Fluit Notes

Newish Number Ones: Generation Lost, Mystery Society and S.H.I.E.L.D.

Justice League: Generation Lost (DC)

by Keith Giffen, Judd Winick, Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan

 

I wanted to like Generation Lost.  The original Justice League by Keith Giffen, J.M. De Matteis and Kevin Maguire was one of the titles that drew me into comics.  I have fond memories of these characters and their adventures together.  A great title featuring these characters would have made me giddy.  Even a good title would have made me happy.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a particularly good title. 

 

There are two major flaws with Generation Lost (and yes, I realize that was also true with two of last week’s reviews).  The first has to do with the writing.  Judd Winick’s dialogue is poorly constructed.  The awkward phrasing keeps taking me out of the story.  It doesn’t flow naturally.  I keep hearing echoes of Chazz Palmintieri’s character in “Bullets over Broadway”: “people don’t talk like that.”  You might think that’s a minor problem but it affects everything else.  It makes the characters less believable.  It makes their disagreements feel forced.  It keeps the reader distanced from the story instead of engaged in it. 

 

The other major issue I had was with the basic threat.  The big villain of this series is the recently resurrected Max Lord.  Unfortunately, the story isn’t sure what kind of villain Max Lord is supposed to be.  In the opening scene, he mentally controls two police officers, forcing them to shoot each other.  At that point, he’s little more than a street thug, albeit one who seems to take pleasure in inflicting pain.  However, in the main story, he constructs a machine that will amplify his powers so that he can affect every mind in the world at once.  His big plan is to make the entire world forget who he is so that he can operate behind the scenes without being hunted down for his former crimes.  At this point, he’s the master calculator and world conqueror. 

 

It’s like we’re reading about two different villains.  In one scene, he’s cruel and capricious.  In the other, calculating and conniving.  Now, it’s possible to combine those traits into one truly awful villain, someone who is both Lex Luthor and Joe Chilll, such as the Wild Cards’ Puppetman.  Unfortunately, Giffen and company don’t pull it off.  Why would Max kill the two cops when he could simply make them forget who he was and walk away?  Why draw extra attention to himself with a couple of unnecessary murders before pulling off his big plan?  There’s no common thread or character trait between the two scenes. 

 

Instead, consistent characterization is sacrificed for the needs of the story.  We need a dramatic opening scene so we’ll have Max Lord kill a couple of cops.  We also need a big master villain so we’ll have Max brainwash the entire world.  Max Lord changes as the story dictates.  If he’s already doing that in the first issue, it doesn’t bode well for the longer series. 

 

Mystery Society (IDW)

by Steve Niles, Ashley Wood and Fiona Staples

 

It’s one of those ideas that we’ve seen before: paranormal investigators uncovering the secrets of the world.  Often, they’re working for the government, as in X-Files or Warehouse 13.  Occasionally, they work on their own as private contractors, as they do here.  Yet Steve Niles and company take this familiar concept and make it seem fresh and new.  The Mystery Society is fast-paced, frenetic and fun. 

 

The stars of this series are a married couple named Nick and Anastasia Collins, though Nick also goes by the name Nick Mystery.  We meet Nick first.  He’s dashing and debonair, like a modern Errol Flynn.  He seems to be in complete control of the situation, even as he’s being walked into prison.  Anastasia is smart and beautiful.  She’s also fully capable of kicking some butt, as she does when an intruder invades their apartment looking for Nick.  Their playful banter is reminiscent of Nick and Nora Charles, though it’s updated to the 21^st century when a couple is allowed to be a little more direct about sex.  Most importantly, they’re interesting individually and as a couple.  You feel like you wouldn’t mind spending some time in their company or reading about their adventures.

 

This first issue jumps right in by telling us about their adventures.  A reporter asks Nick about the origin of the Mystery Society.  Nick replies that origin stories are boring and tells the story that got him in trouble with the authorities instead.  I happen to think Nick is right.  I’ve read enough origin stories to share the opinion that most of them are boring.  That’s why second issues (and second superhero movies) are often better than the first.  Niles sidesteps that potential flaw with a wink to the audience and leaps into a straight adventure instead.  Yet, by doing so, he provides a tease that the mystery of the Mystery Society’s origin may just be a story worth telling one day after all.

 

In this particular adventure, Nick infiltrates Area 51.  There are smoke bombs, giant robots, rope climbing, more giant robots, ice bombs and oh yes, playful banter with Anastasia over their com system.  Meanwhile, Anastasia is dealing with her own aforementioned fight scene, giving us a double dose of action.  There are also a couple of nice twists at the end, including a scene in which the test subjects that Nick rescues may just have to rescue him. 

 

It’s not always fair to make comparisons, but the first issue of Mystery Society is every bit as good as BPRD.  I’ll definitely be back for more.

 

S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel)

by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver

 

“S.H.I.E.L.D.” is one of those ideas that could be really good or it could be really bad.  The basic premise is that S.H.I.E.L.D., the directorate that protects Earth from all kinds of threats (and no, I’m not going to bother with the acronym), has been around a lot longer than any of us imagined.  It didn’t start in the 1960s.  Or even in the aftermath of World War II.  Instead, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been around for centuries and its former members include such luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci.  Inserting superheroes and a modern spy agency into the history of the world could be awkward or ham-fisted.  But the promotional art for the series showed that it could also be really cool- especially the ad showing the helmet of Galactus sitting on da Vinci’s worktable.

 

The first issue starts slowly.  A young man is recruited off of a New York sidewalk in 1953 by two men in brown suits.  The scene moves at a leisurely pace: one page of establishing shots, one page in the car, a third page on the streets of Rome.

 

The fourth page contains the first big reveal.  Leonid, the young New Yorker, is introduced to a man in a strange helmet.  The helmet guy brings him into a very early elevator and the elevator descends to the Immortal City.  It’s a beautiful cityscape, stretching down as far as the eye can see and featuring architecture from every era and culture.  As Leonid descends into the city, Hickman and Weaver slowly draw us into the story as well.  Leonid is introduced to the high council of S.H.I.E.L.D., more guys in funny helmets.  They are going to tell him the hidden history of the world. 

 

At this point, I’m still not sure what to make of S.H.I.E.L.D.  The story has been more weird than quirky- off-putting instead of intriguing.  Plus, not much has happened before we’re promised a big exposition dump.  I’m not looking forward to a lengthy explanation of the history of the world. 

 

Then I turn the page and my mind explodes.  Hickman and Weaver aren’t going to tell us the history of the world.  They’re going to show us.  Hickman and Weaver teach us the full potential of that simple lesson taught in every Creative Writing 101 class.  We see a Pharaoh in ancient Egypt beat back a battalion of the Brood.  We see a soldier in ancient China face off against a Celestial.  Each hero utters the same simple phrase, “This is not how the world ends.”  It’s both prophecy and defiant declaration.  It encapsulates human bravery and institutional perseverance.  With each scene, my estimation of S.H.I.E.L.D. increases.  I’m being drawn in, almost against my will.  This is masterful stuff. 

 

And that’s only half the story.  The second half gives us Leonardo da Vinci, Galactus, the Night Machine, gravity boots and a pertinent connection between the past and the present.  By the end, I’m practically out of breath.  SHIELD is ambitious, brilliant and beautiful.  I can hardly wait for the next issue. 

Newish Number Ones: Kill Shakespeare, Fevre Dream and Ultimate X

One of the things that I love about comic books is discovering something new: meeting new characters, exploring new universes and finding new titles.  Over the past couple of months, I’ve been scouring for something new to love.  That doesn’t mean I’m dissatisfied with my current titles.  I’ve been having a great time with Green Lantern, I’m excited about the X-Men and The Stand has been outstanding.  It’s just that there’s a unique thrill to enjoying something new.  So here are some reviews of new comics that I’ve sampled over the last month or three.  

 

Kill Shakespeare (IDW)

by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col and Andy Belanger

 

“Kill Shakespeare” had one of the best high concept pitches I’ve seen in a while.  “It’s like ‘Fables’ with the characters from Shakespeare.”   What a cool idea.  It would be fun to watch Hamlet and Falstaff and Caliban running around in the same world together.  Unfortunately, the actual comic doesn’t live up to its promise.  And the problem is all in the execution. 

 

There are two major setbacks.  First, despite his pedigree, this version of Hamlet is not a compelling protagonist.  Hamlet’s most famous line is “To be or not to be”-- debating whether it’s better to be active or to allow things to happen on their own.  This Hamlet has firmly come down on the side of allow things to happen.  He’s a primarily passive protagonist.  He’s banished; he’s shipwrecked; he’s abducted.  Things happen to him but he doesn’t do much himself.  There’s no inner turmoil.  And there’s certainly no activity.  It’s hard to cheer for- or even be interested in- this particular Hamlet.

 

Second, the co-authors, McCreery and Del Col, don’t really know what to include and what to leave out.  They give us a three-page recap of Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays and one which least needs a recap, but they don’t bother to introduce us to Richard III other than having the character walk up and tell us his name.  They give us several dream sequences, which isn’t entirely out of character for Shakespeare’s Hamlet who has a vision of his dead father.  But the time spent on lengthy exposition and dream sequences makes it feel that not much happens in the actual story. 

 

The promotional copy for Kill Shakespeare compared it to Fables.  Well, some of Fables’ greatest strengths are its ensemble cast and sense of fun.  Those key elements are missing from Kill Shakespeare.  This is a wild idea.  The authors should have more fun with it and not take themselves so seriously. After all, Shakespeare wrote comedies as well as tragedies.  Also, the time spent on dream sequences and long speeches in Kill Shakespeare might have been better spent introducing additional characters in separate stories.  Then, part of the fun would be seeing in how these characters come together, as with television’s Lost or the first season of Heroes. 

 

The problem with Kill Shakespeare isn’t that it’s historically or literarily inaccurate, despite the claims of certain Shakespearean scholars.  The problem is that it’s neither captivating nor fun. 

 

George R. R. Martin’s Fevre Dream (Avatar)

by Daniel Abraham and Rafa Lopez

 

I admit that I was tentative about buying “Fevre Dream.”  I’m a huge fan of novelist George RR Martin and this is one of my favorite horror stories.  It’s a mix of Dracula and Mark Twain as vampires ride the steamboats of the Mississippi River.  But it’s being published by Avatar, a company known for filthy language, excessive violence and explicit sex.  The actual comic exceeded my expectations of the company, but still failed to live up to my hopes.

 

There were two major disappointments.  The first had to do with the art.  Rafa Lopez has a decent style.  It’s generally pleasing to look at.  And certain pages or panels work well on their own.  Lopez could probably draw great pin-ups.  But he doesn’t yet have the skills for a whole story.  The main character, Captain Marsh, is overweight like John Goodman or John Candy.  Unfortunately, Marsh’s shape changes depending on our viewing angle.  This is especially apparent in the first few pages as his apparent weight fluctuates wildly.  The lack of anatomy and consistency detracts from the story.  Another problematic scene has to do with a race between two steamboats.  Lopez successfully shows a narrowing of the gap from panel to panel.  But he includes little to indicate movement in the individual panels. 

 

I was also disappointed that Avatar couldn’t fully escape its reputation.  Admittedly, Fevre Dream is a very vivid story.  There are some brutal murders and some scenes that will haunt your dreams.  It is a horror novel, after all.  However, Lopez took a scene that is supposed to be shocking and turned it into something titillating. 

