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This week's digest:
AVENGERS #400 Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... Well, there are some neat things and some not-so-neat things in this issue. Bear in mind, as always, that I'm not a long-time Marvel reader, but I can still appreciate to a fair extent what Waid, Ringo, etc. are trying to do here. An observation on the art, first: Palmer's inking just doesn't seem to... fit with Ringo's pencils. I know that Palmer is generally considered a real quality inker, and I love Mike's pencil work, but... I dunno. Maybe it was the separations or something. But the inking looked very unnecessarily heavy. I still think the layouts on some of the panels are really gorgeous, especially the "in-joke" ones, but overall I felt the art was sort of clunky. And the writing... well, it starts out nice, and then just sort of lies there, at least for me. The crafting is there, but the execution is much more awkward than I'm used to seeing from Waid. There are great moments - Widow misidentifying a Kree as a Skrull, the moment of realization on Jarvis' face as the truth dawns on him and he begins to subtly taunt his guest - in fact, the idea of using Jarvis to this extent in the first place is well done. And the in-jokes - the combined Kang/Rama-Tut/Scarlet Centurion/Immortus (Steve loved that one, since he recently took part in a long thread on this newsgroup about those characters) knocking Giant-Man through every one of his incarnations, complete with costume changes (in the correct order!); Jarvis and the "guest" going through Avengers mansion with all the pictures on the wall; the adamantium enemies being past incarnations of Avengers teams; the cameos by Spidey, Namor, She-Hulk and the FF (Waid does a nice Grimm voice); and the fact that Loki claims to have invented the trick of "divide and conquer" - all are very nice touches, to be sure. And I appreciated the index in the back too. But there was something-- missing, I thought. I can't put my finger on it. I just wasn't that overwhelmed by this trip through memory lane. Maybe because my memories don't lie down this particular road. But Steve's do, and he wasn't that impressed either. Maybe it's too many winks and nods and too threadbare and simple a plot. I mean, I got from page one that this visitor wasn't who or what he claimed. I'm perplexed. It certainly isn't bad, but it isn't as good as I wanted or expected it to be. So, what did y'all think? LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #82 Co-Plotter/Scripter: Tom Peyer Here's what I thought... I found the art a little too severe in some places - the close-ups were very nice, but some of the medium and long shots were a bit more stylized than I usually go for. However, Moder continues his knack of "snapping the camera just at the right point," so I've learned to pay more attention to the expressions on the characters' faces and specific stances they take than to the way in which their bodies are drawn overall. As always, Boyd's inking and McCraw's coloring add wonderful depth to this expressiveness. This is becoming quite an interactive comic for me. I laughed out loud at least five times; I found myself saying things like, in response to the "I... admire your work" line by the well-hung "Atom'x" (what, not Atom'c? <g>), "Well, bucko, I admire yours too..."; actually clapping in glee that Insect Queen's real name is Lonna Leing (oh, tee hee, this is so cute!); feeling for the new Kid Quantum and even for Winema Wazzo, no mean feat... This issue carried me along with it from start to finish. A great, involving read. I don't think too many folks doubted Tinya would return, and the creative teams have certainly been leading up to this moment with Jo Nah's "birth pangs," as I like to call 'em. In fact, I think they dropped a few too many hints along the way, but I'm not complaining, I'm usually the last person to glom onto this stuff. (The fact that I've been reading NEW GODS, where Darkseid pulled a similar stunt, with very different results, vis a vis Orion probably helped me suss this out better.) And the creators got to wink at the fans as well - those of us who'd previewed this cover were sure the hand was Tinya, but in context the hand turns out to be Winema, even though Tinya later reappears. Nice, subtle misdirection, and I can't say enough about the sympathetic turnaround as far as Winema is concerned. But I'll say it later, because we open on Brainiac 5 blowing something up. Ah, back to normal. Vi demonstrates admirable leadership abilities (heck, even Brainy is happy with her), Chuck Taine has a reason to stick around awhile longer, and we get to segue briefly into the curmudgeonly world of Dr. Gym'll, who I understand is a preboot character resurrected to provide medical care and (yet more) comedy relief. Later on, the panel atop page 20 also sets up a dilemma for the ever-unlucky Garth Ranzz. His lightning is too intense to channel through either a tissue graft or a prosthesis. "If you want two arms," says the doctor, "you'll have to let me deactivate your power." Man, can't this