Johanna's Capsules: Catwoman, JLA, Avengers, Literary Graffiti
Johanna Draper Carlson
CATWOMAN #1
JLA #60
LITERARY GRAFFITI #1
In lieu of spoiler space ... although they put out more books than usual,
this wasn't a very good week for Marvel, was it? ICEMAN #2 and NIGHTCRAWLER
#1, two forgettable X-Men miniseries (Marvel falling back into bad
publishing habits); Peter David resolves a cosmic storyline in CAPTAIN
MARVEL #25 by having alien races make Weakest Link allusions (falling back
into his bad habit of inappropriate pop culture references); DEFENDERS #11
is treading water (heh) until their relaunch (Erik Larsen's bad habit is
drawing large-breasted women -- and everyone else -- punching things over
and over); and WOLVERINE #170 starts a storyline taking on reality TV when
those shows are clearly on the way out (giving Frank Tieri writing jobs is a
bad habit).
With the delays, the bloom seems to be off the NEW X-MEN rose; these rather
standard stories aren't worth the long wait. BLOODSTONE #2, the BUFFY
wannabe, is damaged by continual boob-and-butt shots. THE 100 GREATEST
MARVELS OF ALL TIME kicks off the top 5 by reprinting X-MEN #1, a book that
has more than a million copies already out there, plus the reprint is
interrupted by ads. Worst of all, with #12, US WAR MACHINE isn't actually
over! They're promising a weekly continuing series. Hopefully, the art won't
look as slapdash and full of shortcuts with some advance time.
AVENGERS #48
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Kieron Dwyer with Rick Remender
Marvel Comics, 96 color pages, $3.50
What's left for Marvel this week? This 100-page Monster issue with a
cardstock cover, a great improvement in holding all these pages of comics.
Unfortunately, the content isn't quite as nice as the format, since the Kang
War continues with no end in sight in the new lead story.
I found Thor and Firebird's conversation about the meaning of immortality
and their involvement in the comparatively short lives of mortals
interesting, given that I had recently reread a similar conversation between
Thor and Moondragon that happened many many issues ago. It's easy to forget
that Thor is a god and so should relate to people differently. Given that,
I'm not sure why he's involved in this battle at all, especially since the
timing for readers doesn't match up well with the events in his own title
(his father's death and his assumption of leadership of Asgard). That's an
unfortunate side effect of a lengthy world shaking-storyline that isn't a
crossover. Please don't think I'm asking for more crossovers, though; I'd
just rather this storyline have been much shorter.
This is also the debut of the book's new art team. They don't have an easy
job, following George Perez and Alan Davis, so all I'll say is that I hope
the figures loosen up a bit, since they're somewhat frozen-looking, with
little sense of movement.
The reprint section is dedicated to one story, the Earth/Asgard/Olympus War
from AVENGERS #98-100. Thematically, there are some differences between that
story and the lead one. The new tale is more space-based, with a global
focus. The older story is a much more of-its-time tale, beginning with the
need for world peace and the uses of public protest, and it takes place on a
smaller, more human scale. The Avengers end up battling among themselves, as
some are brainwashed, before taking almost an entire issue's time out from
the conflict to deal with character changes and soap opera threads. I don't
consider it very memorable, overall; I would have rather seen a greater
variety of stories included. I think that the issue would have benefitted
from the change of page, especially for those readers tired of Avengers
wars.
CATWOMAN #1
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Darwyn Cooke & Mike Allred
DC Comics, 40 color pages, $2.50
The new, sleeker look extends past the eye-catching cover and the
slimmed-down title character to incorporate all aspects of the story. This
is the start of a moody, modern noir that in both story and character has
moved far beyond aping the past. As Selina Kyle comes to terms with her past
and future, we're treated to great writing and art.
The frequent use of an eight-panel grid, combined with the open, animated
style, gives the book the feel of a cartoon at times. (Eight panels per page
means each panel is in the rough proportions of a TV screen.) The motion
flows briskly, allowing the reader to get caught up in the flow, as a
well-done comic story should. There's nothing cartoony about the content,
though. After the opening murder of a call girl who sees too much, we segue
into what we came for: a rethinking of Selina Kyle. Both she and the reader
are reevaluating her purpose and coming to terms with her motivations.
