Star Wars: Princess Leia #2 - A Review

With her new companion Evann and R2-D2 in tow, Princess Leia has set a course for Naboo.  Of course going to The Emperor's homeworld pretending to be an Imperial Auditor is a foolish thing. But Naboo is also home to a famous Aldereannian music group and a likely first target for the Emperor's wrath in the wake of The Death Star's destruction.



Mark Waid does a lot to build the new Star Wars universe with this issue, introducing the concept of Alderaan being The Planet Of Beauty and its artistic culture being its primary export to the galaxy. This is fascinating from a scholarly point of view. Alas, the story isn't nearly as enthralling.

Leia doesn't seem to be as smart and capable as she should be. Granting that she does avoid an obvious ambush at the last minute, she only does this due to the incompetence of the henchmen springing the trap. Her advisor - whom Leia doesn't actually listen to the advice of - sees what is coming a mile away when Leia just happens to run into an old friend of her father's after they set foot on the planet. Even R2-D2 seems to question this!


The artwork by Terry and Rachel Dodson shows why the Dodsons typically do comic book covers rather than book interiors. There is some very striking artwork in this book but those moments are few and far between. The close-ups and splash pages are divine but the actual meat and bones of the book - particularly the action sequences - are mediocre, at best.

Star Wars: Princess Leia #1 - A Review

The Death Star has been destroyed but the Rebel Alliance's victory came too late for the people of Alderaan. Now, The Empire hunts for the Alderranians who were off-world at the time of their planet's destruction. Princess Leia is determined to save them and prove her own worth to the Rebellion as more than just a figurehead, despite the considerable bounty now posted on her own head.


Thus far the new Star Wars books by Marvel Comics have attempted to answer some of the more nagging questions regarding the universe of the original trilogy.  This issue is no exception, as writer Mark Waid tackles two common questions - how can Leia be both a princess AND a senator and why did we never see her grieving over the destruction of her home world?

As the comic industry's top continuity cop, Waid is more than capable of answering these questions while simultaneously telling a good story. And while the answers to the first question prove easy enough - Alderaan has a Royalist tradition similar to what may be found in the United Kingdom today - the second question lies at the core of Leia's character and central conflict.

Leia was born and raised as a noble and reflexively tries to keep a stiff upper lip no matter what - a trait that does little to endear her to some members of the democratically-based Alliance. At the same time, her own populist leanings drive a wedge between Leia and Alderaanian royalists like Evaan - a pilot who proves to be Leia's most loyal subject and harshest critic. The interplay between the two characters is a highlight of the issue.


Unfortunately, the artwork doesn't quite equal the script. Terry and Rachel Dodson have done some fantastic work in the past but it seems unlikely this series will be counted among their triumphs. While there are individual panels that look quite good, the flow of story between those panels is erratic, Additionally, there are many moments where the characters go off-model and the detailing of panels focused on medium and far shots leaves much to be desired.

Daredevil, Vol. 2 - A No Flying, No Tights Review

The second volume of Daredevil continues the trend set when Mark Waid first took over the book and made it his own. Sick of the increasing amount of melodrama and tragedy in the life of lawyer/vigilante Matt Murdock, Waid only agreed to take over writing duties on the title if he was allowed to do the unthinkable: make Marvel Comics’ darkest superhero lighten-up, restoring the swashbuckling Man Without Fear that Stan Lee had envisioned fifty years ago.

The first chapter of this volume, which won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue Story in 2012, illustrates just how much Waid has done to turn this title around. The usually dour Matt Murdock arrives at his law firm’s holiday party in grand style, wearing plastic devil’s horns and a red sweatshirt that reads “I’M NOT DAREDEVIL” in white print. His regular cane is replaced with an oversized red-and-white-striped candy cane with a bit of mistletoe tied on the handle. Even the cover of this chapter depicts Daredevil making a snow angel on the rooftops upon which he usually lurks menacingly. And all this occurs before the main plot begins, which involves Matt Murdock’s struggle for survival following a bus crash that leaves him and several blind children stranded in the wintery wilderness. Truly, this volume is worth the purchase just for that one story!

Before any long-time Daredevil fans get all huffy about this change in tone, let me reassure you that, while Matt Murdock may be sick of being miserable and the comedy quotient of the book has increased since Waid’s revamp started, the book still contains a good deal of drama. The main portion of the book is devoted to a team-up between Spider-Man, Daredevil, and the semi-reformed burglar turned hero, Black Cat, who must track down the crooks who framed Black Cat for the theft of a highly advanced holographic projector. The final chapters pit Daredevil against a blind supervillain – frequent Fantastic Four foe Mole Man – who has extended his criminal activities to grave-robbing and whose latest caper gives Matt Murdock a personal reason to see justice done.

Most of this collection is ably illustrated by the series’ regular art team of artist Paolo River and inker Joe Rivera. Their style is as fun as Waid’s script, being clearly penciled without seeming overly cartoonish in design. The inks are perfectly appropriate to each panel, with Joe Rivera seeming to know when to make the shadows thick or when to leave just enough light for the color to poke through the darkness. The Spider-Man/Daredevil/Black Cat team-up features artwork by artist Emma Rios and the artist Kano. There is also a brief story illustrated by Khoi Pham. All of it is good, though some of the poses Kano puts Black Cat in make my spine ache in sympathy.

In terms of content, there’s little to make parents or librarians nervous about this series. There are several moments of passionate kissing leading into something more intense between Daredevil and Black Cat, but there’s no nudity. Likewise, while the eventual reasons for Mole Man’s grave robbing are quite disturbing (i.e. finding the one woman who was ever nice to him and saying goodbye), Waid’s script keeps his intentions purely platonic and there’s no hint of anything else happening. The whole scenario is gross enough without THAT implication!

Daredevil, vol. 2
by Mark Waid
Art by Paolo Rivera, Joe Rivera, Emma Rios, Kano, and Khoi Pham
ISBN: 9780785152392
Marvel Comics, 2012
Publisher Age Rating: T+ (12 and Up)

Daredevil: Vol. 1 - A No Flying, No Tights Review

Even before Frank Miller put his personal stamp on Daredevil in the late 1970s and introduced many of the elements that made Daredevil one of the darkest books in mainstream superhero history, Daredevil was a character born of tragedy. His radar-sense superpowers were born of the accident that took his sight. He was abandoned by his mother and lost his father to violence. Some of his love interests were killed by costumed super-villains. Some of his love interests WERE costumed super-villains. His secret identity was exposed to the public on three separate occasions, requiring that he deal with it by creating a fake twin brother, fabricating a second separate legal identity, and then by simply denying everything and threatening libel suits. At one point or another he’s lost his job, his home, his mind – even his soul after a brief stint being demonically possessed. Yet despite it all, Matt Murdock perseveres.

When approached about creating a new Daredevil series for Marvel Comics, veteran writer Mark Waid reportedly had one condition. He did not want to start the book over by introducing a new girlfriend for Matt Murdock who would turn out to be a ninja assassin with a hereto untold tale of woe seeking revenge. He would not bring back The Kingpin with an entirely new scheme to ruin Matt Murdock’s life. He refused to add to the festering dung heap of tragedy that has been Matt Murdock’s life for the past three decades.
What he would do, instead, is make the book fun again.

From the opening chapter of this book, we know that this is a Daredevil not seen since the days of Stan Lee. Crashing a Mafia princess’s wedding to thwart a kidnapping, dodging bullets even as he steals a kiss from the bride – this Daredevil is a hero from the same school as Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn. He is bold. He is gleeful. He laughs in the face of danger. And under Waid’s pen he is glorious and truly worthy of the title The Man Without Fear.

Waid quickly establishes the world of Matt Murdock for those new to the characters. A brilliant lawyer by day and vigilante by night, Matt Murdock and his best friend and legal partner Franklin “Foggy” Nelson have recently revamped their law firm into a legal-aid clinic where they advise their clients on how to best represent themselves in court. This step proved necessary since Matt’s alleged superhero identity, while not publicly proven to anyone’s satisfaction, has caused enough mistrials to make it impossible for him to directly represent anyone in court. Waid also introduces a new foe/love interest in the form of Assistant District Attorney Kirsten McDuffie, who is determined to prove Matt Murdock and Daredevil are one and the same even as she finds herself falling for the idealistic lawyer.

