This Week's Comics: Supernatural, Metal Men (plus DC commentary)

[sdelmonte]

Two months ago, I bought six comics the first week of the month. This week, two. What happened? I dropped Countdown (the biggest dud DC's had since John Byrne's Genesis minseries). I dropped Nightwing, which went from pleasing to dull in about three months. I skipped Detective, since Paul Dini didn't write the current issue. I dropped Dark Tower after issue 5 (though it didn't come out this week, late for the first time). And Buffy came out last week.

Which leaves one carryover from last month in this slot, and one new miniseries. Folks, it is just not a great time to be a DC fan. So many comics, and so much bad or bland storytelling. And with news that Darwyn Cooke is leaving The Spirit after issue 12, and concerns that Mark Waid's new job as editor-in-chief for a small firm named BOOM Studios will lead him to quit his writing jobs with DC, it doesn't seem like it will get much better. (For the record, Mark has said he's not leaving Flash or Brave and Bold any time soon, but fans like to worry.)

And yet, I still prefer DC to Marvel, as I just don't find the idea of spending all my money to watch the Hulk smash everyone and everything for five months appealing. Am I being too optimistic in thinking that Booster Gold will save the day?

Anyway, as for what I read, there isn't much to say. Supernatural 4 gives us more background about John Winchester's first days as a hunter, and we also learn about another hunter we met on the series, but without Jeffrey Dean Morgan actually playing the role of John, everything is a bit static. I appreciate that Peter Johnson helped create the backstory for the show, but maybe we would be better off having an established comic book writer do the script. Still, it does hold us over a bit till season three.

And Metal Men? Well, a lot of fans online seem to like it, which is rare for a DC book these days, but I found it a bit scattershot. Writer-artist Duncan Roleau has some interesting ideas here and is wisely trying to have fun with characters who should never be played too seriously. But Doc Magnus and cast are not nearly as engaging as in their appearances in 52, and I really had no idea what was going on. I might get the second issue to see if things get clearer, or I might not.

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I was wondering when you were finally going to post your commentary. Do you realize I've been waiting TWO WHOLE DAYS to find out what you thought of this week's comics? And to make it even worse, you've dropped Countdown! How am I supposed to enjoy the book if I can't read about why you don't like it?

Ahem.

That said, I haven't gotten too much into Metal Men #1 yet. I will note that I kind of miss the old look, and the earlier retcon in which the Metal Men turned out to contain the consciousness of human beings Magnus knew who had died in the lab. I also wonder how Magnus went from being "Veridium" to becoming Magnus again; I seem to have forgotten.

[sdelmonte]

I don't mind the new look - it's sorta Iron Giant-y and that pleases me.

As for the earlier retcon, is was dismissed in 52. As you might recall, Doc called it a psychotic delusion, something he believed when off his meds. I think that this was probably Morrison talking, but I also think that most old-school Metal Men fans approved. (I didn't read that miniseries, but I think that adding a layer of tragedy to the Metal Men really doesn't work. They are best when they are goofy.)

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I hadn't recalled the dismissal of the earlier retcon, but found info on it in Wikipedia. (I remember you once said that Wikipedia was good for things like comic book continuity.)

I actually liked the miniseries quite a lot. It opened up a lot of possibilities for where the story of the Metal Men might go next, and the idea that Magnus would turn himself into one of the Metal Men seemed quite logical. (It was also amusing to see him morph a tobacco pipe for his mouth...)

[agonistes]

I realized about two months ago that all the comics I'm reading are based on TV shows -- and are thus not much more than really good fic.

Well.

Except the DT comic.

Vertigo doesn't seem to be doing well, either -- their last couple of new comics have left a lot to be desired.

[sdelmonte]

As long as Vertigo has Fables and Hellblazer (the latter of which I starting to track down in TPB), I won't complain too loudly about the rest of the line. But then, I never really got into Vertigo on the whole.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Fables! Yes!

Hellblazer -- you know, I've always been intrigued by the thought of John Constantine as a character, but the stories they tend to tell about him usually don't grab me. Except for Dangerous Habits. Great collection.

[agonistes]

...and I don't know what it is, but -- the DT comic did come out this week, as did the last Battlestar Galactica comic, when jothra didn't get it at her store. Maybe my comic store downtown just has the hookup?

Or maybe Marvel and Dynamite are prejudiced against the northeast?