Keep Blue Beetle Going And Cancel Titans Instead

Like that will actually happen. More likely, Blue Beetle (which just got canceled) gets rolled into Teen Titans, while Titans limps along until a new "reboot" ("mea culpa, the new book sucked but we've got this awesome direction now, disregard everything else, we've got it right now").

You know, I'm looking up all the comics that inspired me as a kid, and I just bought the Wolfman/Perez "Terror Of Trigon" Teen Titans trade. The stuff is so good it actually hurts. The detail George Perez put into composing even one panel was mind-boggling. I didn't know half the back story in that arc but Marv Wolfman made it so I understood what was going on anyway, and I still cared about the characters. That arc was so special, it was like an event -- but it wasn't an event, they were just regular issues.


I see that a lot with the old trades I buy. The stories seem so special and well-done that they seem like events. But they were monthlies. The comic creators involved -- and most likely the marketing teams -- didn't act like the book was god's gift to humanity, "instant collector's items." They were just doing their job; they were just comics, created to inspire and entertain.

What went wrong? Did the "star" system of comic creators starting in the late 80s/early 90s make people complacent, even lazy? Did the quality of the editors go down? Did some editors become "afraid" to properly edit "star" books and "star" creators (I've see this happen)?


Or is it a case like in the 1990s where books like Titans appeal to the broad base, regardless of quality, and that's good enough? Whereas a critically acclaimed book like Blue Beetle just doesn't pull in the numbers, doesn't appeal to that broad base, and so is canceled? And if that's the case, does the buck stop (literally) not with the editors or the creators but with the public?

Or, taking into account the comparative direct market shares for DC and Marvel, has that already been decided, and is the easy-to-please "lowest common denominator" audience not so much the public as Time Warner itself?

Teen Titans #63: Two Mutilated Chicks

No, but seriously, they both become superheroines and best friends and might even sleep with each other. And that's hot.

Can anybody tell me if this book is ok to give to a 12-year-old girl that I know? I have a stack of Archie Digests to send to her, and I'm wondering if I should include some Teen Titans as well.

Oh I'm sorry -- was I having an opinion again? I know that pisses some people off.

No, you're right, this type of stuff is totally appropriate.

It's funny, these images brought to mind Kegadoru -- a fetish in Japan where it's hot to see young women injured and in bandages -- for some reason.
And hey, look -- if you're angry that I point these things out, and are perhaps worried that it will impact DC negatively in some way -- don't. All it does is give them free publicity, and introduces the books to more adult markets, which is what they want. They just want more adults to buy their books, and the little kids can buy the baby comix with the smiley faces, and the whole 10-14 year-old-base can go play their gory video games and maybe, when they are so full of bloodlust and jadedness to violence and gore, they can slip right into reading the mainstream comics again.

Outside of babydom and toddlerville, the media is quickly becoming a place where anything vaguely "family friendly" is considered square and a money-loser. So please do not weep for DC Comics. They can only *wish* their product could be considered so controversial. Their strategy for appearing "relevant" is a cross between the couple dancing to "Hammer Time" at their wedding and the Monty Python "Salad Days" sketch. So any posts pointing out excess violence or dirty language in their books is a big plus for them. They're crying all the way to the bank.

And for all you know, these posts could be planted in a massive conspiracy to make books like "Teen Titans" badass and edgy and hence marketable. I should get a stipend. As it is I only get "World of Warcraft" spinoffs to review. So I'm the one who suffers.

The Titans Rant

From Titans #4:

Page One: Our heroes stand around with facial expressions that range from empty to worried to confused.

Beast Boy: I gotta say...I really didn't see this coming! Did you guys see this coming?

Donna Troy: No.

Flash: I don't think any of us did.

Three pages later, faced with the rampaging villains running towards them, our heroes repeat the same dazed, empty, confused looks. Beast Boy still drags out the "uh, so it's not just me, right? you see them too? dude?"

And they just stand there as one of the bad guys makes a move, knocking them all down like bowling pins.

Four issues into Titans, I'm still not impressed. This makes the Wonder Dog stuff in Teen Titans seem like Watchmen. It's just not good comics, folks. This is like some bad 90s flashback, stuff you'd find in some random Image comic starring some character named DeathBlud.

The majority of the comments on Newsarama about the 3-page preview -- at least as of the third page of comments -- overwhelmingly hated this preview. Even DC/Teen Titans fans.

"I loved Winick's writing on Outsiders & elsewhere...but it just leaves me cold here on the Titans. He just doesn't seem to have a handle on the characters. After reading the first 3 issues I figured it was going to be yet another shortly ended series."

"I don't mind Winick's writing - but this story just stinks and like mentioned above, Wolfman did it better."

"why did DC put such a bad creative team on a book that could have been so good?"

" Judd Winnick, the anti Grant Morrison....."

"Bad writing, horrible art, juvenile character development, recycled plot ideas. Just the whole wretched package."

"The art ain't so bad, but the dialog! In the face of what's about to happen, what's falling out of these characters mouths is unbelievable! This reads like a rejected script from Aaron Sorkin and Thommy Schlamme! Or even worse; the last season of M.A.S.H.! Even with my LCS discount, why am I reading this book?"

"I'm so glad I dropped this after #2. The writing and art just don't seem to sync up with these characters one bit. I was so looking forward to this and so wildly disappointed. When a new writer and artist come on, I'll probably give it another look."

"Like a lot of you, evidently, I dropped this book with the second issue. The only time that I have EVER dropped a Titans related book from clear back to the original Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad issue of Brave & Bold, but this is just horrendous."

" Wow. That is some awesomely bad dialogue -- puerile and clunky at the same time."

"I called this one, so did many others: Judd Winick = Bad Title. But I can't agree on the art. Joe Benitez is an excellent artist. He just can't deliver when the story dosn't compliment his talents. No artist could."

I could go on and on, but you can read the rest of the comments for yourself.

Why is this book still going on like this? Who's in charge of the ship? How bad do things have to be before someone puts the hammer of god down and says: enough?

In every other medium and industry, when something's not good -- especially in this economy -- it gets pulled. Even stuff that's sorta good, or has a small niche audience, but is not pulling in the numbers. Why is this the only industry where a series like Countdown can go on for a whole year and a book with the quality of Titans can move past issue three?

