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Pen-Elayne For Your Thoughts - Week of April 7-13, 1996
This week's digest:
Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... I've been having an interesting discussion with a collaborator on a superhero comic series we're planning. I've told him that I want at least one protagonist to be religious (and to spend a bit of time reconciling her beliefs with her powers), because - although I don't happen to care for religion myself - I think this subject is very under-explored in the genre, especially considering how many comics readers consider religious beliefs a major part of their lives. I understand the reasoning behind this - the powers that be are often reluctant to have creative teams express ANY opinion about religion one way or another for fear of "offending" anybody, and in this over- litigous and hypersensitive day and age it's often hard to figure out WHAT will and won't offend people. But Mark Waid has been writing and reading comics long enough to know the rules, and I think he handles the issues involved with deft sincerity. Max has decided that it might be a good idea for Bart to explore the concepts of faith and God. As they speed through Manchester, passing churches and synagogues and road barriers and manholes (I love this, Max is still throwing obstacles at Bart; the jigsaw puzzle scene was precious, especially the wonderful look on Bart's face when confronted with the frigate assembly kit pieces), Max tries to explain a little about divine forces, but Bart's mystified ("You're trying to make my head hurt again. This is a trick."). Oh, and incidentally, Mark tosses in a hint for all those who persist in believing the Speed Force is heaven. It's not, okay? Heaven is heaven. And faith? Well, faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to. That's from MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET. I love that movie. We then rejoin PARTY OF FIVE, already in progress. Well, more like Party of Three, actually, as we look in on Bart's friend Carol, her older brother Bobby, and their younger sister Casey, orphaned by a drunk driver and struggling to make ends meet. They're barely getting by on Bobby's salary from the local university... Which happens to be exhibiting a religious artifact called the Eye of God, which supposedly contains the power to protect its possessor from evil. It's coveted by... the born-again, red-cassocked evil Lord Manny (I love this character!), who has hired - under duress - the villain- turned... well, turned somewhat less villainous, name of James Jesse, aka the Trickster (whom Mark wrote so beautifully in UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED, cue the page 12 reference panel). He checks into the Hotel Manchester (under the name Lechter Hannibal, hee hee), scams the bellhop (great bit) and starts planning the cadge. Of course, another person has set sights on the Eye... White Lightning (remember her?), who's apparently - if I'm not misreading page 4 - twins. Ooh, that's interesting. [Yes, a whole bunch of people instantly reminded me the other woman is her mother. Sieve-Brain strikes again...] With all this going on, you can bet it's not a single-issue story. Some really terrific bits with Jesse - the badly-accented South American monk disguise, the reaction to Bobby's begging the dean not to fire him, the lack of surprise at White Lightning's appearance, and the revelation that he's now in possession of the late Weather Wizard's wand and putting it to good distractive use. Fun dumb-Bart scene with the "ghost" too. Williams fills in nicely (wish someone had told the folks in charge of producing the cover), even down to Bart's oversized shoes, and I'm sure Faucher's inks help add to the comfort level here. McCraw's pallette is, as ever, gorgeous, and the more of Eliopoulos' lettering I see the more I like. I still tend to like the single-issue stories best (my favorites so far are #12, 13 and 17) but Mark's juggling a lot of interwoven subplots here so I'm not complaining. Me, complain? About IMPULSE? Please. Have more faith in me than that. So, what did y'all think? THE RAY #24 Writer: Christopher Priest Here's what I thought... Priest continues to tie up loose ends while infuriating my sieve-like brain at the same time. He's good that way. This issue serves mainly to reintroduce a character we haven't seen since the Ray/Dinah time journey - the gal from the future who helped them get back home or something... damn, I can't remember details (like her name)... Anyway, I remember that I really liked her and was hoping she'd reappear somewhere along the line, so I'm tickled that Priest has brought her back - to the present time. Where, naturally, she knows everything that's going on, down to the exact moment Ray will buy Joshua an ice cream cone. This woman is thorough! She decides to clean up the dangling hippie plot device (bye, Brett and Leslie, and congratulations on =snif= your pregnancy, Leslie!); stir up trouble with Jazz by tipping her over the edge even more this time with jealousy (of course, she knows what's going to happen - and we don't - which could mean a number of things, including that she's actually encouraged the relationship by interfering); and take up residence in Ray's old apartment, waiting for him to return and musing about their very sultry kiss. Oh, and did I mention she slashes Vandal Savage in the neck? Yep, right after she's talked Vandal into firing Ray. Oboy. This is such a way-cool device, and a great fantasy - to be able to travel into the past knowing everything that's going to happen and pretty much use that knowledge to mess with people to your own advantage. