DC's "New 52" Batman Books

Given my disappointment over Superman, I wanted to give Batman, another DC icon, a shot at hooking me in with a fresh take. I hate pretty much everything Grant Morrison did with Batman. All the Damien stuff and Batman Incorporated just seemed a far cry from the brooding loner version of Batman that I think works best.

But seeing that some of that stuff is being carried over into the new DC, i decided to give the Batman books one last chance to make these ideas work for me. Although I wanted to read Detective Comics #1, local stores were sold out, so I'll have to wait for the reprint. But I did manage to snag all of the others. My first stop was Batman and Robin.


Batman and Robin

Again, more wrong turns, in my opinion. As a "new" reader again to the Batman books, i kept asking myself, why is this guy taking his 10-year old son out to fight crime with him? I don't care how well his son is trained. Granted, Bruce is a screwed up guy, but his decision to take Damien out with him was not treated as screwed up. It was taken for granted.

Batman also seems to be emotionally "healing" from the death of his parents. In a scene with Damien, he says that it's not important how his parents dies. It's important how they live. And from now on he's going to replace remembering them at Crime Alley on the anniversary of their death with celebrating their wedding anniversary. Whaa?

That sounds more like Superman, to me. Batman hangs onto his pain. It;s what keeps him paranoid and screwed up enough to zealously sacrifice every ounce of his being to what he does. Remove the perpetually unhealthy emotional condition of Batman and you begin to remove his essence and the reminder of what he does all that he does.

One bright note for me is that a mysterious villain is trying to kill all the members of Batman Incorporated. I hope he succeeds. There are enough Batman knock-offs in Gotham. The more you add, the less unique Batman becomes.

My hope is that the events of this book (except for eliminating the Batman Inc. characters) will in no way be referenced or reflected in other Batman books. I'd like to forget nearly every page of this issue.


Batman

This book seems to be a little more bent toward new reader accessibility. The writer cleverly has Bruce Wayne testing out an interface device that gives him basic information on everyone he sees, easily introducing key characters to readers as a by-product. It seems to be mostly a solo book, with brief interaction with Batman's supporting cast current and former sidekicks.
The story sets up an interesting mystery that I wouldn't mind reading, but this book isn't the re-invigoration of the character I'd been hoping for. I doubt I'll get the next issue.


Batman: The Dark Knight

This book felt a lot like Batman #1. It even shared some plot points, which was disappointing. But the art was great and the narrative was cool, and no sign of any sidekicks.

Again, once of my complaints is that Batman seems to be losing his loner essence a bit. In one scene he's actually leading a squad of policemen into a tactical situation. In another, it's made clear that Bruce Wayne funds Batman's operations, and this is public knowledge! (Smells a lot like Tony Stark, DC. Too much in fact.)

I enjoy Batman best when he's an urban legend, an seemingly unstable, driven, semi-psychotic loner who even makes his allies uncomfortable. In recent years his supporting cast has exploded, shining unwelcome light into the dark corners of Batman's world, and he has struck me as less and less dark and mysterious as a result.


As a result of my experience with the Batman books, I still plan to give Detective #1 a try when I can get my hands on the second printing that I imagine is coming. But in all likelihood, the Batman stories I want to read will only be found in special miniseries or one-shots, rather than the ongoing Batman books.

More Hits And Misses With DC's "New 52"

The Savage Hawkman

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this one. The creator's compared it to Indiana Jones fighting aliens, and the first issue delivers on the concept. I'm also encouraged by the revamp of Hawkman's powers that seems to be going on, centering them even more fully on the mysterious properties of the Nth metal. There's great potential for the concept of Hawkman to get a fresh new take. What i would have liked was a slight retracing of Hawkman's origin story, so I know whether or not it's the same as it has been. But hopefully they will take the opportunity to re-establish that at some point in the first story arc. I wasn't blown away, but this book will bring me back for at least one more issue.

Aquaman

I admit. I doubted. I hoped, but I doubted that Geoff Johns could work his magic on Aquaman and for the first time create a book that would have me genuinely invested in this character, and not just wanting him to be worthy of investment. But he did it. And by means that are so unexpected but so completely appropriate.

