Mary Jane Skrull?

Just a thought after reading New Avengers #31. It's not possible that this whole Skrull thing is a going to be used as a way for Quesada to retcon the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson marriage is it? Would Marvel reveal that Mary Jane has been a Skrull all this time? They wouldn't go that far, would they?

Even if they did, that doesn't mean the marriage has to end. If Colossal Boy and Yera can work through the shapeshifting, so can the Parkers. It's what's inside that counts, although you know what's inside Skrulls? Tiny little evil shapeshifting Skrull cells. Curse that evil Mary Jane and her Skrull way of doing laundry inside a laundry basket!

Casanova and Fourth World in my Brain

I just spent the week reading two of the greatest hardcover comic book collections in the history of the universe ever: Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba's Casanova: Volume One and Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus: Volume One. It's insane to compare the two. Kirby's work was done 35 years ago and published across four different interwoven (sort of) titles and ultimately left incomplete, while Fraction and Ba's work is brand new, self-contained and structured like a GURPS module on fast forward. Yet I can get neither masterpiece out of my brain. They have some immense cortex-burning power, these books, and I'm not kidding when I said I spent the week reading them. I have not only read them both, cover-to-cover, but I keep picking them up and reading sections again, not because the plots are densely packed (and they are, though not to a baffling degree), but because the energy in these works won't allow me to put them down for long. Even when I have set them aside for hours (because I have to, let's say, "work" or "feed my kids," or whatever), I think about the images, the ideas, the depth of imagination, and I want to clear my schedule for another dive into the fictional worlds in which a super-escape artist and his dwarf sidekick zoom around on Aero-Discs, in which the three conjoined brains of transcendent Zen monks turns evil, in which Don Rickles' nicer doppelganger confronts Superman, and in which a transdimensional superspy posing as a fashion photographer uncovers the hidden map which might save civilization as we know it.

Image provides Casanova with better production value, by the way. The book is glossy and beautiful, just as it should be. It's as slick as a Casanova Quinn doublecross and just as dynamic. The Fourth World Omnibus on the other hand is shockingly light for its size. When I picked it up at the store (and yes, even though I pre-ordered it from Amazon months ago, I couldn't wait until July to receive it, so I bought it at Fantasy Realms at a higher price and cancelled my Amazon order--that's how excited I was before even opening the book), anyway, it felt like it was hollow--like the hardcovers were wrapped around a chewy foam center. That's because, as voices around the internet will no doubt declare, the paper quality is poor. It's like that Mando paper DC used to put in its "New Format" titles back in the late 1980s (which was fine for The New Guardians, but for a $50 hardcover???). It's not the glossy stuff you might find in an Archive edition, or even the glossy stuff you might find in regular floppy comic from DC these days. No, it's like having bound copies of the original New Gods and Jimmy Olsen issues, only without the color bars on the top of the page. Even with the inferior paper quality, the book is still great. Kirby doesn't need glossy paper to blow your mind. The production values in The Fourth World Omnibus don't come from the printing, they come from the genius of Jack Kirby.

I'm not going to even try to summarize the plots of these two books. You should read them. You will. You must. So, I'll just touch upon the stuff that's been stuck in my brain all week as I've read and reread these two works.

Let's start with Kirby. I've owned the New Gods stuff in various formats over the years. I have a few of the original issues. I have the Baxter 6-issue reprint series. I have the black and white paperbacks. I have the Jimmy Olsen books. But even though this book is only the first volume of a proposed four volumes, I've never read the stories in this way: presented in chronological order by date of publication. The continuity doesn't make sense this way, of course. At one point Superman is knocked out at the end of a Jimmy Olsen story, then flying around with the Forever People within a few pages of the next chapter, then, a few chapters later, he's back on the floor as the Jimmy Olsen story resumes. But that's not important. What is important is the sense of scope and grandeur that can only occur when reading the stories in this way. I'd read them in segments before: all the New Gods stuff, all the Mister Miracle stuff, etc., but I'd never read them with any sense of the issue-to-issue developments BETWEEN the different series. Even though Mister Miracle #2 doesn't directly lead into Forever People #3, it's essential to read them in that order because the Fourth World tapestry develops across all the comics, and it amplifies slowly, but with sudden bursts of violence and danger. Read in chronological order, the entire Fourth World saga feels like a magnificent orchestral arrangement.

I don't know enough about music to say what Casanova feels like. It's not grandiose in the way the Kirby stuff is, and it's not down-and-dirty punk rock either. It's lean and crisp and complex and stylish. Perhaps it's a new sound, at once stripped down and packed with meaning. An aural cocktail of sex and betrayal and parallel universes and filicide. It's both totally plot-driven and superficial and deeply complicated and resonant, and I can't quite classify it as a sound or as a work of graphic narrative. All I can do is put it next to Kirby and call it some kind of genius. Geoff Klock calls it the comic book equivalent of Kill Bill, which, to him, is the highest praise. Matt Fraction, creator of Casanova Quinn, and not necessarily a big fan of late Tarantino, disagrees. I see what Klock is saying, but I also think that it's less specific an homage than anything Tarantino has ever done. Fraction's work on this book alludes to other work, certainly, but it's not as simple as saying that Casanova is the son of Nick Fury from an alternate dimension. Maybe Kill Bill isn't that simple either, but you can't break down each page of Casanova and identify the allusions to everything Fraction has read or watched the way you can with Tarantino's work. Writer Fraction and artist Ba are recombining genres and styles not to look back at the past, but to make something new for the future.

Just as Jack Kirby always did. Even when he seemed to run out of new ideas, his "rehashed" ideas (Eternals and Captain Victory to name two of his lesser works) are still amazingly imaginative. Kirby's Fourth World saga looks to the future too. Even today. It literally destroys the past in the epilogue to New Gods #1, as the old gods are shown facing their final destruction. And, in typical Kirby fashion, he gives the epilogue on THE FIRST PAGE of the series. Talk about compressed storytelling. The old gods=dead. Move on. And he does, with vigor. In the first volume of the Fourth World saga, he builds much of the cosmic architecture that still underlies the DC universe today. Cadmus clones, Apokalips, Boom Tubes, Darkseid, the dozens of New Gods, and Intergang. Those words still appear almost MONTHLY in DC comics, and Kirby threw it all at the reader in these stories that are now almost two generations old. Even Kirby's throwaway ideas, the stuff that didn't take hold in the DC universe, like the miniature clones of the Newsboy Legion who run around as a tiny army, are spectacular.

Fraction and Ba pack Casanova with ideas as well: pop group assassins, robot doubles, dimension-hopping secret agents, flying casinos, comic books, and moustaches. Some readers have found it too dense to follow. They are just lazy. Fed on a diet of Ultimate Spider-Man and Justice League of America, where the beat sheets are broken up by issue number rather than page number, the contemporary comics reader might not be able to follow multiple plot twists AND duplicity within a singel issue. Fraction says he wanted Casanova to give readers the same feeling he got while reading Howard Chaykin's American Flagg. He wants people to be initially disoriented as he throws them into the chaos. Ironically, Chaykin's Plex-filled future has come true, and the information overload he prophesized 25 years ago has made the average reader more passive, more unlikely to stick with Fraction's ambitious attempt to make readers THINK about the story. The reader who does follow the Casanova story to the end (of at least Volume One), will be more than rewarded.

So go out and buy these books. Read them multiple times. Let yourself be swept into new worlds with new labyrinths of ideas. And see if, like me, you can't get these books out of your brain.

To quote Casanova's narrator:

Setting the Internet on Fire: Part Two

Richard Bensam also has some overly kind words about my book. Not just because he's kissing up to me, although he is. But anyone who has read the book three times deserves a link, and perhaps a hug. So here's another case of me SETTING THE INTERNET ON FIRE: Click Here

Hugs will come later.

And, hey kids, MODOK!

Setting the Internet on Fire: Part One

Pretty soon, I'm going to have to build one of those fancy fences and place armed guards around the perimeter of the Callahan compound, because the fame just keeps a'comin' and the fortune is surely around the corner.

Over the next few weeks, you're going to see and hear my name EVERYWHERE around the internet (and by "everywhere," I mean a few sweet podcasts and comic book websites, but I assume 99% of all patrons of the internet visit those sites and those sites alone, right?).

So, in addition to my regular blogging here, and my once-in-a-while columns at Sequart.org, and the various press releases that have started popping up for my book, you can WATCH and LISTEN as I set the internet on fire!

