Monthly archives: September, 2006

Sep222006September 22, 2006August 15, 20077 Commentsby Fin Fang Doom

#5 Moment of the Week- Batman rides shotgun

Rich kids in Gotham are being kidnapped. Luckily, Robin’s a rich kid now so he makes the perfect bait. Tim talks Bruce into announcing the adoption on the cover of Fortune so the kidnappers are sure to know about him. The best moment? Realizing that on this case, Batman’s the sidekick.

Who wants to read reviews of comics that you’ve already read? You know what happened, so what’s the point, right? So I thought I’d do something a little different. Every week (maybe) I’ll do a top five countdown of something from the comics I bought this week. Covers, panels, lines, cliffhangers, let-downs, characters…whatever stands out to me that week. Check back Saturday-Tuesday for the rest of the week’s best moments.

Sep212006September 21, 2006January 12, 20094 Commentsby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Pride of Baghdad

Posted in reviews by Jean-Claude Van Doom

Reviewers of Brian K. Vaughn’s Pride of Baghdad have compared it to one of the best known stories that uses animals as metaphors, the middle school lit staple Animal Farm. Like George Orwell, Vaughn uses only animals as characters and from their vantage point comments on the actions of men. In Pride, it’s the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Four lions from the Baghdad zoo are loosed when the sky fills with bombs and the ground battered with explosions, loosing the makeshift pride into a world that’s not the wild they have only vague recollections of. In broad strokes, the story is based on fact. But much of it is of Vaughn’s creation, and surely the ending will draw some complaints.

While Pride is a beautiful and touching book, the comparisons to Animal Farm are unfair and off the mark. Orwell used his barnyard menagerie as a mouthpiece to lambast the evils of humanity, from pettiness to greed to and, most importantly and notably, on the failings of Soviet rule. For good reason, it’s regarded as one of the great Twentieth Century novels. To hold Pride directly up to that mile-long yardstick is unfair.

Pride does use animals to comment on man’s evils, but is far from a straight allegory. Instead of imposing the traits of man onto the lions, Vaughn does his best to recreate them faithfully (in the end notes he references the time he spent at the San Diego Zoo and with various animal welfare groups). And through those simplistic yet earnest lion eyes, Vaughn gives the war in Iraq a new perspective and a new sense of tragedy.

From the opening pages, seen here, to the deafeningly sad conclusion, Pride is a non-stop work of grieving that still somehow celebrates the pluck and spirit of nature. If there’s any shortfall, it’s that the book doesn’t go on long enough, giving us to brief a look into the animals’ lives (and far too few pages of Niko Henrichon’s detailed art).

Sep212006September 21, 2006July 24, 20073 Commentsby Doom DeLuise

Week Twenty

Posted in 52 / countdown / trinity, reviews by Doom DeLuise

For the first time in the series, I find myself truly annoyed by “52.” I can put up with Lobo, and I can put up with filler issues, but not both. 52week20
To start, let’s talk about what actually goes down this week. John Henry Irons opens things, helping fight a fire in some building. He’s finally snapped out of his funk, and he’s ready to embrace his new superhero abilities. He and that other girl that works with him also come to the realization that if Luthor has the capability of making anybody superpowered, he also has the ability to take away superpowers. Uh-oh, Spaghetti-O’s! The rest of the issue is given to Starfire, Animal Man, and Adam Strange on Lobo’s planet. They battle some unknown force (I say unknown, since I couldn’t tell what the heck was happening), and Starfire uses the Eye of Ekron to put the threat to bed. Lobo then says they’re in grave danger, since everytime the Eye is used, the person who uses it is being targeted by the Emerald head of Ekron, from which the Eye was ripped out of. They end up going on the run at the end of the issue, and that’s that.

So, why am I annoyed? Simple. I want some answers or development, dammit. I want to know who put the bounty on the three space adventurers before they start running from somebody else. I want to know what actions Black Adam, the Question, and Montoya are taking after joining forces two weeks ago. I want to know who was grabbing the prison keys in Week Fifteen. I want to know what’s going on with Luthor’s everyman program. I want to know who Supernova is (although, I will be willing to wait for that answer for quite some time), and I want all of the inconsistencies between this series and the OYL stuff to be explained. Where’s Harvey Dent? It seems like Steel is set to take down Luthor, but isn’t Clark Kent supposed to do that, according to Up, Up, and Away?

I guess I’m just fed up with having to end every review of this series with a big ol’ question mark and an urging to just wait for next week. Most importantly, I want to know what the hell Fifty-Two is.

