I have no title, and I must scream! Hibbs' 5/22/13

Thoughts on Twelve Angry Comics from this week, below that jump

AVENGERS #12: I've tried, really I have, but I find Hickman's AVENGERS titles so bloodless and over-plotted that I just can't get into them whatsoever.  Here we are at what would be the "one year mark" for a "normal" comic, at the five months-old mark (and people wonder why Marvel is driving sales now?), and I'm so very very cold to this one and it's sibling title. Only "Spider-Ock teaching those kids how to be selfish" showed any real spark. I find this so very EH.

BOUNCE #1: I don't understand what Joe Kelley is trying to do here? "Speedball, except with swearing and explicit drug use?" That's not so very appealing, and then the first issue ends with an "alternate reality", and I'm trying to figure out what I'm rooting for? Some of the wilder ideas (A superhuman who IS a drug, shadowy conspiracies run by lizard-eaters, etc.) probably work a lot better with the mainstream-like art by David Messina that some of Casey's other co-creators.  I liked it fine, but I'm having a hard time deciphering the actual premise. Call it a very strong OK?

DAREDEVIL #26: this book is moving from strength to strength, and I think that the new enemy is one of the strongest ones that DD has ever faced... but, damn, I can't for the life of my recall his name. Akemi? Ashema? Somewhere in that range. Too bad it wasn't something like "Devildare" or something else easily remembered (Like, dunno, "Bullseye", maybe?), as that would mark a perfect nemesis. Either way, this book is VERY GOOD.

FANTASTIC FOUR #8: There's been something just a few degrees off from this renumbering, that I wish I could put my finger on -- but it's just dying in sales on our racks. Plummmmmet. Which is a damn shame, because this was as near as perfect of a single issue of a superhero comic book that I read this year. Ben Grimm on his one "day of being human", visiting the past of Yancy Street even before his sainted Aunt Petunia, and its just a great great little Done-In-One. VERY GOOD.

FLASH #20: Excited, oddly, about a new "Reverse Flash", but, like much of the Manapul/Buccellato era, it's just not delivering it's potential in my eyes. I really really want to believe, but the fairy is dying right in front of my very eyes. It tries so very very hard, and I desperately want to like it but like a poor marksman, it. keeps, missing. its. target. (KHAAAAAAAAAAANNNN!)

(Christ, I'm a nerd)

I honestly can't generate more than an OK, though I *want* it to be a VG, y'know?

GREEN LANTERN #20: And so ends an era. Really, this deserves an essay of its own, but Geoff deserves some amazing props for turning what was a (lets face it) second string character into a genuine franchise. Some people deride the "rainbow corps" (and, yeah, it probably went a step too far), but at least there are really legitimate differences and motivations and backstories between the various Corps.

I am personally of the mind that Geoff's run ran 3-4 years too long -- I'm not convinced that anything after "Blackest Night" was really particularly good -- but you GOT to give it up to Geoff for what he's accomplished in the run, overall.  I think even moreso because MY expectation is that the franchise of GL is going to crater out without Geoff at the helm... largely I think that the audience was essentially tolerating much of the excess in the line due to perceiving it as a creative vision. We'll see.

This last issue, sadly, wasn't much special -- the villain of this story has been uninteresting, and the final crossover dragged on way too long, with way too much handwaving and gnashing of teeth -- so I'm not inclined to go over an OK, but I do want to make special mention of the "text pieces" scattered throughout the issue which (and this is really straight from Jeff Lester, I am sorry for stealing!) read like nothing more than signatures collected in a high school yearbook, with all of the empty insincere praise that entails -- I'm shocked there's not a "Have A Great Summer!" in there somewhere, honestly -- the nadir probably being Diane Nelson's. I'd be shocked if she could recite the rest of that.

Yeah: "Have A Great Summer!"

GREEN TEAM #1: Here's the good news: We're guaranteed to get more issues of this than from the first series (which had just two issues, after it's debut in "1st Issue Special", both cancelled before they shipped), as this will last AT LEAST until issue #8. It's hard to think that it will get much more beyond that, however, since there wasn't a ton of ACTUAL premise on display in this first one. I get that on paper it's "rich kids buy superpowers", but that only happens for ONE of the "team", and that only on the last page. Has no one heard of "in media res"? Plus? I liked them better as, y'know, little kids. Well, copyright resecured, I guess.