Here's me saying smart stuff about "Hotel Harry Felix!" over at Comics Should Be Good: Click Here!

A Very Special Top 5 List

I have a special treat for you from my six year-old son. As I was preparing a list of "Best Collected Editions" for my upcoming interview with podcaster Chris from Collected Comics Library, my son thought I should make a list of HIS favorite comic books too. So, from the perspective of a soon-to-be kindergarten graduate, here are the top five comic books currently being published (followed by my commentary):

1) Sonic the Hedgehog--I wrote about my first exposure to the Sonic comic book a few months ago, and I pointed out that the continuity is overwhelming, and I found the issue to be unreadable, but my son loved it. Well, he continues to love this comic book ever since, and I've grown to understand his attraction. The action is fast-paced, the characters say exactly what they mean, and there is a real sense of jeopardy established. He literally was upset by last month's issue when, only looking at the pictures, he saw all of Sonic's friends obliterated by Dr. Eggman. He didn't even want me to read the story to him, because he thought the characters had died. When I finally read it to him, he realized the words described a teleportation ray. The characters weren't dead after all, just imprisoned somewhere far away, and Sonic was going to go save them all! It was a great lesson in the magic of comic books. The pictures AND words matter equally. So, even though I still don't particularly like Sonic the Hedgehog, I liked that he learned that lesson, and I like the enthusiasm he shows for each new issue. It's cool to see your son devour a comic book as soon as you bring it home. (And, as a side note, I picked up the new Fables trade for my wife, and she read the whole thing right away. So the image was: my wife reading Fables on one end of the couch, my son reading Sonic on the other, and my daughter watching TV in the middle. I told my daughter--who's three--that she needed a comic book too! She asked for "Woman Woman," which is what she calls Wonder Woman. So I gave her a copy of Wonder Woman Archives Volume 1, the only Wonder Woman book I had around. She said, "I don't like it," and thereby ruined my chance to turn all of my family into comic-loving geeks. DC Comics, if you're reading this, you have a potential reader just waiting for an age-appropriate Wonder Woman comic book. Try to start publishing one by the time she's old enough to read. Maybe Gail Simone is already at work on just such a title.) Anyway, Sonic the Hedgehog is BY FAR my son's favorite comic, as he will gladly tell you.

2) Sonic X--My son has only read one issue of this title, and he didn't seem to understand it, but he assumes it must be great because the other Sonic comic book is so awesome. Anyway, that's why he puts it so high on his list. I can't bring myself to buy him two Sonic titles every month though. Does that make me a bad parent? No way! I shouldn't let my son develop a two-Sonic-a-month habit so early in life. Unless he wants to get a job and pay for the comics himself! Am I right, people?

3) Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century--Did he list this title in his top five just to get my approval because he knows I'm obsessed with the Legion now? Possibly. But he really liked all the episodes of the cartoon, and he loves the characters. I can't believe he loves the comic book this much, though, since the first couple of issues haven't really been all that exciting for him. But he and I both have great hopes for this title. And, it's the freakin' Legion!

4) Teen Titans Go!--He and I have been watching the first three seasons of the animated series on DVD recently, and it was a really cool show. I didn't appreciate it at the time, because it was so different than MY Titans, but, even though he watched these episodes before, he was too young to remember much about them (he claims to have no memory of Season One at all), and he's really excited about the comic book now that he's recaptured his joy for the cartoon. Plus, the most recent issue was great! I'll miss reading this title with him when it's cancelled later this year.

5) Power Pack--Although this is a bunch of mini-series and not an ongoing, it's basically been published every month for the past couple of years, and my son loves it. He's less happy with the art on the Hulk mini, but he just thinks it's awesome to see little kids with super-powers. And each member of the team has such well-defined personalities, the stories really work well. It's been fun to read this one too. I'd personally put this waaaay higher than the Sonic stuff, but I'm not six.

Out of this Top 5, I would sincerely recommend the Legion, Titans, and Power Pack books to anyone, no matter what age. They are good, often much better than a lot of "mainstream" titles I buy from Marvel and DC. Don't be afraid to pick them up just because they are for kids. All the Silver Age comics were written for kids too, don't forget.

The End of The Road--My Final Rebuttal

It all started with my comment on Frank Tempone's Fitzgerald vs. Chabon post. I suggested Cormac McCarthy instead. Which led to this, followed by my defense of The Road here. Tempone retaliated with a one-two punch. The spectators of this battle are divided; some agree with my observations, while others...also agree with my observations...and yet others want to read the book for themselves now that they've read our little back-and-forth.

But can a winner truly be declared in any war? Yes. And it is me.

(But it never was really a fair fight. After all, I had Oprah on my side.)

But just to ensure the knock-out punch, I will respond to Tempone's final barrage of comments. He basically has three criticisms of The Road, which boil down to the following: 1) It isn't much of a character study; 2) It resorts to existentialism; and 3) It's cryptic and ambiguous. I'll respond to each:

It isn't much of a character study. I agree. But so what? Just because some "glowing reviews" called the novel a character study doesn't mean that the novel is required to live up to that expectation. And that's sort of the core of Tempone's argument anyway: the novel didn't live up to his expectations. He's constantly judging it based on what it's NOT, rather than analyzing what it is. I do this sometimes, of course, because it's impossible to suppress your expectations completely, but I make an effort to avoid such an approach because it's just not fair to the work. If you judge a work of literature based on what it's NOT, then every work is a failure. Hamlet sucks since it doesn't have as much ninjitsu as I expected. Moby Dick sucks because it didn't sensitively explore the relationship between Starbuck and his wife, like I thought it would. The Road sucks because it wasn't a character study. You can see how that type of illogical analysis isn't very useful. Tempone, of course, could counter (but he won't, because he's sick of writing about a book he doesn't even like) by saying that it's absurd to expect ninjas and romance in Hamlet and Moby Dick, respectively, but it's not absurd to expect something as basic as character development in a novel. I disagree. You shouldn't expect anything more from a novel than what the writer gives you. Cormac McCarthy violates a number of novel-writing "rules" in The Road and that's one of the reasons it's so great. He challenges expectations. He makes his own rules. He doesn't have to give you what you expect from a novel. Read the book for what it is, not for what it isn't.

It resorts to existentialism. Right. And that's bad why? Tempone repeatedly uses "existentialism" as a criticism of the book, but what's wrong with existentialism? It seems like a pretty freakin' appropriate philosophy for life after the apocalypse, doesn't it? All the father and son have is the fact that they exist. Their existence is their world. They have no other cultural markers to hold on to. Even when they visit the father's old home, none of it has much meaning in the new world they inhabit. Tempone criticizes this bit of dialogue "--Who is it? said the boy. --I don’t know. Who is anybody?" He calls it "zen Buddhism, with a side of fried existentialism." I call it a significant thematic passage. After all, identity is so dependent on our position in society, so it's worth questioning the concept of identity when society as we know it no longer exists. The traditional roles no longer apply. The response, "Who is anybody?" is not, as Tempone implies, an open-ended question that "hovers over the reader while he chases his tail," it's a question-as-statement. The father phrases it as a question, sure. But it's an answer. And the answer is: we exist, and that's all we know.

It's cryptic and ambiguous. Tempone must realize that he referred to the same novel as both "painfully linear" and "cryptic and ambiguous." Which is it, Frank? Well, you know what? I can see how the novel could be both. They aren't mutually exclusive, even though simplicity and ambiguity seem like opposities. But, in The Road they cohabitate. The plot is simple and linear. The language is ambiguous. But, as with most of Tempone's observations, I just don't see the problem. Ambiguity is essential in a work of art, isn't it? What good is a novel that can be clearly defined and delineated? Isn't ambiguity of meaning one of the things that great literature does well? Tempone might argue that overall ambiguity is good, but ambiguity of language is just sloppy writing. Once again, I disagree. I think they go hand-in-hand, and in a novel like this, in which the father fails to make a great deal of sense out of the world in which he and his son now live, it's not surprising that the language might be more than a little ambiguous at times. But, then again, Tempone's example of cryptic and ambiguous language doesn't even prove that the language is ambiguous anyway. He cites one particular passage: "When he rose and turned to go back the tarp was lit from within where the boy had awakened. Sited there in the darkness the frail blue shape of it looked like the pitch of some last venture at the edge of the world. Something all but unaccountable. And so it was." Tempone's comment is, "I have no idea what he's trying to say in this one." Well, I do! It's an image of the boy in a tent, camped out at the end of the world. That's pretty easy to figure out, since that's what the words say, and Tempone is a smart guy, so I assume his confusion comes from the last two sentences: "Something all but unaccountable. And so it was." McCarthy indicates that the father finds this situation difficult to account for. He sees their whole existence as unlikely, and no doubt has the hope, however slight, that this "last venture" of theirs has to do with keeping his son alive. The final sentence: "And so it was," is not an ironic comment in the manner of Vonnegut's famous "and so it goes." In this novel, "And so it was" indicates two things: that the image of the small tent full of life surrounded by desolation is an unlikely image AND it's yet another iteration of the (quite relevant) existential theme. As unlikely as their situation is, at least they have their existence, for whatever it's worth (and since it's ALL they have, it's worth a lot).

