The Doomino Effect for the week of May 30, 2007
Did you know that if someone with a Brooklyn accent was referring to Jeffrey Dahmer’s smelling device, it would sound like they were saying “Dominoes” ? This is of course irrelevant, because this is the Doomino Effect, and so please continue reading.
Speaking of reading, that leads me to Daredevil #97, which I read! We’re getting close to issue 100 of this series, which has been made remarkably less exciting now that I see Michael Turner is drawing the cover. Kind of like “Congratulations on such a milestone here at work, Bill. Now we’re going to have Michael Turner smear poop on the front of your house.” Anyway, in this issue, Melvin the Gladiator (don’t those words just make you shudder with fear?) lays waste to people and neighborhoods throughout Hell’s Kitchen as Murdock tries to figure out what’s going on. Lily is back, and I hope that this means everything from Brubaker’s run is going to tie together nicely somehow, instead of Lily just already being a recurring character. I’m still happily buying this book, and now that Melvin’s got Milla in his sights, next issue should be a doozy!
Speaking of endangered love interests, that leads me to Green Lantern #20, which has lately been The Comic In Which a Well-Endowed Woman Will Wake Up Naked and Confused as the Star Sapphire does its durnedest to figure out who Hal Jordan loves most. Even though I think Daniel Acuna is a good artist with his own style, I’m looking forward to when Ivan Reis comes back (if he is coming back). By the end of this arc, Hal ends up outsmarting the funny space Amazons, teaching them a lesson about love in the process, which only makes them decide to take a different route in their quest for bigtime power.
Speaking of bigtime power, that leads me to The New Avengers: Illuminati #3, where everyone’s favorite secret super-powered society goes on another adventure that could have been a miniseries in a single issue. This time, they realize the Beyonder (from Secret Wars) was an Inhuman mutant and that he’s living in an asteroid belt where he has made a replica of Manhattan. Then they convince him to go away, and then he doesn’t do that. A whole lot of nothing.
And speaking of a whole lot of nothing, that leads me to Justice Society of America #6, the latest chapter in the lamest JLA / JSA crossover ever, The Lightning Saga. I kind of have a feeling that the conclusion to this story will result in something cool, but my goodness, has it ever been a dull trip. It’s sort of like when you know that a surgery will restore the proper health or functioning of a body part, and it’s going to be awesome when my legs work again, but surgery sure is lousy. So far, this crossover has been surgery without any anesthetic. This was like the stage of surgery where you know the worst is behind you, but you’re still kind of groggy and wondering how long recovery will take.
And speaking of recovery, that leads me to Madman Atomic Comics #2, which actually came out last week, but I didn’t find it until this week. I was disappointed with issue 1, and I was feeling even more disappointed with issue 2. It was just too heavy and dull to be a good Madman story. There was none of that excitement and joy that leaps off the page in previous Madman comics. I felt like Michael Allred was perhaps experimenting with a new style of story for the relaunch and using a beloved character to do so. But all my worries were immediately erased with two words: “Like Joe.”
In the middle of his existential psycho-nonsense journey, Frank discovers that he has the opportunity to recreate all of reality however he wants; he can erase the bad things and make the good things better. Knowing all that, the first thing he wants to do with this newfound infinite power is to bring Joe back into his life. That’s the Madman I grew to love – no matter what’s going on around him, he’s so in love with Joe that nothing else really matters. Then the rest of this artificial omnipotent dreamstory unravels into the supporting cast that has helped make the book great. Throughout the years, Madman (for me) has been a comic book that makes you believe in love and the goodness and innocence in people. I didn’t feel that at all with issue 1, but Allred beautifully brought it back.
Hopefully that ridiculously-delayed Madman Gargantua 800+ page hardcover comes out soon, because this issue put me in the mood to read everything Madman all over again (without digging through boxes).