Comic Books: May 2006 Archives

For the past three years, I've heard Scott Hinze (Fanboy Radio) rave about Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona. I've promptly ignored him until the most recent Fanboy Vaughan interview, when the tenor of Scott's sincerity really got to me. I dove in and started reading Runaways Vol. 1: Pride and Joy and was instantly hooked. Scott's not blowing smoke: Runaways is right up there with the very best Marvel series being published today. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would especially like the premise. A group of young teenagers (who live in Los Angeles) suddenly discover that their parents are a cartel of super-villains called the Pride. The kids go on the run to escape, discover some unique abilities of their own, and oppose their parents plans for world ruination. The first 18 issues deal with the Pride, a formidable bunch of villains (with powers ranging from time travel to mysticism to super-geniuses) who control everything (including the police) in Los Angeles.

Something about the Runaways artwork just didn't seem like it was aimed at me, with it's youth-appealing Manga overtones. I've overcome that and grown to love Alphona's artwork, which is perfectly suited to teenagers, who never don costumes, by the way. Vaughan's dialogue and Alphona's facial expressions really make me believe that these are children, facing their own worst nightmares. By setting the series in Los Angeles, which is devoid of super-heroes, Vaughan really preserves the kids isolation. Marvel's most famous runaway kids from the past do show up (Cloak and Dagger), and Vaughan's portrayal of these cult heroes is refreshing.

I was worried that when the initial Pride arc was over, that would be it for the Runaways, but Volume 2 is proving to be equally as good. If you've ignored Runaways until now, give it a chance, especially if you're a Buffy, Harry Potter, or Philip Pullman fan. Nuff said.

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I caught this on Comics Continuum's preview of DC Direct products: Power Girl Bust! "Feel the power! Continuing the stunning line of Women of the DCU Busts designed by award-winning illustrator Adam Hughes, this limited edition, hand-painted, cold-cast porcelain bust measures approximately 5.625 inches tall x 4 inches wide and x 2.25 inches deep, and is packaged in a four-color box." $45 smackers for this breast-popping cold-cast wonder of porcelain. Just remember to put back in the drawer when you're all done. Nuff said.

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Power Girl's smashing breasts! Superboy's disgusting carnage! The wisdom of Bemzarro! Only a few of the many things awaiting you in Dial B For Blog's Infinite Crisis #7 and wrap-up review. As much as I hated Infinite Crisis #7, I loved this review. It made me laugh out loud and I couldn't explain to my wife what was so funny. I am almost glad this shit got published so I could laugh so hard.

External Link:
Dial B For Blog's Infinite Crisis Series Review

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Some of you Superman fans don't believe it, but it's true: Firestorm is more powerful. If it weren't for the fact that either Ronnie or Jason are young, they'd be the most dominant player in the DC Universe. Look at the classic scene from Firestorm #4 (circa 1982). Ronnie Raymond takes on the entire Justice League and blows them away pretty quickly. Superman is instantly crippled inside a ball of kryptonite and only survives due to Wonder Woman's intervention. Luckily, Firestorm is a good guy. Nuff said.

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Now here's a surprise: I liked Civil War #1, a lot! The basic premise left me cold when I heard about it, and the hype machine is in overkill mode with Quesada getting quoted on NPR and various newspapers. I'm also not crazy about the Road to Civil War stuff in Amazing Spider-Man. J. Michael Straczynski seems like an idiot who thinks all corporate CEOs must be evil and so Tony Stark must be one, too. I can't buy Straczynski having Stark manipulate Peter Parker into supporting his position in Amazing Spider-Man.

One of the things that won me over in Civil War #1 is Mark Millar's portrayal of Tony Stark. He gives Tony a much better motivation for supporting the President's call to register all super-heroes. Tony feels a certain amount of guilt (the fuel that drives all Marvel Heroes) over the Nitro-schoolyard explosion. In the public eye, and especially in the eye of a parent who lost her son, Stark has been the biggest corporate sponsor of the Avengers. And the Avengers inspire countless wannabes like the New Warriors and the Young Avengers. I can buy that Stark may feel partially responsible for this tragedy, and that it could turn him against Steve Rogers. There are other little character bits with other Marvel players which make you wish that Millar will visit them as a regular writer soon. I love it when the Thing says to Wolverine: "Tell me about it, stumpy. You think Johnny would have ended up in the hospital last night if morons like you wasn't out there givin' us a bad name?"

Millar's script works very well with Steve McNiven's dynamic pencils. This man not only makes the action scenes come alive, but he makes the talking heads dynamic as well. Millar knows each chapter of a book like this needs some action, and the most rousing sequence involves Captain America fighting S.H.I.E.L.D. This is totally awesome-the freedom loving Captain from the Englehart years-fighting authority. Non-regular readers reading Civil War must be shocked at Cap's behavior.

Speaking of non-regular readers, Joe Quesada has prepared a special two-page promotional piece for them at the end of the book. I applaud this move, because they are making no bones about it, but keeping the promotional aspect separate from the story-unlike DC Comics! The books they have chosen to promote are all first class collections: New Avengers by Bendis\Finch, Captain America by Brubaker\Epting, Astonishing X-Men by Whedon\Cassaday. It's interesting to note that the Iron Man collection is "Demon In A Bottle" instead of anything more recent.

Let's hope the rest of the Civil War series keeps up this level of quality. Nuff said.

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Spoilers ahead; I am going to blow away everything, droogies.

Thank God it's over! That's all I can say after reading Infinite Crisis #7. The final chapter has left the DC Universe an even more convoluted mess. The Justice Society now remembers fighting alongside the Golden Age Superman in World War 2? Superman was active before Metropolis, indicating some kind of Superboy\Smallville action? I always wanted these two things back, but on the same Earth, we start to have serious continuity problems. Two Supermen? Did Krypton blow up twice? What does the general civilian population believe? Maybe in the DCU, school kids get a lesson on the multiverses to explain the difference between the two Supermen. Jeez, I just think having multiple Earths would really make this whole problem go away.

The battle with Superboy of Earth-Prime was very confusing. The two Supermen have no trouble taking down Doomsday in a quick two-page spread, but their combined might can't finish off Superboy? (I think the person who could have stopped Superboy instantly would have been Firestorm-have him create a ball of kryptonite with the right elements from Superboy's universe and it is over.) I don't understand why the Super Dudes fly through the remnants of Krypton and the Red Sun, without getting killed in space. Green Kryptonite is fatal to Superman and the Red Sun robs his powers very quickly, so why isn't Clark Kent a blistering corpse in outer space? This whole sequence had one redeeming feature: the appearance of Mogo from Alan Moore's classic short story, "Mogo Doesn't Socialize". Too bad about Superman 1, but I knew DC didn't want to keep him around. Leaving Superboy in that prison is just too convenient for another summer blockbuster.

The rest of the story is just another marketing ploy. The characters are practically screaming: Buy 52! Buy Superman! Buy the rebooted Wonder Woman and Flash! And speaking of the latter, Rich Johnston really nailed this spoiler in Monday's Lying in the Gutters. I can't believe that the new Flash #1 is going to feature Jay Garrick for very long. Didio already said that the first Flash we see in that book may differ from the final Flash that takes over. Is it going to be Wally or Bart?

This is going to make one mess of a trade collection. How can anyone make sense of this mini-series without reading the tie-ins like last week's Villains United special, when the prison break-outs occurred? OK, I've expelled my crankiness for today, but I eagerly await Dial B For Blog's review. Nuff said.

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