poor kid get a break? Meanwhile on the "road" to Xanthu (hey, M'Onel's there? I thought he took off for parts unknown), Lyle 'fesses up. Hey guys, you get the Waid/Ramos seal of approval for Cham's thot-pictogram? Well done. And a terrific shot of Ayla finding out Cham is her secret admirer (and his little "Hi" in response to her shock). Oh, and Thom broods - what a surprise. Well, he has reason to. Seems little backwater Xanthu (great Encyclopedia Galactica entry, which reads a bit more like a blurb from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) has a superhero group of its own, the Uncanny Amazers (bwaaahahaha!), and they want him back. Roll Call: Insect Queen (yay)! Atomc--uh, 'x (hubba)! Monstress (wow)! Kid Quantum II (well done)! KQII is less than thrilled to see Thom or the other Legionnaires - especially Gim, whom she blames for getting her brother killed - but hey, someone has to escort them, and she's the best speeder driver of the group. The Xanthuan president explains the planet's need for superheroes (I'd love to find out the codenames of some of those other folks in the group shot on page 9), Gim switches from smug to angst fast enough to give me whiplash, and presidential advisor Lamar (boo! hiss!) hatches a plan - fix a photon cage match between the Amazers and the Legion. The sight of Gates in a photon match uniform sent me into hysterics. M'Onel's demonstration to Lamar of his overqualification kept me giggling even more. And - Floating-Head-Girl?! Oh, man, tell me this isn't a preboot character - this is so hysterical! Well, soon enough the Legionnaires find themselves defeated by KQ's subtle manipulation of the quantum field around them. Unfortunately, Lamar lets his hypocrisy slip, and KQ decides she's no longer going to be played for a patsy. She turns the power off, and the Legion wins the match. Allow me to be the first to say, right here and now, I want this Kid Quantum in the Legion!!! Wonderful character, lots of potential, anger that can be effectively channeled, nice sense of duty, vague yet intriguing power... I like. And frankly, Xanthu doesn't deserve her. But sometimes bad things happen to good people. Jo certainly doesn't deserve all the pain he's experiencing. And now poltergeists in Tinya's room as well! He went there to try to make sense of things, since he's been feeling such a "Tinya-ness" (perfect way of putting it) within him that perhaps being among her possessions will help sort matters out. The hand phasing through him belongs to Tinya's mom Winema, who just happens to also be in her daughter's quarters (okay, you're allowed one coincidence per issue, but watch it guys <g>) dispensing of a few unwanted items (like the presents Jo gave her), and prepares to give Jo another tongue-lashing when... weird things start happening. Stuff starts flying about, and Jo's conked out. As Vi, Rokk and Imra try to settle things down (and Imra senses a sentient presence), Winema decides to throw off her hatred for the now-unconscious Jo, takes his flight ring and speeds him to the infirmary. "I suppose I can't hate a sick child," she reasons. Totally believable - and a logical lead-in, if you think about it. Only when you've set aside irrational hatred can the healing begin. I think Winema had to find herself caring for Jo before Tinya could fully reappear - it gives the entire last scene more emotional impact, even with the bittersweet realization that Tinya's back but, without her physical body, she cannot yet become tangible (and nobody but Jo and Winema can see or hear her). Good jump-cutting between the scenes at HQ and Xanthu keep reader interest high throughout. Nice little moments abound - I especially like the by-the-way speed Joe uses to dress, and the acknowledgement that the Legion seems to have to deal with political intrigue no matter how far away they travel. And of course it was a very emotionally satisfying read, and didn't involve battling any Badguys or anything, which I always appreciate. So, what did y'all think? THE FLASH #115 Writer: Mark Waid Here's what I thought... Funny thing about John Fox, the Flash from the 27th century - just when I think I have him figured out, he gets more enigmatic. Now, I've kind of been defending John. I kinda feel for him, and I think Mark's done a great job keeping the reader guessing about him. He's underappreciated in his own time (and in this issue we see just how much). He wants to be a real hero, complete with all the accoutrements usually afforded real heroes - respect, admiration, and primarily a girlfriend/partner. He's fallen major for Linda, with whom he's been working to stop criminals like Chillblaine and Golden Glider, and who can blame him? We're seeing Linda's competence and intelligence... and vulnerability... in more heightened relief during this storyline than at any time previous. And I maintain, he still wants to do the right thing. But he's probably going about it the wrong way. I think. We open on a somewhat bitter John, in the 27th century prior to his trip back (I feel that time headache starting already; don't worry, it'll worsen shortly), wistfully