The Kiss That Sort of Shook the Comics World

Okay.  Back in earnest.  Here we go.

So by now you've probably at least heard the news that Superman and Wonder Woman share a passionate kiss at the end of Justice League #12.  It's certainly been making the rounds in comics circles, and major news outlets are at least taking note of the fact that Superman is kissing someone other than Lois Lane.  Images of Jim Lee's cover have flooded the Internet, and the hardcore fanboys and fangirls are lining up on both sides of the "Will it last?" question.

Regardless of how one may feel about this development--which, thus far, consists of a single kiss--I find it more than a little shocking that this is such a big deal.  It's not even like it's never happened before.  Since at least the 1980s, there have been stories and indications that show how Superman and Wonder Woman could be a good match.  In the alternate reality story Kingdom Come (which, by the way, is excellent, and I can't believe I haven't reviewed yet), Superman and Wonder Woman not only get together, but she is pregnant with Superman's child.

I suppose another factor in the shock and discomfiture of this pairing has a lot to do with the fact that this is NOT Lois Lane, who we are taught to think is "The One And Only True Love" Superman is supposed to be with.  This may be true in the movies--which, despite their popularity, are not real source material--but the comics tell a very different story.  Aside from Lois Lane, Superman has had other, admittedly more minor or less timely love interests--Lana Lang admittedly being the only one who jumps readily to my mind (my knowledge of Superman trivia is not as extensive as other areas).  Superman fans, feel free to help round out the list for me.

Our cultural obsession with the "one true love" thing is something I find off-putting, particularly in a necessarily timeless (and time-bending) medium such as comics.  I don't know how many articles I've already read where people are essentially saying, "Superman and Lois WILL get together eventually.  I know it will happen.  This is just a temporary thing."  It's like they can't stand the idea of ANY OTHER romance working, simply because the Lois Lane one worked so well, and nothing else will possibly compare.

Little question:  How do you know it won't compare as well if you don't explore the other possibilities?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: superheroes are one of our modern mythologies.  Mythologies are necessarily open to reinterpretation, revision, and re-telling.  Things should happen in a more or less organic way and be respectful of the audience, but aside from that, anything goes.

And a little thing about the New 52: it's a perfect point to reinterpret it characters' lives.  We've already seen quite a few controversial changes, such as Victor Fries's motivation for becoming Mr. Freeze, Bruce Wayne possibly having a sibling (!), and so forth.  If these things are fair game, then so are relationships and who loves who.

I've also personally felt superhero relationships with "civilians" were too contrived to work.  I've never been a huge fan of Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane, and have usually longed for him to have companionship who could survive on the same level as he could.  This is many times as true with Superman and Lois Lane.  I mean, Spider-Man's arch nemeses are supervillains, like the Green Goblin, Doc Ock and the Kingpin.  Superman's arch enemies include Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, other pissed-off Kryptonians... basically cosmic-scale adversaries, for the most part.  How the hell is Lois supposed to be kept safe against them?  Wonder Woman is not only able to defend herself against these threats ably, but she has her own rogues gallery to contend with.  She'll be likely saving Superman's hide once in a while.

I've never been a huge fan of either of these heroes individually, but I find myself saluting Geoff Johns and Jim Lee for this development.  Only time will tell, of course, but I think there's the potential for a lot of awesome, creative, and fresh storytelling with these two as a potential couple.  They can play on each other's level, and they are both outsiders within the Justice League.  And in this new interpretation of the DC Universe, I think this is a promising glimpse of things to come.

Comic Review -- Justice League #4-6 / Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, & Scott Williams

Justice League #4

I like this cover, even if it suffers from "didn't happen in the comic" syndrome.  While Hal and Aquaman do some verbal sparring, there's never any real physical conflict between them.  Still, Jim Lee does his customarily awesome job of making his heroes look epic and badass, as he does with Aquaman, who actually totally wins me over in one scene of this issue.

The impromptu team-up progresses as Aquaman joins the fray, proving to his new teammates that being king of the oceans holds some distinct advantages in the combat arena.  A newly-formed Cyborg assimilates some of the mysterious cubes in the alien invaders, and inadvertently transports himself into the fray of assembling heroes.  But before they can get their bearings, the invaders' titan of a leader shows up, calling himself Darkseid.

