Elayne's page

ICON #32
"Reflections" (cover title: "Learning to Fly")

Writer: Greg Middleton
Penciller: Elim Mak (yay Elim!)
Inker: Mike DeCarlo
Painted Color apparently by committee: Burrell, Micheline Hess, J. Ching and Noelle Giddings
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Editor: Matt Wayne

This Issue's Firesign Line: "Well, we're the leaders of tomorrow." "Yeah, but it's today!"

Here's what I thought...

I thought Matt Wayne's editorial about why this issue and next are surprise fill-ins was perhaps a tad uncalled for. He might have phrased it better than "...the next time somebody asks you where the hell the next installment of the space storyline is, do what we do at Milestone: Spit on their clothes and tell them to cut Dwayne some slack." Spit on their clothes, Matt? Wasn't there any better way you could have put this which would still have kept the humor intact, and at the same time conveyed the information that Dwayne's currently a bit swamped (something most comics fans certainly understand without being talked down to)?

But I digress. The story itself is... okay. It concerns Lenny, one of Raquel's cohorts from the first night they met Icon in his civilian identity. Lenny's tried to go the straight and narrow since then, but has found it's not easy. Especially since he and the woman he loves have been squabbling lately over money matters, and she's turned her attention to another man better able to accommodate her tastes. Icon pretty much suggests "carpe diem" and flies Lenny home, giving him a few last words of reassurance. (A few cute bits thrown in here, as we see a homeless person and a would-be thug in the park wherein Icon and Lenny discuss matters, and how these two are dealt with afterwards by Icon.)

We're treated to a montage of how Icon's words have influenced Lenny's actions, as he becomes a model young man, musing to himself on how staying on the right track helped keep his mind off his problems (something I find a bit hard to believe, but hey, I went with it). Later on he's talking with Raquel at a community youth center when someone rushes in to reoprt a fire down the street. Raquel rushes off to change into Rocket, as Lenny scopes out the burning apartment building with other onlookers. Icon shows up to help Rocket save more people, but there's one little girl that nobody notices... except Lenny.

He rushes in, finds himself trapped as well, and Icon saves them both. He realizes he's no longer dwelling on his former girlfriend (especially now that he's getting nice smiles from another very attractive woman), later tells Icon things are cool, and Icon congratulates him.

This is pretty standard, formula stuff. I think it'd be a nice issue for kids, but found it a bit of a no-brainer for my own tastes. Nothing to write home about, so I'll cut this review short right here and ask you...

What did y'all think?

WONDER WOMAN #104
"Second Genesis" Part Four (cover title: "Battles End!")

Writer/Artist: John Byrne
Colorist: Patricia Mulvihill
Asst. Ed.: Jason Hernandez-Rosenblatt
Head Honcho: Paul Kupperberg
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston
The New Gods created by Jack Kirby

This Issue's Firesign Line: "Where burning Sappho loved and sang, and stroked the wine-dark sea, in the temple, by the moonlight, wa-de-do-dah!"

Here's what I thought:

I was lucky enough, courtesy of the ever-effervescent Paul Kupperberg and John Byrne (in between Jerry Lewis impersonations and '60s TV show theme singing - yes, I know, Paul, get on with the review :) ), to skim this issue in photocopied format when Johanna and I visited the two gentlemen during our DC tour a few weeks back. I said to John then, and I'll repeat now, how impressed I was with the detail given to this issue.

The subject matter is bleak, but it's so delicately and faithfully and lovingly and painstakingly rendered that just about every page had me breathless. Especially the two-page splash, but I think the part that got to me the most was the funeral pyre scene - all those thousands of bodies wrapped head to toe and laid out in row after row... and the way the souls of the women rose, joyfully, hands outstretched (presumably to join their gods), as the flames engulfed their corpses.

And I must say here that I didn't see the colored version of this issue until I read it yesterday, and Trisha does her usual incredible job of rendering especially this page but certainly all the others. It really gives everything such a nice added dimension. And the softening on the flashback scenes (Trish, how on earth is this done?) was really lovely, gave it a nice dreamy quality.

I'm liking this title a great deal more than I should, I suppose. I should be picking on the cover for showing an unconscious WW being held up in the arms of Michael Schorr, when of course nothing of the sort takes place within the book (at one point, overwhelmed with sadness, she sits on the ruins and breaks down, and Schorr holds her, but in no way is he propping her up, and she's anything but unconscious during this issue). Fine, that's my one complaint.

I love the language. Some may find it flowery, but damn it, it's supposed to be flowery here. This is the princess of Themiscrya we're talking about here. Cosmic away, I say! As Diana surveys the destruction and destitution all around her, amidst caption after caption of this delightful prose, Darkseid compliments her warriors on having fought well. The battle was always one-sided, as he shows her when he raises his own Apokoliptic warriors to life again and Boom Tubes out; his only regret, and it doesn't look like he's going to lay it for rest very long, as that he didn't get the information he sought from her. She tries to catch him before he catches the tube, but fails (this is where Mike comforts her, and it's her only moment of weakness - after Darkseid's left and is no longer there to gloat upon his semi-victory).

I've already talked about the funereal scene - it's subdued and eerie. Twelve hundred dead - almost half the population. All the Amazons are solemnly dressed, and Diana makes the decision that Mike can stay for the service (it's on her head, the Amazon who lights the pyre reminds her; I'm sorry, but I have to side with Diana here; I mean, it's only polite).

