Johanna's DC Comments: Action, Bloodhound, Gotham Central, Green Arrow, Plastic Man
Johanna Draper Carlson
Comics #821. Perhaps with page one, where Chuck Austen tries to make
Doomsday's return to Metropolis scary, but then immediately undercuts it
with unbelievable dialogue about "one big picnic". Or maybe page two,
where another story altogether starts, ignoring Doomsday for the rest of
the issue. Or perhaps where Superman seems like a guest star in his own
title, since Austen is tying into the events of Adventures, with
Superman worrying about Lois' near death (and badly soliloquizing over
how much he loves his abilities). Or maybe where the Martian Manhunter
shows up, apparently to demonstrate that he's completely forgotten he
has any superpowers.
This issue boils down to Preus, a bigoted Kryptonian (and I'm now
sympathizing with those who asked why bother making Superman the "Last
Son" when it obviously didn't stick), forcing a group of racists to
follow him. Strangely, these men, so obsessed with power, roll over and
suck up to Preus without complaint. I guess we're supposed to think that
they recognize superiority when they see it, but it's not really
something Austen's interested in explaining or exploring. It's obvious
he's trying to explore the nature of power, but his choices are at a
high school level at best.
I'd note the artists, but with four pencillers and four inkers, you can
guess that artistic integrity wasn't a high priority. As is typical of
Austen's work, women exist to be victims of sexual violence, with Preus
ripping apart the woman delivered to him for his pleasure. Next issue
promises to follow up on none of these events, with a holiday visit to
Smallville.
----
Bloodhound #5 is the conclusion to a crossover with Firestorm #7.
Clevenger and Jason are on the run from a drug dealer who's taken
Jason's father hostage. Jason had previously bonded with the dealer to
become Firestorm, but the dealer's will was stronger, overtaking the two
combined until Jason and Clevenger together defeated him temporarily.
(All this is also summed up in the first few pages, for those who don't
want to buy Firestorm.)
Clevenger's willingness to do anything to win a fight is put to good use
against a group of unrepentant bad guys. When things look overwhelming,
the obvious solution is considered -- you've got a kid who merges with
someone else to get superpowers hiding out with another person -- but
resolved in an unexpected way by writer Dan Jolley. Although visibly
violent in a style that couldn't have been done in an earlier era, this
is old-school over-the-top vigilante action. Nothing is changed for
these characters. It's just an exercise in introducing two different
types of heroes to each other. It's a refreshingly straightforward read
that moves at a good clip.
----
I wasn't able to read Challengers of the Unknown #6, because all of the
copies Diamond sent to my shop were damaged and have to be replaced.
After reading the review at Jog - the Blog (scroll past the City of
Heroes comments), I'm both eager to read the issue and intimidated from
doing my own writeup. Jog has insightful comments on hegemony and the
elite as reflected in the book's layout and art structure. He says,
"It's really a superb use of panel breakdowns, some of the best work of
the type I靶e seen in recent comics, and it deserves and rewards
attention and study."
----
Gotham Central #25 made me wonder how much longer the "War Games"
crossover is going to infect books I'd like to read. The Gotham Central
Police Department has ordered the Bat-signal removed because of hard
feelings over how many cops got killed in the gang war they blame Batman
for.
As written by Greg Rucka, all the characters do is talk about what
happened and how upset they are. It feels like treading water to me. If
the relationship between the GCPD and Batman has really changed, then
let's see some forward movement demonstrating the new status quo instead
of sitting around talking and talking about it.
I don't see the over-the-top theatrics of the latest Bat-crossover
appealing to the fans of this subtler title, so I'm not sure why so much
attention was given to its wrapup. At least Michael Lark did a good job
in keeping all this dialogue visually interesting; his coming departure
will be a huge blow to this book. For those trying to follow this series
without reference to the tattered continuity of Bat-titles, this is an
easy-to-skip issue.
----
Green Arrow #44 has an admirable motive but reads, as feared, like an
after-school special. The doctor gives educational lectures about what
it means to be HIV positive with all terms carefully defined. Mia is
supposed to be angry at Ollie's early refusal to acknowledge her past
risky behavior, but she comes across, in the art by Phil Hester and Ande
Parks, as little more than peeved.
With this as evidence, I'm inclined to agree with those who think that
superhero comics best tackle subjects like this through metaphor and
symbolism. What we get here is Ollie, Mia, and Conner talking a lot.
Judd Winick's dialogue could as easily take place in a drawing room
drama or some other story entirely. The voices aren't connected to these
characters very well. It's dry, with little emotional impact, more of a
textbook than something intended to be entertainment. Eye-catching
cover, though.
----
Plastic Man #12 is a fill-in by Scott Morse, whose style I find a poor
match for the character. He draws the outrageous shapes and changes of
the title character, but he so downplays the backgrounds that the
figures stand out too much. As a result, it's hard to process the
exaggerated goings-on. Plastic Man isn't interacting with his
environment, but pasted on top of it.