I *love* this description of the cancelled first series: "In the first of the two unpublished adventures, the boys were pitted against giant lobsters and the Russian Navy. In what would have been the third issue, the Green Team face a villain called the Paperhanger who had special wallpaper that grew plants and trees, and who was a dead ringer for Adolf Hitler. They dispatch all menaces, then disappear into history in their private jet." Oh oh, the wacky wacky 70s...

This was highly OK, but needed to be so so much better to escape the event horizon of the current DCU

HALF PAST DANGER #1: Nice try, but another example of "burying the lede" and starting the story long long before the story should actually be started -- "WW2 adventurers FIGHT nazi dinosaurs!" is a great idea, but so much of this comic was walking through woods and sitting in bars and things that were not actually fighting nazis OR dinosaurs. Plus Stephen Mooney's art is just too anatomically awkward in places.  There's virtually no genre serialization that couldn't learn a lot by studying the structure of, say, an episode of Star Trek, and applying that to EACH INDIVIDUAL issue of the comic. Yet another OK on display in this one.

OCCUPY COMICS #1: I think this might be a year too late to do any good, but I liked virtually every page of this polemic of a comic. You could also call this "time capsule comics", because that's likely how this will seem in a decade (sort of like how the 9/11 comics are today), but that doesn't stop this from being a solid little anthology, and (I thought) VERY GOOD. POWERS BUREAU #4: there are times that I think that Bendis has single-handedly done more harm to the very idea of creator-owned comics than another other guy in comics. As a working retailer, I am constrained to point out that this issue is nearly a full month late, and that's after they utterly wasted having a few issues "banked" by shipping the first two bi-weekly and bragging how they were absolutely "guaranteed" to ship on time. And now we're already selling fewer copies than we did of the prior series, *sad trombone noise*

And the shame of it is that the book is very readable again, after a pretty dire patch of thinking it was better than it was -- I thought this issue was solidly GOOD.

UNCANNY X-MEN #6: Speaking of Bendis, he's just killing it here. KILLING.

I don't know why -- maybe because the Claremont DNA makes "chatty" a good move for x-books? I don't know, but this (and "All New") are absolutely "good" Bendis, and I thought this issue, with art by the incomparable Frazer Irving, was VERY GOOD.

YOUNG AVENGERS #5: Really GOOD ending to the first arc, and they're all given a plausible reason to be a team. It's just too bad that "Avengers" comics are as common as STDs on a hooker these days, because the clutter on the shelf (there are FOUR "Avengers" comics just this WEEK) is leaving this one the poor-selling stepchild.

Right, then, that's me -- what did YOU think?

-B

Wait, What? Ep. 105: Ringing Endorsements

Brandon Graham's Multiple Warheads: Worth the Trip

Safe and dry on the left coast, we are willing and able to provide you with two-plus hours of distraction.  At no point in the following podcast do we mention the extensive rat population of New York clawing their way to higher ground even if it means going through dark, electricity free apartments and the helpless population contained therein to do so.  Not once!

So...join us after the jump and help us think happy thoughts, won't you?

Show notes?  Why yes, we do have show notes, now that you mention it...

1:01-4:46: Greetings!  Welcome to the hundred and fifth episode of the world's worst conspiracy. A brief bit of culinary discussion before we gear up to our four color topics of discussion.  Although this is the our first-ever "book club" podcast where we sit down and finally discuss in full Sean Howe's remarkable Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, we also thought we should give you some reviews and news analysis, too.

4:46-31:19:  First up:  the gorgeousness of Brandon Graham's Multiple Warheads.  Graeme and Jeff both read it, both dug it, and both dig into it for your entertainment, edification and (probably) exasperation.  There's also a bit of discussion about the latest issue of Prophet for comparison/contrast.

31:19-31:40:  Intermission Uno.

31:40-1:07:04:  More comics! We're a mite divided on Batman, Inc. #4 and Flash #13. Also, under Graeme's microscope:  Superman #13. Talon #1, Ghost #1, Captain America #19, The Hive by Charles Burns, and, in passing, Superman: Earth One, Vol. 2.

1:07:04-1:07:26: Intermission dos!

1:07:26-1:08:23: Incidentally, though this episode is debuting just before Halloween, we didn't record this in costume or anything...though Graeme does start us off with a very good HAL imitation.  Too bad they haven't invented the "Sexy HAL 9000 costume" for Halloween...yet.

