Review: Justice League of America #11
By Jonathan Edwards
What a piece of fucking garbage. As much as I've ragged on this series over these last few months, I'm honestly finding it a bit hard to believe just how bad this issue is. There's not a single redeeming factor present. It's an entirely worthless conclusion to a worthless two-part story, and Raymond Terrill is an idiotic dickbag of a character. If we didn't already know by now, this issue definitively shows just how self-righteous and hypocritical he is. He gets up on his soap box to scream about how moralistic he is for "giv[ing] people the chance to be good, instead of assuming they'll be their worst," and then he turns around and refuses to try and listen or empathize with the woman that raised him. Sure, she may have wished for a new family, but how does that hurt Ray? Nadine is right when she said Ray left, and he hadn't ever come back. The only reason he did this time was because the plot needed him to, and now we're supposed to feel bad because she moved on with her life? Fuck that. Ray has every right to have left the way he did. Because, it is true that the way Nadine was raising him was ultimately wrong. However, she also fully acknowledges that here, but that's still not good enough for Ray. No, to appease his narcissism, she needs to wallow in her past mistakes until the day she dies and never be happy again. Yeah, that's giving people the benefit of the doubt. That's justice. Go ahead, Steve Orlando, lecture us again about how paranoid and awful Batman is.
Review: Royal City #5
By Jonathan Edwards
Royal City #5 marks the end of the first story arc. Although, that is perhaps a loose definition. Because, though the stakes are higher this time around, I didn't find this issue to be distinctly more revelatory or terminating than any previous issue. I don't mean that as a bad thing either. I tore through this issue, enjoying every moment of my reading. And when I realized I was at the end, I only wanted more. But, it looks like we'll have to wait for October for the next arc, where Lemire sends us back to 1993 and the final days of Tommy Pike. However, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's on the issue at hand. Namely, issue #5 of Royal City.
Review: Generation Gone #1
By Jonathan Edwards
My last experience with Ales Kot's work was dropping his series Wolf after issue #7. And, that's actually kind of funny to me. Because, that was the book that got me going back into my local comic shop for the first time in a few years. I had picked up the first issue the day it came out after I saw it advertised in an email from Comixology (which at that point I had only really used to get a few free comics). It was a decompressed and oblique read, but it was still interesting enough for me to want to come back for the next installment. Unfortunately, the more I read of it, the more Kot seemed to prioritize showing disparate elements of the world he'd created over tying together the plot threads he continued to introduce and leave hanging. And when some connections were finally made, it was too little, too late, and not satisfying. So like I said, I eventually dropped it. But at that point, I was already reading a few other books I'd found and decided to pick up as well when coming into the shop for Wolf. So like it or not, Ales Kot played a catalytic part in my relationship with comics. Without him, I very well might not be writing this review right now, and perhaps that's the biggest reason I wanted to look at Generation Gone.
Review: Justice League of America #10
By Jonathan Edwards
This is not the worst issue of Justice League of America. In fact, as far as the amount of content goes, this might be the most substantial thus far. And, I would even say that the first couple pages are a promising start. However, it very quickly returns to the same old problems I've been complaining about for months. But what's more, this issue actually gives us a glimpse of the bigger picture. We start to see how things are supposed to tie together and build toward some future payoff. And, this newfound perspective is what makes the reason that none of it works that much clearer. Somehow, the biggest problem with JLA, a book that ships twice monthly, is that none of the plot points, character development, story arcs, etc. are given the time and space necessary to be developed beyond the bare bones concept.
Review: Mighty Mouse #2
By Jonathan Edwards
I was not impressed by the first issue of Mighty Mouse. It was an entirely by-the-book endeavor that failed to justify a version of 2017 where a grade-schooler loves Mighty Mouse almost as much as it failed to justify a new Mighty Mouse comic in our version of 2017. I still gave it a decent rating. Because, I could still see someone reading and enjoying it for some quick and cheap fun. All that being said, I did find one way this book could redeem itself, and that is the explanation of how the hell Mighty Mouse was transported between worlds. Unfortunately, we don't get that in this issue either, but we do get a couple other interesting ideas, or at least executions, instead.