Ultimately, I think this novel is a masterpiece for many of the same reasons Tempone criticizes it. Have I convinced Frank to like the book more? Probably not. Has he convinced me that it has deep flaws? Not really. So, if it's just a matter of taste, why did we bother this whole thread of discussion? Because literature matters. It should be thought about deeply, and I'm glad that at least one person has been prompted to pick up the novel because of our observations. (Not that the book hasn't sold ten bazillion copies already.)

Now I challenge Frank to recommend a novel to me, and we'll see if I can evaluate the novel for what it is, rather than for what I expect it to be. You up for another round, buddy?

In Defense of The Road (Which is GENIUS)

My pal and fellow writer Frank Tempone has thrown down the metaphorical gauntlet by not gushing about Cormac McCarthy’s brilliant novel, The Road. Tempone actually spends much of the review on his blog praising the novel, and he certainly appreciates it for what it is, but he describes the narrative as “painfully linear,” the prose as occasionally “monotonous,” and ends his review by saying “there were more than a couple of elements in the writing that bothered me.” Once again, let me state that Tempone’s criticism of the novel was not very harsh, and provides plenty of examples of what McCarthy does well, but the tone of Tempone’s piece clearly indicates that he’s getting the positive stuff out of the way first, giving us a nice, pleasant feeling before he goes for the jugular in, presumably, a future post.

My response here is a preemptive defense of The Road, which will probably result in a vitriolic counterattack from Tempone, and I will be forced to retaliate, and ultimately, in a battle like this, is victory even possible? Only in the hearts and minds of America, and that’s what I’m aiming for!

So, let me respond to Tempone’s initial criticism of the book:

1) The novel is “painfully linear.” Well, it is linear, certainly. It’s the story of a man and a boy walking down the road, trying to survive. That’s it. No “b” subplot, no significant flashbacks to provide a context for the post-apocalyptic future, no parallel narrative involving a baker’s wife during the Holocaust, no love interest, no metafictional gamesmanship. None of that. I actually found it shocking in its simplicity. I was waiting for some sort of Aristotelean plot development. A three-act structure, even if sparsely developed. A single major challenge for the heroes to overcome (would they be able to reach the magical island of super-scientists looking for a way to rebuild civilization?). Something. But nope. None of that either. And I love it. It shocked me with its direct attention to the narrative present. It wound me up into a paranoid ball as it forced me to confront the immediacy of this humble quest for survival in a harsh landscape. And I’m a big fan of ultra-complex novels. I’m a structuralist at heart. I love breaking down narrative. I love Moby-freakin-Dick. Yet, The Road astounded me with a simple story, told with sharp, terse sentences. It’s ALL Act III. Acts I and II happened before the novel opened, and they are barely hinted at. And it works. It works to confront the reader with the terror of the journey. It works to bind the reader to the father and son, as if we are faced with the impossible journey they face (and I NEVER emotionally connect with literary characters--I just don’t read that way--yet I could not escape the father’s point of view and I couldn't stop thinking about my own son while I read). And it works to build suspense, since we really have no idea what lies ahead on the road any more than the father and son do. That’s what’s most striking about the novel, I think: I did not know what would happen next, and as a structuralist and a scholar, I ALWAYS feel like I know what’s going to happen next when I read a novel (or at least I have a pretty good sense of how all the pieces are going to fit together, but in this case, there are no pieces--just a road drifting off into the hazy distance).

A Digression Here: I stated above that I never emotionally connect with literary characters, and that’s true. I don’t think that’s a good thing, because other people (i.e. my wife and everyone I’ve ever met) always seem to get so much emotional satisfaction out of reading. Not me (or at least, not usually). For me, the satisfaction is entirely intellectual (although it is VERY satisfying in that regard). Just the other day, the head of my English department asked me about the books I taught in my classes, curious to see which ones the students enjoyed the most. Then he asked me, “which one do you think is the best page turner?” And that question totally baffled me, not because I don’t know which books the kids enjoy more than others (for the record, they enjoy The Great Gatsby and do NOT enjoy Heart of Darkness, to name two), but because I don’t think about literature that way AT ALL. To me, asking which novel is the “best page turner” is like asking which book of Picasso paintings is the “best page turner.” It’s just totally foreign to the way I think about the art of writing. His question made me realize how odd my approach to literature truly is (comparatively speaking). And here’s how all of this relates to The Road: when I read the novel, I felt, as I always do, the intellectual pleasure of enjoying vivid sentences and beautifully painted (if horrific) images, but, because of the narrative confines, I became trapped inside the story in an emotional way. It was, I assume, the feeling that you get when you call a book a “page turner.” And I think McCarthy achieved that effect, at least in my case, BECAUSE of the linear plot. So, painful is not the word I would use to describe it. Instead, let’s agree to call it “magnificent.”

2) The prose--is it occasionally monotonous? Possibly. But if, as I teach my students, language CREATES meaning, and the meaning of this novel lies in the unrelenting journey which the characters undertake, then is not monotony appropriate? Does that not simulate the crushing lack of hope which the father faces each day (and the son must be constantly protected from)? So I think it’s appropriate, even if it is monotonous, but I’m not sure I agree that monotonous is the best word to describe the prose anyway. Here’s a random selection from page 130:

"They scrabbled through the charred ruins of houses they would not have entered before. A corpse floating in the black water of a basement among the trash and rusting ductwork. He stood in a livingroom partly burned and open to the sky. The waterbuckled boards sloping away into the yard. Soggy volumes in a bookcase. He took one down and opened it and put it back. Everything damp. Rotting. In a drawer he found a candle. No way to light it. He put it in his pocket. He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it."

And, yes, I flipped open the book and chose this selection totally at random, but it’s a beauty. Look what McCarthy does in this paragraph! I’m not going to explicate the whole thing, but he’s got shocking examples of usage: “scrabble” as a verb! “sorrow” as a verb! “livingroom” as one word! “intestate” which apparently means “without a will (in a legal sense)”--the whole planet has died and left no will--that’s good stuff, Cormac! He’s often compared to Hemingway, because of the simple construction of his sentences, but Hemingway used conventional words in conventional ways. McCarthy doesn’t. He’s far superior to Hemingway in that regard. Look what else he has going on in this one paragraph: the symbols of the rotting books and the candle; the use of Free Indirect Discourse to shatter narrative distance between Third Person and First Person: “he found a candle. No way to light it”; the crescendo of the paragraph itself, which builds from the particular details through the symbolic details to the absolute futility of the entire universe.

And that’s just one paragraph. That’s not what I call monotonous. So let’s agree to use the word, “strikingly brilliant” to refer to his prose instead.

So now it’s up to Tempone to launch his counterattack and clarify which other elements of The Road “bothered” him. Because from where I stand, this novel has withstood the opening salvo.

The Lightning Saga

Legion expert (and fellow collaborator on the big book of Legion essays due out next year) Matthew Elmslie has a nice overview/response to the ongoing "Lightning Saga" storyline in the current issues of Justice League and Justice Society. I'll probably comment on the entire saga once it's completed, but I think Matthew makes some keen observations and has a nice perspective on things. Read his "Continuity Notes" HERE.

Grant/Breyfogle and Detective Comics

The newest issue of Back Issue magazine not only features an interview with Legion creators Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen (which is why I bought it--although, I have been buying the magazine regularly for a while, so I probably would have picked it up anyway), but this issue also has a nice interview with Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle. I don't necessarily have fond memories of their Detective Comics run, but this interview was full of interesting tidbits. I already knew about John Wagner leaving the book early in his collaboration with Alan Grant (even though Grant kept Wagner's name as co-writer for the rest of that first year), but I didn't know that Scarface and The Ventriloquist had originally been created as a Judge Dredd villain, but Wagner and Grant decided he'd fit better in a Batman story, because, as Grant says, "Judge Dredd would have shot [The Ventriloquist/Scarface] dead and it'd be over."

