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[My first pseudo-review posts! Thanks to Mike Chary for helping me decide on a final name that didn't infringe on anyone else's style, although he suggested I call it "Pen-Elayne For *Her* Thoughts. But I'd rather hear others' responses to any points I might, or might not, bring up; I already know what *I* think, after all. :) And since Mike has the song lyric department wrapped up, and someone else is now doing movie quotes, it behooves me in my capacity as Firehead Head - such as it is - to keep the flame alive by trying to fit appropriate quotes from the work of The Firesign Theatre to fit, or not, the comic I'm pseudo-reviewing...] Reviewed herein: STARMAN #12 STARMAN #12 Writer: James Robinson This Book's Firesign Quote: "He's no fun, he fell right over!"
or Here's what I think, then: The downward spiral. Always a great technique. Start things off calmly, deceptively so since you've had your protagonist tell your readers it's going to get worse and worse and worse, then follow through and make it worse. In degrees. Just a little... weirder. It starts with the quiet conversations between Jack and his father Ted, where Jack almost comes through with what he really wants to say. Reminds me of stories Steve tells me of him and his late father, a man I only had the fortune to meet once. Ted will never understand Jack's personal obsessions, but at least he understands the nature of obsessions, and the gap between them shrinks just a bit. Meanwhile, Mikael and Grundy bond. Cute that Grundy understands the blue man's speech. Maybe Grundy translate for readers. :) These guys both intrigue me, as I don't really know that much about either of them (not going back as a reader as far as many of you rac folks). Wonder where they went? The Mellow Yellow scene. Electric banana, gonna be the latest craze... oops, sorry, it's that catchy Chary lyric thing again. Great three pages. From the freedom of flying over Freak Town at twilight -- oops, at 1:58pm, to the yellow, to the naked awakening... so much happens, so much turns around. Breathtaking. Haven't been on a trip like that since the first and last time I dropped, but that's another story. Everyone seems to have commented on the lines "the birth of a daughter, his second child" - but I'm more intrigued about "a gift that David, his brother, brings from beyond" and especially "the view of the sun from space, as it rises from behind Callisto..." Mmm, nice. He will reach the stars, then. Julie Newmar has Nash's face. 'Nuff said? "It's not what I did that's important, Jack. Not now." When, then? Maybe in nine months, one wonders? Jack and the Gauntlet - or, I think more properly, the gantlet. The best possible thing he did was change the game by picking the lock. The worst possible thing he did was using electronic devices in a supposedly abandoned (I saw the cobwebs) room. It's Nash's base, not his. Assume nothing. Definitely don't assume Ted's dead. VIGILANTE sounds interesting, but not my cuppa. Still, I enjoyed Robinson's reminiscence. So, what did y'all think? Writers: Tom Peyer and Rachel Pollack This Book's Firesign Quote: "Have at you!" "Gesundheit!" Here's what I think, then: It starts with a full-page spread of the Old Gods, mean-looking slightly Viking-ish suckers all. Bad hairdos, horns, no women, that sorta thing. :) THEN it opens into The Planet Split (complete with those wonderful Kirby-esque black-circles- surrounded-by-yellow-light, you all know what I mean), inset and spread across two pages, and a really nice 2-page spread symbolizing the eternal war between the Light (New Genesis - yay!) and the Dark (Apokalips - hiss!). Nice to see a young Izaya (later Highfather) battling Darkseid. Interesting that Ross seems fond of almost triangular faces, taking the hairdos into account. Also interesting, as we see foreshadowed on page 4, that Izaya is really portrayed as relatively powerless, almost cringing. There is an inset on that page which purports to show Highfather and Darkseid as equals, but we never really get proof of that in this issue. This is one of the problems I feared when portraying Goodness and Light - it's almost inevitably looked upon, especially in this cold, cruel world, as weakness. Highfather, to me, should represent Strength in Goodness. Lightray should be more than just a Light-Loving Pain in the Arse. Hard to do, straddling that thin line between Wimp and Hero, and I understand Peyer & Pollack's view that this is Orion's story (and the story of the struggle within Orion between his nature and his aspirations) and