CBI Archive
The worst comic of the week; or, I would bet my sanity that Banzai Girl is better than this!
- by Greg Burgas
- in Comic Reviews
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 at 10:16 PM EST
Updated: Sunday, June 24th, 2007 at 7:40 PM EST
Yes, that Banzai Girl. The one by Jinky Coronado. I mean, seriously, look at one of the pages!
But even that, I would bet, cannot approach the horror that is … under the fold!
Yes, it’s Justice League of America #10, by Brad Meltzer, Ed Benes, Sandra Hope, Rob Leigh, Alex Sinclair, with Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald on one cover, Phil Jimenez and Rod Reis on another, and Adam Schlagman as assistant editor and Eddie Berganza as editor! It’s so bad I need to make sure everyone gets the blame they deserve!
I picked up this comic to review it for my weekly column over at Atomic Comics. That means I didn’t have to pay for it, because they let me take the book home and then return it. That’s why I got to read an issue of Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose. Well, I’m going to go back and pick another book to review for that column, because this comic deserves to be lovingly eviscerated in a post all its own, and furthermore, it’s not really even trying to bring in new readers. So let’s check it out!
First, the cover. Is it me, or do Power Girl’s breasts look a tiny bit smaller than they did in the solicitation copy? Maybe I’m just seeing things.
Okay, this is the conclusion of the big JLA/JSA crossover, “The Lightning Saga.” Oooohhhh, that means there’s some terrible threat to the world that necessitates the two teams getting together, right? That means this is going to be a big smash-’em-up, because when two superhero groups get together, they have to fight something that challenges them really seriously. I mean, remember that JLA/JSA graphic novel, Virtue and Vice, by Goyer, Johns, and Pacheco? That had Despero and Johnny Sorrow and the seven deadly sins possessing seven heroes, including Batman, and featured many fights and explosions and shit. So this has to have that kind of blowing-up stuff, right?
We begin with a caption that says, “Five minutes to impact.” So far, so good. There’s a time limit, and something will make an impact, which is always a good way to blow something up. The next caption box says, “They lied to me.” Okay. Who is this? Is it a thought, or spoken dialogue? It seems like it’s spoken, because Black Canary, right beneath it, says, “You’re sure?” as if in response. The next caption box has, “They lied to us.” We then find out that “worst of all,” they lied to Superman. He shows up in the last panel of the first page, and apparently he’s pretty pissed. In the previous panel, a silver-haired lady wearing a silver leotard is telling some people that she knew what they’d do. Superman identifies her as Sensor Girl - or does he? - and says he can see her now. Okay, that’s the first page. Not bad. We’re a bit in the dark about what’s going on - there are heroes in the background fighting what looks like Doctor Octopus’s arms, and Power Girl tells Dinah that “they’re not real,” but we don’t know who’s she’s talking about. That’s okay - all will be explained, right?
On the next page we pull back and get the big picture. Superman starts in the upper left and flies through a battle until he gets where he needs to go. A bunch of heroes are fighting Doc Ock’s arms. The people who lied to Superman are, apparently, the Legion of Super-Heroes, seven of whom came back in time. We know this because the captions tell us, even though we still don’t know who’s talking. Superman reaches his target, someone called Jeckie (who, it turns out, is actually Sensor Girl!), and demands to know where “they” are. He grabs her and she says he shattered her shoulder. It’s a ruse, though, as Power Girl tells him she’s already gone, and indeed, she fades away. Superman tells Dinah that he wants those kids.
With four minutes to impact, we’re in various cities. In Tokyo, Dawnstar talks to someone named Val, who tells her to wait outside the Capsule Tower. In Central City, some dude is “in place.” In Smallville, Jeckie is standing in a corn field. In San Francisco, Wildfire lands where he’s supposed to. And in Gotham City, Starman (real name: Thom) is sitting cross-legged and speaking cryptically. He’s speaking to Karate Kid, who is the one called Val, I guess. Is Thom on some sort of hallucinogenic or does he speak this way because he’s a bit developmentally disabled? We’ll never know. In Keystone City, the silver-haired leotard lady says, “I know you’re arriving” as we’re three minutes from impact. The old Flash shows up as she realizes Batman hid tracers in their costumes. Her name, by the way, is Dreamgirl, not Sensor Girl, and Old Flash tells her that time travel messes things up so she should stop messing with it. She says that her job is to stall the one person who’s fast enough to stop them. Old Flash pauses, then, apropos of absolutely nothing, says, “We fought Hitler, sweetie. Be serious for a moment … you really think I’m the fastest member on these teams?” What the hell? Does that mean that because he fought Hitler, he’s old and no longer the fastest? Does it mean that they were such master strategists that they defeated Hitler, so what can the Legion do against them? Does it mean he’s having a “senior moment” and he just likes reliving past glories and rubbing it in the younger generation’s face? Does he really think the Legion hasn’t fought someone like Darkseid, who’s presumably a thousand times worse than Hitler? What the hell? He says the last part of this odd statement, by the way, as a voice-over, as Power Girl, Green Lantern, Red Tornado, and Superman confront the other Legion members. Superman stands behind Jeckie with “two minutes to impact” and checks to make sure she’s really there. He demands to know why they’re here, and she says that “to bring him back … there’s no Proty to take the fall.” Okay, getting more cryptic by the minute here. They’re bringing someone back, and the last time they did it, somebody named Proty was sacrificed somehow. Wow, I’m glad it’s all clear now! Meanwhile, the only thing that convinces Superman it’s really Jeckie is, and I wish I were kidding about this, “the salty sweet smell of her tears.” What, indeed, the fuck.
Superman flashes back to a 1950s comic and thinks to himself that the mention of ”Proty” convinces him that he was right: it’s like when they brought “Garth back t –” but then he cuts his own thoughts off and tells Dinah he was correct. He also sees a lightning rod in Jeckie’s hand, one that looks like the one in the flashback. Okay, this is getting a bit confusing. Superman’s thought captions are yellow writing in a blue background. They’re slightly different from the thought captions at the beginning of the book, which have the same blue background, but with slightly lighter yellow lettering and a yellow border. So who the hell is thinking in the beginning? Sheesh.