Grant also reveals that he created Anarky as a replacement for Jason Todd's Robin, once he knew that Robin was scheduled to die. "I had hoped, without mentioning it to anyone at all (even Norman), that [Anarky] would become the next Robin. I didn't know that at that time, Denny [O'Neil] and Marv Wolfman had been in secret talks about the development of a new Robin." That new Robin, of course, would be the Tim Drake incarnation, which Alan Grant wasn't involved with.

The interview made me pull out my old copies of Detective. I realized, looking through the long box, that I really didn't start collecting the series until the Grant/Breyfogle era. I had probably ten or twenty issues from years before, but nothing in sequence. I would have been 15 years old when the Grant/Breyfogle issues premiered, and I was just starting to go to the comic book store on a weekly basis, and I pretty much bought all the DC titles, while my brother bought all the Marvels, and then I'd read all of his comics (and he'd ignore mine--he wasn't ready for DC apparently, since he was only 10 at the time. I don't know if he even really read the Marvel comics, to be honest. Ryan, post a reply and let the readers know.) But I basically own the entire Grant/Breyfogle run (minus two random issues), and I stopped buying Detective about two years after they left. So, why don't I have fond memories of their stories? I really don't know.

I looked at their first two issues again, and they hold up pretty well. It's a bit strange to see Batman actually talking to civilians and police officers, since we're so used to seeing him "in character" all the time nowadays, and Grant's narrative captions seem a bit excessive, but Breyfogle's art (which I remember NOT being impressed with in 1988) is fluid and dynamic. His characters can seem a bit weightless at times, but his pages are exciting to look at. I like his acrobatic Batman, in particular, especially compared to the overly muscled incarnation we see so frequently today. And the Ventriloquist and Scarface are well-presented, if a bit underpowered for a Batman villain. Their threat comes from the harm they cause others, though, so in that regard they are not without potency. They not only distribute drugs which kill children, but they gun down their own men who don't do their jobs well enough.

So, yeah, I liked the first two issues after reading them again. Perhaps, like most comics, they read better in sequence, and my heavy reading load combined with the month-long wait didn't allow me to give these Grant/Breyfogle stories the attention they deserved nearly 20 years ago. I'm going to make time to read the rest of their Detective run, even though I'm extraordinarily busy (and my reading load these days is MUCH heavier than it was when I was 15), and I'll keep you posted on my thoughts. Perhaps I'll enjoy the series more this time around.

UPDATE: I still haven't read more than the first two issues of this run, but in retrospect, 1987-1988 were the two years in which I was really exposed to a lot of brilliant comic books. I came to Watchmen during the middle of its run and probably wasn't able to complete my set and read the whole thing until 1988. I read Dark Knight the week it was launched as a trade paperback, which was probably 1987 or 1988 (right?). I was really enjoying the Giffen/Maguire Justice League, and the Levitz Legion, and had caught up with all of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing issues and was heavily into Rick Veitch's version. So, considering the competition at the time, at least within my brain, I guess it's not suprising that the Grant/Breyfogle Detective run wasn't my favorite thing in the world. But now that the dust has settled, we'll see if these Detective issues have merit. They may not be the height of the genre, but maybe they're pretty good. We'll see.

Supergirl and The Legion #30 (plus Countdown #49)

Over the past year, I've read every Legion of Super-Heroes comic book story from Adventure #247 to this current Waid/Kitson incarnation. I've joyously experienced the brilliance of Bizarro Computo and the death of Proty. I've thrilled at the introduction of the Fatal Five. I've gasped at the secret identity of the Time Trapper (he's a rogue Controller--no, wait, he's Cosmic Boy from the future--no wait, he's Glorith?!?). I've endured the shopping sprees of Monstress. I've eagerly devoured the mystery of the lost Legionnaires. And now I've read the ultimate defeat of the Dominators and the introduction of the Knights Tempus. So, now that the Waid era has ended, what is my final verdict?

It was pretty good.

Although the ending was kind of strange.

It was strange because the previous issue, Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #29, guest-written by Tony Bedard, didn't feel like the climax of the story, yet this week's issue was obviously the resolution. I wonder what happened. Did Waid write a version of issue #29? It was solicited as a Waid issue, and we were all surprised to see, instead, a Dominator-centric issue. Issue #28 had ended with the Legionnaires invading the Dominators homeworld, issue #29 was backstory on the Dominators, and now, with issue #30 it's all over? What happened?

"We've won the war," says Lightning Lad. "...every one of the Dominators' sciencities has been crippled."

Really? When did that happen? Between issues, I guess. That's strange, right? It's a violation of creative writing rule #1: show, don't tell. And I guess that's been my problem with this whole Waid reboot. I've enjoyed it. I like a lot of Waid's conceptual changes. Kitson's art has been excellent. But, all 30 issues have seemed a bit "tell-heavy" and not showy enough. Characters constantly talk about their plans, then we find out about things that have happened. This wasn't just the problem with the final few issues--it's felt that way pretty much the whole time. And that's too bad.

Waid did include some great moments in his final issue, though (assuming it is, in fact, his final issue). The death of Mon-El was handled well, even though the resonance of that first image on page 1 depends more upon readers' previous affection for the character than anything Waid did to establish Mon-El in this series. Anyone who hadn't read a Legion issue before picking up this new series would probably care very little about Mon-El's sacrifice. He hadn't done much in his few appearances since his escape from the Phantom Zone. But for all of us old Legion fans, that statue is a powerful image.

I also liked Cosmic Boy's approach to outwitting Mekt Ranzz. That was a bit of genius.

And, then, of course, we have the Knights Tempus, whose appearance in the story (and exposition--look, kids, more telling!) gives the rise-and-fall-and-super-awesome-rise-of-Cosmic-Boy storyline the final exclamation point it needed. And it was a pretty cool moment. I just hope we see more of the Knights Tempus. This incarnation of the Legion could always use more time travel goodness.

I'm curious to see where Bedard (and future Legion writers) take this version of the team. I hope we get to see a wider variety of threats (and threat levels), and a bit more emphasis on some of the other characters on the team. I hope we get a bit more action and fun and mystery and thrills and just good-old comic book storytelling. In the future. With time travel. And Bizarro robots.

Besides Waid's farewell issue, we got a bit more Legion goodness this week in Countdown #49. Unlike the mass of internet opinions, I like what I've seen in the first three issues of Countdown. It definitely has potential, and since it's not limited by the "real time" conceit of 52, it could develop into a stronger long-term narrative. The idea of using the Monitors as continuity cops is a great one, especially since it allows DC to acknowledge the inconsistencies within its titles and not only provide a way to fix the problems, but open up so many great storytelling possibilities (some of which involving the Legion) like we've been seeing in the recent JLA/JSA crossover. According to Countdown #49, Nightwing, Supergirl, the Levitz-era KARATE KID, and THE (current incarnation of the?) LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES are "loose ends left by the last Crisis." The rogue Monitor implies that these characters should not exist. Does this open the door for a new Legion reboot? What Legion is supposed to exist in the future of New Earth? (And is some of the inherent coolness of the Legion related to the fact that it takes place in the future of the DC Universe? What if the Legion is just an alternate reality super-team? Does that diminish its potential quality? Readers, tell me what you think!) But Countdown #49 wasn't just a good issue because of its potential (and interesting continuity questions)--it was good because it reintroduced Elastic Lad (yes!) and included some nice banter between Red Arrow and Karate Kid.

By the way, this Countdown issue was written by the very same Tony Bedard who's taking over the Legion for the next few months. That seems to open up even more possibilities, doesn't it? Elastic Lad + old-school Karate Kid + the new Legion vs. the Monitors seems like a good time to me. How about you?

Batman #665--The Doppelgangers Three

Ah, Batman #665. Morrison seems to be disappointing critics with his run on this title, and I find myself constantly defending the work. I trust him enough as a writer to wait and see how it all turns out, before saying it's a failure. It is ridiculous, after all, to judge a complete work on the basis of a middle chapter (or even an early chapter, really--and Morrison claims he's going to stay on this title for another year or so. That's a lot of stories still remaining). So I won't rate this issue (although I did enjoy it, as I've enjoyed all of Morrison's work on Batman thus far); what I'll do instead is offer a perspective on what it all means, as I did for the previous couple of issues (here and here).

