When I was a teenager/young adult, Green Arrow was one of my favorite comic book series. I'm sure it was in large part to the tremendous writing on the series from Mike Grell. In fact, it was so good that it prompted me to write in with compliments (and have my letters published!) a few times. Although it resided within the DC Universe, its stories stood apart from the rest of Earth One's superheroes. They were a lot more than just battle sequences, which frequently get boring. It involved Green Arrow/Oliver Queen's relationship with Dinah Lance/Black Canary, their flower shop Sherwood Florist in Seattle, Dinah's rape, Oliver's infidelity with Shado and the resulting son, etc.
When I started reading comics again in 2007, one of the series I decided to pick up was Green Arrow & Black Canary, to see what was going on with two of my favorite characters. To my surprise, Oliver Queen wasn't the Green Arrow of the series. His son Connor Hawke was. I had never heard of Connor Hawke. So Ollie had another kid out of wedlock...and it still wasn't with Dinah? Sheesh. Apparently, Ollie didn't believe in any form of birth control.
Fortunately, soon into the Green Arrow & Black Canary series, Ollie returns to claim his rightful title. I went and bought all of the back issues of wedding issues and specials to see what I missed. I really liked this new team series. It was fun and entertaining. I even liked seeing Connor Hawke and the new Speedy, Mia Dearden, appear regularly. They made a great foursome. Then came the introduction of Cupid. She was an interesting villain/character at first, but when she started appearing in EVERY issue, that's when my interest started to wane. Who was this series about anyway? Green Arrow and Black Canary...or Cupid? DC saw declining sales and so changed the focus (and title) of the book to only Green Arrow. (Even I could have told them it was not because of Black Canary, but because of stupid Cupid.) That's when Green Arrow started being serious again, with the killing of Prometheus and running off into the magical forest that once was Star City, following the events of Blackest Night. The new Green Arrow solo series labeled with the Brightest Day banner was interesting, but I missed the fun of the early Green Arrow & Black Canary issues, and I missed seeing Ollie and Dinah together as a couple.
Then came the infamous New 52 following Flashpoint. Oliver Queen is now a young man (a boy, if you will). He has no facial hair and, as far as I know, has never even met Dinah Lance! [GASP! The horrors!] Because I like Green Arrow in concept, I've read the first 24 issues of the latest Green Arrow series (volume 4 of his solo series titles; volume 5 if you include Green Arrow & Black Canary). I can honestly say that I don't think I've truly enjoyed a single issue. Like most, though, I didn't attribute my initial dislike to the writing of J.T. Krul at the beginning of the series. I think he did the best with what he had to work with, which wasn't much. Following Krul's dismissal, DC turned over the reigns to Ann Nocenti. That's when I came to discover that Nocenti is one of the worst comic book writers out there. I realize she's been writing for many, many, many years, but maybe it's time to force her retirement. Her storytelling is awful; her dialogue is worse. And now she's dragging down Catwoman and Katana with her. In fact, the solo Katana series has already been canceled. Coincidence? I think not. Catwoman's sure to be on the chopping block next. And don't even get me started about the disappointment with The Joker's Daughter #1. Seriously...WTF was that about anyway? Another lame reintroduction to another potential star (see: Amethyst).
So I was thrilled that DC execs finally came to their senses and moved Nocenti off Green Arrow, giving the series to writer Jeff Lemire (Animal Man). Sadly, the series is still too boring for me, featuring too many battle sequences and not enough characterization and character interaction/relationships. I miss the days when Oliver Queen was a man (a sexy man at that), when he had a history and relationship with Dinah Lance/Black Canary, had a strong friendship with Hal Jorden/Green Lantern, had a bunch of rugrats from different babymamas, had a sense of humor, was a strong Democrat, and fought for the little people. Now he's just this dopey boy who used to have a company similar to Apple and runs around with two associates who create his arrows and buzz in his ear. Even the reintroduction of Count Vertigo was short-lived and lame. And now, Ollie's just met the Shado of the New 52 Universe who had a child...from his father. EW.
