Reilly2040's Blog

I’ve ended up skipping most of the post-Final Crisis spin-offs, although Run sounded quite tempting. However, I’d enjoyed the Super Young Team in Final Crisis a lot, so given that it was a quiet comics week for me, I ended up picking up the first issue of Dance.

And what a great first issue it was. Joe Casey expertly captures the voice Grant Morrison gave the team during Final Crisis. The gimmick of having Most Excellent Superbat’s running thoughts as tweets was great, and I love the idea that these previously shallow superheroes have now found their calling after the events of Final Crisis, but are finding themselves trapped by their shallow, celebrity lifestyle.  Especially in the case of Most Excellent Superbat (although Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash currently seems happy living it up).

The scenes where the team look on in dismay as they’re shown their new satellite headquarters, complete with JLA-style trophy room filled with faked trophies were great, while also carrying a sinister edge that was borne out by the end of the book where we discover a group is manipulating the Super Young Team to distract the populace from larger problems.   It also provides an interesting take on the Authority, another team who were for a while living it up with lavish parties on the carrier and their celebrity status.  

But whereas the Authority embraced that lifestyle, here we have it portrayed more as a source of conflict, with some team members reveling in it (Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash), others appalled and just wanting to be proper heroes (Most Excellent Superbat) and the others trapped in the middle, unsure what to do.

I’m very hopeful for the rest of this series, and its nice to see Casey touching on the love triangle Morrison introduced between Big Atomic Lantern Boy, Well-Spoken Sonic Lightning Flash and Shiny Happy Aquazon.  So far the feel of this book is spot on, with lots of weird and over-the-top aspects, however hinting at something deeper going on under the surface.

I’m not a huge Legion fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve been largely buying the “3 worlds” series for 3 reasons:

1 – Final Crisis tag on the front. I’m a sucker for tie-ins.
2 – Its widely speculated that Bart Allen will be resurrected in this series.
3 – Geoff had promised a look at the remains of the GL Corps in the 31st century.

And from this preview, we’re really getting that 3rd one. There was a big shock last issue as the last Green Lantern, Rond Vidar was killed, and on tracking his body to the remains of Oa, Mon-El and someone else (told you I wasn’t a big Legion fan) find a pile of dead GL rings, and, most surprisingly, Sodam Yat, alive and well, albeit a bit bonkers from years of isolation.

This preview picks right up from there, with Sodam burying Rond Vidar, and explaining that without Mogo to guide them the GL rings fell dead. Mon-El is quick to explain to Sodam that Superboy Prime is back, and he can use this chance for redemption, and Sodam is talked into action.

There’s some really interesting things going on here. We see just how key to the Corps Mogo is, as he’s the guiding light of the rings. While Sodam does hint that he could do the job, Sodam’s seen and done some nasty things over the centuries, and doesn’t feel he could select worthy candidates.

There’s a really nice tip of the hat to Kyle, when Sodam mentions that the original Torch Bearer passed the title on to him when he died.  So obviously despite losing Ion, Kyle is still considered the Torch Bearer by the GL Corps. At the time, the Torch Bearer title was also linked to the fact that Kyle was responsible for restarting the Corps if they should fall again (and we can presume this was directly related to the fact he was hosting Ion at the time). Presumably despite Sodam now hosting Ion, Kyle retained the Torch Bearer title as a mark of respect.

The really interesting thing in this preview though, is when Sodam charges the Green Lantern rings. His oath looks like its actually a combination of lines from the Oaths of the various other Corps, and has some direct nods to the Blackest Night. I wonder what that’s all about and is it a hint that after Blackest Night we will be losing the other Corps and left with only the GLs again? We can presume at least one yellow ring would stay active, as I can’t see them de-powering Sinestro.

Ok, initial reactions here. I’ve read the issue quickly (or at least, as quickly as I could) over lunch.

As I mentioned last week, following Superman Beyond #2, I was really worried about the implications for Final Crisis. And in some regards, I think I was definitely right. Superman Beyond is required reading for Final Crisis. No two ways about it. Stuff happens towards the end that’ll make zero sense if you haven’t read it. Grant Morrison admits its an essential part of the story during yesterday’s Newsarama interview, and to be honest, I’m quite annoyed DC aren’t including it in the hardcover (from April’s solicits). Frankly, I’d have bought the hardcover of this story, but the fact that its missing vital issues makes it worthless to me. Release the whole thing or don’t bother I’d say. Especially when you’re talking about having to spend the best part of £20 on a story that’s incomplete.  I’m willing to pay more if it means getting the complete tale.

