This is one of those books I have read for my book group, so I'm only going to delve into one aspect of it.
I know the story of how Tolkien decided to write a prequel to The Lord of the Rings for his children, but I only ever heard that after I last read The Hobbit, which was, admittedly, nearly 30 years ago. So I was surprised to find out how much of a "young adult" novel it really is
Tolkien's narrator is a whimsical character, directly hinting to his reader of events to come rather than using foreshadowing. I wonder if this is where Guy Gavriel Kay picked up the pattern, since he uses it repeatedly in his own works and worked with Christopher Tolkien on the elder Tolkien's notebooks. These explicit hints act as a salve to a worried reader's mind, letting him know that all will be well with the characters in question, just as Tolkien would have as he reportedly told the story to his son as he was preparing to sleep.
There is no violence in the story at all, which is far and away from where high fantasy has gotten to now. Even when characters die, they die off-screen or, at the very least, very calmly. Thorin dies after admitting that he was wrong in his treatment of Bilbo and Fili and Kili's deaths are not to be seen. Even the three trolls, with the whimsical names of Tom, Bert, and William, are not killed so muchas turned to stone from which they could supposedly be brought back once they recognize the error of their ways. Sure, Smaug destroys Laketown, but that's okay since the events of the book lead it to be rebuilt better than it hand been for years. But even the battles in the War of the Five Armies are particularly bloodless, at least in their descriptions.
But I really didn't expect to rediscover just how funny the book is. Between the narrator's asides and the ridiculous situations the party finds themselves in, the book is filled with comic moments. Even the daring escape from the Elven king's halls is muted somewhat by the repeated struggles Bilbo has trying to stay atop the rolling barrels in the river. I seem to recall having a hard time starting Fellowship of the Ring and as I look back, I would guess because it is far more humorless and much more scary than its prequel.
I'm reminded of the two attempts to animate these stories.The Hobbit was done by Rankin/Bass, the folks who brought you most of the beloved Christmas shows like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Bilbo looked not so much like a short human as he did Mr. Frog from Wind in the Willows with white skin, clothes, and hairy toes. Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, was rotoscoped, so that actors were filmed and animated over by the studios of Ralph Bakshi. The sharp contrasts in the styles used to portray the stories is illustrative of the tremendous difference between them.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Comic musings for 21 March
I don't have something really pithy to stay as I start out, so let's just dig in.
Spoilers ho!
Birds of Prey 104 -- That Gail Simone, she rocks.
Villains United and Secrret Six were two of my favorite mini-series of the past couple of years, and she has just been kicking major butt after tiaking over Birds of Prey. So it's only natural that Secret Six would come together with Birds of Prey. The cover does a very cool sort of flip-book thing to make sure you know it is coming, and then the action doesn't stop.
Nicola Scott does a fine job of nailing the action as well as the quiet scenes, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite current artists. Each character has its own look and personality which dramatically complements Simone's writing. Simone excels at giving each character its own voice, and the part of the joy that comes from this book comes from seeing how the individuals interact to become a team (or in this case, teams). Of course, all team books strive for this sort of interaction, but I don't know if anyone is nailing it so perfectly at each chance as Simone is now.
The Birds are sent on a mission by their new "leader," Spysmasher, ordered to recover some sort of technology from an Azerbaijani general. Unfortunately, it turns out that the artifact is guarded by the Secret Six (of whom we only see five...), and soon the teams are at loggerheads. Before the fists start flying however, Catman and Huntress flirt with one another, a scene which involves licking and meatballs in some hilarious dialogue and interaction. When the artifact is revealed, it turns out to be one of the old Rocket Red suits. And when the Birds seem to get away from their Secret pursuers, they realize it seems to be a bit heavier than they would have expected. They open it to discover Ice Maiden inside, and in a bit of news to the old JLI fans...she's still alive. This is all good fanboyish stuff, all held together well by Simone's and Scott's skill.
