-teaming Peter David with collaborator Dale Keown for a chilling post-apocalyptic reflection on The Hulk. It served as a poignent last word on The Hulk as a modern tragedy in the mold of Prometheus, and Marvel could really stand to find a venue to reprint it. Next came MARVEL: THE END, a forgettable miniseries from Jim Starlin that was really just another gahdamn Thanos story. There's also WOLVERINE: THE END, a still-in-progress miniseries from the writer of ORIGIN. Like ORIGIN, it's high profile, and like ORIGIN, it'll probably be forgotten by all but the speculators in five years.
And now we've got Garth Ennis on PUNISHER: THE END, fourth in the "End" series and, amazingly, the first good entry since David's. Not only is it good, but it even helps us codify how to write successful "The End" projects in the future! 'Cause like HULK: THE END, it's post-apocalyptic. And like HULK: THE END it's a one-shot and not a miniseries. And like HULK: THE END it's searingly black-hearted. Future writers, please then use the following checklist in cooking up your proposals:
- Post-apocalyptic setting?
- One-shot format?
- Grim as hell?
You're done!
PUNISHER: THE END opens with typical Garth Ennis punch: a prison warden ordering his few remaining guards to head to the armory, break out rifles and ammo...and execute every last prisoner in the place. This is infamous New York prison, Sing-Sing, and the time is maybe a decade or two from today. It's a world where nuclear tensions are on the brink of exploding, and as the warden explains, "...we can't have murderers and dope-dealers running lose in an atomic wasteland, that would just plain be untidy." Of course, one of those prisoners just happens to be an aged Frank Castle, the vigilante once known as The Punisher. When a nuke's electromagnetic pulse knocks out the power while the guards go about their executioner duties...guess who's loose for one last mission?
Ennis only touches briedly on how the world came to the brink, but a condemnation of U.S. military aggression is explicit. Castle spells it out to a fellow survivor:
"Iraq was one thing. North Korea. Even Pakistan. You shout war on terror at the Chinese and they laugh so hard the world blows up in your face. That's the trouble with a war you never want to end."
If you find yourself sympatico with the fears underlying Ennis' admittedly paranoid scenario then you're likely to enjoy this story, one that asks: is there any justice left for The Punisher to serve when human society has gone the way of the dinosaur? And if you think Ennis is just a pinko reactionary, well, you still might enjoy this. It's first and foremost a riveting yarn, one that may remind readers who didn't grow up with Cold War fears that a nuclear apocalypse is still the scariest bogeyman imaginable. And artist Richard Corben, no stranger to such settings, having adapted Harlan Ellison's "A Boy and His Dog" to comics, brings it to life with such detail that the visuals alone are a powerhouse. Corben's characters are wonderfully three-dimensional freaks. Every crack and sore from radiation tissue damage is masterfully etched by hard shadows on their exaggerated faces, but it's the scenery that truly stuns. Backed by the rusty, jaundiced tones of talented colorist Lee Roughridge, Corben gives us highways of skeleton-filled cars, snowstorms of soot, and one singularly elaborate double-page splash of a decimated New York City. It's as detailed as any comic art you'll ever see, and likely to elicit an emotional reaction even without Ennis's words.
Unfortunately that reaction is clinical depression, so be careful reading this book if you keep razors in the house.
Personally, I very enjoyed seeing Marvel's most uncompromising character revealed through the most uncompromising setting imagineable. Clearly we're in the territory of character-defining extremes here, which is just the road these "The End" one-shots should be travelling. To reveal much of the plot is to spoil the piece, but it kicks off a year after the nuclear devastation as Frank and a single other survivor emerge from a fallout shelter built under Sing-Sing in the '50s. Frank estimates they can survive, at best, 72 hours above ground, but he does have a task to complete and it involves trekking across those scorched Corben wastelands.
Some Punisher fans may be disappointed at the lack of traditional gunplay in this story, at the lack of a skull shirt on Frank, maybe even at the fact that Frank's code-name, "The Punisher," isn't spoken once in the story. And yet it IS a consummate Punisher tale, a nihilistic finale for a character who might've begun as a knock-off of Bronson and Eastwood, but became, as befits a Marvel character, an even purer fantasy of vigilantism taken to its most extreme. As such, the characterization for Frank is Ennis' typically minimalist vision of him, but it's pure in that minimalism. It makes the turn of events of the last few pages believable, as over-the-top as it is. I found the procedings twistedly cathartic, and the last two pages surprisingly moving. It's a dark but pleasant fantasy to imagine that in the worst situation that could ever come to pass, a man like Frank Castle might exact a final, uncompromising justice no matter what the cost to his soul.
With any luck, Marvel will tag a reprint of this story onto the first PUNISHER trade collecting the Marvel MAX relaunch, but given that HULK: THE END has languished without a reprint, you might be wise to snap this one-shot up now. Just be sure you're in a dark mood before you sit down for the read – you'll definitely be in one by the time you're done.
AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS #2 (of 6)
Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza: Writers
Barry Kitson: Artist
Marvel Comics: Publisher
Vroom Socko: @$$hole's Most Wanted
When I reviewed the first issue of this series, I said it was off to a slow, yet good start. Now the second issue is out, and the story is going strong, but it's still going slow as well. The thing is, it's a good kind of slow. It's Hitchcock slow. An explosive finale is all but assured; the first issue was the Zippo sparking to life, and with chapter two the fuse has been lit. The question now is how short is the fuse, and where's the dynamite at.
Oh, don't get me wrong. There's action to be had in this issue. The Avengers have tracked down the Cobalt Man to a reactor in Minnesota, where he's about to suffer a meltdown. The problem is the Avengers have no idea how to handle the situation. But the Thunderbolts do, and since they need a nuclear engineer for their little "Save" The World project…
I'm not sure what I enjoyed the most out of this installment. There's the stare-down between Cap and Zemo. The moment where the T-Bolts succeed in stealing the Avengers thunder (I know, it's a terrible pun. So sue me. I like terrible puns.) There's Jarvis, who, when asked by Hawkeye for an opinion, says that there's no way in Hell he'd trust the people who almost beat him to death and blinded him in one eye. There's Kitson's art, especially the aforementioned stare-down, as well as the amazing looking final page. And then there's the twist at the end.
Man alive, the twist at the end. THUNDERBOLTS made its name on twist endings, and this one is right up there with the best of 'em. Sure, Busiek and Nicieza tipped their hand a little early on this one, but it didn't lessen the impact. The way they foreshadowed that final page, especially with their captioning of the story, was masterful. In fact, there's one caption that's the absolute essence of what comics as a medium can do in ways other storytelling mediums cannot. I have no intention of spoiling this issue for anybody, so I'll only tell you where to find this section. On page fifteen, when Hawkeye slaps Iron Man on the back of the head, just look at the captions for that panel and the next one. They're the single best use of caption boxes I've ever seen, and the best argument for internal narration you'll ever find. Just look at the way the sentence is laid out. It's a wonderful piece of writing.
I'll admit, this story isn't going to appeal to everyone. If you never read the original run on THUNDERBOLTS, you might as well take a pass on this. But everyone else, especially longtime fans of both Busiek and Nicieza, (I can't be the only one,) are going to have a blast. Let me put it to you another way: This past week, I read ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, and put it down thinking it was an amusing, dramatic, and fun piece of work. I read SUPREME POWER, and put it down thinking it continues to be the best damn book Marvel publishes. But when I read AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS, I didn't put it down until I'd reread it two more times. The fuse is burning on this one, and when it explodes, I'm going to be there to see it all.
