Wednesday Comics, June 10th, 2009

It was a slow week, I only picked up 10 comics today, and yet I still managed to drop well over $150 at the comic store. How, you say? Read on!
My pull list is as follows:
Marvel
Uncanny X-Men #511
Fantastic Four #567
X-Factor #44
X-Men Forever #1
DC
Batman #687
Action Comics #878
The Flash Rebirth #3
Green Lantern Corps #37
JSA Vs. Kobra #1
Vertigo
Fables #85

This is most certainly a light week for me, which, at times, I look at as a blessing. With the sheer volume of titles coming out each and every week it can become very exhausting on one's wallet to be constantly dropping large amounts of coin on endless books. My Marvel titles were particularly sparse, though the X-Men were repping particularly strongly so let's talk about them for a little bit.

I've really enjoyed the direction that Uncanny has taken lately, I think the writing has just continued to improve with each issue. Uncanny #511 featured the return of one of my favorite characters to the regular X-Men universe (she had been shuffled off very quickly to the more peripheral X-titles not too long after her resurrection, where she has remained for the last several years) but now Psylocke is back! And let me tell you, she is as sultry as ever. There really isn't much else I want to say about Uncanny because now it's going to be gearing up for its crossover with Dark Avengers (which starts at the end of this month) and that's just going to be all kinds of awesome.

For Marvel what I really wanted to look at this week was X-Men Forever #1, Chris Claremont's triumphant return to the X-Men universe!
...Oh, wait, but didn't he return like 10 years ago to write Uncanny and X-Men? And then didn't he do like two volumes of Excalibur? And wasn't he on Exiles? And didn't he do that X-Men the End trilogy? And X-Treme X-Men? Umm.... so really this guy hasn't stayed away from the X-Men Universe at all. So why is there so much hype surrounding this title? Well back in 1991 Marvel decided that, with the growing popularity of the Uncanny X-Men, another X-Men title was needed, thus (adjectiveless) X-Men was created featuring art by the famed Jim Lee. Claremont left the title (and Marvel) by the third issue after a series of clashes with then Editor in Chief, Bob Harass, and the title was taken over by John Byrne for a short while until a regular writer could be found. X-Men Forever is Claremont's X-Men #4, or what he would have done had he stayed on the title for the long-haul. While the title's inaugural issue captures the feel of 90's X-Men, I know what's coming; I've seen the covers for the upcoming issues and I've read the solicits and it looks like it's going to be pretty painful. I don't think it would be fair for me to completely brush this title off after just one issue, but I'm not going to hold my breath. What it looks like to me is that Claremont is trying to take the X-Men in such a drastically different direction than what was actually done with them. Unfortunately the perception of this is that rather than it coming off as being a refreshing and edgy interpretation of classic characters and storylines, it seems like it's an opportunity for Claremont to say, this is how things should have been done had they been done right. It just doesn't sit well with me. I suppose time will tell.

In the DC universe we have some heavy hitters coming out this week in the form of Batman #687 featuring the new creative team of Judd Winick and Ed Benes. This title made me nervous, in fact, most of the current Batman titles are making me nervous; I'm still not sure how I feel about the Dick Grayson Batman, but I'm cautiously optimistic. Winick in particular worried me because the last few things I've read by him, well, they've been pretty lackluster. In terms of Winick's Batman? If this issue is any indication of the type of writing Winick will be bringing to the table, then sign me up. This issue had so much heart; there were several moments where I actually got choked up. This issue probably should have come out before Morrison's Batman and Robin because it deals with Dick's reluctance to take on Bruce's cape and cowl. There are several incredibly moving moments, one between Dick and Alfred, as well as another between Superman and Alfred. Alfred really stole the show for me, something this character has never done for me before. If Winick keeps this up I think this title will end up reclaiming its place as the fan favorite Batman title, as well it should be.

