Suicide Squad - First Arc Review / Discussion

-SuicideSquad-

Suicide Squad, at the very foundation from which all action takes its cues and direction, is smart. The Squad is never given time to rest or recoup. Right, cause why should they? Burn those suckers out. Definition of expendable that whole squad. It keeps everything moving and exciting (or should). The Squad isn’t told all the details of the mission either, they’re just given the gravity of the situation (a city dies or the governments fall, those levels), at which point they bitch they don’t have enough time left on the bombs implanted in their heads to accomplish their goals, to which Waller (their handler) says “better get moving”. How else to motivate them?

Right yeah, all good decisions, and there’s many more (no public face to the Squad another), but what’s build on top of this sound structure is blah. It’s not crap. It’s just enough to get the job done. The action straddles both worn-out and stupid. Prison break-outs, infiltrating secret terrorist bases, zombie stadium. Nothing played with with any real care or fun. They go to a place with four walls and kill things. Each character has one weapon or attack and uses it exclusively. Their enemies are fodder to such a degree it’s inconceivable any member of the Squad could ever be seriously hurt.

That’s blah but it isn’t bad. What’s bad, really fucking atrocious, is El Diablo. He’s the most flat, boring, preachy character imaginable. I am telling you, all people, that it is impossible to construct a worse character. If he does not die soon, he will kill this book. You know the type of person that says the same thing over and over, only changing the order of the words, but always delivering the message with the same level of hammy overbearing? That’s him and he pops up every other panel! Worse! He’s completely unneeded. The “conscience” of the Squad is King Shark. And he did everything El Diablo wants to do in one panel that was striking for how much it said and how easily it conveyed the emotions of a monster character who’s speaking parts have been, thus far, “meat” and laughing (it’s the one where he eats Yo-Yo for no reason, then grabs his head in frustration, shame, defeat at his own nature. Beautiful).

I’m hopeful for the on-going issues of the book though. Again, underlying decisions are smart. And now the Squad is moving away from the generic action pieces. Plus, from the beginning the art has been wonderful. Everyone saves the art for last to talk about as though it were the cherry just to top the rest of the "real" work but I wouldn’t be nearly as confident, nor have lasted this long, without Federico Dallocchio. That one panel of King Shark was pitch perfect, There’s truth to the violence being depicted without ever getting gory or excessive, which keeps the tone of the book lighter. More easy to simply enjoy than pick apart. There have been scenes which made El Diablo seem likable! I’m thinking the Squad will get better. 

Images Copywrite DC Comics

New 52 First Arc Review Discussion

Know what? Let's just review / discuss the first arc of each of the books I've kept up with. They're all meant to be read in six issue chunks. Which are being released as a trade paperback soon.

-Green Lantern-

Green Lantern did than better than most of these new series by offering a real cliff-hanger in the middle of the first arc. Unfortunately the arc has done little but have both major characters get their person lives squared away. It makes the book feel like clean-up. Just giving Sinestro and Hal Jordan a little something to lose for the next arc, but it isn’t thrilling or satisfying to see Hal “get the girl” or Sinestro accept responsibility for all he’s done to his race. I can get pretty cozy with just some exploration of the Green Lantern mythos though. I’m with Sinestro in never having trusted the Guardians or their dogma, doesn’t matter how big their book is. Those tidbits have sustained me but a Hal centric story will push me right out. Hal’s just this self-centered little nothing wreck of a man wanting to feel special. Sinestro will actually take this story in interesting directions by figuring out all the secrets the Guardians have kept. Hal dragging down half the book makes it tough to keep reading…

-RedHood-

What A Fucking Mess. The Red Hood that got me into this series has all but disappeared. Let me just blow through major plot points and scenes from issues 2-5 to showcase how absurd it has gotten. So, ancient shapeshifting beings of pure evil live among humanity, blending into the day-today, not causing a fuss unless an ancient, but not quite as ancient, monk collective shows up for a throw down. Cue Red Hood (the last of the monks). Meanwhile, Random Fucking Guy transform himself into a green goblin (not capital Gs) using alien technology that he hates to fight aliens because he hates them (they killed his mom and dad or something). Goes through his whole life story without prompt. Deeply lonely. Beaten by Arsenal so you know he’s garbage. Flashback! Starfire isn’t just a set of giant, orange, boobs. She knows bullshit pop culture psychology AND philosophy. Tells Red Hood to forget all that history that makes him a character and be something new for this series. Because she can only smell people anyways. 

