Swamp Thing #2

Here be minor spoilers.

HOTT

Damn right Swamp Thing. I feel pretty positive about this book. The #1 had a distressing lack of Swamp Thing in the actual comic, but #2 starts strong and keeps Swamp Thing around for the bulk of the comic. So my first criteria was met.

You might remember that my first discussion of Swamp Thing #1 said that I thought this was to be a campy book, that Swamp Thing was a campy series. Well, I guess my assumptions were wrong because this seems like a pretty damn serious comic.

The comic uses the bulk of its pages for Swamp exposition. Swamp Thing prime talks to man Swamp Thing, Holland, and explains at length how Holland has to come back and become THE Swamp Thing again so that he might fight some age old evil. It is the expositional equivalent of that scene in The Great Outdoors with John Candy when he eats the giant steak. Like John Candy, I got it down, for the children

Since I don't know much about the Swamp Thing world, these pages of "you are the one true hero, Link!" actually help me get a grasp on what's going on in the comic. The exposition pairs well with the artwork, providing some good imagery to represent the rambling back story we're reading. The giant murderous flesh monster walking down main street is the image that sticks in my brain most.

Admittedly, I may get more out of this comic because I read Animal Man, and I can see and imagine how their stories are connected. I'm not sure how ol' Swampy #2 would stand on his own.

The back story that does come out through Holland and Swamp Thing prime's conversation hints at the brutal history of Holland as Swamp Thing. This is something that I know nothing about. I am confident I have read an origin Swamp Thing comic, written by Morrison, in which the Swamp Thing man is actually reborn as a plant. This seems to me the past that is referenced. I might have to do a little research, gosh darnit. Let me know if my assumptions are right about Morrison's Swamp thing. I'd be willing to pick up a trade.

MORE SPOILERS

Now that we're all here in spoiler land I can discuss how much I enjoyed the ending where the locals zombie him in his hotel room. Those twisted heads are disturbing, especially in mob form. Both Animal Man and Swamp Thing are doing a good job at making Sethe threatening in both a global and localized way.

The white haired woman thing was super lame though. Are writers not aware of how obvious these hooks are sometimes?

"Beware the woman with white hair!"
"Two-four good Swamp Buddy." Oh hell, I'm being attacked by a woman with a twisted around head and an axe, but yay a helmeted woman helps me escape but--"Oh god she has white hair"
*cue dramatic music*

Sigh.

Looking forward to #3.

October 5th, 12th, and 19th Pull List: This Shit is Going to Cost Me

I have been irresponsible in purchasing these comics by week. Now I have to go and buy three weeks of comics. I hope not to have much trouble getting all the comics I want since they should be reserved for me, though I can't remember exactly what my reserve list says, but it shouldn't be too far off the below.

Let's do this week by week:

October 5

• Action Comics - I am really excited about this one. I like the reduced powers Superman. And to see him in the hands of government is a promising story.
• Animal Man - From what I've seen, this comic is going to get messed up. Love it.
• Swamp Thing - I'm hoping Swamp thing is actually in this one.

October 12
Oh crap, this month had a stack. Might need to get one of those payday cash loans for tonight.

• Batgirl - I like Batgirl as a character. Looking forward to more self deprecating inner monologue. I have a feeling this comic might be a little more serious though, dealing with the complications of her PTS.
• Batwoman - I can't wait to look at this comic. Might also read it too.
• Frankenstein - This is one of those, I hope this book changes my mind scenarios.
• Green Lantern - Haha. Oh Green Lantern. People like you, I'll see if I can get it.
• Resurrection Man - I'm curious to see where this one goes. I'm wonder how the demon school girls plan to cosplay this month. Maybe french maids?
• Suicide Squad - I'm intrigued by the, kill the entire stadium thing. Please explain #2. Also, let's see some more of that shark guy.

October 19
Good golly. Do you really think this is a good idea? I had plans this weekend.

• Batman - This is the Batman I chose, and I'll give him a chance. Every other comic I've read him, he's a narrative device. I'm hoping Batman might actually be a character here. Might need a DC encyclopedia to understand the history of all his sidekicks though.
• Birds of Prey - I'll give this one another shot. Not a lot of enthusiasm for it though. Might feel better if more of the team is involved.
• Catwoman - Big shit storm of the month award aside, I really dug Catwoman, which I discussed at length. She's funny, in charge, developed, and the comic is obsessed with her body, like almost every other DCnew52 comic was about their female characters. *cough cough Voodoo cough*
• Wonder Woman - I'm hoping there is less equestrian sacrificial transformations this month. Run sheepies, run!

What is 13 times $3?

Fuck it. It's for my art!

DCnew52 Month 1 Roundup, Part 2

Round 2! I think I managed to get all the comics I haven't already discussed here. If not, I'm sure you'll survive. There will be some minor spoilers.

Swamp Thing

This was the first comic I actually read of the new 52. When human Swamp Thing has his nice long chat with Superman, the book gets a little dry and the momentum of the story sort of wanes. I was a little surprised at the pace, as Swamp Thing has always seemed like a bit of a campy book. Of course, maybe I'm not giving the plant monster enough respect as a literary figure.