Waid’s scripts are backed by some equally excellent artwork, provided by two separate creative teams with very different ways of showing us the world through Matt Murdock’s eyes. The first three chapters are illustrated by penciler Paolo Rivera and inker Joe Rivera. They show us the world from Matt’s viewpoint through a series of black backgrounds overlain with red lines highlighting the objects as Matt “sees” them. The last three chapters are illustrated by Marcos Martin, who takes a more minimalist approach to depicting Matt Murdock’s radar sight. Concentric circles overlay single-color silhouettes of the objects and people around Daredevil. Both methods are effective and the normal artwork is laid out with equal skill and detail.

Daredevil is one of those rare books that proves capable of pleasing both long-time fans and newbies alike. There’s nothing in the book that would be objectionable for the book’s target audience of 12 and up. Indeed, this series should be considered a must-have for any superhero fan’s comic collection or young adult library collection.

Daredevil, vol. 1
by Mark Waid
Art by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin
ISBN: 9780785152378
Marvel Comics, 2012
Publisher Age Rating: T+ (12 and Up)

'Taking The Man out of Superman' Or 'Why I'm Now Worried About Man Of Steel'

SOURCE: Justice League May Not Fly Unless Man Of Steel Soars, Plus Why David Goyer Compares Superman To E.T.

Despite some fan concern over the first two trailers for Man of Steel (specifically, one trailer that didn't show Superman at all and one trailer which suggested that Pa Kent would tell his son off for saving lives), I've generally had high hopes about the upcoming movie.  That got shot to heck this morning as I read several comments by David S. Goyer - writer of Man of Steel as well as several other superhero movies and comics.

“He’s an alien. You can easily imagine a scenario in which we’d be doing a film like E.T., as opposed to him running around in tights. If the world found out he existed, it would be the biggest thing that ever happened in human history. It falls into that idea of trying to humanize the inhuman. He’s made out of steel, he’s not made out of flesh, metaphorically speaking. We are portraying him as a man, yet he’s not a man.”

I want to trust Goyer.  Having co-written JSA with James Robinson and Geoff Johns, I know he understands superheroes and the inherent hopefulness of the genre.  And the voice-over in the trailer, where Superman talks about his father thinking people would be afraid of him but how he believes differently... that hits the optimistic bullseye that should be the heart of Superman.  But it's still worrying to hear the writer of this movie talking about humanizing the inhuman and Superman not really being a man.

It shows a serious lack of understanding in Superman's character to not think that his humanity is his greatest defining feature.  That despite being an alien by birth, Superman is the epitome of humanism.  As Mark Waid noted in Kingdom Come, Superman's greatest power has always been an " instinctive knowledge of right and wrong... a gift of (his) own humanity."  The minute you take that away - the minute you make The Super more important than The Man, the character ceases to be Superman.

Maybe Goyer was taken somewhat out of context?  Maybe he meant that this movie will look at Superman from that perspective of the outsider being humanized until the world realizes that he is a man like any other at heart?  We can hope so, anyway.

Four Books For Arrow Fans New To Comics

I was recently asked by a friend who had seen a trailer for The CW's Arrow what comics I might recommend to someone unfamiliar with the character of Oliver Queen who wanted to read more.  It's a difficult question.  Can I rattle off a list of good Green Arrow stories?  Of course.  Are most of them going to be easily available?  Sadly not.

Unlike Batman and Spider-Man, Green Arrow doesn't have a lot of stories collected in TP format to begin with.  And with the New 52 revamp of the DC Comics Universe barely a year old, most of the Green Arrow stories that are collected and available don't really fit in with the current on-going series.  Thankfully, a digital Arrow comic based on the show with art by Mike Grell and a script by the show's writers will be release tomorrow along with the first episode of the TV series.  That should give Arrowheads old and new alike something to look forward to.

Still, the question remains - is there anything I can recommend to those new fans who are both brave and bold enough to delve into the past of The Emerald Archer?  Yes.  Yes there is.  Here are four comics collections that I can recommend to new readers with few reservations.

#1 Green Arrow: Year One.  Written by Andy Diggle.  Art by Jock.

WHY THIS BOOK?: First, because it's the most recent complete origin story we have for Green Arrow.  Next, because it isn't just a great origin story - it's a great story.  Ollie is established early on as a screwed up man but one whose heart is ultimately in the right place - the kind of protagonist you want to see succeed in spite of himself.  Finally, this book served as something of a series bible for Arrow and what little we know of Ollie's origins on Arrow so far match up with the story we see here.  We know that China White - the drug lord Ollie fights in this story - will be showing up in at least one of the flashbacks depicting his time on the island, played by Kelly Hu. 

   

#2 Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters. By Mike Grell

WHY THIS BOOK?:  Mike Grell redefined Green Arrow for a generation with his now legendary run on the second volume of the Green Arrow series and it all began with this three-part story.  This story brought Ollie into the real world, as he abandoned Star City for Seattle and gave up his trick arrows and Robin Hood hat in favor of a more realistic yeoman's garb, complete with a longbow and cloth-yard shafts.  The whole series is worth tracking down but the original mini-series is all that has been collected in TP format.  Left to his own devices, with relatively few crossovers from the main DC Comics universe, this issue truly explored the idea of low-powered vigilantes in a way few stories had before or have since.  And like GA: Year One, much of the visual aesthetic and base concept of Arrow seems to have come from this series.  Incidentally, Grell apparently did some of the artwork for the pilot (he drew the police sketches of The Arrow) and he will be doing that covers and some interiors for the upcoming Arrow comic.

#3 Green Arrow: Quiver.  Written by Kevin Smith.  Art by Phil Hester.

WHY THIS BOOK?: For my money, this is the greatest comic series ever written by Kevin Smith.  Yes- the same Kevin Smith who wrote and directed Clerks, Chasing Amy and Dogma.  What's most miraculous about this story is how effortlessly Smith is able to explain away several years of back-story through natural dialogue as he spins the tale of how Green Arrow has returned from the dead.  The opening chapter, in which we learn all about what sort of man Oliver Queen was through the remembrances of those closest to him should be required reading for any aspiring comics writer wanting to learn how to tell an effective origin story without requiring the presence of the main character.  And being as this is a Kevin Smith script, there's a lot of good humor to go with the action and drama.

#4 JLA: Year One.  Written by Mark Waid.  Art by Brian Augustyn. 

WHY THIS BOOK?:  While not technically a Green Arrow story as such, Oliver Queen plays a pretty big role in the action, showing up at several key points and proving himself worthy of being the first person outside of the original five founders to gain a membership in The Justice League.  I can't say much more for fear of spoiling a bit of the story but trust me - this story is something all Green Arrow fans should read if only for the "romantic" moments with Black Canary.  If nothing else, this issue is a good introduction to the DC Comics universe at large for people who want to get into comics in general if not Green Arrow in specific.

Justice League: Doom - Just One Month Away!

There's a brief preview of some footage up at Topless Robot but I posted this older trailer so as to share some news that hasn't been making the rounds as well as other bits of news.

* We knew that Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy were reprising the roles of Superman and Batman respectively.

* We knew this script was the last thing Dwayne McDuffie completed before his untimely passing.

*We knew the script was based on Mark Waid's classic JLA story Tower Of Babel.

But we now know the following as well...

* Michael Rosenbaum, Susan Eisenberg and Carl Lumbly are also back, reprising their roles as The Flash, Wonder Woman and The Martian Manhunter respectively.

* Also returning are Phil Morris, Olivia d'Abo and Alexis Denisof, who voiced Vandal Savage, Star Sapphire and Mirror Master in the original Bruce Timm produced Justice League animated series.

* The real big news? Hal Jordan will be once again be voiced by Captain Tightpants himself - Nathan Fillion.

I think this may well be the best animated film DC Comics has made yet.

Irredeemable - A No Flying No Tights Review

SOURCE: Irredeemable, vol. 1

My apologies for the late posting. With my Internet having been out the last week, it's made updating the blog rather difficult. But the timing was fitting as I can now post the link to this - my first review for No Flying No Tights - on the same day that I got to meet Mark Waid at Zeus Comics. Enjoy!





“What If The World’s Greatest Hero Decided To Become The World’s Greatest Villain?”

That is the question that establishes the world of Irredeemable. The Plutonian, a hero who is basically this world’s Superman, has apparently crossed-over to The Dark Side for no apparent reason. Having killed several of his former comrades, a rag-tag team of survivors scramble to learn as much as they can about The Plutonian – his past, his secret identity and his weaknesses – hoping to find something that can tell them what drove The Plutonian to this point and, if necessary, how to kill him.

Former Superman writer Mark Waid is probably the last writer anyone would have suspected capable of writing this tale of a hero in rebellion against society. And yet, he is probably the only writer who could have written this story so well. The afterword by Grant Morrison (who also knows a thing or two about Superman) speaks of how he and Waid discussed the idea of labeling and how no matter what else they wrote, they were apparently doomed to be forever known as the “mad-cap purveyor of free-form gibberish” and “The Sterling Sentinel Of Silver Age Nostalgia” respectively. With that in mind, one can see how this series is Waid’s rebellion against the idea of labels being permanent.

