Today, when most of the #2 issues of the DC Universe 'event' (or is it the DC Universe now?) called the 'New 52' have been released, I take a fond look back - at Flashpoint and the 1st issues of what will, for better or worse - heralded as a period of change for the average comic reader.
Flashpoint worked for most people. Innovative concept, no? Heroes, villains, altered timelines, different people, same names - except it's all been done before. No, here I'm not talking about the popular Elseworlds moniker books (all of which were loads better than what DC gave us here), which stopped coming out a few years ago, I'm talking about another DC Universe event called Zero Hour: Crisis in Time which came out in 1994. While Crisis on Infinite Earths addressed the question of multiple universes (space), this shorter (5 issues) series took upon itself to rectify the time anomalies. Written and drawn by veteran (then!....and the guy's still writing/drawing a couple of titles in the new 52! Wotta man!) Dan Jurgens, also known as the guy who killed Superman, the series dealt with a mystery antagonist destroying the past, present and future of the DC Universe - the identity of the said figure was kept secret till the very end, and that presented perhaps the best character development for him ever! (No, for those of you who haven't read it, I'm not spoiling it for you, until I review it!) Suffice to say, Flashpoint is 2/3rds Zero Hour.
Barry Allen is no longer the Flash. In fact, the world now doesn't have a Flash (if this sounds familiar, it's because Geoff Johns did it before in the beginning of his acclaimed Flash run, in a story titled Wonderland), the world is on the brink of war between Atlantis & Themyscira and there is no Superman. Barry Allen must figure out why all of it went to hell....before it gets too late. He's not without help, though - Batman is helping him, but this Batman isn't Bruce Wayne! (My rules - no spoilers for something that's not older than 5 years)
A lot of ground to cover in 5 issues, with splendid art by Andy Kubert and classic character moments by Geoff Johns - the scene with Barry and his mother is worth the full price of admission. But that, unfortunately, isn't enough to salvage this title - it's not that it's all bad, just that it's nothing we haven't seen before. In fact, a few of the 3 issue tie ins offer better stories - especially Batman: Knight of Vengeance & Secret Seven.
On to the new 52 - as an event, I really applaud the guys over at DC for taking this daring step - but it worked out so so for me. My top 5 picks:
Batman:
Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo have hit it out of the park this time. Conspiracy theories aren't new in comics, but I really applaud the people who have dealt with colossal revelations and taken it forward breaking all the stops - people like Ed Brubaker (Captain America), Dan Jurgens (Zero Hour), Jim Starlin (Batman: A Death in the Family), Alan Moore (Batman: The Killing Joke) and Judd Winick (Batman: Under the Hood). I'm stunned, and I'll be back for more!
Justice League Dark:
I never saw June Moone as a menace! Never! Not in Day of Vengeance, nor Shadowpact. With some wicked art by Mikel Janin, Peter Milligan convinces me otherwise. Picks up a few threads from the aforementioned Flashpoint: Secret Seven mini, and also features a guest appearance by Zatanna and other members of the Justice League. Really good stuff there!
Batwoman:
The saga of Kathy Kane continues as we see the new 52 version of Montoya & Captain Sawyer, and also an all new antagonist who might have mystical powers. The art is breathtaking, and the best in comics I've seen so far. J H Williams III is a wonderful storyteller and he just seems to get better and better.
Legion Lost:
This title came with no expectations, and it floored me. There was nothing groundbreaking or spectacular - just some legionnaires trapped in the present. Just goes to show that sometimes old school titles, written in old school style can floor you as well. Commendable effort by Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods.
Red Hood & the Outlaws:
Another stellar title from the man I had written off - Scott Lobdell. He writes a fun romp and after seeing the other characters' angst dominated titles like Rise of Arsenal, it's a much needed breath of fresh air. Some people will feel that Starfire is a little too .....ummm.....open....but that has always been an oft neglected facet of her personality.
