Wednesday, April 8, 2015

3/25/15

THE MULTIVERSITY: ULTRA COMICS #1 — The story goes, as told by the man himself, that Morrison’s first superhero comic was FLASH #163, which depicts our titular hero showing the prospective reader his foreshortened empty palm in a halting gesture and proclaiming, “STOP! DON’T PASS UP THIS ISSUE! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!” In the halcyon Schwartzian days of premises-delivered-by-cover crafted to move product, this one was a doozy and certainly worked its magic on the young boy and future multiversal architect. Morrison & Quitely first referenced it in 1996 on the cover of FLEX MENTALLO #1, a series that gives the impression of going on to say absolutely everything that Morrison had to say about the medium up until that time. But if he emptied out his tank twenty years ago, he still has plenty to celebrate about the DC Universe as a whole, which brings us to this final installment of single-Earth issues before the grand finale, featuring none other than the Earth designated for we the readers to occupy, the former Earth-Prime that is now known as Earth-33. As readers who have been on board with this series since the beginning know, this is a very special comic book. We’ve already seen the cover several times before and even gotten a glimpse at, I believe, five unlettered interior pages months in advance. The catch is that this is apparently a haunted and cursed comic. Every character on the other Earths who reads this thing winds up going on some psychotic rampage or committing suicide or doing something to make an army of Superman robots invade the entire planet or some other such horrible thing. Shit happens when you read this book. And I was completely convinced. Stared at the damn thing for twenty minutes and was just like, Nope nope, not yet. Kept thinking about my wife and daughter sleeping upstairs and wanting them to wake up to a happy Thursday morning free from invaders from the North Pole or the Phantom Zone or higher dimensions.

But of course, I couldn’t resist and finally sucked it up and opened that cover. And these were pages I had already seen! What I had assumed to be climax was only the opening. And that fourth wall came crashing down right away. Our hero just straight up addresses us first thing, confirming our worst fears and then freaking out at whatever he’s seeing when he looks at us and then screams for us not to turn the page, don’t turn the page! Who could resist? This leads to a framing sequence with some guy in a suit reading the same comic that we are (a THE MULTIVERSITY trope by now) and assuring us that all will be well, though in kind of a creepy manner. There’s a cool little one-page commercial that leads into our hero, Ultra Comics, emerging from some hyper-colored bath that immediately brings THE FILTH to mind. This is followed by a brief orientation, as much for the reader as our protagonist, and then we’re off into the adventure proper, which kind of has a whimsical Captain Marvel kind of vibe to it by way of a post-apocalyptic filter. This makes sense, given Ultra Comics’s costume’s evocation of not only The Big Red Cheese but also the aforementioned Scarlet Speedster and even Miracleman, who, remember, began his four-color existence under the name of Marvelman.

Okay, but then everything takes a seriously dark turn as our hero is defeated by a freaky dude called Ultraa, who is basically the Mad Max version of Prime from that ridiculous Malibu Ultraverse from the nineties, which I’m sure is some kind of commentary on how grim’n’gritty almost ruined comics or at least finished up The Bronze Age’s job of pretty much scrubbing them of all the Silver Age wonder. But, courage! That bad of rapscallion urchins and ne’er-do-wells, The Neighborhood Guard are in-panel stand-ins for us readers and help us along with sending our hero back to the beginning of the issue to warn us before summoning him back just in time to save the day. Which would work out perfectly, but this is a THE MULTIVERSITY issue, and so far, the only happy ending was more just that one with the Marvel Family flying forward to the next thing before something horrible had a chance to happen. Doug Mahnke, with the help of four inkers and two colorists, completely nails every page just the way we’ve come to expect, delivering the chops to execute every mad image that Morrison slings his way. I haven’t gone crazy or tried to kill anyone yet, but there is definitely foreboding in my heart about what will happen when the final issue of THE MULTIVERSITY is finally released upon our poor Earth-33, if we’re all still even here in four weeks.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #40 — This was a pretty tragic read for me. Early on, this became my favorite series in The New 52 with only Morrison’s ACTION and Snyder/Capullo’s BATMAN even coming close to matching it in terms of soaring month-after-month greatness. This was one of those books where every element lent something indispensable and the whole truly was greater than the sum of its parts. Going to miss it so much, but am so grateful to the creators for the ride.