ENGINEHEAD #1
Writer: Joe Kelly
Art: Ted McKeever
Colors: Chris Chuckry
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Ambush Bug
DC Comics never fails to impress me. The company has put out at least one interesting new series a year for as long as I can remember. One that is different. One that breaks the mold and shows us all that there is still a little life left in the super hero genre. One that develops a dedicated set of followers, but usually not enough to keep the series around for more than eight to twelve issues. Books like AZTEK, MAJOR BUMMER, XERO, CHRONOS, VEXT, and the last DOOM PATROL series come to mind as I think back on books that had so much potential, but were passed over by readers who preferred to avoid taking a chance with something new, resulting in an unfortunate and way too early cancellation. I write this extended eulogy because it would be a shame for this to happen to DC's latest series to break the mold, ENGINEHEAD.
ENGINEHEAD #1 is an extremely intelligent, well written, and beautifully rendered masterpiece filled to the brim of the brim with surreality, nihilism, and just the tiniest splash of hope. Reminiscent of Joe Kelly's earlier work, ATOMIC KAFKA, we follow a man simply known as The Mechanic and his cyborg monkey assistant, Grease Monkey, as they attempt to save the world from destroying itself. Their plan involves desperation, sacrifice, and a whole lotta machinery. We start out with a big budget sequence involving a satellite falling apart in orbit and crashing to the earth below. In captions are parts of the Mechanic's recruitment speech; a speech that you just know has been practiced, rehearsed, delivered, and turned down many, many times. Check it out:
"When did you realize that something was not right? Was it early on in life, when the road ahead looked pitted and broken? Later, when wisdom opened your third eye wide enough to see there was no road at all?…When your best laid plans for world domination—protecting and serving—the perfect bake sale—a cure for cancer—finding true love—all fell apart? What if I told you that it was not just you? What if I told you the rest of the world is falling apart, too? Would that make you feel any better or worse? What if I told you that you could still do something about it?"
Pretty cool, eh? Makes me want to sacrifice my life for a greater good. The Mechanic is like many great men; full of ideas, dreams and hopes, but worn down by a cynical and cowardly reality. He knows there are others like him out there and sets out to make a difference. With this opening sequence, Kelly sets the stage for a tale that I found to be truly unique. And that's hard to come by these days in comics.
The story proceeds to jump between The Mechanic's recruitment drive and the ho-hum day of one, Ford Corrado; a down and out schmoe and former super villain named Jackhammer. With these two characters, Kelly places us firmly in a world that is both more real and surreal than most books that take place in the DCU. And it stars some obscure characters that you may or may not know. Professor Hamilton from the Superman books is here as are forgotten villains; JLA's corkscrew headed foe Brainstorm, Rosie the Riviter of the Demolition Crew, and Wonder Woman's Dr. Cyber. The big surprise is the appearance of Automan, who resembles the Doom Patrol's Cliff Steele, only he's crankier and pre-dates Steele by quite a few years in comics continuity. Not all of these characters get to shine, but hey, it's only the first issue. What do you expect? What we do get is some great character bits from Automan, Grease Monkey, and Ford's parole officer, and a truly classic exchange between the Mechanic and Metal Man, Tin; who delivers one of the coolest lines in the book as he cowers away from the Mechanic's offer.
"T-t-tin cries when you bend it. Do you know that?…I-it's the sound of fear."
This is definitely not a book for the kiddies. There is sex, violence, sexual violence, violent sex and all forms of depravity dripping from every page of this book. It's not explicit, but it just makes you feel a bit wormy after reading it. A lot of that has to do with the art. Usually, we @$$holes talk up the story and mention the art as a side note towards the end. This is not the case here. ENGINEHEAD's story is strong, but it's Ted McKeever's art that places this series as a must buy in my book. There is no one out there like Ted McKeever in comics. His art is distinct in a profession where copycat artists copy copycat artists. Ted McKeever's panels are to art as what Tom Waits' songs are to music or David Lynch's ERASERHEAD is to cinema. Some may be turned off by McKeever's surreal appoach, but for those like me, who have followed Ted since his days as an artist on EPIC's short lived HELLRAISER series, this is the project we've been waiting for. It's Ted McKeever drawing super heroes and cyborg monkeys and gigantic robots. But it's not just any old heroes, monkeys and robots. It's sick and twisted, warped and wretched, filthy and foul versions of heroes, monkeys, and robots.
McKeever's art makes you want to take a bath after seeing it. It's dirty. Sure his panels are a bit rough around the edges and sometimes you have to look at it a bit to understand what is and who is what and where, but it is always original and thought provoking and soulful and dingy and it makes you feel icky, but a good type of icky. The kind of icky that makes you wince and smile at the same time. And then you feel bad for smiling, but then you just say "Fuck it!" and smile anyway because you've already been corrupted by it and it feels too damn good.
Convention is not something you will find in this book. Both the art and the storytelling is unlike anything out there. It's art and it pushes both your senses of reality and what one would think is normal in comics. ENGINEHEAD is original and fun. It's got obscure characters spouting nonsensities and poignancies. I was blown away with the first issue. I usually fly through books, but this one I sat with and read it over and over; chewing up in the labyrinthine storyline and soaking in the beautiful mess of panels. So take a chance with ENGINEHEAD #1. Don't let it fall into obscurity with AZTEK, MAJOR BUMMER, and XERO. Check out something truly original for a change.
ROBIN #124
Written by Bill Willingham
Pencils by Francisco Rodriguez de la Fuente
Inks by Aaron Sowd
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
As you can tell by the cover Robin has been UNMASKED!
Always a sucker for sensationalism, I only held out for a week or so before I broke down and bought this one. I'd also heard on the internet that it'd been "sold out at DC," and always a sucker for hamfisted DC p.r., that only sweetened the deal. And yeah, I wanted to see what Bill "I write FABLES" Willingham and all his Vertigo cred was doing with the title. So here I am with a quick little review.
So who has UNMASKED Robin?
His parents. Mom and Dad do a little parental snooping, and happen into Tim Drake's secret stash of Robin costumes and secret journals. Understandably, his Dad freaks out.
And perhaps this comes at the right time: Tim's heart just doesn't seem to be into being Robin these days. He blames himself for a villain's death, and carries the guilt around like luggage. He phones in his fight training, and Batman gives him a hard time. While lunching with his girlfriend Spoiler, Tim lets loose with that classic (chronic?) superhero lament about not having a conventional lifestyle. And by now, Robin should be getting all that hate mail I sent him about what a little punk he is in TEEN TITANS. Maybe it is time to move on, Tim.
Meanwhile, his father decides to take up matters with the now also-UNMASKED Bruce Wayne. What a mess.
And I liked it. I'm not doing handstands, but I was entertained. I don't think I've ever seen a situation where a secret identity has been exposed on these terms, and that alone is enough to keep me curious. Most of us already know that Batman will be getting a new, female, blonde Robin soon enough (undoubtedly it will be Spoiler), so we know the direction that things are headed. But for me, the uninitiated Robin fan, it seems that the route might be interesting on the way there. Nothing too much deeper than that, but I think that's deep enough.
De La Fuente's art was durable enough, reminding me a bit of Leonard Kirk. No real complaints there.
At the end of #124, Tim's Dad tries to get rough with Bruce Wayne, and I can't help thinking "Boy is this guy making a mistake." I mean he's upset, sure, but do you really want to take on Batman like that? That's what lawyers are for. In any case, litigation or not, I look forward to see how things turn out in the next issue.
B.P.R.D. – PLAGUE OF FROGS #1 & #2
Writer: Mike Mignola
Artist: Guy Davis
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
I caught that Hellboy movie the other day and it didn't do a lot for me. It did, however, have the pleasant side effect of reinvigorating my interest in HELLBOY's quirkier, scarier, decidedly less Hollywood comic book incarnation. I'd been onboard the comics since Hellboy made his "kinda sorta" debut in John Byrne's NEXT MEN, but had hit a little burnout and stopped reading 'em for a few years. And, y'know, I don't regret the break. Sometimes you need these things, and let's be wholly truthful here - Hellboy comics do get a little repetitive over time.
