Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Archives for September 2011

DC New 52 Review: Superboy #1

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This issue presents two things I have no small amount of 90s nostalgia for: Superboy and Scott Lobdell.

Superboy has been through several incarnations, but the one I’ve always enjoyed was the 90s Reign of Supermen version, which was essential an attempt to regrow Superman in a lab in case of catastrophe – or, you know, if they just needed a spare. The result was a James Dean version of Supes, complete with bad attitude and leather jacket.

Scott Lobdell inherited the crumpled mess of X-Men left behind by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee jumping ship from Marvel’s flagship book in quick succession. He not only straightened things out, but started a new era of X-mythology that actually fielded some decent mysteries until editorial interference strangled the life from his plots.

I don’t know that the two necessarily go together, but I’m fond of them both separately, so I don’t see why they shouldn’t combine for a likeable comic series.

Superboy #1

Written by Scott Lobdell, art by R.B. Silva & Rob Lean

Rating: 2.5 of 5 – Okay

In a Line: “They call me Superboy. I have no idea why.”

#140char Review: Superboy #1, origin of a tank-grown boy & his keepers. Ends w/the start of his 1st mission. Decent, but a bit rote; rubbery art doesn’t help

CK Says: Consider it.

Scott Lobdell effectively reestablishes Superboy’s origin and finds a spare set of heartstrings to pluck along the way. He hews close to the Reign of Supermen origin of Superboy, who is grown from a genetic sample of Superman in a tank (a la Neo, in a clear artistic homage to the Matrix).

Yet, Superboy isn’t a straight-forward clone of Superman, and he isn’t as plugged in as his keepers think. The result is that he is frequently the one conducting a social experiment on his confident captors. Despite his vast intelligence, he knows nothing of human companionship – even when he’s freed from his tank no one takes the time to address him directly. He is a thing, and maybe a weapon.

The interior art is an improvement over the awkward cover, but it’s not super. Faces have a certain handsome, rubbery sameness to them, like a set of fresh scrubbed Sims loaded up for a new game. Luckily, it’s only Superboy and his bespectacled red-headed keeper you have to recall (although silver-maned and morally ambiguous Rose may be more interesting than either).

The end result is a serviceable reintroduction that puts Superboy into place to either lead or battle the Teen Titans (I can’t tell which) in his first exposure to the outside world … which doesn’t seem so wise. Lobdell is an old pro at turning in these “get from point A to point B” stories, but I’d rather see him unleash the talky battles and constant dropping of hints I loved him for in the 90s on X-Men. Hopefully he has something less rote in store for upcoming issues.

DC New 52 Review: Suicide Squad #1

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It seems like every comic book villain has been made into a hero, or at least a terrible person masquerading as a hero, which I suppose is pretty true to real life.

DC isn’t immune to the epidemic, but they haven’t been struck with it quite as hard as Marvel, where the X-Men to such an extent that they literally have no rogue’s gallery left.

DC’s Suicide Squad mirrors the concept of Marvel’s similar Thunderbolts: what if a group of some of the most irredeemable villains were offered temporary clemency to use their powers to benefit the government?

I’ll confess that the only thing that looks familiar here is Harley Quinn, who I only know from Batman cartoons. Will a squad of villains I’ve never met resonate at all?

Suicide Squad #1

Written by Adam Glass, art by Federico Dallocchio & Ransom Getty

Rating: 2.5 of 5 – Okay

In a Line: “A scream lets me know we’re making progress.”

#140char Review: Suicide Squad #1 is an effective intro that seems to tread Deadpool “bloody & whacky” ground, but I don’t know that I care about any of the villainous chars.

CK Says: Consider it.

Suicide Squad #1 stands in the middle of the pack of average DC Relaunch books with a nuanced story structure but inconsistent artwork. It comes down to whether this team of minor-league villains is compelling enough to support their own book, which is as much about them as about the plots they are subjected to.

So how is their first plot? Adam Glass sets up an interesting narrative, where half the team get brief origin stories – not of their villainous ways but of the missteps that lead to their capture. It’s a seriously effective device for a team book, and it jives well with the brutal interrogation they’re all being subjected to.

Deadshot and El Diablo both have human vices, but the deranged Harley Quinn is pure chaos and King Shark is a one-note cannibal. It would have been a good choice to throw in one or two members that weren’t in the same torture session as the squad, even if that meant holding a few characters back until next issue.

Federico Dallocchio handles the team well in the heavy blacks of the one-on-one torture sequences, but some of the other pages have a gawky silliness to them (especially on Quinn), which pushes the book into comedic Deadpool territory. A spread of the entire team on their first mission is especially bad. Can Dalocchio only draw this team well in low light and bondage gear? If so, it’s hard to know which version of Suicide Squad to come back for next month – the moodier, darker tone or the sillier one.

Despite the reintroductions I’m not sure this issue did enough to distinguish any one character for newer fans, though I will admit that a few last-minute twists piqued my interest. I think it is worth picking up the second issue to see if the team can get to the purpose of their new mission without committing mass murder, but the final direction in art will have a lot to do with if it’s worth sticking around beyond that.

you’ll get older too

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This morning I drove the farthest I’ve driven by myself to go to a viewing by myself for the first time.

I don’t know how to do these things. Well, the driving, I suppose I remedially know how to do that. But a viewing? I don’t know.

