Review: Justice League #1

Justice League #1
Written by Geoff Johns; pencils by Jim Lee; inks by Scott Williams; DC.

(Spoilers here.)

When you've been told repeatedly for several months that the issue you hold in your hand is "historic," that it sets the tone for the relaunch of an entire line of comic books, and the creative team behind it includes two of the three people who conceived of and orchestrated the whole relaunch, yeah, it sets up a certain set of expectations.

Add to that the normal expectations that you have for any first issue of a new series. And the expectations you have for a comic book that features Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman, Flash and Cyborg on its cover.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I expected it to be awesome. In fact, I wasn't even sure I was going to buy it. The guy at my local comic shop was like, "Come on, you're not even gonna try it?" So I picked it up just to show that I had an open mind about this whole relaunch business. I'm also not a huge fan of either Geoff Johns or Jim Lee, though I think both have done some good work in the past. So, no, I didn't think it was going to blow my mind.

What I did expect, though, was... I don't know, some kind of hook? Something, anything, that would make me want to read the next issue? A hint of how awesome it is to have the "big seven" (well, big six, really, since Martian Manhunter has been replaced by Cyborg) reunited as the core members of the Justice League?

There is none of that in this book. What we get are Batman and Green Lantern being arrogant macho assholes full of themselves. And then on the last page, Superman shows up and hints that he's as much of an arrogant macho asshole full of himself as they are.

Basically, the theme of this book is MY COCK IS BIGGER THAN YOURS.

And that's pretty much it. There's no story. Batman meets Green Lantern. Cops in Gotham are shooting at them and the two superheroes are boasting that they can handle it and don't need help. Then they find a box and Green Lantern's ring is unable to identify it, which he says is impossible, but just by looking at it Batman is able to deduce that it's some kind of alien computer. From this, they deduce that this guy in Metropolis they've heard about might know something about it, so Green Lantern flies them there, and then Superman comes out and is like, "So, what can you do?" Then he pulls out his cock and Batman and Green Lantern's jaws drop.

Okay, I lied about that last part. What you actually get is a teaser that says, "Next: Batman vs. Superman." Because apparently this is what new readers are going to be interested in, a bunch of testosterone-filled frat boys fighting amongst themselves for the alpha dog title.

Yeah, it sucks. It's worse than anything I could have imagined. It's a steaming pile of burning caca. And if this is meant to set the tone for the New 52, things are about as grim and hopeless as I feared they might be when I started seeing some of those awful costumes redesigns several months ago.

The good news, for me anyway, is that I don't think that's true. I don't think the tone or quality of this book really has anything to do with what we can expect from the books that I am looking forward to. So I'm not going to give up on the New 52 because the flagship title sucks. Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Batwoman and the few other titles I'm looking forward to will succeed or fail on their own merit.

But what's depressing is that DC had so much riding on this book. I don't know whether non-regular readers of comics came into the shops last Wednesday to check it out like DC was hoping they would. But if so, are they really going to get sucked in by this? Are they going to come back to buy Action Comics #1 next week, or Justice League #2 next month? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

What would have made a better first issue? Start with a bang! Start with the Justice League already assembled and show us how awesome it is to have all these classic, iconic heroes kicking ass together. Show us how much FUN a comic like that can be. There's no fun in this comic. Just a bunch of angry dudes banging on their chests and asserting their dominance.

It's garbage.

One-paragraph reviews: Flashpoint, Flashpoint tie-in, Superboy and Sweet Tooth

(Reviews are spoilery.)

Flashpoint #2
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Andy Kubert and Sandra Hope; DC

Four things happen in this issue: 1. Deathstroke sails into Atlantean territory and meets a very pissed off Aquaman. 2. A very pissed off Batman beats up Barry Allen until Barry manages to convince him that he's telling the truth. 3. Steve Trevor, who's a member of the resistance, gets ambushed by a group of Amazons led by a very pissed off Wonder Woman. And 4. Barry Allen tries to recreate the accident that initially gave him his powers and apparently gets fried in the process. None of this is very exciting or interesting or pleasant to read, though some of the art's nice. I'm getting really sick of seeing characters with clenched teeth, though. I kind of wish all these people would just lighten the fuck up. The variant cover for this issue shows Wonder Woman holding the decapitated head of Mera. Since this doesn't happen in this issue and, in fact, Mera does not even appear in it, I can only assume that the cover was produced for the specific purpose of pissing people off. Basically, that's the theme here. All the characters are angry and clenching their teeth, and DC seems to expect fans to do the same. Pissed off fans vent on the internet and apparently that gets people to buy more comics. I don't understand how any of this works.

WEAK SAUCE

--


Flashpoint: Batman: Knight of Vengeance #1
Written by Brian Azzarello; art by Eduardo Risso; DC

There's Batman with his clenched teeth on the cover. But otherwise, I have to say this was a lot better than the main series. Maybe these mini-series are where all the good stuff is going to happen in this crossover event after all. Still, this feels a bit empty. Solid script and nice art, but I'm not sure yet where it's going.

OKAY

--

Superboy #8
Written by Jeff Lemire; art by Pier Gallo; DC

It really pains me to admit this, but I don't think Jeff Lemire writes very good super-hero comics. I've been very lenient on this title since it started, because I like Lemire's work so much that I managed to convince myself that this would get good. But I think I have to finally accept that it's not good and it's probably not going to get any better before it ends in a couple of months. Every story beat feels artificial and calculated. The exposition is incredibly clumsy and all of the dialogue sounds awkward. I don't get it. There's no sign of the grace and seemingly effortless storytelling and quiet, reflective beauty found in Lemire's work outside of the super-hero genre. There are two possibilities: either he's not feeling comfortable in this format or he's phoning it in. There are only two issues left, and I'm not even sure I'm going to bother picking them up.

DISAPPOINTING

--

Sweet Tooth #22
Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire; Vertigo

See? This is what I'm talking about.

AWESOME

Review: Flashpoint #1

Flashpoint #1 (of 5)
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Andy Kubert and Sandra Hope; DC

(Spoiler-free review.)

Let's start by talking about the art. I've seen both positive and negative responses to it online. I think it's good. Some of Andy Kubert's faces are a bit weird and occasionally the proportions seems to go a bit wonky, but it doesn't really bother me. I'd much rather have some quirks from an artist who has his own style than bland uniformity or lifeless photorealism. Alex Sinclair's colours are also worth mentioning. They give the book a crisp, saturated look, with sharp contrast between warm and cold hues. It works.

Now, about the story... If you've read my review of the final issue of Flash, which leads directly into Flashpoint, you know that I've been pretty hard on Geoff Johns' lazy scripts. This issue further cements my feeling that his strength is in the ideas, stories and concepts he comes up with, more than in the scene-by-scene scripting or dialogue.

The opening scenes where Barry realizes he's lost his powers and that his mother is still alive are fine, up until the point where they start talking. This is something that always bothers me in alternate reality stories where one character is the only person aware that the world has changed. As soon as they start saying things like "Where's Dad?" when their father died three years ago or "Do I own a car?" people would freak out. They would immediately become extremely concerned about their mental health and want to take them to a doctor. I've had friends who started showing signs of schizophrenia and let me tell you it's a very disturbing and frightening thing to see someone you love lose their grip on reality. It's not something you just shrug off and ask "Are you sure you're okay?"

Like the scenes in Flash #12 that were seemingly lifted right out of a bad TV drama, this tells me that Geoff Johns is not the kind of writer who draws a lot from his own experience  in terms of how human beings interact with each other, but instead takes his cues from television, movies and other comic books. This scene immediately calls to mind dozens of similar scenes from alternate reality stories we're all familiar with and it makes no effort to rise above the clichés.