Anyway, the issue came out yesterday, and reading the initial reaction, I was pretty concerned that this series had been blown in the final issue. However, aside from the above issue of Mandraak and Superman Beyond, I have to say I enjoyed it.

Which is not to say, its not without its problems. The storytelling is very disjointed, in a way I’m sure is meant to reflect the collapse of time caused by Darkseid’s death. That makes some things hard to follow, and I’m still trying to piece together a timeline of what actually happened (specifically everyone being evacuated to Earth-51 versus the lone survivors on the Watchtower/Fortress hybrid – although I’m assuming the events on the Watchtower must preceed the evacuation).

The Monitor scenes I find a bit confusing as well. I’m not really sure what they added to the story at all, other than setting up the character of the exiled Monitor. Although their role is more carefully looked at in Superman Beyond, so taking that series as part of the whole maybe it’ll make more sense.

Talking of the Monitors, to be honest, was Mandraak really needed here?  This issue could’ve comfortably skipped that whole plot and been about the heroes trying to save the universe from the singularity resultant from Darkseid’s fall.   That whole aspect could’ve been jettisoned I feel and the story wouldn’t have lost anything (and gained the advantage of being more self-contained with the 7 issues).

All of which sounds very negative, but I do think there’s a good, epic story here, although its going to need careful re-reading, and I really think I’m going to dig out all the issues (and Submit and Superman Beyond) and read the whole thing back-to-back in the order Grant Morrison intended (barring the Batman issues, as I didn’t buy them).

Has this been a successful event? I’ve enjoyed the main mini-series, although the tie-ins generally had little to do with the events of Final Crisis, and that caused a loss of momentum for me, which Secret Invasion had (even though the main series was much less enjoyable). I think generally, Final Crisis hasn’t been viewed that well, seen as confusing and inpenetrable to non-hardcore DC readers which really hasn’t done it any favours, although I’m unsure how true that is.

I’m looking forward to passing the complete series off to my Marvel-reading friend, who reads very little DC, and seeing what he makes of it.

If you’re measuring success in terms of sales, then there’s no doubt Marvel cleaned up with Secret Invasion, so it’ll be interesting to see what Blackest Night brings to the table. Zombies are an easier sell than this story about evil Gods and the breakdown of the multiverse, so maybe the general readership (at least the online one) will go for it more.

Final Crisis has been an attempt to do something a bit different for the big event.  To write a story more meangingful than the usual “aliens turn up.  Heroes pound them into the dirt” summer event.  And for that, you’ve really got to applaud DC.   I’ve enjoyed it, and at the end of the day, since I’m buying the comics for myself, that’s what really matters.

I’m really not sure what to make of Superman Beyond. Dealing with the Monitors and the subplot of Lois being near death, this 2-part series has basically filled in the gap of where Superman was while everything was going to Apokalyps in a handbasket back on Earth.

My immediate thought is that, as this is the first 3d comic I’ve bought. I’m not overly thrilled with the gimmick. I didn’t really feel it added anything to the book, and for me it just made the art distracting, and at times I was struggling to follow what was going on. There was quite a lot of story going on in these two issues, and I really didn’t feel the 3d stuff helped make it any easier to digest.

As for the story. I kind of followed what was going on, but I’m really not sure I really got that into it. The stuff with the monitors being vampires and Superman’s essence possessing a giant statue of himself just really seemed a bit too out-there for me. I can’t help but wonder if there was maybe enough going on here to make it a three part story?

Out of the tie-ins so far, this is undoubtedly the one that’s worked for me the least (a pity, as I usually enjoy Morrison’s stuff). However, its also the one that leaves me the most worried.

I’m really concerned that this 2-parter is actually going to be required reading for Final Crisis #7. There were hints in Final Crisis #6 about a great threat if mankind pierced the bleed, and this series seems to indicate its Mandraak. If Mandraak does turn out to be the main villain in Final Crisis, I’m going to feel a bit cheated by the FC mini-series, as he’s not been mentioned at all. However, I still hold out hope that its mis-direction. I’m not convinced Darkseid was defeated by Batman last issue, as Barry says that he holds the key to defeating Darkseid. Since Barry hasn’t really done anything yet, there’s obviously still stuff to come.

My key problem is that Final Crisis should tell its own story. Take the upcoming hardcover in the April solicits. All it contains is Final Crisis #1-7. Now, there’s already a gap in that story, as Lois goes from blown up in FC #2 (I think), to walked around without a scratch in FC #6. No explanation within those issues. I’m really worried that Superman Beyond is going to cover ground that’s going to lead to much bigger gaps in the FC #1-7 story.