Rather than trying too hard to re-invent the character with new powers that would make him demand respect even on land, Johns plays up the fact that the average joe thinks he's a joke among the other superheroes. The result is some great laughs but also almost instant identification with and sympathy for Aquaman.

I'd still be excited to see him gain new powers over water (think Magneto but with H2O), but Johns is already establishing Aquaman's desire to leave Atlantis and his kingly status behind him. A pretty big move that probably upsets the apple cart enough for now.

In the first issue alone, Aquaman is already a fascinating, butt-kicking character that I care about and I can't wait to read the rest of this series for as long as it is in the care of one of the comic book industry's best writers.


The Fury Of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men

Notice the plural in that last word? Not a typo. The new take on this character concept involves the existence of multiple "Firestorms" and we get to see the origin story for the two this book will focus on in the first issue.

Although she isn't writing it alone, I can see the touch of master scribe Gail Simone in the dialogue, which helps the book a lot. Some great character moments and baddies that are REALLY bad. My only complaint is that things seem to ramp up almost too quickly. I would have been content to just see Firestorm on the last page and leave the action that follows for #2. Instead, our main characters suddenly have brand new powers that they already seem comfortable with, except superficially.

I'm also not impressed by one of the bad guys quoting the Bible as he helps kill people. C'mon, Gail. I'm not even offended as a Christian, but more as a reader. Bad guys being "Christians" is long past being an interesting twist. It's a tired cliche.

Still, the issue was solid and Gail Simone, whatever her level of involvement, has earned my attention. I'll be back for at least another two issues.


The Flash

I'm pretty happy with how this book is starting out. We get to see a Flash that, while still very powerful, is slightly less experienced in the use of his powers. And while I think some characters are at a disadvantage by having their marriages erased with this reboot, I think Barry being single (with Iris still in the comic) brings a youth, a freshness and an insecurity to the character that is nice. Barry has not been a very interesting character historically, so taking away some of those supportive characters will help define who he is.

The art is different from previous flash books, but the coloring and lightning effects work really well. It's a visual treat on every page and suits the character very well.

The story also presents a mystery I'm interested in solving. Interested enough that the lost opportunities (few though they were) to focus on character in this issue didn't bother me at all.
I wasn't blown away by this issue, but I'm a Flash fan and really liked it. I'm sure The Flash will be a regular purchase for me unless they really do something to screw this up.


Teen Titans

This issue delivered just what it needed to. Great art and action and nicely paced, character revealing introductions to the future key players of this book. Because the DC universe timeline is being condensed, Red Robin (who now has a MUCH better costume!), Wonder Girl, Superboy and Kid Flash are all coming onto the DC Universe scene "for the first time" in this issue. And the chance to get in on the ground floor is a very exciting one for me.

The story doesn't start out with the team formed and ready to fight crime. The issue consists of seperate smaller stories introducing each character, slowly connecting them to each other. Teenage meta-humans have a reputation for being reckless loose cannons, and so the government is rounding them up for... we don't quite know yet. But these teenagers suddenly have a common problem and it's clear they will need each other to deal with it.

I am SOO hooked!


Tomorrow I'll wrap up my coverage of DC's "New 52" with my thoughts on the Batman books!

Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 and Superman #1

I picked up another load of DC's final comics of the first month of their new universe. here are my thoughts on two. More to come soon!

Green lantern: New Guardians

Given that this book shares a subtitle with a TERRIBLE concept that came out of the lame "Millenium" crossover way back in the 80's (do I get some extra geek cred for that reference?), I was reluctant to check it out. But as a die-hard GL fan, knew I at least had to give it a shot.

This issue is almost pure set-up, mainly of Kyle Rayner's character. It retells his origin with a few modifications that make him less of a loser (he wasn't fixing to puke in the back alley, just urinate) and firmly establish him as having been specifically chosen to bear the ring. The other elements of the issue set up what will be coming, which is still very unclear, but I'm interested.

