I'm going to try and rapid fire a few books and really give some attention to the stellar ones, or the ones that I feel make the most impact.
Power Girl #26- Some characters are really going to suffer from this reboot, and I'm 99.99% positive that PG will be one of them. Not really appearing in any books, save for a possible shot in Justice League International, I think the Power Girl character is dead in the water. And it really shows in this issue. I feel like they were ready to end with the last issue, and DC asked for two more... so now we have two really boring stories (well, one that I know of). This one involves a bunch of girls dressed as PG who magically get her powers, and then it ends with a lesson about responsibility. Yay, morality tales!
Zatanna #15- Everything I said about PG applies here pretty much. Relegated to another team book where she looks ridiculous (I promise a long post on the reboot is coming), Zatanna's pretty much benched for the forseeable future. The morality tales continue with a group of witch hunters, descended from Puritans, try and kill Zatanna for being a witch. They have no chance, and are sent to the past with the actual witch hunters in Salem, where they are branded demons, and burned at the stake... though she pulls them back to the present just in time and then beats them up. The End.
Brightest Day Aftermath: Search for Swamp Thing #2- Other than dragging in the Vertigo characters (kicking and screaming, mind you), what is the point of this series? Constantine meets Batman, Constantine meets Superman, Constantine wants to save Swamp Thing, but its not his Swamp Thing. Its all complicated and really pointless. Why try and integrate with a non-Flashpoint book if the whole universe is blowing up in a few weeks anyway?
Batman Beyond #8: I'll be honest, I have a love/hate with this show/comic. Basically he's just Peter Parker in a Batsuit. The comic however has been much like Darkwing Duck (though not nearly as successful with this) in the sense that it is bringing in the nostalgia while doing something new. The series was just hitting its stride, and until recently, as far as anyone knew it was done. But BB is getting a reboot as well and will start back up in October. this issue is also a standalone, and I feel, the best one of the run. Its the past/present/kinda future of the villain Inque. I admit that I love villain-focused stories, and this one is no different. We still don't know much about how she became the ink creature, but we do know she's a mother first, in her mind.
So, on we go to the longer stuff:
Power Girl #26- Some characters are really going to suffer from this reboot, and I'm 99.99% positive that PG will be one of them. Not really appearing in any books, save for a possible shot in Justice League International, I think the Power Girl character is dead in the water. And it really shows in this issue. I feel like they were ready to end with the last issue, and DC asked for two more... so now we have two really boring stories (well, one that I know of). This one involves a bunch of girls dressed as PG who magically get her powers, and then it ends with a lesson about responsibility. Yay, morality tales!
Zatanna #15- Everything I said about PG applies here pretty much. Relegated to another team book where she looks ridiculous (I promise a long post on the reboot is coming), Zatanna's pretty much benched for the forseeable future. The morality tales continue with a group of witch hunters, descended from Puritans, try and kill Zatanna for being a witch. They have no chance, and are sent to the past with the actual witch hunters in Salem, where they are branded demons, and burned at the stake... though she pulls them back to the present just in time and then beats them up. The End.
Brightest Day Aftermath: Search for Swamp Thing #2- Other than dragging in the Vertigo characters (kicking and screaming, mind you), what is the point of this series? Constantine meets Batman, Constantine meets Superman, Constantine wants to save Swamp Thing, but its not his Swamp Thing. Its all complicated and really pointless. Why try and integrate with a non-Flashpoint book if the whole universe is blowing up in a few weeks anyway?
Batman Beyond #8: I'll be honest, I have a love/hate with this show/comic. Basically he's just Peter Parker in a Batsuit. The comic however has been much like Darkwing Duck (though not nearly as successful with this) in the sense that it is bringing in the nostalgia while doing something new. The series was just hitting its stride, and until recently, as far as anyone knew it was done. But BB is getting a reboot as well and will start back up in October. this issue is also a standalone, and I feel, the best one of the run. Its the past/present/kinda future of the villain Inque. I admit that I love villain-focused stories, and this one is no different. We still don't know much about how she became the ink creature, but we do know she's a mother first, in her mind.