Cut to the servant Warly and his newly-rejuvenated, still unnamed mistress (and thank you for only having one subplot/foreshadowing so far, John), who has a great new Big Barda-type hairdo and schemes aplenty to keep herself young when it's obvious Oil of Olay wouldn't do it alone. No, apparently she needs Blood. Jason Blood. Will we be seeing the rhyming Etrigan, or the non-rhyming one? Hmm...

Clean-up time on Themiscrya, as Diana pitches in by lifting the heavier stuff. Her mother's whereabouts are still a mystery, but Diana finally learns how and why Hippolyta chose to cede the throne to Philippus, who in turn offers the crown to Diana as the rightful heir.

Diana declines, opting to return to the world of Man with Mike and continue to be Wonder Woman.

Upon their return, Mike brings up a good point: "I always thought Paradise Island was supposed to be in the Bermuda Triangle or something - not off the coast of California!" Me too. Even when Diana explains that it exists on another plane, I still wasn't aware that plane could let out anywhere onto Man's World. Is this a retcon? Joanna S? You're our resident WW expert - can you confirm or deny? Anyway, we see Diana and Mike walking towards the city, Diana vowing to "be closer to my true self than anything I have known before." Onward to the future! I'm there.

So, what did y'all think?

FLASH #108
"Dead Heat" Part 1 of 6
First Lap: "Flatfooted"

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Oscar Jimenez
Inker: Jose Marzan, Jr.
Letterer: Gaspar
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Asst. Ed.: Ali Morales
Head Honcho: Brian Augustyn

This Issue's Firesign Line: "We left last week's speedy chapter where we found it..."

Here's what I thought...

I loved it. This is one happy little fangirl. Mark's wonderful FLASH writing is back, full force, and it's an absolute pleasure. I haven't had this much of a rush since "Terminal Velocity" ended. I'm giddy with anticipation of parts 2-6. But on to specifics...

Our story begins "One Year Ago" with three pages of captionless panels. I know I've learned to read art a little better in the last year or so, but I must admit I still have problems with captionless panels, which is why you won't see me reviewing, for instance, manga like NAUSICÄA in these newsgroups - I just miss too much. Looks to me here like there's a bleak and remote Frankenstein-type castle, wherein are gathered acolytes around some sort of platform/altar below some kind of churning gear structure. The air is suffused with lightning, which appears to energize the structure; an acolyte (or the leader?) looks up and smiles, then runs up to the center of the raised platform as the lightning (or, more probably, some sort of manifestation of the Speed Force) strikes it dead center. When the smoke sort of clears (we can't have it all clearing, or DC's censors would take Jimenez to task for male frontal nudity) we see somebody (who I assume is the same guy but his hair's now long and stringy instead of short and red, and he has a moustache - see what I mean about me not being able to follow this sort of thing well?) laughing diabolically and scaring the willies out of the others. His eyes are the same eerie blue lightning color. This is, clearly, our Bad Guy.

Cut to "Today," and Mark's assemblage of all the players in this multiparter. First we see Jay (and hear Joan) Garrick. Next panel we spy in on Jessie Quick and her date in his car. Next panel shows us two of the Kapitalist Kouriers - remember them from the Bill Loebs days? - making a delivery. Cut back to Jay, reaching for something in his closet. Cut back to Jessie and date, being roughed up by carjackers. Back to the KK guys, with Cassio speeding up the side of a building to make his delivery. Jay, fumbling (for a vase, at Joan's request). Jesse, mumbling (the formula, to chase down the car thieves). Cassio, bumbling (through the English language really adorably; Mark has this patter down... "Cake piece, Anatole! I move so swiftly as to defy gravity!"). Then... suddenly...

A yellow aura surrounds each of the three speedsters for just an instance, and the Speed Force... cuts out. Jay drops the vase. Jesse gets grazed by a bullet in her right shoulder. And Cassio - plummets to his death. Roll credits on Page 7. Cue Wally's intro on Page 8.

Wally and Linda are lunching al fresco and making catty remarks about other diners. Great scene, very fun dialogue. And a good way of giving the reader a breather after the tense (and relatively long) setup. Wally observes, "Good thing the storm cleared up. Bad lightning." He don't know the half of it (but that's interesting that he notices it). The talk turns to mothers (we learn how Wally's is doing, newly remarried) and marriage... uh oh. Like a few men I could (and won't) mention, Wally doesn't do Serious Talk very well. "Change the subject," his frantic mind keeps repeating. Lord knows why - I mean, it's pretty obvious that this is Wally & Linda's next step at this point. But even Linda's kind of reluctant (and, hmm, ambidextrous - like the way that fork moves from right hand to left... been meaning to ask Mark if Linda's left- or right-handed). Wally prays for a distraction. Be careful what you wish for.

Ninjas? Well, they're stealthy acolytes with faces hooded and masked, carrying some kind of light sabre thingies. Ninjas is close enough. Wally leaps towards them to protect Linda, who hasn't seen them but gives him credit for an original excuse not to talk about the Big M. Wally can't understand why she doesn't see the-- Ohhhh. "Because we're fighting in a whole different arena." Wally has some playmates on the Speed Force Level (as we see people and things suspended in time, done with a really nice, almost airbrushed-looking effect - good job by penciller, inker, colorist and separator here). He dispatches them with momentum and quick thinking, trying to figure out who they are and why they're picking on him. One flees but he traps the other one into real time, where he turns around to find Jay and Jessie (how'd they find him so fast without their own speed aiding them?).

