While I Was Gone
A few things from the past month that I didn’t get to talk about, what with everything.
Batman RIP hits, with somewhat mixed reviews. I’m not quite sure what to make of it all, really. I had decided to wait for the trades on Batman, because I’ve found Morrison’s run to read a hell of a lot better in one chunk rather than on an erratic monthly schedule. Now, I’m not sure whether to bother or not. I’m sure I’ll pick it up eventually, but there’s plenty of other things I’m more enthusiastic about.
Part of the problem here is how much the storyline has been hyped. These days, COMIC HYPE more often than not makes me less inclined to pick something up, and even the fucking British press got in on the act with RIP. My overall impression is that RIP’s just a middle-act storyline to a larger Morrison plot that ended up getting the metaphorical fridge nuked out of it by the DC marketing department. I think I’ll wait to see if there’s ever a proper resolution to all of this before plonking my cash down. And I’m certainly not buying any of the pointless spin-offs.
One thing I did notice in a lot of the commentary was the idea that DC isn’t properly capitalising on the success of the movie. I’m not really sure if they can, to be honest. If superhero blockbusters had any effect on comics sales, I’m sure it would’ve happened by now, so I doubt taking Bruce Wayne out of the regular title for however long is going to make any difference.
That said, I’d love to see an ongoing Batman title out of regular continuity in the style of The Dark Knight. I know All-Star was kind of DC’s answer to the Ultimate U, but it didn’t quite work out that way (to Superman’s benefit, and Batman’s detriment). I say, balls to it. Outright steal Marvel’s initial attempt to capture Movie X-Men’s style in the Ultimate X-Men title, only do it for Batman. Hell, call it The Legend of the Dark Knight, with “the legend of” in little writing.
And you know the key to getting the tone right? Making sure Batman’s cowl is drawn with eyeholes rather than blank lenses. It would make the world of difference in terms of atmosphere, and it would be a fresh spin because as far as I know (and I’m happy to be corrected, as always) the mainstream Batman has never been drawn with, you know. Eyes.
(Odd coincidence: In the middle of drafting this, I looked at the new site statistics under the new domain provider, and one of the recent searches that led to the Journal was “why doesnt batman have any pupils?” Well-timed.)
Speaking of waiting for the trade, I picked up Geoff Johns’ Superman and the Legion of Superheroes hardback during the downtime. Now, you should understand that I have almost zero interest in the Legion, I’m ambivalent if not hostile to the 70s throwback storytelling we’ve been getting in comics for the past couple of years, and that I really dislike the concept of there being a Superboy before Superman.
Because I really fucking loved this story. Seriously, one of the best Superman stories I’ve read in ages. It just highlights what a good writer can do when he doesn’t mess around with Crises and crossovers and events and things that get your comic mentioned in the Daily pissing Mail. This six-issue run beats every single Brand! New! Changes! Everything! Forever! storyline I’ve ever read, because it just lets Superman be Superman. A damned shame Johns follows it up with a year’s worth of stunt storytelling, kicking off with Pa Kent kicking the bucket.
Oh, and there was one excrutiating thing that, while not really Johns or Gary Frank’s fault, I found to be completely unacceptable in this day and age. The first double-page spread of the Original Legion has dozens of characters, apparently from dozens of different planets in a galaxy teeming with different cultures. Yet every single one of them was white.
on December 18th, 2008 at 12:34 am
To be fair to Johns, Pa Kent shuffles of this mortal coil in the best Brainiac story in the past twenty years, if not ever. And while it is stunt storytelling, New Krypton is still bloody good so far. I’m actually excited about Supergirl, The Guardian, Mon-El and Nightwing and Flamebird. That is one sentence I never thought I’d write. It remains to be seen whether the Super-books’ll be any good once Johns and Superman bugger off.
on December 18th, 2008 at 2:36 am
I think it’s a good idea with Batman. He is probably the most obvious character in the DC titles that would benefit with a reboot. And never more timely with the ongoing success of the Dark Knight. I don’t particularly like a lot of the Ultimate stuff, but it’s a good way to reinvent a character without having to minutely detail continuity that seems to be very important to comic fans
It’s an amazing mythology to be given a blank canvass but also to skip over the bad parts in the history of its run. And yeah eyes would be cool
on December 18th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Brother Paul: I think if anyone can pull off stunt storytelling, Johns can. I suspect that the past couple of years of EVERYTHING CHANGING FOREVER! has just made me a little cynical about this kind of thing, because what I want most of all is to read a comic about Superman, not a Superman comic without him in it.
Of course, you were absolutely 100% right about the Legion story, and I honestly think that the character’s never been served better by a creative team than Superman has been with Up Up and Away/Last Son/Legion/All Star. So regardless of reservations, I’ll be buying all of it.
Bender: I’m with you on a lot of the Ultimate titles, as not many of them are my cup of tea. I think I just really like Movie Batman, and I’d like to see some stories with him in more than every three years or so.