All Star Western #1

Back to reviewing the new lineup from DC. This is their new "western" title. Except that it takes place in the East.

Title: All Star Western
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Artist: Moritat
Colorist: Gabriel Bautista
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Kate Stewart, Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Moritat

Since when is Gotham City WESTERN? It's in New Jersey! I actually think that DC missed a good opportunity to title this comic Gotham By Gaslight, a name that they own and which might bring in the steampunk crowd.

Regardless, we are indeed in Gotham City, and Jonah Hex is in town, teaming up with early forensic psychologist Amadeus Arkham to track down Jack the Ripper the Gotham Butcher.

There's a young prostitute who knows Hex and manages to pass along some useful information once he's done laying a beatdown on the locals in a barroom brawl. She's actually a likeable character (Hex and Arkham really aren't). So of course she gets killed off in the next scene. This is the old west east! People weren't likable back then! Or if they were, it meant they were DOOMED! Oh, and women who do things like work as prostitutes or stand up to the hero need to be put in their place, of course.

Other than the rather blatant refrigerator moment, the rest of this book is simply dull. The serial killer (or killers; conspiracy theories and secret societies are hinted) acts like every TV serial killer. Arkham spouts Freudian analysis, but manages to come up with no insights about either the killer or Hex (who receives the bulk of the psychobabble) that are actually interesting or surprising.

Populating the city with the ancestors of characters from the current Batman continuity is a clever touch, although the handling of Mayor Cobblepot is ham-fisted. The character basically IS the Penguin.

This was the first book I've read in the "New 52" that really felt LONG. And not in a good way. Between Arkham's incessant psychoanalysis in caption form and a succession of scenes of Hex beating people up for no reason that actually made any sense, the book just seemed to drag on an on.

Rating: 3/10

Bed Mermaid

I think I need a break from DC. Fortunately, I just found a bag of comics I picked up at the Maine Comic Arts Festival.

Title: Bed Mermaid
Date: 2010
Publisher: Kristilyn
Writer: Kristilyn Stevenson
Artist: Kristilyn Stevenson

Two-page (plus covers) minicomic freebie from Kristilyn for Free Comic Book Day 2010

A girl and her cat undergo a strange transformation while they sleep. This is more of a vignette than a story, but Kristilyn does a nice job of presenting the metamorphosis in a series of tiny panels. Her character's facial expressions are adorable, and the cat is also very cute.

Nice dreamlike vibe to this one.

Rating: 7/10

Green Lantern #1

Title: Green Lantern
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Doug Mahnke
Inker: Christian Alamy, Tom Nguyen
Colorist: David Baron
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Editor: Darren Shan, Brian Cunningham
Cover: Greg Capullo

I picked up the Greg Capullo sketch cover variant (pictured above). I like the touch of color on the ring against the black and white, but Sinestro isn't really that recognizable in this version. He looks like something halfway between Guy Gardner and the Joker.

Things that are new and original: Sinestro as a Green Lantern. Sinestro with a chance at redemption, even though he doesn't actually want the chance. Sinestro suddenly forced to confront his own Sinestro Corps as mutual trust breaks down.

Things that have been done to death: Hal Jordan can't keep a job. Hal Jordan can't pay the rent. Hal Jordan makes hothead mistakes that land him in jail (okay, I can sorta buy that one, but the actual scenario was so idiotic that that it totally lost me). Hal Jordan engages in bad-sitcom-level displays of social awkwardness.

Everything in this comic that involved Hal Jordan except for the last page had me cringing. Absolutely awful, unimaginative filler. I'm sorry. This guy is a hero. I'm not buying the idea that he is utterly incompetent at life. That's taking the easy way out and going for cheap cliche situations rather than actually giving the story some depth.

Sinestro is the only thing that kept this from being the worst of the New 52 books I've read so far.

Rating: 4/10

Nightwing #1

And still more New 52!

Title: Nightwing
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Penciler: Eddy Barrows
Inker: JP Mayer
Colorist: Rod Reis
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Eddie Barrows, JP Mayer, Rod Reis

Nightwing is one of those characters that I usually enjoy because he's one notch less extreme than the Batman, both in terms of his abilities and his personality. It makes him more realistic, and often more reasonable that Bruce Wayne, which can be refreshing in a universe of extremes.

