James Robinson

I guess it's been a long time coming but I need to give James Robinson a positive boost on the Internet. Between Justice League: A Cry for Justice, and the Fact that Superman isn't featured in two of the books that he's prominently featured in. If you're a regular reader of the internet, you'd think that James Robinson had kicked everyone's dogs with each issue. So in defense of a great writer (and I haven't even finished Starman), lets give a good breakdown of why James Robinson is good, and you're a moron if you think otherwise.

Comics are much like movies in terms of the fact that the story can take place at multiple levels. The thing a lot of critics slam Robinson on is the Dialogue of his recent work. And even I must admit, sometimes it's a little bit clunky; yet no one gives him credit for the fact that he knows how to capture the voices of characters like Ollie, Hal, Ray Palmer, and Supergirl. Even if the dialogue is a little bit golden age-ish, that's fine. Watch Batman: Brave and the Bold, it's a great example of how golden age dialogue can still keep with the beats of how the characters are interpreted today. The thing that everyone loved to leap on was a line from A Cry for Justice #2. Ollie had implied that Hal had a drunken affair with Huntress and Lady Blackhawk. The internet exploded at this..."This is so out of character" Right, the fearless test pilot is going to be the paragon of your christian sensibilities. "How disrespectful to some of the strongest female characters in comics". What the hell is disrespectful about sex? And Even drunk sex? We've all had it at some point; is it ridiculous to believe that people who constantly put themselves in stressful situations might want to indulge in something that doesn't involve them being shot at? Things like this just continue to show how little comic readership have actually grown up. It's sex, get the fuck over it.

Continuing on the theme of dialogue, and how it proves that James Robinson is teh loozerz, let's talk about story. Ok so you don't like the way he writes, that's fine; his stories are amazing though. Let's take this series by series.

Superman: On his current arc, he's working on basically Two worlds without Superman, and he's doing a damn fantastic job. What a better way to challenge Superman as a character, than to make him not super? One of the biggest complaints I always see about Superman as a character is how he's too capable and therefore unrelatable. James, Rucka, and Johns have put Superman in a situation where he is equally capable to everyone around him and on an alien world. The only thing setting him apart at this point is his humanity, Spiderman fans should be gobbling this shit up. On the flip side, back on Earth you have Mon-El trying very hard to fill Superman's shoes, and you just get to see what Superman means to everyone on this Earth. Both to the regular people, and the DCU; which we'll see as Robinson's new Justice League unfolds.

A Cry for Justice: Now maybe I don't read enough comic books to understand why proactive superhero teams are a tired idea, but I have enjoyed this for the most part. Is this a perfect book? Fuck no, but it has one of the most moving moments I've seen in a comic in a long time, maybe since Robin and his Dad in Identity Crisis. Spoilers ahead, so be ready...
Roy Harper is about to leave the Justice League satellite to go tuck his young daughter into bed. He interrupts the tension of the main JLA, and Hal's splinter league, letting both sides know where his priorities stand, and it's as a father. Shortly after leaving, Supergirl, and Congorilla go to investigate a smell and there they stumble upon Roy, holding less than a stump of where his arm used to be. And now here is where everything shines. A large portion of credit for why this is such a moving scene goes to Mauro Cascioli, who chose the right colors to contrast and emphasize what needed to be looked at. The look of Anguish on Roy's face is very genuine. It is pure pain and anguish. However Robinson comes in to deliver the killing blow. He could have gone for total realism, and just had him fall to the floor. Or he could go the Frank Miller route, and have Roy tell the League(s) to not worry about him and get the bad guy. But instead he says something that would be very personal to an archer. Roy comes in with all that anguish and shouts "--I can't feel my fingers!" It's something I can hear resounding perfectly in my head, and I think it packs a very strong emotional punch to the gut. Read it again, and try to let go of your hate of maiming superheroes. Enjoy the story for what it is.

So what am I getting at here? I guess I'm saying that you should judge comics on multiple levels. Dialogue matters, but should shaky execution get in the way of an excellent story? I say no. Robinson has a ton of talent, and the fact that the general comics community keeps shitting on him because everything isn't as good as Starman is a fucking travesty. I get that Starman was great. Maybe it's better than everything he's doing right now. But judge his current stories on their own merits, I think you'll find plenty to like if you just look a little deeper past comic book trends.

I'd also like to mention that Blackest Night Superman and JSA are the best of the BN tie in Mini Series, and guess who they're written by...