 

Fevre Dream takes place in the pre-Civil War South and one of its early scenes involves a slave auction.  The auction includes a pretty, young girl.  The bidders leer at her and tell the auctioneer to strip her so that they can get a good look at the merchandise.  The novel tells the scene in such a way that we are sympathetic to the slave woman’s humiliation.  The twist is that she isn’t bought to be a bedroom slave.  Instead, she’s brought to a plantation where she’s offered up as a meal to a coven of vampires.  It’s a shocking sequence that shows you the utter depravity of the villains and fosters the reader’s hatred for them.  But Lopez focuses on the slave woman’s nudity, putting her in suggestive poses instead of a posture of embarrassment.  It completely undercuts the power of the scene as we feel neither her humiliation nor her relief. 

 

Lopez does a better job with the death scene.  There’s a difficulty in translating a written story to a visual medium as some things are better described than depicted.  In this case, Lopez focuses on the victim’s face so that we get a greater sense of her horror.  And he uses long distance shots to establish what’s happening without having to show it in graphic detail.  If only he had shown such restraint with the auction.

Ultimate X (Marvel)

by Jeph Loeb, Arthur Adams and Peter Steigerwald

 

I’ve never been much of a fan of Marvel’s Ultimate line.  I tried Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men and Ultimates and dropped them all within the first year.  They just weren’t for me for a variety of reasons and I’ve stayed away ever since.  However, one thing drew me back: Art Adams’ art.  I kept seeing the beautiful covers for the first issue.  Wolverine’s son slouching in front of a couple of high school cheerleaders and a school bus.  Four characters jumping out at the reader, including Wolverine’s son and what looks like a Gray Hulk.  Finally, the temptation was too great.  I decided to give an Ultimate title a try for the first time in eight years.

 

I’m happy I did.  Ultimate X #1 is a familiar story.  It’s the story of a young man discovering he has powers.  It’s the story of a young man coming of age.  It’s the story from the first Superman movie and first Spider-Man movie.  And, in this case, it’s a classic story well told. 

 

Jeph Loeb gives us an inverted story structure, with a fast-paced opening and a quiet ending, and it works.  The story starts with a drag race which Art Adams infuses with a sense of fun, sex and danger that overcomes its status as a cliché.  The race ends in a crash which Jimmy miraculously survives. 

 

His survival raises all kinds of questions.  There are questions for the characters.  But they’re also questions for the theme to explore.  The girl Tammy asks, “What are you?”  Jimmy puts it more personally, “What’s wrong with me?”  And with those few short moments, Loeb captures the appeal of the X-Men.  They speak for adolescents (and minorities) who feel out of place in the world.  This isn’t the story of Jimmy discovering his powers.  This is the story of Jimmy discovering himself. 

 

In the next major scene, Loeb introduces Kitty, another young mutant.  She gives him information about who he is and where he comes from.  It’s a nice touch, using a young girl as the mentor character instead of a wizened old man like Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Loeb deftly- and quickly- handles exposition while Adams does a great job with the facial expressions of curiosity and surprise. 

 

The final scene features Jimmy and his adopted father sitting on a dock.  They’re simply talking.  About what Jimmy is.  About what that means for the family.  About what happens next.  It’s a quiet sunset.  But it’s a masterful scene. 

 

 

 

 

What Age Is It Now Anyway?

I’ve been talking about the ages of comics for the past three columns (if you think I’m being long-winded, you should see all of the stuff I left out).  Either way, I appreciate your perusal and participation.  So far, I’ve speculated as to whether or not Brightest Day and Heroic Age will launch a new age, sided with the broad consensus that there is such a beast as a Bronze Age, and struck out on my own to propose a Fourth Age from 1987-1996.  That leaves the issue of what do we do with the last dozen years or so.  Is it another age? 

If you’ve been reading along, then you already know that my answer is “Yes.”  However, I’ll readily admit that this is my own opinion rather than a widely-accepted theory.   

 There are two major arguments against this being a fifth age.  The first is “everything since **** is just one big age.”  There is some validity to that argument.  Indeed, every new age has had to overcome that perception. 

 Jeff-of-Earth-J had a great quote in response to the first column: "Modern Age" is a term I use for whatever the current age which has not yet been defined. For example, I used to say "Golden Silver and Modern," but now I say "Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern." 

 This shows that, despite initial resistance, the idea of a defined age of comics can gain acceptance.  The argument would have been at one time, “everything since 1970 (the end of the Silver Age) is just one big age.”  Now, it’s more likely to be “everything since 1986 (the end of the Bronze Age) is just one big age.”  

 However, I argued that the years 1987 to 1996 have all of the features and characteristics of an age, with one notable exception- a widely agreed-upon name.  However, if we were to insert one of the suggested names, we would have Golden, Silver, Bronze, Iron and everything after.  In other words, “everything since 1996 (the end of the Iron Age) is one age.”  

 I’m glad to say that I’m not the only one who has considered this.  In 1997 and ’98, Wildstorm Studios produced a crossover between the X-Men and their own Wildcats.  The story would span several eras of time, reflecting the different ages of comics.  The four issues were the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Dark Age (one of the other suggested names for the Fourth Age) and the Modern Age. 

 The second major argument against this being a fifth age has to do with sales.  Figserello wrote, “Sales follow successful new storytelling fashions, so the two are interlinked.”  Indeed, the earlier ages are defined not only by peaks in creative output, but also by spikes in sales. 

 That causes a problem for the current age.  After all, current comic book sales pale in comparison with earlier ages.  The best-selling comics of today would be mid-level performers in the ’80s or in danger of cancellation in the ‘60s. 

  However, I don’t think that necessarily precludes the possibility of a fifth age.  For one thing, an age is not necessarily a direct comparison between peaks.  By that definition, the Silver Age wouldn’t count as an Age either.  After all, the sales of the Silver Age were one-fifth of the sales of the Golden Age.  Similarly, the Bronze Age peak may not have been as high as the peak of the Silver Age but it was still a peak compared to the years that had come between.   

On the other hand, the last fifteen years have given us a valley and a peak that help shape the ages of comics.  The years of 1997-99 had the lowest comic book sales in history.  They’re so low that I wouldn’t even include them in an age.  They’re kind of like the years between the Golden and Silver Ages (which saw great sales in other genres but the near-extinction of superheroes) and the years between the Silver and Bronze Ages (according to some definitions).  In contrast, the years 2000-2007 saw seven straight years of growth.  That’s something that hadn’t happened since the Golden Age (the Silver Age’s best stretch was 4 years).

 Another issue is that sales contrasts across eras are not apple-to-apple comparisons.  Silver Age numbers are based on the number of issues printed for returnable newsstand distribution and could be double the number of issues actually sold.  Current numbers are based on issues sold to the direct market- while ignoring subscriptions, newsstand distribution and international sales- and could be half of the actual number of issues sold.  I’m not saying that current comics sell as well as Silver Age comics.  They don’t.  But the gap isn’t as great as some observers would have you believe.  Plus, modern comics are also sold in trade paperbacks, a secondary market that extends shelf-life and raises readership. 

 The current age may not be as commercially successful as the Silver Age, but that doesn’t have to mean it’s not an age at all.

 I think it is.  I think the sales are part of the story (including the seven straight years of growth that I mentioned previously).  I think the expansion of the market is part of the story.  Comics have expanded into new genres, new formats and new territories.  The last decade has seen the explosion of manga, trade paperbacks and bookstore sections devoted to comics.  You can even buy comics in airport terminals. 

 Of course, it’s not only about sales.  It’s also about style. 

 Luke Blanchard asked (yes, I’m quoting Luke again; sorry, Luke), “Is there the same kind of contrast between superhero comics of today and of fifteen years ago as there was between the superhero comics of the mid-70s and those of the early 60s?”

 I think so.  Modern comics have very different features than Iron Age comics.  Comics of the early ‘90s were often fast-paced, action-packed affairs.  An actual story sometimes took back-seat to a sequence of fight scenes.  Comics of the mid-aughts were slow-paced.  They were deconstructed and fans would sometimes wait four to six issues for a big fight. 

Compare Jim Lee’s first issue of Wildcats in 1992 with Joe Casey’s first issue of Wildcats 3.0 in 2002.  Compare the “Reign of the Supermen” in 1993 with “World without a Superman” this past year.  Compare Joe Madureira’s X-Men in 1994 to Grant Morrison’s New X-Men in 2004.  They’re completely different animals. 

 And I’m not the only one who’s noticed.  John Dunbar made a good point when he discussed the history of Marvel comics in terms of its chief editors.  The comic books from the Joe Quesada era are as different from the Tom DeFalco era as the Jim Shooter era is from the Stan Lee era. 

 So yeah, I think we’re in the fifth age of comics.  Call them what you like: Chromium and Platinum (I haven’t given up on them yet), Dark and Prismatic (with a tip of the cap to Figserello), Iron and Modern.  But I think that they’re two very distinct and different ages, rather than one big “everything after.”

 And, yeah, I’m worried that we’re actually at the end of the fifth age of comics.  After the highs of 2007 (the best-selling year since the pre-crash days of ’95), we’ve seen two years of slight decline.  The industry isn’t back to the lows of 1997-’99.  At least, not yet. 

 Which brings me back to the subject that started this all.  I sincerely hope that DC’s Brightest Day and Marvel’s Heroic Age can reverse the trend.  I hope that new technology like Apple’s iPad can be a jump-start for the industry the way that the direct market was at the beginning of the Bronze Age.  I think things have been pretty good for the past decade.  And I’d like to see it keep going. 

 Thanks for listening, everyone.  The End. 

What Comes After the Bronze Age?

For the past two weeks, I’ve written articles about the various ages of comics.  It’s an admittedly academic topic, but one which fascinates me (and interests quite a few readers, judging by the number of comments generated by the past two columns).  The first column speculated as to whether or not DC’s Brightest Day and Marvel’s Heroic Age are the start of a new age (probably not, but I hope they at least lead to a resurgence in the current age which is beginning to stall).  The second column defended the existence of a Bronze Age, a term used to describe the third comic book boom.

In discussing the existence of a Bronze Age, I neglected to define it.  Happily, the Legion of Superfluous Heroes (otherwise known as the members of the Captain Comics Message Board) took up the task.  The discussion centered on two main theories.  The first is that the Bronze Age lasted from 1970-1986, starting with Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76 (sometimes in conjunction with other key issues of ’70-’71).  The second theory is that the Bronze Age lasted from 1975-1986, starting with the introduction of the all-new X-Men in Giant-Size X-Men #4 (with 1970-1974 serving as either a period between ages or a proto-Bronze Age).  Both theories shared a common end-date of 1986- the year that the Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Crisis on Infinite Earths and Secret Wars II brought significant changes in both tone and continuity.  Those weren’t the only theories- there are still those who reject the concept of a Bronze Age and others who offer a different end-point- but they seem to be the main ones. 

 This week, I want to move beyond that part of the discussion.  What comes after the Bronze Age? 

  One major view is that nothing comes after the Bronze Age.  Luke Blanchard wrote, “The last twenty years seem to me one long period.”  Jeff-of-Earth J described the ages of comics as “Golden, Silver, Bronze and something else.”  Wikipedia- a reflection of popular consensus- agrees.  It follows entries for Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages with one for a Modern Age, encompassing everything from 1987 until now. 

 I’m on record with another view.  I admit that I’m probably departing from the majority on this one.  But I think that the past twenty-five years contains at least two distinct ages, bringing us to a total of five. 

 I see several different factors contributing to the beginning of the Fourth Age (which, for now, will remain nameless).  One is the change in tone initiated by Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns.  Those two stories led comics to a different approach that was clearly distinct from the comics that came before.  Story-telling was darker and more mature, which is why one of the most popular names for this period is the Dark Age (a quick aside: those two features are not always the same thing though they’re often treated that way).  Those two works paved the way for other successful properties such as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and DC’s Vertigo imprint. 