Fortunately, the rest of the book is a lot better. There's still a lot of exposition through dialogue, but honestly I'm not sure how else you could convey so much information about a completely new world in a single issue without those types of info dumps, so I'm more willing to forgive it. The only thing that bothers me slightly is that all this time is spent introducing characters that will apparently not feature prominently in the main series but whose stories will instead be told in the four gazillion spin-off mini-series. So for those of us who don't plan on reading the spin-offs, this is just a lot of extra information that isn't going to pay off in any way. But, again, I understand that this is an "event" comic and this issue essentially functions as a big advertisement for all the other books DC is hoping you will buy. Anybody who buys the first issue of Flashpoint is a willing participant in that game, so to bitch about it too much would be kind of disingenuous.

The book ends on a very effective revelation about one of the major players, one that most readers will have probably seen coming by the time they get to the last page but that packs a good punch anyway just because of its implications and how it sets the tone for the next four issues.

Flashpoint #1 doesn't really rise above the problems you'd expect from the first issue of a big summer event comic book, but it gets the job done. It was a good choice to keep the two main antagonists (Aquaman and Wonder Woman) out of the book. Their threat is felt throughout the book, but Johns wisely delays the impact of their first appearance for a later issue. The business about the Amazons castrating all males who enter their territory definitely makes me groan - a lot! - but I'm willing to bite my tongue for now and wait to see exactly where they go with it before I critique that story decision. I plan on picking up the next issue. Haven't decided yet if I'm going to bother with any of the minis.

OKAY

Review: Flash #12

The Flash #12
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Scott Kolins and Francis Manapul; DC.

Splitting art duties between Francis Manapul and Scott Kolins wasn't so bad when Kolins would do the occasional fill-in issue to give Manapul a chance to catch up. They're both competent artists and their styles have enough similarities that it didn't seem like a complete break. But when you put them side by side in the same issue, as happens here, it's a bit harder to swallow because it becomes clear that Manapul's art is vastly superior. The few pages that he illustrates really stand out, and it doesn't do Kolins any justice to have to compete with that. Once again, it's a case of poor scheduling choices from DC editors where it became necessary to have multiple artists on a single issue in order to meet deadlines. I wish DC would make more effort to avoid this sort of thing. (And no, I don't blame the artists.)

Script-wise, this issue may only have a single scribe, but there are still lots of problems with it. I'm not a Geoff Johns hater. I think he's very good at coming up with epic ideas and stories that evidently appeal to the fans. But when it comes to the actual scene-by-scene scripting of his books, sometimes I find it a bit weak.

In this case, the action scenes in the first half of the book are okay, but the emotional stuff in the second half is handled so poorly that some of it actually made me angry. 

First, there's a totally unconvincing reconciliation between Barry and Bart. It's unconvincing because the conflict didn't really make any sense to begin with. It came out of the blue last issue when the entire speedster family decided to have an "intervention" and confront Barry about how emotionally distant he's been (despite the fact that nothing in the previous 10 issues really hinted at him being emotionally distant, aside from the fact that he was too busy to attend a fucking family picnic, 'cause he was, you know, catching bad guys) during which Bart stormed off like a little crybaby for apparently no reason. And now, after a big fight during which Bart was almost killed, they're pals again. They haven't really dealt with whatever it was that was bothered Bart. It just magically resolved itself while they were fighting side by side against the Reverse Flash. I guess that's male bonding.

That's only a one-page scene. What follows is much worst. It's a goodbye scene with Patty Spivot which, again, feels pretty hollow because we never really got a good sense of what their relationship was all about in previous issues. But what's so terrible about this scene is that it sets up one of the most infuriating clichés of bad drama. Patty confesses she'd been hoping they'd be more than co-workers or even friends, but she respects that he has someone else in his life. Barry politely lets her know the feelings are not mutual, while tenderly stroking her face (seriously, who does that?) and they they hug. It's the most harmless, passionless, sexless, lifeless scene ever. Both characters are being very respectable and chaste and mature about it, and aside from that ridiculous face stroke, there's nothing reproachable about their behaviour. It's clear that they have no intention to commit adultery, because they're such good people. And of course, you can see it coming from a mile away: Barry's wife, Iris, walks in on them at exactly the wrong moment.

It's just such bad writing. The set-up is obvious and predictable, and yet it feels completely contrived and removed from anything anyone's ever experienced in reality. What follows is so by-the-numbers I don't even have to describe it, because you've seen it a hundred times in bad movies and bad TV. The dialogue is lifted right out of the book of clichés: "Iris! You remember Patty Spivot?" "Of course."

The only thing that goes against what you would expect here is that Iris is such a good wife that she doesn't even get the wrong impression from what she's witnessed, despite Barry's awkward fumbling which make him seem guilty. She tells him he doesn't have to explain anything, because she trusts him. At first I was like, "Oh, well, at least Geoff Johns didn't go there." But then I realized this was even more infuriating, because it doesn't to any kind of conflict or drama and it just serves to highlight how flawless and incredibly bland these characters are. The whole Patty Spivot subplot in these last few issues was stillborn, because they never flirted, Barry never got an erection and he was never tempted. There was never any sexual tension. And now Iris, being the inhuman cardboard template of a perfect wife that she is, doesn't feel any jealousy. She's just full of compassion and understanding and concern for Barry's wellbeing. And they discuss this over coffee while holding hands and looking into each other's eyes and being very mature about it. It just makes me vomit.

This is the final issue of The Flash. It started out strong with some really brilliant issues with gorgeous art by Francis Manapul. But about halfway through, it became clear that Geoff Johns wasn't really interested in telling stories in this book and that it functioned merely as an elaborate set-up for this summer's big "event," Flashpoint, the first issue of which also came out this week. If you've been following The Flash all along, then you'll probably want to pick this one up for whatever closure it offers. (Hint: not much.) Otherwise, don't bother. If you're interested in Flashpoint, you can just go straight to #1 and you won't be missing any crucial information.

AWFUL

Comic Book Carnage 006: Xombi #2 and Flash #11

Xombi #2
Written by John Rozum; art by Frazer Irving; DC.

Mike: The nuns with guns issue.

Yan: Yeah! Before we start, I want to mention that I read an interview with Rozum on CBR where he says they'd discussed doing this series on Vertigo, but one of the reasons it ended up in the DCU was to avoid confusion with iZombie. Which strikes me as a missed opportunity, because I feel like this book would have a much better chance of finding an audience on Vertigo. I think he said the editors also wanted to have it set in the DCU for other reasons, something about needing a book to deal with the the supernatural or magic side of the DCU.

Mike: That's ridiculous. Can you imagine The Flash rolling up to help David Kim fight, I don't know, some demonically possessed Taco Bell or whatever?

Yan: It's gonna be awful when that happens.

Mike: If they wanted a magic/supernatural book it would have made more sense to use a much more accessible character like Dr. Fate, or perhaps do that in Zatanna since it's already around. Xombi's premise is just too out there for the average DC fan, so yeah, the decision not to go on Vertigo was terrible all around. NOT that we're saying we think this book will be canceled or anything.

Yan: We're definitely not saying that. I just think the book does a fine job of creating its own universe. I don't really understand why there's any need to have it be set in the DCU. I don't really care if it's on DC or Vertigo, but the moment Batman or Superman shows up in this story, something special will be lost. Not that it has to be Batman or Superman. Maybe a guest appearance by Zatanna or Etrigan would be cool. I don't know. We'll see, I guess. I just don't want this to get hijacked into some stupid crossover.

Mike: So let's talk about the issue itself. This picks up right after things got crazy at the prison and just gets even crazier. I'm glad to see John Rozum is able to match the bizarre ideas of the last issue, my favorite being the introduction of this issue's villain/monster/concept?

Yan: Yeah, it's a cool villain. (If we can call it that.) And we really only get a glimpse of him and some foreshadowing of how dangerous he is. Definitely piqued my interest. I really liked the scene at the beginning where David Kim's arm is regenerating and he has to tell everyone to stay away from him to avoid them being used as raw material to patch up his wounds. It illustrates how weird and problematic his "powers" are.

Mike: That leads me to my one concern with this book, just how well do you think John Rozum's doing in giving David Kim a personality?

Yan: Why, you find it lacking? I think he's doing fine.

