The musings are a shade of green this week. And there's another screed. Well, not so much a screed as a half-assed apology. You'll see.
Spoilers ho!
Blue Beetle 14 - Okay, I admit it; I'm not much enjoying this series.The pacing is usually pretty off, the characters don't interest me all that much, the science/magic bait-and-switch is growing pretty old, and frankly, the art is pretty bad. And then this issue came out.
The first issue began with an inexplicable fight between Guy Gardner and the new Blue Beetle, introduced in Infinite Crisis. For some reason, Guy's ring and Beetle's scarab don't like each other and provoked them into a huge fight. This issue follows up on that original issue, taking time to explain the source the animosity. It appears that the Reach, the aliens responsible for Blue Bettle's scarab, and the Guardians are long-time adversaries. According to the treaty they have, the Reach can only go to planets to sell their merchandise, and if they attempt conquest, the Guardians will stop them. It's been made clear in the previous issues that the Reach does intend to conquer the Earth (because every race should try at least once to defeat the planet with the largest concentration of metahumans).
What this issue has for it that earlier issues did not is a sort of placement in the DC Universe that has been missing from this book. Guy Gardner comes to Jaime's home and talks to him about his predecessor Blue Bettle, Ted Kord, mentoring him in what it means to be a Blue Beetle, including telling Jaime that Ted was "smarter than Bats although nobody ever noticed." Together Jaime and Guy go looking for a secret powerful Reach base in Antarctica that turns out to be protected by the Ultra-Humanite, bringing the new Blue Beetle more into contact with DC history. Of course, the missiles disguised as penguins are a funny touch, and Guy's combination of stubborn macho and thoughtful mentor personalities hits all the right buttons. This is, finally, a strong issue and actually a very good jumping on point for the series.
JSA Confidential 25 - Father Time approaches Alan Scott about convincing a a former villain gone good to help solve the theft of some sort of technology. The villain, Johnny Mimic (who I believe is totally new to DC), is able to reconstruct any famous crime, as a sort of psychic profiler. Green Lantern had previously captured Johnny Mimic--now an old man) and released him on his word, but now his talents are needed to help solve a classic locked room mystery.
The issue is a solid mix of flashbacks to Alan Scott's earlier career juxtaposed with the menace of Father Time, the current malevolent governmental force haunting the DC universe. Johnny Mimic reminds Alan of what a great hero he was, "the super-man before there was a Superman." He also seems to sense something is wrong with Father Time, but goes about his task with little compiaint, hoping that once it is complete, he can go back to his life.
The missing technology turns out to be the HERO dial, which a member of Father Time's own staff had stolen in order to keep it out of his hands. Time intends to use it to create a one-man super team beholden to the US Government, if not replicate it to create an army of super soldiers. At the end, Johnny Mimic sacrifices himself to keep the HERO dial from Father Time and to further remind Alan Scott of the hero he once was--a man who would recognize Father Time for the menace he is and do all he can to thwart him rather than help him without knowing al lthe details.
While a little sappy at its end, this is another in a string of solid issues from JSA Confidential, spotlighting the heroes in solo stories. It's good to get a feel for Alan Scott after the past year's events, and if he continues to be written somewhat like this, he's going to remain an important part of DC storytelling.
Speaking of which, the screed.
In previous posts, I have written some about the bizarre continuity gaffes going on in various titles. As it turns out, if one is to believe one of the forces behind DC's new direction, the gaffes aren't gaffes at all, just something else DC is not doing a very good job of explaining. Kurt Busiek has taken part in a series of emails with a fan and then allowed them to be reprinted at http://supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=articles/continuity-bbr142. In their conversation, Busiek explains that the DC Universe has been rebooted, just as it was rebooted following Crisis on Infinite Earths. So, the stories we are reading now are meant to reveal more of that back-story that we thought we knew. Superman knew the Legion? DC's going to explain that. The Krypton history looks a lot like the movies' history? Yup, the new continuity.
The conversation at the link points out the flaw with this thinking--no one told the readers DC history was being rebooted. After Crisis, titles started over at issue 1, and advertisements told us we were going to be learning the new history of our favorite heroes. None of that happened following Infinite Crisis. In fact, the stories picked up as if nothing had happened, with attempts to tie the current stories to the ones that were taking place before One Year Later. The Outsiders Annual that came out this week is a fine example. Why did the Outsiders go underground? How did Captain Boomerang joing the team? Where are Shift and Arsenal? All the questions answered here, but in no case is the answer "because DC history got rebooted."
It feels like DC is wanting its cake and eating it too. Only certain characters have gotten rebooted...well, actually so far only one character--Superman. We still aren't sure what's going on with the Legion, and we don't appear to be any closer to an answer than we were when the series started, never mind that a completely different Legion is showing up the ongoing Justics Society/Justice League crossover. Busiek ends up where my I keep telling my confused coworker--let the stories unfold, let the facts be revealed at the pace that DC wants. It may be frustrating, but the answers are going to come. At the same time, however, I think DC should've tried harder to give us the answer to the global question, "This is not the DC you thought it was. Things are different. This is not just another retcon that will go pretty much unexplained."
To tie this up, 52 supposedly revealed the big answer to the ongoing mystery of the past year. But it was a pretty crappy reveal, tossed off in a couple of sentences before moving on to the splash page at the end with the re-emergence of an old DC villain. Again, the real impact of what DC has done is being pushed aside for the Big Fanboy Moment. But after the gee-whiz element is gone, a long-time reader wants to understand how the stories all tie together, and DC could easily have told us about the reboot without distracting from the fanboy dreams.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Comic book musings for 18 April
Only two reviews this week, but then I'm going to follow them up with a diatribe. Fun fun.
Spoilers ho!
Shadowpact 12 -- Much like the enjoyable Ragman issue a few months ago, this issue spotlights another member of the supernatural team. This time around, it's Nightmaster.
For the past few issues, Nightmaster has beenlying at death's door, impaled on his own sword as Enchantress maintains his life with a spell that does not permit her to sleep. The book opens with the warning that it has been 10 days since Enchatress last rested, and she is losing control of her spell. It is only a matter of time until Nightmaster dies. What follows is a nice first-person history of Nightmaster, recapping his first appearances in the original Showcase and later in Primal Force while filling in the missing parts of the story. We find out about his relationship to the Oblivion bar and how he eventually assumes ownership of it as well.
But more importantly, after his life passes before his eyes (and ours), he dies and begins a conversation with the spirit of the Sword of Night, his magical weapon. It turns out that the Sword, if used properly is unable to kill its wielder, so Nightmaster's death is due to his own ignorance. After the spirit relays a little of its own history, Jim Rook is told he doesn't have to be dead. So of course he revives himself, and there is great rejoicing.
There's not a lot of action here--the last issue's battle in Hell makes up for it. But what we are graced with is another strong character piece by Willingham (again with strong art by Tom Derenick). It ties up an open storyline while advancing the larger picture, telling the history of one of DC's lesser known magical characters to set up more of the relationships within the team. In fact, this issue makes a fine jumping-on point for those unfamiliar with the title. That Bill Willingham, he's a writer.
Nightwing Annual 2 -- So, in the last issue of Nightwing before One Year Later, Dick Grayson proposes to Barbara Gordon and they share a kiss, with the book ending before we see an answer. Clearly, after the year passes, Dick and Babs are not together, let alone married. Since the changes in the titles One Year Later were supposed to be addressed by 52...and weren't...this annual pretty much recaps the events up to the point where Nightwing shows up in 52.
As Dick recuperates from the injuries he sustained in the final battle in Infinite Crisis, Babs helps out by nursing him and bullying him into training. As they work together to return Dick to his old form, they have a series of flashbacks as they recall the highlights of their relationship. Marc Andreyko once again shows his encyclopedic knowledge of DC history as we go through their "first date," Babs's first encounter with Starfire, Dick and Babs's "first time", and then finally the resolution of his question.
Some of the moments are played for laughs, as the first date began as anything but, and ends up with Dick being mortified by what Robert Heinlein called "the gallant reflex" when he and Batgirl are trapped in a safe together. The fanboy moments are nice, and the open dialogue between the two makes the retold episodes feel honest. However, I have some serious issues with the memory of Dick and Babs's first time; according to the issue, Dick returns from Tamaran with the Titans to find that Barbara Gordon has been paralyzed by the Joker. Filled with remorse, he goes to her and in a mutual weak moment, they end up making love. If it had stopped there, it might've worked, but Andreyko goes too far. The following morning Dick gives Barbara the announcement of his engagement to Starfire. Rightfully furious, she kicks him out of her apartment. This action is so very atypical of Dick that it almost hurts to read. And I'm not at all certain what is gained in the story of their lives by making this event occur; we know that there had to be some sort of tension in the triangle of Dick, Barbara and Kory, but this is too much, and so terribly out of character.