The progression of the plot is good, as we get to see everyone's personalities and the interpersonal dynamics involved begin to really take shape.  It's good to finally see everyone getting together and forming an alliance, albeit one out of desperate necessity.  Clearly these are some powerful heroes, with powerful personalities and biases, but they are slowly coming together.  They may bicker about who's in charge and why, but they already know to fight together against a bigger enemy.

I personally loved Aquaman showing up Green Lantern when asked what he could possibly bring to the table of assembled heroes.  He's never been my favorite hero, but I've also always suspected that to be due to poor utilization by writers of his power set and personality.  After seeing him throw down on Darkseid's minions so thoroughly, I'm eager to see what else Geoff Johns and the other New 52 writers do to make him more favorably viewed.

Favorite scene from this issue: Hal telling the truth about himself after coming in contact with Wonder Woman's lasso, and his reaction to Batman laughing at him.

Artistically, I loved the final page shot of Darkseid as he announces himself.  It's all shadow and blazing eyes and brimstone badass-ness, very much befitting such an apocalyptic foe.  I also like the extra uses of splash pages as the action gets more and more epic and intense.  Aquaman's sharks devouring aliens, Darkseid's emergence and intro... things are definitely getting hairier, and the art really plays that up.

Overall, I'm in it for the long haul.  Between the grand scale of the storytelling and the dynamically beautiful art by Jim Lee, there's little reason not to want to see where this story goes.  Highly recommended.


Justice League #5

Decent cover, even if it's missing Batman and Flash from the assembled team pose.  Still, it symbolizes the team's coming together in the story, and looks appropriately grand.

Darkseid's emergence has temporarily knocked out the heroes.  He captures Superman and contemptuously casts a pugnacious Green Lantern aside.  Batman reveals his identity to Green Lantern, and tells him to put his issues aside and work with the other heroes, then allows himself to get captured by Darkseid's aliens so he can go after Superman.  Green Lantern rallies the remaining heroes with a plan, and they head after Darkseid.  Batman, escaping his captors, finds part of the city converted into some hellish processing plant.

This issue sees the Justice League essentially getting their bearings, realizing that Darkseid is going to be anything but a pushover, and understanding that they'll need to work together to bring him down.  There's only a little bit of action, but the pacing keeps things developing at a good clip, and some of the dialog choices really keep the reader entertained.  Green Lantern acting all feisty and going vainly at Darkseid was quite amusing, for example.

We get an interesting sort of "candid" moment between Batman and Green Lantern in this issue, as Bruce reveals himself to Hal in the name of getting Hal to get over himself and focus on being a team player.  It works in the story, but I'm left feeling a little puzzled by the whole thing.  Batman is notoriously cagey about many things, especially his own secrets, so giving up the big one just to make a point feels pretty out of character, at least to me.

Favorite line of the issue goes to Wonder Woman: "It's settled then!  WE BLIND HIM!"  She reminded me of a Klingon in that moment.  A very hot Klingon, but still.

Art-wise, there's visual candy all over the place.  The visuals of Flash and Superman trying to avoid Darkseid's guided missiles were intriguing, and slightly amusing in their Tron-ness.  I also enjoyed the pose of the assembled heroes when Green Lantern tries out his war cry.  The reveal at the end of the issue is breathtaking in a horrific kind of way, as we see the sheer scale of Darkseid's destructive intentions.

Overall, I'm not overly impressed with this issue, but it does bridge the narrative to what I'm expecting to be an exciting finale.  It looks good, but the action is slowed somewhat.  Still, the overall story is very well told, and I can't wait to see what happens next.  Highly recommended.


Justice League #6

This is a breathtaking cover, in that way that makes your stomach lurch.  The JL, bowing before Darkseid?  Fortunately, it's another of those "not in the issue" covers.  It's very well rendered, and indicative of how formidable an opponent Darkseid is.