The art is brilliant at least. Colorful with this comic book / realistic sketchy quality. Everything is crisp and vibrant. Detail without being a mess at first blush. Even if you’re not the type to really take in a scene, it will drag your eye over every inch of it. I mean it. Every inch. Red Hood’s coat? Incredible (check out that cover right there). Never mind the action poses or the characters themselves.

-JusticeLeague-

The quality has plummeted since issue TWO. All effort to organically and logically being the League together has been jettisoned in the fall. Cyborg, the unknown kid with alien tech strapped over his body, just appears and joins up. Never mind that what the League is fighting are aliens with tech strapped over their body. I think Superman asks him if he’s “cool”, to which Victor (Cyborg) says he has no idea what’s going on or who he is, and apparently that’s good enough. Wonder Woman is trying so hard to be tough but the abysmal writing can’t convince anybody. She’s also playing the comically ignorant “alien on Earth” and those efforts just make you want to gag. By the time Aquaman pops out of nowhere, it’s clear anybody can just show up and be on the team, plus get the next cover. He quips that the aliens are under water too and falls right into line. Sum total motivation and exchange with the League over in one panel. Very efficient.

The biggest problem is the League is one shared personality with seven mouths. And the only thing this beast can do is verbalize the action. “Superman just used that truck like a baseball bat!”. I hate when anybody speaks. It’s tedious, boring, and insulting.

Darksied is another set of problems. 1) His name is dumb. 2) His signature, and perhaps only, attack is dumb. 3) He looks dumb. 4) His plan to conqueror Earth to feed his ego is dumb. The guy is from decades ago and doesn’t need to be revisited in this form. Crazy aliens attack the Earth with lasers! We all, children to adults, know every step and feint of this story. On top of the handling here being so clumsy. After SIX I’m done and not looking back. Jim Lee couldn’t save this and that’s saying something. 


Images Copywrite DC Dcomics

Le New Year's de Eve, a la 2011

Saying goodnight to a friend, after a some mixed games of League, he asks “what are you doing for New Year’s”. Oh shit “when is that?”. “Today for me (he’s on the East Coast), few hours for you”. “Oh shit… I guess I have no plans. Shit snuck up on me”.

We jump ahead to New Year’s Eve afternoon. Checking out, perhaps the best tool I’ve come across, A Millions Things To Do In Seattle. Top of the list is an underground tour that culminates with a champagne toast. Sounds enchanting. Sold Out. Natch. So I stop thinking about New Year’s Eve.

11:30 hits and I beat myself into thinking that beginning the New Year in my apartment will cause untold levels of anguish for the present and a heavy curse to carry forward. The Space Needle has fireworks… I’ve seen fireworks… I don’t feel like driving anywhere… Compromising, I’ll go to this park nearby. I get a good view of the Space Needle everyday going across I-5 on my way to work. Gotta be a good view there. But the thing is I get lost even when I have a GPS. So cue that. I go from heading towards Gas Works Park to barreling into downtown. Having no idea where I am, GPS (still locked in to getting me to the Park) is at a complete loss for what to do. ‘Next Two Exists Seattle Center’. Lovely. Let’s try that. I must have used all my remaining luck for the year because I start climbing a beautifully hill in a residential area. SWEET! Parking is sure to be near. Every street is packed. I dodge a wild firework display by going left on a round-a-bout, nearly hit someone coming up another hill. Luck has me move on.

I can see that there isn’t going to be parking anywhere near. The Space Needle feels like it’s 100 feet from me. This is a Spot. People know about this place and they’ve been here for hours. Oh look! A beautiful house. I mean, two car garage, three giant, damn near floor to ceiling windows for their living room. Let’s just turn off the lights… Pull in… I’m just fixing my GPS if anybody comes out in the next few seconds. Tuck the GPS under the seat so no light escapes… Lock the door, hurry! Oops, double hit the lock button and the car beeps. FUCK. Nobody? Cool. Good. Jog across the - what!? Yelling… At me? I walk back. Listen… Just revelry. WHEW! Look at this nice little group of people camped out on this nice little shelf with a perfect view of the Space Needle. I mean it’s like back row center at the theater. You can’t do better. There’s a bench. Of course there’s a bench. Pull out of the phone. I got this one just because it’s good at taking pictures and movies (quality is ok). The flash could probably be seen from the top of the Space Needle and I’m in North Queen Anne. The two test shots I took of myself, no doubt, lowered my eyesight score by a few points. The thing is a weapon. I arrive right on effing time. Luck.