Happily, it turns out that returning to 'em after a hiatus is its own pleasure.
I decided to start with the latest B.P.R.D. miniseries. I was a little hazy on some of the team members (like Johann, the cool-looking ectoplasmic guy in the containment suit), but I knew the basics - that the B.P.R.D. was basically a more kick-ass and monster-staffed version of THE X-FILES - and recognized the frog-creatures from the first Hellboy story, "Seed of Destruction." The mini's even new-reader friendly; there's really nothing one can't pick up from context. Hellboy himself isn't in this mini, though, having apparently stormed off from the Bureau for the immediate future. But I didn't miss the big lug too much. As the editor notes on the letters page, Mike Mignola originally intended HELLBOY to be a full-fledged team book. No surprise, then, that it works terrifically as such. It still "feels" Hellboy-ish, what with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola at the writing helm, and I really enjoyed seeing the other B.P.R.D. misfits revealed on their own, not as foils for Hellboy's charismatic presence.
Like most Hellboy stories, A PLAGUE OF FROGS is structured around an occult mystery. It kicks off with a violent incident at a B.P.R.D. facility housing a rapidly growing chunk of...er...fungus. Try not to notice that the giant thing is decidedly phallic in design – just think "Lovecraftian". In a neat bit of continuity, we learn that it was taken from the cursed Cavendish mansion that played a role in "Seed of Destruction." Apparently the B.P.R.D. has been running follow-up investigations on the ruins of the place every six months since that incident, and while they've found nothing in ten years (huh – HELLBOY comics take place in real time? Kinda neat), the most recent visit turned up the tiiiiiniest fragment of fungus. Which they then cultivated, under what was thought to be safe conditions. Sh'yeah right. As one B.P.R.D. official attempts to justify it, "...from a scientific standpoint...the whole growing thing seemed like a good idea at the time."
"Hindsight is, of course, 20/20," he adds. Gotta love the book's wry sense of humor.
And indeed, one visit from a homicidal/suicidal, cult-programmed scientist later and it's all gone to hell. Men are dead, the fungus has apparently tunneled out, and the facility is quarantined. Our mission team: Abe Sapiens, resident fish-man; Liz Sherman, pyrokinetic chick who's doesn't have a tacked-on romance with Hellboy in the comics (thank god); the Frankenstein Monster-esque Roger the Homunculus (I really like this guy); the aforementioned ectoplasm-in-a-containment-suit, Johann; and Kate – she just seems to be a normal (relatively speaking) B.P.R.D. investigator, no gills or pseudopods.
Half the appeal of HELLBOY comics has always been the artwork, and unsung but brilliant artist Guy Davis lives up to the tradition. I know it's borderline sacrilege, but I actually like his stuff over Mignola's work at the moment. His art is ultra-detailed and there's not a damn thing he can't draw with confidence, but I think it's the worn, desiccated look he drapes everything in that makes his work sing. His art has texture and age, and when our team's investigation takes them to a deserted dockside community in Michigan, you'll all but feel the rust and peeling paint, taste the salt air coming off the lake. I also have to credit colorist Dave Stewart almost as co-artist for his contributions. He's got Eisner awards under his belt, he's a regular colorist on HELLBOY, and he's also currently wowing folks with his work on Dark Horse's new CONAN series. His work here has a rich, painterly quality to it, and if it's done on computer he's fooled me. Just look at the subtleties of this simple scene - the gritty, Jersey atmosphere to the compound, the shaft of sunlight through the window, the texture to the walls. When the dockside scenes show up in the second issue, I think both Stewart and Davis are turning in some of their all-time best.
Overall, while the story dabbles in light moments and occasional incidents of explosive action, there's a sense of foreboding that overwhelms them – appropriately so. It's what I was missing in the movie, that genuine sense of danger, even fear, as if we might lose one of our leads at any given moment. Adding to the pall is Abe's troubling dream of scores of corpses tumbling through the sea into a deep trench, with himself tumbling after them. Oh man, I don't want Abe to get killed! He's the cool undersea guy that Aquaman could never be!
If there's a criticism to be given, it's the same criticism one might levy against any Hellboy-related project: it's all a bit slight. There's an immediate, visceral caring for the leads – appealing, the lot of 'em – and the series' always fascinating blend of folklore, Lovecraftianisms, and superhero-style action set pieces...but no great depth or innovation to the tale, which is essentially just another adventure for the team. Unless Abe dies, and he better not.
On the other hand, as one letter writer in the first issue astutely notes of pulp characters – part of their very appeal is that they don't really change (think Indy Jones, Doc Savage, James Bond), so maybe it's actually a welcome treat to have a book that's not mired in character evolution – that's content simply to provide the reader with some good, old-fashioned thrills and chills with decidedly modern production values.
It's working quite spectacularly for me, in any case.
Cheap Shots!
UNCANNY X-MEN #442/ NEW X-MEN #155 - What do these two books have in common other than the fact that they feature the ongoing adventures of everyone's favorite mutants? Well, both are written by Chuck Austen. Both contain art by Salvador Larroca. And both reek of three kinds of ass. I don't know what kind of Faustian deal Austen has made to be held in such high regard at Marvel to write so many of its premiere titles, but those titles will not be so lauded if they continue to be helmed by hacks of this hack-itude. In UNCANNY, Wolverine and Charles Xavier go to Genosha to lay Magneto's body to rest. This is another word balloon filled exercise in inaction and bad dialog. Wolvie goes berserker, levels a giant statue of Magneto, and slices off Toad's tongue, but the sheer talkiness of it all saps any interest we may have once had for the characters. Moving on to NEW X-MEN, and we have more of the same except our cast is smaller and even less occurs in the form of excitement. I understand the character bits and the calms between the storms are what make the action in these stories pop, but in Austen's case, the stories are pop-free and the calm will only come when he stops writing comics for good. To top it all off, the art in both books looks hastily drawn and unfitting with the computerized hues that color it. I've seen some spectacular work from Salvador Larroca, but this ain't it. Marvel must really want their flagship titles to fail miserably in an attempt to justify the Ultimization of their entire line if this is the type of dreck they're trying to pass off as entertainment. - Ambush Bug
ALPHA FLIGHT #2 - Flame me, flog me, and call me Florence for it, but I'm kind of digging this book. Scott Lobdell has created some interesting characters in this new Flight. Fans of the original team may be disappointed, but in and of itself, the book is kind of kooky, kind of fun, and made me giggle quite a bit. I especially like the dynamic between Nemesis (a sword-swinging agent of anarchy who promises Sasquatch that she will kill everyone on the team the first chance she gets) and the wide-eyed optimism of Major Mapleleaf (think the JLI's Captain Marvel, except he's a super-powered Canadian Mountie with a horse named Thunder). I don't like the fact that they started this series out with a six-parter, but the first page (offering a reverse angled view of the splash intro page from last issue complete with backwards word balloons) is pretty clever. Your socks won't fly off reading this one, but it is worth a few bucks and a chuckle. - Ambush Bug
HAWKEYE #6 - For what it's worth, this was a fun story. This concluding
chapter even featured one cool as hell concept: Hawkeye versus dozens of
archers. It also capped off the initial arc quite nicely. If there's a
problem it's that the story doesn't feel like the beginning of an ongoing
book, but more like a miniseries. Oh well, since the book's cancelled after
issue #8, it might as well have been. - Vroom Socko.