The story ends with Batman coming to Dick and inviting him on his world tour. Barbara still hasn't answered Dick's proposal and Dick ponders leaving her again at such an important time. He wakes up to find a note from her explaining that she feels he has spent his life defining who he is by his relationship with other people. She goes on to say that she doesn't think they can work until he learns to be just Dick Grayson. So her answer is "no for now." Unfortunately, that answer means that Dick is going to travel around the world with Bruce and Tim...not exactly a good way to find out who he is without relying on relationships with others. And, even in real life, I find this kind of psychobabble annoying; in this case, though, she's not giving him the "find herself" excuse, she's foisting it on him for "his own good." Unfortunately, the letter she leaves for Dick doesn't really explain how she's come to this conclusion, just making it that much more annoying.
What the issue leaves us with is a clear feeling of the strength of Dick and Barbara's relationship, and that is a good thing. The current dialogue between the two of them feels real, failing only at the end as they make a decision communicated through letters. The really clunky "first time" is also a disappointment, but ultimately it doesn't detract from the feeling of the mutual love and respect they share. Ultimately, I really liked this issue, which is a no-brainer given Nightwing is my favorite DC character. But it's not great, and that bad scene is a real letdown, especially coming from someone who has proven hi chops as neatly as Andreyko has with Manhunter.
The screed
This past week saw the release of the four-issue World War III, in which (as advertised) Black Adam faces off against the world. However, in his "DC Nation" column, publisher Dan Dido talks about the real reason be hind World War III. As originally planned, 52 was going to tell the story of how the changes that were revealed in One Year Later actually happened. But, as he tells it, 52 took on a life of its own, and the characters they used had more interesting stories to tell. And so, somewhere, somehow, those stories has to be told. How did Aquaman become the Dweller in the Deep? Why is Martian Manhunter angry? How did Manhunter go from being a DA to a defense attorney? And so on.... And so was born World War III, an appalling mishmash of a year's worth of storytelling in four issues.
Let me be clear--the events of the "World War" are completely told, beginning to end, in this weeks issue of 52, issue 50. So, what World War III ends up being is a contrived way to tell a large number of stories that were promised to the reader over a year ago. Perhaps the stories themselves wouldd be more compelling, if the contrivance that provides their narration were not so....well, dumb. In the course of his first battle with Black Adam, Martian Manhunter is lashed by Adam's psychic assault and forced to relive all the murders that Adam has just performed. While we know that such an attack would in fact hurt Martian Manhunter, we also know that up to this point Black Adam has never had any pyschic powers (not has an yof the Marvel family for that matter). And so Martian Manhunter retreats into space, licking his wounds and, for some reason that reamins unclear, studying humanity again. I mean, it's not like he hasn't already spent all of his time on Earth doing that already. It makes one wonder what he thinks he is going to learn now.
And what he learns is the stories that we've been waiting a year to be told. While at one time, these may have been compelling stories, they are told in the space of five or six pages, thus removing any sense of value to the continuity or importance overall. And sadly, in some cases, after the stories themselves, I still have more questions than answers. Furthermore, as the review of the Nightwing Annual above indicates, not all of the stories could even fit into World War III.
As a result, I completely regret even buying the title. I really got very little for it but some slipshod stories loosely bound together through an unappealing narration, itself without much point or focus. I cannot, in all honesty, recommend this title and I'm fairly unhappy with the thought processes at DC that made it happen.
Spoilers ho!
Shadowpact 12 -- Much like the enjoyable Ragman issue a few months ago, this issue spotlights another member of the supernatural team. This time around, it's Nightmaster.
For the past few issues, Nightmaster has beenlying at death's door, impaled on his own sword as Enchantress maintains his life with a spell that does not permit her to sleep. The book opens with the warning that it has been 10 days since Enchatress last rested, and she is losing control of her spell. It is only a matter of time until Nightmaster dies. What follows is a nice first-person history of Nightmaster, recapping his first appearances in the original Showcase and later in Primal Force while filling in the missing parts of the story. We find out about his relationship to the Oblivion bar and how he eventually assumes ownership of it as well.
But more importantly, after his life passes before his eyes (and ours), he dies and begins a conversation with the spirit of the Sword of Night, his magical weapon. It turns out that the Sword, if used properly is unable to kill its wielder, so Nightmaster's death is due to his own ignorance. After the spirit relays a little of its own history, Jim Rook is told he doesn't have to be dead. So of course he revives himself, and there is great rejoicing.
There's not a lot of action here--the last issue's battle in Hell makes up for it. But what we are graced with is another strong character piece by Willingham (again with strong art by Tom Derenick). It ties up an open storyline while advancing the larger picture, telling the history of one of DC's lesser known magical characters to set up more of the relationships within the team. In fact, this issue makes a fine jumping-on point for those unfamiliar with the title. That Bill Willingham, he's a writer.
Nightwing Annual 2 -- So, in the last issue of Nightwing before One Year Later, Dick Grayson proposes to Barbara Gordon and they share a kiss, with the book ending before we see an answer. Clearly, after the year passes, Dick and Babs are not together, let alone married. Since the changes in the titles One Year Later were supposed to be addressed by 52...and weren't...this annual pretty much recaps the events up to the point where Nightwing shows up in 52.
As Dick recuperates from the injuries he sustained in the final battle in Infinite Crisis, Babs helps out by nursing him and bullying him into training. As they work together to return Dick to his old form, they have a series of flashbacks as they recall the highlights of their relationship. Marc Andreyko once again shows his encyclopedic knowledge of DC history as we go through their "first date," Babs's first encounter with Starfire, Dick and Babs's "first time", and then finally the resolution of his question.
Some of the moments are played for laughs, as the first date began as anything but, and ends up with Dick being mortified by what Robert Heinlein called "the gallant reflex" when he and Batgirl are trapped in a safe together. The fanboy moments are nice, and the open dialogue between the two makes the retold episodes feel honest. However, I have some serious issues with the memory of Dick and Babs's first time; according to the issue, Dick returns from Tamaran with the Titans to find that Barbara Gordon has been paralyzed by the Joker. Filled with remorse, he goes to her and in a mutual weak moment, they end up making love. If it had stopped there, it might've worked, but Andreyko goes too far. The following morning Dick gives Barbara the announcement of his engagement to Starfire. Rightfully furious, she kicks him out of her apartment. This action is so very atypical of Dick that it almost hurts to read. And I'm not at all certain what is gained in the story of their lives by making this event occur; we know that there had to be some sort of tension in the triangle of Dick, Barbara and Kory, but this is too much, and so terribly out of character.
The story ends with Batman coming to Dick and inviting him on his world tour. Barbara still hasn't answered Dick's proposal and Dick ponders leaving her again at such an important time. He wakes up to find a note from her explaining that she feels he has spent his life defining who he is by his relationship with other people. She goes on to say that she doesn't think they can work until he learns to be just Dick Grayson. So her answer is "no for now." Unfortunately, that answer means that Dick is going to travel around the world with Bruce and Tim...not exactly a good way to find out who he is without relying on relationships with others. And, even in real life, I find this kind of psychobabble annoying; in this case, though, she's not giving him the "find herself" excuse, she's foisting it on him for "his own good." Unfortunately, the letter she leaves for Dick doesn't really explain how she's come to this conclusion, just making it that much more annoying.
What the issue leaves us with is a clear feeling of the strength of Dick and Barbara's relationship, and that is a good thing. The current dialogue between the two of them feels real, failing only at the end as they make a decision communicated through letters. The really clunky "first time" is also a disappointment, but ultimately it doesn't detract from the feeling of the mutual love and respect they share. Ultimately, I really liked this issue, which is a no-brainer given Nightwing is my favorite DC character. But it's not great, and that bad scene is a real letdown, especially coming from someone who has proven hi chops as neatly as Andreyko has with Manhunter.
The screed
This past week saw the release of the four-issue World War III, in which (as advertised) Black Adam faces off against the world. However, in his "DC Nation" column, publisher Dan Dido talks about the real reason be hind World War III. As originally planned, 52 was going to tell the story of how the changes that were revealed in One Year Later actually happened. But, as he tells it, 52 took on a life of its own, and the characters they used had more interesting stories to tell. And so, somewhere, somehow, those stories has to be told. How did Aquaman become the Dweller in the Deep? Why is Martian Manhunter angry? How did Manhunter go from being a DA to a defense attorney? And so on.... And so was born World War III, an appalling mishmash of a year's worth of storytelling in four issues.
Let me be clear--the events of the "World War" are completely told, beginning to end, in this weeks issue of 52, issue 50. So, what World War III ends up being is a contrived way to tell a large number of stories that were promised to the reader over a year ago. Perhaps the stories themselves wouldd be more compelling, if the contrivance that provides their narration were not so....well, dumb. In the course of his first battle with Black Adam, Martian Manhunter is lashed by Adam's psychic assault and forced to relive all the murders that Adam has just performed. While we know that such an attack would in fact hurt Martian Manhunter, we also know that up to this point Black Adam has never had any pyschic powers (not has an yof the Marvel family for that matter). And so Martian Manhunter retreats into space, licking his wounds and, for some reason that reamins unclear, studying humanity again. I mean, it's not like he hasn't already spent all of his time on Earth doing that already. It makes one wonder what he thinks he is going to learn now.