Honourable Mention: Most of the new 52 titles worked for me, but were too much on exposition for me to actually care about them beyond continuing to read them. These are a few more titles I'm looking at with high hopes:
Action Comics - Grant Morrison & Rags Morales spin a veritable action packed romp. The only point I have going against this issue is that it's been done before - with a much lesser name, and people ran him out of comics for that - and now Morrison does it, after a DC event by Johns, that suddenly makes it all right? I'll wait till you go back and read Superman: The Wrath of Gog and Superman: In the Name of Gog by Chuck Austen and Ivan Reis.
Swamp Thing - Nobody draws dead animals, foliage and Skeletons like Yanick Paquette. 'Nuff said.
Voodoo - This one surprised me. It's almost cheesecake and strip tease till the eventual reveal. Boy, what can I say? Ron Marz and Sami Basri really do take the cake.
Suicide Squad - Innovative concept, good pacing and art. Though not 'there' as in John Ostrander/Luke McDonnell but one of the better reads.
Animal Man - Jeff Lemire spins a nice story about the red but am not too enthused by Travel Foreman's art. Let's see.
Justice League International - Jurgens veers away from the caricature the League had become under Giffen/DeMatteis and continues the tone set in the Generation Lost series. Looks Promising so far.
Batgirl - While I did not enjoy Oracle going, or how she got back the use of her legs, Simone does write a compelling first issue of Batgirl back in her boots.
Catwoman - Winick takes it over the top. I like.
Aquaman - History and exposition. Wasn't too much to read, but a good effort by Johns & Reis.
I, Vampire - Nice twist on a classic tale of terror. Loved his Elk's run, and looking forward to more of the same quality.
Signing off for now. Will be back next week with a review of the phenomenal pop culture classic Enigma - by Peter Milligan & Duncan Fegredo
Flashpoint worked for most people. Innovative concept, no? Heroes, villains, altered timelines, different people, same names - except it's all been done before. No, here I'm not talking about the popular Elseworlds moniker books (all of which were loads better than what DC gave us here), which stopped coming out a few years ago, I'm talking about another DC Universe event called Zero Hour: Crisis in Time which came out in 1994. While Crisis on Infinite Earths addressed the question of multiple universes (space), this shorter (5 issues) series took upon itself to rectify the time anomalies. Written and drawn by veteran (then!....and the guy's still writing/drawing a couple of titles in the new 52! Wotta man!) Dan Jurgens, also known as the guy who killed Superman, the series dealt with a mystery antagonist destroying the past, present and future of the DC Universe - the identity of the said figure was kept secret till the very end, and that presented perhaps the best character development for him ever! (No, for those of you who haven't read it, I'm not spoiling it for you, until I review it!) Suffice to say, Flashpoint is 2/3rds Zero Hour.
Barry Allen is no longer the Flash. In fact, the world now doesn't have a Flash (if this sounds familiar, it's because Geoff Johns did it before in the beginning of his acclaimed Flash run, in a story titled Wonderland), the world is on the brink of war between Atlantis & Themyscira and there is no Superman. Barry Allen must figure out why all of it went to hell....before it gets too late. He's not without help, though - Batman is helping him, but this Batman isn't Bruce Wayne! (My rules - no spoilers for something that's not older than 5 years)
A lot of ground to cover in 5 issues, with splendid art by Andy Kubert and classic character moments by Geoff Johns - the scene with Barry and his mother is worth the full price of admission. But that, unfortunately, isn't enough to salvage this title - it's not that it's all bad, just that it's nothing we haven't seen before. In fact, a few of the 3 issue tie ins offer better stories - especially Batman: Knight of Vengeance & Secret Seven.