LOBO UNBOUND #6 - In this issue, Lobo gets circumcised. That is about as classy as it gets here, folks. This issue provides a useless ending to an often disgusting, utterly shameless, and truly lackluster miniseries. Lobo kills everyone. Bill O'Reilly's head explodes. And Ambush Bug makes an appearance that seals the fact that Keith Giffen needs to forget about the Main Man and give the Bug another shot. Although, I might be a bit biased. Once again, Giffen has his characters comment on the lameness of the issue in our hands. Unfortunately, by that time, we already know this because we've bought and read it ourselves. Just because Giffen writes his characters as recognizing the ass-suckery of the story doesn't mean that he can be forgiven for it. Humility can only make up for so much. I'm still out my $2.95 American. - Ambush Bug
GHOSTBUSTERS: LEGION #1 - Nostalgia-driven or not, I think something really fun could be done with a Ghostbusters title with, say, Gail Simone at the helm. The comic we actually got, though, while far from a failure, fails to wow. Maybe it's just the first issue trying to get us settled in, but the jokes all felt like stale re-hashes of familiar movie gags to me – you know, kind of like the entirety of GHOSTBUSTERS II. On the plus side, Steve Kurth's art is pretty nice, the coloring quite good, and there's not a Bobby Brown cameo in sight. Probably worth a look for you hardcore Ghostbusters fans, but keep those expectations moderate. – Cormorant
SUPREME POWER #9 - What more can I say? This is the best comic series out right now. Every issue builds from the last with logic and intensity. Every single issue is oozing with innovative characters and pulse-pounding plot developments. I feel full after reading each and every issue and can't wait for the next serving. It's the Chinese food of comics. Straczynski and Frank are constructing a modern masterpiece; a highmark in the super hero genre last set by THE WATCHMEN. In this issue, Hyperion confronts the government officials that have been lying to him all of his life. For the first time, you see how powerful and how scary Hyperion truly is. And the ending? Spoooooooooky. - Ambush Bug
THE MONOLITH #3 - Dang. I really wanted to like this book. Even gave the first issue a pretty nice review a few months back. Alas, subsequent issues have proven disappointing. The idea's still strong – screwed-up street girl finds an unlikely protector in a resurrected Jewish Golem – but Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Grey's moment-to-moment writing doesn't sell the street grittiness. Their lowlifes are pretty rough, yeah, but there's something about the dialogue that's just a touch too hokey, like it might've come from the mohawked thugs of a '70s/'80s Marvel comic. Has Bendis spoiled me on dialogue realism? Maybe. –Cormorant
BIRTHRIGHT #9 - Momentum, finally! Superman decides to have it out face to face with Luthor regarding Luthor's highly effective anti-Superman smear campaign. But Superman gets more than he bargained for, finding out for the first time that his home planet was blown to smithereens -- while Lex is loving every minute as he tells him. It was a great moment, Yu's art may have undercut Superman's reaction (he looked a little wooden); but Lex's beaming revelry was right on. You have to admit, a burn like that only comes along so often. Hopefully Waid, et. al. can build on the energy created in this issue and build to a satisfying climax. - VI
WOLVERINE #13 - The very first MARVEL KNIGHTS WOLVERINE and I was all ready with the line, "same shit, different department." But in this case, my expectations were wrong. Greg Rucka makes up for the last year of snoozers on this title with a little mystery involving our hero, a surviving member of the Weapon X program, and longtime Wolvie nemesis, Sabretooth. I liked this issue's premise, teaming up two bitter enemies to hunt a common prize. I'll be keeping my eye on this title to see if the payoff is as good as the setup. Nice Darick Robertson art too. I guess I'll have to save my "same shit" line for the MK HULK. - Ambush Bug
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The latest issue seems heavily influenced by RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA as well....
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I have to agree on the Supreme Power praise.Lately I've found myself growing tired of updated characters and "re-imaginings",and since Watchmen didn't cap the trend like it should have,I hope this series does the trick.
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Sorry, I bought this hoping for something good. I didn't get it. Horrible horrible art, boring story. Minus the contemporary notes like the one you mention, this could have been set mid 1980's after Russia sends out the birds. I was reading the Punisher Max series and it was great. This... is not.
Planetary. Still the best book being written. Ever since Joe "Piece of Crap Editor" Quesada messed with Peter David's Captain Marvel, this is the one book old time readers can read and enjoy. Post modern doesn't have to be bad. Not quite sure what your problem is with the book, even after reading your review a few times. It's good post modern. It's like a good Quention Tarentino film. You may walk away thinking you've seen this before, but never quite like this. I love it.
Supreme Power. Damn, I wish something would happen. Geez, we know Hyperion will live. This book is one of the slowest developing titles EVER. Introduce Power Princess (for real) already. If I didn't just love the SS, I would have dropped this book long ago. Nothing happens. The best issue was Spectrum vs Hyp. The best image was Hyp talking with Nighthawk and NH being shown the views he was thinking of. But all in large, it's like anything else Strynski does. Slow, pretentious and need to hurry the help up and do something. -
Captain America was created with the Super Soldier Serum!
While I do agree that too any of the characters in comics are drawn rediculously muscled, he is the last one that I would use to make the comparison. -
Tim leaving? Who'll he become then? Nightwingboy? And Batman onto Robin #4? Help me out.
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I'm reading the trades so the most recent story I've read is Planetary/Batman, but I definitely agree that this series should have taken place on a different world than the Authority. Punisher: The End - thumbed through it. Corben's art is really inconsistent. Why do the characters all look like midgets on the last few pages? Lobo Unbound #6 - I'm the proud owner of every single appearance of Ambush Bug since his debut in the early '80's, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy this comic. The Bug's in about 4 panels total, and speaks exactly one line. Did Robert Loren Fleming pass on or something? sk
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While not great the first issue had some good points- First and foremost, it entirely ignores Ghostbusters 2! Second, I like Ray's increasing dissastifaction that the group is moving away from science and becoming glorified janitors.
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I sure hope yer a chick, 'cause you got my taste, baby.
Holy crap. In that review of Enginehead, you named EVERY DEAD SERIES that I LOVED (except you missed the late 90's "Challengers of the Unknown", "Resurrection Man", and "Chase").
I am SO not picking up Byrne's new Doom Patrol. What they're doing to the JLA right now is sheer idiocy. -
Not giving a shit about Galactus or whatever connection can be made there, I enjoyed the hell out of this issue. It elicited at least 4 *gasp* moments, where most comics are extremely lucky to produce 1. It may be true that the protagonists bear resemblence to every other mainstream superhero team, but I can think of one important difference: they're written WELL. Basically I look at this as a sci-fi series, with some superhero references thrown in as crumbs to keep the book on the shelves until the collections can hit the bookstores. Buy some other genre monthlies, then complain.
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Loved Resurrection Man. I knew I forgot one. Butch Giuce(sp?) really outdid himself there. Great series. Great character. And I fucked up in my ENGINEHEAD review. It was Joe Casey who wrote AUTOMATIC KAFKA, not Joe Kelly. Damn, I always get those two mixed up. Especially when I have to choose between them for a dodge ball game. Joe Kelly always catches the ball and wings it back with full force. Joe Casey always gets nailed in the face and falls to the floor crying, thus forcing Teacher to intervene and stop the game. I always choose the wrong one. Sorry for the goof, folks.
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Why would you pick up an Austen X-title anymore? I mean, thanks for being the canary in the mineshaft so we don't have to pick it up, but you're only making his sales ticker go up a notch or two. I've made my peace that I don't like his work, but some people do and he's not going away. No big deal. I also feel that Larocca's work is too cold for my tastes, as if his human characters have no emotions at all, so it's not a book I'm buying. Truth be told, despite growing up on Uncanny I haven't read it consistently since Whilce Portacio was on it anyway. However, I DID just recently read an interview with Austen that was extraordinarily pompous (I can post a link if anyone's interested). Apparently he thinks his work is roundly well-liked except for a dozen or so "trolls" on the internet (of which you may be one, Ambush Bug!), and as a result of these dozen trolls' radical opinions he shuns all criticism, constructive or no. He thinks he is wildly popular because his sales are high, and doesn't seem aware that people are buying "Uncanny X-Men" and not a "Chuck Austen book". His response to critics is that he gets his royalty checks and they are so high that criticism doesn't matter--proof that writing for Uncanny X-Men might actually be the easiest job in the world. With the X-Men relaunch, we'll see if his book is a distant third behind Whedon's and Claremont's. If it's not, and he does have an audience, then hey, more power to him. Doesn't mean I'll be picking up his book, or that you should either.
