Batman
I’m Just Sayin’…#21
“And this, too, shall pass.” A phrase said to be traced back to King Solomon; once invoked by Abraham Lincoln in 1859. The Great Equalizer of all things.
It flitted across my mind the other day, while I was reading all 24 issues of Joss Whedon’s ASTONISHING X-MEN, and comparing them to Warren Ellis’ single issue (thus far) of ASTONISHING X-MEN #25. Joss’ take on the X-Men seemed so right to me; as if it were an extension of the seminal Claremontian period that had defined Marvel’s mutants so thoroughly over the years; an extension that even Claremont himself seems incapable of reattaining.
But where Joss Whedon and John Cassaday pulled me in literally with their very first issue, Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi…I dunno. Between Bianchi’s artwork, which sometimes feels rather overdone, perhaps better suited for a graphic novel one-shot or a magazine like HEAVY METAL…
…and Warren Ellis’ dialogue - which sometimes feels rather Millaresque, and if you’ve been reading me this whole time, you’ll know that’s not meant as a compliment -
…and I can’t shake the impression that the following scene is the X-Men “trying” to blend in, as if none of them had ever been to San Francisco, and this, they assume, is how they dress in the City by the Bay…
You said it, Ororo. Although, I can’t say I care to know about how bored you are with doinking your newlywed husband either, but I’m just sayin’.
Anyway…it got me thinking of different books I’ve enjoyed, and others, well…not so much. Mark Waid’s FANTASTIC FOUR compared to the aforementioned Mark Millar’s. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN* vs. THE AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL. How I cared so little for Michael Turner’s artwork…and now he’s gone. How I support and look forward to the new status quo for the X-Men, and yet, they’re not winning me over by having Greg Land doing, well, any of the artwork on THE UNCANNY X-MEN #500:
I dunno. Maybe I just like photo-referenced artwork in my comics when Alex Ross does it. Maybe I’ve been turned off by his reputation for relying too much on photo references from other media. Heck, I’m not even sure what my point is right now. (my gf and I saw the Dalai Llama two weeks ago and I’m reading A NEW EARTH right now, so I’m feeling extra-contemplative lately) But it’s just a little fascinating to wonder about the impermanence of it all. Hm.
And so it goes…man, it all comes back to you, doesn’t it Kurt?
And with that, we move on to thoughts on a few comics I’ve purchased since our last get-together, and our first stop is CAPTAIN AMERICA #40. Thinking back on the previous issue, I have to say it looks like a case of the Bru giveth…
…and the Bru taketh away.
Poor Sharon - so very close…
It’s the mark of good drama, I’ll tell ya - I actually cheered at the sight of a collection of hand-drawn images depicting our heroine turning the tables on the despicable Sin, and then felt frustration at the sight of a collection of hand-drawn images depicting her escape coming up short…and dangerously so, at that. In a word…what a ride. That’s three words. I’m a heavy tipper.
Now I’d like to get into a pair of comics that I hadn’t even planned on buying, but am glad that I did. I gotta say, I hadn’t intended on paying any attention to DC’s JOKER’S ASYLUM miniseries, but emailing back and forth with Jeff Ritter and Manolis’ review of JOKER’S ASYLUM: PENGUIN made me go back and give it a look, and I have to say…wow.
The one-two punch of Jasons Aaron and Pearson really did gave us something here; a story that manages to make you feel alternating sensations of revulsion, joy and pity for this longtime Bat-foe. Don’t be surprised if these two are writing one of the main BATMAN books in a few years’ time at the most. Seriously, I’m stunned at how well they get the sick, sad story of Oswald Cobblepot…
…but since Manolis has already been kind enough to put us onto that story, allow me to chime in with the story that comes…excuse the pun…a close second:
The story itself puts Harvey Dent face to face to face to face with a gentleman named Holman Hunt who, like Harvey was in his previous life, a servant of the people. He’s a volunteer firefighter who was horrifically scarred, leaving him in the same bifurcated state as Two-Face.
What’s interesting to note is the mirror effect we have as Harvey and Holman first meet. Their scarred sides line up perfectly, contrasting their respective paths, and linking the two in true grace-of-God fashion. Something that does not go unnoticed by the former district attorney…
…who then makes a decision as only he can.
…and that’s all I’m going to tell you about the story itself. The way the ending is handled is a work of genius, and much like with the Penguin, is perfect for the character of Two-Face and my favorite part of the whole comic. And using the Joker to execute it makes it all the sweeter, considering artists usually like to break the fourth wall for the sake of a gag…
…as opposed to, say, freaking you out completely.
In 2008, it’s especially difficult to open a mainstream superhero comic and find a scene that makes you stop in your tracks and go…”Whoa.” I don’t care how humble the guy is in life - and I’m pretty sure he is - but if I were David Hine, I’d be pretty damn proud of myself right now. I’d be about as proud of myself as I was when I came up with the S-Theory of female sitcoms, or the ultimate definition of irony. Ask me about them sometime, it’s kind of neat, if I do say so myself. Nonetheless, here’s my point: if you want to get down on JOKER’S ASYLUM, Penguin and Two-Face are your best bets.
