Random Thoughts from 9/12/07
The JLA Wedding Special has got to be the worst marketing idea in recent memory. First of all, nothing draws fanboys to a comic like having the word “Wedding” in the title, am I right? [No, I am not.] Second, DC Specials tend to be throwaway stories that are utterly avoidable, but this one wasn’t at all. Why DC would choose to make the first issue of Dwayne McDuffie’s run on JLA in anything but JLA #13 is beyond me, but I’m particularly confused as to why DC didn’t even bother to mention this was the first issue of McDuffie’s first arc. JLA #13, the first “official” issue of McDuffie’s run, is going to be part 2 of a story, and the vast majority of the readership probably won’t have read the Wedding Special. That makes absolutely no sense. This Special should have been JLA #13, if for no other reason that it would have sold a hell of a lot better.
Green Lanterns were all over the place this week, weren’t they? Alan Scott in Justice Society of America #9; Kyle Rayner in Countdown #33 and The Search for Ray Palmer: Wildstorm; Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardner in JLA Wedding Special; Guy Gardner and Sinestro in Booster Gold #2; and of course everybody in Green Lantern #23. That’s well over two-thirds of the DC books I got this week.
Three issues of The Walking Dead in four weeks…it looks like Kirkman & Co. are finally back on track. TWD #42 was great, if only for the two-page spread of the townsfolk storming the prison. They’ve got a fracking tank! I had a feeling the Governor wasn’t dead, and even as gruesome as their previous encounters were, I can’t wait to see Michonne and The Governor go one more round.
I’ve got a feeling that this current arc on Superman would be a lot better if DC didn’t keep interrupting it with fill-in stories. Last issue was the special #666, which I hated, and before that we had the origin of Jimmy Olsen story. I didn’t realize that Superman’s been having the same problems that Action Comics has with interrupting the longer arcs with meaningless fill-ins. Those random changes is what made me drop Action, so I guess it’s a testament to the quality of the work that I’ve been able to overlook it (and up to this point, not even realize it) on Superman.
X-Factor #23 was the best book of the week. Imagine that.
I can’t express in words how much joy I got out of seeing Iron Man get pwned by Thor in Thor #3. Tony Stark still comes off really slimy in everything he shows up in. Now he’s rationalizing why Thor shouldn’t have to join the Initiative since there’s no way in hell he can force Thor to join, just so he can save face. Ugh! Worst good guy/best bad guy ever!
Annihilation is not doing any favors for Nova. For the first few months it came out, Nova was one of my favorite books of the month. Now we’re only on Nova #6, and I’m considering dropping the book. Only one more issue of Annihilation stuff, though, so hopefully the title will return to what it once was.
Punisher: War Journal is edging closer and closer to me dropping it. Of course, Ariel Olivetti will probably return next issue and I’ll forget all about it.
Thor stomping Iron Man was very nice. Not nice enough for me to buy the comic, but nice.
Any particular reason the Annihilation stuff isn’t working for you in Nova? Is it a general disinterest in the crossover, or something else?
Also, as to the Superman/fill-in thing, they’re doing all the fill-ins because Pacheo (spelling?) can’t keep his monthly schedule, correct? So would you be cool with another artist stepping in to keep things running smoothly until Mr. Pacheo could catch up? I don’t mind fill-in artists myself, as long as the style is something I like (so for me, Greg Land would not be an acceptable fill-in artist), but I’m also not reading Superman, so I don’t really have a horse in this race. I’m just curious.
Fin, what’d you think of JLA: Wedding Special? (Beyond the marketing, I mean.) I know you’re the resident Dwayne McDuffie fan club member. 😆
CalvinPitt: I’m not sure why I’m not liking Annihilation. Maybe the cosmic stuff just isn’t my cup of tea. The first three issues of Nova were set on Earth, so that was a huge difference from what’s going on now.
I would prefer a filli-in artist to fill-in stories, definitely. I’ve said on here many times that I think rotating, complementary art teams should start to become the standard in monthly comics, now that any “superstar artist” can never keep anything close to a monthly schedule. The trick is to find two art teams that aren’t drastically different. Look at how well that’s worked on Captain America since Brubaker relaunched it: you hardly notice if it’s Steve Epting, Michael Lark or Mike Perkins since their styles work so well together.
JCVD: I liked it a lot, probably more than I would have if we hadn’t been getting nothing but horrible JLA stories for a few years now. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, just a good old-fashioned villain-on-hero beatdown, but that’s fine from time to time. It’s refreshing to see the League do something other than fight amongst themselves for a change. Also, Mike McKone is a great artist.