But my favorite scene in the entire book is when Oracle considers the make-up of the team, wondering why Black Canary had to leave to take care of her new foster daughter but immediately joins the Justice League when asked. Usually when a team change is made like that, it is just handled as a fait accompli in the donating and recipient books, but Simone points out that these people have feelings and Babs feels betrayed by Dinah's actions. I hope that this little plot point gets more fully explored.
Supergirl 15 -- At last, an issue that works more than not. And so, I'm probably more excited by this issue than I have by the last 14. We finally discover the source of Powerboy's ...power..., he feeds off the emotions of the people around him. The stronger the emotion, the more powerful he is. And it turns out that the old axiom is true, you can take the boy out of Apokolips, but you can't take Apokolips out of the Boy. So when Supergirl adn Powerboy begin having one of those spats that teenagers who care about each other sometimes have, things get out of hand very quickly.
Honestly, I like the concept and the power is not one I remember anywhere else. But it took so darned long to get to this point, that I was on the verge of not giving a rat's patootie what it was about. This issue saved me keeping the book on my pull-list, and that's also in no small part because Ian Churchill seems to have matured beyond his Image drawing roots.The work remains stylish, but controlled, and proportions seem better than they gave been in previous issues. Honestly, though, I've read the last few issues of this quickly, trying to get by the poor writing in them, that Churchill may have been this good all along and I just didn't have the time to notice it.
However, I am totally befuddled by the appearance of Felix Faust, given the recent events of 52. We'll have to see how this plays out.
Aquaman 50 -- I know, I know. I wrote about this title when its last issue came out, but this issue is a little anomalous. The writing and art team have completely turned over, so writer Tad Williams and artist Shawn McManus are given an over-sized issue 50 to kick off their work. But they also have to build on the strange story that the former team had been telling--strange in that the Aquaman we have known and loved is now the Cthulhu-ish Dweller, there is a new Arthur Curry who has a lot of the same look and feel as the old Arthur Curry, and Atlantis got stomped and its former inhabitants are scattered. The last few issues under Busiek have fel like fill-in stories, perhaps in order for Willaims to be able to start telling his own story rather than picking up the middle of an arc begun by someone else. And yet Williams takes this opportunity to tie the stories of the old team to his own in a fashion not often seen in comics, where such hand-offs happen often. Williams deftly unites the two different threads, introducing his focal characters and escorting Busiek's off the stage.
But it's one of those "key issues": something big always happens at issue 50, yes? A new villain is introduced, Narwhal, and he is astonishingly powerful, with hints we should recognize him from elsewhere (my money is on Koryak). And of course, someone has to die. Unfortunately, that someone appeasrs to be Dweller, our former Aquaman for deacdes now. We'll have to see how this one plays out, but I throughly enjoyed the introduction of another old/new character, the re-imagined Topo. No longer an octopus, Topo is another Cthulhid, or as he calls himself coleoidiform (he's human but with a squid for a head). I suppose you can only have so many squids as recurring characters in a comic.
McManus's art is all that I hoped it would be and I further hope he has a long run on the title. And Williams has made a good if controversial start. He has laid out the threads he will be pulling on later and I'll be hanging out for this ride for a while.
And now some notes:
DC has announced that Booster Gold and Infinity, Inc., starring John Henry Irons are going to be ongoing series. Strangely, Geoff Johns was too busy to stayon Teen Titans but he is going t o be on Booster Gold. Now I know how Babs felt when Black Canary joined the Justice League. We'll have to see where Booster ends up at the end of 52 to get an idea of how this is going to play out, but I'm not altogether sure he can support his own title without being a humor-based book. Unfortunately, Infinity, Inc. doesn't even have humor to fall back on, and given the angst lobbed at the new Infinitors in the pages of 52, I don't know how this one is going to last more than ten issues. And bear in mind, I loved the original Infonty Inc. I bet this one wion't create any characters that are as long-lasting as Mr. Bones....
Spoilers ho!
