So, even though it’s the end of April and I still have to finish working on DC NEW 52 Month 29, I need to make a side-step for a quick moment or ten. Bear with me.
See, I decided that I would sample some of the ALL NEW MARVEL NOW titles and actually attempt to give them an honest and fair review. Heck, maybe I would even like them. However, before I can do that, I need to give a bit of back-story; especially since I have spent the last two and a half years weaning off most Marvel Comics. And there is a story to that too.
I have been collecting comics since I was about five years old. The first comic I can truly remember reading, or having read to me, was X-MEN #17(back BEFORE it was called UNCANNY X-MEN). Classic Lee and Kirby with a killer closing full page shot of Magneto that was seared into my head. My collection was scattered between DC and Marvel, with a heavy concentration on Marvels. I remember having some SUPERMAN titles and some BATMAN books and the occasional WONDER WOMAN. Most of the DC’s I owned were the oddball non-superhero titles like their war books, SEA DEVILS and RIP HUNTER TIME MASTER and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN. Two of my favorites were short lived: SECRET SIX and THE INFERIOR FIVE. And I had a large collection and interest in CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED.
But I have to admit: I was a Marvel Zombie. And my collection was a wonderful place, filled with many key books of the Silver Age. Want a list? Well, here’s a partial list of the MINT CONDITION BOOKS(many back issues, some cover-less, were bought at a little hole in the wall used book store in Warren, Rhode Island): AMAZING SPIDER MAN from issue #55 to #110; FANTASTIC FOUR from issue #48 through #105; X-MEN from issue #35 until #67; CONAN THE BARBARIAN from issue #1 through #24; numerous copies of IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA, SUB MARINER, DAREDEVIL, and a host too numerous to list here.
Unfortunately, peer pressure came knocking at my door, both from my friends and my family, and I found myself trading in my love of comics for the allure of Warren Publications. FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, CREEPY, EERIE, and VAMPIRELLA took their places and became my monthly fix and numerous back issues were acquired(after all: the shop didn’t give me CASH for my comics-I got some $150.00 in store credit. Think about that: all those comics for $150.00 in STORE CREDIT…in 1973 dollars!).
But I couldn’t stay away from my Four Color friends for long. By 1975, I was back in the game and went back to the title Marvel title I loved the best. My first buy back into the game was GIANT SIZE X-MEN #1. Not long after, I found myself going back to the same place I had sold my comics and buying them back, along with filling in spots with recently released comics. My first five grabs were INCREDIBLE HULK #180 and #181 and AMAZING SPIDER MAN #121, 122 and 129(two copies actually, as I had forgotten I had previously bought one). At least once a week, my dad would drive me to the same place I had sold my books two years before, now under a new owner, and I would spend my credit and eventually my money, rebuilidng my collection. I soon discovered that this was a near impossibility as some of those books I had parted with for mere pennies only two years before were now hanging on the wall at prices I could never afford (I believe the CONAN #1 was priced at $65 dollars-in 1975 dollars!)
Soon I was back buying comics the way it should be: on a weekly basis. But the days of haunting the spinner racks of the local variety store, Lussier’s Variety in Fall River, Mass., were gone and so was Lussier’s. And the Adam’s Drugs in downtown Fall River, always a last chance stop to find missing books, especially CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED’s, had shrunk it’s comics section to that of a postage stamp with about 25 titles on the shelf at a given time. In their places, a veritable magazine “superstore”, Dwyer’s News Service, popped up in a strip mall in North Dartmouth, Mass. And it was there, every Thursday night, that my dad and I would travel, pick up the current issue of BILLBOARD MAGAZINE, the current issue of CIRCUS MAGAZINE (yes, the teenage had finally discovered rock and roll) and whatever new titles were on the shelf. This was in the beginning days of what became known as the Direct Market and also represented a time where the Overstreet Price Guide was becoming the industry Bible for collecting comics.
Anyway, I digress way off topic.
Since 1975, I have been an avid collector. I have lived through the collector’s boom where everything had a collectible gimmick, be it glow-in-the-dark, die-cut, or foil-stamped books with multiple covers that EVERYONE NEEDED TO OWN. It was a time when every person collecting saw their buying habits as future investments to guide them trough retirement, no matter WHAT the comic may have been. And I too jumped on that bandwagon, collecting old favorites like BATMAN and SUPERMAN but also titles like ROM THE SPACEKNIGHT and DAZZLER: the first book specifically GEARED at the Direct Market. We counted out pennies and waited to get rich. Companies came and went: Valiant, Eclipse, Malibu, Pacific, Americomics, Atlas, Blackthorne, Image. The rise of the Independent Comic, spearheaded, whether he liked to admit it or not, by Dave Sim’s CEREBUS, looked to give readers what they wanted with non-traditional superheroes and slice of life comics. By the early 1990’s, print runs of comics were in the hundreds of thousands. Life was good for comic dealers, comic publishers, and comic buyers.
