Justice League #1

Justice League #1

Geoff Johns, writer & Jim Lee, artist

DC Comics

The big event is here, and the new DCUniverse has now hit the shelves. I picked it up and I flipped through it a few times before I sat down to read it. And I read it a few times before writing these comments. I wanted to love it. I went into this whole reboot with my arms wide open, but the book didn't make it easy for me.

Don't get me wrong: there are things to like here. There are things not to like here. But ultimately, the issue falls squarely in the middle of both. It's not just average, it's aggressively average, as if Johns and Lee came out and said "Let's make the safest, best, safest, most dynamic, safest, and safest comic that we can." And, as far as I'm concerned, they hit that mediocre nail right on the head.

Things to like:

• First meetings. It's always fun to see characters meet each other for the "first" time. Green Lantern doesn't believe Batman is real, Batman deduces the source of GL's powers, and none of them have any idea what Superman is all about.
• Mystery plotline. There is a little mystery developing about who is behind the attacks that Batman is investigating. Of course the ultimate answer is revealed to the audience (although the heroes don't recognize the bad guy's name), it seems that Johns might be setting up a mystery among the fist-pounding heroics.
• Final splash. The final splash page is excellent. Sure it sets up a scene that we've seen thousands and thousands of times in the last six years of comics, but it's a great page. I'd hang the poster on my wall.

Things not to like:

• Set-ups. And nothing but set-ups. The whole book is setting up a long story arc that will play out over the next six months, if not longer. And this is the first part of that story, so characters and plot points are being set-up for the future. As a result, not a whole lot happens that doesn't make me wish I had the next issue (or the trade) in my hands so I could keep reading.
• Most of Jim Lee's art. Jim Lee has great character designs, and I might be screamed at by the comics community for saying this, but: I don't care for his art in this issue. It's all a little busy, a little hyper, and more than a little unclear. His characters always look great, but sometimes it's hard to tell what they are doing. But the Green Lantern constructs are fun, as is a single panel of GL half-changing back to Hal Jordan. And I already mentioned that final splash.
• (Too) Familiar ground. A friend of mine mentioned this to me, and my next read really brought it out for me. This book relies on my previous knowledge of the DC Universe, as much as Johns and Lee want to pretend it's a fresh start for new readers. It's not. It's actually a terrible way to introduce characters we've never met before (like my experience with Vic Stone), but it's a standard way to introduce characters we haven't seen in a while (think: Casino Royale or Batman Begins). I can't help but feel that the issue's content is not well-matched to the relaunch's intention.

Things in the middle:

• Everything else. Okay, maybe that's a little snarky, but seriously, there weren't many things that stood out about this book, either good or bad. A lot of it felt very... functional.

Ultimately, it's a solid issue. Is it exciting enough that I'll pick up the next one? Sure, I guess... And that's the biggest problem. I wanted that answer to be a resounding "HELL YES!" but it isn't. At the moment, I'm committing myself to the first story arc. But if it keeps going like this, I'll have to play it by ear for the second. Good? Yes. Great? No.

NEXT TIME: Superman in "Action Comics #1..."

Thoughts on the DCnU

Sitting on the couch next to me is a signed copy of Justice League #1, the first comic book released by DC Comics as a part of their company-wide relaunch. If you haven't heard, DC has completely re-branded their line of comic books, starting every series over with a new #1 issue. Many characters (Superman included) are getting an all-new backstory, history, costume, everything. They are hoping to reinvigorate their comics, as well as grab new readers. And in a post in May, I laid out the circumstances that would bring me back to monthly comics. In that post, I challenged DC to put out something that I wanted to buy, and now they have. So I am there. I subscribed to my books today at my local LCS.

And now, with the first step of the DCnU in my hands but still unread, I'm still excited. Are there some press releases that make me nervous? Yes. Do I think I might be switching to the trade paperbacks in a year? Maybe. But do I think they have "ruined" Superman with this move? Not at all. Comics are a fluid medium, and the Superman from two years ago bears almost no resemblance to the Superman from the 1940s. So the changes don't really scare me. I'm ready for them. Hell, I'll even buy the action figure! (That costume is growing on me...)

What I'm worried about are the stories. If they are good stories, well-told and captivating, then I will be a part of the series. If the stories aren't compelling, then this will seem like a publicity stunt to attract attention. If the writers and creators use this opportunity to capture a new spirit of adventure, it will be perfect. But with Geoff Johns involved, I'm afraid that the "new" universe is going to be largely derivative of the old one. But if these stories and books keep the feel of the characters while giving them a whole new coat of paint, I'm in. To me, at this point in DC history, the worst thing for these books would be if they merely recycle the old material and try to pass it off as something new.