It's a quick read, with a little less dialogue or other text to give it meat. And while I hope that won't be the norm (I like to feel like I've read three to four bucks worth) I'm on board at least until they make it clear what this series will be about.


Superman

This book is in trouble. Or at least hope it is. I hope it does terrible and DC quickly recognizes that they need to go in a different direction with their handling of the most iconic character in comic book history.

Unlike the current story in Action Comics, Superman #1 picks up where Superman is at today, establishing his current status quo as a character. So what is that status quo in a nutshell? No different from what I saw in Action Comics #1, except for a different costume. (And BTW, the costume changes are now not even the LEAST of my concerns.)

Both Clark and Superman seem much like the same person. Really odd, given that DC is hoping to get non-comics fans in on this book, who won't as easily suspend disbelief when it comes to the whole "glasses disguise" thing. Superman and Clark are both always frowning in some way. Either in anger or disappointment. But mostly anger. (His one smile is while he is threatening to drown some bad guys if they don't surrender.)

Again, as with Action Comics #1, they seem to be pulling specifically from Superman's "social crusader" roots to the exclusion of the rest of this character's history, giving us someone who comes across like a self-righteous college kid who just discovered public protesting.

His dialogue as Superman is also surprisingly old-school sounding. As he prepares to throw a giant object at the bad guy he says, "So far you've been doing all the pitching in this game. Now let's see if you can catch!" The rest of the script has plenty more moments with a "tell don't show" writing philosophy. (The wrong approach in comic books, I think.)

Although there are a number of better directions you could take this character compared to where they are, for my tastes it would have been great to see a new kind of Clark persona that Kal-el puts on. Maybe a socially awkward gaming nerd who is really good at expressing himself in writing but is lousy in conversation. And a Superman who is a strong, encouraging example of service and self-sacrifice, who is there to help people in the moment, rather than solve the world's problems at their root cause. (Again, this would be my take, but DC could do any number of things that would work better than what they're doing now with Superman.)

I have a sneaking suspicion that no one at DC knows how to effectively write the iconic Superman anymore. When we see knock-off heroes based on the icons like Batman, Wolverine, Superman or Captain America, we see through the name and costume and say, "this guy's a so-and-so rip-off", because the essence of those iconic characters is much more than their costumes. But DC seems to be taking away Superman's essence as it has been established over the last handful of decades. If you took away this Superman's costume and name, the Man Of Steel would be the last character that would likely come to mind.

DC can naturally do what they want. These are just "funny books" at the end of the day and I'm not bothered by what they're doing with Superman. I'm just not interested in it, and neither is my wallet.

But DC, if you decide to take that "essence of Superman" that you're not using right now and inject it into another character, could you send out a memo? I think I'd like to read that guy's book.

My Kind Of Propaganda!

While substitute teaching at a High School today I scanned the walls of the classroom I was in, reading all of those educational "propaganda posters" that teachers put up. Some of them are little more than bad pop-philosophy cliches, while others are nice little nuggets of wisdom. But they almost always prove to be an interesting window into the personality and values of the teacher I'm subbing for.

In today's classroom, there was one poster I was tempted to rip down and take home to put on MY wall! It showed some awesome artwork of Barbara Gordon purposefully storming through a library with a forensics book in one hand. As she passes by a window we see that her reflection is that of Batgirl, symbolically cluing us in to her true identity. The bold caption reads, "Librarians are heroes every day!"

Extremely cool! How come *I* never had an English teacher like Ms. Bishop?

More DC "New 52" Reviews

Mister Terrific

I picked up this one because I like sci-fi themed super heroes and Mister Terrific was a character I enjoyed in JSA. The redesign of his costume is in keeping with his former look and the character itself is largely the same. Although his origin is retold in flashback without the Spectre's involvement, it retains the same basic elements. His wife and unborn son are killed in a car accident, leaving Michael Holt crushed. But a time travel visit from his future adult son (instead of The Spectre dropping by) convinces him he was meant to do greater things. Specifically "educate the world", although it's not clear what this will involve.

