After a lengthy absence (just too much new stuff going on), I return to talk about some of the new stuff hitting the stands. There are a couple of high-profile titles that just started, namely Blackest Night and Wednesday Comics. So let's get into it:
Wednesday Comics
Rather than review single issues, I'd like to deal with the book generally. This is the big, foldout, newspaper style experiment coming out weekly from DC, attempting to capture a weekly audience while evoking old-style Sunday comics. Using a 14x20 format, featuring one storyline of a different superhero per page, and showing off the talents of a tantalizingly eclectic group of creators, Wednesday Comics is a 12-issue extravaganza.
There's no doubt that some of the strips fare much better than others. Superman is a fully painted, beautifully executed examination of our hero's feelings of disconnection from the people he protects. It has everything Super-fans hope for in a great Superman story: a big fight with a super-foe, a sci-fi element - in this case, the foe is a big, ugly alien - and guest appearances by fan favorites like Lois Lane, Batman, and so far, the pacing, the paneling, the artwork are perfect. There's just the right amount of exposition and dialogue, the story seems to read at a glance, and yet the eye wants to linger and take it all in, in all its panoramic, big format glory.
Also beautiful is Supergirl, by Palmiotti and Conner - Amanda Conner has just gotten better and better, and so has Palmiotti. The story is simple and amusing - Supergirl chasing Krypto chasing Streaky chasing ??? Embarrassing problems ensue, and Supergirl spends a lot of time apologizing and mugging impishly, which is very funny and cute. My other favorite is Green Lantern by Busiek and Quinones. Kurt Busiek is a reliably good writer; Quinones' art is stylish and suits the time period the story is set in very nicely.
I'm very impressed with these three strips in particular, mainly because, as I mentioned, these ones seem to really take the best advantage of the unusual format and make the most of it. The others that I like but am not as crazy about as my top 3 are Batman, Kamandi, Metamorpho, Teen Titans, and Strange Adventures. These are also excellent, don't take my "not as crazy" remark as meaning they aren't good - they are. Actually, Kamandi is shaping up to be on par with my Top 3 if it continues on its present path - it may be that it's just a slower starter.
The rest are fine, but they are not the ones I can't wait to read, if that makes sense. I read them, I like them okay, with one exception - Wonder Woman. Coming from an animation background, I want to love this strip. But I don't. Frankly, I don't really get it. I love Wonder Woman. I'm loving Gail Simone's run on the regular Wonder Woman series. But this... it's a mess, in my opinion. It's got so many panels, there is so much dialogue, everything feels so crowded. This is a 14x20 piece of paper, and Ben Caldwell is suffering from Kevin Smith-itis.
It's almost impossible to figure out what's going on panel to panel, you have to really look to see what's happening. Maybe Ben wants us to squint and really really look at his beautiful little drawings, but that's not how comics are supposed to read. The art is lovely and stylish. But if there was ever an illustration as to why an artist needs a writer (or an editor), this is it. I want Wonder Woman to stop being put back in the B and C tier of comics, I want her out front and proud, part of the Big Three of DC's lineup. But this is not the way. Squishing panel on top of panel, and trying to do a novel in what essentially becomes a 12-page story is not smart. I can see DC shrinking down all the other strips and making a trade paperback or a hardcover out of them. If they do, I think they will have to omit Wonder Woman, and that's a shame.
Still, if Wednesday Comics is an experiment, I think on the whole, it's a successful one. So far, the awesome factor of most of the material outweighs the cheesy paper and the few strips that are less than totally engrossing. I love it, and look forward to it each week.
Blackest NightSo far, disturbing and cool. I love the idea of a War of Light, of all these different lanterns, and of the ancient Guardians being shown why it's never a great idea to think you know everything. Geoff Johns is an amazing writer, and he explores things we all feel using superheroes in comic books most of the time, to our very great enrichment.
To me, this book so far feels like a horror story with superheroes - a super-cool concept. You have to wrap your head around how much more horrifying things can get in this world - Sue and Ralph Dibny being the instruments of doom for Hawkman and Hawkgirl was completely ironic and wonderfully horrible as it gets. The Martian Manhunter as a decaying zombie... brrr. Bruce Wayne's skull stolen. Yikes. Who knew he was Batman besides Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian, and Alfred Pennyworth? Jason Todd, yeah? But he's alive. We think. The plot thickens.
For Green Lantern fans, this past few years has been a great ride, and this summer promises to take us places we have never been - that's something long-time comic fans sometimes have a hard time doing. We've seen it, been there, done that. But for this long-time fan, I want to be in for the great romp I see Blackest Night becoming because it feels like something completely new. I can't wait to find out more about the Star Sapphires, the Indigo Tribe, and the other lanterns. I love it.
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