Siege / Green Lantern / Green Lantern Corps

I see by reviewing some of my last posts that I've been reviewing mainly DC titles - I didn't intend for this to happen, but I have to face the awful truth:  Most of the Marvel books out right now aren't very good.  Nevertheless, the big story at Marvel these days is Siege.

I tried to read Siege, I did.  But I found Siege #1 to be a disjointed, jarring editorial disaster.  I could hardly make heads or tails out of what was supposed to be happening.  It had such dense narrative that it was more like trying to read a poorly illustrated novel than a comic book - a graphic medium.  For heaven's sake, writers, remember that it's a comic book!  Shut up and leave the artist a little room to illustrate the action!  And I don't mean to imply (by "poorly illustrated") that the art is substandard - it's actually beautiful.  The problem for me is that the art is attempting to illustrate the writer's vision, but the writer's vision is so disconnected that the artwork isn't able to bridge the gap and fill us in. 

Then, along comes Siege #2...  (shudder).  A couple of our customers told me this was awesome, but also shuddered.  I read it just to see what all the hubbub was about.  Highlight for spoiler:  Sentry rips Ares in half and splatters blood, bone, intestines and the disembodied spine of the War God across two pages for all to see.  Gross.  Also unfortunate: we now have to top rack this item and refuse to sell it to kids, for fear of some unsuspecting parent getting hold of it.  Last thing I need is some irate mom or dad coming in to tell me all about little Johnny's nightmares ever since he read that god-awful thing.  But the problem here was reverse of the last issue - last issue, too much exposition, not enough graphic interface.  This issue, rampant violence with no explanation.  To find out WHY Sentry is on the rampage, you have to go read Dark Avengers.  In some ways, it's a good departure:  most of us feel that the past several months of Marvel's books have had the Avengers, etc., sitting around talking over their feelings rather than doing much.  Here, we finally see something happen.  But did it have to be quite so graphic?  Holy Mother of God - this is SO graphic it almost feels like abuse.  I thought they were saving this stuff for Kick-Ass and their Icon imprint books.  I remind you this is happening in a so-called mainstream Marvel comic book.

This is the way Marvel ushers in their new "Heroic Age"? (their answer to DC's Brightest Day)  Oooookay.

On to Green Lantern #51:  Had to be one of my favorite reads of the past couple of months.  I want to mention that this issue was barely edged by Blackest Night #6 - the last page was one of those moments in comics that felt like coming from a dark hallway and opening a door, and light pouring out onto you.  I felt my grin start, and it just didn't go away for hours.  It was the first time since the beginning that I felt the darkness of the Blackest Night story beginning to lift, and it was a great, uplifting experience.  Green Lantern #50 and 51 continue this story, and thus are critical tie-ins to the Blackest Night saga.  Geoff Johns is a brilliant writer, and this story continues to shine with small moments amongst the bigger story - some of the most entertaining coming from the conflict between Agent Oranges Larfleeze and Lex Luthor.  Hilarious exchanges.  Meanwhile, however, Hal Jordan has his hands full, having released Parallax and given himself over to the yellow entity in order to fight the Black Lantern Spectre, who wants Hal to reunite with him.

This, of course, results in Hal turning on the Corps once again, and the battle royale that follows is expertly rendered by Doug Mahnke, whose storytelling talents rival Johns's.  By that, I mean that the artwork is really important in a sequence where it's all action, all the time.  Otherwise, the story gets lost in all the flash and glitter.  In this case, Mahnke keeps us focused on what's important and doesn't allow himself to get bogged down in superfluous details or overly flashy paneling.  It's fast-paced and exciting.

There's also some interesting interplay here between Nekron and the Spectre, and I believe they've left the Spectre ripe for a new series of his own.  And then there are the little things: as mentioned, the Larfleeze / Lex Luthor thing is snicker-inducing, and Sinestro shows that he still hates Hal Jordan with an acidic bitterness suitable to his being Jordan's worst nightmare (except Parallax, of course).  The story proceeds apace, and really feels like it's building to the climax here.

Green Lantern Corps #45 is a great companion piece to GL #51, it all being part of the same story.  Here, the remaining Corps are left to deal with Red Lantern Guy Gardner, who is berserk and out of control.  While some begin to lose hope, Mogo comes riding in with a solution.  First of all, I just want to say, Mogo has some awesome ideas.  Last issue, he solved the zillions of Black Lanterns on the attack problem with very little ado.  You say it was too easy, I say, Mogo is a frakkin planet, he can do what he wants.  What would be hard for a planet to do?  Sit down and have dinner with your mom.  Okay, point taken.  But handle a gazillion bad guys?  Not a problem for Mogo.  He's a badass.  His solution to Guy's situation is not to kill him, but rather, to flood him with Green Lantern energy to counter the Red ring.  The result is almost cinematic, with Guy's life passing before his eyes, and before it's through, we have a much clearer picture of why Guy is the way he is, what drives him.  It is a battle within himself that his companions can only watch - it is Guy's battle alone.  Peter Tomasi is an excellent writer in his own right, and shows his understanding of the larger story he's telling while taking time to make it a personal and intimate one, as well - bravo.  Patrick Gleason's art - not such a big fan.  It's a little on the simple side, even for me.  I love artists like Ed McGuinness, Stuart Immonen, Frank Cho - very clean, minimal, even cartoony at times.  But Gleason's stuff feels a little like he just didn't have time to put in a lot of details.  I think the point of minimal art is to have it look like you meant to do that, not like you didn't have time to do anything else.  So, for me the art was competent, but nothing to really rave about.

Still, this issue was one of my fav reads of the week, and I cannot wait to see how this all plays out in the end.  As I said, I feel a definite "lightening" across the DCU, and I like it.  Look at the covers and see how the darkness of each of the images is beginning to give way to brighter, more colorful ones.