Throughout the course of this first volume, we see The Plutonian indulge in some truly horrific behavior, from orphaning a child by burning her family alive before her eyes to destroying an entire country and then forcing one of his former allies to choose only ten people out of millions to be “saved”. And yet, as this story deconstructs the superhuman, it builds up the classic Superman, revealing that his greatest power was his ability to see the best in everyone – an ability that The Plutonian sorely lacks.

The art by Peter Krause deserves special mention. As an artist, Krause is as firmly connected to wholesome classic comics as Mark Waid. He spent several years working on Superman as well as the Captain Marvel title The Power of Shazam! Perhaps he relished the chance to move against convention with this book as Waid did? He certainly put his all into this book, creating something that looks like a traditional superhero book until you get to That One Moment that every single chapter of this series seems to have.

New comic fans looking for something to whet their appetite after reading Watchmen will enjoy this series as will fans of Mark Waid’s other work, though they may be shocked by some of the content. This is a wonderful graphic novel but it should be kept firmly in the adult section as it contains several moments of intense violence as well as some downright creepy bits, including one scene where The Plutonian forces a young couple to have sex while cosplaying as The Plutonian and one of his former teammates.

Irredeemable, vol. 1
Written by Mark Waid; Art by Peter Krause
ISBN: 9781934506905
BOOM! Studios, 2009

Thing About Comics To Be Cheerful About

1. Mark Waid will be writing 'The Flash' again!

I love Waid's work but I've just never gotten The Legion of Superheroes... so I'll be glad to have him writing a book featuring characters I like.

Also, there's a fair to middling chance that with Waid writing Trickster again, Underworld Unleashed might still be canon. :)


2. Dwayne McDuffie, former writer and producer of the Justice League cartoon, is taking over JLA... AND he's writing the Ollie/Dinah wedding special!

It's not Gail Simone but it's one of the few other writers whose name can get me to try a book I wouldn't ordinarily read. And as nervous as I know everyone is about the Ollie/Dinah marriage... at least we can be assured that the wedding issue will be top-notch.

Now... can we get a guarantee that Judd Winick is NOT writing any potential Green Arrow/Black Canary team books?

...

Apparently not...

*sighs*

Ah well... it can't all be good, can it?

On Ice.

Got an e-mail from a colleague asking for more details on Ice.

He doesn't get what the big deal is about her being alive and... oh yeah... thinks that maybe she's more interesting dead if she got a big tragic death.

Buddy, the only thing tragic about Ice's death was the fact that anybody ever felt the need to make it happen.

Mark Waid, who wrote the story, says it's the biggest mistake he ever made as a writer. His exact comments can be found on Gail Simone's Women In Refrigerators site at: http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/c-mwaid.html

Here's the quote: "I'm responsible for the death of Ice. My call, my worst mistake in comics, my biggest regret. I remember hearing myself ask the editor, "Who's the JLAer whose death would evoke the most fierce gut reaction from readers?" What a dope. Mea culpa. But I've learned my lesson."

He also wondered if it wasn't a matter of plot convenience that Huntress knew who Ice was. After all, she's never been the most social of superheroes. In fact, she makes Batman look like the life of the party when it comes to playing well with others.

Still - as shocking as this is - Huntress and Ice were teammates. Huntress was in the Justice League from issues #26 - 35 of the 1987 Justice League of America Series while Ice was on the team. Ice had an open identity so it seems likely that Huntress knew her first name was Tora, though given Helena's secret identity issues at the time is is unlikely that Ice knew Huntress' real name.

And to answer said colleague's note that "there are lots of other cold-powered characters in the DCU", I would like to note that, as Stan Lee was once reported to say, "The Powers Are Not the Person".

Yes, there are other ice-powered characters in the DCU. But as a certain famous writer is fond of saying - The Powers Are Not The Person. By that logic, Captain Cold and Mister Freeze are the same guy but if you tried making that case to a Flash fan, you'd get laughed out of the park.

***

Quick comic reviews later, when I have more time to write. Promise.

Looking To The Stars: It Keeps You Reading...

With all the talk in this past week’s The Roundtable filling my mailbox as I’m trying to focus on constructing a website devoted to graphic novels for children, I found myself thinking a lot about the books I don’t enjoy. And saying more than I intended about the writers whose works I don’t enjoy.

It is easy, working in a comic shop, to develop a negative attitude towards the hobby itself. Constant exposure to whinny fanboys, speculators, Marvel Zombies and the DC equivalent that I’ve never heard a corresponding nickname for and all the Comic Book Guys everywhere – it can really make you question why you bother with the hobby at all.

That is why, in an effort to put a little more good will and positive thought out there, I put forth this list of twelve writers who keep me reading comics whenever I think about quitting.

1. Neil Gaiman

While this list is in no particular order, Neil would probably be at the top if I had any desire to organize the writers I like by “first favorite” and “second favorites” like a schoolgirl organizing her crushes. Simply put, I have yet to read anything bad this man has written which is more than I can say for most other comic writers. I do not believe it is possible for Neil Gaiman to write a bad story. That is the best compliment I can pay, I think.

2. James Robinson

While he hasn’t written a comic in a while, his influence is still felt throughout DC Comics. His Starman was the first book to spark a movement among DC Comics writers to take the long-neglected and ignored parts of the worlds’ oldest comic company’s universe and try and breathe some life back into them. At a time when DC was content to let the Justice Society die out, Robinson kept their legacy alive with his Golden Age mini-series and the many Times Past comics of Starman.

3. Geoff Johns

If Robinson is Socrates, then Johns is Plato- the philosopher who built upon the works of an earlier master to achieve even greater acclaim. Johns is pretty much THE Man at DC Comics today and it is well-deserved. A fan who made good, Johns is almost single-handedly responsible for correcting the biggest continuity snafus of the past ten years, with his work on countless titles. What is all the more amazing is his gift for characterization and telling the history of the comics he loves without boring the reader with statistics as some writers do.

4. Dan Slott

Marvel needs to give this man a lot more work. His Spider-Man/Human Torch mini-series has been the best limited series this year by sure virtue of the fact that he did something that only Mark Waid and Paul Jenkins had managed in recent years- he made a fun Marvel comic. Not just funny, but fun. Slott is a man who knows his fun and packs more into everything he writes before 9 am than most writers manage all year.

5. R.K. Milholland

Some may blanch at me including a web-comic writer/artist in with all these professional writers. But make no mistake; the author of such on-line comics as Something Positive, New Gold Dreams and the brand new Midnight Macabre is very much a professional by any standard. Not only are his comics the funniest thing on the Internet, but they are delivered on-time at the same high level of quality on a regular basis. What is more, he managed without even trying seriously to become a fully-paid artist following a half-hearted pledge drive made in response to complaints about misspelling and late comics. He told his readers that if they thought it was that important, that they could donate money so he wouldn’t have to work so many hours and that if they matched his salary for one year, he would quit his job. The fans put up, and Milholland has been living the dream of many an amateur since.

6. Mark Waid

The one writer who can get me to try any book, no matter what, simply because of the way he always puts a spin on it. The man who has done the impossible twice this year; he got me to read a Legion book and he made the free City of Heroes comic readable.

7. Mike Grell

I’ve been a fan since reading Green Arrow: The Wonder Year after retrieving the series from the dollar bin of my first comic shop in Victoria, Texas. He was by far the best writer ever to tackle Oliver Queen and one of the best writers to every work in comics period. With a new regular John Sable: Freelance series out from IDW and the original series slowly coming out in TP format after a relative eternity, I am as happy as a pig in mud. You will be too if you give Mr. Grell’s work, old or new, a chance.

8. Stan Lee

I know it’s a cliche, but if you ever find yourself hating comics- not modern comics, but just comics in general, pull up a collection of old Stan Lee. Fantastic Four or Spider-Man – pick your own poison. It’ll cheer you like nothing else.

9. Gail Simone

If Sting hadn’t already written Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic some two decades ago, comic fans might have to write that song about Gail Simone and her work. I’ve gushed over Gail enough in the past, so rather than tell about my own experiences, I will tell the story of my friend Scott. Scott is one of a dying breed- an old school fanboy who still hasn’t forgiven DC from depowering Superman after the original Crisis. Scott has had few kind words for anyone who has written Superman since 1985 and he holds an especially deep loathing for John Byrne. Imagine my surprise then when, upon my recommendation, Scott picked up the latest Action Comics with John Byrne’s name on it (though just doing artwork) and declared that it was actually good.

