Freak Comics

If you aren’t reading Marvel’s Runaways, you should be shot in the street and lit on fire… that, or you should consider purchasing and reading it.

I’m usually completely turned off by all things Marvel (even though I’m collecting the entire Civil War series, including tie-ins… can you say hypocrite?) thus I refused to buy in to the Runaways hype. However, after being berated by my local comic shop for not keeping up with Runaways, I finally broke down and bought the first volume.

I am a moron. I had become so jaded with Marvel that I let me hatred for their spin doctoring blind me when it came to Runaways… but no more! I read the first volume of Runaways in only a few hours… I simply could not put it down. I went back to the comic shop as soon as I could and purchased volume two and ran with that one as well. Last night I finished off volume 3 and I’m planning on making a trip to the shop to purchase volume 4 today.

The series is about 6 kids who run away from home and fight against their parents whom they discover some deep dark secrets about. In volumes 1 - 3 the kids learn things about themselves (don’t want to give to much away) and try to fight back against their parents.
That’s all I’m saying about plot, it’s really worth reading and discovering on your own.

Runaways really reminds me of Japanese Manga, however it is an American comic. I was biased against this type of fusion art and story telling until this series… it just works so well.

The cool thing about this comic is even though it takes place within the Marvel universe, it does so in a very quiet way. Sure, there are references to Spider-Man and the Avengers and many other super heroes, but they all seem light years away from the events taking place within the pages of the Runaways. This is a good thing, because Runaways wouldn’t fit in to the traditional Marvel mold.

The dialogue is wonderful, the story is cool, and the art is beautifully done. I’m even going to go in an opposite direction of my usual comments and say that the color is well done, even though it has a computer feel (gradients, flares etc.)… but in this case it just works.

If you have missed this series, get on the boat now… but don’t dive in with the latest issue. Go back and buy the graphic novels. Marvel has done a great job here as well, because they release this series in digest format (the traditional size of manga comics) and price each graphic novel at $7.99.

One of the greatest mini series to be produced by DC was Villains United. Recently I wrote an article about the Villains United:Infinite Crisis Special. It was a fun return to the series I loved, yet it didn’t feature the renegade team that is the Secret Six for more than a few panels.

Well, problem solved: Secret Six #1 hit the shelves recently and did not disappoint. This comic actually made me look forward with great anticipation to the rest of the series, a task accomplished thus far only by Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead and Fear Agent comics.

Spoiler warning: plot or ending (read)

Surprisingly I really don’t have any complaints about this series thus far and I highly recommend it. Even if you haven’t read the rest of the Infinite Crisis tie-ins be sure to check this limit series out.

I can hardly wait for the remaining 5 issues and truly hope that this becomes a regular series.

Interestingly the Secret Six is actually a comic that DC debuted in 1968, although it was very different from the current incarnation.

A few days ago I found a message waiting in my inbox from Kourosh Rahimpour. Neurons churned to life in my inebriated mind… Kourosh was back! The subject of this completely unexpected email?

NEW BATMAN FILM

I starred at the bold letters in awe and wonder. Dare I read this email? Perhaps the great Mr. Rahimpour was simply writing to inform me he could no longer fulfill him promise of a sequel, dashing not only my hopes, but the hopes of all loyal Kourosh-ites to tiny little unreconcilable pieces.

Who’s Kourosh Rahumour do you ask? The greatest director since Alfred Hitchcock, the greatest writer since Shakespeare, and the greatest actor since Fred Savage.

Like many of you I didn’t fully appreciate his first film upon first viewing. I wrote a scathing review and hoped I would never lay eyes on another work of Kourosh. Yet after watching Batman: Defenders of the Night 10 or 12 more times I was nearly ready to quit my job and follow the ways of Kourosh (you know: move back to my parents house and make little known Batman films with my gay buddies).

Kourosh somehow caught wind of my review and replied to it, swearing that he would return with a sequel.

After becoming a follower I patched things up with Rahimpour and interviewed the man behind the film himself. That was five months ago.

Flash-forward to May 9th. I’m in front of the computer. The email is in front of me. I click it, and read:

Hey Joe,
hope all is well. Here is the long awaited sequel I promised you.
Kourosh
http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7OZMoQygGA

Edit: (receding URL has been updated as the last one was broken).

My hands shook. My teeth chattered. Kourosh hadn’t betrayed his promise!

The film in review (spoilers… watch the film first!)

The title of the film is Batman and Robin: Dark Betrayals and it’s nearly 4 minutes longer than Batman: Defenders of the Night. Four minutes longer and ten times funnier.There were several moments when I literally laughed out loud.
The short film centers around Batman’s quest to find Robin, who seems to be on a crime wave.