On to the new 52 - as an event, I really applaud the guys over at DC for taking this daring step - but it worked out so so for me. My top 5 picks:
Batman:
Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo have hit it out of the park this time. Conspiracy theories aren't new in comics, but I really applaud the people who have dealt with colossal revelations and taken it forward breaking all the stops - people like Ed Brubaker (Captain America), Dan Jurgens (Zero Hour), Jim Starlin (Batman: A Death in the Family), Alan Moore (Batman: The Killing Joke) and Judd Winick (Batman: Under the Hood). I'm stunned, and I'll be back for more!Justice League Dark:
I never saw June Moone as a menace! Never! Not in Day of Vengeance, nor Shadowpact. With some wicked art by Mikel Janin, Peter Milligan convinces me otherwise. Picks up a few threads from the aforementioned Flashpoint: Secret Seven mini, and also features a guest appearance by Zatanna and other members of the Justice League. Really good stuff there!Batwoman:
The saga of Kathy Kane continues as we see the new 52 version of Montoya & Captain Sawyer, and also an all new antagonist who might have mystical powers. The art is breathtaking, and the best in comics I've seen so far. J H Williams III is a wonderful storyteller and he just seems to get better and better.Legion Lost:
This title came with no expectations, and it floored me. There was nothing groundbreaking or spectacular - just some legionnaires trapped in the present. Just goes to show that sometimes old school titles, written in old school style can floor you as well. Commendable effort by Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods.Red Hood & the Outlaws:
Another stellar title from the man I had written off - Scott Lobdell. He writes a fun romp and after seeing the other characters' angst dominated titles like Rise of Arsenal, it's a much needed breath of fresh air. Some people will feel that Starfire is a little too .....ummm.....open....but that has always been an oft neglected facet of her personality.Honourable Mention: Most of the new 52 titles worked for me, but were too much on exposition for me to actually care about them beyond continuing to read them. These are a few more titles I'm looking at with high hopes:
Action Comics - Grant Morrison & Rags Morales spin a veritable action packed romp. The only point I have going against this issue is that it's been done before - with a much lesser name, and people ran him out of comics for that - and now Morrison does it, after a DC event by Johns, that suddenly makes it all right? I'll wait till you go back and read Superman: The Wrath of Gog and Superman: In the Name of Gog by Chuck Austen and Ivan Reis.
Swamp Thing - Nobody draws dead animals, foliage and Skeletons like Yanick Paquette. 'Nuff said.
Voodoo - This one surprised me. It's almost cheesecake and strip tease till the eventual reveal. Boy, what can I say? Ron Marz and Sami Basri really do take the cake.
Suicide Squad - Innovative concept, good pacing and art. Though not 'there' as in John Ostrander/Luke McDonnell but one of the better reads.
Animal Man - Jeff Lemire spins a nice story about the red but am not too enthused by Travel Foreman's art. Let's see.
Justice League International - Jurgens veers away from the caricature the League had become under Giffen/DeMatteis and continues the tone set in the Generation Lost series. Looks Promising so far.
Batgirl - While I did not enjoy Oracle going, or how she got back the use of her legs, Simone does write a compelling first issue of Batgirl back in her boots.
Catwoman - Winick takes it over the top. I like.
Aquaman - History and exposition. Wasn't too much to read, but a good effort by Johns & Reis.
I, Vampire - Nice twist on a classic tale of terror. Loved his Elk's run, and looking forward to more of the same quality.
Signing off for now. Will be back next week with a review of the phenomenal pop culture classic Enigma - by Peter Milligan & Duncan Fegredo
4 comments:
Wow, I so want to check out Justice League Dark and Batwoman.
Great post as always :).
http://crazypoplock.blogspot.com/
That's a great post..... but I can't say I agree on Red Hood and Legion Lost......
I would replace them with any two of Action Comics, Wonder Woman and JLI
Not to forget Swamp Thing and Animal Man
@crazypoplock
You REALLY should! They are both amazing!
@aalok
I agree with anubhav that AC, WW & (so far) JLI are all better then Red Hood and Legion Lost - though Im a Jason Todd fan myself so its just barely below at the moment but still on my pull list! :)
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