Birds of Prey 104 -- That Gail Simone, she rocks.
Villains United and Secrret Six were two of my favorite mini-series of the past couple of years, and she has just been kicking major butt after tiaking over Birds of Prey. So it's only natural that Secret Six would come together with Birds of Prey. The cover does a very cool sort of flip-book thing to make sure you know it is coming, and then the action doesn't stop.
Nicola Scott does a fine job of nailing the action as well as the quiet scenes, and is quickly becoming one of my favorite current artists. Each character has its own look and personality which dramatically complements Simone's writing. Simone excels at giving each character its own voice, and the part of the joy that comes from this book comes from seeing how the individuals interact to become a team (or in this case, teams). Of course, all team books strive for this sort of interaction, but I don't know if anyone is nailing it so perfectly at each chance as Simone is now.
The Birds are sent on a mission by their new "leader," Spysmasher, ordered to recover some sort of technology from an Azerbaijani general. Unfortunately, it turns out that the artifact is guarded by the Secret Six (of whom we only see five...), and soon the teams are at loggerheads. Before the fists start flying however, Catman and Huntress flirt with one another, a scene which involves licking and meatballs in some hilarious dialogue and interaction. When the artifact is revealed, it turns out to be one of the old Rocket Red suits. And when the Birds seem to get away from their Secret pursuers, they realize it seems to be a bit heavier than they would have expected. They open it to discover Ice Maiden inside, and in a bit of news to the old JLI fans...she's still alive. This is all good fanboyish stuff, all held together well by Simone's and Scott's skill.
But my favorite scene in the entire book is when Oracle considers the make-up of the team, wondering why Black Canary had to leave to take care of her new foster daughter but immediately joins the Justice League when asked. Usually when a team change is made like that, it is just handled as a fait accompli in the donating and recipient books, but Simone points out that these people have feelings and Babs feels betrayed by Dinah's actions. I hope that this little plot point gets more fully explored.
Supergirl 15 -- At last, an issue that works more than not. And so, I'm probably more excited by this issue than I have by the last 14. We finally discover the source of Powerboy's ...power..., he feeds off the emotions of the people around him. The stronger the emotion, the more powerful he is. And it turns out that the old axiom is true, you can take the boy out of Apokolips, but you can't take Apokolips out of the Boy. So when Supergirl adn Powerboy begin having one of those spats that teenagers who care about each other sometimes have, things get out of hand very quickly.
Honestly, I like the concept and the power is not one I remember anywhere else. But it took so darned long to get to this point, that I was on the verge of not giving a rat's patootie what it was about. This issue saved me keeping the book on my pull-list, and that's also in no small part because Ian Churchill seems to have matured beyond his Image drawing roots.The work remains stylish, but controlled, and proportions seem better than they gave been in previous issues. Honestly, though, I've read the last few issues of this quickly, trying to get by the poor writing in them, that Churchill may have been this good all along and I just didn't have the time to notice it.
However, I am totally befuddled by the appearance of Felix Faust, given the recent events of 52. We'll have to see how this plays out.
Aquaman 50 -- I know, I know. I wrote about this title when its last issue came out, but this issue is a little anomalous. The writing and art team have completely turned over, so writer Tad Williams and artist Shawn McManus are given an over-sized issue 50 to kick off their work. But they also have to build on the strange story that the former team had been telling--strange in that the Aquaman we have known and loved is now the Cthulhu-ish Dweller, there is a new Arthur Curry who has a lot of the same look and feel as the old Arthur Curry, and Atlantis got stomped and its former inhabitants are scattered. The last few issues under Busiek have fel like fill-in stories, perhaps in order for Willaims to be able to start telling his own story rather than picking up the middle of an arc begun by someone else. And yet Williams takes this opportunity to tie the stories of the old team to his own in a fashion not often seen in comics, where such hand-offs happen often. Williams deftly unites the two different threads, introducing his focal characters and escorting Busiek's off the stage.