Mike: I guess I find his and most of the cast's personalities to be a bit vague. Like, other than their strange powers, there doesn't seem to be a lot done to differentiate them. I need a little more than scribbled out profanity.

Yan: I think there's a lot more. Besides, we're only two issues in and there's been lots of action, so I guess there's not a ton of time for character development, but I feel like the dialogue has enough attitude that it gives me a good idea of the characters' personalities. Plus, Frazer Irving's art helps a lot. His character designs and facial expressions and poses are excellent. You get a real sense of the characters' mannerisms and body language. Like David's face when the coins fall out of his pocket, or the flamboyant way he points down when he says, "Change back into your other half. Now." It's hard to separate who is responsible for it between Rozum and Irving, but the combined effect for me is pretty satisfying.

Mike: Well, I'll agree with you that Frazer Irving gives personality to the cast, and I would argue that it's probably his artwork that makes this book so enjoyable. The guy puts so much effort into every square inch of this book and for me that's why Xombi feels so engrossing.

Yan: The art is amazing, but I don't want to sell Rozum short. I think his dialogue goes a long way too. The only thing in this issue I thought was a little bit awkward was the third-person narration about the homunculi. I can't remember if there was a lot of third-person narration in the first issue. But in that scene, I would have preferred to get an interior monologue instead. Not only would it have been more effective for the scene, but it bothers me that the narration switched from first-person at the beginning of the issue to third-person for no real reason. Other than that, I thought this issue was great. Great marriage of writing and art. I can't imagine the book with a different creative team, so I hope they keep it going for a long run. I'll rate this one EXCELLENT.

Mike: Despite my nitpicking I will also give this book a firm EXCELLENT.

Flash #11
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Scott Kolins; DC.

Mike: I remember when this current Flash series started, I was just starting up my blog and I had nothing but nice things to say. Now we're, what, 2 years later, and I don't even know why I liked this book to begin with.

Yan: It's only been a year, but yeah.

Mike: Oh, well, good, because 11 issues in 2 years would be shameful, but anyway. Geoff Johns is not doing his best work on this book. When I was reading this issue, I felt like I was reading a first draft, like there's good ideas in here but it's all delivered in so unfocused a manner that it loses all impact. Like this new character shows up - Patty Spivot - who is an old flame of Barry Allen's. The idea of Barry having to deal with lingering feelings for Patty would have been an interesting plot development that would help to define his personality, but instead it's handled in this aggressively vague manner. Like, I wasn't even completely sure there were supposed to be lingering feelings until Patty explicitly acknowledges them.

Yan: The Patty Spivot subplot seems unnecessary. If you're not going to have time to explore it properly, then just don't bother. I mean, this title is now officially cancelled, right? This was the last issue. If she's not playing an important role in Flashpoint, then introducing her here was a total waste of time. I guess that remains to be seen. But what bothered me more was the scene with Bart acting like a little baby because Barry didn't show up at the family picnic. WTF? That "intervention" scene was ridiculous! I mean, how much time has even passed since Barry came back. I feel like these 11 issues only span a few days. A week at the most. So Barry Allen came back to life, went back to his old job. First couple of issues showed that he had a great relationship with his wife. None of the other speedsters are even mentioned for the entire run until the stupid picnic comes up, and now all of a sudden they're having an intervention because... what exactly? I'm not even sure. This drama comes out of nowhere.

Mike: Yes, the intervention was pretty bizarre. Like there was just no way I could wrap my mind around the idea that a group of guys with very similar backgrounds couldn't accept that someone from the same background would be incapable of showing up for their picnic. Also I really hate that a picnic is the catalyst for all of this. Picnic is a goofy word, so any drama Johns was attempting was negated by the constant utterance of "picnic."

Yan: It feels like these ideas were just tossed around carelessly. Maybe Geoff Johns has too much on his hands these days with his Chief Creative Officer duties, wrapping up Brightest Day, and orchestrating the whole Flashpoint event. But this just reads as sloppy. And it comes back to what I said in my review of the previous issue, which was that this book should have been given at least a couple of years before leading to this cross-company event. There wasn't really enough space to explore everything, so it feels very rushed. Now the question is: Are you going to read any of Flashpoint?

Mike: I really hate myself for saying this, but I may pick up the first issue. I think the reason is I like The Flash, and much like seeing a close friend struggle with alcoholism, despite how bad things get I love this character too much to walk away.

Yan: I feel pretty indifferent about the character. I gave this title a shot because it launched right around the time that I started buying comics, so it seemed really convenient. And I fell in love with Francis Manapul's art, so that's what kept me onboard this long. (Speaking of whom, I wonder what he's working on now. I don't remember seeing his name on any of the solicitations for DC in the next three months.) But I think I'm going to pick up the first issue also, mostly out of morbid curiosity. There's a good chance that by the end of the summer, I'll drastically reduce the number of books I read from both DC and Marvel.

Mike: Even though I'll probably buy Flashpoint #1, I'm giving this book a SKIP/DROP

Yan: Honestly, I don't know how to rate this. Other than the ridiculous intervention scene, it's not really that much worse than all the issues that preceded it. As a lead-in story setting things up for Flashpoint, it's adequate, I suppose. But as a conclusion to an 11-issue aborted run of a new series that showed so much promise in its first couple of issues, it's just a shame. Totally unsatisfying. So I'll rate it WHATEVER.

UPDATE: It has come to my attention that this is in fact not the last issue. #12 comes out on May 11, according to DC's website, and will provide the conclusion. This doesn't really change my opinion of this issue, except for the criticism about it being a poor conclusion. We'll see whether #12 does any better at that.

---

Mike appears courtesy of It's a Bit of a Shame.

One-paragraph reviews: Flash, Red Robin, Magus, Starborn

Flash #9
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Francis Manapul; DC

It's so good to have Francis Manapul back on this title. Scott Kolins's two-issue interlude was good, but Manapul's art just blows my mind. I know his style is not to everyone's liking, and some people feel that it's wrong for this particular book, but I coudln't disagree more. I love his clean layouts, the beautiful painted textures, the character's faces, the look of the city. There's always a strong sense that we are in a clear, distinct place, whether it's a random crime scene in a parking garage, or the park where Barry Allen's family is having a picnic, or the crime lab where he works. As for the story, this is like the introduction to the prelude to this summer's big event, "Flashpoint." It sets things up nicely, without any big surprises for anyone who's been paying attention to the hype around the event that's coming. I'm still not sure whether I'm onboard for this mega-event or not, but so far I've been very pleased with what Geoff Johns has been doing with this book.

GOOD

Starborn #3
Written by Chris Roberson; art by Khary Randolph; Boom

This continues to be my favourite of the three new Stan Lee comics from Boom Studios. I read a review somewhere that complained about how slow this issue was, but the pacing seems spot-on to me. Certainly easier to take in than the frenetic chaos of The Traveler. Considering we're only three issues in and the protagonist has gone from an aspiring writer with a boring office job to a hero with high-tech weapons apparently being attacked by several difference alien races simultaneously, I think there's plenty going on. There's one part I thought was really clever in this issue, where he's learning how to use a weapon that is controlled by his mind. He's instructed to visualize a blue sphere inside a glass pyramid, which initiates the weapon, and then to picture the sphere turning red, which triggers it. It's really weird and abstract, and yet you can sort of see how it might actually work. I hope we'll eventually learn more about this mental visual interface, because it's kind of fascinating. The only thing I'm not a very big fan of in this series is the colouring by Mitch Gerads. It's way too dark and the colours seem oversaturated, though the problem might be with the printing.

GOOD

Magus #2
Written by Jon Price; art by Rebekah Isaacs; 12-Gauge

I'm mostly getting this for Rebekah Isaacs' art, which I think is very, very good. The premise, in a nutshell, is that magic is returning to the world, causing a lot of chaos. There's nothing particularly remarkable about the story so far and the characters seem a little bit flat. The problem is that there wasn't really any setting up. Before the end of the first issue, these characters, whom we'd just met, had their whole lives turned upside down. There's a lot happening in several locations with characters that individually have very little total on-panel time, so I feel like all we're getting is a very superficial look at these events. Still, it is a cool premise and I'm curious to know where it's going to go. I've seen conflicting information about whether this is just a mini-series or the start of an ongoing. I hope it's an ongoing because I don't think this will be satisfying as a limited series, but with more time to establish the characters and the world they live in, it could develop into something very good. Especially with such gorgeous, top-notch art.