They light the Needle on fire. The whole time I’m watching this I’m imagining what it could be like inside. The $250 for dinner for the night is probably well worth the money. There is no warm up, lights just start blasting. Streamers get launched from the base in a spiral upwards, exploding at observation level. More are let loose from the top, like rotating cannons hammering this ethereal “Year”, creating a cloud above the Christmas tree of lights at the top of the Needle that I took for my own tree this year. Little bombs are fired around and around from the top, circling the tower, pounding the air and I again wish like hell I was inside, feeling those suckers rattle the glass.

The finale sheaths the tower in light. A beacon for the new year maybe. A projection of some inner Seattle qualities could be. Making a new tower. A magical construct over reality. The observation deck has been completely lit and I just laugh. It’s gotta be something else inside if they can see anything at all. Surprise! Every strut and surface has its own golden ray to shoot out, enhancing every detail of the towers structure. Cooled off, the tower appears new to me. Like it jettisoned a skin. It appears the gleaming beacon in the night. Fresh. Probably cleaner. There is new energy cascading over the city, released in pulses from this tower. It stands ready to represent something else for me this year.

The ride home. Mercer is merciless, murderous. There is no changing lanes. I hope I’m in the right one but it’s ok if I’m not. Half a tank of gas to play with. I’ll cruise around my city for a bit, where ever it’d like to take me. But I find myself in the right position to get on I-5 North for an easy trip home. Have to be careful of the people taking over the roads. Some using this special time to stop traffic for just the right picture. Back in Queen Anne I saw a couch in one of the round-a-bouts. Optimized comfort and view of the Space Needle. They’re doing it right.

Home I find a party raging in of the downstairs apartments. Someone has run off and several people frantically search for her using only their phones. Some app in all likelyhood. A loud argument and I laugh that college kids are the same everywhere. And they don’t let celebrations get in the way of their shallow tiffs. The world’s a stage for them. Cute girls dressed like trash.

1:20 now and I’m tired. The party has politely only gotten loud for the few minutes after midnight. I can hear the faucet and toilet of the upstairs unit. Preparations for bed. I’m going to finish my tea, get one last game of League in, then call it a wonderful night.

Blogger (Blogspot last I knew) doesn't like my longer video. Youtube for that.

DC New 52 - Comic Discussion / Review

Since these are so late, I've opted for more of a discussion style while still reviewing the books. 

BATMAN # 2

High marks! The titillating ending of last issue is killed off quick though. I don’t think DC is serious about changing much. Ok, new villain, but it’s the same formula of mysterious guy attacks Batman or Bruce Wayne out of the blue --> detective stuff --> fist fight --> mysterious person leaves with much less mystery about them. A new paradigm isn’t even played with. It’s one big page at the end of issue 1 to suggest something then right back to the grind.

Batman again provides full issue musings on Gotham and its history. I dig it. Gotham is a marvelous city. Little convenient that everything that has ever happened there can be traced back to the Wayne family, but Gotham is supposed to always be in turmoil so it works. But it also puts Batman’s actions in some continuum where he is just the latest expression of an old idea rather than the product a radial situation. The mayor outright says so. But I do like it. The city itself seems to be suggesting dark magic while also offering the plausible excuse that bad stuff just happens. The villain is embodying these ideas, though, that I’m not sure need a body. He’s awesome. I’ll be clear. He’s what I want in a villain: keeps his mystery, prepared, great theme, actually manages to hurt the hero, looks amazing in everything he does. Especially that last reason. I don’t want posing but if by accident, as a by-product of you doing your thing, I wish to high-five you, that’s completely acceptable. But back to my point, I don’t want Gotham to happen to be the site of some ancient ritual that is the source of all evil (the physical manifestation of) on Earth. I’m much more interested in the questions of “is Batman fighting human nature itself? Is an end possible? Is humanity its own enemy? Is the human mind unraveling under the pressures of its own advancement?”. A face on all that just says “no, there’s just some jerk, the world is literally black and white”.

An enjoyable Batman story. Doesn’t seem to be stretching for anything.

RedHood #2

Oh Jason Todd. You aren’t doing what I’d like and with people I don’t care for but I have to know what you’re doing. Issue two is another mixed bag for me.

I was curious why and how these three people got together. I'm not suggesting these characters are all loners so would never team up with anybody, they’ve all been on a team of some sort, but how did they meet? Why did Red Hood break Arsenal out of prison? Arsenal provides as good an answer as we're likely to get with “what else would we be doing?”. Hmm… That’s not a terrible strong reason. Issue one had these three just together and I don’t think the writer (Scott Lobdell) really cares why. I get nervous when a writer disregards reasoning for their stories. It makes caring about them difficult.

