Author Archives: Chicanery
Sorry
I think I’m going to give up the blog. I can’t handle a schedule and I’ve nothing interesting to blog about.
So, this is an indefinite hiatus.
07/07/12
The writer is sitting in his room, reading comic books. His face contorts and he seems panicked. He stares at the clock and realises that he has to write a post.”Okay, it’s still Saturday, right?” he asks the ginger dog at his feet. She doesn’t answer, as dogs are wont to do.
He searches for the laptop and finds it sitting downstairs on the blue sofa, with the other computers, charging. He picks it up and heads back upstairs to his room. He reclines on his bed, turns the machine on, and begins to type, altering the truth to make for a better story, but keeping it close to the reality of a boring man’s life.
Why not start with something different? Anyway, onto the main event, a quick run-down of Spider-Men #1 and #2.
Spider-Men is the first cross-over event between the Ultimate Marvel Universe and the standard 616 Marvel Universe. Written Brian Michael Bendis and with art by Sara Pichelli, it details Peter Parker being transported into the Ultimate Universe and meeting his counterpart, Miles Morales. The standard miscommunication occurs and, perhaps inevitably, there is a fight between the two. Peter then meets Nick Fury and deduces that he is in an alternate universe. Peter and Miles climb into a helicopter, and Peter asks him if he is dead in this Universe. They are interrupted before Miles can answer, and Issue #2 ends with a bazooka aimed at the two Spider-Men.
While the book’s plot is, at least so far, slight, Bendis’ focus on characterisation shines through. His Peter Parker is a classical take on Spider-Man. He quips, hits bad guys, is hated by the public, and is clever enough to deduce what’s going on. I can’t really attest to whether this is his current characterisation in his on-going titles, but it definitely matches with the Spider-Man I remember from the cartoon and the 80s books. This is a Spider-Man who isn’t bogged down by angst, but one who lightens the mood considerably. The book is actually fun, a big change from the grimdark of current titles.
Miles, unfortunately, takes a back seat in this cross-over. Bendis seems more concerned with Peter. Fair enough, there is a movie to consider, and people would be confused about a black Spider-Man. The book’s clearly written for newcomers to Marvel, likely those brought in by the movie. This is not really a bad thing, it’s fairly organic. Peter doesn’t know anything about the Ultimate Universe, so it makes sense for the audience to learn things as he learns them. However, I would prefer to see more of Miles. He’s an interesting character in his own right, a child without training, who stumbled into superheroics, and who is still trying to work out the finer details. He’s more reserved than Peter, not quite as quick-witted, and far less talented. He seems a little star-struck in these first two issues, so I hope he takes a larger role in the next three.
Sara Pichelli’s art is universally great, perfectly conveying emotion and action. She has a great amount of talent, and while not J. H. Williams III, her consistently great art and punctuality make her one of the best artists in current comics. Her action scenes are always a joy to watch, and she draws makes a standard shot of Spider-Man swinging seem energetic.
However, the villain of the piece is really… dull. I’m not going to say who it is, but I will say they could be replaced by any other villain and the book would be the same.
The Good: Great art and characterisation, Bendis’ dialogue is mostly smart and quippy, and Pichelli can draw.
The Bad: Standard plot (Spider-Man stops crime, meets villain, fights super-hero, finds out hero is good…) and a boring villain. Not enough Miles Morales.
I really fell behind…
Okay, I promise that I’ll have a new post up with content up soon.
I don’t have a lot to talk about, bar Prometheus (which will be savaged soon) and comics, but something new is coming this Saturday.
Next Saturday I am working so I’ll try and have a post up early. The Saturday after I am in Rome, so no blog that week. I’ll make it up by doing two the week after.
I know I’ve fallen behind, especially after an exceptionally productive May, but I’ll be back on schedule ASAP!
Oh, It’s Saturday.
When you have nothing to do, bar waste away in front of a computer screen at violent images and funny cats, the days blend together. No markers to seperate days, except sleep, but that’s nothing. I don’t dream. Or maybe I don’t remember the dreams. It’s hard to keep a schedule, I’m only updating today because I accidentally clicked my WordPress bookmark.
Here’s the thing, I’m not depressed. I’m happy, but bored. I lead a boring life, it’s why I don’t blog often. I have nothing to write about.
This is just a quick five minute update. Just so you know how I’m doing.
On Before Watchmen…
No, I’m not going to read it or review it. It’s a cynical cash grab that I will not fund. However, I would like to comment on Silk Spectre’s new costume.
What the fuck, DC!
The costumes in the original graphic novel were intentionally designed to be a bit on the silly side, and Silk Spectre comments on this and how she hated her costume. So what do you do for the prequels? Sex it up!
I don’t know how, but this new costume shows even more flesh than the old one. Really, this is out of character and confirms that this is a shallow exploitation of a masterpiece. Even Power Girl’s costume covers flesh these days. It’s really disgusting, especially since it goes against character (her hatred of revealing costumes) and continuity (she had the same costume since she was sixteen).
