Black Adam

The Black Adam mini series (2008) was one of the first comic arcs that I read upon my return to comics after a 15-year absence. Why? I've always had a fondness for the Marvel Family that dates back to the 1970s. Now, I'm not talking about Marvel Comics. I'm talking about the Marvels: Captain Marvel (Shazam), Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., etc. Growing up, I used to love watching the Shazam! live-action series that came on every Saturday morning. To a young kid, it was way cool. Now, I don't recall if Black Adam was ever on the TV show (I don't think he was), but since I was happy to see one of the members of the Marvel family currently being used by DC Comics, I picked up the entire Black Adam: The Dark Age series to give it a shot. I was given an even sweeter treat when I discovered that the series also featured Isis ("Oh mighty Isis"). Come to find out, DC had, after all these years, created (and killed) an Isis character based on the Shazam! show's sister show Isis. Woo hoo! How psyched was I?

In the mini series, Black Adam is mad as hell at the world (and he's not going to take it anymore). He wants the love of his life, Isis, back. Dammit. And he'll kill anyone (and does) to get her back. Yes, Black Adam is evil and a murderer in all senses of the words, and quite possibly could be considered a terrorist. So imagine an entire mini series revolving around his character?

The story takes place in mythical countries in the war-torn Middle East, and the violence is astounding (yet necessary and purposefully used to tell the story). In fact, the story was SO well written by Peter Tomasi that I actually felt sorry for Black Adam. (Of course I had my own selfish reasons for wanting Isis back alive.) The art by Doug Mahnke was amazing, too. He really brought the story (and violence) to life. Now if only we could get these two to do a Black Adam continuing series with the same murder, mayhem, and terror. Oh, and love. Ah, l'amour...

The Joker's Boner

Click on the image below to see it bigger (you know you want a bigger boner):

Filler

Filler. Yup. That's what DC Comics' Faces of Evil "event" is.

Using only a handful of writers (e.g., Geoff Johns, Gail Simone) on their regular staff instead of employing more talent (they won't even consider submissions for writers), DC has gotten behind in producing comics on schedule. So what's a comic company to do? Stage an "event." In this case, it happens to be the well-intentioned, great-on-paper, and poorly executed Faces of Evil concept. I've found that besides not really being about the villains' points of view, most Faces of Evil stories across the DC Comics' comics aren't even part of the current storyline. And basically...suck. Why? They're using "guest" writers and artists to fill the spots so the regular writers and artists get some time to catch up on their work.

Case in point, I just finished Justice League of America #29. This story --surprisingly-- actually was from the villain's point of view. Which villain, you ask? Starbreaker? Who? Um...Star...breaker? Starbreaker first appeared in Justice Leaague of America (vol. 1) #96 in 1972. Wow. That's a pretty generic name, you may say to yourself. And you'd be right. A pretty generic name, a pretty generic villain, and a pretty generic story. In fact, reading JLA #29, I felt like I was actually reading a comic book from the 1970s (note: that's not a good thing). There was the cheesy, generic villain; the cheesy, generic dialogue; and the cheesy, generic battle sequence. My brain hurt from reading JLA #29.

I'm very disappointed in DC Comics' execution of Faces of Evil. It was an "event" I was looking forward to, but ended up being sadly disappointed in. So much for the villains getting their day in the sun. Perhaps they should have hired some "new" talent who could have actually done something special instead of just providing "filler."

A Story With "Heart"

I've recently read in its entirety the "Heart of Hush" storyline that was running in Detective Comics while Batman was running the disappointing "R.I.P." I found that "Heart of Hush" had a better storyline, was MUCH better written, had real character development, and had the possibility (and believability) to affect and change Batman/Bruce Wayne more than "R.I.P." ever could.

This was my first experience with the Hush villain, having just starting reading comics again after 15 years. I must say that he's equally creepy as -- if not creepier than -- the Joker. What a background Hush has. I loved the flashbacks throughout "Heart of Hush" to his childhood. They went into great depth with his turn into a villain, specifically despising Bruce Wayne because of his jealousy and "mommy issues." What a terrific concept.

Unbeknownst to me, the "heart" of Hush turned out to be an actual heart. Catwoman's heart. Ouch. Surgically removing Catwoman's heart to use as bait was brilliant, not to mention incredibly twisted and devious. I loved seeing how much it affected Bruce/Batman personally. The tender moments between he and Catwoman were beautiful. I hope more comes of this. They've been playing "cat and mouse" for years. It's about time something more was done with the chemistry between the two of them.

All in all, I can't say enough how much Paul Dini did a beautiful writing job writing this story arc. How about taking over both Batman titles, Dini?

Facade of Evil

What's a good example of a marketing gimmick? DC Comics' Faces of Evil. I was excited about this "event" when I read about it coming. I thought it was a great idea to have each comic in the DC Universe focus on one of its more prominent villains and truly give us "The DCU from the villains' point of view." I've read several of the issues on the checklist and...I'm not impressed with the gimmick. And what a "gimmick" it is. Let me give you the definition of "gimmick" from Wikipedia:

"In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something "stand out" from its contemporaries. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature. In marketing, product gimmicks are sometimes considered mere novelties, and not really that relevant to the product's functioning, sometimes even earning negative connotations."

Faces of Evil is a gimmick. It's not relevant and earned a negative connotation in my (comic) book. Why, you ask? The premise promised stories told from the point of the view of the villain. They weren't. The covers featured villains against a black background. One would think that the issue would actually contain that villain for more than a panel or two. They didn't.

Wonder Woman #28 - features The Cheetah baring her claws. The Cheetah doesn't show up until the END of the comic and even then is in only about two panels. The rest of the comic shows Wonder Woman getting dolled up in warrior armor, enlisting her white gorilla friends and the former and current Wonder Girls, and going off to do battle with the green faceless creature that beat her up in the previous issue. How is that a Faces of Evil comic, you ask? I don't know. You tell me.

Green Lantern #37 - features an angry Red Lantern by the name of Laira on its cover. The issue turns out to be mainly about the battle with Atrocitus, the supposed head of the Red Lanterns. And, no, the story isn't told from his viewpoint either. (And don't even get me started about this new rainbow of Lanterns out there in the universe. Or the fact that the Green Lantern Corps can't stay in their own comic and have to bleed over into Green Lantern as well. Green Lantern = singular. Green Lantern Corps = plural.)

Batman #685 - features Catwoman holding a giant (and presumably stolen) diamond. Now, I LOVE Catwoman as a character. However, didn't DC just cancel her comic? And now they're making her the main focus of this Batman issue? Her own series could have been extended a couple of issues for this storyline and given a lesser known Batman villain (who's never had his/her own comic) a little spotlight.

Birds of Prey #126 - features the --yawn-- villainous Calculator. Sadly, this BOP comic really was about the Calculator in its penultimate issue. Readers already clamor that they're tired of seeing the Calculator in Birds of Prey, so what does DC do? They devote an entire issue to him. Right before they end the series. Way to go out with a whimper. Maybe this comic should have read "Feces of Evil" instead.

Faces of Evil? Concept = A+. Follow-through? D-.