You can tell I’m catching up with the posts on Newsarama…

Final Crisis kicks back into gear this week (and my wallet starts to cry for the rest of the month) with the release of Revelations #3, and Newsarama has a preview up.

I must admit, as part of cost-cutting I was going to drop this series.  While I quite enjoy the new Spectre, I’ve never really bought Rene Montoya as the Question, and Batwoman has never really done anything for me either.  I usually really like Greg Rucka’s stuff, but the Crime Bible storyline hasn’t been my cup of tea, and while I enjoyed issue 1 of this mini, I wasn’t as bothered about issue 2.  However, it looks like that with issue 3, it starts tying in to Final Crisis in a big way, so I’m definitely picking it up to see how the story unfolds.

Maintaining the Geoff Johns pet-project vibe, but with more of a direct tie to the Final Crisis events, this weeks brings us the second issue of Rogues Revenge.

Its a good excuse for Geoff Johns to revisit the Flash Rogues, a group of villains he’s successfully redefined through his Flash run into one of the premier sets of rogues in the DCU (second only to Batman’s I’d comfortably say), and also for him to tie up some of the dangling loose ends from Bart’s run as the Flash.

Picking up from last issue, we find the Rogues still gunning for Inertia, but aren’t pleased when they find their favourite tailor has been attacked. They quickly find out the culprits are the “New Rogues”, who are working for Libra, who needs the Rogues alive, despite them telling him to stuff off. He’s aware of the relationship Flashes share with Crises and has a plan to stop them.

This is a great issue and I’m really enjoying this series. While I may find the tie-in credentials of Legion dubious, there’s no doubt that Geoff Johns is bringing some of his best work to these Final Crisis titles. Here, we get to relish in the fact that he really gets these characters. Through his Flash run, Johns gave these Rogues a sense of family to match that of the Flashes, and that comes across well with the side scenes with Axel (who’s retaken the role of Trickster after James Jesse died in Countdown). You’re really given a feeling of the bond between this group, and when they encounter the New Rogues, who are using their stolen equipment, you can really feel the outrage at these pretenders, and you know it’ll end badly for them. And boy, does it.

If you’re a fan of the Rogues from Geoff’s Flash run, then this is a must-buy.

On a side note, reading Superman Beyond #1, I see Earth-51 is now the graveyard universe. Wonder what happened to Kamandi and all the animal-people…

Ok, I’ll get the negative stuff out of the way first.

For me, there’s a lot about this title I don’t like. I’m not a big fan of the Legion. I’ve seen them in various guest appearances, but they’ve never done anything for me. So why, I hear you ask, did you buy it?

Well, its got Superboy Prime in it for one. For another its hotly rumoured that Bart Allen will be getting resurrected in this story (at least, the lightning rod is due to be dealt with). As I like both of those characters, that’s two big draws.

Lastly, loath as I am to admit it, it does say “Final Crisis” on the front, and for my sins, I do find a tie-in hard to pass by.

So, I figured I’d check out the first issue at least.

However it does in many ways push a lot of the buttons for things I hate about tie-ins. For a start (and its a biggy), it doesn’t actually seem to tie in with Final Crisis at all.  From this first issue, I do have to think marketting it as a tie-in is a bit cheeky.  Giving DC the benefit of the doubt though, lets assume there is some kind of tie in in the upcoming issues (although I doubt it - seems to me that there’s enough story here without chucking the New Gods in as well).

Secondly if we assume that Bart does indeed get resurrected in this mini, then why?  Well, it gets Flash fans like myself to buy a Legion book, who might’ve otherwise avoided it.   But with Wally coming back in JLA, Barry in Final Crisis, and Bart coming back in Legion, you do have to kind of wander if anything big ever happens in The Flash book itself (at least Bart had the decency to die in it).

So, a tie-in that doesn’t tie-in, and using unrelated characters to pull in readers.  Not off to a great start.

(ok, I know Bart’s from the 31st century, and XS will be in this.   I’m also aware that I didn’t complain about Superman characters turning up as main villains in the Sinestro Corps War.  Its a fanboy rant, it doesn’t need to make sense )

But none-the-less, I enjoyed this book.  Its written by Geoff Johns, with art by George Perez, so you know you’re buying a quality book, and it does a good job of bringing everyone up-to-date with the Legion’s background.

For me, there was more than enough Superboy Prime action to keep me happy.  He’s been accused of being a two-dimensional character, but for my money, he’s at least entertaining to read here.  The stuff in the Superman museum worked well, and there’s a nice twist with Superboy-Prime being not quite the footnote he thought in history.

