Is it? Could it be … why yes, it’s the return of the Best Thing I Read This Week. Apologies for the absence. I had a slight coma, but it’s cleared up.
So what did I read this week? I jumped right in with Green Arrow 5 because I noticed Keith Giffen wrote it. I love Giffen, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t love this. I didn’t hate it, though. I think the problem is that I like the idea of GA, but Oliver Queen is a terrible, terrible character. For what seems like the last 20 years there have only been two options for Ollie. One, he’s the head of Queen Industries but at odds with the company’s policies. Two, he’s on the outside of the company (for whatever reason), and fighting to reassert control. Both potential storylines require him to be a smarmy guy with a terrible hair cut, but neither of them is particularly interesting. Does anyone want to read about a heroic CEO? Does anyone want to read about a crusading former CEO? No – and that’s why Bruce Wayne hasn’t been in a boardroom for more than three panels since 1977. Right now Ollie’s stuck in the first storyline, and there’s a few hints that he’s going to lose control of the company — oooh, do you think he’ll end up on the outside looking in before this title gets canceled? He’s still smarmy, the hair is still awful and he shoots like 23 consecutive normal arrows at a dude made of toxic sludge before he gets the idea to use one of his trick arrows. Is this because he’s stupid, or just because there were 22 pages to fill? I predict Green Arrow is canceled before issue 14.
Now, Defenders? This is a book that should continue for decades — nay, generations. Matt Fraction ups the silliness quotient in issue 2 (retro-style Marvel house ads and shout-outs crawl across the bottom margin of each page, culminating in one that actually names the issue’s McGuffin when it first appears) but also keeps the tension pinned in the red as the team tries to save Prester John from the imminent threat of the Black Hulk, more properly named Nul. Iron Fist is a goofball, Namor and Dr. Strange have an almost collegial yet still quarrelsome relationship, and I don’t really mind Betty Ross’ Red Hulk shtick. I love the Defenders and I love Iron Fist, but Stephen Strange is stealing this book. How does he not have his own solo title? Here he’s witty and cool, and yet still able to scare the red right off Betty just by whispering something in her ear (what does he whisper to so terrify her? My bet is “I have also known your former husband, in the Biblical sense.”). Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson have a nice lucid art style, and as a persnickety old fart I appreciate Fraction’s use of older Marvel tropes such as Wundagore Mountain and the ani-men. I know DC has received a lot of press and a sales bump for the New 52, but the Defenders is the best re-launch of the decade.
Speaking of that whole DC relaunch, I’m still reading Static Shock, but this current arc needs closure desperately. We’re five issues deep and every one of ‘em has been some variation of “Static fights the bad guys, falls behind, pulls some science out of his brain to gain the upper hand, and we’ll see you next month.” Scott McDaniel and John Rozum: Wrap it up already. I’ve seen Static fight Piranha to a draw four times in five issues. Either the kid can beat Fishy-Fishy-Fish or he can’t. Besides, the subplot about Static’s sisters (both named Sharon) and their mysterious origin is much more interesting than another unfinished slugfest.
[CHAOS WITH ITS GAME FACES ON]
Elric: The Balance Lost is another comic book for which I’ve expressed some impatience. It’s called Elric, and yet we get about 3 pages of Elric per book because Chris Roberson keeps jumping time and space to show us what’s happening with the other heroes of the Multiverse, and it’s always a reflection of what we just saw happen with Elric. Issue 7, however, finally sees the story not only blossom into almost continuous action, but also bring together our two parties of Eternal Champions. The city of Tanelorn (think of it as the fulcrum of the Moorcockian Multiverse) is simultaneously besieged by the forces of Chaos and of Law, and now our heroes have to fight to save it for the fate of all the worlds. This is the book I’ve wanted for the past seven months. Vile Chaos beasts on every page, swords shearing them open, brother fighting brother — this is known as “shooting the works,” and it’s better late than never.
Dejah Thoris 9 is yet another ripping yarn by Arvid Nelson and Carlos Rafael, with Dejah and her pirate ally, Phondari, going in search of a lost treasure. There’s nothing earthshaking or particularly revolutionary about this series on the surface. It features a lot of pretty women in scanty clothing saving themselves (OK, that’s kinda revolutionary), lots of sword-swinging action and a strong commitment to issue-sized chunks of a larger story that feel more like a full meal than most six issue runs. There’s no padding here, no wasted pages or tedious recaps; it’s just action, adventure and beginnings, middles and ends. On second that, that is pretty revolutionary in this day and age.
Thor: The Deviant Sage 3 of 5 is also a touch revolutionary, but only in the sense that Robert Rodi’s script makes frequent reference to stuff that happened in the Roy Thomas mega-arc, The Eternals Saga, but offers nary a footnote nor editor’s clarification to cite the references. I don’t know how you could read this story without having at least passing familiarity with the Eternals Saga, but that’s not my problem — I’ve read it, after all. Thor here is suitably heroic not because he’s so mighty or divine, but because he’s humbled by the bravery of his companions, the Deviants Karkas and Ransak. This is the kind of Thor I like, one that’s not defined only by his brashness, but by every measure of his warrior spirit. Also, Stephen Segovia has a dynamic sense of page layout, which only enhances the majesty of everything that happens. I’m not sure why the out-of-continuity Thor miniseries of the past couple years have all been better than the main book, but it’s once again the case here.
We began this with a Keith Giffen book, and we’ll end with one as well. O.M.A.C 5 is nominally written with the aid of Dan Didio, but I refuse to believe it — it’s far too entertaining to be a Didio. Our buddy O.M.A.C. has to face off against Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., this month. This means carnage, mass destruction and the loss of one party’s limb before the issue’s up, and I couldn’t be happier. O.M.A.C. has been the surprise hit of the New 52 as far as I’m concerned, capturing much of the feeling of Jack Kirby’s original run while still charting its own course through the continuity. I don’t wanna say I was suckered in by a double-page splash, but there’s this double-page splash that depicts Frank and O.M.A.C clobbering each other simultaneously that immediately reminded me of those classic Hulk vs. Thing battles of the ’70s and ’80s; the fact that editor Harvey Richards urges us to create our own sound effects for the moment cinches it. O.M.A.C. is not only the best thing I read this week, it’s the first book in a long time that called to mind the loosey-goosey fun of DC’s Kirby era. I know many people will tell you that Animal Man is the best book in the new DC, but for me, this is it right here. It incorporates Kirby’s original mythology while bringing it into DC’s mainstream continuity, the art is divine and it is absolutely filthy with action every — single — issue. The collected book for this is going feel like 200 pounds of explosives packed into 112 pages.
-Paul
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