OKAY

Red Robin #20
Written by Fabian Nicieza; art by Marcus To and Ray McCarthy; DC

Something about this book keeps getting on my nerves, and I'm having a really hard time figuring out exactly what it is. Maybe I'm just not a fan of Fabian Nicieza's writing style. It relies too much on narration. I think he expression "show, don't tell" is often an oversimplification that gets abused a little, but in this case I think it might apply. I just get the impression that we're constantly in Tim's head and he's explaining everything to us, and it doesn't help that what he's explaining is really convoluted and barely makes any sense half the time. Like, what exactly is Catman doing in this comic? Did the Russian mobster hire him, or was it the Calculator? And to do what, exactly? The issue then derails into a crossover with the Teen Titans, which was actually kind of nice. Tim reuniting with the gang and bossing everyone around. And Nicieza has a much better handle on Damian's character and voice than Krul does (in Teen Titans). Marcus To's art remains solid.

OKAY

DC Comics in April 2011 - Too many crossovers!

Looking at DC Comics' April 2011 solicitations, I'm seeing an awful lot of crossovers: the three Green Lantern books are interlocked in the awful-sounding "War of the Green Lanterns"; Superboy, the Superman/Batman annual and Action Comics are part of the "Reign of Doomsday" event; Red Robin, Gotham City Sirens and Batman together form an unnamed three-part crossover; and Flash is setting up this summer's big event "Flashpoint," which sounds like it's going to affect DC's entire line of books.

War of the Green Lanterns

Green Lantern #65

This one is easy enough to ignore for me, since I'm not following any of the Green Lantern titles. It's unclear to me whether this story line concludes in April or if it's going to continue in May. But I did notice that they're apparently planning to release the books out of reading order. The solicitation for Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #9, which comes out April 20, says it deals with the consequences of Green Lantern Corps #59, which comes out the following week on April 27.

Great job, DC editors! I can't think of a worse way to promote your upcoming big blockbuster movie than with a confusing crossover event that you can't even be bothered to release in the proper reading order.

If I was a Green Lantern editor, I would want to keep these books accessible for new readers who might be excited about the upcoming movie and who'd want to check out the comic. But right now there is no easy jumping on point into the franchise for new readers.

Reign of Doomsday

Superman/Batman Annual #5

The "Reign of Doomsday" crossover has just started and already there are signs that it'll be a prime example of how damaging a editorially mandated events can be for ongoing series that get sucked into them. The Steel one-shot that came out earlier this month wasn't very good, but it's hard to blame writer Steve Lyons for it. Not only had he pitched a completely different story featuring a different villain (Metallo), but he had actually finished the script, which was already in the process of being drawn by penciller Sean Chen, when DC editorial decided to trash it all and repurpose the issue to launch the crossover event. Metallo was discarded as the villain, and Ed Benes replaced Sean Chen as the penciller.

The result was a 22-page fight scene, with virtually no context, ending with a very unsatisfying cliffhanger as Doomsday drags Steel's limp body away into space. That the one-shot was weak on story is a massive understatement. Lyons said in an interview with Newsarama: "As for why Doomsday is coming after Steel now... well, actually, even I don't know the full answer to that!" What can you expect when the writer admits that he doesn't even know his characters' motivations?

In February and March, the crossover continues in issues of Outsiders and Justice League of America, neither of which I currently follow. Considering how uninspired the first part of the story was, I wasn't planning on picking those up, but in April "Act 1" of the story continues in the Superman/Batman annual and then concludes in Superboy #6. Since I'm currently following (and enjoying!) Jeff Lemire's Superboy, now I have to decide whether all this additional material is worth buying in order to get the full story.

Surprisingly, the solicitation for Action Comics #900 doesn't mention "Reign of Doomsday," although a post on DC's blog yesterday claims that it continues the story line. Why they wouldn't include this crucial information in the solicitations is beyond me! What it does say is that "this story will lay the ground for an insanely epic story coming out this summer in the pages of Action." So presumably, this insanely epic story will be "Act 2" of "Reign of Doomsday"?

Part of the reason these crossovers are so frustrating is that readers are only given little tidbits of information at a time, all of which is constantly subject to change, so it's very difficult for us to make informed decisions about what books to order. I'm lucky enough to have access to a comic book store that orders multiple copies of everything DC and Marvel publish, so even if I don't put something on my pull list, it's pretty much guaranteed that I'll be able to pick up a copy once it hits the stands. But those who only have access to smaller comics stores don't have that luxury.

As for how this crossover will affect my buying habits, I've decided to just keep getting the books I usually get (Action and Superboy) and hope for the best. I don't really mind that this story is set to continue in the pages of Action Comics after the Lex Luthor arc concludes. If Paul Cornell stays onboard, I'll continue reading it. (But that's another thing DC has been very tight-lipped about. Who's going to be writing Action from May onward?) I'm a little bit more upset about Superboy being sucked into it, because as a newer book, I think it would have been good to let it establish itself at its own pace. But whatever. At worse, it'll be one shitty issue, then hopefully it gets back on track with #7.

Red Robin/Gotham City Sirens/Batman

Gotham City Sirens #22

I was worried when I first saw that Marcus To wasn't listed as the artist for Red Robin #22, but he has since confirmed (via Twitter) that his editors wanted to give him some breathing room and that he will be back on the book with #23. That's good news, as he's pretty much the only only reason I haven't dropped the book after a series of recent weak scripts from Fabian Nicieza.

It's great that they're giving Marcus To some time to rest in between story arc. He's been doing consistently fantastic work on the book for over a year now, without any delays, which is a remarkable achievement when you compare it to almost every other book that DC publishes. It sounds like a well-deserved break. But why couldn't they just do a stand-alone issue in between instead of tying it with two other Bat books? Wouldn't that have been a better way to attract new readers? Promote the issue as a good jumping-on point, a no-strings-attached, commitment-free issue with a done-in-one story introducing you to the character. Maybe a team-up with another popular character to attract more fans. Instead, picking up this issue forces you to pick up two other books. Sounds like a terrible way to get new readers.

I guess the point of this crossover is that people already following either one of these three series are going to feel compelled to buy the other two issues in order to get the full story. So DC's making three times as much money as they normally would. That's the theory, but is that actually what people do? Not me. I'm going to skip this book instead. I'd rather have a hole in my collection than be forced to buy extra books I don't want.

It's a pity, though, because the cover by Guillem March is beautiful.

Flashpoint

The Flash #12

This last one is a bit different from the other events discussed above, since it's not going to start until this summer. April brings us the end of the prologue and so far the story will have been entirely contained in the pages of a single book, The Flash. And since I  happen to be buying this book already, this will be a good way for me to evaluate whether or not I want to jump onboard for the mega event that will follow.

So far, I'm intrigued by the premise. It's really too early for me to have an opinion at this point, although I'm a little bit worried by the suggestion that "everything Barry Allen knows and cares about is lost" in April's issue #12. Since it looks like the event is going to be about alternate timelines, I'm assuming part of Barry Allen's motivations will be to go back and fix the timeline to save his wife. Which is something Geoff Johns has been hinting at since early in the series. I'm only worried because I'm bracing myself for another grueling "death of a loved one" scene, which seems to have become DC's trademark. But we'll see how that goes.

