10/22/14

BEST OF WEEK: THE MULTIVERSITY:theJUST #1 — The superheroes of Earth-16 won. In an inversion of the FINAL CRISIS premise, Morrison posits the aftermath of a world in which good triumphed over evil and there are no more supervillains to fight. This creates a problem for the next generation, who are left to basically wallow somewhere in the spectrum between existential ennui and the same kind of vapid celebrity adulation that is so common in our own world. Morrison does a good job here making the characters relatable but also kind of pieces of shit at the same time, as they would have to be, born as they are into this powered privileged life but never having been tempered by the conflict and strife that shaped their parents. Right off the bat, there is a pretty definitive statement that, though the premise in some ways suggests that this could be the aftermath of ALL-STAR SUPERMAN (this world’s Luthor succeeded in killing Superman), this story is the polar opposite of that one. Arguably the defining moment of that all-time classic occurs in #10 during the non-linearly-presented last day of Superman when he takes time out from performing many many other tasks to talk the goth girl Regan out of committing suicide by jumping off a ledge. Man, that moment is still so moving, just even mentioning it now is getting me choked up. But! This is straight up not the deal here as Metamorpho’s daughter commits suicide by the very same method on Page 2 with the difference highlighted by the fact that she is not technically alone at all but in the middle of a telepathic link with Shilo Norman’s daughter. But, she still feels really alone, get it? To top things off, when son of Superman, Chris Kent shows up, he can’t even be bothered to call her by anything other than Megamorpho. She’s not a person to him at all, only a teammeate. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #10, this ain’t.

We move on to my favorite dynamic of the story, a fully-grown Damian Wayne hanging out with Alexis Luthor, the bald and brilliant daughter of the world’s greatest criminal mastermind. Lexi is smart enough to know how cool comics are, but as regular readers know, that is the kiss of death in this series because, yeah, she’s got herself a copy of the haunted ULTRA COMICS and is actually reading through the thing for the duration of this scene. There’s all kinds of meta-dialogue zinging back and forth this entire time. Damian’s watching the Superman robots repel an invasion and Lexi calls it “boring,” which is a straight reference to Wayne Boring, noted Silver Age Superman artist who illustrated more than one tale of Superman robots back when. Damian expresses disdain toward folks who don’t like calling comic books comic books in one beat and then with “I bet the artists don’t get a single dime,” references both the prevailing corporate culture down through the years of not rewarding creative talent as well as the original cover price for superhero funny books. We’ve already seen Ultra’s costume before, but this was the first time I realized that he seems to be functioning on multiple levels: as a Miracleman analogue that appears to be in Carol Danvers’s costume but also (if the cover copy is anything to go by) as a potential fiction suit for our own charming selves (see: INVISIBLES if you’re ginchy on the term “fiction suit”). Maybe folks who follow solicitations already know this, but it now seems clear that ULTRA will have to be the last one-shot before we head back into the climactic final issue. But back to Gotham, I love love love Damian hustling Lexi into his closet behind the lead-lined coat so that his best friend doesn’t bust him hanging out with the daughter of the guy who killed Chris’s dad. Oh but wait, then the two-panel bit about Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is one of my favorite conversations that’s ever happened. Morrison NAILS what that Superman/Sandman story would be in three word balloons. And it is hilarious. I, of course, love getting to read more Morrison-scripted adult Damian (we all knew there was a *tt* coming). It is interesting that this is basically the opposite of the #666 future situation, a paradise instead of a hell, and naturally Damian is miserable. I kept waiting for Alfred the cat to show up, but maybe Lexi’s allergic? But it’s so perfect for them to be together, an example of Damian following his father’s taste in romancing the villain like with Selina and his own mother, even, but then the weird deal is, that starts heading into Oedipal territory really quickly. OH, Damian. You never had a chance. Was Alexis trying to get him to read the comic in order to deliberately infect him?

So, it’s a little weird that Ray Palmer is in this, just because he’s the only non-legacy hero. Can’t figure out what that means. When Kyle Rayner gets a look at Offspring’s copy of ULTRA COMICS, we get our first glimpse of two unlettered pages that have to be near the end of the issue, and they look pretty grim for our hero/us. It will be interesting to see if there actually is dialogue when we finally get our hands on the cursed comic book. This is the first time that I’m actually experiencing a sense of dread at the thought of reading this thing myself. I dig Kyle’s, “Dude! You’re into comics,” statement to Ernie, who it seems like is talking about analogues for the Marvel and Ultimate universes (and is possibly referencing all the shit that went down at the end of THE MULTIVERSITY #1? This shit is starting to make my head hurt).