But it's one of those "key issues": something big always happens at issue 50, yes? A new villain is introduced, Narwhal, and he is astonishingly powerful, with hints we should recognize him from elsewhere (my money is on Koryak). And of course, someone has to die. Unfortunately, that someone appeasrs to be Dweller, our former Aquaman for deacdes now. We'll have to see how this one plays out, but I throughly enjoyed the introduction of another old/new character, the re-imagined Topo. No longer an octopus, Topo is another Cthulhid, or as he calls himself coleoidiform (he's human but with a squid for a head). I suppose you can only have so many squids as recurring characters in a comic.
McManus's art is all that I hoped it would be and I further hope he has a long run on the title. And Williams has made a good if controversial start. He has laid out the threads he will be pulling on later and I'll be hanging out for this ride for a while.
And now some notes:
DC has announced that Booster Gold and Infinity, Inc., starring John Henry Irons are going to be ongoing series. Strangely, Geoff Johns was too busy to stayon Teen Titans but he is going t o be on Booster Gold. Now I know how Babs felt when Black Canary joined the Justice League. We'll have to see where Booster ends up at the end of 52 to get an idea of how this is going to play out, but I'm not altogether sure he can support his own title without being a humor-based book. Unfortunately, Infinity, Inc. doesn't even have humor to fall back on, and given the angst lobbed at the new Infinitors in the pages of 52, I don't know how this one is going to last more than ten issues. And bear in mind, I loved the original Infonty Inc. I bet this one wion't create any characters that are as long-lasting as Mr. Bones....
Friday, March 23, 2007
300
I suppose there should be a caveat here regarding my history with 300. I read the original comic series when it came out, high off of repeated mini-series from Sin City (and isn't it odd how a comic series is now referred to as a "graphic novel," as if giving it a frillier name than "comic book" somehow makes up for its shoddy parentage?). I remember being somewhat disappointed in it because it *wasn't* Sin City; I felt it lacked the action and powerful story-telling of Sin City and I was too disappointed to try to work through all its nuance. I haven't read it since, though according to my database it's still in storage. I had seen the trailers and the commercials, and I knew that bringing Miller's story-telling to the screen could really work. So I was looking forward to 300, despite my misgivings about the style.
Truth be told, I walked away from the theater feeling a little non-plussed. Through no fault of the filmmakers, most of the way cool action scenes were given away in those same trailers and commercials. The best effects of the rest of the battle scenes is their being shot in ultra-slow motion, with a little bullet-time effect. So we must fall back on the characters and their story which, to no surprise, are a little two-dimensional. The Spartans are braggarts, with little emotion beyond loyalty to King Leonidas and each other. Only Leonidas himself is portrayed outside of battle; we see him with his wife and son, expressing love to them that he cannot openly profess lest his soldierly mien is destroyed. The Spartans march, then they fight, and at the end of the fight, if they are not dead, they laugh about the fighting. Repeat. And we want them to win, especially when they are doubly betrayed. But this is based more on them being the narrator and protagonists than any sort of fellow-feeling we could muster.
So the only emotionally engaging part of the story falls to Queen Gorgo, who watches her husband leave while fearing he may never return. Her love is also tied to her patriotism for Sparta--she believes her husband is right in his battle and so she must convince the elders of Sparta to send her husband more support. She finds herself engaged in a political battle, a role that women did not generally share in Spartan life, and must determine how much she will sacrifice to get her husband home alive. Ultimately, she sacrifices her personal honor to Theron, the traitor within Sparta herself. As they confront each other, she slashes at him with a sword, spilling forth the gold he carries, gold with the likeness of Xerxes, king of the Persians on it.