I dressed how I thought I should dress and wore a white shirt, which I never wear, and I smiled wanly and kept my hands clasped. As the line neared the family I wondered, am I supposed to cry? I felt the valve of tears loosen behind my eyes. I had cried at work when I found out, just for a moment. Then it was too late, and I was crying, and what do you say when you’re the one crying about someone you’ve never met before and the family is hugging you? I don’t know. It’s sad for everyone there, but you’re all there together.

I guess that’s the point.

Now I am seated in bro’s college apartment, talking about the best daytime mixed drinks and the hour it is most appropriate to begin drinking them.

I always think of bro as my slightly-younger peer, but his roommates seem impossibly young. Were Erika and Lindsay this young when we moved in together? I don’t know. Maybe because we were all only children we all grew up as tiny adults, so when we moved in together we were adults, only smaller.

Now I am seated at their kitchen table and I am that old guy, with his laptop and his car keys, whisking bro away for a day of family time.

But I know this context. It feels familiar. I could day drink with them all day. Or, at least, I have. I don’t know if I could any more.

The girls are making apple sauce at the counter. We’re headed outside. Guitar shopping. Another context where I never know who I am.

I wish there were more rules, but then I remember I don’t like rules. I’ll just be me. That should work.

DC New 52 Review: Deathstroke #1

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Meet Deathstroke, AKA Slade Wilson, DC’s silver fox of a meta-human assassin. He’s DC’s answer to Marvel’s Bullseye – and maybe even Deathlok: an unflinching, unfailing assassin who can also mix it up hand to hand with his enhanced strength.

(Of course, Marvel shot back with Wade Wilson, AKA Deadpool, who started out as a legitimately entertaining anti-hero became one of the most profitable solo characters in comics.)

From Deathstroke’s preview it sounded like it would be a blood’n’guts title reliving the past glories of a popular 90s character.

Did I get it right? And, even if I did, is that such a bad thing?

Deathstroke #1

Written by Kyle Higgins, art by Joe Bennett & Art Thibert

Rating: 3 of 5 – Good

In a Line: “And sharpshooting. Everyone forgets I sharpshoot.”

#140char Review: Deathstroke #1 manages to inject some context & intrigue into anti-hero DS for new readers. A fun brisk ish w/a minor twist. Slightly >avg.

CK Says: Consider it.

Deathstroke’s re-debut eeks out on the plus side of average, with less blood and guts than promised (not a bad thing) and a little more thought-provocation than expected.

The story by Higgins takes a tact that not many of the 52 books have to this point, which is to tell a complete one-shot story in the debut issue. We travel from intro to a firm, bloody resolution in a single read, with a single plot thread dangling to carry us to the next issue.

I enjoyed the heavily inked artwork. Particularly, the age and gravitas of Slade’s unmasked face is consistent and effective, as opposed to the slick lines of him in costume. It supports the idea that Deathstroke isn’t being taken as seriously as an assassin anymore. Maybe it’s more of a young man’s game.

Deathstroke’s leet-speaking fanclub is annoying at first, but as the issue presses on they develop a bit of charm as his unwanted Greek chorus.

Despite being rather middle-of-the-road on the whole I find myself interested enough to want to read a second issue, mostly because of the smart twist at the close that reinforces a legitimate point of mystery (even if it is stolen from Tarantino).

DC New 52 Review: Batman & Robin #1

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Batman & Robin is DC’s most marquee book of the week.

I’m not well-versed enough in DC trivia to tell you what iteration of Robin we’re on, but I’m pretty certain it’s at least the fourth. The difference here is that this bean-pole sidekick is Bruce Wayne’s son.

How is the caped crusader as a dad? How does the pair hold up as the focus of a debut issue that doesn’t come with the hefty background the new Robin emerged from? Will any comic in the relaunch be better than Batgirl?

Batman & Robin #1

Written by Peter J. Thomasi, art by Patrick Gleason & Mick Gray

Rating: 2 of 5 – Uneven

In a Line: “No, father, but I’m sure you’re going to regale me with some obscure factoid.”

140char Review: Batman&Robin #1 focuses too much attention on petulant 10yr-old Robin, B’s son. He’s over-the-top. Not approps for kids, annoying for newbs.

CK Says: Consider it.

Why not “skip it” if I disliked the issue so much? Because this is one of those times when it’s clear that my opinion on comics has very little to do with the mainstream comic audience.

If you’ve been reading the Damien Wayne back-story to this point, this is likely a mildly amusing issue that hews pretty close to what you expected. Batman feels custodial, Robin is a loose canon, they take out some minor league thieves with a few mishaps along the way. The art was strong, sometimes excellent – well-proportioned and with great attention to shadowy detail on Batman to contrast him against Robin

As a new reader and non-Batfan, I found myself turned off every time Robin spoke. It’s not that I can’t suspend my disbelief that he’s a badass 10-year-old with a killer instinct. These are comic books, after all. It’s that he’s annoyingly one-note in every panel, even as Batman is as patronizingly doting as he’s ever been. Plus, so maudlin you feel like he might start hearing him hum a few bars of “Man in the Mirror” from beneath the cowl.

Adding to that a super extreme villain to bookend the plot does nothing to improve the book. What it could have used was some subtly, anywhere.

I feel like the tone might work for slightly younger readers (also hinted at by the cutesy logo treatment on the cover), but I didn’t get that vibe from the plot.