Blue's Comic Bag 07/05/09

Flash: Rebirth #2
I loved Geoff John's Flash run, I loved Green Lantern: Rebirth, but I'm not feeling this series at all yet. Before Green Lantern: Rebirth I only had the vaguest idea about any of the characters and settings and yet it made so much sense. Flash on the other hand, doesn't really have a focus. Barry Allen has returned, he's a bit boring, he doesn't really think he should be back either and... nothing really. There's no big 'moments' like in Green Lantern, no real set-ups or payoffs, no real world-building. It is simply Barry Allen hanging about and accidentally killing bad 90s villains.

Maybe it will take some more time to really kick off. I do generally trust Geoff Johns, but here it seems to be a story without any real driving force. Green Lantern: Rebirth was about the return of Hal Jordon, but here, Barry has already returned and it is about finding him a place in the DC universe, which hasn't been exactly thrilling yet.

I did think the 'surprise' ending was pretty obvious from issue one, but I have no idea where it will go from thereon in. Perhaps there is a chance and this seemingly cursed title will get good again.



Sea Guy - Slaves of Mickey Eye #2
I liked the first Sea Guy although I don't think I really 'got' it, but I'm loving the sequel. Morrison's skill is that he makes the absurd seem totally logical and sane. In this issue, Sea Guy is rescued by Tree Guy, Pea Guy and Three Guy (who is also Pea Guy and Tree Guy) and then becomes a bull-dresser in a coastal resort, facing bulls in the ring and forcing them to dress in women's lingerie. There is probably some sort of deep and meaningful subtext (actually probably not), but really I'm here for the ride and like Doc Hero, I just don't want to get off.



Final Crisis Aftermath: Run #1
The Human Flame is evil. Oh yeah! Bad to the bone like an evilly evil man. He punches women and has shootouts in kids playgrounds and burns the faces off police officers until they are screaming skeletons. Did I mention he is evil?

He is also hairy all over, covered in hair. Even his ass, which we get to see in detail as he races down the street, looking for women and children to kill.

I wasn't expecting much from the Final Crisis Aftermath minis, given the teams and pitches. And DC didn't disappoint. Matthew Sturges seems to completely miss the point, that the Human Flame was meant to be a rubbish, useless, harmless villain who got in too over his head in Final Crisis. Writing a series about him on the run murdering people and being hairy just seems... pointless.

Run. Run away from this. Fast.



Power Girl #1
With the exception of the excellent Jonah Hex, I have a deal with Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. I don't expect anything they write to be good in any way, and they don't try.

That said, Power Girl has a lot going for it. The art is fantastic, the titular character really needs her moment in the spotlight (and perhaps a more decent costume) and it is good to see DC trying to push characters who aren't the core cast.

Unfortunately it doesn't really work. There's no attempt to do any real characterisation, no motives, basically stuff just happens. I found it very uninvolving, very 'going through the motions'. Power Girl magically sets up a technology company and then robots invade and she is beamed up to a flying saucer. That's pretty much the entire issue. However there is a large focus on breasts and boobies and bums, so if you like that sort of cheesecake then this book is for you. Also that cover is terrible, Christ.

Props to DC for trying, but please try harder next time.


Irredeemable #2
Mark Waid is going for the slow burn here it seems, in a comic series about ‘Superman’ (or rather, ‘The Plutonian’) gone bad. Issue 1 seemed to be mostly generic teasing backstory, and once more issue 2 is a bit more teasing backstory. Nothing really happens, there’s no buildup or payoff to anything, and it doesn’t even connect to the first issue that well. I can take the idea of world-building but the pace is painfully slow. Which is a shame because the core idea is a good one and has worked well in the past. However without really seeing much, the Plutonian is hardly built up as a threat at all. But it is Mark Waid, so I will give him a chance.