At one minute to impact, ”Michael” is talking to Batman, and he exposits a bit: “And when the lightning hit one of them, their other dead teammate came back to life?” Batman deadpans: “It’s 31st-century science, Michael. Don’t expect it to make sense.” He should have said: “It’s 21st-century comic book writing, Michael. Don’t expect it to make sense.” Michael wonders if they have a right to stop them if one wants to die to revive another, and Batman asks if he’d stop someone from putting a gun in their mouth. They’ll stop them because it’s what they do. Flash asks Dreamgirl if she knows who dies, since she can see the future and all. Wait: if the Legion is from the future, can’t they all see the future, since it’s the past to them? As the heroes move in to stop the various Legionnaires, Michael and Batman run upstairs to find the two missing members. This is where it gets confusing (yeah, I know, but let’s just say more confusing). On one page, we get Michael and Batman running toward stairs. The next panel is Starman, talking idiotically as usual. Both he and Batman are in Gotham City. Are they in the same building? We find out soon that the answer is yes, but it’s unclear here. The next panel has a Batman thought caption, with Batman saying “Wait.” Then the last panel is Green Lantern, who’s in Central City, saying “Wait.” On the next page they both say “I’ve been here before” at the same time. Then they say “I know this place” at the same time. Batman sees a vision of the Flash melting, while Green Lantern sees the chemical accident that created the Flash. Green Lantern’s thought balloon reads, “They’re not here to bring back Lightning Lad. What they’re chasing … is something far bigger.”
With 23 seconds to impact, the Legionnaries get ready while the League threatens. Michael leaps at Starman, but he’s protected by a force field. Old Flash is trying to vibrate through Dreamgirl’s, and at that moment, Dinah turns the fields off. Her thought balloon claims that Michael and Batman cooked up an override. Here’s the thing: her thought balloons are colored like the ones in the beginning, indicating she’s thinking in the beginning. That makes sense, but the first thought balloon, as I’ve mentioned, seems to elicit the response of “You’re sure?” from Dinah. Is she thinking that and then saying “You’re sure?” And why oh why do I have to fucking think so much to read a goddamned superhero comic book?
Anyway, Michael and Batman’s override doesn’t work, because the rings are “self-repairing.” Dreamgirl points out that Braniac 5 makes Hitler look like a petulant toddler, so stick it, Grandpa! The Legionnaire in Central City (who’s nameless so far) tells Green Lantern that “records say he saved your life too. Plenty of times.” Michael asks Batman if he wants to stop what’s happening. He tells Batman to find Karate Kid, who’s unaccounted for, and Starman says that they don’t understand Val’s power. Starman says Val finds weaknesses, and then he looks at a scrap of cloth in his hand. Apparently this is the part of Val’s costume with the tracer on it, because Val is not in the room, he’s in Blue Valley, USA, standing with his lightning rod up but his force field down. Oh dear. He says something Asian, but his whole look makes me think of Margaret Cho talking about David Carradine in Kung Fu: “That’s guy’s not Chinese.” Is he meant to be Asian, or just some gaijin who knows martial arts?
So it’s impact time. Val looks up as lightning comes toward his rod. He says, “Lightning Lad,” and gets zapped, but his force field is up. Wha-huh? Dinah sees “electromagnetic readings from here to Japan” and begs Jay, Karen, or Clark to tell her that was them. In Smallville, Superman stands over Jeckie, who is fading out while she cries for Val. All the Legionnaires disappear as Superman, Flash, and Power Girl show up at the impact spot. Green Lantern says to his fading Legionnaire that “he” had links to all the places they stood. He says, “You’re bringing back …” but then we turn the page, and in the crater created by the impact is Flash, a woman, and two children. The Flash takes his mask off and tells anyone who cares that he’s Wally West. Yay, Wally! Suddenly Val appears and tells “Brainy” to take him home. Superman tries to stop him, but he vanishes, telling Superman that someday he’ll understand. Wally tells his wife, Linda, that everyone is fine. Starman gives his ring to Mr. Terrific (Michael) so he won’t fade away like the others. At “the Fortress,” the Legionnaires are planning to head through a weirdly-lit door, presumably to return to the future. They all enter, but a silhouette tells Val he can’t go back, and for him, “the mission’s just beginning.” Dum-dum-duummmmm!!!!
Old Flash tells Wally that they “didn’t even have a funeral this time.” Nice to see death means nothing in the DCU. Wally says he “held on” even though it was so hard. Then Green Lantern and Red Arrow (isn’t that his name these days?) show up and there are hugs all around. In the future, Drake tells Brainiac 5 that Wally was “riding the lightning” and he saved his whole family. Brainiac 5 finds that “curious.” Superman is still grumpy and wants to talk to Starman, even though Power Girl tells him he has to trust the Legion that there’s a bigger picture. Batman obviously thought Barry Allen was coming back, while Starman says “Flash is back. Worlds will die again!” Meltzer is channeling Grant Morrison, and doing it poorly. Someone is running with Val (it’s a woman, I think, but she’s in shadow) and she asks how the lightning missed him, and he tells her he ducked. Finally, we reach the last page. Wally has already been accepted into the League, Power Girl and Black Canary shake hands and make promises that the two groups will get together again, and Brainiac 5 says, “All I really care about … is that we got who we wanted.” We see the tip of his lightning rod, and a ill-defined face in it. Who the hell is it? You know, who the hell really cares?
Now, you may question why I went into such detail about this comic. Well, if you didn’t read it, I wanted you to experience the pain I went through for the few minutes I devoted to reading this, plus the time I spent breaking it down. This is so bad it makes the final issue of Identity Crisis, which was awful, look like a Don DeLillo book. How is it that Meltzer has gotten worse at writing a comic book since then?
Let’s look at the obvious problem: there’s no villain. This is a crossover between the premier team of the DCU and one that for the past decade has been shoved down our throats even though they’re made up of geezers, plus the added bonus of having a bunch of heroes from the future, and they don’t fight anyone! I can’t speak for the rest of the crossover, so maybe they cleaned up the villain last issue and it turned out the villain was just a ruse, but this the climactic issue, and the closest we get to a fight is the tentacles at the beginning. What the crap? Added to this is the fact that the actual point of the issue is handled really poorly. The Legion comes back in time to bring someone back from the dead. The League thinks it’s Lightning Lad, but the clues in this issue point to Barry Allen. But really, it’s Wally. Fine. But why is the League fighting them? Why, even after they realize that they’re bringing someone back from the dead, do they try to stop them? Why is the Legion trying to deceive them in the first place? Why would Superman be so offended? “You can’t bring anyone back from the dead - dead means dead!” “Yeah, Superman, tell that to Doomsday.” I mean, why on earth is the entire issue devoted to two groups of superheroes trying to stop a third from bringing someone back from the dead? Meltzer doesn’t even give us a half-assed reason, like Superman saying, “I’ve tried this already, and it caused such a rift in the space-time continuum that I was arrested by the Time Police and made to watch the Peeping Tom scene from my movie* over and over until my eyes bled!” All we get is stupid half-sentences and people speculating about what’s going on and Brainiac 5 with a face in his rod. And it’s not like Meltzer tells us that the League expects it to be Barry, either. “Barry Allen” is never mentioned in the issue. We’re supposed to know, because haven’t we all read every DC comic ever published?