Much of this book delivers just that vibe. We see Nightwing on patrol taking down a random masked killer on the subway. Dick is sporting a redesigned costume with a lot more red in the look (Possibly a throwback to the Flying Graysons/Robin? It really doesn't make sense for any other reason.). He's still in Gotham, and back to his Nightwing gig after a year under the cowl (when Bruce was "away"; so it's not entirely clear what elements of continuity were kept).

And Haly's circus is back in town.

So is a mysterious, and very dangerous man who's out to kill Dick Grayson. This may or may not tie into the events of Batman #1 (it really SHOULD; this is the perfect chance for a bit of cross-title continuity).

The introductory bit was good, and I loved Dick's interaction with the circus performers when he finally goes to visit. There's even a new potential love interest (and a potential rival) thrown into the mix.

But the last few pages, when the plot rapidly descends, were a problem for me. Dick allows two cops to die because he decides to powder out of a fight to do a costume change. This is the kind of trivial use of violence that I get really frustrated with in mainstream comics. And it didn't help that the random killer in the opening scene slashed three throats before Dick arrived to stop him. The writer makes an halfhearted effort to have Dick acknowledge the fact that he just cost two human beings their lives for the sake of protecting his secret identity, but after a quick couple of reaction captions ("This is on me." really shouldn't cut it here), we're back to business as usual.

And to make matters worse, the bad guy is an expert fighter who really ought to have no trouble figuring out that the guy who he's fighting in the costume is the same dude that he was fighting a couple of minutes ago without the costume.

Too bad, because for 21 pages, I really wanted to like this book.

Rating: 5.5/10

Aquaman #1

More from the new DC Universe. Here's the debut of Aquaman.

Title: Aquaman
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Ivan Reis
Inker: Joe Prado
Colorist: Rod Reis
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Sean Mackiewicz, Pat McCallum
Cover: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Ron Reis

A surprisingly meta take on the King of the Sea, this issue spends most of its time slyly answering the whole "aquaman gets no respect" meme. Helpfully, we get Aquaman's powers turned up a couple of notches, as he flips over a truck, leaps tall buildings (it actually takes him two bounds!), and the general effect of machine gun fire on him is to get him annoyed.

He puts up with constant pestering from the (Boston!) general public, especially when he sits down at a restaurant and order a fish and chips. Sadly he doesn't stick around long enough to see if he puts malt vinegar on it.

Throughout the story, Arthur's dialogue is great. He comes off as a guy with a lot of pride, a lot of intelligence, and just enough patience to tolerate the pestering morons who seem to constantly make their way into his presence. There's also a good scene with Mera that sets up the general direction for the series. We'll be spending our time in Boston, not Atlantis, it seems, and that works well. Maybe he could replace Crawford in the outfield.

Oh, and there are villains. They are possibly referred to collectively as "the Trench" (Really, DC? Really?). They're Deep Ones from the works of Lovecraft. They speak in gibberish (translated for our convenience into phrases like "There's food up here.") and they are about to give a whole new meaning to "Deadliest Catch". The design of the Trench is excellent, although nothing we haven't seen before in designs of sahuagin in D&D and all manner of other fish-creatures going back to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. So, they're not terribly original, but they do look good.

This whole book looks good, in fact. Reis and Prado do excellent work, especially in the introductory splash page for Arthur, the variety of bystanders at the restaurant, and the scene with Mera. They also make the ocean look awesome in several panels, and that's going to be important moving forward.

The in-jokes won't carry this much further, and I'm a bit dubious about the Trench (this sort of horror plot is often a bad fit with superheroes), but taken on its own this was an enjoyable debut.

Rating: 8/10

Demon Knights #1

Title: Demon Knights
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Cornell
Penciler: Diogenes Neves
Inker: Oclair Albert
Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover: Tony Daniel, Tomeu Morey

What once was old is now made new in DC Comics' fifty-two. We'll begin this twisted plot, flashing back to Camelot. Jason (of Norwich?) is close at hand, as the guinea-pig in Merlin's plan. So imprisoned in the form of man, our old buddy the Demon Etrigan. Fans who haven't been caught napping most likely didn't need recapping, but there is one detail new: they throw in Madame Xanadu. Fast-forward now she's on a lark, still years before the J-L-Dark, and she's got Jason there to hold her hand, while on the side she's banging Etrigan. (Ew!).

