Miscellaneous (Superheroes)"F" (ii) - "G"

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Flash and Green Lantern: The Brave & the Bold
  See my review in the Green Lantern section.

Flashpoint 2011 (HC TPB) 176 pages

Written by Geoff Johns. Pencils by Andy Kubert. Inks by Sandra Hope, with Jesse Delperdang.
Colours: Alex Sinclair. Letters: Nick J. Napolitano.

Reprinting: the five issue mini-series

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Reviewed Nov. 2011

Published by DC Comics

It's summer -- so it must be time for a not-to-be-missed, never-to-be-repeated, one-of-a-kind, nothing-will-ever-be-the-same-again crossover epic.

Y'know, like all the other such sagas Marvel and DC churn out faster than Ikea does furniture.

To be fair, Flashpoint promised to have a bigger impact on DC Comics continuity than any mini-series since The Crisis on Infinite Earths (and, of course, the Crisis band-aid series that came along afterwards, attempting to fix problems left by the Crisis). By that I mean this led to a re-boot of DC's Universe...just like Crisis did in 1986 (established titles re-starting from #1). Admittedly, such periodic re-boots aren't maybe such a bad idea in a comic book biz which, otherwise, maintains the same continuity for decades, expecting fans to recall plots from before they were born, storylines twisted into bizarre pretzel shapes by writers desperate to find some new variation on a character that has been around for generations, all while the characters themselves barely age more than a few years. Maybe if DC took the official attitude that every 25 years it would re-boot its universe, it might make for more manageable continuity. And this time around (moreso than prior to Crisis) a re-boot was perhaps written on the wall, as DC's key properties seemed to be getting further and further away from their core concepts (Batman heading a corporation of Bat-suited crimefighters, Superman's title being inundated with Kyrptonian super men). One might well have asked: how on earth are they going to bring things back to "normal"?

Answer? Simply re-boot the whole universe.

Not that any of that is particularly relevant to Flashpoint itself -- a story whose strength and weakness is how unconnected to continuity it is. In essence, Flashpoint most resembles those Elseworlds tales DC used to do.

Central to the action is Barry (The Flash) Allen -- only recently returned to continuity himself (after having died in the Crisis). Barry suddenly finds himself in a world where he has no super powers, there never was a Flash, and existing super heroes are a mix of the familiar, the unfamiliar, and something inbetween. Worse, it's a world on the verge of an apocalypse, as the armies of Atlantis (led by Aquaman) and the Amazons (led by Wonder Woman) are at all out war in Europe, the ramifications threatening everyone. Convinced something is wrong with reality, and that his memories of being a super hero are more than just a dream, Barry seeks out the one man he figures can help (after learning there is no Superman in this reality) -- Batman.

As I say, this has very much the feel of many of those old Elseworld stories...as well as various what if/and possible future stories super hero comics have done over the years, where we are presented with an apocalyptic reality/future, see off beat variations on familiar characters, and where the only hope is not so much to solve the present crisis, but to literally wipe the slate clean and get reality back to where it's meant to be.

And that may be at the heart of my ambivalence. It kind of feels like something we've all seen before. Long ago the editorial philosophy in comics was the average reader was transitory, "out growing" comics after a few years, so it was okay to recycle stories. But nowadays readers stick around longer (some their whole lives) and with a multitude of reprint collections and TPBs, old stories are often just a trip to the comic shop away.

But it's not so much that the basic ideas are familiar (all stories are, inherently, familiar)...as much as here there isn't that much being done to embellish upon them, to add that fresh twist or perspective that would make the cliches come alive. In fact, the plot/action in these pages is fairly simple and straightforward. It's a five issue epic...that honestly only feels like two issues worth of stuff happens.

Part of that is because, as with similar, past efforts, this core mini-series is actually meant to lead into various ancillary issues and comics. On one hand, writer Goeff Johns largely avoids the (annoying) trap of inserting cliff hangers that only get resolved in some other comic. Most of what you need to know and to follow this story is told here (or, at least, explained here -- as some events relate to previous things introduced in the Flash monthly comic). At the same time, if there does seem a certain lack of development to supporting characters, to motives, to what is at the root of this and that, that's because the story didn't just branch out into a few random issues of other comics...but into whole other mini-series, expanding upon, and fleshing out this temporary universe (presumably, for example, explaining why Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war).