1:08:23-1:56:55:  Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story.  Graeme and Jeff praise it; we kvetch about it; we both whole-heartedly recommend it and have a variety of caveats to issue.  It's the first episode of the Wait, What? Book Club and we invite you to give the book a read and us a listen.

1:56:55-2:02:23:  Tech corner:  Curious about what model of Kindle Graeme is using?  Jeff is!

2:02:23-end:  Closing comments: In case you wanted a section of the podcast that's all about what to get Jeff for his birthday, listen to this section first!

And...there you have it.  Quality talk about (some quality comics and comics-related nonfiction).  This week we're skipping recording so if you fell behind and want to catch up, you've got two weeks to do so.

And if you want to listen to this podcast I just finished notating the heck out of...well, you have probably seen it staring at you from the corner of the block of Haddonfield, iTunes Illinois.

But if not, I believe you will find out it lying just below the Doyle house window below...waiting for you now:

Wait, What? Ep. 105: Ringing Endorsements

May everyone everywhere stay dry, healthy, and safe, and have a fine ol' All Hallow's and All Saint's!

Wait, What? Ep. 95: Flop Flips

Above: Izzy's Guac & Lox with extra red onion and sliced tomato, on an onion bagel, from Los Bagels in Arcata, CA.

Oh, man.  I don't know if you've ever had the above but if you do--I highly recommend it.  It's a little pricey, but the guacamole is great and the lox are fresh.  Just a fine old dining experience.

But you're not here for the food talk, are you? (Wait...are you?)  You are here, in theory, for the latest installment of Wait, What? Ep. 95, so join me behind the jump for....show notes!

1:18-4:18: Vacation, all we ever wanted!  Graeme and I compare notes: I had one and it was fine.  Graeme hasn't had one in YEARS.

4:18-7:28:  Comic Books Are Burning In Hell are totally dropping "the McMillion" in their new episode?  We should all listen! (Except Graeme, probably.) We tried to help them with their RSS feed, honest.

7:28-13:40:  Jeff racks his brain to see if he has a comic book related anecdote about his vacation, but he does.  Oh my, yes.  Probably skippable if you're not a member of the family (or even if you are, I bet).

13:40-14:34:  "Congratulations, Detective!"  Graeme and I ponder the mystery of...Robo-Warrior? Judge Trooper? Don't worry, we figure it out.

14:34-15:58:  Jonesing for 2000 AD, McMillan-style, which leads us into discussing...

15:58-37:10:  Zaucer for Zilk by Al Ewing and Brendan McCarthy, which Jeff has now read and we now discuss, along with Axe Cop: President of the World #1 and Prophet #27. Jeff draws a connective line between the three; Graeme is less sure of this.  A very big discussion about the difference between self-consciousness and self-awareness ensues.

37:10-41:57:  Returning to other 2000 AD-ish goodness, Graeme schools me on the difference between the progs and the Megazines and talks about what's in the current issues of the latter, as well as recommendations for how and when to jump on to 2000 AD digitally...

41:57-47:37:  For comparison/contrast sake, Jeff talks about the new title in Shonen Jump Alpha, how his digital subscription to Mad Magazine on the iPad is going,  and the awesome opportunity to get Charles Forsman's The End of The Fucking World as a PDF over at OilyComics.com as well as his awesome subscription deal running through the end of July.  Yes, the future is here and we just gave you links to four very different and excellent types of comics experiences difficult to find in your average comic shop.  (Now, if I could only get Top Shelf to get Double Barrel onto the shelves of our digital store...)  I won't give away the segue, but all of this does lead into:

47:37-1:19:50:  "Dark Knight Rises. Go."  Jeff saw it very recently, Graeme saw it a few days previously, and we talk about it here lots and we pretty much spoil it everything so don't listen if you haven't seen it already.  (Note: my Bane imitation was done in-mic: no filters added.  I am inordinately proud of that.)  Around the 1:19:50 mark, Graeme makes a terrifying confession.

1:19:50-1:28:19: (Hint: It involves Batman Returns).

1:28:19-1:36:54:  New comics!  Graeme talks Captain Marvel #1 and National Comics: Eternity; Jeff talks Flash #11 and Detective Comics #11.

