Stuff I Read This Week Episode 27 or Villains Are People, Too.....

Batman 23.2 (Riddler): Honestly, with the exception of Geoff Johns' Forever Evil, I was ready to let DC's "Villains Month" go by unmarked and I'm actually glad I didn't. After all, the success of dedicating a comic to each of the prominent baddies of the DC universe is entirely dependent upon how interesting they are. And let's face it: DC doesn't have that many interesting bad guys. Then again, I suppose the point of having a month dedicated to villains (aside from trying to siphon money from readers like a beer tap) is to get readers interested in them if they weren't already. Fortunately, this issue of Batman gives us something to smile about unlike the Joker's rather maudlin turn at the spotlight.

The Riddler has always been a difficult character to pin a definitive characterization on because, aside from the whole riddle motif, it's hard to separate his crazy from the rest of Gotham's crazy. But Ray Fawkes (with help from Scott Snyder) manages to construct a man who works according to a planned sort of bedlam, who makes you wonder whether he's crazy....or just a douchebag. Nygma's internal narrative serves as a perfect "behind the scenes" for his riddle laden, one man attack on Wayne Enterprises much like a magician revealing how the thought processes behind his tricks. Here in this issue, we see a Riddler whose small fits of rage are every bit as haunting and entertaining as his premeditation keeping him one step ahead of Bruce Wayne's security. It's also refreshing that not all of his victims are not made to be completely incompetent just to make Nygma look smarter. Jeremy Haun's pencils are a definite enhancement here. Scenes are intimate, neat and obsessed with symmetry in every panel. It's artwork that suits a Big Bad as meticulous as the Riddler. This is completely understands the point of Villains Month and exceeds expectations to become one of the best books this week.

Bottom Line: A story like this that makes you sort of afraid of the Riddler can't help but be a winner. 9.5 out of 10.


Justice League #23.2 (Lobo): I just found out this week that theouthousers.com actually has a counter that keeps track of the number of days since the last time DC Comics did something stupid. Well, the poor bastard intern in charge of updating it can go ahead and get back to work because Dan Didio's brain trust has done it again.

Recently, it was announced that the hulking, chain toting villain we've all known as Lobo was indeed NOT the "real" Lobo. He is, in fact, an imposter that has been trading on the name and style of slimmer, martini drinking killer who looks like Jack from the White Stripes finally won enough Pokemon battles to evolve to his ultimate form. 

Sidenote: I'm sure many of you didn't know that Lobo had been reintroduced in the New 52. This is because DC did a really good job of hiding him where NOBODY will ever find him....in the pages of Stormwatch and Deathstroke. 

Marguerite Bennett is given the task of introducing us to this emo redux of the Main Man and doesn't drop the ball so much as hold the ball and gain no yardage. He didn't seem to do anything terribly badass. He talked tough, got in a fight with a couple of nobodies and that was really about it. By that criteria, he may as well be Chris Brown. Aside from being modeled after a lost member of the street team for 30 Seconds to Mars, there is almost NOTHING new separating the new Lobo from the old Lobo except maybe the fact that this one comes across as completely humorless. The thing people seemed to like about this character in the past is that he's served as DC's version of Deadpool, cracking jokes and breaking the fourth wall. He was fun. However, as we all know, there is NO fun in the New 52 era of DC. Nobody ever smiles. Everything's for the fate of the world...even when it's not. Ben Oliver and Cliff Richards' artwork is probably the one saving grace (not really saving, though) to this catastrophe. Some of the designs for the aliens and spaceships are really inspired. The Lobo we get here is a more muscular step up from the initial concept designs that got released a few weeks ago. But I could have done without so many of tilted panels throughout the book.

Bottom Line: A really good looking 30 page exercise in pointless violence compliments of the new Mickey Rourke version of a perfectly "meh" character. 5 out of 10.