See ya in seven.

Sep192006September 19, 2006August 5, 2007No Commentby Doom DeLuise

Book of Doom: Civil War #4

Posted in books of doom by Doom DeLuise

This week, for the second week in a row, we’re going to try a new roundtable discussion of a current release, or, as we call it, the Book of Doom. Not that it’s necessarily the best thing that came out for the week, but, rather, it’s the book that all of us contributors to the Legion read and decided to talk about. So, some week, if we decide to review the latest issue of Cable/Deadpool, please don’t think anything less of us. Although, I would argue that Cable/Deadpool’s pretty sweet sometimes. I digress.

This week, for those of you who want to play, the Book of Doom is Civil War #4. I’m expecting it to be nothing short of genius, considering all the amazing things that have been going on in the mini-series so far. I mean, ooh, ahh, Thor is back. Call me old-fashioned, but who gives a wet crap about Thor?

Sorry, I sometimes get carried away from my point. My point is, friends, that, tomorrow, you (yes, YOU) should pick up the latest issue of Civil War. On Saturday morning, I’ll post a compilation of all of our reviews of it, at which point, you, the reader, can toss in your two cents.

Don’t worry. More than two of us are going to respond this go-round. Bear with us. We’ll get the hang of it. As long as we can all stay sober for a weekend.

Sep162006September 16, 2006May 3, 20095 Commentsby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Book of Doom: Green Lantern #13

Posted in books of doom, reviews by Jean-Claude Van Doom

Welcome to the first edition of the LOD Book of Doom, featuring Green Lantern #13, written by Geoff Johns, art by Ivan Reis. It’s the continued adventures of Hal Jordan as he battles the cyborg Superman and a world of Manhunters. Hal is trying to save the other GLs that have been imprisoned by the Manhunters and used as living batteries, but the other GLs still think Hal is a villain. Also, Hal’s old flame Arisia isn’t dead anymore…

I have to start out by admitting that I haven’t read a Green Lantern story in years. I’ve never been a huge fan, though I’ve liked most the Lanterns except Kyle. But before Infinite Crisis, the most I’d read DC was in the aftermath of Superman’s Death, when Hank Henshaw (aka – Cyborg Superman) was introduced as a villain. For more on his background, check out his wikipedia entry.

In this issue, Johns uses all the tools that have made him one of my favorite writers: He hints at a mystery (referencing 52 quite abstractly), he includes old-fashioned big ass comic book battles, he shows a complete knowledge of the history of DC and uses it extensively and he has fun with cool characters. I went from having no interest in picking up a GL book to planning to follow this series for as long as Johns is writing it.

There’s definitely some confusion (especially to a GL novice like myself), and the end of the battle happens REALLY quickly, and Henshaw is supposed to be this fearsome villain but he gets blown up more often than Red Tornado, but everything else is fun, intriguing, just great comic book content. It made me feel like a kid again.

Perhaps the greatest moment comes with Guy finding out he has to serve a month of “prime duty,” which means guarding Superboy-Prime’s prison. We see the little blue men vaguely discussing Henshaw, Sector 3601 (where the Manhunter world was located), 52 AND how Superboy is somehow related to it all. What’s great is instead of just having Infinite Crisis as this huge event, then starting over and going in a new direction, Johns is keeping the mysteries coming and showing that regardless of the huge conclusion of that series, its events did not end. They are still impacting the DC Universe.

For a conflicting review, I turn things over to Fin Fang Doom:
Two words came to mind while reading Green Lantern this week: “late and “whaaaa?!?!?!?!?” This issue was certainly not for those of us who aren’t life-long (or at least 15-year-long) readers of the exploits of Hal Jordan. I had never seen any of those “dead” Lanterns other than Arisia, and I didn’t even know that she and Hal were an item. I had no idea Cyborg Superman was just some crazy guy with enhancements. I thought he was just an evil soul-less robot, which in my view is a much cooler villain. And I couldn’t stand that they kept calling him “Henshaw.” There must be something better they could call him (I don’t know, maybe Cyborg Superman?).

The “we don’t forgive you, but we respect you” exchange at the end between the un-dead GLs and Hal was so cliched it hurt. Showing Superboy-Prime again was cool, but will probably end up hurting his appearance next time he shows up. Just bringing up GL “Prime Duty” and letting the fans figure it out would have been much better. I did love the mention of “52” in the confines of the DCU, as it’s been a while. Of course, if this book had come out reasonably on time (which would have been before Superman Returns came out, judging by the ads), it would have came at the same time as all the other mentions in Supergirl & TLOSH and so forth, so in this case, lateness may have helped the story. Of course, if it had come out on time, I may not have forgotten everything from the previous issue and actually enjoyed the story. Coming out the same week as the much-better Green Lantern Corps certainly didn’t help any either.