1) Morrison contrasts the hard-boiled internal monologue with the pathetic reality of Batman. As I've said before (especially in my book), Morrison is primarily an absurdist, but here, he's in full ironic mode. "Face down in my own blood and vomit in the pouring rain. / Must / Must be. / Must be a better way / to strike terror / into the hearts of criminals," Batman thinks as we see him collapse in front of a bunch of prostitutes. Notice Morrison's line breaks to emphasize the halting (and poetic) rhythm of Batman's internal monologue. Look at the response of his adoring public, as one prostitute diminishes and sense of Batman's grandeur with the lines, "So he fell off his batrope. / So screw him." Later, when Batman returns to action, Morrison leaves him nearly totally silent. His few lines of inernal monologue near the end of the issue are terse and direct. "Everything hurts," he says. That's about it. Perhaps his thoughts are no longer needed because he has Robin to talk to in the climax of the issue, but Batman doesn't say much to Robin either. His purple prose disappears when he needs to get to work. Morrison's Batman strives to be efficient and brutal.

2) Morrison brings back a few of his favorite Batman motifs: doubling and dreams. The Batman doppelgangers, and the mystery of their existence (and agenda), drives the narrative. They seem to be distorted reflections of Batman's psyche. One, a brutal killer with a gun, reflects his the childhood trauma of his parents' murder. Another, the Bane clone, reflects Batman's greatest defeat (and recalls that Batman himself was pumped up with the "venom" steroid at one point as told in a Legends of the Dark Knight story arc). The third doppelganger, who has not yet appeared, reflects a Batman driven by vengeance. Someone who has sold his soul to the Devil, recalling the pact made by Mr. Whisper in Batman: Gothic. In Morrison's cosmology, dreams are essential to the detective skills of Batman. In Arkham Asylum, the entire story is written as a dream. Everything in that story is Jungian dream symbolism. In Gothic, Batman receives clues through his dreams, and he follows a dream logic to track down the origin of Mr. Whisper. In this current Batman storyline, dreams are no less prominent. Bruce Wayne has been tormented by dreams of these Batman doubles, and now he must face them in reality. His worst nightmare, the fear of going to far in his quest for vengeance, is literally embodied by these three twisted Batman doppelgangers.

3) The Black Casebook, an ingenious device created by Morrison to allow Batman to reconcile the supernatural and alien experiences in his past, represents the kind of hyper-continuity Morrison loves. Some readers dislike Morrison's approach to continuity. They say that his stories ignore past continuity and his characters act "out-of-character" (I, myself, have accused Morrison of this in his very last issue of Batman, but I'm not perfect either). Such an accusation is based on a limited view of continuity. It's based on a vague notion of "recent continuity," and tends to ignore the thousands of older, inconsistent stories. Morrison doesn't ignore continuity. He embraces ALL OF IT. It's a hyper-continuity that accepts all inconsistencies and contradictions. As Geoff Klock explains in How to Read Superhero Comics and Why, "Morrison's prose, his rhetoric in both fiction and life, is so sprawling and insane as to be able to contain the mass of signification endemic to the superhero narrative." He's talking about Morrison's JLA, but what Klock means is that Morrison is not bound by a traditional notion of "reality." To Morrison, the contradictions and inconsistencies are not meant to be explained away or ignored, they are meant to be part of the story. The Black Casebook is a physical manifestation of this. Batman cannot logically accept his past experiences where he visited Hell, or where he was turned into a gorilla, but those stories did happen, and he has recorded them.

No matter what Morrison seems to be up to here (and, by the way, I would guess that Jezebel Jet has been created just to kill off, but I could be wrong), we'll have to wait and see how the final puzzle turns out before we rush to a judgment. Let's just enjoy the pieces for what they are.

Keeping the Kevin Colden meme alive

I've written about Kevin Colden on this blog a few times before. He is, after all, the cover artist for my Grant Morrison book.
And he's not only a great artist, but he's a super-cool guy as well. Now he's famous, of course, for being the guy who REFUSED Xeric award money. Who refuses money? Kevin Colden, that's who. And he did so with style. I hope Fishtown gets him a big contract and his work becomes collected in pretty hardcover books someday soon. He deserves it.

Here he is last February at the 2007 New York Comic-Con, surveying a mid-80's photocopy of Legion of Super-Heroes members so he could draw his FIRST EVER CONVENTION SKETCH. That's right, people. I own the very first convention sketch ever drawn by the Xeric-rejecting, badass Kevin Colden. Or so he said at the time, anyway. But obviously he's a man of his word.

Here's what he drew. Supergirl, 1986-style. He really wanted to emphasize the "bouffant hairdo" as he called it. I told him not to forget the headband. Or the shoulder-pad thingies. The result is pure Colden. His first convention sketch. And it's all mine. Don't touch it.

Five Topics for Friday

Topic # 1: Ryan McLelland of Newsarama expressed some interest in doing something for my Legion book, and he mentioned this Sequart-related anecdote in his e-mail to Editor Mike Phillips: "BY THE BY...I was reading The Grant Morrison book at the dr's office and when i looked away...someone stole it! I was sorta mad...but kind of happy that someone had enough interest in grant morrison that someone actually wanted to steal and read it...laugh..." I'm pretty proud of the first reported crime committed regarding my Grant Morrison book. Am I wrong to think it's cool that someone wanted my book enough to steal it? I just hope it NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. Seriously, don't do drugs or steal books, kids.

Topic #2: The Legion of Super-Heroes is my life these days, and I'm happy to report that nearly 20 writers have now expressed sincere interest and/or submitted proposals for Legion essays. This book is going to be badder than badass, folks. (And, hey, we still need more writers. So let me know...)

Topic #3: My Son's Monster Drawing inspired by Sam Hiti and company's Fist-A-Cuffs battles. If you don't know about Fist-A-Cuffs, it's basically just drawings of monsters , but the cool part is that one guy draws a monster, then another guy draws a monster, then people vote on who they think would win. After dinner, I told my six year-old son about this game, and we each drew a monster then talked about who would win. I drew a mutated rooster beast, but he drew a monster using the head of a vampire he held in his fist as a weapon which was cool enough to beat my monster as it was, but then he pointed to the triangles coming out of the vampire head as he explained than not only could the vampire head bite my monster, but he had a rocket launcher in the vampire brain. If that's not the most unbeatable monster, then I don't know what is.

Topic #4: Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham was a shockingly dense comic book. I found my old copies as I was climbing through the longboxes this week, and I gave them to my son. I tried reading one out loud to him last night and we couldn't even get through it. The characters droned on and on and there was just an unbelievable amount of exposition. These were actually my brother's issues now that I think about it, but I bought all of his comic books off of him when he went to college. Did he actually read these as a kid? Let me know, bro. By the way, the issue I tried to read last night was written by the legendary Steve Skeates and drawn by the even more legendary Fred Hembeck. That sounds like a cool creative team, but nope, it just doesn't work.

Topic #5: Moustache Awareness Day may or may not be a "real" holiday somewhere, but I celebrate it today, the day we leave for April vacation. And not only did I grow an amazing handlebar 'stache this year, but I posted Fun Moustache Facts around the school (without administrative permission--I'm crazy that way). Here's a sampling: "Moustache Fun Fact #841: The moustache was created by Julius Caesar in 1581 as a weapon against Napoleon," and "Moustache Fun Fact #297: In Zanzibar, the moustache is called 'el tigre del fuego.'"

Happy Moustache Awareness Day!

You Gotta See Grindhouse

I actually got a chance to see a movie on opening day, which never happens when you have two young kids and a wife that's in a Friday night bowling league. But because we had no school on Good Friday, my wife and I, along with some students of mine with excellent cinematic taste, went to see Grindhouse.

Short review: You Gotta See It! It's the most fun I've had in a theater in a long time.

I won't go into a lot of details, because I want to go watch a bunch of dvds right now (once you leave the theater after seeing Grindhouse, you'll want to spend the rest of the weekend watching more movies--not Merchant/Ivory Jane Austen movies, but movies with lots of 'splosions and kicking and swearing and hot pants), but Planet Terror is, BY FAR, Robert Rodriguez's best film. It's a blast, literally and metaphorically. I enjoyed it immensely. It was really fun.