I think there are a few reasons:

1. Time Warner sees DC mostly as a R&D wing of their entertainment unit, and judges them on their intellectual property more than the actual content of their books. There's no magnifying glass on either the sales or the quality.

2. I don't know -- is DCU Editorial a meritocracy?

Definition of meritocracy (via Wikipedia): system of a government or another organization wherein appointments are made and responsibilities are given based on demonstrated talent and ability (merit), rather than by wealth (plutocracy), family connections (nepotism), class privilege (oligarchy), cronyism, the will of the people (as in democracy) or other historical determinants of social position and political power. In a meritocracy, society rewards (by wealth, position, and social status) those who demonstrated talent and competence, demonstrated through past actions or by competition.

I have no answer to that, I'm just throwing out the question. I can think of only one strategic appointment of an editor to that department over the last several years that fits the sort of purposeful cultivation of talent that, at the very minimum, a company needs in order to compete.

The problem is -- I think there is no sense of competition. DC has Batman & Watchmen as properties, and hence has won the comic book lottery. They slap the names "Grant Morrison" and "Alex Ross" on their books and call it a day. And if anybody questions them, they go "Dark Knight Dark Knight blah blah blah Dark Knight." It's like they have Tourettes syndrome: "Dark Knight! Dark Knight!"

Regardless of the reasons why -- this book is sorta a dog.

In This Issue...Wendy And Marvin DIE!

Uh...spoilers?

Remember Wendy and Marvin from the old Superfriends cartoon?


So they are characters in the current Teen Titans book, and they find Wonder Dog, and, long story short, Wonder Dog tears them into gory pieces:


Just in case you were fooled by the cover --

-- and had any intention of purchasing the book for your child.

Comic By Comic writes:

"Remember when the Teen Titans book was supposed to be about hope for the future? That time's long gone. This just felt unnecessary. It's not even as if the characters in question were that well developed - it's just shoddy writing, shock for shock's sake. And it's not for me. I'm done with the book."

It's official: Teen Titans is not a book for actual young people. Kids can read the comic where the big-footed action-figure superheroes who smile all the time fight dinosaurs.


Because there's no in-between. Right?

DC's comics were dark even before The Dark Knight -- but I have to sincerely wonder if, in the wake of new WB dictates that DC movies have to be dark, if this will become the new editorial rule.

It's like the GWB presidency, I just can't wait for this era to be over.

Titans = "Breasticles"

One comic store (which will remain nameless) had an unique idea as to how to promote Titans #3 on their racks...

Racks. I said "racks." Get it?

Titans: Should Be/Is

What Titans should be:
What Titans is:
Now please don't get me wrong. Books like Bloodstrike -- what, about FIFTEEN YEARS AGO -- had a sort of trashy charm that even today I can appreciate.

But, is that what DC wants from a franchise they are trying to build up to the level of Superman and the JLA?

I read issue #2 of Titans in the store, and -- it's bad. It's really, really bad. I mean, the art style might have been interesting in a different type of project. But, I'm totally turned off by this book. One of the first pages features a splash of a female character captured or tied up with her huge heaving breasts dead center between her bonds. You know, if I want to see that done right, I'll go buy a Milo Manara collection.

Then there are other panels with Starfire where it's like: ass, Bill Ward-sized breasts, gigantic head, empty expression, impossibly arched back. Or Nightwing just standing there in the middle of a panel saying "I don't know what the hell is going on. Duh."

Isn't Titans supposed to be anywhere near a more mature level than Teen Titans? Isn't that how it works?

This book is destined to be another one of those "quick, let's retool this sucker" aborted relaunches. Trust me. Titans takes all the good that the Teen Titans cartoon did and drags the franchise back 15 years.

And if my choice of Milligan/Allred's X-Force seems too hipster to you, then at least look at Marvel's Runaways. That book is and will continue to be a consistent seller in backlist long after this latest incarnation of the adult Titans is a memory.

A Question Not Of Prudery, But Taste

"It's an appealing picture of two very attractive people making out, which makes it sexy in a much more inclusive way than a lot of imagery in comics."

You know, I watched one of those soft core porn movies on cable the other day -- "Kinky Sex Club," I think it was. It did nothing to arouse me. NOTHING. Perfect bodies, 2-dimensional actors, lots of tongue as to distract us from the fact that because it's soft-core cable porn they can't show anything else. Tacky execution, no passion. After a while, I had to just scroll through it to get to the end. I think my exact quote 3/4ths into it, during the French maid threesome scene, was, "you know, if a vampire would burst through the window right now, it could almost save this movie."

That's what I think of when I see this cover.

It isn't a question of my "prudery." It's question of taste. This cover doesn't even rate as a "so bad it's good" example of fun campy/trashy erotic art. If other people think that this cover is "hot," that's fine. But, I don't.

And if this cover is presented as an example of what our industry can do in terms of erotic art -- well, that's just one more thing that makes people outside the industry roll their eyes at us. It isn't what I would use as an example. My God, I'd rather give them 4 of the better Adam Hughes covers, some Alex Toth Black Canary, and Milo Manara and call it a day.

Soft-Core Titans Action

This latest Titans cover was brought to my attention via Your Mom's Basement under the title, "Dear Penthouse, I Mean DC,"

"Really, DC? Was this necessary?

You know, when actors are simulating make-out sessions in movies, we never see the tongues. You know where we do see the tongues? Porn."

Here is a close-up view:


Obviously, this Titans series is trying to compete with the vast underground Teen Titans fan-porn community. Which isn't exactly what I meant by, "go and find out what the fans actually want." But brownie points for expanding their horizons.

Val Reviews American Dream & DC Special: Raven

Marvel's American Dream and and DC's DC Special: Raven are two superheroine solo mini-series aimed at a younger, teenage market. I hesitate to say "teenage girl market," because there is really nothing in these comics that would really be enjoyed by one gender over another. They just both skew younger; the cringeworthy use of the word "emo" on the cover of Raven #1, and the cribbed "High School Musical" blurb on the second issue, sort of testifies to that.

