2004-11-24
Capsule Comic Reviews - 11/24
By: Harold Bloomfield
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Writer: J. Michael Straczynski | ||
I’ll give writer: J. Michael Straczynski credit for ambition. Like an American president entering his second term right from the very beginning JMS seemed to be concerned with leaving his mark on this series. First he tinkered with Spider-Man’s origin story, then he introduced a character that he clearly thought was one for the ages (Ezekiel) and in this arc he tampered with a story that probably next to the origin was the most sacred of all Spider-Man stories, the death of Gwen Stacy. Unfortunately this one was a big swing and miss, not worth the effort. Over the course of six parts there were some emotionally effective scenes but the arc goes down as a clunker of the first order. In this issue things wrap up in a very conventional way with the hero being a hero, the twins discovering the truth; causing one to embrace his evil heritage while the other one finally accepts the truth. So the Gwen Stacy legacy is besmirched and perverted so we can get yet another Goblin? This is not even close to being an acceptable trade off.
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Writer: Ed Brubaker | ||
Things really start to percolate as the Authority find the revolt they face is being lead by super powered beings that should be feeble senior citizens but are apparently back and more powerful than ever as Midnighter is faced with a historical dilemma. Brubaker’s script resonates with modern political parallels, sly humor and note worthy plot developments. Maybe I adjusted after just one issue but Nguyen’s artwork seemed fine to me here while I felt it was a slight mismatch last issue. I really think there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye and I’m not nearly as accepting as Midnighter of the version of the future he’s been shown. I have faith in Brubaker that things aren’t as cut and dry as they seem as my only hesitation so far is Jack’s reaction to the revolt and Midnighter’s reaction to his visit to the future are too pat. Other than that a fine foundation has been laid for this 12 part series.
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Writer: Andersen Gabrych | ||
For those of you who missed War Games this issue serves as a summation and a wrap up. We learn how Robin found out about Spoiler’s death and how a wounded Nightwing was rescued from that fire escape ledge. This is nice character stuff but it can’t escape from the morass that was War Games and too much of it reads like a recap. We needed to see more of these character studies while War Games was going on instead of the frenzy of needless fights with the mandatory costumed villain being thrown in issue after issue. Paul Lee provides very effective art with particularly good use of shadows as is almost a necessity with Batman. Ever since Jim Lee’s turn on this book DC has kept the glossy paper which really helps the art out a great deal. I’m fine with that but I don’t know why other books, especially Birds of Prey, don’t get the same treatment.
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Writer: Geoff Johns | ||
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Don’t look now but Identity Crisis might not be the DC mini series event of the year. Geoff Johns, tasked to returning Hal Jordan to the DC Universe as the Green Lantern, has begun a story that is very large in scope but full of telling moments for many of the characters involved. Perhaps his first and wisest choice was to broaden the story to involve and be crucial for all the Green Lanterns we know, not just Hal. He even throws in the JLA and the JSA without making the story seem crowded or convoluted. In fact the appearance of these other heroes flows naturally and the story would be greatly lacking without them. The strange occurrences of last issue continue but we discover that Hal is not behind or even aware of them all. Seems Kyle Rayner may be aware of what is happening or at least why and Johns is setting him up to go out (if he does exit) on a high note. Meanwhile things don’t look too good for Guy Gardner and John Stewart. All of this and Johns find time for some small scale intimate moments for Hal and Carol. Ethan Van Sciver continues the first rate artwork greatly aided by Prentis Rollins' inks and Moose Baumann’s colors. So far Johns greatest achievement is to present a story that isn’t drowning in Hal’s twisted background and is clear for readers not entirely familiar with it.
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Writer: J. Michael Straczynski | ||
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Judge J. Michael Straczynski not by the current Goblin/Osborn infested mess that is Amazing Spider-Man but by this series instead and you see why at the top of his game he ranks with the best. Hyperion finally gets involved with Nighthawk, who in this series is a combination of Batman and the Punisher, and becomes engaged in the case of the mutilated prostitutes and if this is a preview of how these guys will function as a group than future issues in this series are going to be something. Straczynski is playing one of the best government conspiracy riffs since the early days of the X-Files and shows here that the G-men may be down but they’re not out. He also shows that with any good conspiracy they have more to hide than we thought. The only draw back in this issue is the overly clichéd dialogue of the ladies of the evening. I think JMS has been watching too much MTV. The art of Gary Frank has been perfect for this series and he doesn’t miss a beat here.
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