by Brandon
Summer. This is the comic book fan's season for catching up and enjoying a good, geeky book while one should be outside instead. Jenn remarked last week while on our honeymoon, "How did comic books end up coming on our honeymoon?" Well, the answer really does boggle the mind; I packed them in a backpack and brought them with us. I made full use of the quiet setting of Sound off Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to catch up on some reading. Some of the titles are old, some are new, but they all get a little review from me here. 
Grendel War Child #'s 1-10
Though this book takes place chronologically far beyond what I've read to thus far in the Grendel series (chapters 41-50, whereas I just entered the teens in my regular Grendel reading), I decided to give this miniseries a go since I picked it up for a buck a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be a fairly accessible read, but not just in terms of Wagner's writing, but also the helpful recap pages at the front of the book and two-page review pages in the back of each issue which successfully and succinctly explained the entire history of the printed Grendel up to that point. Grendel Prime, the protagonist of this story, turned out to be a very effective Grendel. What he lacked in Hunter Rose's flamboyance, he made up for in true grit. This was a great miniseries and highly recommended, especially if you can find it on the cheap like I did. 
Star Wars: The Clone Wars #6
No real trip would be complete without having read something in the Star Wars realm. Unfortunately, this last issue in the first Clone Wars arc was very disappointing. While the story of stopping intergalactic slavery would be interesting in, say, the 1860s, it just seemed a bit odd for a focus here. I realize Anakin was a slave, but the story's heavy "gee, this is soooooooo wrong" tilt from the beginning was a nonstarter. Of course slavery is wrong. Do we need six issues of action packed preaching to deliver that point home? This first arc was in no way as engaging as the first season of the television show. Maybe it will pick up soon, but if the second arc doesn't grab me, this book will be on the chopping block.
Justice League America #'s 46-50 (Glory Bound)& Annual #4 (JL Antarctica)
I'm almost finished with my rereading of the classic JLI from Giffen and DeMatteis. I have thoroughly enjoyed every issue and arc of JLI up until the Glory Bound arc found in issues 46-50. The first issue involving Guy Gardner going to a comic book convention was good, but the rest of the story fell flat. Much of the fun about the arc I suppose was to be derived from poking fun at the Captain America pastiche General Glory. The only catch was that... it just wasn't funny. Annual #4, however, was an excellent issue of the series that introduced the Antarctica branch of the JLI. The ineffective Injustice League and Gnort get assigned to patrol Antarctica and protect it from flesh-eating penguins. It was zany fun despite the fact that Gnort was featured so heavily. My only complaint really about this latter era of JLI is the fact that Booster Gold was MIA. He and Blue Beetle really made this title great. Despite my small grievances, this title really has rejuvenated my interest in the comic book medium. The JLI books have been fun to read. I feel old saying this, but they just don't make them like that anymore. 
Justice League Europe #'s 23-28 & Annual #2
Of the various JLI books, JLE was the one I was most wary about reading, but it has in fact been one of the most enjoyable. The mix of action and Bwah-ha-ha is perfect in this title. Plus, it features some of the more consistently interesting JLI members; Captain Atom, Flash, Elongated Man, Power Girl and her cat, Rocket Red, and Metamorpho. Whereas the JLA title seemed to spend more time goofing around the embassy, JLE seemed to get out more and, you know, handle bad guys. Whether it was fighting huge works controlled by a league of captains of industry (issues 23-25) or fighting off Starro yet again (issues 26-28), this particular incarnation of the league was always fun and effective in their own little way. Any story that can make Starro seem not lame is a good story. Along with the above JLA issues, these issues can be found for ridiculously cheap prices, most likely less than a buck an issue. They are well worth your time to seek out. 
Hero Squared #'s 1-3 & Special #1
Speaking of J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen, someone recommended Hero Squared to me a while back. I bought the original miniseries and X-tra Sized special to try it out. While it was funny in many parts, I just don't see how this story could be sustained over a long period of time. It seems pretty finite to me. I'm glad to see that there are only nine issues after these initial four remaining because I just don't see the concept really stretching too far. It was a fun read, but if someone were inclined to want to check this creative team out, they would be much better served by seeking out the JLI titles. 
Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine #6
Wow... that was a letdown. We waited for that? Seriously? While the Nick Fury part at the end was solid, the rest was lackluster, and that's being kind. A Wolverine and Hulk miniseries should be cool. It should be grandiose and over the top. This miniseries started off with a bang, but ended on a barely audible thud. 
Ultimate Spider-Man #132
Did you read the above review? Kinda sucky. Well, that's pretty much my opinion of this issue too. It's been no secret that I think Ultimatum has been dreadful, but this is just crap. Ultimate Spider-Man was one of the best titles Marvel had going. It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was always consistent. Now that it has been mucked up by all this Ultimatum junk, it has become almost unreadable. Thanks, Marvel. 
The Invincible Iron Man #13
Hmmm. Interesting. I have never read a regular, monthly Iron Man comic in my life, but something compelled me to pick this title up last summer and I've been enjoying it ever since. While I think this "Most Wanted" story arc has been going on for too long, I think Fraction is slowly building up to a boiling point that will be amazing. The inevitable confrontation with Norman Osborn should be the most exciting comic Marvel produces in this whole Dark Reign business, but that's up to how well Fraction and the other frame it. If you look at Invincible Iron Man, it looks like it will be explosive. Kudos on both the writing and art here. This is by far one of the best titles Marvel is producing now. 