But that all came to an end with the publication of SUPERMAN Vol. 2 #75. Published in late 1992, it presented the death of Superman: an event that rocked the industry and fans to the core. This was MAJOR NEWS, not just among comic fans but among the MEDIA in general. You could not turn on a new program and NOT hear about the impending death of the Man of Steel. And when it hit, that Wednesday of release, it was like a battleground with fans and speculators alike lining up to get their copies. How would you like that: newsstand edition, black bagged edition or the super rare PLATINUM EDITION? Fans wept, non fans opened their safety deposit boxes and retailers and rubbed their hands with glee as the cash cow had just rolled it and brought with it people who had never even SEEN the inside of a comic shop before. This meant revenue for the business and new collectors to feed their need for something new.
And then a villain by the name of Bane arrived and broke Batman’s back in a little epic called KNIGHTFALL. This meant a NEW BATMAN and, we were told, this was a PERMANENT CHANGE. Again, fans and non-fans flocked to stores to scoop up this rare commodity.
And when Bruce Wayne again donned the mantle of the Bat, and Superman came back to life, people realized that this is the world of the “Funny Book” and, unlike in real life, dead doesn’t always mean dead forever and change can always be reverse. And the boom became a bust. News fans turned their backs and tried to sell their new found collections, only to find they would be offered a fraction of what they paid or what they were worth (retailers DO need to make money. So it may say “X” in Overstreet or WIZARD but that usually meant 20% of “X”-AT BEST!). And longtime fans, the die-hards who had been here from the start of it all, found themselves feeling mighty jaded and many of them threw up their hands in disgust and walked away from the hobby.
To show how far things had fallen, at a CBLDF Auction I helped run in 1996, a PLATINUM SUPERMAN #75 went for $10.00(and I nearly got laughed off the podium when I presented it for auction!). Reports that nearly 66% of the comic shops in America went bankrupt during this time-period are reliable. Marvel filed for bankruptcy, their stock went down the drain, and rival Diamond Distribution and the single distributor days arrived by swallowing up Capital City, one of the Big Two comic distributors. Many of the remaining comic shops branched out, selling everything from MAGIC cards (tournaments became common in an effort to draw in business) to videotapes and games.
But those that survived did so because of a loyal fan base, a shrewd business model and the consumer’s need to be entertained. And having a slew of comic related movies like the SPIDER MAN, X-MEN and DARK KNIGHT series, and flat out blockbusters like THE AVENGERS, among others, certainly helped reel in business and maintain a core base.
Now where is all this leading to, you may ask? Well, in May of 2011, DC published FLASHPOINT: a five issue mini-series that promised to change everything in a flash. And it did. With a host of crossover titles and mini-series running around it, the conclusion resulted in a completely retooled DC Universe which jettisoned most existing continuity and christened itself as The New 52. Every DC Comic was cancelled and in their place, 52 BRAND NEW NUMBER ONES. DC’s longest running title, ACTION COMICS, ended with issue #904 and was replaced by a brand new ACTION COMICS #1 in September of 2011. Right behind it, DETECTIVE COMICS ended it’s run before it could reach issue #900.
As was expected, it became a jumping on point for some fans and a jumping off point for others. It became and still IS a topic of conversation, both pro and con. “How dare they throw away 75 years of continuity!” “But change is good and some of those characters needed to be spruced up!” And the debate rages on. I was one of those fans who sat on the fence and actually had considering completely cutting myself off from DC when the initial project was announced. I too found myself upset that the 75-year-old baby was going away with the bath water and had decided that I was done with the whole mess. But the more I thought about it, the more curiosity got to me and I dove in, to at least check out the first issues of all 52 titles and see what they were going to do. Some I liked, and some I could not stand.