The storytelling is nicely indirect. Much is established through dialogue
that's realistic without being overdone or calling too much attention to
itself. Similarly, the shots use established symbols -- breaking glass to
indicate a struggle, a trail of blood to show the extent of the violence --
instead of showing us explicitly what our imagination has already sketched
in. The art and text combined have a welcome level of restraint that can be
uncommon in crime comics.
Due to the subtlety, the cut to Catwoman's dreams, shown in all their
excess, is thus more of a contrast and all the more shocking. The creators
use imagery to make their points as suits the jumbled subconscious we're
peeking into. The later second person narration works well, given Selina's
confusion and mental searching. Her questions about herself -- her purpose,
her motivation -- are those many readers can relate to personally.
The Batman appearance is necessary to establish how distinct she is from
him, as well as how this title is different from the many others in the
family. I shouldn't be surprised that the obligatory guest shot is so well
used, given how beautifully everything contributes to the overall story. The
coloring, for example, by Matt Hollingsworth, is perfectly reflective of the
character's moods without announcing itself. The change from Batman's world
of pronounced color to Selina's "shades of grey" (literally and
figuratively) is only obvious if you're looking for it. The muted transition
to the following scene's shades of deep lavender (for Selina choosing to
deal with her previous purple catsuit) supports the scene in a way that
keeps items and characters distinguishable. I also like the Emma
Peel-inspired catsuit; it's a pleasure to see a cat-burglar character who
actually looks like she's dressing to do the job.
This issue sets a new course that amazingly (given the character's history)
feels fresh. The character is more subtle, with more emphasis on her
internal life, and so more complicated than before. The story is meaningful
without being depressing; serious, but not morose; intelligent fun without
excess. I'm very pleasantly impressed with the book; it's definitely one to
check out.
JLA #60
Writer: Mark Waid
Pencils: Cliff Rathburn
Inks: Paul Neary
DC Comics, 40 color pages, $2.25
Mark Waid's last JLA issue is a bit early for Christmas, but apparently, he
wanted to go out on the high note of having Neron fight Santa. Plastic Man
is tucking Woozy's nephew into bed on Christmas Eve with a story of how
Santa joined the Justice League, but that's not good enough for the kid, so
we get Neron (complete with evil elves) taking Santa's job of giving out
gifts, only with a catch.
Instead of a kitschy throwback, there's a feeling of fatigue. The lines that
rang most true were the following:
Kid: Was Batman there?
Plas: Yes.
Kid: I like Batman.
Plas: Yes, we all LOVE Batman. Anyway...
I got the sense that the author might have been expressing his frustration
with modern comic expectations and audiences, especially when the kid
ignores the happy ending in order to keep asking questions, picking at the
events of the story. He believes only what he sees; even at his young age,
he's already outgrown the idea of unselfish heroes because they're not real
to him.
Sadly, the ending reinforces this, with the JLA tricking the kid into
continuing to believe. I guess the deception is for a good cause, but it
seems a letdown. I'm too much like the kid, since I wonder how much
difference "fixing" one jaded child can make.
The concept might have worked better with less edgy art. Everyone looks like
they're annoyed with something (maybe being in this story? cheap joke,
sorry), and characters like Superman are never drawn with their eyes open.
Overall, I agree with what I see Mr. Waid pointing out as a problem. We
*are* bored with all of this; we aren't the kids we once were. We're likely
to take Neron's deal, willing to do bad things (like attacking creators) if
it means getting what we think we want. Mr. Waid doesn't seem to know just
what to do about it, though. The solution here is just a chance stopgap; it
won't fix anything long-term. I don't have a good answer either.
LITERARY GRAFFITI #1
"The Deadly Persimmon" by Jeff Alexander
"Super Glamour Battle Kitty" story by Ian Sattler; illustrated by Jeff
Alexander
Kami Shibai Press, 28 b&w digest-sized pages, $3.50
The first story is a nature tale similar to the Just So Stories. A
long-tailed hare is chased by a tiger before the two of them sit down for a
chat about humans and persimmons. After a series of chases and humorous
misunderstandings, the rabbit loses his tail as punishment for his tricks,
winding up with the fluffy cotton ball we know.
The appeal of this story is the art, especially the animals' poses and body
language. They're not too anthropomorphized; they keep their feral natures
while demonstrating complex characters. The rabbit's got more spunk than
Bugs ever did, while the tiger reminds me of Sugar and Spike in the way his
interpretations are plausible but completely wrong. I especially enjoyed the
sequence where the tiger thinks the hare's gone crazy, patting him on the
head and humoring him. This promising debut is an imaginative take on the
nature fable.
