Who's who in the Comics Bulletin Universe - Update 2009
Who is... Michael A. Diaz?
Michael Diaz lives in Michigan, but don't hold that against him.
There he works as a Sys. Admin. while fostering dreams of one day becoming a "real" writer.
Most importantly, Michael is seriously addicted to comics, something that his wonderful wife tolerates with the patience of a saint.
He also writes this weekly column that people occasionally read.
"[O]ne of the most positive
and entertaining columns going."
- Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Villains United)
WLG #234: Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light!
So I was getting ready to write this column, but I had just come home from work and was taking a few minutes to relax. I'm behind on some of my comics so I took a few minutes to finally sit down and read Final Crisis #4. I was only a few pages in when a question struck me: how many people while reading this series just stop every so often and ask themselves "WTF?!?!"
Perhaps it is just a matter of personal taste, but honestly there are whole sections of this event that I just do not get. I feel I'm a fairly intelligent person, but perhaps there are just obscure corners of the DC Universe that I know absolutely nothing about, like the entirety of Jack Kirby's Fourth World. I mean, "Anti-Life equation", a proof that shows that Darkseid is the ruler of the known universe?
Who has been dropping acid around here?
I know, I know, I'm supposed to keep things positive, but seriously, "WTF?"
Maybe you like it, and if that's so, well, good for you.
Me? I just don't think that I am "getting" it.
Also: what's with all of these $3.99 comics now?
I can understand it for larger, special issues on occasion, but $2.99 was hurting as it was; I don't know if I can afford too many $3.99 comics. Sounds like another major cull of my Pull List will be coming soon.
But enough of my whining, let’s jump into my very short geeked out list of What Looks Good…
FINAL CRISIS: RAGE OF THE RED LANTERNS #1 $3.99 (Geoff Johns / Shane Davis)Forget everything else that is going on with this "Final Crisis" event, for me THIS is all that I that I have been wanting for MONTHS now. Heck, I think I've been waiting for this ever since I first saw all the multi-colored Lanterns during the flash to the future during the "Sinestro Corps War."
So, who, or what, are the Red Lanterns? Well, for those of you new to the idea, the Green Lanterns are basically an intergalactic police force given their power by the Guardians of the Galaxy. The power rings that they yield are powered by will power. One of their greatest heroes fell from grace and went on to form the Corps that bears his name: The Sinestro Corps. Basically they're the exact opposite of the Green Lantern Corps (GLC) in that their rings are powered by fear. There are more colors coming along yet, including another one created by a couple of rogue Guardians of the Galaxy, but in this comic we're going to get closer look at the Red Lanterns, a group whose rings are powered by rage.
There have been some promotion pictures released of Atrocitus, the first of the Red Lanterns, standing in a pool of blood, apparently dead (or wounded) Green Lanterns all around him. So, right away I pretty much figure that the Red Lanterns and the Green Lanterns are going to be enemies. That makes sense, especially when we've seen in the retconned origin of Hal Jordan that Atrocitus foretold of the "Blackest Night" prophecy.
However, just because the Red Lanterns are friendly with the GLC doesn't mean that they're all buddy-buddy with the Sinestro Corps either.
I think that the thing that I am looking forward to most about the coming "Blackest Night" crossover is that there are going to be so many different factions, and with them, facets to the conflict. Sure, it's simplistic, but when one knows that the Red Lanterns don't get along with the GLC you'd think they might make for good allies for the Sinestro Corps, but no, they (the Red Lanterns) pretty much want to destroy them as well. Perhaps that is as it should be when you really think about it. Being powered by rage, well, that can be all-consuming, so maybe the Red Lanterns want to destroy ALL of the various Lantern factions (the Blue, the Indigo, the Violet, the Orange, and the Black), not just the GLC and Sinestro Corps.
Honestly, I don't know, and thus the reason I am so geeked for this book this week. I don't expect to get all of the answers in this issue, but this is the slow peeling back of the curtains that I have been anticipating for months now.
JOY!
ASTONISHING X-MEN GHOST BOXES #1 (OF 2) $3.99 (Warren Ellis / Alan Davis)I'm am thoroughly enjoying Ellis's run on Astonishing X-Men right now; he has infused the book with a good deal of science fiction fun, as well as a lot of the Grant Morrison-flavored weirdness that many of us X-fans came to love during his short stint on New X-Men (which turned back into X-Men, but is now X-Men: Legacy).
The concept of the "Ghost Boxes" was very interesting and I was interested in seeing more about them as it almost seemed as if they were glossed over a touch in the main book; it's nice that they're doing a two-issue mini-series like this so that readers can find out more if they want to but can skip the books as well and just carry on with the main title.
However (and this is where I stop sounding so positive), with the price of this comic I am wondering if this is a test case for Marvel's new pricing. I could be wrong, but I didn't see anything that said that this book was extra long (like the 40 pgs. of the Red Lantern book from DC), so my impression is that this is a standard-length comic with a higher than usual (but soon to be usual) price. Like I said, I could be wrong, but it is a regular comic and they're charging this month I wonder if they'll be gauging the sales on this to see if raising the prices on all of their books would make sense to them. Because you KNOW if Marvel does it DC and Dark Horse will soon be following soon.
That might be good for their bottom-line, but as I mentioned above, if that is the case I will be taking a serious look at my Pull List and start making some serious cuts.
What do you think? Do you ever say “WTF” while reading Final Crisis? Maybe I am alone.
Or what about those comic book prices? Are jumps in prices like that going to make you cut from your weekly stack? I’d like to hear your thoughts. Just stop by the WLG message boards (see link below) and share your thoughts!
See you next week!
Until then, peace!
-Diaz
Were Diaz's picks on the mark?
Have your say on What Looks Good at the Looking Good message board.