And then, a little over a year after the first NEW 52 title dropped, just when it seemed that the world was going to be nice and normal, DC’s primary competition, Marvel Comics, decided that they were in need of a freshening up of their titles. And suddenly MARVEL NOW was born in October of 2012. In the process, nearly every Marvel Comic found itself renumbered from issue #1(except for some titles like DAREDEVIL, which had already reset it’s numbering when Volume 3 was introduced in 2011. Even long time titles like the FANTASTIC FOUR(611 issues) and AMAZING SPIDER MAN(700 issues) found themselves renumbered or changed(Spider Man became the SUPERIOR SPIDER MAN and Doctor Octopus became Peter Parker!). And this was the point that I said: “enough is enough!” and slashed my Marvel Comics purchases to the bone. To the bone meant less than ten titles per month.
While I didn’t completely agree with DC’s tactics of starting from the ground up and renumbering all their titles(and have major issues with a lot of their editorial decisions), I was MORE OFFENDED by Marvel doing the same thing. But, in most of the Marvel titles, a renumbering just meant a changing of a creative team, not a complete reboot. This was their way, in my opinion, of creating speculator interest by having a host of Number One issues on the stands. What I was doing was totally being done out of protest first and financial need second (not to mention the now almost 40 year old collection is getting hard to handle and store properly). So I have cruised along quite contentedly since then, reading a lot of DC’s (although Marvel still controls the market share of titles-something I am constantly reminded of with some notable glee by my shop owner) and enjoying myself. Heck-I’m enjoying myself enough to Blog about them monthly! And Marvel: well, they’re just there, with the few titles I buy being the bright spots in a cluttered landscape of far too many Mutant titles, Avengers titles and Ultimate books (how many folks feel cheated there? We’re destroying the Ultimate Universe…not really!).
And yes, I do read some of the “Indy” books out there, if you can consider Image (WALKING DEAD and STRAY BULLETS-is there anything else?) and Abstract Indys (well-I’ll give terry Moore his due and credit him for hanging in and creating great product!). So don’t get the idea that I have become the flag waving Poster Child for all things DC and no one else. I pick my battles and pick my favorites.
But with the All Singing, All Dancing, All New Marvel Now (hold up your hand if you are old enough to catch that reference) rearing it’s ugly head, I felt it was only fair to at least give them a shot: if only for one issue. And while I expect to like some, hate some and feel indifferent about some, I am again OFFENDED at the idea of RENUMBERING BOOKS YET AGAIN. While I will be reviewing many of these in the upcoming weeks and months, here is part of my gripe:
ALL NEW X-FACTOR: Did we NOT just END that book. Oh wait: new numbers, more value to the collector.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: Wait: we killed a title that was 700 issues old so we could make changes to the character and now that we have changed that character (SPOILERS!), we’re resurrecting the OLD TITLE!? Could we not have had SUPERIOR CONTINUE the numbering from AMAZING? It’s not like THUNDERBOLTS didn’t go from THUNDERBOLTS to DARK AVENGERS and back again without messing with the numbering. Oh…that’s right: THUNDERBOLTS DIDN’T have a MOVIE coming out!
CAPTAIN MARVEL: See my comments on X-FACTOR. Marvel just ended a series, also written by Kelly Sue DeConnick. I wasn’t impressed with it. We’ll see if that changes for me.
DAREDEVIL: This title just ended a tremendous run that solved many mysteries and left some others unanswered. What we DO KNOW(SPOILERS!) is that Matt Murdock has OUTED himself and moved to San Francisco(No...not that kind of outing!). So, this is a reason to renumber AGAIN(Volume 4?).
FANTASTIC FOUR: Wow! AGAIN-DID WE NOT JUST FINISH A RUN OF THIS BOOK? So, the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe now moves to Volume 3? That’s just plain ridiculous!
HULK: I can’t even count what volume THIS IS!
SECRET AVENGERS, WOLVERINE, WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN and X-FORCE: All titles which just finished runs. Just because there is a new creative team is NOT AN EXCUSE to do this!
So, as you can guess, I WILL have my pencil sharpened in the next few weeks as I dissect what’s ALL NEW with MARVEL NOW. Better wear a raincoat or an apron: it might get REAL MESSY!
Until then: keep watching for my NEW 52 reviews. They may not always be at scathing, but they will be pointed!