Now immortal-types gather from near and far. Of course they meet up in a bar. Why not? It's standard fantasy. It always works in D&D. And while on the subject of cliches, the dialogue in these dark-age days, well they throw in words like "bollocks" and "arse". The result: Less historic and more plain farce. The characters gather, the team assembles. The mostly third-rate group resembles a medieval Substitute Hero Legion, called upon to defend the region from Mordru and the Questing Queen. Really? I guess I hadn't seen the Shining Knight in many recent books, but Vandal Savage? This really looks like they're digging to find the most obscure of character who have endured in backup stories long since told in Showcase or Brave & the Bold.

The plot's generic with lots brawling. By the end a bunch of dragons come calling. And I find I'm yearning for the time, when Etrigan at least would speak in rhymes. From hackneyed plot I wish they'd freed him. Where's Matt Wagner when you need him? Come on, rebooted DC Universe, bring back dialogue in verse!

Rating: 5/10
(And I'm really sorry! I just couldn't resist!)

Supergirl #1

Title: Supergirl
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Michael Green, Mike Johnson
Penciler: Mahmud Asrar
Inker: Dan Green, Mahmud Asrar
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Will Moss
Cover: Mahmud Asrar, Dave McCaig

An unusual meteor shower hits the Earth and the US military goes on alert. The object that is being tracked ends up in Siberia and apparently the US has signed a "visitor protocols" treaty with Russia. Basically this allows American redshirts to land in Russia and get beaten up by whatever alien threat has arrived.

In this case, the alien is Supergirl. She's dazed and confused and she doesn't speak the language. And guys in powered armor start shooting things at her almost immediately. Good thing for her that she's got all those handy superpowers. So she fights off the soldiers-in-mechs and...

And the issue ends, pretty much. There's one additional plot development on the last page, but otherwise it's just Supergirl looking a bit shaky with the new powers and not understanding any dialogue not in Kryptonian while she trounces a bunch of Tony Stark wannabees.

And to make matters worse, Kara doesn't come off as a teenager. I'd been under the impression that this was to be a major goal here. Make her a realistic teenager personality-wise. Instead, she's very introverted and reflective, and she's really only displaying confusion and annoyance. Not much of an emotional range at this point.

A few of the other "New 52" books (See my reviews of Green Arrow, Batgirl, or Men of War) have managed to annoy me. This one just left me bored.

Rating: 5/10

The Comicverse: Free Comic Book Day

Title: The Comicverse: Free Comic Book Day
Date: 2011
Publisher: Awakening Comics
By: Bianca Alu-Marr, Steve Peters

Minicomic freebie promoting the Comicverse webcomic.

The setting is a comic book store located aboard a space station with convenient access to three wormholes. Shopkeeper Rei runs the place along with a dragon named Ying and a surly AI that operated their comic-replicating machine. The machine can access produce the perfect comic to suit the needs of any customer as long as it can get over its own bad attitude.

Fortunately, space pilot Aki knows how to sweet-talk the machine into getting an issue of Tank Girl. She's new to comics, but Rei and Ying are both hoping she'll stick around.

Good start to this humorous geeky romance. The setting (particularly the shop's ability to access any comic ever published) allows the writers to mix space opera with humor based on current geeky topics fairly smoothly. The characters are all likable, especially Aki, who steals the show as the non-fan who's willing to give comics a try.

Backup story covers Free Comic Book Day aboard the station and name-drops a bunch of the FCBD 2011 offerings.

This was an effective promotional piece for the webcomic and was entertaining on its own.

Rating: 7.5/10

Justice League Dark #1

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle, Eddie Berganza
Cover: Ryan Sook

Interesting. This was the title that I had the highest hopes for among the "New 52". I loved Milligan's writing on Shade: The Changing Man for Vertigo, and this title pairs him back up with Shade and also lets him play with John Constantine. Upon reading the comic I found that it managed to hit several pet peeves of mine, but the writing was good enough in parts to leave me feeling good about the book overall.

We open with Madame Xanadu, who has a surprisingly bored expression for a person who's just had a vision of future doom. Tarot cards are scattered through the scene with pictures of characters on them: Zatanna (wit pants!) as the Magician, Enchantress as the Hanged Man (actually, just "The Hanged"; which, of course would be different from "The Hung"). Deadman is Death. You'd think Death would be Death, but I guess they decided not to bother getting the courtesy okay from Gaiman. June Moone is the Fool. Some dude I didn't recognize is the Sickness. Apparently we're not playing with the standard Ryder-Waite deck here. Shade is the Madness. And John Constantine is... cut off at the bottom of the page. Tease!

