Brand New Day, Brand New Opinion

Ok, it's been one month now. One month since Marvel decided to toss out twenty years of stories rewriting the entire Spider-man mythos with little to no explanation other than "It's Magic! (*jazz hands*) We don't have to explain it." at the end of the One More Day storyline . My reaction to the story was tempered greatly by the fact that I hadn't really read a run of 616 Spider-man comics in years. Ultimate Spider-man has been the best Spider-title published in the last decade, owing much to the talents and dedication of Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley... who together set a new record in American comics by putting out an uninterrupted run on USM for 111 issues. ( Yes, that's right, 111 issues. Many of them produced much more frequently than monthly.) It's by far one of the best runs of comics of all time. It features a teen-aged Peter Parker much as he was when he was created in the 60's; a teen aged hero with nothing but problems.

Anyway, Joe Quesada (Marvel EIC) didn't like the Parker marriage. He, as do many other writers, to be fair, feels that a married Peter Parker loses much of what makes Spider-man an interesting character. So he decided to chuck it. By having the Parkers make a deal with the Devil (ok, Mephisto, but same thing in the Marvel Universe). Yes, that's right, in the world where no one smokes because that's bad, it's ok for the hero to make a deal with the Devil. Mephisto saved Aunt May's life in exchange for the Parkers never having been married. But they don't remember it either, so it's not like they know any different, right? Oh, and Harry Osbourne is back alive. And Peter never had organic web shooters now. How did the deal to break the marriage affect those two completely independent things as well? You want an explanation? "It's magic! (*jazz hands*)" There ya go. Count me among the eye-rollers.

Now, however terrible that plot device to destroy the Parker marriage may have been, at least the results aren't that bad. I just finished reading Brand New Day, the first storyline in the new Spider-man status quo. And I admit, it feels kinda right. Peter can't get a job, isn't a registered hero, lives with Aunt May, and apparently the only people who actively like him now is the mob. That certainly sounds like Spider-man, even though my entire comic reading life has taken place during the marriage (it originally happened in the early 80's). My initial reaction to the decision was that we already had a perfectly good book about an unmarried Spider-man in USM. I see now that the result is different enough such that it doesn't matter; each maintains a separate identity still, and I can live with that.

I do somewhat miss the marriage from an idealistic stand-point; Peter Parker was a true nerd hero, he married the super-model! Of course, I haven't needed that kind of inspiration for a long time, but the 14 year old inside me is screaming.

Teen Titans #50: Back in the list

I've made no secret of my opinion that Teen Titans has lost it's way. Johns and McKone's issues are some of my favorite Titans books ever, but it really got off track during Infinite Crisis, and simply couldn't recover with the Death of Conner (Superboy) and the removal of Bart (Kid Flash) for the artificial aging to adulthood and subsequent death barely more than a year later.

Sean McKeever appears to have a solid grounding for the characters. Issue #50 gives me hope that this run of Titans isn't going to die. I've been on and off with the Titans since the A Lonely Place of Dying crossover arc with Batman in the late 80's. A lot of Titans teams have come and gone since then and the four who graduated from Young Justice were one of my favorites. It's been a sad slow decline in enthusiasm for me since the afore-mentioned sundering of that team but in #50 McKeever makes me think I could come to love these newer characters as much as those we've lost. It's always been about the interpersonal relationships for the Titans. If he can concentrate on that aspect of the book while keeping firmly within superhero adventure, then he'll have me for a long time.

The only doubt I have is the chosen artist for the new run. Ale Garza is a very talented artist, don't get me wrong. But I have a firm belief that even supremely talented artists are not the right fit for any story merely based on their talent. Art style has to match well to the tone of the story. Comics are a blending of two halves which only work when one dissolves into another and makes a whole. Personally I don't feel Garza's style works well on superheros. A fantastic artist, but in my opinion, the wrong artist for the job.

Countdown to Cancellation

Countdown just isn't working out for me. For all that I enjoyed 52, I certainly wanted it to. I've given it 14 issues now, however, and it still isn't clicking, so I think that's enough. I've actually removed it from my weekly lists in various discussion forums, but have failed to make the change to my pull list at the comic shop. That changes today, however, as the book is officially pulled from my list.