DC Special: Raven follows the exploits of the apparently reincarnated (or whatever) Raven as she tries to fit into high school. This gives her a chance to wear goth clothing and those cute striped leggings, thus following up on the gothic cred the character received in the late great Teen Titans cartoon series. But whereas the Raven in the cartoon was a Daria-type witty independent teen, the character in DC Special is sort of...whiny. A lot of lurching on the floor with her head in her hands going: "Oh, my psychic powers! Someone's gonna die! BUT WHO?" She alternates between this and the old standby, " just trying to fit in."

A lot has been made of Damion Scott/Robert Campanella's art and Sigmund Torre's rather stylistic and psychedelic art on this book. Some parts work better than others, but in general I don't see a serious problem with it. It's obviously geared to reach a younger, more manga-savvy audience.


That said, such an attempt to reach the teen market, possibly the female market, and maybe dare we say the new reader market, gets stymied by this maniacal insistence on shoehorning "Crisis" mentions and nods. Why is this necessary in this mini-series? The "cliffhanger" at the end of issue 1, for instance -- that mask would only be of significance to I'd say fair-to-middling DC continuity fans. It has no meaning in-and-of-itself to a new reader. Why even put it in there? I just don't get it.


American Dream, for those who don't know, is the female "version" of Captain America in the Spider-Girl universe. Written by Spider-Girl scribe Tom DeFalco, the book is in many ways a similar book, the only difference being that American Dream is older and works with a team.

The mini-series is amiable enough and the character of Shannon Carter is well-defined and multi-layered. Unlike the headstrong spunky Spider-Girl, Carter as American Dream is more straitlaced and somewhat of a workaholic. Both characters make excellent female superheroes for younger readers to enjoy.

The plot by DeFalco, involving illegal immigration, a gang of evil Avengers analogues, and these mysterious crystal men, is not as tight as that of the Spider-Girl monthly, but still enjoyable. Penciller Todd Nauck, along with inker Scott Koblish, seems to be taking a page out of Art Adams' playbook with every page, and it is a definite evolution for him as a penciller from his more angular and cartoony Young Justice days.In sum, it's great to see competing solo mini-series about young superheroines out on the stands. Will they get into the hands of the audiences they are seeming to target? Or does that happen when they are reprinted in manga-sized format?

Teen Titans: Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Hey, don't get me wrong: I think that the Teen Titans is a great brand, and potentially a excellent spawner of four-color excellence.

But c'mon:

Teen Titans
Teen Titans Year One
Titans
Tiny Titans
DC Special: Raven
DC Special: Cyborg

and now:

Terror Titans

I know how this happens: "Teen Titans is our X-Men! We should do more with it!"

But remember the last Teen Titans glut? In the early 90s?

Remember...


Team Titans: 5 separate collector's item 1st issues with different covers, older mentor who was obvious Cable rip-off, and, according to Phil Jimenez:

"The unfortunate part of that was we had no idea that what they wanted was DC Comics’ X-Force. They, DC management at the time, saw Team Titans as this answer to Rob Liefeld’s X-Force"

Which brings us full circle to:
Which is not to say that the new Terror Titans won't be a good book. But there's an awful lot of Titans books out there now.

Titans #1: The Agony And The Ecstasy

My mind is slightly blown from the amount of things I have to do to prepare for New York Comic Con, so 'scuse me if I ramble.

Wow, so now even Matt Brady gets attacked on his own website for trying to keep the peace, huh?

When Matt tells the poster "Booster Gold" on the Newsarama Titans #1 review thread to tone down his criticism of reviewer Troy Brownfield, hilarity ensues.

Matt: "You did not like the review. Fair enough. YOU liked the book, the reviewer did not. Fine. You are now treading perilously close to making personal insults about the reviewer ("he isn't as smart as he thinks he is"), which will not end well."

At this point, a number of posters including "Booster Gold" come in to criticise Matt for threatening to "boot" Booster. One poster, "Hawkangel," writes to Brady:

"OK, well let me say this then Matt. I suggest you choose your reviewers more wisely next time. This whole post obviously got a bad reaction from the majority of people that have posted here and if they are one step away from name-calling and insults as you say, doesn't this tell you something about the original review? Hmmm...what was that? No, I wasn't insulting or name-calling. I was just giving you a friendly warning (as you were doing to so many people here), so there's no need to ban me."

Now Matt is on the defensive, put in the position to defend over and over again why he warned "Booster Gold." He is being attacked for trying to keep things civil on HIS OWN WEBSITE.

Another commenter complains:

"Newsarama is not a democracy. They do not encourage free thinking or permit free speech (outside of their accepted forum guidelines). Name calling and disputing dictator commentary will get you banned from NewsaramaLand."

God, you know, this all sounds rather familiar. Didn't Blog@Newsarama post something on this several weeks back? What was the topic again? Oh yes: should I be allowed to moderate comments on my own blog. Now I remember.


Well, should Matt Brady be allowed to moderate comments on the forum on his own site?

Of course he should.

As for my own opinion on Titans #1...

I've decided to skip it. Yes, instead of picking up a book that, let's face it, I can see right off the bat will not be my personal cup o' tea, I'm going to skip it. And read the two volumes of the new Blue Beetle -- a book that I have been assured I would really like -- instead. I mean, what could I possibly add to the Titans #1 conversation that hasn't already been said?

Titans #1 seems to be a particular type of book going for a particular type of audience, and either that particular audience is going to buy it up in droves like they do books like All-Star Batman and JLA or they won't. DC seems to be particularly pushing Green Lantern and Geoff Johns lately. That would seem to be a better direction to go in than what little I've seen and what volume I have heard about Titans.


I think DC should just stick with the "Johns Genre" books, stick with the upcoming "Trinity" comic, and then concentrate on books like Robin, Blue Beetle, and Birds of Prey as ones with good stories that teenagers can read and enjoy as well as adults -- their version of Marvel's Runaways or Ultimate Spider-Man/X-Men. Because females as well as males are very receptive to those titles, and I think anywhere you can maximize and diversify your readership base, you should take advantage of it.

