Wednesday, September 14, 2011

9/07/11

It’s the New DCU and the return of CASANOVA! Can these books possibly live up to the hype, expectations, and emotions that their very existence generates? Read on!

ACTION COMICS #1—It should first be said that I went into this expecting to be completely devastated. Grant Morrison is one of my very favorite writers in any medium and I consider ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to be one of his best works and the best Superman story ever told. So, particularly after slamming through SUPERGODS, I was very very very excited to dive into this series, even as it smashes to bits the chance that a serial comic will ever legitimately make it to the four-digit milestone. The numbering on a cover is nowhere near as important as the story told within. But September 7th finally rolled around, I have to say, I found the whole thing a bit off-putting at first. Initially, it was Superman’s attitude, but then when the guy quoted the fucking SMALLVILLE theme song on that double-page splash, well, that was pretty unforgiveable. Still is, that’s actually the one thing that I haven’t come around on about this issue, even though I admire Morrison trying to perfectly fuse even that anathema into the mix, all that has gone before, the Golden Age right up until now. Really, I just hate that fucking song and show. Though I guess I owe them some gratitude for making me write a song about Superman that isn’t terrible, if only to give Stipe and the boys some company. Oh, but don’t I digress? The cool thing about this is how, yeah, Golden Age it feels while simultaneously maintaining a contemporary feel. Texting has replaced the signal watch, but Superman’s power set has defaulted back to the original three-pronged 1938 Siegel/Shuster setup that I surely need not recapitulate here. There are some intriguing nods to previous continuity (Clark missing the Legion trio showing up at his apartment, his landlady from the 5th Dimension), but what rings truest for me is what put me off at first: how much growing this guy has left to do. How unlike Superman he is. Which, if you think about it, is the perfect starting point. We’re used to, we embrace and adore, the ALL-STAR characterization, For Superman So Loved the World That He Created A Microscopic One . . . (that in turn created him, repeat ad infinitum). The 70 years of history distilled into those twelve flawless slices that end with his sacrifice. Point Omega. This is Point Alpha. It would not be very interesting if he just rolled into Metropolis with the whole Messiah thing down. He’s kind of an idiot. He’s stronger and tougher than everybody else and he perceives that the suits behind the corporations are the ones starting the shit, so he goes to beat them up. It’s so simplistic, such a 30s pulp attitude, the best place from which to pick up the new story. This issue does everything it’s supposed to, drops us right into a new status quo, no sign of Ma and Pa Kent, Thank Rao, and then runs a rocket train right off the tracks and smashes it into our hero, which is as close to a 21st century analogue of that first ACTION COMICS cover as I think we could possibly get. And I am positive that the best is yet to come.

OMAC #1—Kirby! I was expecting greatness from Giffen and not sure how the script from Didio was going to turn out, but both guys really managed to channel the Silver Age goodness, with a dash of Mokkari and Dubbilex from the Fourth World thrown in for good measure. As someone who’s been mainlining old Kirbys for close to a year straight, now, I could not be happier with the tone and dynamism of this thing. I really really hope there’s a market for it.

BATGIRL #1—This one let me down. It’s not a terrible comic, but I was expecting quite a bit more from Gail Simone rehabilitating a character whose development she has contributed so much to over the years. Pretty much wouldn’t have given this Oracle bleach a chance without her at the helm and just didn’t feel that I got enough of a first issue. I mean, if you’re going to straight up drop in THE KILLING JOKE in not one but two panels, you’ve got to come with just a little bit more thunder. Will probably give it #2 to hook me, but this one’s on the thinnest ice of the week. SPECULATOR’S NOTE: On a whim, I bought two copies of this, planning to flip one on eBay. They’re going for $13 at the moment. When do I post it? When will the bubble burst? Ohohohohoh….

ANIMAL MAN #1—Lemire just straight up leads with the meta, we get an interview he did for The Believer with Buddy to establish that all is as it was, Morrison and everybody’s runs happened. That’s how it seems to be shaking out so far, apparently, Superman and Batgirl get all messed with just the way editorial likes, and of course we fold in the Wildstorm and Vertigo universes (even though it’s not like both of those haven’t done business in the DCU proper before now…), but what was working (i.e. selling, BATMAN and GL) and what relatively few care about (this one and SWAMP THING) stay the same. I say “relatively few,” if they threw out the Vertigo runs of those last two, I’m sure there would be howling in the intertrenches. Mm, maybe I should talk about this issue, here. Travel Foreman’s style was definitely a risky move, but I think it fits. Reminds me of what Faryl Dalyrymple was rocking on that OMEGA THE UNKNOWN mini a couple years back. He probably shouldn’t have opened with his lead in the page crease of that first double-splash. Unless that was meta, too! It’s possible. Took me right out of it, but fun that that could be argued as intentional artistic effect. Fantastic to see that Cliff’s 80s mullet is immune to Superboy space-time punches and line-wide relaunchboots. Maxine opening up on him at full volume out of nowhere on that first page there felt like the real deal, I’m going to hazard a guess that Lemire has young kids. And the floorboards creak even under the weight of a bumblebee, yes. Every time. Very clever first-person captions throughout, the bit about punching someone, or what he’d do if he ever lost the kids. NO, DON’T THINK ABOUT THAT. Don’t think about that time you went to Scotland and met Grant Morrison before he shaved his head, when he gave you the secret origin of your first 26 issues. I dig how this starts out basically at that Morrison status quo and then out of nowhere trapdoors into pretty much straight horror. Was expecting greatness here and not disappointed, easily my second favorite DC of the week.