One point of interest was Holt's profession of anti-theism. After retelling the tragic story of his wife's death, he says "I don't believe in God. Now you know why." This is an interesting position for the writer to take, since it establishes his atheism as being rooted not in some scientific argument, but in a very personal and emotional experience. This is something few atheists will admit to being the true source of their atheism. Although in general this first issue was not remarkable, I will probably give it one more month and see what happens.


Wonder Woman

This was an impulse buy. I read Gail Simone's run on Wonder Woman and naturally loved it. I've wanted to love this character in comics since watching Lynda Carter as a kid. But all the togas, sandals and Greek gods just never worked for me. Unfortunately, this new iteration isn't working either. My chief complaint is the art. The gritty, imprecise style would look better to me on a Batman book, or some other character that is more "earthbound" or "street level" in concept. I think they're hoping the art will help sell the brutal feel they're trying to give this book, but it wasn't working for me. The story also keeps us at a distance from Wonder Woman's thoughts at a time when I want to be re-introduced to what makes her tick. I won't be giving #2 my money.


Green Lantern Corps

Like the Green Lantern solo book #1, this issue doesn't represent a leap forward in quality from what's come before, but rather a continuation of the great quality I've already come to expect. One difference though is the story, which features a vicious, invisible killer capable of slicing right though even the incredible defenses of a power ring, making short work of any Green Lantern. The gore factor is up a little more than usual, but it works here as this book appropriately has a more military vibe to it than the Green Lantern solo book. The serious tone and sci-fi action will no doubt keep me coming back for more every month, just as I have for years.


Supergirl

This was another last minute decision. I was intrigued by how the creators described this book in the San Diego ComiCon panels. The idea is to tell the story of a kryptonian who grew up on Krypton, is already in her teens, but is now suddenly thrust into life on earth, without any of the moral values that Clark Kent was raised with. The first issue focuses on the alien nature of her surroundings. No one speaks her language and she can't understand anyone else, leading to some naturally intense conflict. Hopefully, she won't learn English and become adjusted to earth life for a VERY long time, as I think it keeps her distinct from Superman and gives us a potential story link to Krypton, as well as provides potential for other great story opportunities. I'll definitely be coming back to check this one out for at least another month or two.


Blue Beetle

I love the Blue Beetle concept that was introduced in Infinite Crisis and have been following his solo comic and enjoying his appearances in Teen Titans ever since. A great sci-fi superhero concept. Blue Beetle is like the Swiss Army Knife of superheroes. His alien armor can shift and change to suit nearly any task at hand.

This version of the character, as far as I can tell, has been changed very little. His origin story is now free of any Infinite Crisis story elements, and the concept of the Reach, his arch-nemesis, is more clearly tied to his origin story. The art is solid and the story has my interest, even though we don't see Jaime, the main character, as Blue Beetle until the last page.

The writing has a strong Latino element, due to the cultural backgrounds of the cast of characters. A minor complaint is that enough of the dialogue momentarily drifts into Spanish that I have to use context clues to decipher the finer points of what characters are expressing now and then. It's not a big problem, but my hope is that the writer doesn't confuse adding "culture" with adding "character". I think writing comics in this way has some bonuses and adds a layer of realism to the script, but since I don't speak Spanish I hope I'm not missing out on some nice character bits because I don't understand what's being said. In the end, the language issue doesn't effect my enjoyment of the book to anywhere near the proportion I've spent talking about it, and this book will likely be a regular purchase for me for a long time to come.


Captain Atom

The cover of this book has had me anxiously awaiting the first issue. The solicitations gave me the impression that this book will take Captain Atom down the road Alan Moore intended to take him with Watchmen, before he was asked to create an original character (Dr. Manhattan) instead. Although his origin isn't retraced in the first issue, we understand that his ability to absorb energy and manipulate matter came by way of some accident. Now he has incredible powers that he doesn't fully understand and that may also be killing him as he uses them.

