Comic Round-Up: Week of 5/26

by Teresa Jusino

Before getting into comics, I just wanted to pay tribute to what’s become a YouTube institution. I’ve been a fan of ItsJustSomeRandomGuy’s “Hi, I’m a Marvel…I’m a DC” videos for a long time, and he’s become a frequent convention guest and fan favorite for his funny and incisive videos about the Marvel and DC Universes. Last week, he posted his 100th video, which you can check out HERE. Thanks ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, for giving hilarious voice to what comics fans are thinking.

Now, this past week in comics was a good one, mostly because even in the mediocre stories, there was the sense that big, exciting changes are afoot. For example, Amazing Spider-Man, a title I’ve been seriously hating on lately, ended with The Lizard not only taking over Curt Connor’s brain, but starting to take over the brains of everyone in New York City; Secret Avengers #1 has created a new law enforcement agency under the direct authority of Steve Rogers, and made up of some very interesting members; and Ultimate Enemy concluded with The Fantastic Four’s Ben Grimm seemingly evolving beyond his rocky form. The times, they are a-changin’…

RATINGS:
***** So good it cures cancer!
**** Amazing!
*** Solid. Possibly the middle of a story arc.
** It had A redeeming quality?
* Don’t bother.

BEST OF THE WEEK (TIE!)

Angel #33 **** (IDW) and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Part 2 (of 6)**** (DC)

There, see? I’m NOT obsessed with Marvel!

I’ve been loving Bill Willingham’s run on Angel so far. However, Issue #33 stands out, because it has brought a completely new element to the story (as well as an old, but trusted element in Spike!) in a creative way. This issue, like the rest of Willingham’s run, features two stories. The first is “Letters Home: a Jamesian Inerlude,” written by Willingham and drawn by Elena Casagrande. It begins with an interview between Laura Weathermill, Angel’s new intelligence officer, and James, an angel who has become a part of Angel’s team. Except he’s not an angel. (Could I use the word “angel” any more?) He’s actually Myresto Mor, 367th Son of Kerithan, Lord of the Axial Wastes, etc, etc, Thaneholder of the Hungerlands, including sole suzerainty over Misery, Strife, and Discord; and he’s wearing a human guise and lying about his angelic nature. When Weathermill, an expert in angels, reveals to him that she knows he’s not what he says he is, Myresto kills her, maims Angel by chopping off his hands and feet, and goes off into the night to pursue his greater plan, which involves using humans as hosts to farm demons. Not only is this an exciting new concept, but it’s told in the form of letters between Myresto and his sister, Rowant Mor, Corpse Sledge Mother, Lady of the Ever Decending Steps, etc, etc, Baroness of the Black Flow. (I love their titles!) Their relationship is intriguing as it veers from love, to hate, to something weirdly sexual, and back to something like sibling rivalry, and they work out Myresto’s purchase of the Earth from Rowant. Apparently, Earth is only one of many properties they each own and buy from each other regularly. These new characters are fascinating, and it will be interesting to see how a recently-returned Angel and the rest of his team deal with Myresto and his plans for Earth.

Willingham’s second story, “My Dinner With Gunn,” is an intriguing vignette featuring Eddie Hope, a great character Willingham has created for the Angel universe; a devil who is currently hunting those who committed atrocities when LA was in a hell dimension. We’ve watched Eddie hunt different people in the past couple of issues, but now he’s after Gunn, who’s “never been punished for the things he did in hell.” Suddenly, we don’t know who to root for. Obviously, we love Gunn. Yet, Eddie’s mission is justified, and it’s been all too easy to forget that Gunn was a vampire in the hell dimension who was no stranger to atrocities. Way to be morally ambiguous, Willingham!

Batman, I’m just not that into you. He’s just not a character I want to read about week after week. I could only tolerate so much of Bruce Wayne’s brooding. I gave up on Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin after the first story arc, because once the novelty of the Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin team-up wore off, I got bored again. However, when a friend thrust the first issue of The Return of Bruce Wayne into my hands saying I “had to” read it, I did. Can’t really say no to a recommendation like that. My friend was right. Bruce Wayne is somehow traveling through time right now trying to get back to this world. Part 1 of this story was set in the stone age and featured a Bruce that could do little more than grunt monosyllables.