Action Comics 23.2 (Zod): As divisive as Man of Steel was among fans, I am personally thankful for Zak Snyder resurrecting one of my favorite characters from Superman lore. Michael Shannon's portrayal was just as memorable as that of Terrance Stamp and is bound to have some lasting effect on the version we get in the comics to come. The first note of that is in Greg Pak's addition to Villains Month. 

This issue serves as a refreshing (and somewhat chilling) crash course in what led to a child growing up to be Krypton's greatest criminal. Although still human at his core, this is a Zod who wasn't necessarily born bad as fans of the original might come to surmise. This is a guy who seems to feel more comfortable among jungle animals with nothing but a bow and arrow than he does hobnobbing or shaking hands with politicians and dignitaries. One sympathizes. He's a determined, ambitious man who is the product of circumstances and the lessons of his father....not unlike the man who he will, one day, know as his mortal nemesis. Pak's incarnation is right on while never coming across as cartoonish or contrived. Ken Lashley's art mostly fails to disappoint in painting a diverse strange portrait of the outskirts of Krypton. He manages to make Zod's ominous gaze the creepiest part of every panel he's in. Every. Single. Panel. He offers up some truly awesome monster designs and a delightful scene of young Zod found alone surviving in the woods against vicious wildlife reminiscent. the opening scene of Arrow. The only real drawback is that the attention to detail and color suffers slightly from panels, at times, feeling a little too cluttered. Still, considering how strong this issue is, it comes across as a small flaw.

Bottom Line: This is a great primer to prepare readers for what's to come from Greg Pak's run on Action Comics. 9 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 26 or Clash of the Titles...Forever Evil vs Infinity

Forever Evil #1: After the colossal middle finger Trinity War ended up being to readers, picking up its successor title kinda makes you feel like an abused spouse being promised that you won't be beaten again. After an "ending" to TW that wasn't an ending at all, resolving virtually no conflicts, revealing secrets that either didn't matter or were plain silly, Geoff Johns fortunately gives us a semi-fresh start here. There's really no need to read the previous storyline to jump into this supervillain romp.

Forever Evil's plot isn't terribly complicated. "The bad guys are winning. Now, who's going to do something about it?" The book takes place after the events of Trinity War, but not directly so. The Crime Syndicate from Earth 3 (Why the fuck are we doing all the alternate Earths again?) has shown up to run this planet like they pretty much always have and are making it a good day to be a bad guy. We're only given teases as to what happened to the Justice League, but no matter the details, it's pretty apparent that they lost in a major way.

The book serves as something like a red carpet show for a Who's Who of DC baddies including, most notably, Flash's Rogues Gallery. With the way he revolutionized villains like Sinestro, this should be Geoff Johns' bread and butter. Personally, I enjoyed the opening act where we're seeing the state of the world so far through the eyes of Lex Luthor. Johns' characterization of Lex isn't quite as spot-on as Grant Morrison's from Action Comics and All Star Superman, but he still serves his purpose as an unintentional hero. We're not given as much of a look into the Crime Syndicate as I would have liked, but the little tweaks he makes to some old baddies (Power Ring's apparent capacity to FEEL great fear) makes it a good enough tease to hold us over until the next issue. The weak link in this series thus far is the artwork of David Finch and the problem him is the same as it's always been: David Finch knows how to draw exactly four facial expressions....

1). The "Not now! I'm posing!" face
2). The "I'm batshit crazy!" face
3). The "Happy" face....which so far, throughout the entire New 52, I've only ever seen from Stargirl and maybe one of the Teen Titans.
4). The "every emotion I express revolves around me looking like I want you" face. This face is reserved almost exclusively for Catwoman and is also known as "the Angelina Jolie."

Bottom Line: If you can get past David Finch's stone faces, this is an entertaining, ambitious tease of what's to come. 7.5 out of 10.