 Luke Blanchard is right when he writes, “I don't know that the post-Crisis DCU immediately got darker.”  It didn’t.  But the Silver Age didn’t happen over-night either.  The new Flash debuted in 1956.  Superman and Wonder Woman didn’t enter the Silver Age until 1958.  Green Arrow and Aquaman entered the Silver Age in different years despite co-starring in the same title.  Some people even argue that Batman didn’t enter the Silver Age until his “New Look” in 1964. 

  Another factor giving rise to the Fourth Age is the change in continuity.  This was especially apparent at DC.  Fans even developed a new lexicon of “pre-Crisis” and “post-Crisis” to refer to the many changes wrought by that series.  This became particularly evident to me when I recently read the trade collection of Superman: Man of Steel.  The changes to the character, the cast and the universe were far-reaching.  The changes were so significant that the editorial and accounting departments actually credited the writers with creating new characters (Marv Wolfman mentioned in a preface that he receives royalty checks for creating a new version of Lex Luthor).  In its way, the introduction of a new Superman in Man of Steel is as significant as the introduction of a new Flash in Showcase #4.  This time, the new Superman was followed by a new Wonder Woman, a new Justice League and a new Flash.  In a couple of years, Marvel followed with new titles for Spider-Man and X-Men. 

That leads us to several more factors.  The previous ages were all defined, in part, by an expansion of new characters, new titles and new companies accompanied by a noticeable increase in sales.  Well, that is certainly true of the Fourth Age.  The Fourth Age brought Dark Horse (1986), Malibu (1987), Valiant (1991), Image (1992), Topps (1992) and Malibu’s Ultraverse (1993).  Marvel and DC also expanded rapidly.  The result is that the early 1990s saw more new companies and more new characters than any era since the Golden Age.  Did all of these characters and companies succeed?  No.  But that was also true of the Golden Age.  Most of those characters were canceled quickly as well.  On the other hand, many characters from this period achieved popularity, longevity or jumped to other media (a category that includes Cable, Deadpool, Spawn, Hellboy, Witchblade, Static and Hitman). 

  The early ‘90s can also boast of publishing the most titles since the pre-Comic Book Code 1950s and achieving the highest individual sales since WWII.  Yes, you read that right.  The early ‘90s beat the Silver Age on several (though not all) peak markers.  I know that many older fans don’t want to give this era the status of an official age, but objectively, it stands out as much as the Silver Age did.

 Of course, all of this could be true and we’d still be dealing with only one post-Bronze Age era if not for another factor.  There is a very clear end-point.  In the first article, I mentioned that previous ages were characterized- not by the cancellation of one title such as Captain Marvel or X-Men- but by the cancellation of many titles and even the cessation of multiple publishers.  This was true of the Golden Age.  This was true of the Silver Age.  This was partially true of the Bronze Age.  And this was dramatically true of the Fourth Age. 

 The comic book market, propped up by speculator and investment buyers, collapsed in 1996 and 1997.  Almost all of the aforementioned companies went out of business or were sold.  Even Marvel, the biggest publisher in the industry, declared bankruptcy.  And both Marvel and DC slashed their titles until they were publishing between one-third and one-half of their peak numbers.  The shock to the industry was so significant that George cites it as the end of the Bronze Age (which didn’t have the cataclysmic ending of earlier ages).  And even Luke Blanchard seems to agree with me (phew! I didn’t want to disagree with Luke on everything) when he writes, “I suppose the speculator boom was a distinct period, since it brought with it new companies and characters which were wiped out when the boom collapsed.”

 That’s a beginning, a middle and an end.  That looks like an Age to me- the Fourth Age of comics. 

 

Is There a Bronze Age of Comics?

Last week, I wrote about the possibility of Marvel’s Heroic Age and DC’s Brightest Day ushering in a new age of comics.  Along the way, I discussed the previous ages of comics, the eras by which many categorize its history.  I received some excellent feedback and I’d like to respond in this follow-up column.

 

First of all, let me say thanks for the compliment, Jeff of Earth-J; the thoughtful reply, Luke Blanchard; and the exceptional reference, Turning Point.

 

Luke Blanchard wrote, “I'm always uncomfortable with attempts to continue "age" periodisation down to the present.”

 

You're not the only one, Luke.  Besides Turning Point (who posted in response to the initial column), there's also Maggie Thompson, the editor of Comics Buyer's Guide.  When they had their Bronze Age issue, she commented that she didn't believe in the existence of a Bronze Age.  As far as she was concerned, there's the Golden Age, the Silver Age and everything after (that’s a paraphrase, not a direct quote).

 

However, I think there are a couple of problems with that stance. 

 

The first problem is that the ship has already sailed.  Bronze Age has entered common usage.  I mentioned eBay in the first article; I recently typed “Bronze Age comics” into eBay and it came back with 2,253 results.  That’s more results than “Golden Age comics” and within a 1000 results of “Silver Age comics.”  I tried Google and got over 800,000 results including a very lengthy description on Wikipedia and several blogs that specifically focus on Bronze Age comics.  Retail sites use the term as well.  Capital Comics and House of Comics have entire Bronze Age sections (in addition to Golden and Silver Age sections).  The term exists and it’s here to stay. 

 

The second problem is what to use instead.  No offense intended, Luke, but I think your post illustrates this.  You rejected a historical categorization of comic books based on capital- “A” Ages but you then proceeded to discuss the history of comics based on a different set of ages.  It’s just that you used decades rather than the metallic nomenclature of Golden, Silver and Bronze Age.  Are decades the best way to categorize and understand the history of comics?  Maybe they are.  We certainly use decades for other facets of pop culture, especially music.  But maybe they aren’t.  A comic book in 1983 has a lot more in common with a comic in 1977 than it does with one in 1989.  The beginning and end-points of some movements coincide with the beginning or end of a decade, but not always.

 

On the other hand, I think there are advantages to using Age categorizations to comics. The main one is that it does a better job of reflecting the periodic nature of comics and conveying the movements within that history.  The history of comics isn’t a steady march over time, as a decade-by-decade survey might suggest, but a story of rises and falls. 

 

Some of the best evidence for the existence of a Bronze Age comes from people who don’t use the term, including those who were involved or who were there.  Mike Richardson, publisher of Dark Horse Comics, doesn’t subscribe to the notion of a Bronze Age.  But in his book, Comics between the Panels, he writes about a “creative revival” in the late ‘70s with Claremont and Byrne on Uncanny X-Men, Frank Miller on Daredevil and Walt Simonson.  Jon Cooke, the editor of Comic Book Artist, refers to Marvel’s “Second Wave” in the ‘70s including the origin of the new X-Men, Jim Starlin’s cosmic books and Mike Ploog on Ghost Rider.  Actually, many issues of Comic Book Artist are celebrations of the Bronze Age, despite the fact that Cooke doesn’t use the term himself. 

I wish I had the reference handy, but one of the creators of the time (I think it was Walt Simonson) even called the late ‘70s and early ‘80s “Marvel’s Silver Age” (Marvel’s real Golden Age being the Lee/Kirby/Ditko years upon which most of the company was built).  In addition to the previously mentioned creators, there was also Shooter and Perez on Avengers and Roger Stern’s Spider-Man. 

 

Then, there’s the 1981 article from Amazing Heroes that Turning Point posted for us.  The “Third Wave” that Michael Catron writes about is what we now call the Bronze Age.  He got a few things wrong.  He anticipated the possibility that DC’s Third Wave would inspire their main competition at Marvel to follow suit, as had happened in the early Silver Age when Marvel responded to the success of JLA with Fantastic Four.  But he didn’t notice that the tables had turned and that DC’s Third Wave was coming in response to Marvel’s Second Wave (as coined by Jon Cooke).  Specifically, the New Teen Titans were a response to the Uncanny X-Men.  However, he also got a few things right. He noticed that the advent of new publishers like Eclipse and Pacific were indicators that a Third Wave was already underway.  Indeed, Pacific and Eclipse (as well as other companies like First and Comico) played a similar role in the Bronze Age that secondary superhero publishers Archie, Charlton and Tower played in the Silver Age.  They were part of the creative resurgence that contributed new titles and new characters. 

 

Richardson’s Revival, Cooke’s Second Wave, Simonson’s “Marvel’s Silver Age” and Catron’s Third Wave are all terms for the same time period.  It’s the Bronze Age.  You don’t have to embrace the term in order to notice that there was a creative, cultural, and consumer ascendance.  The Bronze Age is a handy term for describing it.

 

 

 

The Stars of the Spanish American Style Part Three: A New Millennium

The X-Men’s loss was all of comics’ gain.  By the late ‘90s, Joe Madureira, Chris Bachalo, Carlos Pacheco and Salvador Larroca were all finding better or more interesting work outside of the confines of the X-Men family of titles.  Salvador Larroca’s stint on the Heroes Return mini-series had led to a regular spot on Fantastic Four Vol. 3 starting in 1998 (although, with Chris Claremont as writer, some fans were decrying the FF as an X-Men title in disguise).  Joe Madureira was a self-employed star, whose Battle Chasers was burning up the charts that same year.  Carlos Pacheco was gaining critical and additional fan acclaim as the artist on Kurt Busiek’s Avengers: Forever, also in 1998.  Chris Bachalo was the last to leave the X-Men but by 1999 he was working on another Vertigo book (the Witching Hour mini-series).  And in 2000 he followed Joe Madureira to Image’s Cliffhanger line with his own creator-owned series, Steampunk.

At this point, their career paths really began to diverge.  The success of Battle Chasers led to additional opportunities for Joe Madureira outside of comic books.  He got caught up in the video game industry and disappeared from comics for a little while.  He did conceptual art and design for Dragonkind, Trade Wars and Dungeon Runners.  He finished up Battle Chasers in 2001.  And in 2007-08, Madureira returned to comic books as the artist on Marvel’s Ultimates Vol. 3.

Meanwhile, Carlos Pacheco’s star kept rising.  The success of Avengers Forever presented Carlos Pacheco with the chance to choose his own projects.  He took over Fantastic Four as both writer and artist (following in the footsteps of Salvador Larroca again; their careers just keep crossing).  He stayed on the title for twenty-one issues, including an annual.  He also wrote an Inhumans mini-series.

In 2002, DC wooed Pacheco away from Marvel.  His first project for DC was a big one: he drew the JLA/JSA hardcover Virtue and Vice, working with writers David Goyer and Geoff Johns.  He then reunited with Avengers writer Kurt Busiek on the fantasy title Arrowsmith and teamed with writer Jeph Loeb for an arc on Superman/Batman.  The high profile projects at DC just kept coming.  Carlos Pacheco drew the first three issues of the new Green Lantern title, one of the biggest hits of the decade.  He then joined Kurt Busiek again on Superman, drawing the epic Camelot Falls story.  Finally, he pitched in on the company-wide event, Final Crisis, giving regular artist JG Jones a break by drawing issues 4 and 6. 

After drawing half of DC’s major characters, Carlos Pacheco was finally brought back to Marvel.  He’s currently the artist on Ultimate Avengers, the title that took over for Joe Madureira’s Ultimates Vol. 3. 

While Madureira and Pacheco were finding success in video games and at DC, the other two artists found themselves back in the X-Men fold.  Salvador Larroca returned in the year 2000.  He had developed a good working relationship with Chris Claremont on Fantastic Four and so he followed Claremont to Uncanny X-Men in 2000 (drawing most of the issues from #384-395) and X-Treme X-Men in 2001 (drawing the first 24 issues, plus an annual).  Then, when Claremont returned to Uncanny for the third time, Larroca was switched up to work with Chuck Austen on New X-Men in 2004. He was the primary artist with Austen and then Peter Milligan from issue #155 to 187 in 2006.  He returned Uncanny X-Men in 2007, working with writer Ed Brubaker on issues 487-491.  Finally, Larroca got to try his hand at a fourth X-Men title when he teamed with Robert Kirkman for an arc of Ultimate X-Men (issues 88-93, 2008).