Death Proof really slowed things down, with a talky opening sequence (the whole movie, really, is only five sequences, most of them dialogue-heavy, which is a sharp contrast with Planet Terror, a movie that jumps from location to location and action to action). Yet the anticipation, and coolness of Kurt Russell, sets up the action perfectly, and once the killing starts, the movie becomes mesmerizing. I had more fun watching Planet Terror, but the scenes in Death Proof are unforgettable. I can't decide which one I liked more, but luckily, I don't have to because they're both part of the same movie. Man, you gotta go see Grindhouse. And see it soon, because it probably won't put up big box office numbers, so it won't last very long in your local theater. But, who cares? Let all the suckers go see Ice Cube remodel his house while you sit for 3 1/2 hours in cinematic bliss.

Craig McGill's Grant Morrison Book

Human Traffic author Craig McGill has been working on a Grant Morrison biography for years, as was recently mentioned in a Morrison interview over at Fanboy Radio. In the preparation for my Grant Morrison book (available any day now--I'll keep you posted), I interviewed Craig back in December of last year. My project is so different from his (mine is a critical analysis of Morrison's work, while his will be more like a straight biography), that he didn't mind talking to me about his project. I ended up not doing anything with the interview, so here it is for you now--an EXCLUSIVE interview with writer Craig McGill:

You're working on a Grant Morrison biography. How did that come about?

A few things brought it about. I had just taken some time off after my book on sex slaves and illegal immigrants, Human Traffic, and it had been a heck of a research gig. Lots of travelling, lots of depressing tales. Similarly, my book before that Do No Harm about children harmed by their parents wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs so I wanted something a little lighter and easier to focus on than a global issue.

While I was scouring about for ideas, I realised that it would be nice to do something about an artform I think a lot of and I thought that perhaps someone like Grant might be an interesting project.

Very few serious biographies exist about writers and artists in the comic book field. What made you decide that Grant Morrison needed a biographer?

The first thing that made me think of him though is that here's a guy who is very much a working class hero. He came from an average background in the unhealthiest city in the world. A city where you had about four options at leaving school: be a secretary, work in a bank, be a mechanic or a housewife. If you had a little talent you might get to be average as a boxer, footballer or something but this is very much the country of 'don't try too hard and you won't be disappointed' which is a shocking ethos for anywhere.

So on one hand, he's a role model. He's a kid who never gave up on one of his dreams and he made it. Superstars court him, he has access to the top powers in Hollywood, he has a beautiful wife and lots of cash and he's still got a lot to do. He's Scotland's first 21st Century role model.

At the same time, I thought writing about Grant would also expose more of the working of comics to the general public and show the graft that goes into the craft and perhaps get us a little bit more away from the old perceptions that still exist. Comics as an artform needs more books out there about it and to date most books have either been highbrown as hell or too technical. Every book I've written has been written for the mass market (no not the Catholic mass, though the sales would be nice) and approached topics on a balanced approach and I wanted to do this.

Role model...rags to riches...he's a goddamn mid-afternoon real life made for TV movie isn't he? Well if we take out the drugs, the magic, the wild sex, the swearing in his work and his general rock and roll lifestyle.

How much access did Morrison give you? Were you able to look at any of his preliminary ideas or sketches?

Grant has been fantastic with this. There's been plenty of access, both when he lived in Glasgow and then when he moved elsewhere, though he's harder to visit now. He and Kristan have also vouched for me with other people and that's helped a lot - after all lots of people get suspicious when someone with 10 years' in tabloid newspapers starts asking questions, especially some of the people Grant hangs about with.

Grant has mentioned a million ideas of his that have never seen print or screen but I haven't looked at his sketches or his diaries. Part of that is because I don't want to read a Grant idea and then go away and end up writing a riff on it myself. I don't want to be accused of riding on his coat-tails or using him to break into comic book writing. I love it as a medium and I received a few emails from people when the book was first announced that I was only doing this to get into comics, which conveniently ignored the 10 years of my life at the top of British journalism, TV, radio and website work as well as four books, but you know, each to their own. However the accusation stuck and it still rankles a little so there are definitely things I haven't pushed Grant on in that regard.

In all honesty, I doubt Grant would be that miffed if I did read something of his (with his permission of course) and did a take on it because a) it would still be a different take from his and b) this guy has ideas at a million miles an hour. He is to ideas what Imelda Marcos is to shoes.

Recording him is an absolute swine though. Apart from the fact that iPods make lousy dictaphones in terms of battery life, Grant manages to screw up electrical equipment when you try to record him. I had to grin when he had one of his character's say that recently as well.

What's the most unusual thing you found out about Morrison while researching the book?

Unusual... tricky one. Grant says a lot of things very matter of factly and unusual isn't something that comes easy to a man who broke into nuclear bases as a child, communicates with aliens and had a near-death experience (oh, spoilers behind in case you've never read a word about Grant). In fact, thinking about it now, one of the most surprising things was something he confided in me about him and Mark Millar. It wasn't 'rip the internet in two' shocking or unusual but if you know them both, it was a very unusual thing to hear.

I did try to find out something unusual about him that would have pleased his female fans if I had found out, but bless her Kristan talked me out of it.

The most annoying is the fact that he quite likes Mila Jovovich, who I've always considered a total babe, but if Mila has a choice of Glaswegians odds are she's going for him. Still I recently saw a show with Lauren German in it and was instantly smitten, so if she has a thing for poor Glaswegians, can you pass her my email address? And don't tell my wife either.

I know you're not quite done with the project. How much longer will Grant Morrison readers have to wait for your biography to hit the shelves? Will it be available in the U.S.?

After a year of being slightly distant from the project, trying to work out a style for it (major hassle that) and getting some people to believe I'm not going to turf them over in the tabloids, it's getting back on board and there's hopes - depending on certain people being available for interview - that it'll be done mid-March and hopefully out for end of 2007.

Hopefully it will be available in the US, it's certainly a book that should be available where Grant's work is and it would be commercially daft not to have available in the US. There's no publisher yet but at least two companies have shown an interest, but that's more an issue for agents to deal with.

It's been a book that's been a killer to write which might sound bizarre, but it's not a book being written specifically for the comic book market, this is a book for the general mainstream and as such you have to be a bit more forgiving with readers. You have to really explain how a comic works, you also have to ease them in to Grant's world of magic because otherwise you can turn them off.

Don't get me wrong, this is a book for comic book fans but more than that, it's for those who aren't. Most people who have met Grant will tell you that you come away with a real buzz. The guy has an incredible enthusiasm for life and to try and catch that energy and show people that despite all the nonsense going on in the world, all the hurt and pain, you can change it, you can make yourself a happier person and those around you. But it may not be easy. And while that sounds incredibly glib, it's true.

Ultimately the story of Grant Morrison is the tale of a guy who went out and tried to make things better for himself and for others and if the book does its job right, others will want to do that as well.

The more I look at the book that's how it seems to me. It's as much a documentary of one man's life as it is a guide to sorting your own life out. Of course it's also a book without a bloody title so let me know if you can think of one.

BEST OF THE WEEK and More--April 4th!

So, let's see how this prediction experiment turned out. I'll run through the rest of the comics I bought this week, and I'll announce the BEST OF THE WEEK at the end. Here goes...

52 #48: This was a weak issue. I think Montoya needs to lose the fedora. I guess she's keeping it to honor Charlie or something, but she just looks ridiculous in the classic Question attire. Put her in a trenchcoat if you must, but give her just a plain black shirt--no tie, no fedora. Really. It's silly. And, yeah, this is a Rucka-heavy issue obviously, and it was clunky and flat. By the way, does anyone actually read the "origin" back-ups? I have liked the art on a few of them, but they seem pretty pointless to me. Predicted Grade: B / Actual Grade: D. Very disappointing.

Atom #10: No Panda, which is good. But I really hated the opening sequence, and the art is inconsistent. The Atom's not-so-secret love has some strange proportions. I still think the footnotes are a terrible idea that Simone is sticking with out of stubbornness. They detract from the narrative without adding any value. But, I kind of liked this issue overall, even with the flaws. It's nice to get to know this Ryan Choi guy, and that's what this issue's primarily about. Predicted Grade: B- / Actual Grade: B-. Yup. As expected.