And what he learns is the stories that we've been waiting a year to be told. While at one time, these may have been compelling stories, they are told in the space of five or six pages, thus removing any sense of value to the continuity or importance overall. And sadly, in some cases, after the stories themselves, I still have more questions than answers. Furthermore, as the review of the Nightwing Annual above indicates, not all of the stories could even fit into World War III.
As a result, I completely regret even buying the title. I really got very little for it but some slipshod stories loosely bound together through an unappealing narration, itself without much point or focus. I cannot, in all honesty, recommend this title and I'm fairly unhappy with the thought processes at DC that made it happen.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Grindhouse
My wife and I found that we had some free time in the afternoon, and we both had been intrigued by trailers and reviews for Grindhouse, so we went to see it. Now I freely admit I am not steeped in the grindhouse tradition of movies, but I have enjoyed the Rodriguez and Tarantino films I have seen, so I thought I might appreciate what the two Grindhouse films are attempting to do.
Unfortunately, the movies seem to be caught between a parody and an homage, doing neither effort full justice and so ultimately falling short. I'm reminded of an issue of a comic series that is intended to be an homage. Part of the audience thinks it is a brilliant representation and perhaps updating of the subject of the homage, but another part of the audience is completely lost and left trying to evaluate the issue on its own merits, which are usually somewhat lacking since its purpose depends on something else. So, the weakness in Grindhouse may be more of a weakness on my own part. I don't know the tradition and so the movie's brilliant pastiche is going right past me.
The first part of the double feature is Richard Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a zombie film with aspirations for more. The primary plot is about a secret government weapon that turns people into zombie-like creatures and which has been released into the atmosphere near a small Texas town. The details are not important to the movie, but funny in the telling: Bruce Willis led a crack team of soldiers in Afghanistan, so crack in fact that they found and killed Osama bin Laden before the US government was ready for him to. Along the way, they were exposed to the experimental DC2 gas, which turns them into horrendously deformed caricatures of people, with oozing sores and superhuman strength…and a taste for human meat. The cure for the disease the gas causes is actually a steady supply of the gas itself-so long as its victims take it in minute amounts regularly (as in through a breathing mask they must wear all the time), they remain human. But when they become fully exposed or, ironically, no longer exposed, they become freaks. The bureaucracy of the government is satisfied with this outcome; it allows them to keep the soldiers and their knowledge of bin Laden's death under control, so they don't search for an antidote. Willis arrives at the decommissioned military base looking to buy more of the gas for his soldiers, but that plan falls apart. Thus Plan B--release all the gas, infecting the world and forcing the government to search for an antidote.
But the movie has many subplots, not having anything to do with the bizarre governmental conspiracy, but they all end up being resolved by the events of the gas being released. Will Dakota Black get away from her suspiciously evil husband and escape with her girlfriend? What is the history between go-go dancer Cherry and tow truck driver Wray? Why won't the sheriff trust Wray with a gun? Who is El Wray? What is the secret to JT's barbecue recipe? Why does the sheriff dislike his brother JT so much? And who are the insane babysitter sisters? All of these threads give the movie the façade of depth to intersperse with the gory but eventually tedious scenes of zombies eating or zombies dying. Of course, the eventual final battle has to occur, and it is filled with all the action that guns, helicopters, zombies and go-go girls can get you.
The problem is that, by and large, Rodriguez plays it straight. If Planet Terror was an attempt to be a parody, it's not campy enough. The actors could've been allowed to ham it up, but instead they deliver their lines as well as could be expected from a C or D film script. And even the moments that are intended to be comedic fall flat with the bizarrely straight deliveries. And if the film is meant to be an homage, it just isn't good enough and doesn't require the goofy things like streaks in the film, missing reels and poor images where the film has been spliced by amateurs. Planet Terror tries to be both and thus fails at both. It's a somewhat pleasing diversion, but nothing eventually memorable.
Tarantino's contribution to the double feature is Deathproof, the tale of a fading Hollywood stuntman obsessed with killing young women with his tricked out stunt car (a Nova or Chevelle with a skull painted on the hood and an angry duck for a hood ornament). There really is very little about this movie that is intended to be funny or parodic; it is clearly an homage to the car movies of the early 70s, a new story with references to the earlier tradition. It also plays a tiny gag with a missing reel, but ultimately that the movie is that much shorter is a blessing.
The problem with this movie is that we are introduced to the women victims before Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike gets to them. Usually this is a good thing; the scenes allow us to develop a rapport with the characters so that their violation is that much more personal and thus appalling. But for this movie, that rapport is supposed to be derived from watching the girls interact with each other over the course of a day. Granted, Tarantino is the master of realistic dialogue, but in this case, the dialogue goes on far too long. Literally nothing happens as the camera angle rotates around three or four woman sharing a conversation that describes their relationships past. They recall events that have meaning to them but mean very little to the viewer, other than to highlight how shallow and inane they all really are. Perhaps that's ultimately the point--these women deserve to die in horrific automobile accidents for wasting their lives and potential--but I'm afraid that's ascribing too much craft to the movie. So after nearly half the movie is spent watching these four girls talk and get drunk, we get to see them attacked by Stuntman Mike and the death-Nova and the resulting destruction of their vehicle and their horrible deaths. Not even the seat belt one of the girls is wearing can save her.
Fade to black and do it again. Four more girls and another extremely tedious long time spent watching them talk about nothing. That two of these women are stunt-women is revealed fairly early in the conversation, so we know Stuntman Mike is not going to have it quite so easy. Finally, after much talking and not getting to the point, Stuntman Mike attempts to do his thing and is met with women who know how to drive as well or better than he. The long car chase that follows (and with small touch of humor, part of it is through a herd of resting cows) is the most interesting part of the movie, but even so it doesn't add anything new to the library of myriad car chases through film history.
We're left with the trailers of upcoming features that appear between the films. Perhaps because they are smaller condensed homages, they succeed much better than the longer movies. Rob Zombie's trailer for Werewolf Women of the SS is particularly delightful, not only for the premise of the last days of the World War II finding Nazis trying to make werewolf warriors, but also for the unexpected appearance of Nicholas Cage in what may be his best role ever. This is one I would halfway be interested in seeing made. The other two, Don't and Thanksgiving, also hit the right beats and then go away before the beats get pounded flat.
Clearly, these movies are not going to be the thing for all viewers. I appreciated the sign on the door to the theater when we walked in: "More than three hours of gore, violence, and sex. Not for everyone." To be honest, there's not a lot of sex...some topless women in the trailers and some implied sexuality, but no real outright sex. Lots of gore and a good bit of violence, when they aren't just talking about nothing. If you're a real cinephile or have a fondness for the movies Grindhouse is based on, then you would probably enjoy these. If you're not, you might be able to dredge up enough moments from these films to entertain you, but then again you might not.
Unfortunately, the movies seem to be caught between a parody and an homage, doing neither effort full justice and so ultimately falling short. I'm reminded of an issue of a comic series that is intended to be an homage. Part of the audience thinks it is a brilliant representation and perhaps updating of the subject of the homage, but another part of the audience is completely lost and left trying to evaluate the issue on its own merits, which are usually somewhat lacking since its purpose depends on something else. So, the weakness in Grindhouse may be more of a weakness on my own part. I don't know the tradition and so the movie's brilliant pastiche is going right past me.
The first part of the double feature is Richard Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a zombie film with aspirations for more. The primary plot is about a secret government weapon that turns people into zombie-like creatures and which has been released into the atmosphere near a small Texas town. The details are not important to the movie, but funny in the telling: Bruce Willis led a crack team of soldiers in Afghanistan, so crack in fact that they found and killed Osama bin Laden before the US government was ready for him to. Along the way, they were exposed to the experimental DC2 gas, which turns them into horrendously deformed caricatures of people, with oozing sores and superhuman strength…and a taste for human meat. The cure for the disease the gas causes is actually a steady supply of the gas itself-so long as its victims take it in minute amounts regularly (as in through a breathing mask they must wear all the time), they remain human. But when they become fully exposed or, ironically, no longer exposed, they become freaks. The bureaucracy of the government is satisfied with this outcome; it allows them to keep the soldiers and their knowledge of bin Laden's death under control, so they don't search for an antidote. Willis arrives at the decommissioned military base looking to buy more of the gas for his soldiers, but that plan falls apart. Thus Plan B--release all the gas, infecting the world and forcing the government to search for an antidote.
But the movie has many subplots, not having anything to do with the bizarre governmental conspiracy, but they all end up being resolved by the events of the gas being released. Will Dakota Black get away from her suspiciously evil husband and escape with her girlfriend? What is the history between go-go dancer Cherry and tow truck driver Wray? Why won't the sheriff trust Wray with a gun? Who is El Wray? What is the secret to JT's barbecue recipe? Why does the sheriff dislike his brother JT so much? And who are the insane babysitter sisters? All of these threads give the movie the façade of depth to intersperse with the gory but eventually tedious scenes of zombies eating or zombies dying. Of course, the eventual final battle has to occur, and it is filled with all the action that guns, helicopters, zombies and go-go girls can get you.