Infinity #2: A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that it's always a plus to have an comic event include a contained, purposeful number of optional tie-ins working in tandem with the core title. That still remains true here this week. Since the first issue of Jonathan Hickman's wide reaching "save the universe" epic, it's become clear that you're required to read the work he's doing in Avengers and New Avengers to keep up with what's happening in this book. However, if you elect not to, you are DEFINITELY missing out on some truly awesome superheroing.

Upon reading this issue, it's obvious right away that the focus is less on the grand battles in space and the invasion of Earth which is a bit surprising considering the kind of momentum built in the first issue. Instead, Hickman has elected to shift the POV for more of a "behind the scenes" sort of look at Black Bolt and the Inhumans, who are obviously going to be playing a big part in the coming issue. Despite the well done tension building with the intimate aspects, the peeling away of layers that reveals bits of Thanos' true intentions for Earth.....you're still left wanting a little more out of the other conflicts. One panel on one page telling us about Black Panther repelling ANOTHER alien invasion (read the Secret Invasion tie in for BP...you're welcome) simply doesn't measure up to what we're given in the corresponding issue of New Avengers. However, in a way, it's just the cost of doing business when you throw out the big guns right away. And this isn't a new tactic from Hickman. His stories tend to be so all-encompassing, it tends to be worth the wait when he deviates from the main beats of action. So it's perfectly acceptable to give him some leeway here. The task of penciling the divided up with Dustin Weaver working on the scenes depicting the battle on Earth and Jerome Opena doing the parts that take place in space. Although, storywise, the focus isn't so much on the fighting, that doesn't mean there's been any slacking in the art department. A particular Weaver scene where Thanos henchman, Corvus Glaive, offers a demonstration of his servants' conviction is simply stunning. Opena has an equally fantastic moment showing Gladiator and his Shi'ar troops contributing to the effort in space. Though the shift in pov has changed slightly, this event hasn't lost any of its luster just yet.

Bottom Line: Even though it's a better read if you're keeping up with the two supplementary titles, this book is still how big events should be done. 8 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 25 or DC Should Just Make Their Slogan "...But Buy It Anyway."

Justice League #23: The one thing you can count on with DC Comics nowadays is their dedication to consistency when it comes to not only dropping the ball, but saying "Oh, well," when you ask them to pick it up. The Trinity War event gave me a small sliver of hope that Geoff Johns might have learned from his laundry list of mistakes leading up to this event. Alas, that'll teach us to expect anything other than sparkling excellence in failure from New 52 events that aren't Batman or Green Lantern based. Remember Bulletproof, that video game 50 Cent made a while back where you'd go through level after tedious shoot'em-up level for your only reward to be unlocking free downloads of 50 Cent's albums? Well, this was a lot like that.

This issue wraps up the mini-series that has all three Justice Leagues racing against time to unlock the mystery of Pandora's Box before....something....can happen. While they're waiting for the answers to jump up and bite them in their asses, our heroes pass the time by beating the shit out of each other for no real reason. The Trinity of Sin (Question, Pandora and Phantom Stranger), who seemed to be keeping all the answers to themselves, took a backseat in this issue as if they were saying "Whatever. They'll figure it out."

Eventually, the loose ends are tied up despite everyone's lack of trying, villains are revealed and the true purpose of the Box (aside from giving characters an excuse to fight that they didn't really need since they were already fighting) is finally discovered. I could spoil it right here, but it doesn't even matter. Because the real objective of the box, much like this book, was to open a gateway to making you buy the next event series, Forever Evil.

They didn't even see fit to give us an ending. I'm not kidding. There a beginning, a middle, and that's it. Secrets were reveal, but almost NO conflicts were resolved. There was a traitor, a big fight, new villains we've haven't been properly introduced to, and at least one character who was critically injured and we don't know how ANY of it turned out. As much as I like Ivan Reis' artwork, the liberty of using "splash pages" was abused worse than the Dallas Cowboys during an away game. I hypothesize that if it weren't for all the splash pages, this six issue event would have condensed down to three plus a bonus prologue in the back of an issue of Savage Hawkman or some other book nobody's reading.