American Virgin #13: Maybe it's because the protagonist is so humorless, or maybe it's because the whole series has been one quest narrative after another, but I'm just not feelin' this comic book. Even with the excellent-as-usual Cloonan art. I'll probably stick with it until the end of this story arc, but I can't see buying it much longer. Predicted Grade: C / Actual Grade: C-. Time to drop it, I guess.

Detective Comics #831: This issue didn't work for me. I've never thought Harley Quinn was much of a character and Dini didn't convince me otherwise in this issue. Dini, by the way, has seemed to avoid actually writing Batman stories, have you noticed that? He's exploring the secondary characters pretty extensively (and he has done a nice job with the Riddler in previous issues) but he seems to shy away from exploring Batman himself. Why do you suppose that is? And Bruce Wayne's appeal to the parole board at the end seemed wildly dangerous and out-of-character. So there's that as well. Predicted Grade: B / Actual Grade: C. Disappointing. I hope Dini can bounce back next issue.

Jonah Hex #18: This one was a surprise. It didn't even have Noto art, but I bought it anyway, even with the pedestrian work of Val Semeiks gracing the pages. Yet, I thought this was one of the tightest, most engaging Hex stories in a while. It was actually good. I think Hex could use a bit more narrative momentum between issues, though. I like the idea of the single issue stories, but what's the benefit, really? Is this really an entry-level book for any reader? Why not add some complexity to the narrative, or at least some subplots? That might compel me to keep reading. Predicted Grade: C / Actual Grade: A-. Nicely done, boys.

Midnighter #6: This one had even less of a "threat" than previous stories. It's just some alternate history version of the Midnighter/Apollo relationship with really nice Fabry art but not much else to recommend it. Really, shockingly pointless overall. Predicted Grade: B- / Actual Grade: C-. A severe disappointment.

Scalped #4: I like the build-up to the casino opening. I like the flashbacks. The story could have used maybe one more significant event, but it's still got some savagely powerful art by R. M. Guera and I like the tone of this comic. Predicted Grade: C / Actual Grade: B. I'm looking forward to next issue.

Superman #661: Yeah. This was weak. But I liked the Howell and Barreto art a lot. This comic looks like it could have been published in 1987, but that actually makes it charming in the context of 2007. Yet, sadly, the story didn't have much going for it. Predicted Grade: C+ / Actual Grade: C. Yeah. A fill-in.

Superman/Batman #33: A dramatic ending to a weak story. I liked this issue a lot more than the last couple, and although Benitez uses some strange poses at times, I like the character he adds to the faces, even if it is a bit McFarlane-ish for my usual tastes. I thought this issue turned out pretty well, with a nice, positive conclusion. Predicted Grade: C+ / Actual Grade: B+. Nicely done.

Welcome to Tranquility #5: Stuff is happening! The bad guy is revealed. And there's another layer of secrecy. And a really cool Captain-Marvel-as-a-geriatric-scene. Predicted Grade: B+ / Actual Grade: A-. Good work, Gail Simone. Maybe I'd like the Atom more if Googe were drawing that as well.

Marvel Zombies vs. the Army of Darkness #2: One of the great things about the character of Ash is that you can write really bad dialogue for him and it seems to fit perfectly. You can "hear" Bruce Campbell delivering those kind of lines. So I don't know if Layman's just a bad writer, or if he's just perfect for this comic, but this was another good issue. Predicted Grade: B+ / Actual Grade: B. Not as much happened as I would have liked, but the ending was pretty cool.

Madman Atomic Comics #1: Guess what? My store never got any copies of this. Predicted Grade: A- / Actual Grade: ???

Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #2: I didn't buy this because I still don't have issue #1. Maybe I'll track it down someday.

Avengers: The Initiative #1: The cover of this book bears no resemblance to its contents. And that's a good thing. This is one of the best issues of the week. It's "Young Avengers Boot Camp" with all that such a concept implies. I love the dark undertones, and I love the way the characters have been established already. And I especially love the derogatory use of the term "New Warriors." A really promising start. You done good, Dan Slott. Real good. Predicted Grade: B- / Actual Grade: A. Surprising, in a good way!

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger #3: Yup, it's still got Richard Isanove ruining Jae Lee's fine artwork. Yup, I'm still not buying it.

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America--Wolverine: I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. The characterization of Wolverine was better than I've seen him in the past year, and I love the use of Dr. Strange. I like that this issue goes out of its way to establish that, yes, Cap is really dead. Really. Because, honestly, we all need to hear that. So his return will be so much cooler! Predicted Grade: C+ / Actual Grade: A-. Nice job on this one too. Marvel's coming on strong in this post-Civil War environment.

Iron Fist #4: I own the Essential Iron Fist, and I really need to read it immediately, because this series seems to rely on a knowledge of the character's past. Yet, even without that knowledge, I liked this issue quite a bit. And, as I've said before, I love the pulp-era Iron Fist! Such a cool concept. Predicted Grade: A- / Actual Grade: A-. Good stuff.

Ms. Marvel #14: Still a solid title. The whole theme of this series, and it's being handled well, is: What does it mean to be a hero? (And, correspondingly, "How do I make heroic decisions?") In this issue, Ms. Marvel must face the consequences of one of those decisions, and it's played quite well. Brian Reed is one of the best of the "young" writers at Marvel. And, oh yeah, freakin' MODOK is in the next issue! Predicted Grade: B / Actual Grade: B+. Solid.

Omega Flight #1: Yes, I bought this. I'm not a fan of the Kolins art, and it was even worse than normal in this issue (it seemed rushed), but I really can't resist a story which stars Walter Langowski. I liked the story well enough--the pacing seemed about right, and it had the Wrecking Crew, so I gotta love that. But I have gigantic reservations about the U.S.Agent. We'll see how he's handled in the future. Predicted Grade: B- / Actual Grade: B. Not too shabby.

Runaways #25: Would the Runaway gang really hook up with the Kingpin so soon? It seems wrong to me. Not because they'd be disinclined to talk to a "villain," but because they have spent their entire career avoiding conflect and hiding out from everyone. Why show up in New York and set up a meeting with the most powerful gangland figure? But, if I play along with it, the rest of the story works quite well. It's fun and it's got 'splosions! But, yeah, I'm having trouble getting over that Kingpin hurdle. Predicted Grade: B+ / Actual Grade: B. Kingpin--can't let it go.

Ant-Man #7: BEST OF THE WEEK! Yes, I just can't help fall in love with a series which features such a likeable sleaze. And it has and epic battle with the Black Fox! And, yeah, I really think Kirkman is the guy destined to do a great run on Spider-Man someday. Maybe he'll take over the Ultimate title when Bendis ditches. A Kirkman/Immonen USM would be pretty sweet. Predicted Grade: A / Actual Grade: A+. I'll love this title until the bitter end.

Wow. So even though I am an unabashed DC guy, I was disappointed by a lot of the DC stuff and surprised by the Marvel quality. Come on, DC! You can turn it around. You know what, though? I really think there's a wealth of quality titles on the shelves these days. I don't think this is a groundbreaking era by any means, but the average quality is pretty darn high, don't you think? Higher than it's been in recent memory. Go Comics!

Legion and Justice League This Week

Okay, I read two of this week's books so far. Let's see how they stand up to my initial expectations:

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28: I predicted that this would be the BEST OF THE WEEK. In reality, it's too early to tell if it will remain best of the week until I read the other comics, but it's got a shot. I liked the intensity of the torture sequence, I liked the vast array of characters, and I have to admit (after rereading EVERY Legion story over the past six months--from Adventure #247 till the Waid/Kitson run), I've really grown to appreciate Kitson as an artist. I used to think that his art was to stiff. Everyone looked posed, but his attention to detail (especially on this series) has completely won me over. I'll be sorry to see him leave. This issue provides a good build-up for the final showdown with the Dominators, and as I pointed out over at the Legion World board, there's more than a little political allegory happening here with the invasion force. So we'll see if things go as smoothly as planned for the Legion. The only thing keeping this from getting a solid A is the clear transparency of the "trap" laid for the Dominators. But, it's a great issue otherwise. Predicted Grade: A / Actual Grade: A-

Justice League of America #7: This was an all-epilogue, all-the-time issue. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. I liked the bit about Geo-Force (although there's perhaps too much of a Penance-feel to his current powers), and I love the introduction of the Hall of Justice / Watchtower headquarters. It's just perfect. And I like the Red Arrow bits, but the rest of it seemed a bit too thin. It's really only about 8-10 pages of quality story moments. And there's a weird fold-out that seems stapled in the wrong place. It doesn't read as part of the actual story. But the final page of the issue promises some exciting Legion cross-over action, so that bumps the potential of the next few issues a few notches. Val Armorr in the house! Predicted Grade: A- / Actual Grade: B+

So far, so good. Pretty close to my expectations in terms of overall quality, but the content was not exactly what I expected. I'll be back with more reviews soon.