staring at a set of Chronal Gauntlets invented by an ancestor of Rond Vidar (from over in the Legion books) and enshrined in the newly-built Time Institute. He then checks in on Wally West, just arrived from the 30th century and being held in protective custody - whether by the authorities or John is open to debate. They exchange information, John admits he's been thinking about time travel himself (no duh), and he lets slip information about some unknown "Great Disaster." The same Great Disaster he's "currently" gone back in time to prevent. Now, this is tricky, so bear with me. Simultaneity is a conceit when you're dealing with time travel, but it's necessary to think linearly in order to buy this. Okay, in the same linear moment in the 27th century as Wally is explaining to John about his bond with Linda, whose name he can't even remember any more! (how heartbreaking is that page?), and how he feels her love for him is the only thing rescuing him from being permanently absorbed by the Speed Force... at this same moment, John and Linda are starting to bond in the 20th century - significantly, over her anger at Wally keeping information from her and her belief that John is not (which of course we know to be false). But let's get back to that, because a couple subplots are on the move and demand our attention as well. In the 20th century, John escapes Chillblaine's clutches, thanks to Linda's quick thinking, and Chillblaine is then snuffed out by the new Polaris (man, that Waid death count keeps rising, doesn't it? but let's be fair, he made Chillblaine, he can break him) - who then returns to his still-unnamed partner at HQ to see how Iris is coming along in writing her memoirs. A computer might have helped, guys. And I'm unsure as to why they're making her do this now, as the unnamed partner has a tattered copy of the finished product with him anyway, and is using it to formulate a plan whereby he and Polaris use Chillblaine's technology to create, presumably, the Great Disaster. If the book is already a reality and in the partner's possession, why does Iris have to-- oh, my head... And back (or forward) in the 27th century, Chronos has appeared. Naturally. Three or four time-oriented headaches aren't enough, are they? Chronos' "suit allows him to shift a few seconds back and forth in time" - oy. Makes capture tricky for humans, and nigh but impossible for robots-- specifically, Speed Metal. The mechanicals wonders that have replaced the need for a hero like John Fox, The Flash. Who still outthinks them, sends them into high gear by throwing a "Sands of Time accelerate/decelerate" mechanism at them (I'd love to know more about this) and manages somehow to short out Chronos' mechanism, shuffling him back off into the timestream. He then runs to Wally, who's almost faded away as well, and reminds him of Linda's name, giving him enough strength to solidify and attempt one more try at getting home courtesy of the Speed Force. And then we're back in the 20th century with John and Linda, as John narrates over actions taking place in the 27th. "From what I knew in my own time," he tells her, "I had reason to believe Wally West might not be around..." Definitely slimy. And here it comes - page 20. Waid's page 20s usually tie my stomach in knots. Now, remember what I said above about needing to think linearly even though we're playing with time. John moves in, cooing to Linda about how wonderful she is. Cut back and forth to Wally, losing molecular coherence. You must buy that this is happening simultaneously. John moves closer. Linda's his friend, his partner, his angel. Wally breaks up more; his beacon is flickering out. Linda's drawn closer, seemingly never more appreciated and therefore never more vulnerable. Wally shouts the name he remembers thanks to John... who's kissing Linda... and Wally's gone... Wow. So, John Fox - good guy or bad guy or both? Who's the mysterious partner? Why does Iris need to hand-write her memoirs if the partner already has her finished book? What does she know? What's the Great Disaster? Will Wally return? Will Linda fall for John or chide him for being so presumptuous? Do you really believe this will all be wrapped up next time? I dunno, looks like a five-parter to me. Oh, and one more question: So, what did y'all think? SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #58 Writers: Tom Peyer and Mark Waid Here's what I thought... Swan Watch out of the way first - Near as I can tell (and the art is starting to mesh much better, for which I must credit the inkers in terms of how it's flowing more smoothly), he's pencilled pages 12-16 this time, which pleases me to no end, because there's lots of Superman in them thar pages. Even some Supergirl. Over a dozen panels with a Superman and/or Supergirl in them! Heavy, contented sigh! And I feel vindicated, being one of the few reviewers who insisted, upon reading ACTION #723 last week, that the seizures experienced by Superman while his mind was in Chas Cassidy's body were physiological - i.e., there's a chemical imbalance in the body itself - and not something done to fake Lois out (which