The opening narration of the book sets a somewhat naturalistic philosophical tone, stating that humans are really no more special than animals, while at the same time acknowledging our inherent evil. (This is interesting, since purely naturalistic philosophies have no logical basis for any moral positions.) The title of this issue's story is "Evolution Of The Species" and the title for next issue's story is "Messiah Complex". So it sounds like this book will be traveling a somewhat philosophical route, despite having lots of super-powered action and explosions. Naturally that interests me, provided the philosophy is thoughtful and not the same old naturalistic stuff we've heard for years in science fiction.

Where this issue fell enormously short for me was the interior art, which is made up of more "gritty", imprecise lines with low detail, carried chiefly by the coloring. Once again, I think this art style better serves more "earthy" characters, and those rooted in the fantastic, as this one is, would be served better by clean, dazzling art. I never used to care about art in comics like I do these days, but the way this art rubs me may just make for a deal breaker unless issue #2 is really something special.

More Of DC's New 52

Last week DC introduced several more #1 issues, re-introducing us to more of their properties in hopes of grabbing new readers and reminding existing fans why they love DC Comics. As you might expect, the effort produced mixed results, at least as far as I'm concerned. Here are the titles I picked up:

Hawk And Dove

Although I'm not a longtime fan of these characters, I like the contrast between the pacifist Dove and the enraged warrior Hawk, and I enjoyed their inclusion in Gail Simone's "Birds Of Prey". And while the art in this first issue was great, the characters were fairly well-defined and I'm curious about where things will go, I'm not sure that all adds up to a purchase next month, especially since DC has launched a number of other books that I enjoyed more than this one. If they had showed more of their hand regarding the future direction of this book, they might have sold me, but at this point there just wasn't quite enough to hold on to me as a reader.

Superboy

I've never followed Superboy's comic before, though that may change now. Although they are retracing Superboy's origins as a clone of Superman, they are doing so independent of the "Death Of Superman" story, and with more attention to Superboy's internal thoughts and feelings. As a result, this is an intriguing, serious, character driven story that seems to lead into the new Teen Titans book, setting up Superboy as a potential tool for deception, if not outright evil. Can't wait to see where it goes next!

Demon Knights

For years I've wanted to read a sword and sorcery comic book that was dark in tone, character driven and has great art. As I've flipped through fantasy comic books on shelves over the years I've been met by disappointment again and again. When I saw the solicitations for "Demon Knights" I didn't even want to get my hopes up. But then I read in an interview with the creators that they were aiming to capture the same readers who dig "Dragon Age". I figured if this comic read or looked even remotely like those games, I should at least give the first issue a try. I'm so glad I did. The story centers on Jason of Norwich, who for reasons unknown is cursed to host the demon Etrigan in the final moments of the age of Camelot. The main story picks up hundreds of years later in the Dark Ages. Jason has apparently been made immortal through his bonding to Etrigan, and now travels with fellow immortal Madame Xanadu, who serves as his companion and love interest but with hidden motivations. The first issue has dark sorcery (and I mean REALLY dark sorcery!), brutal action and the blood, grit and grime you'd expect if you were playing Dragon Age: Origins. Fans of dark, brutal fantasy shouldn't miss this one and the last page, which I'd LOVE to spoil but won't, left me with a crazy kind of itch to read the next issue. And the fact that all this fantasy goodness just happens to take place in my favorite comic book universe (albeit hundreds of years in the past) is just icing on the cake. If they can keep this quality up, Demon Knights will be one of the books I look forward to most every month.

Suicide Squad

Since there is no longer a Secret Six book being written by Gail Simone, and I've developed a taste for "villain books", I decided I should give the new Suicide Squad book a try. The premise is that super criminals who want to reduce their sentences can enroll in black ops government missions from which they will likely not return in exchange for reductions in their sentences. Honestly, I have no idea why they didn't just keep the cast of Secret Six and bring them over to this book. Apart from Deadshot and Harley Quinn, I barely recognize any of these characters. And when you've read a villain book by Gail Simone, it's hard to read another one by anyone less gifted to write dialogue. This issue does little more than establish the basic premise of the book, though there are enough questions raised that I want answers for that I will be giving the second issue a fair shot.