The problem is that, by and large, Rodriguez plays it straight. If Planet Terror was an attempt to be a parody, it's not campy enough. The actors could've been allowed to ham it up, but instead they deliver their lines as well as could be expected from a C or D film script. And even the moments that are intended to be comedic fall flat with the bizarrely straight deliveries. And if the film is meant to be an homage, it just isn't good enough and doesn't require the goofy things like streaks in the film, missing reels and poor images where the film has been spliced by amateurs. Planet Terror tries to be both and thus fails at both. It's a somewhat pleasing diversion, but nothing eventually memorable.
Tarantino's contribution to the double feature is Deathproof, the tale of a fading Hollywood stuntman obsessed with killing young women with his tricked out stunt car (a Nova or Chevelle with a skull painted on the hood and an angry duck for a hood ornament). There really is very little about this movie that is intended to be funny or parodic; it is clearly an homage to the car movies of the early 70s, a new story with references to the earlier tradition. It also plays a tiny gag with a missing reel, but ultimately that the movie is that much shorter is a blessing.
The problem with this movie is that we are introduced to the women victims before Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike gets to them. Usually this is a good thing; the scenes allow us to develop a rapport with the characters so that their violation is that much more personal and thus appalling. But for this movie, that rapport is supposed to be derived from watching the girls interact with each other over the course of a day. Granted, Tarantino is the master of realistic dialogue, but in this case, the dialogue goes on far too long. Literally nothing happens as the camera angle rotates around three or four woman sharing a conversation that describes their relationships past. They recall events that have meaning to them but mean very little to the viewer, other than to highlight how shallow and inane they all really are. Perhaps that's ultimately the point--these women deserve to die in horrific automobile accidents for wasting their lives and potential--but I'm afraid that's ascribing too much craft to the movie. So after nearly half the movie is spent watching these four girls talk and get drunk, we get to see them attacked by Stuntman Mike and the death-Nova and the resulting destruction of their vehicle and their horrible deaths. Not even the seat belt one of the girls is wearing can save her.
Fade to black and do it again. Four more girls and another extremely tedious long time spent watching them talk about nothing. That two of these women are stunt-women is revealed fairly early in the conversation, so we know Stuntman Mike is not going to have it quite so easy. Finally, after much talking and not getting to the point, Stuntman Mike attempts to do his thing and is met with women who know how to drive as well or better than he. The long car chase that follows (and with small touch of humor, part of it is through a herd of resting cows) is the most interesting part of the movie, but even so it doesn't add anything new to the library of myriad car chases through film history.
We're left with the trailers of upcoming features that appear between the films. Perhaps because they are smaller condensed homages, they succeed much better than the longer movies. Rob Zombie's trailer for Werewolf Women of the SS is particularly delightful, not only for the premise of the last days of the World War II finding Nazis trying to make werewolf warriors, but also for the unexpected appearance of Nicholas Cage in what may be his best role ever. This is one I would halfway be interested in seeing made. The other two, Don't and Thanksgiving, also hit the right beats and then go away before the beats get pounded flat.
Clearly, these movies are not going to be the thing for all viewers. I appreciated the sign on the door to the theater when we walked in: "More than three hours of gore, violence, and sex. Not for everyone." To be honest, there's not a lot of sex...some topless women in the trailers and some implied sexuality, but no real outright sex. Lots of gore and a good bit of violence, when they aren't just talking about nothing. If you're a real cinephile or have a fondness for the movies Grindhouse is based on, then you would probably enjoy these. If you're not, you might be able to dredge up enough moments from these films to entertain you, but then again you might not.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Recent Arrivals
Some books have arrived at the Speculator household in the last couple of days that I am treating more as resources than reading material. The first is Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction by Jeff Prucher. It really is a dictionary of terms whose use is founded in the tradition of science fiction. As the title says, this book comes from Oxford University Press, which would indicate some scholarly ambition for the book. Being the word geek I am, I am delighted that it treats its entries as does the Oxford English Dictionary; a definition, and then a chronological listing of the important appearances of the term. Prucher has done some remarkable research for those entries--most of them come from novels or short stories, but he uses genre magazines, mainstream newspapers, scripts of TV shows and movies, and even articles on Usenet newsgroups as his sources. A quick skim of the book uncovered several references to something called The Adventures of Luke Skykiller by George Lucas, for example. Of course the real joy is these listings, but the writer of the foreword, Gene Wolfe, also points out a use I had not considered--they provide some solid examples of the style and content of some things I have never read (and surely even more for someone newly come to speculative fiction) and those help to make a reading list. Like I need the help....
The one drawback of this book for me was the number of typographical errors and layout mistakes. If the book is trying to be reference material, the author and editor are going to have to be far more scrupulous about editing. Otherwise, I did an entire skim of the book, reading through definitions and first uses, and then deeper in to the examples if it was an interesting term. I recommend this book most heartily to either the fan of words or the fan of science fiction. And if you're a fan of both, this book is just a delight.
The second book that has arrived is The Rediscovery of Man, the complete set of short stories by Cordwainer Smith. I already owned The Best of Cordwainer Smith (thanks Mark!) and thoroughly enjoyed what is recognized as the top 12 or so pieces of short fiction by Smith (the nom de plume for Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger). I enjoyed them so much, however, that I decided I wanted to get them all. This is a lovely 600+ page volume that I may not actually get to for some time. I like short stories, but I tend to read collections as filler, a story at a time when I have a few minutes to spare. I am looking forward to this collection however, and I might just end up putting it in the growing reading stack.
I also bought Hominids by Robert Sawyer and Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson in my quest to catch up on the Nebula- and Hugo-award winning novels. Actually, I was looking for The Time Machine in the local used book stores but came up empty on that quest. But since I carry the list of the missing award-winners with me, I was able to pick those two up.
The one drawback of this book for me was the number of typographical errors and layout mistakes. If the book is trying to be reference material, the author and editor are going to have to be far more scrupulous about editing. Otherwise, I did an entire skim of the book, reading through definitions and first uses, and then deeper in to the examples if it was an interesting term. I recommend this book most heartily to either the fan of words or the fan of science fiction. And if you're a fan of both, this book is just a delight.
The second book that has arrived is The Rediscovery of Man, the complete set of short stories by Cordwainer Smith. I already owned The Best of Cordwainer Smith (thanks Mark!) and thoroughly enjoyed what is recognized as the top 12 or so pieces of short fiction by Smith (the nom de plume for Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger). I enjoyed them so much, however, that I decided I wanted to get them all. This is a lovely 600+ page volume that I may not actually get to for some time. I like short stories, but I tend to read collections as filler, a story at a time when I have a few minutes to spare. I am looking forward to this collection however, and I might just end up putting it in the growing reading stack.
I also bought Hominids by Robert Sawyer and Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson in my quest to catch up on the Nebula- and Hugo-award winning novels. Actually, I was looking for The Time Machine in the local used book stores but came up empty on that quest. But since I carry the list of the missing award-winners with me, I was able to pick those two up.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Comic book musings for 11 April
Not a big selection by any means, but you know what they say about quality and quantity....
Spoilers ho!
All Star Superman 7 -- Sadly, it took quite a while for an issue to come out after the phenomal issue 6. But absence makes the heart grow fonder (another thing they say), so the wait was going to be worth it, right? Well, no, not exactly. After six issues of pretty straightforward story-telling, recalling the days when Superman was innocent and powerful and untouched by continuity and all the dross that goes with it, this issue is the first of a two-parter featuring the All Star Bizarro. The details of this are splendid--I love the new takes on Steve Lombard and Jimmy Olsen--but Morrison and Quitely try the interweaving storylines into a single plot gambit, and it doesn't work. Sure, it's very cool that Bizarros come from a sort of virus that infects normal people. And that virus comes from the "Underverse," whatever that is. But the two plot threads don't make sense when they come together. If the virus is from the Underverse, where the heck did the big cubical planet come from that is hovering outside the Earth's atmosphere?
Again, the character we eet at the end of the issue is the logical and thoughtful result of natural processes--if Bizarros are mutated lifeforms, what happens when the mutates mutate even further? There is the promise of good things in the next issue with this revelation, but this one just makes my head hurt when I get bast the wonderful details. What makes humans immune to Bizarro virus? Heh.
As always, Quitely's art is brilliant and evocative and almost worth the price of admission itself. Perhaps the next issue will tie this up so that the dangliness of this issue makes a sort of serial sense.
Stormwatch P.H.D. 6 -- Unfortunately, I did not get onto the Stormwatch ride early enough, so that part of the history being summarized in this series is the first time I have heard it. So nuances of characterization are missing for me. But in this issue, the first time the new Stormwatch has run up against a villain group, knowing the details isn't so very important. Uncovering the villains' powers as the story progresses is fun, and watching the results of the team's betrayal an interesting introduction into what makes this team so very different--they mostly are not super-powered.