10. Mike Carey

From Lucifer to Red Sonja, from Spellbinders to Hellblazer, Mike Carey is perhaps the most versatile writer working in comics today. He has proven capable of writing every genre there is, from sword-and-sorcery to modern magic and mythology. He’s also handled urban drama (in his Ultimate Elektra series) as well as, this week, old-fashioned superheroics with Ultimate Fantastic Four.

11. Kurt Busiek

If I’m going to mention the co-writer of Red Sonja, I have to mention the man who writes the best Conan since Robert Howard himself. His superhero work is not that bad, either. And by not that bad, I mean superb.

12. Brian K. Vaughan

Last, and definitely not least… well, if you aren’t reading Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina or Ultimate X-Men by now, anything complementary I have to say will probably not drag you out from under the rock you live under.

Tune in next time. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.

Fantastic Four #514 - A Review

Written by: Mark Waid and Karl Kesel
Penciled by: Paco Medina
Inked by: Juan Vlasco
Cover by: Gene Ha and Morry Hollowell
Colored by: Paul Mounts
Lettered by: Virtual Calligraphy’s Randy Gentile
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Even in these days where four monthly Fantastic Four titles are available to me, this is still the only one that I read. Marvel Age just rehashes material from my “Essentials” collections that I liked just fine the first time. Ultimate Fantastic Four I’m avoiding on the principal that I can’t support Warren “If you read superhero books, you’re a bloody wanker” Ellis’ whoring himself out for the highest bidder. And Marvel Knights Four strikes me as a silly idea, adding unneeded darkness to a team that works best as a light entertainment and adding “realism” in order to ground its’ characters, when they belong in the clouds.

Still, another few issues like this and I may have to start leaving this book on the shelf as well. Waid seems to have been jogging in place ever since reaching the end of Authoritative Action; the arc that was to mark the end of his run before fan demand got him put back on the title. The last few arcs, where The Fantastic Four went to Heaven and the “Spider-Sense” arcs were enjoyable enough, but didn’t reach the high levels that Waid usually writes at. Still, I suspect that he did have to rush a few things together and that this arc, co-written with Karl Kessel, is a reflection of that. Still, even allowing for a rush to get some scripts done at the last moment to keep the series going, this is a rather sad spectacle.

The whole of the plot centers about the return of a new Frightful Four. (Any connection to this week’s return of The Fearsome Five over in “Outsiders” is probably just a coincidence.) I say return, even though we only have two of the founding members returning: The Wingless Wizard and Paste Pot Pete aka The Trapster. Filling the rest of the spots in this all-star loser squad is long-time lamer and second-tier Sandman substitute… literally; the hapless Hydroman and apparent newcomer (I’ve never heard of her, nor have any of the other Marvel experts I consulted), Salamandra, The Fire Maiden.

I would LIKE to take them seriously as a threat. Really, I would. But Trapster is, by his own admission, rather useless with the Wizard around. Hydroman, even with his powers supped up, is barely competent under good conditions. And… well any brilliant genius who can call himself the Wingless Wizard without any sense of irony can’t be all THAT brilliant.

Howard Porter and Mike Wieringo are sorely missed already on this title. Paco Medina is a poor replacement for the quality artist’s that used to headline this book and I can sum up the biggest problem with his characters with one word: noses. Look at anybody in this book and marvel at how hugely out of proportion all the noses are compared to the rest of their faces. Reed Richard’s himself comes off looking like Karl Malden in some panels. And perhaps there is some explanation as to how The Thing mysteriously acquired a pair of boots in the middle of a fight after being barefoot for the whole issue other than a poor sense of artistic continuity. But I doubt it.

Fantasic Four #508

Written by: Mark Waid
Penciled by: Howard Porter
Inked by: Norm Rapmund
Cover by: Tony Harris & Tom Feister
Colored by: Avakib Styduis
Lettered by: Russ Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Wow.

That is all I can say about this comic. At the very least, that is all I can say about the details of it.

That leaves me only the circumstances leading up to this book to discuss. Thankfully, this is as full and fantastic a topic as the story itself.

This was meant to be the last issue of Fantastic Four that Mark Waid would write, before an eleventh hour renouncement of the editorial decision that would have removed him from the book. Whether it was the result of fan outrage, media criticism or someone actually looking at the sales numbers since Waid took over the book and realizing that the book was doing a lot better than before Issue 60, cannot be said. What can be said, however, is that we are all damn lucky and there should be much rejoicing in comic shops around the world.

The seeds for this having been a last issue are all there, despite the story ending on a cliffhanger that holds the fate of the entire team and two lives in particular in the balance. Everything is changed in an instant, with things in a state of stability, if not calmness. And again, I must give thanks that despite all the complications that it will be Mark Waid who will be writing the solutions to the problems raises in this issue rather than anyone else. I am on the edge of my seat wondering how this will be resolved and find myself uncharacteristically dumbfounded as to ideas as to just HOW this corner will be written out of.

The art is equally wow-derful. Porter does some of his best work ever here, with all the exaggerated distortions common to his JLA work gone. Still, when exaggerations are necessary such as in depicting The Thing or in the scarred half-face of Mr. Fantastic, Porter is able to stretch (no pun intended) the boundaries of realistic artwork. Tony Harris does an excellent job on the cover and I have to wonder why, with all the covers he has been doing for Marvel of late (He also recently did the covers for Amazing Spider-Man and Kingpin), that nobody has assigned him to a title? I can only assume that he wishes to remain a free agent or that Marvel is showing the same judgment that made them think of dropping Waid from this title.
And that will, I promise, be the last word from me on the subject of Waid and Marvel’s firing. Promise.

Fantastic Four #503 - A Review

Written by: Mark Waid
Penciled by: Howard Porter
Inked by: Norm Rapmund
Colored by: Matt Milla
Lettered by: Russ Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The first time I encountered both Mark Waid and Howard Porter was a few years ago when I picked up the TP collection of “Underworld Unleashed”. Considered by many to be one of the few DC summer crossovers to live up to the reputation of the summer blockbusters, the book was an instant classic thanks to Waid’s original plotting and dialogue and Porter’s disjointed, but gorgeous, style of artwork. The two have reunited in this, the first issue of a new storyline in Fantastic Four and the two masters have never looked better.

Waid treats us to his typical blend humor and action that makes all things (for lack of better word) fantastic seem commonplace and the commonplace fantastic. The opening pages, for example, detail a common New York City sight; the theme store. The twist here is that this is a theme-store for a superhero group and that it is in the bottom floor of their base. Likewise, the main plot of the book details the Fantasic Four’s efforts to protect the country of Latveria from invaders in the absence of Doctor Doom and destroy Dr. Doom’s more dangerous technologies before anyone else gets a chance to use them. This leads towards Reed having to make an important decision which will have dire consequences for the team…

Well, I hope it will, anyway. Be a pretty dull six-issue series if it doesn’t!

Porter’s illustrations seem much less stretched out and wild than usual. Indeed, it looks as if he is trying to mimic the style of former artist Mike Wieringo at times, with characters being more rounded than angular. Still, the style is undeniably Porter’s, with an emphasis on deep shadows and sharp lines. I only have two quibbles; at times, the shape of Ben Grimm’s head keeps changing from round to square-shaped and the artwork is very “posed” at times. Consider Reed’s sudden shift into the standard Superman pose in page 18. Still, Porter’s darker style does seem to suit the tone Waid’s writing has taken the book during the course of his run and the two complement each other quite well.

Looking To The Stars: Quick Takes

Dear Reader,

Due to some rather hectic things happening in the last few weeks, I haven’t gotten to have as many of these special weekly little talks with you as either of us would like. Well, I hope you like them anyway and if not, why the heck are you wasting your time reading this?

Don’t answer that.

At any rate, a lot of good books have come out in the last month or so, but I haven’t gotten a chance to weigh in on them. But how… how am I going to cover so much ground in so little space?

Brevity is the soul of wit, I’m told. And it is also the soul of writers with a quickly approaching deadline. With that in mind, here’s my quick takes and ratings of some of the books to grace and curse our shelves in the past few weeks.

Bad Girls #1

Somewhat amusing tale of superpowers accidentally given to the bitchy beautiful girls we all hated in high school and the new, uncool girl having to stop them. I’ll give it a few more issues, but this looks pretty prosaic so far. Indie title Shades of Blue does the same thing but with a lot more passion and realism.