Finally for DC I want to talk about Flash Rebirth by Geoff Johns. This is a really tricky title and, unlike Green Lantern Rebirth, is NOT new-reader friendly. While Green Lantern Rebirth re-established Hal Jordan as a Green Lantern in a way that allowed new readers who were unfamiliar with the character to jump on-board, Barry Allen's reintroduction to the DC Universe in Flash Rebirth has been very hardcore-fan specific. I think at the end of the day the Flash legacy has become so bogged down in continuity that the character can be a turn-off to new readers. With Green Lantern it really comes down to the fact that he's a space cop with a ring that can create anything its wearer can imagine. The Flash, on the other hand, is someone with the capability to tap into the speedforce, granting the user superspeed. The Flash isn't the only individual throughout comic history who has been able to access this speedforce, but most of the other users are, at best, 3rd tier characters (can you tell me who Max Mercury and Johnny Quick are? I didn't think so). Explaining the science of the speedforce is complicated enough, but that's exactly what Johns is attempting to do in Flash Rebirth. I've been reading comics for quite a few years so I've been able to keep up, but the great thing about the idea of these "rebirth" titles is that they're reintroducing long dead characters to a whole new generation; this just isn't the way to do that. I have a good friend who I've been introducing to comics and he's fallen in love with Green Lantern; he was also interested in Flash Rebirth and picked up the first two issues and found it really difficult to understand. I am a huge fan of the Flash, but he is by no means someone with whom I have any degree of expertise (unlike the Avengers or the X-Men, which are universes in which I'm particularly well-versed) but it seems to me that this title is far more complex than it needs to be. While this is a great title if you are a DC fan, the disappointing thing for me lies in the fact that this title only serves to reaffirm the love that longtime fans already have for Barry Allen rather than to spark new interest in newer fans who've never encountered the character or had a chance to develop that love.

You may be wondering how I managed to spend so much money considering I only bought 10 comics this week. Well, thanks to DC Direct here's why:

If that isn't the fevered dreams of a nerd, I don't know what is :o)
Happy reading!

Mouse Guard Fall 1152 Review

On my weekly friend comic-run (I go at least twice a week to the comic store. Once on Wednesday by myself to pick up my monthly titles, and on Sunday with my friends) I generally pick up trades that spark my interest and this past week it was the paperback for David Petersen's Mouse Guard Fall 1152. Now the premise behind this book is simple enough, yet it's so incredibly charming. But let's make this simple, we'll start with:

What was Good.

The concept. What a fun idea. Admittedly it isn't that unique (for those of us who grew up loving the Secret of Nimh) but the execution is wonderful. In Mouse Guard we are ushered into a world within a world. Mice are so small that they've developed their own culture right under us. Their cities are built underneath fallen trees or within rock quarries; they cannot live in the open for fear of becoming easy prey for owls, foxes, snakes and other natural predators. The Mouse Guard serve, not only as protectors of these cities from these outside threats, but also as the brave soldiers who take on the task of traveling between cities as scouts, messengers and trailblazers. Plus these mice wield swords, and who isn't slightly curious to see the little buggers doing that?

The artwork and atmosphere. Petersen has such a crisp artistic style that, though he's working within a very fantastical realm, is anchored quite firmly in reality. These mice, aside from the cloaks they wear, look like real mice. The only drawback to this is the fact that, aside from the difference in fur color between each mouse, it's virtually impossible to tell them apart. Looking at the above image of the cover we see, from left to right, Lieam, Kenzie, and Saxon and you can see there is little to physically distinguish them. The atmosphere is dark, as one might expect in a world inhabited by mice, but it also reflects the year the story is set in. This was the year of Henry II of England and Louis VII of France, long before their more famous successors, Henry VIII and the Sun King Louis XIV. This is a world deeply set in what we anachronistically refer to as the "middle ages" or the medieval period; it is a culture that is in a constant struggle to exist.

The plot. Without offering too many spoilers, a small band of guardsman, while on a routine mission to find a mission grain merchant, uncover a plot to overthrow the Mouse Guard. Along the way they encounter a lost hero of wars past, as well as lose a valuable ally and stalwart friend. At the heart it is a story of betrayal and redemption. Of bravery and sacrifice. It is the makings of an epic on the smallest of scales.

What I felt could use improvement.

The dialogue. Or, to be fair, the lack thereof. I love comics, don't get me wrong. The blending of words and images is probably the best concept invented, but for me I place the words on a slightly higher plain than I do the images. I read Mouse Guard in about 15 minutes, and it's 200 pages. There just wasn't enough dialogue for me. Petersen certainly tends to rely more primarily on images to convey his story, but I feel that more dialogue would have given a far more distinct voice to each of the main characters, who at times came off as cliche. Lieam as the impetuous youth, Kenzie as the cautious and experienced guardsman, and Saxon as, well, another impetuous individual. It wasn't until close to the end where I felt Lieam's distinct personality started to surface. The sequel to this, Mouse Guard Winter 1152, which takes place shortly after the events in this book will be wrapping by the end of this summer, and once the trade comes out I'll offer another review, and hopefully in Winter 1152 the characters will be a little more fleshed out.