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And as for Hellboy/B.P.R.D. comics without Mignola artwork... what's the point? Mike, if you're out there, PLEASE stop wasting your time with the Show Biz jackals and get back to the drawing board. Believe me, we miss you.
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AB, was that post your way of telling me yer not a chick? Wah.
Resurrection Man meeting Hitman was by far the greatest issue evar.
"What's your power now?"
"I can make illusory hypnotic butterflies."
"BLAM!"
"What's your power now?"
Ahh, DC 1 Million - the event that ended Chase, Chronos and Resurrection Man. -
...was fantastic. One of the best new DC titles of the mid to late 90's, and cancelled well before its time. It deserved a much larger audience, and if were released today when the audience is more open to this kinda thing it might have lasted longer. I was really glad that Chase and the DEO were used in all the SECRET FILES books for a few years, but now that's been dropped and I really miss it. I wish somebody would put the DEO to better use; I don't think it's been touched since the last SUICIDE SQUAD series. The DEO and Checkmate are both great concepts that have been underused and deserve a second look by DC editorial--I was happy to see Checkmate turn up in the Batbooks last year, for example, for a story arc.
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I don't know if they're single, but Lizzybeth and Superninja are the only female @$$holes. I can see where you would make that mistake though given my sensitive and heartfelt reviews of Bendis, Zimmerman, Bruce Jones, and Chuck Austen's work. And my recent book (soon to be out in paperback), Ambush Bug's Guide to Reviewing Comics the Feminine Way may have steered you in that direction. Back to comics, I loved CHECKMATE. They were sort of DC's version of SHIELD, without the stage stealing Nick Fury aspect. Chase was cool too, but not as good as MAJOR BUMMER and AZTEK. Those two excellent books came and went way too soon.
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First off, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I LIKE Supreme Power. I buy it, and look forward to it every month. I think it's well written, well drawn, and it really does take an interesting twist at the conventions of the super hero comic. But I have to diagree with it's characters being at all innovative. The characters are all re-treads of old Marvel heroes, who were re-treads of old Marvel villains, who were re-treads of DC Heroes, who themselves were basically retreads of pulp heroes and mythic figures (with some exceptions). Plus, you even compared the series to Watchmen in your review Ambush Bug! This is basically a poor man's re-hash of the same idea, and it's simply not as good, or dare I say, innovative. It's still good, but to use your analogy, it's like Chinese leftovers: it was better when you ate when it was fresh, than when you reheated it and had it the next day.
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WATCHMEN were retreads as well. At the very least, I'd take away some of your 'retreads' of comments. SUPREME POWER appears to be directly influenced by the DC Characters, and only share the trademarkeable names with Marvel's previous incarnations. *** But the fact of the matter is, there is a power in the archtypes that cannot be denyed, and to suggest that you would have to forgo that in order to earn the word 'innovative' is ludicrous. Not to mention the fact that there is a degree of thematic self-reference; much like WATCHMEN, the story exists beyond the page and the plot mechanics and works to comment upon the superhero genre as a whole. *** But, if you're looking for innovation, the comic book genre is not for you. In fact, if you're a postmodernist (and your comments suggest that you, like most scholars & critics, are), all of literature is probably not for you. Because that doctrine suggests everything that can be done has been done, and we haven't seen anything truly 'innovative' since NAKED LUNCH hit bookshelves fifty years ago. So I guess it's just time to retire that little word from our literary glossaries. Should you call Websters or should I?
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WATCHMEN were retreads as well. At the very least, I'd take away some of your 'retreads' of comments. SUPREME POWER appears to be directly influenced by the DC Characters, and only share the trademarkeable names with Marvel's previous incarnations. *** But the fact of the matter is, there is a power in the archtypes that cannot be denyed, and to suggest that you would have to forgo that in order to earn the word 'innovative' is ludicrous. Not to mention the fact that there is a degree of thematic self-reference; much like WATCHMEN, the story exists beyond the page and the plot mechanics and works to comment upon the superhero genre as a whole. *** But, if you're looking for innovation, the comic book genre is not for you. In fact, if you're a postmodernist (and your comments suggest that you, like most scholars & critics, are), all of literature is probably not for you. Because that doctrine suggests everything that can be done has been done, and we haven't seen anything truly 'innovative' since NAKED LUNCH hit bookshelves fifty years ago. So I guess it's just time to retire that little word from our literary glossaries. Should you call Websters or should I?
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I know Chuck Austen is a poopy writer. As do you and the rest of the world outside of Marvel's offices. But it's my job to read the crap and report it back to all of you, so that you don't have to buy that crap. Think of me as a sin eater, except instead of sins, I eat bad comics. Your point that Uncanny sells itself is a valid one. Anyone with enough hype provided by the House of Ideas and Wizard can write that book because a lot of people would buy it if an armless ape was writing it. Austen's idiotic stance that twelve people on the internet are out to get him is insane. The criticism is so intense against Austen because he has so many high profile books and hasn't proven he has the talent to be worthy of writing any of them. I hope that, like Zimmerman before him, he will simply soon fade away and our favorite books will be handled properly again.
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I'm pretty sure blocks of cheese do get better with age, it is an aquired taste, sort of like McFarlane comics.
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Was Aztek MEANT to go away? I mean, think about it; it ended by adding him to the JLA roster.
Granted, Grant never followed up on the arcs enough (no pun intended), but since 99% of the things he wrote for JLA made me feel like I was entering a conversation 25% of the way into it and been forced to leave when only 90% of the conversation was over, I can understand how he could pull off the Aztek storyline. Poor guy didn't get enough showtime in JLA. -
The funny thing about Austen is that so many people dislike him for so many different reasons. Without getting into specifics I've heard: 1) That he gives no regard to continuity, 2) That he makes characters act in ways they would never act, 3) That he makes sweeping changes that ruin a lot of what came before, 4) That he has much more talk than action. Me personally, I like to forget sometimes that these funnybooks are basically soap operas, and it's hard to do that when the romance and dialogue is at a soap opera (or sometime sub-soap opera!) level. I've heard that Austen is popular with people new to comics, and that may be the case, I don't know.
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It's so cool to read someone else expressing opinions I can relate to. And reviews of comics I'm interested in, to boot. I gave Austen lots of time, didn't even judge him by that stupid Nightcrawler X-story he wrote. But his work on X-Men is beyond awful, and he was ruining Exiles, too, but at least a new writer is on that book next issue. Like Ambush, I quit buying New X-Men and Uncanny with the most recent issues, which is too bad because I have bought them for most of the past 20 years, only taking some time off in the mid-90's when X-books had gone seriously awry. When Morrison took over New X-men, I came back to all the X-books, but no longer. Ps. I kind of enjoy Sears' ridiculously amped up art.
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"1) That he gives no regard to continuity, 2) That he makes characters act in ways they would never act, 3) That he makes sweeping changes that ruin a lot of what came before, 4) That he has much more talk than action. " *** I would suggest that the middle two criticisms are actually the result of the first one being put into practice. My take on Austen is that he's a guy who has no regard for what came before (and, judging by what he's said in interviews, hasn't even read it), but is absolutely dead set on writing stuff that make sure future scribes must reference his work. The average Austen interview goes something like this: "Nightcrawler. He's this blue guy from X-Men, the one who can disappear. He's like a demon or something, I dunno. I never cared much for Whassisname's run on X-Men or that CAMELOT book he wrote after. So, anyway, I'm writing his origin..."
