Ambush Bug: You know you want to get this

Its still a month before Earth's wackiest(yeah I know it sounds corny) returns but DC has already released a one page preview featuring Ambush Bug and his favorite companion. Yes, the mighty Darkseid. Take a look if you don't believe me. With JH Williams III doing cover duty for the first issue, Jim Starlin for the second issue, I can't wait to find out who gets to do the others.

Final Crisis

There was this small comic that came out a couple of weeks ago, that furiously divided people into two warring camps. On the one side there were people who flat out loved it, and on the other those who flat out loathed it. Then there were other camps who commented on and on about how impenetrable it was for the new reader, or those who bemoaned how much this comic didn't fit with Countdown or Death of the New Gods. And now we get an interview from Grant Morrison.

There are a number of points to note in the interview, not least among them being the clarifications that Grant provides for the various discrepancies.

1. It seems that Grant seems to regard Countdown and Death of the New Gods on two different levels. While he consciously tries to be inclusive of Jim Starlin's series, his attitude towards Countdown is more "I don't care". And quite rightly. But even Starlin's series required no consideration. Maybe Grant has a lot of respect for Starlin. The way I see it, both series have DC Editorial written all over it, and frankly I don't care for either. And unlike his interview with The Comic Foundry, he sounds more resigned to the fact that DC Editorial was going to mess with all of his plans and they did.

2. Morrison mentions that JG Jones was on #3 atleast 2 months ago, which heavily discounts Rich Johnston's theory. I am now pretty sure that all of Final Crisis will come out on time.

3. Morrison cites online commentators in general terms. I didn't think he actually read what online commentators ever said, because most of the time, online commentators have no idea what is going on in a Morrison comic unless its spoon fed to them, but not only does he cite what they are trying to say, but he even tries to annotate some things, and confirm plot points, like the last page.

4. Even though he originally said Final Crisis would be self contained, I begin to get the feeling that to get the full impact of the story, I'll have to read Revelations and Superman Beyond. Not that I wasn't going to, but it just seems a departure from his previous stance.

5. Furthermore, Grant announced the relaunch of his site with new content. His site has been defunct now for probably 4-5 years now, and it seems like a welcome move.

All in all, interesting interview. He didn't sound his typical enthused self, and was obviously more than pissed at what DC has done to his plans. But knowing Morrison, I know that I am in for an epic ride. Personally, for Countdown, I blame Mike Carlin. Maybe someday I'll make an exhaustive post about what projects Mike Carlin has been on, and how I can make a direct relationship between the degree of suckitude of a project and Mike Carlin.

How long will these be around

These are all titles skirting the line of cancellation in terms of sales. They haven't been canceled yet, but may do so anytime soon.

Blue Beetle: Under John Rogers this was one of the best superhero comics coming out. Now, not so much. Its decent, but there are a lot of decent titles out there. And neither Will Pfeifer or Matt Sturges have shown any ability to drive sales up.


Checkmate: Its now got Bruce Jones on writing duties. Yeah, that shows a lot of confidence in the title, DC.


Simon Dark: This is pretty solidly written by Steve Niles, and Scott Hampton's pencils add so much to it. Maybe DC's hoping that Niles' horror fans will buy the trades. Or maybe they are just going to cancel it.


Manhunter: Yeah, its just returned. And yeah, its as good as ever. But two cancellations in the past don't exactly inspire confidence.

Trinity

DC's new weekly, Trinity starts today. Considering their past record, this could go either way. I am hoping it goes the way of 52 and considering that Busiek is involved I am cautiously optimistic. But then again, Countdown had Dini. Atleast the art will be consistent.

This is how DC describes it

Written by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza; Art by Mark Bagley and Art Thibert, Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens, Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher and Mike Norton and Jerry Ordway; Covers by Carlos Pacheco

DC's new weekly series TRINITY explodes in an extra-sized debut issue featuring art by fan-favorite Mark Bagley (Ultimate Spider-Man) and Art Thibert with lead stories and dialogue by Kurt Busiek (SUPERMAN, ASTRO CITY)!

The lead feature explores the unusual bond — and importance — of DC's top three characters, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, as a mysterious dream links them together and may prophesy important changes in their trinity!