Quick Reviews: Teen Titans, The Flash, Action Comics

Teen Titans #90

(Written by JT Krul; art by Nicola Scott; DC Comics)

Last month I was so pissed off at the way J.T. Krul had written Damian Wayne completely out of character in TT #89 that I not only decided to immediately drop this title from my pull list, but I even vowed never to spend another dime on a comic written by Krul. And yet, as the release of this new issue drew closer, I realized that I wanted to keep reading. Why give this book another chance? First, because I do think that for the most part Krul has found the right tone for this book. Aside from his blatant mishandling of Damian, he seems to have a good handle on the characters and the relationships between them. Second, I'm also really enjoying Nicola Scott's art. And third, I try not to be a stickler when it comes continuity between titles in a shared universe. I always say that each writer's take on a character is a possible interpretation, and that all these different versions can co-exist and contradict each other, and this is part of what ultimately makes the characters compelling and multi-layered. So never mind that this is not the Damian Wayne I've been reading in the pages of Grant Morrison's Batman for the past year or so. I'll keep an open mind and let Krul play with him.

I'm glad I decided to get over my initial fan rage, because this really is not a bad book. In fact, it's a pretty good one. I still think Krul's characterization of Damian is a bit of a caricature, but it was toned down a little in this issue, and Damian's budding friendship with Rose is something I can definitely get behind. We also got a couple more pages of Kiran, a Hindi girl who I'm guessing will join the Titans in a few more issues. So far her appearances are nothing more than teasers, with no obvious connection to the main story, but my curiosity has been piqued.

The Flash #8

(Written by Geoff Johns; art by Scott Kolins; DC Comics)

Like the last issue, this is another "filler" with art by Scott Kolins, giving main artist Francis Manapul a breather before the next big storyline gets started. Last time we got the secret origins of Captain Boomerang in a series of flashbacks, as he broke his way into prison to free the Reverse Flash. This time we go back to the future as the Reverse Flash zips through time, retconning his own history in the process. It's cleverly structured, with the Reverse Flash gradually removes every obstacle from his life until he gets it right, almost à la Groundhog Day. Kolins' art is very good, making this a cut above your usual filler issue, although I find his style is a little too caricature-like for my taste.  I'm looking forward to the return of Francis Manapul next month.

Action Comics #896

(Written by Paul Cornell; art by Pete Woods; DC Comics)

Greg Burgas, over at Comics Should Be Good, didn't really enjoy this comic. And who can blame him? He was coming at it as a regular reader of Secret Six, since for some unfathomable reason, the editors at DC thought it would be a good idea to turn their guest appearance in this issue of Action into a mini-crossover. (This issue ends with a "To be concluded in Secret Six #29!") The problem, of course, is that this issue is also part seven of "The Black Ring," the long story arc starring Lex Luthor that Paul Cornell has been writing for about half a year now. So any Secret Six reader who gets suckered into buying this issue because it ties into the series they're reading are of course going to be completely lost, as Greg's review demonstrates.

So what's the point of this crossover? Nobody is going to pick up this issue and get hooked. So at best, it might temporarily boost sales for one issue, but at what cost? Pissing off the fans of both series who get suckered into it? Fucking things up for the collected edition of this story, which is now presumably going to have a gaping hole in the narrative, unless they include the Secret Six issue in the trade, in which case it'll probably stick out like a sore thumb. So who does this really benefit?

This just seems like yet another example of the shortsightedness of DC editors. They have a really good thing going in Action Comics right now. Paul Cornell's run has been thoroughly entertaining and relatively self-contained up to this point. By all accounts, Gail Simone's Secret Six is just as good if not better. (The only reason I'm not picking it up is that I missed the boat on it and I want to read it from the beginning, so I'm planning to pick up the trades at some point instead.) If the editors of both series were at all concerned about quality, artistic integrity and how these stories are going to read in their collected formats (which have a much longer shelf-life than the single issues), they would just leave them the hell alone instead of imposing this pointless crossover.

Anyway. Within the context of "The Black Ring," this was a great issue. Not only was it laugh-out-loud funny in a number of places, but it also included a few important clues as to what is really going on in this story and who is pulling strings behind the scene. As I suspected from the beginning, robot Lois Lane has a hidden agenda, although exactly who she's working for isn't clear yet. We also get evidence that whoever Mister Mind was working for in the first couple of issues is still around and that this is not the same person robo-Lois is working for. I've been reading the solicits for the upcoming issues and I have to say I'm really excited about where this is all headed.

Now I'm left with the question: Do I pick up the tie-in issue of Secret Six, or will I be able to follow the story if I just stick to Action?

For whatever reason, I haven't been reading the Jimmy Olsen back-up, although I've hear nothing but positive comments about Nick Spencer's story and R.B. Silva's art looks great. Now that it's all going to be reprinted/concluded in the Jimmy Olsen one-shot, I might as well wait until then and read it all in one sitting.

Quick Reviews: Superboy, Starborn, Northlanders, Hellblazer, Flash, Red Robin

Superboy #2

So apparently a lot of people don't like this art. I think it’s all right. The colouring’s really awesome, though. As for the story, I’m enjoying it also. I’m surprised that the purple mind-controlled frogs showed up so quickly, though. I thought Lemire was going to save those for later. Anyway, the point is, I think this is a good book and I really want people to give it a chance. Jeff Lemire is a brilliant storyteller and I’m fascinated by the way some visual motifs are already starting to find their way in the book, despite the fact that he’s not drawing it himself. I really wish I could read his script and find out how much direction he gives the artist. Those last few pages with the teaser for what’s coming up are creepy.

Starborn #1

I appear the be the only person I know who is reading these new Stan Lee books. It’s kind of astonishing. You’d think that a bunch of new characters by arguably the most important comic book creator of our generation would attract a bit more attention.

Anyway, the other two (Soldier Zero and The Traveler) both had interesting elements but didn’t really click with me. I think this is the best of the three so far. It certainly has the best art (by Khary Randolph, whom I’d never heard of before). Or, maybe not necessarily the best, but just the one that appeals to me the most, stylistically. The story is intriguing, based on interesting concepts, and not as confusing as the first issue of The Traveler was. Chris Roberson wrote the script and did a pretty good job. If I only end up following one of the three new series, this might be the one I decide to stick around with.

Northlanders #35

The first issue of a two-part story called “The Girl in the Ice” is beautifully drawn by Becky Cloonan. And Brian Wood is a really amazing writer. I need to check out more of his work. (I want to read DMZ, I think.) If super-hero comics are like big Hollywoood action blockbusters, then this series is like a really good European art film. Quiet, subtle, beautiful, restrained, a little stark. But not pretentious. I love it.

John Constantine: Hellblazer: City of Demons #5 (of 5)

Oh, my God. This issue, which is the last of the mini-series, has two climaxes. And while they’re both pretty good, it’s the first one that really blew my mind, with all its tentacular goodness. Constantine is such a badass! I absolutely loved this series. Writing and art both fantastic. Now I want to read more Hellblazer, but I’m almost afraid it’s not gonna be as good as this. Anyway, I hope somebody else out there read this. If you did, let me know what you thought of it.

The Flash #7

Okay, I usually don’t like it when books get fill-in artists, but when it’s Scott Kolins, I don’t mind! Francis Manapul’s art is so beautiful, I’d forgotten that Kolins’ was almost equally formidable. (I can’t believe I just used that word.)

I think the Rogues are incredibly silly, but I’m sort of learning to just accept that as part of their charm. This issue is all about Captain Boomerang, a character I actually don’t know that much about, so it was interesting to get his back story. And it looks like the next issue (coming out in just two weeks) is gonna be pretty good, too. Reverse Flash is kind of scary.

The only thing I didn’t really about this is the same thing I don’t really like about all the other Brightest Day books - i.e., the tie-in elements to Brightest Day. I just don’t care, and none of it really makes any sense to me. I wish this could just be a book about The Flash and his rogues and tell its own story instead of plugging that annoying crossover event that’s never going to end.

Red Robin #18

I was kind of avoiding this one, because I said this would be a rant-free evening and I knew this book was going to make me want to rant, but I read it anyway. And, really, I don’t have much to say about it, except that it nearly bored me to tears. I don’t even have anything to complain about anymore. I’m just bored by this story. And Tim Drake’s incessant internal monologue is annoying. I think I’m starting to dislike his character, which is a pretty good sign that I should stop reading this series before I completely forget what I used to love about him.