As I say, the core plot here is pretty simple and straightforward. Barry has memories of how the world should be, seeks out Batman who, after initially assuming Barry is crazy, just as quickly decides to believe him, and they work to restore Barry's powers, then seek out a couple of other heroes, then head to Europe sort of to stop the war (how is not clear) and sort of to re-set reality (equally without a plan). Even just describing the plot you can see some problems -- as the characters set out on their Quixotic missions, with no sense that they (or writer Johns) have bothered to plan beyond the next splash page.

Indeed, when we get to the climax, and ensuing explanations, it entails a lot of mumbo jumbo, and calling up the "Speed Force" (as a convenient Deus ex machina) and Barry willing himself where he needs to be Dorothy-of-Oz style, and doesn't really invite close scrutiny.

Stories about super heroes in Dystopia realities, or where they can no longer convince anyone of their heroic alter ego, can be exciting, and emotionally gripping, but here can seem a little perfunctory. As if Johns knows it's all been done before and is just dotting his "I"s. He throws in a twist that the man behind the Batman's mask isn't who Barry assumes...but it's kind of an obvious "surprise", not really something that leaves you going "whoa -- didn't see that coming!"

With all that being said, there are certainly some decent emotional bits. The idea that Batman, once he becomes convinced of Barry's story, becomes solely focused on trying to alter reality itself, uncaring about the current suffering, is a nice idea. After all, even Barry is torn between trying to change things...and still trying to alleviate the immediate suffering.

Just a side point about stories being told before: apparently when Johns brought Flash back into continuity, he introduced the idea that his mother had been murdered years before (when previously, Barry's parents were alive and well). On one hand, no doubt Johns would see that as adding an emotional drama to Barry's background (and to his origin) -- yet isn't he just simply grafting on one of the oldest cliches in comics? The my-loved-one-was-murdered-so-I-will-fight-crime cliche? Maybe the fact that Barry didn't have this traumatized childhood is what made him, well, different from most comic book super heroes (a disproportionate number of whom are orphans)? And different is good.

I've commented before that sometimes reading Johns stuff there can seem an unhealthy obsession with sadism and brutality -- I'm not really sure if it's entirely fair, or whether once I start looking for it, I'm seeing it, when a lot of writers are the same (not that that makes it any better). And there's some of that here (Barry alone getting his arm broken sadistically, and covered with third degree burns...in both cases healing surprisingly quickly!). And there are a lot of mixed signals, too. On one hand, we are introduced to this Batman as a darker, more brutal vigilante (even throwing a suspect off a roof -- another hero catches 'em before they go splat), so we assume this is a sign of how bad and twisted this reality is...yet then it turns out Batman is seen as the hero-of-heroes to the super human community, and when Cyborg tries to form a league (to stop Aquaman and Wonder Woman) his recruitment drive hinges on getting Batman to sign on, or no one else will.

Adam Kubert's art (mainly inked by Sandra Hope) is certainly good, full of detailed backgrounds, well proportioned figures, and robust enough action scenes. Admittedly, like a lot of modern comics art, it can feel a bit, I dunno, cluttered, better at drawing a scene than in telling a story. Faces have a certain similarity of rigid jaw lines, lacking a certain humanity at times. But, hey, it's certainly good work. Why quibble?

As mentioned, part of the point of Flashpoint was simply to set up another re-boot ala Crisis on Infinite Earths -- but in perhaps less of an organic way. Whereas with Crisis, that's what the saga was about, here it feels a bit tacked on at the end. Indeed, in true modern fashion, it's done to kind of set up (presumably) next summer's crossover epic, as suddenly an unknown character neither Barry, nor we readers, recognize appears in a panel, announcing a coming threat from an equally unexplained source, and says reality must be re-booted to better prepare for it. And presto, change-o, it is. (Though you want to talk about conformity -- how come all the redesigned costumes for Superman, Batman, etc. use the exact same design of those weird geometric lines? I know companies like to have house styles...but is there no room for individual creativity anymore in comics?)