Why does it matter if the plot is godawful? This is the big superteam of DC, that’s why. If you’re going to use the Big Guns, you must have them fight someone. It’s not like this issue is chock full of character development, either. It shouldn’t need it, after all, but it doesn’t even go that route. I’m not sure if Meltzer is trying for that, but that’s why many members of the League have their own books, and some more than one. I hate to invoke the God of All Comics, but he understood that when he wrote JLA. He did a tiny bit of character development, but mainly it was about bigger-than-life threats that only the most powerful heroes in the DCU could stop. The Giffen/DeMatteis League doesn’t count, because that was specifically NOT the powerful heroes. But this League is full of big guns. They should be fighting BIG-TIME FUCKING BAD GUYS!
Okay, so the plot is inane. What about the writing itself? Well, it’s jumpy and clipped, as if Meltzer wants to be Bendis, but it’s not as good. Many people have commented on the annoying use of first names instead of superhero names, and it’s really, really annoying. I get that it’s a book that relies heavily on our prior knowledge of who these people are, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: superhero comics are not meant to be “realistic,” so dialogue as if it’s two old friends chatting doesn’t work, because there’s an audience. Therefore, the characters should call each other “Superman” and “Black Canary” occasionally, even if it feels forced. That’s the way it is. Meltzer doesn’t even try to explain what’s going on, why it’s going on, why we should care, or how it happens. Apparently we’re supposed to know what the Legion is doing based on one reprinted panel from a comic published before most people reading this were born. And it’s explained away because it’s “31st-century science.” God, that’s shitty writing. That’s all Meltzer does in this issue: make us rely on our knowledge of the characters to make emotional connections instead of trying to write a good emotional scene. When Wally returns, the only reason we feel any emotion is because we once read the series that starred Wally and we felt bad about what happened to him. I have no fucking clue what happened to Wally, and Meltzer doesn’t try to explain it or give me a reason why I should care that he’s back. Yes, in a shared universe you can rely on our past experiences with the characters a bit, but to completely rely on that to get an emotional response is just lazy.
I wanted to break down some of the nuts and bolts of the people in this thing. Here are the characters who appear in the book:
Stargirl. Black Canary. Red Tornado. Tasmanian Devil (is that the guy in panel 2, page 1?). Power Girl. Karate Kid. Dreamgirl. Some Wolverine knockoff (the guy who goes to Central City and never gets named). Superman. Batman. Dawnstar. Green Lantern. Hawkgirl. Hawkman. Starman. Red Arrow (or Arsenal?). Mr. Terrific. Old Flash (Jay Garrick). Sandman. Wildfire. Is that Hourman? Vixen. Sensor Girl. Wally West, Linda, and their kids. Brainiac 5. Some other random Legionnaire. The mysterious shadowy woman running with Karate Kid. The chick who asks Red Tornado if it’s always this kooky in the League. That’s 31 characters! Now, a lot of them appear on only one or two panels, but still.
Here are the characters with speaking parts in the book:
Black Canary. Tasmanian Devil. Power Girl. Dreamgirl. Superman. Sensor Girl. Dawnstar. Karate Kid. Wolverine knockoff. Wildfire. Starman. Old Flash. Mr. Terrific. Batman. Red Tornado. Green Lantern. Wally West. Linda. Red Arrow. Brainiac 5. Mysterious shadowy woman. Chick who wants to know if things are kooky all the time. That’s 22 people. Man, that’s a lot.
Finally, here are the people who are identified with their superhero names and their real names, plus the people who identify them:
Dinah (Power Girl, Superman). Sensor Girl/Jeckie (both Superman). Clark (Dinah’s caption box?, Power Girl, Sensor Girl). The Legion of Super-Heroes (Dinah’s caption box?). Dawnstar (omniscient narrator). Val/Karate Kid (Dawnstar, Sensor Girl, Michael for “Karate Kid”). Wildfire/Drake Burroughs (Val, Dawnstar for “Drake,” Brainiac 5 for “Burroughs”). Starman/Thom (both Val). Dreamgirl (Old Flash). Michael/Mr. Terrific (Batman, Starman for “Mr. Terrific”). John (Wildfire). Bruce (Dinah, Michael). Jay Garrick (Dinah, Wally, last name by Dreamgirl). Karen (Dinah). Wally West (Wally West). Hal Jordan (Wolverine knockoff). Linda (Wally). Brainiac 5 (Wildfire). So, 17 people of 31 are identified. 17 of 22 speaking parts, which isn’t that bad, I guess. None of the extras are identified. You’ll notice, however, that Dinah, Clark, John, Bruce, Jay Garrick, Karen, Wally West, and Hal Jordan are never identified by their superhero names. Yes, I realize that we should know who they are, but why is it so important to know their real names when it’s not that important to know their superhero names?
And then there’s the art. I can’t really say too much about it, because it’s just shitty early- to mid-1990s Image wannabe crap, which means we get weird figures and blurry computer effects and standard superhero art. I’m not sure why Benes is on DC’s flagship title, but it’s not overwhelmingly awful art. However, why do all his faces look exactly the same? All the men look like every other man, while all the women look like every other women. It’s bizarre. But that’s about all I can really rant about when it comes to the art.
I really, really apologize for going on so much about this horrible comic book. It has to be said, though: this sucks. It sucks worse than The Flash #13, because although that ended with a stupid death rather than a stupid resurrection, at least there was a villain that Bart defeated (sort of) before he got kicked to death. This has no bad guy, no big fight, no character development, no humor, no sense of grandeur, and no point beyond bringing a character back from the dead. It’s astonishing that this comic is DC’s best-selling comic. The only reason I can think of that is that people simply are desperate to see their favorite characters in a book together. That’s a terrible reason to buy a comic book. Okay, I can understand that people buy it for just that reason, but when it’s this bad, it automatically cancels any desire to see your favorite characters. These are your favorite characters written by someone who has no idea how to write a decent comic. It’s so offensive on so many levels that, unlike some other books I’ve tried and not liked (New Avengers, for instance), I can’t even figure out why anyone would buy this. I really can’t. There’s nothing at all remotely good about this comic book. People seem to be happy that Dwayne MacDuffie is taking over this comic soon. Let me tell you, they could drag a mental patient out of a drug-induced coma and he could write a better comic book than this. Dwayne MacDuffie must seem like the Second Coming to people who read this comic.
