Earth 2: World's End #3 - A Review

The most aggravating thing about Earth 2: World's End is a lack of credits by page number for the artists involved.  This annoys me because I need to know who to blame for the fact that Dick Grayson is being drawn like a combination of Mr. Spock and Goku.

I could, in theory, look up each individual artist's name and try and compare this offending page to their other work on-line. But with nine credited artists on this issue alone, that is far more effort than I feel like spending on so mediocre a title.


Mediocre is a strong word, I admit, but it is aptly applied here.  There are many good things about Earth 2: World's End but any greatness is mitigated by the work of less-skilled creators.  The old saying about "too many cooks" has never been more aptly proven.

This applies to both the writing and the artwork.  I've enjoyed the work of Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson before and there are a number of well-written scenes with great dialogue throughout the book.  However, the actual plot, as paced by Daniel H. Wilson, leaves much to be desired.


Granting that there are a lot of subplots to balance out, I feel it would be more effective to spend each issue focusing on one or two subplots rather than trying to devote at least one page to each one.  We really need more than one page to convey the scope of Green Lantern's solo effort to rid Rio De Janeiro of monsters.

Earth 2: World's End #2 - A Review

Taken on the level of a summer blockbuster, Earth 2: World's End #2 is an enjoyable story. Building upon last issue's explosive climax, our heroes scatter around the world to deal with the reactivation of the four Apokolptian fire-pits and the emergence of four apparently dormant villains from that evil world.  The first one they encounter is K'li - a preteen girl who raises the dead and introduces herself as an avatar of War.


There's a lot of good action sequences here, but this book suffers in comparison to the monthly Earth 2 book.  There, we had amazing action but we also got a number of good character-building scenes. The closest we get to that here is the implication that Lois "Red Tornado" Lane really hates zombies because they remind her of her own status as a dead woman's spirit in an inhuman body.


As before, the artwork is all over the place.  There are a number of artists with a number of conflicting styles and the final effect is not a positive one. Stylized renditions of our heroes clash with more realistic artwork and naturalistic action scenes look awkward next to more forced poses.

On the whole, I see little reason to pick up this book unless you, like me, are deeply interested in the final fate of Earth 2.  Even then, the lackluster artwork may drive me away from this story.  I really wish DC Comics would assign different art teams to individual issues rather than having multiple artists doing a few pages in each issue of these extended series.

Earth 2: World's End #1 - A Review

If you've been reading Earth 2, then this first chapter of Earth 2: World's End will offer some welcome information about the history behind the Earth/Apokolips War that kicked off the start of the series.  And if you haven't been reading Earth 2, may the gods of all the pantheons have mercy upon you should you attempt to muddle your way through this book.  This book isn't entirely incomprehensible to new readers, but for every point of The Story So Far it explains, another two go untouched.


Case In Point: The book does a great job of explaining the back-stories of Supergirl and Robin (Now Power Girl and Huntress) and depicting their journey to Earth One and back. But the issue does nothing to explain the story of the new Superman, Val-Zod, or the importance of Jimmy "Accountable" Olsen.  This is doubly vexing since this book unloads a major bombshell that isn't easily understood unless you already know about Jimmy Olsen's superpower in this reality.

That's the damnable paradox of this issue.  It is meant to be bringing new readers up to speed with the story of Earth 2 so far but it is so incredibly piece-meal as to what information it chooses to offer up that it is completely useless as an entry point for new readers. This is doubly unfortunate because there are a number of highly touching scenes in this issue once you get past all the history.  My favorite is Power Girl's reunion with her mother, Lois Lane.  Well, the Red Tornado body housing Lois Lane's personality... but why quibble? It is still a touching scene.


I have little to say about the art on this book.  With eight artists working together, there is very little consistency or visual continuity, but that's been a problem with most of DC Comics' weekly titles.  The nicest thing I can say is that there isn't any artwork that is glaringly awful but I still think these books would benefit from having one artist each week rather than a team working on three or four pages every issue.

Justice League United #2 - A Review

A madman named Blyth is kidnapping the beings of a thousand star systems for nefarious purposes and has hired the bounty hunter Lobo to keep his captives subdued.  The good news is that a new Justice League is aware of the situation.  The bad news is they're currently stranded on the distant planet Rann.  And even with Supergirl having stumbled across them and Hawkman launching a one-man rebellion from within Blyth's prison, it still seems that the new Justice League's tenure is over before it truly began.


I love this book so much.  And it is almost entirely due to how Jeff Lemire writes my favorite heroes.  Specifically, how he can portray them as being competent in a fight but still let the humor of their personalities conflicting with one another come through in a believable fashion.  This is most apparent in the snarking between Green Arrow and Animal Man, but it also comes through in Stargirl's first encounter with Supergirl.  And there is one glorious but amusing sequence where Martian Manhunter  gets a laugh-inspiring moment as he deals with a group of Rannians who have threatened to imprison him indefinitely.  