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out. Meanwhile, Ray, having finally disposed of Death Duck for once and all, returns to Evergreen where he, Nadine and Josh are put up in Sarah's house (Nadine's having been destroyed last issue) and, as Sarah puts Josh to bed, Ray and Mom start to have one of those heart-to-hearts. She's put the pieces together re: Ray and Josh - she knows they're both Happy's sons. And Ray's just about to tell her that he's her son too, not a product of an extramarital fling... when he realizes something and takes off to test his guess. And Priest sticks it to us again. Because he always puts in hints like this, and he always buries them, and then when we say "But wait, how could you allow for this to happen when we've already seen that--" he goes, "Nuh-UH, look again, it's all there, I set this up ages ago but you just didn't know it until now." GAH! This is why he's Da Man. And he provides us with a perfectly logical explanation, via Ray figuring it out as well, of how Happy Terrill, the GA Ray, can still be alive. Remember, Priest is the founder of the Put 'Em On A Bus school. He doesn't, as a rule, kill characters. Especially not essential ones. So most of us were wondering how he would bring Happy back. Nicely done. And boy, does Happy look pissed. Does this mean we won't get to see One Big Happy Family next issue? Armstrong's art continues to be strong in most places, especially on our Visitor from the Future (really lovely) and Ray's flying scenes, but lousy on facial expressions, especially in far shots (Ray's yawn on page 7, panel 2 was really, really bad). Overall, though, I was very pleased. This is one of DC's strongest titles, IMHO, and I hope it's around for a long time to come. So, what did y'all think? NEW GODS #8 Writer: Rachel Pollack Here's what I thought... Very nice scene-setter, leading into the page 2 splash of Orion at the heart of the conflict. As he has always been. NEW GODS has ever been an examination of Orion battling himself - without the essential understanding that he is the intended focus of the book, I think people miss the point. And the nobility and salvation of Orion lies in the fact that he won't give in to his baser instincts, no matter how tempting, no matter how much more powerful they make him. I think Rachel captures this inner struggle very well in the first scene. I'm even starting to like Lightray a bit - which is to say, I think he's a little less out-of-character than I did a few issues ago. Lightray has always believed in his essential rightness and goodness, and had trouble accepting others' (especially Orion's) views on how things should be done. Even in his madness, this trait is starting to shine through. I still can't picture him calling Orion "Darkboy," but I think it's a really funny line so I won't nitpick. Meanwhile, in the asylum built by Atinai and maintained by his own power, Izaya has visions, as he relives his wife Avia's death at the hands of... Darkseid? No, it was Steppenwolf, he's sure of it. Then Darkseid demands the infant Scott, now a young child... but wait, that didn't happen that way either... Instead of immediately saying, "Well, this is all bullshit, I know these illusions are trying to drive me insane" (which he kinda does acknowledge eventually), he lashes out at everything around him, which serves two purposes - it gives those folks who didn't read the original Kirby NEW GODS series some needed exposition, and it fulfills K'Zander's prophecy that Highfather would destroy his family and the Source Wall. "And I have done it. Only-- not in reality. I did it here. In the asylum." Psych! The revelation accomplished, Izaya allows Darkseid's megabeams to pull him back to reality (and boy, does he look awful!) - and the focus shifts right away back to Orion (nicely done), who finds himself once again a pawn in the battle of words and concepts between Darkseid ("Use the Source of the Beast, Luke" - no, I'm just kidding, he doesn't say "Luke," don't y'all send me letters now) and Highfather ("You made me give my child away. Avia's child!"). And proves once again that the best warrior knows when not to fight, as he opens himself completely to Izaya's judgement in order to restore Highfather's sanity. Beautiful scene. Of course, Orion's only allowed a moment's peace before Darkseid's