Still, the long and the short of it is that Flashpoint, perhaps more than a lot of crossover epics, can reasonably be read for itself alone as just an apocalyptic-superhero romp, or an Elseworlds tale. Unfortunately, I can think of better examples of the genre. It's not bad -- but not too much stands out about it either, in terms of the fairly basic plot (and its rather vague climax) to the characters.

This is a review based on the original comics.

Cover price: $ __ USA.

Giant-Size Gambit
  See the X-Men section.

Giant-Size Marvel 2005 (SC TPB) 216 pages

Written by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Steve Gerber, Gerry Conway, Tony Isabella. Pencils by John Buscema, Rich Buckler, Dave Cockrum, Gil Kane, Frank Robbins, Don Heck, Don Perlin. Inks by Vince Colletta, others.
Colours/letters: various.

Reprinting: the original, lead stories from Giant-Size Fntastic Four #4, Giant-Size Avengers #1, Giant-Size Defenders #4, Giant-Size Super-Heroes #1, Giant-Size Invaders #1, Giant-Size X-Men #1, Giant-Size Creatures #1 (1974-1975)

Additional notes: check-list of the entire line of 1970s Giant-Size issues; a text piece describing the behind-the-scenes origin of Werewolf by Night; covers.

Rating: * * * * (out of 5)

Number of readings: 1

Reviewed Mar. 2012

Published by Marvel Comics

Giant-Size Marvel is an interesting collection...precisely because there's no real unifying thread. Rather, there is -- it collects various stories published within a year or two of each other, that first saw print in its "Giant-Size" line. These were similar to Annuals, simply being over-sized issues of monthly series, sometimes telling self-contained stories, sometimes telling parts of on going stories either continued from the monthly, or into the next Giant-Size issue of the series. Indeed, the Giant-Size format employed a variety of concepts -- unlike Annuals, the Giant-Size-ers were in some cases published on a quarterly schedule...while in other cases, there only was one issue in the series. Some were part of an on going monthly, others were used to introduce and premiere a new series...or, in the case of the X-Men, to revive an old one. It was obviously a concept that failed to quite catch on -- most of the Giant-Size issues were published around 1974-1975, then never heard from again.

Still, Marvel has decided to raid those old issues for a TPB collection. But that's why I say, other than the era, there's no unifying thread, as it's just a bunch of different tales, about different heroes, produced by different writers and artists, collected beneath a single cover.

And that's what makes it an enjoyable tome. It's just a grab bag of old 1970s tales, by some A-list talent (and some B-list), no one tale -- or one hero -- having to justify the purchase, and like a proverbial box of chocolates, each turn of the page brings something new.

And by virtue of the Giant-Size origins, most are self-contained -- that is, there are recurring villains, or stories drawing upon (or recapping) past adventures. But they are all meant to stand on their own -- nothing directly continued into, or from, something else -- unlike some such TPB collections where the editor might have included a few "to be continued" tales...and not bothered to include the continuation! Of course, since the Giant-Size comics often featured reprints as back-ups (some were entirely reprints) the new stories often weren't exactly "giant" in length, some here only about 20 pages (at a time when the regular comics were about 17 or 18 pages) though most are around 30 or even 35 pages.

And you get most of Marvel's signature heroes -- The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Spider-Man (who stars in the Giant-Size Super-Heroes comic), with other titles more a product of their time like The Defenders, and a few more off-beat series, like the WW II super heroes of The Invaders and the horror/super hero hybrid of Werewolf by Night (featured in the Giant-Size Creatures...which also introduced Tigra). And other characters are amply represented: Captain America is featured in the Invaders (and the Avengers for that matter, as are Thor and Iron Man) and the Hulk is in the Defenders issue.

To be honest -- there aren't too many classics here. Though some were certainly seminal, some in a minor way (the FF story introduces Madrox, the Multiple Man, the Avengers introduces Nuklo, and re-introduces the Whizzer...and begins the first of many embellishments to the origin of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and the Werewolf by Night story introduces Tigra)...to medium (the origin and first appearance of the Invaders)...to major , as the Giant-Size X-Men introduced the "new" X-Men, setting the team on the path to being one of Marvel's flagship titles...though even then, the team has undergone so many alterations over the years, as a story in and of itself it's perhaps less significant (and has already been re-printed in many different places). But all are certainly decent to good page turners, with a few signature villains thrown in (Man-Wolf, Morbius, the Squadron Sinister).