I look back at what I have written so far and realize that I have synopsized the movie more than reviewed it. But that is the peril of this film--it is highly stylized and engaging, but it is also very shallow. I have read a number of reports since its release regarding how it is being interpreted--neocons see it as an allegory about President Bush (I'm not sure if he is the King who dies to stop a much more numerous foe, or if he is the corrupt king who cannot defeat a much smaller foe) and the Western world versus Iran, but I can only assume that the people making these claims either did not see the movie or are willfully ignoring aspects of it that argue against their stance. The movie just doesn't have that much philosophy behind it to merit such deep readings. If I were a practitioner of bad metaphors, I would say the movie is like Chinese food: tasty as you eat it, but when you leave the restaurant you realize you want more. Fortunately, I don't do bad metaphors.
I'm sure there will be some Oscar nominations for this movie--make-up, cinematography, and original score seem likely. But the major categories hold no hope for the film. And again, it is a fine film for an afternoon escape. Just don't expect more of it than it can deliver.
Truth be told, I walked away from the theater feeling a little non-plussed. Through no fault of the filmmakers, most of the way cool action scenes were given away in those same trailers and commercials. The best effects of the rest of the battle scenes is their being shot in ultra-slow motion, with a little bullet-time effect. So we must fall back on the characters and their story which, to no surprise, are a little two-dimensional. The Spartans are braggarts, with little emotion beyond loyalty to King Leonidas and each other. Only Leonidas himself is portrayed outside of battle; we see him with his wife and son, expressing love to them that he cannot openly profess lest his soldierly mien is destroyed. The Spartans march, then they fight, and at the end of the fight, if they are not dead, they laugh about the fighting. Repeat. And we want them to win, especially when they are doubly betrayed. But this is based more on them being the narrator and protagonists than any sort of fellow-feeling we could muster.
So the only emotionally engaging part of the story falls to Queen Gorgo, who watches her husband leave while fearing he may never return. Her love is also tied to her patriotism for Sparta--she believes her husband is right in his battle and so she must convince the elders of Sparta to send her husband more support. She finds herself engaged in a political battle, a role that women did not generally share in Spartan life, and must determine how much she will sacrifice to get her husband home alive. Ultimately, she sacrifices her personal honor to Theron, the traitor within Sparta herself. As they confront each other, she slashes at him with a sword, spilling forth the gold he carries, gold with the likeness of Xerxes, king of the Persians on it.
I look back at what I have written so far and realize that I have synopsized the movie more than reviewed it. But that is the peril of this film--it is highly stylized and engaging, but it is also very shallow. I have read a number of reports since its release regarding how it is being interpreted--neocons see it as an allegory about President Bush (I'm not sure if he is the King who dies to stop a much more numerous foe, or if he is the corrupt king who cannot defeat a much smaller foe) and the Western world versus Iran, but I can only assume that the people making these claims either did not see the movie or are willfully ignoring aspects of it that argue against their stance. The movie just doesn't have that much philosophy behind it to merit such deep readings. If I were a practitioner of bad metaphors, I would say the movie is like Chinese food: tasty as you eat it, but when you leave the restaurant you realize you want more. Fortunately, I don't do bad metaphors.
I'm sure there will be some Oscar nominations for this movie--make-up, cinematography, and original score seem likely. But the major categories hold no hope for the film. And again, it is a fine film for an afternoon escape. Just don't expect more of it than it can deliver.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Comic musings for 14 March
Wow, it's been a while since I last wrote. Sorry about that. We had a trip to Atlanta and then a houseguest...just been very busy. And the novel reading is going slowly right now as well. I'll try to make it up to you with a particularly piquant blog for today.
Spoilers ho!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1 -- Let me get this out right in front; I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan. Good lord, I'm reading Astonishing X-Men just for him. I find his stories to be honest and his dialogue sincere and "real life-y", if you can imagine an adjective to describe how people who find themselves in the ridiculous scenarios that comic characters and TV shows put them in would really talk.
