Wednesday #104
Okay, my problem with Flashpoint as a final send-off to the old DCU: Flashpoint took place in a completely different world which altered the classic characters completely. That would be like calling Watchmen the send-off for the Charleton Comics characters. They're completely different characters. And since Watchmen and Flashpoint were limited run series set in their own universes the actions within each didn't effect the new versions of the characters that were published in later DC books. Sure, DC said Flashpoint would have repercussions, but other than the hooded lady playing Where's Waldo what are they?
Spoilers and Karen I love you but you only have 60 seconds to save the Earth below
Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown & Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost: I only picked these up because I love the authors and, in the case of the latter, a good William Blake reference. They didn't disappoint. Sterling Gates made a case for why he should have been writing a Kid Flash series all along (which was the plan at one point) with a time and reality tripping tale. Jeff Lemire showed why he deserves all the work he's getting throw at him. Consider this. The following page is somehow topped by the page that follows it in the story:
He tops that.
Supergirl #65-67: Filllllllllll... are we done with that joke? I think so.
Despite it's fillerness and Kelly Sue DeConnick giving Supergirl a case of "I do not grasp your HU-man concept of humor" this is a fairly good Supergirl story. Unfortunately, it is hindered by something that dragged down a lot of the pre-reboot stories: rushed and/or just bad art. I assume DC wanted its top guns on the reboot releases, so they summoned in an army of fill-ins at the last minute to wind down the old universe. Good for the reboot (the books look great), but bad for people who give a damn about the old universe.
I've seen and enjoyed Chriscross's art before, so I know he's better than the collection of stroke faces we got. Just look at this sequence.
As much as I love seeing a woman with Ngoze's shape and hair portrayed in a comic (both in terms of representation and for more shallow reasons) I dare someone to tell me how tall she is in relation to Lois. Also, how old is Lois here? She looks about mid-20s at most. Let's just leave her skirt out of this. Oy.
Superman #712: Okay, so there was this terrible storyline in Superman called "Grounded" about which we will never speak against except to mock. Not only was the storyline bad, it came out behind schedule. Rather than not sell a Superman book for a month, DC solicited new fill-in stories and dug into un-published tales. That's basically where this Krypto story came from. Well, there was some nonsense about controversy involving either Superman hanging out with a Muslim super-hero or saving a cat from a tree. It's about as stupid as it sounds.
Anyway, this Krypto story was shelved years ago because DC was in the middle of a lawsuit regarding Superboy and couldn't use the character outright. It sucks that this issue comes from such bs as it's a legitimately effective and moving story about a (super)dog looking for his boy. I'm a sucker for a story about a dog, but this one earns my love with some excellent storytelling.
Power Girl #26-27: Finally, PG stories that live up to the high bar set by the first creative team. These are two one-and-done stories, but they don't feel like filler at all. The second story in which Power Girl has 60 seconds to save the day 3 times might be my favorite PG story ever.
Superboy #7-11: This book kept up it's high level of art quality, but you can tell there's stories Lemire was setting up and had to cut short. Don't get me wrong: this run and the Adventure Comics run that preceded it are excellent bits of superhero story-telling and worth your time and money. I just miss what could have been.
Batgirl #23-24: Speaking of missing what could have been. At least Miller got a thoroughly complete and fulfilling ending into his story with hints of Stephanie's future and adventures that never will be. I'd totally buy a "Return of Bruce Wayne" style miniseries featuring Stephanie fighting her way out from the Black Mercy's influence. It would be worth it just for the fairy tale issue. Spite M'gann will crush you with adorablity!
There's just so much good in these issues and the whole run it's hard to focus on any one point. I almost cried twice in issue 24. No spoilers (seriously, go read these. All of them.), but both times involved mothers.
Teen Titans #98-100: A fine wrap up to this volume of Teen Titans. Not everybody got a happy ending, which I love, but Beast Boy and Raven get to be happy together during their (hopefully long) stay in Limbo.
Static Shock Special #1: This was actually good. Maybe Felicia Henderson has a few good Static stories in her. I'm still happy they went with the creative team they did, but maybe she can write a good fill-ins.
The tributes to Dwayne McDuffie and the Static pin-ups in the back of the story are almost worth the cover price.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7-10: The way Spencer divided this book, 3 stories from 3 different eras drawn by 3 different artists, helped this book weather the bad art storm as it only lost one out of its 3 artists. The two remaining were gold. The fill-ins for the third were competent, but they dragged their part of the story down.