Comics Are Expensive: Fantastic Four #554, Tiny Titans #1, Nova Annual #1, Uncanny X-Men #495

This week’s installment of Comics Are Expensive is a little smaller than intended – the Wednesday before payday is never kind to new books, and I just couldn’t swing the $14.99 to pick up the second TPB of Mike Carey’s Crossing Midnight. I plan on making up for it next week, though, and with any luck I’ll finally grab the new Scalped trade as well. Second column and already behind? I’m rubbish, me.

But let’s get on with it, shall we? As with last week, potential spoilers lurk ahead. You’ve been warned.

FANTASTIC FOUR #554

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Brian Hitch

I very nearly left this on the stands. In the last few years, Mark Millar’s name (fun fact: pronounced “Mill-ER”, not “Mill-AR”) on a book has gone from being a guarantee that the contents would at least be fun to a messy game of Russian roulette – recent issues from him have had a 50/50 chance of being something solid like the first issue of Civil War or turning out to be a complete mess (like, say, much of the rest of Civil War). The days of quality work like Superman: Red Son or the first twelve issues of The Ultimates began to feel like a lifetime ago, and all signs seem to point towards him heading directly up his own ass at Bendis-like speeds.

Fantastic Four #554 doesn’t disprove any of this – it is, after all, just one issue, and there’s a good bit of damage to undo. It is, however, enough to give me hope that that the mad idea factory responsible for Millar’s earlier work hasn’t been completely consumed by overused Hollywood-cool imagery and lazy shock moments. From the very beginning, with the time-tossed FF careening stuck between angry Native Americans and a hard place on the way home from some adventure, it feels more like what Millar is capable of than anything he’s produced in a while.

As much as Dwayne McDuffie’s all-too-brief run captured the relationships between the characters (and made up for a lot of Straczynski’s nonsense), this issue taps into the other half of the formula responsible making the Fantastic Four so much fun when done right: they’re explorers first, superheroes second. Family jaunts into the past, lecturing school children on the ins and outs of an anti-Galactus suit, your husband’s ex teleporting into the living room when you’re in the middle of setting up a charity to help the victims of superhuman incidents – just another Tuesday afternoon at the Baxter Building. If this issue is any indication, it’s safe to assume Millar understands this completely, and is digging in with all the vigor of a kid discovering a new playground.

Hitch on art is a natural choice, given his long history of working with Millar, and it’s nice for him to have the chance to prove he can be as deft at capturing character moments as he is when laying out fight scenes in excruciating detail. Reed and Ben facing a classroom full of eight-year-olds is every bit as fun as the two-page spread just before the end of the book, which is just how it should be in a book like Fantastic Four. I didn’t know what to expect from this issue, and find myself cautiously blown away by how much I enjoyed it. There’s no telling if Millar and Hitch can keep it up, but if future issues can keep up half the sense of wonder and fun found here then it could very well be the best thing either of them have done in years.

BUY STATUS: Count me in for the next one, so long as Millar continues to leave his famous bag of tics at home.

TINY TITANS #1

Writer: Art Baltazar & Franco

Artist: Art Baltazar

This book isn’t for me. I’ve known that since the first images of the unspeakably adorable Tiny Titans came out last year. This hasn’t stopped me from looking forward to it, or from being excited at the idea these uber-cute takes on the characters getting their own book. Jump rope of truth? Kid Devil made somehow even more awesome? What’s not to like?

So now the book is out, and after reading it through twice, yeah, it’s not for me. The only trouble is, I’m genuinely not sure who it’s meant to be for. Considering its place in the Johnny DC line as a replacement for Teen Titans Go!, one would assume it’s meant for younger fans of the defunct show. Only no, because the way the book is presented – a collection of short vignettes with a joke at the end – is probably too young for fans of the previous title’s action-packed adventures.

So maybe younger readers then, the ones who watched the show with their older brothers and sisters? Perhaps, but a lot of the jokes here demand some prior knowledge of the show or DC-proper comic, particularly the ones about Raven’s and Rose’s dads. That pretty much leaves older readers, the ones who grew up on Teen Titans or at least recognize the characters and maybe have kids of their own. Again, maybe, but once you get past the super-cute (and admittedly great) art style, there’s really not a lot here.

I was hoping the book would follow the issue-long antics of the kids in the style of the Marvel Adventures line, but that’s not the case here. While I can largely understand the decision to have each issue be a bunch of sketches, it doesn’t quite work when most of the gags read as in-jokes for an older audience than the format seems to be aimed at.

We know kids are fine with more complex plots as long as the goals of the characters are clear (e.g., Harry wants to stop Voldemort and protect his friends, the Autobots want to defeat the Decepticons and save Earth, Ben Tennyson wants to protect the Omnitrix from Vilgax, etc.), so why the change to simpler stories? And if DC is hoping to target a younger audience than the hypothetical kids reading the other superhero titles in the Johnny DC line, why tie so many of the jokes into Titans continuity they likely don’t care about?

Then again, maybe I’m over-thinking this whole thing. Maybe younger kids will get right away that Slade is a bad guy, and that’s why having him be the new principle of Sidekick City Elementary is funny. Or maybe enough adults will buy the book for the art style alone (which, again, is super-cute in ways that need to be seen to be believed), and that’s all DC are hoping to accomplish. Either way, I’ll be interested to see if this book can find it’s audience, if only so I know who the hell they are.

Buy Status: I have a personal rule about new books get three issues to find their feet, so I’m in for the next two. Great as the art is, it’s not exactly promising at this point, though.

NOVA ANNUAL #1

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning

Artists: Mahmud A. Asrar, Kelbs & Wellinton Alves

The last two years or so in comics have revealed a great personal truth to me: I really, really like well-written comics about space cops. Between Johns’ Green Lantern run since the One Year Later jump (particularly the super awesome – shut up, Gallaher – Sinestro Corps storyline) and the solid gold of Nova ever since Xandar and his fellow corpsmen were nuked at the beginning of Annihilation, it’s a love that has been extremely well fed. While I haven’t yet managed to pick a favorite between them, Nova has a definite advantage going for it: I’m a sucker for hopeless causes.

Of course, it helps considerably that writers Abnett and Lanning have made Richard Rider, last of the Centurions, the sort of hopeless cause you really can’t help but believe in. This issue only drives that point further home, intertwining his origin as Nova with one of many possible futures spinning out of his current bout with the Phalanx’s techno-virus (things I love more than space cops? Grim futures where there is ONLY WAR).

