Not nearly as thorough as last week, but here’s a couple reviews from last Wednesday’s books. And if you read any of this, as always there might be spoilers. When I set out to write this week’s reviews and brain drippings, I somehow forgot or didn’t notice Final Crisis #5 this week. Naturally, I had to switch gears and do a write up on FC5. Despite my protests, I’ve also come down with some bug (hopefully not Despotellis of Sector 119) over the weekend and I am playing through the pain as they say.
FINAL CRISIS #5 (OF 7)
Grant Morrison- Writer
J.G. Jones, Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino– Art
We begin the issue with the cosmic supercops, the Green Lanterns. Previously, Hal Jordan stands accused by Alpha Lantern Kraken (a former New God of Apokolips) of deicide (the death of New God Orion) and conspiracy to overthrow Oa (something tells me they’re never going to let that whole Parallax thing go). Of course it turns out Kraken has actually become host to Granny Goodness (New God in the employ of Darksied), and is actually trying to take over the main power battery that powers the individual lanterns of the Corps members. Granny is trying to win favor with Darksied by harnessing the power for him. Of course the “aliens” from earth, Lantern’s Kyle Rayner and loveable jerk Guy Gardner show up and throw a monkeywrench in the plans of the possessed Kraken (It’s occurred to me more and more the Earth Lanterns must be like the 70’s cops from “Life on Mars” to the rest of the Green Lantern Corps).
It’s interesting to see Jack Kirby’s New Gods treated as gods for possibly the first time since Kirby himself. In the original Fourth World concept, he had created modern gods for the times using them as metaphors to answer life’s questions upon a grand scale cosmic drama. Good versus evil, freedom versus slavery, and the hope that the youths of the day really could save the world. Kirby even wanted to kill off Darksied, the god of evil personified and close the book on the Fourth World as a finite story. Unfortunately, DC had decided at the time to use Darksied as a villain in the “Super Powers” figure line and cartoon series and forbid him to do so.
Morrison, in a brilliant turn utilities the cosmic deities as that of the practice of voodoo, specifically the Loa. In voodoo, the worshiper allows ones self to become possessed with the spirit of a lesser deity, who serves the greater unattainable god of gods, in this case being Darksied himself. In this way, the lesser gods have taken form in humans and gone to great lengths to enslave, torture, and destroy the people and environment in preparation of the coming of Darksied. Darksied, who in prior issue manifested in the body of Dan “Terrible” Turpin (of Kirby’s Boy Commandoes, and Superman) now in control of his new host and looking to subjugate the remaining uninfected people, or destroy them with the fists of three billion.
By far, this been the best single issue of the series, we not only see the crushing defeat of many minds and men. But a actual glimmer of hope in the manifestation of the Monitor Nix Uotan with his identity returned and new abilities. And also the return of Metron, who had been cast out of the Fourth World previously by Darksied and also shown arming the people of earth in the far past (Final Crisis #1) with sigils against Darksied and providing Anthro the First Boy with fire to use to protect his people from enemies. With this return, one can only assume the return of the New Gods of New Genesis shortly around the bend rebirthed in much the same way as the evil gods of Apokolips.
It’s also interesting to note the usages of magic equations and objects of power in the series, DC has had a long tradition with such things. From Johnny Quick’s speed formula (“3X2(9YZ)4A”), to Captian Marvel’s “SHAZAM”, even back to the oath of the Green Lanterns, DC has often deferred to the “magic” or “super-science” of words and artifacts. Even the Anti-Life Equation, perhaps for the first time (in Seven Solders and Final Crisis) becomes something tangible and understandable-
loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding x guilt x shame x failure x judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side
Of the equation, it’s designed to break down the will of the person and have them abandon all hope as life becomes meaningless, as does hope and freedom. With Darksied as the master of the equation, life bends to his will as well as the universe buckles and falls towards him like a black hole. He even admits to his previous interactions with the DCU being that of an idea of a god and not an actual one, as he is now. Where the New Gods were previously drug around as concepts eventually becoming nothing more than superhumans from a good or bad planet, Darksied is more than the flesh he now commands, a black and terrifying idea from outside the universe (as the New Gods once were). Darksied has become absolute, even the massive ego of Lex Luthor breaks in his presence.
