Comics!
Avengers #43: The newly-proactive Avengers are now forced to react to separate threats from around the globe: The Presence in Russia, invading Atlanteans in Prince Edward Island, and Lemurians in China, with the whole being observed/orchestrated/enabled by Kang and the Scarlet Centurion as part of their own goals. But for all this activity, there�s nothing much happening, much to my disappointment. Kurt Busiek is playing out an awful lot of line here, especially when you consider that he hasn�t finished the Triune Understanding plotline…I hope that he wraps things up with a sufficient bang by #50 for all this to be worthwhile.
Also, the ongoing Giant-Man vs Yellowjacket storyline will be resolved in the next Avengers annual, continuing an encouraging trend towards incorporating the events in the annuals into the ongoing storylines.
Daredevil:Yellow #2: �The Measure of a Man� shows how Daredevil dons the red and yellow costume for the first time to avenge his father�s death. He exacts a confession from the killer, and induces a heart attack in the Fixer.
It�s marvelous how, with the proper colorist, even that dumb outfit can look impressive. Add in the quasi-anachronistic �fifties design to the world (aside: the conventional time dilation holds that everything in a super-hero�s past happened seven years ago–sorting out the continuity, consistency, and anachronism problems is the life�s work of some fans), and Daredevil:Yellow achieves pulp credibility.
Just Imagine Stan Lee�s Batman: Stan Lee is finally cashing in on some of his pop credibility, and I can only wish that he�d made a wiser investment. Thanks to his newfound liberty from the exclusivity contract that tied him to Marvel, Stan Lee has written a twelve-part reinvention of the DC Universe as if he had created the characters in the �Sixties. Actually, I�m not certain about the timeframe, but the lack of historical identifiers in this issue, along with the general hokeyness of the dialogue and the old-fashioned art from Joe Kubert, I have to say that this comic book wouldn�t have been out of place in 1963.
Oh, the origin of Batman uses every blaxploitation cliche in the book (wrongful conviction, masked wrestlers..yuck, yuck, yuck), except for the libidinous. This book is terrible. The only good thing about it was the five-page �One the Street� backup story that showed how people react to Batman. This was well-drawn and well-plotted bit of vignette.
In keeping with the Amalgam and Tangent sub-universes, the books in this series take place in a shared universe, in the order of publication, but, unlike those previous sub-universes, I don�t think that the heroes will become faint copies of the originals–instead, they should remain significiantly different (save name).
Martian Manhunter #34:In the DC One Million Event, we saw Martian Manhunter�s feud with Darkseid, culminating in Darkseid�s final battle. In this issue, we see the origins of their feud: the Manhunter�s years of guerrilla warfare on Apokalips. First, J�onn rescues the children of Mars and frees the spirits of the trapped Elder Council, and then he stays to strive against Kanto and Darkseid. Eventually, he is able to leave thanks to the Highfather�s intercession but by this point, Darkseid has perfected his agent of revenge: Malefic–J�onn�s brother, and the being responsible for the death of all Green Martians.
Don�t feud with Darseid.
Static Shock #4:Hmm. Let me see if I understand this metaphor: Old White Guy drains the blood of new and unusual heroes to steal their strengths and powers for his own advancement…Is Dwayne McDuffie commenting on the state of the comics industry again?
No matter. That�s not the real story. The real story is that Static managed to free the captured Milestone heroes and escape the clutches of John Tower, former hero gone bad. But Static�s comic book adventures mirror the adventures of Static, the comic book. The success of the TV show allowed Dwayne McDuffie to bring back the Milestone comic book universe–freeing the heroes from the clutches of non-publication, so to speak.
Unfortunately, the publishing schedule was erratic. The issues came out bimonthly, instead of monthly, and the sales weren�t high enough to support an ongoing series. However, the letter column states that all is not lost…that there will be another comic book project coming in the near future…perhaps the return of Rocket?
I hope Milestone comes back, and stays vibrant. These are fine characters and stories, and they should be encouraged. I know I will.
(Aside: Why doesn�t Milestone publish through Image? Do they have a long-term distribution deal with DC that prevents them from doing so?)
Thor #39:They�re setting us up for a big change in the status quo of the title, and I�m a little apprehensive. Odin has separated Thor from Jake Olson (but Olson�s dead, you might remember, so this is just a simulacrum of some sort…I think this will pose a long-term problem). This happens just as Surtur the Fire-giant starts a rampage in Sweden.
The first Thor comic I ever read was Simonson�s Ragnarok storyline, which featured Surtur, so I have the uncomfortable sense of deja vue. How will Dan Jurgens top the single best Thor storyline (at least, the first-impression storyline?)