There’s also an interesting bit where Superman declares they must redeem Superboy Prime.  This raises a whole load of questions (chief among them, did Superman not read Countdown? ), but I’m choosing to take it as Superman seeing this as their only choice.   He knows Superboy Prime is nigh-on unbeatable.   He’s been captured and escaped before, and killing is obviously not an option.   So instead he’s choosing to reach out to that part of Prime that’s Kal-El, who’s the same as he is.   Its an interesting idea, that the only way to beat Prime is to make him realise what he’s become.  Although I don’t see how the character could ever be truely redeemed.   He’s just done too much to be forgiven for it.

So, despite the negatives, this book rises above them by being a good read.  I’m still onboard for the next issue, but for me, there’s still the thing of my not being a Legion fan.  In many ways I suspect this book would be an ideal trade-wait for me.  That way I could save money, and still read the Superboy Prime and Bart stuff (if Bart does come back - it could still be a twist).   However, there’s that part of me that wants to be there when Bart comes back.  And to see what happens to Superboy Prime.

This week brings us the latest installment of Grant Morrison’s Final Crisis.

The cover image of Supergirl is beautiful, and I’m still enjoying this story immensely. There’s a lot of things going on, and once again we find a DC Universe that has been stripped of its top tier heroes. Superman is refusing to leave Lois’ bedside after the explosion at the Daily Planet, Batman is missing, Hal Jordan is hauled off in chains by the Alpha Lanterns, and Wally’s MIA chasing after Barry, having failed to stop the bullet from killing Orion.

This leads us to a great scene, where Alan Scott realises they need to get prepared, as they don’t have the New Gods to help them out against Darkseid this time. The superhero draft was really well done, despite some obvious art fluffs (Donna and Huntress are in their old outfits - although in Donna’s case that’s a good thing - not too fond of the red stars on her current suit, and Huntress has had a new costume for a couple of years now, so that was a bit of a glaring mistake, but a minor one).

I enjoyed the build up as we slowly discover that this is “The Day Evil Won” leading up to Libra showing his true colours, forcing The Human Flame into his new helmet to become a slave to the Anti-Life Equation, and we see Oracle’s panic as she realises something bad has just been emailed to everyone in the world simultaneously.

And of course, there’s the Flashes. The scene with Jay telling Iris that he’s seen Barry alive was really well done, and I liked Iris’ refusal to believe that Barry had been dead (although Barry himself later confirms that he was dead - anything else would’ve been a continuity nightmare I suspect - although you could easily say the other appearances happened differently on New Earth). Then you’ve got Wally chasing Barry into the future (by about a month - which ties into the realtime gap in the series) only to find out that Darkseid has already one, as they confront the new Female Furies.

There’s still a lot of the story that we’re waiting to see how it ties together, but this issue really gave the feeling that it was just the end of the beginning of the story. With Earth now fallen, the story should really gather pace for the final 4 issues.

The solicits for Final Crisis in October really sound promising. We’ve got a whole bunch of one-shots that month, as well as issue 5 out of the 7 issue miniseries. For anyone worrying about the pace of the story, there can’t be much doubt now that its building up to something huge. With the Earth still basically screwed with only 2 issues to go, it really is sounding like an epic storyline.

I’m unsure about most of the one-shots though. The fact that its only a one-off probably raises the chances I’ll buy Submit and Resist. Revelations I’ll probably try and see what I think. I loved Gotham Central, so the Question and Spectre storylines intrigue me, but Batwoman is a character that I just can’t bring myself to care about. She does provide a good cover for issue 3 though.

It’ll be interesting to see how much these tie-ins actually play into the main narrative. Submit and Resist certainly sound like they’ll fill in some details, but a lot of the others sound like they’re more out on the periphery. Of course, the danger of integrating them closely to the main series means you could end up with another Infinite Crisis. I re-read that series again recently, and without reading the tie-ins along side it, a lot of it really doesn’t hang together. Stuff just seems to happen in panels with no real explanation, and that’s the balancing act with these events. I think its partly why Sinestro Corps worked so well. By not crossing over with everything going, this wasn’t really an issue and kept the story tighter.

Still, meandering thoughts about tie ins aside it really does sound like its all hit the fan in issue 5, and I can’t wait.   Granted we’re only two issues in (currently), but I’m already loving this storyline.

So, with me picking up so many events, I’d resolved to try and not get suckered into buying all the tie ins. However, I cracked this week with Final Crisis and picked up Rogues Revenge and Requiem.

Rogues Revenge sees Geoff Johns return to the Flash characters, as we get a series based around the Rogues. The Rogues have had some really meaty stuff over the last year or so, since they crossed the line by killing Bart, and this first issue throws open some interesting twists. There’s a few retcons along the way, as the Rogues beating Bart to death is replaced by the Rogues more accidental killing of Bart. They were so used to Flashes being able to outrun their weapons, they hadn’t counted on Inertia stealing Bart’s speed from him, leaving him vulnerable. Of course, they could actually be in denial as to what really happened. We also find out that The Trickster and Pied Piper were actually undercover in the Rogues, working to gather information to take them down, to help rebuild trust lost during the Rogue War.