DC Comics Review: Green Lantern #50

 Writer: Geoff Johns

Artists: Doug Mahnke with Christian Alamy

Coined by lord Johns as Blackest Night 6.5, this issue deals with the gathering of both the big powers of the emotional spectrum, and Nekron's forces. The plot advances along nicely, and because the cover gives it away, I'll spoil it here. Parallax is back, and Mahnke is the perfect one to draw this. What I love about Geoff Johns is his mastery of the comic book medium. More than any of the British magicians Geoff writes very solid single issues. They leave you both satisfied and wanting more. It's a point I can really only convey to people who buy comics on a weekly or monthly basis. The best way I could give an example of this would be the difference between Batman and Robin #1, and Blackest Night #1. I remember when both came out they were fantastic, but I liked Blackest Night #1 a bit more because it left me satisfied within the whole issue, while Batman and Robin left too much open. It's not entirely a bad thing, but to have a very incomplete story can get very frustrating. It may be why people who only buy TPB's of Johns' work don't quite get why he is so great. 

However this issue I must say is all about the artwork. My first review I knocked Doug for his love of cheekbones, and while that is still certainly there I forgive it entirely. The slavering undead, and the hyper detail of Parallax seems tailor made for Doug's highly detailed style. This is to the point that the Image on page 10 actually made me jump when I hit it. It's perfectly placed behind shots of the good guys winning. Plus the Hal-Spectre fight has some real scary imagery as well. Overall I'd say this time the art actually outshines the story. Mahnke and Alamy haven't been this on point since Superman Beyond. 

As if you need me to tell you, this one is a keeper. Beyond being a 50th issue, it's great for Blackest Night completionists. Plus there was no Blackest Night this month, so this is as close as you're going to get. The end sets the stage for what I am going to imagine as an epic as hell fight. I'm still not decided on what music would be good for this issue though. There is a lot of action in this issue. But the plot takes a crucial step forward, and it ends on a very strong cliffhanger. I would probably try out something from Metallica as a place to start. If you can find some good black metal like Diabolical Masquerade, that could work too. To cast the issue in a more eerie light maybe Isis. I don't know. Overall though, great issue; get it!

Fantasy Lantern Draft.

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/01/the-fantasy-lantern-draft-begins/

In response to this article I thought I'd do my own.

Real World...
Red Lantern: Rush Limbaugh
Orange Lantern: AIG (Corporations count as people now)
Sinestro Corps: Tomas Haake
Green Lantern: Jon Stewart
Blue Lantern: Barack Obama (I know it's uncreative, but it's become part of his character)
Indigo Tribe: My Mom (And probably yours deserves this one as well)
Star Saphires: Lady Gaga
Black Lantern: Ronald Regan (Imagine having to go through an immortal RR, that would be terrifying)

From Movies...
Red Lantern: Black Mamba (Kill Bill)
Orange Lantern: Patrick Bateman
Sinestro Corps: That Girl from Shutter (The Thai Original)
Green Lantern: The Zohan
Blue Lantern: Roger Rabbit
Indigo Tribe: The Na'vi (This is the obvious one, but damnit they deserve it)
Star Saphire: Eva (From Wall-E)
Black Lantern: Wash (Serenity) 

Marvel Comics
Red Lantern: Wolverine (No one has been angrier for so long)
Orange Lantern: The Kingpin
Sinestro Corps: Mr. Sinister
Green Lantern: Charles Xavier
Blue Lantern: Spider Man
Indigo Tribe: Aunt May (I don't know who to put for this one)
Star Saphire: Mary Jane (I'm not overly steeped in Marvel Canon, sorry)
Black Lantern: (I don't know who's dead right now that's important, they may just be a Skrull)

DC Comics (Not including the actual Lanterns)
Red Lantern: Hawkman (or 90s Aquaman)
Orange Lantern: Lobo (Greed is more than just Hoarding)
Sinestro Corps: Darkseid
Green Lantern: Dr. Fate
Blue Lantern: Robin (All of them)
Indigo Lantern: Accomplished Perfect Physician
Star Saphire: Isis
Black Lantern: Mandrakk

Various Other Comics 
Red Lantern: Deathblow
Orange Lantern: The Comedian
Sinestro Corps: The Spectre (From the EC days)
Green Lantern: Bandit (WE3)
Blue Lantern: Blythe (Air)
Indigo Tribe: Black Orchid (The Gaiman/McKean version anyway)
Star Saphire: Promethea
Black Lantern: (I don't have one for this one sorry) 

Comics Industry
Red Lantern: Frank Miller
Orange Lantern: Chris Yost
Sinestro Corps: Grant Morrison (He writes scary good)
Green Lantern: James Robinson
Blue Lantern: Geoff Johns
Indigo Lantern: Amanda Connor (I don't know for this one)
Star Saphire: Alan Moore (No one has more love for Comics, sorry for putting that image in your head though)
Black Lantern: Jack Kirby 

