Comics

Looking Ahead at 2012

Like most Januaries, this past one was spent looking back at the year before. What was the best, what was the worst, what were we just looking for any excuse to bring up again. It’s tradition, but it also neglects the brand new year. January also gives us a pretty good idea of what we have coming, so let’s think about what each of the big publishers have in store for us in 2012.

Avengers Vs. X-Men is obviously taking center stage for 2012, and that says a lot about what kind of year this will be. It may seem pessimistic to say, but the outlook is not so good on this event. The first big warning sign is that it doesn’t even have a writer. It has writers. It’s an event written by committee, and we all know how often those turn out well. Years ago, Marvel ruled as the king of events. Controversial with readers as it was, no one can touch how successful Civil War was. I will mock you childishly for even trying to suggest that Annihilation wasn’t one of the best cosmic events Marvel has ever done. And there’s a cheeky part of me you can kiss if you want to claim Planet Hulk isn’t among the greatest Hulk stories. No, no. Look down. That’s the part. But the Marvel of then is not the Marvel of now. The string of lackluster events in 2011 made that case clearly. Will Avengers Vs. X-Men be a rock bottom event that forces Marvel to rethink the value of events? I’d wager that’s more likely than it being a resurgence of Marvel’s status as king of events.

Catwoman #5 – Review

It’s funny, it’s sexy, it’s extremely flawed, Catwoman #5 could be enjoyed, but does little justice to Selina’s developing character, who should be declared legally idiotic by the end of this issue.

We open with Catwoman plummeting a thousand stories to her ‘death.’ With some quick whip-work (and after dealing with the meta-human Reach), Selina starts spending the 400 grand she stole. It’s all fun and games until the money-laundering police are on her tail as well as Detective Alvarez, possibly the only straight cop in the Gotham City Police force.

Nancy In Hell On Earth #1 – Review

Blood. Gore. Violence. Voluptuous babes. Hell on Earth. This is the world of Nancy Simmons and her lover, Lucifer. In all honesty, Nancy In Hell On Earth has to be one of the most ridiculously absurd comics I have read in a long while, but I cherished every minute of it. With a ludicrous story that one would only could only find in a grindhouse movie (or in this case, a comic), and amazing artwork that can be compared to that of Geoff Darrow’s, El Torres and Enrique Lorenzana have come out with one that is making me pray for more (pun intended).

Justice League #5 Review

Justice League has been a pretty solid series so far. It is not on my top 5 of my favorite titles for the Dc reboot, but I still consider it a pretty good series. The series has been pretty consistent with great art from Jim Lee and a pretty good story arc from Geoff Johns.

This issue finally has all of the Justice League teammates working together to try and defeat Darkseid. During the battle with Darkseid Superman gets kidnapped by one of Darkseid’s minions. So, now the rest of the team has to learn to work together to save Superman and save the planet from Darkseid.

Voodoo #5 – Review

Along with its original writer, Voodoo seems to have lost most of the qualities that made it an interesting read. Ron Marz apparently took a big chunk of the book’s personality with him when he left, because this issue is one forced read that lifelessly goes through the motions of its plot. What is difficult to say is whether this is the fault of the new writer, Josh Williamson, or the fault of DC editorial taking too heavy of a hand in guiding the book’s direction.

I don’t know the details of what disagreement caused Marz and DC to part ways on Voodoo, but if this issue is any indication, Marz was probably right. From the start, Voodoo was accurately compared to Species. There was nothing really wrong with that, though. It was what it was and did it well. It was sexy, suspenseful and mysterious. The protagonist was hard to get a read on, and that put readers in the interesting position of considering whether to root for her pursuers. It wasn’t a particularly fast-paced book, but it did at least leave you with the sense that it was going somewhere. Notice that I am saying all this in past tense. That’s because none of this really seems to apply anymore.

Green Lantern: New Guardians #5 – Review

The New Guardians get their own Big Bad as Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham continue to produce the only title in the Green Lantern franchise that genuinely feels like it offers something new and exciting. It’s an issue that focuses on character as the emerging team of ring-bearers split up to investigate the mysteries of an artificial solar system.

For my part, Green Lantern: New Guardians has been the breakout star of the New 52 era of the Green Lantern franchise. That’s not to say I haven’t continued to enjoy Green Lantern as much as ever. But it’s basically the same book it has always been under Geoff Johns. Sinestro being the lead character is nothing new. It’s just more honest about that now. Meanwhile, Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns have not exactly impressed me. This book definitely has, though. It’s built upon a relatively new idea and features characters who haven’t seen a lot of spotlight. And now, it introduces a threat that, for once, does not stem from some dark secret of the Guardians’ past.

John Rozum, “Why I Quit Static”

Back when Static Shock and several other DC titles had their cancellations announced, the obvious reason for all of them to be cancelled was blamed first: their sales rates were too low. But there was also more hinted at behind the cancellations of two specific titles: Mister Terrific and Static Shock. Both series feature African-American protagonists, and this has lead to streams of people yelling at DC and accusing them of being “racist.”

John Rozum, who worked on the first four issues of Static Shock before the announcement of Static’s cancellation, combats this criticism of DC by unveiling the true reasons leading to his departure from the series, and Static’s countdown to cancellation, despite his original wish to keep quiet. Here is an excerpt from his blog post “Why I Quit Static.”