1:36:54-1:52:14:   Whoever had 1:36:54 as the time in the pool when we talk about Grant Morrison wrapping up his monthly book duties at DC, please collect your winnings.  We also talk about some amazing things said by Morrison at his recent CBR case.

1:52:14-1:59:26:  Closing comments, of a sort.  Graeme admits he read Extreme X-Men #1 and, as a Dazzler fan, he felt let down. Oh, and also All-Winner's Squad over at Marvel.com.  And then we say goodbye!  No, really, that's the end for now.

Because of some funky work scheduling, this is hitting the Net about 24 hours earlier than usual, and has perhaps already been seen cavorting with Bigfoot and a Chupacabra on iTunes.  But you are also invited to plunge into Savage Critic's own personal Mystery Spot, and listen to it here and now:

Wait, What? Ep. 95: Flop Flips

And, as always, we thank you for listening and hope you enjoy!

Wait, What? Ep. 89: Accidents Will Happen

Oh, I just don't know where to begin: last episode was held up on account of spinal aggravation and this episode starts with a SNAFU of the kind that had me tearing my rich abundant hair out of my head. (Hmmm, now that I think about it? I think...maybe that was neither my hair nor head?)

But that's the kind of episode this is--the one where our minds are made up but our mouths are undone. Nonetheless, Graeme McMillan and I were committed to *finally* finishing up answering your questions (seeing as we didn't answer them in the same month you asked them...or technically the same season) and talking stuff like Action Comics #10; superhero movies and the geek comfort zone; Spawn and Glamourpuss #25; the superlative Zombo; Jennifer Blood; and Sonic Disruptors.

Also, don't miss our discussion of Minutemen #1, which manages to mention The Dooce, Abhay, Brandon Graham, Internet communication, and put Graeme and I on opposite sides of the Elvis Costello lyrics (see? You weren't just imagining them!) with Graeme being: "It's the damage that we do we never know" and me being: "It's the words that we don't say that scare me so."

Oh, plus the tremendous Double Barrel #1; the best reviewed comic in the world; James Ellroy and comics; American Flagg; Zenith; Detective Comics and much more, including exciting news for Wait, What? and a request (at least one!) for listener assistance. In less than two hours? Yessir. You may say, "I don't want to hear it cuz I know what I've done." (I know, I know.)

So many podcasts to catch up on and add to your collection, but iTunes can keep you hangin' on (until you're well hung). Your mind is made up but you can listen to us below:

Wait, What? Ep. 89: Accidents Will Happen

As always, we hope you enjoy and thank you for listening. (Now, if you excuse me, I'm off to cue up Oliver's Army.)

Wait, What? Ep. 66: Winter Oner-Land

The image above ties into the podcast in only the most tangential of ways (we discuss Frank Springer for the merest of moments) but I had to include this image, in no small part because I've been enjoying Graeme's Comics Advent Calendar over at Blog@ Newsarama so much. (And because...the Hatemonger for the Holidays?  May be even more topical now than when it was published...)

So, anyhoo.  We had one of those podcasts where we only spoke for around ninety minutes and there wasn't much of a place to cut it very neatly.  (I wasn't crazy about doing an hour ten for part one, and thirty minutes for part two.)

So this is a "oner" episode for you, with Mr. McM and I talking about the recently releasedDefenders #1, the power of secret shout-outs, Dark Horse Digital's recent pricing hullaballoo, Avengers vs. X-Men, Bendis leaving Avengers, Spaceman #2, OMAC #4, Daredevil #6, the Lethal Weapon comic that never was, Flash #3, Secret Avengers and Wolverine (both at issue #19) and, yes, of course, The Muppet Movie. It is so very close to being an hour and forty minutes (so! very! close!) and yet, somehow, it isn't.

Is it on iTunes?  Probably!  But it is most certainly here for you right now:

Wait, What? Ep. 66.1: Winter Oner-Land

Our plan is to record this week and, God help us, next week so there should be a steady stream of our patented level of giggly jibber-jabber to carry you into the new year.  As always, we hope you enjoy!  And thank you for listening.

Wait, What? Ep. 61.1: Same As It Ever Was....

(And look where my hand was.)

Hey, we are back! After a pleasant two week respite, Graeme McMillan and I have returned with the first installment of Wait, What? Episode 61. And as you can see, we have a nifty new piece of fanart to bring along with us, courtesy of the awesomely talented Garrett Berner (who some of us also know on Twitter as The Mighty Gar).