Sorry, Marcus To. I love your art and you’re an awesome dude and I wish you a lot of success. But I don’t think I’m going to be reading this book anymore. I guess I’m just not a fan of FabNic. I wish Chris Yost had never left.

Review: The Flash #5

(This review was originally posted on September 30 at Population GO.)

THE FLASH #5 "The Dastardly Death of the Rogues - Part Four"
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Francis Manapul.

When the new volume of The Flash launched about four months ago, I wasn’t quite convinced that I would enjoy it much. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Flash to begin with, and I’d read some very negative comments about Geoff Johns’ Flash Rebirth mini-series, in which he resurrected the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen, and set him up to star in this new ongoing series. I decided to give it a shot out of curiosity and because reading a new series from #1 is always more appealing than trying to jump on in the middle of a run, but I was half expecting to drop it from my pull list after a couple of issues. To my surprise, the book was an instant hit for me. And #5 is another issue in a series that consistently feels fresh and exciting.

This is in no small part due to Francis Manapul’s magnificent art and Brian Buccellato’s stellar colouring. These two are a match made in heaven, and every month they make this book look amazing, elevating Geoff Johns’ material to truly inspired levels. This latest issue is no exception. Every page is a pleasure to look at, including the trippy, psychedelic splash page shown at the top of this review. (That’s the unlettered version from Francis Manapul’s Deviant Art profile, which you should really have a look at if you’re a fan of beautiful comic art.)

From the story angle, this issue is also pretty fantastic. The fight between the Rogues and the Renegades (who are mirror versions of them from the future), with Flash caught in between, continues, and we start to get some answers to the questions that have been raised in previous issues. There’s a pretty big twist in the last few pages that seriously alters everything we thought we knew about what exactly is going on here. I’m not going to spoil it, but let’s just say I’m excited to find out what happens next. 

The only minor quibble I have with the issue is about the jarring scene that ties into Brightest Day. It’s very clumsy and serves no real purpose other than to justify the banner that’s been appearing at the top of the cover each month since #1. There’s a similarly out-of-place scene in last week’s Birds of Prey, and I’m assuming the same thing happens once in a while in the other titles tied to the event. If you’re not following Brightest Day, you’ll probably be left scratching your head wondering what that was all about. My advice is to just pretend it didn’t happen and continue reading.

Awkward crossover bleed aside, this is another great issue of one of DC’s best current ongoing titles. Recommended.

Review: Wonder Woman #600 (+ some closing thoughts on the other two anniversary isues)

WONDER WOMAN #600

So with all the media fanfare and blogosphere kerfuffle this past week about Wonder Woman's costume redesign and origins overhaul, I feel like there's nothing left for me to say about this anniversary issue that hasn't already been said a hundred times. But I'm going to try anyway.

"Valedictorian"
by Gail Simone and George Perez.

By far the highlight of the issue, the first story is a veritable tour-de-force. The sheer number of panels is enough to give you an idea of how jam-packed with awesome this story is: Excluding the opening splash page, I counted a total of 65 panels on 6 pages!

The story starts with an epic battle featuring about 20 female super-heroes against an army of cyber-sirens who have the power to turn men into slobbering idiots. The art is simply flabbergasting. Every page is bursting with detailed action. Amidst all this chaos, Simone manages to showcase several qualities that have made Wonder Woman an icon: she's a leader, a fierce warrior, and an inspiration to her peers, which is reflected in the different ways the other characters respond to her.

The story ends with a more intimate moment between Diana and Vanessa. Unfortunately, with my limited exposure to Wonder Woman stories up to now, I don't think that final scene resonated with me to the extent that it was supposed to, but for anyone familiar with the back story, I'm sure it packs a much stronger emotional punch.

"Fuzzy Logic"
by Amanda Conner.

The next story is a team-up with Power Girl and Batgirl. It's a lot lighter in tone, and features jokes about tentacle porn and several awesome shots of Power Girl's cat. I enjoyed it.

"Firepower"
by Louise Simonson and Eduardo Pansica.

Next is a team up with Superman against some guy called Nikos Aegeus, a "terrorist organization of one, driven by green, not ideology." I have no idea where this character came from, but he doesn't really make sense to me. I just don't get why someone powerful enough to steal lightning bolts from Zeus would then waste his power shooting airplanes out of the sky and asking the U.S. government for a hundred million dollars. Why does this guy need money?

I felt pretty indifferent about this story, but there's one thing about it that really surprised the hell out of me. Check it out:



A thought balloon! I spotted at least three of them! I thought those were extinct, at least from mainstream super-hero comics, as this somewhat recent piece by Joe McCulloch at Comic Comics pointed out.

I guess DC can make an exception for Louise Simonson, because she's old school.

The last two stories + extras
by Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, JMS, Don Kramer, and a bunch of other people

The last two stories kind of bleed into one another, ushering in J. Michael Straczynski's re-imagining of the character and featuring Jim Lee's ugly-ass retro 1990s costume redesign. I don't really have anything to say except: thumbs down.

In addition to these five stories, there's a cool introduction by Linda Carter and a bunch of pin-ups by various artists, most of which are pretty cool and generally better than the collection of rejected covers thrown together for Batman #700. One pin-up stands out as a total head-scratcher. Apparently I'm the only person on the internet who has absolutely no clue what the hell is going on in this image by Guillem March:



Anyway...

A few closing words about the three big anniversary issues that DC released last month… In my opinion, all three were kind of underwhelming. I enjoyed each of them to various degrees, but they didn't seem all that special to me the way I would expect an anniversary issue to be.

Batman #700 was probably the most epic and "significant" as far as the story goes, in the sense that it not only stands on its own quite well, but also fits into Morrison's greater arc, which we are smack in the middle of right now. However, the thrown-together feel of the art was a disappointment, especially with Frank Quitely unable to finish his section and the jarring shift to another artist in the middle of it, ruining the whole one-artist-per-time-period thing they were going for. Could they not have given him more time to finish his part? It's not like they didn't see it coming.

In contrast, both Superman and Wonder Woman relied on shorter stories by different writers. Lots of cameos, some tying up of loose ends and some foreshadowing of new stories to come. On the surface, they seemed designed to appeal to anybody interested in the characters, from older fans to curious new readers. But the way they were used to launch new arcs by super-star writer JMS made them feel more like promotional material than celebrations of iconic characters.

I felt that the 5$ cover price wasn't really justified for either of them. Yeah, I get that there was a larger page count (either because of pinup galleries or actual story pages), but so what? Part of the celebration of such landmark issues should be to give a little something back to the fans who have supported the characters and their books for all these years. Would it have killed DC to throw us a bone without jacking up the price for it? I've already said this several times, but it bears repeating: You can't really call it "bonus" material if you're charging extra for it.

Review: The Flash #3

THE FLASH #3 "The Dastardly Death of the Rogues, part 3"
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Francis Manapul.

Francis Manapul continues to blow my mind with his art and is seriously turning into one of my favourite artists. One of the reasons I really like his work on this series is all the background action and characterization that is constantly happening around the main story. During the fight scenes, almost every panel shows some "extras" running for cover or snapping quick pictures with their camera phones. Particularly impressive was the coffee shop scene, which as far as the story is concerned consists of Barry and Iris sitting at a table and having a conversation for four pages. But while this is happening, the background is filled with customers waiting in line to place their orders, students working on their laptops, people on the street outside getting into cabs. There's even some continuity involved, like with the man who finishes reading his paper, gets up and leaves, as another woman quickly takes the free table. Some people might find this distracting (like this reviewer who complains that Manapul "switches camera angles" too often), but to me it just adds to the sense that Central City is a real place inhabited by real people.