All in all I highly recommend this book. My friends were very surprised by my choice to pick this book up since I generally stay within my comfort zone of tights and capes, but there's a certain charm to the book that will make most willing readers instantly fall in love.

Wednesday Comics: June 3rd, 2009

I bid you welcome my weary comic pilgrim to this humble nerd abode for another edition of Wednesday comics. Not any overly heavy week in terms of volume, but certainly the quality was high. In no particular order, here's my pull list this week:
Marvel
Ultimate Spider-Man #133
Dark Avengers #5
Mighty Avengers #25
War of Kings #4
New Avengers: The Reunion #4
Ultimatum #4
Black Panther #5
New Mutants #2
Agents of Atlas #6
Captain Britain and MI13 Annual
DC
Batman and Robin #1
Secret Six #10
Superman: World of New Krypton #4
Wildstorm
The Authority #11

There were several titles I was looking forward to reading with great anticipation this week, as well as one title I nervously awaited the debut of, not because it was something I was optimistically looking forward to, but because I had a great degree of apprehension and numerous reservations about the potential for nearly unfathomable suckage. That's right, the "esteemed" writer Grant Morrison decided to unleash even more of his nigh incomprehensible gobbledy-gook on a poor and unsuspecting mass of innocent comic book aficionados who yearn for nothing more than a great Batman yarn. My problem with Morrison is this; it's one thing to have great ideas, but if you aren't capable of putting those ideas down on paper so that they're comprehensible to an audience that exists outside of your own head (that's right Mr. Morrison, you didn't invent the universe so it would be fair for you to assume that most of us do not think the same way you do), then you just aren't a very good writer. What James Joyce is to the world of literature, Grant Morrison is to comic books. Someone who is, without question, a genius, but exists so far inside of his own head that he has no idea how to translate his thoughts and feelings into something that the mass audience can relate to. And after all, that's what this is about. You're not writing for yourself Mr. Morrison, you're writing for each of the goobers (myself included) who are willing to shell out $3.99 every months only to watch you internalize the characters we each deeply love so much so that they become barely recognizable. I can't even count how many times I've read something written by Grant Morrison and after putting the book down feel like I've just failed a test (Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis, Superman Beyond, almost every one of the Seven Soldiers of Victory projects. I mean what in the holiest of fucks was that?). I'm a fairly well-read individual; I read untranslated middle-English poetry, I enjoy the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, Byron, Eliot, Yeats, and Stern, and if I'm finding an issue of Batman more difficult to grasp than Eliot's The Wasteland, there's something wrong (can someone PLEASE explain to me what the hell the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh was about? I actually feel parts of my soul melt off and turn into ketchup when I say that). Comics CAN be intelligent; comics CAN make relevant social, political and moral commentary; they don't have to be completely incomprehensible to do-so. Now I'm proud to say that, joining the ranks of Morrison's run on the Justice League in the late 90's, as well as his run on New X-Men (though that did have many of it's own problems) Batman and Robin seems like it could be on the right track. Issue #1 hits the ground running, but half way through we do get a sense of how the new Batman and the new Robin work together. This is very much a role reversal, we have a dark and brooding Robin and a lighter, more openly compassionate Batman. It's a unique dichotomy that I think needed a good shake-up. Morrison has said that this title will feature villains who are new to Gotham City, so don't expect this dynamic duo to go foiling the criminal deeds of the Penguin or the Riddler. We are briefly introduced to a criminal element new to Gotham in the Circus of Strange. Though just a glimpse, my worry with these characters is that they're another horrifying nightmare pulled from the depths of Grant Morrison's twisted psyche and reflect a deeply intrinsic examination on the nature of control and blah blah blah.... oh I'm sorry, did you zone out there for a little bit? I'm all for comics with consequences, and deeply seated turmoil, but sometimes it's refreshing to have Batman=good, Joker=bad. We'll see. I give this a tentative 3 out of 5.

