Black Adam's Heart of Gold - Review of DC Comics 52 vol 2 (2006)

 

Review:

A smiling, happy Black Adam? The usually stern and dour strongman falls in love, weds beautiful Isis, and sets out to change the world.

The plotline with Black Adam and Isis forms the backbone of this second quarter of the weekly 52 series. Writers Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid continue their collaboration, weaving a dozen plot threads through this audacious series. Remember, they sought to publish weekly issues and to have the events unfold in "real time", in which a week passed in the story each time a week passed on our calendars. That no doubt sounded like a terrifically grand undertaking with lots of enthusiasm at the start. But by the end of this volume, they have reached the mid-point. So how are they holding up?

Based on the primary special feature of this omnibus, one-page reflections from each main contributor in turn, they had settled into a healthy if somewhat stressed rhythm, working on their assigned pieces and admiring the sometimes-shocking twists being introduced by the others. For all the ambition of the project, at times it continues to feel too big, too ambitious, with too many threads that can disappear for weeks at a time.

Keith Giffen handles all the layouts, setting the tone for a stable of artists, with eight pencillers and another eight inkers contributing to these thirteen chapters. Giffen's breakdown skills lead to an overall visual coherence even as the styles change from intense caped battle scenes to more cartoony throwback styles around classic Shazam characters. The special feature glimpses of his breakdowns are a treat, a wonderful bonus to see how he communicates his ideas to the finishing artists.

The main threads in this quarter see Black Adam and Isis joined in Kandaq by Vic Sage aka The Question and his reluctant protege Renee Montoya. Their investigation into Intergang's growing presence in Gotham has led them to that faraway land. Elsewhere, Ralph Dibney aka Elongated Man flirts with the body-less helmet of Doctor Fate in his quest to bring back his dead wife; the lost and star-wandering Adam Strange, Animal Man and Starfire meet with Lobo and his role as pope of a star-spanning fish-religion; Lex Luthor launches his new super-team to both success and tragedy; and perhaps most notable of all, the heroic death of Booster Gold and the revelation that Skeets may have a villainous streak to him.

The Booster Gold thread is one of the plot pieces which suffers from the frenetic and fragmented storytelling. He has hit rock bottom shockingly quickly after being publicly disgraced in volume 1. But he seizes an opportunity for renewed heroism and fame with a high profile and impressive feat to save Metropolis - only to be killed by the resulting explosion! There is a body and a funeral, it's hard to see how the writers bring back this character who had been looking like a central player in 52.

Skeets, meanwhile, continues to dig into what Rip Hunter knows about the growing number of time anomalies. Spoiler alert! the big revelation that Skeets has a villainous dark side comes as a beautifully brilliant plot twist.

By times fun, cheeky, dark, confusing, there is a lot to take in over the course of these 13 chapters. As the series reaches its mid-point, we look forward to the second half of this wild ride.

Description:

Continue to explore the DCU's lost year in the second volume of a 4-book collection featuring death, danger, romance, terror and the never-ending search for heroism! This 304-page volume - sporting a new cover by J.G. Jones - contains the lead stories from 52 WEEKS 14-26! 52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman...but not a year without heroes.

Collects: Issues #14-26

Authors:  Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Artists:  Keith Giffen (Layouts) and 20 others on pencils, inks and colors
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  July 25, 2007
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  ‎ 978-1401213640
Pages:  ‎ 296 pages

New Bat, Same Old Gold - 52 volume 1 (2006)

Review:

The ambitious, audacious DC Comics weekly series 52 remains stunning today, nearly 20 years later. On the heels of the shocking, universe-shaking events of Infinite Crisis, the DC Universe jumped ahead one year, a year in which the biggest heroes - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman - were absent.

The 52 series answers the questions: what happened in that year? who filled the void? And it did so in near real-time. A new issue each week, with an elapsed time of one week in the lives of these characters. A very novel and challenging project!

To pull off its aggressive weekly publication schedule, four of the strongest writers in the company's stable worked in close collaboration: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid. The result is a year-long story, massive in scope, unparalleled in complexity and integration. It can be soap-operatic in its shocks and twists. And if volume 1 is any indication, they pulled it off to tremendous success.

The void left by the absence of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman does get filled, with several characters stepping into the vacuum.

There's Booster Gold, of course, who not only intentionally stepped in but sought to leverage his involvement for maximum publicity and profit. The corporate logos on his suit are reminiscent of race car driver coveralls. And with his future-based knowledge of past events, he seems well poised to reap great reward.

There is also Supernova, whose origin and backstory remain a mystery - who is he, what are his powers, motivations, origins? Stay tuned! 

Even Black Adam, in his way, steps up. He gathers a coalition of both meta0humans and political ties with sympathetic nations.