Bottom Line: This book is DC's very polite way of telling you how stupid they think you are. Oh and Watered-Down-Not-Quite-John-Constantine is still kinda awesome. 5 out of 10.


Lazarus #3: It's hard not to be pulled into this interesting mix of Dollhouse meets Virtual Light. If there's one thing comics are good for aside from superhero sagas, it's good sci-fi dystopia. It's only the third issue, but it's clear that Forever Carlyle is a female lead with a few interesting layers. The flickers of vulnerability in the wake of her kickassery smack pleasantly reminiscent of Selene from Underworld (the good one...before it all went wrong). Rucka's future vision, despite being slightly familiar, is still a welcome and compelling read that takes a small detour this month.

This issue slows down for a dose of building between characters, focusing primarily on the dynamic between Forever and her rival family counterpart, Joacquim. The well of unsaid feelings between the two of them, while well written, feels almost obligatory in this storytelling age of Twilight. We've come to a point where we consume books and television that basically leaves us either nonplussed about two characters hooking up or marginally shocked when they don't hook up. Also, the Carlyle twins, Jonah and Johanna are so overt in their mustache twirling and scheming, I was wondering if they were just going to cut out the middle man and start tying random stock characters to train tracks. In many ways, the not-so-weighty, one dimensional characters are a testament to how well crafted Forever is. However, there's enough side story here with the obvious road to war between the two families on the horizon, the book isn't a wash as long as you know things are going to pick up again (if the ending is any indication). Michael Lark artwork is outstanding at setting a dark, hopeless tone as an appropriate compliment for what Rucka does well here.

Bottom Line: A little slower than past issues, but there's enough meat on the hook to leave us ready for shit to get real next month. 7.5 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 24 or Space: A Nice Place to Visit, But Don't Live There....

Batman Beyond Universe #1: Okay, I was actually looking forward to this one for a couple of reasons. The first is that I'm always excited to see a comic from DC that doesn't have the "The New 52" stamp on it. The second is that Batman Beyond has always been a fairly awesome staple since its inception. DC has started releasing Batman Beyond and Justice League Beyond as two separate digital comics as a part of their initiative to sew the concept to readers' collective mouth Human Centipede style. However, if you're smart enough to not pay any money for digital comics, you can still get them as a $3.99 physical comic that collects them both.

Neither story requires much back issue reading to catch up with the "One Year Later" style we're given, but Batman Beyond is easily the better of the two so far. Fans of the cartoon will, for the most part, feel right at home here. Tony Silas and Kyle Higgins make for a dynamic duo that does a good enough job of maintaining the kinetic pace and style of the original cartoon without a watered down, "saturday morning toon" feel. They're still the characters that old readers know, but there's obvious growth and change. I look forward to more revelations about how some bonds were formed and how other rifts were created. Silas' design of Neo Gotham is pretty much what fans have to come to expect over the years. The streamlined angles combine well with the color palette to keep you interested even though I wish it didn't feel like there were so many panels stuffed onto each page.

Justice League Beyond, though it isn't necessarily bad, suffers as the "weak link" of this collection so far. The problem is that, although the rest of the League is given a fair amount of time, the story still feels like Superman Beyond. And Superman Beyond was sort of problematic. What's great about Batman Beyond is that despite the obvious presence of Bruce Wayne and other mainstays, it still manages to offer something new via a fresh central character with problems and supporting cast members of his own. Terry McGinnis is young and not quite established enough that I know how he'd handle a bad guy. The trouble with making Superman the focus of this far future Justice League is that it's the same guy. Sure, he's got new friends, a different costume and different villains to square off with, but it's still Superman. It's a fine story. I just feel like I've read it already.

Bottom Line: The digital to physical retrofit is a little bit of an eyesore, and Superman Beyond feels a little too familiar, but if you like Batman Beyond, I can't tell you to stay away from this one. 7.5 out of 10.


