Comics are Awesome III

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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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andersonh1 wrote:The Green Lantern #1
This book immediately feels much more like retro, classic Green Lantern. Grant Morrison does indeed mine the Silver Age as we get scenes reminiscent of Abin Sur's crash, and a long-abandoned girlfriend of Hal's, Eve Doremus, makes an appearance, as do Hal's past occupations as insurance adjustor and toy salesman. I like the "everything is in continuity" approach that Grant Morrison is taking here, because unlike some other characters, very little of Hal's history on the printed page (apart from his origin story) was changed or jettisoned. The main plot involves three alien criminals that some other lanterns capture with some difficulty, only for the prison ship they were on to crash on Earth, leaving Hal to save the life of the GL pilot and capture the three escapees, which he does rather easily. He is summoned to New Oa (the Corps is no longer on Mogo, I see) where he learns the book of Oa might not be trustworthy any more, and that there is a traitor in the Corps. There's also a Darkstar involved, so there's an immediate connection with the final storyline of Venditti's run.

This book is retro in a very good way, and as much as I enjoyed Robert Venditti's run on Green Lantern, I already like this a lot more. Morrison really seems to "get" Green Lantern and Hal Jordan.
I have to say this book was a pleasant surprise. You're right that it does feel like a retro Green Lantern story. Even the art style looks a bit retro. Nice to see Green Lantern getting back to his roots so to speak. Although, I have to wonder why is Hal considered "persona non grata" with the Corps? He was very much in the Guardians good graces at the end of Venditti's run. Did something happen between now and then? I mean, I guess some time must have passed for the Guardians to have built New Oa. Which is another thing that kind of bothered me... I liked the idea of the Green Lanterns being based on Mogo. It makes sense for how often they come under attack for their base of operations to be a Green Lantern itself. But the part that bothers me is how it just kinda felt shoehorned in. In the last issue of Green Lanterns, they make a small reference to Mogo needing time to recover so the Guardians were planning on relocating to Oa. And then, here it is, New Oa.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Aquaman #42
Dan Abnett's final issue is more filler than anything else, sadly. He's written Aquaman since right before the New 52 series ended, taking over after Cullen Bunn's DC You storyline failed so badly, and for the most part he's written a great series. But this issue spins it wheels in between issues of Justice League. At the end of issue 11, Poseidon stabbed Aquaman with his trident, and in issue 12 Aquaman returns to life as Poseidon was just trying to teach him a lesson in his twisted way. So this issue of Aquaman is pretty much a near-death experience for Aquaman that tries to provide some character development, but despite some great imagery, doesn't really accomplish that. I'd like to have seen Abnett end on a higher note than a couple of crossovers where he has to tailor his plots to first Suicide Squad and then Justice League, but he's done a solid job on this title overall.

Justice League #12
"Drowned Earth" turns a big corner as Mera recovers a weapon from Arion's tomb that will allow her to kill the alien sea-gods, while Aquaman learns the truth from Poseidon that he locked the alien sea-gods away in the Graveyard out of fear and jealousy, and that he was essentially responsible for turning Atlantis from exploration to isolationism. Meanwhile Batman, still in a body cast, uses one of Luthor's old powered armor suits to drive the Legon of Doom out of the hall of Justice, but not before Luthor cracks the walls, so the water will soon come in. This book is the embodiement of energetic plot and dialogue and just goes big every issue, which seems ideal for the Justice League.

Hawkman #6
Hawkman and Atom fight the living planet in the microverse, and Hawkman recovers a spacecraft that one of his past incarnations left there ages ago. This issue is big on visual action, short on actual plot, but it does give a few more clues about who Hawkman/Carter Hall is and was, and the art is always great. And we finally see what is presumably the main antagonist in the shadows at the end of the issue, turning his eye toward Earth...
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Star Trek vs. Transformers #2

McCoy wonders if it's wise to revive Optimus given the earlier battle, but Spock believes the symbol on his shoulder means he's not with the other robots they fought earlier. Given how similar his electrical impulses are to those in the human brain, Spock decides to try a mindmeld, and learns Optimus Prime's history. The meld also reactivates Optimus. Meanwhile, in the dilithium mines, the away team battles the Autobots who assume they've killed Optimus. Eventually Kirk explains Optimus is alive and his crew are attending to them, and assures them they've come in peace. Up on the moon, the Decepticons and Klingons disagree on a course of action, with the Klingons wanting to get revenge on the Enterprise but the Decepticons don't see what they have to gain from it. And then Commander Kuri asks them what they know of cloaking technology...

Back in the mines, the Autobots explain they're already familiar with humans because they spent time on Earth looking for energon. But when humans started World War 3, the Autobots left on Fortress Maximus. Eventually, similarly to their crash on Earth in the first place, they were attacked by Trypticon and both crashed and left in stasis lock until the mining inadvertently reactivated Fortress Maximus' repair systems which repaired the Decepticons first, allowing them to escape before the Autobots were repaired. Back on the Enterprise, they've tracked down where the Decepticons escaped to, only to find Trypticon is gone. The Klingon's decloak and attack the Enterprise while the away team regroups. Ratchet suggests they try to reactivate Fortress Maximus...

Largely just an exposition issue, explaining the background of the Transformers and sort of fitting it into Star Trek history at the same time. It had some fun nods to Star Trek, with the soldier uniforms we saw in "Encounter at Farpoint" fighting in WWIII, and a cameo from Zefram Cochrane and Lilly Sloan when Fortress Maximus left Earth.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Heroes in Crisis #3: Harley Quinn killed the Flash by hitting him in the head with her mallet? Seriously?