The end of the comic makes up for the middle though, when shit gets real for those dudes. That moment when the first guy breaks his own neck under the influence of the evil fly swarm really sold me on the idea that horror comics can actually have some juice. I wasn't scared, (seriously, I wasn't, like not even a little) but it was certainly graphic and shocking.

Wow Superman is Super Boring Award
Is there or isn't there a Swamp Thing in this Comic? Award

Suicide Squad

Suicide Squad wins the award for being the most predictable comic of what I read of the new 52. They are being tortured to reveal information by the very people that formed the team to test their loyalty and bad-assnes? Wow, crazy twist.


Predictability aside, the comic is okay. Nothing too special. Harley Quinn is super sexualized which bugs the shit out of me, and it seems as if Joker kicked her out rather than Quinn leaving him. That's a bad choice if you ask me. Quinn would be a stronger character if she left Joker because she is fed up with his abusive ass, instead we have her pining for the man that uses her.

The shark guy is fucking great though.

The Shark Guy is Fucking Great Though Award

All Star Western

Who would have thought a Jonah Hex comic would be so damn wordy. I swear this one took all night to read. I kind of like the idea of pairing Hex with a bookish type. I wouldn't want to keep this character around by any means, but a partner that is actually studied and prudent would compliment Hex's brute disposition.

The continual psychoanalysis is a nice slightly meta element that allows me to enjoy the book a little more than I probably would. Freud and Jonah Hex. Seems about right.

Best Sitcom Idea Award

Birds of Prey

Honestly, I don't remember much about this particular comic. I remember some transparent ninjas, nonlinear narrative, and the fact that neither the samurai lady or Poison Ivy were in the first issue. As this is another team comic (sigh) I don't expect the team to be fully formed when I pick it up, but I do get confused when characters on the cover aren't in the book. I've heard jokes about Wolverine being on every cover despite never appearing in the comic, but I didn't know Ivy had such power.

Wait, isn't Poison Ivy a fairly consistent villain? I'm not sure how she would fit into this fem-Bat-team. I guess I'll just have to buy more issues to figure out how she fits in. Dammit.

I Wanted to Make a Charlie's Angels Joke but I Thought it Might be Sexist Award

Legion Lost

This comic makes no goddamn sense. Legion Lost is at once both incomprehensibly opaque and narratively clumsy. When characters provide exposition, it's like they're trying to shove a round ham through a square hole. None of it gets through, it just ends up as a huge stinky mess.

Then half the team dies. Like the bug guy. I was curious about the bug guy above everything else. Seriously, he reminded me of Baxter from Ninja Turtles. Lay off.

Belaboured Ham Metaphor Award

Resurrection Man

So this guy doesn't die, just resurrects with powers that are derived from the way he died. How this actually plays out is unclear. In the book he dies in a plane crash and gains the ability to melt. How does that follow precisely?

I'm not sure what Resurrection Man typically does as a hero, but it looks like heaven and hell don't like whatever it is because they have decided the adventure is over and he has die once and for all. Given the character it makes a lot of sense. What doesn't make sense is that each eternal destination's representatives are fetishized women. Hmm.

I like the joke about the angel being "Ga Ga sexy", but at the end when the demons are like slutty evil school girls, I thought there might be a classier way to go about the whole drawing female antagonists. I guess if they aren't Catwoman, people are fine with these particular women being meant for titillation.

Moving on.

Really? School girls? Award


Voodoo

Wow, where to fucking start. So, this takes place in a strip club. And we watch Voodoo strip for page after page. There are some cops watching her. The man cop then has a private dance, and then Voodoo kills him. When she's naked. And a lizard.

Things that really pissed me off:

• This panel:

Male gaze anyone? Christ.

• Another panel I couldn't find a picture of, where we get a nice shot full of the waitress' cleavage. Yeah, that's all that's in the panel. Not her head or face or anything else. It's hard to think this comic thinks women are anything but how it depicts the waitress in this panel.
• Voodoo transforms into a lizard monster but still retains the ridiculous female figure. WITH BREASTS! WHY DOES THE LIZARD WOMAN HAVE BOOBS!?

I'm too tired to tear this comic apart.

Fuck you Voodoo This isn't an award.

I, Vampire

This entire comic is two vampires talking. One seems to be evil and plans to take over the world, the other seems to be one of those vampires with a soul or something. During the conversation, the book flips back and forth between a scene of the two dracula-fromping through the night, and a scene of Angel, I mean guy vampire, combing through dead bodies in what appears to be a post apocalyptic city.

The conversation is fairly tired, since I've seen this story told before. This is the problem for I, Vampire (besides a damn ridiculous title if you ask me): we've all taken in a fair dose of vampires in the last decade(ish). There's Buffy and Angel, Twilight, True Blood, then a slew of other vampire stories. We're inundated with Vampire, thanks.

This isn't necessarily I, Vampire's fault though (the name, however, most certainly is), but they don't manage to press too hard on the mold.