Dark Betrayals features the first appearance of Commissioner Gordon who is played by Michael, the same actor who play the Riddler in Defenders of the Night. His portrayal of Gordon is much funnier, and happens to be one of my favorite scenes: Batman sneaks up on the Commissioner in his “office”, dirty laundry is lying against one of the walls. Gordon is pouring over a hand drawn Wanted poster of Robin. He claims that Robin has turned up in “robberies, smut shots and all sorts of illegal activities.” Cut to Robin dealing drugs on the street. Comic gold!

Arvin’s portrayal of an evil Robin was very funny, especially the afore mentioned drug scene. If these guys decide to make a third film I would absolutely love to see more Arvin.

After discovering that Robin is actually a thug in disguise, Kourosh gives us one of the worst cuts of the film (on purpose). It goes like this:

Batman tackles Robin (played by Arvin Tounian). Cut to a close shot of Batman on top of Robin getting ready to beat him to a pulp. Robin is now played by a completely different, unnamed actor.

His clothes have changed from the typical Robin costume to black sweat pants and a cut off shirt, and he’s sporting a paper mustache and beard. Hilarious!

There’s a great reference to Defenders of the Night. When “Robin” is attempting to scale a bride he says “I wish Batman were here!”. In Defenders of the Night Batman helped the struggling Robin to climb a bridge.

The acting in the film was better. The fight scene at the end of the film was a bit more realistic. The editing was leaps and bounds above the first film, and the sound was improved slightly.

I do wish music was used a little more sparingly, and when used that it didn’t muffle the actor’s voices… but who am I to question the unfaltering genius that is Kourosh Rahimpour?

So now you know what I think of this amazing gem. Watch the film and let myself, Kourosh and the rest of the crew know what you think.

After the disappointing return to Project Omac in the Project Omac infinite Crisis Special I was not expecting much out of the Villains United special. Sometimes, though, things just turn out right.

Villains United was great. This was easily my favorite of all the specials. It features non-stop action and loads of super villains.

The Story (beware of impending spoilers)

Way back before the Infinite Crisis began, Lex Luthor assembled a super group of the world’s meta-villains. Six villains refused to join Luthor and reluctantly formed their own group instead called the Sinister Six. They were blackmailed in to doing this by “Mockingbird” (later revealed to be Lex Luthor) who also lead the group from a remote location.

The Villains United special picks up after Infinite Crisis #6 and reveals the master plot of the Secret Society: free the prisoners of every holding facility on Earth.

Though Earth’s heroes made a hard attempt to stave this mass prison break, they failed. This was due in part to being caught off guard by the Society, but mainly because Earth’s mightiest heroes have went missing.

First Impressions

I was expecting more of the Secret Six in this issue, but wasn’t at all disappointed to merely catch a few glimpses of them. This comic was definitely a set up for the upcoming Secret Six #1 and Infinite Crisis #7, but that didn’t make it a mere filler issue. It was a filler Issue done right. The brief fight between Black Adam and Captain Nazi was cool, and I enjoyed the fast paced storytelling.

The art was good and the ending was great. Seeing the return of a major villain (I won’t spoil it for you by revealing who that is) was a plus and it really got me geared up to read Infinite Crisis #7.

If you’ve been keeping up with the whole Infinite Crisis thing, you had better not miss this issue. It was a great series to begin with and was a strong issue.

Missing or dead heroes

The following is a list of missing or dead heroes according to a Oracle’s computer screen (as revealed in the Villains United special):

• Superman
• Batman
• Wonder Woman
• All Earth-Based Green Lanterns
• Entire Marvel Family
• All Flashes
• Cyborg
• Supergirl
• Jesse Quick
• Captain Atom
• Firestorm
• Donna Troy
• Starfire
• Power Girl
• Hawkgirl
• Nightwing
• Superboy

I really enjoy the new Supergirl series. Even though the stories seem to be less about plot and more about the fight of the month I still like them for some reason. The art is decent… maybe that’s it. Whatever the reason, I figured I’d give Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes a chance. #17 was released this week and so I paid an extra 50 cents for issue #16 in plastic (with backer-board) and gave it a read.

Maybe it’s the whiskey I’ve been sipping… maybe it’s the crappy writing and crappier art…. no, it’s definitely the crappy writing and crappier art: this comic is useless.

The hollow dialogue mixed with boring art and a very slow story line makes for a terrible comic book. I suppose traveling to the future means that Kara (Supergirl) is stricken with a sever case of mental retardation. Just take a look at her first few lines:

Awww Kelly Pickler… er, I mean Supergirl… you’re so cute… er, I mean stupid!