It’s a nice jumping on point for new readers before the big push to the end of the current arc, summing up Richard’s recent troubles while depositing him on the doorstep of what promises to be a hell of a fight. I’m still a bit worried that the techno-virus is a way of neutering the characters off-the-scale power levels from here on out, but it looks like Nova #11 will go a long ways towards settling that. Either way, I have every faith in the creative team to continue giving me reasons to come back next month.

Buy Status: Still resting comfortably at the top of my reading pile every time it comes out. It’s reached the point where I can’t imagine a month going by without reading the line “It is critical that you pay attention at this time”, though I’m also a fan of “TELL ME HOW TO SHOOT STUFF OUT OF MY HANDS!” from this issue.

UNCANNY X-MEN #495

Writer: Ed Brubaker

Artist: Mike Choi

Why did no one tell me the X-Men were good again? Sure, OS reader Sammy did, and I bought this issue on his recommendation, but an earlier head’s up or something from the world at large would have been appreciated. Was Messiah Complex this good? What else are you people hiding from me?

I tried Brubaker on X-men back when “Deadly Genesis” was coming out, but the whole Vulcan/third Summers brother/Shi’ar nonsense became so tedious so quickly that I ditched it with no plans to ever look back. Based on that first impression, “X-Men: Divided” is a tremendous turnaround quality-wise, chock-full of moments that go a long way towards reminding me why I bothered caring about these characters in the first place. While nothing necessarily exciting happens (this is, after all, the calm both after the last storm and before the next one), Brubaker serves up a handful of character moments that show a deep understanding of how these different characters work and how much fun it can be to put them against each other.

The Scott and Emma stuff is particularly well handled – their conversation after Scott’s pissing match with Tony Stark, the snapshots of their Savage Land vacation... all of it rang true in a way the Cyclops and Phoenix romance never did. I’ve been a fan of the character Summers was becoming with Emma Frost in his life ever since Morrison’s run on New X-Men run (coincidentally, also the last time I could be bothered with Marvel’s mutants before now), and watching him open up after years of repression is the sort of character development I never knew he was capable of.

What else? I liked the bit with Nightcrawler, Logan, and Colossus playing pranks on each other in Germany. I liked the bit inside of Cyclops’ mind as he worked out how to take down two fully-grown Triceratops. I liked the end-of-issue tease of Angel’s email calling the couple back to the real world, and the slight tinge of fear in his last lines as what was left of his consciousness trickled away. I like all off it, and it’s been years since an X-book made me feel that way.

If there’s a failing to be found, it’s that the issue isn’t really the sort of jumping-on point you need after a major (and more importantly, largely well-received) crossover. I’ve flipped through enough of Messiah Complex to know what’s meant by the references to Xavier’s condition and the new hope for mutants, but neither of these points or the other major consequences of the last few month’s worth of adventures are really clear here. Not that it really hurt my enjoyment – Uncanny X-Men #495 has exactly the sort of feel I want from the title, and for the first time in ages I’m genuinely excited about what comes next.

Buy Status: On board, provided Vulcan and further misadventures in space stay well away. Bonus points to artist extraordinaire Mike Choi and his shout-out to Comic Foundry.

That should about do it for this week. Also picked up was Green Lantern Corps #21, which while fleshing out the rather great arrival of the Alpha Lantern's in last week's Green Lantern wasn't nearly as much fun as issue #20's scenes with Mongul and his new yellow power ring. As always, recommendations via the comments thread of email sent to chrislamb@gmail.com are more than appreciated. See you next week.

you can also read more of Chris's stuff at Expertologist

Fangirl Fridays: Where Is DC's Matt Fraction? (And Other Questions)

" I actually had a different approach to the character. I had an opening four-issue arc that was very, very different that I was going to do, and I took way too long to come up with it. I was right on time getting it in before my first issue deadline -- and of course I didn't tell anyone what I was going to do. [Laughs] Then I turned it in and found out that there was a very specific continuity problem with the core aspect of what I was going to do, and so I had to start over and go really, really fast to come up with something for the first issue. So I'm not where I should be with the character and what I want to do with her. "
--Kelley Puckett on his current run on Supergirl

The question popped into my mind as I entered the comic store the other day:

"Who is DC's Matt Fraction?"

Matt Fraction is of course the writer on The Punisher, Iron Fist, etc., the originator of the "kicksplode" school of comic writing. His style is very distinct and he is, what they refer to in the current nomenclature, as a "hot young writer" [Fat Cobra = Character of the Year!].

Marvel seems to be developing a whole stable of these new voices, it seems, not content to merely rest on the laurels of Bendis and Brubaker. Here are a few names just off the top of my head: Matt Guggenheim, Greg Pak, Brian Reed, Dan Slott, Daniel Way, Jason Aaron. The actual list is far longer than this.

On the other hand, DC's writing lineup hasn't really changed all that much in the last 5 years. Grant Morrison is still the guy All Hopes Are Hung Upon. Geoff Johns and Keith Giffen are still the emblematic DC writers. Judd Winick is still the guy nobody understands why he is still writing these books but somehow he is.

Around the time Countdown launched, DC seemed to have an influx of new writers, and the anticipation was great. Tony Bedard, Sean McKeever, Dwayne McDuffie. And yet, what has happened?

Bedard gets caught in a (to my mind) a particularly cruel game of "writer musical chairs." I haven't been able to read a long enough run of his DC work to formulate an opinion of it.

McKeever & McDuffie get their debuts tangled in the editorially-driven clusterf**k.

Veteran writers like Tom Peyer, Kelly Puckett, and Chuck Dixon are without warning suddenly plopped into existing titles, forcing them to hastily come up with a new storyline and direction. Bedard is now added to that mix with Birds of Prey.

A great writer like Will Pfeiffer gets crucified by readers for a miniseries that was largely out of his control, a slave to editorial dictates.

Mark Waid & Greg Rucka are for the moment out of the picture.

Pete Tomasi might be considered as part of the mix of DC's hot new crop of writers, but frankly the fact that he was so very recently an editor there and now suddenly has two high-profile titles makes it slightly harder for him to prove himself. Personally, I have not read enough of Nightwing to make a determination one way or the other.