So, on we go to the longer stuff:
The Mis-Adventures of Adam West #1
Reed Lackey, Russel Deuterman, and Kamui Iami
"Untitled" If you don't know who Adam West is, get the hell out of here. But to quickly sum it up because I can't afford to lose readers- Adam West played Batman in the 1960's tv show which was enormously campy. In the 50 years since, he himself has been revealed to be an embodiment of camp and utter brilliance. This is his (possibly made-up) story.
"Untitled" If you don't know who Adam West is, get the hell out of here. But to quickly sum it up because I can't afford to lose readers- Adam West played Batman in the 1960's tv show which was enormously campy. In the 50 years since, he himself has been revealed to be an embodiment of camp and utter brilliance. This is his (possibly made-up) story.
Summary: First off, you have to read every line in West's voice. Its a must, because West signed off on every piece of dialogue in this thing... so these are essentially his words. We open to West lamenting his days, long before corporate greed, and corruption became the ruling factors... where people could truly be heroes. This speil is actually all for a deliveryman who just asked for his signature. He continues to carry on about things were different in his day and asks the delivery man if he knew about heroes like Superman and Batman. Excited by the fact that the delivery man knew about Batman and that he might be recognized, West begins to speak, but is cutoff by the delivery man talking about how awesome and violent the Dark Knight was. Cue this moment, which I feel a lot of older comic fans will appreciate:
Cutting to his agent's office, we see several scripts given back to the agent, as West turns them down for being too gritty and not having heart or sense of character. He turns down another gritty hero role, a spy (he blows up a building where innocent people may be) role, and a cowboy (who beats up a hooker for information) role because "Good guys don't hurt innocent people, not even to stop the bad guys. Adam West doesn't do that." The agent quits, citing West's hero days are over and he needs to get over it. West walks out, monologuing about facing facts and giving up when you know you can't win. He even brushes off someone who asks him if he is Adam West with a "Used to be." On the way home in his car, West opens up the package he was sent and finds an amulet. After holding it, he looks back in the rearview mirror and he has become magically younger. And in a tuxedo. And he's in a sports car. And its night time. In a surprise to no one at this point, he has become the spy, Dominic Cane, from the movie script, and is now being chased down by what we can only assume to be other spies. Enter beautiful and mysterious woman, followed by more spies that eventually capture West. He's taken to a secret location where a man on a tv screen knows he is Adam West trapped in Cane's body, and is the one that sent the amulet. Bum bum BUUUM.
Cutting to his agent's office, we see several scripts given back to the agent, as West turns them down for being too gritty and not having heart or sense of character. He turns down another gritty hero role, a spy (he blows up a building where innocent people may be) role, and a cowboy (who beats up a hooker for information) role because "Good guys don't hurt innocent people, not even to stop the bad guys. Adam West doesn't do that." The agent quits, citing West's hero days are over and he needs to get over it. West walks out, monologuing about facing facts and giving up when you know you can't win. He even brushes off someone who asks him if he is Adam West with a "Used to be." On the way home in his car, West opens up the package he was sent and finds an amulet. After holding it, he looks back in the rearview mirror and he has become magically younger. And in a tuxedo. And he's in a sports car. And its night time. In a surprise to no one at this point, he has become the spy, Dominic Cane, from the movie script, and is now being chased down by what we can only assume to be other spies. Enter beautiful and mysterious woman, followed by more spies that eventually capture West. He's taken to a secret location where a man on a tv screen knows he is Adam West trapped in Cane's body, and is the one that sent the amulet. Bum bum BUUUM.
Highs: I like the real portrayal of Adam West here. There's a certain air to him and this comic's story that is really appealing.
Lows: The art is subpar and really water-y, but its solid enough when it needs to be so its not too bad. Also, I hate body-switching plots. Here's to hoping this one doesn't end up dumb.
Verdict: B+. No idea how long the series will last but I hope it is a while. Very enjoyable overall.
No comments:
Post a Comment