Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

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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.

DC New 52 Review: Static Shock #1

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Static Shock is the week one hero I know the least about. He’s young, his suit lets him manipulate energy, and he’s recently transplanted to New York.

That’s all I’ve got.

What makes it interesting is that it’s one of DC’s relaunched titles with an artist listed as a co-writer. That always intrigues me, as it doesn’t happen so often in my familiar home of X-titles. Does it mean a true writer/artist needed a minor assist on script-polishing? Or, that an artist with a solid connection to the character did more chiming in than usual in their collaboration with a writer?

More to the point: what does it say about quality. The one single-creator book this week was a knockout, but the other writer/artist collab was drab. Which side of the spectrum will this one fall on?

Static Shock #1

Written by Scott McDaniel & John Rozum, art by Scottt McDaniel with Jonathan Glapion & LeBeau Underwood

Rating: 2.5 of 5 – Okay

In a Line: “Not to sound all Keanu, but ‘whoah.’ This is definitely the coolest thing I’ve seen all day.”

140char Review: Static Shock #1 was the only DC reboot that felt like a comic for kids, with a Spider-Man-esque teen hero, explosions, and evil bad guys. Ok

CK Says: Consider it.

Static Shock seems to be DC’s nearest analog to Spider-Man, thanks to his by-day geekery, teenage gumption, self-narration, and relocation to the actual city of New York instead of one of DC’s imaginary amalgamated places.

Does it work? Hero Virgil is charming enough. He comes off as much older in costume than out, and his quips aren’t Peter Parker witty. More interesting is that his in-costume confidence isn’t entirely founded. Unlike Spider-Man, who tends to luck into solutions, Static Shock is so sure of the science behind his powers that he doesn’t consider that he’ll decommission a bridge full of cars by using them. He’s a cocksure teenager who is clearly still a rookie, and there’s a lot of story to be played out there.

It seems like writers McDaniel and Rozum put a lot of thought into the mechanics of how his electrical powers work, but watching our hero explain them in detail as he chases down passive bubble of plasma isn’t the biggest thrill ride. However, that’s just half the issue, as a team of mysterious Power Ranger esque mercenaries are now on Static Shock’s tail. The pairing seems like it will yield interesting fodder; how will Virgil (who fled the scene of his co-worker being shot) deal with merciless killers? If the writers follow through on the shocking final panel we’re going to find out pretty soon!

As an artist McDaniel is strong on action, but his normal people look awkward. He mostly relies on a straight-lined approach that eschews curves on limbs and faces. It makes for solid costumed panels, but the visit to our hero at home looks like a mediocre Sunday comic strip. (And, what’s with the random appearance of a non-speaking Joker in the background of a scene with the villains? Intentional, or a coloring error?)

The element that distinguishes Static Shock is that it’s completely kid-appropriate. From the quick-moving action to the relatable hero, this is the first week one offering I’d hand over to a younger reader interested in comics.

DC New 52 Review: Green Arrow #1

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Green Arrow rounds out my first week of DC New 52 reviews – just in the nick of time, as I’ll be reading week two books in a matter of hours!

I don’t have much of a preamble about Green Arrow, which is maybe why I left him for last. I know he can be a bit angsty and I had his Kenner Super Friend toy. That’s about all I’ve got.

I have a bit more to say about the art on this book. Jurgens was the cornerstone of the 80s and 90s, penciling everything from Avengers to Superman. When I see his name I think of handsome, broad-shouldered heroes and their petite, curvy sidekicks and love interests. Here he’s inked by Perez, another Avengers alum, was the master of the team book, and the man behind Wonder Woman’s post-Crisis relaunch (which I own and adore).

This is about as cold as I can come into an long-established hero. Will this all new take on him be the perfect introduction, or was I better off not knowing a thing? And how will two old-school talents translate into a New 52 book?

Green Arrow #1

Written by J.T. Krul, art by Dan Jurgens & George Perez

Rating: 2.5 of 5 – Okay

140char Review: Green Arrow #1, Batman/Hawkeye model of a young/cocky xtreme hero on a narrowly interesting adventure. Felt 80s/90s, esp. w/Jurgens pencils.

CK Says: Consider it.

GA defeats a foe on the river Seine.

Green Arrow presents a cocksure hero who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty or bloody when necessary, which earns him enemies both in the villain department and from within his own Queen Industries.

Not much happens in this issue, strictly speaking, but you could never call it decompressed. Krul packs word balloons into every panel, providing a style of constantly narrating hero that the 2000’s have eschewed thus far. Yet, despite the retro writing, Green Arrow is a modern take-no-prisoners hero.