Jessie's still understandably pissed at Wally for faking setting her up as his replacement Flash in "Terminal Velocity" (let it go already, Jess) and the loss of her (and Jay's) powers has added fuel to her fire. She opines that Wally's been siphoning (or hogging) the Speed Force off the others; Jay admits it's not without possibility, as none of them knows exactly the extent of Wally's new abilities. Wally responds there must be a way to restore their powers - "I didn't do it on purpose... so no harm, no foul, right?" Jay then sadly shows him the newspaper with the mention of Cassio's death.

New (or old) character enter. Jessie's dad, Johnny Quick, meets Iris West Allen for the first time. I'm amazed they've never met before, but if Mark says so I believe him. Iris has decided to break her silence on her knowledge of the future to warn Johnny that all the speedsters "are on the cusp of another major turning point." Johnny still doesn't believe the speed force "foofaraw" (bad omen, that), but promises to look out for the others even though his formula has never failed him... never failed until now. (And I hear the echoes of Max Mercury's voice saying "Nobody returns from the Speed Force"... never, never, never... until...)

Back to Wally - he and Jay have logically concluded that "energy can't be destroyed, only transformed, or moved around...", and he goes to get answers from the remaining "ninja" by dangling him off the roof. Crude, but effective. The acolyte gives him a name - Savitar. Calls himself the lord of speed. "It is he who has stripped the unworthy of their swiftness, transferring it instead into Thunderbolts. Agents like myself, agents ordered by Savitar to eliminate all true Students of the Lightning." Nicely cosmic, but the guy talks way too much, you just know something's going to happen to him. Sure enough, he suddenly ages rapidly and almost literally dries up and blows away.

Now that the speedsters have a name and a clue to go on, the clue being "students" which makes Wally and Jesse immediately think of Bart, aka Impulse. Linda, ahead of Wally for a change :), has already tried to call Bart and Max Mercury, his current tutor, but couldn't reach them). The quartet decides to hightail it to Bart and Max's current homebase of Manchester, Alabama.

Max ain't there, however - Savitar's got him, and it's payback time. Payback for what? For "diluting the pool" with additional speedsters (even though Max is hardly responsible for the existence of Wally, the KK folks, Johnny and Jesse, Jay... hmm...) He strings Max up (in an eerie parallel to the "trap" that Max sprung on Bart in the last IMPULSE) and beats him to within an inch of his life, giving him that inch (and assigning Max's death to one of his minions) because Max "showed me the face of God." In other words, Max is responsible for Savitar's acquaintance with the Speed Force. In retrospect, I suppose Max realizes this probably wasn't a good idea.

Wally, with Linda in his arms and Jay and Jesse (guess she's not that bothered by the bullet graze) sharing his speed force (thus slowing all of them down a bit - I don't know if I like this concept or not, it doesn't seem to work as well for speedsters as it's working for Captain Marvel). Jesse's still pissed; Wally apologizes again, and they concentrate on what's up with Bart. What's up is that Bart's cousin-from-the- future, XS, has arrived for a visit, and the last panel shows the two of them surrounded by Savitar's minions. Uh oh.

Brian seems to have mellowed a little in the letters column (I usually just skim lettercols anyway, but several online folks have mentioned that he's been a bit testy there, so I wanted to see for myself, and his responses seem civil enough to me here), and even provided readers with a teaser about the next multipart FLASH epic - "Meet another heroic speedster who arrives too late to help Wally and may just wind up being the Flash himself." Intriguing, and it's neat to see how far in advance Brian and Mark are planning this series, but for now I just want to concentrate on this multipart epic - which is continued first in the next FLASH (as IMPULSE #9 is the XS/Impulse "cute meet" which ends with the same panel as does this issue, only presumably from a different perspective), then Chapter 3's in IMPULSE #10, Chapter 4 in FLASH #110, 5 in IMPULSE #11 and the conclusion in FLASH #111. Lots of one's and zero's, should draw the binary online crowd. :)

Speculation has already begun as to which major speedster character will die at the end of this epic, as Mark and Brian have already confirmed will happen. The minor character is, of course, Cassio, whom we hardly knew, even back in the Loebs days when the KK was pretty much just comic relief anyway. I think we can safely eliminate Wally and Bart as possibilities. I personally eliminate Jesse as a contender for the Grim Reaper, because Mark wouldn't do that to me. :) Besides, Jesse seems to get grazed with bullets a lot lately, so I think we all want to cut her some more slack. And, she's still got a lot of growing to do. This leaves the older generation - Johnny Quick, Jay Garrick and Max Mercury.

I've eliminated Jay as a possibility. Despite the fate of the Rogues Gallery members in UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED, I don't think Mark wants to bid farewell to a member of the JSA. At least, not this member. Johnny is certainly in the running (pun intended), but I don't think he'll buy it, despite his disbelief in the Speed Force (the kind of thing that might get one killed in a narrative like this).

Because Max Mercury is, to me, the most logical choice from a literary, storytelling point of view. First of all, this is his story - he's the one who "made" Savitar. Secondly, we know from the previews that he's in bad shape for most of this story arc. He's been counting the days until Savitar's return - he knew Savitar was coming - in the pages of IMPULSE, trying to train Bart for the eventuality of his absence.

Secondly, I think we can agree that Max is Mark's creation, even though Mark cleverly tied his origin into many (probably most) other speedsters in comics history - Max didn't exist as such until Mark wrote him to exist. I give a creator a good deal of slack in determining the fate of his own characters.