As far as the story goes, Geoff Johns is taking his time. Three issues in and the future cops are still trying to arrest Barry for the murder he hasn't committed yet, and it doesn't really seem like we're much closer to figuring out exactly what their deal is, although we are thrown cryptic hints here and there. The much more exciting plot development, though, is Captain Boomerang's escape from prison and the revelation that since coming back to life in Blackest Night, he now has the ability to "manifest black construct boomerangs in times of duress," all of which makes him pretty badass.

There's a humourous two-page extra at the end called "Flashfacts," which gives us a history of the boomerang, followed by an explanation of Captain Boomerang's powers. I found the second part of it actually quite useful, as someone who hasn't read Blackest Night and who isn't all that familiar with the character. Scott Kolins handles the art on this section. I hope this will be a recurring feature.

Overall, this was another good issue and I'm still enjoying this series a lot.

Quick reviews and previews

I haven't been doing a very good job of posting regular reviews of the comics I've read the past few weeks, so here's a catch-all update with quick reviews of a few recent issues. I'm going to save Return of Bruce Wayne #2 for a longer reviews, to be posted later this week.

BIRDS OF PREY #1

A good start to the series, if not exactly the mind-blowing first issue I was hoping for. Gail Simone starts putting all the pieces in place for her first story arc and does so competently. The in-story excuse for reuniting the team is refreshingly straightforward. Throwing Hawk and Dove into the mix feels a bit forced to me, and I suspect it was editorially mandated so the book could tie in to all the Brightest Day nonsense. Be that as it may, they only appeared in a few pages in this issue, so it's too early to judge whether they are going to fit in nicely with the rest of the team. The issue ends with a mystery villain, which is always fun. Looking forward to #2.

THE FLASH #2

Still really enjoying Francis Manapul's art and the lighter tone of this book. Let's hope that tone doesn't take a turn for the dark too soon, but with Geoff Johns writing and the connection to the apparently ironically titled Brightest Day, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. I think I remember reading some rather baffling complaints from fans who thought "nothing happened" in this issue. I'll never understand how these people's minds work. I was pretty skeptical about this title when I added it to my pull list, but so far I'm enjoying it more than I expected and have no real complaints.

THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1

I've never read any Legion stories before, so being introduced to so many characters and a completely different setting (i.e., the 31st century) all at once is a bit overwhelming. But not to the extent that I was completely lose or unable to follow the story. Again, this is a #1 issue, so I don't have a whole lot to say about it other than it sets things up nicely and now I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going to go.

THE SPIRIT #2

Hated it even more than the first issue! Wow, that art is ugly. In the first issue, I thought it was awkward in a few places. Here, it's just unpleasant throughout. The writing is just as bad. I'm really sorry that I committed to buying the first three issues before the series started. But thankfully there's only one more to go. I read a lot of comments about how the short black-and-white back-up stories are worth the price of admission alone, but I beg to differ. While I agree the back-up is the best thing about this issue, it's still just a back-up, and it's not strong enough to justify spending 4$ on. Not by a long shot.

DC LEGACIES #1

I was very much on the fence about this mini-series, which is supposed to tell the history of the DC universe from the Golden Age to the present. I decided to give it a shot mostly because I thought the art was nice. It opens with a lame framing device where some old guy is sitting in a rocking chair, drinking a cup of joe and talking directly at the reader, before we flashback to his childhood and he recounts his encounters with the first super-heroes. I thought this was extremely cheesy and unnecessary. The rest of the book is okay, but since we're getting the story from the perspective of these kids, we don't really get much insight into the "mystery men," who are of course the characters everyone is reading the book to find out more about. The issue ends somewhere around the time of the formation of the Justice Society of America, and by the time I got to the backup story, I had already pretty much lost interest. I don't think I'm going to pick up #2.

WHAT I'M PICKING UP THIS WEEK...

Definitely getting Sweet Tooth #10 and Red Robin #13. I enjoyed the last arc of Chris Yost's run on Red Robin. Now Fabian Nicieza is taking over and I'm looking forward to what he's going to do with the title. Tim Drake is still possibly my favourite character in the DC universe. My only complaint is that the Red Robin costume covers up too much of his head and makes him look like a second-rate Batman without the pointy ears. Tim Drake has awesome hair, and they shouldn't cover it up with that ugly cowl.

I may or may not pick up the first issue of Red Hood: The Lost Days. I am interested, but I might just decide to wait for the trade on that one. Same thing with the series of Joker's Asylum one-shots.

Last but not least, there's an original graphic novel called A God Somewhere coming out on Wildstorm that looks really good. There's a short preview here.

Review: The Flash #1

THE FLASH #1
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Francis Manapul

I have to confess that I've never really cared much about The Flash as a character. I'm pretty indifferent in the whole Wally West versus Barry Allen debate. My favourite speedster is probably Bart Allen, which may simply be because he's the only one I'm really familiar with, from having followed him in Teen Titans. Last week's Secret Files and Origins didn't do much to whet my appetite for this relaunch, so I picked up this issue almost reluctantly, half expecting to be bored with it.

The good news is that it was better than I expected. First, the art is really quite nice, as is the colouring, which establishes a nice contrast between warm sunset-like palette used for the exterior scenes in the city, and the colder purplish tones of the crime lab where Barry Allen works.

Although the story itself doesn't advance much in this first issue, it sets up all the major characters and relationships effectively. First, there's Barry and his wife Iris. They barely spend any time together in the issue, but Geoff Johns cleverly establishes a rapport between them with through the text messages they send each other throughout the story. Then there's Barry's coworkers at the forensics lab. We only meet a few of them briefly, but it looks like they're all going to be fleshed out over the course of the series.

And this is where I think The Flash has the potential to offer something really different from any other super-hero comic in the DC universe right now. I really hope that rather than just focusing on his adventures as The Flash, Johns will also give us some good police procedural type of action. I was immediately reminded of The Wire when the issue of department stats came up and how City Hall is pushing to have cases solved quickly. The Wire is my favourite TV series of all time, so Johns can rip it off as much as he wants and I'll eat it all up.

Another thing that reminded me of The Wire was the way that Central City (like Baltimore in the TV series) is being established almost as a character itself. It seems that a lot of effort went into painting a living portrait of "the city that's always on the run," both in terms of the art and the story.

As for the plot, we haven't really been given enough of it yet for me to have anything to say about it. Some kind of murder mystery with a time travel/Minority Report kinda twist. We'll see where it goes in the next issue.

Summary of Green Lantern up to Sinestro Corps War

I wrote this summary of every important event in the DC universe leading up to the Sinestro Corps War for a friend of mine who wanted to jump right in. I figured I might as well share it online since I went to all this effort already.

I've pretty much ignored inconsistencies and retcons, summarizing everything as it has been revised/reinterpreted by Geoff Johns. Therefore, some of the events described below may have been told slightly differently in the original stories.

SPOILERS DISCLAIMER: What follows is a series of MAJOR SPOILERS for the following comics:

GL: Emerald Twilight
Zero Hour
Final Night
Day of Judgement
GL: Rebirth
Green Lantern - Geoff Johns run up to Sinestro Corps War
Green Lantern Corps - Dave Gibbons run up to Sinestro Corps War
Ion
Infinite Crisis
52

Do not read the rest of this post if you intend to read the above comics and want to avoid spoilers. (Although some of those so-called spoilers, especially related to Emerald Twilight up to Rebirth are fairly common knowledge if you're at all familiar with DC comics.)

I. Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths, up to Rebirth

Hal Jordan was a pilot who was recruited into the Green Lantern Corps when an alien named Abin Sur crashed-landed on Earth. Before he died, Abin Sur found Hal as a replacement, citing his "ability to overcome great fear."

The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force that was set up by the Guardians of the Universe, a group of immortal blue men and women who live on planet Oa at the centre of the universe. Oa is the Corps's heardquarters and where the central power battery is located, which is the energy source of all the individual power rings. (The rings need to be recharged with the lanterns.) Initially, the power rings were ineffective against the colour yellow. This was known as "the yellow impurity" and attributed to some kind of defect in the technology that the Guardians were unable to resolve. More on that later.