The end of the Blackest Night is in sight!

How About Them Saints? WHO DAT? WUT WUZ DAT?

Usually, I use this space to talk comics, but I like to keep my finger on all of pop culture, and the SuperBowl, whether comic folk like to admit it or not, is part of that. Between the innovative (and super expensive) ads, the half time show, and the game itself, it's certainly something lots of families and folks look forward to, and talk about afterwards. In my book, that makes it worth knowing about. Plus I'm a just a fan of New Orleans - after traveling there a few months ago, I think about it a lot and want to go back and spend more time there. And then there's Mardi Gras next week - also a big pop culture phenom.

The game itself was fun for me - the Saints played bold, daring, and true, and to me, that's the mark of the champion. Although Peyton Manning (for non-sports folks, he's the quarterback of the Colts, the opposing team) is revered as one of the great QBs of all time, and rightly so, he was the one who made the fatal mistake (threw a late-game pass that was intercepted by the other team and run all the way for a touchdown). It was wonderful to watch Drew Brees (young QB of the Saints) throw and complete pass after pass. And the onside kick was brilliant - it was a huge gamble, but did it ever pay off. It changed the course of the entire game.

Once more, for those who aren't football fans, an onside kick: After the Saints scored, they needed to kick off to the Colts. Instead of kicking it hard to make it go as far back as possible so that the Colts would have far to go to bring it back, the Saints kicked it shallow - they "bent it like Beckham". The ball has to go at least 10 yards, but if it does, then the kicking team can recover it, without letting the opponents have a chance at it. It was awesome to see it - the Colts were completely unprepared for the short kick, and the Saints recovered the ball themselves, very close to their own goal line, just as they planned. This maneuver is risky and seen as a desperation move, something ordinarily done in the final minutes of a game by a team down in the point department. Usually, it doesn't work.

But because it happened in the opening minutes of the second half - only halfway thru - even though the Saints were behind, the Colts never saw it coming. The Saints had already scored on them once, and then they were able to take that recovery and score again. It changed everything, and the Colts were never ahead in the game again. Great play, great game, great to see the city of New Orleans celebrating.

And those guys party like nobody I've ever seen. We traveled there in November - November! It was Saturday night, I think the night before a big Saints playoff game, and on Bourbon Street, the party was in full swing! It was bright and loud and vibrant, and it smelled like amazing food, and the streets were filled - filled with people. No cars can drive through those narrow streets on those nights, and no one wants to! They get out and walk and join the party. For us, it was an amazing experience, everything I'd ever heard about NOLA and Bourbon Street. As we walked among the partyers - who were friendly and inviting, though we looked obviously like tourists - we heard music. New Orleans jazz, dixieland stuff. Along comes a band - decked out in marching uniforms, I tell you - and behind them a wedding party, guests waving hankies and napkins in the air as they danced their way down Bourbon Street, this impromptu parade cheered by everyone in the streets and balconies, Mardi Gras beads raining from the rooftops.

It was dazzling and wonderful. And then we walked a few streets down, and it was quiet. The sense of history is cool, yes, but the vibe. Dude, if you want to write atmospheric stuff, you got to go to New Orleans. To catch that vibe, the way the place just feels, it's indescribable, and like no place else I've ever been.

I cannot imagine what Mardi Gras would be like there, if that was just another Saturday night. You know, the city closed the schools for the day after the SuperBowl, and all the government offices, and they planned a parade for the Saints on Tuesday - win or lose. Now that's spirit, and that is the heart of a lion - and a deserving champion. The Saints themselves have been so involved in New Orleans' recovery after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city several years back, and New Orleans appreciates and loves its team like few other places in our country. So win or lose, the city considered its Saints winners one and all, and planned to celebrate accordingly. I don't think Indianapolis plans any parties for its fallen heroes. That's too bad, because they fought a good fight - they were simply outplayed by a braver, hungrier team.

The ads this year were only okay for me. The ones I found funniest: The Letterman/Oprah/Leno spot - hilarious because it was so unexpected. The Doritos commercials - most of them were very entertaining, and most were submitted by amateurs who entered a contest with their ad ideas. The one called House Rules seems to have been the winner of most polls, but I liked the dog with the No-Bark collar. The Snickers commercial with Betty White and Abe Vigoda was very entertaining. And the talking baby with the girl troubles was very funny. Maybe we've gotten to the point where we expect so much from these commercials that we can't be satisfied any more. But really, some of them were downright stupid. And there were SO MANY. We were looking at one another going, "Could we watch a little football now?"

The Who. Well. Um. Roger Daltry, what was he wearing? And Pete Townshend, I know he can play guitar, but that first solo - my God, it sounded like his pick got caught in his strings and never got untangled. Terrible. Vocals were only okay - Daltry is getting too old to hit some of those notes any more, and the strain in his voice had me on edge. Overall... this time, I don't think it worked all that well. I think it's time to have some newer, edgier bands - maybe in kind of a shootout, like the time they had the Backstreet Boys and Aerosmith - that was cool. How about Beyonce? She's really good, and she's big enough to do the SuperBowl.

The pre-show stuff: Queen Latifah was great. Her "America" was beautiful and heartfelt, and wonderful. And I actually liked the Jay Z thing, unusual, but he was good. Carrie Underwood... not as great. Big surprise since Carrie is one of my favorite singers, ever, and usually not at all pitchy. I don't know if she simply couldn't hear herself or what, but she was all over the place, and though she hit the money notes fine, she was so flat on the final note I couldn't believe she didn't hear it and correct, as she held it for a loooooong (painful) time.

What was your take on Superbowl Sunday? Did you watch? Did you care? Did you visit your local comic shop rather than sit through a football game?

Next week - or maybe later this week - we'll talk comics again.