Mr. Roy Harper does not impress. He dresses poorly and says generic or dumb things. Honestly, I think it would help the character a lot if he were to be maimed horribly. Give that drifter something to focus on, toughen him up a bit. I don’t want to read about someone who isn’t special floating around doing not special things.

Kori, Ms. Alien Princess Starfair, is just attractive baggage. Credit to artist Kenneth Rocafort for his fashion sense (two links for him! Get an official site bro). But Starfire is getting full page spreads to look good and that’s it. She physically follows the two males around, adding some green light to fight scenes, and making lame sexual innuendos. This isn’t just a complaint about how “women need better representation in comics”, it’s also “there’s an incredible powerful alien not doing anything or being the least bit interesting”.

So why read this? Because Jason Todd, resurrected- ex- side-kick of Batman, jet sets around the world with Talia al Ghul, daughter of the (Demon’s) Head of the League of Assassins, training to become… Actually I don’t know what. He’s never said he wants to be “the best”, nor has he identified a goal (like Kill Batman) that would give a reason for all this training. Maybe it’s a habit for people like him to learn new ways to kill people. It’s a problem with the narrative that there’s no reason for anything that’s happening. Fat Lady (Suzie Sue) surprises Jason in his safe house, highlighting his lesson that nowhere should be considered safe, then gets killed. Cool! Apparently there’s some history between the two (I’ve read all Red Hood stories, never heard of her before this). Why was she there? What purpose of the story does she serve? I already knew Jason kills people, does it well, with guns… Maybe her father will come after Jason later, and they’ll be a good story there, and I’ll applaud in hindsight for the writer creating a narrative that stretches beyond a few issues, but right now I feel “stuff” is just getting thrown around. Nothing is tying the characters together, and the closest thing given as a goal (or quest) is a mysterious girl (also not in any previous Red Hood stories) who points out some mysterious entity that killed some unknown people Red Hood likes for reasons he doesn't relate to the reader. Man, I'm down for mystery but I need a thread to hold onto. Let me know where Jason is mentally. More than "safe houses shouldn't be considered safe". Or give me a mystery to care about. Supermonks being killed by a villain isn't worth my time. 

Congratulations on creating a not cliché martial arts master to train Jason! Well, besides being an unassuming old lady. Don’t know if modern day teen persona was the right direction. That was odd. It’s cool to play around though. Jason’s flight wings were the embodiment of his baller status and I’m sure the electricity flicking around them is totally backed up by actual science showing his “wings” would function. But, um, why does Red Hood care about these people who trained him? Maybe this clean slate (new 52) isn’t working in Red Hood’s favor. The writer is trying a new direction but not connecting to his past, which is where I’m getting mixed signals. That especially makes sense with the “don’t effing mention B-Man” chat the outlaws have. Real shame. Jason Todd is fun but divorced from any history, he isn’t as interesting to me.

Whilst searching for some online presence to link to for Scott Lobdell (he gave it all up apparently, s'why I opted for the Wiki entry), I found a Q&A he did regarding Red Hood and the Outlaws. He's thinking about issues more than is being let on in the actual issues.

Power Dynamics, i.e. Starfire

Red Hood and Starfire's relationship, and a bit of where the series is going

The Series Is Going Somewhere, and Defense of Starfire as a Woman.

JUSTICELEAGUE #2

There’s a calm, sensible approach to story-telling going on here. Instead of instantly teaming up, the heroes are feeling each other out. That type of methodical story-telling works well for the dialogue scenes, as just standing around some old printing press talking kept my engaged, assuming the point of view of each character in turn and checking the scene out with new eyes. Yeah, the characters are more than just some multicolored parade of exposition and punching. What makes Green Lantern meeting Batman a worthwhile event to see if how their personalities match up. I think that’s the fan dream, not the “oh GL would make chains and Batman would throw baterrangs!”. Cool cool in this regard.

The fighting loses all sense of urgency though. It’s obvious each hero is waiting their turn to attack so readers can judge relative power levels. It’s not the crazy melee one would expect from three super-powered people slamming into each other for the first time. Everyone is showcasing their signature moves, and it actual flows like a turn-based game. Batman uses gadgets (pass turn), Superman does a flying tackle (pass turn), Batman ect. It’s not a fun time now but I’m happy to see the attention to detail and thoughtfulness of it. When the League does form, I just hope the pace of these pick up while keeping the higher thought level.