I know there are people out there who buy this. Well, I just can’t deal with that. Therefore, I am challenging the people who buy this: check out the list of comics I bought this week. Buy one of them, and read it. If you think JLA #10 is better, send me an e-mail at chlothar1@earthlink.net explaining why, in some detail. “I like the characters” is NOT a valid reason for thinking it’s better. To the FIRST FIVE PEOPLE who send me an e-mail with a good reason, I will send a check for the purchase price of the comic you bought, so let me know how much you spent (depending on discounts your comic store might give or the amount of sales tax; in Arizona a $2.99 comic costs $3.23 with the tax, for instance) and, of course, include your address. Remember: the first five people only - I’m not made of money! I will put this comic up against even The Flash #13 and X-Men: Endangered Species One-Shot. One exception: the two Warhammer books don’t count, because I didn’t buy those and I wouldn’t have read them if I didn’t get them for free. But that still leaves you with 15 comics that I will bet are better than Justice League of America #10.
Man, this is a bad comic. You know what? I don’t even know what this particular chapter is called, because I can’t read the title! Even the lettering in this issue sucks:
That’s just sad. “The Villain in the … Story,” I guess. So, will any of you readers get your money back after you’ve read a comic I recommend? I will post the defenses of this comic if any are decent! (And yes, I know it’s up to me whether your defense works, but I’ll try to be as impartial as I can. I promise!) Have fun!
* Note: I still haven’t seen Superman Returns.
114 Comments
Paperghost
June 23, 2007 at 10:34 pm
1. the art sucks.
2. if they were here to bring Wally back, couldn’t they have just *told* them that’s what they were here for and dispensed with all the gimpery?
3. Brad Meltzer should never be allowed near comics ever again, except maybe as a mission to go on EBay and check out stuff that’s actually good.
Dave
June 23, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Probably the best quote I’ve seen online applicable to Ed Benes’s artwork:
“Here, to illustrate my point about this man being a good artist, is a picture of a girl’s ass. Because, as a male on the Internet, the ability to recreate the Sistine Chapel from a fingerpaint set is a distant second to the ability of a hack artist to draw a girl’s ass. Thank you. God bless.”
Scavenger
June 23, 2007 at 11:43 pm
“tle villain is the lero of lis own story”
(they apparently don’t know how to do the lowercase h in Interlac which looks similar to the l, but is different)
I’m not sure that you don’t know who the characters are in the final part of a 5 part story is, is a valid complaint. They introduced the Legion in all of the previous issues, as well as the resurrection story…You have to bring a little to the reading,,they can’t recap everything.
That doesn’t excuse the comic from making no sense and being boring.
acespot
June 23, 2007 at 11:46 pm
Heh: “Brainiac 5 with a face in his rod”. Nice to know that at least SOMEBODY is getting some.
Sean Whitmore
June 23, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Ahhhh, THERE’S the happy ending!
I’ve had virtual blue balls for almost 24 hours. See if I ever ask for a “Burgas special” again.
acespot
June 23, 2007 at 11:50 pm
“They should be fighting BIG-TIME FUCKING BAD GUYS!”
From some of what Meltzer has been writing lately, they just want to do some BIG-TIME FUCKING. No bad guys, no fighting, just Sleez making Big Barda and Superman go at it - woops, sorry, different comic.
But seriously: Hawkgirl and Red Arrow? HawkMAN and Powergirl? Wonder Woman and Mister America? Liberty Belle and Hourman? Jeckie and everybody’s head? Meltzer and our anuses?
stealthwise
June 23, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Harsh, but fair. Good review.
SonTenks
June 23, 2007 at 11:53 pm
I think it’s “the villain is the hero IN his own story,” rather than of. Sorry to nitpick.
acespot
June 24, 2007 at 12:07 am
Maybe the reason that they never had a funeral for Wally was that he DIDN’T ACTUALLY DIE!!! He was just “lost in the Speed Force”, or living in an alternate reality, or some such nonsense - right? So, why all this (pardon my yiddish) narishkeit about bringing him back to life? And wouldn’t you need a body for that ANYWAYS?
BTW, it’s Timber Wolf, not Tasmanian Devil. A minor point which makes no difference whatsoever, at least in terms of the sheer inanity of this entire storyline, but still…
Hmmm…what could Meltzer be implying by stating that “The Villain is the Lero of Lis Own Story”? Other than the fact that he can’t spell for shit or has so much contempt for his audience that he doesn’t fucking care? Even if it were spelled correctly, would the title make ANY SENSE WHATSOEVER???!
Fuck you too, Meltzer.
acespot
June 24, 2007 at 12:10 am
Actually, it’s “the villian is tLe Lero of Lis own story.” An interlac “H” has a straight left edge, not a cut-out one.
FunkyGreenJerusalem
June 24, 2007 at 12:28 am
It’s always n ice to know that I’m not missing out on anything worthwhile by avoiding the books Marvel and DC really want us to buy.
LtMarvel
June 24, 2007 at 1:08 am
I guess the book isn’t written for whiny fanboys too lazy to bone up on DC history….
Quote:
They’re bringing someone back, and the last time they did it, somebody named Proty was sacrificed somehow. Wow, I’m glad it’s all clear now!
Of course, if the reviewer had only read an earlier chapter of the crossover…but no, that’s too much to expect. When I get my movie reviews, they should only review the last reel, right?
Quote:
He says something Asian, but his whole look makes me think of Margaret Cho talking about David Carradine in Kung Fu: “That’s guy’s not Chinese.” Is he meant to be Asian, or just some gaijin who knows martial arts?
Gee, a guy from the 31st century who studied (ancient) martial combat knows an Asian language…what is wrong with this reviewer?
Quote:
Old Flash tells Wally that they “didn’t even have a funeral this time.” Nice to see death means nothing in the DCU.
Snarky, they told Wally they knew he wasn’t dead and gone.
Quote:
And it’s not like Meltzer tells us that the League expects it to be Barry, either. “Barry Allen” is never mentioned in the issue.
Meltzer told me that two leaguers expected it to be Barry.
Quote:
If you’re going to use the Big Guns, you must have them fight someone.
Yeah…ok. I guess the reviewer must hate every Christmas story ever written….Or the Titans wedding issue…
Quote:
When Wally returns, the only reason we feel any emotion is because we once read the series that starred Wally and we felt bad about what happened to him. I have no f*&^ing clue what happened to Wally, and Meltzer doesn’t try to explain it or give me a reason why I should care that he’s back.