Well, that's all fine and good, you say, but what about the podcast?  And I am happy to report it should already be up on iTunes and making its way back into your heart, like it had never left, just like some kind of ringworm or intestinal parasite.  And in it, we answer your questions from Twitter, email, and the website, with topics like Daredevil #5, Legion Lost #2, Luther and Justified, Flash #2, Justice League Dark #2, Casanova: Avarita #2, Fear Itself #7, Occupy Oakland, and Marvel's business practices. (The latter of which continues into Part 2 but I had to break up the conversation somewhere...)

If this sounds like the sort of thing that interests you, by all means jump in and  start listening right here if you fancy:

Wait, What? Ep. 61.1: Same As It Ever Was

Part 2 is right around the corner, and it has us getting to (a few) of the many questions posed to us on Graeme's recent post, as well as the announcement of the winners of our latest contest.  We hope you come back for it!

And, as always, thanks for listening!

Wait, What? Ep. 59.2: Nine 9 Nein

It was a tough call, deciding how to chop up Ep. 59 -- it was one of those eps. where the cleanest transition between topics wasn't very clean at all. So, really, if you've just listened to Ep. 59.1, you'll handle the transition to 59.2 just fine--I literally just cut an inhalation between the end of that one and the start of this one.

So maybe when I launch into my thoughts on Craig Thompson's Habibi, you'll get a better sense of where I'm coming from if you've recently finished that.  (Or maybe not.  I never know.  Embarrassingly enough, I more or less have this conversation twice--once as a speaker, and once as a listener/editor -- and I still can't remember who said what.)  But we talk about Habibi, and then Graeme and I go on to give you reviews and opinionated blabbity-blab about the first issues of Voodoo, Superman, The Flash, and Brilliant; Bakuman vols. 5 and 6, and much more.  Dude, it's like eighty minutes! You understand why I had to break it into parts, right?

Oh, and program notes!  I first jabbered about autodidacts in 59.1 so I probably should've linked to one of Tim O'Neil's several great pieces about Dave Sim's Cerebus last entry, but it is still pertinent here. Also pertinent to our discussion of Voodoo is the work of photographer Alicia Vera, particularly this and this (though Graeme was looking at this when we were talking).  I know squat about photography but I really think Ms. Vera is the real deal and she could go on to big things. Oh, and I guess those last few links are NSFW, maybe? Not very, but...

Okay, so all that said, here's the podcast! You've probably already come across it on iTunes, but if not or if you would prefer to listen to it here, by all means do be our guest:

Wait, What? Ep. 59.2: Nine 9 Nein

As always, thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy!

nu52: wk 4: The Finaleing!

Running low on time, and I didn't have "clever" subcategories to go with it this week, so, here's the final 13 books in a single post.

ALL-STAR WESTERN #1: What a terrific comic! I thought there was a lot of thought and density in this book, and the art was scrumptious. VERY GOOD.

AQUAMAN #1: A solid debut, though it's really hard to judge what the series will actually be like -- this was mostly a bunch of "Aquaman is lame" jokes, and, clearly THAT's not a sustainable direction, month-after-month. I'll go, for the moment, with a solid GOOD, because the monsters seemed interesting.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1: Hey, look, ANOTHER breakout from Arkham! Hey, look, we end with a wrongly named character! This just seems like "the unnecessary Batman comic" to me. It wasn't terrible, or anything, but I don't see the reason for this to exist other than "showcase for Finch"... and does anyone expect him to be monthly on this book for 2-3 years? I don't. So: OK.

BLACKHAWKS #1: I mean, for what it is, it is absolutely competently done, but I don't really like GI Joe in the first place, and a DCU version doesn't fill my black heart with joy. I think, after reading all 52 now, this is probably the first one that will be cancelled because there's just nothing to draw me in (though, honestly, it might work fine as a TV show) when compared to "proper" superhero comics in the same universe. EH.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #1: Oh, god, ow. Wow, that was miserable. First, Jason and Ronnie as contemporaries kind of sucks. Second, having "Firestorm" without a disembodied co-pilot kind of misses the entire point of the premise. Third, the "Fury" idea is kinda sorta amusing, but way way too much of being Firestorm in the first place was just skipped over to get to that last page beat. Fourth, scientists in the DCU are now just handing out "superpower bombs" to high school students now? Fifth, really? THAT'S the origin? "he presses a button" Really? Sixth, um what's with the other girl who was there, why didn't she get powers too? I thought this was pretty lousy overall -- AWFUL.