confession that he knew all along that patricide within the source was the key to defiling it - and the cycle of guilt starts again. However, things are a bit more complicated - even Darkseid didn't count on the poison's pull on S'ivaa the Destroyer, who may wipe everything out by issue 12. Thank goodness Zachary is no Luke Ross - he's stuck with Atinai's slutty clothing, but does his best not to objectify her (two far shots in silhouette, one full-figure, one upper torso and one medium close-up). Some of his characters' poses look a bit peculiar, though. Very twisty and stuff. Not bad, and I even get more male butt shots than I was expecting, but... I can't put my finger on it. It's almost like Zachary's paying tribute to Kirby but something's... off. Curious what others think of his art here. Trish's colors accentuate the turmoil going on through New Genesis, and that page 19 panel is beautiful. Paul Kupperberg, slated to take over editorial on the title next issue (which will also feature pencils by Keith Giffen), gives a very unconvincing explanation in the letters column for why a past cover showed a battle between Orion and Lightray when none took place in the issue itself, but in the following issue. "I took it to be a symbolic representation..." Uh, yeah, sure Paul... :) Kupps does, however, do a really nice intro saluting Kirby on the eve of taking over as editor on all the Fourth World-related titles (and adding new mythos of his own as writer on TAKION). His "reign" should prove interesting. So, what did y'all think? SUPERGIRL ANNUAL #1 Quick! Run fast! Run far! It's a DC 1996 Annual! :) Credits out of the way first: "The Surrogate" "The Legend Lives On" "Shootout at Ice Flats" The whole shebang: Here's what I thought... Our first look at this year's annuals, wherein "Earth is dead. Those who might have called it home are long scattered to the endless stars. But in that scattering, on a thousand different worlds, by a thousand different ways... Earth's greatest legends live on." Can we get a little more Terracentric, please? Here's to Manifest Destiny! Civilization, ho! Gad, no wonder people are griping about This Year's Theme... Anyway, I could have done without the first and third stories. "The Surrogate" was long on explanations and obviousness, and I never really got a sense of high drama out of The Inevitable Triumph Over Evil. It seemed pretty standard - Uplifting 101. "Shootout" was cute in places, but we're already dealing with Supergirl and a far future - throwing a Western motif in there as well just seemed like overkill. (And if Ice Flats is such a family town, can't the sheriff cover her lower half and midriff any better? Although I'll allow that this story has the funniest sound effect I've seen in awhile - "Peench!") But I found the Kesels' story, the reason we got the book, appropriately creepy. The Giordano/Perez art is, I'm afraid, fairly exploitative and bordering on badgirl. No self-respecting band of space pirates would be caught that barely dressed with thongs up their butts. But the art aside - and it takes a lot to cast it aside, I generally like these gentlemen's work - the implications of the story did interest me. The all-female crew discovers one of their number dead from unknown causes, and wind up suspecting each other of treason. By the end of the drama, they're all dead. And there's a surprise ending. This is one of those tales that stayed with me for quite awhile afterwards. Good character development, nice throwaway stuff in homage to the theme (it being so far in the future, a number of details of the Superman family's lives have gotten a tad mixed up here and there), and a gripping plot. A few less butt, crotch and breast shots and I would have been very happy. So, what did y'all think? LEGIONNAIRES #37 Co-Plotter/Scripter: Roger Stern Here's what I thought... Before I get into plot and such, can I just say something about the coloring? I mean, yeah, find something a hundred other people haven't already mentioned about McCraw. I'm sure someone on RAC.dc.lsh has even commented about the neat technique on the cover beneath the ISBN (which, frankly, surprised me, as I thought bar code boxes really had to be monocolor so as not to confuse scanners). But I also wanted to mention the shading on the faces, which I think serves to accomplish more in the way of expressiveness than even Carani's inking (which looks a bit off here and there, with a few too many extraneous parallel lines that don't really look like they belong). The changes in background color during the scene shifts also help a lot in setting the mood - the impossibly blue sky in the VR workout, the eerie green cloudy dome surrounding Brande's Martian hideout, the drab grey prison walls, the artificial red background and dappled brown-and-white floors of the large memorial hall, the confining yet relaxed light orange of the cafeteria (and how that orange turns subtly darker, angrier, after a tense moment)... Obviously I could go on. So, Tom, you paying