Too bad the reviewer has no empathy from the characters who are full of emotion when Wally returns. We don’t know what happened to Wally, either, but that is not the story. Oh, and the vulgarity? Not exactly smacking of professionalism.
I haven’t seen a review this bad since the People magazines review of Mars Attacks!
Linkara
June 24, 2007 at 1:12 am
Well, I picked up the entire crossover and while it was disappointing in some regards, there were parts I liked. I was confused because in a previous issue they seemed to be setting up for big villains coming - as I recall, Per Degaton, the Ultra-Humanite, and someone else I can’t recall off the top of my head were meeting together for some reason and it seemed like they would be the villains.
As for why they would want to stop them, the resurrection process requires one of the group to give up their own life in order for the other person to come back, as was explained in a previous issue in the crossover. In Legion continuity, the animal Proty gave up its life so Lightning Lad could come back. The JLA and JSA are trying to stop them because they don’t want one of them to sacrifice themselves. I’m sadly inclined to go with Batman on this one - if someone was trying to kill themself, even for a noble reason, wouldn’t you try to stop them?
That said, this was disappointing. Ah, well, I’m looking forward to JSA’s next storyline away from the JLA.
Yankee Jones
June 24, 2007 at 1:17 am
Well played.
This issue was incredible in its ability to be completely fucking awful.
Brad Meltzer is so bad, he makes me nostalgic for the days when Chuck Austen use to write comic books.
FunkyGreenJerusalem
June 24, 2007 at 2:54 am
Isn’t Wally a little pissed they didn’t try and find him then?
Paul Newell
June 24, 2007 at 3:07 am
Tell you a good way to piss off a Legion fan…Call Timber Wolf a “Wolverine knockoff” when it’s the other way around.
acespot
June 24, 2007 at 3:16 am
Well, Wildcat’s kid is certainly a Rahne knockoff.
mark question
June 24, 2007 at 5:00 am
“I guess the book isn’t written for whiny fanboys too lazy to bone up on DC history….”
Exactly. It was written for whiny fanboys that are obsessed with DC history and that is a HUGE part of the problem.
Gordon
June 24, 2007 at 5:27 am
Ah, but Greg, you forgot the not-very-cleverly-telegraphed-cliche twist at the end.
(And no, I didn’t buy this book - borrowed it from a friend. Never talking to that person. Ever. Again.)
Tom Fitzpatrick
June 24, 2007 at 5:45 am
Go ahead, Burgas, TELL us what you really think!
Don’t hold back, let it ALL out!
P.S. Haven’t read any of this relaunch series, except for the 1st issue which was sales gimmick to raise money for a charity or something.
PPS. I still miss Morrison’s JLA and Giffen’s JLI, those were the good ol’ days.
Beta Ray Steve
June 24, 2007 at 5:59 am
Benes did better work on Birds of Prey. Here he seems to be channeling Turner.
And this whole thing could have been avoided with a 5 minute chat with the Legionaires. It reminds me of the old days, when superteams met, they would be required to fight.
km
June 24, 2007 at 6:10 am
No kidding. LtMarvel, no offense, but you do realise you sound a little like a parody of yourself, right?
Even setting aside the limitations of a mass-market comic book so exclusively for the initiates…this book is just really, really poorly written and drawn. No way around it.
jccalhoun
June 24, 2007 at 6:46 am
The Wolverine knockoff actually came first…
Regardless, as a long time Legion fan this series just irritated me. Why? Because we are never told why they came back to the past. Nor are we told why it is this version of the Legion and not the current version that has their own series.
They can’t have come back to bring back Wally because why would the Legion care about Wally West? So we’ve read this whole 5 issue thing and what did we get? nothing. (They couldn’t even have the covers of JLA and JSA match to tell us that it was a crossover???)
So now we have Superman who was part of the Legion when he was younger (don’t you dare call him Superboy!) But Conner Kent was ALSO part of the Legion. Only it was a different Legion (that is also different than the version of the Legion Supergirl is in…). You would think that the fact that both Connor and Clark were in different version of the same team might have came up in conversation at some point but apparently not. Heaven forbid something actually happen or is actually discussed in the story…
TK
June 24, 2007 at 7:15 am
How to write a Brad Meltzer comic:
1) Create a series of events using as many characters as you can think of (these events do not have to be coherent or form what most people think of as a “plot”).
2) Write out a full script from the points of view of five to ten characters.
3) Randomly select 50% of the lines in the script and delete them.
4) Randomly select 50% of the remaining lines and replace the last few words with ” — ”
5) Sell to 100,000 people who can convince themselves that what you wrote makes sense.
Nirmal
June 24, 2007 at 7:30 am
I’ve been reading comics for a few years now, and I still have no idea what went on in this issue.
Ian
June 24, 2007 at 7:30 am
“And why oh why do I have to fucking think so much to read a goddamned superhero comic book?”
Ever think that maybe that isn’t the comic book or the writer’s fault but rather your own?
As someone who has only ever read a handful of DC comics, I was able to keep up just fine. Then again, I read the whole story instead of just the last issue.
Loren
June 24, 2007 at 7:47 am
I haven’t read any of the issues of this crossover, but I thought this point merited a possible defense.
This isn’t just a comic that relies on prior knowledge; it’s the final issue of a 5-issue story arc. It’s the opposite of a jumping-on point for a new reader. If the characters have been identified in earlier issues of the arc, is it really necessary to reiterate their superhero names in the final issue? Can’t Meltzer at least presume that most people reading Part 5 of “The Lightning Saga” read Part 1 or 3?
Dave
June 24, 2007 at 8:18 am
“I haven’t seen a review this bad since the People magazines review of Mars Attacks!”
Not that I remember the review, but Mars Attacks! was pretty indefensibly awful too.
Vincent Paul Bartilucci
June 24, 2007 at 8:37 am
To Paul Newell and jccalhoun, thank you!
“Wolverine knock-off” indeed. Not only does Brin (sorry Timber Wolf) predate Logan (you know who Logan is, right?) but he’d eat the little runt for breakfast.
Greg Burgas
June 24, 2007 at 8:41 am
It’s interesting how the criticisms of the review come down to: You don’t know who the characters are, ha ha! Nothing about whether the issue was, you know, any good.
Greg Burgas
June 24, 2007 at 8:43 am
Scavenger: The fact that I don’t know everyone didn’t really bother me ALL that much. It’s a minor complaint. I will point out, though, that at the beginning of each issue of Checkmate, we get head shots of the principals and their function. This was a complaint about the book, that it’s tough to tell who’s who, but that’s not an issue now.