By the way, I guess this means that the whole "Firestorm is, like, a bomb that's going to explode" or whatever that plotline was... that will never been resolved, eh? I'm super curious to what the intended resolution of that one was. If you knew it, drop me a line, eh? I KNOW someone from DC is reading these....

THE FLASH #1: Nice art, nice page layout, solid enough story -- more enjoyable than the Flash has been in a long while -- GOOD.

GREEN LANTERNS: NEW GUARDIANS #1: Interesting choice to start with the origin of Kyle, which made this easy enough to follow, but then it leads into the Rainbow Corps stuff, and I'm all meh about that -- no real plot here yet, or notion of what the book is ABOUT. So... OK?

I, VAMPIRE #1: Beautiful moody expressive art... but I had a really hard time following the who and the what and the when of it all. That's probably because I read thirteen comics in one sitting!  OK

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1: Going in with extremely low expectations helps, yes it does -- I thought this was solid, if unspectacular. A low GOOD?

SAVAGE HAWKMAN #1: Textbook of how NOT to do a reboot -- it's predicated on (at least I think) wanting to break the curse of Hawkman (which I take to mean the through-the-years romance dealie?), but you have to KNOW that to understand the who and what at all. And then when he tries to burn the suit, it somehow bonds to him or something equally incomprehensible. The art was vaguely nice, but there's nothing sympathetic on display, and I felt like I walked into the middle of someone else's D&D campaign where they has a bunch of poorly explained house rules. Pretty AWFUL.

SUPERMAN #1: It MIGHT be in relationship to ACTION, but I sort of think this was a bad comic all on its own. You know what it felt like to me? A comics by and for old people, but who were really really trying to be "hip" or modern, but not at all seeing what and why and how they were entirely missing was IS modern. Also, a special double-ugh to Clark's new hairstyle, which almost sorta worked in ACTION, but looks beyond shitty here. This book smells covered with group-think, and I thought it was sadly AWFUL. (Yet, it was ironically the best-seller this week of the 13)

TEEN TITANS #1: Not enough happened for me to judge the tone or direction of this series, but it sorta worked for me anyway... at least as long as I tell myself "this is the only Titans, ever" OK, I thought.

VOODOO #1: Late night cable in comics form. It started off like some sort of cheesy Skinamax soft-core, then, boom! rubber monster at the end of it. I don't think you can do a book that's nothing but antagonists, and find an audience, but I guess we'll see? At least it was pretty, but oh so very EH.

Sheesh, finished! I never want to do that ever again!!

I have a notion for a "what did I learn?" piece, but it might be better suited after we've got most (or all) of a month of #2s behind us.

Still, as always, what did YOU think?

-B

Wait, What? Ep. 53.2: In The Case of Jibber v. Jabber

Yes, and but so here's part 2 of Ep. 53, wherein Graeme and I talk at semi-absurd length about The Trial of The Flash (for which I wanted to gank a great picture off Google but couldn't find anything that really grabbed me), Mark Millar's run on Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fallout #6, Wonder Woman: Retroactive, a troubling trend with Diamond's distribution, and a few other topics.

If it's not on iTunes yet, it should be! But you can also listen to it here as the mood suits you:

Wait, What? Ep. 53.2: In The Case of Jibber v. Jabber

Also, as previously mentioned, we have an email address, waitwhatpodcast[AT]gmail.com, and we heartily invite you to send us news, gossip, or to tell us about that one time at an estate sale you found a pristine 7-11 Marvel Doc Savage slurpee cup from 1975 but realized the previous owner had used it to collect their yellowed toenail clippings and it just smelled off in a way you found alarming.

[Now I wished I'd used the picture of the Doc Savage cup as our post's image, dammit.]

As always:  thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy!