Final Score: 4.0 (out of 10)

Supreme Power #1

To my regret, I have yet to get around to reading the original Squadron Supreme books and what I saw here isn’t making me all that eager to read much more of this prequel series. I probably will keep reading it though, as JMS has a way of starting stories off slow and typical but then twisting the heck out of everything later. If nothing else, I’ll probably be able to sell the single issues for a mint later. Word is the issue #1 is already doing a brisk trade on eBay.

Final Score: 3.0 (out of 10)

Futurama #14

The series may be over, but the comic lives on. This month it features a gimmick that even ol’ Stan Lee never tried… seven comics in one story. The entire comic is done in a six-box format that can either be read as one whole comic story or by following each corner-panel to read a separate story centering around a different member of the cast. The effect is a bit trippy, but enjoyable.

Final Score: 7.0 (out of 10)

JSA All-Stars #4

I’m going to miss Geoff Johns when he goes off this title and I can only hope that Courtney a.k.a. The Star Spangled Kid (now Star Girl as of this issue) will make an appearance in Teen Titans. John’s baby, Courtney really came into her own in the pages of JSA and this issue is a real treat. And Starman fans (that’s fans of the comic and not fans of yours truly), will want to check out the vintage story by James Robinson and Tony Harris, complete with cheesy Golden Age ending.

Final Score: 10.0 (out of 10)

Formerly Known as the Justice League #1 and #2

There’s just not enough good comedy in comics anymore. So may any gods that are listening bless whoever had the idea to bring back Giffen and DeMatteis to doing this book instead of preaching pseudo-intellectual spiritual dogma (Spectre) or mindless violence for the sake of comedy (Lobo). Not that I have anything against The Main Man or The Spirit of Redemption, but I don’t think either of these writers shined quite so well as when they were working on JLE and JLI together.

Final Score: 8.0 (out of 10)

Superman/Batman #1

Jeph Loeb, the best writer on Batman and Superman in the last ten years, is writing.

Ed McGuinness, one of the best artists in the field today, is penciling.

It sold out at DC before it hit the streets.

It was the best thing I read all last week.

What else do you need to know? Get this book!

Final Score: 10.0 (out of 10)

Batman #617

Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee continue to do everything we always wanted to see or never thought we’d see in a Batman story. If you aren’t already reading this book, nothing else I can say will get you reading it. Go sit in your dark corner all alone and cold while the rest of us laugh and point at you.

Final Score: 9.0 (out of 10)

Birds of Prey #57

It’s been too long since I’ve read Huntress done right. Too long portrayed as a PMSing brat (Greg Rucka), an unemotional psychopath (Chuck Dixon) or Nightwing’s wannabe love slave (Devin Grayson), she actually… and I’m sorry I can think of no better or more original way to say this because it has become such a cliché with this title… she actually READS like a real woman who kicks butt. And while I’m not too crazy about her hot-pants and halter costume, the fault with that lies with Jim Lee and not the art team here, who manage to keep this from degrading into total Jim Balent-esque cheesecake work. If she keeps fixing up my favorite books like this, I may have to propose to Gail Simone. (You heard it here first, folks!)

Final Score: 10.0 (out of 10)

Daredevil #49

I wanted Matt back in the costume. I got Matt back in the costume, and none too soon as we get a fight we’ve been waiting for since nearly the start of this volume. My one complaint though, is that Bendis has ruined the mystique of one of the best villains in all of comicdom and in a very off-handed fashion with this issue. While I can appreciate and understand the brief “origin” details given here, it is still too much and ruins the imaginings of me and a million other Daredevil fans.

Final Score: 6.0 (out of 10)

Hawkman #18

Proof you don’t have to have all-action, all the time, even on an action heavy title such as this one. A brilliant story about a depressed Carter Hall visiting a place from his past life and learning a lesson from an unlikely teacher.

Final Score: 8.0 (out of 10)

Green Lantern #167

Slowly but surely, Raab is building towards something. I’ll stick around to find out what, if only out of curiosity. That and because I’m really digging the sci-fi hero elements that we haven’t seen since… well, since Hal was still GL 10 years ago. And cheers to someone finally doing something with ex-Darkstar and perpetually ignored John Stewart girlfriend Merayn.

Final Score: 7.0 (out of 10)

Fantastic Four #500 and #501

Excellence. Pure unadulterated excellence. I can only echo the thoughts of most of my colleagues and the vast masses I have seen on the message boards in asking “What the hell is Bill Jemas thinking taking Mark Waid off this title?”

Final Score: 11.0 (out of 10) Cause it’s one higher, don’t you know?

And on a final note, as long as we’re talking about the insanity of Bill Jemas, I’d like to address the rumors flying around now about an Ultimate Hulk title aimed at children.

GOOD IDEA about to be executed badly.

Look, Mark Millar has gone so out of his way to make the Ultimate Hulk…. NOT a kid’s character, that only a fool or a madman would suggest a kid-friendly Ultimate Hulk title. The whole raping Betty, using Giant man’s skull as a toilet thing is SO not going to fly with the parents of a younger audience. And I am not suggesting that Marvel editorial would be so stupid as to put such material in a children’s book. But having had to fight to keep the young ones out of Ultimates #5 at my store, thanks to a mention in the big history book of The Hulk that’s name escapes me at the moment, I can tell you that slapping Ultimate on the cover and trying to tie a friendly face onto the Hulk as depicted thus far in the tight continuity of the Ultimate Universe would be a BAD IDEA.

A Hulk comic aimed at kids, however, would be a great idea and would sell quite well. Many a customer I’ve had to warn away from the current, more adult Hulk books by Bruce Jones and many is the parent I’ve had complain about how they bring a kid favorite like The Hulk to the big screen, they put out all these toys and then they don’t even have books that the kids can read.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again folks; the audience is there. But the publishers need to cater to it and cater to it right.

Tune in next week. Same Matt Time. Same Matt Website.

Looking To The Stars: Random Thoughts

First of all, my apologies for my lack of a column last week. Those of you who didn’t notice, five points from your house. Those of you who actively cheered my absence and hoped that it was a sign of my retirement, fifty points from your house.

Yes, I did read the new Harry Potter book. Rather liked it, thank you.

Anyway, personal issues with class, work and family concerns kept me rather busy last week and I missed being able to give my two cents on a number of items in the comic news and commenting upon the writings of some of my colleagues.

To that end, here are some Random Thoughts….

1. The Hulk

Still haven’t seen it yet. Been too busy, but I heard it wasn’t that great and the special effects were horrid. Will write a full review once I do see it.

2. LXG

Did manage to get a night free to see it. Rather liked it, despite it being nothing like the book and totally getting the story of Dorian Grey wrong. Still, if you aren’t a total fanboy or literature geek and take it on the level of an adaptation and not a translation, you won’t find a better movie.

3. Mark Waid’s Departure From Marvel.

Based on the writings of Paul Sebert and Jesse Baker, I am one of the few who feels that Mark Waid’s firing from Marvel will go down at the latest nail in the coffin that Bill Jemas is making for himself.

Simply put, Waid’s run on Fanastic Four has revitalized a long-dull title and anyone who says otherwise must not be reading the same comics that I am. Personally, I have no idea where this whole “Waid is a prima donna” thing came from and I’ve only heard nice things about the man. But I could care less about the personality of a writer, so long as they deliver a good story. And I don’t think any comments about Waid’s ability to deliver good stories can be taken seriously.

On that note…

4. The DC Coup De Tat.

DC just snatched up Grant Morrison, Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale and Greg Rucka with exclusive contracts and I couldn’t be happier. Okay, so I will miss hearing all the X-Men fans complain about not understanding Morrison or the Wolverine fans who don’t like the new detective-based stories and want to go back to Wolverine slashing up ninjas. And goodness knows I’m not going to object to any more Tim Sale/Jeph Loeb team-ups.

But this isn’t enough DC. You need to nail down more of the writers with exclusive contracts. Mark Waid is free of Marvel now and is already working for you on Empire and Birthright. Give that man a contract and put him and Morrison to work on Superman, like they wanted to do a few years back. I’ve been reading Superman and I don’t care HOW radical their proposal was- it can hardly be worse than the Supergirl daughter from the future story that can be going on right now.

For that matter, give Gail Simone a contract too. I can’t keep Birds of Prey on the shelf at my comic shop and goodness knows she’s just as worthy of keeping around as Geoff Johns and Judd Winick.

And Speaking of which.

5. The Judd Winick/DC Pimp Slap

Okay Judd. I defended you when you turned Kyle Rayner into a clone of yourself; successful artist loved by the media because most of your stories, continuity issues aside, were pretty good. I sat through all of Blood and Water, which started out brilliant and unique but degraded into another generic World of Darkness vampire brawl comic. But I cannot be silent about your turning Oliver Queen into the man-whore everyone thinks he is.