The issue’s art straddles the same old-but-new divide. The Jurgens/Perez team-up lends the issue a decidedly 80s rough-hewn look – except for on GA himself, who is drawn more crisply throughout. The effect makes him seem a bit more high-tech than his surroundings, even if he is a guy with a compound bow. Add to that a modern coloring job and the art has the same nouveau retro feel as the writing. Jurgens’ background shots of Paris are especially great.

Green Arrow is a fun single issue adventure – the kind that ought to be in the hands of every eight-year-old comic reader in the world. It feels a little skimpy coming off of some of the highs of week one, but it’s an effective and interesting issue that’s worth picking up for the throwback vibe.

DC New 52 Review: O.M.A.C #1

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In 1974 legendary comics auteur Jack Kirby was falling out of favor with DC’s editorial staff thanks to his far-ranging yet low-selling Fourth World saga.

Deposed from the universe he wanted to cultivate, Kirby created a new and more cynical hero inhabiting our near future. His name? One-Man Army Corps, or OMAC. OMAC was a man, a symbol, and later a cyborg who policed a world living in enforced pacifism, inheriting his powers (and commands) from an Orwellian all-seeing satellite named Brother Eye. He spends his debut rescuing a damsel in distress who turns out to be both an android and a bomb.

Sound weirdly dystopian enough for you?

DC has brought back OMAC for a few different rounds of encores over the years, but it was still a surprise to see the book on the slate of 52 for this month. Would it bring newly imagined? Kirby-eseque delights? And, if it did, would they be worth reading in the modern day?

O.M.A.C. #1

Written by Dan DiDio & Keith Giffen, art by Keith Giffen & Scott Koblish

Rating: 1 of 5 – Bad

In a Line: “Probably in there organizing toilet paper … or something.”

140char Review: OMAC #1’s inconsistent artwork ruins a simple story that could’ve packed a bit of punch. Like a bad free comic in a box of stale 90’s cereal.

Plot & Script

The DiDio/Giffen is plain and easy to read. It reminds me of the comics I’d read as a kid.

I suppose DiDio is an old-school writer in that way. His dialog is plain and declarative, and he’s not above using the occasional narration box to advise on the action (which is great, since the action is so incomprehensible).

Nods to existing continuity will tickle if you know your DC Kirby history, as everything we meet in the underground Cadmus lab is a love letter to older readers. However, if you aren’t ready for the barrage of old-time Easter eggs OMAC’s series of obstacles will surely fall flat.

The problem is that this fails as a compelling debut. We see OMAC clear a number of obstacles, but don’t really get to understand what his powers are. He doesn’t have a character when in OMAC form, so really the only personality we get is the obstinate commands of Brother Eye.

For a book that could easily be something you’d hand to a kid brother, I don’t understand why the scrip makes a point of having a the female lead say “ass” twice. Oh, and the issue’s title (“Office Management Amidst Chaos”) is kinda dumb.

Artwork

Art team Giffen and Koblish don’t have a gift for figures or for action, which leaves little to enjoy in this issue of terrible artwork.

Okay, maybe that’s not entirely fair. More accurately, Giffen’s wide, plaintive faces seem to be a deliberate homage to OMAC-creator Kirby, but the modern gradient coloring renders them a too-busy mess. His bodies are a mess of mismatched limbs, perspectives, and proportions that make no sense. He seems to have a specific problem with placing a limb that’s partially obscured by someone’s torso that seems to indicate a failure in the fundamentals of anatomy.

Oh, and all of his men look like they are wearing MC Hammer pants.

There’s no helping Giffen’s incomprehensible action, which unfurls like freeze-frames from a low-budget video game. Movement simply doesn’t track from panel to panel. OMAC seems to have the ability to materialize projectiles from thin air, similarly vanishing their debris afterward. Punches from OMAC might to have the power to dissolve entire bodies beneath them, which is the only explanation for the totally whacked perspective in those panels.

And OMAC himself? Does his hair omit electricity? He looks silly to begin with, and the inconsistent scale of his limbs to the trunk of his body just makes things worse. Is he squat with long-reaching arms, or limber with lean muscular legs? Are his fists really bigger than his head? Apparently, all of the above. Maybe he’s a shape-shifter. You would never know the different from the artwork in this book.

From a graphic design perspective, this is one of my favorite logos of the relaunch. I love the layering of the letters.

OMAC’s 1974 debut, scripted and drawn by Jack Kirby.

CK Says: Skip it!