Deathstroke

This book is my second attempt to fill the "villain void" left behind by The Secret Six. Deathstroke is supposed to be the baddest of the bad when it comes to mercenary villains. And this issue establishes why. Only in "Identity Crisis" have I seen him pull off cooler moves. But in the midst of all the butt-kicking I think they dropped the ball just a little regarding character. All of their character work seemed bent on portraying him as the most vicious and efficient killer out there, when I think they should have spent some of that time reminding us who Deathstroke is, where he acquired his abilities and why he does what he does. The only possible character plot is obscured, left as a hook for future issues. But if they don't reveal more character bits in #2, it's a hook I won't bite for #3.

Green Lantern

I'm a big Green Lantern nerd, so there was no way I'd miss this issue. DC must think I'm not the Only one, because this is one of the few titles that, while renumbered to #1, doesn't seem to provide the same jumping on point seen in other books. Hal Jordan isn't a Green Lantern and instead Sinestro, long time enemy of the GL Corps, is chosen to wear a ring for reasons no one, including Sinestro or the Guardians, understands. It's an interesting plot hook, and reads just as great as we've come to expect from Geoff Johns. But it's an odd choice of storyline in a month when they are looking to bring in new readers. The concept of a Green Lantern is presented well for those new to the book, but I can't imagine Sinestro will be the long-term "hero" of this book.

New Laptop In My Future?

Over the weekend my laptop (which I spend most of my time working on as I watch my boys at the same time) started acting up. The screen wouldn't turn on, though it otherwise seemed to boot up okay. Then after a few minutes of no screen it would just shut down by itself.

It's an old, hand me down laptop that was convenient at first but with the birth of our second son has now become a necessity if I want to get anything done. So having it die on me was not cool. Add to that the fact that replacing it would mean a bit of a bite from our Spirit Blade Productions budget, which although always slowly improving, has yet to hit black. So having to buy a new laptop AND finance the 2-3 projects going into production soon would be a frustrating setback.

My laptop decided to boot up okay last night and today, but I've taken everything off of the hard drive in anticipation of a fatal crash in the near future, and will now begin looking for a replacement laptop to grab when this one finally dies.

(...grrr.)

Descent Weekend!

Has it really been a year since I last drove out to California for a "Descent Weekend" with my buddy Mark? Either way, it's that time again!

Tomorrow I leave work and family behind and live the live of a nerdy bachelor again for an extended marathon weekend!

I'll get to Mark's place sometime late Thursday night and we'll be rolling dice before lunch on Friday! These weekends are always more intense than when Mark comes to visit me in Arizona, since he often has family and friends in the area that he is somewhat obligated to at least share a meal with. I, on the other hand, know almost no one else in the area where he lives. He also usually takes a day off from work when I come out, extending our time even further. In fact, it's not uncommon when we game at his place, for me to hit a "wall" at some point, when I start to burn out and we have to either play a different game for a bit, watch a movie or at least go for a walk.

By the end, I've usually had my itch scratched for a few months more and drive home Sunday afternoon in a state of nerdly contentment and a belly full of pizza, pepsi and other assorted crap foods. Ahh, good times.

Let the games begin!

Back To The Grind

COMPLETELY forgot to post yesterday, although that's no surprise to me. Yesterday was the first day of substitute teaching I've had this fall.

Although most of my time is spent running Spirit Blade Productions, I substitute teach at the high school level an average of five days a month. I never know when I will sub. I could get a call as late as 5-9am the morning of. This is the beginning of my 6th consecutive year "subbing", and yet it's still a bit jarring each fall when I start up again. I have to learn all over again how to rush out the door half-awake at a moment's notice without leaving my lunch or laptop behind.

My regular work routine also takes an obvious hit. Well, obvious to me. If I'm on top of things (unlike I was yesterday), people who connect with me online never notice when I'm subbing, since I make it a priority to still get both blog posts up three days a week, process and ship any physical orders in our online store and answer any e-mails I can, as well as get on the forums and respond to any new comments there. Makes for a long day that usually lacks any creative work to make it fun, but you do what you gotta do to fill those little holes in the budget and keep a small company rolling at the same time.