Christos Gage has been excelling at the dialogue and situations between the characters, so that we understand why the attack is a surprise to the traitor even if the same attack is not a surprise to the reader. This nuance and detail and thus dead-on characterization is at its best when it is focussed on team leader John Doran. AS the issue begins, we see that has won the heart (and other body parts) of his new team, but by the end of the book, we also are given glimpses of his sway over his old team. Doran is a rarity in the Stormwatch universe--he is honest and trustworthy and his a palpable strength of character, the very existence of which causes people to want to follow him. Natural leadership, they call it.
This book continues to excel, and I find myself looking forward to each new issue. I'm pleased that the series is not focussed on King, so that we can see the real heroes of the Wildstorm universe, rather than the perverse anti-hero he continues to be, even in his appearances here. Just as is Doug Mahnke's art this issue, which usually feels not quite finished to me. But with this issue he nails it and it really works.
And a teaser
Teen Titans 45 -- I think I've said in other places what is, at the same time, the biggest attraction and most serious flaw with Geoff Johns's writing--the reliance on the last page shocker, usually involving a single panel to overpower the reader with surprise at how the characters and we have been guided to the astonishing reveal that alway comes. This issue is no different, because any fan of the Titans knows what happens when Deathstroke starts flibberting around with the Titans family. But damn, it sure is nice to see the old team together again, even if they couldn't find Starfire for the reunion. (However, I'm about 50/50 on whether they are really there....)
Spoilers ho!
All Star Superman 7 -- Sadly, it took quite a while for an issue to come out after the phenomal issue 6. But absence makes the heart grow fonder (another thing they say), so the wait was going to be worth it, right? Well, no, not exactly. After six issues of pretty straightforward story-telling, recalling the days when Superman was innocent and powerful and untouched by continuity and all the dross that goes with it, this issue is the first of a two-parter featuring the All Star Bizarro. The details of this are splendid--I love the new takes on Steve Lombard and Jimmy Olsen--but Morrison and Quitely try the interweaving storylines into a single plot gambit, and it doesn't work. Sure, it's very cool that Bizarros come from a sort of virus that infects normal people. And that virus comes from the "Underverse," whatever that is. But the two plot threads don't make sense when they come together. If the virus is from the Underverse, where the heck did the big cubical planet come from that is hovering outside the Earth's atmosphere?
Again, the character we eet at the end of the issue is the logical and thoughtful result of natural processes--if Bizarros are mutated lifeforms, what happens when the mutates mutate even further? There is the promise of good things in the next issue with this revelation, but this one just makes my head hurt when I get bast the wonderful details. What makes humans immune to Bizarro virus? Heh.
As always, Quitely's art is brilliant and evocative and almost worth the price of admission itself. Perhaps the next issue will tie this up so that the dangliness of this issue makes a sort of serial sense.
Stormwatch P.H.D. 6 -- Unfortunately, I did not get onto the Stormwatch ride early enough, so that part of the history being summarized in this series is the first time I have heard it. So nuances of characterization are missing for me. But in this issue, the first time the new Stormwatch has run up against a villain group, knowing the details isn't so very important. Uncovering the villains' powers as the story progresses is fun, and watching the results of the team's betrayal an interesting introduction into what makes this team so very different--they mostly are not super-powered.
Christos Gage has been excelling at the dialogue and situations between the characters, so that we understand why the attack is a surprise to the traitor even if the same attack is not a surprise to the reader. This nuance and detail and thus dead-on characterization is at its best when it is focussed on team leader John Doran. AS the issue begins, we see that has won the heart (and other body parts) of his new team, but by the end of the book, we also are given glimpses of his sway over his old team. Doran is a rarity in the Stormwatch universe--he is honest and trustworthy and his a palpable strength of character, the very existence of which causes people to want to follow him. Natural leadership, they call it.
This book continues to excel, and I find myself looking forward to each new issue. I'm pleased that the series is not focussed on King, so that we can see the real heroes of the Wildstorm universe, rather than the perverse anti-hero he continues to be, even in his appearances here. Just as is Doug Mahnke's art this issue, which usually feels not quite finished to me. But with this issue he nails it and it really works.
And a teaser
Teen Titans 45 -- I think I've said in other places what is, at the same time, the biggest attraction and most serious flaw with Geoff Johns's writing--the reliance on the last page shocker, usually involving a single panel to overpower the reader with surprise at how the characters and we have been guided to the astonishing reveal that alway comes. This issue is no different, because any fan of the Titans knows what happens when Deathstroke starts flibberting around with the Titans family. But damn, it sure is nice to see the old team together again, even if they couldn't find Starfire for the reunion. (However, I'm about 50/50 on whether they are really there....)
Monday, April 9, 2007
Comic book musings for 4 April
A mixed bag this time around and some comments at the end.
Spoilers ho!
Superman/Batman 33 - Just as all good things must come to an end, so must all bad things. This arc, about aliens going berserk on Earth, is a perfect example of the new decompressed storytelling without any benefits. I've already forgotten how many issues this ran on, but it was only at the cover of this issue that we finally got to find out who was behind all the shenanigans, Despero.
This issue typifies the problems with the entire arc. We begin with Batman having undergone the possession by the blackrock and strong enough to challenge Superman. But Superman knows that Batman would prefer to die than to be possessed, so he threatens Batman with exactly that; the blackrock, being somehow sentient and psychic and having a highly developed fight or flight mechanism, leaves Batman under his own control. These scenes are supposed to provide a neat mirror to when Superman was possessed and Batman had to fight him. And on the surface, it is a neat little solution to the conundrum Superman is faced with...but there is no way that Superman would ever follow through with the threat. We've had story after story where Superman has declined to kill even his most virulent enemy, so there is no way in DC's green earth that Supes would kill Bats. I guess the blackrock isn't too very psychic.
But then we find out that all of this mess has been brought on by Despero employing an alien race that delivers judgments on entire species. Despero convinces the race to judge humanity and humanity is found lacking the finer qualities of the better alien races. So they psychically persuade the aliens to destroy humanity in order to purge the universe of an inferior race. Only when they are convinced to examine the memories of the people that Superman has known do they begin to believe they have made a mistake, and then Batman convinces them. They defeat Despero and the aliens release the humans from their possession.
But the overarching wisdom of these aliens is somewhat lacking. Do they consider their own roots--do they believe that they themselves have always been so perfect? If they are as wise as they are portrayed, they would know that if they went about destroying creatures they found to be inferior to them, they would be no better than the things they purport to be fighting. Plus, if they are such powerful psychics, why would they trust Despero at all?
And at the end, Superman and Batman agree to be friends while the narrative Alfred says that they never really lost their friendship, as Batman vows to let his humanity back into his personality. This doesn't jibe with the jetsetter Bruce Wayne we have been seeing over in Batman but I understand the point. It just seems futile after all this. If anything, after all his battles, Batman should know that the first and last person he should ever trust is Superman (which argues again against his threatening to kills Bats, but I did that jig already).
I'm sure that the creative team was trying to make some kind of points in the issues that led to this conclusion, but I'll be darned if I know what it is. I don't know why we had the appearance of Plastic Man in the niddle of it. Luthor is disposed of in a single panel...the whole tapestry just doesn't hold together, especially since this issue was upposed to tie it all up. And we are blessed with the apeparance of really wise psychic aliens who don't really seem to be much of either.
Justice League of America 7 - So the team has come together, and after all the planning, the deciding factor regarding who gets to join is whoever was around when Grundy and Amazo were defeated. The problem is that Rucka punches all the fanboy buttons without really delivering content. Look! The Justice League has two headquarters--one is the Hall of Justice from the Super Friends TV show and the other is the satellite from the Justice League Unlimited series. Never mind that both of them pose tremendous danger to the people that the Justice League purposts to protect, especially since there will apparently be tours through the Hall of Justice. And there is some nonsense about putting the Hall on the same location as where the All-Star Squadron met...but the hall is in Washington DC while the All-Star Squadron was headquartered in the remains of the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York.
With a wink, Greg Rucka has Black Lightning invite Batman to the League, harkening back to when Black Lightning turned down Batman's invite, back in the 70s. And Roy takes on yet another identity, this time as the Red Arrow, in order that he may use the "family name." And he lives up to it by immediately hitting on Hawkgirl, which would appear to throw a whole lot of continuity that was recently put back into whack totally back out of whack.
Then there's the gimmicks--if I wanted the full cover, I would have had to buy two issues of the comic, since each cover is exactly half the picture (just like the first issue, remember?). And there is a nifty fold-out spread of the new team in the center, but the layout is totally messed up so that the story pages are out of synch.
This is all just symbolic of my problem with the issue altogether, and as I think back, the part that has been lacking from the earlier issues. Appealing to the fanboy is easy--make an esoteric reference to another company's teams, pull out the fan favorites using some sort of surprise, or just display that you know something about the history. But beneath that very thin veneer of coolness, there's...nothing. It doesn't hang together and sometimes doesn't even make sense. And I don't think asking the story to make sense at more than a surface level is too much.
Runaways 25 - I had heard good things about this series and read the trade containing the first 12 issues. I enjoyed those stories and rather liked the concept in general. Then I found out Joss Whedon was taking over the series, so I knew I had to try it out.