Is it just me, or has the quality of Geoff Johns’ stories really taken a nose dive since Infinite Crisis ended?

Sep152006September 15, 2006August 15, 2007No Commentby Fin Fang Doom

This week’s haul

Posted in reviews by Fin Fang Doom

A relatively light week for yours truly. I also picked up Truth, Justin and the American Way #4, but I’m a few issue behind in that mini so I haven’t read it yet, and probably won’t for a while. On to the reviews!

52 Week 19
Skeets is evil? That’s a twist I didn’t see coming. I’m glad this new Booster didn’t stick around, because we still have Supernova flying around, and we don’t need two Boosters come Week 52. Why would anyone assume he was Superboy, anyway? There’s been like a zillion other guys with Super in their name, and he doesn’t even have the same powers.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #44
For those of you more, shall we say, “soft” readers, Kurt Busiek threw all subtlety out the window this issue regarding the “secret” ID of the Dweller in the Depths. Looks like the Aquaman we all know ~~and love~~ will be back next issue. Which is a shame, because I really liked this new guy, and never liked the old one. I hope the new look sticks around a bit longer, at least.

Green Lantern #13
Check back tomorrow for thoughts on this week’s Book of Doom.

Green Lantern Corps #4
Man, Dave Gibbons should draw more often. He’s much better than the regular artist. I don’t think any DC title would benefit from the Exiles formula of putting out 18 issues a year with rotating art teams more than GLC. They could even tell stories with rotating GL squads so we aren’t bothered with Thanagarian lizard mating rituals during a fun Guy Gardner story.

Ex Machina #23
Not much plot development here other that Hundred talking to that weird dog-man that talked purple like his arch-nemesis did. Cool last page, though.
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Sep142006September 14, 2006July 24, 20075 Commentsby Doom DeLuise

Week Nineteen

Posted in 52 / countdown / trinity, reviews by Doom DeLuise

This week in “52,” we’re given a big bucket full of question marks. It seems that everywhere you turn in this story, there are more reasons to scratch your head and wait until the next week. It’s compelling, but I’m starting to feel like a dunce, since I really have no clue where it’s all headed. And if you check out “Green Lantern #13” this week, the puzzles get even thicker. In that issue, the Guardians are talking about Superboy-Prime, when they all come to the same conclusion. “52.” It seems as if they’re discussing it as an upcoming problem, or an ongoing one, which would seem to suggest nothing is wrapped up after this giant series is over, but, again, we’ll have to wait and see. 52 week 19
But back to the issue at hand. This week, Animal Man, Starfire, and Adam Strange find themselves on Lobo’s planet, where he’s gone all religy and rules the people of space sector 3500 with the Emerald Eye of Ekron. If anybody knows anything more of that beyond the name, leave me a comment, because I’m not sure of it myself. Also in this issue, Skeets talks to Daniel Carter, from Booster Gold’s bloodline, and convinces the washed up jock cocksucker to help him out in exchange for fame and notoriety. Daniel agrees, and they head back to Rip Hunter’s lab, since, after Booster saw it himself several weeks ago, he told Skeets there was nothing there to talk about. While looking at the lab, Daniel sees the walls covered with grafitti, reading, “It’s all his fault.” Upon closer inspection, he sees that the arrows aren’t pointing at Booster, as originally thought, but, rather, they’re aimed at Skeets. Skeets sends Daniel into a temporal vortex and leaves, saying, “He knows.” The “he” that Skeets is referring to is Rip Hunter, I’m assuming.

That begs the question, what exactly is Skeets? Does Hank Henshaw come into this discussion at all? Why is the stuff in Green Lantern so confusing? There are many questions left to be answered. I have no answers myself; I have only speculation and a hope that, once everything pans out, we’ll be left with a mystery that makes sense, rather than a jumble of unanswered questions and the feeling we’re all going to have once “LOST” goes off the air.

One last thing. When Wonder Girl meets Supernova, she recognizes him, apparently, as Kon-El, aka Conner Kent, aka the dead Superboy.

Again, I have no answers.

See ya in seven.

Sep122006September 12, 2006January 12, 20092 Commentsby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Books of Doom

Posted in books of doom by Jean-Claude Van Doom

The Doomers are pleased to introduce our newest feature (joining the likes of 2005 in review, weekly 52 reviews and, uh… other… stuff…).