for dinner this evening? :) Instead of a roll call this issue, we're given an expository newscast wherein a lot of the same questions are raised as have been bandied about on this newsgroup. Who stays, who goes? What's with the tail on Kinetix? Andy's back? Gim lacks self-confidence? Can Brainy stay out of trouble? What's the status of Jan and Jo? And hey, how about those plucky kids in the Espionage Squad? Oh, and then there's the matter of Valor, who visits new Earthgov pres Brande in his Martian hideaway and muses about his past and future. Interesting revelation that stasis didn't entirely incapacitate Valor insofar as his awareness of outside reality - Steve (a pre-boot kinda guy) tells me this is in keeping with what was previously established, and I like it. Nice character building with XS (yay!), Ayla and Lu in VR workout - Jenni's ebullience is infectious, and they even managed to throw in Gorilla Grodd! Best exchange of the issue - Lu: "Were there lots of talking gorillas on Earth in your granddad's time?" Jenni: "Not too many. I think Grandpa Barry knew them all personally." BWAAAHAHA! We also see how much the Legion has come to mean to these young ladies, and how much they mean to each other. I hope we see many, many more scenes like this one, it was fun and touching and lovely. Marla Latham checks up on the Legion founders, aided by Gim and Lyle, who have been drafting a constitution. Very proactive! Rokk also announces that he and Imra are going on a little trip to allay bad feelings still remaining after the trumped-up Braal/Titan war. Decision #2 comes in the form of Andromeda leaving the Legion. =snif= Brainy's devastated, and of course acts like an idiot. Nice way for her to remember you, nimrod. Zoe, Vi and Gim question the Empress, fortunately in more suitable attire this issue (including a straitjacket), about the Emerald Eye. She says all she knows is that it's a myth. ("A what?" "Myth! Myth!" "Yeth?" sorry, one too many Muppet movies...) Who knows if she's telling the truth, she is a rather sleazy sort. In any case, I'm betting she doesn't know anything more, and so are our Legionnaires, as Gim promises Zoe they'll look for the Eye together, and Vi stews icily. Hmm, which one is the green-eyed monster here? (I love the Zoe-floating bit, by the way.) Next? Gates - well, we all knew he'd want to go home. Surprise! His broods ain't gonna let him. He stays in the legion to show his "duty to the greater all," and 'ports angrily out of his quarters muttering "What jingoistic drivel!" (my second favorite line of the issue). He chats with Thom as we see the memorial statue of Andromeda being dismantled (hey Athramites, keep that equipment around, I'm sure Tinya's next), and Tom sighs that *his* situation is kind of the reverse - Xanthu wants him back, but he'd rather stay. That's one leaving, one staying against his will, and one up in the air so far. And two joining, as Jan picks out the code name "Element Lad" ("It suits you" notes Vi, obviously a preboot fan) and helps Jo put some color into his new outfit - before the latter doubles up in birt-- uh, pangs. Yeah, that's it. Just an ordinary stomach ache. Nothing Tinya's favorite drink won't cure. That should make his insides feel better, yep. (BTW, I love the concept of Triad gossiping amongst herself!) Yikes! I almost forgot about Lori! As repetitious as Roger's habit of putting a dialogue caption for the next page in the last panel of the previous one can get, I admire his pacing - once again, I never got the impression of being overwhelmed by busy-ness. (And once more I add, there is no fighting this issue and it's all wonderful - because it's a Story, and it's about Characters. And that's A Good Thing.) Lori's been teaching Proty some tricks - good Proty! Cham is mystified - the creature seems imitative more than anything else, but they all know it has a consciousness somewhere. Has Imra tried to probe it again lately? Prompted by Lyle, Cham also mentions his (and the writers') awareness of the situation on Durla vis a vis the religious caste, but has opted to stay with the Legion for the moment. So another decides to stay - no, make that two more. Valor's back. And I guess it's okay that Andy's taken off, because he's copied a lot of her uniform. Hey, on him it looks very good. He's also given himself a new code name, M'Onel, from the Martian tongue meaning "The writers wanted to revive this old cool name that a lot of fans like, so deal." The founders (and creators) thought of everything, it seems - M'Onel will have "detached service agent" status. Now he can go look for Andy if he wants! But he'll probably just wander about for awhile. And speaking of taking off, Cos and Saturn Girl are just about ready, when up strolls Garth, asking to come with them and confidently stating darn good reasons why he should come along. Yay, Garth! Gim is still *way* too intimidated by Garth, but then he's still way too intimidated by, I dunno, flies on the windshield at this point. Anyway, Live