James Jesse’s death in Countdown has also paved the way for the second Trickster to reclaim the mantel, which I thought was a nice touch.

Finally, Zoom’s appearance and his reasons behind freeing Inertia were great. I really love the reinvented Zoom with his warped morality.

I enjoyed this title a lot, although the Final Crisis tie in aspect seems a bit lacking at this point, with it being a side plot with the Rogues turning down Libra’s offer to join the Society. Instead this seems more focused on tying up loose ends from the last couple of years in the Flash franchise (leaving a clean slate for Barry?).

Requiem was actually a title I hadn’t bothered picking up last week. Martian Manhunter’s not a big draw for me, so it seemed missable. Then I found out it was written by Peter Tomasi and it got glowing reviews online.

And true enough, this is a great companion piece to Final Crisis #1. We see the J’onn’s demise wasn’t nearly as easy as Final Crisis #1 made it appear, and Tomasi gives us a really touching funeral issue for the character.

There’s not a huge amount I can really say about this issue, but while its by no means necessary to enjoy Final Crisis, its definitely worth a read. I’m not even a big fan of J’onn, but this issue did a great job of making me care that he’d died (well, at least until he gets better - which we know will happen sooner or later).

That cover really doesn’t work as a thumbnail, does it?

Well, this week heralds the release of the second part of DC’s big summer event.  Of course, the way things are going, the main DC summer event is all the controversy surrounding this book and specifically the mis-handling of its build up.   However its well established now that Countdown sucked, so there’s little point going over it again.

Instead, to Final Crisis #2.  Final Crisis has been taking a bit of a kicking, due to its “slow burn” approach, versus Secret Invasion’s all-out summer grandslam spectacular with helicarriers falling from the sky.  However, when all’s said and done, based on the issues so far, and with no disrespect to the great job Bendis is doing on SI, I do think Final Crisis is going to be the better read.

Both first issues just ooze mystery and foreboding.  With this issue picking up Dan Turpin’s investigation into the missing children, which leads him to some horrific discoveries, and also the JLA and Green Lanterns’ investigation into Orion’s murder, which leads to pretty much the same horrific discovery, but also features Hal being framed for the murder, and some great craziness as to the nature of the murder weapon (which is honestly something that you’d only find in a Morrison book).

Its a real shame that this book is being overshadowed by the controversy surrounding it.  It promises to be something much deeper in scope than the big, Hollywood blockbuster style approaches of recent summer events, and the writing and art are both outstanding.   Sadly, at least when it comes to online forums, it seems that readers would rather go straight for the falling helicarriers, which is a great pity as I wasn’t even a fan of the fourth world stuff, and I can tell Grant Morrison’s doing something pretty special here.

Well,  the fairly unsurprising news from the September DC solicits is that there’s now a fill-in artist on Final Crisis.

The good news is that its Carlos Pacheco, who did great work on some of the early issues of Green Lantern.

I don’t think anyone’s particularly shocked by this.  The scuttlebut for a while has been that things were nowhere near as on track with Final Crisis as editorial would have you believe.  Despite their best-laid plans (including a planned one-month gap in the story), most people had figured that JG Jones would fall behind schedule.

However, I’m not too dissappointed in this news.  Carlos Pacheco is a great choice, and I think his style should match JG Jones’ enough to not be too jarring.   I’ve not really got anything against the odd fill-in artist if it keeps the title from being delayed, although when it gets like GLC, who had about 3 or 4 artists on one issue during the Sinestro Corps at one point, then it gets distracting.  But I don’t think it will be in this case, with just the two artists.

DC have taken late-running of their series very seriously over the last couple of years, and they’ve made great progress improving things.  As long as this nips any late-running of Final Crisis in the bud, then I don’t have a problem with it.

Really nice cover as well.  That’s a great image of the new Darkseid.

Well, the moment has arrived.  After 52 weeks of Countdown-hell (barring the ones with Superboyman Prime) Final Crisis #1 hit the stands this week.

As I’ve mentioned before, I was a bit dubious about this series.  Although I love Morrison’s writing (still got Batman RIP and All Star Superman to read - good week to be a Morrison fan), the New Gods don’t really do anything for me.  Secret Invasion got off to such a strong start, that I was really wondering if Final Crisis was going to match up.

And it does.  But in a different way.