Dialogue was a letdown in most of this issue. Everyone is so blunt. ‘Dad, I want you to watch me play football’ ‘That’s not important to me, son’.Really difficult to care about characters with no personality. It’s as though the story is all broad strokes and the details don’t matter. A lot of comics function that way. Take any series and just describe what happens in the course of a year and it sounds amazing. Actually reading it doesn’t have nearly the same impact. Play to genre strengths. What other form of storytelling gives a new short story every month and lasts for years? Make the moments matter.

I’ll just note here, too, that any new dynamic idea for the status quo isn’t even teased for issue three. It’s only two issue so I won’t say “DC lied about everything”, but it is shocking how the end of the first issue says “new things!” and issue two ends with “remember this guy?”. The characters themselves are richer, the situations they are in are not.

SUICIDESQUAD #2

Hey, remember how the premise of this series was “crazy villains being forced to work together for good (sorta)”? How the inherent conflict but also tension for that is deeply compelling? Issue two is “we’re all a team now and really polite to each other”. “Hey Harley, please tell me about your past. I’d like to help you work through your problems”. Deadshot is the de facto leader, probably on account of his sane and charming narration. There’s no power struggle? Not even with the blood crazed shark!? That guy’s cool with everything!? Everyone in the DC universe finds teamwork so natural. Can the villains at least not be slaves to order? Don’t make the whole universe predictable in under ten issues…

Somebody made a zombie plague (that’s what happens). Is this a violent comedy book? I guess we’re not taking this seriously. But I’m supposed to care about the characters history and their future development? Things aren’t jiving here. SUPER! One of them developed an obnoxious sense of morality. Oh and he won’t shut-up? Perfect. Keep telling me how killing things is bad even though that's your job and also only way to survive. I didn't know. Voltic and Black Spider, my numbers two and three for likeable characters, promise something to watch: rivalry. Oh wait one of them dies! And with them another reason to keep reading this series.

The ending takes a page from every military action movie ever created. Are we just working through popular movies of the decades? How can the same writer create a solid first issue concept, then spit out cliché nonsense the very next month?

New 52 Batch 2 - Comics Review

GREENLANTERN #1

Half of this book tells a story I like, the other is some outdated nonsense. Green Lantern opens with Sinestro accepting a green ring(!). I don’t know half of Sinestro’s full story but I know he used to be a badguy and disagreed with everything the Guardians did. Maybe I’m just a sucker for any “big changes”, Sinestro did very little this issue, but I’m digging the feel here. . A pissed-off, very powerful, calculating, mean s-o-b who is given power by a group he detests to protect a place he enslaved the last time around. The guy is going to do whatever he wants and I’m on board with that. There’s load of conflict here that I want to see play out. Sinestro is my ideal Lantern because he will actual change the universe to get what he wants. Not just run around putting out fires with a cute green hose. He’s serious. Though I guess he could play it straight, but with such a loaded conflict, why waste that? This is exciting.

Then Hal Jordan comes along. The way he’s written here, he belongs with Brenda Starr in the Sunday comics. . Every other word is bold and italics. Very irritating and dated. Some boring, dopey, soap opera horseshit going on. . He’s whining about the difficulty adjusting to life on Earth after having saved the whole universe and nobody understands him. … “Did you not just see Sinestro doing work a few pages ago?” I’d be fine with Jordan dying and the book being solely about Sinestro. Jordan is too boring for me to care about. What he does I’ve seen better and before. Teen Hal can’t get a car or pay his rent, and bounces around, hitting all the loser lowpoints. Why should I sympathize with such a dope? I thought he was supposed to be fearless? Only while flying a plane apparently.

 The art doesn’t do him any favors either, the panel where he’s lying on some charming smile is downright grotesque. It alternates from passable, generic comic book fair, to bad.

The strength of Sinestro as a character might have been enough to keep me going on this book, but with a focus on Jordan, and better books calling to me, I doubt I’ll check this out again.

REDHOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1

I went back and forth throughout this whole issue. The opening action scene isn’t thrilling conceptually (a prison break. Are there any mercenaries in DC that can stand up to a hero?), but there are some details, such as Red Hood’s disguise, that made me smile. And to be fully up front, I love the Jason Todd / Red Hood character. What he did in Under The Red Hood (both comic and movie) and Battle For The Cowl made me a very big fan. He takes a situation that’s going a bit stale and blasts life into it. The debates he had with Batman won me over completely. He’s hilarious in his taunts, clever in those and planning both, and caps it off with an overall aesthetic I love seeing in every panel. Red Hood isn’t good or bad, he’s coming at this playing field from a new angle altogether. That’s exciting. Though I’m sorry to see him leave Gotham. Especially for no discernible reason. Besides “get Arsenal”, this issue did very little.