Daredevil #118
I believe it was King George the Third who wrote in his diary on July 4, 1776 that "nothing much happened today." The same could be said for this issue. Is it just me, or has Daredevil become to whiny lately? It just kind of drones on and on and on. We get to see Daredevil brood for much of the issue, which is highly original. For those who are a poor judge of sarcasm, that was definitely sarcasm. I want to read Daredevil stories that are exciting crime dramas, not emo-like pity sessions where Matt muses about how shitty his life has become. Get over it. That Daredevil story has been written at least eighty times. Let's move on, shall we?
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6.23.2009
Summer Reading, pt. 1
5.13.2008
From Top to Bottom: Comic Crossovers
by Matt
Welcome to the 3rd edition of the weekly "From Top to Bottom" column! Every week I will look at something within the comics industry and give you my opinion on what I think is the best and what I think ranks amongst the bottom-feeders.
I was reviewing some of my old monthly orders through mailordercomics.com the other day and I noticed that the new (well, it was ordered about a year ago) Batman/Spawn crossover was canceled. Now, I am a HUGE sucker for crossovers, and even though I don't follow Spawn or Batman all that much, I HAD to get this book.
Company crossovers follow 3 different formulas: either it is a full team-up with one universe visiting another, a mishmash of the characters in the same universe (see Amalgam) or somehow the characters have always existed in the same universe. I am not a huge fan of the Amalgam-type crossovers, so you won't find those here. But I am a huge fan of seeing characters from separate universes interacting. Crossovers rarely matter in the scheme of things; they are all about having fun. We all want to see heroes from separate universes smack the crap out of each other before they figure out that it was all just a misunderstanding and then team up to defeat the evildoer. Some company crossovers have been fantastic and others have been pretty close, most were not bad and some were complete disasters. In researching this, I have found that there are a ton of them out there - and I think I have them all! Here are my Top 3.
I am a huge Backlash fan. I loved the Kindred series, I loved his solo series, I just really love Backlash. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that Spider-Man (Ben Reilly no less!) would be teaming with a B-level character like Backlash and it would be drawn by Backlash creator Brett Booth himself! While this wasn't in continuity or a crossover that was really demanded, this was meant to be fun. The Venom/Taboo symbiote angle was well-played, the idea behind the team up was good, in short the execution of this crossover just screamed fun. Of course, it helps if you are a big fan of both characters.
2)Wildcats/Aliens
This was one of the rare crossovers that actually impacted continuity in a major, major way. Stormwatch discovers a meteor heading towards Earth and they send a team to blow it up, and, ultimately, bring back Aliens to Skywatch. The Aliens massacre all but a few aboard and the original team of Wildcats goes to investigate and rescue. Battalion is the only surviving member of the Stormwatch team; all the rest were killed by the Aliens. This led to Stormwatch being discontinued and the series itself being canceled, but it did also lead to the formation of the book and team called the Authority. I love this crossover because it actually affected the book and team in continuity. I have a soft spot for Stormwatch and was so shocked after reading this book. It really lived up to the famous comic mantra that this changes EVERYTHING!
The grand daddy of them all! Busiek and Perez knocked this book right out of the park. It exceeded my expectations. We got the best of both worlds, highlighting what makes the DC and Marvel universes unique and fun. We also got to see the teams fight and then we got to see them as if they were in the same universe. Aside from the writing and the insanely detailed art (I could not imagine an artist other than Perez), it was the little things that made this crossover my all-time favorite. I loved that heroes were treated differently on both worlds, that magic, the Speed Force, the Infinity Gems (and many other things) didn't work in different universes. The geek in me also loved trying to find every single incarnation of the each member of the Avengers in #4. This was a dream crossover!
Honorable Mentions: There are sooo many crossovers out there that it was hard to narrow down my top 3 favorites. so I will recommend a few more: Batman/Spider-Man (the one Bagley drew), the Nexus/Madman jam, Hellboy/Starman/Batman and the first Superman/Aliens series are also among my favorites.
And here are 3 crossovers that shouldn't have happened. In ANY universe!
I admit that I haven't read this. However, just the idea is silly enough to make it onto this list. If I find this book in a 25 cent bin I'll probably snag it, just to satisfy the voyeur in me.
The first crossover between these 2 teams had some redeeming value which was called Art Adams. The second crossover was so bad that I totally have forgotten what it was all about. All I know if that it was painful to get through it. More painful than the first one, which at the time I didn't think was possible. And if I had a choice, I would rather buy the Punisher/Archie crossover at FULL PRICE than read this one again.
It took me years to finally read this book. I bought it because like I said, I am a sucka for these type of books. Eventually, I decided to read it. After reading it, I sold it on eBay with a bunch of other crappy Image books and I have not looked back. This book represents what goes wrong with a crossover book. I thought Wolverine would be a good crossover with any character but he couldn't pull Badrock. And who wants to see a crossover with Badrock? Was there really demand for that like JLA/Avengers or Batman/Spider-Man? That would be like taking a corny Marvel character like Gladiator and team him with Supreme. Oh wait, they already did that. Crossovers only work if there is demand to see them together or if they both are similar type characters. That is what made even Team 7/Team X work better than Badrock/Wolverine.
After writing this, I thought about characters that would make excellent crossovers. So next week, I will present my Top 3 choices for crossovers that should happen and I will also give my Bottom 3 for crossovers I hope will never happen!
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