WLG #222: I'm A Cranky Old Man!

By Michael A. Diaz

As some of you know I was away from comics for a couple of months there. I was planning my wedding and all that jazz. I wasn't totally away, I was just MOSTLY away. I wasn't writing this column and as such, I wasn't seeing a lot of what was going on in the various comic book universes. There were SOME things that I saw coming and they interested me (like "The Sinestro Corps War") and things that didn't ("Final Crisis" and "Secret Invasion"). So even though I was still buying my comics I just wasn't keeping up with the happenings of most of what was happening, mainly just reading some core books.

Now I am starting to think that I missed out on some crazy stuff.

If you haven't been reading major crossovers like "Secret Invasion", "Final Crisis", or "Batman: R.I.P." you might want to skip down past the introduction here as I going to talk about some things that I've heard.

First off, Final Crisis. Yeah, I have the first two issues, but I have to tell you, the first issue of Final Crisis wasn't nearly as interesting as Identity Crisis IMHO. In fact, I got to the end and went "huh." Not "huh?" like "what the heck is going on?" but more like "huh, that certainly didn't seem to be up to the hype."

Don't get me wrong, I think that Grant Morrison is VERY talented. I loved his run on New X-Men and countless other books, but I have to admit that sometimes I don't really "get" him. I almost wish that DC let someone like Geoff Johns write Final Crisis so that it would be more interesting, more clear (actually, I'm borrowing that sentiment from a friend of mine that owns a comic book shop in Portland, Oregon; but I thought he was right, so the sentiment is now mine as well).

Also, for the most part I think that certain dead heroes should remain dead. Like Barry Allen. Yeah, it was AWESOME and SHOCKING that he gave his life during Crisis On Infinite Earths 20 years ago and I couldn't believe it when Wally West became the new Flash. But, it worked (IMHO) and it was a nice passing of the torch. Barry, for years now, has been held up as that ultimate hero, as a legend that gave his life living up to the ideals that he held the most dear.

And now he's back.

I don't like that.

Mind you, I didn't like it when Bucky (from Captain America) came back either, but that's another story that pretty much goes along the same lines.

Does this mean that I am now an old man complaining about how comics used to be?

I don't THINK so and I offer this as evidence: I absolutely LOVE what Geoff Johns is doing over on Green Lantern right now. He's honoring the past while also giving it his own twist. Some might say that Morrison is just doing the same, but it feels more like Morrison is doing it with a sledge hammer while Johns is carefully stitching things together to form a more complete whole.

Marvel's not much better right now, either. It's not necessarily that I hate the idea of Skrulls, they just don't appeal to me all that much. There are plenty of people out there to whom they do appeal judging by sales, and that's fine, I don't think that all comics have to be written so that I enjoy them. For me, I think I'm just sick of the apparently never ending procession of major crossover to major crossover to major crossover that Marvel has been doing for the past five years or so. Yes, "Disassembled" was good, but then came "House of M", "Decimation", and on and on and on....

I'm not against crossovers, but that's all we've been seeing from Marvel (and DC) for YEARS now and I'm ready for some just plain old good stories for good stories' sake. I don't want to have to buy all the main parts of the story as well as all of the ancillary parts as well.

I just want good comics.

Standard Disclaimer: For those of you new to the WLG experience, here's how it works: Every week I check out the release schedule from the Diamond Comics Shipping List and decide which comics that I am going to spend my hard-earned money on. Yep, my money. That's good, because it helps to maintain my objectivity. If I spend money on a comic book and it turns out to be crap I'm going to be upset.Usually I try to keep this column as positive as I can, but this week I just had to get some stuff off of my chest. It's not a total slam on comics, but some thoughts that have been going through my head as of late.

In fact, the above isn't even the direction that I had planned on taking the introduction. I was really just going to ask how the “Batman: R.I.P.” story was because I skipped it thinking that it was just a gimmick, that there was NO WAY that DC was really going to remove Bruce Wayne as the Batman. Now it looks like that is the direction that DC is really going to go and I was surprised. Is the event actually good? Am I missing out on something here?

That said, I still do LOVE comics and geek out about them just as I always have; speaking of which, let's take a gander at What Looks Good...