That said, the book doesn't reek of cliche, only a familiar scent. The vampire apocalypse seems interesting, especially as it acknowledges the existence of super heroes. I'm slightly intrigued, especially as it seems the story starts when the vampires have already won.

I have one sticking question though, could vampires really take the Justice League? I mean, Supa Man, Green Lanterns, and Wonder Woman seem like they'd be fairly capable of taking some vampires. For one, I'm pretty damn sure that their fangs couldn't pierce Superman's skin, and secondly, I'm a hundred percent certain that all Batman would have to do is type "plan #alucard" into the Bat computer and it would spit out a series of plans on how to deal with a vampire apocalypse, with global and local strategies, for heroes with super powers and normies like himself.

I guess I'll have to see how I, Vampire plans to deal with this. Dammit again.

Too Soon? Award

The Flash

I kind of like The Flash. I have no real reason why, other than how I know he can run through things and then blow them up. This comic gave me no new reasons to like The Flash though.

What amused me most about this #1 were the campy layouts. The title page reveal is so classic comics I laughed when I hit it. I can't really tell if the creators are trying to make the comic campy or if it was just an ill-conceived page.

Other than a few odd layouts, I really liked the art of the comic. It looks crisp and cartoony. Really fits with how I always thought a super hero comic would be drawn.

Aside from the art, the story telling is a little hamfisted. We see a character die and then we go back and show how the character is a long time friend of The Flash. Seems sort of coincidental that the only guy that dies in the team attack on the science fair is his friend. Of course by the end of the comic we have an inkling for why it isn't a coincidence, but the contrivance remains.

He does go Through Something and Blow it up After, so Yay Award

Justice League Dark

Home stretch. So one thing I'd like to get off my chest is my dislike for changing the narrator mid comic. I understand this is something that comics do and maybe I should just get over it, but when it happens for only a page, and when that character didn't interact with the narrative at all, it seems like that page could have been, you know, trimmed out.

Constantine shows up in JLU, narrates for no reason and then we move on. I'm pretty sure he was included because if he wasn't sales of #2 would be lower as a consequence.

So remember back when I wondered how a vampire could take down Superman and the like? Well, in JLD we see how a witch would take down the JL: teeth. Swarms of old dirty teeth.

Yes, you are right. That is ew.

JLD also falls under the category of not much happened this comic as we are too busy trying to explain a lot of stuff up front, guess I'll have to buy #2 just to get a sense of how the characters will relate to each other and the narrative.

I will buy it too, because Constantine showed up for a page.

Weirdest Way that Superman has ever been Brought to his Knees Award


Tomorrow I plan to grab a lot of comics. Then I can start this whole process over again. Rather than do two GIANT posts, I'll make sure to get smaller ones out more frequently. Yay, action plans.

Shopping Lists and Dissapointment

I decided a while ago that when September rolled around and the whole DCnU thing launched officially I was going to start buying comics. While, I've never bought comics on a week-by-week basis, I'm no stranger to comics either. I've studied them in university and I have purchased/read many assorted collections or graphic novels. I have a healthy respect for the medium.

And I know enough about superheroes to get by in a crowded comic-con line too. I actually like superheroes and superhero narratives. I've seen the movies, watched the cartoons, read the wiki articles. But that is where it stops, because, seriously, that back log of overly complex and conflicting canon really makes me avoid superhero comics as a whole.

That's why I thought this reboot for DCnU was a fantastic idea. I gotta be smack dab near the middle of DC's target demographic. If I don't want to read about BATMAN every month, something is wrong.

Last Wednesday, I tried to get to the comic shop to pick up the new Justice League #1. Because of work and life I never managed to get there during open hours. And, honestly, Justice League doesn't really spark much or an interest so I wasn't too inclined to try too hard to get myself a copy.

But this Wednesday, September 7th, was a day I was excited for. First off, we had Jeff Lemire's Animal Man. I've been a fan of Lemire's since he was still publishing the Essex County stuff and I just recently started reading Sweet Tooth. I also love Grant Morrison's work with Animal Man too. So the combo of Lemire and Animal Man really held my interest in the DCnU itself.

I also wanted to get my hands on the new Batgirl. Aside from already selling out it's first two prints, I wanted to try reading a comic by a team a women. The medium has its issues with women and feminism so I wanted to see what the relaunch would do to try to solve that.

What I hoped to pick up today at the comic shop:

Animal Man  
Batgirl 
Swamp Thing (supposedly one of DC's darker and more horror oriented new books) 
Stormwatch (I'm interested in the idea of merging canons and worlds)
and then maybe Superman and Batman titles if they looked okay in a flip through.

I had to stay late at work today though so I didn't get to the comic store very early and I could tell by the selection. Both Animal Man and Batgirl were already sold out. In the end, I picked up:

Swamp Thing
Superman Action Comics
Justice League International (BOOSTER GOLD!!!)
Stormwatch

I've already read two of them and I feel pretty positive about the experience so far. I'm looking forward to my potential new life as a month-by-month comic reader.

Discussion on each book to come in the next week.

Now, to find those two books.