would have made no sense, since Clark/Chas called Lois in in the first place). Once again, this is a great way to illustrate the power of the mind over the body, as Chas experiences another seizure but Clark's mind within urges the body to press on despite. Clark/Chas, having escapesd the Lovelace Psychiatric Institute, is making his way to Metropolis to confront Brainiac, whose mind is now inhabiting Superman's body. Meanwhile, Lois has realized something's up, by the way "Superman" looked at her after rescuing her (again, I maintain the rescue was an autonomic bodily reflex, not a conscious decision). She's also starting to make the connection that Chas might not be just some crazy kid from the way he looked at her. Very nice idea of the eyes being the windows to the soul, yadda yadda. As she can't get through to Chas for reasons outlined above, she confronts Cat Grant at WGBS, where Superman is about to make a major address. And what an address. Brainiac manages to mentally seal off the city and harness the mind of every person in Metropolis watching TV - effectively everyone. He's using their brains as storage batteries ("it's not as if you were using them")! So occupied, they're unable to do anything else but stare, compute and talk in binary. Outside Metropolis, Clark/Chas sees only the beginning of the broadcast, which then switches to news of Chas' escape. Wow, good thing he slicked his hair back and donned those glasses so quickly, or folks would have recognized him! I almost split a gut at this gag. He decides to get into the city by way of a sewer tunnel, since Brainiac didn't think to extend his barrier underground. Above ground, though, everything's chaos. And the first panel of the Swan pages is probably my favorite - a long shot, from above, of the snarled traffic on the highways leading in and out, people getting out of their cars talking matter-of-factly about the force field ("Stuff like this is always happening. It should blow over soon." "Sure. You live around Metropolis, you learn to plan on it. Leave earlier."). Primo stuff. We then cut to Superman and Supergirl duking it out - well okay, mostly verbally (for which I'm grateful) and Brainiac, damn him, thinks fast enough this time to pretend to Supergirl that he's snapped out of Brainiac-induced control. Supergirl, that lovable "gullible moron" as Brainiac (in the most menacing Superman close-up I've ever seen Swan do) calls her, seems to accept this explanation at face value and flies away. One down, one to go - Brainiac uses Supes' enhanced sense of smell (well, he is in the sewer at this point, I should think everything there has an enhanced sense of smell) to scope out Clark/Chas somewhere nearby, but couldn't be bothered looking for him, and takes off himself. Chas climbs out of a manhole and sees the mental destruction wrought as everyone around him is oblivious and engaged in binary-babbling. He makes his way to the Planet, looks out of Perry's office and sees - this structure atop a nearby office building. Uh-oh. Swift pacing, nice dialogue, good characterization and five pages of Curt Swan pencils - can't ask for more in a Superman comic. (Okay, maybe 22 pages of Swan pencils. <g>) I'm really enjoying this. So, what did y'all think? Writer/Artist: John Byrne Here's what I thought... Even granted that I tend to turn my brain off when I flip open the cover to this book, I found Doomsday hard to take. The thing that I did find interesting was the intricate way in which John details the extent of Doomsday's rampage of destruction. This is not some simple clean-up job that'll be forgotten in a few hours. This is massive property damage, and we're given a close-up view of it. Look at page 4. The way the pavement is cracked and splintered and cars are sinking into the ground, the faint glow of a police siren in the background as Doomsday hurls a semi into the foreground, the intrepid and terrified reporter huddled behind a van wondering if her transmission is even being received, actual buildings just crumbling... then on page 8, as WW bursts a Doomsday-wielded statue to bits with one punch, and you see every piece of rubble and you really believe the pieces probably all fit together... Nice stuff. Took my mind off the boring fight (as I don't like fight scenes) and the fact that Dr. Lazarus' assistant is still not called by name in this issue either. :) But at least he's managed to get through to his son Kris. He's got good news and bad news - the good news is, he can probably make the kid understand that his "video game" is causing actual destruction. The bad news is, well, Kris isn't exactly alive any more... Meanwhile, Champion grumbles about how foolish WW is, joins in the fight and is tossed away like so much bad lettuce. And Cassie Sandsmark, watching the TV report, wants to help too, dashing away from Mom and into Diana's room to look for those kewl sandals with which she'd practiced a couple issues back. Smart kid realizes she'll probably need a disguise too, and puts on her skateboarding goggles and an old wig Diana's no longer using, in addition to a nifty gauntlet-thingie she