The only other DC title I want to touch on this week is Secret Six #10. If you aren't reading this title right now, throw yourself on your sword because, frankly, your life isn't worth living. This book is Gail Simone at her finest. With a cast of unlikeable, wickedly-funny, morally ambiguous mercenaries for hire, this book is DC's brightest diamond in the rough (and with the books DC has been putting out lately, that's a lot of rough). What you can expect from this title is to fall in love with the most unlovable characters, laugh at the most horrific things and know you're probably going to hell, and to top it off, you'll get to experience a writer who understands that all you need is a story with real people, flaws and all, in unreal situations, and a little heart (it's there, trust me). If this very brief of introductions to the Secret Six intrigues you, I suggest you start by looking at their first appearance in Villains United #1, as well as their 6-issue miniseries that preceded their current ongoing title. You won't regret it, and if you do, chances are you can still throw yourself on your sword.

Let's hop across the pond and see what's shakin' in Norman Osborn's world. That's right, the Dark Reign is showing no signs of stopping over at Marvel, which was exemplified by the fact that half of the Marvel titles I purchased this week possessed the Dark Reign banner across the top of the front cover. Being that the Avengers hold the title of my top favorite team, you might expect that I would want to talk about the 3 Avengers titles that came out this week, but such is not the case. If you want to hear me gush about the Avengers, I will do so for you at any time you desire. No, this week I'd like to turn my gaze to the Ultimate Universe. My God what a horse's ass that turned out to be. It was almost 10 years ago when some genius at Marvel asked the question, "how can we introduce new readers to our beloved characters without them getting frustrated by the 40+ years of history that most of these characters come packaged with"? Well, why not make a new universe? Refresh these characters with modern origins, make them younger and more hip. That way it'll be easy for new readers to jump on board! Genius!
10 years later.....
Well, shit. Now all of these characters that we created 10 years ago with no convoluted continuity and tumultuous backgrounds now have convoluted continuity and tumultuous backgrounds. Enter Jeph Loeb. The man has quite an impressive track record: Batman Hush, The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Superman Batman. All great DC titles. His Marvel work, however, with the exception of Daredevil Yellow, which was pretty good (not great) hasn't been his best, which leads me to conclude that he's a double agent. He's "working" for Marvel, but really is sabotaging them under DC's watchful eye. How else can you explain his drastic dip in quality? And his work in the Ultimate Universe is the worst. The mentality behind is it, let's just kill a bunch of big characters, shock some readers, and then start over with whatever we have left. A plan with the elegance of a linebacker in heels. Now, I'm not suggesting that the Ultimate Universe was without it's flaws, but the concept just can't work over an extended period of time; you can't create something that is constantly being updated with new entries into it's continuity and not expect it to develop it's own complexity. And senselessly killing off characters is not the way to press the reset button. If anything it makes things worse because you'll turn away longtime fans who've come to love the differences in the Ultimate Universe, and you'll alienate potential new fans who come to the Ultimate Universe looking for a stepping-stone into the regular Marvel U because, at the end of the day, though the Ultimate line was always it's own thing, it still managed to capture the spirit of the regular Marvel U. New readers making the leap from the Ultimate to the regular universe might be shocked by how drastically disparate these two entities have become and in all honesty, the Ultimate line no longer reflects the love for it's characters and for it's stories that the regular Marvel U has always embraced. The callous disregard for these character's existence tells us that the Ultimate universe is not where ideas go to thrive, but rather to die. The one ever-present exception to this rule is Ultimate Spider-Man, a book that captured the heart of Peter Parker and his supporting cast like no other book I've experienced. And with Ultimatum comes an end to this particular era. The final issue of Ultimate Spider-Man was released this week, and it contained no words; the story was conveyed through images alone. In this landmark issue we witness, silently, as Peter's closest friends and loving family come to terms with the knowledge that he is likely dead. I find this particular review difficult to write because I've truly come to love this title; it spoke to me on many personal levels and to see it become a casualty to an editorial decision to wipe the slate clean is a stain I hope never washes off of the hands of the powers that be.

Well that's a wrap for this edition of Wednesday comics! Be sure to check back later in the week for a special review on David Peterson's Mouse Guard Fall 1152, a fantastic tale of anthropomorphic mice engaging in sword fights and general medieval badassery! Who can resist such disease-ridden swashbucklers?