So, I was excited that "Buffy Season 8" was going to be coming out, because I followed the show and was interested in where the story would go after the big series-ending episode (more interested in what happens to Angel actually, since that episode was not intended to end the series, but one takes what one can get). If there's any doubt that the elements of the TV story might be missing, the first two pages take set the pitch-perfect tone, when Buffy says "The thing about changing the world...once you do it, the world's all different. Everyone call me 'ma'am these days." Immediately, Buffy's place and voice are clear--the world-saver who has more trouble dealing with personal issues than global. The rest of this first issue offers the same promise: Xander trades comic book jokes with a Slayer, Dawn and Buffy fighting without either explicitly saying what their concerns are, and hints of the dangers to come in the rest of the "season." The US government has decided that Buffy and her slayers are a danger--"just look at what she did to her hometown"--and so throw their support behind someone who claims to have inside information on Buffy and the remaining Scoobies.
Georges Jeanty's art is more than adequate, and he seems to take a particulr delight in the fight scene that opens the action of the book. The four-panel spread where Buffy and Dawn have their conversation is a very nice layout, but I'm not certain how much input Jeanty had in its design. No matter, it is a good example of the potential of the storytelling methods in comics.
As are most first issues/episodes, this issue begins to build a foundation for the rest of the series by identifying threads that are going to be tugged on later. It succeeds at this goal and does establish that the story goes on as it did in the TV series, which is why most people would be reading the book in the first place. I'm quite optimistic for the future.
Wonder Woman 5 -- The nightmare is over. The hideously slow and jerky start to the relaunch of Wonder Woman is done. This issue is a fill-in issue by Will Pfeifer in preparation for the new ongoing writer, who begins with issue 6. But Pfeifer is the lead writer for the upcoming Amazons Attack mini-series, so this gives the reader an opportunity to see how he handles the characters.
In a parallel to the last Superman issue I reviewed here, the story concerns the effect Wonder Woman has on the everyday person, especially women. As the issue opens, Wonder Woman is still being hunted by agent Diana Prince, in one of the useless leftovers from the previous writer, and is sent to investigate a group of women's centers opening up nationwide with apparent ties to Wonder Woman. Diana goes to one of the centers and interviews a supervisor there, receiving one of a series of stories about abused women who found the strength to fight their abuse and run away by witnessing the strength and integrity of Wonder Woman. As Diana interviews the supervisor, a call comes in from another abused woman seeking help, but the conversation is cut off when the woman's husbnad returns home. Diana runs off and takes flight as Wonder Woman to the aid of the caller. Using minimal physical intimidation and loads of emotional, the abuser is convinced to wait for the police to arrive while Wonder Woman takes the wife to a center. There she witnesses first hand her legacy, as the other center members take in the new member with compassion and warmth. Diana returns to Commander Steel and tells him that she found no ties to Wonder Woman other than emotional. The story ends with a promising coda, when the abuser is literally torn to shreds in a locked room in the police station; of course the authorities are going to suspect Wonder Woman did it and she's going to have to find the real perpetrator.
This issue offers what is best about Wonder Woman that was regularly touched on in the previous incarnation of the series--Wonder Woman is perhaps more iconic than Superman in her potential as a leader of the common people. Superman inspires people to fight, generally, while Wonder Woman inspires people to lead good lives, which includes fighting for a worthy causes as necessary. It's a subtle difference but one that reflects why it is difficult to write good Wonder Woman stories--it's not easy to sell comics based on a character who can be easily portrayed as a "good two-shoes". Captain Marvel was able to do it last century because it was a simpler time, for one thing, and because of a huge cast of supporting characters. But Wonder Woman doesn't have one of those, although Greg Rucka was working on that when the last series had to end. But as this is a fill-in issue, this offers no opinion about what is going to happen in the series. However, it is a fine stand-alone issue and speaks somewhat about what can be done.
And now some thoughts from last week.