Swing by every Saturday to check out all your favorite members of the Doom Family giving a quick review of the weekly Book of Doom. We’ll announce each week’s choice on Wednesday (or thereabouts), then on Saturday post the discussion.

And even though we consider ourselves to be limitless founts of comic book knowledge, we welcome the rest of the comic book web community to join in on the discussion. And if you’re not too cheap, it could provide a good excuse to pick up a book outside of your normal buy pile.

First up is Green Lantern #13, which is only fitting since this Wednesday is the 13th. Here’s the description from DC’s solicit:

Written by Geoff Johns; Art by Ivan Reis and Marc Campos; Cover by Simone Bianchi

“Revenge of the Green Lanterns” continues! Confronted with the Cyborg-Superman and the cold, murderous Manhunters, Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner must convince their fellow Lanterns of Hal’s good intentions. But what chilling secrets do the Manhunters contain? And why do the Guardians of the Universe wish to protect that secret?

Pick up the book, read it and come on back!

Sep122006September 12, 2006January 12, 2009No Commentby Jean-Claude Van Doom

GN 9/11 Commission Report, online

Posted in news by Jean-Claude Van Doom

It’s heartening to hear that the comic book version of the 9/11 Commission Report is selling well. That would mean it’s serving its intended purpose of carrying the message of the report to those who don’t have the time, patience, etc. to wade through nearly 600 very technical and occasionally bureaucratic pages. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be read, just that it’s not a light read.

Much credit needs to go to Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon for taking it upon themselves to undertake the illustrated version. From all reports and my own reading, it’s plenty accurate and is very easy to read. Except, it is very hard to read, emotionally. I found myself having to take breaks every few minutes to gather enough strength and continue on, especially during the descriptions of the attacks.

I’ve avoided all the dramatizations and films on 9/11 so far, so I can’t offer a comparison to any of those. I would imagine this is worth reading though in addition to the other more creative projects. You can pick the comic book 9/11 report at pretty much any bookstore, but you can also find it free online. Slate.com has a special browser to peruse the pages in a very easy format.

Not dealing with the attacks themselves but instead the emotional fallout amongst Americans, Rick Veitch’s Can’t Get No is another worthwhile read. Look for a more in-depth review and an interview with Rick coming soon.

Sep112006September 11, 2006August 4, 20074 Commentsby Doom DeLuise

Make Up Your Own Nightwing Pun

Posted in rants & nostalgia by Doom DeLuise

I gave Nightwing a chance. I really, really did. Out of all the One Year Later books, his was the one I found myself most interested in. During the events of Infinite Crisis, they gave Nightwing the type of push that usually ends with the hero dying (ie, Superboy, Hawkeye, etc), so I naturally assumed that he’d be pushing up daisies by the time the whole thing was finished.

Only, he wasn’t. Somehow, he got a massive push and came out on the other side. At that point, I figured that he’d graduate from being a Beta (according to the OMACs) and jump into the Alpha ranks, where he’d rub elbows with the most elite metas on earth. After being with Batman for all of his formative years, having his own life in Bludhaven for over a hundred issues, and showing an inhuman, death-defying, heroic dose of bravery in the Crisis, yes, I thought that it was time for Dick Grayson to stand alongside the best of the best. Instead, he was put into the worst storyline to come out of One Year Later, with boring enemies, worthless supporting characters, laughably bad scenarios, and a one way ticket back to the B-team.

This cannot be argued. It cannot be said that Nightwing wasn’t saddled with the absolute worst storyline to come out of the Infinite Crisis. I can say this with absolute certainty, because I sat down several hours ago and tried to do just that. I wanted to use my voice in a sea of criticism to say that Nightwing hasn’t been all that bad. I wanted to argue that, although his series hasn’t been the best, well, it wasn’t all that good to begin with. Prior to the Crisis, he was stuck in an arc where he was going undercover with the mob, under his alias of “Crutches,” and I honestly had forgotten how all of that wrapped up. I knew he eventually got out of it and proposed to Babs, but, beyond that, my memory had been washed over by months and months of binge drinking.

So, in the course of laying out my argument, I decided to go back and re-read (or leaf through) all of my old copies of Nightwing. While it was, by no means, the best book out there at the time, Chuck Dixon and, later, even Devin Grayson, put out one hell of a series, and this is a point I will not back down from. Sadly, that fact makes the initial point of how much Bruce Jones has dropped the ball with Nightwing OYL even more of a disappointment.
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