Only Shilo Norman, the third Mister Miracle has broken free from the Anti-Life Equation and also escaped death, who once again manages to cheat death again by the sudden deux ex machina (not wholly unlike the serial cliffhanger reversal) of his impact-resistant vest. Miracle has become an cipher for the spirit of freedom, a perpetual, unstoppable, symbol that can not be destroyed despite the presence of the equation.
We also seethe heroes charge into Bludhaven, attempting to stop Darksied in the typical superhero manner. Unfortunately, all they can do is try and stop the foot solders (Justifiers) as Captian Marvel, Black Adam, and Supergirl try their best to stop Black Mary (formerly Mary Marvel) and hopefully find a spark of her former self. Unfortunately for Adam, he learns too late that Mary is no longer in control of her body in addition to being mad and an “old leering man” (possibly the as yet to be seen Desaad) in her eyes. The corruption of Mary Marvel mirrors the trend of the “grim and gritty, realistic” tone comics took with superheros, echoing not only Marvelman/ Miracleman, but also that of the Vertigo movement, taking once heroic heroes and making them darker and more real as so they wouldn’t seem like childish concepts. Morrison himself was one of the early Pre-Vertigo architects, putting characters like Kid Eternity, Animal Man and the Doom Patrol through the wringer. Only the title character of Buddy Baker, the Animal Man ended up with a happy ending (though brief as continuing writers repeatedly tore his life apart in the name of realism) with the return of his family to him, despite being killed only for shock value and realism.
The charge of the heroes while noble and dynamic, is possibly the least effective presentation of the characters trying to stop their world from being destroyed. The battle it’s self has become one of ideas opposing each other. It’s also interesting to note the “Big Three” or “Trinity” have been taken off the table, Superman searching the Multiverse for a way to save Lois, Wonder Woman being infected and turned into a Female Fury, and Batman being broken and tortured. Interestingly enough, the previous issue of Batman (#682) where we saw Darksied’s lackeys attempting to break Bruce and create a clone army based off of him (Now there’s an idea, the Justice League of Batmen). We get a brief update on the situation when Mr. Simyan and Mokkari beg for mercy to Darksied stating that Batman has in fact escaped in addition to destroying the clones. Really, you didn’t expect that at all? Why is it everyone underestimates the crazy guy dressed like a bat?
I’m sure I could go on here, but there is so much going on in the series to explain even in brief. I also know for the casual reader, this book is no walk in the park as a read when you consider that it is in fact a sequel to both Seven Solders of Victory and 52. For folks looking to stretch their brain, love DC and read a lot, the series is great. For folks not wanting to go out and get an English Literature degree just to read a comic, I completely understand and sympathize for not wanting to read it. After reading “The Mystery Play” by Morrison, it took me years to even consider looking at one of his stories. Plus, sometimes you just want pop entertainment you can just turn off and enjoy without the heavy lifting, and there’s nothing wrong with that..
BATMAN: JOKER’S ASYLUM
Jason Aaron, Joe Harris, David Hine and More- Writers
Jason Pearson, Andy Clarke, Juan Doe and More- Art
Joker plays host to the stories Crypt Keeper style in this collection of the one shots focusing on selected rouges (Joker himself, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and the Scarecrow). The stories themselves are hit or miss, sometimes bending the characters to fit the story. Really, this collection of stories is decent but I imagine that the one shots were merely something to put the Joker’s name on to ride the “Dark Knight” gravy train. If you dig the CSI shows, horror, or crime in general as subject, you probably can’t go wrong with this TPB.
Books available this Wednesday, 12/17/2008
BATGIRL #6 (OF 6)
BATMAN: PRIVATE CASEBOOK
BIRDS OF PREY #125
DCU HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2008
MANHUNTER #37
THE OUTSIDERS #14
ROBIN #181
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD: THE BATMAN TEAM-UPS VOL. 3
SUPERGIRL #36
SUPERMAN: PAST AND FUTURE
TANGENT: SUPERMAN’S REIGN #10 (OF 12)
TERRA #4 (OF 4)
TRINITY #29
And as promised, the Batusi, or how I learned to stop worrying and made friends with the Batman, accepted the Bat-Radia, and played fetch with the Bat-Hound.