Planet Krypton from KINGDOM COME showing back up really brings home the extent to which this entire set-up is just taking a bath in the mid-nineties. All of these versions of heroes with the exception of Chris & Damian are all who was running around back then (Artemis, for one).

This Chris Kent Superman is just terrible, though! There’s of course the initial failure to save Saffi, then him treating her suicide like a “super-mystery,” but Morrison keeps giving him these horrible moments, making fun of Batman behind his back and then just literally reading the chemical composition of the haunted comic, but then it looks like he even gets Ernie’s name wrong, calling him “Eddie” when they’re looking at the guy’s comics.

Damian and Chris try to rally their pitiful partnership at the end, tracking down leads. I just realized that I was so caught up in Megamorpho’s death being an anti-Regan thing that I missed that a hero(ine) landing on the sidewalk as an inciting incident is something that has been done before in a high-profile book.

Sister Miracle tweeting about how cool it would be to meet herself before looking out to see the devastation on the last page is a perfect last thematic beat embodying the rampant narcissism and navel-gazing that characterizes this entire issue. By now, we’re trained to know that some kind of really heavy shit is going to come raining down on the final page, and it apparently looks like Alexis has, in fact, been poison from the start. I love how Jakeem Thunder just suddenly shows up at the end, only ever having been mentioned on the cover. Which, I should have mentioned Ben Oliver before now. Assisted by Dan Brown on some coloring, the pair provide excellent visuals throughout, leaning on a likeness-heavy style that's a perfect fit for the content of this issue. Alexis is clearly Angelina, and Arrowette's shaved sides seem to be inspired by Miley's, but I'm having trouble placing who Chris and Sasha are supposed to be. That's usually a dicey Greg Land sort of move, but it works really well in this context. 

I have to say, though, that big ending was mostly hijacked for me by the opposite page because I had no idea when PAX AMERICANA was coming out. Morrison/Quitely are my very very favorite team working today and really just about of all time. I could not be more excited for their harmonic eight-panel-grid take on the Charlton/WATCHMEN universe. Soon. Soon.

BATMAN ETERNAL #29 — I am digging Julia/Penny-Two’s gradual assimilation into the family as an operator. Really don’t care about Blackfire or Joker’s Daughter, though. Or Hush, for that matter. Which, all those pages start to add up. This series is just all over the place. Everything blows up real good at the end, so hopefully I’ll be more into the players left standing next week.

FUTURES END #25 — Well! So honored to appear on the cover. It turns out that the old MIA Man of Steel decided to do a little bit of dressing up like me just to mix things up a bit. Good fun! The Stormwatch crew, who continue to be my favorite plot, get a great cliffhanger this week out. Slade dropping the uppercut on Cole while asking, “How bad does it have to get before the situation trumps the obsession?!” is my favorite incongruous panel of the week. And Brainiac, how many more times are we going to get another permutation of the old all-Braniacs-up-until-now-have-been-Doombots bit? I feel like Johns did it first a few years back but that it’s shown up more than once since then. Constantine certainly hasn’t felt the same since crossing over from Vertigo, but him dropping a “Sunshine Superman” is a nice touch. But man, I do not give one shit about that Firestorm plot. At this point, I’m only still halfway onboard this series. But if they keep putting me on the cover, I promise to keep picking it up.

INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE #4 — Now, that is one good-looking Howard Porter cover. That guy has really transformed his style since the Morrison JLA run. Didio once more demonstrates his love for Bat-Cow, bringing the bovine detective in for an opening scene that actually leaves you wanting more. Giffen is back with all the Kirby seething up out of every page. I haven’t been following the Green Lantern books since Johns took off so was a bit surprised to learn about what’s going on with all of this business between them and New Genesis. And is that Red Lantern a bearded Guy Gardner? Funny doin’s abound! If Giffen sees fit to maintain the old 3x2 panel grid while channeling the King’s krackle, I’m here every month with a smile on my face.