Thanks for listening!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
The concluding chapters of DC's FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT
TRINITY OF SIN: THE PHANTOM STRANGER #17: Part 15 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. In a continuation from the confrontation at the end of last issue between The Spectre, The Phantom Stranger, and Cassandra Craft, Chris and the embodiment of God gives them the gift of seeing how their past and future are connected. Pandora arrives and the three of them are transported to Las Vegas to meet with Trigon’s sons. Arriving within the presence of Belial, Suge and Ruskoff, The Stranger asks for their help in defeating Felix Faust. They demand payment in the form of either Cassandra or Stranger’s necklace. When he refuses and they prepare to leave, Suge and Ruskoff attempt to stop them and are beheaded by Pandora. After a lengthy battle, The Stranger agrees to let Belial have the necklace, which he only wears for the briefest of moments and then removes it, saying he has never known a “hell like the one (he) live(s) every second of every minute of every day”. With that, the six head over to TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #9: where their part of the story continues.
This book continues to be a total hit or miss title, as it pretty much has since it’s positively horrible first issue. J. M. DeMatteis does a wonderful job of filling the Phantom Stranger character with a ton of angst and we get to see a lot of the pain he feels. But, at the same time, a big part of me doesn’t care. Okay: we know he is Judas and he betrayed Jesus and he must endure that pain forever. How about we get on to the point where he must do good deeds to rid himself of the 30 pieces of silver (or however many are left-I have lost count!). And what is with the “gift” Chris gives to The Stranger and Cassandra? How ARE they bonded together in the last and future? What IRKS me most of all is having one of the three brothers represented on the cover pulling the wings off of Zauriel. HELLO! NOT IN THIS ISSUE! In fact, not only does the SCENE not appear in this issue, he doesn’t appear in this issue either. Granted, it is a great Guillem March cover but again, DC Editorial presents us with a misleading first image. Speaking of images, we get the usual nice work from Fernando Blanco. Honestly guys-let’s get away from this rambling story and get back to business as usual.
CONSTANTINE #12: Part 16 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. Nick Necro finds himself being chastised by Felix Faust for spending too much time dealing with John Constantine. Faust reminds him that he was responsible for getting Necro out of hell at the cost of his youth. Flashing back six years ago, we see Nick instructing his students John and Zatanna in the ways of magic and explaining that all magic has a cost. But they created a magical bond with their kisses that would tie them together for all time. In the present day, Constantine has managed to get out of the Thaumaton wheel by using Zatara's escape spell. But Necro has managed to place a spell on the rest of Justice League Dark that allows him to control them like puppets. He also tells Constantine that the only way Zatanna will survive is if one of the two of them dies. The pair battle and it causes John to end up in the middle of a magic circle where a demon from Hell grabs him. Before he can be dragged below, he conjures up a magical blade and buries it into Necro’s chest. As Constantine falls into Hell, he hears the Swamp Thing going mad and realizes there is nothing he can do to stop it.
Ray Fawkes and Beni Lobel bring us this next chapter in this eighteen-part saga and it’s a doozy! Besides having varying degrees of epic magic battles, we have a threesome in the weirdest of ways! Seriously, this is a nice issue that ties up a bunch of loose ends and creates a nice lead into Chapter 17 in TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #9. My only question is where does our cigarette smoking, trench coat wearing sorcerer go from here when this is all done. Me thinks it will not be a good place…
TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #9: Part 17 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. Pandora and company have made their way to Nanda Parbat when she senses that Necro is dying and John is in equally bad danger as he finds himself falling toward Hell. But Zauriel saves the day by killing the demon who was eagerly waiting for the man in the trench coat. Meanwhile, Felix Faust is finding his plans going completely astray and, despite Pandora offering him a chance to surrender, he unleashes his most powerful spell yet and cuts through Swamp Thing. While Pandora and Faust battle, The Phantom Stranger works at rescuing the rest of the magical beings strapped into the Thaumaton wheel. Faust claims their efforts are fruitless as a threat greater than the Crime Syndicate has arrived and without this weapon, no one can stop it. He also reveals that Pandora is not human or from this universe and that he plans on rebuilding the machine wiping out the planet and starting anew. Unfortunately for him, John Constantine has other plans.