Gail Simone is the great writer who has proven herself for years -- but if her current run on Wonder Woman doesn't do fabulous, DC will use her as an internal example of why "woman books don't sell, and women writers don't sell" (I've heard this argument before).

And then there is DC's most high-profile writer of all: DCU Editorial.

Case in point: Countdown, which reads like it was put together by robots, by the same manatees that write Family Guy. No humans actually wrote that series. It was just a bunch of post-it notes strung together. That series was written by overworked, jaded editors, not Paul Dini, McKeever, Bedard, et al.

So what is DC's game plan in terms of writers? Can it be that all the DCU books are lame ducks anyway because Final Crisis will change everything? Should I even bother buying another DCU book until that time?

If I was sitting in the DC executive seat (sometime around when pigs fly and that The Dark Knight Heath Ledger talking doll with a pull-string comes out), I'd probably look to get Brian Michael Bendis & JM Straczynski . I have no inside information on that, I'm just trending this out.

And if I was at Marvel, I'd find a way to complete my collection of the best and brightest and look up whatever young DC talent is left. Including Brian Wood, who would be the biggest prize of all. Again -- no inside information, I'm just trending this out. I'd also find a way to get Neil Gaiman doing more projects. Call it the Morrison Vs. Gaiman free-for-all.

That said, 2008, in my estimation, will be interesting. Because whatever the situation at DC, if it doesn't improve it will change. And for Vertigo this goes triple (tho Will Dennis on the whole seems like a good developer of new, "kicksplody" books).

The answer to a lot of these woes is to get editorial staff who can seek out aggressively new talent. And retain them. The best they have right now is Mike Marts. He was the result of a strategic investment on DC's part, poached from Marvel. And Joey Cavalieri is like their quiet talent hunter, especially for indy talent, though I don't think he gets the recognition for it that he deserves.

That "strategic investment" aspect should drive everything DCU does from this point forward. This industry is entirely too competitive to do otherwise. There is a whole wide world of talent out there. And there is talent under their own banner that have been mishandled.

Anyway, those were just some things that popped into my head as I was buying comics the other day. Have a great weekend!

Comics Are Expensive: Teen Titans #55, Avengers: The Initiative #9, Suburban Glamour #3, Captain America #34, Northlanders #3

Note: This is the first installment of the new column by noted Expertologist Chris Lamb

I’m not good with money.

Well, that’s a matter of perspective. There’s a way of looking at things where I’m fantastic with money, only it’s the “getting it as far away from me as possible” way. This becomes a problem when it comes time to acquire little things like nourishment and shelter. I have a great love of things, you see, and a pressing need to gather up as many Comics of them as I can to line the walls, shelves, and other available flat surfaces of my home. make a big portion of these things, and as I try to rein in my disastrous spending habits in a last-ditch hope to survive, I’ve come to a few realizations. Namely, that comics are expensive.

As such, I’ve begun applying a number of draconian policies to the Dresden that is my budget. In the case of comics, I’ve limited my spending to a maximum of $30 a week. This allows me to pick up a decent handful of single issues on busy weeks or opt for a couple of trades on weeks when the quality-to-noise ratio is a bit more...unbalanced (for reference, see all of January). The purpose of this column is to vet a handful of those books each week to see if they’re still worth the money or if, sadly, it’s time for them to be put out to pasture. New books get a bit of leeway in the form of a three-issue trial period for finding-their-feet purposes, but that is the extent of my mercy. And so begins the Thunderdome of my wallet.

And spoilers ahead, for those who worry about that sort of thing.

Teen Titans #55

Writer: Sean McKeever
Artist: Jamal Igle

Confession time: While I was interested enough in McKeever coming on board Teen Titans months ago, I haven’t bought an issue since the first part of the editorially-mandated follow-up to “Titans of Tomorrow”. What I’ve heard of issues since then leads me to believe I didn’t miss much – the words “unfortunate mess” rarely inspires a need to go digging through back issue boxes.

#55, however, is his first chance to really put in motion his plans for the book since taking over writing duties, and his excitement over the chance to cut loose shows. It’s your standard bit of “meet the team” ground laying that starts off a lot of arcs, opening with the jettisoning of Supergirl now that her duties as Kon-El stand-in are complete and ending with our first hint of the threat looming on the horizon.

Along the way we get a taste of where our young heroes stand at the moment, with Wondergirl and Robin out on an actual, honest-to-god date complete with nice clothes and a conversation careening towards dangerous waters just as it’s interrupted by one of those horribly convenient bank robberies that always seem to happen in worlds with superheroes running around in them.

Meanwhile, Miss Martian is slowly going insane while Kid Devil spends most of his time moping and hating the new Blue Beetle. I quite like Kid Devil, as few other young heroes manage to capture the essence of being an awkward teen as he does. Despite realizing his dream of having super powers, he’s even more awkward than he was without them, even more ruled over by his desperate need to earn the respect of his peers and/or get in Ravage’s pants. “I think you just made my soul explode” is easily my favorite line of the book, and makes me hope for a future Titans issue focusing solely on his no-doubt amazing LiveJournal.

We also meet Dreadbolt, one of the Terror Titans destined to cause trouble for our heroes in the near future. “Dreadbolt” is, of course, a horrible name, but sounds exactly like the sort of think a kid would call himself upon both receiving powers and deciding to be evil with them. So that’s all right, then.

All in all it’s a solidly enjoyable issue, and possibly the best thing I’ve read by McKeever since he came to DC. More please.

BUY STATUS: The next two issues will ultimately decide whether I stay on board long term, but I have every hope this will continue to be a lot of fun.

Avengers: The Initiative #9

Writer: Dan Slott and Chris Gage
Artist: Stefano Caselli

“Killed in Action” continues this month with a great many B-listers (and a couple of more important characters) finding themselves just that. This arc seems to be pulling in several plot lines Slott has had simmering since the start of the series, including the first-issue death of MVP, the alien glove things powering Gauntlet and whatshername from early in the series, and of course, the unspeakable amount of comeuppance you’re clearly begging for by putting two genocidal maniacs and a bipolar inventor of killer robots with a history of spousal abuse in charge of a dozen living weapons.

