"The Weighing of the Heart"
Writers: Alan Moore & Peter Hogan
Artists: Yanick Paquette(p), Karl Story(i), Jeromy Cox(c)
Publisher:DC
I would have to call Alan Moore and Peter Hogan's Terra Obscura a success. Although I did not know the heroes of S.M.A.S.H., by the end I had a warm feeling toward them--well, most of them. I would not say that they bear the resonance of DC's pre-Crisis nor even the Marvel heroes of the seventies and eighties, but they do have a right to exist. They act like heroes. Their adventures should be told.
The story's plot was easily comprehensible yet still provided the twists and turns one hopes not to expect but are happy that they occurred when all has been said and done. The conclusion to Terra Obscura offers a novel solution that wisely does not depend precisely upon the characterization or the history of the characters. Instead, it depends upon what we learned about the heroes through this new tale.
The epilogue introduces something new involving the Wonderdummies Yankee Girl and Ms. Masque, and while normally such a change in the story often induces greater appeal, it still did nothing for my feelings for these two. I still loathe them. They are idiots, or rather they are written to show nothing but shallow idiocy and their admittedly incredible bodies.
Yes, Yanick Paquette can perform magic. His female super-heroes are powerful in stance and form--even if whatever comes out of their mouth are snippets of dialogue left on the cutting room floor from the I Love Lucy super-hero episode--and his male heroes are massive pillars of strength that lack the cartooniness of some depictions. With the inking of Karl Story, Jimmy Palmiotti and Richard Friend, extra depth is educed from Mr. Paquette's pencils, and Jeromy Cox's and Avina's colors make the entire adventure a vibrant experience.
In a sense the heroes of S.M.A.S.H. are actually more of a success than DC's post-Crisis cadre. Imagine. This is a work where the reader isn't trying to figure out what counts and what does not count. Did John Smith kill Tom Strange's parents? Doesn't matter. Is Archie an alcoholic or isn't he an alcoholic? That doesn't matter either. It does matter whether or not Superman came from Bryne-Krypton or Waid-Krypton. It does matter whether or not if Joe Chill killed Batman's parents. The heroes of S.M.A.S.H. were meant to be malleable. The icons were not. Where as the retcons, stupid continuity inclusions and lazy writing responsible for shattering everything that is known about DC's heroes affects their story. Nothing you do to the heroes of S.M.A.S.H. affects the story in Terra Obscura. That makes for an easy read with eye-catching artwork.
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