Unlike most of the other artists, Larroca worked quickly.  He was often able to handle a second assignment at the same time.  So even as he contributed regularly to one of four X-titles, he also drew six issues of Namor in 2003, the four-issue Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra mini-series, the five issue Ultimate Elektra sequel in 2004 and six issues of Newuniversal for writer Warren Ellis in 2006.  After spending most of the decade drawing the X-Men, Larroca finally moved on to other Marvel stars.  He was one of the initial artists on Amazing Spider-Man’s Brand New Day and he’s now the regular penciller on Invincible Iron Man.

Chris Bachalo followed Salvador Larroca back to the X-Men.  He was the guest artist for two issues of Ultimate X-Men in 2002 (#18-19).  He drew the “Assault on Weapon Plus” arc of New X-Men in 2003 (issues 142-145).  He revisited the Age of Apocalypse in 2005, drawing the 10-year anniversary mini-series X-Men: Age of Apocalypse.  He returned to Uncanny X-Men that same year, drawing issues 464-468.  Then, he took over for Larroca on adjective-less X-Men with issue 188 in 2006.  Though he didn’t draw every issue, Bachalo remained the primary artist until issue 207.

Of course, it wasn’t all X-Men all the time for Bachalo.  He contributed six issues of Captain America in 2003.  Plus, like Larroca, he was one of the four initial artists named to helm Spider-Man’s Brand New Day in 2008.  Most recently, he’s worked on New Avengers and Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man. 

Those are the primary artists of the Spanish American style.  I won’t claim to have bought everything they’ve drawn.  Yet they were some of the main artists who drew me back in as a comic book collector.  I always try to keep an eye on what they’re working on.  And I generally enjoy what they’re doing. 

   

 

 

New Year Wishes

1. A year-long Wonder Woman epic by Jim Lee  

 

It worked for Batman and Superman.  Lee contributed to a Batman modern classic with “Hush.”  His Superman story (“For Tomorrow”) was also something worthwhile, even if it didn’t quite measure up to “Hush.”  It’s time to give Wonder Woman the same star treatment.  His work on other titles (including the Just Imagine Stan Lee creating Wonder Woman one-shot) shows that he would be a great fit.  Apologies to Gail Simone who has turned in occasionally interesting work on Wonder Woman for the past couple years.

 

2. A DC team title worth reading

 

I have several longboxes full of DC superhero teams.  Justice League of America.  The New Teen Titans.  Legion of Super-Heroes.  JSA.  Right now, they’re relics of the past.  Crossover complications, bad story-telling choices and just plain old mediocrity have knocked the DC team titles off of my pull list.  But these are characters that I care about.  And I’d like to care about them again.  So here’s hoping for a resurgence, a renaissance on the DC team titles.

 

3. More Jay Faerber

 

For the past couple of years, Jay Faerber has been one of my favorite comic book writers.  But, right now, I’m not getting a regular Faerber fix.  Noble Causes has concluded.  Dynamo 5 is on hiatus while they switch to a new regular penciler.  And the Pilot Season title Urban Myths has yet to appear again, despite assurances from Top Cow that they had plans for the concept.  I mostly want Dynamo 5 back and at its best or Urban Myths, but I’ll take a new addition to the Faerber-verse as well.

 

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine

 

Buffy’s Season Eight is winding up with issue 40.  Joss Whedon’s experiment- continuing a television series as a comic book- has been so excellent that I want more.  A lot more.  I realize this wish is pretty close to happening but I’m spending an official wish on it anyway.  I also realize it’s probably more of a wish for 2011, as season eight will last into the fall.  While I’m at it, I wish for great things from Bill Willingham’s tenure on the Angel comic, more Spike mini-series, a Faith spin-off, a Dr. Horrible sequel (which I understand to be in the planning stages) and Fox to change their minds and renew Dollhouse anyway. 

 

5. A new New X-Men/Young X-Men comic

 

It may be too soon.  The poorly received Marc Guggenheim comic was canceled just this past year.  But, as great as it’s been to see these characters in supporting roles in the main X-book, I’d love to see them in their own title again.  Pixie.  Anole.  Armor.  Blindfold.  Rockslide.  Gentle.  These are cool characters and great additions to the X-mythos and they deserve their own spotlight, not the side of the stage in someone else’s show.

 

6. The end of Norman Osborn as the central figure in the Marvel Universe

 

I am so sick of this story.  I’ve done my best to avoid it, but it keeps bleeding over into other titles that I follow and otherwise enjoy, like Uncanny X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Mighty Avengers.  I just want it to go away.  Preferably, with precious few Siege crossovers in the titles on my pull list.

 

7. A new kids book for A, my 8-year old daughter

 

She was a huge fan of Marvel’s Power Pack series of mini-series.  Honestly, so was I.  But Marvel decided that they had run out of stories for the family, after teaming them up with the X-Men, the Fantastic Four (twice), the Avengers, the Hulk and Iron Man, plus a showdown with the Skrulls and a Year One origin story.  Now, with Power Pack gone, we’re struggling to find a new title for her.  The new X-Babies mini-series shows promise, but it’s not as good as Power Pack had been.  Come on, Marvel (or DC), give me something I can enjoy handing to my daughter.

 

8. Comebacks from the titles I listed in my “comics that should make a comeback” series of articles

 

That would be Generation X, Martian Manhunter and Star Wars: Empire/Rebellion for those who missed the articles in question. 

 

 

Mark Waid’s Ten Best Books

Last week, I wrote about one of my favorite comic book writers, Kurt Busiek.  This week, I’m going to write about another favorite, Mark Waid.  Waid has been every bit as important to me as Busiek.  The two of them are like twins in my mind- drawing me into comics in the mid-‘90s and giving me endless hours of enjoyment in the time since.  So, once again, here’s a happily random celebration of Mark Waid, in order of appreciation.  

 

10. JLA: Year One

 

Mark Waid is insulted by his detractors for being too much of a fan.  He knows the ins and outs of comic book history as well as anyone.  However, that doesn’t have to be an impediment.  And it can be an asset.  In Year One, Waid wrote a new origin for the Justice League.  After all, their history was no longer coherent due to the many revisions that had taken place over the years.  But this was no mere exercise in history.  Waid gave interesting personalities to his key characters.  Aquaman was truly a fish out of water.  Black Canary was competent and charming.  Martian Manhunter was humble and secretive.  And the Green Lantern and the Flash became fast friends.  Waid wove known events and new ones into one coherent narrative, showing the foundation and formation of the greatest team of superheroes ever assembled.  Plus, he and artist Barry Kitson brought in the guest stars by the bushel full.

 

9. Crux

 

Mark Waid took a short sojourn as a staff writer for CrossGen and while he may want to forget his experiences there, his books are unforgettable.  Crux was the closest CrossGen had to a superhero team yet they were also something incredibly different.  The cast was made up of Atlanteans who each had special powers, such as shape-shifting or speed.  But they were no team.  They were thrown together by fate, wondering why they were the last survivors of their people and trying to figure out what went wrong.  The real draw, however, was the interaction between the characters.  There was a sibling rivalry and a love triangle.  There was friction with the youngest- and smartest- of the group.  And, as the series progressed, there were plenty of difficulties and shifting allegiances with new characters.

 

8. Ka-Zar

 

Ka-Zar is an underappreciated classic.  Mark Waid teamed with Andy Kubert on this short-lived title.  Waid came up with the brilliant idea of reversing the standard Ka-Zar story.  Usually, Ka-Zar stories are about Ka-Zar or other heroes travelling to the Savage Land and experiencing the jungle in its full force.  But for this series, Waid brought Ka-Zar and the Savage Land to a very different jungle: New York.  We saw how Kevin Plunder (Ka-Zar) and Shanna dealt with the modern world in different ways.  And we got to experience the thrill of watching sabretooth tigers and tyrannosaurus rexes run around the streets of Manhattan.

 

7. 52

 

It’s hard to know how much credit to give to Mark Waid as this title was written by four writers working in conjunction.  But it would be an even bigger mistake to leave 52 off of the list.  With Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns and Greg Rucka, Waid helped put together one of the comics’ great epics.  52 featured interweaving stories focusing on some of DC’s lesser known characters like the Elongated Man, the Question, Will Magnus, Steel and Starfire.  It had plenty of classic moments, like “the rain of the supermen” and featured the full range of superhero comics.  It was simply a great read. 

 

6. Captain America

 

Captain America was one of the first ongoing titles to really be associated with Mark Waid.  He had two tenures on the title.  The first was with Ron Garney.  It had critical acclaim and growing sales as Waid re-examined what it meant to be a patriotic hero while also taking Cap’s powers away.  Unfortunately, the title was canceled to make room for Marvel’s Heroes Reborn launch.  When that was done, Mark Waid came back for a second stint and showed that you can go home again.  He matched Captain America up with classic villains like the Red Skull and the Skrulls and gave Cap fans something to cheer about.  He even made me, who wasn’t a Cap fan at the time, a reason to pay attention.   

 

5. Flash

 

This is the other ongoing title that really raised Mark Waid’s profile.  Waid identified with Wally West and poured himself into the title.  It was as if Waid was writing himself and the readers responded.  Wally West soon became the most popular Flash, winning fan polls as the best Flash ever ahead of his mentor Barry Allen.  Waid built a huge supporting cast of fellow speedsters: Jessie Quick, Max Mercury (who used to be Quality Comics’ Quicksilver) and his own creation Impulse.  He brought in guest stars and friends like Nightwing.  And he gave Wally a significant love interest, Linda Park.  Waid would leave Flash and come back for a second run that wasn’t as well-received as his first.  But that initial run made stars out of both Mark Waid and Wally West.

 

4. Ruse

 

Mark Waid has a reputation as a superhero writer.  But, like Kurt Busiek in last week’s list, Mark Waid has shown that he’s a great writer even when he switches genres.  One of Waid’s best books is the mystery title, Ruse.  Mark Waid introduced detective Simon Archard and his plucky assistant, Emma Bishop.  Their interaction was brilliant.  Simon was caustic and sarcastic.  Emma was hopeful and bright.  Together, they solved crimes that had mystical trappings but usually turned out to be surprisingly mundane.  Emma developed a rivalry with the baroness Miranda Cross, Simon relied on a rogue’s gallery of unlikely assistants and they both matched wits with Simon’s mentor turned villain Simon Lightbourne.  Ruse was a consistently entertaining and excellent book. 

 

3. JLA

 

Mark Waid followed Grant Morrison on JLA.  Morrison’s run was great and is rightly lauded, but Waid’s run is also great and is criminally ignored.  He started with an over-sized special, Heaven’s Ladder, with artist Bryan Hitch before taking over the regular title.  Mark Waid pulled from his interest in modern science, telling stories of time and space and atoms.  He pulled from his interest in fable and mythology, introducing the Queen of Fables as a new villain and Santa Claus as a new teammate.  He broke the team apart and put them back together again.  He exposed their weaknesses in order to showcase their strengths.  It was a tight, action-packed and often intense superhero story. 

 

2. Kingdom Come

 

Kingdom Come is one of the greatest stories in comic books.  Artist Alex Ross had the initial idea and Mark Waid developed it into a classic.  It’s a glimpse of a possible future in which the good heroes have given way to anarchy.  It’s the call of hope as the classic heroes come back to save the world they once abandoned.  It’s the clash of ideas as some who claim to be humanity’s saviors jealously protect their world from this superhuman help.  It’s a literary masterpiece, with Biblical allusions and prophetic foreshadowing, but also a comic book extravaganza with hundreds of heroes both new and old.  It’s a story that I re-read almost every year.  Thanks, Alex and Mark.