Well, time to break the book out and see which way the nU goes....

"Captain America: The First Avenger"

"Captain America"

A review, in bullet-points

Before I headed into the theatre, the only thing I knew about Captain America was that there would be trouble when Captain America throws his mighty shield. I didn't know exactly what that trouble was, but anyone who throws a shield at me is going to get me to yield rather quickly. I'm a little late to the party where this movie is concerned, but since it was directed by Joe Johnston, who also directed The Rocketeer, I was on board for some old-fashioned action adventure fun. And I didn't know how right I would be!

Things I loved:

• The action. The action sequences were amazing. They were realistic (for the most part), exciting, and seeing Cap throw his shield was worth the price of admission. The first sequence after he becomes the super soldier is incredible, and he's not even wearing the uniform yet.
• Chris Evans. I wasn't sure that Evans was a good choice for Cap, but he won me over almost immediately. I quickly forgot that I was watching the star of other films, and I only saw him as Captain America. The haircut and the overall styling helped a lot as well. The computer effects to make him smaller were mostly convincing, too, and although it sometimes looked like a strange bobblehead, it always felt like the same character.
• The script. For the most part, the pacing of this movie was dead-on. There was enough character development that made it clear why Steve becomes Captain America, and there were good comedy beats exactly where we needed them. And perhaps most importantly, there were no characters that existed only to be ciphers and provide backstory or plot development. Very well structured, very well written.
• The old-fashioned style of film-making. Aside from the visual effects, this film felt like it could have been made twenty-years ago. There is no shaky-cam, no lens-flare, no quick-cuts, all elements of modern cinema that drive me crazy. Instead, Johnston uses long tracking shots, wide pans, giving the film the feeling of a much older, more "classic" Hollywood. Not only does it mirror the 1940s setting, but it makes it that much more exciting for me.

Things I liked less than I expected:

• The costume. When the first few photos of the movie costume came out, I was really excited. I thought it was really cool. I liked how it combined the comic book design with the reality of WWII-era uniforms. But unfortunately, it didn't look as good in motion due to bizarrely padded shoulders and a strange helmet that didn't look as good as his USO look.
• Hugo Weaving as Red Skull. In the opening scenes of the movie, Weaving is understated, subtle, and truly creepy. But as the the film continues, not only does his performance become downright mustache-twirling, but his accent starts approaching "moose and squirrel" territory. Maybe it was the Halloween mask they made him wear.

The less-would-have-been-more file:

• Montage, times two. It's strange to see a montage in a film these days. And this movie has two of them. Both of them fit the story, do a good job of showing the passage of time, and contain a lot of exciting imagery. However, both of the montages were a little long and they robbed the film of some momentum.
• The love story. I don't know why every superhero movie needs to have a love story, especially when it feels tacked-on in movies like this, Thor, Iron Man 2, and The Dark Knight. It gives the opportunity for some jokes, some intentionally tender script moments, but overall it felt tacked-on by the marketing and publicity department.

Things that seemed on-loan from another movie:

• The timeline. Captain America is a hero from WWII. And according to the comic books, he somehow winds up in the present day, as a part of the team that includes Hulk and Iron Man. But the pieces of this story are thrown into this movie is such a strange way that I don't see how you could understand it unless you already knew the character's comic history. It felt like they should have saved it for The Avengers movie next summer.
• Samuel L. Jackson. I'm sorry, fans of Marvel Comics, The Avengers, and Mr. Jackson in general. He is completely out of place in these movies. He's there just for fan service, and when it comes to acting, he's not even trying. Reminds me of his comically awkward turns in the Star Wars prequels. This movie (and maybe the entire Marvel movie universe) would be better if they deleted Nick Fury and replaced him with the wonderful Agent Coulson.

Overall:

I loved this movie. Loved, loved, loved this movie. I wish that all movies were this good. Does it have some problems? Sure, of course it does. Almost every movie does. There are places where the film bogs down in the love story, or where the pace feels a little off. But if more movies were made like this, I would not complain.