Kara: “Hi. Is everyone all right?”
Crowd: “GREAT KRYPTON!”
Kara: “Is that a ‘yes’…?”
Cosmic Boy: “I’d say. And if you’re who I think you are, it’s an honor to meet you!”
Kara: “It is?”
Cosmic Boy: “Are you?
Kara: “Wait, what?”
Cosmic Boy: “Because either way, we owe you our gratitude. That was an amazing save!
Kara: “Oh, please. I’d call that a team effort. I’ve been flying at top speed for days trying to catch that behemoth before it hit something populated.”
Kara: “If you hadn’t slowed it down, I’d never have stopped it from hitting… hitting… say… where am I?”

Oh, Supergirl! Will you never learn??

Klar’s so modest!

Within the first several pages consistency was thrown out the window. Case in point:
In the first panel of page one Klar (a man of the future) is getting angry over the “Legion kids” being “congregated” outside of his house. His wife tells him to come away from the window because someone might see him and he’s “barely clothed”… The fact is, only his face and hands are exposed.
Fair enough. Looks like in the year 3007 modesty will have been taken to the extreme. Yet 4 pages later Klar has raised an angry mob against the “Legion kids”.

Check out the garb… These people need a lesson in modesty!

That mob is outside in various states of dress. One of them is wearing a short sleeved shirt, none of them are covering their faces, and there’s even a woman with her belly exposed.
Sure this crowed was rushed from their homes outside to confront the teens, so some of them should be “exposed”… but all of them? That seems like a bit of a stretch to me. Consistency people… It’s no that hard!

Uh oh! Supergirl has turned 2-D!!

The art in this comic is bad. Not the worst I’ve seen mind you, but it feels very rushed and run of the mill. That really doesn’t help the overall flow of the comic.

I believe that this series was rushed in to production to follow on the heels of the Supergirl title’s success. I recommend passing this series up unless you’re a huge Supergirl fan, a collector of The Legion of Super-heroes, or a masochist.

Of the four one shots leading in to Infinite Crisis the Omac Project was my favorite. I have always loved Batman and this comic featured him as the main character trying to solve the murder of Blue Beetle and ultimately attempting to uncover a conspiracy that had taken root at the base of one of America’s secret spy organizations, Checkmate. When DC announced the special follow-ups to their lead-ins I could hardly wait for the Omac Project special.

The first few pages captured my interest immediately. It began where Infinite Crisis #6 left off, with Brother Eye plummeting to the Earth in the middle of the Rub Al-Khali desert. Several pages in and the comic looked as if it would get really interesting as it showed many of the heroes who took down Brother Eye returning to Earth. A couple more pages and I was so bored that I couldn’t wait for it to end. I had quickly realized that the initial appearance of heroes was to be their last. The only Meta to appear later on in the issue was Fire, and she sucks.

The overall story was decent as it tied up a few loose ends such as the reason for Bordeaux’s transformation in to a half Omac, half Human monster, as well as the fate of Borther Eye. Perhaps I’m just not familiar enough with the Checkmate back-story, but it all just seemed so boring. Sasha feels like a very weak character and looks really dumb in her half Omac state so basing an entire comic on only her killed the issue for me.

The art was equally as drab. No more so than the 6 issue mini-seires really, but the boring story and boring art was a terrible combination. I think that DC really needs a better art director. More hand colored comics, less Photoshop filters and gradients.
The pencils weren’t terrible, Jesus Saiz did the best he could with the crap story Greg Rucka put together… how could Saiz really get in to this sucker? God knows I couldn’t.

This comic is worth reading to learn what happened to Sasha, Brother Eye and Checkmate, but don’t expect anything astounding. It’s more of an epilogue to the Omac back story of the Crisis and a lead in to the Checkmate comic than anything entertaining.

Credits

Writer
Greg Rucka

Artist
Jesus Saiz

Colorist
HiFi Design (Note: hire some real colorists, DC, not just some graphic design agency!)

Letterer
Jared K. Fletcher

Asst. Editor
Rachel Gluckstern

Editor
Joan Hilty

I hit the comic shop fully intending on passing up Secret Files & Origins 2006: Infinite Crisis… but I bought it anyway.

“A whopping $5.99 for one comic?!” my brain had reasoned, “That’s the price of more than two comics put together!”

My brain is a cheapskate. My hands are not. I slapped down the cash and purchased the comic (along with backer-boards, plastic, several other issues and two bright eyes records purchased next door) and left for the long walk back to my apartment. Twenty minutes later two of my friends showed up in front of my home to go out for dinner and I was out the door again, comics in bags on the shelf waiting patiently for me to read and critique them.