Detective Comics #27
It’s been a long week of Bat-Research, Bat-Comics, and Bat-DVD’s shuffling through my brain. Even when I thought I could have a day off, I got together with my DC wingman Dan to watch Brave and The Bold. Rather than watch The Dark Knight for the millionth time (OK, not really a million, but I did watch the Movie Heathers over 80 times, so much so I could recite the movie verbatim), Dan brought over an early Christmas gift, the complete Batman Serials, both the 1943 and the 1949. As I watched Lewis Wilson play Batman (and a perfect swaggering Bruce Wayne) with horrible fighting skills, a cockeyed Bat-Cowl, and a penchant for Bat-dickery, it hit me what I had been missing from Batman when writing this. You can’t really take this stuff too seriously. Even the late Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker in the blockbuster “The Dark Knight” presents the question, “Why so serious?” (I’d also add a shout out to Kerry and crew at the Geek Show podcast for putting that message out there weekly, go listen and join the forums at geekshowpodcast.com)
The 1943 serial (and the best of the two) presented a comic accurate portrait of Batman and Robin, working for the US government (but perused by the police), protecting the United States against a sinister Japanese plot perpetrated by one Dr. Tito Daka. Dr. Daka was revealed to be in employ of the Emperor of Japan, attacking America in secret trying to topple the “New World Order” presented by the USA. Daka was a mad scientist of Lex Luthor caliber, he turned “American” men into “Zombies” by attaching a headset to the person with a plug that inserted into the spine, in addition to reanimating the dead for short periods of time. Oh, and he had a hand held death ray powered by radium, which he used to steal more radium to make a bigger one. Ah mad science, is there anything you can’t do, and why can’t you harness your powers for good! Despite being played by Irish actor J. Carrol Naish as an “Asian” caricature, I found myself mesmerized by how damn awesome he was. Daka to me wasn’t so evil as he was a mad scientist pissed off at the US. Too bad for him that Batman had designs on kicking his ass for truth, justice, and the American way (unfortunately Superman was unavailable for comment, as he was off punching Hitler). It’s interesting to note, Alfred was not comic accurate, rather William Austin’s portrayal of the character resulted in the chubby, clean shaven Alfred to lose weight and grow a mustache in the comics to match the actor.
Batman 27
When Bob Kane created Batman (with the help of Bill Finger, though not “officially” credited), he did so to simply to make more money and hopefully find fame as a cartoonist. While at lunch with his editor Vincent Sullivan, he told Kane he was looking for new “superheroes”, as they were becoming quite popular at the time. He specifically asked how much money Siegel and Shuster were making on their Superman strips. When told the amount ($800 a week, quite a lot of scratch for the time), he informed the editor he’d have something for him over the weekend.
Batman, was a mash-up of different influences, from Leonardo’s ornathompter, Douglas Fairbanks Zorro, and the film “The Bat Whispers”, to name a few. Kane had unknowingly created the second most famous superhero only to Superman. Batman himself was wholly different from Superman though, owing his birth to pulps like the Shadow. Batman was a vigilante born out of crime fiction and didn’t have any super powers, unless you count his wealth and knack for Bat-Inventions. He even carried a gun for a short time, utilizing the tool that took his parents from him against the same criminal element.
Batman, as we all know, dropped the gun and continued to evolve for many years in both comics and screen. Batman went from crime fighter to spy smasher, masked avenger to adventurer, and continues to evolve even to this day. With the introduction of Robin, Batman set out on a journey of epic proportions with a lighter mood and wider appeal to the kids market, buying their weird adventures for pennies. Batman continued to enter a theater of the bizarre, having adventures with Superman, flying to distant planets, time travel, and even stranger yet, the campy portrayal of him by actor Adam West.
Batman 182
Contrary to popular belief, Frank Miller was not the first person to portray Batman as a dark, gritty, realistic man haunted by the trauma of his past. That honor would actually fall to writer Dennis O’Neil (and artist Neal Adams) who brought back the darker elements of Batman and saved the character from the pop-culture damage wrought by the campy Batman TV show. Batman had become a joke, a fad, and almost faded away. O’Neil took Batman into the 1970 focusing on his skills as a detective and making Batman more modern. He even went so far as to add the one true modern villain into Batman’s rouges gallery, that of Ra’s al Ghul, the Demons Head.