The Justice League finally take the fight to Darkseid, working together and hitting him as hard as they can with everything they've got, while Batman tries to find and rescue Superman.  Cyborg manages to use the mother boxes to transport the team and Darkseid to Superman's location, and Batman talks him into getting his bearings so he can assist in sending Darkseid back from where he came.  Cyborg is finally able to shut the tubes created by the mother boxes down, ending the threat and destroying all of Darkseid's props as he is expelled from Earth.  They are hailed as heroes, and commit to publicly forming an alliance.

I really did enjoy the narrative bookends employed for this story, where a writer frames the conflict in catastrophic, end of the world terms.  He's in the middle of the fray, his family about to die with him, but for the emergence of these metahumans on the scene, heroically risking all to ensure that there will be a tomorrow for Earth and its people.  It's a little cheesy, but the impact is really felt at the end of the story where he calls them the greatest superheroes in the world.

I'm also impressed with how little Darkseid actually says about his intentions.  It frustrates the heroes, leaving them to wonder what motivates this titanic force of evil to lay waste to the earth.  This adds considerable weight to his presence as an intergalactic hardcase.

It's always fun to watch the personalities at play between the heroes, and in this issue it's especially obvious. Green Lantern's petulance, Flash's diplomacy, and Batman's forward-thinking all make for amusing moments.  That Wonder Woman and Aquaman are hands-on warriors also makes for an interesting bond between them as they engage Darkseid in melee combat in succession.  I think this issue does a good job of playing up their individual presences, as well as their collective awesomeness.

Artistically, Jim Lee continues to illustrate die-hard action and epic heroes with aplomb.  One excellent example of this is the Justice League's fight against Darkseid, as they take turns engaging him and work together to do so.  Everything looks crisp, dynamic and high-stakes.  The two-page splash of Superman flying into Darkseid to knock him into the mother box tubes was a delight to behold.  Finally, the pose near the end of the story of the team is satisfying, as is the cover of them on the final page, where the writer's book comes to print.

Overall, a satisfying end to a fun origin story.  I'll be curious to see if they come back to the present day--remember, this story takes place 5 years before the "present day"--or if they build directly from this endpoint.  This story is a must-have for Justice League fans, readers of the New 52, or anyone who enjoys Geoff Johns's storytelling and/or Jim Lee's epic artwork.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- Justice League #1-3 / Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, & Scott Williams

Okay, so I admit I'm a little late to the whole New 52 thing in terms of actually reading the material.  Part of it is that it's taken me a while to give more than a passing glance to any DC properties other than Batman and related works.  Also, finances are a concern--not that I can't afford to start collecting single issue comics again, I just see better uses for my meager income--which kept me from buying them as they came out.  A final reason is that I was one of those people who, upon hearing about the upcoming reboot, thought that DC was shooting themselves in the foot, and was hoping it would fail.

I've since changed my tune, and been surprised at the overwhelmingly favorable assessments of the New 52.  Looking at some issues, I've seen that a lot of the storytelling is very exciting and fresh.  So, with a little help from my local library, I've acquired the single issues of several titles, and figured I'd do some very late and barely relevant reviewing of the issues, starting with the flagship title, Justice League.

Individual issue reviews are a bit problematic for me.  I did one earlier, for Scarlet Spider, but it was the exception rather than the rule (though I'm strongly considering reviewing the next upcoming issue), and I didn't think it'd be a big sin to do a long review for that one.  In the interest of this not being a novella, I'm going to give each issue its own section within the post, and hopefully make them considerably shorter.  That way I can write about the average length overall, and cover multiple issues in one sitting.

Justice League #1

Okay, wow.  The cover alone was awesome, no matter which version you got.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Jim Lee does iconic heroes and poses like no one else's business.  Heroic.  Modern classic.  Iconic.  Call it whatever you want, it just looks great.

Overall, this issue did throw me a little bit.  First off was the "This is 5 years ago" premise that we're supposed to remember.  That's not so difficult in and of itself, but then there's the pacing.  We've got Batman being chased over a rooftop and getting shot at by the military while he hunts some alien monster thing and fights it and tries to make it talk about what it's doing in Gotham when Green Lantern shows up and Batman tells him what little he knows of these guys and they decide to go to Metropolis to check out another alien and Superman shows up looking for a fight.

