The Denver
Pop Culture Convention was this weekend, so I’ve been stealing moments here and
there to write these reviews. That was a fun change of pace! More coverage of
that event will rollout throughout the week. For now, its time to get to comics.
A very mixed bag of comics. Fair warning, I rant about Heroes in Crisis here. But I think it’s entertaining. Let’s jump
in!
Comics Reviewed: Heroes in Crisis #9, Age of X-Man: X-Tremists, Superman:
Leviathan Rising Special #1
Heroes in Crisis #9
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Clay Mann
Colors: Tomeu Morey
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Mann and Morey
Why was
this series nine issues? Why did it need to exist at all? As Identity Crisis
for a new generation, it was successful. In almost every other regard, Heroes
in Crisis was a failure.
I applaud
Tom King and the entire team for wanting to create a story about the way super
heroics affect the heroes' mental health. It started strong. In fact, every
issue has had generally strong nine panel confessional pages. Including this
one. It’s too bad the surrounding pages create an offensive tale surrounding
those suffering from mental health crises. The message this issue seems to
convey is that people with mental health disorders are violent and must be
imprisoned. Wally West is not shown to be receiving treatment in the epilogue.
He is shown sitting alone in a prison cell.
Based on
the way the “climatic” scene plays out, the intended message appears to be that
everyone has people that care about them and that, along with loving yourself,
is enough to solve mental health problems. Frankly, that is trite and reductive
bullshit. If you're, say, depressed, knowing your family and friends love you
won't solve your problems. Knowing that can help, but it isn't a solution. It's
also HEAVILY implied that these kinds of issues turn people violent. That's
true, but it's not most cases. Most people won't have a sudden violent break.
 |
| Look at this. Too good for this story. |
I compared
this series to Identity Crisis earlier. But at least that was a coherent story.
A problematic and misogynistic story, but a coherent one that was told
competently. Heroes in Crisis is a mess. Not only does virtually nothing happen
in many issues, but at least half of it doesn't make sense. Wally killed
everyone by exploding lightning. Except he shot Lagoon Boy with a fucking spear.
Except he
didn't, I guess? And what do Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Batgirl, and Harley
Quinn have to do with anything? I know two of them were suspects, but they
don't go on any character journeys or evolve as characters. The same goes for
Poison Ivy. What was the point? Why did this story happen? The result is Wally
West in a prison and Roy Harper and a bunch of Z-list characters dead.
There is
one good thing that came of this tiring endeavor: The art. This has been an
absolutely gorgeous series. Just look at the title page of this issue! Every
aspect has been beautifully and lovingly rendered. It's fantastic and there
isn't much more I can say beyond the past issue.
Verdict: Pass
Age of X-Man: X-Tremists #4
Writer: Leah Williams
Artist: Georges Jeanty
Colors: Jim Charalampidis
Inks: Roberto Poggi
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover: Rahzzah
This is a
strong character study of Jean-Paul. It’s a study of the emptiness he feels
without his husband. Iceman also gets some play and is allowed to be his fun,
caring self. The final three or so pages are where things get weird. There’s an
explosion that causes a fire. Then Jubilee shows with a baseball bat and the
guys suddenly remember their pre-Age of X-Man lives (I think. Its unclear.). I
assume an event in one of the other miniseries caused all this to happen, but
I’m not reading most those. I wish there was an explanation of some kind. Even
an editor’s note would have been nice. Maybe the final issue will have
something.
 |
| Cool... I guess |
The Georges
Jeanty art continues to be good. Nothing spectacular, but events are always
laid out in a logical fashion and easily discernible. Jean-Paul’s facial
expressions in particular are a highlight.
Verdict: Borrow
Superman: Leviathan Rising Special #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis, Greg Rucka, Matt Fraction, and
Marc Andreyko
Artist: Yanick Paquette, Mike Perkins, Steve Lieber, Eduardo
Pansica, and Julio Ferreira
Colors: Nathan Fairbairn, Paul Mounts, and FCO Plascencia
Letters: Dave Sharpe, Simon Bowland, Clayton Cowles, Tom
Napolitano, and ALW’s Troy Peteri
Cover: Paquette and Fairbairn
I was incorrect when I stated the
entire table had been set for Event Leviathan last week. Now, this comic
doesn’t not only serve the purpose of setting the stage for that event. It also
features short sections by the entire Superman line’s creative teams. As you
can tell from the LENGTHY credits I had to type out, that line is expanding.
Lois and Jimmy will on have their own series alongside the Big Cheese and his
cousin.
We open with Leonne and Leviathan
(The person) discussing how to defeat Superman.
Leonne claims the only way to beat him is to not be flamboyant. Keep it
secret and make it fast. Don’t try and get his attention. That’s why she has
been able to run her gang under his nose for years. Leviathan (The
organization) then kidnaps Clark Kent. Seemingly unaware of his alternate
identity. Clark goes along with it because he wants to know who is trying to
kidnap him and why. For the story, of course. The whole section is fun. I love
villain team-ups (If you can call this that.). And there is some tension
between the villains as they are unwilling to share too much of their plans.
When Clark never calls her and
doesn’t pick up when she calls, Lois knows something has gone wrong. She
mobilizes the Justice League to find him. There’s a nice moment when Wonder
Woman arrives. Lois and she have a quick exchange where you feel the respect
the two have for each other. Its three lines, but I liked it. Greg Rucka excels
at that kind of thing. I liked these pages, but they don’t really give a
feeling for what kind of stories the Lois Lane team will be trying to tell. I
don’t know how to feel about the way Lois’ face is drawn here either. I can’t quite
put my finger on the problem, but it’s off-putting.
 |
| Let's GOOOOO |
Next up is Jimmy Olsen. He woke up
in Gorilla City next to a thief after a party night on his book tour. She
bounces and leaves his clothes in the other room, guarded by a cat so he can’t
chase her. When Jimmy tries to get past said feline, it covers him in blood.
It’s Dex-Starr! I love this cat! I also have no idea why he’s here or where his
ring is, but whatever. I wasn’t feeling great about this section before the
appearance of my boy, but I’m in now. Give me Jimmy Olsen.
Supergirl is back on Earth and
finds her parents’ home destroyed. She contemplates what could have happened
while flashbacks show us. Basically, they had a fight and Leviathan did that
not-an-explosion this they do. Kara finds a letter from her mother explaining
what happened. This section was… not great. It wasn’t terrible but wasn’t
particularly interesting either. The art is nice at least. I don’t care.
Talia Al Ghul straps a Kryptonite
vest on Clark so Supes will be weak when he shows to up to save his pal. The
panels then become wavy and green while Clark is being affected by the
Kryptonite. Leviathan shows up, takes off the vest and leaves. Firestorm, Lois,
Dex-Star, and Jimmy in a Gorilla suit bust in to rescue Clark. He then becomes
Superman and goes after an escaping Leviathan. Throughout this entire sequence,
Clark gets stronger and bounces back from the radiation. The panels become
straighter and less green until the panels are straight white lines. It’s a
very cool way to show his recovery and I want everyone to do this with from now
on.
 |
| I needed to make sure everyone saw this sick shit |
Turns out Talia is petty and
jealous. Who saw that coming? She kidnapped Clark without approval, so Leviathan
tosses her out of his airship. Superman saves her and deposits her in jail. In
the epilogue, Robinson Goode and Leonne decide they are partners and toast. I
wonder what, if any, part they’ll have to play in the upcoming event. Or is
that setup for the long term? Either way, I can’t wait to see where the
Superman family is headed.
Verdict: Buy
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