In Part 2, Bruce is caught up in the Salem Witch Trials. His story, in which he attempts to save a woman named Annie who is being accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death, is juxtaposed with that of Superman and a group of other DC superheroes visiting Vanishing Point, “Time’s ‘Last Chance Saloon,’” and attempting to find Bruce by combing different timelines. We learn that Bruce’s ancestor, Nathaniel Wayne, was cursed by Annie, the accused witch who ended up being burned at the stake, “UNTIL THE END OF TIME.” Could this be the explanation for Bruce’s current predicament? And is it the key to him finding his way back home? Probably. But first, he has to tangle with Bluebeard in Part 3. I generally like Grant Morrison’s work when he’s doing his own thing, and think he’s a better writer when he creates things whole cloth as opposed to working within an already established framework. While he’s using an already established character here, this story is intriguing because Morrison has taken Bruce Wayne completely out of his element, and we get to see him floundering and out of control, as well as more in touch with his softer side in his interactions with the characters he’s come across in the different timelines. Also, I’m loving Frazer Irving’s artwork, and am glad that he’ll be taking over pencilling duties on Batman and Robin after this story arc is over.

WORST OF THE WEEK

Dazzler (one-shot) **

Marvel

You can tell that certain comics characters were born in the 1980s. There’s a “Just Say No” thing about them; an After-School Special vibe that dates them and makes them a bit cringeworthy when reading them today. Dazzler is one of those characters, and I have no idea why she was chosen for a one-shot as part of the Women of Marvel series. Writer Jim McCann tries his best writing for this character…but she’s a disco-era pop singer on roller skates whose power is to turn sound waves into light fercryinoutloud! What?! I’m sorry, but what kind of dumb-a@# power is that? And then there’s that After-School Special vibe. The first story in this two-story issue ends with Dazzler accepting who she is and saying “I’m here to stay. Get used to it.” as she saunters off with her Dazzler costume in hand. Awww! (*gag*) The second story deals with the aftermath of Dazzler’s fight with her sister, who is apparently trying to kill her because she hates being a mutant and thinks all mutants should die. But this doesn’t deter Dazzler from wanting to help her! And we even get to watch Dazzler call her mother to say things that are so hard to say, and it ends with the moral, “Sometimes you have to stop running from what you were…and find out who you are truly meant to be.” Double awww! Be yourself! Close-up of the mutant sisters together! (*double gag*) But what she really wants to do is sing! Argh. Light powers?! Grrr. Thank God we only have to deal with one of these.

SOMETHING NEW

Mystery Society #1 **

IDW

Comics writers and editors who allow the English language to be trampled upon make me angry. They give comics a bad name. Of course no one is going to take comics seriously as literature; not as long as rambling dialogue and incorrect grammar are allowed to continue to exist on their panels. I was accosted with horrible sentence structure on the very first page of this issue. A reporter is reporting from outside a prison, where one of our main characters, Nick Mystery, is beginning his prison sentence after a sensational arrest and trial. He says: “Today we are live at the Hoover Maximum Security Prison covering what has been called everything from the world’s most important news event of the century, a cheap publicity stunt, to a complete farce.” And that’s in one crowded speech bubble. You know, if something is the most important story of the century, it’s safe to say that it’s important to the whole world. And usually, when you say something is “everything from…”, it’s usually from one thing to another thing, not including a third, awkwardly placed thing that doesn’t start with “to.” Why writer Steve Niles couldn’t have just said “…covering what’s been called everything from the most important story of the century to a complete farce,” I have no idea. Nick Mystery says “For Anastasia and I, coming into money changed everything.” IT’S “ANASTASIA AND ME!” Unless it’s a “choice” that these characters doesn’t speak English properly, you should get these things right. Also, wordiness does not always equal intelligent-sounding. Not only does the language leave something to be desired, but the main characters, Nick and his lady-love, Anastasia are too friggin’ clever, and Niles is trying way too hard with ironic banter. At one point, Nick is facing a giant robot who says “Surrender or you will be terminated.” Nick’s response? “Really? Terminated? Who wrote your program, a comic book writer?” Um, ha ha. That was so meta and edgy. *Yawn* The thing is, this issue sets up what could be an interesting plot and ends with a cool cliffhanger, so I’m torn as to whether or not to try the next issue. If Niles tones down the hipstery, overwrought dialogue, this could be a great, not-annoying story.

OTHER READS THIS WEEK

Vertigo
Unknown Soldier #20 ****
Madame Xanadu #23 ***1/2
Scalped #38 ***

Marvel
Amazing Spider-Man #632 ***1/2
Secret Avengers #1 ***
Ultimate Enemy #4 (FINAL) ***
X-Men Origins: Emma Frost (one-shot) ***

Dark Horse
The Guild #3 (FINAL) ***1/2

Teresa Jusino was born on the same day that Skylab fell. Coincidence? She doesn’t think so. She is a contributor to Tor.com, a website that covers sci-fi, fantasy, “…and related subjects.” Her work has also been seen on PopMatters.com, on the sadly-defunct literary site CentralBooking.com, edited by Kevin Smokler, and in the Elmont Life community newspaper. She is currently writing a web series for Pareidolia Films called The Pack, which is set to debut Fall 2010! Get Twitterpated with Teresa, Follow The Pack or visit her at The Teresa Jusino Experience.

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