Arsenal isn’t anything like Jason Todd. I don’t know anything about him except for what this issue set-up. He wasn’t anything special. A regular dude who used a bow. Jason Todd called him an idiot. I’ll believe Jason.

Starfire / Kori has gotten a lot of attention from seemingly everybody (comic readers and not). I wasn’t sure how to read her. She starts off really into Jason, almost like a school-girl, then switches to the cold “nobody controls me” by the next scene. I like that she’s an alien. Aliens trying to fit into Earth society usually raise interesting questions as what’s taken for granted isn’t by them. They can expose taboos or play with human society in fun or insightful ways. I’m not sure if that’s what she’s doing here. Comics haven’t historically been kind to women, at all, so I’m not sure if Starfire is exploring the concept of sex or just being a cheap fan service tool. She certainly has the backstory to become compelling. Princess betrayed by her sister, sold as slave to prevent war. But here she just throws her body around for a splash page or sex.

The set-up for next issue nailed cliché hard. A group of, thought to be, unbeatable monks who live in a hidden mountain monetary are mysteriously killed. Why does the Red Hood care at all about them? Why does he care about Arsenal or Starfire? Why are they together? How did Jason get over Gotham? These aren’t questions the book raises to make me interested in further reading to find out, these I see as fundamental problems of the narrative. If I do look into issue 2, it’ll be a statement to how much I love Jason Todd, not having much to do with the quality of this first issue.

LEGION LOST #1

Every single aspect of this was a gross travesty. Art - Terrible. Characters, none of whom I know anything about, told me nothing in the entire issue. Powers were barely shown and presented nothing of note. The dialogue was by far the worst part. It was the most laughable excuse of exposition. All of it was interchangeable between the characters. The same dated misuse of bold and italics prevalent here as well. The villain is a joke who rails against THE WORLD, and vows to make EVERYONE PAY. Mid-way through I wanted to close it.

I bought this without checking into it at all because I thought Fabien Nicieza was King Shit. The work he did on Cable& Deadpool was profound. I’m not just talking an issue or two. The whole run was brilliant. I’d hold it up as beautiful story-telling comparable to any in any other form. I thought to run a series as well as that means the guy knows his business and can be counted on. Won’t make that mistake again.

SUICIDE SQUAD #1

I come from reading and liking Warren Ellis’s work on Thunderbolts, so I’ll call this the standard set-up for a villain-pressed-into-squad type of book. Tiny, unremovable bombs, placed on the team to ensure cooperation. Given the sure-to-be-persuasive-choice of rot for all time in jail or work for people you hate doing what you’re good at. I’m not sure there aren’t a few holes there that couldn’t be patched with some more thought dedicated to inventing a better situation. Workable though.

The book opens to all the members being tortured, with the presumption that they slipped up on their first assignment. Pretty inventive opening, and it turns into a solid creative choice to showcase the characters. At first I was a bit worried for the team as Deadshot (my boy) didn’t seem to be handling things so well. As we take a turn around the circle though, we see that torturing psychotics plays to their strength. These people get the shit kicked out of them regularly. So it’s a lot of fun seeing them take control of the situation. It’s showing me the writer isn’t going to treat this like a hero team-up book. The characters involved are fundamentally different here. That’s going to allow for what makes a book of this type to truly capitalize on the concept; the possibility for anything to happen.

I don’t understand the set-up for next issue. It struck me as over-the-top for the sake of being over-the-top. I’m not anxious to see where this goes but this issue was good, so if I can get more of that, have something develop, I’ll be happy with that.

THE DARK KNIGHT #1

Tough break for this book to feature yet another break-out from Arkham along with another issue-long speech from Bruce Wayne. At this point I just wanted to know how this book was different from the others. It’s better than Detective Comics and worse than Batman is really the only answer I got. The dialogue is instantly forgettable with the exception of the rallying speech Batman delivers to some cops who are about to storm Arkham, but were told not to (for some reason… There’s a lot of cops there though...), but decided to do it anyway… Yeah, it’s trying to nail “tough guys who make the tough calls” without paying attention to reason. Anyway, Batman doesn’t rally anybody. This was wildly out of character. He doesn’t stand on top of a cop car, remind them all about families then charge in.  Plus, like I said, all these guys were about to kick down the front door anyway. It was all needless posturing.

