Longbox Review

Adventure Comics #9: I really don’t know about this title. There seems to be no cohesiveness to it since Johns left. It’s more like a catch-all title to help tell more story from other comics. First it was Blackest Night and now the Last Stand of New Krypton stuff. I like the lead story well enough because it is a Legion story (but man I hate those sleeveless costumes some of the Legionnaires are wearing). The second story also features the Legion, but the ones back in the 21st century helping out Superboy and Supergirl–nothing special there. I am liking the third story featuring the undercover New Kryptonian Car-Vex, and I find that surprising. But there’s a poignant tale this issue, and I am looking forward to how this plays out. However, I am looking at cutting back on some titles, and this one is high on my list.

Detective Comics #863: The miserable flashback story featuring Batman and Batwoman ends. ‘Nuff said.

Green Lantern #52: This fits in nicely between Blackest Night #7 and #8. Sinestro has become one with the Life Entity (from BN #7) and we get that fleshed out more here. Interesting how they show the emotional spectrum coming into being. And then Nekron splits Sinestro in half to the waist with a scythe! He lives of course and the issue ends with a really cool image of the Life Entity behind the restored Sinestro. This has been a really great companion book to Blackest Night, but I look forward to getting back to stories in this book that stand on their own.

Incorruptible #4: Max Damage completes his little conversion-to-the-good-side story, and then tries to send his teenage sidekick to another world so that she’ll be safe. This, of course, ticks her off and upsets here immensely. This will only work if there’s some fallout later. That’s what I keep waiting for, some fallout for what Max has done by going over to the side of light. But, to be fair, this is only issue 4.

JLA #43: Umm, what the hell? In the course of one issue, we go from the JLA membership of last issue to 4 JLA members. I really hate what’s going on in this title. I was so looking forward to seeing the former Titans spend some time as JLAers and how they and the other old guard JLA members would interact. I’m getting none of that. The banner on the cover calls the JLA the “World’s Greatest Superheroes!”. I’m not reading that yet. Again. This book hasn’t been good since Brad Meltzer left.

Nemesis #1: Ok, when I read about the premise of this book, I was intrigued, but I knew it was Mark Millar writing it, and he’s more flash than substance. However, Matt at the Comic Book Shop was recommending it, and he’s rarely wrong, so I picked this up (it’s only 4 issues anyway). It was … ok. I like the art well enough. I sort of like how the super-criminal wears all white and a cape, but what is up with that? Nemesis clearly has a hard-on for cops, so there’s an origin story coming I’m sure. But I still have the feeling that Millar is really only writing comics to get them made into movies.

Okay, now for the best comic of the bunch.

Blackest Night #8: Holy cats! What a fantastic end to a great event. This is probably my favorite event of any company since Crisis on Infinite Earths. And Ivan Reis’s art has been phenomenal from the get-go. I loved the little speech Hal gives about the formerly dead heroes who chose to live after dying, and then they are inducted into the White Lantern Corps, which was an awesome 2-page spread (though I must have missed it when Animal Man died and returned, but there he is). Of course, the heroes save the day, and in the process many others are returned to life in a 4-page, fold-out spread. Back are Aquaman, Hawkman and Hawkwoman, Hawk (now I can haz my Hawk & Dove series, plz?), Firestorm, and J’Onn J’Onz! Others return as well, including a few villains (but Captain Boomerang? Really? He must be one of Geoff Johns’s favorites.). Also back to life is Deadman?! Wtf? Can’t wait to see how this plays out, but my gut says it’s a mistake. Geoff Johns is always saying don’t mess with the core concept of a character, and making Deadman alive is doing just that, but we’ll see. The Hawks’ and Aquaman’s and Mera’s reunions were touching, as was J’onn’s comment to Superman about the Martian being alive again: “It appears so,” he says with a smile on his face. Flash speaks for many of us in fandom when he calls out for Ralph and Sue, but he doesn’t find them. Hal tells him they’re not back and the wonderfully drawn look of hurt and anger on Barry’s face is pure poignancy (take note Mr. Franks: this is how you draw faces and eyes!). At the end, there’s a touching scene between Hal and Barry kind of wrapping it all up, and, in some ways, speaking to us, the readers, especially when Hal says, “I think dead is dead from here on out…”. We’ll see, DC, we’ll see.

This event wasn’t without its flaws, of course: most of the tie-ins and the “off” month–I hate when event stories take time off so that the artist can catch up, but I guess that’s preferable than some other artist stepping in as what happened with Final Crisis. I also heard about some fans complaining about “fatigue” with this event. What? Please. Go read Dhalgren or Gravity’s Rainbow and then come talk to me about reading fatigue. Next up is Brightest Day. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be the Countdown to Blackest Night‘s 52.