 

1. Fantastic Four

 

This is the book Mark Waid was born to write.  He poured himself into Reed Richards the way he once poured himself into Wally West.  He understood Reed better than any other writer, including his creators Stan and Jack.  He gave Reed a credible motive.  He gave the team a new modus operandi as imaginauts, adventurers of the imagination.  He took them to space, microspace, Heaven and Hell.  He wrote the greatest Dr. Doom story I’ve ever read in “Unthinkable.”  He had Johnny Storm grow up, while staying youthful.  He wrote a masterful tribute to Ben Grimm, and to Ben Grimm’s creator Jack Kirby.  He wrote one of the best comics ever.  Period. 

 

And that’s my list of the best Mark Waid books.  Of course, half the fun of writing a top ten list is finding out where others differ.  So go ahead and tell me what you think I got right and what books you think I should have included.

 

More Recent Reviews: Wonder Woman, Wildguard and more…

Wonder Woman #21
By Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti

I love this title. And I love Gail Simone. She “gets” Wonder Woman in a way that few others have gotten a character. It reminds me of Mark Waid’s take on Reed Richards. Unfortunately, while Gail “gets” this character, I didn’t exactly “get” this story. I talked to my wife about it after reading it and realize that I had almost no idea what was going on. I knew that Wonder Woman had teamed up with Beowulf and some claw guy, but I still wasn’t sure why or what they were trying to accomplish. I didn’t even realize that this was supposed to be one of DC’s alternate earths, with stand-ins for Batman, Robin and Oracle. I’m sure that was mentioned, or at least hinted at in the previous issue but it just didn’t sink in. So I had pretty much no idea what was going on. I liked the barbarian fights though, even without context. The good part of this issue was actually the sub-plot. Back on the regular earth, Diana Prince’s partner Nemesis has been given a new job- to spy on her. He’s supposed to find out what her connection is to the Amazons and if the Amazons intend any future hostilities. It’s a nice little maze to give to a secondary character. And I like the way that Gail is using the stories that came before her tenure to create interesting situations instead of just ignoring them, even though those stories were pretty awful. I was also amused in the way that Nemesis’ assignment eventually led him into a surprise confrontation with the sentient apes who have been allies of Wonder Woman. That’s where the interesting stuff is happening and I’m ready for Wonder Woman to be done with this other adventure so she can get back to it. With two more issues to go in the Beowulf story, that’s not exactly a good sign.

Wildguard Insider #2

By Todd Nauck

There are three main pieces to Wildguard Insider #2. The first is a short story featuring Lily Hammer, one of the heroes who made the Wildguard team at the end of the first mini-series. The second is a continuing series of comic strips that was originally published online. The third is a pair of “Where Are They Now?” profiles telling us about some of the heroes who didn’t make the cut during Wildguard: Casting Call. The first story is fairly decent. I enjoyed Lilly Hammer’s banter with the late night host and her attempts to get rid of her accent. I was intrigued by the ghosts that only she could hear. And I liked that she fell back into her Scandinavian accent once she started fighting and lost control of her emotions. Plus, to my surprise, I didn’t even mind that it was all a dream, as it showed us a very strong glimpse of Lilly’s hopes and fears. The strips were pretty good as well. There’s not a lot of action in them. It’s mostly a behind-the-scenes look at Wildguard as heroes deal with fan mail, angry fans who don’t think they deserved to be on the team and fines. We certainly learn a lot about Four- both her heroic past and her managerial style. As for the “Where Are They Now?” features, I enjoyed the Astro Girl story with Ray Height art. It had a lot of action and a really good pace to it. The Power Temp story wasn’t quite as strong, but with the rest of the issue as good as it was, I’m willing to give a two-page tale at the end a bit of a pass.

The Twelve #6

By J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston

Straczynski has taken a lot of flack for his work on established characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. I’ll admit that I’ve dished some of it out, too. However, when JMS gets to work on characters he’s created he’s once again one of the best writers around. The Twelve aren’t exactly his own inventions. They’re obscure heroes from the Golden Age of comics, which means that most fans had never even heard of them before. I hadn’t even heard of some of them, and I’m a Golden Age history buff. And that means that JMS gets to put his own stamp on them, updating them and giving them characteristics and inconsistencies and personalities and depth. So far, it’s been a wonder to behold. Each issue reveals a new layer for at least one of the characters. In this issue, we see further progress for the Laughing Mask- arrested for a crime he committed back in the ‘40s- and the Black Widow- as the original goth vixen. But the big changes are reserved for Rockman and the Phantom Reporter. The Phantom Reporter has been our narrator and our point-of-view character for the story so far. With this issue, we see him continue to struggle to adapt to his new surroundings and finally decide that the only way he can fit in is through his costumed identity. As for Rockman, we are finally told the truth about his origin. It’s a sad story, full of sorrow, and his superiors decide that he’s actually better off not knowing. Chris Weston is the perfect artist for this story, as well. He does a great job of drawing faces, differentiating them from one another and depicting a variety of emotions. And he’s able to bring intensity to every scene, even those that don’t feature fights or costumes or capes- even those that feature the Phantom Reporter slumped over his typewriter with writer’s block. So far, The Twelve measures up to JMS’ other original takes on superheroes, Rising Stars and Supreme Power.

Madman Atomic Comics #9

By Mike Allred

Madman has been maddeningly inconsistent. Mike Allred has intentionally turned Madman into an experimental comic. Some of the experiments have been admirable, such as the issue in which he drew every panel in the different style of artists he admired. Some of the experiments have failed fairly spectacularly. A few of the storytelling choices have been misguided- such as combining Madman’s first love and It! Girl into one person so that he can love two women at once. I think it was supposed to be romantic, but I found it to be revolting. However, a few of the issues have been, well, genius and that’s how I would describe this particular issue. The basic story is surprisingly simple. Madman, Mr. Gum and It! Girl are fighting these weird creatures from another dimension that look like windsocks with Rolling Stones lips on one end. It! Girl is knocked out on the first page and the other two heroes are left scrambling to fight the monsters and rescue the girl. Eventually, the other Atomics enter the story- some zooming in on a flying saucer and others walking home with the groceries. So it’s not that this is an amazing story. It’s that it’s told in an amazing way. I’m not sure I can even describe it in a way that does it justice. Basically, the story progresses in three different ways: the art depicting the action, dialogue of running commentary between Madman and Mr. Gum, and boxes of Madman’s thoughts. Each of these progresses the story in a different way. You can read just the dialogue and understand the story on one level. You can read just the inner monologue and understand the story on a different level. Or you can jump back and forth to get an even richer story. The art is as full of depth as the words. Each page is a double splash and the stores in the background show us how the fight is progressing down the street. There are full figures in action in the foreground, with usually multiple images of Madman and a wildly contorted Mr. Gum. And there are Easter Eggs in the background as Mike Allred pays homage to friends and stores. I found it to be an incredible issue, engaging on so many levels. But you do have to be in the right frame of mind for it. I talked to my wife about it and she complained that she wasn’t willing to work that hard to make sense of the story. Madman has become an experimental comic. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes it works for one person while not working for another. This issue, however, worked wonders for me.

Invincible #50

By Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker

Another wow! Robert Kirkman has been building up to this issue for a long time and it was worth it. I’m blown away. This is what comic books are supposed to be about. Okay, enough gushing. What was so great about it? Well, there are the moments that make you gasp in fear, such as the scene in which Clarence Steadman turns off the subterfuge setting on the white room and Invincible sees that he’s up against an armada of undead soldiers. There are the moments that make you want to cheer, such as the scene in which Invincible flies away as fast as he can in order to get out of the range of the transmitter that’s messing with his inner ear equilibrium. There are the moments when the art takes your breath away and you just want to savor it, such as the scene in which Clarence Steadman uses the teleportation door to follow Invincible across the country. There are the moments that make you smile, such as Invincible’s declaration of romantic feelings for Atom Eve. And there are moments that make you laugh, such as Invincible’s half-brother’s reaction to that same kiss. “Gross!” Plus, there’s so much more that makes this issue great. Clarence Steadman has been like a father figure to Invincible ever since he own father was forced to leave the planet. Now, Invincible has to fight another father and you can tell that it hurts him. Then there’s the back-up story telling you the origin of Clarence Steadman. Kirkman makes you hate him and feel sorry for him in the same issue. That’s pretty impressive. And of course, there’s a Science Dog back-up story which is just plain ol’ fun. I just don’t have enough superlatives for this issue. But I do know that I can’t wait to read the next issue. And I also know that I want to read this one all over again.

Green Lantern Corps #25

By Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Unlike some of the other comics I read this past week, I don’t have much to say about Green Lantern Corps. It was just a good solid story. There was a lot of great action, as the Lanterns fight off the Black Mercy plants. There were a couple of nice twists. First, as Mother Mercy reveals herself and explains the origin and the purpose of these plants. And second, as Mongul makes his move against the Lanterns. The origin story gives you an entirely different perspective on the Black Mercy. You suddenly understand why these plants would exist in the first place, and how they were designed for good before Mongul misused them for evil. And the fight does a great job of demonstrating the resolve of the different Lanterns. Almost every Lantern gets a page or a scene which highlights them- Arisia, Soranik Natu, Kyle Rayner, and so on. It’s simply an exceptional use of an ensemble cast and an action story that’s well worth reading.

Chuck #1

By Peter Johnson, Zev Borow and Jeremy Haun

Almost every year, I find that one new show that becomes an immediate favorite. In 2004, it was Lost. In 2006, it was Heroes. And in 2007, it was Chuck. So I was pleased when I discovered that DC had obtained the license to publish Chuck comics through their Wildstorm imprint. This first issue was decent but not great. Some of the good stuff: there was an amusing opening in which Chuck dreamed that he and his friends were the cast of Gilligan’s Island. The writers did a good job of capturing the annoying yet amusing chatter of Chuck’s co-workers. The artist did a good job of capturing the feel of the tv show- as with Sarah’s sunny entrance- while also using the strengths of a comic book- such as showing a cross-section of the secret base. And they did a great job of making this a big story, by having several of Chuck’s former adversaries all escape prison together. Yet it wasn’t a perfect comic. The artist didn’t always do a good job of capturing facial likenesses, and I found myself occasionally confused as to whether I was looking at a spruced-up Chuck or his rival Blaine. Chuck’s almost precognitive flashes as the Intersect are a big part of the television show and they didn’t really capture the feel of that for the comic book. And I don’t think that the writers did a good job of showing the relationship between Chuck’s sister and her boyfriend “Awesome” in the limited time that they were shown. It made me feel like the understood some of the characters, but not all of them. Chuck #1 was a decent comic, but not a great one and not quite as good as I would want it to be.

Booster Gold #10

By Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz and Dan Jurgens

Put this in the same category as Green Lantern Corps. Good fun, plenty of action, solid story-telling, decent characterization- only good things to say but not a lot to say other than that. This issue is part of the “Blue and Gold” story in which Booster Gold uses his newfound access to time-travel to go back and save his best friend, Blue Beetle, from his death at the hands of Max Lord. The rescue hasn’t gone as planned. He saved Blue Beetle, sure, but now the two of them are flitting through time fleeing from both their allies and their enemies. Rip Hunter is still trying to track down Booster Gold for interfering with the time stream. And several time-travelers are trying to kill Blue Beetle, including Despero and a Blue Beetle dressed in black. The cover teases us that somebody will successfully kill Blue Beetle but we won’t be able to guess who it is. I did guess actually. I knew that Blue Beetle is basically a decent guy and he would sacrifice himself to save the time stream if that’s what was needed. And, not surprisingly to me, that’s exactly what happens near the end of the issue. However, that’s not quite the end of the story as Booster Gold is pulled one million months into the future in the wake of the Blue Beetle’s death. So I guess I did have something bad to say about this issue, after all: I guessed the ending based on the cover. But I really enjoyed the story that got us to that point. And truthfully, I had a feeling we were eventually going to have to get to that ending from the moment that Booster Gold first saved Blue Beetle several issues ago. So it’s not as if this issue failed to deliver on a surprise so much as it is fulfilled the story you knew it had to tell from the beginning.