It’s tremendous fun from the first page, with Superman’s in-dialogue reference to Wonder Woman’s sudden appearance since last month hitting just the right tone of knowing wink at the reader, whether or not the creators really did just randomly decide to include her after it was too late to draw her into #39. There are so many wonderful Holy Shit! moments occurring almost with the turn of every single page. Damian crossing heat vision with Superman, setting up Shazam calling down the lightning on that first cybernetic antagonist, Damian’s kiss-off to the entire League on the following page, passing out at the dinner table three panels after destroying a chicken leg, finishing the family portrait, failing to fly when jumping out of his bedroom window, that askew shot of the family in silhouette looking out the window at the Bat-Signal, as ever, that final glorious two-page no-dialogue Getting Ready montage, which is as magnificently executed as I’ve ever seen that old trick done, and those last perfect two pages. What a triumphant capstone to one of the best all-time runs in superhero comics, executed to such perfection from first page to last that I couldn’t help but shed a tear of gratitude over my beaming smile, this was always the best book of the third Wednesday of the month, and it was a privilege and honor to watch masters of the craft regularly deliver lessons on how to execute perfection of the form we all love so much while always remembering to entertain the reader by keeping character front and center. Bravo, Maestros!

GOTHAM ACADEMY #6 — What a terrific ending to the first arc, which it turns out has basically functioned as a pilot episode for my favorite new show-that’s-a-comic. Kerschl’s art continues to offer dynamic action at every turn of the page with Mingue Helen Chen more than holding up her end on the fill-in action. And just when we’ve got a snapshot status quo established, here comes that charming young Master Damian to upset the apple cart right away. Really looking forward to checking all this out in June.

BATMAN ETERNAL #51 — I dig the way that the double-page titles have lately been checking in with every sidekick across the bottom of the pages. Just realized that Julia Pennyworth looks almost exactly like Daisy Johnson during her time spent in SECRET WARRIORS. Another random thought: when someone off-panel says Selina’s time on the next page, I suddenly really wanted the middle two letters to be emboldened and it to turn out to be Holly from YEAR ONE saying her name. The random things a brain pumps out in times of crisis, Wednesday Night Faithful! Back on-point, I am very onboard with Cluemaster’s conceit that Bruce is, in fact, only human, and when he makes a mistake, he makes them bigger than anyone else. The ring of truth! And wow, Stephanie Brown, after all of that fanboy squawking for her return, she’s in and she’s out. And that guy at the end certainly comes out of nowhere all ex machina style. Kind of seems like a cheat at this point, but we’ll see how they explain it next week.

FUTURES END #47 — Terrific to have Ponticelli on some interiors here. He is definitely who you want for the slouching Brother Eye zombie fun. Cannot fucking believe they still have Plastique making Dick (Grayson) jokes. What a ridiculous motif to insert in a weekly series (innuendo unintentional). That’s a solid payoff on the Madison/Tim reunion, though, I will give them that. I do wish they didn’t have Tim dialogue that “Ain’t gonna lie.” That line is blossoming into a serious pet peeve of mine. A solid back end to the issue starring Tim in the suit, though. The writers do know how to craft a cliffhanger. I certainly want to know what’s on the next page. I thought that both of these weeklies were ending this week to get out of the way for CONVERGENCE next week, but obviously that is not the case.

FOREVER MAN AND THE INFINITY PEOPLE #9 — And so it ends. Another Kirby revival bites the dust before making double digits. It bums me out, man! This one functions as more of an epilogue, giving us the secret origin of the titular character at the expense of the rest of the cast. Giffen’s work is really strong here, as usual. Going to miss this monthly blast of Kirby in my life, but I’ve been meaning to go back through the original Fourth World issues for a while now, so there’s always that.