And with a lot of top (or at least upper level) talent from the era. Though the preponderance of inker Vince Colletta (on three of the stories here) maybe gives some indication of why he could be such a polarizing figure...a lot of people (fans and pros alike) have criticized his style...but the editors gave him a disproportionate amount of work because he was fast and efficient.

Among the best tales are the Avengers one (though artist Rich Buckler's deliberate attempt to give the visuals a retro feel by mimicking Jack Kirby -- literally swiping poses from things like Fantastic Four Annual #4 -- has mixed results), the Defenders (with unusually good art from Don Heck), and, yeah, the X-Men origin. But as I say, they're all decent page turners...benefitting from no one tale having to carry the book on its own.

Granted, I got this on sale, but still, a collection like this is just a fun sampler of the company's line, and of a period in comics, enjoyable in much the same way Women of Marvel was enjoyable -- and unlike some such "anthology" collections, no significant plot threads are left dangling or cliff hangers unresolved by any of the stories. Honestly, Marvel and DC both could stand to release a few such umbrella compilations. A fun volume.

Cover price: $24.99 USA.

The Golden Age 1995 (SC TPB) 208 pages

Written by James Robinson. Art by Paul Martin Smith
Colours: Richard Ory. Letters: John Costanza. Editor: Archie Goodwin.

Reprinting: the four issue prestige format mini-series (1993-1994)

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 5)

Number of readings: 2

Additional notes: intro by Howard Chaykin; covers.

Published by DC Comics

There are two primary types of DC Comics' "Elseworlds" stories (that is, stories not adhering to "accepted" continuity). The stories that completely re-imagine the concepts (what if Superman was raised in medieval Europe?). And the less common type: stories that begin within the parameters of DC's Universe...then diverge, such as Kingdom Come or Batman: The Dark Knight. In the latter category is The Golden Age.

Set immediately following World War II, the characters and situations are basically part of established 1940s DC reality...except the story goes off in a new, potentially earth-shattering direction. The characters are taken from real golden age comics, or later retro series like The All-Star Squadron. Although some of the more familiar heroes, like the Golden Age Flash, or Dr. Mid-Nite, are shunted to a few panels in the background in favour of other, less famous characters (which can be problematic: the series wants to play on our nostalgia...even as some of these characters are unfamiliar). Following the end of the war, many super heroes have chosen to hang up their cowls, like Johnny Quick who's resumed being journalist Johnny Chambers, others, like Starman, are suffering from emotional burn-out. The Americommando, though, is riding his heroic past into political life as he becomes a right wing demagogue, advocating war with the U.S.S.R. and initiating his own program to create the ultimate American super man.

Writer James Robinson's intention, like with so many writers in the last decade and some, is to put a slightly gritty, edgy spin on simple, old fashioned super heroes -- tossing in the idea that Hourman is almost addicted to his powers, or Starman is in a sanitorium, struggling with the guilt over his involvement in the development of the Atom bomb. And by rooting things in the period, with House Un-American Activities Commission anti-communist witch hunts and the like, Robinson sets out to write a politically tinged epic.

It's sub-titled, "A Different Look at a Different Era". Unfortunately, what emerges is more "A Concept in Search of a Story". I can't decide if, at two hundred pages, Robinson needed more space to fully explore his concepts (similar epics like The Watchmen and Squadron Supreme ran closer to 350 pages) or whether Robinson doesn't have enough to fill up the pages he has.

The rise of the Americommando and his development of a sinister super group dedicated to promoting a particular brand of "Americana" isn't really that complex, or developed that shrewdly...yet it's the chief plot. The rest of the story is concerned with exploring various superheroes -- and there are a lot of them -- and their emotional, post-hero lives. But Robinson tends to explain characterization in dense, text captions, rather than developing them through subtle scenes, and he kind of reiterates the same scenes, over again. There isn't a lot of character development, per se. At one point one character describes another as being "dependent and vulnerable"...yet I'm not sure you'd infer that from the scenes themselves!