Orion is necessarily Good-within-Evil or E-w-G, take your pick... but still, I'm holding out that the upholders of the Source and the Light are strong within themselves, and I'm looking forward to seeing that strength portrayed. Excellent portrayal of the contrast between Darkseid's "Top Two," DeSaad and Granny Goodness ("the voice of Cowardice and the voice of Bravado"). I'd have liked DeSaad to look a little more depraved (his face is awfully puppy-dog like... I mean, those Big Brown Eyes...), but Granny's done superbly. That panel with her and the whip and the kids in the cube... chilling, positively chilling. I never, for one moment, lost sight of the enormous power that Darkseid wielded and only held in check at his own whim - this was done very well. The winding around of the red light from his eyes to encompass Granny and DeSaad in preparation for teleporting them... the way he towers over them in every panel, even one where you only see his hand... very evocative, all of it. Then we come to New Genesis, and things... well, they do get wimpy. Lightray, a truly magnificent character when you get right down to it, is little more than comic relief here. As someone else said on another thread, you pretty much cheered Orion for knocking him one, he got so obnoxious. It was a nice plot device to show us Orion's rashness, but it really seemed out of character. I mean, I'm sure it might have happened, I'd have to look back over my Kirby issues, but I don't actually recall Orion ever having bopped Lightray in this fashion. When he disagreed with Lightray's view on life in the past, he pretty much ignored him, didn't he? Gorgeous work on coloring the contrasts between Apokalips and New Genesis, Trish. You do know you're one of my heroes, don't you? :) I hated, Hated, HATED the Gaunt Pages. I didn't buy it. It was effective visually, I'll grant you, but I didn't buy it. I have problems with the whole Good Is Weak And Only Good-Within-Evil Can Save Us idea. But this is Orion's Story, so I probably stand alone in this. Metron is great. I hate the bastard. He is so cool. What a dickwad. I hope he shows up in every issue. :) Darkseid and Orion battle it out within the Source itself (or at least a part of it). Nice. Cosmic. I like it. Looking forward to #2. All in all, I'm a happy camper. I like to think the King would be pleased with this. My only trepidation, as I mention, is that I think the forces of Good ought to be shown as a little stronger, so as to (if nothing else) better contrast with the forces of Evil. What do y'all think? Writer: Jerry Ordway This Book's Firesign Quote: "I'm remembering it all now..." Here's what I think, then: Well, you're getting a pseudo-review from someone who's not, I'm afraid, that familiar with the Golden Age nor with the Fawcett characters. So the opening 7-page scene was charming to me (and Curt Swan's art... =sigh=) but I really didn't get the big kick out of it that many others did. It just wasn't my era, what can I say? My favorite revelation was the bit about why Jim Barr looks so youthful. We were promised something along these lines, and I'm intrigued. (It also gives rise to this book's Alternate Firesign Quote, "It's in the water! That's why it's yellow!") I still don't care for how Billy Batson's face is drawn. It seems to change in every panel. Mary's does too - sometimes a grown woman's face on a kid's body, sometimes the other way around. Not every artist is good at drawing kids' faces - in fact, I'd warrant they're among the hardest things to draw - so I don't entirely blame Krause, but I find it... disconcerting. Again, I know I'm in the minority here, so I'll skip any lengthier analysis. Nurse Joanna (okay Sandsmark, I know this has to be a tribute to you, what'd you do this time? :) ) leaves her patient Freddy awfully quickly to call to the doctor. How conveeeen-ient, as the Church Lady would say. This rang a lot falser to me than her asking Mary (not a blood relative, and supposedly a child) to leave whilst she (and not a doctor, or a volunteer worker?) told Freddy the news of his grandfather. Never mind, though, plot device plot device plot device... Black Adam has a Lex Lok key card. Cute. Nice close-up of Mary's face on page 13. Would that they all looked this good. But this is, again, more the teenaged Mary than the adult... okay, I'll stop... Blaze is looking more and more like she's being played by Denise Crosby. :) Nice bit with Freddy needing to choose between carrying out his revenge fantasy and saving the folks in the cars. Poor planning, and having to have your powers