O.M.A.C. is an embarrassing failure on all fronts, a condition only amplified by the fact that writer Dan DiDio is DC Comics’ co-publisher.

The issue is not even exciting enough to warrant calling it a fun comic for kids – nevermind the two gratuitous uses of the word “ass” making it inappropriate. A flat, barely-existent script could have been a fun bash with a flashy penciler, but the Kirby-imitating, wildly-inconsistent art places this issue just a step above a comic you’d get for free in your cereal box.

Let’s hope this is the worst book of all 52 re-launched by DC, because I’m not sure how much farther downhill a marquee debut comic can go from here.

DC New 52 Review: Animal Man #1

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Similar to my avoidance to yesterday’s Justice League International #1, I was really putting off my read of Animal Man.

Past authors (including Action Comics’ Grant Morrison) have done great things with this bizarre mid-60s hero, who harnesses the powers of the animal kingdom, but that simply didn’t sound like a feat that would be repeated by Jeff Lemire in his relaunch about Animal Man as a family guy with a daughter who is developing powers.

Add to that a somewhat hideous front cover, and this book lingered at the bottom of the pile.

Was I right to judge a book by its cover and its solicitation copy written by some intern in Marketing?

Animal Man #1

Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Travel Foreman & Dan Green.

Rating: 4 of 5 – Excellent

In a Line: “Gotta fix those damn floor-boards. For now, I just take on the weight of a bumblebee so I don’t wake the kids.”

140char Review: Animal Man #1 equals former scribe Morrison’s Action Comics #1 at finding sophisticated nuance in DC’s world, here w/an indie & horror tinge

Plot & Script

Lemire knocks this debut plot out of the park with a nuanced first issue that’s absent a major villain but crammed with memorable character beats. He renders Animal Man Buddy Guy as a tangible, relatable family man who occasionally nips out to tackle a problem on the police scanner … but only if he has a freshly laundered costume.

Animal Man’s complex powers are explained with ease during a brief battle as Buddy Baker quickly cycles through sets of animalistic powers (effectively, he can take on the physical ability of any animal he can connect to, scaled to the size of his body). His special confrontational “cocktail” of abilities is not only funny, but a nuanced glimpse at how power sets could really work – not exactly Green Lantern creating a massive emerald fire truck, if you catch my drift.

An extended dream sequence is heavy with portents for future stories and leads to a chilling final panel. Here the affable everyman vibe melts away, and we’re into a fantasy/horror comic. I wasn’t as fond of this, but I took it for what it was – foreshadowing. I wouldn’t expect entire issues to have this tone.

An intro interview with Buddy in the half-hipster half-stodgy style of actual magazine Believer is a treat.

Artwork

Look past the ugly, over-lined cover – the watchword for Foreman and Green’s artwork is “sophisticated.”

Foreman draws Buddy Baker’s domestic world in plaintive, clean-lined panels that would look at home in a b&w indie title. Faces are hyper-real and beautifully clean.

It’s in Buddy’s connection to animals and in his dreams that the cover style emerges, and there it is in context. Faces are cluttered with sketch-marks, with ink crackling across them like razor-fine gashes.

The latter half of Foreman and Green’s artwork may be an acquired taste, but it fits the tone perfectly and sets a beautiful contrast to the cleaner half of the book – especially as it bleeds into Buddy’s waking life.

Foreman communicates so much with faces. Animal Man’s wide, hazy smile during his first outing in costume perfectly captures the conflict between his home life and his heroic adventures.

Credit where due to the colors from Lovern Kindzierski. When Foreman left faces and bodies unlined and open, Kindzierski indicates contrast with varying screens of the same color. Though comics tend to sketch all shadows as black, that’s not how we really see a face – this is!

Animal Man’s new costume is a little awkward – the blue and white colors are great, but the wide stands of the “A” emblem across his hips can give the illusion of his body being oddly proportioned.

Animal Man’s 1965 debut

CK Says: Buy it!

Animal Man completely toppled my pre-opinion of it from its solicitation. I was sure that I was squarely uninterested in the domestic life of a C-list superhero, or the trite passing on of his powers to a young daughter.

I could not have been more wrong.

In a single issue I’m more sold on the split between superhero and family man than I’ve been in anywhere else, aside from perhaps Pixar’s The Incredibles. That Lemire establishes such a compelling “everyman” hero in just a single issue with Buddy Baker is a delight.

Whether the book sticks with the divide between domesticity and heroism or veers to the horror vibe of its cover and creepy final panel remains to be seen, but you should absolutely pick up the next issue to find out.