I don't need action and adventure to be drawn into a super hero saga, but I do need characters I can believe in and care about, and niggling, interesting little scenes that help move the story along. Compareable superhero sagas (The Watchmen, etc.) are popular precisely because they're sufficiently complicated they demand re-readings to pick up on nuances and clues...but The Golden Age doesn't demand that kind of scrutiny.

As well, like most modern comicbook sagas, this isn't really aimed at the casual reader. A degree of pre-existing knowledge of these characters is helpful (even as Robinson plays fast and loose with their established personas, like in a passing reference implying Mr. Terrific -- the Champion of Fair Play -- is a corrupt business man! Or having Robotman be all ruthless and psychotic!) In fact, re-reading it, there's even a question as to how much of an "Elseworlds" story it is supposed to be. Some characters die, or are reinterpreted, but many of the ideas are built upon concepts, even plot threads, that were part of canon, and I think some ideas may've been introduced here that later became accepted as continuity.

But Robinson doesn't always create distinctive personalities for his people. The captions are a mix of Voice of God narration, internal thoughts of the various characters, even radio announcer voice overs...yet, despite the use of different colours and lettering styles, I often found it hard to tell when Robinson was switching from one point of view to another.

Robinson does an O.K. job with some of the characters of developing them from their established personas...even in a negative direction, such as the Atom and Johnny Thunder signing on with the Americommando both, we infer, because of their pre-established insecurities. But Johnny Chambers (Johnny Quick), acting very much the focal character in the series, doesn't really evoke the brash character who raced through the pages of the All-Star Squadron. Of course, that's part of Robinson's point, to portray many of these characters as older and jaded, eager to give up their crime fighting lives. But maybe that would've worked better if the story had been set ten or twenty years later, not just a couple of years later. It's crucial to the story that these heroes have retired, to the point where even when a crisis seems imminent, many are reluctant to get involved...yet the why is, surprisingly, vague.

Even the socio-political stuff isn't as well utilized as I'd hoped. Perhaps Robinson (and DC) may feel the evils of the HUAC witch hunts are so obvious, it hardly needs to be delved into in detail. Alan Scott (Green Lantern), a broadcast president, finds his employees targeted by HUAC, to the point where one staff writer kills himself...but it might've been better drama to have introduced the writer as a supporting character in a scene or two, so that he becomes a person, not just a plot point.

There's a sense that we're skirting around a far more interesting story...particularly when the climax mutes much of a socio-political statement, the villainy stemming more from the world of super-villains than the halls of political discourse.

Paul Smith's art is decent enough. I've often liked his work, and here, while still maintaining decent face and figure work, he seems to embellish his style by evoking some of the better Golden Age artists. At times it's reminiscent of the early work of, for instance, Alex Toth, but with more modern realism...although lacking Toth's skillful use of shadow and composition. However Smith's faces can be a little generic so that it's often hard to tell who's who. The biggest stumbling block, visually, is Richard Ory's colours, which are too dark by far. Maybe it was meant to instill an ominous tone in an erstwhile cheery, four colour world, but some panels are so dark, it's hard to make out what's supposed to be happening!

Unfortunately, in the ranks of profound superhero epics like The Watchmen, Squadron Supreme, Kingdom Come, and The Dark Knight Returns, the Golden Age is definitely a lesser entry. Even compared to earlier, "simpler" sagas like The Avengers: The Kree-Skrull War, it seems wanting. The plot is thin, on story and action...while the character stuff is repetative and too pat, handed to us in statements and monologues, more than threaded through scenes and actions. The final chapter starts out the best, when the focus (finally) shifts to the heroes planning to do something, and there is some genuine tension and suspense...until it degenerates into a lengthy -- no, really lengthy -- fight scene, where the villains are too pulpy and cartoony for what initially seemed like it was supposed to be a serious epic.

There was talk of a follow-up mini-series -- The Silver Age -- but it never materialized (though there was a later, unrelated mini-series called the Silver Age).

Cover price: $31.50 CDN./ $19.95 USA.

The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told  go here for a review

Green Arrow
  See the Green Lantern section.

Green Lantern
  See the Green Lantern section.

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