Trimming the List Part 5 - Justice

There were two books which got me to start following comics on a regular basis in the late 80's.  Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League International, condescendingly referred to as the Joke League by all too many fans, and Mark Gruenwald's Captain America.  I've bought few Captain America books since before Gruenwald left and none since Mark Waid's turn during/following Heroes Return.  Justice League International, however, lead to a life long love of DC's legacy from the Justice Society of the 1940's to the most current incarnation of both teams.

 

First and foremost among these books currently is Justice League: Generation Lost, the recently begun bi-weekly series reuniting five former members of the Justice League International, and plotted by JLI co-creator Keith Giffen.  The downside - Judd Winnick on scripts.  I honestly have nothing against the former Real World cast member as a person, but his comics work is always problematic for me.  However there is no way I can say no to the concept of the book, or to Giffen, so it stays.

 

Sadly I haven't read the flagship Justice League of America in a long time.  I enjoyed some of what Brad Meltzer did on the initial run but I had a hard time connecting to some of the events, for whatever reason and walked away.  I'm only picking it up now for the Brightest Day tie-ins.  Once those end, I may well be done again for a while.  But James Robinson is a fantastic writer, and I've been a fan of Mark Bagley since New Warriors started in 1990 - together they may well be able to pull me back in. 

 

The Justice Society of America may have been the JLA's forerunner, but the recent past demonstrated just how strong it can be today. The JSA was written by Geoff Johns for much of it's current incarnation and with few rough spots it was a very well crafted run.  With his departure the main book was taken over by Bill Willingham of Fables, and the younger members of the team were spun-off into their own book, JSA All-Stars when they decided the methods of the older generation were too passive.  Results have been mixed for me.  For one, I detest the split as it eats at what I believe is a fundamental characteristic of the JSA - preservation of the generational legacy.  I don't like the idea of a split on basic generational lines.  From an economic point of view, two titles is too much for the JSA.  Historically the title struggled to maintain even a single monthly until Johns came along, so creating a spinoff shortly after he leaves seems an ill-considered move.  I think once the JLA crossover is done I'll be taking a break for a while and likely will not miss it.   

 

Two books stay, two eliminated.  Next up, a smattering of miscellaneous titles that don't fit neatly into a broader category to close out this little exercise.   

 

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Trimming the List Part 4 - Green Lantern

Ok, I know I said that no title was safe, but getting down to today's subject(s), I can admit that was a lie (though mostly to myself which is a bit more forgivable).  The Green Lantern books are currently the gold standard for tightly plotted epic storylines in comics.

 

Things didn't look so great for a few months in 2006 with Geoff Johns concentrating on Infinite Crisis, though.  While the Hal Jordan revival began amazingly well with 2004's Green Lantern: Rebirth, the following Green Lantern monthly began to falter in the late single digits.  I worried that perhaps Johns was preparing to move on as he had with Teen Titans.  At this point though it's obvious to any comic reader paying attention that I was wrong.  Following Infinite Crisis, Johns began laying the groundwork that lead us to the recently concluded Blackest Night and the recently begun Brightest Day.

 

Green Lantern continues to be a very strong book in the wake of Blackest Night.  Clearly Johns' vision for Green Lantern did not end with Blackest Night, and I have my doubts that it's going to end with Brightest Day.  I'm a little iffy on picking up Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, starring Guy Gardner and Ganthet, when it begins in August.  As much as I love both GL and GLC, I don't really feel like I need a third monthly Green Lantern title on top Brightest Day which is bimonthly.

 

While not specifically a Green Lantern book, Brightest Day is inextricably bound to that corner of the DC Universe.  The story deals as much with the characters resurrected at the end of Blackest Night as it does any Lantern.  Why would I even consider not continuing with it?  Granted it's a bimonthly, but it only lasts for twelve months, and it's helmed by Johns and builds on everything he's done with Green Lantern since Rebirth.  Brightest Day is a lock. 

 

Obviously had I thought about my statement in the first post in this series, I never would have said nothing was safe.  Johns has never let me down (except for when he's left comics), and his Green Lantern books have been exemplary.  I look forward to this saga continuing for a long time. 