Wire is welcomed aboard as he takes Imra's hand in his, and the adventure continues! Lots of good stuff, most of which I've already discussed. The Legion titles continue to delight, and the cover rivals Chris Bachalo's for BOOKS OF MAGIC as the best of the week. Fine job, all. So, what did y'all think? STATIC #36 Writer: Matt Wayne Here's what I thought... Well, since Addie Blaustein told me all kinds of stuff (most of which I've, um, conveniently forgotten for purposes of commentary) about what she and Yves had planned for their run of this issue, I have to take somewhat of a left turn if I'm going to review this fairly, and judge it solely on What Is, rather than What Might Have Been. There's some good stuff and some bad stuff. From what I've seen of this and HEROES, I think Matt writes teams well, and his depiction of the villainous threesome of telepath Run, pyrokinetic Burn and the nameless telekinetic leader (whom Static calls Jump) - aka Capers, Inc. - is delightful. They're heartless jerks, but duh, they're supposed to be, and they operate well together. I like Hyacinth, but I'm usually partial to non-obnoxious kids in comics. I'm not sure what her metapowers are, but I hope they're explored more in future issues. I'd like to see her pop up again. I like Virgil's self-absorption, convinced the bad guys are out to get him rather than the girl. But I don't like the way Virgil lied to his mom again. Frankly, I think this bites. He won't tell her because he's afraid she'll put him in counseling? Well, I think he should go to counseling NOW to deal with some of these honesty issues! Feh. I hope the creative teams involved with this book change their minds about this direction. I think it would actually do some GOOD to have Virgil's parents guiding him, since we've already established this as a strong family unit. And I actually thought the plot was pretty ordinary - it reminded me of a sitcom, everything all nicely wrapped up by page 21 or minute 22. I also didn't care for the Interlude with Byron Kilgore, but that may also be due to some conversations I had with a former writer a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... so I'll reserve judgement here. Not the best issue of STATIC I've ever read, but serviceable. Jones' art is growing on me, although I think he makes Hyacinth look too old in some panels (I know, kids are generally tough to draw). The cover's lovely, though - what a great smile. So, what did y'all think? UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN #10 Writer: Kurt Busiek Here's what I thought... Hey, double digits! Congrats to all concerned. Wow, if that isn't the most Kirbyesque cover (and issue title) that I've seen in awhile... :) I've talked before about the exploitative way in which female characters are often depicted in comics - you know, as though their primary reason for existing is sexual in nature. But there are times when that's the point of the character, and Olliffe & co. use this to good effect with Commanda, as she succeeds in flustering the teenaged Peter Parker with feminine wiles including a nifty ability to-- ahem-- skimp down on her costume, if you will. I thought the balloon breasts were just short of skirting badgirl territory (remember guys, not bigger than the head, please), but I justified that to myself by figuring the costume control mechanism came with an inflating option. :) In any case, the character of Commanda is written very interestingly; this is a woman with a lot on the ball, and the ability to foil Spidey in other ways than sexual. Just when he thinks he has her figured out (aha! she's trying to seduce him; aha! her control thing is in her headpiece), she figures out another way to play on his vulnerabilities. The ending was a real kicker too. Like she says, "This is not a game for little boys!" Damn, even Peter's autocamera pictures of her come out obscured by those flying gadgets she controls! Of course, Peter's photos may be getting him in more dutch than he realizes - another sharp woman (if there's one contribution to the Spidey mythos for which I'm most grateful to Kurt, it's the inclusion of more really intelligent women in the supporting cast), Pete's classmate Sally, has sussed out that he's the one who's been capturing Spidey on film, and it's fun to see the wheels turning in her scheming little brain. Peter wonders, as do some readers: Does she know his secret identity? Will she add things up now that she has several pieces of the puzzle? I say probably not - I believe she thinks she's found a kindred spirit, someone who is as intrigued by Spidey as she is, and that (smart as she is) she hasn't figured out a connection beyond that. But time will tell. Meanwhile, Betty turns cold to him. Flashing back to actual Spidey continuity, Peter knows she's mad at Spider-Man, but can't understand why she's pissed at him, at the moment wherein clingy Sally visits the Bugle. Tsk, Peter - this is not a game for little boys! Nice issue highlighting Peter's inability to