And let us remember, as Mark told Max's origin, that Max's greatest dream has always been to become one with the Speed Force. He's tried to join with it permanently on more than one occasion, to come up short each time. His "death" would mean transcendence, in the same way Barry Allen's death did, in a way that Johnny Quick's death might not (in part because Johnny doesn't believe in the Speed Force as such - even if he were to suddenly see the light at the moment of death, it wouldn't have the emotional impact and satisfaction that Max's transcendence would).

In addition, this would change the whole tenor of IMPULSE, were Max to no longer serve as Bart's tutor. Speculation might abound as to his replacement, with even money going to either grandma Iris or Johnny and/or Jesse as likely candidates. (I like the idea of Jesse as permanent babysitter, because this would be a great avenue for her character to grow as well - and she has a lot of growing to do. She's also done the most academic research on superspeedsters, if we recall, and is thus in a good position to teach while learning more herself.)

In any case, it's probably too early to go on at any greater length about what's to come - I'm too busy enjoying the ride. Mark, it kicked. Big time. And folks, you know how happy I am to say things like this.

So, what did y'all think?

SUPERBOY #22
"Fire and Ice"
An Underworld Unleashed crossover

Writer: Karl Kesel
Penciller: Tom Grummett
Inker: Dan Davis
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Lettering by computer (Starkings/Comicraft)
Asst. Ed.: Chris Duffy
Head Honcho: Frank Pittarese

This Issue's Firesign Line: "...years later, and she still knocked me out!"

Here's what I thought...

Hey Mr. Grummett, each of Knockout's thighs is still bigger than her waist, which they shouldn't be, but at least her breasts look proportional in most shots - thanks. :)

SB's back from the future with his nifty yes-is-really-works Legionnaires ring, and flies into the house (at least it has a couple open panels on the roof), only to find - yes, Knockout's back to toy with her "pup" - heck, to move right in. Lucky Kid. Unlucky house.

Very unlucky plane, which freezes up over Honolulu Tower. It could only be the work of Killer Frost, whom Neron (in our one UU ref) promised to make more powerful, "But I'm just as I always am," so not only did Neron lie (what else is new) but it's kinda... well... pointless to even call this a UU crossover.

Cut back to Rex (can't we lose him already? The guy serves no purpose), Roxy and Dubbilex, Rex moaning about the damage to the house inflicted by Knockout. Least she seems willing to clean up after herself. Dubbilex tries to explain to SB that Knockout may not have changed all that much, by reminding him of the parable of the frog and the scorpion (I must have heard the "I can't help it, it's my nature" story with about 50 different animals by this point :) ) but doesn't get a chance to explain. Seems they're interrupted by... snow.

SB and Knockout go to check it out - she refuses to wear his Legion ring, so he tosses it to Roxy, who's a tad peeved but shows signs of actually getting more of a personality lately so I'm not complaining.

The other gal in the Kid's life, Tana Moon, is out in the snow and ice reporting on the freaky weather, as Killer Frost looks for more heat to absorb. SB and Knockout fight her. I tune out for a page or so; fights are always boring to me. When I tune back in, the Kid has come up with a good idea - he uses his tactile telekinesis to rupture a gas line, providing KF with lots of toasty warmth (which is all she ever asked for, let's face it, poor thing) so Knockout can dump a truck of liquid oxygen on top of her. Real nice - not. What a waste. Says Knockout, as they look for the body, "I think it just became a very cold day in hell." Not as cold as the hearts of the "heroes" who have just summarily dispatched a "villain" who made almost no threatening moves towards them. I was tuned out for most of the fight, as I said, but all she really did was plead with them to make her warm! This, to me, is not a crime worthy of being killed for. Bad form.

Worse form for Knockout to plant a smacker on SB, who seems to have had his tonsils sucked out a lot lately. He tries to reassure Tana by doing a little tonsil-sucking himself, but she's still pissed, and determined to find out what gives with Knockout.

Back at the house, KO is visited by Neron (oh yeah, two mild references, I forgot about this one... still, it's hardly worth calling this any sort of crossover, IMHO), who promises her everything and nothing, which she rejects. He's amused. I'm kinda... bored.

The last page is cool - Roxy arrives to take her police academy entrance exam. She just made it - thanks to SB's Legion ring. This was nice.

But overall, even with the swell panel layouts and nice art and competent writing, this title's still on my "wavering" list. I don't get enough of a sense of moral center about any of these people to make me care about what happens to them. Certainly dispatching a rather helpless KF (I mean, the damage she did was incidental and unintentional, as was repeatedly made clear) shows a real lack of moral forethought. I'm terribly, terribly iffy about getting another issue of this title.

So, what did y'all think?

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #75
"2-Timer"

Co-Writer: Tom Peyer
Co-Writer/Colorist: Tom McCraw
Penciller: Lee Moder
Inker: Ron Boyd
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Asst. Ed.: Mike McAvennie
Head Honcho: KC Carlson

This Issue's Firesign Line: "Oh my God, it's me! I don't look at all well! I'm dead!"

Here's what I thought...

Well, for starters, XS is my favorite Legionnaire, so I was looking way forward to this. And Peyer, McCraw and co. didn't disappoint (not even Moder, whose pencils do seem to work a little better on Jenni's more angular face, and who draws old people very well).