Nova #7: This is a title I'm glad to have caught on the ground floor. It was a smart tactic on Marvel's part to rework some of their cosmic/outer space titles to be accessible to new audiences, almost serving as a guide to comic space. Thankfully, Nova is probably the best example so far of this. It feels like how DC reworked the Blue Beetle after the death of Ted Kord by offering a younger hero in Jaime Reyes.

We're given a character who is just as new to the superhero business, who shows us a bit more a ground level view of continuity. Now, that New Guy Nova, Sam Alexander has gotten has popped his bad guy cherry, he's ready to commit to kicking ass and taking names, but he still has a lot to learn about the responsibility that goes hand and hand with playing with the big boys. The "lesson learned" moment at the end of this issue by itself makes the whole book worth the ride. We get an unexpected appearance from Superior Spider Man that (as much as I hate SSM) is absolutely hilarious. If Zeb Wells maintains this pace in the book, I look forward to more awkward, laugh inducing meet ups with established heroes and villains as the series progresses. Paco Medina's pencils look gorgeous, especially in the overall look he creates for Nova, perfectly balancing youthful lightheartedness with heroism.

Bottom Line: A fun issue with the right amount of substance thrown in makes this mostly a win. 8 out of 10.


Avengers #18: One thing I have to appreciate so far about the way Jonathan Hickman handles a Marvel event is that he lets you know in advance via diagrammed checklist "Look, Marvel's gonna have a bunch of tie-ins, but THESE are the ones that matter...because I'm writing them. Kneel before Hickman." This particular issue, meant to compliment Infinity, follows the Avengers into space as they go into battle with the world razing Builders who have started shit...for some reason. One way this issue succeeds is in the way it highlights a point that, by nature, Avengers books tend to overlook: When every fight the Avengers fight is, theoretically, for the fate of the world, it's easy to lose sight of a bigger picture. And there's probably not a bigger picture than...you know...the whole rest of the universe.

Hickman offers us more than just "an Avengers World." He succeeds, as usual, in bringing Babylon 5 sensibilities to what we know to be a unilaterally superhero title. We got a look at the Skrull race that I honestly did not expect. After Brian Bendis' Secret Invasion event, I was certain it would be much longer before we were ever made to feel any kind of sympathy for these warrior shape shifters, but once again....Hickman accomplishes the unlikely. It, yet again, proves why he's pretty much the only writer tailor made to craft such a sci-fi saga as this, invoking a sort of Jack Vance era feel in his characterization of other races at the diplomacy table alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Leinil Francis Yu doesn't fail to bring home the bacon in a major way art-wise. The space battles look every bit as epic as they deserve to. Anyone who doesn't geek out just a little bit watching Thor bring down space cruisers. The visual standout for me comes in the Falcon's awesome space suit design which tells me Yu is a Battle of the Planets fan.

Bottom Line: An epic event deserves epic tie-ins and Infinity got one here because....you know....Jonathan Hickman and shit. 9 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 23 or Can We Please Have a Thor/Ted Nugent Team Up?

Infinity #1: For all intents and purposes, Marvel readers SHOULD be suffering from a little jet lag as far as company wide crossovers are concerned. Especially after Age of Ultron. The argument could be made that it's a little soon to throw fans into another event right after AoU's massive letdown ending. Ask a boxer how ready he is to get back in the ring after he's been clobbered. Seriously, wake Manny Pacquiao up and ask him. I'm pretty sure he's still on the floor. However, that may not be a reason sufficient enough to write off Infinity.