Ray Fawkes and Francis Portela bring us the penultimate chapter in THE BLIGHT saga. So Constantine gets his tail saved by an angel and then decides he can make the world a better place. Why does that whole concept concern me? This IS JOHN CONSTANTINE we are talking about, right? This guy has pulled more shady deals with more shady people than most politicians. And the magical heroes of the New 52 are going to let him do that? Why do I think that this is a bad idea all the way around. Anyway, a nicely written issue that brings up the question of who is Pandora really? And will this book stick around long enough for readers to find out.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #29: Part 18 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. It seems that the John Constantine who has decided to save the world isn’t really the true John Constantine at all, as we learn that he has just been released from the Thaumaton Wheel. Zatanna uses her power to blast her way through the magical barrier that protects him. The imposter reminds her that while they were in The Between, he had told her that he would be willing to sacrifice the world to save her. Now he will do the opposite as he can channel all of Faust’s power into the people on the wheel, saving them and killing him in the process. And he does, dying in the process but leaving the “real” John Constantine alive. Pandora explains that both men are the real John Constantine and that the one who sacrificed himself is just one of the many “materialized pyschisms” from within his unconscious. With Faust defeated, the Sons of Trigon decide they can make points with their father by destroying these mystic warriors. But Zatanna leads the Justice League Dark against them and sees Constantine for the person he truly is as opposed to the person she wanted him to be. Suddenly the spirits of Nanda Parbat arrive and prepare to move the compound into another dimension. Zatanna teleports everyone to safety she feels a presence and The Stranger warns that this spell will have repercussions on all. Back at the House of Mystery, Constantine discovers that the House has rejected him and that Zatanna has been chosen as the new owner. As he leaves, he declares that he no longer needs the House, the League or her anymore.
So, we come to the end of this 18 issue, epic crossover and what have we learned. First: I don’t understand how this whole thing was called THE BLIGHT when that storyline pretty much ended when Chris died, was resurrected and is now at the right hand of the Dog. Anyway, we have learned that the evil that followed the Crime Syndicate here (or as I like to think of him, the reverse Captain Marvel/Shazam/whatever we call him this year) cannot be stopped my normal means. In fact, it may not be able to be stopped at all because the Thaumaton Wheel has been destroyed. He found out that that John Constantine is a jerk (yeah-we knew that anyway). We learned that Pandora is NOT from this Earth of this universe (she must be from one of Grant Morrison’s upcoming Earth’s). We learned that The Phantom Stranger that bears a burden greater than most of us can ever know. And we learned that the Sons of Trigon know how to party, even after they have been beheaded. In other words, J.M. DeMatteis, Vicente Cifuentes, and Tom Derenick thankfully finish this thing off about six issues too late. It was long, filled with angst and really didn’t have a whole lot to do with FOREVER EVIL until the last issue. Next time, DC: just keep it simple, short and don’t try to tie it into an “epic” unless it TRULY ties into the “epic”.
This book continues to be a total hit or miss title, as it pretty much has since it’s positively horrible first issue. J. M. DeMatteis does a wonderful job of filling the Phantom Stranger character with a ton of angst and we get to see a lot of the pain he feels. But, at the same time, a big part of me doesn’t care. Okay: we know he is Judas and he betrayed Jesus and he must endure that pain forever. How about we get on to the point where he must do good deeds to rid himself of the 30 pieces of silver (or however many are left-I have lost count!). And what is with the “gift” Chris gives to The Stranger and Cassandra? How ARE they bonded together in the last and future? What IRKS me most of all is having one of the three brothers represented on the cover pulling the wings off of Zauriel. HELLO! NOT IN THIS ISSUE! In fact, not only does the SCENE not appear in this issue, he doesn’t appear in this issue either. Granted, it is a great Guillem March cover but again, DC Editorial presents us with a misleading first image. Speaking of images, we get the usual nice work from Fernando Blanco. Honestly guys-let’s get away from this rambling story and get back to business as usual.
CONSTANTINE #12: Part 16 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. Nick Necro finds himself being chastised by Felix Faust for spending too much time dealing with John Constantine. Faust reminds him that he was responsible for getting Necro out of hell at the cost of his youth. Flashing back six years ago, we see Nick instructing his students John and Zatanna in the ways of magic and explaining that all magic has a cost. But they created a magical bond with their kisses that would tie them together for all time. In the present day, Constantine has managed to get out of the Thaumaton wheel by using Zatara's escape spell. But Necro has managed to place a spell on the rest of Justice League Dark that allows him to control them like puppets. He also tells Constantine that the only way Zatanna will survive is if one of the two of them dies. The pair battle and it causes John to end up in the middle of a magic circle where a demon from Hell grabs him. Before he can be dragged below, he conjures up a magical blade and buries it into Necro’s chest. As Constantine falls into Hell, he hears the Swamp Thing going mad and realizes there is nothing he can do to stop it.