For Secret Files that time was tonight, and unfortunately I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

I’m definitely hooked on Infinite Crisis… anyone who chooses to spend nearly six dollars on a comic book can consider himself hooked… but this thing left me feeling bored. I couldn’t help but think of this comic as something I would purchase from a quarter bin found at the back of an obscure comic shop only to read 6 pages down the road and abandon it.
The dialogue was good and a few pivotal points were revealed about the multi-verse survivors. The story was a little long and drawn out though, and the art was mediocre. I had a vague feeling that I would come off disappointed with this comic, but I purchased it anyway.

I’m addicted and I’m not sure what I’ll do once this crisis is over. It’s pretty clear what DC would have me do: buy the spin-offs of course!
Shadowpact, Sinister Six, Specter… but dare I buy in to their marketing strategy? But do I really care who the next Blue Beetle is?

Truth be told, I didn’t give a care about Superman, Batman, Shazam or any other DC character before reading the Crisis books… but now I regularly buy Superman and Batman titles, as well as the Infinite Crisis comics and any crossovers that look interesting. In fact it’s spread beyond the main titles for me… I even pick up Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin All Star Series, Justice, Sgt. Rock and several other DC titles on a monthly basis all because of Infinite Crisis.

IC has reintroduced me to DC comics and almost completely stolen me away from Marvel. While I still love independent comics more than main stream (give me Walking Dead or Fear Agent over anything else), I still purchase more DC titles than otherwise.

So what does this all mean? Have I been brainwashed? Am I doomed? Am I a corporate junky sucked in by an amazing marketing ploy? Many would answer yes. DC, however, is offering some of the best and most entertaining writing in the industry, and isn’t that really the job of comic books… to entertain? Just because a major company does something right and gets people to buy their product doesn’t mean you should shun them… especially when it comes to comics.

Crisis on Multiple Earths was a genius idea. It was a way for DC to bring back some old characters from the past, and it changed their universe forever.

In the 40’s Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman and several other heroes joined forces as the Justice Society of America. This was an original idea at the time and sold many a comic. However people got sick of it and the Justice Society disappeared. Many of the heroes were reworked and renamed (Jay “flash” Garrick became Barry “flash” Allen for instance), and the Justice Society of America was formed. No explanation was given for this transition and time passed.

Eventually DC’s writers wanted to revisit the old Justice Society members and provide some closure on their disappearance. This was accomplished in 1961 by Gardner Fox (original Justice Society creator). He invented a universe that consisted of more than one dimension and simply wrote a story that placed the original Justice Society members on a different Earth than the Justice League members. They met up when the two flashes vibrated in to each other’s respective dimension (possible because the two Earths occupied the same space, but at different vibrational frequencies). The current more familiar Earth was dubbed Earth-1 and the old Justice Society Earth was named Earth-2 (even though it was first).

The series was a hit. For years the Justice League and the Justice Society would team up in the pages of the Justice League of America comics. In 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths kicked off. It was a year long maxi-series and ended up with the merging of parallell universes in to one.

My interest in Crisis on Multiple Earths was sparked from reading the current Infinte Crisis series. Things were more than a little confusing to me, so I thought: why not begin at the begining? I purchased Crisis on Multiple Earths volume one from a local comic shop and started reading. Right from the get-go I loved the idea of Multiple Earths, alternate realities and old heroes revisisted. The idea behind the story is great… the execution is another matter. Silver age comics lack a serious tone… I already knew this from reading old Spider-Man comics… but nothing I’ve ever read in the super hero genre can compare to the ridiculous writing in this series.

Crisis? What crisis?

Each time the Justice League of America and Justice Society of America would team up, the event was dubbed a “crisis”, yet in reality each of these events was basically a fight between the afore mentioned teams and some decrepit, broken-down super villains who some how managed to almost conquer the heroes, only to be stopped in the end in an unimaginative manner. How can the threat of Owl Man and his band of super villains be considered a crisis? His name is Owl Man, and he wears an Owl Head hood that leaves his face fully exposed for crying out loud!

A criris should be something big… something horrible. The comic did pick up a little towards the end of the volume when people from Earth-One were changing places with people on Earth-Two. These two issues featured the Specter as well as Anti-Matter Man. This had a slightly more desperate ring to it, but once you find out why the two worlds were switching places, you really can’t help but laugh (one of the Atom’s students from Earth-One built a machine that would manipulate the orbit of planets. When switched on, it pulled the two earths towards each other from their seperate dimensions).

No C.O.M.E. = no C.O.I.E. = no I.C.