We see Jenni flowing against the timestream, trying to find her calmness and center again - so she calls up her memory of Cos telling her how she's going to be a great Legionnaire, and this does the trick. A really nice moment, and perhaps even a bit of foreshadowing re: her relationship with Rokk, who knows? Once she's swimming with the time tide instead of against it, she spots an amorphous shape "ahead" and uses her flight ring to direct herself towards it. Inside the shape are Chronos and a child named Lori Morning - I have the feeling I'm supposed to know who Lori is in relation to preboot stuff, but I'm sure others have already commented on this, so onward.

Chronos transports the three of them back to 1995 and his San Clemente lab; she's speaking Interlac (thank goodness in short sentences that were pretty easy to "translate" even without the guide in the back) but more often she sits there quietly - taking everything in. That's the thing about speedsters, they pick things up fast. I fully expect XS to be speaking perfect 20th century English by IMPULSE #9. :)

Chronos wants to use whatever method XS had of getting into the timestream to "end [his] curse," about which more anon. Lori's dad Ronald enters, takes a look at his daughter and would probably pale if McCraw could show that in one panel. Lori has apparently been "mutilated," although we certainly can't see how. She's asked to leave the room, and drags XS out with her, while the men argue and give necessary exposition and the by-now-mandatory Underworld Unleashed tie-in/mention. Neron's bargain with Chronos was to increase his power in exchange for smashing the Atom, but of course didn't mention the teensy drawback - use of his abilities ages Chronos considerably. Ron makes some more of other and clutches a big orange tube; Chronos makes some move or other and presumably kills Ron. Or something. It's not clear yet, because...

We've cut back to Lori and XS. The latter has just revealed her power to the former, who lets us know that the "mutilation" Chronos has performed on her has slightly aged her, which was what she wanted. She still looks pretty kid-like to me. They're still talking when they hear faint cries for help from the next room. XS catches on, even though she still doesn't understand Lori's English, and pounds on the wall superfast until it crumbles, revealing - five elderly gentlemen. Once Lori's classmates. Lori's starting to catch on to Chronos' plan; XS is starting to catch the name, which she seems to recognize.

Meanwhile, Brainy's lost in the timestream. He followed XS's trail, which of course blipped out, and he's perplexed. He figures the speed force knocked XS out in the first place - guess he's read up on the speed force from Iris West's book. :)

Meanwhile (again), Rond Vidar (yep yep yep, I knew the name, I looked him up on the preboot Legion Who's Who, I'm hip now) of the Time Institute notices some weird blippage, and alerts Cos, who calls the others at HQ to help shut down the time disturbance, or they'll have even more explaining to do.

Here's where it gets confusing, and I almost used the oft-quoted Firesign line "How can you be in two places at once when you're not anywhere at all?" in my intro, because Chronos does indeed pop up in the future and the present/past at the same time - the Legionnaires see him with an even older Lori, while XS "simultaneously" views him killing Lori's dad. (I say "simultaneously" because Lori is obviously older in the top three parallel panels, and she refers to Chronos killing her father in the past, as it's happening in the "present" in the lower three panels, and yes, time paradoxes do give me a headache thank you very much.)

The next page switches parallel panels, as Chronos drops Ron and goes for XS (and presumably her time machine) up top, and (presumably) drops Lori in an attempt to go for Brainy's time machine at the bottom. We switch again, as we see he's created rubble at Legion HQ up top and aged XS at bottom. Each Lori, the younger (bottom) and older (top) yells at a Legionnaire, using a cute nickname but still not communicating 'cause she can't speak Interlac, to get Chronos' glove - "That's where his aging power is!" She makes herself understood on the following page, via Imra's telepathy up top and XS's quick understanding at bottom. And on the next page, we see one Chronos, in two places at once, as stolen time energy leaks out both ends of his glove...

And parts of both structures (the San Clemente lab at bottom, Legion HQ at top) crumble with age, as the inhabitants scramble to safety. Lori the Younger advises XS to return for the glove, now that Chronos is unconscious. This precipitates two of the nicest pages I've seen of XS so far, and illustrates perfectly why I like her so much. She takes the glove apart at superspeed, figures out how it works, puts it back together and then - instead of pointing it at herself to de-age back to normal - rushes towards Lori's schoolmates to return them to their former selves before turning the glove back on herself. Wonderful, wonderful touches here.

Chronos then reappears from somewhere in the timestream, and we know it's a different Chronos than the one we just saw lying there, because he sees himself lying there too. He swipes Lori and blinks out (apparently there's more of him where he came from, in the next L*), as XS ponders her next move. Fortunately, she overhears a familiar name - Wally West. Presumably she's off to find him. Why she detours from San Clemente through Manchester, Alabama first (at least that's my guess, since we already know from FLASH that she and Wally haven't yet met) only Mark Waid knows. :)

This was lots of fun - it gave my favorite Legionnaire a good forum to shine, I'm a sucker for the parallel panel stuff, and just because I said that time paradoxes give me a headache doesn't mean I don't love them.

So, what did y'all think?

THE LAST AVENGERS STORY
A Marvel Alterniverse title
Book 1 of 2

Writer: Peter David
Artist: Ariel Olivetti
Letterer: Jim Novak
Logo: Todd Klein
Ass. Ed.: Nancy Poletti
Editor: Marcus McLaurin
Head Honcho: Carl Potts

This Issue's Firesign Line: "And did you come to her defense in those dark days, lad?"

Here's what I thought...