Heck, as it stands, I really think Final Crisis: Submit should be included in that hardcover.

So, I await issue 7 of Final Crisis with baited breath. I’ve been outspoken in my love of the story so far, but will Mandraak ruin it all? Or will my worry be for nothing, and it’ll all be presented in a way that makes sense, without bothering with the Superman Beyond backstory?

This is it. This felt like the issue a lot of stuff had been building up to, with Batman’s last stand against Darkseid.

However, that only takes up a couple of pages in a packed book. The story focuses on the big fights as the survivors make their last stand against Darkseid, and while the Bludhaven fight goes in their favour thanks to the Marvel family, Mr Terrific is nonetheless forced to sound the retreat, and plans are put into place to relocate the population to another of the 52 Earths in the multiverse. However, there are dire warnings from Metron if humanity attempts to break through the barrier between worlds.

If I come out of this issue with one concern, its that issue 7 is going to have to cover a lot of ground for one issue.  There’s the Dark Monitor who’s been hinted at, but not yet seen, humanity has to be saved from anti-life, and the fate (and new status quo) of the New Gods has to be setup.  I hope its not going to be too rushed.  Unlike Secret Invasion which I felt was over-stretched at 8 issues, I’m wondering if Final Crisis couldn’t have been longer.  Of course, we’ll find out whenever issue 7 hits the stands.   Some of these big things (such as the Dark Monitor) may be red herrings, or simply thrown in as teasers for future series.

But the bit everyone’s going to be talking about, is Batman’s last stand.  Forget RIP, or him being MIA after the helicopter explosion, here Batman comes face-to-face with the living embodiment of evil, and shoots him dead.  Batman still having the bullet that killed Orion is a nice touch, and there’s a nice moment in Batman’s acknowledgement that he’s finally up against a threat that he’ll happily put aside his vow against guns for.  The whole scene plays out as Batman getting one over on Darkseid, right down to his final “Gotcha” right before Darkseid’s Omega Sanction hits him.   

And while RIP gave us the powerful image of Nightwing standing with Bruce’s tattered cowl, here we get a truely iconic image of Superman standing holding Bruce’s charred remains. Of course, its a clear homage to the image in CoIE of Superman holding Supergirl’s body, and I think its as powerful because, like that original image, there’s such a strong relationship between these characters.

In fact, the whole buildup to that moment was incredibly powerful. While he’s been separated from events for most of the series (and its more than a little annoying that delays have meant that Superman Beyond #2 is now arriving in stores after this issue rather than before), Superman’s return to the scene is an incredible two pages, from the moment where he’s sighted by Wonder Woman, to him laying waste to Darkseid’s armies as he flies to find Bruce.

And a lot of the kudos for these moments surely has to go to Doug Mahnke.   While I admit I wasn’t too sure about his art in Superman Beyond, its excellent here.  And the fact he produced something of this quality despite being a last-minute replacement is a great achievement.

Well, sales-wise anyway.

Newsarama have put up Diamond’s end-of-year sales figures, which show that Marvel, and specifically Secret Invasion really handed out kickings all round, with 8 of the top ten sellers being the Secret Invasion issues.

I suppose this shouldn’t really be a surprise.  Secret Invasion was hugely popular, and despite sagging in the middle (IMO) was still a very enjoyable event.   I guess its just a surprise seeing it there so starkly, that aside from Final Crisis #1 and Uncanny X-Men #500 nothing could top Marvel’s big event. Not even DC’s own, much-publicised event.

I’ve talked about my feelings towards Final Crisis and Secret Invasion in length here, so its not really worth going over all that again, but I find it a shame that the sales are so easily grabbed by Marvel. I mean, what did DC do wrong? Final Crisis was hyped at the cons, features one of DC’s best writing talents, includes the all-important Crisis name, and a recognisable big-bad in terms of Darkseid. The fact that only its first issue cracked the top 10 is disappointing.

So how did Secret Invasion prove so popular and outdo all competition? As I’ve said (and read online other people saying the same thing), I felt the series itself sagged badly in the middle, but it still dominated the sales charts none-the-less.

Was it down to the simplicity of the idea (Skrulls can be anyone and have invaded. Queue fight scene)?
Was it down to the instant pull of that first issue with all its shocks, and that was enough to ensure the remaining 7 issues were top sellers (versus Final Crisis’ slow burn approach)?
Was it simply down to the popularity and strong market position of the Marvel Universe as a whole, meaning any event they put out was going to dominate?
Is this a vote for the all encompassing summer event, with lots of tie-ins? Certainly more books in a month adds to the epic feel of the event. While costing the reader a fortune, there’s no doubt it adds some weight to what’s happening in the main mini-series.
Am I wrong about the mini-series and was it simply the best book on the market all last year (I find that hard to believe. Captain America for a start).