split with two other Marvels, will force those kinds of icky choices every time. Captain Nazi breathes real good under water. Must be the green outfit. Well, we saw the body, but do you think they saved Hitler's brain? Serviceable and fun, but nothing incredible if you're not into the old Fawcett characters. Nothing more than a nice touch and terrific Swan art (and a cute cover too, "wrinkles" and all, but I'm afraid STARMAN wins the Cover Contest this week). So, what do y'all think? Guest Writer: Martin Pasko Firesign Line for This Issue: "Gird your grid for a big one..." Here's what I thought... Is the issue half-full, or half-empty? Depends on my mood. I'm inclined to think it wasn't half-bad, but I could be persuaded it was half-bad. Okay, you want me to be more specific, I can tell. :) Pasko and Gnazzo don't really seem to have the hang of the manga-like thought balloons. There are far too many of them scattered throughout this book (four sequentially on the first page alone, which emotion could have been expressed just as well by one, IMHO), and quantity means lost impact. Moreover, they like to stick 'em in where they're not even needed, as in one scene where Bart smacks against something and his thought balloon shows his head with stars floating around it. Overall, though, I think this retained the feel of the series, especially in the scenes with Bart and Max. Especially nice was a scene on page 3 wherein Max cushions his imminent fall from a rooftop by funneling up some nice soft leaves (was I the only kid who thought those damn leaves were scratchy and not soft?), and the patter completely belies the action. In fact, some of the best panels in this book are wordless. I wish Pasko and especially Gnazzo didn't portray Joha-- er, I mean Carol as such a schlump. I mean, she's a girl with a certain amount of poise and self-confidence. In the first place, I was surprised she was even trying out for the cheerleading squad (although a case can be made that that's where her friends are), but as long as she is she doesn't have to be played as a dork. I really ached for Carol this issue - I think she would probably have been too smart, peer pressure or no, to fall for the old "let's go out in our boyfriends' monster truck" routine (especially as her character was introduced as going against the grain), and I absolutely winced at the "back seat" scene, which I felt was very falsely set up not only to portray her as in above her head but so that Bart could do the Kewl Rescue bit. Villain was fine. A little obvious, but hey, always good to see another fat guy toolin' around, I guess. Johanna can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Girdler and the construction folks sounded a little more Southern than many of the characters in this book have so far. Was this mock, put-on Southern (asks this hapless Northerner), or did it sound true to you, J? Exqueeze me a minute - has Bart's alter-ego name been established in the public eye? I'm bad at continuity at times; when would this have been? Because on page 9 and thereafter, everyone talks about "Impulse" like they know who "Impulse" is. Never "that kid who runs fast" or anything. Have they been formally introduced? Bad transition between pages 9 and 10. The only clue is one of Carol's "friends" (with friends like that...) saying something about "tomorrow" then, poof, Bart's at the fridge getting milk (nice bit of business with Max and the milk) and Max says something about how he didn't get a good night's sleep. I don't need anything as heavy-handed as a "meanwhile" or "the next morning," but this was almost transitionless and I had to do a double-take as a result. I still have trouble believing Carol would be pulled in like that, in more ways than one. (Then again, I'm remembering me at that age, and I guess I did some pretty stupid things in order to gain peer approval even when I scoffed at how shallow I thought my peers were...) Um, how did Abner get his toys? "Immobilizin' gizmo I stumbled onto"????? I mean, I've heard of deus ex machina but this is a kicker. Are we supposed to care about this mayoral race, by the way? Oh ick, those scenes with Carol are just... I dunno, I'm having a real problem dealing with them. Her "friends" holding her down in the back seat while their boyfriends cheer on the guy with his tongue out who's climbing into the back? I'm sorry, this chills me. Even more so since it still doesn't ring true given what we know about Carol. Max seems to excel in sitting around with Helen a lot. I have no idea what he's supposed to be volunteering for half the