All things considered, I enjoy subbing more than any alternative I can think of for a "side-gig". The work isn't difficult most of the time and it's good to stay connected to the rising generation, keeping my hand on the pulse of popular thinking. Subbing sometimes even serves as a reminder of why I started my little company in the first place.

I'll be posting this when I get home, but as I type it now I'm sitting in another high school classroom today. (Empty at the moment, I'm waiting for my next class to start.) I'm reminded of what a formative time high school and college are for so many people. It's the time of life when many people settle into believing what they will believe for the rest of their lives, regarding God, themselves and the purpose of existence.

I steer well clear of having "religious" discussions with students. But every once in awhile I find an opening to stimulate a student's thinking about truth in some way. As frustrating as the subbing grind can be to my short-term plans, I think in my better moments I recognize what a gift it is to "make tents" the way I do.(Acts 18:1-3)

DC's New Stormwatch, Batgirl and Action Comics

This week I checked out three of DC's new titles from the launch of their new DC Universe continuity.

















Stormwatch #1

I'd read and enjoyed some previous iterations of this book and these characters, but this one wasn't really working for me. If you're looking for a comic book about super-powered people who don't necessarily wear costumes and aren't necessarily heroic, this might be a good fit for you. That was one of the draws for me in previous versions. But the writing this time around seemed to simply present the concept of the book rather than introduce us to who these characters are. It felt like a page by page run down of quick character bios that included little more than their names and their powers. Speaking of powers, I'd forgotten that the power sets represented in this book are a bit odd and abstract at times. One guy can control and communicate with cities (huh?), another woman can mentally access any information from every media source in the world and a young girl can do anything the physics of the 21st century can make possible... or something like that. It was all a little odd, and I highly doubt I'll be sticking with this title, as much an I enjoyed seeing Martian Manhunter.


















Batgirl #1

I wasn't going to even try this title. The cover, with Barbara Gordon in a costume much like her classic black, yellow and purple digs, with a big ruby lipstoick smile on her face and shampoo commercial hair flowing out the back, just looked like a betrayal of the entire Batman concept, which Barbara supposedly used as inspiration for hewr crime-fighting persona. Frankly, I saw little resemblance... until I started reading. I should have trusted what I know of Gail Simone. She can write the phone book and make it a compelling character piece. We get to be inside Barbara's mind for most of the book, experiencing her excitement over being able to fight crime again and the scars of fear the Joker left behind when he paralyzed her. For those concerned that her paralysis is being wiped away, don't be. It's a major part of her character and informs everythign she does. The story is also the same gritty tale with the creepiest villains that I've come to expect from Simone's work on Birds Of Prey and The Secret Six. I picked this up as a last minute impulse decision and am SO glad I didn't ultimately judge this book by its terrible cover. I'm amazed to say it, but I'll probably be buying this book every month.


















Action Comics #1

And now for the big boy. The re-launch of the world's most famous hero and the re-imagining of his origins. I'm thrilled that Grant Morrison is not destroying this book so far. I'm very interested in where things will go. Rather than re-tell his Krypton or Smallville origins, this origin story centers on the first six months after he first appeared in Metropolis, and establishes him as the first super-human that anyone has ever seen. Although we get a few nice moments with just Clark, this story is mostly about how people perceive "Superman" and so our perspective is somewhat that of an outsider. There were only one or two minor details I found confusing. The rest of the story made perfect sense, which I think is a step back in the right direction for Morrison, who is taking Superman back to his roots as a social crusader, looking out for the underdog. It gives the book a slightly liberal political vibe, but I'm not very political myself and even if I was I don't think it would bother me. My one point of concern is the furrowed brow that Superman seems to constanly have. He strikes me as being an angry man. Granted, this is in keeping with the character of Superman as he first appeared in the late 1930's, but I hope we will also get to see the personality traits of the later Superman, who was optimistic and quick to smile, while being kind and polite in all of his interactions. Based on the way Superman's powers are not fully developed yet in this story, I wouldn't be surprised is Morrison is planning to take him on an evolutionary journey that leads him through his various interpretations, so I'm hopeful the "angry Superman" isn't the one we'll be stuck with in the end. Either way I'm intrigued and plan to follow this book at least until the first story arc is complete.