Batwoman #9
You may recall that I said that the current arc (To Drown The World) in Batwoman marks a decline from the first arc (Hydrology). I criticised the artwork from Reeder for being too cartoony and exaggerated for the story, and I criticised Williams for writing for the trade. However, issue 9 fixes my concerns.
DC have replaced Reeder with the more talented McCarthy until the end of To Drown The World. McCarthy has a great eye for detail, adding small things that enhance the world-building. For example, each member of Maro’s team has two black tattoos under their eyes. It’s a small addition that shows their devotion to, and pride to be part of, his cause. McCarthy echoes Williams’ more experimental panel structure in the fight sequences, and although he is not as good as Williams, his art fits the sombre tone of the series far better than Reeder’s.
Williams seems to be addressing the concerns about him writing for the trade. This issue, while part of a larger arc, has a clear beginning and end. It’s not a good place for new readers to start, but it at least offers enough plot and characterisation to be worth the price. The issue benefits by allowing Sune to have a character at last, and Maggie and Kate’s small scene shows that their relationship is clearly growing stronger. The non-chronological, episodic structure isn’t too much of a distraction this issue, and it is clearer what is going on. While this structure damaged previous issues, it is intriguing in this. It’s finally doing its job.
8/10.
Schedule filler
I forgot what day it was. I have nothing prepared and nothing to improvise. So this is just filler until I have something to write about.
Possible Story
Prologue: Moore City, Ix.
Black leather shoes pounded along the cracked concrete, blinding red suns bearing down on the morning market street. The human men chased the small fish-like man down the bright corridor, blue-and-yellow bird’s cages crashing to the ground and smashing open, bright sun-like birds fleeing into the open sky, as the small fish-man stumbled into the stalls. Vendors screaming various languages, “Bastard!”; “Yxwadh!”; “Ed’sjk!”; words incomprehensible to human minds. The human men grabbed the blue fish-man and threw him to the floor of a dark, red-bricked alley.
The bigger man pressed the fish-man up against the wall.
“Where?” said the smaller man.
“Wdi’sk! Wdi’sk!” screamed the fish-man, desperately.
“Colonial. Or my partner will break you” said the smaller man.
“I do not knew!”
The bigger man snapped the fish-man’s finger. “Do not lie” said the smaller man.
“Is gone! Not on Ix!”
The small man took out his bronze pocket watch and wound it. “Do not lie. We stopped all outgoing ships. It is impossible for it to be off-planet.” He looked at the watch face. “We have plenty of time, Christopher. Call me when you’re done.” The small man straightened his tie and walked out of the alley, into the white-hot light.
“Fuckin’ Ixians. Youse fucks don’t know shit ‘bout lying.” Christopher held the Ixian up by his neck and drew his blade out from under his shabby cheap coat. Christopher pushed the knife into his arm and pried off dirty scales. “Tell me where it is.”
The blue Ixian screeched “Bar! On street-near-blue-river!”
Christopher grinned widely, “What blue river?” He stabbed the fish-man in his shoulder, blood coursing down and onto the dusty ground. “Nic wants this thing tonight, so which fucking river?”
Shapes on top of the crumbling, broken buildings moved, shadowy figures starkly outlined against the two red suns. An eroded block of stone that may have once been a grotesque fell down to the alley, smashing. Christopher looked around, dropping his bloody blade. The sound of leather boots against rusting metal fire escapes, twelve men in patchwork-leather armour climbed down to the alley.
Christopher panicked. He drew his grandfather’s pistol from the faded silver-lined holster his father gave to him when he became an enforcer. He stole the pistol from his grandfather’s room at the nursing home after he forgot who Christopher was. He began firing wildly, hitting one of the men in the chest. He tumbled from the fire escape onto the hard ground, dead on impact. One of the men threw something. Christopher felt a searing pain in his chest; he looked down to see a red-hot stain in his shirt, billowing out from a filed, rusted iron knife. He slumped down, sliding against the wall. The leathered men surrounded him.
“Please, I don’t want to die yet,” he pleaded, “I’m only 34… Please! I’m only doing my job.” He broke into tears. He, a large, granite-faced man in a cheap cloth suit, was sobbing uncontrollably.
The 11 men walked past him and picked up the bleeding Ixian.
“Stand up, brother” said the largest of the men, a red ogre-man, almost certainly an alien. “What is your name?” he asked.
“192342”, replied the Ixian.
The ogre-man shook his head, “No, your broodname, brother!”
The Ixian looked up, “I is Aleostus.”
“I am Ushitora.” He gave his hand to Aleostus and helped him up to his feet. He turned to the other men, “Guthrie, bring Aleostus to our home.” A red-haired human helped Aleostus stand, “Let’s get you rested, bud!” he exclaimed cheerily.
Ushitora said “You’re one of us now, Brother Aleostus. Welcome to the War of Independence. The rest of you, head to this bar Brother Aleostus speaks of and wait for this ‘Nic’. He will most probably be along once he finds ‘Christopher’.”
As Guthrie helped Aleosus down the crowded market street, a sharp knock echoed through the alley and he knew then what he had been drafted into.