AVENGERS #032 — Well, so much for all of those guys. I mean, yeah, Bobby called it a few issues back, but I didn’t think Hickman was going to actually go through with it. There was so much going on at the time, it didn’t occur to me until now that it’s too late, but I really wish they had gotten someone to do solo series with that Star Brand or Nightmask. I wish they had gotten me, actually. Hickman did solid work imbuing Thor & Hyperion’s final exchange with just the right amount of gravitas. I got a little choked up, even. Of course, it’s too bad that by now we’re all so jaded that no one in their right mind believes that Odin’s boy won’t be not only alive again but also will have reclaimed that hammer by the time that Hemsworth’s third movie comes out, but this is still a powerful way to depict a momentous last stand. Deodato/Martin absolutely crush the interior sequentials, as ever.

UNCANNY X-MEN #032 — I’m surprised to find myself a little bit bummed at Scott closing the school. Didn’t think I was really that invested. Bendis shades Mr. Summers’s character with a bit of nuance here, explaining exactly what’s been going through his brain amidst all of his televised terroristic threats. Bachalo is wonderful again. This one reads a little bit skinny but is a necessary step to get to wherever Bendis is going to wind up taking us. My favorite line was Kitty explaining where she just got back from.

DAREDEVIL #014 — New heights of brilliance. Waid is such a beast at this point in his career that he is crafting every single issue to be both a pretty ideal jumping-on point and a terrifically engaging done-in-one for long-time readers that also pushes the overall plot forward. And of course, Samnee/Wilson continue to deliver a monthly master class in crafting superior superhero sequentials. And that Jordan Gibson and Bethany Gogo can’t seem to stay out of trouble; of course, within minutes of setting foot in San Francisco, they’re getting mugged and making Matt late for court. That suit, though, wow. Terrific design.

DARTH VADER #003 — There’s a bit of a hitch in the opening crawl. It shifts to past tense in the last sentence of the first paragraph when it should go to present. I do not care for that! Grammatical quibbles aside, Creative does very well with this issue. Larocca continues to impress, carrying a great deal of the first half with several pages of no dialogue. I dug the “How Vader Found Her” montage, some dark humor to be found there. But yikes, that Triple Zero dark Threepio guy is kind of terrifying. I guess I shouldn’t be hearing Anthony Daniels’s voice recite his lines? He’s only the opener for BT-1, though, the homicidal R2-unit. I can’t believe no one’s thought to do this in all these years, terrific idea. And the beat on the last page about Vader having no feelings about Geonosis is perfect. It’s an interesting call to wait until the third issue to introduce all of these supporting players, but I’m certainly glad that I hung around this long. They set up the potential for quite a cool dynamic.   

CHEW #47 — Poor Tony Chu just cannot catch a damn break, man. It’s that evil bastard Layman’s fault. D-Bear continues to stand out while John Colby is wracked with guilt and misery before the long-arc plot with Mason & Olive gets a serious push forward. There’s probably still close to two years left before these guys can pump out another thirteen issues (plus one more Poyo special?), but I’m already missing this one.

WYTCHES #5 — This one opens up in a pretty dark place and just gets more horrifying from there. Jock & Hollingsworth are really doing something special here every time, and Snyder has done a fine job ratcheting up the dread and tension before really pulling the trigger on it this month. Interested to see how this one’s going to turn out, but I’ve got a very bad feeling about how that’s going to go.

