My Comics: What's Working And What's Not

I haven't talked about my comic reading habits in a bit so I thought I'd give an overview of the books on my list that I think are working and the books that I'm close to dropping.

Justice Society Of America-

Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham, the creative team behind the critically acclaimed series, "Fables" took on the Justice Society last year with some fairly poor results. Namely in the realm of dialogue, which feels like it jumped out of a 1950's era comic book. That may be overstating it, but I'd only be sharing the guilt with Sturges and Willingham, who too often overstate the obvious.

The dialogue seems to either state what can obviously be seen in the art panels, or over explain what is happening. It almost reminds of me old comics where the hero would talk about his powers while using them. ("A blast of heat vision ought to do the trick! And now my ex-ray vision confirms that the robbers are gone!")

The duo recently split to each write their own JSA books with Willingham on Justice Society Of America, and Sturges on JSA: All Stars (an ironic title since it hosts the far less recognizable characters). I discovered that the blame for bad dialogue must rest with Willingham, since the same kind of writing was present in his book, while Sturges doesn't seem to be crippled by it. I've dropped the Willingham JSA book, but after checking out some previews for the Sturges book I think I may be picking it up, even though Willingham's book is using more of my favorite characters.

In the meantime, I've enjoyed the high stakes and wonderfully unfolding plot of JSA vs. Kobra, a six issue miniseries, and JSA: Blackest Night miniseries, which serves as perfect fit for the legacy/historical aspects that come with the JSA, given that the JSA's history is literally coming back from the dead to haunt them!


Justice League Of America-

James Robinson is doing a great job with the JLA miniseries "Cry For Justice". It includes moral dilemmas and great characterization and features the proper return of Prometheus, one of the greatest JLA villains of all time! It also features a talking Gorilla, but so far the good has out weighed the stupid in this regard.

Wish I could say the same about the ongoing JLA book. It's not that the writing is bad. It's fine. (Though not more than that.) It's not that the art is bad. It's fine. (Though not more than that.) It's just the case of a book being mishandled in the direction it's taking. First and foremost, I'm referring to the roster. Who is on this team? Donna Troy, Dick Grayson, Cyborg and Starfire as of issue 41. There are also some more second stringer like Dr. Light, Red Tornado and Mon-el (4th stringer recently elevated to second string status). But this feels a whole lot more like a Titans book than a JLA book. What are they thinking? Even the addition og Hal Jordan and Green Arrow to the team don't make up for the rest of the roster. And on the cover of issue 41? Congorilla. I've already read that he is a confirmed future member of the team. It's all just too much, DC. Wake me up when you've got the icons back in the line-up. 'Till then I'm keeping my cash. Speaking of "Titans"...


Titans-

This book has been alright, but far from its peak. The individual issues are good when I can give them my full attention. But they have been very forgettable afterward. This is probably due to the fact that the book has not had a consistant writer for the last 6 months. And now with most of the team moving over to the JLA, I'm not sure what's left. This book was launched based on the idea of the classic original Teen Titans all grown up and reunited again. But it looks like it may just be another team with recognizable name that is filled with unrecognizable faces. And if you try to pull that off and keep reader interest without rock solid and consistent writing, it's a recipe for disaster. So this book has been given its first and only warning. I'm saving up for video games, DC.

Teen Titans-

This team is doing a little better than its predecessors. The art is solid and the stories aim to be character driven. The only problem is that I don't feel like I know these characters. What would do a world of good for this book woul be to have a series of one-shot stories between 2 or 3 issue arcs that focus one one member of the team, helping me to understand what they want from life and from being a Titan. If I can get to know these characters and feel their individual struggles more, I think this book would become a must have!

Outsiders- Those who have been listening to my podcast and reading my blog for awhile know that I have no love for Dan DiDio. I think there have been a number of ideas carried out at DC that he should have axed. So when I heard he would be taking over Outsiders, one of my favorite books, I was both nervous and curious. Two issues in and he's actually doing a pretty decent job! His storytelling is a bit rushed and his characterization is not very deep, but it's not bad by any stretch and the story he's presenting is one I'm very interested in! He does have an odd habit of having his characters refer to the events of "Blackest Night" as "Blackest Night", something I've not seen in any other books. It feels a bit like having Superman say, "My 'secret origin' days make up some of my fondest memories" or "It was so sad to see Hal broken and hurting during 'Emerald Twilight'" or even "Remember when we had that crossover with Marvel?" A bit odd... Dan may have spent a little too much time in that editorial/publicity chair.

Blackest Night- This miniseries continues to be a very enjoyable read that brings all the biggest DC characters together against intensely high stakes, while also reminding us how they all tick as individual characters. It's not the best "event" book I've ever read, but it continually reminds me of why I love reading comics and why I love the DC universe and all of its heroes and villains! Its an experience I've come to expect from Geoff Johns and Blackest Night has not let me down.

Superman/Batman- This book started out as the go-to place for definitive stories focusing on either Batman or Superman. These characters were once featured better in this book than in their own. But the quality has faded over the last few years and with both storytelling and art falling well below industry standards, I dropped this book last fall. I still flip through the pages of the new issues, hoping to see an exciting new direction, but it looks as though the current story is actually a trip to the past, following up on the "Our Worlds At War" miniseries from several years ago. (When was that anyway? As far back as the 90's?) I'm not interested in flashback anthologies, so this book will continue to be ranked with "The Brave And The Bold" on my list of purchase priorities. Get the stories out of the past and into the well-written and drawn present if you want my money again.

Secret Six- This book continues to hold the top spot on my reading list. It follows the story of a group of super-villains on the run and trying to make their way in the world. Character driven with clever dialogue and page turning stories. And in a story where the villains are "heroes", the villains they face are REEEEALLY bad! Evil pulls no punches and neither does Gail Simone, who I now consider every bit the equal of Geoff Johns and on some days even better! Give this book a try!

Well, that covers the "Team" books I've been reading, and I had more to say than I thought! Guess my opinions about my solo books will have to wait until another time!