finds - and good thing, too. Wonder Girl makes the scene! but almost gets killed her first time out, saved only by "the Gauntlet of Atlas multiplying her strength and stamina tenfold"... whew. Well, Doomsday hasn't crumbled to dust by the end of this issue, which is disappointing but I'm still hoping Dr. Lazarus can talk Kris down from all this. And I love the new Wonder Girl - very logical outfit - but it's hard not to love a Sandsmark... So, what did y'all think? Writer: Paul Kupperberg Here's what I thought... Thorsland has a great story in this issue's lettercol space about him and Paul discussing the concepts for this series over Shabu-Shabu (which, by the way, sounds yummy and I'd love to know which restaurant this is). I really enjoyed all the food metaphors and Thorsland's running gag about hating writers because of all these concepts they keep presenting which give him a headache... fun stuff. I recommend reading this before getting into the issue itself. And, while I appreciate the food metaphor, I think I'll stick with water for this review. When you're a kid and you take a bath, the water in the tub pretty much covers your whole body, and you think, wow, that's a lot of water to cover my whole self. Then you get older and realize that it's not that big a deal, that's not nearly as much water as in a lake. And you try to imagine every molecule in that lake, and it's mind-boggling. Then you see a river, and the lake is sort of dwarfed, and you think, okay, that's it, that's the highest it can go, I can't imagine anything more encompassing-- Oh my God, an ocean. Three fourths of the surface of our planet. Connecting all these things, all these other rivers that I thought were so huge, so vast, and they all flow together and mix and they're all water and they're all part of our planet and it evaporates and it rains and it freezes and it comes in all these forms and it's just all water... Anyway, that's how I felt when I read this issue. I was a little skeptical that Kupps could draw all the different kinds of energy together logically, but I think he's done it. TAKION is quickly becoming one of my favorite reads. It plays with concepts like this continually, it doesn't dumb itself down, it keeps the reader guessing right along with the protagonist, and its stream-of-consciousness writing is a refreshing delight. I love the character design (I mean, it's basically a tastefully-nekkid guy, what's not to like?) and the way Josh's mind keeps bouncing around in time and space, not quite getting it and getting it all at the same time, a sort of living paradox. An ocean, where the Oan power wielded by GL's ring and the Speed Force tapped into by the Flash and the quantum field manipulated by Captain Atom are "mere" tributaries, rivers flowing into and out of the Source. Takion's the ocean but a small, helpless raft adrift in the middle of that same ocean, all at once. He's stranded (specifically by Highfather) and it's "not my fault" - his self-absolution is the mantra that rings throughout this issue till you just want to shake him out of it. On the surface the plot concerns a fight between Takion (trying to find Nancy, his girl buried underneath the aircraft carrier he suddenly caused to appear and crush the top of a building - not his fault) and three heroes (okay, two and a half) - the Flash (ignore FLASH continuity or your headache will worsen, guaranteed), Green Lantern and Captain Atom, who wish to stop what they see as a madman's tirade. Kupps deftly avoids the "fight then team up" cliche because at no time is Takion even able to articulate what's going on - the concepts are that hard, even for him. But at one point during the confrontation, Takion reaches out and Feels and Touches - darkness. The dark part of the Source (like him, only female to his male, yang to his yin or something like that), a being called Stayne (yeah, I know, but this is a comic book, get over it), intent on destroying his light... And he will confront her sooner or later, of that we've no doubt. In fact, if he reaches out into next issue he may find he already has confronted her, but let's not give the poor guy too many headaches at once. Especially as he's decided to high-tail it away from the Earth to sort things out. I'm not so sure this isn't a mistake. I mean, I'm with Kupps so far, all the way. I think this is a very, very neat book. But without the backdrop of Earth (a constant reminder of Josh, the human aspect of Takion, the little guy in the raft), I don't know how well TAKION will end up playing. I hope his sojourn away from his home planet is a brief one, and he returns with more knowledge (or at least more experience of how to use all his knowledge) than he had when he left. So, what did y'all think? Head Honchos: Darren Vincenzo and Jordan Gorfinkel This is my first time 'round with this anthology title. I quite liked one out of the three stories, thought another was pleasant enough, and generally didn't care for the third. But the one that blew me away was worth every penny of that $2.95. Here's what I thought... "Born of Hope" (Oracle: Year One - read "origin