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Dec. 28th, 2006 01:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteSix new comics in my hands, including the hard-to-find second issue of Gargoyles and the next issue of Detective one week early. (When was the last time a DC comic was EARLY?)
So two installments this week...
52, Week Thirty-Four - In California, the new Suicide Squad goes after the Black Marvels, and Waller gets what she wants. In Metropolis, Steel arranges to meet with Natasha and get her to think about why his powers are gone and what Lex is up to; someone injects Superman with truth serum to find out who Supernova is, and Lex, tired of seeing Supernova get all the acclaim, has a New Year's surprise in the wings for the nascent hero. And in Gotham, the end seems to have arrived for the Question.
A good issue, but one clearly dominated by the (almost certain) death of a minor but beloved hero. Vic Sage and his faceless alter ego first debuted in the late 60s, created for Charlton Comics by Steve Ditko as one of his libertarian heroes. When DC bought the rights to the Charlton heroes, Dennis O'Neil reinvented the Question as a man whose drive to find the truth led him to be both hero and reporter, and who was changed from an Objectivist to an adherent of Eastern philosophy. Denny and Denys Cowan's work on the Question ran three memorable years in the late 80s and is probably the best comic DC has never collected. It was that version of the hero who resurfaced in the 2000 Huntress miniseries by Greg Rucka, and again in 52. It was that version who had a small but loyal following for years. And it's that version who I will miss.
I don't feel this is a pointless death, though I do feel that there was still much that could have been done with Charlie Victor Szasz. He was used well in 52, and I think his legacy will be a proud one.
Gargoyles 2 - The second half of the introductory story, taken of course from the Season Three premiere of the old cartoon. With an apology from Greg about the comic's lateness. And some really good art (though not uniformly so). And very good pacing. If you're new to Gargoyles, I think you'll like this. If not, it's merely whetting the appetite for the new canon coming in issue three. But it's good to see old friends again, no matter what.
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 25 - So all those super-powered beings outside the LSH's HQ? Including ones named Polar Boy and White Witch? They aren't the Legion of Super-Villains. They're the Wanderers, an earlier, secret team of metas. And this whole Attack the Legion thing? A ruse as they recruit five new members to their team. All very clever and interesting.
Oh, and there is also plenty of Legion here, including Dream Girl, the freeing of Mon-El and a fight between him and Supergirl (looks like he used to know her), and Brainy being Brainy.
An entertaining issue but one that's all over the place. It will probably need two readings to get everything. But this book, warts and all, is on the short list for the best of 2006 (as is 52).
So two installments this week...
52, Week Thirty-Four - In California, the new Suicide Squad goes after the Black Marvels, and Waller gets what she wants. In Metropolis, Steel arranges to meet with Natasha and get her to think about why his powers are gone and what Lex is up to; someone injects Superman with truth serum to find out who Supernova is, and Lex, tired of seeing Supernova get all the acclaim, has a New Year's surprise in the wings for the nascent hero. And in Gotham, the end seems to have arrived for the Question.
A good issue, but one clearly dominated by the (almost certain) death of a minor but beloved hero. Vic Sage and his faceless alter ego first debuted in the late 60s, created for Charlton Comics by Steve Ditko as one of his libertarian heroes. When DC bought the rights to the Charlton heroes, Dennis O'Neil reinvented the Question as a man whose drive to find the truth led him to be both hero and reporter, and who was changed from an Objectivist to an adherent of Eastern philosophy. Denny and Denys Cowan's work on the Question ran three memorable years in the late 80s and is probably the best comic DC has never collected. It was that version of the hero who resurfaced in the 2000 Huntress miniseries by Greg Rucka, and again in 52. It was that version who had a small but loyal following for years. And it's that version who I will miss.
I don't feel this is a pointless death, though I do feel that there was still much that could have been done with Charlie Victor Szasz. He was used well in 52, and I think his legacy will be a proud one.
Gargoyles 2 - The second half of the introductory story, taken of course from the Season Three premiere of the old cartoon. With an apology from Greg about the comic's lateness. And some really good art (though not uniformly so). And very good pacing. If you're new to Gargoyles, I think you'll like this. If not, it's merely whetting the appetite for the new canon coming in issue three. But it's good to see old friends again, no matter what.
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 25 - So all those super-powered beings outside the LSH's HQ? Including ones named Polar Boy and White Witch? They aren't the Legion of Super-Villains. They're the Wanderers, an earlier, secret team of metas. And this whole Attack the Legion thing? A ruse as they recruit five new members to their team. All very clever and interesting.
Oh, and there is also plenty of Legion here, including Dream Girl, the freeing of Mon-El and a fight between him and Supergirl (looks like he used to know her), and Brainy being Brainy.
An entertaining issue but one that's all over the place. It will probably need two readings to get everything. But this book, warts and all, is on the short list for the best of 2006 (as is 52).