Video Games
Red Lantern: Marcus (Gears of War)
Orange Lantern: Garret (Thief)
Sinestro Corps: Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Green Lantern: Altier (Assassin's Creed)
Blue Lantern: James Sunderland (Silent Hill 2)
Indigo Tribe: Lulu (Final Fantasy X)
Star Saphire: Bayonetta
Black Lantern: Sonic

DC Comics Review: The Phantom Stranger #42 (Blackest Night)

By Peter J. Tomasi

Art: Adrian Syaf & Vincente Cifuentes

I'll preface by saying that this was an enjoyable issue. I was not into comics at the time of the original Phantom Stranger series, but I've always found him to be an interesting character, and this issue for the most part confirms me being right.

(Spoiler Warning)

Plot: The Stranger and the Blue Devil are where they were left at the end of Blackest Night #2 (A long way back at this point) Staring down the terrifying prospect of the Black Lantern Spectre. Quickly for the uninitiated; The Spectre is the Judeo-Christian god's hand of Vengeance. Cain (him being marked as a murderer that is), Sodom and Gomorrah, the 10 Plagues were all that guy. More relevant to the DC Universe, he was a large part of the solution to 2/3 of the Crises. He is one of the most powerful creatures in the DCU, and can do just about anything. Needless to say even the mysterious Stranger, is wetting himself a bit at this point.

The Phantom Stranger has a large point (perhaps mandate) of non-interference, though how much that matters, or is true is up for nerd debate. The Phantom Stranger, throws first motivation, and then insults at the Spectre to see if he can commune with the Spirit of Vengeance itself, rather than its human host Crispus Allen, who has been possessed by the black ring. The Spectre does not respond kindly to insults, and proceeds to try to claw his way out of his host body. Unfortunately we have a sort of Warhammer 40k conundrum of everything being the most powerful something, and the black ring ultimately wins. The Spectre gets called to the pages of Green Lantern #50 (coming tomorrow) where evidently the Stranger can't follow, so he and Blue Devil go in search of a way to rescue Deadman (Boston Brand).

Basically the rest of the issue is the Spectre gathering mcguffins and heading to Nanda Parbat to rescue Deadman, who is jumping in and out of Black Lanterns forcing them to kill themselves (In a sense). A black ring finally grabs the incorporeal Deadman, and either makes him manifest, or drags him to his body (I'm not really sure). The Stranger does a little song and dance, and some art shows parts of his potential origin, and in the end rescues Deadman. A nice cliff-hanger is reached with them mentioning something about Deadman's body being useful for something or another.

(End Spoilers)

Art: Syaf is a very talented artist. His technique reminds me of somewhere between the Kuberts/Tony Daniel, and Ivan Reis. Strong use of straight lines, for shading and effects, but when it comes to outline characters, and other important things, curves are used adequately. Needless to say it is also very detailed, very similar to Blackest Night Batman. However I'm worried that what worked there in BN Batman doesn't quite work for a magical tale of the Phantom Stranger's sort. A lot of this book is scenes of the Stranger talking, and being profound. That is fine but someone who oozes magic and mystery needs to have something going on behind him to emphasise his power, or just to give people something to dwell on. An Artist more in Tony Harris J.H. Williams or Ethan Van Sciver (When they let him off of his meds, like the speed force scenes in Flash Rebirth) might have been more appropriate, at least for some of the standing around scenes. However I understand that those guys are high profile, and probably mega expensive. Still the art is good, just not quite what was needed.

Overall Impressions: I liked this issue. It doesn't really change any part of the game, or introduce anything new; but it is solid. The story is pretty linear and straightforward, and was accessible enough to me who is only wiki educated on the Stranger. I can't say how its done justice or not to the original series, but I think the point of the Blackest Night title resurrections were to garner interest in past series, and on that note it succeeded. The artwork is fine, on its own merits, but I personally don't feel like it suits the story. Finally just to add my own little flavour to this issue...It doesn't mesh perfectly but try The Grand Conjuration by Opeth with this issue. If you know the song, you'll know the pace to read at and it actually fits pretty well.

Also, sorry I haven't been keeping up with this (All 100 of you who have at least stumbled this). School has started again, so I'm stuck between real reading, and leisure reading. I'll try to have this weeks issues up by Sunday or Monday depending when I stop drinking/being hung-over from my birthday this Sunday.

Chris Yost's Run on Red Robin

Red Robin #2 Cover

Francis Manapul

Chris Yost, I am very confused by him. Currently he is the writer of Red Robin, the "post" Bruce Wayne Tim Drake (Wayne) identity. To put it politely his run has been an entire piece of shit. Ok, maybe not that harshly, after all Batgirl is far worse, and Outsiders crashed and burned much sooner than this title. Still I think I have my anger toward Yost because it's Tim Drake. The Robin that was the most Human.