 

 

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Trimming the List Part 3 - Teen Titans

In terms of personal meaning, the Teen Titans franchise falls closer to Batman than Superman in the spectrum.  I wasn't around for the beginning of the Wolfman-Perez revival but came to love it years later during the "A Lonely Place of Dying" storyline that introduced the recently dismissed Robin, Tim Drake.  I stuck with it through the short lived Dan Jurgens Teen Titan series which wasn't as great as the Wolfman-Perez run, but he managed to make me care about an entirely new cast, and there's something to be said for that. 

The current run of Teen Titans began as a smashing success.  Geoff Johns did an amazing job of transforming the former Young Justice stars into the new generation of Teen Titans, as they likely should have been from the beginning.  I understand many didn't care for the updates to Wonder Girl and Impulse transitioning to the Kid Flash identity, but they made a lot of sense to me.  I remember standing in line for a sketch from Mike McKone in 2003, just days after the new #1 hit the stands.  George Perez himself walked up to the table to tell McKone what a wonderful job he though Johns and McKone were doing - high praise indeed from the artist of the most beloved Titans runs ever. 

Unfortunately DC undid much of what made this title great by killing off Superboy and aging Bart Allen into an adult with Infinite Crisis.  Thankfully Johns was able to undo this mess with Legion of Three Worlds.  However, the writers that followed Johns on Teen Titans have been unable to find a way to keep me caring about the team.  While Superboy and Kid Flash are back in the DCU, they are still not the central characters they were, and Tim Drake continues wasting time as Red Robin without appearing in Teen Titans at all.  So many new characters were added at once that it felt like a brand new team, and I've never found much reason to care for many of the people hanging around Titans Tower these days.  There were two I didn't mind - Ravager for her long running connection to the Titans, and Kid Devil, a revamp of Blue Devil's former wannabe sidekick.  Unfortunately Ravager was turned into a junky (adrenaline inhalers which act to boost her precognition ability) and removed from the team, relegated to a gerbil wheel of a back-up story. Kid Devil was de-powered and killed.  I'm left with Static (never cared for him), Aquagirl (a bit of a cipher), the new Blue Beetle (I tried, really I tried), and Bombshell (an entirely one dimensional female version of Captain Atom - you would think he'd have something to say on this subject). Another new writer is coming on soon... maybe he can turn things around?  Or maybe not... he also wrote Rise of Arsenal, but he's probably not entirely to blame for that. 

 

I'll keep hope alive here for a while I think.  I never want to give up on the Titans, but man it feels like I've been hanging on by a thread here for so long.  It seems as though it's destined to get the axe, but at least the right characters are starting to come back into place.  I think I'll at least give J.T. Krul a chance, and revisit the subject at the end of the year. 

 

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Trimming the List Part 2

Today I continue my attempt to whittle down my monthly list of comics.  Last week I took a look at the current state of Superman books and decided it was time for me to once again move on from those waters.  At the rate prices are increasing, I may never see them again.  This week I move on to Gotham's Caped Crusader.  I've rarely not purchased some Batman book or another since around the time of the first Keaton movie.  Is his place on the list secure?

 

 

In contrast to Superman, Batman has been with me more often than he has not.  However, I'm really only buying Morrison's Batman and Robin, his Return of Bruce Wayne, and the eponymous Batman.  I'm honestly not crazy about the current Bruce Wayne-less Batman paradigm.  I like Dick Grayson well enough, but I liked him better as his own man.  Clearly that's coming to an end though, as we are already underway with the Return storyline.  Still, Batman and Robin remains an excellent title, slightly more coherent than Morrison's own RIP storyline, so I'll stick with it for now.  Batman, while less impressive than B&R, is readable. 

 

The real question here is Return of Bruce Wayne.  It's one of those Morrison books that reads less like a story and more like a series of glimpses into a story.  We're rapidly thrust into a sequence of events that feels as though it supposes we already know exactly what is going on (Darkseid made Bruce a living weapon?), and shows us aspects of the DC Universe that do not mesh with previous depictions (Vanishing Point).  However, on occassion, these mental meanderings of Morrison's do pay off.  Heck, I'm already two issues in to a six issue mini, might as well stick with it. 