Not sure quite where I’m going with this train of thought, but are we simply in a situation where Marvel could come up with any old rubbish, tack “Big Summer Event” on the cover, and be guaranteed a mammoth seller?

I know for me, it was probably the killer twists in the first issue that really suckered me in and made me want to see how it was all going to end. After the gut-punch of Jarvis being a Skrull, I was really waiting for further twists, and finding out what had happened to the originals and how they would come back. In those respects I was largely let down, with no real further shock reveals as to who was a Skrull, and the matter of the originals being rushed in the final issue. I’ve said elsewhere (and possibly here) that I frequently felt that Secret Invasion (the mini-series) peaked with its first issue. That book was easily one of the most exciting comics of the year as the scope of the Skrull plans was revealed, and what followed never quite seemed to live up to the promise of that initial issue.

Another aspect that kept me buying the series was the event as a whole more than the series itself. I was really enjoying the idea of the world-spanning invasion and tie-ins like Captain Britain and The Initiative really helped sell the idea that the Skrull invasion was having a big impact. This momentum kept me interesting in Secret Invasion The Event, more than Secret Invasion The Series.

Can DC turn things around next year? Final Crisis is wrapping up and we’ve got Blackest Night to look forward to. Sinestro Corps was a huge success for DC, so Blackest Night is going to have a lot of good feeling behind it. Blackest Night is also sounding like its going to have much larger scope than Final Crisis. Whereas DC have tried to keep Final Crisis contained to just a few core books, there’s a vibe from various interviews that we’re going to see a lot more tie-ins with Blackest Night, and I must say I’m ok with this. Prior to 2008 I’d have argued more for what Final Crisis has done, but I do think that the tie-ins helped give Secret Invasion a weight that Final Crisis (as an event, not a story) has lacked. Kudos for DC trying something more contained though.

And what about the other companies? While I admit I (like so many others) don’t buy a lot from non-DC or Marvel companies, it’d be nice to see one or two of them crack the top 10.

Of course, its worth noting that one area DC did very well in is the top 10 trades, with stalwarts Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns and Killing Joke all still selling well. Y The Last Man also appears heavily (and I must admit to buying the first 4 trades of that series myself last year).

“You have 24 hours to save the universe, Lantern Jordan.”

Although we’d previous seen it in the preview, it was great to have those scenes on Oa in my hands. Carlos Pacheco’s art really shines (I’m assuming its him drawing book, frankly I’ve lost track), and I must admit I’m taken a bit by surprise as to how much focus the GLs are getting here. Morrison uses the Corps to add a real sense of the cosmic threat, beyond Earth to the proceedings, and the scenes at the close of the issue with the GLs entering the gravity sink around Earth are really dramatic.

Meanwhile on Earth, everything is going from bad to worse. Darkseid has awakened and solidified his direct link to all those who have fallen under the anti-life equation. His influence seems unstoppable, as Earth itself is being skewed through space/time, and to be in Darkseid’s very presence causes his followers to die. Here Darkseid is infused with a level of threat I’ve never felt from him before, and it really seems inconceivable that Earth’s heroes have a chance against him. Their only hope being in the form of the ousted Monitor who starts to remember what he once was.

I’ve made no bones about my love of this series, but I must admit, with each issue I read, the more I think this is a series that’s really going to shine in trade form. I really do think that a lot of the complaints that have been levelled at its pace will vanish when read back-to-back.

The other Final Crisis issue this week, Revelation, again fell victim to the curse of the red band covers. I really, really hate this design DC have been using.

I’ve said before how I think it makes the issues look too similar, and this was again proven when my comic store had accidentally put the Revelation issues in with the Final Crisis issues. At least after the Rogues Revenge carry on, I’d learned my lesson and checked the shelves carefully to see what was there and what wasn’t, so I made sure I got both comics.

Revelation I’m still finding a strange beast. although its a Final Crisis tie-in, like all the others, this really feels to me like a separate story that’s been shoe-horned into Final Crisis. To Rucka’s credit he does his best to try and link Cain’s resurrection with the events of the 5th World over in the main series, but to me, this is very much the next chapter of Rucka’s Crime Bible stuff and very little to do with Final Crisis (in much the same way that Rogue’s Revenge was about tying up some of the Flash plot threads from the last year, or Legion of 3 Worlds is about the Legion, and neither series feeling like a proper tie-in to the main event).