THE UNWRITTEN: APOCALYPSE #10 — We’re not quite roaring into the climactic finale just yet, but Carey/Gross move most of the pieces into place in this substantive issue. There’s an inevitability about the proceedings as Gross sheds most of the impressive stylistic tricks he’s been employing in the past few months, content trumping form at the same time that Carey scripts the line, “Form defines function” for Tom. Those two things keep rattling around my head, and I don’t think I’ve quite worked them out yet. But, just when it can’t get anymore compelling with our two factions remotely facing off against one another, it’s time to head where else but into one of the later Tommy Taylor novels. Terrific penultimate cliffhanger. Feeling really confident that these boys are going to nail the ending, always the trickiest part of telling any great story.

STARLIGHT #6 — A very strong finish to a series that debuted with a perfect first issue. $5 for 36 pages of straight-ahead no-ad science-pulp greatness as Duke McQueen barrels toward THE END as fast as his classic Ford Mustang can carry him. There’s no ebb and flow here, not a single page where we’re concerned that things are not going to turn out well for our hero. All of that has already come and gone, but this lack of tension is not a bad thing. There’s a simple, direct joy to be found in watching Duke save Tantalus without a shred of doubt or angst, just taking care of business like he did back when. The final battle deservedly takes up most of the page count, but it isn’t until Duke and Krish make it back to Earth that Millar drops a pretty effective little bomb resolving the principal conflict from #1 and getting me more than a little choked up in the process. Parlov’s work, once again, is the star of the show. He communicates the various climactic action scenes with a direct immediacy that channels Kirby dynamism, but then it’s the character work, the burly hero embracing his much-smaller sidekick at the very end of the story, that brings home that emotional beat and really pays off the entire series. This was a delight from start to finish, and I recommend it unreservedly to one and all, even if you think you’re done with Millar. Beautiful work. It would have claimed Best of Week, no problem, if not for multiversal Morrison machinations.

ZERO #11 — More of the quality that we’ve come to expect from this title. Ricardo Lopez rotates in on art, lending a kinetic energetic style that makes the “scrawls of velocity” accompanying Edward’s drive home from getting supplies arguably the most dynamic movement of the entire issue. There’s not a lot of text in this one, but the art rewards contemplation. The Day Five action scene is very exciting.

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE #5 — There’s a nifty little twist here right at the end, but my suspicion that the general vacuity of every character in this series is borne out when a major character is killed and I don’t care one tiny little bit. The art remains tremendous, but these guys are all ciphers.

AVENGERS·X-MEN: AXIS #3—All right, the opening Deadpool captions are funny enough, but I am not a fan of the voice Remender gives Carnage and Loki. Really, not a fan of Carnage in general so maybe that’s a lost cause, but I didn’t realize to what extent Gillen’s take on the character has laid claim to the way I see him now. And actually, by the middle of the issue, even Deadpool covering The Monkees is a bit grating. It feels like a misfire to have the majority of this issue filled up with villains quipping clever. And then I totally don’t get what happened with Doom and everybody disappearing over that time-lapse. Very unclear cartooning from Yu, who delivers an otherwise good-looking issue. The script, at least, gets back on track in the final six-page scene when the heroes all wake up and start bickering about jurisdiction. And you know, Xavier’s mind potentially being salvaged from the Red Skull’s body, that’s a tricky one. Remender drops a fairly major plot beat here with Havok’s resignation. Other than that, three issues in, not a whole lot has happened thus far. We’ll see if they can get something cooking in a couple of weeks.

AVENGERS #037 — Well, Hickman likes his reversals, doesn’t he? Now that we’ve got up with Reed’s gang over in the other book, we get the regular artist of that title over here to check in with Steve’s crew, hot off of ORIGINAL SIN. And Deodato continues to knock it out of the park. This is yet another one of those issues that when you break down the plot into a synopsis, not really that much happens in terms of long-term development, but it always feels like just enough, and each single is a satisfying read unto itself. Hickman has struck upon the magic in the DNA of CIVIL WAR that Millar was so unable to mine. When you set hero against hero, you don’t need armies of villains. You’ve got enough character collision happening right there. More than enough! He has spent close to two years setting this up, stacking the ranks with dozens of heroes, and it is a delight to watch them play off one another now that the fuse has finally gone off.