So, I'm done. For the first time in many, many years, Green Arrow is no longer on my monthly pull list. It was a good run, but I can't stand to see a good character unnecessarily spin out of control, even where Count Vertigo is involved.
Let's face it: Wolverine is everywhere. Not only does he have two of his own solo comic book series (Wolverine and Savage Wolverine) but he's also a member of several X-teams and Avengers teams, plus appears in the other self-titled Wolverine and the X-Men (and these don't even include the alternate versions of him in the Ultimate Universe or Wolverine: MAX). It's especially -- for lack of a better word -- interesting when the storylines don't even intersect. He can be in outer space with the Avengers, fighting solo in Madripoor, taking on Sentinels with the X-Men in New York, or just sometimes...DEAD in hell. ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Now, one man cannot seriously be in all of these places at once. So, naturally, I've come to the conclusion that, like Santa Claus, there must be several actors playing the Wolverine character (or, as I like to call him, Santa Claws) in order to make this a reality. I'm waiting for the day when Marvel comes out with Wolverine, Inc. with all of the Wolverines from around the world and across the galaxy and puts them all in one double-sized, bi-monthly comic.
I hate to sound like that grumpy old man in the corner that people talk about, but I remember when there was ONE Wolverine and he appeared in Uncanny X-Men. Period. And we liked it. Then in 1982 he got his very own mini-series. And we loved it. Then he finally got his very own monthly series in 1988. And there was a collective "Meh." I read it for a few issues, got bored, and removed it from my pull list.
In 2013, we now have his fourth solo self-titled series, so I decided to give him another try. I enjoyed Paul Cornell's take on Lex Luthor in Action Comics, so I looked forward to what he was going to do scripting Wolverine. After reading several issues of the new series, I've been less than impressed. There's little characterization. It's just Wolverine doing what he does best: fighting. There's no emotion in the comics. The storylines are otherworldly. And there's no personal connection for the reader. Maybe Cornell had a ghost writer for Lex Luthor? Frankly, any generic writer who has no background in comic book characters could have written the first several issues of the latest incarnation of Wolverine. And what's with all of the guest stars, from Nick Fury to S.H.I.E.L.D. to Black Panther to other X-Men? If Marvel is worried that Wolverine can't carry his own series, then why give him a series? I already see Wolverine interacting with several different characters in several different monthly comic books. Shouldn't a solo title be focused on his experiences exclusive of others in the Marvel Universe, a la Hawkeye?
I haven't even picked up an issue of Savage Wolverine. Why? I'm already oversaturated with Wolverine in EVERY comic book and, to be honest, with that much exposure he just becomes boring. Yes, I said it. Wolverine now bores me. How about getting back to basics with Wolverine? Giving him stories that really bring out and develop his personality? There's so much depth to him, but all anyone wants to use him for is being the angry guy and slicing up people and things. He's Marvel's cash cow, so they figure that just by throwing him in every comic he'll generate increased revenue.
Wolverine deserves better. He deserves to be properly explored with excellent written stories, and he deserves to be illustrated with excellent artwork, neither of which he's gotten in a long, long time. Most of all, he deserves to be given to readers in smaller, natural quality doses, not shoved down our throats like gallons of artificial High Fructose Corn Syrup.
I've been looking through my comics collection from when I was a kid and young adult. Over about a 15-year span, I amassed a huge collection of comics and kept them neatly organized in boxes. All of my weekly allowance went toward comics, not to mention my entire paycheck when I worked part-time at a comic book store for a year. Plus there was Christmas and birthday money. These sometimes went toward older comics at comic book conventions.
There are literally 30 long comic boxes full of individually bagged comics from that period of my life. That's thousands of comics! I've been going through them so I can sell them on eBay, cataloging them and taking photographs of individual comics and/or sets of comics. It's been quite a monumental task to say the least. But that's actually been the easy part. The most time-consuming part has been rating their condition, reviewing their value, writing eBay descriptions for each one, and coming up with a fair price.