Midnighter 5 closes out the first story arc of this new series. It being Garth Ennis, the blood continues to pour forth and Midnighter takes his revenge on the first arc's nemesis. It turns out that Anton Paulus isn't really Jewish, but that really isn't so important as finding out how Midnighter "wins". Apparently with a free kick. At this issues conclusion, Midnighter recognizes that he just isn't constructed to have the finer sentimentalities of a father or a friend; he's just a fighter. And by the end of this issue, he's picked his next target--Iraq, implying that he's going to go fix the ongoing problems there. It should be an interesting story, if it is actually told, because the Iraq problems exists specifically because there is no single voice, no popular leader of the "enemy." How a character like Midnighter, who uses brute force exclusively, will solve the problems there is unclear, but Ennis will make it interesting. Sprouse's art continues to be uneven. Sometimes it is nearly linear and people's faces appear to be made up entirely of straight lines. In other places, it is more natural, and he seems to have a real graps for showing the mayhem that Midnighter can inflict.
The Authority 2 goes to a place I'm told Grant Morrison goes to often. The Authority's carrier has crashlanded on another parallel Earth, but as the story progresses, we find that the planet they are on is ours. The commentary about the differences between our Earth and the other Earths that the Authority as visited is pointed, and not in our favor. Our Earth is not sophisticated enuogh to power the carrier and unless the Authority comes up with a plan soon, they will be trapped with us forever. The premise holds promise, except for the issue of Midnighter I've described above, in which it appears that the Authority has been on our Earth all along. I double-checked and the editors for both series are the same, so I've got no explanation for this continuity gaffe. Perhaps it'll work itself out, or the recent references to the Bleed in the DC titles will lead to an explanation. This blip is remedied however by Gene Ha's usually spectacular art. Of the two books, right now Authority is more interesting, but I don't believe Midnighter can carry his own series due to his single-minded process for solving problems. The Authority has proven it can carry its own series, exactly because it's a team book and they allow the different focuses of the members to play against each other.
Spoilers ho!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1 -- Let me get this out right in front; I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan. Good lord, I'm reading Astonishing X-Men just for him. I find his stories to be honest and his dialogue sincere and "real life-y", if you can imagine an adjective to describe how people who find themselves in the ridiculous scenarios that comic characters and TV shows put them in would really talk.
So, I was excited that "Buffy Season 8" was going to be coming out, because I followed the show and was interested in where the story would go after the big series-ending episode (more interested in what happens to Angel actually, since that episode was not intended to end the series, but one takes what one can get). If there's any doubt that the elements of the TV story might be missing, the first two pages take set the pitch-perfect tone, when Buffy says "The thing about changing the world...once you do it, the world's all different. Everyone call me 'ma'am these days." Immediately, Buffy's place and voice are clear--the world-saver who has more trouble dealing with personal issues than global. The rest of this first issue offers the same promise: Xander trades comic book jokes with a Slayer, Dawn and Buffy fighting without either explicitly saying what their concerns are, and hints of the dangers to come in the rest of the "season." The US government has decided that Buffy and her slayers are a danger--"just look at what she did to her hometown"--and so throw their support behind someone who claims to have inside information on Buffy and the remaining Scoobies.
Georges Jeanty's art is more than adequate, and he seems to take a particulr delight in the fight scene that opens the action of the book. The four-panel spread where Buffy and Dawn have their conversation is a very nice layout, but I'm not certain how much input Jeanty had in its design. No matter, it is a good example of the potential of the storytelling methods in comics.
As are most first issues/episodes, this issue begins to build a foundation for the rest of the series by identifying threads that are going to be tugged on later. It succeeds at this goal and does establish that the story goes on as it did in the TV series, which is why most people would be reading the book in the first place. I'm quite optimistic for the future.
Wonder Woman 5 -- The nightmare is over. The hideously slow and jerky start to the relaunch of Wonder Woman is done. This issue is a fill-in issue by Will Pfeifer in preparation for the new ongoing writer, who begins with issue 6. But Pfeifer is the lead writer for the upcoming Amazons Attack mini-series, so this gives the reader an opportunity to see how he handles the characters.