story") Writers: John Ostrander and Kim Yale Okay, this is the main reason we got the book. It's really a perfectly structured story, but I couldn't help reading other things into it. This was one of those times when I wasn't sure how my personal feelings for members of the creative team were affecting how I read their work. I adore Kim Yale. She's a great inspiration, one of the strongest women I know, and I don't think I'm too out of line in characterizing her as my friend (she's currently the VP of Friends of Lulu's NY Metro chapter, where I serve as secretary). Kim has also, as many know, undergone great adversity in the past year or so, and still battles that adversity with an indomitable spirit and bravery that, frankly, would put more than a few superheroes to shame. Here she and husband John Ostrander, who I'm given to understand is no slouch himself in the writing department :), tell what I consider to be the definitive story of Barbara Gordon's life - her earlier years as director of the Gotham Public Library system (yay librarians!), her brief tenure as Batgirl, her maiming at the hands of the Joker... and mostly her spiritual and emotional recovery from that trauma, along the road that led her to become Oracle. Some people claim that to leave Barbara Gordon wheelchair-bound is untrue to the spirit of comic books, wherein Superman comes back from the dead and even Batman recovers from a spinal injury comparatively much worse than the one Barbara suffered. And it's true, there are a number of scenarios, most of them magical and/or demonic in origin, which would result in Barbara walking (even taking up the cape and cowl) again. But I think the idea of Barbara living with the hand dealt her is even truer to the spirit of comic books, and of life itself - a true hero doesn't give up when things get rough. When things stay rough. And Babs doesn't. She trains her body (learning "the Phillipine art of street fighting called 'escrima'") and her mind. She discovers the Internet, and which of us online folks didn't cheer to read her speak about it? "The Internet was a community of people talking-- arguing, romancing, helping one another-- and you didn't even have to use your real name. You were simply who you were online. I found an enormous freedom-- and complete acceptance-- there and, for a time in my life, the cybernet was more real to me than the world outside my window." And I could swear Stelfreeze and Story peeked in at Johanna Draper's window one evening, because the bottom of page 9 is Johanna as far as I'm concerned... I won't go on spoiling much more of this, I just urge you to read the story. It's absolutely stellar. As are the people who wrote it. One of whom is my biggest hero. "Decoys" Co-Writer: Howard Chaykin I had to keep pushing myself to read this all the way through. I had no interest at all. The characters seemed very cookie-cutter in this tale of Jim Gordon's early days on Gotham's police force. The mob informant, the mysterious dame, the wisecracking nephew of the DA... and it was very bloody. I have to figure this is pretty standard, and don't know if even folks who like cop stories would go for this one. Didn't much care for the art, either. "Of Mice and Men" Writer: Alan Grant This takes place shortly before Bruce Wayne's parents were gunned down, and there's foreshadowing leaking out all over the place. Ostensibly it's a story of a time when Alfred decided to leave the Waynes' employ, but it's also a story of growing up and learning self-reliance and how to defeat one's foes with cunning rather than fisticuffs. I liked McDaniel's art a lot, but thought Grant overdid the Zorro stuff a bit much. Overall a pleasant enough read. So, what did y'all think?
I thought it might be interesting to do a combined review of these books, given that both of them feature creators meeting their creations. Here's what I thought... First let's look at Wheatley's effort, since RADICAL DREAMER has never been an easy book for me to get through. Even though Mark claimed, based on my review of RD #2, that I seemed to understand most of the basic points of what he's been trying to do, I was eagerly awaiting this primer to help fill in some of the gaps. RADICAL DREAMER deals with a relatively complex, interwoven dystopia in which a lot is going on at once, and I often got the feeling I was entering in media res. But such is the nature of dreams. And in RD PRIME, Mark reveals that - the entire idea of RADICAL DREAMER came to him... yep... in dreams. You should read this book literally cover to cover (and by the way the wraparound cover painting is effective and gorgeous), starting with the inside front cover text wherein Mark expresses his creative dilemma and the steps he took to get him to where he was before RD started. We open on Mark himself, dreaming he's in a library looking for the one book that will forge "the new path through my rooms." He knows he's found it before, but every time he looks for it now it's elusive. Into this morass - and understand the whole book is in the form of a dream, which really showcases Mark's stream-of-consciousness style - comes