Said inevitable disaster is provided by KIA, a clone of the late MVP who went a bit lopsided after having the alien super weapon that killed him attached to his arm. Personally, I blame all those videogames and hip-hoppers. Kids today, I tell you.

The issue is wall-to-wall carnage, with the seemingly unstoppable KIA appearing to cut down nearly half the cast, including comedy Nazi Baron Von Blitzshalg, enough heroes-in-training to field a softball team, and Hank Pym himself. I’m hoping Pym’s death is a bit permanent this time, as pulling the “I shrunk to atom-size at the last moment!” thing twice in one series would be a bit of a cheat.

Additional highlights include Taskmaster as the new Initiative drill instructor being generally awesome – between last issue’s take down of three giant-sized idiots and his handling of KIA this month, Slott’s take on the character is quickly becoming the most sensible character in the book, if not most of the Marvel Universe. No Faustian annulments or surrendering after a bit of property damage for this guy, oh no.

Avengers: The Initiative continues to be one of the most solid books Marvel’s putting out at the moment. I find it interesting that, along with Thunderbolts, this makes two of the Initiative’s big public operations that are currently exploding in a mess of sticky bits and limbs. Perhaps this is the new thing to do for the next couple of months, like the “everybody punches Tony Stark in the face” meme that swept the MU a few months ago?

Buy Status: Still reading every month. While I hope the rather interesting Trauma isn’t nearly as dead as he seems to be, I’m more than happy to be back next month to find out.

Suburban Glamour #3

Writer & Artist: Jamie McKelvie

I missed issue two of this, as it sold out almost immediately at every store I checked. Even with a gap in the story, this series is still every bit as engaging as the first issue was. I’ve had a huge crush on McKelvie’s art since last year’s Phonogram (easily one of the best titles of ’07) with Kieron Gillen, even if each and every one of his girls cam off looking to be the sort that would set off my crazy meter in ever met in person. If anything, that may have only helped the attraction along.

The book follows Astrid, a typical girl in her late teens with a pretty straightforward life – go to school, go to parties with friends, find yourself talking to imaginary friends long forgotten who now appear to be very, very real, learn from the lady with the new shop in town that you’re actually royalty amongst the fairy folk – y’know, the sort of thing we all dealt with. The teen drama rippling through the book is pitch-perfect, weaving in and out of the more fantastic elements to give the story the sort of ground you need backing up all the little twists and turns it pulls along the way.

McKelvie’s art is clean as can be throughout, telling the story through simple, endearing gestures and character moments that perfectly sum up their owners in an instant. Vertigo should be kicking themselves for not snapping this book up before Image got a hold of it. When not kicking themselves for all the other things they deserve it for, that is.

Buy Status: Only one more issue to go, sadly, but I’m grabbing it for certain. With any luck I can snag a copy of #2 as well.

Captain America #34
Writer: Ed Brubaker Artist: Steve Epting

And then there’s the new Captain America, the first issue with Buck taking up the shield and mantle of his former partner while opting for a new shiny suit. Thankfully, Epting opts to break away from the rather ridiculous metallic sheen of the original Alex Ross design, finding a balance that, while not quite perfect, is much easier to swallow than the patriotic traffic cone gracing the book’s cover. His art, as always, is wonderfully complementary to the dark blend of crime fiction and political intrigue of Brubaker’s storytelling.

And, thankfully, it’s a good story as well. This issue continues the ongoing storyline of the Red Skull’s plans for grinding America into the dust while providing a nice jumping on point in a form even new readers can appreciate: having NuCap smack around a bunch of A.I.M. agents.

My greatest concern with having Bucky fill Steve Rogers’ buccaneer-boots was Marvel’s long history of completely bungling these sort of “passing the mantle” moments. I shouldn’t have worried. Brubaker seems determined to keep the new guy’s distinct history and personality from becoming a carbon copy of the old guy’s, complete with an internal monologue of Bucky feeling uncomfortable with head-to-head fighting after a lifetime spent in covert ops. God only knows how he’ll fair in the hands of other writers, but I have every faith in this team’s ability to tell continue a great story.

Buy Status: Officially switching from “reading the trades” to “reading every month”. Okay guys? You got me.

Northlanders #3

Writer: Brian Wood
Artist: Davide Gianfelice

Brian Wood, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. While I enjoyed the first two issues, I was strongly considering relegating this to “wait for the trade status”. Thank goodness for my three-issue rule, eh? With #3, Northlanders comes fully into its own, stating in giant red letters that main character Sven is more than the insufferable child with a knack for finding naked blonde women in his bed the first two issues painted him as.

Gianfelice’s art works wonders as well, making the explosions of violence throughout the issue just as meaningful as the quiet moments. Well done also for being one of the few Vertigo books lucky enough explore more of the color palette than “brown” and “gray with a bit of brown mixed in”.

This issue, Sven puts his plans for his cowardly, traitorous uncle into full gear by killing any of his men foolish enough to come near. Along the way, he befriends the mountain girl he pissed off last issue and begins to question what he’s getting in to with the beautiful emotional train wreck that is Thora.

It’s good stuff throughout, mixing the brutality of the setting and its history with a number of subtle modern influences including, if I’m not mistaken, just a touch of Noir. There’s the definite sense of Sven as the doomed hero, a man trying to change the world around him only to be broken by it in the end. While it’s too soon for the “Forget it Sven, it’s Orkney-town” line, you can’t read this issue without knowing there’s going to be serious repercussions for his actions. Which is usually the best bit.

Brian Wood has grown in leaps and bounds as a writer over the last few years, and between this, DMZ, and Local his name on the cover is quickly becoming all it takes for me to try a book. That Northlanders handily fills that Viking brutality-shaped hole in my life is just icing on the cake.

Buy Status: Between this issue’s bit with the deer and Sven’s archery skills, I’m on board for the foreseeable future.

And that’s it for this week. Other books purchased by not reviewed include Buffy the Vampire Slayer #11, Green Lantern #27, and JSA #12. Maybe next time, depending on how the shipping lists look. In the meantime, if there’s something you think I should be reading, drop a suggestion or two in the comments thread or email me at chrislamb@gmail.com. I’m always up for new books.