Whew!  It just feels like a whirlwind of mostly action and just enough character interaction to keep things moving onto the next act.  I got to the end of the chapter excited for the next part, but not really feeling like I'd gotten much out of it.  I think a big part of it is that so far, it's just Batman and Green Lantern, with a Superman setup at the end.  No one else.  It's not too much, I think, to expect to find the Justice League assembled, at least by issue's end.  Not that I don't respect the story arc idea--and I realize that Geoff Johns is good at the larger arcs--I'm just uncertain it's the best way to start things off.

Art:  Jim Lee.  Scott Williams.  That is all.

Seriously, I do admire the detail that's gone into the artwork here.  I don't know what it is about Jim Lee's people, but they just look amazing.  Male, female, monstrous, it doesn't matter.  The guys look manly and heroic, the women look beautiful and strong, and the monsters look alien, threatening, and sinister.  Action flows well from their illustrations, which makes this an idea marriage of form to content.

Overall, I'd say get it.  It's the start of the reboot, it's beautifully rendered, and the writing, while a conceptually a little blurry, is nevertheless exciting.  It certainly promises a grand adventure, and I can't wait to see more.  Highly recommended.

Justice League #2

Really?  After last issue's awesome cover, you give your readers this?! I don't know what it is about the cover to Justice League #2, but it really nags at me, in a bad way.  The characters look good, but the posing seems unrealistic and contrived, like a photographer had asked them to hold a battle pose for far too long.  There's no expression on Superman's face.  I just don't like it.

Things seem to slow down a bit from the last issue, which is ironic, as I was expecting a big three-way fight between Bats, Supes, and GL at the end of the previous chapter.  That's stoppered fairly quickly, and Superman's more aggressive temper is on display, as is Hal's cockiness and Bats's keen insights.  We also get introduced to Barry Allen's Flash and Vic Stone, who will become Cyborg, bringing us a little closer to the formation of the team that we're all waiting for.

I also like how people keep bringing up the fact that Batman has no powers.  When asked, "What can you do?" he simply replies, "I can keep us on task."  With a union of these kinds of powers, abilities, and egos, that's far from nothing, and he knows it, even if the others may not.

Art-wise, I continue to be fascinated, for the most part.  From time to time, some of the facial expressions seem strangely blank or not suited to the moment at hand, but it's easy to forget that when you move to the next illustration.  Some of the new venues are interesting, like Barry's police lab and STAR labs, where Vic's dad works, though whether they'll hold up over time remains to be seen.

Overall, I liked this issue.  We're gradually getting more characters involved, and it's starting to feel like a team book.  It's slower paced than last issue, but the interpersonal dynamics--which, face it, is why we read Justice League--are really starting to come through and shine.  Highly recommended.

Justice League #3

"Move over, boys--time to make way for Wonder Woman!"  That's what this cover screams, even as it suggests the very recognizable coming together of the Justice League in combat.  It's a marked improvement from last issue's cover, and breathtaking in the way only Jim Lee could make it.

Wonder Woman gets a charming introduction as a newcomer to our world, curious and gentle even as she flaunts her tough warrior's instincts.  When she finally joins the guys in battle against the alien monster things, there are the predictable yet still humorous reactions from the men at her beauty and power.  It's these kinds of moments that Johns handles well, and as they become more integral to the narrative of this assembling team, I can see the writing getting even better.

We also witness Vic Stone's injuries that necessitate his being made a cyborg by his father, brought on by the creatures' attack of STAR labs.  The sudden concern of Dr. Stone is a little jarring, given how self-involved he'd been up to this point, though it's not flat-out unbelievable.  Realizing you're about to lose someone is often the point when you realize how much you really do care about them, and I think Silas's emotional turnabout is believable, if not exactly smooth.

Favorite line: when Flash says to Batman, "I thought you were a vampire or something."  Hilarious.