Plus, a co-feature in issue #1 explores the mysterious connection between several villains who are watching the Trinity —as well as the near future for these characters and their surrounding world! Co-features in issues #2-4 fill in back-story on some of the other important players in this major storyline. These stories are written by Busiek and Fabian Nicieza with art by Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens (NIGHTWING, GREEN ARROW), Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher and Mike Norton and Jerry Ordway (ALL-NEW ATOM, INFINITE CRISIS).

And Newsarama has a preview

Comics from April 9

This was a disappointing weak for me as a DC fan. And that is heightened considering two of the strongest series from DC came out this week. Both Booster Gold and JSA suffered from slow pacing, and no movement of plot. As before I review two comics that I was impressed by among the bunch I have read till now.

Wonder Woman 19 - Gail Simone continues her run, rejuvenating the character of Wonder Woman from the mess it had become earlier. After the 4 issue arc The Circle which introduced new antagonists that actually measured up to the standard of Wonder Woman, this 2 issue arc Ex-Patriate sends her on a space adventure.

Gail has been highlighting the warrior aspect of WW throughout her short run, and last issue showed that her renown as the same is not limited to earth. Khunds, whom I have no previous exposure to, are supposed to be a tyrant, warrior race with the sole aim of conquering other civilizations. Wonder Woman is called upon to save the same race from genocide, by appealing to her compassionate side. Last issue ended with Wonder Woman discovering a Green Lantern out to stop her. This issue continues with that fight and we go straight to battle mode. Reading WW's thoughts show her as a shrewd strategist. War is not her first choice, but when driven to it, she fights to win. WW defeats the Green Lantern with a very new use of the lasso, the lasso being something Gail has been highlighting in her run. But the scene after that, where WW offers her hand in peace, shows her resolve towards peace. Brilliant writing. The last scene is characteristic Gail humour, something that defines her writing, and shows that if given the chance Gail can be a solid Green Lantern writer.

There were a few Tom Tresser scenes where he goes through an internal monologue, but it seemed largely irrelevant to the main plot here. Clearly it is supposed to pay off sometime in the future but for now, it is clear Tom Tresser is not the strongest part of the cast in this book.

The art by Bernard Chang was impressive, though suffering from the rather bland inking throughout. Chang is clearly more comfortable drawing characters rather than backgrounds but his fight scenes were well drawn. All in all, a Good Read

Gamekeeper V2 02 - The first volume of Gamekeeper had thoroughly impressed me. Both Andy Diggle's writing and especially Mukesh Singh's art had made the series into a Must Read every time it came out. That they were going to do a volume 2 had both filled me with dread since neither of the creative team were returning but also anticipation since I like Jeff Parker's writing.

I need not have worried. The transition is smooth, although after Mukesh Singh's art, Ron Randall's art in the present series seems to be a step down, but its very competent. Jeff Parker shows that he has the chops to deliver an enjoyable and action packed story. And one fact that I notice is that Parker writes it in such a way that you don't have to remember who each of the characters are. He expertly weaves the threat levels of each of the antagonists without having to go into any exposition and the same time he paces the story well to both highlight the expertise of the Gamekeeper as well as the main antagonist.

Parker's Gamekeeper is still Diggle's Gamekeeper. Very dangerous and with a sharp mind. At the same time he builds up the character of Raven as a foil for the Gamekeeper. What lies ahead promises to be an exciting read. And for now, like Diggle's series, this is a Must Read.

Grant Morrison: Batman and Costume

If you don't know, Grant Morrison, who's just about the best writer ever to have written comics is writing Batman. And Batman hasn't been this good since I don't know how long. And now that we have out recap paragraph out of the way, lets get on.

Morrison recently did an interview where among other things he teased that he'll be doing a lot of stuff to Batman in the upcoming issues which would have permanent ramifications on the Bat mythos as well as setting up threads going upto 2010. One small thing that he mentioned was that he would also change the costume.