In recent years, Marvel's trend has been to have events be chain reactions of one another. "Civil War among heroes caused the world to infiltrated by aliens which allowed Green Goblin to rise to power which brought Captain America back to kick his ass which blah blah blah blah....." Infinity comes across feeling like it has a completely different identity than that. This is largely thanks to Jonathan Hickman's style of crafting stories on an epic sci-fi scale. His work on The Avengers and New Avengers (which have been the primary books building toward Infinity, by the way) are a perfect indication of why his writing is what it is. Every moment in a Hickman book feels like whatever's happening is for all the marbles which is what the Avengers always be about anyway. Even the little things like the ominous fly pages in between beats give you the distinct feeling that you're about to have your mind blown. Infinity is no different in this regard.

This book touches on pretty much all of the important points from Hickman's Avenger stories. The "Illuminati" has been doing top secret, fucked up things for the good of all (again), the "Builders" have been going from world to world doing quite the opposite of building things and....oh, yeah, Thanos is ready to start some shit with Earth again. It's going to interesting to see what a pure science fiction voice such as Hickman's can do with the concept of an ascended beings whose business is "evolving" sentient races. It's not the first time we've seen this kind of thing, but he gives us enough to lead us to believe it's headed somewhere awesome. Jim Cheung's pencils are absolutely gorgeous. This is evident because of a particular page detailing a world being razed that is just one of the best "we've come to destroy all" scenes I've ever looked at.

One drawback that presents itself here is that, being the result of things that happened in at least three different books, Infinity isn't the easiest to jump into. However, if you like grand events and have grown tired of DC's Trinity War (which I'm almost certain is being written with the help of 12 sided dice and a Mad Libs book), this is certainly something to pick up.

Bottom Line: You may have to do a little homework to catch up, but this event is superhero shit done well. 9 out of 10.

Thor: God of Thunder #11: This is a book that flew below my radar for far too long. Thor's stories in the past have, for a long time, been a bit ambiguous with their handling of the character, not really giving him an identity aside from him being the Avenger who talks in "thee" and "thou." But I dare to say that Jason Aaron's run so far is going to end up being one of the essential runs they talk about in ten years when someone wants to get into Thor but doesn't know where to start.

In this issue, we get a fitting ending to the "Godbomb" and with that, an end to the saga of Gorr, the God Butcher. The Son of Odin was given a time bending, universe spanning problem to deal with, challenged just like a god should be and that challenged answered in epic turn. One theme that presented itself quite often in this story questions the existence of gods, whether or not they do more harm than good and whether they truly deserve to preside over man. Eventually, Aaron's villain, Gorr has a god slaughtering good times making the characters wonder if perhaps his quest is somehow, in a macabre way, justified. Now, it could be argued (and has been by the idiots at IGN) that what we're given is something of a cop out in favor of giving the Thunder God a happy ending. One thing to keep in mind...and this is something IGN couldn't be bothered to remember...is that Thor, despite being noble, determined and a decent judge of character, has NEVER been a philosopher in any sense of the word. Asking comic book character, especially one like Thor, for an insightful answer to a question that real life civilizations have pondered, fought and died trying to answer since forever....that's like asking Ted Nugent, well, anything. The only thing that would have made me happier is if he looked Gorr directly in the face and said, "Because I'm Thor, bitch."

Esad Ribic spared no creative expense while wrapping this arc up in style. The pencils here lend the sort of jaw dropping gravitas a story of this magnitude deserves. There are more than a few moments in this book that look like they should have come out of a mythic tome somewhere. Every time Thor used his hammer, your reaction should be nothing less than "Oh, shit! Are you serious?"

Bottom Line: An awesome, gorgeous ending to the kind of legendary arc that Thor deserves. This is a frontrunner for "Best Goddamned Comic Out This Week" and considering Saga came back this week, that's saying something.

9 out of 10.

Women and Comics According to Middle Aged White Men.....

The Television Critic's Association press tour wrapped with a panel discussion featuring Todd McFarlane, Gerry Conway, Len Wein and Michael Kantor, who directed the upcoming documentary, Superheroes: The Never Ending Battle. Eventually, the roundtable turned into a criticism among the creators as to why mainstream superheroes are (and continue to be), on a majority, white men. Alyssa Rosenberg wrote an excellent, more detailed report for ThinkProgress on the points made by the panel, but NPR's Linda Holmes summarized them best via Twitter.