As for the Timber Wolf thing … well, I apologize for not knowing that, but I’m still confused. Timber Wolf shows up in panel 3, page 1. So is the guy in panel 2, page 1, who sniffs the air and presumably realizes the Legion isn’t there, Tasmanian Devil? He’s not Timber Wolf, that’s for sure.
Greg Burgas
June 24, 2007 at 8:44 am
LtMarvel: That’s really my whole point. I guess I’m a whiny fanboy, but why should I have to “bone up” on history to read a comic book? That’s insane. Too often with Marvel and DC these days, that’s exactly the kind of book we get - something only the most die-hard initiate would really appreciate. As for your specific points:
Movies are different animals than comic books. Comics are released in single format. Therefore, it’s not too much to ask some coherence in each issue. Again, I don’t want a complete recap, but something would be nice.
I was just wondering if Val was supposed to be Asian or not. I honestly don’t know.
You write that “Meltzer told me that two Leaguers expect it to be Barry.” Do you mean he told you personally? I suppose you mean he implied it in the story. Sure he did. All I want to point out is that “Barry Allen” is never mentioned in the story.
Sorry for the profanity. Meltzer just brings it out of me!
Greg Burgas
June 24, 2007 at 8:44 am
I did take the whole “last part of a crossover” into consideration, Loren. My point is that nothing in this comic would make me want to go back and read the rest of the crossover, and that’s not good. I should want to run out and find out how we got to this point, but it’s just too boring for me to want to.
Greg Burgas
June 24, 2007 at 8:45 am
And hey, LtMarvel and Ian (and anyone else who thinks I was too harsh): That’s why I issued my challenge! Seriously, buy one of the books I bought and tell me why JLA is better. I’m certainly willing to listen to someone who has a reasonable argument about why this comic is decent. So fire up your own reviewing skills!
(Sorry for the many responses. I tried to do this all at once and it never let me post, for some reason. So I had to break it up.)
km
June 24, 2007 at 8:58 am
Speaking as someone whose main contact with comics is a quick browse at my local drugstore magazine rack…why should he? I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve picked up an interesting-looking book and been put off entirely by a lack of accessibility.
I’m not saying every tiny plot point should be accompanied by an asterisk…but a little ‘The Story So Far…”-type box at the front of each issue shouldn’t interfere with anyone’s enjoyment, and would probably greatly enhance it in at least some cases.
Mark Cook
June 24, 2007 at 9:02 am
The other guy who looks like he could be Tasmanian Devil is Wildcat, jr. Wildcat Ted Grant’s son.
Yeah. There are too many JSA characters who’s roles were way too minor to do all this without the little-floaty-head-cast list - which did show up in parts 1 and 4; plus part 2 did the whole “this is the first time this character has shown up in this chapter - here’s their logo!” deal.
(Although neither of the JSA mention the crossover on the cover. And one of the covers is of Damage, who didn’t do very much in this mess, although he had a character bit as “surly young man.” But that complaint probably belongs to another post entirely.)
Greg Hatcher
June 24, 2007 at 9:36 am
You can make a pretty damning case that this is the company philosophy at Marvel and DC. And why is that? Because this stuff sells. This is what makes me crazy. This incredibly bad comic is following the market.
By the way, I will indulge in a slight personal gratification here and say neener-neener to all those people who thought I was being unfair to that nice Brad Meltzer when I suggested that it was probably going to be an impenetrable, fans-only key club book, based on Justice League of America #0 and #1. Well, here you go. This what all you people yelling at me apparently wanted from a new Justice League book. Enjoy.
Now, if you don’t think that kind of book’s bad? Especially when there are so many just like it? Then… I got nothing. I have no argument I can make to people who don’t see why it’s a BAD THING that DC and Marvel’s superhero comics are so insular. I have yet to see an argument from any of them explaining why it’s good, other than, “I like comics like this. I don’t see a problem with them assuming I have all that fan knowledge at my fingertips.”)
I see this argument coming up several times in the replies, and may I just point out that in most every other form of serialized fiction there is ALWAYS a recap at the beginning of the new installment. Even lame ones like “Previously, on LOST….” (A show that has run into a similar confusion problem that they solved by putting together ACTUAL HOUR-LONG RECAP specials to run ahead of new episodes once in a while.)
Only an idiot expects everyone to be familiar with every single thing that has happened in previous installments. Sometimes even the REGULAR readers could use a reminder. Taking a page, or even a paragraph caption box, to do a recap is not some kind of crime.
Except in DC superhero comics, apparently. Even Marvel is doing recap pages now, but DC seems to think that is some kind of admission of failure. Which it is. I think the last time someone complained about this here at CSBG we were told, “that’s what the internet is for.”
Allow me to suggest, again, that if you need an encyclopedia, even a virtual one, so that people can figure out what is going on in your story, then you’re not doing a very good job of telling your story. I will hazard a guess that Meltzer’s novels are not written this way. Only superhero comics have this insane idea that “no new readers will ever show up, we might as well write them in such a way as to cater to our obsessive-compulsive aficionado readership.”
Look, I AM one of those guys. I could have easily explained to Greg what all the veiled references were. And I STILL think it’s crazy that DC’s flagship, summer-blockbuster extravaganza comic is written this way. Justice League is one of the most likely books for a reader new to DC comics to sample. Why in God’s name make it a members-only key club book?
Except, apparently, it sells… and I still can’t figure out why it sells so much BETTER than the other stuff out there. From what I can tell, even it you don’t need an index to read it… it’s still not very good.
I guess I have to file it under the same place I put things like reality television and Danielle Steel novels and other stuff that I think is awful, but a lot of people apparently like. But I do think a publisher that’s part of the Time-Warner publishing media would notice the difference in revenue between the DC comics characters in print and the ones in films and TV, and suggest to the publishing side that they try and open it up a little. Just for the sake of good business.
Greg Hatcher
June 24, 2007 at 9:41 am
Wups, typos. That was meant to say, “only an idiot WRITER” and “Time-Warner media empire.”
Rohan Williams
June 24, 2007 at 10:22 am
But Greg, don’t you think that the fact that the book does sell somewhat negates your criticism that DC isn’t doing things for the sake of good business?
I mean, I think it’s a terrible book- I stopped buying it just before the last part of the first arc, because even though I had all the other parts, I just didn’t care how it ended- but I don’t think that because of how it might hypothetically be recieved by new audiences, or how it factors into DC’s business plan, or any number of things that I don’t really know anything about.