As anyone who read my recent“Your Cheating Heart” article or the last ten issues of Green Arrow could tell you, Oliver Queen may be a world class flirt but he has never once cheated on Dinah Lance. Hell, not five issues ago he was ready to propose to her! And now he’s had a one night stand with the niece of a friend for no readily apparent or believable reason other than “he’s a horn dog.”

Then again, what IS the status between them now? Birds of Prey hasn’t said anything about Dinah’s dating status. She dumped Dr. Midnite to figure things out in JSA, but nothing has been said there. And the last I checked in Green Arrow the two of them were dating and maybe back together. Smith definitely suggested they were at the end of his last story. Hester pretty much ignored it, except to show Ollie preparing to propose to her. And Winick? Canary wasn’t mentioned once until Ollie was making an excuse to cover what he was doing to Connor.

So maybe Ollie isn’t really cheating… but it sure makes me crawly thinking he might be. So could someone from DC please make a definitive statement one way or the other on where my favorite couple stands?

And as long as I’m feeling combative.

6. Jesse Baker: The Anti-Starman

Fellow 411 writer Jesse Baker has revealed himself to be the dreaded Anti-Starman. Yes, this strange being from a parallel anti-matter universe has declared J. Michael Strayczinski’s run on Spider-Man to be “hit and miss”, Mark Waid’s The Flash run to have missed the finish line and generally shown himself to disagree with me on every major point of comicdom.

Except that Rawhide Kid #1 wasn’t funny. We both agree on that. Take that, Ron Zimmerman! Ha!

Seriously, Jesse and I do disagree on some books but we get along just fine. If nothing else, we have someone we can argue comics with and that bond goes much deeper than any disagreement over whether or not Mark Waid writing Superman would be a good thing.

Tune in next week. Same Matt Time. Same Matt Website.

Fantastic Four #70 / #499 - A Review

Written by: Mark Waid
Penciled by: Mike Wieringo
Inked by: Lary Stucker
Colored by: Paul Mounts
Lettered by: Rus Wooton
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Mark Waid made headlines on all the comic news sites earlier last week when he announced that he had been fired from writing Fantastic Four, in favor of a new direction to be written by Marvel President Bill Jemas himself. Marvel Editorial immediately sent out their own announcement, claiming that Jemas was not going to be writing Fantastic Four and that the “wacky inventor with super-villain” concept Waid said they wanted was actually going to be used for another title.

Now, I’m not going to take sides on this argument one way or the other. It’s impossible for me, the common shlub on the street, to know who said what or what was planned and what may have been changed at the last minute to make whoever look good. But there is one thing I do know after having ready this, the penultimate chapter of Mark Waid’s “Unthinkable” story arc. And that one thing is this; we must do whatever we can to keep Mr. Waid on this title!

Honestly, the only reason I ever picked up this book in the first place was because of Mark Waid. I’ve been a fan of his work since his original run on “The Flash”. I followed him through “JLA”, read every mini-series he ever penned (including the classics “JLA: Year One” and “Kingdom Come”) and stopped reading Ruse when the title wound up in the less-capable hands of Scott Beatty.

I know that I am far from alone in this, being one of many Mark Waid fans in my circle of comic-reading friends. I know that the sales on this book have gone up at my personal shop since Waid took over the title. And as I recall correctly, the Title’s spot on the Diamond Top 300 list has been going up steadily the past few months as word of mouth over “Unthinkable” has spread.

Do I credit Mark Waid’s writing for this rise in the book’s popularity? Well, he does have a huge fan following and has brought back a sense of surprise the title lacked before. But Waid hasn’t done it alone. The title is served just as well by its’ art team. Mike Wieringo’s pencils have never looked better, even when he and Waid did “The Flash” back in the day.

You may have noticed, readers, that I haven’t said much about the story of the book itself. This is an intentional act on my part, as I am so confident that you… yes, YOU… will like this book, I can trust the book to sell itself when you hold it in your hot little hands in the store. That, and all those who miss this issue and the exciting conclusion in Fantastic Four #500 next month shall suffer the wrath of Doom! And you wouldn’t want that now, would you?

Looking To The Stars: Thoughts On...

I read a lot of comics. And I love writing about comics. But sometimes the regular course of the weekly review schedule here at 411Comics doesn’t give me the chance to write about everything I’ve read or would like to write about. That’s why this week I’ll be giving you my quick takes on all the books I didn’t write full reviews of in the last month.

Amazing Spider-Man #53

Simply put, this is the best mainstream Spidey we’ve had in years. Romita Jr. does his daddy proud on the title that Papa Romita helped to firmly establish as a classic. And J. Michael Strayczynski’s lives up to all the praise that is delivered upon him by fan and critic alike.

My one complaint is that sometimes things do get pushed past the 11 mark. For instance, Peter may crack bad jokes under stress… but the “thinger with the killer thong” joke is just painful. And as true as the scene with Mary Jane dealing with Peter as overthinks their relationship rings, it seemed a bit much for Peter to do the overdone “You complete me, make me whole, nothing without you…etc” speech. Although I did like his conversation with God (“I know I complain a lot, but thank you for her.”) and even though it is crawling a bit, I love Digger, the new villain.

Daredevil #47

In a previous “Looking To The Stars”, I talked about the return of Typhoid Mary to this title and explained something of the history of the character. We see a lot more of Typhoid in this issue, but I feel half and half about the portrayal. On the one hand, there is a fight scene which brilliantly depicts Typhoid’s skill as a fighter and her disconnection from reality. On the other hand, I’m a little concerned about how easily the Kingpin has won Mary over onto his team. Perhaps Mary’s past therapy has depowered the Typhoid personality to the point where she no longer has the dominatrix control obsession she once did… or perhaps, in a scenario I find more likely and preferable, Typhoid is playing with the Kingpin’s affections to get what she wants.

In either case, I’m loving Bendis’s slow build up of this story where The Kingpin is trying to regain the empire he had stolen from him and the sly humor that punctuates the action of this issue. From the dark comedy of Mary’s singing as she cuts down a gang of thugs to the slapstick appearance of an old character rarely seen since the days of Frank Miller, this book manages a difficult balancing act with ease.

Fantastic Four #68

While I’m not a big fan of Manga-esque artwork, I cannot deny that Mike Wieringo’s is usually a good fit for the Fantastic Four. The key word here is usually. While I think he draws the main characters very well and conveys the humorous scenes well, Wieringo’s style is just too cartoony and “bright” for the scenes depicting Dr. Doom. I can’t explain why, but Doom just looks less menacing than usual. Perhaps because of the new look to his armor, which boasts a more form-fitting mask.

Still, Waid’s writing is nothing unexpected, showing his typical grasp of comic history as he uses the subtle details of a past story line to spin a more intricate tale in the present. And while I may quibble about how Doom looks, the book excels on both fronts when depicting the humorous scenes, such as Johnny’s abusing his power over Ben’s paycheck and Ben’s complicated, but funny, revenge.

Green Arrow #26

It’s no secret that I was no fan of the “Black Circle” crossover between Green Arrow and Green Lantern. And my opinions seem to mirrored those of the majority of the Arrrowheads out there. So it was with a small degree of dread that I picked up this issue, the first of Judd Winick’s run on the book. And how was it?

100 Times Better. The regular art team of Hester and Parks return and oh, were they sorely missed after the dark, overinked mess that was the work of Charlie Adlard. And Winick shows his usual level of quality this time around, with Ollie sounding appropriately confident and smart alecky. I also have to give him credit for this plot, which not only taps into Green Arrow’s history of going after the corrupt people in power but also gives some screen time to the vastly underused Black Lightning. And here’s to someone finally giving us some insight as to why Jefferson would agree to a seat on Lex Luthor’s cabinet, knowing who he is.

Hawkman #15

Geoff Johns did a masterful job of fixing the mess that was the continuity of Hawkman. Still, there was one sticking point; whatever happened to Shayera Thal, the Thangarian Hawkwoman and how does she connect to Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders now? This issue addresses that point, as well as serving as a good jumping on point for new fans of the book

This book has never lacked for gorgeous art, but it is good to have regular penciler Rags Morales and inker Michael Blair back. Their artwork is similar to that of Tony Harris and it complements the book well, as Johns writing is similar to that of James Robinson. Similarities aside, this book is its own animal and boasts a surprising final splash page that make this book a great jumping on point

JSA All-Stars #1

While I find the idea of a demon named Legacy rather improbable, I can’t complain about any story that gives more exposure to the best superhero team published today. I can’t help but wonder why, with the place of this story in series continuity, this wasn’t published as a part of the regular series before… But I guess I shouldn’t complain as I get to read JSA twice a month for the next few months. If you haven’t been reading JSA (and why haven’t you?), this mini-series is a good place to start learning about the characters while we wait for the brilliant but continuity-heavy “Princes of Darkness” story line to conclude.