In a parallel to the last Superman issue I reviewed here, the story concerns the effect Wonder Woman has on the everyday person, especially women. As the issue opens, Wonder Woman is still being hunted by agent Diana Prince, in one of the useless leftovers from the previous writer, and is sent to investigate a group of women's centers opening up nationwide with apparent ties to Wonder Woman. Diana goes to one of the centers and interviews a supervisor there, receiving one of a series of stories about abused women who found the strength to fight their abuse and run away by witnessing the strength and integrity of Wonder Woman. As Diana interviews the supervisor, a call comes in from another abused woman seeking help, but the conversation is cut off when the woman's husbnad returns home. Diana runs off and takes flight as Wonder Woman to the aid of the caller. Using minimal physical intimidation and loads of emotional, the abuser is convinced to wait for the police to arrive while Wonder Woman takes the wife to a center. There she witnesses first hand her legacy, as the other center members take in the new member with compassion and warmth. Diana returns to Commander Steel and tells him that she found no ties to Wonder Woman other than emotional. The story ends with a promising coda, when the abuser is literally torn to shreds in a locked room in the police station; of course the authorities are going to suspect Wonder Woman did it and she's going to have to find the real perpetrator.
This issue offers what is best about Wonder Woman that was regularly touched on in the previous incarnation of the series--Wonder Woman is perhaps more iconic than Superman in her potential as a leader of the common people. Superman inspires people to fight, generally, while Wonder Woman inspires people to lead good lives, which includes fighting for a worthy causes as necessary. It's a subtle difference but one that reflects why it is difficult to write good Wonder Woman stories--it's not easy to sell comics based on a character who can be easily portrayed as a "good two-shoes". Captain Marvel was able to do it last century because it was a simpler time, for one thing, and because of a huge cast of supporting characters. But Wonder Woman doesn't have one of those, although Greg Rucka was working on that when the last series had to end. But as this is a fill-in issue, this offers no opinion about what is going to happen in the series. However, it is a fine stand-alone issue and speaks somewhat about what can be done.
And now some thoughts from last week.
Midnighter 5 closes out the first story arc of this new series. It being Garth Ennis, the blood continues to pour forth and Midnighter takes his revenge on the first arc's nemesis. It turns out that Anton Paulus isn't really Jewish, but that really isn't so important as finding out how Midnighter "wins". Apparently with a free kick. At this issues conclusion, Midnighter recognizes that he just isn't constructed to have the finer sentimentalities of a father or a friend; he's just a fighter. And by the end of this issue, he's picked his next target--Iraq, implying that he's going to go fix the ongoing problems there. It should be an interesting story, if it is actually told, because the Iraq problems exists specifically because there is no single voice, no popular leader of the "enemy." How a character like Midnighter, who uses brute force exclusively, will solve the problems there is unclear, but Ennis will make it interesting. Sprouse's art continues to be uneven. Sometimes it is nearly linear and people's faces appear to be made up entirely of straight lines. In other places, it is more natural, and he seems to have a real graps for showing the mayhem that Midnighter can inflict.
The Authority 2 goes to a place I'm told Grant Morrison goes to often. The Authority's carrier has crashlanded on another parallel Earth, but as the story progresses, we find that the planet they are on is ours. The commentary about the differences between our Earth and the other Earths that the Authority as visited is pointed, and not in our favor. Our Earth is not sophisticated enuogh to power the carrier and unless the Authority comes up with a plan soon, they will be trapped with us forever. The premise holds promise, except for the issue of Midnighter I've described above, in which it appears that the Authority has been on our Earth all along. I double-checked and the editors for both series are the same, so I've got no explanation for this continuity gaffe. Perhaps it'll work itself out, or the recent references to the Bleed in the DC titles will lead to an explanation. This blip is remedied however by Gene Ha's usually spectacular art. Of the two books, right now Authority is more interesting, but I don't believe Midnighter can carry his own series due to his single-minded process for solving problems. The Authority has proven it can carry its own series, exactly because it's a team book and they allow the different focuses of the members to play against each other.
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