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Apr 14, 2004 5:52:37 PM CDT
Ah, But, Lizzy, Uninformed Complaining Is What Being An @$$hole
by buzz maverik
I really don't think you can separate PLANETARY from its' sources. All Ellis had to do to hook me was use a phrase like "The Secret History of the 20th Century". I'm soooo there with that. And to make it our pop culture is brilliant. Like you, I thought the protagonists had superpowers because of commercial reasons, but then the book turned into the Planetary as superheroes squared off against supervillains (although not actually presented that directly). It's X-Men vs. the Brotherhood without the Blob smothering anybody or getting gutted by Wolverine. That bothered me. Since you don't have to be fair or rational to be an @$$hole, the comic book I would like to see would be about a group of horrified, disgusted anthropologist/archeologists chronicling everything from the Universal monsters to Pokemon cards as real events that took place just beyond public knowledge. I think the fact that human adventurers would be helpless against the Four would add Kafkaesque horror and doom to the proceedings. It would make everything more powerful and poingnant.
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Those of you that love it, did you also love the first four (six? the first trade) issues? 'Cause that's what I've read, and I mostly got some semi-interesting but plotless riffs on pulp/comicbook culture. PLANETARY: We're here to look into the Hulk thing. OTHER GUYS: Sure, here's what it is. It's like the Hulk, only with a twist of lime and a crazy ending. Man, fucked up, huh? PLANETARY: Yes. It is like the Hulk only more fucked up. How cool. Well, off to Monster Island next. *** But did it get better? 'Cause so many fans just throw themselves at it, including our own Indie Jones girl Lizzy who insists that the difference between it and other superhero stories is that this is WRITTEN WELL, the implication being - I imagine - that she'd be all about the superheroes if they could only be written this well. If only. *** And because I didn't get that from what I've read, I'm skeptical. But do the fans also share similar reaction to the first issues but then were lucky enough to find out that it got much, much, much better. 'Cause if that's true, then I've gotta get in on that.
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As a Chase/DEO lover, you might take a look at recent issues of Green Lantern. Merayn, the blue former GL/Darkstar who is John Stewart's girlfriend, has hired on to be a consultant for the DEO. Chase and Mr. Bones both just made appearances in that series.
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HULK being my childhood favorite. The idea of Banner, as the nuke goes off, working a quantum equation in his head, the result of which is something that can survive the bomb, just grabbed me. I love the A-Bomb. I love Los Alamos. This story merged two of my favorite sensibilities, the dark underbelly of 20th Century history and pop culture. This was done even better in a story called CITY ZERO in which the Planetary visit a deserted American concentration camp from the 1950s where the blacklisted were turned into The Amazing Colossal Man and The Attack of The 50 Woman and Them, and all those atomic scare movies. Their lead is a beautiful, waifish Marilyn Monroe type (who slept with the wrong politician). They altered her to have a half-life of 50 years. She faded away before their eyes. It was cool and haunting. The advent of the Four was like a geek conversation brought to the page ("Hey, if the Fantastic Four have all this great stuff like time travel, why don't they kill Hitler and stop the Holocaust? Who cares about those damned dinosaurs?"). The Four killing the last survivor of a doomed planet, a cosmic policeman and an Amazon on peace mission before they could become the Justice League was genius. It was a great presentation. I think the book has gone on too long, myself.
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I *do* read GREEN LANTERN, but forgot about the Merayn/DEO subplot because the only times they've showed her on earth in the last few months was to talk Jade into cheating on Kyle. It'd be nice if the DEO thing came up a bit more in Marz's six-issue arc, but I'm worried it won't. Also, they haven't announced yet who's taking over after Marz. Rumors indicate Ellis and Morrison, but who knows? I'm pretty sure if it's one of those two, though, they wouldn't find the DEO angle "high concept" enough. That's not a criticism, mind you; I love Ellis and Morrison's stuff. I'm just saying I won't be surprised if it's a while before the Merayn/DEO angle is pursued.
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About Planetary, I mean. I've had the first trade sitting--unfinished--on my shelf for months now. *** Maybe they can put Mark Waid on Uncanny next, and he can have the X-Men go to heaven where Jack Kirby can erase whatever Austen's done to them??? Nice. Neat. *** Where are the Spider-Man reviews?! I picked some samplings all 3 (now 4) Spidey books on a lark last week. Haven't been reading them regularly, just checking in. And I was very pleasantly surprised with Amazing and Spectacular, @$$holes, you're supposed to be telling me about these things. I don't know if Damien Scott is a fill-in or regular on Spectacular but his stuff is very dynamic and cool, and he just might be drawing the best Lizard since Ditko. And the story feels heartfelt and real to me. "Amazing", I've always wanted to like this current run as Strazynski's talented and Romita's one of my favorites, but it's seemed like Strazynski's been too wordy, in a bad way, and would obviously rather be writing Dr.Strange. And Romita, well, the supernatural has really never been his strength (exceptions: his Mephisto, and that creepy DD issue w/Spidey way back where the demon lived on a thorny hill). So, why would you have an artist like that and not play to his strengths? That said, I really enjoyed this last issue, I love the Ezekiel character, and for the first time in a long time, I'm eagerly awaiting the next "Amazing Spider-Man", and thats pretty cool.
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Apr 14, 2004 8:42:59 PM CDT
Corben's art? Granted, an acquired taste. But don't go tellin' m
by dave_f
...'cause then I'll just have to dismiss you opinions completely, and no one wants that. But, yeah...it's something of an acquired taste. His stuff is a strange marriage of underground style (he's got Crumb's detail, "grittiness," and occasionally grotesque caricature style), a sculptor's knowledge of form (and he does, in fact, sculpt), a masterful knowledge of how light and shadow illuminate form, a generally very high level of draftsmanship...AND...an almost fetishistic fascination with the human form. I was actually *surprised* nobody got nekkid in PUNISHER: THE END, 'cause that Corben, he does love the flesh. But he also likes to reveal form through shadows and drapery, and that he did. I got no beef with those who disliked the story - though you're wrong, it was a lovely little nihilistic fable - but Corben's art? It's bonafide, baby. Just 'cause it ain't pretty don't mean it's bad. Go look again at that double-page splash of a nuke-plastered New York. That's the work of a guy who can FUCKING DRAW.
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As some of you know Wildcats 3.0 is being dropped by DC after issue #24. This is a great title that deserves to continue on. If you're a fan of the series, or just a fan of comics, please help out. Below is the link to a save Wildcats petition.
http://www.petitiononline.com/wild30/petition.html -
And Quixote articulated my main problem pretty clearly: the book's largely plotless, idea-fetish stuff. Are the ideas cool? Yeah, mostly, in a nihilistic way. But these ideas are just cast out they're into the void with no development, just a general leaning towards misery over awe. I think I've mentioned this before, but Ellis once wrote a two-issue mini for Marvel called RUINS (this was before he was Mistah Big Stuff), and he described the premise in an interview as "What if everything in the Marvel Universe was fucked up?" I may have one or two words off in remembering it, but that's pretty close to verbatim. And indeed, in this mini, the radiation that spawned the Hulk gave him mega-cancer and all his gamma-tumors "popped", gorily killing him. Jean Grey wore her Marvel Girl costume as a hooker. I forget the other specifics, but you get the idea. It was pretty mindless stuff, little more than what he described - "What if everything in the Marvel Universe was fucked up?" - and I have to wonder if that was the germ of PLANETARY right there. Because when I read the first PLANETARY trade, that's a lot of the vibe I got. What if there was a Godzilla...but it was fucked up? What if there was an FF...but they were fucked up? What if...ah, but you get the idea. And I've been told that the over-arcing backstory to the series begins to build momentum in the second trade, but I read it a few years ago and somehow I've already forgotten it - that ain't a good sign. I guess I never connected with the characters in the series and without some emotional connection, the idea-fetish stuff just falls flat. Actually, I could say that of just about every Ellis project except TRANSMET and maybe ORBITER. Well, ORBITER had pretty flat characters, too, but at least the ideas they presented were explored with greater depth than in PLANETARY, so there was a better *illusion* of characterization. About the only thing I can flat-out appreciate about PLANETARY is the art. Cassaday's a pretty talented dude.