CAPTAIN VICTORY AND THE GALACTIC RANGERS #6 — Well, this is not only batshit crazier than what we’ve grown accustomed to but also the best issue yet. There are so many terrific artists working today who wear their Kirby influence on their sleeve—Tom Scioli, Erik Larsen, Mike Allred, Keith Giffen—but I seldom think about the fact that of course Joe Casey has the writing nomination pretty much locked up. It might be offensive if somebody else just straight quoted the first page of NEW GODS #1 like happens here, but in this case, you’re just like, “Of course.”  And that is one impressive assortment of guest artists! Dragotta knocks it out of the park first up, and then everyone else does a terrific job seamlessly integrating into the greatness that Fox has already laid down. My man Morrison even slides right into place on a page of Kirbyesque sequentials. The walls really are breaking down. We need a mini-series with him as writer/artist. But this is a fantastic finish to the first (only?) arc of this series. “An adventure like no other,” indeed.

THE WICKED AND THE DIVINE #9 — This one fell a little bit short for me after the last two have been hitting hard. I just don’t care that much about a televised interview and am not invested enough in these characters that the Norn Three-in-One thing or whatever it is showing up is a big deal. God, that McKelvie/Wilson art, though. They could draw the phonebook and I would buy it every month. Or something.

JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS #1 — I was always much more of a ROBOTIX man during that old SUPER SUNDAY anthology show back in good old ’85-’86, but this has remained the most successful property over the years. I really dug Ross Campbell’s art on GLORY just a little while back and that combined with being the father of a budding rock grrl convinced me to give this one a shot. It’s solid work, rebooting the franchise for a new generation while keeping all of its bombastic eighties awesomeness intact, all without the Misfits even showing up on-panel yet. Haven’t hit it with the little girl yet (we’re drowning in MY LITTLE PONYs and allllll of those damn Marvel STAR WARS and she just showed up with Jeffrey Brown’s excellent-looking JEDI ACADEMY), but time will tell.

MORNING GLORIES #44 — This one’s a relatively straightforward issue, typical non-linearity notwithstanding, that answers more questions than it asks. We really are coming up on the halfway point! Eisma continues to deliver straightforward staging in his storytelling, which is much appreciated while we wrap our brains around Spencer’s the-opposite-of-that scene-crafting. And I still want to just take a bath in those Esquejo covers, what a beast.

NEMO: RIVER OF GHOSTS — Janni Dakkar’s story finally comes to an end more than fifty years after we first meet her, and this final adventure is a powerful and rollicking finale to her story. Moore really sank this teeth into this character and obviously had no trouble dialing in from the get-go, and his obvious regard for her has been apparent at every step. Casting an elderly science pirate of Sikh descent as the protagonist against an army of Nazi Stepford wive automatons who can trace their lineage directly back to Maria of METROPOLIS (not that Metropolis) is a brilliant subversive move that is yet another example of Moore maximizing his premise and developing it far past the obvious connections and over the horizon into pure brilliance. Every succeeding installment has dramatically raised the stakes in Janni’s life, with this final issue finding her still captain of The Nautilus even in her twilight years while continuing to surround herself not only with her daughter and the Ishmael family but taking counsel and derision from the lingering ghosts of all of her significant loved ones who have already passed. This is a terrific set-up that begs for a whole raft of adventures spread out over many episodes, but of course, the creators can’t resist burning everything down by the final page even while setting up the next iteration because the story must, as ever, go on. There’s a deep and abiding level of pathos and tragedy to be found here when remembering the girl who we first met cliff-diving in the nude long ago back in 1907 to open that initial installment of CENTURY. For all of her passion and fury and initial resistance to adopting her father’s mantle, it found her anyway, and she was the best damn science pirate of the twentieth century, passing the legacy all the way down another three generations. There is something so beautiful and sad about the inescapability of that, I almost don’t know what to do. Between THE BLACK DOSSIER and CENTURY, a whole gang of people have jumped overboard from this series, but taken as a whole, this NEMO trilogy stands tall with the finest work that Moore & O’Neill have produced for this title since first embarking upon this patchwork voyage just before the turn of the century.

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BEST OF WEEK is too close to call between the titans, Morrison on ULTRA COMICS and Moore on the final NEMO installment. Both are perfect executions of their respective premises. And then there’s the end of BATMAN AND ROBIN. I don’t even know where to begin. Hell of a damn week.

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