I thought I wasn't going to review this, because I picked it up late (my local store didn't carry it), I chose not to read Peter's plot synopsis of it in CBG and, most importantly, I'm not familiar enough with the Marvel Universe to be able to afford the best viewpoint, most likely (albeit that my husband, an old MMMS member, is trying to tutor me to get up to speed here). However, Donald MacPherson was so sweet in asking me to do this, I couldn't refuse. After all, who knows when I'll need a favor from the government of New Brunswick, Canada? :)

This story takes place in the future - actually, two futures. The first two pages concern the theft of a certain tome from a time capsule. The caption on the top of page 3 reads "Two years later," which confused me (you'll see why later), but then time paradoxes always confuse me; that's why I love them so much. Anyway, the "two years later" scene concerns the Avengers' Shoreham, LI headquarters - better the property should be leased to them than made into a nuclear plant (would 'twere and all that). And our narrator makes some excellent observations about heroes being reactive for the most part, where villains are proactive. Even though, as I recall, heroes always seem to appear before their "corresponding" villains, once the cycle starts it does always seem like the heroes' job is to thwart rather than prevent. The villain sets the piece in motion - just like he does here with the theft of the tome.

[Addendum: Someone later corrected me that the book wasn't stolen two years earlier, but put there. This lessens my confusion, but only minimally.]

So the Avengers are sitting around playing cards, only these are, like, grim & gritty Future Avengers - the muscle man Sequoia, the water-summoning High Tide, the telepathic Gestalt and telekinetic Super-Ego. Too darn much testosterone for this reader, you betcha. :) They argue about cards and cheating, while the villain... drops a bomb on the place.

Poof. Gone. No more future-type Avengers. Two-page spread of mushroom cloud. Blowed up real good.

Cut back to some kind of media center, where someone has created and is running the file "The Last Avengers Story".

Cut to an older, greyer, larger Henry Pym, trying to find a cure for his ex-wife Janet Van Dyne's problem - the Wasp, at her large size, has been shrinking consistently every year. No cure yet. They're set upon at the front door by nosy reporters, wanting to know Hank's response to the Shoreham HQ being blown away. No comment, and Jan's bio-stings take out Hank's chair during her tantrum. Our narrator with the white lettering on maroon captions now introduces himself - he's Ultron 59, and apparently he's Hank's son. Or at least his creation.

U-59 warns Hank "The final battle is at hand," and he should gather "the real Avengers" to fight it as a team, or he'll take them out individually. Hank and Janet cash in her liquid assets and start the search for friends and colleagues to gather together, as U-59 reports to his boss, Kang. And here's where we found out that Kang, a master of time and space, raided a time bunker "a hundred years hence" where he "originally" DISCOVERED the book "The Last Avengers Story", then apparently brought it back to the present time (or the present time minus two years... as I say, I'm a bit unsure on this paradox) to plan his attack. After all, if you have the script and know how it's going to turn out, what moves your foes will make before they even make them, victory is a piece of cake, yes? So assured, Kang goes off to greet Oddball, "possessed of the ability to induce any psychological disorder merely through touch," whom he seems not to like very much. U-59 doesn't like him either, but his mechanical arm is cut off in mid-Oddball-chock by the Grim Reaper. Thus gather the villains, snarling and sniping.

We see Kang's video version of the story dissolve into Hank and Janet investigating the bombed-out HQ site to search for still-usable weapons. They are met there by Cannonball and the Human Torch. Jan spies Hercules' mace, which induces a flashback to the Asgardian and Olympian war when the weather when nuts and whence the Hulk returned... changed.

Back in the present, we meet two Avengers offspring, or at least they say they are - Hotshot, the Black Knight's son, and Bombshell, Hercules' daughter. One wonders who their mothers are. We know that Marissa is the daughter of Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters, but Torch informs Jan (us) that she's not the fighting type. Another FF offspring, though, the daughter of She-Hulk and Wyatt Wingfoot, name of Jessica, definitely is. We see her single-handedly take down the Washington Square Sniper, and the arch along with him. (Aww, Peter, the Arch? I really like that arch...) Yep, Jessie really takes after Mom.

She and Hank take off in his plane, and Hank talks about contacting Reed Richards - I'm not about to give away any of this page, but it was probably the one that left the biggest lump in my throat. Hank reminisces a little more, then they come to the house of Hawkeye and Mockingbird. Bobbi wants nothing to do with this fight. She has good reason, as she recalls for Jessie (who wasn't there) the great conflict that ultimately cost Hawkeye his sight - the fight between Wonder Man and a now-evil Hulk. Who literally ripped Tigra apart. Brutal, brutal stuff. Hulk finally smash WM's ionized exterior, setting off a blinding chain reaction. Second mushroom cloud of the issue.

Jessie and Hank walk away, the latter giving us a little more background on Captain America aka former President Rogers. He's come to a conclusion; they're gonna need more help. They have to find the Vision.

In the course of this book, Peter, speaking through Hank, notes of our world of superhero comics that "somewhere along the way, the [concept of superheroes] became something... wrong. Something dark, perverse... grim and gritty. I think that's when we all decided we wanted out." That's certainly influenced my buying choices too. So, what's the difference between your now-standard grim-and-gritty and something like this book?