I'm not a big fan of the Marvel Universe, but this just sings. The Runaways have always been a little distanced from the mainstream Marvel Universe ("you know, for the kids!"), so Whedon can spend a good bit of time developing the characters and their interaction. As I think about it, it seems to me that Whedon has more experience doing this than trying to fit his vision of characters into an existing universe. Anyway, he has a team book again, with which to work on the interactions and dialogue between the characters while developing the personalities of the individuals that make up the team. You kow, that stuff that Whedon just excels at.
And boom, he nails it. Even with the appearance of the Marvel heavies, these are still confused kids trying to find their way in a world they didn't want to be a part of. Their powers are barely useful, so it is the family they created which sustains them. Each voice is different and consistent. And like all the best teen teams, they may squabble but when they are in danger, they come together.
Fortunately, this issue makes a fine jumping on point for the series. I recommend jumping as quickly as you can.
Notes
It took a bit of digging to find out who did the cover for Superman 661, Jesus Merino. And while Wonder Woman and Superman are okay, I swear to you that his portrayal of the villain channels Neal Adams, and with the word-balloons, it's a throwback to that earlier day. The story itself is a little thin, but that villain just sings.
Also, some bad news. It would appear that Gail Simone is leaving Birds of Prey, which is just unhappy. I know you can't expect a writer to spend a career on a single title, and Simone has a huge run on BoP, but that's one combination that has been quite strong for some time now. While she reports that her new title is big and a dream of hers (rumor has it that she will be taking over Wonder Woman after Jodi Picoult's run), the Birds are going to miss her.
Spoilers ho!
Superman/Batman 33 - Just as all good things must come to an end, so must all bad things. This arc, about aliens going berserk on Earth, is a perfect example of the new decompressed storytelling without any benefits. I've already forgotten how many issues this ran on, but it was only at the cover of this issue that we finally got to find out who was behind all the shenanigans, Despero.
This issue typifies the problems with the entire arc. We begin with Batman having undergone the possession by the blackrock and strong enough to challenge Superman. But Superman knows that Batman would prefer to die than to be possessed, so he threatens Batman with exactly that; the blackrock, being somehow sentient and psychic and having a highly developed fight or flight mechanism, leaves Batman under his own control. These scenes are supposed to provide a neat mirror to when Superman was possessed and Batman had to fight him. And on the surface, it is a neat little solution to the conundrum Superman is faced with...but there is no way that Superman would ever follow through with the threat. We've had story after story where Superman has declined to kill even his most virulent enemy, so there is no way in DC's green earth that Supes would kill Bats. I guess the blackrock isn't too very psychic.
But then we find out that all of this mess has been brought on by Despero employing an alien race that delivers judgments on entire species. Despero convinces the race to judge humanity and humanity is found lacking the finer qualities of the better alien races. So they psychically persuade the aliens to destroy humanity in order to purge the universe of an inferior race. Only when they are convinced to examine the memories of the people that Superman has known do they begin to believe they have made a mistake, and then Batman convinces them. They defeat Despero and the aliens release the humans from their possession.
But the overarching wisdom of these aliens is somewhat lacking. Do they consider their own roots--do they believe that they themselves have always been so perfect? If they are as wise as they are portrayed, they would know that if they went about destroying creatures they found to be inferior to them, they would be no better than the things they purport to be fighting. Plus, if they are such powerful psychics, why would they trust Despero at all?
And at the end, Superman and Batman agree to be friends while the narrative Alfred says that they never really lost their friendship, as Batman vows to let his humanity back into his personality. This doesn't jibe with the jetsetter Bruce Wayne we have been seeing over in Batman but I understand the point. It just seems futile after all this. If anything, after all his battles, Batman should know that the first and last person he should ever trust is Superman (which argues again against his threatening to kills Bats, but I did that jig already).
I'm sure that the creative team was trying to make some kind of points in the issues that led to this conclusion, but I'll be darned if I know what it is. I don't know why we had the appearance of Plastic Man in the niddle of it. Luthor is disposed of in a single panel...the whole tapestry just doesn't hold together, especially since this issue was upposed to tie it all up. And we are blessed with the apeparance of really wise psychic aliens who don't really seem to be much of either.
Justice League of America 7 - So the team has come together, and after all the planning, the deciding factor regarding who gets to join is whoever was around when Grundy and Amazo were defeated. The problem is that Rucka punches all the fanboy buttons without really delivering content. Look! The Justice League has two headquarters--one is the Hall of Justice from the Super Friends TV show and the other is the satellite from the Justice League Unlimited series. Never mind that both of them pose tremendous danger to the people that the Justice League purposts to protect, especially since there will apparently be tours through the Hall of Justice. And there is some nonsense about putting the Hall on the same location as where the All-Star Squadron met...but the hall is in Washington DC while the All-Star Squadron was headquartered in the remains of the 1939 Worlds Fair in New York.
With a wink, Greg Rucka has Black Lightning invite Batman to the League, harkening back to when Black Lightning turned down Batman's invite, back in the 70s. And Roy takes on yet another identity, this time as the Red Arrow, in order that he may use the "family name." And he lives up to it by immediately hitting on Hawkgirl, which would appear to throw a whole lot of continuity that was recently put back into whack totally back out of whack.
Then there's the gimmicks--if I wanted the full cover, I would have had to buy two issues of the comic, since each cover is exactly half the picture (just like the first issue, remember?). And there is a nifty fold-out spread of the new team in the center, but the layout is totally messed up so that the story pages are out of synch.
This is all just symbolic of my problem with the issue altogether, and as I think back, the part that has been lacking from the earlier issues. Appealing to the fanboy is easy--make an esoteric reference to another company's teams, pull out the fan favorites using some sort of surprise, or just display that you know something about the history. But beneath that very thin veneer of coolness, there's...nothing. It doesn't hang together and sometimes doesn't even make sense. And I don't think asking the story to make sense at more than a surface level is too much.
Runaways 25 - I had heard good things about this series and read the trade containing the first 12 issues. I enjoyed those stories and rather liked the concept in general. Then I found out Joss Whedon was taking over the series, so I knew I had to try it out.
I'm not a big fan of the Marvel Universe, but this just sings. The Runaways have always been a little distanced from the mainstream Marvel Universe ("you know, for the kids!"), so Whedon can spend a good bit of time developing the characters and their interaction. As I think about it, it seems to me that Whedon has more experience doing this than trying to fit his vision of characters into an existing universe. Anyway, he has a team book again, with which to work on the interactions and dialogue between the characters while developing the personalities of the individuals that make up the team. You kow, that stuff that Whedon just excels at.
And boom, he nails it. Even with the appearance of the Marvel heavies, these are still confused kids trying to find their way in a world they didn't want to be a part of. Their powers are barely useful, so it is the family they created which sustains them. Each voice is different and consistent. And like all the best teen teams, they may squabble but when they are in danger, they come together.
Fortunately, this issue makes a fine jumping on point for the series. I recommend jumping as quickly as you can.
Notes
It took a bit of digging to find out who did the cover for Superman 661, Jesus Merino. And while Wonder Woman and Superman are okay, I swear to you that his portrayal of the villain channels Neal Adams, and with the word-balloons, it's a throwback to that earlier day. The story itself is a little thin, but that villain just sings.
Also, some bad news. It would appear that Gail Simone is leaving Birds of Prey, which is just unhappy. I know you can't expect a writer to spend a career on a single title, and Simone has a huge run on BoP, but that's one combination that has been quite strong for some time now. While she reports that her new title is big and a dream of hers (rumor has it that she will be taking over Wonder Woman after Jodi Picoult's run), the Birds are going to miss her.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
The Moon and the Sun
If you read my earlier blog from today, you'll see that I mentioned this book a little bit. Well, I was actually home not feeling so great, so I sat right down and finished the book. My opinion of it has changed a little, but allow me to recap.
Vonda McIntyre's The Moon and the Sun is ostensibly an alternative history novel, set in the court of Louis XIV right about the turn of the 17th century into the 18th. The main character is Marie-Josephe de la Croix, a recent escapee from a convent on Martinique into the court of Louis himself. We find out that she is actually the daughter of nobility who were sent to Martinique by Louis and who died, leaving her in the care of the convent. Her natural intelligence and curiosity (we find out in degrees that she is a mathematician, composer, and accomplished artist) were stifled by the convent, and she looks forward to beginning her career as a minor noble, the lady-in-waiting for Louis's niece.
Court intrigue follows and she, being quite beautiful (of course) becomes the target of lecherous men all around her, except for Lucien de Chretien, the king's most trusted advisor. As if learning how to deal with Versailles in the Sun King's reign is not difficult enough, her father ( edit: "brother," see Yonmei's comment and my response below. Stupid fingers) is a renowned Jesuit natural philosopher who has just accomplished a mission of the utmost importance to the king--capturing a live mer-creature and returning it to Versailles for study. Louis and her brother, Yves, believe that mermen have an organ that gives immortality, and they are seeking it in the best scientific method of their time--which involves dissection and detailed comparative study.