 

Ok, three books examined, three books remain.  Honestly I'm tempted to add in a couple of other Bat-books, such as Red Robin, though I detest that direction for the character, and Batgirl, which actually is the direction they should have gone a long time ago imo.  We'll see where I end up at the conclusion of this excersize and make a decision then.   

 

 

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Trimming the List

I'm facing some tough decisions.  Comic prices are outpacing inflation, by a large margin, which is also outpacing my salary.  It's time to start taking a look at my pull list because something HAS to go; but I'm setting no requirements, and no limits - everything will be judged.  The looming new standard of four dollars for the standard 22 page comicbook story is prompting me to carefully consider my pull list and make some cuts. 

 

The first defendants are the Superman books for the simple reason that it's the largest group of books on my list. 

 

My history with the world's most famous superhero is fraught with periods of intense devotion and unapologetic scorn.  One of my favorite comic runs of all time remains the "Panic in the Sky" storyline running through the Superman titles for three months in the early 90's.  As much as I continue to love that run, I dropped the books the month after it ended and barely touched the line until the Death of Superman story several years later.  Recently Geoff Johns' shepherding of the Superman books prompted their return to my monthly purchases.  The introduction of a more classic version of the Legion of Super-heroes and the reincorporation of Superman into their mythos was appealing on many levels... but since his departure the books have again become stale. 

 

Why am I hanging on to them now?  Likely out of the dangling plot lines continuing to run from Johns' tenure.  The New Krypton plot is past its expiration date, and the LOSH angle appears to be resolved finally in the latest issues with Mon-el going to the 31st Century (more on that later) following Brainiac's assault on New Krypton.  OK, no need to keep them around.  With the end of War of the Supermen, I'm out.  There goes Action, Superman, Supergirl and the rotating mini series that have come to account for another monthly or two in the budget. I think I can honestly say I'm not going to miss it for a while.

 

That was liberating.  Up next is a slightly tougher bit of jerky - Batman...

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Disney May 2010 day 4 - Turkey Leg Demolition and Fair well to Toon Town Fair

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There are actually a lot more Toon Town photos, but it took long enough to upload these!  Bye bye Toon Town, you were great, but you overstayed your welcome.  

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Disney May 2010 day 3 - More Kidani and Animal Kingdom

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Disney May 2010 day 1 - Kidani and Flower and Garden Festival

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My Vinyl Love Affair: Part 1

It's no secret that I love toys. In high school and college my bedroom shelves over flowed with action figures and playsets, and even a few die cast cars.  What drew me in for years was a possessing love for the characters represented and I pursued the collection for years with multiple stops at Wal-mart, Target, and Toys R Us nearly every day.  In the early 2000's a new type of toy began entered my realm of awareness - the designer vinyl.

 

Designer toys are created by artists and intended to be appreciated as a work of art in their own right.  The piece may take the form of a completely original design (starting with the sculpt) or it may be a redecorated existing figure.  Some of the most popular lines, such as Dunny and Qee, are based a basic figure used by multiple artists to create a character within the confines of that canvas.  For years I was intrigued enough to keep abreast of various designer toy lines if not enough to know a wide variety of artists and recognize their styles.  Frequently a Dunny or a Qee caught my eye but I was held back from purchase by financial commitment to toy lines derived completely from licensed properties.  As my devotion to the Star Wars line waned with the prequel trilogy, Justice League Unlimited took it's place with the occasional Transformer filling in the gaps all along the way.  Recently JLU distribution problems resulted in a significant decline in interest there as well.

