The Weekly Fix for 5-9-07

A look at what I bought and what I thought. Spoilers abound!

Countdown #51

Look, I was going to get into this later, but… DC needs some serious work in providing context to its readers, and the first issue of Countdown is a perfect example. I recognize several characters and items from having read DC for a few years now. But I don’t recognize everything, and if I were a new or new-ish reader, I’d be lost.

Compare it to this week’s Immortal Iron Fist. The front page, in pretty standard Marvel style these days, tells me who Danny Rand is, then lays out the previous 4 issues. Even if I’ve never read the others before, this catches me up well enough to follow the story. Sure, it uses up a page in a $3 book, but it’s open to the idea of allowing someone to try it out.

Countdown 51, on the other hand, is a first issue. It starts the story off with action, which is appropriate; I think we’re all sick of event books that spend the first couple of issues with characters sitting around assembling a team or providing a lot of exposition. But what’s the harm in providing context?

Couldn’t Countdown have afforded a 1-page “opening crawl,” giving us the relevant highlights and outcomes of Infinite Crisis and 52? Maybe even Identity Crisis, since Ray Palmer comes up. I have a feeling answers are coming, similar to the way Infinite Crisis laid out the backstory in its second issue. Couldn’t they have done it with a few caption boxes? With Dini’s excellent “done-in-one” run in Detective Comics, I was sure he’d pack the first issue with relevant information.

I look at this and try to imagine it through the eyes of someone new to the DCU. I might have questions, but I don’t know if I’d have the patience to keep buying issues to get the answers.

Page 1 – a guy in a purple robe. I’ve been reading DC for a few years now, but I have no idea who he is. Am I supposed to?

Pages 2 & 3 – Okay, Darkseid I recognize. I’ve read about him in blogs, I’ve seen him in some of the animated shows, and I’ve read a few books he’s appeared in. Should I assume Purple Robe is one of his nameless servants, or something more significant?

Page 4 – Never heard of Duela, but she introduces herself moderately well.

Page 6 – Red Robin Hood? This one would be mystifying to people who haven’t been reading Batman and/or Nightwing for the past couple of years.

Page 7 – Jason Todd. Well, at least we have a name now.

Page 9-10 – Mary Batson. No mention that she’s Mary Marvel – just a hint with the lightning bolt. A new reader probably never heard of Mary Marvel; maybe they’ve heard of Shazam. I didn’t know who Freddy Freeman was until I Googled him.

Page 11-12 – This exchange between Heat Wave and the Trickster, by contrast, seemed easy to follow.

Page 13 – Since the “Piper” was mentioned on the previous spread, and since the Piped Piper of Hamlin is a pretty familiar tale, this doesn’t need anything else.

The last characters introduced without actual introduction are the Monitors. I think I’ve read about them in a blog somewhere, and I assume they’re tied into THE Monitor. Their role seems more or less clear, as long as the reader gets the basic idea of what a “multiverse” is.

I know it’s intended to be a different animal than 52, but… A look at 52’s first issue shows several characters discussing the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, including explaining about the supervillains’ all-out assault, the death of Superboy, and the missing characters. We get strong introductions to who Ralph Dibny, Black Adam, Renee Montoya, and Booster Gold are. It is jam-packed with context and makes Countdown look a little sparse.

That said, I’m keeping an open mind for now. I have followed the DCU from before Identity Crisis through now, so I don’t need as much to catch me up. I’m just hoping that the next couple of issues will have enough in them to keep me interested.

The Immortal Iron Fist #5

After a few exciting issues of set-up, this installment reveals more about what Danny Rand and the other Iron Fist, Orson Randall, are fighting for. It includes a Greatest American Hero-style instruction book and a sense that writer Brubaker is setting up an overarching storyline for the title that could last for years.

The issue is packed with the elements that have sold it as a great new title -- a big opening action sequence, mythology-building, and a heightening sense of tension as the stakes keep getting raised. Danny Rand’s explanation of how he gets around New York was different, though it made me think getting a Fistmobile might be more cost-effective. I’m not sure how Luke Cage’s appearance in this book – as a Hero for Hire, I take it -- jibes with the post-Civil War role he’s playing over in New Avengers. Great last page – looking forward to the next issue.