SWAMP THING #1—Paquette maintains the exceptionally high standard of quality that he employed to launch BATMAN, INCORPORATED that frankly justifies the cover price all on its own. Snyder does a solid job with the set-up, confirming that pretty much all that’s gone before, pre-Moore, Moore, post-Moore, and I think even BRIGHTEST DAY? Everything except BKV’s run, has not been erased by the Flashpoint fracture. Funny thing about the schedule of the rollout, this first page seems to confirm that even though Clark’s status quo is a bit shaken up five years ago in ACTION, he’ll make it back into Perry White’s office with Lois Lane by the time the present day rolls around. The Batman and Aquaman shots were totally gratuitous, but I don’t care. Frankly expected Snyder to deliver a bit more here to hook us with the first issue, but Paquette carries the extra load, and with Francavilla already signed up to tag-team in for deadline concerns, this one appears to be in solid hands.

STORMWATCH #1—It didn’t occur to me that this would basically be Cornell doing an amalgam of Ellis’s AUTHORITY/PLANETARY with J’onn J’onnz thrown in for good measure. It works. This one was a little bit too straight-up for my taste, I mean, if you compare it to Ellis’s tone, but I can see Cornell playing it that way for the first issue, or even the first few, and then just dropping everyone down the crazy hatch. Unless a bunch of fucking Doomsdays tear down the walls again. That was terrible! The art is pretty good-looking and, if not quite up to the standards of Hitch and Cassaday, at least doesn’t have you just missing those guys all issue long. Definitely intrigued and on the hook to see where this is going.

HOUSE OF MYSTERY #41—Ah, this book is insane. This right here is a perfectly satisfactory ending/epilogue to the entire thing. A series finale. Or at least a Fig finale. Is Sturges just going to cycle her out and keep going? That would be a pretty neat trick. Kind of funny to set up a reset for the series this week of all weeks. This was really well-crafted, top to bottom, even and especially Jordan’s terrible movie.

MORNING GLORIES #12—This one’s all about the guidance counselor, apparently the hot teacher’s sister who I don’t THINK we’ve seen before? This one really is going to read better in trade, I bet. Each slice is satisfying enough, but I’m never quite sure if they’re alluding to some mystery that hasn’t been revealed yet or if I just don’t remember what happened in #3 well enough. No L O S T references this month, Spencer, what’s up, man?!? Is the fact that Jorge Garcia probably reads this comic enough for you? He reads a LOT of comics, dude.

THE BOYS #58—Wow, just that first page alone. Just when you think Ennis can’t make you scrape your eye sockets out any worse. That is pretty funny stuff. And a lot of dick. The line when they walk out on the rooftop is perfect. We definitely seem to be advancing into the endgame.

X-FACTOR #224.1—Madrox sure can think fast, if the captions on the first page are any indication. This starts out as your by-the-numbers .1 issue, here’s everybody and their power set/personality, yadda yadda, but it completely bails out on the last page. I have no idea what happened. Was the little boy possessed or really a monster or something and killed the mom? That’s the only thing that makes sense, but then if Layla knew about that, it’s not a very noble thing to just march on out of there after Madrox exposits the cast for all the new readers that this thing attracted. I’ve gone through the whole issue twice and cannot make heads nor tails of the ending.

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #1—Ah, you’d think that once they started adding the 9/11 reprint pages as backmatter, that a flag would have gone off for SOMEone that maybe September 7th was like maybe the worst possible Wednesday that this could be released. Unless that holds doubly so for the AVENGERS ANNUAL follow-up. Be that as it may. I like to think that Marvel realized and were like Fuck It, it’s okay to blow up mansions and towers in Marvel NYC the other 51 weeks, burn it down, Bendis & Dell’Otto! I’ve been a big fan of Dell’Otto’s work ever since those years that SECRET WAR was coming out and was really glad to learn that he was back with Bendis on this, which picks up the thread from #1 or 2 of Bendis’s latest relaunch involving Wonder Man threatening to shut down the Avengers. And, you know, old Simon manages to articulate a pretty convincing argument. I loved the Bendis tease, there could have been six incredible pages of poker game dialogue, as soon as the dude says they’re playing one, I was all Oh Noes! but of course it gets broken up the first shot that makes it on-panel. And Cage was about to say, “Sweet Christmas!” Love Jessica’s “My house!” The subsequent takedown of the team is a bit unconvincing, not earned, but I can live with it. It’s late. Regardless of the timing, this was great big dumb fun from Bendis, and typically gorgeous work from Dell’Otto

****

BEST OF WEEK: CASANOVA: AVARITIA #1—This comic book had to about nuclear annihilate me to live up to what I was hoping for. Job well done! From the greatness of inverting the first line in this issue from the first line of the very first issue, Fraction & Ba never let up, annihilating alternate universes while pushing the medium forward as hard and fast as they can without the panels and pages breaking. Fraction’s script is razor-sharp enough to cut Morrison and Ellis’s brains, Ba keeps the energy as hyperkinetic as our eyes can bear, and Cris Peters really brings a gorgeous palette to the table, great to see it here for the first time on brand new material. I really don’t have anything else to say other than I loved every page and it was far and away the best #1 that came out this week, or really any other in quite some time.

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