Chris Lamb is a writer and games designer living in New York. He's been a fan of comics of all kinds for twelve years or so, despite regular attempts by the medium to make him think differently.

Dan DiDio Edits Teen Titans

1. Why?

Official answer: "To tell the truth, I wanted the chance to get back into the business of editing and sharpen up the skills..."

Unofficial answers:

a) He doesn't want it screwed up

b) The run probably has Final Crisis-sensitive stuff in it and he doesn't want it screwed up

c) He has fond memories of the title since he was a youngster and he doesn't want it screwed up

d) He also doesn't want it screwed up

2. If the book sells poorly, does he have to fire himself?

3. If the book does well, can he give himself a bonus?

4. NRAMA: To be about as…blunt as possible, this isn’t a “figurehead” thing for you? That is, you’re scheduling the art, trafficking the pages, shaping the stories with Sean? You’re doing all the editor things for the book?

DD: I’d say I do most of the editor things...

I picture Dan at the Xerox machine, collating pages:

"Does anybody know what that blinking light means?! The copying just stopped..."

"Try to knead out the paper from the metal teeth with some sort of long implement."

"Pencil?"

"Yeah, try a pencil."

5. What is this obsession with campy supervillains? First Captain Boomerang in Identity Crisis, then Pied Piper & Trickster in Countdown, now Clock King in Teen Titans. Is Sportsmaster still available?

Bottom Line: I don't think DiDio would edit this book if it didn't have some high-impact stuff in it that would effect Final Crisis/DCU status quo. Sean McKeever is a very talented writer but I hope he is given the breathing room to really make this book his own (which has, in my opinion, not been the case so far in "Titans" but has in "Birds of Prey"). And I am pleading for some artistic stability on this title, and the doing-away with a new penciller every other issue; that sort of inconsistency alienates fans.

Occasional Reviews: Hulk #1, Nightwing #140, Teen Titans Lost Annual

Hulk #1
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artists: Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Rating: A
On My Pull List? Yes

Hulk #1 skillfully carries on the momentum that World War Hulk started. Though no actual real-time Hulk action is depicted in this issue (making it interestingly similar in that regard to the Spider-Man-less Amazing Spiderman #546 & the Captain America-less current Cap run), his massive footprints (and, apparently, fingerprints) are everywhere in evidence.

Spoilers: Classic villain Abomination is apparently killed by the Hulk. With a gun. Meanwhile, a half-naked Rick Jones, who, despite the end of "WWH," is quite alive, roams the Russian countryside in a daze. Is he this mysterious "Red Hulk?" And the Winter Guard make an appearance, much to my boyfriend's delight (he loves those "global" teams).


I admit that I was very turned off by Jeph Loeb's recent writing for DC, but his work in Hulk #1 is both fast-paced and engaging. Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines's art is appropriately massive, and Loeb provides the sort of wide, open storytelling that plays that art to its biggest advantage. There are spreads so massive in this book you'll feel as if you're reading one of those old treasury editions.

A great start; I hope they keep it up.



Nightwing #140
Writer: Pete Tomasi
Artists: Rags Morales & Michael Bair
Publisher: DC Comics

Rating: B
On My Pull List? I will give it one more issue before deciding.

Nightwing enters a whole new phase with issue #140 and the new creative team of Tomasi, Morales, and Bair. With a story that takes place mostly in New York City instead of the familiar haunts of Gotham or Bludhaven and a far more realistic art style than I'm used to for this character, it certainly does feel like Dick Grayson's own "Brand New Day."

Tomasi's writing does not lack feeling for the characters or a penchant for manly action scenes (indeed, Dick's skydive at the beginning of the issue seemed more at home with a James Bond novel). However, the copious use of dialogue and narrative captions denotes more of a prose approach to a graphic medium. For example, the scene with Robin & Nightwing at the end of the issue -- there are a tremendous amount of words on those two pages.


It is really the art of Morales & Bair that are the showstoppers here. If ever there was a comic most likely to appeal to females based on the sexiness of the male superhero alone, it is Nightwing. If there ever was a male character in the DC roster in danger of being exploited for his good looks alone, it is Dick Grayson. The sheer number of gratuitous shower scenes featuring Mr. Grayson through the years testifies to that.

Simply put, the Dick Grayson (and Tim Drake, assuming he's of legal age) of Nightwing #140 is incredibly good-looking. It makes me wish Devin Grayson was still writing the book.




Teen Titans Lost Annual
Writer: Bob Haney
Artists: Jay Stephens & Mike Allred
Publisher: DC Comics

Rating: B+

I watched this book grow from its inception while I was an assistant to its original editor, Dan Raspler; so it might be more valuable to my blog readers to give you some background to it in in addition to just a review.

If my memory serves me correctly, Bob Haney, a classic writer of Silver Age DC material, wrote the script for Teen Titans Lost Annual on a manual type writer, all in caps. Almost every other line ended with a double hyphen & double exclamation point. We stood around the office just looking in awe at the thing. And yet, it was the perfect vehicle for Jay Stephens & Mike Allred to express their love of that time period.

Titans Lost Annual was shelved before publication because it was considered "weird." A new Teen Titans title was launching, and it was believed the one-shot would confuse branding.

The thing is -- the book is weird. It features hippie cavemen going up against mod aliens in Beatles haircuts. And John F. Kennedy.

But, like last year's The Last Fantastic Four Story by Stan Lee, the book is a love-letter to a kinder, gentler period in comic book history. It was written by someone who wasn't trying to be ironic, but just wanted to tell an action-packed, fun story. On those merits, the book can be enjoyed.


But, the biggest draw is the art by Jay Stephens & Mike Allred. It is spot-on perfect. Plus, you get a cover & "sketchbook" by original Titans cover artist Nick Cardy. I would almost recommend that you get this for a child and let them enjoy the wonder of the early Titans stuff, if it wasn't for the inherent bizarreness & occasional deaths in the book.

But, would today's kids enjoy the 60s version of the Teen Titans, or the current "in continuity" comic, or Titans Year One, or even the upcoming Tiny Titans?

These are some damn sophisticated kids. I think it's Teen Titans Go! all the way.