Art: LOTS of monsters in this issue, and lots of opportunities for our heroes to show off with some high-powered action.  It's all very dynamic and hectic without being clogged and distracting, which could have very easily happened.  Wonder Woman, of course, was fun to look at, and the rest of the heroes were drawn in typically awesome detail.

Overall, highly recommended.  The story is getting better as the heroes assemble, and the action is intense and fun.  Character moments abound, and I'm getting more involved in seeing where this arc leads.  Bring on the next issue!

Watchmen, Prequels, and Marc Hirsch

It has truly been an interesting week in comics for me, particularly on Comicvine.  A number of topics relevant to the industry and of personal interest to me have been discussed, and while I've taken part in some of them, I've also been content to just lurk on others and watch the dialog roll.  But now that I've had a bit of time to read and digest them, I figure it's a good time to put my two cents out on these issues.

I suppose it's the news about the Watchmen prequels  that's brought most of this to a head for me, for a number of reasons. Watchmen is a comic that I read much later than I should have, and it really blew my mind when I finally got around to it.  It was literary, apocalyptic, genre bending, and an amazing commentary on both the superhero comic and our how our own fears affect us as a culture.  It was indeed one of the milestone reads in comics for me, and if I ever review it, expect me to gush for a while.

I was also asked if I would be commenting on this, and as I have more than one friend who has strong opinions about this franchise, both positive and negative, I figured I should at least share my take on the situation.  Because the good friendships can withstand the most inevitable and passionate of arguments.  :-)

NPR's Marc Hirsch has laid out a few logical sounding reasons for why this is a bad idea and should not happen, and it's doubtless that many other comic book nerds are going to agree with him.  And I can't say I blame them.  The idea of a superhero comic being respected, and in some cases revered, in literary circles, is such a rare thing--why would you want to mess with that, and possibly dilute (or worse yet, taint) it by expanding it with a prequel?  I can understand the need to protect what you perceive as the integrity, nay the sanctity, of a superhero tome that has garnered significant literary acclaim and respect among the mainstream of readers.

That doesn't mean this particular comic book nerd necessarily agrees with them, however.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not jumping up and down and shouting for joy at the prospect, either.  I'm not sure what I feel about this development, beyond a general astonishment about the announcement.  I do, however, think more than a couple of Hirsch's points bear examination.  To paraphrase them:

• Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's non-involvement alone means this series is in trouble.

Dead wrong, Marc.  Alan Moore is an amazing writer--he's one of my favorites--but his curmudgeonly manner and smugness are legendary.  He's much like Rorschach himself, as best I can tell: uncompromising, even when common sense dictates the need for it.  His non-involvement in a project based on one of his early works is pretty much par for the course, and hardly an indicator of its likelihood for doom.  As for Gibbons, his quote about telling the complete story they wanted to tell is a perfectly reasonable explanation of why he isn't being involved.  

Furthermore, nothing in the news about this indicates that either of them were even asked.  DC simply might have decided to move on without them in  any case, which is certainly their right as the publisher.  As creators, they have the right to comment on and critique what goes on, but their non-involvement at this point is immaterial to the material's outlook.

• The devaluation of of Watchmen outside of comics fandom is likely due to confusion.

I understand the direction you're going here, but I don't think it really holds up under inspection.  In this age of Google, Wikipedia, smartphones, and ebooks, the potential for confusion--due to the name of the collected works being Before Watchmen--does exist, but is generally a snap to clear up with a modicum of effort.  If I pop "watchmen" into a search engine, chances are huge I'll find entries for the comic, the film, and (likely in the future) Before Watchmen.  They are similar in title, but distinct enough that confusion shouldn't be an issue.  Point of entry confusions are also unlikely; unless this proves as earth-shattering as the original, it will almost certainly live in the shadow of the original, as so many derivative works tend to do.

• DC doesn't get that Watchmen shouldn't be expanded upon, because that was never intended.

Wrong again.  Maybe the original creators didn't intend for it to be expanded upon, but that doesn't mean interesting and relevant stories couldn't possibly made from their material at a later time.  It's been a quarter century, and Watchmen has held up amazingly well.  