Blend into this mix diverse and separate story threads like Ralph Dibney, the Elongated Man and his quest for answers about his wife's death; or Renee Montoya and Vic sage / The Question investigating Intergang's incursion into Gotham - and the spectacular introduction of Batwoman! or John Henry Irons / Steel battling with his niece and watching her become a devout follower and pawn of Lex Luthor; or Adam Strange, Animal Man and Starfire lost and stranded on a faraway planet. 

So much is happening in this series!

Through this volume, collecting the first 13 issues, there is very little overlap in these diverse plotlines. Ralph Dibney and Booster Gold overlap long enough for the (former?) Elongated Man to deliver a scathing lecture on Booster's fraudulent opportunism; Green Lantern appears briefly in both the Elongated Mad and the black Adam story lines, before disappearing again.

But these narratives are largely parallel worlds thus far. Yet as they build in tension, they feel ominously like a massive collision is approaching.

Art duties are shared by six pencillers and seven inkers in these 13 issues. Yet they manage to have an overall consistent feel. Their work is driven, without being constrained, by Keith Giffen's breakdowns, which are excerpted for one of the special features in this volume, a delightful "extra" interspersed throughout. It's lots of fun to compare his breakdowns with the artist's final pages and panels.

This 52 is going places, and I want to be along for the ride! For sheer audacity and top-notch execution, this big-scoped series scores 4 capes for volume one.

Description:

After the INFINITE CRISIS, the DC Universe spent a year without Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman-a year in which those heroes were needed more than ever as the fate of the world hung in the balance. 52 features the best and brightest writers from the comic-book field including Geoff Johns (INFINITE CRISIS), Grant Morrison (ALL STAR SUPERMAN), Greg Rucka (WONDER WOMAN) and Mark Waid (KINGDOM COME), working together to tell the tale of a world awakening from a nightmare to face a new day.

Collects: issues 1-13

Authors:  Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid 
Artists:  Keith Giffen (layouts) and various others
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  May 1, 2007
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1401213534
Pages:  295 pages

Not. Without. Her. Review of I Can't Believe it's not the Justice League (2005)

 

Review:

The very title of this collection telegraphs its light and humorous tone, and it delivers! This sequel to the Super Buddies introduced in Formerly Known as the Justice League shows why this creative team's original run on Justice League International in the late 1980s was so well received. Keith Giffen and J. M. Dematteis reinvented the Justice League, filling their pages with toned-down power levels and amped-up dialog, relationships and team dynamics, all overlaid with witty and sarcastic dialog. It was a breath of fresh air and captured the imagination of the fandom of the day.

But when they brought the gang back together as the Super Buddies, it initially fell flat. Formerly Known as the Justice League was overly goofy, its character portrayals too one-dimensional. This time, though, they got it right. This 6-chapter book is a true delight to read, a hit for fans of these characters and a fun ride for new readers.

The Super Buddies are horrified to discover that a new sports bar opening next to their headquarters in a local strip mall is co-owned by supervillain Blackguard and... Guy Gardner?!

Life gets even more challenging when Booster Gold accidentally condemns the entire team to Hell. Can they survive the tortures devised by the demon Etrigan, escape Hell and get back home? And if, say, they wind up not home, but in a mirror-universe where the Super Buddies are strippers and bouncers at a seedy gentlemen's club, then what might they do?

It's a delightfully oddball premise, and Giffen and Dematteis carry off the dialog banter with deft wit. I especially love Blue Beetle's critiques of Etrigan's famous rhyming couplets - always a great idea to antagonize your captors!

But it is the depth of the relationships, the character development and emotion that score highest in these pages. Booster Gold emerges from his previous one-dimensional, moronic frat-boy portrayal, as he becomes the one who first figures out certain key details of their dilemma. His relationship with Fire, so poisoned over the years by his willingness to exploit her, takes some fascinating new turns. For her part, Fire and Mary Marvel become on-again, off-again Besties.

And most significant of all is Ice. She was killed, you may recall, by Overmaster in the Judgement Day crossover event in the Justice League books. But when they meet her in Hell, Fire and Guy Gardner must deal with powerful emotional swings. Can they overcome Etrigan's strict rules and rescue Ice? Guy Gardner is determined to rescue Ice - "Not. Without. Her." - but does he have the willpower to do what must be done?

Kudos to artists Kevin Maguire and Joe Rubinstein for their phenomenal ability to push the story forward with their images. Highest grades go to their stunningly simple, clean and powerful portrayals of the emotions, especially those of Gardner and Fire. And they get several pages, over the course of the book, to stack up panels of facial expressions reacting to off-panel events. New colorist David Baron gets a shout-out in the corny credit-roll, and definitely deserves attention - the colors and shading he brings to these tales add such visual texture and appeal, immediately noticeable compared to Formerly Known.