1). "Hey, nobody is in your way saying you can't."

-Here, we have a double edged sword. On one side, yes, the burden of leading the charge for progress IS on the undervalued demographic. After all, a lot of history's great achievements are the result of mainstream doors being shut in the faces of ambitious upstarts. Independent comics as well as web comics are feasible avenues that make user created material more feasible all the time. "Be the change you want to see in the world" and all that.

However, on the other hand, this is ultimately a lazy school of thought on the panel's part and a dismissive way of presenting it to consumers of a medium that, having it's own growing film/television genre to think about, should be a little more concerned about opening its doors to potential readers. That should really sound more like "Nobody is saying you can't. In fact, you should. I'd love to see that shit." This really came across of the comic industry's equivalent of  "Send us your demo tape, kid. I'm sure my agent will get to it or something."


2). "You can't because it would be like a medieval comic about female knights."

-Oh, please. First of all, I'm pretty sure Paul Cornell's Demon Knights series featured a transgender incarnation of Shining Knight.

Second, I'm pretty sure this is a female knight handing a male knight his ass on one of the most popular shows on television. Still an implausible sell?


Third, it's FICTION. That's the entire point of fiction. You can make the world whatever you want it to be. There is a comic book about a second civil war turning New York City into a nigh-uninhabitable No Man's Land and the thought of a female knight (aside from Joan of Arc) in medieval times in unfeasible to you? Again, I say: Oh, please.

3). "Readers wouldn't read it so don't blame creators."

-Despite what people may think of them now, these are artists. Furthermore, they are, almost by definition, nerds. Ideally, one of the great ideas about nerd culture is the thought of fellow nerds making good. Someone else who loves this comics as much as you do is out there living the dream. I've always assumed this is a big part of what people like about Kevin Smith. Now, imagine a nerd, someone you perceive to be like you in a fashion, making good and then telling you that the medium you love isn't representing you in its art because people don't give a shit about you or telling your story. We expect that from "suits"....not creators.

4). "You can't make the point of a superhero some kind of political message."

-I repeat: Oh, please.

Finally, to top off the tomfuckery, the panel went on to make a point of emphasizing that comics don't lead in society, that they follow and reflect it. Rosenberg flatly stated "That seems like an unambitious position," and ended it there which, by the way, is probably (ironically) the most heroic thing that happened here in this room of superhero creators. This is probably the most indefensible, disappointing thing to happen all year in comics thus far and that's saying a lot considering 2013 has given us Justice League of America, Age of Ultron and The Following. The middle aged white men on this panel would have you believe that comics have evolved to cater to an older, more testorerone filled audience because they're consumers, first and foremost and it's true that a lot of them have. From this rather outdated notion of what comics "have to be" comes the idea that women in comics are just some kind of novelty to serve as pleasing the old male eye. Even if the market for comics were populated solely by old men sitting at home, still clamoring for cartoon boobs like they were when they were twelve years old (which it isn't...not exclusively, anyway), that doesn't mean this is the only way it has to be. And it shouldn't be the writer/artist/creator's primary goal to enforce that. The marketing execs determine that which, in turn, trickles down to the editor-in-chief and then, eventually, to the talent. The job of artists in any art form is to say something and even with capitalism's tyrannical head looming over mainstream media, respect and admiration will come to any artist who even tries to represent the people, man or woman, who are willing to listen.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 22 or Help Me, Douchbag Cosplayer....You're My Only Hope.

Green Lantern #23: As much as I find DC's New 52 to be alienating and unreadable, there are some bright spots in this dark, rusted meat locker of a universe that deserve mention. One of them is the Green Lantern stories, but mainly because DC left the continuity relatively untouched in the hard reboot. Since the reboot began, Geoff Johns had been doing double duty in a very Jekyll and Hyde fashion, going between maintaining a tight ship with GL by day and fucking up the Justice League by night. Since he's stepped away from the book he's done well to make the book he's done badly even worse, Robert Venditti has taken the helm to build a new dimension to the mythos.