Still, the writing was solid as always and I can't wait for the follow-up mini-series.
Spoilers and Karen I love you but you only have 60 seconds to save the Earth below
Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown & Flashpoint: Kid Flash Lost: I only picked these up because I love the authors and, in the case of the latter, a good William Blake reference. They didn't disappoint. Sterling Gates made a case for why he should have been writing a Kid Flash series all along (which was the plan at one point) with a time and reality tripping tale. Jeff Lemire showed why he deserves all the work he's getting throw at him. Consider this. The following page is somehow topped by the page that follows it in the story:
He tops that.
Supergirl #65-67: Filllllllllll... are we done with that joke? I think so.
Despite it's fillerness and Kelly Sue DeConnick giving Supergirl a case of "I do not grasp your HU-man concept of humor" this is a fairly good Supergirl story. Unfortunately, it is hindered by something that dragged down a lot of the pre-reboot stories: rushed and/or just bad art. I assume DC wanted its top guns on the reboot releases, so they summoned in an army of fill-ins at the last minute to wind down the old universe. Good for the reboot (the books look great), but bad for people who give a damn about the old universe.
I've seen and enjoyed Chriscross's art before, so I know he's better than the collection of stroke faces we got. Just look at this sequence.
As much as I love seeing a woman with Ngoze's shape and hair portrayed in a comic (both in terms of representation and for more shallow reasons) I dare someone to tell me how tall she is in relation to Lois. Also, how old is Lois here? She looks about mid-20s at most. Let's just leave her skirt out of this. Oy.
Superman #712: Okay, so there was this terrible storyline in Superman called "Grounded" about which we will never speak against except to mock. Not only was the storyline bad, it came out behind schedule. Rather than not sell a Superman book for a month, DC solicited new fill-in stories and dug into un-published tales. That's basically where this Krypto story came from. Well, there was some nonsense about controversy involving either Superman hanging out with a Muslim super-hero or saving a cat from a tree. It's about as stupid as it sounds.
Anyway, this Krypto story was shelved years ago because DC was in the middle of a lawsuit regarding Superboy and couldn't use the character outright. It sucks that this issue comes from such bs as it's a legitimately effective and moving story about a (super)dog looking for his boy. I'm a sucker for a story about a dog, but this one earns my love with some excellent storytelling.
Power Girl #26-27: Finally, PG stories that live up to the high bar set by the first creative team. These are two one-and-done stories, but they don't feel like filler at all. The second story in which Power Girl has 60 seconds to save the day 3 times might be my favorite PG story ever.
Superboy #7-11: This book kept up it's high level of art quality, but you can tell there's stories Lemire was setting up and had to cut short. Don't get me wrong: this run and the Adventure Comics run that preceded it are excellent bits of superhero story-telling and worth your time and money. I just miss what could have been.
Batgirl #23-24: Speaking of missing what could have been. At least Miller got a thoroughly complete and fulfilling ending into his story with hints of Stephanie's future and adventures that never will be. I'd totally buy a "Return of Bruce Wayne" style miniseries featuring Stephanie fighting her way out from the Black Mercy's influence. It would be worth it just for the fairy tale issue. Spite M'gann will crush you with adorablity!
There's just so much good in these issues and the whole run it's hard to focus on any one point. I almost cried twice in issue 24. No spoilers (seriously, go read these. All of them.), but both times involved mothers.
Teen Titans #98-100: A fine wrap up to this volume of Teen Titans. Not everybody got a happy ending, which I love, but Beast Boy and Raven get to be happy together during their (hopefully long) stay in Limbo.
Static Shock Special #1: This was actually good. Maybe Felicia Henderson has a few good Static stories in her. I'm still happy they went with the creative team they did, but maybe she can write a good fill-ins.
The tributes to Dwayne McDuffie and the Static pin-ups in the back of the story are almost worth the cover price.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7-10: The way Spencer divided this book, 3 stories from 3 different eras drawn by 3 different artists, helped this book weather the bad art storm as it only lost one out of its 3 artists. The two remaining were gold. The fill-ins for the third were competent, but they dragged their part of the story down.
Still, the writing was solid as always and I can't wait for the follow-up mini-series.