Angel: After the Fall #8

By Joss Whedon, Bryan Lynch and others

I was really looking forward to the “First Night” issues- the three issues that would tell us what happened on the first night after the end of Angel season five and how the various characters came to be in the places they were in at the beginning of Angel: After the Fall. Unfortunately, the sum total of these issues has been disappointing. There have been a few gems in there, such as John Byrne’s story in rhyme of Lorne’s founding of a new sanctuary. But mostly, they’ve just been vignettes. Even though they’re short stories, I would have still liked each story to have a beginning, a middle and a end. Also unfortunately, the quality of each issue has been less than the one before. Which means that this third issue was the worst of the three. The art on the “Gwen” story was bad- Gwen looked different depending on the angle. The art on the “civilians” story was even worse. At least the art on the “Gunn” story at the end was decent, but it was still of “fill-in” quality rather than the excellence that we had been seeing earlier in the series. The stories didn’t have much meat to them either. Gwen almost makes out with a guy- who is supposed to be drawn as if the part was being played by Nathan Fillion, but Fabio Mantovani’s Nathan Fillion is drawn even more inconsistently than his Gwen. Then Gwen doesn’t make out with him. Then she gets her powers back. Then she accidentally kills him. The story explains how Gwen got her powers back, but not why she’s now one of the good guys. The civilian story is supposed to be a love story in the midst of the apocalypse. I would’ve liked for it to work, but it didn’t. Neither character is sympathetic enough for us to really care whether or not they find love. Again, the Gunn story is the best. We see how Gunn became a vampire. And we see that Gunn still hates other vampires despite being one of them. It’s a good, but not great, beginning for him. But it’s not enough to carry the issue on its own and would’ve been one of the weaker stories in the first issue. Oh well. Next issue brings us back to the story we started with, and hopefully the quality we started with as well.

Recent Reviews: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Justice Society of America and more…

It’s been a while since I reviewed a batch of new comics (since February, to be precise). So it’s about time I do it again.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #15
by Drew Goddard and Georges Jeanty:

Wow. Issue fifteen is the excellent conclusion to the “Wolves at the Gate” story by Drew Goddard. It has pretty much everything you would want. It opens with a death scene shown from the perspective of the person who’s dying and the unspoken declaration of love for Xander by Renee. As a Buffy fan, you feel great remorse for Xander. This isn’t the first time that he’s lost someone he loves to this crusade. There’s also a big fight scene between a cadre of slayers and an army of vampires. Goddard and Jeanty do a great job of balancing the big fight with individual battles within the larger melee, especially focusing on more familiar characters like Willow. So, yeah, there’s a witch fight between Willow and Kumiko which is probably the best magic-on-magic fight I’ve seen since the wizard’s duel in “The Fellowship of the Ring.” There’s another great fight between giant Dawn and Mecha-Dawn. Hey, if you’re going to Tokyo, you might as well have a scene that pays homage to Godzilla. That particular scene is made even better by the supportive commentary from Andrew, whose entire life has been leading up to this moment. Besides the great fights, there’s also plenty of humor and subtle character moments. My one complaint is that it was occasionally difficult to distinguish between Dracula and Twilight. Considering that one is the chief villain and the other a temporary but untrustworthy ally that was a significant detail. Even so, with all of the other good stuff going on in this issue, the best was probably the relationship between Dracula and Xander. We see that Dracula really does care for Xander. And we see Xander grow in his relationship with Dracula, finally standing up to him. Buffy is a great series and this was a great issue.

Justice Society of America #16
by Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham

I had been looking forward to the Kingdom Come story-line but lately, JSA has seemed a little slow. I suppose you could accuse this issue of being slow as well as the story isn’t progressed that far in the issue. But in this case, that’s not a problem as the issue itself is so well done. The basic plot is pretty simple. Magog has just been killed and in his place stands Gog. The Justice Society doesn’t know quite what to do. The real story is in their reaction. Some call Gog “a god.” Others are in disbelief. They follow Gog around as he gives gifts of life to the African natives. The heroes aren’t sure if they should stop him or help him. There are some great scenes including a stand-off between Mr. Terrific and Amazing Man as they debate the value of the scientific approach and the approach of faith. Yet the surprising heart of this story has to do with Damage. Johns opens the issue with a quick run-down of Damage’s life from his own point of view. We discover that Damage’s name is more than just a description of his powers. It’s also an apt description of Grant himself. He’s been damaged by a life history filled with abandonment and abuse. So it’s not surprising that Damage is one of the heroes most skeptical of Gog. It is surprising how Gog reacts to Damage: smiling and then healing him outside and in. There’s no big fight in this issue of JSA. But it’s a very good issue anyway, raising questions and issues in a way that is neither one-sided nor trite. And it’s definitely an issue that makes you want to come back for the next one, just to see how it will all work out in the end.

Noble Causes #34
by Jay Faerber and Yildiray Cinar

Noble Causes continues its excellent return from a planned hiatus with this issue. There’s a big battle with a giant Pharaoh. But the real battle is the inter-family squabble as the team is torn apart by the accusation that Frost tried to rape Surge’s girlfriend Amy. The argument shows the rifts that already exist in the family- that Surge has never really felt that he fits in, and that many of the others don’t really trust Celeste who’s proven to be unfaithful in her relationships in the past. Of course, that’s just the argument on the table. Jay Faerber lets the audience in on even more secrets. So while we’re captivated by the current arguments, we’re also salivating at the thought of future arguments that will occur when other secrets get out- especially the arrangement between Doc’s current wife Olympia and his former wife Gaia. There are a couple of other nice features worth mentioning. For one, Yildiray Cinar continues to show his flexibility as an artist, drawing intimate family fights with close-ups and impersonal fights verse villains from afar, and even mixing in a flashback scene with a real Bronze Age feel to it. The other nice feature was the way in which Jay Faerber is building his own little world. He’s previously brought Venture and the Firebirds into Noble Causes. Now, he builds connections to his other title Dynamo 5 by including Captain Dynamo in the flashback and featuring Dynamo 5 villain Bonechill.

Wolverine: Dangerous Games
By Simon Spurrier and Ben Oliver, and Rick Remender and Jerome Opena

I’ve been getting into Wolverine quite a bit recently so I’ve started ordering a lot of these extra one-shots without reading the solicitation information. I found out from X-Axis that this particular issue was going to involve fox-hunting. While Paul O’Brien of that site was pretty cynical about the likelihood that this would be more treatise than story, I was still willing to give the issue a chance. Unfortunately, O’Brien was right. There are plenty of tidbits explaining to us why fox-hunting is unfair, wrong and evil. The hunters are shown to be either stupid or evil. Even the dogs are drawn in a way that makes them look like demons. Spurrier does try to give us a couple of twists to make the story worthwhile. The main hunter had actually planned to get Wolverine involved because he thought that Logan would be a more compelling prey than the foxes. And the hippy who first gets Wolverine involved in the protest turns out to be a traitor working for the hunter. But while that does give the story something more to go on, it doesn’t elevate it above its trite roots as a treatise against fox-hunting. The quote by Oscar Wilde at the end of the story only confirms that this is little more than a morality play. The one good thing is the Ben Oliver art, which has a crisp Carlos Pacheco-like look to it. The back-up is a little bit better. Wolverine is in Thailand, protecting a monastery from a crime syndicate. There’s a glimpse of romance and a brutal battle. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but that set-up usually works for Wolverine and it does here as well. My complaint this time is that Wolverine is again shown to be a remorseless killer. I think that particular characterization is off. He does have honor and remorse, even if he has to occasionally set them aside in order to get the job done. He’ll kill when he must, but he doesn’t take glee in it (as he did in the fox-hunt story). As he was once known to say, what he does isn’t very pretty and he’s at least aware of it.

Rann/Thanagar Holy War #1
By Keith Giffen and Ron Lim

I enjoyed the first Rann/Thanagar War, which was depicted in one of the mini-series leading up to Infinite Crisis. Despite my growing disinterest in DC comics right now (or should that be decreasing interest?), I went ahead and picked this up hoping to be able to recapture some of the enjoyment I felt a couple of years ago. The issue certainly started out okay. Katar Hol, aka Hawkman, is infiltrating his own people of Thanagar. He opposed the earlier war and is afraid the religious undercurrents of his society might lead to a second war. Adam Strange, the human who has relocated to Rann, is Hawkman’s ally in this. However, Adam Strange has discovered something sinister on Rann. Whereas Rann had always been a society centered on science, after the last war the Rannians have begun to embrace religion. Hawkman and Strange worry that the two fundamentalist viewpoints will lead to another war. This is the point at which I started to have my first problem with this comic. The Rann/Thanagar conflict had previously been used as a metaphor for the wars between science and religion. While I don’t think that particular conflict needs to exist in the way that it does, I at least have to admit that it does exist. However, now the Rann/Thanagar war is being shown as a battle between two religions. Again, there is both historical and current precedent for that situation. But I don’t really appreciate that religion is being shown as an entirely insidious force while all of the science-minded people are shown to be both rational and ethical. It’s a little too narrow a viewpoint, even for comics. I much prefer the openness I saw in JSA. I wouldn’t write this series off just for that. After all, it’s early and the conflict may yet twist into something else. But I am admittedly leery at this point. That concern was joined by another as the story seemed to stall as it continued. Keith Giffen is working with a large cast. After introducing Hawkman, Adam Strange and the current conflict, he then proceeds to introduce the new Captain Comet (just “Comet,” sorry), Tigorr of the Omega Men, Prince Gavyn of Throneworld (Starman III) and others. Not all of these characters tie into the story immediately, though I suspect they will at some point. However, that made the issue a series of introductions rather than a story. Giffen would have been better off holding back on some of those introductions until the second issue so that more of the story could have been played out in this one. I did enjoy aspects of this comic. I liked the Ron Lim art and it certainly started out well. But I’m not sure I enjoyed enough of this issue to pick up the second one.

Star Wars: Rebellion 14
By Jeremy Barlow and Colin Wilson

At one point, Rebellion was the weakest of the Star Wars titles. That’s no longer the case. The current arc, “Small Victories,” has been the best of this title so far and one of the better Star Wars stories of the year. This conclusion continues the quality. The issue opens with an opportunity for Colin Wilson to show off. Being a Star Wars artist requires the ability to draw technology. Wilson does a great job here depicting multiple Star Destroyers in the midst of evasive maneuvers, a collision and a crash. Later on, Wilson will get another shot with a beautiful B-wing splash page followed by a second space battle. The story is just as strong. Luke, Leia and the other members of the Rebellion strike team are desperate to get off of the planet now that their main objective has been achieved. And there’s a tense moment as they debate whether or not to look for Deena Shan before they depart. As one pilot notes, they don’t even know if she’s alive or dead. Deena has become a real star in this story and Barlow and Wilson do an incredible job of portraying her. Wilson draws her with blood and tears while Barlow gives her dialogue with a powerful mix of tenacity and resignation. We know that the budding romance between Deena and Luke won’t work out, but it’s fun to see it start to blossom anyway.