Superman : Red Son #1

Just as I was about to give up on Mark Millar completely, he writes this. Easily one of and maybe the best Superman Elseworlds written in the last decade, this story is all about what it would be like if Superman landed in Russia in the 1950’s. And while it would be all too easy to turn this into a typical comic war story of that same era, Millar avoids the easy route of “die Commie scum!” conflict. He shows that regardless of what country he lives in and political philosophy he adheres to, Superman is there to help everyone. Throw in some gorgeous artwork by Dave Johnson and Andrew Robinson, and it is easy to see why this issue sold out so quickly.

Ultimate Spider-Man #40-41

Probably my favorite book of all, this one very rarely misses the mark. Bendis is back on his game after the too-slow Venom storyline in these two issues which mostly focus upon Peter and his relationship with Mary Jane. Make no mistake though. This comic does not lack for action, with scenes involving teenagers fleeing a party being raided by the police and a fight scene which also involves the funniest take on loosing a contact lens ever. It is difficult to write a story which is purely action, drama or comedy. And yet Bendis manages to mix all three elements effortlessly in this book every month. Throw in the excellent artwork of Mark Bagley and Art Thibert and it’s easy to see why this book is a favorite of critics and fan alike.

Wolverine #1

I’ve never liked Wolverine that much as a character. I’ve never liked Greg Rucka’s writing. So the odds on me liking this book in any way were about on par with the odds of my spontaneously combusting after getting a date with Kirsten Dunst the day after I won the lottery.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself actually liking this book. Maybe I was surprised to see that James Logan has a taste in literature similar to my own. Maybe I like the Film Noir feel of the story and the boarding house and the woman on the run who turns to Logan for help. Maybe it was just that this story was more thoughtful and not an excuse for mindless hack-and-slash violence as many Wolverine writers indulge in.

Regardless, I have no hesitation in recommending this book as a readable peace of literature, and not just as this month’s hot collectors item.


Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt Website.

The First Annual Starry Awards

The Golden Globes. Mr. Blackwell’s Best & Worst Dressed List. And now: The Starries. Because it’s just not the start of the new year without yammering about the best and worst of last year.

Welcome, dear reader, to what I hope will become a yearly staple of 411 Comics: The Starry Awards for Excellence and Disgrace in Comics Writing.

Now Stars, you might well ask… We have the Eisners. We have the Eagles. We even have (though I’m not sure why) the Wizard Awards. Why on Earth 2 does the comic industry need another award? Because those other fine awards aren’t based on my opinions as to what stories are good and which ones are not worth the trees that were killed to see them printed.

The Starries name ten stories in total. Stories, for the purpose of this award, can be single or multiple issues of one book or multiple books relating to one plot-line. The Starries are based solely upon the personal opinions of Matt “Starman” Morrison and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else.

Five Staries are awarded to stories which, more than any other stories this year, made me stand up and cheer, burst into tears or just stopped me in the middle of reading to say “This is damn good stuff.” Five Staries are awarded (if you can call it that) to stories that, for some reason, I found disappointing. Stories that left me feeling that a mark had been missed and missed badly. Some of them are stories that, in fact, I think are just plain terrible!

That said: Here are the winners and losers!

The Best of 2002

Best Moment All Year: The Restoration of Oa and the Guardians.

As told in Green Lantern #150 by Judd Winnick, Dale Eaglesham & Rodney Ramos and Legacy – The Last Will And Testament of Hal Jordan By Joe Kelly, Brent Anderson & Bill Sienkiewicz

Probably the biggest comic news story this year in terms of impact to the DC comics Universe, Winnick and Kelly both had ideas on how to bring back the Green Lantern Corps in some form or another. Working on their stories separately, the two learned of the other’s plans and agreed to write their stories to play off another.

Both stories were as different as brightest day and darkest night. One dealt with a young man given omnipotence trying to find the way to best use his new power. The other dealt with an older man fighting his own sense of powerlessness, seeking redemption for himself and for the greatest man he had ever known. But both these men would come to find something within themselves that let them prove to be the equal of any Green Lantern to come before as they each undid the mistakes of the past.

Funniest Read All Year: Understanding Gamers

As told in Dork Tower #18 by John Kovalic

A success as a straight comedic story, as a semi-serious guide to gamer culture and as a parody of Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, Dork Tower #18 had me laughing and crying. Laughing at such bits as the Gamer Type Identification Chart and crying as I saw myself in the “How To Date A Non-Gamer” section (I swear.. I only told her about my Morrowind character ONCE!). Don’t worry if you missed this book though. It will be coming out soon in an expanded Trade Paperback edition.

Best Team-Up: Green Arrow, Hawkgirl & Hawkman.

As told in Hawkman #5-6 by Geoff Johns, James Robinson, Rags Morales & Michael Bair

They met again for the first time in years in Kevin Smith’s Green Arrow run, these two heroes. Both were recently returned from the dead, both are masters of archaic weapons and both needing only the drop of a feather-bedecked hat to start trying to kill each other.

Still, as good a job as Smith did, Robinson and Johns did him one better with a not-quite so acclaimed team-up story in the pages of Hawkman a few months later. Titled “Slings And Arrows”, the two-part story centered on a reluctant partnership between the Emerald Archer and the Feathered Fighter as they looked for a murderous archer.

But that’s just the plot: the real meat of this issue is watching two of the greatest heroes in the DC Universe grate on each other’s nerves as they try to do the right thing. And a round of applause for the oh-so-ironic scene where Oliver Queen tells off Carter Hall for chasing after a younger woman (Hawkgirl) for the same reasons that he once used to keep him away from a then-as-young Dinah Lance (Black Canary).

And for those of you who are wondering why I put Hawkgirl in this team-up when most of the story involves Carter and Ollie arguing… credit where credit is due. She’s in the background most of the story, but when she does show up she does most of the butt-kicking.

Best New Take On A Book That Needed A Make Over: Fantastic Four

As told in Fantastic Four #60-63 by Mark Waid, Mike Wieringo & Karl Kessel

I’ve never been a big fan of the Fantastic Four. I’d read it from time to time and always found the stories rather formulaic. Ben Grimm moans about his fate. Reed Richards is out of touch with reality as he builds gizmo after gizmo. Johnny Storm… well, you get the idea.

Still, because my comic shop was giving away free copies of Issue #60 to good customers like me and because I’ve always like Mark Waid’s work, I decided to give it a read before donating it to some needy youth.

Smart move on my part, because for some reason the book found it’s way on to my subscription list in just two issues. Maybe it’s because of Waid’s infusion of some much needed humor into the book. For instance, the lack of irony of some truly insane situations…like Reed Richard’s idea of a quiet Sunday Afternoon drive and a washing machine that has settings for Warm Cold, Cold Cold and Unstable Molecules. (“Honey, how do you get rid of Skrull blood stains?”) Maybe the characters seem more alive and less whiny or aloof than before. Maybe it was just the sheer coolness of seeing Reed Richards getting confused trying to play “Magic: The Gathering” with Franklin.

Whatever the reason, this book will be on my pull list for a long time.

Best Retelling of a Classic Tale: Spider-Man: Blue

As told in Spider-Man: Blue #1-5 by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale

One of the prizes of my collection is the Essential Spider-Man Trade Paperbacks. Thanks to these five thick volumes, I’ve been able to read the entirety of Stan Lee’s legendary run on his most famous character for far less than the thousands it would take me to track down the original issues. I’ve also gotten to read nearly the entire life span of the girl whose death turned the comics world on its’ ear. I’m talking, of course, about Gwen Stacy.

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale created this story in order to retell the original issues where Peter and Gwen first started to fall in love. Why? Well, they both confessed that it was a labor of love. There was a time when the Gwen Verses Mary Jane debate was as highly contested and active as the eternal battle between Betty and Veronica, and Loeb and Sales both came down in the Gwen camp. And both were bothered that with all the hype over the upcoming Spider-Man movie and Peter’s romantic problems in the core Spider-Man books, that everybody was forgetting about Peter’s first love.

Now me, personally… I’ve always liked Mary Jane better. But me being a theater major and having a fondness for redheads, I’m willing to admit that I may be a bit biased. But I think it says something that reading this story, I’m starting to see the point of everyone I’ve ever heard say “Gwen and Peter were made for each other.”