Ray Fawkes and Beni Lobel bring us this next chapter in this eighteen-part saga and it’s a doozy! Besides having varying degrees of epic magic battles, we have a threesome in the weirdest of ways! Seriously, this is a nice issue that ties up a bunch of loose ends and creates a nice lead into Chapter 17 in TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #9. My only question is where does our cigarette smoking, trench coat wearing sorcerer go from here when this is all done. Me thinks it will not be a good place…
TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #9: Part 17 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. Pandora and company have made their way to Nanda Parbat when she senses that Necro is dying and John is in equally bad danger as he finds himself falling toward Hell. But Zauriel saves the day by killing the demon who was eagerly waiting for the man in the trench coat. Meanwhile, Felix Faust is finding his plans going completely astray and, despite Pandora offering him a chance to surrender, he unleashes his most powerful spell yet and cuts through Swamp Thing. While Pandora and Faust battle, The Phantom Stranger works at rescuing the rest of the magical beings strapped into the Thaumaton wheel. Faust claims their efforts are fruitless as a threat greater than the Crime Syndicate has arrived and without this weapon, no one can stop it. He also reveals that Pandora is not human or from this universe and that he plans on rebuilding the machine wiping out the planet and starting anew. Unfortunately for him, John Constantine has other plans.
Ray Fawkes and Francis Portela bring us the penultimate chapter in THE BLIGHT saga. So Constantine gets his tail saved by an angel and then decides he can make the world a better place. Why does that whole concept concern me? This IS JOHN CONSTANTINE we are talking about, right? This guy has pulled more shady deals with more shady people than most politicians. And the magical heroes of the New 52 are going to let him do that? Why do I think that this is a bad idea all the way around. Anyway, a nicely written issue that brings up the question of who is Pandora really? And will this book stick around long enough for readers to find out.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #29: Part 18 of FOREVER EVIL THE BLIGHT. It seems that the John Constantine who has decided to save the world isn’t really the true John Constantine at all, as we learn that he has just been released from the Thaumaton Wheel. Zatanna uses her power to blast her way through the magical barrier that protects him. The imposter reminds her that while they were in The Between, he had told her that he would be willing to sacrifice the world to save her. Now he will do the opposite as he can channel all of Faust’s power into the people on the wheel, saving them and killing him in the process. And he does, dying in the process but leaving the “real” John Constantine alive. Pandora explains that both men are the real John Constantine and that the one who sacrificed himself is just one of the many “materialized pyschisms” from within his unconscious. With Faust defeated, the Sons of Trigon decide they can make points with their father by destroying these mystic warriors. But Zatanna leads the Justice League Dark against them and sees Constantine for the person he truly is as opposed to the person she wanted him to be. Suddenly the spirits of Nanda Parbat arrive and prepare to move the compound into another dimension. Zatanna teleports everyone to safety she feels a presence and The Stranger warns that this spell will have repercussions on all. Back at the House of Mystery, Constantine discovers that the House has rejected him and that Zatanna has been chosen as the new owner. As he leaves, he declares that he no longer needs the House, the League or her anymore.
So, we come to the end of this 18 issue, epic crossover and what have we learned. First: I don’t understand how this whole thing was called THE BLIGHT when that storyline pretty much ended when Chris died, was resurrected and is now at the right hand of the Dog. Anyway, we have learned that the evil that followed the Crime Syndicate here (or as I like to think of him, the reverse Captain Marvel/Shazam/whatever we call him this year) cannot be stopped my normal means. In fact, it may not be able to be stopped at all because the Thaumaton Wheel has been destroyed. He found out that that John Constantine is a jerk (yeah-we knew that anyway). We learned that Pandora is NOT from this Earth of this universe (she must be from one of Grant Morrison’s upcoming Earth’s). We learned that The Phantom Stranger that bears a burden greater than most of us can ever know. And we learned that the Sons of Trigon know how to party, even after they have been beheaded. In other words, J.M. DeMatteis, Vicente Cifuentes, and Tom Derenick thankfully finish this thing off about six issues too late. It was long, filled with angst and really didn’t have a whole lot to do with FOREVER EVIL until the last issue. Next time, DC: just keep it simple, short and don’t try to tie it into an “epic” unless it TRULY ties into the “epic”.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
DC's FOREVER EVIL: Month Six(almost the end!)
FOREVER EVIL #7: THE BOOK IS LATE, SO IT WON’T GET REVIEWED POSSIBLY UNTIL AFTER THE MAY TITLES GET RELEASED.