 

There was a vacancy in my heart and Vinylmation, Disney's take on the Dunny/Qee trend, took it's place.  On our annual post-Thanksgiving trip to Walt Disney World in 2009, I finally saw Vinylmation first hand and fell in love.  My deep love for the Disney Parks and history coalesced with my long dormant interest in designer toys.  What began as six 3" figures purchased in the Coronado Springs giftshop has turned into around forty 3" figures and six 9" figures in about 6 months time.  We leave for WDW again soon, and I've already planned significant additions to the Vinylmation village growing in my study.  This is a collection which will never be "complete" and for once that feels ok.  Unlike with licensed character lines, most of the figures are only loosely connected to each other.  Still, there are quite a few past releases that I really feel should be part of my collection - some of which are possible, others are much less likely. 

 

Today I present the top 5 Vinylmations not in my collection that should be:

 

5. Test Track Dummy set, Park 3, by Randy Noble

 

 

 

Why I should have it: This vinyl represents Test Track at Epcot, a favorite attraction at Epcot.

 

Why I don't: I saw this piece several times at retail during our trip - it had only released the week prior.  My interest in Vinylmation was still growing and I wasn't keen on the $75 asking price for 9"/3" sets.  That apprehension has since faded somewhat...

 

4. Yeti, Park 1, By Kyle Price

 

 

Why I should have: I truly believe that Expedition Everest is one of the best themed rides Disney has ever done, and the Yeti is a huge part of that.  When it was working (more on that in a later post, perhaps), the Yeti was the most impressive audioanamatronic ever created.

 

Why I don't: The Park 1 Series was released two weeks after our trip in 2008.  It was a truly limited release, as Disney Merchandise was unsure of how popular this new product would prove to be and under ordered.  Sadly, I missed out completely.  The Yeti now demands a hefty bounty.

 

3. Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, by Jeff Ebersohl

 

 

Why I should have it: Christmas is our favorite time of the year at Disney World.  Last November when I became interested in Vinylmation, WDW produced three vinylmations, each in their own tin, representing the holidays at three of the four major parks at the resort.  The Osbourne Spectacle of Dancing Lights, hosted at Disney's Hollywood Studios, is the most amazing display of Christmas lights I've ever seen and this figure really should be present alongside the other two in my display.

 

Why I don't:  I had planned to purchase the Osbourne Lights figure on the last day of our trip, when we expected to return to Disney's Hollywood Studios for an early morning go at Toy Story Midway Mania before returning to catch the bus to the airport.  Unfortunately the rain dampened our Disney spirit: we hung out in the hotel instead.  As it happens, the Osbourne Lights vinyl became the most popular of the three Holiday tins, sold out shortly after Christmas, and has been on a meteoric rise in price on eBay. 

 

2. Carnotaurus, Park 3, by Maria Clapsis

 

 

Why I should have it: Carnotaurus is the antagonist of the ride DINOSAUR, themed after the 2000 cgi film of the same name, in Disney's Animal Kingdom.  Some criticize the ride for being jerky, loud, and frightening for children and adults alike.  We love it.

 

Why I don't: I have no real excuse.  I had the chance to purchase it when we were there in November and I should have.  Unfortunately I still wasn't quite feeling the love for the 9" figures, and passed.  Asking prices are often somewhat reasonable online, so this one is still in the realm of possibility for me. 

 

1. Kermit the Frog, Park 1, by Monty Moldovan

 

 

Why I should have it: I love the Muppets, and pretty much everything Henson has ever done. In the early 90's when bow-biters were in for teenagers, Kermit smiled happily up from my feet. This is the first, and likely to be only standard, representation of Kermit in the Vinylmation pantheon and is one of the most creative uses of the Vinylmation canvas to date.

 

Why I don't have it: This figure, like Yeti above, is part of the Park 1 series - and like Yeti, has reached prices far beyond what I am willing to pay.  They are both amazingly well designed pieces, but they are destined to elude me forever, I fear. I'll have to be satisfied with Kermit in his 55th Anniversary Tuxedo from Muppets Series 1. 

 

Unfortunately it doesn't stop there, of course.  Rarely will a new interest take hold in modest fashion.  Disney lead me to finally take the first step into the world of designer toys, and a crisis is underway.  Within the next few days I'll return with an exploration of my tastes in art toys outside of the world of Disney Vinylmation in My Vinyl Love Affair: Part 2. 

 

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