Well, there is one. This isn't a snarling action story as much as it is high tragedy. The difference between g&g and tragedy, besides the not-coincidental fact that the latter usually inspires far better writing, is that it's much more introspective. The level of violence may be the same, in fact it may be worse, but it's always of higher consequence and weighs much harder on the conscience. This progression from g&g to tragedy in modern superhero comics (and by now it's happened enough, although still primarily in alternate, "pretend" stories, that it's more than a trend) is fairly logical - you get enough random killings, sooner or later you're bound to find even your characters questioning the senselessness of it all. One could (and does) wish for more lighter fare to balance out the depression of it all, but the formula seems to be to take the heroes into the depths so as to raise them up again. And the depths just get murkier, and less clear-cut. As I say, it makes for much better writing, which is a good sign, but I can't help wishing for a few more rays of sunshine here and there...

But I digress. :) Didn't care for Olivetti's painted art at first, but it grew on me, and it fits the story nicely. Nice panel layouts; well placed captions. The book cries for resolution, so there's no way I'm not getting #2.

So, assuming most of you have indeed read the book by now, what did y'all think?

Steve Rogers - CAPTAIN AMERICA #446
"The Devil You Know"
Operation Rebirth story arc, Chapter 2

Writer: Mark Waid
Penciller: Ron Garney
Inker: Denis Rodier
Colorist: John Kalicz (Color seps by Malibu)
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Head Honcho: Mark Gruenwald

This Issue's Firesign Line: "Stuck a Fuhrer in our back and called it Schicklegruber!"

Here's what I thought...

It's about as tricky to make Hitler the villain of a comic book as it is to make it... say, the devil. I mean, Hitler's such an easy fall-back. You have to write it just right to avoid all the usual cliches.

Of course, the thing of it is, sooner or later you can't really avoid bringing up Hitler in a Captain America book (as opposed to those of us who try to strenuously avoid mentioning Der Fuhrer online, in deference to the well-known rule about Hitler being one of the few subjects that automatically degenerates an otherwise intelligent thread). Cap was born to fight Nazis, pretty much. So, in order to not trip yourself up too much when you're doing this, you have to give the reader enough other things to think about, while making Hitler himself a kind of deus (or should that be satanus?) ex machina, a means to an end - almost a shorthand, a background to the ideas that are of primary importance.

And the newly-awakened Steve Rogers has a lot of things to think about here. Sharon Carter, his erstwhile love, has not only teamed up with the Red Skull, his mortal enemy, and recruited him into this strange trio to stop a yet-unexplained Greater Threat (and very nicely done caption/art placement at the bottom of page 1), but she's still being real bitchy with no explanation why. All (well, much) is slowly revealed...

First of all, the greater threat - yes, it has to do with Hitler. But more than that, it has to do with the Cosmic Cube. (Thanks ever so to my beloved husband, former member of the Merry Marvel Marching Society, for explaining all this to my relatively unfamiliar-with-Marvel-machinations brain...) The Skull explains how They (okay, he) Saved Hitler's Brain (well, more specifically, his mind/consciousness) and, with the help of some A.I.M. folks, inserted it into a re-energized Cube, which of course has the potential to change reality at the behest of whoever controls it. Presumably, now it's being controlled from the evil consciousness within.

This doesn't sit well with Cap, and Mark delights us again with one of his trademarks, the Impetuous, Rush-Into-Action, Headstrong Hero. Nothing like teamwork, Cap - and this is nothing like teamwork. 'Course, it's hard to team up when your adversary/teammate only has his mind on getting the Hilterized cube for himself. The trio's plan of defeating the Kubekult and thwarting the threat backfires as the bad guys get away. All but one, whom Sharon interrogates (as the Skull does make some good points to Rogers about his too-gung-ho behavior), revealing that she once worked undercover as One Of Them.

Back on the plane, as our protagonists fly off to the secret government facility upstate where the cube is due to be "spiked" up to its full power, Sharon fills Steve in on the backstory, on how she came to be who, and how, she is now. At least she no longer seems to blame Steve for what happened to her. Gal's been through a lot of changes. Few of them positive. Most of which taught her there's no going back. "I learned a lot more about America from outside than I ever did from the inside. Only an idiot trusts his country enough to give them his all." Present company sort-of-but-not-really excepted. Overall, Sharon doesn't hold out much hope for her future, and prefers to concentrate on the present plan...

The trio touches down and Steve tries to reason with the troops guarding the complex. Understandably, they believe him dead. The fact that he's paired with the Skull doesn't do much to allay their skepticism. He manages to battle them off as Sharon and the Skull make it past the guards and into the complex. (The Skull almost offs a guy, but Cap's shield makes it clear there will be no killing in this scene, and I'm glad of it.) Cap follows, but finds his way blocked by General Chapman.

At tihs point one wonders how much the folks guarding the government installation actually know about the Kubekult. I mean, how would the Kult get past them and into the complex unless they were somehow in collusion in the first place? They may be "just doing their job," but that sounds awfully similar to "just following orders," the discredited Nuremberg Defense. And enough hints are dropped, especially by Sharon, that I have to wonder about other alliances besides Cap and the Skull.

In any case, no pasaran, say the General. Rogers tries to assure him that he must get past to stop the menace. The general says he can't, that he's "under orders from the President himself to protect this base from any further intrusion." (Why? "Further?" Hmm...) He reminds Cap that "as soldiers, we place duty above all else. I cannot disregard a direct order... you make one move, you can consider yourself a traitor to your country. Understood?"

Cap understands and, after bowing his head angrily for a couple pensive panels, makes his decision - a decision which will cost him dearly, either way (his conscience and all he's ever been taught, his loyalties, his sense of doing the right thing) - he knocks the general flat with the shield, and charges in.