FOREVER EVIL A.R.G.U.S. #6: We begin in the Green Room where the mysterious Green Man explains to Etta Candy and the President that A.R.G.U.S. has been around for hundreds of years before the dawn of the Superhero. Under the name of “Armed Revolutionaries Governing Under Secrecy, they began in the 1700’s and were involved in virtually every event in United States history. In the 1800s, they were the “Anonymous Ranger Group of the United States”. In the 1900s, a religious group led by followers known as the Crimson Men tried to bring on the apocalypse. Needing someone to be in charge, Etta Candy is asked to become the Keeper of the Keys. Meanwhile, Steve Trevor finds himself naked and mentally battling the Weird Sisters of Moirai, as he is actually frozen in ice in Central Park while Killer Frost battles Dr. Light. Trevor gets free and now he and Frost must battle light and his light constructs of the Crime Syndicate. Using Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth on Doctor Light, Steve shows him he is truly dead and he leaves the battle while Steve and Frost head off the help save the various Leagues. Finally, we see the Green Man donning a Crimson Men mask and goes next door to the Crimson Room. It seems that The Crimson are about to attempt to make A.R.G.U.S. and those who serve in it into a group that will fight THEIR agenda for them.
Yeah, I’m sure NO ONE saw that coming-the good guy turning out to be the bad guy. Wow! Plot twist of the year! Actually, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents really being Agents of HYDRA(TV show reference for you all!) was more of a shocker! This was the weakest of the three mini-series within a mini-series and this issue shows off all the wrong things about it. From ridiculous dialogue during fight sequences that spring from the pen of Sterling Gates to some questionable art by Neil Edwards that makes you wonder what character is who. And where is Dr. Light headed? One would have to assume he is off to battle the Crime Syndicate for having a part in his cruel origin. To be concluded in JUSTICE LEAGUE #30 and FOREVER EVIL #7.
FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR #6: We begin with Bane cauterizes his wounds and prepares for the next stage of the war. William Cobb determines that the Talons they got their hands on are slowly healing. The plan is that when the Talons are fully regenerated, Bane can use them to take over more than just Gotham City. Those who came from Arkham, who have Venom running through their veins, are trying take back Gotham back from Bane. Apparently Scarecrow gained the Venom from a blood sample that got taken. Man bat picks up bane and drops him at the gates of Arkham, where he battles the Arkhamites until their Venom runs dry. The Penguin asks to strike a deal with Bane. He wants the Arkhamites and offers Bane his logistical services. Bane offers all of them up, except for one. Having won the war, Bane decides to stay in Gotham with his prize: a Scarecrow to torture.
Peter J. Tomasi and Scot Eaton brings the best of the three books connected to FOREVER EVIL to a close and…where the heck do we go from here? Gotham is trashed, Bane rules and Scarecrow is about to be facing some of the worst moments of his life. This series was awesome and makes me yearn for a BANE series. Why not? Marvel had THE PUNISHER and Bane has always towed that line between villain and anti-hero. Bring it on! This story will EVENTUALLY be resolved in BATMAN VS. BANE #1, which was SUPPOSED TO BE OUT IN APRIL but it seems like the deadline crunch IS slowing this title down too.
FOREVER EVIL ROGUES REBELLION #6: Pied Piper is watching over Lisa Snart while the rest of the Rogues fight Grodd and the Secret Society. He decides it’s more important to help his friends and also his lover, David Singh, and leaves her. He uses his flute to control Parasite’s mind and has him attack Grodd. Getting surrounded by the Secret Society, it looks as though the Rogues are doomed when the tendrils of the Glider arrive with her. Seems that the sound of Piper's flute woke her from her coma and now she is reunited with Sam. He puts a mirror in place and Weather Wizard sends the Society into the Mirror World, allowing Trickster to smash the glass and trap the villains there. The people of Central City begin to appear and thank the Rogues. It doesn’t feel like a victory because they are missing Heatwave and Captain Cold. In the end, the Rogues are a family.
Brian Buccellato and Scott Hepburn continue to make me want a Rogues title so bad that I can taste it. I mean, I would rather have that than another war title that will likely fail( even if it IS STAR -SPANGLED WAR STORIES and it IS by Palmiotti and Gray). The Rogues are such fun characters to work with: the anti-heroes who try to do bad, end up doing good and make me laugh along the way. Anyway, the series was fun, even if we have two members missing from the group by series’ end, and, with a new creative team jumping onto THE FLASH, maybe it’s time to shine a big spotlight here. C’mon Dan Didio: do the right thing!