"What else? We finally get to see the Club of Villains we hinted at in the “Club of Heroes” storyline from last year – Charlie Caligula, Scorpiana, Pierrot Lunaire, the murder mime…and a bunch of other cool freaks. And there’s a new Batmobile, a new costume, more Bat-Mite…"

All DC characters in general, and Batman in particular are considered iconic. And an element of that, something that seems to highlight that fact, has always been the costumes. They have existed as long as the characters have, virtually unchanged. So, one would think tinkering with them is something simply not done. But I think otherwise. The fact that most superheroes wear underwear on the outside of their skintight spandex has often bugged me. Even if they are not going for realism, these superheroes are still supposed to exist in a world where the equivalent of real people, real thoughts etc etc exist. And in that world, such costumes would be, simply put, silly. I hypothesize that originally these costumes were conceptualized with inspiration from wrestlers, who wore only underwear. Possibly artists wanted their heroes to look iconic and wrestlers seemed to naturally fit that role. But that doesn't mean it still makes sense now.

When Morrison came onto New X-Men, a change of costume was one of the points he made in his proposal. He wanted them to wear uniforms rather than spandex. Which seems to suggest that Morrison may have similar feelings about others as well. And quite possibly thats what he'll be trying to do when he finally unveils the new costume for Batman. The absence of underwear on the outside of the costume. The only obstacle could be WB restricting him from doing so, but seeing as Batman costumes wouldn't be a very happy topic among WB execs, maybe they'll let it go. Besides Nolan is already going for a more realistic approach. That line of reasoning may convince them if need be.

How about he does the same to Superman next. Although it'll be tougher there. The Superman movies have made that particular costume too visible in the general consciousness of people. But if possible, redesigns are in order. A more Kryptonian looking costume possibly. And once thats done, Wonder Woman should be next. That costume often interferes with my enjoyment of the Gail Simone penned series which is rather well written. Its impractical in every sense of the word.

Comics from April 2

I still have to read stuff but there are two comics I read this week that require special mention.

Infinity Inc 8 - This title is floundering in sales. That is no secret. But this is pure genius. That, I believe, is a secret. Peter Milligan is one of the best writers to have ever written comics books. But he doesn't always write with that brilliance. The atrocious Ras Al Ghul arc was an example where he write two Robin issues. The less I say about them, the better. But at the same time he's writing two brilliant series, that have hardly been noticed. The Programme and Infinity Inc. The former may be the subject of a post I do some other time but right now we are talking about Infinity Inc.

Its been hampered by the fact that most conventional comic book fans don't get it. This is not a superhero comic in any sense of the word. Its very much a Milligan comic exploring many of the stuff that Milligan does explore in his comics. Like the mind. The effects of events happening around you on the mind. How much your personality gets shattered by tragedies. Or for that matter by your inability to express yourself as you truly are, or want to.

There are characters from just about every part of that spectrum in here. Natasha, who lost her powers that defined her, being almost second nature to her. Erik, who isn't sure why he's a man, because he's more in touch with his feminine side. Gerome, a very introverted person, who wishes to project otherwise, and so on. Milligan expertly used the angle setup in 52(Oh, how I miss that title) of Luthor giving them powers and then taking them away, here. He establishes the basic premise, that those powers didn't really go away, and are now mutating into projections of their thought processes. The first few issues got off to a very slow start, and dealt primarily with the psychosis of the antagonist of the first arc. But it seems that most fans, as well as it seems DC Editorial didn't like the art which was very much in keeping with the mood of Milligan's writing. So now we have Pete Woods, who is, in every sense of the word, a superhero artist. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but its very different from what an ideal artist for Milligan would be. Yet, Milligan takes that in his stride and even creates humour out of Woods coming on, and the members getting costumes. The panel where Steel says "Now that you have costumes you need the things that all heroes need" and Nat says "Personal Problems?" is evident of that fact.

There's more humour in this issue than has been in previous issues, which is an added bonus. Milligan seems to be using Steel as a representative for those fans and members of DC Editorial who want it to be a more superhero book, which would make it like any other of the thousands of comic books available. The scene where Steel comes up with costumes, as well as the one where he comes up with their secret identities both have dialogue that seem intentionally stilted, in contrast with the rest of the issue. The issue mostly deals with the Infinity Inc actually become Infinity Inc, their members trying to accept someone they have fought before as enemies, as well as a continuation of the Gerome arc. Nat, Erik have already had stories highlighting them. I hope similar stories are told for the rest of the team, for these characters are more interesting and well constructed than almost any character in comic books today.