--
Johanna Draper Carlson
Reviews of Comics Worth Reading -- http://www.comicsworthreading.com
Blogging at http://www.comicsworthreading.com/blog/cwr.html
Len-L
<johann...@comicsworthreading.com> opined:
>I don't even know where to start pointing out the problems with Action
>Comics #821. Perhaps with page one, where Chuck Austen tries to make
>Doomsday's return to Metropolis scary, but then immediately undercuts it
>with unbelievable dialogue about "one big picnic". Or maybe page two,
>where another story altogether starts, ignoring Doomsday for the rest of
>the issue. Or perhaps where Superman seems like a guest star in his own
>title, since Austen is tying into the events of Adventures, with
>Superman worrying about Lois' near death (and badly soliloquizing over
>how much he loves his abilities). Or maybe where the Martian Manhunter
>shows up, apparently to demonstrate that he's completely forgotten he
>has any superpowers.
I think the Martian Manhunter is saying "I was supposed to be intangible
but he hurt me anyway," not "oops, I forgot to turn intangible."
>
>This issue boils down to Preus, a bigoted Kryptonian (and I'm now
>sympathizing with those who asked why bother making Superman the "Last
>Son" when it obviously didn't stick),
I'm really not sure what happened with Kandor. Its first appearance
post-Crisis was as a bottle city of all sorts of aliens, collected by an
Evil Space Vampire to use as a holding cell for bodies for his future
use. This was just before the Electric Blue Superman arc. Then, with the
story arc Godfall, it suddenly became a Kryptonian city taken by Braniac
again. I don't recall getting the memo when it changed.
Len-L
Pudde Fjord
Could you PLEASE put in some spoiler space in such posts!
Pudde.
Johanna Draper Carlson
>
> Could you PLEASE put in some spoiler space in such posts!
So I can better understand the problem, what specific spoilers bothered
you?
Jeremy Henderson
>On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 17:41:58 CST, Johanna Draper Carlson
><johann...@comicsworthreading.com> opined:
>
>>I don't even know where to start pointing out the problems with Action
>>Comics #821. Perhaps with page one, where Chuck Austen tries to make
>>Doomsday's return to Metropolis scary, but then immediately undercuts it
>>with unbelievable dialogue about "one big picnic". Or maybe page two,
>>where another story altogether starts, ignoring Doomsday for the rest of
>>the issue. Or perhaps where Superman seems like a guest star in his own
>>title, since Austen is tying into the events of Adventures, with
>>Superman worrying about Lois' near death (and badly soliloquizing over
>>how much he loves his abilities). Or maybe where the Martian Manhunter
>>shows up, apparently to demonstrate that he's completely forgotten he
>>has any superpowers.
>
>I think the Martian Manhunter is saying "I was supposed to be intangible
>but he hurt me anyway," not "oops, I forgot to turn intangible."
Which doesn't explain why he didn't bother using any of his mental
powers to subdue Preus or call the rest of the JLA for help, or even
his invisibility to conceal himself from him in the first place.
Brian Doyle
> Pudde Fjord <puddesp...@netscape.net> wrote:
>>
>> Could you PLEASE put in some spoiler space in such posts!
>
> So I can better understand the problem, what specific spoilers
> bothered you?
Well, on the one hand, I'd say it was a general statement. You did start the
text of a series of reviews right at the top of the page, so there was no
spoiler space, though spoilers would be included as a matter of course.
On the other hand, I'm not sure why anyone starting to read a thread headed
like this would imagine it would be spoiler free...
Judgement call...
Johanna Draper Carlson
> Well, on the one hand, I'd say it was a general statement. You did start the
> text of a series of reviews right at the top of the page, so there was no
> spoiler space, though spoilers would be included as a matter of course.
Do you think reviews automatically include spoilers?
I ask because I try to keep plot summary to a minimum, and that's why I
asked what, specifically, would be considered spoilers in what I posted.
James Schee
> I ask because I try to keep plot summary to a minimum, and that's why I
> asked what, specifically, would be considered spoilers in what I posted.
Well you seemed very plot specific this week in your coverage of the
Superman book especially.(description about ripping the woman in half is
one example)
Yet I'm not sure just how possible it is to discuss or disect comics
like these without talking about specifics as you did.
Perhaps you might consider bringing back that introductory piece you
used to do "This article covers Johanna #36, Female Reviewers #44, and
Answer Lass #10."
Rather than jumping right into the descriptions, for those who just
click down to the next topic and might read your first paragraph before
they realize what it is.
Just a thought anyway, spoilers don't generally bother me because it
should be the execution not the SURPRISE! that matters. (old addage of
it being the journey not the beginnong or end that matters comes to mind)
James
--
http://readingalong.blogspot.com/
Yes I too have a comic blog.