UPDATE: I also read Sonic the Hedgehog #173 to my son at bedtime tonight. He bought this issue with his own money this week, and he wanted to read it right away (even before Power Pack and JLU). I don't know why he wanted it so badly, since he's only ever seen one Sonic X comic book in the past and that one was horrible, but I guess his passion for "Sonic Heroes" on PS2 compelled him to get this new issue. Anyway, it was better than Sonic X, but it was pretty bad. It confused me, as an experienced comic book reader, and it was shocking in how continuity-heavy it was. Every time a character appeared, he or she referred to some past event, most of which (according to the footnotes) happened 30 to 50 issues earlier! There were about half a dozen of these references, far more (and referring to the far more distant past) than any superhero comic book you're likely to read. Really strange. Within the onslaught of continuity, the story was relatively simple, with a marriage proposal as a subplot and a fake jewel heist as the main plot. I didn't like much about this issue, but my son said he loved it. I don't see the appeal, but I'm not 6 years old. I guess the cover is bright and colorful (especially when compared to the mean-looking superhero covers like Legion and JLA above). No Predicted Grade, because I didn't expect to be reading it. My Actual Grade: D- / My Son's Actual Grade: A+ (I asked him)

What Will Wednesday Bring?

I'm going to take a bold stand and PREDICT what I will and will not enjoy about each comic book I purchase tomorrow. And I'll give them a grade SIGHT UNSEEN, which is really stupid, I know, but I want to see how my expectations match my real experience. Later in the week, I'll let you know if I was right.

52 #48: I'll like the build-up toward WWIII. I won't like the "smooth criminal" Montoya/Question. Predicted Grade: B

Atom #10: I'll like the inventive use of his powers. I won't like anything to do with any characters named "Panda." Predicted Grade: B-

American Virgin #13: I'll like the art if Cloonan draws it. I won't like the story very much if it's just more of the same. Predicted Grade: C

Detective Comics #831: Dini's back for this one? If so, I'll like the story. I have no idea what I won't like. This issue's really a mystery to me. Harley Quinn? We'll see... Predicted Grade: B

Jonah Hex #18: Why am I still buying this comic? I don't know. Maybe I'll drop it. The art's been nice recently. This is another Noto issue so I'll probably end up getting it. Predicted Grade: C

Justice League of America #7: I don't care what you haters say, this is a good series so far. I won't like the Image-style art all that much, but I like what Meltzer's been doing on this title. I don't love it, but I like it. Predicted Grade: A-

Justice League Unlimited #32: Darkseid in the house! I really like the art in JLU, even if the stories can be a bit thin (even for little kids). But, Darkseid? Hell, yeah. Predicted Grade: A-

Midnighter #6: This one's been pretty good so far, but even with the violence it seems weightless. I want to see something with a bit more heft to it. Some real threat to Midnighter. I'll like it if it's got that. Predicted Grade: B-

Scalped #4: I liked the first two issues, but I didn't much like #3. I'll like the art on this issue, but I won't like the story unless there's an additional twist to it. Predicted Grade: C

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #28: I'm going to like every bit of this. I'll predict that it will be the BEST OF THE WEEK. Why? I'm in a hardcore LSH phase right now and I'm loving everything Legion. Predicted Grade: A

Superman #661: This is some kind of fill-in issue, I think. I'll probably be disappointed, although I have enjoyed all the Superman titles for the past year or so (except for that one Superman-as-messiah-to-the-black-woman issue). Predicted Grade: C+

Superman/Batman #33: Meh. I actually enjoyed the insanity of the Loeb/McGuinness run. It didn't make much sense, but it was full of stuff. These Verheiden issues are just plain. Maybe he'll end it with a bang. Predicted Grade: C+

Welcome to Tranquility #5: This series gets better every issue. I'm looking forward to this one! I won't like it if nothing is resolved, though. Because we're do for a climax and a conclusion. Predicted Grade: B+

Marvel Zombies vs. the Army of Darkness #2: The first issue was fun, especially the scene where Ash visited Avengers Mansion. I'm sure this issue will be just page after page of carnage and wisecracks. Sounds good to me. Predicted Grade: B+

Madman Atomic Comics #1: Will my store even have copies of this? We'll see. I love Allred, though, so I'm looking forward to it. Predicted Grade: A-

Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus #2: I never even saw issue #1 of this. But since I bought all the other Annihilation stuff, if #1 is at the store, I'll probably pick up issue #2 as well. If not, I'll skip it. Predicted Grade: ???

Avengers: The Initiative #1: I have no idea what this title's about. But, like a sucker, I'll buy it because it's Avengers-related (even if the Avengers bear no resemblance to what I think of as Avengers). And, you know what? I don't really like Dan Slott's writing that much. I've read nothing by him that I really enjoyed, even though everyone tells me how funny he is. It's not really that funny, guys. It's kind of obvious humor. Maybe I need to see more of his work. Predicted Grade: B-

Dark Tower: The Gunslinger #3: I will NOT be buying this title. Reason #1: Stephen King is really a poor writer. People always recommend his work as well, and it's just bad. I've read Firestarter (bad) and the Gunslinger book (really, really bad) and I just don't get his popularity. Pick a page from one of his books at random. Read that page aloud. I guarantee you'll hit an awkward phrase or two or some jarring construction that stops you cold. Ugh. And yes, I know Peter David's writing this series, but I was so disgusted by the atrocity of the Gunslinger novel, that I couldn't possibly pay money for this series unless the art was phenomenal...which it should be except for Reason #2: Richard Isanove. His airbrushy "painting" over Jae Lee's artwork softens everything and makes it look like it was photographed through a filter. Lee is a great artist, BECAUSE of his stark use of blacks and crisp lines. Making it all fuzzy takes away everything that you'd want to see i na Jae Lee book. So, yeah, I won't be buying this.

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America--Wolverine: That's a long title! So it's gotta be good! I'll like it if something happens. I won't like it if Wolverine just walks around talking in VO about what Captain America "stood for." But I'm afraid of the latter. Predicted Grade: C+

Hulk and Power Pack #2: Power Pack is my son's favorite comic book. So he'll love this. I think this Hulk series is a gigantic drop down in quality over the last few series, though. I mean, the last series had Katie Power turn into Venom (complete with pigtails!) and this series has weaker art (from David WIlliams) and a weaker supporting character (in the Hulk). My son will no doubt give it Grade: Infinity. I will give it Predicted Grade: B-

Iron Fist #4: David Aja's quite a mood-setting artist. I like his work a lot. And I like the idea of the generational Iron Fists. It's all good. Predicted Grade: A-

Ant-Man #7: This is probably my favorite Marvel comic book. And it doesn't have much longer to live. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you buy it. It's excellent all around. If I wasn't such a Legion freak, this would probably be Best of the Week. Predicted Grade: A

Ms. Marvel #14: This is a really good series as well, though you wouldn't know it by the porn covers. It's well-written (even if it did get screwy during Civil War) and it's got a strong theme. I'll like it if it's not sidetracked too much by the Initiative. Predicted Grade: B

Omega Flight #1: Am I going to buy this? It's a toss-up. I don't like the lineup at all (either creatively or character-wise), but I like the concept of Alpha Flight enough to check out this title. On one hand, I could skip it because I'm buying soooo much stuff this week, but on the other hand, I could throw it on the pile because, hey, what's another 3 bucks when you're shelling out $80? Predicted Grade: TBD--I'll guess a B-

Runaways #25: The first Whedon issue. I think I'll like it, although the Michael Ryan art seems like a big departure. If he keeps the look crisp, I'll like it. Predicted Grade: B+

I'll also be skipping the Legion Showcase book, because I have the Archives already and I just can't imagine the Legion even being readable in black and white. It demands color!

But, yeah, I'm going to be getting a lot of stuff this week. I need to cut back, desperately. Maybe I'll drop anything I end up giving a C or less too. We'll see if I have enough willpower.

Check back in a few days to see if these comics surpassed my expectations!!!