So yeah, I think we can just agree that it’s a bad book, but if it sells, I don’t see how it makes sense to criticise DC’s business sense.
Jacob T. Levy
June 24, 2007 at 10:26 am
Only superhero comics have this insane idea that “no new readers will ever show up, we might as well write them in such a way as to cater to our obsessive-compulsive aficionado readership.”
er… ever tried to enter a series of fantasy novels halfway through? Wheel of Time, say?
I’m not saying it’s a good strategy. But it’s not my main objection to Meltzer’s JLA. v.1 of Johns’ JSA was just as dependent on existing knowledge… but it was really, really well-written.
In addition, when Johns did continuity porn, he actually got the continuity right, and often he left stuff clearer than it was when he found it. Meltzer does nostalgia porn, not continuity porn– it’s written for people who get the warm fuzzies by having their childhood memories invoked, but who don’t really care whether the story makes sense in shared-universe terms. You might need wikipedia to know who’s who in a Meltzer story, but the more wikipedia entries you’ll read, the more you’ll say, “uh, when exactly did Hawkgirl and Batman or Black Lightning and Superman get to be on a first-name basis? and when exactly did Power Girl have a spare six months to spend on Thanagar? and…”
Rohan Williams
June 24, 2007 at 10:27 am
That last comment was meant for Greg Hatcher, btw. Although I guess it applies to Greg Burgas’ article, too.
Since I’m commenting again anyway, I may as well point out that casual comics readers that I loaned the first couple of issues to (partly because I didn’t think they were that bad yet, partly as an experiment) actually liked them more than I did. What’s up with that?
I get that Meltzer (or Brad, as his dialogue indicates he’d prefer to be called) is a popular writer, and that the first couple of issues dealt with themes of love and friendship that I figured would appeal to non-comics folks. But seriously, what are new readers seeing in the issues after that?
Paperghost
June 24, 2007 at 10:38 am
“But seriously, what are new readers seeing in the issues after that?”
Waiting for Batman and Hal to totally do it?
Matt
June 24, 2007 at 10:48 am
Although neither of the JSA mention the crossover on the cover. And one of the covers is of Damage, who didn’t do very much in this mess, although he had a character bit as “surly young man.” But that complaint probably belongs to another post entirely.
You know, I have a feeling this has something to do with Alex Ross being a douchebag about his art.
For a long while I’ve wondered why DC hasn’t gone the Marvel route and started putting in recap pages at the beginning of their books. I suppose, as Greg said, this would be seen as an admission of guilt, but I honestly have no idea why. Every book is someone’s first, and when you have a book that comes out monthly and is occasionally delayed, someimes even people who have kept up so far need a refresher. Add to the fact that DC’s continuity and history is potentially FAR more confusing than Marvel’s, and it really just looks like the folks over there are being silly.
-M
Loren
June 24, 2007 at 11:01 am
You’re not imagining things. PG did, in fact, get a breast reduction on the cover. Here is a composite, that shows just how much smaller they got.
Greg Burgas
June 24, 2007 at 12:03 pm
I forgot to make another point to LtMarvel, that I don’t like Christmas stories or wedding issues: I have no problem with them, and fondly remember many that have been very good. However, this story is set up as a big crossover, and Meltzer DOESN’T give us the kind of character development that we expect with quieter issues. If it said on the cover: “Big Christmas Issue!” then I would expect it to have the heroes sitting around getting to know each other, and not have a big fight. Meltzer fails to deliver on the promise of a big crossover between DC’s two big superteams AND fails to give us any character insight.
Loren
June 24, 2007 at 12:09 pm
I know, and that’s why I didn’t speak to the merits of any other aspects of the issue, but rather directed my comment solely at the complaint about names. You and Greg made it into something broader.
I agree with you and Greg about recapping and making an issue worthwhile for a new reader. In this instance, Meltzer should have done that if for no other reason than because his readers may not have read the JSA installments of the arc.
But if someone’s going to pick up a copy of JLA, which is clearly advertised as the concluding issue of a story arc, I think it’s a weak complaint that Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash are called by their civilian names. I think Meltzer can fairly expect that his readers should be able to recognize Superman, Batman, GL and the Flash. These are marquee characters, after all. On the other hand, I agree that someone like Wildfire should absolutely be called by his hero name. Heck, even his Wikipedia entry doesn’t call him “John.”
If the issue didn’t have it (and I presume it didn’t), the easy solution to this problem is an old-fashioned roll call at the issue’s start. That way the dialogue remains unencumbered, but the reader can easily discern who’s who.
Bill Reed
June 24, 2007 at 12:22 pm
I’m so glad you wrote this, Greg, so that I did not have to.
JLA sucks, yes. And so does JSA. DC publishes several good-to-great comics, but they also publish some terrible ones.
The Mutt
June 24, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I must confess that I buy JLA because I’ve always bought JLA. It’s a way to keep up with a bunch of heroes that I care about, but not enough to buy their books. I have dropped it a few times over the decades, but seriously, hasn’t JLA pretty much always been a crappy comic interupted by short spurts of quality?
Trent
June 24, 2007 at 12:32 pm
“But Greg, don’t you think that the fact that the book does sell somewhat negates your criticism that DC isn’t doing things for the sake of good business?”
If a TV show had only 100,000 viewers, it would be canceled before the first commercial. A movie with 100,000 viewers wouldn’t come close to cracking the top ten. Greg isn’t saying this comic isn’t selling to comic fans (although he and others aren’t sure why it is), he’s saying that if the entire process weren’t so insular, maybe comics would sell in the millions.
Vincent Paul Bartilucci
June 24, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Of course the comic sucked. Poor writing and generic art, sure. But for the fact that I got to see the cool Cockrum / Grell versions of Karate Kid, Timber Wolf, et al I wouldn’t have bought the darn thing.
But, I’m an old-time Legion fan so I focus on the Timber Wolf slight instead of, y’know, your point.
Alan Coil
June 24, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Greg Hatcher wrote:
“I see this argument coming up several times in the replies, and may I just point out that in most every other form of serialized fiction there is ALWAYS a recap at the beginning of the new installment. Even lame ones like “Previously, on LOST….””
—–
I’ve never needed those updates. I also never watch the “scenes from upcoming episodes”.
If you need to ‘retell’ your previous scenes every week, then you don’t have a very memorable show. If the consumer is too lazy (or too dumb) to remember what has happened before, then you don’t need them. (The comment about too dumb is not a shot at anybody in particular. A friend is reported to have said that she didn’t want to have to work so hard to remember long storylines. Fine. Go read Dick and Jane again.)