This issue focuses mainly on Hal personally investigating a murder on Oa from #22, going off alone (true to Hal Jordan form) to find who's responsible. Venditti is at his "A" game in his characterization of the hero, fleshing out his pigheadedness in going off alone and half-cocked, looking for an enemy he knows nothing about. The Surrogates writer appears to have a great understanding of his lead character, giving Hal Jordan a whole new set of problems to deal with by leaving him in charge of the Lantern Corps. I enjoy this step in the "greatest Lantern's" journey because the plots were becoming stale with the same predictable weight of the Guardians' leadership hanging over his head.

Guardians of the Universe: "We know stuff about your enemy that might help you to not die out there, but we won't tell you because it's probably our fault in the first place. Or...you know...because fuck you, that's why."

One thing that cannot afford to slack off is artwork. When you have a comic book about a guy who can create things with a magic wishing ring, visuals have to be on point at all times. Fortunately, Billy Tan kicks here. The action beats are brilliantly drawn, letting the fights jump straight off the page. Not only do Hal's constructs look impressive, but they also give us a couple of imaginative feats I don't think I've ever seen before.

Bottom Line: Whether you like Geoff Johns work or not, he made a lasting impact on Green Lantern. That's a tough act to follow and Robert Venditti is handling the responsibility pretty well so far. 9 out of 10.

Kick-Ass 3 #2: In my last review, I was pretty clear on my feelings that the Kick-Ass saga's death is both necessary and welcome much like season three of Heroes. The second issue of the final chapter makes the reason pretty evident. Mark Millar makes no secret of his love for deconstructing superheroes under "real world" circumstances. However, with this book, it seems that his big picture mutates in such a way, each chapter becomes, in a way, unrecognizable from one story to the next.


The first theme of the first one was "Anyone who thinks they can fight crime in real life is pretty stupid and they'd probably die." In Kick-Ass 2, Millar's prevailing point was that cosplayers are delusional losers. Now, it seems clear that Millar's heroes (really, the villains, too) are held up as totems of "jerk culture" in comics. And the problem is the same as it was before: Good guy or bad guy....nobody in this book is a terribly good person. The issue focuses a lot on the building comeuppance of Chris Genovese aka Red Mist, who evolved into an extinction level asshole in the first two books. Also, we get a look at Chris' mother, seemingly as much a victim (unintended as it may be) of her son's crimes as those he had murdered. It does a pretty good job of pondering what it would be like for a supervillain's family if everyone knew their relation. How could Doctor Doom's mother ever leave the house with the whole world knowing their offspring had just vaporized Buckingham Palace? Would Bullseye's sister even be able to make it to the mailbox in the morning without a victim's angry father waiting with a sniper rifle in hand?

Meanwhile, Kick-Ass himself becomes the less interesting character to follow as he tries to rally his halfhearted troops, Justice Forever, to put a fright into the organized crime (which seems, by the way, completely unfazed by these people living out their comic book fantasies) of the city Batman: Year One style. Commonly, it is an endearing trait when the hero stays the course in his mission to make his protectorate a better place. The Dark Knight trilogy saw Bruce Wayne's parents killed, the love of his life blown to Hell, his partner in justice scarred and corrupted by the Joker, his back broken, thrown into a hole left to crawl his way out and stabbed in the gut by his rebound girlfriend. And he never gave up. And he was rewarded for it. Kick-Ass, however, seems to be on a far less fruitful quest that isn't necessarily for social change so much as it is for personal validation. Proving that one man can make a difference seems to not be as important as proving to himself that he's not just some jackass cosplayer.

Bottom Line: I've never read a comic in which I kinda wanted everyone to lose. 7 out of 10.