Review: Justice League of America #9
By Jonathan Edwards
Would you believe me if I said that this book suddenly got better? No? Good, because it didn't. Justice League of America #9 is a laughably bad issue, a weak ending to a weak story, and it doesn't even feel like Steve Orlando's even trying anymore. Seriously, all of the conflict kind of just gives up halfway through this shit. I mean, I guess Makson does still try and fight the JLA for a page. But come on, he's not going to win. He's a wild man, and they're the fucking Justice League of America. Honestly, I don't even know how he gets in as many hits as he does. It's like Makson was supposed to have super strength for no reason, and then they forgot to ever mention it. Does it seem like I'm just diving right it? Yes? Good, because I am.
Review: Supergirl: Being Super #4
By Jonathan Edwards
As a reviewer, it's always interesting to reach the end of a series that you've been covering from the beginning. It doesn't matter how long or short the run was. There's just something kind of surreal about looking back and knowing that you were successful in committing to be there for every single issue. It's even crazier when the book sucked, and you had to muscle your way through and to the end. In this case, Supergirl: Being Super doesn't suck. It had a slow start, but it never sucked. And, this fourth and final installment serves as a fairly successful conclusion, wrapping up plot threads both in ways I did and way I didn't expect.
Review: Royal City #4
By Jonathan Edwards
I've been championing this book since pretty much the get go, and as far as I'm concerned, it's been doing a pretty good job of consistently living up to that hype. However, with the next issue marking the end of Royal City's introductory story arc, it seems that Lemire has slowed down his momentum a touch for this fourth installment. Mind you, it's by no means a bad issue. The priority is just different. Rather than following in the footsteps of the last couple issues by introducing new plot threads, we see those that already exist start to get pulled together. Although, Lemire still leaves us with the lingering question of who exactly is the young woman that Patrick keeps running into? And perhaps more importantly, how does she fit into what all's going on with Tommy and Royal City?
Review: Plastic #3
By Jonathan Edwards
Ever since initially glimpsing the preview pages at the end of the last issue, I've been both excited for as well as a little apprehensive about this one. Why? Because, I knew going in that the first scene (or at the very least, one of the first scenes) would involve sexual assault. It's a very serious subject matter that can very easily be mishandled and used exploitatively, even when the creator doesn't intend it, simply by way of not being familiar enough with how to responsibly look at and talk about it. Now with that being said, how does Plastic #3 handle it? Well, first let me note that I am by no means an expert on this, so everything I'm saying should be taken with a grain of salt. Anyway, while I'm honestly not convinced that its inclusion was entirely necessary to tell this story, I do see why Wagner did it. Furthermore, I personally found something quite powerful about how Edwyn reacts to and talks about it throughout the issue. To me, it's the final proof that this book is earnestly exploring themes of love, good, and evil through a lens that is so commonly associated with the perversion of, or in some cases the outright disagreement with, those same themes. What we're ultimately left with is a story that's romantic in the same way that Palahniuk is romantic. And, I love it.
Review: Justice League of America #8
By Jonathan Edwards
No, this book still isn't any good, and no, I won't leave it alone. This issue feels like a whole new low in the perpetual suck that is this series. On top of characters being dumb, inconsistent, and poorly written, loads of development happening offpanel, a shitton of sloppy exposition telling us about said development, as well as an entirely artificial and manufactured conflict regarding the "hypocrisy" of Batman, Justice League of America #8 has the most convoluted train wreck of a story to date. Makson is a shit-tier villain, an even worse character, and the "twist" is flimsy and contrived at best. The fact that DC currently lists five more issues of JLA, all still written by Orlando, is insanity and could be used as proof for us living in an unfair world.
Review: Helena Crash #4
By Jonathan Edwards
I find it funny that even though this issue literally says "end" on the last page, signifying that this is the last issue in this limited series, some sources do still list this as "4 of 5." That being said, this is indeed the last issue (at least until they go and make and sequel series, that is). The three previous issues were all a fast and fun ride, and this one keeps right in line with that all the way up to an ending that ties everything up quite nicely. Honestly, as easy as it would be for Helena's story to be followed up upon, a part of me hopes they just leave it at the way it ends here.
