To be honest, I’m not sure exactly what to put here, or at
least how to start. The problem is, this
last month DC has been doing what DC and Marvel do best: a companywide money-grabbing no real point
crossover event. Every title in DC’s New
52 line has been preempted by Villain Month, in which instead of, for example, Batman 23 we get The Joker #1, The Riddler #1,
Penguin #1, and Bane #1. Actually, that’s
not exactly correct either. They are
actually The Joker #1 23.1 and The Riddler #1 23.2 … you get the idea.
This is all kicked off by Forever Evil 1, the first in a 7 issue limited series. The issue establishes the Crime Syndicate
(Earth-3’s villainous alternate versions of the Justice League of America) as
the crossover’s main antagonists and sets up Lex Luthor (yes, that Lex Luthor)
as a protagonist.
For a companywide crossover mini-series, the story here is
top notch and very acceptable (an acceptable version of an unacceptable
thing?). Luthor remains true to his villainous
self while displaying pathos and working as the issues protagonist. The issues other protagonist, however, an
actual hero this time in the form of Nightwing (Richard Grayson, the former
Robin, for the uninitiated among us) takes a firm second fiddle to Luthor and
in many ways seems a pale imitation to the characters usual portrayal.
The art in Forever Evil,
provided by penciller David Finch and inker Richard Friend, is among the best I’ve
seen in the crossover, but the centerpiece a four page wide single panel
depicting dozens of DC’s top villains is uninspired and such a letdown as to
have been a waste of space in the book.
What should have been a poster worthy entry would have been served just
as well by taking up at most (and I’m being generous here) a two page
spread. It is so far beneath the quality
level of the rest of the issue as to be jarring, taking me out of the wonder it
should have impressed upon me.
Other week one titles, where to me, largely a waste of
paper. I leafed through several,
including The Joker, a title that
left me with a bad taste in my mouth and my money still firmly in my
wallet. The art in Joker, was by and large subpar – even in comparison to the above
mentioned four page spread – and far undeserving of so pivotal a DC
character. The story itself was of such
an awkward nature, that I couldn’t even bring myself to read more than the
occasional snippet.
I have not picked up Darkseid
or Ventriloquist preventing me from
giving an honest review of either, but I have heard the former was of an
enjoyable read and the Gail Simone byline on the latter gives me hope for
it.
Week two presented few titles that caught my eye, of them I
picked up Harley Quinn for no other
reason than brand loyalty to a classic character of my youth – I did grow up on
Batman: The Animated Series after all
firmly planting both Quinn and Montoya in my list of favorite Batman
characters. Oh, but had I pasted this train
wreck by. The story – largely a sketchy and
convoluted origin – was unimaginative at best.
Harley’s origin was confusing, primarily due to her somewhat unreliable
narrator status, with the narrative of it sometimes at odds with the images but
more often just not synced up with them, like a badly dubbed Godzilla movie. Worst was the complete lack of any of the
character’s customary psychotic pathos.
Like Hannibal Lector, one usually finds it hard to dislike Harley. Even when killing people, Quinn is usually a
fun yet tragic anti-heroine, never more than one more beating and betrayal by
the Joker away from rehabilitation and a life of quiet solace for her past
evils. But always pulled back by a well
timed kindness by her puddin’. This
Harley, however, while looking the part of the lost little girl, is presented
as unredeemingly evil. The art on this issue’s cover, by Chris Burnham &
Nathan Fairbairn, far outshines its interiors by the abysmal Neil Googe.
Week three brought us several notable titles including Lex Luthor, which in retrospect I really
should have picked up instead of the horrendous Eclipso, and The Cheetah,
another book I didn’t pick up myself but have heard good things about.
I have to admit, as much as I hate CWCOs (companywide
crossovers), I kinda love CWCOs. And Eclipso: The Darkness Within will always
have a special place in my heart (right next to Marvel’s Infinity Gauntlet and Dark Horse’s not quite companywide Comic’s Greatest World). Eclipso is among my favorite DC
villains. Over the years, I have forgave
DC a lot when it comes to Eclipso: the ongoing series, cancelling the ongoing series,
completely forgetting Bruce Gordon in later appearances, Jean Loring. But this travesty, somehow written by the
usually inspired Dan Didio and scribbled by Philip Tan and Jason Paz, is too
much. Bruce Gordon is back-ish. He is apparently in the witness protection
program though cause they’ve mostly changed his name to Gordon Jacobs,
otherwise he’s still Bruce…love interest named Mona, solar energy expert,
supporting character named Dr. Bennett.
DC appears to have just wanted to bring Gordon back but thought it would
be too confusing what with Commish Gordon over in the Batman books. That irks me.
Either create a new character or use the old one…don’t both while
neither. Add to that terrible art and a lame
character redesign and we have the low point of my Villains Month experience.
Which brings us to
week four, this week. I had originally
planned on grabbing Joker’s Daughter,
but it vanished from shelves far too quickly (we’ll talk a bit about that down
below in a moment), so instead I was left with Ocean Master. Oddly, in a
week that also included Doomsday, Bane, Killer Croc, and Sinistro, I pick up a
book focusing on a character I care little about. Perhaps this should have been my strategy the
whole time.
This issue, with so-so art by Geraldo Borges and Ruy Jose,
was by far the best book I picked up all month.
The character was dark and cold, unmistakably a villain, yet he had the
pathos Harley was lacking in her book.
The story was inspired. It was
maybe a little familiar (I’m thinking of the Silver Age Sub-Mariner over at
Marvel as a classic example), but still remaining a worthy read in a sea of
issues that seemed to be more interested in murdering trees and making money
than they were ever interested in entertaining loyal readers and fans.
Now back to that vanishing from the shelves thing. As far as I can tell, as a whole, DC
drastically under printed these issues.
While I was at my regular comic shop today, at least four sold out, not
counting several that were already MIA when I arrived. I visited another shop to try to pick up the
afore mentioned Joker’s Daughter and
not a single Villains Month issue was still to be had. I’ve been told the shops
are also under stocked as well. Perhaps
this was simple under ordering on the shops’ part, but every shop in the
city? Or perhaps it is merely an
accident on the publisher’s part. But is
that an excuse? To under publish a minor
villain would be one thing, but Bane? Joker’s Daughter? Darkseid? Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I
know of several people with pull lists who didn’t get issues they should
have. Anyway, moving on…
Perhaps this crossover’s biggest sin is the covers: 3D
lenticular motion covers. My main
question is why? The speculator boom of
the 90s was full of foil covers, dicut covers, hologram covers, popup
centerfolds, and a million other gimmicky wastes of time. Why restart a trend that only caused its own
bust, when collectors – in it for the gimmicks and the hope of turning a profit
investing in comics the way you would invest in stocks – realized the new
comics were never going to be worth the money old comics are.
I can understand the business behind a CWCO, trying to get
fans to pick up extra issues that month, but this kind of gimmick is insulting
to fans – at least this fan – and is self-detrimental to future sales, in my
humble opinion.
But I’m just me. I
don’t speak for the whole world. So I ask
you, Fanboys, what do you think of the motion covers, of CWCOs in general and
in Forever Evil/Villains Month in
particular?
Feel free to give me your humble opinion, or even hit your
caps lock and yell at me, in the comments below or on my twitter @nerdisnewcool
Until next time,
Nerd Is The New Cool, signing off.
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