One final Booster Gold note - when the team tells him about former super-villain Blackguard opening the sports bar next door, his reaction is basically "who?" Yet he fought Blackguard multiple times in his very first story-arc, in Booster Gold in the mid 1980s. Ancient history to this time traveler?

Super Buddies were such a joke in their first appearances, but this book hits the mark with an entertainingly complex tale.

Description:

I can't believe it's not the Justice League! But you will when the Super Buddies finally open for business - complete with their own theme song. But things hit a sour note when a former foe - Blackguard - opens a sports bar next door to their new "headquarters" in the strip mall downtown! Worse, Blackguard has a partner, the Buddies' old pal Guy Gardner!

Things go from worse to worser when Booster Gold accidentally consigns half the team to Hell for all eternity. The rest mount a rescue mission, but just being a Super Buddy may not be enough to deal with demons, monsters and zombies ... and a dead teammate resurrected!

Collects: JLA Classified #4-9

Authors:  Keith Giffen, J. M. Dematteis
Artists:  Kevin Maguire, Joe Rubinstein
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  Dec 30, 2005
Parental Rating: PG-13
ISBN:  978-1401204785
Pages:  144 pages

Super Buddies! Review of Formerly Known as the Justice League (2004)

Review:

The creative team of Keith Giffen, J. M. Dematteis and Kevin Maguire reunite both with each other and with several of the characters that made their legend a decade and a half earlier. They gained fame and acclaim with their late-80s reboot of the Justice League franchise, taking it international and breathing new life into post-Crisis staid, old DC Comics with their light tone and humor. Fifteen years later they brought us this self-aware and cheeky attempt to recapture the success of what their Justice League run accomplished.

Unfortunately, they missed the mark.

In DC continuity, the United Nations has broken ties with the globe-spanning Justice League offices. Now, some classic members (Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash and others) have reconstituted the Justice League of America. Maxwell Lord, though down, is far from out. He gets the band back together. Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom and Fire are joined by Elongated Man and Mary Marvel. Cybernetic life-form L-Ron and Green Lantern flop G'nort also grace these pages.

What you will not find anywhere in this collection of the complete 6-issue mini-series is a classic tights-and-capes bad-guys-vs-heroes battle. In fact, the only power-vs-power conflict is a mind-controlled smack-down between Mary Marvel and Captain Atom, and a very brief slap-fight with some Harvard-educated and very erudite and eloquent neighborhood thugs.

Instead, all the tension and conflict is internal - Blue Beetle tires of Booster's idiocy, Fire eyerolls at Mary's wide-eyed naivety. Any external conflict is settled through negotiation, often hilariously so, as when the mighty Manga Khan toys with becoming a BDSM Submissive.

With wry, dialog-driven humor and relational conflict, our writers pack lots of exposition and word bubbles onto these pages, with occasionally tedious results. When it works well, this series is loads of fun. When it falls flat, which it does too frequently, be sure to distract yourself with Maguire's ability to convey emotion through facial nuances and simple lines. Even on the collection's cover, Cap's exasperation, Fire's coquettish come-hither look, Booster's frat-boy smugness and Mary Marvel's youthful innocence shine through.

The Super Buddies era became a point of embarrassment in the intervening decades and is the nadir of Booster Gold's nearly 40 years of existence. In this series, he is a one-dimensional, almost exclusively idiotic and selfish buffoon. His marriage for money to an always off-camera rich old woman especially grates on the nerves. Fans who saw his potential from day one and who were thrilled with his part in the popular Justice League International series, found this a bridge too far.

Yet it is also a vital moment in his history, as Formerly Known as the Justice League kicks off a renaissance in his importance in the DC universe. After some lean years with very few appearances in the late '90s and early 2000s, these appearances lead into Booster's appearances in JLA Classified in 2004-2005 and then into a starring role in the weekly 52 series in 2006-7, before finally returning to a solo series all his own, Booster Gold v2, starting in late 2007.

Still, this series is more miss than hit, and this reviewer gives it 2 capes.

Description:

Max Lord attempts to open a super team for hire, and recruits his old friends from the Justice League! Featuring Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire, Mary Marvel and more. Don't miss this reunion of the creative team behind the classic JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire!

Collects: Formerly Known as the Justice League mini-series issues #1-6

Authors:  Keith Giffen, J. M. Dematteis
Artists:  Kevin Maguire, Joe Rubinstein
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  April 1, 2004
Parental Rating: PG-13
ISBN:  978-1401203054
Pages:  137 pages