In closing, I hope Milligan gets to tell a lot of stories on this book in the future, sales be damned.

Action Comics 863 - Now this is pure superhero comics, unadulterated. Both pure and unadulterated do mean the same thing, but this comic and Johns' writing deserve those adjectives doubly, and hence the repetition.

There's all the elements that make a great Geoff Johns comic in there. Continuing from last issue's cliffhanger the story moves forward on two fronts. The simultaneous beating that Superman gets at the hand of Earth-Man, and the Legion fighting the Justice League. The outcome is obvious yet, Johns manages to make it exciting. Edge of seat stuff. The eventual moment when Superman opens his eyes is choreographed in a beautiful way. The cheesy Superman dialogue "I am for everyone" works, in Johns' script, and so does the Legion splash page. Correction, the splash pages. And as an added bonus Johns manages to touch upon Superman's deep rooted connection with the legion in a touching manner.

Gary Frank's art seems much better than all the previous issues, which were dominated by the oddly looking wide-eyed look. He gets to draw two splash pages with the legion in all its glory and does not disappoint.

And if the actual issue wasn't enough, the teaser images at the end is there to get your heart racing. Johns and Perez on a Legion book is a promising notion. August, though is still a far way off.

Countdown - The truth behind the atrocity revealed

I imagine this is how Countdown got green signalled. All names are indicative but they are probably true judging from the said names' past records.

Mike Carlin(MC) - You know, I still don't get how 52 sold so much. It didn't even happen in the present. How can something sell that is not happening in the present. Continuity. They need continuity. Continuity is law. Continuity.

Matt Idelson(MI) - Yeah, beats me.

MC - .........

MI - Wait, doesn't it happen like one week in each issue. They do like, each day of the week, so the reader feels like continuity is happening. So its pseudo-continuity.

MC - Wow, thats it. Pseudo-continuity. Well, we'll do continuity cause continuity beats pseudo-continuity every time.

MI - Yeah. You are a genius man.

MC - I know. Isn't that stupid Morrison doing that big series. Final Crisis. Stupid Morrison. He doesn't even care about the fine line of continuity. He writes stupid series like Animal Man. Who's stupid enough to write himself into the series. Thats against continuity rules.And Final Crisis. As if its going to be final.(Chuckles) When I fix continuity again, there will be another crisis. Cause thats what Crises are for. Continuity.

MI - You are a genius.

MC - I know, I know. So we do a Countdown to that series which will be ----- wait for it ------- Weekly. And because its now continuity not pseudo - contnuity, it will sell bazillions of issues, and I'll get promoted again, and Dan DiDio will get fired.

MI - You'll promote me too, right.

MC - Absoloutely. You are my bestest pal. I'll make you head of them all, just under me.

MI - Wow, thanks.

MC - Anyway, we'll use all the characters that Morrison is gonna use, and make them cool. Like you know. Mary Marvel, we'll make her hot, all black like Spiderman. And we'll show her panties in every issue.

MI - You are a genius man.

MC - I know. And Jason Todd. He's cool you know. He got killed because of phone calls. But he was the best Robin. He killed people not like those lousy other Robins.

MI - And Kyle Rayner. I love Kyle Rayner. And the monitors, I love monitors. They look cool.

MC - Yeah and them too. We'll write all of it. And they'll sell bazillions.

MI - But we can't credit ourselves. We are humble, aren't we.

MC - Yeah, I am very humble. I won't take credit even though this is going to sell bazillions. Get me that list of all the DC Exclusives. I'll close my eyes and whoever I put my finger on will be the lucky ones.

MI - Yeah(Brings the list, and MC uses his magic fingers)

MC - We got 'em.

MI - You are a genius man.

MC - I know. Now lets pitch it to DiDio, he can't not do this. This is genius.

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At DiDio's office.

DiDio - Yeah

MC - We got a proprosal for a new comic.

DiDio - Yeah

MC - Its a weekly

DiDio - Weekly. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

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Epilogue

MC - See, I told you. In one year, when this is over, I'll take over.

MI - You are a genius. You know, your genius inspired me. I have a proposal too.

MC - Yeah, tell me.

MI - How about, like, all the Amazons attacked America.

MC - Genius.

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