Aquaman/Justice League Drowned Earth #1
The constant renumbering to new #1s strikes again as we get an oversized issue to end this crossover just like one got one to open it, but rather than Justice League/Aquaman #2, they reverse the names and call it a first issue. Both should have been part of the main Justice League series, in my opinion. At any rate, I do appreciate the positive ending as rather than killing the alien sea-gods, Aquaman insists on trying to reach out to them and un-do some of the damage Poseidon did, and he ultimately succeeds, even though Black Manta kills two of the three. The waters recede, everyone is restored to normal, but Aquaman is missing, presumed dead by all except Wonder Woman. The last page sets up his new writer and new status quo in his own book as he's lost on the shores of some strange ocean. This has been a good crossover with a novel threat, good roles for all the main characters, and it does not outstay its welcome. And I appreciate a hero who acts like one, who avoids revenge and death as the means of solving the problem.
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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andersonh1 wrote:Heroes in Crisis #3: Harley Quinn killed the Flash by hitting him in the head with her mallet? Seriously?
I saw the page online. I can't say that I really buy this. I mean, I know Harley has killed people in the comics before, but I don't really see her as the cold blooded killer type like this. I also saw the confrontation between her, Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman... And how did Harley get away from them? She had Wonder Woman's lasso around Batman's neck so I can see him needing a second to recover and a piece of kryptonite from Batman to slow down Superman. But Wonder Woman wasn't incapacitated at all, so why didn't she grab Harley?
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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How long until Harley is a hero again?
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Dominic wrote:How long until Harley is a hero again?
Who knows? DC editorial has become more and more schizophrenic in their approach. There's literally no way to know what they'll do next.
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andersonh1
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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last week's comics:

The Green Lantern #2
Hal gets to interrogate a giant spider (who creeps him out as much as he disgusts the spider), and returns home to find Earth missing. "Grand Theft Planet" is pretty funny stuff. And Evil Star returns! How long has it been since we've seen him? I've just been reading the 60s stories where he appears, and he's a serious threat who can immobilize the Guardians and the central power battery with his star band. Here he's a guy with a big head who gets taken down a peg or two by some kind of vampire. It's more of the same mix of modern and retro storytelling and great art we got with issue 1. So many people suddenly using the term "space police" does get a bit old though.

Justice League #13
The Joker decides to leave the Legion of Doom, and he runs rings around Lex Luthor, easily capturing Luthor and dousing all the other members with Joker venom. He reveals that he only joined the Legion so he could have fun bringing Luthor's plans crashing down at the last minute, but he's decided to leave now because Lex has recruited the Batman who Laughs. The Joker is seriously disturbed by that particular Batman and doesn't want anything to do with him. Great Joker issue, and it's nice to see the incredibly arrogant Lex Luthor get knocked down a dozen pegs. Don't mess with the Joker.
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Star Trek vs Transformers #3
While Optimus, McCoy, Spock and Scotty try to defend the dilithium mine from the Decepticons and Klingons, the Autobots hook Kirk up to a machine in Fortress Maximus that connects his mind to Fortress Maximus. Because Kirk knows every rivet and fuse of the ship, they're able to turn Fortress Maximus into the Enterprise. As the outmatched away team surrenders, "Fortress Tiberious" breaks out of the mines. Turns out the Decepticons had a similar idea, as the Klingon battle cruiser transforms into Trypticon. Klingon and Decepticon reinforcements beam down, while Kirk beams up the miners and some of the away team before transforming the ship into robot mode to take on Trypticon.

So the moment we've been waiting for since this series was announced... We see Star Trek ships as Transformers. Kinda neat Kirk is essentially acting as Fortress Maximus' headmaster and I like the redesign. Hate the name they gave the Maximus Enterprise though, and I wish Trypticon had gotten a redesign as well. He transforms from the Klingon ship to his standard G1 design. And not much else happens in this issue...
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Re: Comics are Awesome III

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Aquaman #43
New artist is great, new writer... not sure yet. The cover takes some cues from the Superman "Kryptonite Nevermore" cover in that the book continues its numbering, but has a giant number 1 on it advertising part 1 of the story. It's not a standard superhero comic, or even a typical Aquaman storyline. He's lost his memory in the wake of "Drowned Earth" and is living on an island with a bunch of strange inhabitants, unaware of his powers and abilities. There's a villain, who gets name-checked but not explained, and a hint that more may be going on than seems apparent. Mera gets a cameo, but otherwise it's just Arthur and a bunch of new characters. I can't say I like or dislike it. It's going to take a few more chapters to really decide.

Hawkman #7
The vast majority of this book takes us back to Carter Hall's original incarnation, a "Deathbringer" named Ktar, whose job it is to round up sacrifices for some entity until it is strong enough to enter our universe. But the more he kills, the more and more guilt he feels, and it doesn't help that this mysterious red-haired woman keeps appearing and reminding him of his guilt. In the end he turns on the entity, and his fellow Deathbringer, only to be killed as he seals them away in the void the entity inhabits. Upon his death, he is given a choice (by God? It's not made clear) between remaining dead, or being returned to life over and over to save as many lives as he killed, and of course he chooses the latter in atonement. Over his many lives and incarnations Carter Hall had forgotten all of this. Some of this feels very Golden Age (reminds me somewhat of the Spectre's origin) and it would explain why some incarnations of Hawkman are more violent than others.

Darth Maul #1 (one shot)
First Marvel comic I've bought in ages. It's a short story set before the Phantom Menace, when Maul is still in training, eager to kill the Jedi. He satisfies himself with lesser targets from the Coruscant underworld, only to be called to task by Darth Sidious. In a nice touch, the two travel together to Malachor, the Sith homeworld, which looks like it did in Star Wars Rebels, and Maul receives a vision that makes a lot of things clear to him. Great art and a good story make this a solid issue, and considering we never saw Sidious and Maul interact for more than a few scenes as master and apprentice, I enjoyed seeing some of the training routine.
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