I think DC may understand this property better than some will give them credit for.  Watchmen, for all its respectability as a literary work, is a superhero story (a satirical one, but still).  And, like it or not, superheroes tend to be staples within our modern mythology.  Mythologies, by their very nature, are tales that get repeated, reinvented, and expanded upon as necessity dictates.  And that's precisely what DC is going to do with Before Watchmen.

Are there big risks here?  You bet your ass there are.  They'd better make damn sure they know what they're doing, risking, and avoiding by waking this sleeping giant.  Failure would mean so much more than a few scuttled series: Jim Lee and Dan DiDio would need to adopt new identities and give up their comics careers with all the rage that would be directed at them.  The tarnishing of the Watchmen name would be hard to overcome, even with time, among literary circles.  It would be more than not pretty: it would be distinctly disastrous.

And I think DC is aware of that.

They waited 25 years to do this.  They've had time to think it through.  They know the risks, and will keep them in mind when they undertake this challenge.  And it's not like they haven't done this kind of thing before.  When they announced the reboot of the DC universe with the New 52 materials, I thought that was a disaster bound to happen, and for the most part, they've laid my fears to rest.

My final word on this issue, at this point, is the somewhat boring mantra of wait and see.  Wait and see, people.  They're going to do this--there's little chance of turning back now.  There's plenty to fear about it, but if you consider the rewards that could come with successfully extending Watchmen...

Well, let's just see if anyone can write about that instead of the potential pitfalls.

GN Review -- Batman: Hush / Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee and Scott Williams

This story is widely considered one of the more recent masterpieces in the Batman mythos. I remember the first time I read this story, I simply could not put it down. It has everything: a wide-ranging story, supporting parts by virtually every character in Batman's life, and stunning artwork.

Starting with a battle against a strangely mutated Killer Croc, Batman discovers he and the many people in his life are being manipulated from the shadows by someone who seems to have an awful lot of insight into his personal life. He is soon led on a months-long journey to gradually discover who has been toying with him, his allies, his enemies... even a childhood friend of his. When all is said and done, Batman is left with another new, insidiously dangerous, addition to his rogues gallery, a villain known by the moniker of "Hush."

Jeph Loeb, whose Batman: The Long Halloween I've also read, is again in top form, scripting a gripping narrative as Batman finds himself questioning who could possibly know so much about him. Loeb uses mini-arcs within the larger story to briefly feature various friends and foes of Batman's, and then moves on to others as the plot dictates. It's a familiar device from him, as he used it in The Long Halloween, and he proves as adept with it in this volume as he was before.

The many characters featured in the story produce some interesting conflicts and more than a few noteworthy moments, such as the Joker insisting on his innocence after Batman finds him standing over the body of a man, just shot, gun in his hand. Batman ends up having to fight Superman, who is being controlled by Poison Ivy, which tests the limits of his mettle and resourcefulness... and shows just how awesome Batman is at taking down a heavy hitter when he has to. His long-standing on-again, off-again relationship with Catwoman blossoms into a full romance during this story, leading to him unmask and let Selina into his life, making for interesting new dynamics as she interacts with the others who know Bruce's secrets.

The artwork in Hush is, of course, as beautifully rendered as you could expect by Jim Lee's pencil work. I know there are some who have issues with his work, but for me, Lee draws superheroes and supervillains perfectly: they're iconic, they're well detailed, and they're beautifully done. As someone who's followed his artwork in comics since I was a teen, I can't help but feel both nostalgic and overwhelmed with awesome when viewing his work. Batman and Superman look larger than life in his renditions, and Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Huntress are beautiful, deadly, and fun to look at. I don't have any drawing skills, nor do I plan to ever try, but if I did, Jim Lee is the comics artist I'd want to draw like.

If you haven't read this story yet and consider yourself a Bat-fan, then get your hands on it and start reading. If you're like me, you'll finish it in one sitting. Hush proves itself to be a fun story that is both gripping and a good look into the life that the Dark Knight and his cohorts lead. Anyone who likes superhero stories should read this. Anyone who likes a good mystery with plenty of twists and turns should read it. Anyone who likes a good graphic novel should read it. Very highly recommended.