Aaaaa-ahhhh! Hesavedeveryoneofus! Graeme Gets Dastardly With The Flash

I promise, I wasn't really looking for a pun to start this off, but this one was unavoidable. With the sixth issue finally out a couple of weeks ago, I finally had a chance to sit down and re-read THE FLASH #1-6, only to realize that Geoff Johns let the story run away from him early on, and couldn't quite catch up. Get it...? "Run away... from... him..."? Oh, okay; I'll just say what I mean, then. I'd hoped, before re-reading, that the weird disjointed feeling that'd plagued me reading these issues as they came out would, if not disappear, then be lessened by the experience of getting everything in one sitting, watching all the pieces fall into place without months of waiting in between. But instead, the opposite happened; it seemed to become more obvious that the pacing of "The Dastardly Death of The Rogues!" is really badly off, and for reasons that don't seem apparently obvious. Reading the first four issues in particular evoke a strange feeling of deja vu: Wait, didn't we see the Flash spend a few pages performing what should be a visually impressive feat of superspeed before being confronted by the time-traveling Renegade Task Force last issue? The plot doesn't really get going until the series' fourth issue, at which point there's at least enough of a premise put forth that we finally get some forward motion. The problem then becomes that it's a fake out - Essentially, the entire arc is a series of "What if this happens? Only joking! Here's something unexpected interrupting to make sure that the cliffhanger isn't really followed up on!" delays and false starts; insert your own "Who'd've thought The Flash would have trouble getting up momentum?" jokes here - and the resolution to the plot gets pretty much squashed into the final chapter, where it becomes unconvincing and, because it not only ends with foreshadowing for Flashpoint next year but also doesn't really address the McGuffin that took up the last half of the story, pretty unfulfilling.

Not helping, sadly, is Francis Manapul's art which is lush, attractive, beautiful and entirely wrong for the series. This isn't a dig at Manapul, whose work I really do like; it's just that his attempts at the large-scale spectacular action scenes never seem to ring true to me, and instead, I find myself drawn to his quieter moments - which he himself seems to enjoy himself, it seems. I can't quite say what would work as a speedster style for me, but Manapul's brushwork and toned art seems more leisurely, more relaxed and at odds with the non-stop, impatient world that we're supposed to believe Central City has become.

The annoying thing is, there's actually a lot to like about The Flash, when taken out of context: I like the Barry and Iris relationship, the concepts behind a lot of the new status quo (That Barry will, by his actions, teach the forensics department the value of taking their time and valuing their jobs, for example. Or that people in Central are generally pushy and impatient), and Manapul's art. But none of it has managed to really come together in a way that works for me, yet. It's sad; I like Johns' work, normally, and had high hopes for this series after his short run with Manapul in Adventure Comics, but based upon the first arc, The Flash is a high Eh, or Okay at best. Here's hoping for better in future issues.

Awesome!

So, Ben showed me his first real signs of higher intelligence yesterday. We got him some blocks a month or so ago, and he did a lot of the "raking claw" and mostly just knocked them around the room. Which is cool, and all -- he's still a baby.

But for the last week or so, everytime I've played with him I've tried patiently to show him how to stack the blocks. Didn't really work, he mostly showed interest in knocking down the stack, flinging the blocks all over the room. This might have been because he was so excited he couldn't control his fine movements, but I was starting to despair that he wasn't figuring it out.

Anyway, I'm reading last night, and Ben is playing in the living room, and I popped my head out every few minutes to check on him, and what do I see? He's sitting quietly, in the middle of the room, all alone, happily stacking and unstacking his blocks, gently grasping them and carefully placing them on top of one another.

W00t!

Here's some comics from this week:

JLA #103: "Everyone Cries" continues. This time, John Stewert cries. Apparantly everyone up at DC has forgotten that JS already cried a bunch considering he was responsible for the death of an alien planet, but, hey, that's OK, I guess, isn't it? ISN'T IT? Eh.

LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #182: "War Games" part 2. There's some running, and some shouting, and lots of gunfire, and I can't really keep all of the characters straight, but that's OK, I guess, because it's just act one, and half of them will be dead before this is all over. But on the bright side, this is polybagged with a CD, and the extra pound of shipping costs per 3-4 copies doesn't have a credit issued to retailers, and our sales will be cut because the stupid things are bagged, and you probably can't find a mint copy... wait, that's not good, is it? Eh.

NIGHTWING #96: "War Games" part 3. Probably should be called "The Adventures of Tarantula, guest starring Nightwing", but who am I to complain? I like the info dump scene where Dick finds out stuff we already know, but, structurally, it should probably have happened before the halfway point, y'know? I'm not a big fan of these kinds of crossovers, can you tell? Eh.

