Superman/Batman #5: If this weren't a DC Comics "New 52" title, I'd actually be able to feign shock at the fact that this book went from "good" to "sucks" in the time it takes (enter obligatory Rob Ford crack binge joke here). Greg Pak and Jae Lee opened this story up so strong with a story arc that had everything from body snatching trickster demons and time travel to magic world-ending crystals and Lois Lane firing sidewinder missiles at Wonder Woman. Granted, it got a little convoluted for a minute, but it was mostly a strong story. Now, Pak has teamed up with Brett Booth for a whole new storyline that....well...umm...just
The second thing you notice (I'll get to the first thing later) is that this story picks up where the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel have now been working together for 5 or 6 years which is odd considering the book just wrapped up a story revolving around them meeting for the first time. It's off-putting and makes the whole thing feels rushed in an effort to get the timeline up to speed with the rest of "New 52" continuity. The duo encounters Hiro Nakamura (Toyman...except renamed Toymaster) in the midst of an "evil video game" caper. I'm not kidding. This issue is about an evil video game. Let that sink in. Now, that its sunk in, amazingly enough, THAT'S not the biggest issue with this book.
One of the main attractions of this series has always been the internal narrative that depicts how Superman and Batman respond to one another's crimefighting methods and logic. That's still here in this incarnation except the banter between them feels like bickering teenagers. If there'd been no action beats throughout the issue, it would have read like an episode of Pretty Little Liars. Superman actually admitted he was "trolling" Batman. Look, I understand that DC's been trying to make a more modern Clark Kent by making him a mild-mannered blogger who dresses slightly hipsterish, but Superman, the moral standard for all other heroes, should not be saying shit like "trolling." He's not supposed to completely feel like one of us when he's in the uniform. He's supposed to be the guy that people strive to be like. I shouldn't open a comic with Superman in it and feel like I'm going to see him texting Wonder Woman with an "LMAO."
As for the art, it could be that I'm still on a Jae Lee high from the last issue, but Brett Booth's renderings of people seemed unsteady and awkward. There was a eyesore of a panel where Superman, while flying, seemed to be posing as if he were laying on the beach auditioning to be America's Next Top Model. Just because Rob Liefeld is still getting work does NOT mean we're supposed to be emulating him. The next time you see Brett Booth on the street, take this issue and rub his nose in it like you're paper training your german shepherd.
Oh, and the way the cover is depicted above? That isn't a mistake. That is the very first thing you notice that's wrong with this book. You have to turn the entire thing sideways because it's done in "widescreen" format. I don't understand how this was supposed to enhance the experience....but it didn't. This is a fundamental example of DC getting something wrong just for shits and giggles. This is also why regular books (which have been around for centuries) are not turned on the sides to read. It's not fun, it's not convenient. It's a pain in the ass. It's just another drop in the bucket of annoying things about this book. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Bottom Line: If you really want to get your Christmas shopping out of the way right now and you don't feel like buying anymore Snuggies for your in-laws....here's your stocking stuffer. 4 out of 10.
Amazing X-Men #1: Okay, we're officially getting to the point where there are too many goddamned X-Men titles running again. Every few years, some event or another is used as an opportunity to streamline the X-universe to a couple of strong titles that intertwine here and there. Then, three months later, X-Men books start coming out of the pipeline like running water until you go to the comic shop each week, saying...."Wait, there's another one? How long has that one been out?" If the X-Men were real employees of Marvel, Cyclops and Wolverine would be locked underneath the building hand sewing Avengers beanies for 75 cents an hour. However, this book show some promise. It seems to have the right things going for it: Jason Aaron, Ed McGuiness and the return of Nightcrawler. That was enough to get me interested.
The story starts out focusing on Nightcrawler's life after death, pining away for the good old days even in Heaven (the little we see of it looks gorgeous, by the way). Meanwhile, back at the Jean Grey school, Aaron sweeps the cobwebs off of Firestar, whose starting her first day as an instructor. There's not much different in the format in this book and that of Wolverine and the X-Men. There's a big focus on the hilarious dysfunction of the mutant school whose security system spins a little more out of Beast's control everyday, it seems. The lighthearted yet fantastic aspect really seems to work well for Aaron. The character interactions are hilarious while, at times, a little unsettling. I'll never quite get used to the thought of Wolverine and Storm flirting. My flesh crawled a little bit just writing that last sentence. Firestar, however, seems a little out of place for this team, but I'm willing to go along with it for now. Nightcrawler, on the other hand, is as fun to read as ever and the character seems to be having as much fun adventuring as the reader does watching it play out.
Ed McGuiness' art does a great job of capitalizing on Aaron's exaggerated, silly style. There's an attention to detail on every panel that's so gorgeous, it makes me think that McGuinness might be a robot (Robot Ed McGuiness might have made Prometheus watchable). The two best looking moments come when 1). Nightcrawler gets his swashbuckling, pirate fighting groove back and 2). when Beast swears deadly vengeance on the little "bamf" creatures that have relieved him of his beloved coffee-maker.
Bottom Line: It's funny, it's smart and GODDAMN, it looks great. I'm in. Oh...and thanks for bringing Nightcrawler back. Shit was getting somber for a minute there. 8 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment