Week 4 of the New DC Comics!: Part Une!

 This is the longest post yet about the new DC comics. This length is due to the poor nature of many of the books DC put out in their final week of new books. In this post I only discuss half of the books DC released in their final week, and the other half will be discussed in a later post (probably next week). None of the below comics were ones I previously read and none are instant winners. Four of the comics did leave me interested enough to pick up a second issue and give the books another try, but overall this group of comics was a serious disappointment. From the group discussed here, I would recommend: Justice League Dark, I Vampire, Savage Hawkman, and maybe Teen Titans.


Green Lantern, New Guardians: On the plus side this book offered the kernels of an interesting story, a very brief reframing of the origin of Kyle Rayner becoming a Green Lantern, and that the art was OK. The biggest downside is that as a previous follower of the Green Lantern comic the story left me thoroughly confused as to what the heck has happened to the continuity of the Green Lantern comics and the DC universe as a whole. First off, why is Kyle not already a GL but everyone else previously shown in GL books are? In the previous GL books Kyle was already a GL, so I presume this book represents a complete reboot of Kyle's character, but why is he the only GL to have a reboot? In the previously released GL #1, the story picked up right where the previous GL story started. This lack of coherency in story has left me wondering where all the other new DC books fit into the continuum as it appears that books such as Batman have been left unchanged but books like the Blue Beetle have been completely altered. Is it me or did DC release a source book explaining all this that I missed?  A second and smaller problem is that Kyle is unaware of the presence of other Lanterns when he first becomes one, yet a random guy he saves on the next page is well aware of their existence. Furthermore, this comic appears to occur at the same time as does the story in the Green Lantern CORPS comic where the Lanterns are very well known throughout the world. So how the heck doesn't Kyle know about the Lanterns?


The issue of continuity problems has been addressed by many other online critics. It is a glaring problem with the DC reboot that boggles my mind as to how they managed to mess things up so badly. The blame settles upon the editors and should have been a simple issue to ensure not to happen. DC advertised their reboot as a clean slate to their heroes so new readers could begin reading their books. However, this clean slate and issue of reboot has only been applied to a select few characters with no explanation why other heroes were not included.

I, Vampire: Right away I was confused by this comic for the title is almost identical to another comic DC is producing under its Vertigo imprint. This other comic is called I, Zombie and is an absolutely exceptional book. The close similarity in name had me thinking these books would be connected in some way, but after reading 'I, Vampire' I discovered that there were no similarities other than the name and presence of classic horror creatures; but why use such a similar name? It makes no sense and is frankly a stupid move by DC.


One of the best parts of this book is the art. Andrea Sorrentino provides the illustrations that are strongly reminiscent of Jae Lee's work  with the usage of heavy and blocky blacks and scratchy /scribbly lines. This similarity is so strong that it leaves Sorrentino's art less memorable because of the lack of originality in style, but nonetheless the art looks good. What does work to Sorrentino's benefit is that no one else in the DC line of new books are using a similar style. While Sorrentino's art is not original, it is original in comparison to the other DC books.

i Zombie: confusingly similar names.

Going into this book I knew nothing about the characters or the previous usage of vampires in DC comics for that matter. The book opens with a conversation between two vampires, Andrew & Mary, and an ill described sequence of Andrew walking through a street filled with dead and weeding out the vampires from the dead that he then kills. The premise is interesting enough and a shallow depth of mystery this book provides also engaged my senses. However, I finished the book not caring about the characters. Such a lack of caring destroyed any sense of engagement the book had instilled in me. There is little depth provided to the characters and I, the reader, was thrown into the climax of the story without having a solid build-up to it. This book needed to start out much slower and allow the reader to become more familiar with the characters.


In all, I Vampire is a curious book that has me conflicted about the art's originality, confused by the naming of the book, and left me not  interested in the main characters. Yet, the storyline had some interesting elements that could pan out to be a gripping yarn later in the year.

Justice League Dark: This is a fantastic comic because I LOVED the art and the story presented a unique cast of characters in an exciting premise! In this issue, a team is slowly comprised with a group of mystics such as John Costantine and Deadman. The team has not yet gelled but the characters are converging, with their importance foreshadowed with the defeat of three members of the JLA by the character known as Enchantress. The story is very dark and moody, with tons of foreshadowing. 


The book could do with one or two less characters as a group of six is maybe too much and does not leave enough time to develop each character. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the group of characters assembled here but feel that Swamp Thing too should be included (despite the fact the book would do better with fewer characters). The art inside the book is just as well rendered as the illustration on the cover. The art is provided by Mikel Janin who uses soft lines with a realistic style that reminds me of J.G. Jones and Adam Hughes. I don't think this book has received much attention and could easily become a sleeper hit!

The Savage Hawkman: I am most familiar with the character of Hawkman from cartoons and a handful of his guest appearances in other comic books. I have always liked the character but whatever reason never became a big fan. This first issue did not make me into a big fan but did pique my interest. The story is pretty simple with Hawkman conflicted about having powers, which then change and force him into retaining his powers. Hawkman's conflict over his powers is poorly explained and made me feel that I should've read earlier Hawkman issues. 


The second component of the story is a glimpse at Hawkman's private /regular life, and then the story's third act reveals a new villain. These last two components were presented well but did not leave any character development for secondary and tertiary characters as multiple pages were used up with a fight sequence in the final act. As for Hawkman himself, there is little exploration or explanation of his character. The only side of Hawkman we see is his anger, which is all fine and well if you're talking about the Hulk.


Turning to the art you find a very compelling reason to pick up this and future issues of the book. Philip Tan provides luscious illustrations that have grey tones that give the illusion of each page looking like a water color painting. I love the contrast of loose and angled lines and the minimalist approach taken on some of the elements like clothing. It really works and I look forward to seeing where Tan's art will go later in this book.

Superman: Who is Superman in light of the new DC? This is a question left unanswered in this first issue. It is not until the final few pages that Clerk Kent is provided a brief character sketch. Instead, we are treated to a long explanation of what the role of the Daily Planet, or lack thereof, is in the new DC universe. It is more of a commentary on the changing face of the modern news media with obvious references to the Rupert Murdoch scandal of unethical journalism. Considering that this comic is named SUPERMAN, and that the point of the renumbering of the DC comics was to reintroduce new and old readers to their characters, I am left bewildered why George Perez, the writer, took such a bizarre direction in the first issue. 


Another glaring problem with this comic is that at no point was there a sense of wonder or awe. These are critical elements in portraying Superman. He is the Man of Steel, the Man of Tomorrow, yet neither nickname find relevance in this issue. Superman is instead used as a tool to halt evil doers, but in an unremarkable way where any other superhero could have been swapped in for Supes. In all, I was left un-enthused with this issue and the treatment of Superman. I truly expected much better from this issue.

Teen Titans: I am very torn on how to feel about this first issue. To begin, a book entitled 'Teen Titans' does not have the feel of a group of 'Teenagers'. Instead, Scott Lobdell, the writer, introduced us to a group of superheroes that are in their early to mid 20's; perhaps the book should be called 'Young Adult Titans"? Problems of age aside, I found the dialogue some of the best and funniest yet in the new DC books. The dialogue felt genuine to each character, with good usage of stereotypes in the dialogues that set the characters apart from one another; for instance, Kid Flash speaks in a quick and arrogant fashion while Red Robbin speaks in a more deliberate and wiser fashion. The overall story itself is strong but nothing too original. On the plus side, the book briefly introduces you to all the characters that will join the team but focuses on only three of them. This allows the reader a slower introduction to the book which fosters greater character development and character likability. This was a strong move that Justice League Dark would've been improved by following. 


The final point to mention is the art, which is one of the undoings of this comic. Brett Booth provides generic artwork where everyone has the same body type and facial features. The environments are rendered with sufficient detail but the choice of framing is uninspired. For this book to succeed, Lobdell needs to rethink who his script fits into a book called 'Teen Titans', and Booth needs to spend more time on creating original and realistic art.

Voodoo: Wow DC. All I can say is wow, and I do not mean this in an awe inspiring kind of way. This book had a number of problems, the biggest of which is who DC believes the target audience of this book is for? Ron Marz provides the script and is a writer I enjoyed years ago for his run on Green Lantern where he first introduced us to Kyle Rayner as a new GL and the beginning of Hal Jordan's insanity and fall from the GL's. Marz was a trendsetter back in the 90's, but his work on Voodoo is the work of a teenager who watched the movie Species too many times. The first 3/4 of this book is situated in a strip club and the last little bit features a brutal killing. There are no warnings for how graphic this comic is. DC is advertising their comics for all ages, yet have ramped up the maturity of the content.


Getting past the over the top usage of sex and violence, Voodoo does very little to build interest in where this comic is going. The story feels very tired with the over-done story of alien who is hiding on Earth and a mysterious government agency that chases after such aliens. This is all too similar to the a fore mentioned movie Species, and many other franchises such as X-Files. This lack of originality definitely hurts the comic's ability to spur interest, but the lack of story development also does not help. The first 20 or so pages could have been slimmed down to 5 as the exposition was gratuitous. In consideration of the art, Sami Basri does a commendable job. There is very little detail in his art, resulting in people looking more like silhouettes with a few interior lines. The result of such a style are clean and easily understood illustrations while also not leaving a big impression upon the viewer for remembering the art. Basir does the job well, but not well enough to be remembered against other artists. 

First Week of DC's New 52

Following DC comics release of the re-numbered and re-imagined Justice League came 13 or so other similarly styled comics each week during the month of September. It is beyond my budget to pick up each of these comics as I still collect books from other publishers -sorry DC. However, I did want to try some of the new comics to see how good or bad they were.

In all I picked up 5 of the DC comics in the first week. Out of those five, only one was a true disappointment. The other four were good enough to make me want to continue reading them. In the second week I picked up yet another 5 books, and again only 1 was a disappointment and the other four will likely become regular, monthly reads. Below are a few comments on the five books I picked up during the first week. In future posts I'll comment on the books that came out after the first week.

Action Comics: The art is very strong and features a young Superman who is still understanding his limitations. While not explicit, it seems that this book is taking place between five and ten years before the present. In the book, Superman's powers are not yet fully realized and his relationship to Louis is virtually nil. Lex Luthor is still a respected business man who is just discovering Superman, and of course his hatred for him. This book made me excited for what DC was doing and was an exceptionally fun title to immerse myself into!

Batgirl: I had high expectations for this book because the writer, Gail Simone, is a huge fan favorite for her work on the Secret 6 book -also published by DC. The artwork in Batgirl is solid but nothing too grabbing and the same can be said for the writing. A bit of a disappointment as there was not too much new or inventive being offered for this character as I felt Batgirl was being portrayed as a cliche of a superhero. Despite this, the premise of the storyline offered a few highlights that piqued my interest enough to warrant further reading.

Detective Comics: Tony Daniel! The name is enough to sell me on this title! Daniel both draws and writes this title and manages to do both tasks with considerable skill. The story is definitely dark and twisted, with Batman presented as a detective (as he should be presented) chasing down the notorious evil doers of Gotham, notably the Joker! Great read!

Green Arrow: This was the disappointment of the week. The art is OK, which is disappointing to say since it is Dan Jurgens who penciled the comic. Jurgens was once one of the biggest names in comic books back in the 1990's with his work on the death of Superman series; however, it would seem his art has not matured since the 90's and has perhaps become a little lazy. There are numerous panels that cried out for more detail (especially in the buildings), and the figures seemed stilted and overly posed in each shot. Furthermore, Geore Perez (who is also a legendary artist of the 90's) inked the book. Perez's inks are muddy and thick, almost sloppy. The writing is similarly stilted and the story is down right boring with the over-used concept of rich boy playing crime fighter and very little else added to make it stand out against the other 52 DC titles. I'm a little shocked at the low quality of this book but can only suggest that it was due to a tight time frame that the creators had to work within. Regardless, I am not exactly inclined to pick up another issue of this book any time soon.

Swamp Thing: This is another title that surprised me, but in a good way! The first issue of this title was exciting as I had little idea where the story could go and each page unleashed a flurry of beautiful art by the highly talented Yanick Paquette. Paquette offers some of the most striking visuals in any of the DC titles, with beautiful composition, soft lines, range of visions and elements, and so on. Paquette alone makes the book worth picking up! But Scott Snyder adds another element that makes this perhaps the best book DC pushed out. Snyder presents an interesting story of internal and external conflict. Snyder writes Swamp Thing for both the old and new reader, allowing for the older readers to be rewarded for their patronage to the character while also making the book assessable to new readers like myself. This is a great, great, great book that I can't recommend enough!

Comics Adapted to Film: Why Reinvent the Wheel?

Poster for Singer's
Superman Returns.

Over the past few months test images from the Superman Returns movie have been released over the internet. The movie was directed by Bryan Singer and released to lukewarm reviews in 2006. It picked up from where the second Superman (released in 1980) movie ended. Personally, I enjoyed Singer's sequel although I thought its pace was slow at times.

Superman test suit from Burton's
Superman movie. Even the face of
the mannequin resembles Cage's.

Tim Burton was to originally direct Superman Returns, and Nicholas Cage was to be Superman instead of Brandon Routh who Singer casted. Images from the costumes that Burton was to use were released over the internet last month, and this month special affects designs were released from Singer's movie.

Doomsday from
DC Comics.

Most of the recently released images deal with costume designs. They are sketches and paintings, an attempt to visualize the style the movie was to take. What irked me, however, was that there was also a design of Doomsday. This character was the one who 'killed' Superman in the comics, back in 1992. I have never been a fan of the design of Doomsday in the comics and thought the idea was weak. It was like a 'hand of God' ending to a story line, where the author could not think of a better way to bring a story line to a conclusion so the most unthinkable action sweeps in mysteriously to usher in a closing. To me, the most logical conclusion to a story that dealt with Superman's demise involves a nemesis he has always faced, such as Luthor or more interestingly Batman, or he dies by his own selfless hands whilst saving Metropolis. All very heroic and befitting the character, unlike him being pummeled to death by a previously unknown space man on steroids. Regardless of how I felt, the character of Doomsday has remained popular by fans and a fixture in the Superman universe for the past 18 years.

Ill fated Doomsday design from
Singer's Superman Returns.

Now we know that Singer had a similar view of Doomsday as the fans did, except for how the character should be depicted. This is the problem. Singer's version of Doomsday is radically different from the comic character and reminds me more of a alien space marine that mated with a locust. While I admitted above that I am not a fan of Doomsday's character design from the comics, I still believe that when a character is adapted to a movie it should not be wholly removed from its origins. Otherwise, what is the point of adapting a character at all? This is all too common in Hollywood comic adaptations (eg. Daredevil). I will agree that it is often interesting to see some alterations to a character in both appearance and personality as it shows the outlook that the director or writer or actor had, but this cannot be taken too far as is the case with Doomsday. Otherwise you might as well call the character and movie something else. Artistic taste and vision can easily go too far in adapting a material into film, and the original source must always be referenced.

Perhaps I should be glad that Singer did not make a sequel after all.