Review: Mighty Mouse #1
By Jonathan Edwards
When I was fairly young, I owned a VHS or two compiling a large number of older cartoons. The first thing I recall from watching them was me fast forwarding through in hopes that I'd eventually run into some Looney Tunes. I didn't, but that was the first time I ever remember seeing Mighty Mouse. Now, that was a long time ago, so I really couldn't tell you anything that happened in those cartoons anymore (although, those cassettes are still likely lying around somewhere). The next prominent encounter with Mighty Mouse I can remember was when I was probably twelve or thirteen and taking an acting for the camera class. One of my practice scenes involved a discussion about the rodent superhero (I think it was from Donnie Darko, but I kind of hate that movie, so I'm not all that bothered to go and double-check that). Finally, at some point in probably my late teens, I decide to watch the first episode of Saturday Night Live, and I saw the relatively famous clip of comedian Andy Kaufman lip-synching the theme song to the old Mighty Mouse cartoon (it's possible I'd happened to have seen it prior, but I don't think it was until then that is stuck). These are probably the only three significant connections I have to Mighty Mouse, if you want to even go as far as calling them "significant." Yet for some reason, when I saw the first ads for this book, something drew me in and made me want to read it. So, I did.
Review: Dark Knight III: The Master Race #9
By Jonathan Edwards
Holy god, this shitheap of mediocrity is finally over. You really have to wonder what the creative team was doing during those extra months between issues. Because, they sure as hell didn't use that time to create a superior book. Seriously, a year and a half to get out nine issues averages about one every two months (remember, this was supposed to be a monthly title), and they've all been bland at best. It's even worse when you juxtapose it with what DC is doing with a fair amount of their Rebirth titles. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Nightwing, and The Flash, to name a few, have been shipping semimonthly since June of last year, and they've all been a far cry better than DK3. Whereas here we've been subjected the awfulness that is contemporary Frank Miller filtered through Brian Azzarello, who only succeeds in stripping away the lion's share of poor taste that would likely be there otherwise. Other than the, y'know, barely masked Islamophobia and support for police brutality in the name of "justice," that is. So, I welcome this end. And funnily enough, this might be the best, or at least close to it, this series has been. But, again, that's not saying a lot.
Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2017 Annual
By Jonathan Edwards
I believe it was after I reviewed the 2nd, or maybe 3rd, issue of Justice League/Power Rangers that I started to wonder what BOOM!'s actual Power Rangers books were like. They couldn't possibly be as simplistic and shit as the crossover book is, I thought (granted, everything I've read from Bryan Hitch's current run on Justice League has been straight garbage). My curiosity would be piqued every time I saw a Power Rangers title pop up on the spreadsheet, but I was never motivated enough to actually check any of them out. Until I saw this annual, that is. I figured it'd be the perfect microcosmic jumping on point to determine the general quality of BOOM!'s actual Power Rangers material. And I'm happy to report, not only was I right about that, it's also pretty good too.
Review: Trinity - Annual #1
By Jonathan Edwards
I remember having some particular interest in Trinity when I was first looking over DC's new releases that would be launching with Rebirth. I couldn't tell you exactly why, though the promise of a book focusing specifically on the dynamics between Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman intrigued me. I now know there had previously been an ongoing weekly book with the same name and conceit, but at the time, I was easily hooked by a novelty I somehow hadn't really ever considered. I read the first six issues before stopping, mainly because I'd managed to fall behind in my reading after around Trinity #3. I didn't really want to play that much catch-up, so I opted to just finish up the first story arc and leave it at that. I enjoyed the book enough (I even briefly considered reversing my earlier decision and checking my LCS for back issues), but ultimately I decided that treating those first six issues like something of a limited series was enough for me. And then, this annual cropped up. After some slight deliberation, I decided I might as well let it be the final say in whether or not I picked up the main book again.
Review: Plastic #2
By Jonathan Edwards
Holy cow, I was not quite expecting this to be the direction this book went, but I'm so glad that it is. Last time I talked about how I didn't feel like this was a mean-spirited story, and frankly, this second issue only reinforces that. It's actually kind of amazing how much this issue makes you feel like Edwyn is an actually good guy that you want to root for despite the horrendously gruesome things he has the capacity to do. By the end of it, even his conversations with himself felt closer charming than anything else. It makes me wonder if Wagner's perhaps making some kind of statement about mental health. There's no denying that there's a huge stigma against people with mental disabilities, but here we have a protagonist who (even though he can and has taken human life in very violent ways) kind of just wants to love, laugh, live his life, and be left alone. Who cares if Virginia is a sex doll? She makes Edwyn happy, and people only get hurt when they try and mess with that. But, Edwyn is only "useful" when he's dangerous, and mental illness really does tend to be represented in much the same way in the media. That is to say, only when it's dangerous.
