Back in the 80s, I read the Secret Wars limited series and freakin' loved it. It was so exciting and so many exciting things came out of it: Spider-Man got his black symbiote costume, The Thing stayed behind on Battleworld and got his own series, She-Hulk joined the Fantastic Four, etc. Not only was the series unique and interesting, but Secret Wars action figures came out of it. There were characters I had never had or seen before to play with! Yes, they were pretty cheaply made with no points of articulation, but still it felt revolutionary.
A couple of years later came Secret Wars II, which was just plain farcical with the Beyonder in his white Miami Vice leisure suit.
After the most recent shitty Marvel event series, AXIS, I was really looking forward to the new Secret Wars series. I finally read Secret Wars #1 (2015) and all I have to say is, "Huh?" What the fuck was that? Seriously. What the fuck was that? I don't even know what the hell happened. It felt like I was picked up and plopped down in the middle of something going on -- a battle of some sorts on Earth -- and I'm supposed to enjoy that and follow along? Did I miss the introduction? This was the first issue, correct?
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It was written by Jonathan Hickman after all, who has previously turned me away from his storytelling on Fantastic Four and the Avengers. There's no character development. No character interaction. No enjoyable/followable plot. It's just battle after battle after pointless battle, like watching Man of Steel on repeat. And while his comics always have more word balloons than most comics, they don't really say anything. The dialogue doesn't feel real or seem to come naturally to the characters speaking it. The characters are always telling what is happening, when the pages should naturally just "show" it without explanation and the extraneous wording.
After reading the latest Secret Wars #1, I can only guess that the rest of the series will be equally boring and pointless, much like every Marvel event series that has recently preceded it. Wake me when the Marvel Universe is over.
What's up with Hawkeye #22?
Issue #21 was finally released in April 2015, five months after #20. And there were several lapses in the comics prior to that. Now instead of releasing (forever delayed) #22, Marvel Comics goes ahead and releases an "All-New" Hawkeye series? FAIL.
Who hires these bozos? You can't meet a deadline? Writer? Artist? Editor? Etc.? Did Kevin Smith write this book? Hello? Anyone home?
Tell ya what, Marvel, you can keep Hawkeye #22. My collection ended with #21.
With the Avengers movies riding a huge financial wave, you'd think they'd want to capitalize on one of the main characters by producing a consistent series. By the way, it also helps that when you have a Hawkeye comic, that you include that superhero (the Clint Barton version) instead of focusing on the "other" (lame) Hawkeye (Kate Bishop). And just why can't she get her own moniker anyway? So, Marvel, you can keep All-New Hawkeye, too, because I'm not buying into it when you can't even include the main character in his own book.
I've always loved Hawkeye and was a HUGE fan of him during the West Coast Avengers days, so I was excited when he was included in the silver screen version of the Avengers and got his own series. Sadly, while Marvel Studios seems to know what to do with Hawkeye, it seems Marvel Comics doesn't.
In time for Convergence, Eye finally caught up with DC Comics' weekly series New 52: Futures End that ended with #48. Sadly, Eye was underwhelmed. The series ended with a whimper, not a bang.
It felt like the series had some direction at the beginning but then the creators and/or execs decided to just say "fuck it" and move on to the Next Big Thing (i.e., Convergence.) It didn't even offer much of a lead-in to Convergence. Brainiac started to come collect cities...but then they defeated him? And pretty quickly, too. Eye was quite confused.
Eye think what the series was also missing was interesting characters. Or maybe they just weren't used properly. Included were Batman Beyond, Shazam as Superman, Amethyst, Frankenstein, Grifter, Mister Terrific, Tim Drake (retired), and a new female Firestorm. Meh. Eye think DC did a much better job of using secondary characters in their 2006 weekly series 52. Eye was invested in the 52 characters, not so much in the New 52 Futures End ones.
Eye wasted about $150 and who knows how many hours of my time waiting for something exciting and big to happen, but it never did. And the series didn't even matter in the course of things.
Move along, folks, there's nothing to see here...
Ever since its announcement, I've been looking forward to DC Comics' Convergence series and spin-offs. Why? Like a lot of long-time readers, I have a personal history invested in the "old" characters (i.e., pre-New 52). Not only that, they seem to have more personality and character development than those in the New 52.