A Few Thoughts On "Paul"

Last night I watched the sci-fi comedy "Paul", which had a handful of funny moments but a lot of missed opportunities. Unfortunately it never quite took off as the celebration of geek culture it was likely meant to be, but I still enjoyed much of it and thought the performances were great.

It also had an odd subplot the writers (who also starred in the flick) used to knock theism in favor of naturalistic evolution. In the commentary there was a brief reference to a scene that, had it been included, would have brought a little more balance to the topic, but as it was handled in the movie it made the writers come across to me, ironically, the same way they apparently aimed to portray Christianity: Emotionally driven, intolerant and ignorant of the facts.

It reminded me of something C.S. Lewis (brilliant thinker and a fan/writer of sci-fi) once wrote in "Mere Christianity", and made me think he may have invented a time machine, traveled to 2011, watched this movie and then traveled back before writing it. He made the observation that some people "put up a version of Christianity suitable for a child of six and make that the object of their attack". Seems to me that's what the writers of "Paul" ended up doing, unintentional though it may have been.

It wouldn't be anything worth mentioning if we lived in a world in which people normally sat down and discussed opposing ideas in a reasonable, even-tempered manner. But instead, we tend to simply absorb our life philosophies through entertainment, an emotionally charged medium not equipped to properly examine ideas logically.

I'd guess "Paul" will mostly "preach to the choir" (an ironic metaphor), but hopefully those interested in seeking the truth about the existence or non-existence of God will put in some time to try and understand the best arguments put forth on both sides of the discussion.

On a side note regarding the topic of "tolerance", I can't help but wonder if this movie would have been a LOT more controversial if the subject of theism-bashing were Islam or Hinduism, instead of the far more common target of Christianity.

Flashpoint and Justice League #1

DC's new universe started with the end of the Flashpoint Mini-series and Justice League #1, which both came out this week.






















Although Flashpoint was drawn and written fairly well, it was ultimately just another ho-hum "alternate reality story" which we all knew would not stick around. Although surrounded by tie-ins, the Flashpoint universe was predictably here and gone, giving me no reason (as I knew it wouldn't) to invest in the alternate versions of my favorite characters that were presented.

Where it functions well is as a Flash story, dealing with Barry's greatest enemy, The Reverse Flash, and bringing the stakes close to home as the story hangs on the death of his mother. The ending felt a little rushed and I think it would have been stronger if it wasn't attached to the "New 52" event, but these are five issues that would stay in my collection even apart from their soon to be historical significance in attachment to the relaunch of DC's continuity.

























The real fun this week began as I opened to the first page of "Justice League #1". The story takes place five years ago, when superheroes were first coming on the scene. In fact, we get to see Batman and Green Lantern meet for the first time! The writing is great, showcasing the core of who these characters are and with the backdrop of freshness that the editorial staff is no doubt aiming for. It looks as though this entire opening story arc in the Justice League book will be about the team's origins.

Not all DC books are using their first issues this year to tell origins stories, though I kind of wish they would. In fact, part of me wishes that DC would have just gone all the way and done a COMPLETE re-launch of the universe, with no stories outside of character origins retained from the previous continuity. That may sound strange from a guy who's been a hardcore DC fan for 15 years and who LOVES the rich history of the DCU, but I for one would love to see DC's answer to Marvel's "Ultimate" universe, and the New 52 isn't quite that.

Even so, I can already tell that this is the best jumping on point that new readers have ever been offered for their universe. And the pages of Justice League, if issue #1 is any indicator, will be a great place to get more big iconic heroes for your buck and maybe test the waters and see what heroes you might be interested in following in their own books. If you only try ONE DC book, Justice League should be it! (At least until more DC books come out later this month.)

DC has already sold out on their first print run of Justice League #1, but the second print is already coming to stores next week, and you can always go digital and get it right now for your mobile device!

(Boy, I wonder when that publicity check from DC is going to get here.)