==========
“It was okay for what it was.”—2 identical reviews from friends this week of FF2.
I enjoyed this story “for what it was”, which is that it was a Brad Meltzer story. I have never been overly enthusiastic about his stories nor been a hater.
It sometimes feels as if pages were dropped. Maybe there was enough story to be 4 issues and stuff was added to fill, or enough story for 6 issues and stuff deleted. Don’t know how to explain it better.
Random Stranger
June 24, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I thought that the plot was strong; a time traveling Legion trying to catch the lightning and today’s heroes trying to stop them from killing themselves. That’s a good hook and a writer with any skill could turn that into a fascinating comic.
Meltzer is not a writer with any skill.
The book is even more incoherent than the review makes it out to be. Actions don’t follow logically, events just happen with no rhyme or reason. There’s no dialog supporting the story structure; people just kind of make small talk. And by relying on reader’s knowledge of old continuity to carry plot points rather than putting things in the text the story just becomes more confusing as it doesn’t really mesh up well with that old continuity.
The Mad Monkey
June 24, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I freely and fully admit that JLA 10 was not the best comic in the world. It was quite far from it.
But, that does not excuse this poorly thought out review.
I couldn’t even finish reading it because too much time was spent on how much Greg had no clue who many of the characters were. The whole review became just a mess of “I assume this is” and “I don’t know who that is”, which did nothing more for me than turn me off of reading it.
I’ve spent over 30 years of my life reading/collecting/cataloguing comic books and I’ll admit that I certainly don’t know every single character that has graced the hallowed pages of DC and Marvel. But, at least I would have the common sense to make sure I knew what I was talking about before I wrote up a column spotlighting the fact that I don’t. Research is a value tool and it really should have been used here. A check on Wikipedia, asking a comic shop employee, looking through other comic book…all fine examples of responsible researching. None of which seem to be done here at all.
Badly produced comic book…badly produced review.
Hmmm…I guess it all does work out in the end.
km
June 24, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Well, yes, you do. Primarily because you’re trying to make money off the product you’re offering them. However annoying it may be aesthetically (and, as various indie movements attest, it can be plenty annoying) keeping the audience happy is the occupational hazard of any commercial artist.
At that, I’m not sure being unable to keep the covolutions of, say, a “Lost” storyline in mind is necessarily a symptom of mental laziness. TV and comics aren’t exactly designed to seriously challenge the cranium, after all. They’re meant as lighthearted entertainment, escapism.
It simply shouldn’t be necessary to be that deeply involved in a fictional universe in order for it to be enjoyable. I’m all for originality, but there’s something to be said for good, solid old-fashioned storytelling, too.
Bill Reed
June 24, 2007 at 3:39 pm
I’m afraid you missed the point of the post.
For a story to function as a story, it has to introduce the characters and take them through an actual plot that is resolved and have at least one or two characters change in some way. Yes, even in serialized fiction. Meltzer does not know how to write a story.
Greg Hatcher
June 24, 2007 at 3:48 pm
If you are not interested in ever adding to your audience, but only want to tell stories to your hardcore faithful, then no, I guess you don’t need recaps. You got me there.
Ian
June 24, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I’m not aware of your list of weekly comics so I guess I can’t really comment about what might be worse.
I also have to admit that I thought this was a “worst comic ever” type thing, than just ‘of the week’.
However, with as many poor and average comics that are actually released every week, I don’t think I can agree that this issue is neccesarily the worst. The majority of your complaints seem to be ones that are on a more corporate or policy level than anything in the story (or not in the story) when I think there are probably comics that came out this week that had even worse stories, worse art, and no redeeming value. Personally, I would say this week’s Countdown was worse, but I don’t remember enough of it to offer a full review.
sterg
June 24, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Do single issue recaps help bring in the “casual fan”? I mean, I appreciate them, but aren’t most single comic books only to be found in comic shops any way? From what I know from the various local comic shops I have frequented in my day, they don’t get too many “hey I just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I’d look at a comic book” people coming in. Comic book shops are destination places, and their main customers are comic book fans, no matter what publishers have attempted with certain “event books” or specific media tie-ins. The comic shop audience is largely limited, so there’s not much hope for growth potential in those. The publishers already have us there, and other potential readers are unlikely to just pop in and check things out.
I think that Brad’s JLA is simply a by-product of the whole “single issues just exist for making a trade paperback” mentality. I think trades are what publishers look at as being the real potential draws for new customers. Those are in bookstores and will be more likely to draw in a typical non-comic book reader, I figure. I bet the story (which I agree with Greg was really sub-par) holds up better when compiled (I can’t imagine it could get worse). So, I guess my point is, yeah, as a single issue this comic wouldn’t help draw in a read who has never seen a comic before. But in trade form in a bookstore somewhere, with someone who has seen Superfriends or JLU and might be intrigued to pop the book open, maybe it will.
That’s why I more often than not wait for trades to come out. A lot of comics just don’t hold together for me when I try to read them after a month lag time.
Anderson
June 24, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Yeah, bring back Chuck Austen! He knows how to write damn good stories !!!!!!!!!!!
Biggie
June 24, 2007 at 5:30 pm
” It’s astonishing that this comic is DC’s best-selling comic. The only reason I can think of that is that people simply are desperate to see their favorite characters in a book together.”
I can think of a another reason: they enjoy the book.
John Seavey
June 24, 2007 at 5:33 pm
The Mad Monkey said:
“Research is a value tool and it really should have been used here. A check on Wikipedia, asking a comic shop employee, looking through other comic book…all fine examples of responsible researching. None of which seem to be done here at all.”
And nor should they have to be. If you include so little exposition within your actual story that someone has to check a website, consult an expert, and do research of historical sources simply to understand the basic plot and distinguish the characters, you’ve failed at telling your story. Exposition is a vital skill utterly lost to modern comics writers, and it’s a big part of why comics are failing–to a casual fan, this is incoherent gibberish. (And unlike Greg, I don’t confine my blame to Brad Meltzer. This passed through a lot of seasoned, professional hands with a lot more experience in the medium than Meltzer, at least one of them could have said, “You have to cut down on the unattributed captions, they’re confusing as hell.” But for some reason, they didn’t.)
And sterg said:
“Do single issue recaps help bring in the “casual fan”? I mean, I appreciate them, but aren’t most single comic books only to be found in comic shops any way? From what I know from the various local comic shops I have frequented in my day, they don’t get too many “hey I just happened to be in the neighborhood an