New Avengers #30

This issue is Part Four of the “Revolution” arc, showing us the New Avengers’ first adventure in the wake of the big Civil War. As much as I despise Civil War and many of its effects, I’m actually enjoying this run quite a bit. I think it has to do with another of my favorite types of stories – the hero as insurgent against an oppressive regime. I know, that’s politically charged today as America fights insurgents in Iraq; sorry. But I’m actually referring more to clear-cut heroic stories such as Robin Hood and Zorro and Star Wars. A lone hero or small band against a stacked deck of oppression, with evil lords and countless armed guards and the threat of betrayal by those you are sworn to protect. I’m a sucker for those kinds of stories.

I’m also a sucker for the way Bendis writes an adult Peter Parker. Hawkeye: “Saw you on TV $%#@ing up your whole life, Peter.” Peter: “I’m thinking about submitting the tape for Emmy consideration.” I may hate that whole debacle, but the line made me laugh.

It’s too bad that most of this issue is characters standing around Dr. Strange’s hideout arguing. It plays into one of Bendis’s biggest problems, the static over-reliance on dialogue. That said, I do enjoy the dialogue, for the most part. Beside Peter’s non-stop quips, we’ve got Brother Voodoo’s rebuke against the Civil War, another of Tony’s attempts to convince the friends that he’s betrayed countless times, and Luke Cage’s excellent re-cap of New Avengers plus a demonstration of why he’s the leader of this group. I have to wonder if Bendis has been planning to return to those early dropped plots all along and got interrupted by House of M and Civil War, or if he just woke up and said, “Oh yeah, I have all these loose ends to get back to!”

Does no one notice Spider-Woman clutching her throat after the “purity” spell?

Even the confrontation with the ninjas takes another couple of pages of dialogue first, and even Cage admits it was basically filler. It was nice to see a horde of ninjas actually being effective for once, though of course I don’t see it as a long-term problem. I’m not even worried about Dr. Strange, since I figure he’s got to be around for the Hulk to smash in this summer’s big Marvel event.

World War Hulk: World Breaker

Speaking of the Hulk, I missed last week’s Incredible Hulk 106 – I was still on the fence about another giant Marvel crossover. Once again, there seem to be too many issues. But this oversized book was just what they needed to get me. I’m still won’t be buying a lot of the tie-ins – I’m especially down on the Frontline concept thanks to their ridiculous put-down of Captain America – but I think I might be picking up the core titles.

“Casus Belli,” the first story, is just excellent. Again, it’s dialogue-heavy, but after all, it’s giving you everything you need to know in case, like me, you gave the “Planet Hulk” series a pass. Everything essential is put into place – Hulk’s motives and overall plan, his opponents and allies, and some hints at the problems that are in store. It perfectly lays out the anti- and pro-Hulk perspectives on each of his chief enemies, and it builds anticipation for throwdowns with Black Bolt, Reed Richards, and Tony Stark. As long as there continues to be something substantial behind all of this, I’ll be along for the ride.

“Round Trip.” A Mini-Marvels recap of the Illuminati decision to shoot Hulk into space. About the only thing I’ve read this week that was funnier was the World War Hulk publishing schedule in the back of the book. I’m sure we’re all convinced it will be finished in September, right?

Anyway, this story is almost worth the cover price. It’s got Hawkeye crashing the party, speculations about the danger of Black Bolt’s voice, rock-paper scissors, the brilliance of Reed Richards, Hulk and the devil game, and the sandwich that changed the Marvel Universe… forever! Plus, Mini-Hulk… cutest monster ever! Where can I find more Mini-Marvel stories? They remind me, in tone, of Sean Whitmore’s Fanboy Productions spoofs, using toys to re-tell some of the recent giant crossovers. I’m still waiting for Civil Crisis, though.

Although I wasn’t familiar with Amadeus Cho before reading “Mastermind Excello,” I feel like I’ve got a decent handle on him and how he might play into the crossover. A solid third story.

I also bought the first Criminal trade - Coward, and the new Y: the Last Man - Motherland. I'll review those later.

Dr. Wife and I are going on vacation for a few days. Will post when I return.