And he's too late. Sharon may never understand, as we do, why he hesitated, but things do not look good. The cube is powered up, the Kult members look very Aryan and healthy, and the American troops are zombified and ready to kill. Uh oh. Cap goes for the cube, only to find it - and Sharon - missing. Double uh-oh.

I've said it before, but I can't praise Mark Waid's panel layout direction enough. Very dynamic, always gets the story told with the maximum eye-candy impact, and when it's nicely complemented by good art, inks and colors (as it is here) it makes for a terrific read. I still admit to being a little lost in the Marvel Universe, but I think Mark makes the book accessible enough (with good background exposition in service of the story) for newcomers to the Marvel Universe to follow without too many problems. This continues at a breakneck pace, and I'm curious as to both the external and internal resolutions. I'm in for the full ride on this one.

So, what did y'all think?

THE BOOKS OF MAGIC #19
"Really-Pretend"
Playgrounds, Part 5

Writer: John Ney Rieber
Artist: Peter Gross
Colorist: Sherilyn van Valkenburgh
Lettering by Computer: Starkings/Comicraft
Editor: Julie Rottenberg
Consultant: Neil Gaiman

This Issue's Firesign Line: "Before the Beginning, there was this Turtle."

Here's what I thought...

We open in 2013 on Alternate (Older) Timothy As Dragon, playing Go Fish with his dragon buddies and a snake in the backroom of the Lucky Day. Not to mention Tim's turtle, in some danger of becoming non-mock soup. Fortunately, the Angel Araquel's lover Khara and daughter show up in the pawn shop just in time. The girl sweetly thanks AlterTim for releasing them from bondage, and asks them to please take them to Araquel so they can kick some demon butt. As if any kindhearted really-pretend dragon could refuse this cherub.

Cut back (or ahead) to 1995, where Araquel himself comes to look for Tim at Ravenknoll - Tim's not there, and the woman trying to tend the garden outside (I'm sorry, I don't remember her name) suggests he go after the demon who's duped 'em all. Araquel's cloth drapes over his otherwise naked form in such a way that we can't see if he grows any balls, but he's certainly het up enough by the Daughter of Eve's speech.

Meanwhile in Hell, Love is in bloom. All over the place. This is so way cool. Kissy-kissy and hearts dancing and Crimple sprouting roses just like the Blue Meanie at the end of Yellow Submarine and it's just too wonderfully adorable, and I sighed a lot. Vuall's still trying to get at Crimple, who's... who's grown wings! Sigh. Vuall edges closer to the unsuspecting Crimple as Tim and Molly discuss plans. Fortunately, Molly's more alert than Tim, who then suggests they kiss a little bit more and see where that gets them. Works for me.

Cut to the Babel Auditorium, where Tanger and Happy the Golem refuse to demonstrate the wonders of Happy Crisps for Barbatos' big sales pitch. Things aren't going well. Tanger pretty much shows the B-man up in front of the assembled demons. He starts spouting his philosophy, based on having lived among humans, when suddenly this big purple dinosaur looking demon rushes in shouting the word "LOVE!"

O MY GOD, IT'S BARNEY!!! AAIIIEEEEE!

Yep, love is a'knockin' at the auditorium door, sending the demons into quite the panic. Barbatos tries to calm them - no dice. Tanger spouts a few words about what an Opener in love is capable of. We cut over to a magnificent hall, Tim, Molly, a flying Crimple and a beflowered coffin containing the real Vuall, now transformed into a beautiful, smiling woman. Tim and Molly opt not to disturb her rest, and ascend the spiral staircase, the flying Crimple beyhind them lugging the book of horrid fairy tales (uh oh).

His audience departed, Barbatos is pissed. He just about drops his Happy Crisps when Araquel appears, even more pissed. It seems their bargain is off, since Barbatos didn't keep his appointment. And Araquel is just about to run the demon through, when Tanger reminds him that gutting Barbatos would probably make Araquel a demon himself, and he's got enough tsuris as is. Good thing he's still on the up and up, because AlterTim, still altered as the Dragon, then shows up and informs him Khara and the kid are fine and waiting for him at his apartment. He's off like a shot, and who can blame him?

Barbatos recognizes the Dragon and tries to tempt him, but Happy clamps a clay hand over his mouth, as Tanger starts to question the Dragon. The Dragon has seemingly just promised to set things aright, when Tim, Molly and Crimple come in through the doors. Crimple, overjoyed at the sight of Tanger, drops the perverted fairy book, and Tim and Molly exchange their tales of the tales. Tanger and Crimple greet, and whaddaya know? John was right, as we heard it here first - they are gay! Happy, too. No, wait, I didn't mean Happy was gay, I meant Tanger and Crimple are gay and happy and... well, you know what I mean. I mean "awww"...

Molly and Tim greet the Dragon, as Barbatos manages to squirm out of Happy's clutches and reach for the Book, at the same time creating funnels to suck the entire company (with the possible exception of T&C) inward and downward, for "one last bedtime story..." It will be called The Knight, The Dragon and The Maiden. It ought to have a happy ending.

I can't thank John enough for his earlier posts herein explaining something of what an Opener is, letting us in on his thinking of Tim's magic-as-you-go method. This makes itself clearer and clearer the more we get into the book, and it's quite a delight. Nice job by all concerned, and I know I missed tons of stuff but that's what these discussions are for.

So, what did y'all think?