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Apr 14, 2004 9:37:48 PM CDT
Sideshowbob, you just cited one of my favorite old comics!
by toonimator
That issue of DD with Spidey vs. Blackthorn(?) the son of Mephisto, born on a thorny hill where a teen was on the verge of raping his would-be date... brutal... raw art... the throw-down in the old amusement park. That issue, along with a less-impressive Iron Man, got be hooked on comics, summer of '89. As for Planetary, I didn't like the gap between runs (was 9/11 the impetus? For awhile Cassaday only wanted to do stuff jumping off that tragedy), but I love that some of the new issues are picking up on loose threads... now we know Jakita's NOT Snow's daughter, but the daughter of his would-be true love & the Planetary universe's Tarzan analogue. So that's cool. Lots of "cool" concepts, but if it keeps appearing regularly, it should start to build the momentum it had towards the end of the last run, and resolve stories. Can't wait to see Jacob Greene!
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I agree with Austen, he is one of those writers that make you go "shit, i can do better than that." and the problem is every single one of us would be correct, MARVEL could hire ANYBODY and they would do better, and probably for less than he would. but maybe there is something a giant conspiracy thoery, to get Austen to fuck up marvel continuity so bad, that they have no choice but to "Ultimate" everything. Maybe that's the plan, it would be like pre-crisis DC, but 5 times more retarded
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Did anyone's cover for Supreme Power 9 have just Hyperion's face? This pic was on Marvel's website and in the review, but mine had Hyperion floating in the air being shot at by soldiers. Just wondering if I got a second printing or something...and when the hell are we going to see the Power Princess (which is a pretty dumb name, but so is Wonder Woman, now that I think about it and Super...nah, nevermind...)
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Apr 14, 2004 11:14:25 PM CDT
"But, if you're looking for innovation, the comic book genre is
by dave_f
Uh, Quixote? Buddy? Pal? Comics are a MEDIUM, m'friend, not a GENRE. Funnybooks 101.
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Apr 15, 2004 9:29:44 AM CDT
The BPRD series is okay, but I've given up on WEIRD TALES...
by frankdrebin
[1] The 4- to 6-page short stories have no plot: somebody from the BPRD is sent to investigate a disturbance, they whip out a gun, BANG, The End. [2] The artwork has been uneven (some good, some bad), but none of it was as atmospheric as Mignola's. [3] The research Mignola used to do into old legends was what made HELLBOY different from other supernatural superhero books, like Michael T Gilbert's MR MONSTER. But nothing lasts forever, and there's no way Mignola could have kept up the quality of those early HELLBOY books. And it's rare that a comic creator can make the bucks that somebody like Macfarlane does, so I don't blame him for "going Hollywood". He's earned it.
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more as a libertarian than a pinko. Think about it, respect for the military, love of westerns, guns, and stories of male bonding and loyalty, and comments made in Preacher and other works. He may not be a fan of Bush necessarily, but he probably swings to the right, IMHO. Also, read a comment that one of the best comics being published might be ending, X-Statix. Get off your duffs and read this awesome book. And read Human Target, which just had a very affordable trade come out yesterday. I work in a comic store so I knows my spits. Lates.
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Panning Planetary by saying it is just the Screwed-up version of other comics but loving Supreme Power for the same reason is odd. I like both.
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Last night I had the pleasure of reading She-Hulk #2, after #1 got a rave review recently on this site. I am happy to say #2 continues to be clever, slightly off-beat, fresh and entertaining. A much better use of my money than Uncanny. Ps. Mephisto's son is Blackheart. Blackheart was great, that whole DD storyline rocked (remember #9?) and Blackheart is even featured in Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 video game, a classic of fun!
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Like so many of the people we rail against, I meant to type "superheroes" where I wrote "comic books". As is proscribed in our bylaws, Lizzy may now kick me in the nuts.
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Apr 15, 2004 11:08:10 AM CDT
DC is rapidly effing up Batman for the long haul these days
by the g-man
Lately, every major arc involves more and more people finding out that Bruce Wayne is Batman. At this rate, it looks like Commissioner Gorden is the last person in the Gotham to figure it out. And, seriously, that creates a logical problem: at what point doesn't someone decide to kill him as Bruce Wayne at charity dinner or break into Wayne Manor, kill Alfred and be waiting for him in the Batcave with a bazooka?
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ABOUT HELLBOY'S WEIRD TALES: Not so big on 'em, myself, for the same reasons RetroStyle mentioned a post or five back. One of the key components to a good Hellboy story is atmosphere, and ya just can't pull that off in a six-pager AND tell a story of merit. And don't gimme no "What about Eisner's THE SPIRIT?" counter-examples! A) Even THE SPIRIT strained under page limit at times, and B) THE SPIRIT wasn't *horror*, a genre that's perhaps more reliant on atmospheric build-up than any other. Of course, the BPRD mini I reviewed has atmosphere to spare - Mignola DID write it - which is one of the reasons I think fans are missing out if they skip it because it's not drawn by Mignola. Speaking of which... ***** ABOUT GUY DAVIS ON BPRD: Hey, I love Mignola too. In fact, one of the reasons I stopped reading Hellboy stuff for a time was that I couldn't abide Mignola himself allowing clones like that Ryan Sook guy to handle art chores while he wrote. I might judge Sook a little easier now that I've seen that there's some fun to be had with other creators interpreting Hellboy, but more to the point...Guy Davis is no Mignola clone. He's an artist to stand on absolutely EQUAL footing with Mignola, and like I said in the review...you might just find he *exceeds* Mignola in some ways. I humbly suggest that the doubters at least give the new BPRD mini a skim-through in their local funnybook shop. Dollars to doughnuts you'll be impressed.
***** ABOUT HELLBOY GONE HOLLYWOOD: I wasn't big on the movie, but I have to agree with Retro again - I've no problem with Mignola reaping a little Hollywood money (and subsequent R&R). Guy's earned it with something like ten years of total conviction to creating his idiosyncratic vision in relative obscurity. Hey, just 'cause he rates as a minor fan-fave doesn't mean the guy was living on easy street or had been fairly compensated for his unique vision. I think the movie will perform the minor side-service of correcting this while simultaneously drawing mainstream attention to the superior comics. That ain't too bad a deal in this world. -
Apr 15, 2004 11:53:11 AM CDT
I thought Gordon's knowledge of Bats' secret identity had become
by dave_f
Has that fallen by the wayside? I'm only *occasionally* in the loop on Batman's world these days. Oh, and who's the latest to learn the secret identity, G-Man? And who're the other egregious examples? I guess Hush and Cain are two of the guys who know outside of his circle of bat-compadres, and I know he just blabbed to Wally West. Anyway, it can't be as bad as Ultimate Spider-Man's secret identity. I tallied that one up once, and the number was somewhere in the *teens*...
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They are making The Spoiler aka Tim Drake's girlfriend Robin # 4. We'll see. I like Willingham, but this worries me a little bit. Damion Scott is taking over as the regular artist on Robin while I do not think there is going to be a regular artist on Spectacular Spider man for a while. Just a bunch of different artists for different stories. I like Planetary and have enjoyed the last couple of self-contained issues. Especially the story about the first attempt at sending a ship to the moon.
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If Peter hadn't jazzed up his webbing to short circuit Doc Ock's arms, they wouldn't have gone out of control and knocked half a building down on poor old George.