Of the main series, I've read Convergence #0 and #1 so far. It's been interesting, but even better have been the spin-off Convergence series. The ones I've read from week one have been:
- Convergence: Speed Force #1 - starring the (Caucasian) Wally West Flash and his two speedy kids
- Convergence: Superman #1 - starring Superman and his pregnant wife Lois Lane
- Convergence: The Atom #1 - starring an "I-Hear-Voices" Ray Palmer
- Convergence: Nightwing & Oracle #1 - starring a romantically involved Dick Grayson and wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon
- Convergence: The Titans #1 - starring Donna Troy, Starfire, and Arsenal
- Convergence: Harley Quinn #1 - starring a fully clothed Harley
All of got to say is: FANTASTIC. This is what DC Comics has been missing for the past four years since the inception of the New 52 Universe. Not only does it bring back the characters that I know and love and that have an actual history, but it involves character development, human emotion/interaction, and decent dialogue. Maybe people (myself included) wouldn't dislike the New 52 Universe so much if it wasn't focused on dreariness, flat emotions, battles/fight scenes, and cheesy dialogue.
With these Convergence titles, I get Wally West worried about his kids and wife, Superman looking forward to being a father, the Atom wigging out, Dick Grayson proposing to Barbara Gordon, Starfire being jealous about Dick's romance, Roy Harper still agonizing over the death of his daughter, Donna Troy working her photographer job, and Harley Quinn interacting with Catwoman and Poison Ivy again. (Not to mention Captain Carrot's teammate Fastback chasing after Wally West!) These are real human traits, feelings, and emotions, and they're what's missing from DC Comics today.
The bigger question about Convergence is: Why is the storywriting so much better? Is it due to the return of the better characters? Or are they using writers who aren't fatigued and/or mandated to write crap?
I'm not sure what the future holds for the DC Universe, but I'm thinking that if they decide to stick with the flat, two-dimensional characters of the New 52 Universe, then I'll probably drop several titles and maybe even quit reading comics all together again. (And don't even get me started with the new Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman; I've already canceled those comics.) Until then, I'm going to enjoy seeing my old friends converge.
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| Amazing X-Men #13 |
I'm a little behind in reading my Amazing X-Men comics, so I just finished issue #13 last night. All I can say is...WOW. It was such an -- dare I say? -- amazing story starring one of my favorite minor characters, Anole, who just happens to be gay. And green and scaly.
The issue is a "filler" issue by James Tynion IV who's not a series regular. It's a sweet tale about Anole meeting a guy online. They click, chat for several hours, and decide to meet up for coffee. Only Anole can't go through with it because he's afraid that his appearance will scare away his prospective suitor. The only weird part being...would you meet up with someone online who you've never seen a photo of? That aside, it was a perfectly written story contained within a single issue. It also features Northstar, another out X-Man, as well as Nightcrawler, who knows a thing or two about growing up looking different. I loved the lesson the story taught, and it was comforting to see Northstar and Nightcrawler tackling the mentor role for this teenage boy who's not only struggling with his mutant powers, but also his appearance and being gay.
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| Amazing X-Men #7 |
Recently, Amazing X-Men had another "filler" issue with #7, featuring a reunion of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, Iceman and Firestar. The concept of this story made me giddy with nostalgia, having loved the Saturday morning cartoon series from the early 1980s. The issue was written by Kathryn Immonen, also not a series regular.
I miss the single-issue story that was so prevalent in the 1980s, as they always seem to be the better written. It's too bad there aren't more single-issue contained comic stories like these two Amazing X-Men stories, as well as the Rose & Thorn and Looker one-shots from 2012. Storylines in modern comics are typically stretched over six issues so they can be collected into a graphic novel for additional sales. From a business standpoint, I get that. From a quality standpoint, I'm disappointed. Unfortunately, when that happens, most stories also usually feel like they're stretched. What could have been a one-, two-, or three-part story is now six parts and it's borrrrrrrrrring.
I'm all for these one-off filler issues. They not only give aspiring writers and artists an opportunity to show what they can do, but they tend to be much more enjoyable to read. I anticipate DC's upcoming one- or two-part Convergence-related stories to be similarly enjoyable. Then it will be back to business-as-usual and the humdrum 6-part stories will resume. Marvel and DC could both learn a lesson from this, though.
Back in the 80s, I read the Secret Wars limited series and freakin' loved it. It was so exciting and so many exciting things came out of it: Spider-Man got his black symbiote costume, The Thing stayed behind on Battleworld and got his own series, She-Hulk joined the Fantastic Four, etc. Not only was the series unique and interesting, but Secret Wars action figures came out of it. There were characters I had never had or seen before to play with! Yes, they were pretty cheaply made with no points of articulation, but still it felt revolutionary.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It was written by Jonathan Hickman after all, who has previously turned me away from his storytelling on Fantastic Four and the Avengers. There's no character development. No character interaction. No enjoyable/followable plot. It's just battle after battle after pointless battle, like watching Man of Steel on repeat. And while his comics always have more word balloons than most comics, they don't really say anything. The dialogue doesn't feel real or seem to come naturally to the characters speaking it. The characters are always telling what is happening, when the pages should naturally just "show" it without explanation and the extraneous wording. 