The biggest problem for me is that too much of the book is given over to fleeting glimpses of events occurring around the DC Universe. I understand the logic behind device: in the stated goal of the series to serve as a spine for the DCU books for the coming year, it gives readers a look around at events important to the eventual 2008 big crossover. However, these glimpses often glaringly contradict the events in the books for which they are considered home. Ostensibly they are shown in Countdown to round out the important events for readers not following the "home" titles, but at times they never receive closure in Countdown leading to narrative discontinuity. It would be far better if Countdown formed a backbone storyline for the DC Universe with everything tied up neatly in Countdown, allowing the monthlies to tie into events when it makes sense to demonstrate the far reaching implications.

One of the most problematic storylines running through Countdown is the search for Ray Palmer, which involves Donna Troy, Jason Todd (who I guess at this point has dropped the hood from his "Red Hood" disguise so I guess he's just the "Red Mask" now?), and current Atom Ryan Choi. The story is billed as an important one, developmentally, for the DCU. The problem is that it's occurring in both Countdown and All-New Atom. With entirely different events. At a completely different pace. Maybe it's working for some, but it isn't for me. So as of now Countdown is dropped and I'm officially adding Booster Gold, Brave and the Bold, and Flash to my pull list.

Booster Gold is a welcome return. Booster was a favorite of mine as a kid and well into my teens as part of the Giffen Justice League. He was mishandled terribly in the 90's, but after a rough ride last year in 52 through some dubious moments, I think it's time for the Goldstar to shine again under the guidance of Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens, Booster's creator.

As excited as I am for Booster to be back in the spotlight, I'm also ecstatic by the creative team leading it. Geoff Johns rarely goes astray. His DC books of the last few years have been some of my favorites of all time. His run on Justice Society is unmatched, his Teen Titans were as definitive as the Wolfman/Perez years, and his work on Green Lantern has been a renaissance. I have no doubt in my mind that his Booster will be of similar quality.

By contrast, Dan Jurgens has been something of an unknown quantity over the last few years, at least for me. The highest profile work he's done has been the History of the DCU back in 52, and the History of the Multiverse backup in Countdown. I do count this as a negative against him… only by virtue of the fact that I hold him in high regard as an artist. Jurgens is a remarkable representation of the superhero illustration classicist. His figure work is dramatic, his lines are clean, his anatomy is solid, and his backgrounds are anything but neglected. I'm very happy he's not only on a monthly book, not only on a monthly book that I want to read, but he's on a monthly book that I want to read about a favorite character which he created, written by a man I consider to be, perhaps, the best new comics writer of the last decade. I really couldn't ask for much more.

Rounding out the additions: Brave and the Bold I've been buying since it first started four or five months back and for some reason never got around to putting it in the list. Waid and Perez's BATB feels like every good DC comic I've ever read rolled into one. Classic comics in a modern format. Love love love. However, Waid's return to Flash in #231 has me a little on the cautious side.

The basic concept is that Wally West, the third man to bear the Flash name, returns with his family to the DCU after what was apparently about 10 years in some alternate dimension. Does anyone see the immediate problem readers might have? Many people hold the aging of previous Kid Flash Bart Allen to the twenty year old Flash (only to then kill him off at the end of a year when it wasn't working) as the biggest mistake DC comics has made recently. When last we saw Wally the kids were infants, now they are preteens. The implementation of the son's abilities has me the most doubtful – he can temporarily accelerate myofibril hypertrophy in his body (his muscles get big). It can look a tad ridiculous. Still though, Waid has a proven track record, so I remain optimistic. Acuna is definitely a rising star as well, but I think his style is better suited to special projects than a monthly periodical. I look forward to this continuation of the Flash, though, and if nothing else it will be interesting.

A New Direction... and a few words for the passing of a great

Sometimes there are things I want to say that have nothing to do with gaming, and sometimes I have nothing to really say on gaming for months at a time. Witness the two month gap in postings when I first began. So why define the blog so rigidly? From now on it'll be a general blog... probably with mostly video game content for the time being, but lots on comics, toys, anime, and other subjects wondering in and out.

Yesterday afternoon I learned that comic book artist Mike Wieringo passed away on Sunday August 12 of a massive heart attack. He was only 44. He maintained a healthy diet and exercised every day. He didn't register in any risk group. But he's gone from the world, when he still had so much to give. By all accounts, he was the best this industry of prima donnas has to offer. He was kind, humble and generous, constantly denying his own importance and artistic brilliance. He lived and breathed comics and his death is a loss for anyone who loves comics, whether they knew him, knew of him, or had never heard of him. He is already greatly missed.