time. (I caught a glimpse of elderly patients in the background of one scene, but I haven't a clue as to what he's doing in the first panel of page 15 - what'd I miss now?) Max gives Bart a whole lecture about stopping Gridlock by not using speed. So of course Bart sets Gridlock up by using speed. Nice lesson learned. Not. But I thought it was drawn well, except for the gratuitous thought balloons that really don't work without Ramos's touch, I'm sorry. And a few things take place off panel that I had to piece together myself, which is sometimes fun but not in this case. Bart has Gridlock's hand gizmo. Then he doesn't. First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is... oh sorry, it's not a mountain, it's a mound of leaves. Yeah, that'll cushion a truck, no question. Uh huh. Plot and story merit about a B, I think. B- for art when Gnazzo tries to imitate Ramos, B+ otherwise. B+ for the dialogue between Max and Bart. C- for the scenes with Carol. Overall grade: Looking forward to the return of Waid and Ramos, but this was a passable (if only just passable) fill-in in the meantime. So, what did y'all think? Writer: Christopher "Still Stuck in Florida" Priest Firesign Line for This Issue: "...like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist..." Here's what I thought: Priest keeps true to his "Owz Style Guide" form and leads us off with a dramatic splash of a desperate man about to be electrocuted by the state, all the while insisting on his innocence. This prologue (even the prologue has a name, "Meanwhile, Despero") serves to show us how L-Ron is, er, adapting to Despero's body, becoming your basic grim-n-gritty vigilante-on-the-side-of-justice-no-really. Nicely done scene, especially to those for whom the imminent fate of death row prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal is uppermost on the mind. A really nice first five pages. The next ten are The Fight, as Jim has warned us. Five words are spoken, two by Triumph, one by Gypsy and two by... um, someone in a mask. I'm sorry, is this supposed to be Mystek? Jim has Fun With Sound Effects. Good action scenes, I guess - I pretty much flipped through them to get to the punch line (as it were). I liked the punch line, though. :) Who's Glenn Gam-meron? Can someone with a more encyclopedic knowledge of recent Justice League history fill me in? The Task Forcer with the mask reminisces about War Locke and such (must be Mystek, I have no idea what she's babbling on about). Interesting line about going "from bad to badder," whatever that's supposed to mean. Triumph awakens, alone and crippled even worse (he's not hooked up to the machines that help heal his spinal injury), and looking up at Death Masque (whose helmet, when juxtaposed by Mystek's in the previous page whose panels fall side by side, looks too similar to hers) and then Tuna Sand-- uh, Vandal Savage. This is the obligatory Priest Awkward Exposition Page, where we get reintroduced to Savage by DM's stilted dialogue. I like the trick Savage plays on DM, though, and the exchange between him and Triumph. Also thought the Manhunter's dialogue was a bit stiff in the last couple panels, but somehow, from him, I buy it more. Not an overwhelming issue for me - sorry, Jim, but I calls 'em as I sees 'em. I like how you put the players in place, though. This felt more like a transition to me than anything else. So, what did y'all think? Co-Plotter/Scripter: Tom Peyer Firesign Line for This Issue: "It's just this little chromium switch here..." I agree with what Mike Chary said in another post about McCraw's coloring here. This issue really showed it off in spades. Other than that non- spoiler, here's what I thought... Now, I'm a relative newcomer to the Legion, so be forewarned. I'm not even going to make a crude and tasteless Arm-Fall-Off Boy joke. God, this cover was gorgeous. Two major plotlines which parallel each other nicely - the Battle of the Ranzzes and the Search for Valor. Both just out of reach - one slips farther away, one gets tantalizingly closer. Religious allegory coming out the wazoo. Triad's about ready to join a nunnery after all these ecstatic experiences she's been having. Garth and Ayla use the Force to defeat the Dark Side of Mekt, turning his hair white in the process. Mekt bleeds blood; Garth bleeds electricity. This was a really great touch. (Hmm, does it mean the lightning just didn't "take" to Mekt the way it did to G&A? Mebbe because he's an Only, and it needed something more complete?) Even better were teaser lines like Mekt muttering "End of the road..." and Garth saying to