Action didn’t do a single thing unique with Batman. He kicked a guy and head-butted another.  The End.

The ending left me exasperated. This route again? Also, villains calling out their name as some 

introduction doesn’t belong in a modern comic. Good news is there is only one good Batman comic to keep up with, and, how easy, it’s called Batman. 

DECTECTIVE COMICS #1

This issue was offensively bad. We’re given some really shitty old-school dialogue (“And Gotham is a hell hole, always has been, always will be” “Like hell it will”). Coupled with action that doesn’t need to occur and is just going through the motions for all involved. Nothing new and not done well. I’ll give credit to the team for an inviting ending hook but I don’t trust them to do anything with it.

All images Copyright DC Comics

The Unremembered - Book Review

The Unremembered (By Peter Orullian) pulled a pretty dirty trick on me by having an opening chapter that pressed all the right buttons for me, then completely switched gears to a flat, contrived story. In fact, that is my one word review of this novel: contrived.

The opening chapter is solid. We’re introduced to a being of god-like power (o), who has gotten a little nuts (o), is quite angry (o), and is about to be punished in a unique way that won’t kill (o), allowing him to come back even more powerful and angry (o) once he breaks his prison. See all those buttons? I settled right in! I’m of the opinion that nothing is more interesting than crazy gods. Stories of Greek Myth retain great power, yes? Yes.

Right, then we’re introduced to the actual main character of the book, a young boy from a small (about to be destroyed town, though it doesn't happen) with a mysterious past, named Tahn Junell. His friend is the comedic relief, who never speaks except to make a bad joke, along with the book nerd friend who actually doesn’t know much, and a sister that works hard to destroy any enjoyment a reader might get from this story by being against all the fun / cool action, preferring instead to coddle children as her obsessive, overbearing motherly instincts dictate. Soon another mysterious person comes into town, with a really attractive young girl, who tells our heroes next to nothing yet they all leave on a mysterious journey soon anyway. I'm not naming the characters because you already know their names. These are not unique constructs. Will the next chapter be about the interesting gods? Hey, maybe we could go back and forth? That’d be ok.

No. The entire reason I picked up this book is only ever vaguely mentioned at for the remainder ("Creators be praised!" or some dumb thing). I held hope because the world itself had some (for me) unique fantasy elements to it. I was really intrigued by the Far. Spent quite a bit of time wondering how they worked. Unfortunately the bland, one dimensional, afore mentioned characters just stomp right through the world. I felt like a prisoner reading. Some reprieve was so close… I’d hope someone would ask anything about the cities, or magic, or ancient people. No. Tahn asks the same question repeatedly throughout the entire novel even though it was addressed as well as it ever will be in the very beginning.

The few stops only serve to force an understanding of each characters chief attribute.  Dying people are held until their last breaths, begging that their ideals be preserved, and our characters, with no real grasp of what they’re talking about, swear oaths (it was always plural) that they defend good and justice and… Everyone had this contest going of who could be the more stereotypical goody-goody fantasy character. It was nauseating. Evil minions call out cryptic taunts as though everyone knows what they’re talking about. Tahn and company adamantly stay stupid. Which the world challenges them on. But though they accidentally tap into some incredible inner power, they’re quick to turn away from it, refusing to ask the All-Knowing guide anything or make use of it.

The end poses the question of if this seemingly innocent young boy can possible defeat the ultimate evil with the help of his friends. I could not care less. 

New 52 - Comic Review

DC's relaunch of all their comics. The New 52

JUSTICLE LEAGUE #1

Nothing is more instantly conducive to enjoying a book than seeing Jim Lee’s art. The man always picks a great angle, fills in with gorgeous detail, and tells the visual story elements so well. I don’t know if there’s anyone better. He’s prerogative on how characters should look, obviously done with a respect for them, even imbuing minor ones with slick esthetics, really creates a cohesive universe where I like every part of it.