And here is where my problem begins. It is perfectly clear that the merpeople are in fact sentient, even if no one in the book gets it. So, the surviving mer-creature (affectionately called "sea monster" by name) witnesses the dissection of her dead lover and wails in the mer-language, a sort of song that everyone around her takes to be the cry of an animal. But for nearly half the book, we get to follow Marie-Josephe around while she wins over the court with her innocence and intelligence, despite the way the church and the court itself continually remind her of the inherent weakness of women. But she is not so smart that she can't figure out that the mer-woman reacts exactly like a human woman would under the same impulse. Part of that is because we rarely see the mer-woman in the first half of the book.
Now understand, if I wanted to read a period piece with a little fantasy thrown in on the side, this would be a marvelous book. It is light and fluffy, full of simple feminism (although never openly expressed by any of the characters). But the shadow of the impending torture of an alien sentient hangs over the novel, causing the courtly interplay to be asinine. In fact, a hard science fiction novel would be all over the implications of the merpeople, while for most of the book, it is only an interesting background detail. Of some interest is the opinion of the visiting Pope Innocent, who is torn between deciding if the mer-creatures are beasts or demons.
Finally though, Marie-Josephe gets it (due in no part to the near-psychic communication the mer-creature possesses) and she finds herself trying to change the minds of the notoriously stubborn Louis and her brother...and the pope. If she fails, the mer-creature is to be butchered and served as the main course at one of Louis's feasts. Marie-Josephe must work within the constraints of her role in the severely repressed system to convince them not only to spare the life of a human creature but also to not commit the mortal sin of murder in the process of preparing her for a meal. Her solution is ingenious, even though it ultimately fails, setting the reader up for the obligatory but silly action scenes.
As I put the book down, I wondered why this story had to be set in the time it is. How much more philosophical conversation could take place if it was set in modern times? How much deeper could the book have drawn its characters and their opinions if they lived in a contemporary setting? What McIntyre does is an interesting thought experiment, but it has little depth to it. So I'm left with the feeling that a lot of potential has been left unfulfilled and wondering why.
To be honest, there are a few scenes, especially with de Chretien, that take up an alternative viewpoint that I don't entirely believe would have been present in the setting she chose. de Chretien is an avowed atheist who is tolerated at court because of his service to Louis. Because he is not so wed to the Christian morality as the people around him, he is among the first to believe that the mer-creature is sentient. I find his arguments about atheism to be compelling, especially in light of current conversations about biblical literalism "versus" science. A good friend has been pointing me to the lectures of David Hawkins, recent author of The God Delusion, where he posits rational arguments about the faultiness of the Bible as a historical record and moral guidebook. Ironically, Marie-Josephe, a devout Catholic raised in a convent, is the first to set aside her bias, but it is de Chretien who makes the most astute arguments, in part because he *can*--he is a man in the court and is not automatically ignored when he speaks.
The Moon and the Sun is an entertaining book, but I run again into my problem with recent award-winning books. The question I ask myself, which is not at all fair to the book, is what else was up for the Nebula that year that this won? It really doesn't break new ground nor is it particularly stylish. And what I think would be more fascinating, now that the table is set, is to write a sequel in which we see some of the war that has been declared by the novel's end. By doing that, there is no way McIntyre could avoid the moral implications of the thrust of her novel.
Vonda McIntyre's The Moon and the Sun is ostensibly an alternative history novel, set in the court of Louis XIV right about the turn of the 17th century into the 18th. The main character is Marie-Josephe de la Croix, a recent escapee from a convent on Martinique into the court of Louis himself. We find out that she is actually the daughter of nobility who were sent to Martinique by Louis and who died, leaving her in the care of the convent. Her natural intelligence and curiosity (we find out in degrees that she is a mathematician, composer, and accomplished artist) were stifled by the convent, and she looks forward to beginning her career as a minor noble, the lady-in-waiting for Louis's niece.
Court intrigue follows and she, being quite beautiful (of course) becomes the target of lecherous men all around her, except for Lucien de Chretien, the king's most trusted advisor. As if learning how to deal with Versailles in the Sun King's reign is not difficult enough, her father ( edit: "brother," see Yonmei's comment and my response below. Stupid fingers) is a renowned Jesuit natural philosopher who has just accomplished a mission of the utmost importance to the king--capturing a live mer-creature and returning it to Versailles for study. Louis and her brother, Yves, believe that mermen have an organ that gives immortality, and they are seeking it in the best scientific method of their time--which involves dissection and detailed comparative study.
And here is where my problem begins. It is perfectly clear that the merpeople are in fact sentient, even if no one in the book gets it. So, the surviving mer-creature (affectionately called "sea monster" by name) witnesses the dissection of her dead lover and wails in the mer-language, a sort of song that everyone around her takes to be the cry of an animal. But for nearly half the book, we get to follow Marie-Josephe around while she wins over the court with her innocence and intelligence, despite the way the church and the court itself continually remind her of the inherent weakness of women. But she is not so smart that she can't figure out that the mer-woman reacts exactly like a human woman would under the same impulse. Part of that is because we rarely see the mer-woman in the first half of the book.
Now understand, if I wanted to read a period piece with a little fantasy thrown in on the side, this would be a marvelous book. It is light and fluffy, full of simple feminism (although never openly expressed by any of the characters). But the shadow of the impending torture of an alien sentient hangs over the novel, causing the courtly interplay to be asinine. In fact, a hard science fiction novel would be all over the implications of the merpeople, while for most of the book, it is only an interesting background detail. Of some interest is the opinion of the visiting Pope Innocent, who is torn between deciding if the mer-creatures are beasts or demons.
Finally though, Marie-Josephe gets it (due in no part to the near-psychic communication the mer-creature possesses) and she finds herself trying to change the minds of the notoriously stubborn Louis and her brother...and the pope. If she fails, the mer-creature is to be butchered and served as the main course at one of Louis's feasts. Marie-Josephe must work within the constraints of her role in the severely repressed system to convince them not only to spare the life of a human creature but also to not commit the mortal sin of murder in the process of preparing her for a meal. Her solution is ingenious, even though it ultimately fails, setting the reader up for the obligatory but silly action scenes.
As I put the book down, I wondered why this story had to be set in the time it is. How much more philosophical conversation could take place if it was set in modern times? How much deeper could the book have drawn its characters and their opinions if they lived in a contemporary setting? What McIntyre does is an interesting thought experiment, but it has little depth to it. So I'm left with the feeling that a lot of potential has been left unfulfilled and wondering why.
To be honest, there are a few scenes, especially with de Chretien, that take up an alternative viewpoint that I don't entirely believe would have been present in the setting she chose. de Chretien is an avowed atheist who is tolerated at court because of his service to Louis. Because he is not so wed to the Christian morality as the people around him, he is among the first to believe that the mer-creature is sentient. I find his arguments about atheism to be compelling, especially in light of current conversations about biblical literalism "versus" science. A good friend has been pointing me to the lectures of David Hawkins, recent author of The God Delusion, where he posits rational arguments about the faultiness of the Bible as a historical record and moral guidebook. Ironically, Marie-Josephe, a devout Catholic raised in a convent, is the first to set aside her bias, but it is de Chretien who makes the most astute arguments, in part because he *can*--he is a man in the court and is not automatically ignored when he speaks.
The Moon and the Sun is an entertaining book, but I run again into my problem with recent award-winning books. The question I ask myself, which is not at all fair to the book, is what else was up for the Nebula that year that this won? It really doesn't break new ground nor is it particularly stylish. And what I think would be more fascinating, now that the table is set, is to write a sequel in which we see some of the war that has been declared by the novel's end. By doing that, there is no way McIntyre could avoid the moral implications of the thrust of her novel.
Where's yer head at, man?
My writing production has gone way down since I started this out, and it is not so much the result of bad writing, as it is poor subject matter.
When it comes to comics, I almost exclusively read DC. I suppose there might be a long posting embedded here about the difference between DC and Marvel when it comes to story-telling, but let's just start with my tastes right now. And about a year ago, DC was going great guns--Infinite Crisis was coming to a fairly satisfying conclusion and 52 was making big promises. And in the regular titles, "One Year Later" was going to do some rebooting. But what have we ended up with a year later? Superman has been uneven, first telling how Superman got his powers back, then the global invasion by a giant snake oil salesman, and finally Arion's predictions of the dire consequences of there being a Superman at all. Only the last arc has any long-lasting repercussions with the possibility of an ongoing conflict with the only character that regularly gives Superman troubles, Superman himself. Action has been a throwback to the 80s and 90s, with its event-based storytelling (look at us have a co-writer who has never written a comic in his life! but you will recognize the name!). I've already remarked on my feelings about the whole 3-D glasses schtick, but even that has been delayed as the creative teams have fallen behind schedule. In fact, the title is being forced to go to unprecedented places by breaking up a five- or six-part story with filler issues while things get caught up. And those schedule problems don't come close to what has plagued Wonder Woman, that got so far behind that the first arc will have to be finished in a special issue while a whole new creative team takes over and plots a company-wide event.