End Prologue.
I know this isn’t very good, but it’s a start. Lot of influences in this; Irish History, McCarthy, Orwell…
On-Going Comic Books I Consider Good, Like.
The piece I originally had scheduled for today, a MIB3 review, fell through. Why? I overslept and missed the showing. Whoops. So as a last-minute replacement, comic books!
At the moment, my favourite on-goings are almost all New 52. I try to say that I’m not a DC fanboy, but, well, I suppose I am. So without further ado (fun word, that):
ANIMAL MAN (New 52)
Jeff Lemire’s Animal Man is very good. Great, even. It outclasses almost every book put out by DC at the moment, and every book by Marvel.
What Makes It Good?
The book is filled with high concept ideas, The Red is the means by which all animal life is interconnected, The Rot is the antithesis of this, Death personified, but the book doesn’t feel preposterous. This is testament to the humanity evident in Lemire’s writing. Another writer could too easily make the book overly serious, but Lemire manages to inject humour into every issue while not undermining the threat of The Rot. The Hunter’s Three are effective villains, and are genuinely terrifying and powerful.
Although Lemire’s writing is on a grand scale, but he also manages to write the small-scale events of Buddy Baker’s life. The day-to-day interactions between his family members and he are as completely realised as the universe threatening conflict between The Red and The Rot.
Travel Foreman’s, and from #9, Steve Pugh’s art conveys body horror and the concept of the red expertly. It’s “trippy”.
9/10
All-Star Western (New 52)
A fun (albeit adult) book that revels in DC history and explores the Victorian-era Gotham and the death of the Old West.
What Makes It Good?
It’s a pulpy comic book starring an ex-Confederate Soldier who happens to be a ruthless Bounty Hunter! It’s a ridiculous, though self-aware, adventure book that never takes itself too seriously, despite the grimness of the storylines. The action is solidly drawn and Hex makes an intriguing character, despite his irritating phonetic accent. Amadeus Arkham affords an amusing point-of-view character that is mostly ineffectual, but gives the series a comedic element to counter-point the darkness of Hex.
The book effortlessly creates the 19th Century DC Universe on its own, with its back-up story serving to introduce characters and build a believable world. The back-up stories do tend to be weaker than the main story, but they are still a good addition in an industry that (currently) mostly avoids back-ups.
The art for the main comic is great, Moritat solidly conveys violence and gives great characterisation in his art and his design is universally excellent. The art in the back-up ranges from unimpressive (the art for the current Nighthawk and Cinnamon story is serviceable yet uninspired) to fun and blocky (the art for the El Diablo story is a cross between Guy Davis and Jack Kirby).
8/10
BATWOMAN
Batwoman is a solid crime comic that incorporated magical elements, it is inspired but highly decompressed.
What Makes It Good?
Lots of things! Although, mainly the influence of J.H. Williams III. His writing is surprisingly fantastic, a great continuation from Rucka, and his incorporation of magical elements distinguishes this from the other Bat titles. The art for the first arc (Hydrology, issues #1-5) is some of the best of William’s career, almost as good as his work on Seven Soldiers #0 and equal to his work on Detective Comics #854-860. While, Reeder’s artwork is much weaker and almost cartoonish, it is still competent and only bad in comparison to the J.H. Williams, who I personally consider the best artist working in modern comics.
The series deserves praise for portraying a lesbian relationship that never feels cheap or exploitative. It feels like a genuine loving relationship, and Kate clearly shows regret over having to keep her life hidden. Kate and Maggie are written like any other couple and this works really well and is a positive sign for the future.
Warning, the comic declines in quality a little after the first arc, mostly due to the non-chronological aspects of the story. Williams is writing for the trade, not the single issue.
7/10
Ultimate Comics: All New Spider-Man
So many things could have went wrong here. Killing off Peter Parker and replacing him with a half-black, half-hispanic character could have been cheap and exploitative. Brian Michael Bendis’s writing, whose Avengers work is almost universally awful (excluding Civil War: The Confession), was a warning light for me.
However, I took a chance on it when the first trade came out. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was Brian Eno fantastic.
What Makes It Good? Bendis’s writing is surprisingly great. He genuinely loves the character of Miles Morales/Spider-Man and the lighter nature of this series, while touching on heavy themes (the homosexual subtext is strong, yet not overbearing) makes it a refreshing alternative to Post-OMD 616 Spider-Man. Characterisation is well-executed, with Miles becoming more confident in his role, his Uncle becoming a better defined villain, and his father becoming less sympathetic as the series continues. It’s a series about the difficulties of growing up, Miles has just hit puberty and is entering Middle School (I think, I don’t know how the American school system works) and the responsibility of being Spider-Man is effective symbolism for his growing responsibility in life.
The art is fun and cartoonish, but also really good at conveying little emotions and character moments. The series is a fun comic in an otherwise dreary sea of Marvel published works. It’s a definite recommendation for anyone who enjoys light-hearted works.
9/10
Coherence Is Overrated 