I think one of the interesting things about the whole Gwen Stacy story is how despite his efforts to the contrary, Peter brings nothing but grief, and eventually death to that poor girl. And in the end, all of it is basically his fault. -
...Tim's parents, Catwoman, Riddler, Hush, Cain, Bane, Lois Lane, Lady Shiva, Blockbuster, Nyssa, Sasha Bordeaux, the entire JLA, Slade Wilson, Spoiler and, possibly Luthor. And then there are the people who have known for a while, such as Hugo Strange, Ras, Talia, and, possibly, the Joker (see, eg, "A Death in the Family"). It was intimated for a while that Gordon had his suspicions, but, as of "No Man's Land" it was more or less stated that Gordon didn't know and didn't want to know (Bats tried to tell him). It seems like every new Bat-writer has to have some new character learn the secret, and that the editors are afraid to point out that such a plot "twist" is hardly new anymore.
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Have you read Millar's Spider-Man yet? Or Bendis's Daredevil? Secret identities are not what they used to be.
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Sook is no Mignola clone. He wanted to keep close to Mignola's style for Hollow Earth, though, particularly given the flashbacks (#1 being to the end of Conqueror Worm). He filled a big sketchbook with layouts, illustrations, sketches to prepare for the series. This was to launch BPRD as its own entity, sans-Hellboy, so there needed to be some stylistic bridge. And, to paraphrase, "you can't do mood in 6 pages"? What about all those Hellboy shorts? Granted most were between 8 & 12 pages, but Pancakes was short... The Corpse was released in 2-page installments. You get mood from every page! I think expectations for "Weird Tales" are wrong. It's NOT Mignola's HB. It's more like Star Wars Tales, where the mood can be ANYTHING (check out this week's SWT for proof: The Rebel Club, a riff on John Hughes; a crossover with Indiana Jones; and a couple presumably post-Vong tales. Humor, drama, romance, horror, whatever. And the art styles can be anything, too. It's an anthology by a bunch of different artists & writers. It's supposed to be eclectic. If everything was the same, where's the fun, unless it's all by Mignola? I love the "Weird Tales", I wish they'd continue! It doesn't diminish my love for Mignola's creation. Did people have negative reactions like this when Hellboy Jr began?
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and I regret it every month. If it weren't for the amazing art I would have dumped the book two issues ago, but damn they had a fine start to a good political thriller. The dialouge in this weeks issue seems like it was written by a highschool student. And yes, all the X-titles suck now. They will until the reload, or the revolution, or whatever they're calling it. Then we MIGHT get something interesting with the director turned comic book writers. We'll see.
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"Lets take the Wolverine title in a whole new direction by featuring Sabertooth and a mysterious nonsensical plot involving Weapon X!" Genius.
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Apr 15, 2004 8:09:21 PM CDT
You're right, Toonimator. I went back and looked at all the WEI
by frankdrebin
But I still wish Mignola had at least contributed a couple of pages, like in HELLBOY JR (I still laugh just thinking about that SQUIDMAN & LOBSTERWOMAN short). By the way, if any of you are HELLBOY collectors, Dark Horse published a $15 hardcover book of short stories called HAUNTINGS, with art by Mignola, P Craig Russell (ELRIC), Evan Dorkin (MILK & CHEESE) and the usual suspects. I though it was worth the price.
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Apr 15, 2004 8:44:46 PM CDT
Retro, didja notice that DARK HORSE BOOK OF HAUNTINGS had a weir
by dave_f
Well it did. All my own extra shekels recently went to the hardcover ART OF HELLBOY, though. I'd been wavering on it for months, but I own the hardcover ART OF SIN CITY (a somewhat inferior production), and I figured I *needed* the HELLBOY book as a companion piece. And so I did. It's a sweetheart of a book, too, one of the best of its type I've ever seen. Highly recommended to all Hellboy junkies, even if you have to go for the softcover po' boy version. ******* For Toonimator: No outright negativity for WEIRD TALES from me - like I wrote in my post, I'm just not big on 'em. I don't wish they were never produced, for instance, but I do think they're something of wastes of the talent involved even though a few of the stories have been fun. Not so sure on the STAR WARS TALES comparison, either. I think the Star Wars universe is such a big and expansive place, one that's ALWAYS been a collaborative effort, ALWAYS been expanded through different media, that it's simply better suited to anthology-type tales than Hellboy's world. Hellboy's more specific. It's open to the occasional "Pancakes" story, but I'd put the emphasis on the word *occasional*. But don't let me harsh your mellow - I'm not about to call for a WEIRD TALES boycott or anything ;)
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While I said that I didn't think you could separate PLANETARY from the pop culture sources that constitute the Secret History of the 20th Century that our heroes are seeking out, I believe that PLANETARY works best outside the context of the comic book world. If you can pretend that all the comics and fiction you've ever read and loved never existed, and look at it as secret doings on the fringes of our lifetime, it is brilliant. Ellis seems to be into some of the same things I am, so maybe that's why I dig it so much. A secret space program in the 50s? I love secret programs in the 50s. I love secrets. Betty Ross as the general's wife, pregnant with Banner's child, both of them lured to Ground Zero? I love Ground Zero. Thor's hammer as a gateway to the Four's Matrix like world where they've slaughtered everyone so they can store their plunder? It is a comic book of ideas. In the latest issue, Ellis, a weird physics buff, mentions the theory that universe is made of information. How cool is that? That's why it bugs me that we're getting down to Avengers vs. the Masters of Evil. We're supposed to be looking at comics and pop fiction in a different light but now we're not?
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BATMAN DIES.
Everyone knows who he is, so Brucie gets killed off. -
Planetary was appealing because of the concept of hidden knowledge, even if it was pop-culture oriented. Buzz is right in that making the main characters and their origins a part of that (instead of outside of it) sucked the mystery right out of it. It's become boring, and the pictures aren't enough to make me buy it. It still plays with interesting ideas, but it feels empty. Cormorant is right in that it became "plotless, idea-fetish stuff". But it didn't start out that way.
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The movie didn't do much for me, either. The whiner that I am, I didn't want Hellboy to be just another comic book action movie. Mignola's comic books are so much more than that. While I like the stories from time to time in Weird Tales and BRPD, they're just not the same without his art and writing.
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Austen always has a really good idea or two to begin with. He just doesn't know how to run with it in the long-term. It's one thing to have a good idea, it's another to be a storyteller. Austen is not a good storyteller.
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First off, you can't get away with bashing Planetary as just a skewed take on pulp and sci-fi concepts while praising League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for being just a skewed take on pulp and sci-fi characters. Second, Planetary's doing a lot more than that. "The Four" aren't just Ellis saying "Damn, it'd be cool if the FF were a bunch of Nazi bastards!" He levels a very specific critique at them. They're the product of the space race, representatives of capitalism versus communism, and they emerge as adverturer demi-gods completely unconcerned with helping the "little people" left behind - the rest of the planet. They ARE the gung-ho, pioneer, up-from-the-bootstraps entrepreneurial spirit, and they are monsters. The Planetary team in the last issue is shocked to see the corpse of what looks, to them, like a God in space. We recognize God as Galactus and realize that if he hadn't died he probably would've destroyed the world millennia ago. What's that supposed to say about God? Most of his stories come off as episodic and "cool," yeah. But he's always trying to get some idea across - sometimes with subtlety, sometimes with a brick to the forehead - with his pastiches of old comic and pulp stories. It's never just "look what the Hulk's like now!"
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superninja,firstly i agree with your comments on chuck austen except for any of the remotely positive things you might have said,secondly since im new to talkbacking(?) how the hell did chuck austen even get a job,nothing ive read of his remotely reminds me of a comic book,and whats this about he thiks people love him,how do comic companys maintain there credibility and continue hiring him,to write their top tier titles no less.?in ckosing-im new-be kind.
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