Max Wrighter, RD's nominal protagonist, who interacts with Mark throughout, explaining both his world (which forms the "primer" part) and the problems in Mark's own subconscious which prevent him from achieving his goals. I can't say enough about this storytelling method - when it succeeds, it does so brilliantly, and to my mind Wheatley outdoes himself. The dream is just linear enough to follow, and just s-o-c enough to keep the reader within the dream realm. We have guest appearances by characters from Mark's other work (including MARS - yay!), and a lot of very good, commonsensical discussion about following one's bliss and facing up to fear of failure and the current state of the industry. I'd term this book a must not only for followers of Mark's work and RD in particular, but for any creative person looking to break into, or stay in, this volatile business. The only problem is that the center sheet (four pages) is stapled wrong, and I had problem restapling the sucker, so Mark, you owe me a clean copy with the pages in the right order. :) While Mark has striven to become closer to his creation, it almost seems like Jay Stephens would do anything to get away from his. Ever since Big Bang and his Primevibe power made the scene, there are precious few ATOMIC CITY TALES that Jay doesn't find incredibly boring. Like Wheatley, Stephens uses his inside front page for the setup, then inserts himself into his comic to deal with his characters face-to-face. Unlike Mark, though, Jay is in the characters' "reality," not his own dream. And he is, as he warns us, bored. He's sitting around with Big Bang's superheroic friends playing Scrabble, fer cripe's sake. Even a glimpse into the Proboscope (are we sure this isn't a proctology instrument?) to see what Big Bang's up to in another dimension doesn't give Jay quite the thrill it ought. So what do you do when you're bored with your own characters? Change the script? Nah, too easy. You take a walk. And wind up being kidnapped by the Badguys - who everyone knows are more fun at parties than the Goodguys. And they prove it, too. Doc Phantom fixes Jay up with a bath and a new suit (well, gotta get out of his old clothes, he had an, um, accident during the kidnapping - great touch!), and informs him he's been chosen to sketch the characters coming to that evening's soiree. For some reason, Jay objects. "I won't use my cartooning powers for evil!" Geez, lighten up, it's just a party. Of course, the Doc convinces Jay that it's the best way to alleviate tedium, and the cartoonist sees reason. Wacky party, too. I think Cog is my favorite - she's keen. But most of the beautiful people are really fun to meet, and Cootiebug spikes the punch and makes Jay sick, and he gets a gnarly haircut, and then Big Bang returns and is really bummed that Jay's missing, and it looks like all heck's gonna break loose next issue, yessirree! Interesting takes from each writer/artist - one serious, one played strictly for laughs - and I think each book accomplishes what it sets out to do. It's about as hard to keep track of the characters in ATOMIC CITY TALES as it is to remember all the ones in, say, BIZARRE HEROES, but the point is to have fun doing it. And anyone who doesn't understand RADICAL DREAMER at the end of PRIME is... well, maybe they're in need of more Primevibe power themselves. :) "Suddenly life was like a comic book," indeed. Well done, gentlemen. So, what did y'all think? HELLBLAZER #103 Writer: Paul Jenkins Here's what I thought... Never cared for maggots. Even the idea of them gives me the creeps. Never particularly cared for crime drama either. And since most of this story deals with a man who's keeping a secret about a crime committed about 17 years ago (at times this felt way more like an issue of DOORMAN than HELLBLAZER), I must admit it left me unimpressed. It's much more about the guilt-ridden man in question than about Constantine, and I think that's somewhat of a cheat considering we're supposed to be reading about John's journey of self-(re)discovery. Considering this is supposed to be his "place of water," it's ironic that Paul Jenkins' usual flowing, vivid prose seems to be lacking here, replaced by graphic descriptions of the crime in question. There's even a "life lesson" of sorts imparted towards the end of the issue - "So what've I learned so far?... That capitulation to evil is just a form of cowardice." Let's hope Constantine's journey up the mountain, the third stage of his I Ching-dictated destiny, leaves a better impression on the reader than this transitional issue did. There's a good chance it will - things started getting very interesting again around page 20, so I have high hopes for issue #104. So, what did y'all think? ACTION GIRL #7 Sarah takes the lead story this issue with story and art on "Big Present," featuring Action Girl and Flying Girl, as Ginnie takes Erica flying. Four pages, but it was way cool and really captured the joy and fun of these two characters. More more more, please!! The rest of the anthology is uneven, depending on personal preference. Having been dragged to performance art in the