DC

GREEN LANTERN #33 $2.99 (Geoff Johns / Ivan Reis)

Yes, I know that I have been pimping just about everything "Green" coming from DC as of late, but when the books are this good how can't I?

So, you might be thinking, why should I even bother reading this? I already know the origin of Hal Jordan, I don't need to read it again. Well, yeah, we all do know his origin, but because he is a comic book character every once in a while a creative team has to go back and retell the origin story once again, to keep it fresh and vibrant. We've seen it done with Superman, Batman, Iron Man, Wolverine, all kinds of characters. This isn't the first time and it certainly won't be the last (case in point: Batman: R.I.P.; I don't care what happens, at SOME point down the line we'll see Bruce Wayne in the cowl again if he truly is remove as Batman).

Why am I geeked out over this book? Well, for one thing, the "Sinestro War" just finished, so it is nice to go back and see Sinestro before he turned all evil as well as how he ended up where he is today. On top of that, and much more geek-worthy, is the fact that this isn't just a re-telling of Hal Jordan's origin, it is also a look back to see some of the seeds that were planted that will eventually become the "Darkest Night" storyline.

Retconning? Sure, but it's not totally unbelievable and I'm having a heck of a time.

Good stuff!

WILDCATS #1 $2.99 (Christos Gage / Neil Googe)

You know, there's a portion of me, a portion that is getting bigger and bigger it seems, to just give up on the entire WildStorm line. Seriously, how many times does a comic book company have to screw over its readers?

I realize my tone is a bit more negative that this column is used to. After all, I said early on that I wanted this column to remain positive as best I could.

Well, I've been quiet long enough. Let's face it, the WildStorm Universe is nothing bug a frigging WRECK. Remember Captain Atom: Armageddon? Wasn't that supposed to be the big "soft boot" as Jim Lee called it then, an event that allowed creators to decided how much of past continuity they wanted to follow and establish a new WildStorm Universe? I remember it because I was EXCITED.

Perhaps I am in the minority here; no, wait, scratch that, I KNOW I am in the minority here because if I wasn't then the books that I have loved over the years, like Wildcats under Casey and Phillips, and later Wildcats Version 3.0 under Casey and Nguyen, as well as StormWatch/StormWatch: Team Achilles and The Authority (under Ellis and later Millar) wouldn't have all been canceled.

The editors new that things had to be changed, so first there was the "Coup D'etat", and then The Authority: Revolution. Things were getting good, but the momentum fell and then things weren't so awesome anymore. Now they're rebooting the universe again?

Like I said, part of me just wants to say "fugg it" and walk away.

Maybe I'm like a battered husband or something, because even though I know that WildStorm has screwed me time and again in the past I keep coming back for more. But how can I NOT be tempted when I see that Christos Gage is writing this book. This is the guy that wrote the second Deadshot limited series and did it spot on PERFECT. Then he moved to the latest incarnation of StormWatch and nicely wove in elements of the Ellis run, and even hinted at some of the Wright issues of ,,,Team Achilles. He may not know it, but Mr. Gage KNOWS me and he knows the comics and the series that I love, and he takes them in exactly the places where I want him to take them.

Coupled with Gage is Googe. You might remember him from Welcome to Tranquility, but personally my favorite work of his was on the relaunched Majestic title (which, like all WildStorm books I love was also canceled far too soon).

So yeah, I've been burned and burned BAD by WildStorm in the past. Maybe I SHOULDN'T give them another try, but what can I say, the heart wants what the heart wants and right now I can't WAIT to sink my teeth into an issue of Wildcats done by the creative team of Gage and Googe.

I hate you WildStorm, just as much as I love you.

Sorry for the ranting this week; I never go into a column knowing exactly where I am going to go, so sometimes this happens. Writing on occasion will just take on a life all of its own.

So tell me, is “Batman: R.I.P.” good and worth reading? Curious minds (well, mine anyway) would really like to know. I would love to hear your thoughts on the event, as well as the other big comic book events that I mentioned, as well as anything else that you'd like to talk about. Just stop by the What Looks Good message boards (see link below) and let me know what YOU think; no need to be afraid, I don't bite.

See you next week!

Peace!

-Diaz