Tag: Superman

Well, folks… The New 52 is here… It kinda sucks.

Some time ago, I sampled the first issue of Grant Morrison’s Action Comics, depicting a much younger, less powerful, and more rebellious Superman. I decided that I quite enjoyed that take on the character and was looking forward to the follow-up issue. I’m not sure if the same could be said for this other Superman book.

For what it’s worth, the first issue is all about establishing the new status quo going forward. Beginning with the demolition of the old Daily Planet building before introducing to the new media-saavy Daily Planet under new ownership, we eventually get the new Lois and Clark; the former now a new media correspondent while Clark remains partial to the printed word – a clash of philosophies… oh, and also not married as well as Lois no longer having knowledge of Clark’s double life. There’s less focus on Clark/Superman in this issue, putting the spotlight on the supporting cast and other happenings to set up future stories. In fact, the only time Clark is given any real focus is towards the end of the book, where he passes by Lois’ place to apologize for their earlier spat, only to meet up with Lois’ boyfriend named Jonathan… oops.

Whatever you want to say about the narrative – which isn’t so much George Perez than it is editorial mandate, though Perez’s need to bury the book in seemingly endless exposition doesn’t help matters, either – the artwork is tremendous. Perhaps a bit cramped with so many small panels, but when it comes to the rare bits of action, those play out wonderfully. I wish we had more of that instead of the other stuff; then I’d have more of a reason to stick around.

Good try, I suppose… but nope, still not sold on The New 52!…

Well, folks. The New 52 is among us… and yeah, it largely sucks… but one thing that doesn’t suck (so far) is Grant Morrison’s Action Comics.

Action Comics gives us another take on Superman that is not only distinct from what we have come to know him as, but also has its roots in the earliest years of Superman lore. This rougher, take no prisoners rebellious Superman might be a stark contrast to the “big blue boy scout” that people are familiar with, but it does harken back to Superman’s younger days when he was a guy who took matters into his own head and went against the establishment before he eventually became it. This is also a less powerful Superman; tall leaps and bounds, some of the familiar powers, but not quite there yet.

I’m not a fan of the “current” Superman reboot, but this Action Comics take is promising. Honestly, out of all the New 52 drivel, this one intrigues me the most. If nothing else, at least this Superman has a personality and a hot streak that might not jive with what has been a traditional depiction of Superman, but is far and above better than the other stupid thing. And I like Rags Morales’ art here. It’s clean, it’s nice, it’s fine.

A promising start to a promising 1 out of New 52. Let’s see how long this goes before they fuck it up.

It seemed like the usual event comic that these major comic book publishers like to shoot out every year or so to give collectors more stuff to collect and maybe even read. You know how these things usually work; they usually have a core miniseries of five issues or so, spread the wealth across multiple one-shots or spin-off miniseries, and resolve the story with some changes in the status quo, sticking with those changes until the next year’s event comic. That sort of thing.

And by that context alone, the DC Comics event Flashpoint seems like the usual sort of thing with an interesting (for me, anyway) premise; due to unknown circumstances, the Flash a.k.a. Barry Allen finds himself in a world completely different from the one he’s familiar with; where the Amazons and Atlanteans are at war with each other, where the US government is in possession of a certain Kryptonian boy, and where Batman is actually Thomas Wayne, father of the late Bruce Wayne who spends his days running casinos in Gotham City and is an overall more brutish Batman than his son would have been. Now the Flash has to find a way to change things back to the way they were before his memories of the old timeline fade away forever… or before the world ends. Whichever comes first.

There were a few reviews I’ve read online that seem to feel that Flashpoint felt more like a Flash story that somehow became an event comic but never read like one. It’s probably a fair assessment, since the Flash is the main character and even from the get-go before the big climatic revelation in the final issue, I sort of knew that whatever happened in this story was probably Barry Allen’s fault…

Continue reading “COMIC REVIEW – Flashpoint (DC Comics miniseries, 2011)”

Frank Miller wrote The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One; perhaps two of the most influential stories in the long storied history of the Caped Crusader. He also wrote The Dark Knight Strikes Again, which is a little less regarded. Unfortunately, when it came to this All-Star Batman & Robin series, we got the latter Frank rather than the former Frank… which is a shame because the dream pairing of Miller and Jim Lee seemed like a foundation for a truly great Batman book.

This trade paperback, which came out earlier this year, collects the first nine issues of the series; the tenth and (as of this writing) final issue of the series – the beginning of a new arc, mind you – isn’t included. I guess when this dumpster fire is canned, they’ll make an updated edition that includes this tenth and whatever else follows.

So let’s get the positives out of the way; Jim Lee produces some good comic book artwork and visual eye candy. There, that’s over and done with.

So basically, Dick Grayson’s parents are killed and then Batman kidnaps him, tortures him, and eventually he becomes Robin… sorry if I spoiled the story for anybody, but it doesn’t really matter. The way Miller goes about telling this story (again) borders on banal and mean-spirited. Dick Grayson is a whiny kid, Batman is an abusive psychopath who comes off as more Punisher than Batman, Superman feels useless, Wonder Woman hates men, Black Canary beats people up and then has sex with Batbrain without a second thought, all the other superheroes that show up in some form or another comes off as boobs, and at no point do I feel like this is anything more than a parody of all the usual Batman gimmicks we’ve associate with the character over the years.

Oh, and apparently, Goddamned Batman is a thing.

Fans of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight stuff will eat this up, without question. For those wanting more sensible and worthwhile reading material, skip this one and just read Batman: Year One or Dark Knight Returns again, since those are, you know, good.

BONUS – ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN #10
The issue begins a new arc, which sees Barbara go into business for herself as Batgirl and be in over her head while Jim Gordon is dealing with his own family issues. Batman & Robin aren’t much of a presence this time around; the focus seems to be mostly on the Gordon family and while I appreciate a break from the usual Dynamic Duo silliness, our buddy Frank seems to have no clue on how to write a teenager, opting to give Babs a potty mouth and such. To date, this is the last issue of the series and who knows if there’s even going to be another one.

Truth be told, there’s a perverse interest in seeing how low this series can go next, but if this does end up being neglected and forgotten about, we’re not really missing much.