Reading this story, the tragedy of Gwen’s death really hits you deep. Deeper than it has in the countless flashbacks of previous storylines over the last few years. Not that there’s anything wrong with referring to it: more than anything except than the murder of Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy’s death represents the reason why Peter Parker is Spider-Man. But too many writers fall into the trap of trying to make their own works seem important by drawing parallels between their work and the image of Gwen falling off a bridge. They tell us why the event shook Peter so badly. Here, without ever showing so much as a bridge wire, Loeb and Sale show us why Gwen’s death was so tragic by showing how wonderful her life was.

The Worst of 2002

Most Likely To Cause Continuity Robots Heads To Explode: The Archer’s Quest

As told in Green Arrow #16-20 by Brad Meltzer, Phil Hester, & Ande Parks.

Ollie Queen has always been one of my favorite heroes. And for the most part I’ve been digging the new Green Arrow book since issue #1. And I think that Meltzer has met the high standard of quality set by Kevin Smith and managed to up the ante on getting the book out on time.

That said, the die-hard fan in me is irked by a few small points in Meltzer’s “Archer’s Quest” storyline. Namely, the story centers around Oliver Queen and former sidekick Roy Harper traveling around the country, gathering up various relics from Ollie’s past with the excuse that Ollie is getting things that could reveal his secret identity to the world. Of course the story has been hinting at Ollie having some deeper purpose in mind than this… but even so, there is a tiny detail that should have had Roy Harper asking Ollie “Who are you and what have you done with my absent father figure?”

Now it could be that only Scott McCullar and I are the only ones on the planet who spotted this or indeed, care… but Oliver Queen’s secret identity is a non-issue. Even ignoring the now “out of time” stories from the Mike Grell’s Green Arrow stories that had Oliver Queen’s identity exposed to the world after being accused of treason by the first Bush administration, there’s a problem. It’s a matter of record that Oliver Queen’s identity was printed on the The Daily Planet’s front page after he died saving Metropolis.

So why is this an issue? Lots of old DC plot points are being ignored as part of an effort to make the stories more accessible to new readers. Well, I am well behind that idea. But there’s one little hitch: it’s something of a double standard to ignore such details in a story that is so heavily dependent upon other details of similar obscurity. Consider exhibits A and B: the special arrow and special ring that Oliver tracks down in issue #19.

I can’t even tell you what story the ring comes from, but the arrow is from an early issue of JLA. You can’t have it both ways.

The “What The Hell Just Happened?” Award: The Obsidian Age

As told in JLA #69-75 by Joe Kelly, Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen, Yvel Guichet & Mark Propst.

Well, the title says it all. I tried to read this story. I got lost and put it on hold. I read the last issue to see the ending and was totally confused. I read the whole thing and was still confused. Can someone explain to me what the heck was going on in this thing without a flow chart?

The “I Waited For This?!?!” Award : The Ultimates

As told in The Ultimates #5-7 by Mark Millar, Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary

I was a little late in getting into this book. Too bad it’s been just as late getting into my mailbox down at Ye Olde Comic Shoppe. But with a writer as proficient as Millar and an artist with the detail-oriented style of Hitch putting this book out every three months, I’d like to say the wait is always worth it.

I’d LIKE to say that…

Honestly, while I see The Ultimates as being a very technically proficient book, no comic depresses me so much when I read it. And until recently, I haven’t been able to put my finger on why. It’s because in their effort to recreate the success they had on The Authority, Millar and Hitch have turned The Avengers into The Authority. And that just doesn’t work on so many levels.

Sure, it’s funny to hear Hulk screaming about how he’s so horny for Betty and how he wants to kill Freddie Prinze Jr…and who doesn’t after “Scooby Doo”? And yes, Hawkeye does look so much “cooler” now in his new Matrix rip-off costume instead of the old purple H-cowl. But all they’ve done is put a dark black coat on a team that has always been a shining light of hope in the Marvel Universe.

All Millar has done with the stories is taken over 40 years of the angst that made up various Avengers plots and crammed the worst of it into seven issues. Wasp being a battered wife, Cap feeling out of place in modern times, Tony Starks alcholism and Mutants being snubbed from the team because of anti-Mutant feelings in the public: it’s all been done before. And all the references to using Giant Man’s head as a toilet or references to the Wasp’s disgusting personal habits won’t change the fact that this book is a pale imitation of both the A-teams it draws inspiration from.

Worst Retelling of a Classic Tale: Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra

As told in Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra #1-4 by Greg Rucka, Salvador Larroca & Dany Miki

Call me an old-fashioned traditionalist, but I expect certain things of my comics. I expect a monthly comic book to actually come out once a month. I expect a certain allegiance to past continuity, to the point where characters dead for more than three years are brought back with an explanation as to why they aren’t feeding worms somewhere. And I believe that if you put a character on the cover of a book, they should show up somewhere in the story. This is especially true in an origin story.

Explain to me then why Daredevil does not appear at any point in this story?

Okay. Matt Murdock is there. I will grant you that. And he does run around in all black and fight for justice. But if he ain’t in the tights, he ain’t Daredevil. In fact, Matt Murdock himself is barely in the story and we get no insight into Matt’s tragic past or how he was blinded. We don’t learn much about him except that he’s blind but still able to function normally despite it and is pretty good at kicking ass and taking names.

And I know that most of us out there DO know that, but I’m assuming for a moment that a book like this might attract someone who has never read a Daredevil story before. Too bad nobody at Marvel had the same thought…

The story would be more honestly titled Ultimate Elektra, since the action does center on My Big Phat Greek Assassin. Then again, if we didn’t put Daredevil on the cover with the artwork that has Elektra wearing something suspiciously like the Elektra movie costume…and if we didn’t say the name Daredevil (which is nowhere in the story, I might add), what would happen? Well, then we might not be able to pawn this off on the poor rubes that will wander into the comic shops and bookstores after the Daredevil movie comes out.

Ignoring the reek of cheap commercialism, I have a question. Is it just me, or does it seem like the supporting cast of this book was rolled out of a Multi-Cultural Sitcom Cast Generator? It’s almost like Greg Rucka had a check list…

Tough as nails Greek chick from Brooklyn ? Check.

Add One Blind Guy from Hells Kitchen. Check.

Add One Fat, clumsy guy for Comic Relief. Check.

African American musician from Texas? Check.

Sweet country girl, new to the big city? Check.

Rich jerk who thinks he owns the world? Check.

Throw in a Irish punk with poor hygiene and a Cuban fitness model and you have a pretty good cast for “The Real World”. Throw them into this story and it’s just a mess.

The Worst Comic Of the Year Award : Spider-Man: Get Kraven!

As told in Spider-Man:Get Kraven #1-6 by Ron Zimmerman, John McCrea & Garry Leach

I know I’m far from the first person to talk about this story being horrible. I doubt I’ll be the last. There are no words to describe everything that went wrong with this story, from the planning phase up until the final product got put on the shelf.

Still, what makes me say that it’s the worst comic to come out all year?

Is it because I despise Ron Zimmerman, who has not written a single good Spider-Man story to date? A man who’s most distinguished writing endeavor to date is a story that involved Spider-Man and Jay Leno fighting ninjas… and Spidey crying like a baby on the back of a Motorcycle? No.

Is it because the entire plot of this story involved Zimmerman’s retconned-the-heck version of Kraven the 2^nd wanting to get into the movie business and teaching us the lesson that “Most people in Hollywood are phonies”? No.

Is it because of the blatant name dropping of celebrities we could care less about? No. And on a side note, I’d honestly be amazed if Scott Baio had enough money to have his own beach house anytime after 1989.

Is it because it violated my rule about a story actually involving a character whose name is in the title? No, that’s not it. But Spidey is only in two issues of this miniseries. And he only shows up in the last one after Kraven calls him to ask for back-up in a fight.

Oh yeah… Kraven apparently knows that Spider-Man is Peter Parker now. But that’s a side note. Not a reason why this is the worst story ever.

Is it because it started out as a light comedy with no jokes and turned into a revenge tale of a man going to hurt the men who raped his girlfriend and killed his dog in the penultimate chapter? No.

Is it because of the references to castrating thugs, cutting tounges out and the fact that Peter Parker willingly allies himself with a guy who uses has The Vulture as a flunkie?

Not even that.

No. It’s because of ALL of that and more.

So please, please Joe Quesada… stop Ron Zimmerman before he writes again. Think of the children! And if you won’t think of them, think of me. I don’t think I can take one more story where wanted super villains sit around a bar in costume and nothing happens!

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. Same Matt website.