The backup story features a cat in a giant robot suit who meets a couple of
elves. It's all setup, and while the art is good, I don't think I'm the
right reader for the story, since I don't care much for the mecha genre.
The book is nicely done, with a color cardstock cover, but it's a bit pricey
for what it is. I'd like to see more from Mr. Alexander in the future.
Johanna Draper Carlson joh...@comicsworthreading.com
Reviews of Comics Worth Reading -- http://www.comicsworthreading.com
Newly updated: December Previews!
Shawn Hill
: CATWOMAN #1
: Writer: Ed Brubaker
: Artists: Darwyn Cooke & Mike Allred
: DC Comics, 40 color pages, $2.50
: The new, sleeker look extends past the eye-catching cover and the
: slimmed-down title character to incorporate all aspects of the story. This
: is the start of a moody, modern noir that in both story and character has
: moved far beyond aping the past. As Selina Kyle comes to terms with her past
: and future, we're treated to great writing and art.
I've often wondered what a good review on your part of something I also
liked would look like, and now I know! I like comprehensive better than
your short shots, which can come off as too flatly dismissive.
: into what we came for: a rethinking of Selina Kyle. Both she and the reader
: are reevaluating her purpose and coming to terms with her motivations.
Which is fair enough for an issue one.
: in. The art and text combined have a welcome level of restraint that can be
: uncommon in crime comics.
Interesting comments, as some people found the less-realistic art out of
place or jarring. Not me, though. Of course, I'm a big Marc Hempel fan,
too....his Sandman issues scared me as much as anything Drindenberg,
Keith or MacManus did.
: The Batman appearance is necessary to establish how distinct she is from
: him, as well as how this title is different from the many others in the
: family. I shouldn't be surprised that the obligatory guest shot is so well
: used, given how beautifully everything contributes to the overall story. The
: coloring, for example, by Matt Hollingsworth, is perfectly reflective of the
: character's moods without announcing itself. The change from Batman's world
Interesting to see you appreciating a dark, almost monotone pallette,
where as you've disliked it in other places.
: of pronounced color to Selina's "shades of grey" (literally and
: figuratively) is only obvious if you're looking for it. The muted transition
: to the following scene's shades of deep lavender (for Selina choosing to
: deal with her previous purple catsuit) supports the scene in a way that
: keeps items and characters distinguishable. I also like the Emma
: Peel-inspired catsuit; it's a pleasure to see a cat-burglar character who
: actually looks like she's dressing to do the job.
Yep, ditto.
: This issue sets a new course that amazingly (given the character's history)
: feels fresh. The character is more subtle, with more emphasis on her
: internal life, and so more complicated than before. The story is meaningful
: without being depressing; serious, but not morose; intelligent fun without
: excess. I'm very pleasantly impressed with the book; it's definitely one to
: check out.
It's also steeped in the world of Miller's Year One Selina. It owes a
great debt to that version.
Shawn
Shawn Hill
: CATWOMAN #1
: JLA #60
: LITERARY GRAFFITI #1
: In lieu of spoiler space ... although they put out more books than usual,
: this wasn't a very good week for Marvel, was it? ICEMAN #2 and NIGHTCRAWLER
: #1, two forgettable X-Men miniseries (Marvel falling back into bad
: publishing habits); Peter David resolves a cosmic storyline in CAPTAIN
Well, I'm among the lonely few enjoying the Iceman series, mostly for the
competent art and character designs, the unusual focus on Bobby solo, and
my interest in the Chinese setting. I think it's going pretty well,
whether or not it has any lasting effect on the character.
: MARVEL #25 by having alien races make Weakest Link allusions (falling back
: into his bad habit of inappropriate pop culture references); DEFENDERS #11
: is treading water (heh) until their relaunch (Erik Larsen's bad habit is
: drawing large-breasted women -- and everyone else -- punching things over
: and over); and WOLVERINE #170 starts a storyline taking on reality TV when
: those shows are clearly on the way out (giving Frank Tieri writing jobs is a
: bad habit).
Wow! Pretty effective group-diss, consistently clear and very cutting.