fully, um, connect with the opposite sex. Looking forward to seeing his maturity in this area. So, what did y'all think? THE BOOKS OF MAGIC #25 Writer: John Ney Rieber Here's what I thought... It's getting to be that season again, you know. Usually about this time of the year, when things are nice enough so that you don't freeze your buns off but still nippy enough so that you daren't swim or stroll underdressed, I like to take me that 10-minute subway trip down to Coney Island. Now, let me tell you a little about Coney Island. About 100 years ago or so, CI was the Playground of the Rich. New York's elite - hell, the elite from all over the world - used to gather there to frolic in those wacky striped bathing suits you see in all the old photographs. It was the In Thing to do. The area thrived on this highbrow tourism, that you now tend to think of as occurring only in far-flung places like the Riviera or Monte Carlo or all those other James Bond-ish locales. Trust me, in the latter part of the last century and the beginning of this one, it was Coney Island. And when the beachcombing elite took off for other venues and working class sons and daughters of immigrants came to play, Coney Island was still a pretty hip place until the 1950s or so. Steeplechase Park was the delight of many Brooklyn girls and boys in the days of the Dodgers. The folks from the 1939 Olympics even moved the Parachute Jump to Steeplechase after things were packed up at Flushing Meadows. Today, the Parachute Jump still stands, in disuse and disrepair and rusting away. Steeplechase has long since been torn down. And right about this time of hear I like to walk along the boardwalk stretching from Stillwell Avenue down to Brighton Beach, half-overhearing the conversations among the old Russian women on the benches, and feeling the ghosts. They're all around if you pay attention. You hear their laughing voices in the wind, winding through the yet-to-open rides at Astroland, whispering of the glory that was once Luna Park, the first all-electric amusement park (built in 1905 or so), all lit up against the night sky. The stories they have to tell... Reading about Tim Hunter's adventures in That Other Brighton Beach brought a lot of this back to me. My immediate past is more concerned with The Jersey Shore (the Asbury Park boardwalk, the videogame palace at Sandy Hook) than Coney Island, but I feel more of an affinity to the Brooklyn locale for its rich sense of history, and I think Rieber and Gross do a wonderful job of capturing the feel of days past and days never to come again in this tale of Tim at the Pier. The knowledge that erosion is the natural process of every beach, that what exists now on the piers and boardwalks of the world (yes, even unto Atlantic City) is ephemeral and short-lived and almost designed not to last, is one of the things that make trips "down the shore" so special, particularly for children. In this issue we look in on Tim and Jimmy, as younger children at play and as their present selves (Jimmy hopelessly ensorcled as a miniature statue, and Timid Tim too afraid of the scorpion tattoo's sting to feel he can help his friend). The young T&J meet an old salt name of J. Alfred Skinner, trying in vain to catch the monstrous Muddle-Mullah, offering them free Funland passes in exchange for a prize Tim's captured in a claw-grabber game - an ankh. You know, like Death wears. And Death herself shows up later on, not only to claim Jimmy (who's, sadly, beyond Tim's help, as even Tim reluctantly admits) but to calm (and claim) the newly-deceased Skinner (great panel on page 18 showing both the body and the ghost), and ask Tim's assistance in granting the fellow's last wish - to defeat the dreaded Muddle-Mullah. Which turns out to be nothing but a li'l old hermit crab. Tim has the darndest luck with crustaceons, doesn't he? And maybe he's finally onto something when he cradles the crab in his hands and says, not even realizing its applicability to his own tattoo, "I suppose it is sort of hard to tell how big things really are when they're attacking you." I love the growing friendship between Tim and Death. I like the intercutting of Tim's present with the more vibrant beach and memories of his past. And I'm intrigued by the continuity angle of Tim's decision to accept his magic and once more seek out help from his friends in "the trade," notably Constantine but, apparently next issue, Zatanna as well. He'd better get to San Francisco fast; I hear Zatanna's bound for Manchester, Alabama in a few months. :) Thanks, guys. This one brought back a lot of nice "used to was" memories for me too. Next time I feel the ghosts on my periodic sojourns down to Coney Island, I'll be thinking of you, and Tim, as well. So, what did y'all think? THE SYSTEM #2 by Peter Kuper Here's what I thought... This issue again begins with a brutal murder - this time of a young black man, Yusuf Stewart, presumably for the "crime" of miscegenation. The murder occurs on Howard Street, and if this all sounds