While I love Dick Grayson, and yes I love him as Batman, it's been great fun; There is no denying that his original conception was just to be Kid Batman. He was there to sort of just be cool to younger kids, and indeed that is the recurring motif with all of the Robins. They grow up with the Readers. Dick is now post college (comic book style), having found a real job as Batman, Tim seems to be an insecure but competent late teenager. And Damian is just a little shitmuncher, not completely relate-able except by spoiled rich kids, but still his rebelious nature is something to be desired for very little kids just realising that rules are meant to be broken. 

However back to Chris Yost, and Red Robin. Drake started out wanting to be Robin for the sake of studying under Batman's tutelage as a detective, not so much as an ass kickin' crime fighter; though I'm sure for all kids his age that was a damn nice bonus. This backstory was a nice change from everyone's motivations stemming from tragedy. Eventually though tragedy did catch up to Tim when each of his parents were taken by crime. But unlike most heroes who used it to keep pushing forward as a hero. (I mean this as this is now entirely what motivates them, like Batman, or the 2814 Green Lanterns initially). Tim moves past it, taking time off from being Robin, and going through a completely reasonable lashing out at the world period. A few real life years later, the man who adopted Tim was killed by the god of all evil (the most fucking badass way for Batman to go, and you know it!) Tim once again goes into denial and sets out on a morally questionable journey to prove that Bruce is still alive, and now here come all kinds of problems.

Just to start with something positive before I pour bile all over Yost...Everything he's done so far has been a very good attempt. He's been trying to play to the fact that Tim is a detective, however he just isn't Brad Meltzer, or a pre tragedy Jeph Leob, in that he just can't seem to write a good, unpredictable, compelling mystery. Ok, so Tim doesn't think Bruce is dead. That's fine, now here is where you would present the why, other than denial. I understand he's upset and might not be thinking clearly, but a detective of Tim's caliber would need more than the corpse of Batman to run off and search for Bruce. That's the next thing; the story on his hunt for Bruce Wayne makes absolutely no sense. He's in Germany, Paris, Iraq, then BAM! he has the Bat that Bruce drew on the cave wall at the end of Final Crisis #7. We don't know what he found in the previous countries, we don't know how the fuck he got to this specific cave. Moreover Ra's Al Ghul is trailing Tim, presumably to find Batman's corpse and put it in a Lazarus pit (Though I think that's what they're going to do in Batman and Robin, but that's Grant Morrison so it will be good).

Overall the story just wreaks of lazy storytelling. The characterisation isn't bad, with Tim constantly reassuring himself he's not crazy. But the problem is the Audience already knows what no one else in the DCU knows; that Batman isn't dead. So to keep hammering that home becomes very frustrating to read. This is compounded by the fact that Tim rarely interacts with anyone who makes him feel like he's crazy. Brief stints with Wonder Girl, and Spoiler who just want to help him, but then he turns brash saying that he has to do this alone for absolutely no good reason.

As an older person than the demographic that Drake is sort of aimed at, I try not to let his angst get to me too much though it is bothersome at times. But back to just basic storytelling problems, Yost just doesn't give any reason or means for these mysteries to be solved. The council of spiders arc was fair enough. But it was in the end a series of punch ups and then suddenly Tim blew up Ra's computer network. It was entirely stupid and really just didn't offer anything new to the character, the Bat-verse, the DCU, or comic books as a whole. And while not every comic needs to be a watchmen or promethea; Red Robin takes a very central character in the Bat-verse, in a very strange time in this world, and does absolutely nothing with it. It's a costume change, and a slight personality change, but no real character development, even in the vein of comics where everything is reset.

I still don't know what to say about Yost as a writer. While I want to replace his skin with styrofoam for making such a stupid arc on Red Robin, his One issue stint on Titans spotlighting Starfire was not all that bad. Neither was his run on The Streets of Gotham. So who knows? This is a book that you should skip. Unless of course you have some disposable income and would just like to see something crash and burn. If you would like to see a slightly less irritating Tim Drake depiction, pick up Adventure Comics #3, or Blackest Night Batman.

Also I know that its ironic that I criticize Yost for having all kinds of plot holes and simplistic writing, while my own writing style is splotchy. I'm working on it, and also I'm not a professional, so yeah....

Marvel Offering Variant Seige #3 Covers.

   I think it's obvious. What they want to do is reverse engineer the success of Blackest Night. They'll start with Adventure Comics #4, since Geoff wrote that, thus being closer to the source. Then move on to Justice League by Robinson, and Outsiders by Tomasi judging by degrees of separation.