Of the "big three," only Batman has really succeeded creatively. Morrison's inspired storytelling in Batman carries that title to some places we've not seen in a long while. Having Bruce Wayne as a character is a joy, and Morrison is nailing the jet-setter characterization that has been missing for decades. Whatever Bruce did to get rid of his demons in 52 seems to have worked, and other than the regrettable all-prose Joker story, Batman is a joy. Even so, it does not hold a candle to Paul Dini's work on Detective, making Batman a real detective again. Dini is delivering single-issue stories that develop both Batman and his supporting cast, making it quite possibly the best title DC has going right now.
Outside the big three, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and Teen Titans have really come through. Gl and Teen Titans have the advantage of Geoff Johns' guiding hand, and his record as the deliverer of big stories is substantial. However, Johns is not so good at the small stories, which has long been a part of the Titans' history. Perhaps the new writer there can continue to deliver the big thrills while developing the characters. More stories like the solo Kid/Red Devil, please! And while Green Lantern has been fun, it has been fairly predictable. Green Lantern Corps has indeed been a surprise with its strong story-telling, even though the art has been horribly uneven. I would add Uncle Sam, Justice Society, and the Dr. Thirteen back-up story in Tales of the Unexpected as highlights of the past year. But Justice League? What could have been a great story was drawn out by more scheduling issues, and the energy built-up with the promise a new Justice League has petered out in the weeks between the issues.
I could go on, appearig to bash what is going on at DC, but let me just say that I'm buying more comics now than ever before. I look forward to Wednesdays a great deal. My point is this--I've set myself some standards for writing reviews and one of those is that I don't want to review the same titles every month. But spread these titles over the weeks in a month and I'm left with perhaps one good title and a bunch of mediocre ones to talk about here. And I'm just not up for talking about mediocrity yet. So no blogging in those weeks.
So, I'm going to make a deal with you--if I don't blog reviews for a week's comics, I will still write a blog entry on the state of things.
As for books, well, I'm having a real struggle at the moment. When I was in college and grad school, I made a real effort to buy all the Hugo- and Nebula-winning novels. I felt it was a great way to get a sense of the history of the genres I love as well as visiting the canon of great books. And, if you are a book-lover, you know the joy of going to used bookstores and finding that one book you've been looking for. And I've read some wonderful stuff on that quest--Babel-17, for example. Mars Plus still excites me and I read it more often than I read some Heinlein. But grad school got tough and I had to bear down on getting my degree while working five jobs, and whn the pressure got too much, I had to start a career as a tech writer. So I was poor and couldn't do the book-hunt thing so much.
But recently I was inspired to go back and close the gap, catching up on the award-winning novels. And while I recognize that tastes change, especially mine, I'm discovering the best books of the past few decade and a half are generally nowhere near as good as the classics of the 50s and 60s. The book I've been working on for the past month is a fine example. While it purports to be speculative fiction, I'm finding that there is next to no fantastic in it to sustain my interest, acting more as a romantic peroid piece as we follow a young woman in 18th century France. I've finally reached the halfway point of this 450-page novel, and we have been introduced to exactly one fantastic element--a mermaid. And so far, where the novel is going is ruthlessly predictable and I find myself wondering what else was out the year this won a Nebula that had to suck so poorly. But then, I am only halfway through the book, so maybe it'll pick up so that amazing things happen and I'll find myself healthily eating crow, but right now, calling it a struggle is an understatement, as I put in about five to ten pages in bed before going to sleep. And it is no help that the book is helping to put me to sleep. Even less help is the electronic promise from the British arm of Amazon that a book I've been looking forward to for a year is on a tramp steamer crossing the Atlantic on its way to my doorstep.
I feel a big entry coming up about the weakness of recent books, but I don't want to start it based on my opinion of my current reading material, when I've not finished that book. But I wanted to let my readers know I'm still here, struggling with my sources. I'll write more about those struggles if they continue.
Hey, new comics tomorrow! May my pull-list be filled with instant classics!
When it comes to comics, I almost exclusively read DC. I suppose there might be a long posting embedded here about the difference between DC and Marvel when it comes to story-telling, but let's just start with my tastes right now. And about a year ago, DC was going great guns--Infinite Crisis was coming to a fairly satisfying conclusion and 52 was making big promises. And in the regular titles, "One Year Later" was going to do some rebooting. But what have we ended up with a year later? Superman has been uneven, first telling how Superman got his powers back, then the global invasion by a giant snake oil salesman, and finally Arion's predictions of the dire consequences of there being a Superman at all. Only the last arc has any long-lasting repercussions with the possibility of an ongoing conflict with the only character that regularly gives Superman troubles, Superman himself. Action has been a throwback to the 80s and 90s, with its event-based storytelling (look at us have a co-writer who has never written a comic in his life! but you will recognize the name!). I've already remarked on my feelings about the whole 3-D glasses schtick, but even that has been delayed as the creative teams have fallen behind schedule. In fact, the title is being forced to go to unprecedented places by breaking up a five- or six-part story with filler issues while things get caught up. And those schedule problems don't come close to what has plagued Wonder Woman, that got so far behind that the first arc will have to be finished in a special issue while a whole new creative team takes over and plots a company-wide event.
Of the "big three," only Batman has really succeeded creatively. Morrison's inspired storytelling in Batman carries that title to some places we've not seen in a long while. Having Bruce Wayne as a character is a joy, and Morrison is nailing the jet-setter characterization that has been missing for decades. Whatever Bruce did to get rid of his demons in 52 seems to have worked, and other than the regrettable all-prose Joker story, Batman is a joy. Even so, it does not hold a candle to Paul Dini's work on Detective, making Batman a real detective again. Dini is delivering single-issue stories that develop both Batman and his supporting cast, making it quite possibly the best title DC has going right now.
Outside the big three, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, and Teen Titans have really come through. Gl and Teen Titans have the advantage of Geoff Johns' guiding hand, and his record as the deliverer of big stories is substantial. However, Johns is not so good at the small stories, which has long been a part of the Titans' history. Perhaps the new writer there can continue to deliver the big thrills while developing the characters. More stories like the solo Kid/Red Devil, please! And while Green Lantern has been fun, it has been fairly predictable. Green Lantern Corps has indeed been a surprise with its strong story-telling, even though the art has been horribly uneven. I would add Uncle Sam, Justice Society, and the Dr. Thirteen back-up story in Tales of the Unexpected as highlights of the past year. But Justice League? What could have been a great story was drawn out by more scheduling issues, and the energy built-up with the promise a new Justice League has petered out in the weeks between the issues.
I could go on, appearig to bash what is going on at DC, but let me just say that I'm buying more comics now than ever before. I look forward to Wednesdays a great deal. My point is this--I've set myself some standards for writing reviews and one of those is that I don't want to review the same titles every month. But spread these titles over the weeks in a month and I'm left with perhaps one good title and a bunch of mediocre ones to talk about here. And I'm just not up for talking about mediocrity yet. So no blogging in those weeks.
So, I'm going to make a deal with you--if I don't blog reviews for a week's comics, I will still write a blog entry on the state of things.
As for books, well, I'm having a real struggle at the moment. When I was in college and grad school, I made a real effort to buy all the Hugo- and Nebula-winning novels. I felt it was a great way to get a sense of the history of the genres I love as well as visiting the canon of great books. And, if you are a book-lover, you know the joy of going to used bookstores and finding that one book you've been looking for. And I've read some wonderful stuff on that quest--Babel-17, for example. Mars Plus still excites me and I read it more often than I read some Heinlein. But grad school got tough and I had to bear down on getting my degree while working five jobs, and whn the pressure got too much, I had to start a career as a tech writer. So I was poor and couldn't do the book-hunt thing so much.
But recently I was inspired to go back and close the gap, catching up on the award-winning novels. And while I recognize that tastes change, especially mine, I'm discovering the best books of the past few decade and a half are generally nowhere near as good as the classics of the 50s and 60s. The book I've been working on for the past month is a fine example. While it purports to be speculative fiction, I'm finding that there is next to no fantastic in it to sustain my interest, acting more as a romantic peroid piece as we follow a young woman in 18th century France. I've finally reached the halfway point of this 450-page novel, and we have been introduced to exactly one fantastic element--a mermaid. And so far, where the novel is going is ruthlessly predictable and I find myself wondering what else was out the year this won a Nebula that had to suck so poorly. But then, I am only halfway through the book, so maybe it'll pick up so that amazing things happen and I'll find myself healthily eating crow, but right now, calling it a struggle is an understatement, as I put in about five to ten pages in bed before going to sleep. And it is no help that the book is helping to put me to sleep. Even less help is the electronic promise from the British arm of Amazon that a book I've been looking forward to for a year is on a tramp steamer crossing the Atlantic on its way to my doorstep.
I feel a big entry coming up about the weakness of recent books, but I don't want to start it based on my opinion of my current reading material, when I've not finished that book. But I wanted to let my readers know I'm still here, struggling with my sources. I'll write more about those struggles if they continue.
Hey, new comics tomorrow! May my pull-list be filled with instant classics!
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