June Moon is walking around reciting rhymes while dozens of clones of her commit mass suicide via highway.

Scene with Shade and Kathy follows, and it's a total continuity-rewriting sucker-punch, but it's handled so well and is such a shock that I was okay with it. Some Shade fans are not going to be (although Milligan wrote in some wiggle room).

Scene shifts to Enchantress, who's in a farmhouse in the midwest and she's spreading madness out to the surrounding countryside. This is the kind of thing that Milligan is awesome at, and his madness effects are sick, twisted, and clever.

But then we hit one of my big pet peeves in comics. The idea here is that the regular Justice League can't handle this kind of threat, so the Justice League Dark has to get formed. Unfortunately this idea is conveyed in a throwaway scene where Enchantress' magical defenses thoroughly trounce Superman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman. I don't like scenes that arbitrarily have the bad guy easily overpower the most powerful forces on the planet just to convince the readers that they are a major threat. This does nobody any good. Superman, Wonder Woman Cyborg, and the Batman (who's watching the scene from the JLA monitor room) all look like chumps, but the reader knows that this is just a plot device, so it really doesn't actually do Enchantress any favors either. And when it comes down to it, the book didn't need this scene. It could simply have been Zatanna on duty and she decides to call in magical talent to handle a magical threat.

It also didn't help that Zatanna decided to do a bit of backwards-talking (backtalk?) to keep the Batman from trying to help her. Because, when given the choice between going into a dangerous situation with or without the Batman on your side, the clear answer is to do it without. I'm somewhat hoping he punches her in the face when this mission is over, but that seems unlikely (even though he'd totally do that to Guy Gardner if he pulled the exact same stunt.

Another interesting detail. Apparently they can show Superman and Cyborg getting cut to a bloody mess (in a storm of magical teeth!), but Wonder Woman doesn't get a scratch, just a concerned expression before the scene fades and a caption informs us the battle's over and the good guys lost.

The story then very quickly introduces Constantine (used for comic relief here) and Deadman (barely used at all) before we end on Xanadu with Shade and predictions of doom.

Okay, that was a lot of griping. And the story barely got started.

But Milligan is so good on the small details and the creepy touches, that I was still feeling good about this in the end. I think what I love about the potential of this book is summed up in the following exchange:

Xanadu: I saw a gathering of men... And women. Each with their own specialty. You must find these men and women. You must...

Shade: You've finally lost it, Xanadu. The only people I know these days are half-insane or... or damaged goods. Most of them are a danger to themselves.

Xanadu: Exactly.

There is a lot of really awesome stuff here, and I think that once the book is allowed to grow on its own without relying on useless guest appearances by the regular Justice League (or maybe just the occasional reminder that we're still in the DC Universe), that this could get really great.

Rating: 7.5/10

Healed #3

Here's a locally-published comic that my wife picked up at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo.

Title: Healed
Issue: #3
Date: 2011
Publisher: Homeless Comics
Writer: George O'Connor
Artist: Griffin, S.
Editor: Tracy O'Connor

Humanity has been suddenly cured of all disease. Suddenly, no one can die of "natural causes". The result isn't as joyful or blissful as one might first imagine.

I'm probably going to seek out the first two issues (they're standard format comics, b/w interior with color covers), but I had no problem following the story from here.

The main focus of this issue is on two residents of a nursing home. They're being evicted along with all other "healed" residents and they are returning to families who had essentially given them up as dead. The first segment was the most powerful, as a teenager was forced to face the consequences of actions and words that he thought his grandfather would take to the grave.

Also in this issue is a scene involving a drug company executive who's trying to investigate the cause of the healing. She understands the negative consequences of overpopulation and starvation that could await the world, but she may also have a bit of a personal stake. After all, who needs medicine in a world where nobody ever gets sick?

The dialogue was good throughout this issue, and writer George O'Connor has clearly put a lot of thought into what the fallout from the mass healing might be like. Against that global perspective, this book gives us character we can care about and some intriguing subplots.

Rating: 8.5/10