Review: Justice League of America #7
By Jonathan Edwards
How does Steve Orlando suck so bad at writing exposition? Seriously, he routinely has characters suddenly bring up plot elements and character developments that hasn't even been hinted at. Furthermore, he's written every villain in this damn book so far in exactly the same way. Lord Havok, Aegeus, and now Terrorsmith are all far too eager in divulging their entire backstory, philosophy, and subtext to everyone they happen to run into. No joke, the first thing that Terrorsmith does is say his name to security guards that were minding their own business. Admittedly, Orlando is going for a "he's pissed no one remembers him" angle, so him introducing himself outright should work. In theory. However, he fucks it up by drawing it out and, again, devotes too much time to shitty exposition dumps that are really hard to care about when the villain hasn't even done anything yet. It would've been infinitely more pithy if Terrorsmith introduced himself, the guards are confused but tell him he can't enter, Terrorsmith has some follow up one-liner like "remember the name," and then he transforms them into monsters. Boom, we've established our threat and foreshadowed his motivations. Sure, people unfamiliar with the character won't get an exact breakdown of how and why his powers work, but is that important to the story? Certainly not enough to front-load it. The details can always be worked in later if they're really necessary, and with the space saved, we could have actually seen him start to transform the guards. Instead of, y'know, just being told that's what happened.
Review: Winnebago Graveyard #1
By Jonathan Edwards
Many years ago, my parents opted to buy an RV, and we went on a cross country trip across America. We actually all flew to Florida to buy the damn thing to drive all the way back to the West coast. We actually had that RV for an absurdly long time for only going on, I think, one other trip with it. And then, they sold it. I don't really know what the moral of that story is, but it's part of what made me want to check this book out. See, I was a skittish kid for a long time. So much so that I flat out refused to even watch horror films (although, some gradual encouragement in my teens eventually got me to break out of that). So during that RV trip, I was pretty frequently scared of someone or something "getting" us. Winnebago Graveyard is that fear turned comic book, or at least it endeavors to be. And when I saw Steve Niles's name attached on top of that, I knew I had to at least give it a try.
Review: Royal City #3
By Jonathan Edwards
I swear, with every new issue of Royal City, I read it, love it, and want more. Lemire does such a good job of setting and maintaining a tone that it hardly takes any effort to slip back into the same emotional space each month. Furthermore, he has a specific way of revealing information so that it informs about the characters and world while also generating further intrigue and follow-up questions. As far as I can tell, the "model" (if you want to call it that) tends to be something of a reversed order of events. We meet a character who's feeling a certain way or in a certain state of mind. Then, we slowly move backwards to find out the actual event that got them there. And after that, we uncover what led to that event. For example, Tara and her husband Steve have been at odds since the first issue, and with this one we finally learn what the cause of that was (I refuse to spoil it). And now, the question becomes "what else was going on before it that affected and led up to it?" It's really great stuff, and I can only presume it will all eventually lead back to finding out exactly what happened to Tommy Pike.
Review: Justice League/Power Rangers #4
By Jonathan Edwards
Y'know, despite it being a couple of months since the last issue of Justice League/Power Rangers, I was still annoyed enough with its bullshit that I didn't really want to review issue #4 when I first saw it pop up on the spreadsheet. However, after giving it some thought, I decided to let the CERN nonsense slide for now and give it a chance. The book, in turn, reciprocated by having the first third of it entirely dedicated to giving an explanation to how exactly the Large Hadron Collider was going to make a proper portal from the DCU to the Power Rangers universe. Except, not really, because everything about that process is written so vaguely that I really don't know what Tom Taylor decided to try and drag real world science into this. Interdimensional portals are easily accepted by suspension of disbelief. But as soon as you say CERN or Large Hadron Collider, you are setting a precedent for what can and can't be done. I'll let you guess whether 'creating a portal with a direct connection to a parallel universe that will safely transport people between said universes' falls in the former or latter category. No, I won't; it's stupid and wrong.
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