GREEN ARROW #41: "War Games" part... wait! This isn't a "War Games" crossover... which is funny, because the plot looks almost exactly the same. Planning! At least this one is easier to follow... OK.

PUNISHER #10: "War Games" part... nah, that jokes not funny a second time. Hell, it wasn't funny the first time. Loathsome people being loathsome, and lots and lots of cursing! I liked this better when it was a comedy... Eh.

LEGION #37: I'm still not at all sure what anyone's motivation or reasoning here is, but Karate Kid and Timber Wolf came off pretty cool. Eh.

ACTION #818: Hitting! Shouting! Exploding! It's all action, all of the time! Supes acts like a big jerk, and no one thinks twice about it, and I keep flashing back to Kingdom Come and thinking "We've forgotten the cautionary tale, already?" It's hard to picture a universe where this is worth two-dollars-and-fifty-cents, isn't it? It took me, maybe 120 seconds to read this. 2 cents a second? Now that's a deal! Awful.

BMW's THE HIRE #1: This also took almost no time to read, but the difference is, it was at least a complete thought, had several vividly drawn characters, as well as a contemporary plot. This Matt Wagner kid can really draw, he might be going somewhere! On the other hand, it's sorta a commercial (even if the car doesn't actually exist), so I can't be as enthused as I might otherwise be. OK.

DC COMICS PRESENTS: THE FLASH #1: Two cute uses of the cover image, but there's nothing woodmaking here. OK.

ALPHA FLIGHT #6: Comedy super-heroes don't really work -- at least not as a team book, because everyone needs to be in on the joke. The worst part is how badly Marvel missed the bet -- there really is an actual audience for a good AF book. We sold like 40 copies of #1 in 3 days, and by issue #5 we're down to like 11. I can't imagine this is going to make it past the first year, can you? Hell, Marvel's even tried to disassociate it from the X-Men line (It's now a "Marvel Heroes" book), which is smart, because this is Awful.

X-FORCE #1: No, Liefeld still can;t draw, but it looks K3wl, and it has lots and lots of scratchy little lines, the kind boys like! Having said that, actually, this wasn't as horrible as I thought it might have been -- the plot lurched forward adequately, and it probably is what people want. Have fun, people! Eh.

AUTHORITY #14: The "last issue"... except that it's going to be rebooted by Brubaker is like 2 months. Have we learned nothing from Star Trek, people? If a concept if dying/dead, you should take a WHILE off to recharge the DESIRE of the audience for it. Six months, a year maybe -- Authority V3 #1 isn't going to sell any better than V2 #14 when it's coming out in October, fercryinoutloud! Anyway, this was slop -- revenge revenge revenge with a slight (and cynical!) attempt to be uplifting there on the last few pages. Too bad the Coup D'etat concept when nowhere... Awful.

TEEN TITANS #14: Solid, if non-exceptional, superhero stuff -- as an attempt to give Gar an "Arch Villian" it seems to work fine. Let's call it a low Good.

HULK #75: Except for all of the "The Helicopter will just fly itself!" stuff, I kinda liked this -- certainly better than the first 3 years of Jones' run. Darick Robertson's Hulk is kinda fun looking, too. Call it a high OK.

BLOODHOUND #2: I really quite enjoyed this. Good solid police story set in the DCU, with strong characterizations, a "gritty" hero who actually seems complex, and nice art. It won't make it past issue #12, though. because I think we sold all of 7 copies of #1, and that's not a big enough base to decline from. Gotta give this a chance though, folks -- I thought it was a very solid Good.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #30: "At the (thanks) of Batroc"? Even Kirkman can't make Batroc seem like an even slightly credible threat. Sheesh. Still, while it's the Chinese menu syndrome ("I'll have the Red SKull from Column A, and the Serpent Society from column B"), I enjoyed this enough to give it a low Good.

CHOSEN #3: Hahahahahaha! I know Lester will bag on this, but I liked the "twist" at the end (though I figured it out around page 5) -- I sorta want to put up a "spolier warning", but now that you know there IS a twist, you know what it is, right? Anyway, this isn't great comics, no, but at least we can't make Ultimate Jebus jokes any longer. Good.

And that's it for today. More later, as I read them.....

-B