Captain Britain and MI:13 #2
By Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk

After an excellent first issue, the second issue of Captain Britain and MI:13 is a bit of a step backwards. That’s not to say that it isn’t a good issue. It just isn’t as great as the first. The Leonard Kirk art is occasionally breath-taking. I loved the splash page of the Skrull armada and the picture of the Black Knight’s body being split apart. Plus, there are some great story moments. Faiza Hussain is turning into an interesting character. With Faiza in this book and Dust in Young X-Men, Marvel is creating a couple of very strong Muslim characters. And I appreciated that none of the current heroes were able to pull the sword from the stone. It was a good twist on the usual tale, and it fits what we know of Pete Wisdom and “John Lennon.” Unfortunately, the story does get a little complicated at points. Tink comes out of nowhere in this story and I’m not entirely sure how Oberon is supposed to fit in with Otherworld (the home of the Captain Britain corps currently being invaded by Skrulls). It’s possible these things make sense to people who have read Cornell’s “Wisdom” mini-series but they’re a little confusing here. However, the first issue was strong enough and there are enough good moments here that I’ll definitely be back for another issue. Plus, how could I pass up getting a chance to read about a super Skrull magical monster with all of earth’s mystical items at his disposal?

Going Back to the Golden Age

Written by Chris Fluit

Friday, 24 August 2007

It’s not unusual for two people to have the same idea at the same time.  Nikola Tesla and Guigliemo Marconi worked on their wireless radios contemporaneously.  What’s true in science is also true in entertainment.  Volcano and Dante’s Peak both appeared in theatres in 1997.  Antz and A Bug’s Life entered theatres within a month of each other in 1999.  In comics, friends Len Wein and Roy Thomas created separate swamp creatures Swamp Thing and Man-Thing in 1971.  And now, it seems like everybody has the same idea again: let’s resurrect some Golden Age characters.  This summer, three separate companies announced upcoming titles featuring Golden Age characters. Admittedly, it’s not unusual for comics to star Golden Age characters.  At DC, Superman and Batman star in multiple titles while Wonder Woman is one of their longest-running heroes.  The Justice Society of America is one of their biggest team books and it features several characters who debuted in the Golden Age plus others who have ties to the Golden Age.  SHAZAM, formerly of Fawcett, starred in two new mini-series this year.  Even Marvel plays with some of their Golden Age characters.  They made big news earlier in the year by killing off Captain America.  And Sub-Mariner is starring in his own mini-series while also appearing in other series such as Avengers: Illuminati.  Many Golden Age characters are still around and are active, major figures in the current comic book universes.  And yet, the new titles that were announced this summer are unusual.  They aren’t going to feature long-running and still popular Golden Age characters.  Instead, they’re each going to resurrect Golden Age characters which have been dormant for a long time.  Many of these characters have fallen outside the lines of copyright protection and are now in the public domain.  Indeed, that’s a big reason why the current companies are going to tell stories with the older characters: because they can.  Some of the characters haven’t seen publication since the 1940s.   But I guess the time is right to bring them back.  Why else would three separate groups at three separate companies all come up with such similar ideas? SUPERPOWERS by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Dynamite Of the three projects, this is the one that I’m most excited about.  This isn’t Alex Ross’ first crack at a nostalgia book.  Indeed, from Marvels to Justice to covers for Battle of the Planets and Space Ghost, Ross’ career seems to be defined by looking backwards.  And personally, I have no problem with that.  With the notable exception of Kingdom Come (which did have some nostalgic elements, as well), I’ve always preferred Ross’ backward looking books than his forward looking works like Earth X.  You can feel the passion in the pages.  And Ross does a great job of bringing the readers along with him.  The early artwork looks powerful.  It features some of the most popular characters of the era like the original Daredevil, now renamed The ‘Devil so as to avoid confusion (and lawsuits) with Marvel’s current star.  There’s also the Black Terror, one of the Nedor heroes who most recently appeared in Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics titles Tom Strong and Terra Obscura.  There’s the Flame, one of Fox’s “big three” characters who somehow didn’t manage the second life of other characters such as his housemate the Blue Beetle.  There’s the Mask and Masquerade (the new name for Miss Masque).  There’s the Green Lama, the Yellow Claw and a whole lot more.    I’m actually a big of a Golden Age buff.  I’ve got history books about the era.  I’ve got reprint books featuring these characters.  I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for them.  And I’m eager to see a story that looks to be both exciting and respectful. The Next Issue Project by Erik Larsen and Image Of the three projects, this is the one I’m most likely to pass on without even trying it.  The basic premise is this: Erik Larsen and other Image creators will create the “next issue” of a canceled Golden Age comic whose characters are now in the public domain.  For example, we’ll get a peak at Shock Comics #45 featuring Shock Gibson, Crack Comics #63 featuring Captain Triumph and the Clock and Fantastic Comics #24 featuring Samson, the third of Fox’s “big three.” My interest level could change depending on the announced creative teams.  The cover to Crack Comics appears to be drawn by Mike Allred and if he’s contributing more than a cover, I could be convinced to give it a try.  But if it’s primarily an Erik Larsen project, then I’m not that interested.  I’m not a big Erik Larsen fan in the first place.  I’ve enjoyed his work here on there.  I liked the early Savage Dragon and his Aquaman work wasn’t bad- it just seemed that way because he followed Peter David on the title.  However, I haven’t enjoyed Erik Larsen’s work when he’s gone for nostalgia.  For example, I didn’t enjoy his Defenders work with Kurt Busiek at all.  He brought such a strong ‘70s sensibility to the project that it had the tendency to exaggerate the stylistic flaws of the time.  It may have been meant as a tribute, but it came off more like an unintentional parody.  And I’m concerned that he would do the same thing here.  He would try to make it too Golden-Agey.  It wouldn’t actually be true to the Golden Age.  Instead, it would be an exaggerated Golden Age, one that would appeal to neither modern fans nor real Golden Age buffs.  At least, that’s my fear.  I’d be happy to have Erik Larsen prove me wrong.   The Twelve by J. Michael Straczynski, Chris Weston and Marvel   I won’t say that I’m excited about this project.  But I am intrigued by it.  I’ve had some problems with Straczynski’s work over the past couple of years.  He doesn’t seem to be able to work well with other people’s creations.  He updates them or gives them new voices which are inconsistent and sometimes outright contradictory to what’s gone before.  So I don’t really trust JMS to tell me a good story with someone else’s characters.  However, I’m willing to make an exception for something like the Twelve.  In this case, JMS is supposed to update the characters.  And they don’t need to be completely consistent with the Golden Age originals- most of those old Marvel characters didn’t have much in the way of distinctive characteristics anyway.  Furthermore, I don’t have as much of an objection to radical updates of characters that have been out of print for so long as opposed to characters that I’ve been currently following.  Alan Moore’s version of the Nedor heroes that appeared in Tom Strong and Terra Obscura had some pretty modern takes on the characters and I didn’t mind one bit.  And finally, I really enjoyed JMS’ work on Supreme Power for the first year and a half.  That seems pertinent as that was another case of JMS putting his own spin on a pre-existing set of characters, but doing so in a brand new environment. I could be up for a modern take on obscure Golden Age characters, if it’s done well.  It’s a much more intriguing idea than what Image is doing.  But it’s also a much bigger risk than what Alex Ross is doing.  I’m excited about Ross’ respectful take, but JMS’ update could be the best of the bunch.  If its not the worst.  Anyway, it looks to be a great year for Golden Age characters.  Some of them are about to see publication for the first time in more than 60 years.  And with three very different takes, there should be something for everyone, even if you don’t own the same history books I do.     Which of these projects sparks your interest? Come discuss it at the Captain Comics Message Board: Fluit Notes

Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 August 2007 )

 

Ranking the ‘90s Universes

I love the ‘90s. I’m not afraid to admit it. I loved the explosion of new companies and new characters. One of the things that I enjoy about comics is the ability to immerse myself in new worlds, to explore and to wonder. I remember a Silver Age fan describing his reaction to the first meeting between the Justice League of America and the Justice Society: “You mean there’s another team of superheroes that we don’t know about? A whole other earth? That’s amazing!” The discovery of the Justice Society was exciting to that Silver Age fan. In a similar way, the opening up of all of these new universes in the ‘90s was exciting to me. There’s yet another world to explore? There’s yet another set of characters to meet? That’s incredible!

 

Even so, I didn’t like every one of the new universes. There were bad ones. And some of the good ones were better than others. So here is my ranking of the ‘90s universes.

 

1. Valiant

 

The best comic book company of the early ’90s was Valiant. You could even argue that Valiant had more consistent quality than either DC or Marvel, but since I’m only ranking the new companies I don’t have to bother with that. Valiant seemed to have everything. Valiant had a strong core of writers. Jim Shooter surrounded himself with industry pros like Bob Layton and David Michelinie. Valiant had great art. Barry Windsor-Smith was the star artist for the company but Valiant would also see contributions from such artists as Joe Quesada, Bart Sears, Dave Cockrum and Rags Morales. Valiant had great characters. One of the smartest moves that Jim Shooter made as editor was acquiring the rights to Gold Key’s Silver Age properties Dr. Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter and Turok. Some comics’ fans have long memories. This was a great way of appealing to them and getting a core of readers on-board. Yet Valiant didn’t simply rely on their licensed heroes. They also invented interesting new characters like Eternal Warrior, Shadowman and X-O Manowar.

 

However, Valiant was more than just the right mix of ingredients. There was something else that made Valiant stand out from the rest. I think that Valiant had a natural-ness to it that is hard to describe. It actually reminds me of what Jim Shooter was trying to accomplish with the New Universe in 1986. Comic books had become so chock-full of colorful characters and super-villains and alternate dimensions, that they sometimes seemed detached from reality. We were reading about wonderful worlds, but not our world. Shooter had been trying to recapture an “our world” feeling with the New Universe but failed, in part because he took too much of the fantastic out. With Valiant, Jim Shooter and his compatriots seemed to strike the right balance. They still had alien races and dark dimensions. But Valiant also had a real feel to it. The colorful heroes were surrounded by ordinary people- secretaries and hotel clerks and scientists who weren’t the victims of their own experiments. The colorful heroes interacted with real events like car crashes and when people died, they stayed dead. Plus, not all of the heroes were colorful. Some of them opted for trench coats or leather jackets, even if they were 6000-year old immortals. But that only seemed to make them more interesting. When you read Valiant, you felt that you were reading “our world” with a little bit of the fantastic spread on top. And it was fascinating. My only complaint is that Valiant seemed light on villains. It seemed like every hero had the same two nemeses: Master Darque and Dr. Eclipse. It would have been nice to have a bit more variety in terms of adversaries.

 

2. Milestone

 

Milestone comics may have had a DC distributor logo in the corner but they were still their own company and their own universe. And in my opinion, Milestone was second only to Valiant as the best of the ‘90s universes. Like Valiant, Milestone seemed to have the mix of everything. Valiant coalesced around Jim Shooter and the talented professionals who were still willing to work with him. Milestone was more of a group project as black creators considered ways to make their mark on the industry. This group included both writers like Dwayne McDuffie and artists like Denys Cowan. That meant that Milestone was the only other company that could claim consistent quality in terms of story and of art. They also had strong characters. Some of their core characters were reminiscent of iconic characters from the big two- Icon was like Superman, Hardware like Iron Man, and Static was sometimes compared to a Silver Age Spider-Man. Yet they had their own distinct personalities and identities. Milestone had great characters.

 

The one thing that Valiant had that Milestone didn’t was scope. The Milestone group chose to fill a specific niche. They created minority characters. At first their main characters were all black but they expanded to include other minorities, such as the Korean Xombi, before they were done. And they focused on one setting- the urban Midwestern city of Dakota. Valiant, on the other hand, seemed to fill every niche: future, past and present, out in space and all over the world.  Milestone comics were great to read, but they didn’t always have the sense of wow that you would find in Valiant. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Milestone identified a niche, chose to fill it and did it well. Their sights were set a little lower but they succeeded. That’s probably better than setting their sights too high, trying to be everything, and failing.

