Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 7/4

Animal Man #11
Story: Jeff Lemiere
Art: Steve Pugh

Animal Man has been one of the very pleasant surprises of the New 52 for me. I enjoyed Grant Morrison's run on the character back in the day, and his appearances in 52, but Animal Man has never been a character high on my radar. But this new series has been an excellent blend of horror and superhero tropes, in the same way its sister title, Swamp Thing, has been. As we approach the crossover between the two titles, Buddy Baker returns from the world of The Red (the world of animal spirits where de draws his power), with some altered powers and a serious grudge against the creatures of The Rot. Buddy is one of only a couple heroes who are married in the New 52, and his family ties have always been an important aspect of the character. Him demanding to come back to life to save his family from the thing that had possessed his abandoned body is perfectly in character, and shows the depth of Buddy's love. The scene where he returns, where he morphs his body slowly from the most primitive life form to the most complex is well written, and Steve Pugh does a beautiful job in using each of the higher creatures with a humanity in its eyes that shows that Buddy is there looking to get out. As the issue ends, we get one final push for Buddy's meeting with Swamp Thing. Can't wait to see what happens when the two horror heroes meet next month.

The Boys #68
Story: Garth Ennis
Art: Russel Braun

Garth Ennis is probably known best as the writer of comics with twists and turns, a slightly sophomoric sense of humor, and over the top violence. But having read the majority of Ennis's major works, there's a lot more below the surface of his writing. He actually has a sentimental heart that comes through in a lot of his characters, and each of his major works has a strong central theme. As we reach the end of The Boys, that theme is coming to the fore: the responsibility of power, and how one is supposed to use it. There's not a lot I can say without spoiling this issue, ir without spoiling aspects of the series if you haven't read it yet and want to, but I can say this: the opening scene of the issue is pure Ennis. Four of the Boys sit around and discuss what to do with their possibly/definitely wayward leader. There's comedy (oh, the Frenchman...), a serious look at what has come before and what to do when one of your own goes to far, and a moment that is shocking and sweet when they all make the choice to do what must be done. The ending is trademark Ennis as well: a violent confrontation between two former friends where only one walks away. The roller coaster ride of The Boys is nearly over, but that doesn't mean Ennis doesn't have a few more drops and loops left.

The Muppets: The Four Seasons #1
Story & Art: Roger Langridge

After talking about the previous Langridge Muppet stories on Friday, I was excited to sit down and read the first of his last four issues, and he did not disappoint. This issue is the Spring story, and is all about love. The guest host for the Muppet Show is an attractive ape who Animal falls in love with, and the two have a whirlwind romance, to the despair of her admirer. It's a sweet little story, with all the Muppet touches, including a particularly hilarious "Pigs in Space" where the crew must turn themselves into vegetables as their ship, the SS Swine Trek, crashes to avoid being eaten by the local carnivores. And if you can think of any other comic where you could read that sentence with a straight face, I'll be shocked and have to track it down.

Thief of Thieves #6
Story: Robert Kirkman & Nick Spencer
Art: Shawn Martinbrough

I picked up the first issue of Thief of Thieves, and I really wasn't feeling it.  I loved all the creators involved, but something here just didn't click with me. I tried the second issue, and that was it, I thought. But John, my partner in crime at Dewey's, told me I should try issue three, and so one day on lunch, I read it. And this was what I had been looking for! It felt like the first two issues were just exposition setting up the action beginning in issue three. Now, at issue six, the end of the first arc, some serious action is going down. It seems that master thief Redmond has sold out his crew to get his son out of jail, but there is much more than meets the eye. Maybe it's a triple-cross, with Redmond double crossing the FBI to get his crew loose and get what he wants. And who knows, maybe there's a quadruple-cross coming down the line. What I think I have come to realize about this book is it's less a crime book, like Criminal, where the actual mechanics of the crime are important, and more a character piece, investigating a man who is trying to make right after years of doing wrong. I do love a good caper, but here the caper doesn't really matter and its not given the page count of something that does. Now, the question is whether Redmond will survive having burned his fellow crooks and the feds. Frankly, things don't look good for him; but isn't that half the fun of it?

Five Suggestions for the Next Wave of The New 52

So, I was reading on-line today that it was a year ago pretty much today that DC announced the line wide reboot that is now known as "The New 52." I have found a lot of books to really enjoy amongst the titles that were rebooted/recreated, from the expected (Batman, Batgirl, Justice League, Aquaman) to the unexpected (Demon Knights, Batwing). But as we've just seen with the cancellation of six titles and the introduction of six more, this little project of DC's is going to be a little free form, with books coming and going. So here are five suggestions of some titles I'd like to see.


The Elongated Man and Sue

If some changes can be made to continuity, how about this  resurrection here, huh? The (what I thought was awesome) idea of Ralph and Sue Dibny as ghost detective was never really explored, so how about just bring them back from the dead? Ralph and Sue have probably the best marriage in all of comics. The Dibny’s have a dynamic that is pretty much undeniable. And since the only married hero left in the DCU is Aquaman, this would give the title something else that would make it stand out.