To be honest, I’m still not too fussed about the Crime Bible stuff, which is a shame as I usually like Rucka’s books.  However for some reason the Rene as the Question/Batwoman/Crime Bible stories just haven’t grabbed me.  Why then am I still buying this at issue 4?  Well to be honest, I suspect its the Final Crisis banner at the top.     Although in fairness, I did really enjoy the early issues with the Spectre going after the various DCU villains like Dr Light.

Newsarama have put up a preview of Final Crisis #5.   Its quite lengthy running at 7 pages, and lets us see Kraken/Granny Goodness’ attack on the Central Power Battery on Oa.

I’m quite surprised they’ve let us see that much of the issue, but I’m pretty happy with it. I was worried that events on Oa were going to be just a throwaway mention, so its nice to see them get so much focus. I’m assuming there’s a few more pages or panels to it than in this preview, as Kraken’s reveal seems a bit sudden here. Nice to see Guy and Kyle turn up in Hal’s defense.

I’m looking forward to seeing the pages in hand on Thursday, as the art looks very nice, although obviously a bit grainy due to just being a preview, so its hard to completely appreciate.   Can’t say I’m a big fan of that Wonder Woman cover though.  The likeness just doesn’t work for me.

Well, Final Crisis is back this week, with two issues in the tale. Final Crisis: Submit is solicited as a tie-in one-shot, but really you can read it alongside Final Crisis #4 as part of the main story. The fact that its also written by Morrison is probably key to this.

Its no secret that I’m really enjoying this story. In fact, while I may be enjoying Secret Invasion, I’m far preferring the story of Final Crisis. Secret Invasion is fun, but the mini itself has been a bit lacking compared to the scope of the event itself, and I’m just finding that Final Crisis is trying to do something a bit more epic (in terms of buildup though, Secret Invasion’s slow reveal of the Skrull invasion was tops. Of course, Final Crisis had Countdown for its buildup).

We rejoin the story with evil having won in the DCU. Earth is still cut off by the Green Lanterns, and has fallen to the New Gods and the anti-life equation. Those few anti-life survivors are hunted by Justifiers, humans and super humans who’ve been taken over by helmets such as we saw The Human Flame being forced into and now serve as Darkseid’s troops.

Meanwhile Inspector Turpin is desperately trying to resist Darkseid’s influence as Darkseid attempts to break his will and possess his body.

This is an awesome storyline. The feeling that the world has truely gone to pot, and that hope is thin on the ground seeps from every page. This is possibly best demonstrated by the hopeful headlines on the Daily Planet about trying to reclaim Bludhaven, only to cut to a double-page spread of the atomic knights all defeated, or by the sights of big name heroes being captured and turned into Justifiers.

We see the heroes rallying to the various Watchtowers they have setup around the world, but even then, with a lot of the heavy hitters MIA or offworld, there’s a feeling that they’re under seige and the odds are badly against them.

There’s only really one strand of hope offered in the tale, as Barry and Wally arrive in this post-anti-life world and Barry fills us in that he’s been brought back by an unknown force (be interesting to see who that turns out to be). Barry knows what’s going on (Darkseid’s fall is endangering the multiverse) and this alone fills you with the hope that whoever brought him back had a good reason for doing so. This then bears fruit when they find an anti-life infected Iris, and Barry’s kiss breaks its hold over her. Given Libra’s concerns over the Flashes in Rogue’s Revenge, its obvious that Barry, Wally and Jay are going to hold the key to resolving this crisis.

But until they figure it out, we’re left with things looking pretty bleak for Earth (and Oa, with the Granny-possessed Kraken after the central power battery – I hope we see that storyline). This is underlined by Turpin’s battle of wills with Darkseid. A battle he knows he’s slowly losing, and that last page sent shivers down my spine. I’ve never been a fan of the new gods or Darkseid, but this series is changing that.

Newsarama have a preview for the upcoming Rage of the Red Lanterns one shot up here.

I’m loving the Red Lanterns so far. Laira’s recruitment was pretty brutal, and we know from the Star Saphires that the rings on the far end of the spectrum will exert a lot more influence over their bearers, so the look at Atrocious creating their central battery is suitably horrific. I’m really looking forward to this arc.

As a side note though, I’m curious about the timeline. Hal mentions Orion’s death and the Alpha Lanterns sealing off Earth. Given that Hal was hauled away shortly afterwards, framed for the murder, I’m wondering how this will fit into the framework of Final Crisis.

Although there could easily have been a few days while the Alphas were investigating for the events of this book. It’ll probably be clear once we’ve got the full issue