And now, just to try and book-end this entry with a little more Greg Land, and to prove that I’m not a fan of everything Ed Brubaker does, I offer what I suppose you could call your moment of Anti-Zen:
Scott…Mister Summers…you are one of my favorite characters in all of Marveldom. Don’t ever say that again. In fact, if there’s a way to strike a deal with Mephisto to go back and time and fix it so that you’ve never said…what you said here…go for it. For real. Don’t make me beg, dude.
And by the way…VORT?
Just sayin’, is all.
Last 5 posts by Greg Manuel
- I'm Just Sayin'...#36 - November 19th, 2008
- I'm Just Sayin'...#35 - November 12th, 2008
- I'm Just Sayin'...#34 - November 5th, 2008
- I'm Just Sayin'...#33 - October 30th, 2008
- I'm Just Sayin'...#32 - October 23rd, 2008
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Great stuff this week!
Glad to see I’m turning more people to the cult of Jason Aaron! Don’t forget to check out his recent Hellblazer two-parter, Ghost Rider, the Other Side and Scalped too
Astonishing X-Men uniforms: I took them to be just that: uniforms, like a bulletproof vest that the SFPD are issuing their outside contracted crime scene advisers or something… They’re all wearing the same vest over their clothes (well, apart from Wolvie who wouldn’t need it, and Armour’s happy manga-girl version of it)
I wasn’t as much a fan of the Two Face issue, but then I really have no use for Harvey at all. There are better nuts and better gimmicks. I think he’s almost Batman’s equivalent of ninjas and robots — he’s easy to write. You want to impress me, do the Riddler. Riddles are crazy hard to come up with. Believe me, I tried. I wrote a Batman: The Animated Series script for college and made the mistake of doing a Riddler story. UGH! He’s my favorite Bat-villain because he’s so hard to pull off and when someone does it’s always a homerun. Of course now he’s trying to be another Gotham private dick, and I like that too. Back to the Two Face story, when the Joker broke the fourth wall, I tossed the comic on my “to be boxed” stack and didn’t even bother to turn the page.
I have been sitting here for 15 minutes staring at the Greg Land image and I just cannot for the life of me figure out where exactly that gloved hand is coming from. It’s at the wrong angle or something. It looks so weird it makes my brain itch, like when I see Bart Sears’ art these days. C’mon Greg Land, tighten it up! We miss Sojourn!
Seriously though, somebody needs to VORT!! that fucking hand before I claw out my medulla oblongata….
“Mommy, Mommy! They have VORT license plates! Can I have one?”
“No. Come along, Vort.”
“Are you talking to me?”
“No. My son also happens to be named Vort…”
Aww, c’mon - we were all thinking it…
Manolis - I can see the whole thing with the vests, and I probably should’ve found a better picture for it, but I was referring to the rest of their attire…they all looked like they were trying to dress like uber-hip teenagers or something. It took me out of the story, is all I’m sayin’…
And I’m with you, Jeff - there simply cannot be enough Riddler. Especially with all the fun Paul Dini’s been having with him lately, I sure hope that’s not him playing “Enigma” over in the TRINITY maxi-series. But on the other hand, while he does have a compulsion, he’s not a particularly sick or twisted guy; guess that’s why he didn’t make the JOKER’S ASYLUM cut.
Two-Face as a character was a really striking gimmick to me when I was a kid, but I guess we’re gonna have to disagree…from a purely conceptual standpoint, having the Joker break the fourth wall and make the reader pick the ending really impressed me. It’s what pushed the comic over the hump from “read and put back on the rack” to “buy.”
Say, I just had a thought…why doesn’t someone do a “Choose Your Own Adventure” Comic? I used to read the hell out of those! “My Codename Is Jonah” was my favorite and the first spy story I ever read. If (and it’s a big IF, I grant you) the publishers are still trying to attract young readers (as opposed to just NEW readers), why couldn’t someone make a comic where you not only pick the outcome, you pick how you get there? Hell, I’m in my mid 30s and I’d buy it!
I guess it’s just an insane amount of work to do!
for a real fun one, check the back-issue bins or ebay for “Ren & Stimpy special #3, Masters of Time and Space”. It’s written by Avengers Initiative and She-Hulk’s Dan Slott and it’s a titanic choose your own adventure involving time travel, so you actually end up crossing the same page a few times as you follow different time travelling characters bumping into each other.
It’s one of slott’s major geek cred comics!
Probably THE shining example of interactive creativity came in 1991, specifically FANTASTIC FOUR #352, written and drawn by Walt Simonson - in that issue, Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom have one of the greatest duels ever - each person wearing special “Time Sequencers” invented by Doom that “enable [them] to move forward and backward between the split seconds of continuity,” Reed and Doom battle within a span of 40 minutes - as the rest of the FF fight their way out of Castle Doom from the beginning of the comic straight through, Reed and Doom’s battle leaps from page 3 to page 14 to page 6 to page 9 to page 4…even the COVER ITSELF is literally part of the story!
If you have the 40 YEARS OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR DVD, it is one of the best of the best stories there. But it can very likely be found in the back issue bins as well. Either way, for the sheer ingenuity of the concept, it’s not one to be missed!
or you know, you can ask Uncle Demonoid for the issue and he might send you a special gift
Will check it out tonight!
My first such comic was actually Disney’s Paperinik (Phantom Duck, or PK, Donal Duck’s superhero identity)