Whereas Secret Invasion got a lot of punch from its big shock moments (the old Marvel heroes, Skrull reveals etc), Morrison and Jones deliver just a strong piece of storytelling.  Issue 1 is a setup issue for the rest of the tale.   It doesn’t rely in a lot of huge shocks (bar one, which was guessed some months ago online), and instead you get a feeling that something big is coming.   Metron delivering fire to man in prehistoric times, Darkseid converting human children using the Anti-Life equation, the GL’s investigating Orion’s death.   There’s a lot of plot threads here, and from it all I got a real sense of foreboding.  That something really bad is going to happen (which we know, it does.  The Day Evil Won and all that).

The amusing thing for me though, is how Countdown seems to have been rendered pointless.  Plot details are either very different to the events of Countdown, or there was another mini-series between them that we somehow missed.    Ok, so the New Gods are now reborn.  Hence Darkseid and Metron running around.  That’s been well established as a Final Crisis plot point, so fair enough.   Orion is now dead under mysterious circumstances.   The implication being that this is nothing to do with his fight with Darkseid at the end of Countdown.

We’re also told that Earth-51 is now gone.  It was fine (albeit having had a rough few weeks and now overrun by Furries) when we last saw it.  And its Monitor has gone from “Monitoring the Monitors” to being exiled for his failure.  What’s happened there?   We’ve also got another suspicious Monitor.  Is this meant to be the same Solomon from Countdown, or another of the Monitors?

I will say though, I love the depiction of the Monitors here.  So much better than anything that happened in Countdown.   Here they’re shown as truely living apart from the Multiverse, although they’re becoming increasingly contaminated by their dealings with its residents.  The Multiverse Machine/Orrery is a brilliant visual.

I enjoyed this issue a lot more than I thought I would.   The rebirth of the New Gods is an interesting idea, revamping them and showing them infiltrating Earth culture right from the start.  It’ll be interesting to see where this goes from here, but I’m looking forward to the next issue.

Bit of a mixed bag this week comics-wise.

First up, and possibly the biggest release of the week for DC fans is the Final Crisis sketchbook.

As a tease of what’s upcoming I think it works well.  We get a look at the redesigns instore for some of the New Gods as well as a look at some of the new superhero teams Morrison has lined up.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a big fan of the New Gods, but I liked the look of these redesigns, and the concepts behind them (although I’m still unsure about the Darkseid having trouble moving thing).   We get a really interesting tease in terms of the “Multiverse Machine” (perhaps a sign that there’s a larger plan for the multiverse which will definitely see it sticking around?  I hope so), and a look at some of the new Japanese super teams (I love the Super Young Team a crazy Japanese version of the JLA).

Less successful for me, was Titans #2.   I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool Titans fan, although I enjoyed Geoff’s relaunch of the Teen Titans, and I like the characters well enough.   I thought I’d give this series a couple of issues, but to be honest, its not grabbing me.  Some of the characterisations felt a bit off to me, and I’m not big on the art.   The three crossovers going on that I’m picking up, I’m going to have to get brutal on titles that I don’t love, so I can’t see me picking up the next issue.

The first part of Batman RIP though, I enjoyed.  While it very much felt like a first part, with not a huge amount happening, and more introducing things, I’m definitely intrigued enough to be sticking with this crossover for now.  I have to say though, as someone who’s not been buying Morrison’s Batman, I loved the interaction between Bruce, Tim and Alfred.

From the non-DC side of things, I had Knights of the Old Republic #28.  Although not a series I talk about a lot on the blog, its one I’ve enjoyed immensely, possibly ranking alongside GL in terms of my pull list.

I have to say though, that the much-vaunted Vector crossover has done nothing for me.   I disliked the fact that most of the main cast were missing for the last 4 issues, and I found the art badly off-putting.   I can’t say I’ve been left with any real desire to pick up the rest of the crossover, and I’m really hoping that now its over, the series will get back to telling stories I more enjoy.    I will say though, that I did appreciate the writer trying to fit the crossover around his ongoing story of Zhane being on the run from the Jedi Masters.

From Marvel, I picked up Captain Britain #1.   Now being written by Paul Cornell (of Dr Who fame), and with “Secret Invasion” stamped on the top, I couldn’t resist.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was probably the surprise hit of the week for me, as something I ended up enjoying a lot more than I thought I would.  Its really grabbed me, and its really nice to be reading about a British hero, and set in Britain as well.   In that regard, I think Marvel have probably done a very wise thing in getting a British writer on board.   However, I’m going to stop saying “Britain” now, lest I end up sounding like an episode of League of Gentlemen.

I do love the setup though, with Captain Britain resolving to be more like a proper counterpart to Captain America, and the Skrull disguised as John Lennon who’s working with MI 13 (the agency Cap works for) to help find other Skrull infiltrators.  I’m definitely onboard for the next issue.