Unfortunately, I don't think the artwork is quite up to par with Lemire's story.  Mike McKone's artwork isn't bad but - as in the first issue - he is not above recycling panels.  A larger problem with this issue is the inking, which was overseen by three different inkers including McKone.  As a result, there are noticeable and distracting differences in the individual pages, with some seeming to have barely gotten any inking besides a black outline around individual characters!

  

Earth 2 Annual #1 - A Review

Earth 2 Annual #1 is an amazingly good introduction to the world of Earth 2 for new readers.  Why should that be amazing?  Isn't the whole idea of the Annuals to do a big story that will attract the attention of those who haven't been reading the series?  One might think that's the case, particularly since the cover of this issue boasts the introduction of a new Batman.  Yet most of the annuals DC Comics has published in the past year have involved continuations of plot threats that started in the regular series, immediately creating a wedge between the story and any potential new readers. 


At first that seems to be the case with this issue, but - as per usual -  James Robinson seeks a greater depth as he spends most of this issue recalling the origin story of Captain Al Pratt a.k.a. The Atom.  We'd already seen the bare bones of Pratt's origins earlier in the monthly Earth 2 title but this story gives Robinson a chance to explore Pratt's character in greater depth.  Robinson also introduces a number of new elements, such as the new Batman promised on the cover and the revelation that another of Jack Kirby's New Gods villains - Kanto the Assassin - is loose on Earth.  For my money though, nothing tops the revelation that Gotham City is now a savage land filled with dinosaurs in the wake of the disasters that reshaped the world five years earlier.  More, Gotham has become a home of sorts to Mister Miracle and Big Barda


The art team of Cafu, Julius Gopez and Cam Smith prove an acceptable substitute for the regular penciler/inker duo of Nicola Scott and Trevor scott.  I've enjoyed Cafu's previous recent work on Action Comics and we see more work of that caliber here.  I'm unfamiliar with Julius Gopez, but his work here impresses as well.

Action Comics #18 - A Review

There is little I can say about this issue - or indeed the entirety of Grant Morrison's Action Comics run - that I have not said before in part or in whole.  As before, Rags Morales, Brad Walker and their respective inkers do a fine job of capturing and displaying the action of Morrison's script, which is a fitting summation to the whole series with a callback to every major storyline.   While Morrison's conceit of a battle to destroy Superman fought across five dimensions is a complex bit of writing, it is the simplest images - like a Superboy and his dog victorious - that hit the reader the hardest. 


Simplicity is also the rule of Never-Ending Battle - the back-up story by Sholly Fisch. Told entirely without spoken dialogue (but not without words), this story set in the 23rd century shows how Superman's example continues to inspire heroism in the most unlikely of places years after his passing.  Fisch's subtlety is welcome here, given that social issue comics on subjects like bullying tend to be anything but.  The lack of dialogue only adds to the power of the images put forth by Chris Sprouse and Karl Story.   


This last story alone makes this comic a must-read, even if the larger part of the issue is largely inaccessible to those who haven't been reading Action Comics since the first issue.  Never-Ending Battle is Eisner-worthy for how well it captures spirit of heroism - not just in superhero stories, but in the human spirit itself.  I'd encourage any comic fan to buy this book.  Even if you're not a Superman fan.  Especially if you're not a Superman fan. 

Action Comics #17 - A Review

With Action Comics #17, the phrase "never-ending battle" has taken on another meaning.  It seems like Grant Morrison's final storyline for this series has been going on forever and the novelty of Morrison's conceit for this story - an assassination attempt executed through multiple points in space, time and probability - has begun to wear thin.  This entire issue feels like filler up until the final pages, where Superman finds himself with a most unlikely ally in his darkest moment leading into next issue's conclusion.


The back-up story by Sholly Fisch is far more enjoyable.  Indeed, I'd recommend this issue just for this story alone.  Stories about Clark and Pa Kent having a good father/son chat are hardly new but Fisch's story here - centering on a time-displaced Superman being given a chance to talk to the dad who never got the chance to see what he did with his life - seems both brand-new and touching.  It reminded me of a similar story that J. Michael Straczynski penned for Amazing Spider-Man #500 yet it still comes off as it's own unique tale.


This book continues to be blessed with top-notch artists across the board.  Brad Walker?  Rags Morales?  Chris Sprouse?  You'd be lucky to have one of these artist's illustrating a story, never mind all three of the working in concert!  While I may grow annoyed with Morrison dragging his feet, I cannot complain about how this book looks even as it seems we are treading water in terms of the plot.