familiar that's because Peter Kuper has combined names from two of New York City's more notorious racial incidents in recent memory - Howard Beach, and the killing of Yusuf Hawkins a few blocks away from where I'm sitting and typing in Bensonhurst. Yeah, considering creeps like this hang out at the pizza joints in my neighborhood (stores which also carry lots of American flag-type signs supporting reactionary politicians - mostly Republican, as I take it the incumbent president is from various hints Kuper drops), this hits a bit close to home. The racial murder dominates the headlines almost as much as the sudden sex scandal in which presidential candidate Kirkpatrick Muir finds himself embroiled, leading to his later suicide and a shoo-in for nasty old incumbent Newt Rex (boo hiss!). Meanwhile, the yuppie with the cel phone wheels and deals and assures a fat cat investor that Maxxon will take over Micron imminently, closing out SYCO - but the laugh's on him, as the skateboarder hacks into his computer system and transfers the yuppie's money into his own account. Another stripper is murdered towards the end of the book, presumably by the same guy who got the first one. Detective Harry MacGuffin continues to investigate that murder, but still grieves over his one mistake. The unscrupulous cop busts heads and seizes cash in a drug raid, the subway motorman is still boozing it up on the job, the kid artist who's been copying graffiti nearly gets offed when his buddy becomes the victim of a drive-by shooting, presumably over a turf war. Oh, and the guy with the eyepatch is building something sinister-looking with a bunch of wires, nuts and bolts and radioactive material. From the timer, I'd venture to guess it's one nasty bomb. The last panel has him looking out over the SYCO (formerly Chrysler) Building, raising his glass as if in a toast. But the section that absolutely caused my jaw to drop concerned the woman singing in the subway station, and the gorgeous double-page centerfold spread of images her music invokes. Her voice has the ability to transport listeners far away from the city - and the images end abruptly on the next page as a SYCO bulldozer moves in to destroy the placid jungle scenario. A very powerful three pages. Again, for those worrying that they might not be able to get into this book because it has no captions or word balloons, belay those fears. Kuper uses dissolves and flows of focus to wonderful effect, and I had no trouble at all following things. Highly recommended. So, what did y'all think? by Jenni Gregory Here's what I thought... Jenni provides a nice Chapter One synopsis for those folks who weren't lucky enough to pick up the first issue of this intriguing title about a woman who discovers she has the power (which she cannot yet control) to enter, and act upon, other people's dreams. This is a pretty low-key title, consisting in large measure of slice-of-life scenes from Karen's day-to-day. In this issue, we see her saved from a mugging by a cop, who lets the would-be perpetrators go (no evidence, since they didn't even technically threaten her) but whose attitude strikes Karen as sexist and condescending (although I wouldn't be as harsh on him - but then, I wasn't the one nearly mugged). Want to bet she enters his dream soon? She completes her long walk home and has a chat with her friend Cori, who's come to tell her she's just broken up with Karen's car mechanic Mike. This may complicate matters a bit financially... This was a tricky scene - on the one hand, it's people sitting and talking, i.e., death in a comic. On the other hand, the subject matter interested me, and it was a nice change of pace to just see a couple women lounging about and palling around. Karen's and Cori's friendship is given enough focus here that I can see them working out the Dreamwalker thing together - in fact, Karen's even broached the subject, but at this point they both think she's a little nuts and stressed out. Well, this night she walks into Matthew Evan's dream - he's the kid dying of an inoperable brain tumor. They're at the Alamo, and Karen suddenly realizes, "Matthew... doesn't everybody at the Alamo... die?" Yep, get ready for some real heavy stuff to end out this issue, as Matthew then takes Karen's hand and asks her to stay with him while he says his final goodbyes to his parents. God, I wussed. Beautifully done. Characters you really care about, clean (if sometimes uneven) art, intriguing concepts with a whole lot of potential yet to fill - this book is off to a good start. Recommended. So, what did y'all think? [These reviews are reprinted with permission from the rec.arts.comics Usenet newsgroups and are copyright 1996 Elayne Wechsler-Chaput <firehead@panix.com>, who is delighted to be able to post once more to the sound of baseball being played in the background. Oh okay, not baseball per se, it's actually the Mets, but you know what I mean (and hey, they *have* won a few games)... ] |
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