 

3. Image

 

It’s pretty hard to classify Image. Valiant comics had a unity to them. Milestone comics had a common vision. The only thing that Image had in common was that a bunch of artists and writer/artists wanted to be left alone to do their own thing. They were wildly successful at first. However, that success had an unforeseen consequence. Individual universes began to coalesce around the six original artists. It wasn’t that long before Image felt like six companies instead of one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it hard to rank Image. Some of those studios put out consistently excellent work and could have ranked above Milestone or even challenged Valiant for the top. Other studios had significant problems and could have been ranked near the bottom of this list. Splitting the difference, Image falls right in the middle.

 

The one thing that is unique to Image is that Image was, at least at first, an artist’s haven. It was founded by six artists: Erik Larsen, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. Some of them may have had experience as writers, but they were primarily known as artists. Image comics looked good. I know that some older fans would disagree with that statement but I’d remind them that the even older fans didn’t like the new wave of Neal Adams, Jim Steranko and Barry Windsor-Smith when they first appeared on the scene. Image comics did look good. They were bright and flashy and pleasing to look at. But they didn’t have writers, and they didn’t want writers. Some of the artists proved that they could do well enough on their own. Others realized that they needed stories as well as art. Jim Lee, for example, brought in established writers like Chris Claremont and Alan Moore as well as up-and-comers like Kurt Busiek and Warren Ellis, making his Wildstorm the best by far of the Image studios. Yet some of the studios didn’t learn right away. Rob Liefeld’s Awesome/Extreme studios published Youngblood spin-off titles that seemed even more derivative than the parent title. That isn’t a complete condemnation of Awesome/Extreme by the way. There were some exciting, action-filled issues in there and I enjoyed many of them. I don’t hate Awesome comics; I simply recognize that they’re not as good as others. Plus, while Liefeld may have been slower to react, he eventually had writers such as Jeph Loeb and Alan Moore work for his imprint.

 

4. Ultraverse

 

Ultraverse comics seem to be the mirror image of, uh, Image. While Image was the artist’s haven, Ultraverse was the writer’s hang-out. The universe was crafted by nine founding fathers, all of whom were writers. The group included industry vets like Steve Engelhardt, Steve Gerber and Mike Barr. It also included newer guys like James Robinson and Gerard Jones. While Image comics were sometimes sub-par because of their lack of writers, Ultraverse comics varied widely in terms of quality of art. They were able to find some established artists to contribute such as Barry Windsor-Smith, who worked his way over from Valiant to help create Rune, and George Perez, who contributed pencils to the big crossover Break-Thru and the team title Ultraforce. And they did a good job at unearthing future talents such as Terry Dodson, who started out on Mantra and now works on DC’s Wonder Woman, and Aaron Lopresti, whose first regular title was Sludge and now works on Ms. Marvel. Despite those successes, the art in the Ultraverse was sometimes sub-standard. The new guys went through their growing pains, and the universe had more titles than quality artists.

 

However, the art isn’t the only reason why Ultraverse ranks lower than Image. Normally, I would think that I would take writers-without-artists over artists-without-writers. Yet despite being the writer’s hang-out, the Ultraverse didn’t have the kind of originality that you might expect. A lot of their characters seemed like obvious derivatives, even more so than characters at Milestone or Image. Prototype was too much like Iron Man, Sludge too much like Swamp Thing, Prime too much like SHAZAM. And when they were all put together on a team, the Ultraforce trio of Hardcase, Prototype and Prime seemed a lot like The Avengers’ Captain America

, Iron Man and Thor. Plus, some of the original ideas didn’t work as well as you might have liked. The 1,000 year old man reincarnated in a woman’s body for the first time seemed like a good idea but the execution in Mantra didn’t pan out. And, like Valiant, the Ultraverse seemed to be short of great villains. There was Rune and Lord Pumpkin, but not much more than that.  Despite those complaints, I’m still a fan of the Ultraverse. It was new and exciting. Prime did offer an interesting twist on the SHAZAM icon. Topaz may have been a lot like DC’s Maxima, but Topaz was easily the better character. I may prefer Valiant or Jim Lee’s Wildstorm, but I still enjoy reading Ultraverse comics.

 

5. Dark Horse: Comics’ Greatest World

 

Finally, we come to the bottom of the barrel. While I may acknowledge certain flaws in Image or Ultraverse titles, I still enjoy and defend those comics. I can’t say the same thing for Dark Horse’s Comics’ Greatest World. Dark Horse was accused of being late onto the bandwagon and launching a superhero line in response to the success of the other companies. Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson defended the company saying that these titles and this world had been in development since 1990, years before some of these other companies were founded. Well, if that’s true, these titles should have stayed in development even longer. Part of the problem is that Dark Horse tried to launch 16 titles all at once. While some of the other companies quickly grew to that, they all started out at least a little smaller. Image had six titles at first, the Ultraverse eight. And those companies had trouble maintaining quality as they grew. By starting out with 16 titles, Dark Horse had quality problems from the start. There may have been a few gems in there, but they were buried under a glut of garbage.

 

Dark Horse did have a few hits. Barb Wire got a little bit of fire with the “bad girl” crowd and even had a movie starring Pamela Lee Anderson. Ghost got a little bit of smoke with the “good girl” crowd and is still known for some beautiful Adam Hughes art. And X seemed to do okay as a vigilante, lasting about 45 issues. But the bulk of the line was a dismal failure. Some of the titles had bad writing, others bad art. And some were simply bad ideas. Despite their grandiose title, Comics’ Greatest World was actually the worst.

 

And those were the new universes of the ‘90s. Two I would recommend to pretty much anyone. Two I would recommend to some. One I would recommend to none.

 

The comics of the ‘90s take a lot of flak from older fans who didn’t like the new developments (sound familiar?) but for a new fan, it was a great time. There were so many new characters to meet and new worlds to explore. And it seemed like the possibilities were endless.

(Originally Published at CaptainComics.us on March 30, 20007, Ranking the '90s Universes )

New Reviews: Birds of Prey, Exiles and more

It seems like a lot of the comics I read recently had something new going on: new creative teams, new story directions, that sort of thing. So here are some reviews of the first and second issues of something new. 

New Creative Teams:

 
Exiles #90 is the kind of comic that you know whether or not you’re going to like it before you even open the cover. It’s written by Chris Claremont and if his mannerisms annoy you then they’ll annoy you in this issue, too. There’s his sometimes heavy-handed exposition. Then there are his favorite supporting characters that he loves to use in every title, like Roma and Psylocke. But if you like those things (and personally, I’m fond of Psylocke), or if they don’t annoy you all that much, then you might have a good time. The story moves along at a brisk pace. There’s a bit of humor and a bit of action. And there’s a pretty good cliffhanger ending between Psylocke and Sabretooth who have a history going all the way back to the Morlock Mutant Massacre. Even so, this issue comes up short in several ways. Several characters oddly refer to the insect-like Timbreakers as “lizards.” We get a full sparring match to break up the conversation with some action, but a real fight takes place off panel. The best thing about this issue is easily the Paul Pelletier art. And while this issue of Exiles might not a be bad story, the dialogue and plotting issues keep it from being a good one.

 

Wolverine 50: This issue introduces the new creative team of Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi. Over the past two years, Wolverine has seen some great heights and some awful lows. Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s “Enemy of the State” story was one of the best Wolverine stories ever written.
Daniel Way’s “Origins and Endings” was one of the worst. Loeb and Bianchi fall somewhere in the middle. Bianchi is a better fit on Wolverine than he was on Green Lantern. His moody art fits the characters better and he gets in some real menacing panels of Sabretooth.  But I still don’t think that Bianchi is a great artist. Sabretooth looks chunky rather than muscular in the two-page spread which should have been the artist’s chance to show off. Loeb’s story is straightforward action as Wolverine discovers that Sabretooth is living in the Xavier Mansion as part of Rogue’s team of X-Men and goes in to smack him around. It’s a good all-out fight, though we’ve seen it before. In Loeb’s defense, this is the first real Wolverine/Sabretooth fight of the current series so it has been awhile. It’s an okay start, but not more than that.

 

New Story Directions:

 

Birds of Prey 102: I like this new direction. I like having Oracle draw on a number of different superheroines as she needs them. And I like that she has a new opponent in Spy Smasher who is trying to take her down by exposing her rather than by trying to beat her up. I think that the Calculator was a slightly better foe, but I’m okay with Oracle having more than one nemesis. I do hope that the title doesn’t stay with a rotating cast but that Oracle eventually forms a rapport with a new core team. And much to my surprise, I’m hoping that the current Manhunter becomes a part of that new team. I think that there’s a good relationship in there as Huntress would suddenly find herself in the role of the responsible one to the Manhunter’s loose cannon. I don’t need all of the characters to keep coming back. Judomaster is a place-filler and Big Barda is a great guest character but she’s too powerful to be a permanent part of the cast. Whatever direction this title is heading in, I can at least say that I’m enjoying the trip.

 

She-Hulk 15: First things first: I love Greg Horn’s homage to Jim Steranko’s work on Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD. I also love the way that this title approaches all of the new situations that are thrust upon it by the titles around it. Dan Slott does a great job of playing with a scene from Civil War while also keeping character issues from his own title in the spotlight such as Doc Samson’s insistence that She-Hulk also spend some time as Jennifer Walters. And while others may disagree, I love the way that this title jumps with both feet into the new direction of having She-Hulk as an Agent of SHIELD. It’s as if Dan Slott has said, “If this is the direction we’re going in then we might as well have a blast doing it.” And it is a blast- She-Hulk in a SHIELD uniform, She-Hulk para-gliding off the SHIELD heli-carrier, Agent Cheesecake, and the Abomination hanging out in a Horndogs restaurant. There’s a lot of wit in this issue, as there is every time that She-Hulk is at her best.

 

Mostly New Mini-Series:

 

Star Wars: Dark Times 2: The lead character is former Jedi Dass Jennir and his story is an interesting one. He’s a former Jedi, not because he chose to leave the order but because the order no longer exists. And now Dass has to try and make his own way in the world, falling in with smugglers and falling in love. Dass’s new life is a curious balance of trying to stay true to his old ideals while admitting that the old ideals no longer fit the new life. Welles Hartley and Mick Harrison are also doing a good job of building a supporting cast around Dass, surrounding him with interesting aliens. My only complaint has to do with the depiction of Darth Vader. I just don’t like the way that Vader is portrayed in most of the post-Revenge of the Sith stories, whether it’s in the novels or the comics. When we first meet Darth Vader in the movies, he’s a dark, dangerous foe. In Dark Times, and other stories of the same time period, Vader is often portrayed as ineffectual. Here, he’s brooding and indecisive rather than forceful and menacing. I understand that he’s still growing into his role as galactic bogeyman but I admit to preferring him as a full-fledged foe.

 

Samurai: Heaven and Earth Vol. 2 #2: What a great series! The art by Luke Ross is amazing. He draws beautiful landscapes and beautiful people. He captures multiple cultures and multiple emotions. And he makes you wish you were actually there. Ron Marz’ story has a lot going for it as well. The first volume established the depths of the bonds of love between Asukai Shiro and the Lady Yoshida. It’s a great romantic tale as Shiro crosses heaven and earth to get back his lady love. That tale continues in this volume. However, while the first volume featured a lot of driving action, this volume is mixing things up with a bit of twisting action. Promotional art for the second series showed the Sahara desert but Marz ended the first issue with a cliffhanger in which Shiro finds out that Lady Yoshida has boarded a boat bound for the Americas. But just when we think that we’ve abandoned one continent for another, Marz turns us right around bringing us unexpectedly to the third. At first, I was disappointed that we wouldn’t be going to Africa. Now, I’m disappointed that we won’t be going to the Americas. And yet, I can’t help but admire how Marz has twisted the story and the reader around.

(Originally Published,Feb, 02, 2007 at CaptainComics.us)