Dreighton
> I don't even know where to start pointing out the problems with Action
> Comics #821. Perhaps with page one, where Chuck Austen tries to make
> Doomsday's return to Metropolis scary, but then immediately undercuts it
> with unbelievable dialogue about "one big picnic". Or maybe page two,
> where another story altogether starts, ignoring Doomsday for the rest of
> the issue.
Well, I think Austen was trying to point out that Metropolis has so
many supervillian attacks that the people take it some what in stride,
but he really didn't do a good job of writing that. My issue with this
scene is I love a good sub-plot.....but at the begining of an issue?
huh? It would have worked better with the ole "Meanwhile, back in
Metropolis...." in the middle of the main story.
> Austen is tying into the events of Adventures, with
> Superman worrying about Lois' near death (and badly soliloquizing over
> how much he loves his abilities).
Again, this could have been touching. Husband and wife, Him wanting
to be good for her, worring over his wife like a loving husband.
Totally missed that mark.
> It's obvious
> he's trying to explore the nature of power, but his choices are at a
> high school level at best.
yes, at best. What disgusted me was the gratuitous nature of using
the women for his sexual pleasure by raping, toturing, and killing
them. Shocking yes, makes Preus evil? yes and no....to me it makes him
a silly sterotype. Makes sense in the overall story? Nope just
gratuitous.
Over all this issue was bad, bad, bad. I had liked the Action stories
that I had read up to this point (not all of em since the relaunch),
compared to the others, but Adventures is looking the better now. I
need some beleveable character development to go with the fight
scenes. These where on my trial list. Action just got dumped.
> Green Arrow #44 has an admirable motive but reads, as feared, like an
> after-school special.
Not even that good. I get it Judd. You want us to learn about
homosexuality and about HIV/Aids. I get it. safe sex...condoms, etc.
You sound like a Johnny One-note. That's all you got. And your
characters come over like the "angry black man" character of the 70's.
They are such one dimensional, that they loose any impact and become
laughable. (though Mia was the best attempt so far of making a rounded
character...but your lack of subtlety winds up making even Mia a stock
character)
And I really want to like Green Arrow. I really liked his left wing
attitude as compared to the boy scout all american ideal of say
Superman. He's the little man against the big machine, and like Robin
Hood, he's fighting for the poor/little guy vs. the Rich, big guy, or
in 60's terms the establishment, or even better he's fighting "the
Man". Green Arrow has been given a unigue point of view which is hard
to do in the great sea of tights, But this run has missed that
unigueness of character so far. And...the art is horrible. Square
black blocks.....argh.
Dreighton
Johanna Draper Carlson
> Over all this issue was bad, bad, bad. I had liked the Action stories
> that I had read up to this point (not all of em since the relaunch),
> compared to the others, but Adventures is looking the better now.
I agree Adventures is better, but I don't think that's living up to its
promise either.
Thanks for reading -- I enjoyed reading your response.
TonyJ1675
>I agree Adventures is better, but I don't think that's living up to its
>promise either.
--I agree Johanna. However, I'm at a loss to fully explain why it's not working
for me.
Why do you feel it could do better?
Tony
p.s. It seems--to me at least--that all the Superman titles haven't lived up
to the hype behind their "revolution". Brian Azzarello's run thus far actually
confounds me, but it looks pretty. Chuck Austen's run is just plain bad. And
Greg Rucka's run is missing something.
Johanna Draper Carlson
> >From: Johanna Draper Carlson
>
> >I agree Adventures is better, but I don't think that's living up to its
> >promise either.
>
> --I agree Johanna. However, I'm at a loss to fully explain why it's not
> working for me. Why do you feel it could do better?
Because I've enjoyed other Greg Rucka-written comics more. I think the
characterization is off here -- it seems too simplistic most of the
time. And the events are too jumpy. We go from learning more about
Clark's reporting work after his demotion to "oh no Lois has been shot!
in a war zone!"
Dreighton
Well, I agree with the group. Superman is very pretty. Makes no
sense as a story whatsoever. Although in the last issue, it looks
like the point of the arc is to look at "god/god-hood". Is
Superman/super-heros god/gods to the normal people? (I was just happy
to get SOMETHING out of the story).
I had liked Action. Good art. And mostly shallow Action and fights.
Which for me works for awhile. I liked the power-twins story and the
Silver Banshee was a very good one issue story, up until Superman
stops her by blowing his breath on her and freezing her. Which was a
power I thought was pretty much done away with in Byrne's post crisis,
as it makes no sense (our breath is warm, not cold) and Superman,
could just blow on all criminals and freeze them.
But Adventures I'm not sure what's missing. Art work...Good..check.
Mr. Mkyplick poping in and out. Check (love the little imp even if
I'm too lazy to look up his spelling) Character interaction (standing
by shot Lois was good...but...it was like I had read that story
somewhere before). New version of old Parasite...check.... So
what's missing?
I'd go so far to say that is the same feeling when I'm reading Rucka's
Wonder Woman. It's good, has all the elements, but some how doesn't
make me anticipate the next issue. And I'm not sure why.
Drieghton