: With the delays, the bloom seems to be off the NEW X-MEN rose; these rather
: standard stories aren't worth the long wait. BLOODSTONE #2, the BUFFY
You mean GM's title? I'm not finding them very standard, not with the
creative spins on character and setting, and the attenuated agony of
Emma, Beast and Scott all being down for the count for yet another issue,
leaving everything up to Jean and the students....as usual, I'm caught up
by GM's cliffhangers.
: AVENGERS #48
: Writer: Kurt Busiek
: Art: Kieron Dwyer with Rick Remender
: Marvel Comics, 96 color pages, $3.50
: What's left for Marvel this week? This 100-page Monster issue with a
: cardstock cover, a great improvement in holding all these pages of comics.
: Unfortunately, the content isn't quite as nice as the format, since the Kang
: War continues with no end in sight in the new lead story.
Was no one impressed by Carol's masterstroke (heh) in dealing with the
Master?
: I found Thor and Firebird's conversation about the meaning of immortality
: and their involvement in the comparatively short lives of mortals
: interesting, given that I had recently reread a similar conversation between
: Thor and Moondragon that happened many many issues ago. It's easy to forget
Yes, KB is definitely revisiting that earlier plot, odd given that it
resulted in writing Thor out at the time, not something that fans really
wanted. I can see him brooding over the short lives of mortals; but
surely this 21st century bunch is rather exceptional compared to how he
felt about his buds of a century ago or before. At least he's not being
encouraged away by Moondragon, but actually empathized with by Firebird
and encouraged to remain. Moondragon appealed to Thor's logic, Firebird
is appealing to his emotions.
: that Thor is a god and so should relate to people differently. Given that,
: I'm not sure why he's involved in this battle at all, especially since the
: timing for readers doesn't match up well with the events in his own title
Because, as he's already a member, he can't just say "oh, I just realized
I'm a god, I'm done with you guys, ciao!" I mean, he could, but that
wouldn't seem much like Thor, either.
: (his father's death and his assumption of leadership of Asgard). That's an
: unfortunate side effect of a lengthy world shaking-storyline that isn't a
: crossover. Please don't think I'm asking for more crossovers, though; I'd
: just rather this storyline have been much shorter.
There's so many parts of it to play out, though: Carol/Marcus,
Master/Kang, Sentinels, Marine Forces, etc. World-shaking and grand leads
to more issues.
: The reprint section is dedicated to one story, the Earth/Asgard/Olympus War
: from AVENGERS #98-100. Thematically, there are some differences between that
: story and the lead one. The new tale is more space-based, with a global
Also, more gods/mythology in the old one.
: consider it very memorable, overall; I would have rather seen a greater
I think the art, consistent throughout, is a major reason; and the
comparison of a large cast.
: variety of stories included. I think that the issue would have benefitted
: from the change of page, especially for those readers tired of Avengers
: wars.
Seeing some Korvac stuff (ie, instead of war, how about Greatest
Nemeses), Masters of Evil, etc. might have been good, or some other
tie-in theme. But, really, Avengers Forever exhausted the Immortus stuff,
and the Thunderbolts have plundered the MoE vaults. And I think their are
upcoming plans for the Celestial Madonna stuff. And they've pretty much
shot their Ultron wad, too.
shawn
Shawn Hill
: In rec.arts.comics.dc.universe Johanna Draper Carlson <joh...@comicsworthreading.com> wrote:
: : AVENGERS #48
Sorry, meant to send that part to .mu, not .dcu.
Shawn
Johanna Draper Carlson
> I've often wondered what a good review on your part of something I also
> liked would look like, and now I know!
Um... thank you?
> I like comprehensive better than your short shots
I was surprised when I sat down to jot notes on this issue. First off, I
wasn't planning on reviewing it, but I found myself at the comic shop with
an hour to kill. Then, after I'd read it a couple of times, I kept finding
more and more to say about it -- that's one of the reasons I think it works
so well.
> : coloring, for example, by Matt Hollingsworth, is perfectly reflective of the
> : character's moods without announcing itself. The change from Batman's world
>
> Interesting to see you appreciating a dark, almost monotone pallette,
> where as you've disliked it in other places.
I would not call this palette monotone. Certain scenes, yes, but only when
the effect is needed. It's when an idea is stuck to too faithfully,
regardless of what the work needs, that I dislike the type of coloring I
think you're referring to.
Johanna Draper Carlson joh...@comicsworthreading.com
Reviews of Comics Worth Reading -- http://www.comicsworthreading.com
Newly updated: December Previews, Reviews of Catwoman, JLA, Avengers