The Averagely-but-not-Excessively Mighty Thor

A week ago or so, I went to see "Thor" with a friend of mine. Unfortunately, we were unable to avoid the 3D screenings, so we ended up seeing the film through those crazy color-diluting sunglasses. I had been looking forward to seeing the film, although it only ranked third-of-four in the list of comic books movies I was excited about this summer. I was looking forward to Hemsworth's portrayal of Thor, and I thought that director Kenneth Branagh would handle the mystical elements well. Well, to make the long story short, I was right on both of those counts. However, it was the other elements in the film that didn't work for me.

As Thor, Chris Hemsworth was right on the money. He had the swagger, the confidence, and the charm that the character needed. He played very well with all of the other actors, especially Anthony Hopkins as his father, and Hemsworth also had the massive physical presence that is required of an actor playing a Norse God. The sequences in the mythic realm were beautiful and epic, with the rainbow bridge from the comic mythology stealing the show. And what's even more important, I thought that Thor as a character fit very comfortably into his larger-than-life mythic realm.

However, the sequences here on Earth seemed forced and/or phoned in. Natalie Portman plays a plucky scientist with a plucky assistant and a plucky advisor. And it's a good thing that she was working with people; otherwise she would have had no one to talk to in order to deliver exposition. After Thor is banished to Earth, loses his powers, and it taken down like a chump by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (spoilers!), he spends approximately six minutes of screen time "learning" his lesson and going on the hero's journey. He comes back, says he loves Natalie Portman, which doesn't really seem all that likely.

The other problem with the film involved the action sequences. A lot of them were blindingly blurry, incredibly quick, and I'm prepared to lay some of that at the foot of the the post-production 3D effects. But even without those 3D effects, the over-reliance on CGI landscapes and CGI cannon-fodder made the shots a little difficult to process. It's a running trend in films nowadays, but it is one that doesn't seem to be going away.

Overall, I liked the film. Don't get me wrong. But it felt like a prequel to Thor's appearance in "The Avengers," much more than it felt like a film designed to start a Thor series. I'm not the biggest fan of the Marvel comic universe, but I like watching how their film universe is developing. I just wonder if they are putting the cart before the horse, though. These films need to stand on their own first, and encourage the overall universe second. If they only serve as prologues to the massive team-up film, then that puts an awful lot of eggs in one big-budget basket.

An Open Letter to DC Comics

Dear DC Comics,

I have been reading comic books since I was 7 years old, picking up some of the John Byrne Superman issues when they came out in the mid-1980s. And to quote Bibbo, Superman was always my fav'rit. I was never much of a collector as a kid, even though I picked up the odd issue here and there when the covers interested me. Oh, sure, I was there for the death of Superman and his marriage to Lois Lane, but I tuned out a lot on the individual issues as I went to high school, college, and the work force. But even though I didn't follow the comics, I have always been a fan of the characters in the DC Universe, from Superman to The Spectre, Batman to Booster Gold. I followed them through the various animated adventures, feature films, and even the paperback books that were released over the last decade.

But please understand that I love comic books. I like the way the story-telling them employ, I like the unique marriage of words and art, I like the feel of holding them in my hand, and I like the cliff-hanger based pacing within the larger context of world-building and long-running subplots. A single splash page from Action Comics capture my imagination for over twenty years before I could find the issue that continued the story. The issues were exciting, each one feeding into the ones before it, and the title marched forward with one continuing story.

However, this brings me to my problems with the way you present your comic book titles. In the last five years, I've tried to jump onto the DC Superman titles a total of three times. I waited for major events to finish/end/disappear, and then I started picking up the Superman titles. I like the crossover between Superman and Action Comics, and I'm willing to purchase both titles to follow the story. But within mere months of me re-joining the comic-book-buying community, another major event came along that required me to buy tie-in titles, a miniseries, as well as other crossover titles just to get the full story that started (and sometimes ends) in Superman. I don't have the money or the patience to collect half a dozen titles just to get a single story.

And so, DC Comics, in order to get this comic book reader back to the monthly schedule, please lay off the major crossover storylines that take place across multiple books. At least two years. If I have a story that runs through only the Superman title, or only in Action Comics, then I am far more likely to become invested in the larger universe and follow multiple characters. The Black Ring storyline in Action was a great start, but it's been undermined by the entire Doomsday story that I have no interest in. Following Superman from book-to-book is not a burden I am willing to take up. One title, one story.

I enjoy the stories. I enjoy comic books. But I no longer buy them. I want to. I really want to find a monthly book that I can pick up, purchase, and love. So the burden is on you to give me something I want to buy. And I promise, I'll be there when you do.

Sincerely,

Script in Hand