Starring my two favorite members of the Justice League? Thank you. I’ve never really liked the Justice League because they were all too chummy, too obsessed with “what’s right”, and to be fair in the fight scenes, all anybody ever did was punch. All fixed. The dialogue is pretty exposition heavy, but it’s all done in character (I don’t think Batman would ever give free Intell to a non-trusted source, but that’s minor and I got over it fast) and, more importantly, is done while these guys are actually doing something. The whole story flies along like one would figure a story with superpowered (Metahuman in the DC Universe) people would vault from one great action moment to another. There are single sentences hinting at how the new DC Universe is going to play, and I love picking up the clues bit by bit. Metahumans aren’t trusted, Superman is on top of everyone’s list of suspicious people, and it feels very much like the League won’t be warmly accepted by humanity nor be the lovey family they were.

Green Lantern is cocky and poorly informed. It’s forgiven since he’s fun, both as a foil to Batman and in general just a decent guy enjoying his power. “You can do anything? Shit yeah man, just walk in there and go for it then”. Batman, my absolute favorite character. I think he’s always had hints of it, but it was infrequent that Batman was sarcastic. It’s needed here else Batman because everyone’s punching bag for lame jokes about how he never speaks. I love him. I can easily see him being the center of the League. He’s lively here, not the stoic Knight of the past.

The costumes weren’t a major departure. Now they seem to be actual armor, which helps me take the characters a bit more seriously. For liking comics as much as I do, I’ve always hated spandex costumes. The costume should reflect the personality of the wearer and some gaudy colors was a shallow way to do that. The ever stupid outside underwear has thankfully been removed. Overall style and distinction between the heroes is still there. Superman’s, in particular, impressed me. Significant change for him. It just looks good. Jim Lee is the man. And Superman came out strong. With Batman’s warning and his overwhelming entrance, I actually liked him. He felt a bit scary. As he should. The setup for next issue hooked me. I can’t wait for it.

BATMAN #1

Batman didn’t grab me like Justice League did. Up until the mid-point it was same as usual. The Batcave had all the same silly treasures, meaning Batman has the same silly past. The Villain team-up, even given the content that they were all breaking out of Arkham, just felt stale. Nothing in any of their personalities would ever allow them to form a team. And they’re already set in their ways and caught?  Aw… I’ll admit that Clayface’s “Professor Pig” costume got me. I came into this book expecting anything so points to Snyder and Capullo for having fun with it. I was dreading hearing anything about that new villain. Biggest trick by far was Dick Grayson’s. The thrill of coming up with a reason for that to be true made that gag work twice over. Worth buying the book for alone.

Bruce Wayne picks up more from how the “old” DC ended. Using Bruce’s persona to attack problems in Gotham on two fronts in place of the playboy pretending not be anything special. I loved the use of a portable Batcave (will it be called “Oracle”?). One, another joke. Yeah it’s old but when formally uptight Bruce Wayne does it, it’s funny all over again. Before Batman was interesting to read for the mystery, and I loved the dark theme, but now he’s enjoyable too. Like Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man, it’s a great just to spend time with Bruce, whatever he’s doing.

All big changes saved the end. I’m not taking what’s suggested at face value, but that’s enough of a twist to get me for issue 2.

Sidenote: it finally struck me as odd for Batman to be dragging a cape through a crime scene. Maybe that thing should retract? But at the cost of his evocative silhouette? I don’t know.

DEATHSTROKE #1

Ugh, terrible from the first text box. Piss-poor writing throughout. None of it made sense. It opens with Mr. Slade Wilson Deathstroke The Terminator standing a good few dozen feet from a group of badguys. Badguy Leader is using taunts ripped out of bad 90s movies. Deathstroke says “nut-uh” with a close-up of his glowing eye. SPLASH PAGE! He’s somehow in the middle of the group, from one jump, and they’re all dead… All of the splash pages either are a huge disconnect from what just happened or highlight how little physics has to do with Slade’s universe, such as when he ziplines with a zipline that isn’t connect to a point. Maybe his doohickey was motorized? The rational seems to be “he’s a badass”.

An incredible stupid team of killer teens was introduced to illustrate how the “anything goes environment” of DC can yield terrible jokes. Deathstroke has a man set-up jobs for him who is the complete opposite of Slade’s personality. He acts like a hype man but annoying. Offers Slade a job with no details, Slade says no, then cuts a fly in half with a paper-clip, then says yes. Splash Page!

Then it all ends. I reflect back that nothing really happened. Justice League fit so many different set pieces and story elements in. Deathstroke’s updated costume is, again armored, and looks good. I had trouble taking him seriously with his old boots and clown like ghillie suit, much as I liked the character. The ending promised Deathstroke doing nothing important for the foreseeable future. Perhaps this series is for the old DC fan who didn’t see anything wrong with the way things were. I’ll mourn for poor Slade Wilson.


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