I can’t complain too much about Crisis on Multiple Earths. The fact is, Crisis on Multiple Earths was a great idea. I love the fact that the Justice Society could be revived with their original costumes and identities in such an easy, sensible manner. I love the idea behind this story. I don’t love the execution… that’s where things are a little off. I just couldn’t get lost in the story without noticing the dated artwork and dialouge, thin plot lines and gaping plot holes, and really goofy looking characters.

Yet, without Crisis on Multiple Earths we wouldn’t have Crisis on Infinite Earths which in turn would mean no Infinite Crisis, and that’s just a crime! If you haven’t read Crisis on Multiple Earths and want a better grip on what this Crisis thing is all about, go to your local comic shop, pick up the issue and read the introduction. It’s the best part of the book and explains things better than any other write up I’ve seen. After that, but the book back on the shelf and save yourself $15… Crisis on Multiple Earths ain’t worth your cash.

I am a huge fan of the horror genre: movies, video games, books… anything. However I am only a fan of horror when the story is done right. Night of the Living Dead (the original) is one of the greatest movies ever made… Dawn of the Dead, one of the worst. I’ll take Silent Hill over Resident Evil any day, and Walking Dead is my favorite comic book hands down.

Horror for the sake of gore is nothing but senseless tripe. I want to be scared and entertained. And while the Walking Dead doesn’t exactly scare me, it definitely entertains. The gore is a sidebar. The meat of the comic is the interaction between characters. The trials and hardships they face. The everyday mundane events that are either amplified or played down when juxtaposed with a world filled with death and slow quiet mayhem.

Two years have passed since Walking Dead #1 was released. I started this series after the 3rd volume had been out for some time. I purchased all three and read them within just a few days. Not because the story lacks thoughtfulness, or because the art lacks detail. I just couldn’t put it down. I read as soon as the baby would fall asleep and in to the wee hours of the night. I read when she was awake and my wife needed help. I read when I was supposed to be taking out the trash or watching a movie. I just couldn’t put it down. I was (and still am) highly adicted.

The story behind the Walking Dead is a simple: Officer Rick Grimes gets shot and wakes up in the hospitol… only to find that the world has turned zombie for some unexplained reason.

The intricacies to the plot are complex: love, murder, insanity and death… lots of death. People die left and right… quite often people you have become attached to.

Each issue leads directly in to the next… like one big unending movie. That’s part of the appeal for me. I love seeing the deterioration of the characters, the minuet changes in their appearances, and sometimes massive changes in their character as everything becomes harder to deal with.

After reading the Walking Dead two things becomes clear: Robert Kirkman is a genius, and Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn are masters of the arts. Every issue is done in black and white with grey tones using inks and wash. This creates a very dramatic bleak feel to the whole series.

My only real problem with this series is it’s so horribly depressing. It just seems like nothing ever goes right for these people… but that’s life I suppose.

If you haven’t read the Walking Dead yet, now is a good time to start as Image has released the Walking Dead Omnibus which collects all of the issues up to #24 (the current issue) in one hard cover book. Very cool, but ringing in at $100 (US) it’s also a tad on the pricey side. If you’re hesitant to drop 100 bucks without knowing what you’re getting in to, check out the online preview at imagecomics.com. You can read the entire first issue for free. If you like what you see but still don’t want to spend the cash, you can purchase the individual volumes for $12.95 a piece ($9.95 for volume 1). Of course this will only get you to issue #18 as volume 4 hasn’t been released yet… but it’s on the way.

The Walking Dead has went through two years of consistent, slow paced entertainment and is supposedly selling better now than ever before. If you like horror, read this series.

Update: The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart’s Desire has been released. This encompasses issues 19 - 24 and is definitely worth reading.

After bashing the Uncanny X-men I figured I would check out the Astonishing X-Men. So I bought the first volume, “Gifted” and had a go at it. Not the best X-Men title to ever be produced, but not the worst either.

The art in this series is OK. This is a personal preference, so you might like it. Cassaday is no Jim Lee, but he has his own style and I like that. I just wish that everyone didn’t look as though they had gained a few pounds in the face.

The story is decent as well. Joss Whedon (who wrote for Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series) did a good job at keeping my interest. My biggest complaint is the same that I’ve had with a lot of other writers (mainly for Marvel): not enough dialog or narration. Too much of the story is told by visuals alone, as though it is a television show. I think this is a reflection of today’s non-reading society.

Overall Astonishing X-Men is a nice attempt at revitalizing the X-Men series. I plan on giving the rest of the series a try, and if you have a few extra bucks to spare, you may want to pick up a copy as well.