Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Wednesday's Loot - 3 May 2006

Infinite Crisis #7
First up, what the hell is a "sepll caster?" And please tell me Animal Man is missing and not dead. Overall I liked it. It was a great resolution. I don’t think there was a better ending for this series out there. The entire series was simply about heroes stepping up to the plate and that’s just what they did. The big three were being portrayed as the three things holding back all other heroes so they end up essentially taking a break. I like the whole mid-life crisis vibe. They’re getting back to their roots but they’re more experienced now so they should all learn from that and get down to what makes them work. If anything the one-year later stories prove this is working out fine. Batman hasn’t been better in years, same with Superman. Plus how cool is it that Morrison's Seven Soldiers keep showing up. If that's the new type of stories we should expect then count me excited. And is that the Metal Men? It is! Also, why isn't this cover a wrap-around?

Civil War #1
Yeah I bought it and I know I’m a hypocrite for saying I wasn’t going to. Shut up, I know. Soooo, yeah... I don’t know how I feel about it yet. I still think it’s a decent idea but the execution is a bit stilted. It got better as the story progressed but the whole thing started out really wooden. And by wooden I mean beating me over the head with the meaning. I’ve said it in comments elsewhere (sorry I forget where now) that this is a great idea but it needs to be balanced with commercial concerns. That means not alienating half your audience by saying they’re the bad-guys. I think explaining the back story to how people come to their positions helps make the whole thing more ambiguous. Stories that remain slightly ambiguous are stories you discuss and think about trying to make sense. On the flip side a story that is divided around a central position (one side is slightly left of centre, the other slightly right of centre) doesn’t allow for a lot of drama. Yeah I want to see which sides people fall on, but isn’t the first rule of comics “show don’t tell”? Show me, don’t tell me. It’s a tricky balance. I love the idea. I love the potential of the idea but this issue leaves me feeling like the execution of the idea was weak. I understand this very well considering where I work. Wasn't this already dealt with by James Robinson in JSA: The Golden Age? That was a good story...

Mouse Guard #2
After the BIG TWO EVENTS!!! (they should always have three exclamation points) this was a great comic. It’s like this charming vignette that makes you glad you read comics. It’s like the outtakes after Toy Story 2 or the little game after James and the Giant Peach. I felt like I was subjected to the ADHD version of comics then got to have a chat with a charming person. David Peterson is creating a fantastic world for his little mouse soldiers. This story is a very close relation to Bone creating a fantastic natural world that isn’t too unfamiliar. Like Pixar’s A Bug’s Life by simply showing the world from a new perspective you create a wonderful new world to experience. I think the same thing about Aquaman’s new fantasy setting. This comic is kind of like The Little Prince. It’s very short but it contains everything it needs to contain. This comic ends with you wondering why other comics don’t cut down to the essentials anymore.

Also bought but not read yet, Detective Comics #819 because I haven’t gotten the last Detective Comics yet and don’t want to miss out on the story and Rex Libris #4. So for every ADHD comic I bought I got an indy. My conscience is clean.

Heh, I keep hearing "and then, and then Iron Man said 'no freakin way' and then Captain America said 'yes freakin' way' and they punched each other into the moon and one guy went to the moon and Captain America went to the sun and then, and then he like flew around the sun, and like picked up the sun and was like 'screw you S.H.I.E.L.D. and threw his shield at S.H.I.E.L.D. and like it blew up..." It keeps going and I could do the same for IC but it's just more natural for me to pick on Marvel.

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