FOREVER EVIL A.R.G.U.S. #6: We begin in the Green Room where the mysterious Green Man explains to Etta Candy and the President that A.R.G.U.S. has been around for hundreds of years before the dawn of the Superhero. Under the name of “Armed Revolutionaries Governing Under Secrecy, they began in the 1700’s and were involved in virtually every event in United States history. In the 1800s, they were the “Anonymous Ranger Group of the United States”. In the 1900s, a religious group led by followers known as the Crimson Men tried to bring on the apocalypse. Needing someone to be in charge, Etta Candy is asked to become the Keeper of the Keys. Meanwhile, Steve Trevor finds himself naked and mentally battling the Weird Sisters of Moirai, as he is actually frozen in ice in Central Park while Killer Frost battles Dr. Light. Trevor gets free and now he and Frost must battle light and his light constructs of the Crime Syndicate. Using Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth on Doctor Light, Steve shows him he is truly dead and he leaves the battle while Steve and Frost head off the help save the various Leagues. Finally, we see the Green Man donning a Crimson Men mask and goes next door to the Crimson Room. It seems that The Crimson are about to attempt to make A.R.G.U.S. and those who serve in it into a group that will fight THEIR agenda for them.
Yeah, I’m sure NO ONE saw that coming-the good guy turning out to be the bad guy. Wow! Plot twist of the year! Actually, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents really being Agents of HYDRA(TV show reference for you all!) was more of a shocker! This was the weakest of the three mini-series within a mini-series and this issue shows off all the wrong things about it. From ridiculous dialogue during fight sequences that spring from the pen of Sterling Gates to some questionable art by Neil Edwards that makes you wonder what character is who. And where is Dr. Light headed? One would have to assume he is off to battle the Crime Syndicate for having a part in his cruel origin. To be concluded in JUSTICE LEAGUE #30 and FOREVER EVIL #7.
FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR #6: We begin with Bane cauterizes his wounds and prepares for the next stage of the war. William Cobb determines that the Talons they got their hands on are slowly healing. The plan is that when the Talons are fully regenerated, Bane can use them to take over more than just Gotham City. Those who came from Arkham, who have Venom running through their veins, are trying take back Gotham back from Bane. Apparently Scarecrow gained the Venom from a blood sample that got taken. Man bat picks up bane and drops him at the gates of Arkham, where he battles the Arkhamites until their Venom runs dry. The Penguin asks to strike a deal with Bane. He wants the Arkhamites and offers Bane his logistical services. Bane offers all of them up, except for one. Having won the war, Bane decides to stay in Gotham with his prize: a Scarecrow to torture.
Peter J. Tomasi and Scot Eaton brings the best of the three books connected to FOREVER EVIL to a close and…where the heck do we go from here? Gotham is trashed, Bane rules and Scarecrow is about to be facing some of the worst moments of his life. This series was awesome and makes me yearn for a BANE series. Why not? Marvel had THE PUNISHER and Bane has always towed that line between villain and anti-hero. Bring it on! This story will EVENTUALLY be resolved in BATMAN VS. BANE #1, which was SUPPOSED TO BE OUT IN APRIL but it seems like the deadline crunch IS slowing this title down too.
FOREVER EVIL ROGUES REBELLION #6: Pied Piper is watching over Lisa Snart while the rest of the Rogues fight Grodd and the Secret Society. He decides it’s more important to help his friends and also his lover, David Singh, and leaves her. He uses his flute to control Parasite’s mind and has him attack Grodd. Getting surrounded by the Secret Society, it looks as though the Rogues are doomed when the tendrils of the Glider arrive with her. Seems that the sound of Piper's flute woke her from her coma and now she is reunited with Sam. He puts a mirror in place and Weather Wizard sends the Society into the Mirror World, allowing Trickster to smash the glass and trap the villains there. The people of Central City begin to appear and thank the Rogues. It doesn’t feel like a victory because they are missing Heatwave and Captain Cold. In the end, the Rogues are a family.
Brian Buccellato and Scott Hepburn continue to make me want a Rogues title so bad that I can taste it. I mean, I would rather have that than another war title that will likely fail( even if it IS STAR -SPANGLED WAR STORIES and it IS by Palmiotti and Gray). The Rogues are such fun characters to work with: the anti-heroes who try to do bad, end up doing good and make me laugh along the way. Anyway, the series was fun, even if we have two members missing from the group by series’ end, and, with a new creative team jumping onto THE FLASH, maybe it’s time to shine a big spotlight here. C’mon Dan Didio: do the right thing!
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