The Guardians of the Universe have a bunch of rules that are kept in the Book of Oa. The most important of these is that Green Lanterns can't use lethal force.

Hal Jordan was trained by his mentor Sinestro, who at the time was called the greatest of all the Green Lanterns. But Hal discovered that Sinestro was using fear to rule over the people of his home world, Korugar. When the Guardians learned of Sinestro's dictatorial ways, they banished him from the Corps and he became its arch-nemesis.

During the "Reign of the Supermen" storyline, the supervillains Mogul and Cyborg Superman (AKA Hank Henshaw) joined forces and destroyed Coast City, Hal Jordan's home town. 7 million people were killed. Hal Jordan, overcome with grief, succumbed to his fear and went insane. He tried to rebuild Coast City with his power ring (and to bring the dead back to life), but the Guardians didn't let him do it, citing one of the rules in the Book of Oa that doesn't let members of the Corps use the power rings for their own gain. Hal Jordan got really angry and he rampaged his way to Oa, defeating several other Green Lanterns on the way, stealing their power rings and leaving them for dead. On Oa, Hal Jordan destroyed the power battery and absorbed all of its power. He became the supervillain Parallax and killed most of the Guardians.

Ganthet, the only surviving Guardian, travelled to Earth with the last remaining power ring and offered it to Kyle Rainer. The Green Lantern Corps no longer existed and Kyle Rainer was the only Green Lantern for a long time.

Parallax showed up as a villain in the DC universe on a few occasions. In Zero Hour, he tried to destroy the universe in order to rewrite history and undo the destruction of Coast City. (He failed.) In Final Night, a Sun Eater drained all the energy from the Earth's sun. Hal Jordan sacrificed himself to reignite the sun and save humanity, thereby redeeming himself. Then, in Day of Judgement, his soul became the new host for The Spectre. Hal Jordan was technically dead, but he still showed up once in a while as The Spectre.

II. Rebirth (beginning of Geoff Johns run)

In the Geoff Johns reboot, Kyle Rayner, Ganthet, and two former Green Lanterns, John Stewart and Guy Gardner, worked together to resurrect Hal Jordan. Exactly how this happened is convoluted and not that important. What is important is that it was revealed that Parallax was in fact a kind of space parasite who is the embodiment of fear. The Guardians knew of his existence and they imprisoned him in the central power battery. When Coast City was destroyed, Parallax was able to infect Hal Jordan and take control of him. So it wasn't Hal Jordan gone insane who killed all those Green Lanterns and acted like a jerk, but rather Hal Jordan under the control of Parallax.

It was also explained that Parallax was responsible for the so-called yellow impurity. When Hal Jordan frees himself of Parallax, they re-imprison him in the power battery. But now that they are aware of his existence, experienced Green Lanterns are able to recognized their fear and overcome it, which allows them to use their power rings on yellow stuff. Only rookies sometimes have a hard time with that colour.

Ganthet resurrected the other Guardians of the Universe and they started rebuilding the Green Lantern Corps. Here are some important characters:

Kilowog: big guy who trains new recruits on Oa.

Mogo: a sentient planet who is a member of the Corps and who acts as a sort of spiritual leader/counsellor.

Salaak: multi-limbed alien who works as the Guardians' personal assistant and liaison with the Corps members.

Soranik Natu: she was a doctor on Korugar, the planet that Sinestro is from. Because of Sinestro's abuse of power while he was a Green Lantern, the people of Korugar see the Power Rings as cursed and are not big fans of the Green Lantern Corps. Soranik Natu was at first reluctant to accept the ring, but she changed her mind when she realized that its power could be used for good. However, her people reject her as a traitor.

The Lost Lanterns: these are the lanterns that Hal Jordan/Parallax left for dead when he went berserk. They were presumed dead, but in a storyline leading up to the Sinestro Corps War, Hal Jordan discovered that they were being held captive on the Manhunters' world. He and Guy Gardner rescued them. The Lost Lanterns remain very distrustful of Hal Jordan. The most prominent ones are Boodika (Hal Jordan cut off her hand when he stole her power ring, so she's particularly resentful), Jack T. Chance, Ke'Haan and Tomar-Tu. There are others, but it's not important to know them all by name. You just need to know they exist as a group and why they have this beef against Hal Jordan.

While the Corps is being rebuilt, Hal Jordan is also helping to rebuild Coast City on Earth. People are reluctant to move there, because of everything that happened, but Hal Jordan continues to hope that people will come once they realize that he's keeping the place safe. He even convinces his brother and his family to move there. This is an important recurring theme that pays off at the end of Sinestro Corps War.

III. Ion

During the events of Infinite Crisis, Kyle Rainer acquired new powers and took on the name of Ion. He no longer needs a power ring, as the source of his power is within himself. As Ion, he is given extra responsibilities by the Guardians, who refer to him as the Torchbearer, both because of his role in bringing them and the Corps back to life and because of his responsibility to do this again should anything happen to them.

IV. The Sinestro Corps

During the different storylines leading up to Sinestro Corps War, hints are occasionally dropped that Sinestro is around and recruiting people for his Corps. Some of the key players are:

Cyborg Superman and the Manhunters: The Manhunters are a race of robots that were built by the Guardians of the Universe before they formed the Green Lantern Corps. They were kind of a failed experiment; they turned out to be too cold and emotionless for the job so they were banished to some abandoned corner of the universe. After he was defeated by Superman (after destroying Coast City), Hank Henshaw (AKA Cyborg Superman) encountered the Manhunters and became their leader. Their goal is to eradicate all life from the universe, because they're robots and that's what they do.

Ranx, the sentient city: Guy Gardner encounters this sentient city who hates Green Lanterns. He defeats and humiliates it, so it's now really angry and looking for vengeance.

Amon Sur: He is the son of Abin Sur (the Lantern who gave his ring to Hal Jordan). He feels that he should have been his father's successor, so he hates Hal Jordan.

In addition to all these recruits, Sinestro is also working with the Anti-Monitor (the being from the anti-matter universe who attempted to destroy the multiverse during Crisis on Infinite Earths). The Sinestro Corps's heardquarts is on Quard, a planet in the anti-matter universe. This is where their central power battery is located and where the yellow power rings are being manufactured. The yellow power rings work the same way as the green ones, except that they are controlled by fear instead of willpower.

V. Infinite Crisis, Superboy Prime, and the multiverse

At the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the multiverse ceased to exist and was replaced by a single universe combining elements from the five remaining universes that the Anti-Monitor hadn't destroyed yet. When this happened, most of the characters were reinvented (rebooted) and they don't know there ever was a multiverse. However, a handful of characters from the original multiverse survived: Superman of Earth-2, Lois Lane of Earth-2, Alexander Luthor (son of Lex Luthor) from a universe where Lex was a good guy, and Superboy Prime (who was from a universe where he was the only existing super-hero). These characters survived in a "pocket universe" – a kind of virtual paradise where they were supposed to live happily ever after.

During the events of Infinite Crisis, it was revealed that they had been watching the new universe ever since and were growing increasingly frustrated with all the corruption they were witnessing. Under Luthor's leadership, they came up with a plan to escape their pocket universe, destroy the current universe and bring back the golden age world of Earth-2, which they saw as a purer, simpler and less corrupt world where heroes were not the kind of morally ambiguous, tortured anti-heroes we are now used to.

Earth-2 Superman quickly saw that this plan was crazy, so he joined forces with the New Earth superheroes to defeat Alexander Luthor. However, Superboy Prime didn't. He turned out to be really insane and powerful and evil – one of the most dangerous super-villains of the DC universe. At the end of Infinite Crisis, he was imprisoned on Oa, where Green Lanterns constantly guard his cell. But he will be freed by Sinestro and join the Corps (new called Superman Prime – he's all grown up).

In 52, it was revealed that a new multiverse was created. This ties in to some of the what's going on in Sinestro Corps War and beyond, but you can basically ignore that stuff if you don't care. If you do care, then you have a lot of reading to do to catch up.

The end - now read Sinestro Corps War.