Ra’s was more Bond villain than costumed adversary with a gimmick and penchant for petty theft. Ra’s was a terrorist and the head of a guild of assassins who’s goals were that of achieving a global balance by eliminating a majority portion of the human populous (kinda like the overly ambitious kid you went to school with who tried to get you to join PETA and would talk about how much better life would be if humans died off). Ra’s was not alone as Batman’s staple villains also would adapt to the times. The Joker most famously and notably went back to his roots as a murderous, disfigured psychopath (as seen in Batman #251, “the Joker’s 5 Way Revenge”) who would kill on a whim and lived to cross swords with Batman. This was a far cry from the on-screen portrayal of the character by Cesar Romero and the comic version who would simply try to rob banks in the craziest fashion the silver-age could come up with. The Joker would continue to torment Batman further into the modern age by crippling Barbra Gordon (Batgirl) and viciously beating Jason Todd (Robin II) to death with a crowbar. The more absurd the Joker behaved and the higher his body count went pushed him to the front of the list when it came to Bat-Foes.
Batman 251
Years later, as we all know Frank Miller wrote and drew his masterpiece, “The Dark Knight Returns”, in addition to writing the “Year One” arc in Batman (#404- #407) with artist David Mazzucchelli. Year One specifically gave us a modern redux of the Batman origin and gave readers a beginning to the character that holds up to this day. Returns also found it’s self as the definitive end chapter to a never-ending story involving the Batman (though Miller would return to pen the much preferred forgotten “Dark Knight Strikes Back” or “DK2”). Miller’s work on Batman made the title characters continuing adventures even darker than before, though frequently pointing at the past beginnings of the character the “darkest”. Ironically, Miller’s return to the Batman character has been met with mountains of criticisms, having fans of previous works questioning the validity of them.
Batman as at an all time high point in his career, with worldwide success in the “Dark Knight” film, thousands of merchandised products sold, and a new cartoon series “The Brave and the Bold” featuring fellow crime fighters from the DCU. With that said, it’s funny to think that the comics published by DC comics are frequently dismissed and criticized, most even before their story arc’s finish. Could it actually be that expectation of the icon’s exploits fall under the heavy weight of expectation?
Batman has unfortunately grown bigger than the character on ink and paper. Batman has become a worldwide icon, a brand, and a set of expectations thrust upon the writers of the comics. Batman writers now find themselves pushing the envelope on how dark and adult they can make the character, while walking a fine line with accessibility towards children. True, recent Batman cartoons (The Batman, Brave and the Bold) and comic-tie ins are slanted more at a children’s market, but unfortunately no acclaim nor respect goes towards such endeavors. Rather they are considered watered down versions of Batman while more serious Batman works are the standards the adult masses. Despite those same adults looking for a Batman they can have their children enjoy, chances are those same children would rather “read” the “real” Batman appearing in the comics.
And about those comics? We all know Batman exists on a page where he interacts with Superman an
Dark Knight Returns 1
d the rest of the Justice League. But for some reason we expect more of him, running around Gotham with only a utility belt and abs sculpted by Michelangelo. Perhaps this is why Batman is the ultimate adult power fantasy, if we all just focused our energies into learning Kung Fu in Tibet in addition to winning the Powerball, maybe we could achieve the ideal that is Batman. Maybe it cheapens our fantasy by having men who fly and women who reflect bullets walking among the realistic ideal. Unfortunately, the fantasy of Batman is one that’s cruel and merciless in its painful reality, the notion that we could be rich, powerful, and a scourge to our enemies. Perhaps that is
why we all want a Batman we can identify with, human, centered in reality, because we want to be him.
Sometimes though, you just have to let go and have some fun with it. Me, I’m going to go read a Batman story where him and Robin end up involved with a human-android with superhuman strength. Oh, and I think this one has Ace the Bat-Hound in it too!
Thanks to Black Cat Comics for the comics, everyone who’s worked on Batman, and DC Comics for publishing them. Also, thank you for reading!