What would I like the book to be? Well, I think it should be just plain fun. One of the main concerns people have had about the New 52 has been that most of the titles are dour and intense. This one would be a wild, world tour of mystery and action.  I think each issue should be a one off mystery, and I think it should be a play fair mystery, where you can play along with Ralph and try to solve the case. Mike W. Barr did something similar with the legendary and much lamented Maze Agency, and I think he’d be great to write this book. But most of all, I want it to be a book equally about both of the lead characters, hence both of them being in the title. Sue can serve as Ralph’s crime fighting partner, or possibly as a social activist, and some of the adventures they get involved in are because of what she’s doing. And without getting maudlin, I want the book to show the two of them as a loving, functional married couple.


 Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.

 

I read the original Stars and STRIPE series, enjoyed it, and hugely enjoyed watching Courtney Whitmore evolve from the kinda bratty kid who became a super hero to annoy her stepdad into the senior member of the JSA’s younger generation. With the lack of a JSA in DCnU, this leaves Courtney in limbo, and I think that should be remedied. And this is how.

Courtney’s origin remains pretty much unchanged. She has grown into one of the world’s premiere teen heroes, Stargirl, having mentored with Pat Dugan, her stepfather in his S.T.R.I.P.E. armor. They have been defenders of Blue Valley, Nebraska and a lot of the Midwest, and have learned to respect each other’s abilities. But when Stargirl’s arch nemesis, Shiv, and Shiv’s malevolent father, the Dragon King, made a recent assault on Blue Valley, Pat was injured, and decided to hang up his armor. Courtney continued to fight crime on her own, until one day she saw… S.T.R.I.P.E. Junior? Mike Dugan, Courtney’s stepbrother, has built himself a set of armor and has decided to take up the family business, whether his parents and his sister like it or not. The Dugan’s tell him he can, but only if Courtney will mentor him. Now Courtney has a junior partner who resents her, an arch nemesis still looking to kill her, and her SATs and junior prom only two months away. What is a super-heroine to do?

Chase

 

I continue on with Cancelled Comics Cavalcade with a title that many feel like got the short end of the stick the first time through. If Chase had come out five years later, during a time when Powers and Gotham Central were both running, the story of DEO agent Cameron Chase investigating metahumans would have possibly been the huge hit it deserved to be. And since there have been some paired New 52 titles, like Animal Man and Swamp Thing, this is the first of two titles that will have ties to each other. We've seen Cameron Chase appear in Batwoman, but there she has been mostly Batwoman's tough DEO handler; her own title would show more aspects of the character.

Chase would be a case of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. This would be a book about an investigator who doesn’t like superheroes having to investigate them and work with them. Cam has her own secret too: that she has the superpower to disrupt the powers of those around her. Working directly under Mr. Bones, current director of field operations for the Department of Extranormal Operations, Chase is his prized agent, the one he sends into the most dangerous and convoluted situations. Her identity is a secret, as is her job, from nearly everyone. But lately, something has been going wrong. Cam feels like she’s being watched all the time. Could one of the metavillains, or heroes, she’s dealt with discovered her identity? The book would also feature occasional appearances by Dylan Battles, Chase’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, and his boss…


Manhunter

Kate Spencer is still Kate Spencer. She’s still the tough as nails attorney who goes out under the cover of night as Manhunter to fight those who escape justice. She still has connections with Cameron Chase, Director Bones, Dylan Battles, Damon Matthews, her family, and all the rest of the Manhunter supporting cast. The one thing I would change from the previous Manhunter formula would be a little more courtroom action that doesn’t end in a brawl. Nearly every major case that Kate tried in her original series ended with the supervillain making some Machiavellian escape attempt and Kate having to make a quick change to fight him as Manhunter. I’d like to see some real legal wrangling. 

I would also (sadly in many ways) have Kate leave her job as Gotham’s DA, and instead be a federal prosecutor in Washington DC, serving as a specialist in metacrimes. She has, of course, brought all of her usual chums with her, and this would allow regular swapping of casts between Chase and Manhunter. Criminals caught in Chase could be tried in Manhunter. Without her background as a legacy character, there would have to be changes made to her family's past, btu her ex-husband and son could still be prominent, and Damon could be another established gay character in the DC stable to be out and about, and possible introduce Obsidian with a new, Alan Scott-less background. But the whole point of the book would be to see the new DC universe from a different angle.

New Characters

I was shocked to see that, with 52 (now 58) titles, there is not a single one starring a new character. There are new variations on a theme (Batwing), there are new characters carrying old names (OMAC, the new Sgt. Rock, the new Dial H), but not a single book starring a brand new character. And don’t tell me there are no new ideas under the sun, because just perusing the racks of indies, I can tell you there are. DC has a wealth of great creators, and wouldn’t it be fun to see them go to town? A bunch of the books I talk about here were completely new ideas when they started, and at least a couple of the new titles are based off of new concepts that appeared in the last, say, twenty years (Grifter, Voodoo, and  Resurrection Man), and new ideas are what really is the lifeblood of the industry. I know that a title with a new character is more likely to fail, but still, where would the legends be if we didn’t try them out?