past, I can identify with Chris Tobey's "Puppets from Hell," but I didn't think that much of Patty Leidy's true story of Chinese food in "Zero Hour" even though that's happened to me too (I like her art style, though). "Ms. Phink" weighs in with a page that would be good if it were done by a 13-year-old but did nothing for me (apologies if this pseudonymous artist is 13). Rebecca Dart continues to be one of my favorites, and "The Devil's Doing" tells a Cajun-like origin story for the catfish. Suzanne Baumann gives us a story of her time in Swaziland in "Miss Africa Day," which I found quite amusing and certainly different. Kris Dresen and Jen Benka do a stream of consciousness bit in "Never" which I'm not sure I followed. Amanda Lewis' "My Fugly Fabulous Face" was a scathingly perceptive piece of self-analysis that I applaud and fear at the same time. Jen Sorensen has a cute tale about working in a "Family Restaurant" (I'm definitely not hungry now!). "She-Ra" writes and draws a rather nondescript one-pager called "Sky Blue Pink" about a mother and daughter relationship; and Anastasia Morena rounds things up with what Sarah calls an "Action Girl coloring page" (very similar style to Jeff Smith, I thought). And yay, Sarah's into XENA too! DEMONGATE #1 I have no idea what I expected when I advance-ordered this. These guys are pretty much following the Barry Blair school of art - lots of young, thin, near-naked boys - which works well for Blair in his Elfquest stuff, but which kind of disturbs me when I see it elsewhere. I don't want to cast aspersions, but for me it's like just this side of child soft-porn, and it gives me the willies. There are two female characters in DEMONGATE as well, both in sort-of authority positions over their respective boys, who all look to be around 8-9 years of age - the "girls" are about 14 or so in face but with mature bodies, and they wear next to nothing as well so we've got that weird titillation factor going to. There are some "adult" figures herein as well, but only one (an old wise man) is drawn with any sort of beauty or grace, in contrast to the panels with the "girls" and boys which have this sort of soft, shimmering glow to them. And pretty much everyone runs around in underwear. Um, I think I'll skip the rest of this, thanks. The main story is called "The Artist Formerly Known as Bart," and has actual team credits, so I should list them: Writer: Jeff Rosenthal It's a cute story about Bart having a rock-star doppelganger, and there are some funny bits here and there, but nothing to get too excited over. The really cool stuff is when you flip the book. Bill Morrison does story and art (with Tim Harkins on letters and Nathan Kane again on colors) for the second part of his ROSWELL tale, "How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Ant Farm?" I can't recommend the Roswell stuff enough - it's very well-written and imaginative and really sick in places and scads of fun, and Morrison will be spinning the alien character (named, of course, for the famed New Mexican UFO town) off into his own series soon - I can hardly wait! WANDERING STAR #12 by Teri Sue Wood Wow, this just gets better and better. This issue does a great job of imparting the difference between thinking battle is cool and actually having to deal with the reality of war, as a grown Cassandra continues to narrate her adventures to her visiting journalist. Wood's art has never been so crisp and delineated - the panel where she hears the voice of the Bono Kiri taunting her with "DESTRUCTION" and you see his face etched against the background stars is gorgeous. The lettering's extremely effective too. In this issue we see the effects of space fatigue on the crew, we learn a little more about Madison's background, and we discover Mekon's been able to rebound from the effects of the Tul'sar and is regaining his free will. With all the tension, it's still a relatively quiet, contemplative issue, but as I say it's gorgeously done. Highly recommended reading, but this is not the best jumping-on point. Thanks to editor Oscar Stern for sending me issues #2 and 3 of this anthology, but I must confessed I'm not that impressed with the stories. His art is nice, but his pacing is way slow on the ongoing serial "Testament" - and of course since I didn't see WU WEI #1 I have no idea what the setup for this story is anyhow. Most of the other stories didn't really grab me aside from Jack Fear's "No Ghosts" (for which Oscar also did the art), a tale of a man discovering his father's past via essays and pictures stored in the family attic. Maybe it's me - this book seems to be getting a lot of praise from other quarters - but I didn't find too terribly much meat on the bones. I just saw #4 in the stores, if you're interested in checking it out. 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>, looking over her June calendar in disbelief that she actually appears to have a social life for a change. Of course, it never rains but it pours, and she'll be lucky to have enough time to catch her breath in the next few weeks.] |
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