While I've been doing this, I've glanced at the photos I've taken, remembering the stand-out issues. Their covers really meant something to me at the time, and they still hold a special place in my memories. There are so many classic covers that remind me of a different time, and are so meaningful or works of art that they give me pause. They may not be considered "classic" in the traditional sense, such as Fantastic Four #1 from 1961 or Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 from 1985, but to me they're classic because I had/have a special affinity for them.
It made me realize that a lot of comic book covers today don't "grab" me. There's nothing unique or special about most of them. I couldn't tell you much about the contents under the cover, and I couldn't tell you, "Oh, that's issue #213." Mainly because the cover doesn't tell me anything or strike an emotional cord with me, but also sometimes because DC and Marvel restart their comics every other year, never allowing them to even get into triple digits anymore. (Wink wink, DC New 52 and Marvel NOW!)
Take for example these two Uncanny X-Men comics. One is from 1980, the other from today (2013). The one on the left tells me that Kitty Pryde joins the X-men -- yay! It makes me want to read it right away. The one on the right tells me...nothing. It gives me a generic team action pose. If I didn't already read the poorly illustrated comic on a monthly basis, what incentive would I have to pick up this comic if I saw it on a shelf next to other comics?
As a side note, comparing these two issues: it irks me that Marvel is putting the comic titles and numbers at the bottom of their comics now (or is it NOW!)?. Don't they realize how hard that makes it for comic book shops and customers to find comics on a shelf when the pertinent information is tucked behind other stacked comics? Or for collectors when the comics are safely stored away in comic boxes? You actually have to lift up the comics all the way to see what the titles and numbers are, instead of quickly glancing the shelves or flipping through a box. It's really poor marketing, and for a company now owned by Disney who's known for their brand and retail marketing, it's pretty shameful.
Much like the fashion industry magazines, DC Comics has taken over September as their month to do something spectacular. It all started with the New 52 in September 2011, continued with Zero Month in September 2012, and just recently DC Comics took another stab at a Villains Month for September 2013. The New 52 was a new concept, but Zero Month was a rehash of a comic marketing stunt that DC pulled in 1994 in conjunction with their Zero Hour crossover event. Villains Month, too, is a rehash of a marketing stunt, but only dating back to 2009 when they did their (lame) Faces of Evil event. When I first learned of the latest attempt at Villains Month, I thought, "Oy vey," and I'm not even Jewish.
Instead of visiting a local comic book store, I order my comics online now, about three months in advance. They arrive once monthly in a well-packaged box, complete with bags and boards. All that's left to do is read them...and I can manage that!
In June 2013, I saw the DC Comics listing for September and thought, "Are you freakin' kidding me?" Every issue was listed at $3.99. What a joke! I wasn't even aware of any special 3-D covers at the time. Or maybe they never mentioned it either. Or maybe I just thought it was another stupid stunt like hologram issues in the 1990s. I remembered back to Faces of Evil in 2009 and thought (in the words of our former [cough!] inspirational [cough, cough!] leader), "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." Although I didn't buy ALL of the issues, I did manage to purchase a great majority of them, increasing my monthly expenditure by 50%.
Like a monthly menstrual cycle, my box of September comics arrived via UPS yesterday as scheduled. In it were all of the DC Comics with lenticular 3-D covers. (Did anyone even know what lenticular meant before these comics created such a buzz? Chalk one up for DC for expanding America's vocabulary.)
I usually file the comics away alphabetically in a box to read before moving them into their regular comic boxes. (Hello, OCD!) It took me much longer to do last night than usual because I was in awe at how beautiful the covers were. They're all so colorful and so full of...life. This was truly a great marketing stunt, and -- I hate to admit it -- worth the $3.99 each (these .gifs shown don't even do them justice). I even felt disappointed that I didn't preorder ALL 3-D issues, and I don't even read on a regular basis such comics as Green Lantern, Flash, or Swamp Thing. I just wanted to look at ALL of them. This was the first time in a long time that a comic book cover truly caught my eye. They may not go down in history as "classic" covers, but they're damn nice to look at. Shame on DC for not printing enough so every fan who wanted one could get one, though.
Now, I can't review them for their content yet, because I haven't read any of them yet (I'm afraid I'll destroy their beauty!). For now, I'm judging these books by their covers.