Ayla, "We're... good together" (nothing if not a hint that they'll both be accepted into the Legion). I don't know that I agree with the folks who posted about there being a sexual tension kinda thing between G&A, but then I was one of the people going "Ewww..." retroactively at that scene in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK where Leia kissed Luke full on the mouth... Seriously, I just think there's a neat bond between a brother and sister, especially when they're twins. But folks will read into things what they will, I guess. Well, Brainy snapped out of "things" rather well, didn't he? Interesting that Imra scanned him; guess it's back to being a reflex action. Good for Cos doing the power discharge himself; still in a bad temper, I see. Um, where did Gim and Cham and XS come from? And why's XS suddenly so shy - Vi busy or something? ;) Ooh, kewl, a Time Platform! Not a bubble, but it'll do in a pinch. Great last page, esp. the coloring (and XS's adorable reaction to being thrown through time). Looking way forward to the Superboy crossover(s). So, what did y'all think? Writer: Christopher Priest (henceforth "Jim") Firesign Line For This Issue: "That's longer than anyone's ever been gone before!" Well, I'm as confused here as I often am with Jim's books, and I'll readily admit he drives me to the Home of the Terminally Clueless faster than many other writers, but I'll take a stab at telling you what I thought anyway... I loved the introduction of Joshua. Jim, is he Ray's brother, half-brother, what? Sorry I'm so unclear on this. Wow, dangerous li'l sucker, isn't he? Imagine, cooped up all those years, unable to show off that nifty little uniform, complete with cape, to anybody. I feel sorry for the little guy. 'Course, you gotta allow that he does fry people to bones and crisps, but whaddaya want, he's just a kid. In any case, all sarcasm aside, I'm intrigued. But what really stood out for me this issue was the stuff going on in Ray's head re: his "father." While I didn't buy him reasoning out that quickly and conveniently what was actually going on - i.e., the internal struggle that Jim showed us Death Duck/Happy/It was going through – I guess it makes thing easier to know Ray has sussed it out anyway. Nice and proper use of exposition, Jim - please don't faint. So, let me get this straight - Atomic Skull and Zelda were creations of Vandal Sandwich? All in all, made me want to come back for more. Armstrong may grow on me; thought he did a pretty credible job. Faces had some nice character to them. Layouts were spiffy. Brian seemed to have a ball editing this one. So, what did y'all think? pretty much by Scott Roberts, by hisself Firesign Line for This Issue: "More Sugar!" You wanna know what I thought? I thought this was the best damn comic that came out this week, that's what I thought! I laughed from start to... well, okay, from start to middle. But the first two stories and mock ad were terrific, really fun stuff. Patty Cake, aka Patricia, is hyperactive and devilish and intelligent and scheming and knows when to put on the puppy-dog eyes... oh, she's a marvelous little girl. I want to be Patty Cake if I don't grow up. In the first vignette, Patty sees a Monster Truck show on TV and wants a Monster Truck. Big hairy Dad (who really dwarfs Patty somethin' fierce) says no. Patty goes and tells friend Irving that Dad's buying a Monster Truck. Patty gets her comeuppance. That's the plot. The execution is much, much better than I could tell it. The dialogue sounds real, the exaggerated cartoony (almost Peter Bagge) style is delightful and frenetic and right in keeping with the book's tone, and the sense of humor is just marvelous. My favorite segment is "A Patty Cake Tour," where she shows off her dolls, including "Burn-Victim Brindy" and the story behind how she got to be... well, yeech. And then there's The Visual Woman (this is a Real Toy, folks, I've seen it), and... and something too terrible to even speak of, apparently... oh, it's great. I had to laugh at the line about candy- and fruit-scented magic markers (yes, these exist in Real Life as well). Very savvy and cute. The cooking lesson was hilarious. So was the ad for Honey Boats cereal. The rest of Patty's adventures in this book are fun, but not at the level of hilarity the first three exhibit, IMHO. Still, definitely worth far, far more than the paltry cover price of $2.95. I'm bringing this one to Philly with me to keep me company... :) So, if anyone else out there read this, what did y'all think? |
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