The New 52 Part 5: The Dark

            Well, after a two month hiatus, it’s finally time for me to be a complete nerd once again and finish up the first run of the New 52 and this time we’ll be looking at The Dark.  Now, I’m going to apologize in advance if this article seems a little lax, as their really weren’t too many lines in this section that I loved or hated and as a result, I don’t really have too much to say about them.  Not to mention I read a good chunk of these back in February before I got distracted by Mass Effect and had a good chunk of it written out then.  Unfortunately due to technical problems I lost that entire document and had to start from scratch and I was too lazy to reread all the first five issues of these comic.  I’ll also be including my thoughts on Issues 6-8 as they’ve all come out and it is necessary for my reviews to be valid.   So here it is at last.  The Illusive One’s Review of The New 52 Part 5: The Dark.

Justice League: Dark

            First on our list for the day is Justice League: Dark, and I have to say, this one really impressed me and is, in my opinion, the best line with Justice League in the title.  In the first five issues the plot involves various magic using heroes, anti-heroes and possible villains as they try to stop an insane witch from destroying the world in an uncontrolled fury.  In Issues 6-8 it crosses over with I, Vampire in which they help the vampire hunters of that series stop an ancient evil from taking over the world. 

            So, what works with this particular line?  Well, for starters, the art direction is good and the story moves at a decent pace.  The plot involving magic is fascinating and keeps the reader wondering what will come out next.  The story involving the witch/enchantress was good and kept the reader involved and the second part featured really great action and fantastic crossovers as the editing worked perfectly with I, Vampire.  The characters were also really enjoyable.  Whereas in JL:I they seemed a little to on the light side, and the ones in Justice League were unlikable douche bags, they had just the right amount here.  They weren’t anti heroic enough to where they came off as emo but still not light enough to where I thought they didn’t seem like people.  And that’s what works about them.  They do seem like they are actual people with real problems.

            However, there are some things that will probably keep some people away.  For as fascinating as the magic concepts are, it can get really confusing and at times a little overly complex, and at times you aren’t sure what the hell is actually going on and this does drag the story down.  While the characters are good, they’re another group of C listers and people may not be as interested in them.

All around the problem mentioned above do drag this line down and keeps it out of my Read section as I can easily see why someone wouldn’t like it because of those things.  But even with that in mind, it is the best story with Justice League in the title.  If you can get past the fact that these characters aren’t A Listers, or some of the confusing aspects of the story, then I recommend you give this one a look.

Verdict

Browse

Swamp Thing

            Holy Hell!  This one is good and easily one of the best of the New 52.  Now, to be honest, I went into this line not really knowing what to expect.  I was vaguely familiar with the character and knew that Alan Moore was involved with the early stages of the series, (although contrary to popular belief, he did not co-create it), but other than that, I didn’t know much.  But for a newcomer like me, this line was perfect.  It follows Dr. Alec Holland after he has become human again, (they never exactly explain how), as he is once again call upon to become Swamp Thing to battle and evil force known as The Rot. 

            As I mentioned before this line is great but there were three major things that sold me on it.  First was the mythology and the forces of The Green, The Red and The Rot and how they were all in constant battle with one another.  It was something that kept me engrossed the whole time and was nothing short of incredible.  The second was the protagonist, as he was incredibly compelling and you sympathize with him as well as his not wanting to turn into one of those creatures again.  The third was the villains and just how demented and evil they were.  The art work is also really good, with the gore and Rot creatures particularly grotesque and works with the comic perfectly.

            The only real issue some people may have with this comic line is that it takes a while to get started.  But other than that, it had great characters, great villains, a great plot, great art work, and great concept to tie it all together.  Easily on of the best of the New 52 and one that I highly recommend that you read.

Verdict

Read

Animal Man

            Next on our list is Animal Man, or as I like to call it, Swamp Thing’s Less Talented Brother because that’s the biggest problem with this line in a nutshell.  It basically has the same concepts and villains as Swamp Thing, only not done as well.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  As you probably already know this series revolves around Buddy Baker, also known as the Animal Man as he to battles the Rot for the Red, (a faction of nature mentioned in Swamp Thing), while also trying to deal with the effects his battles are having on his family.

            As I mentioned before, it ultimately comes off as Swamp Thing’s less talented brother, with inferior artwork and concepts that aren’t explained nearly as well or draw you in as much and because of this, you’re better off reading Swap Thing as it’s the superior story.  However, that doesn’t mean that this line isn’t good.  Buddy Baker is a compelling protagonist and it’s refreshing to see a hero who actually has a family and a life and real day to day problems.  The concepts, especially concerning the Red, are good, (but I’ll have to stay vague for spoiler purposes) and do keep the reader engaged.  There are also a lot of creature designs that are very Lovecraftian and I just love it.  And like Swamp Thing, a lot of the Rot creatures are grotesque and I just love the way they consume their victims.

            Again, it’s a good story but I would recommend Swamp Thing before I would go to this one.  On its own, it’s decent, but compared to the former, it’s just ok.

Verdict

Browse

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E.

            This series is a little odd to talk about because it has a very bizarre concept.  It follows, (and I am not kidding about this), the Frankenstein Monster as he battles various monsters and organizations for a shady government organization, (how many does that make now?) known as S.H.A.D.E.  The first four issues follows the monster and his team of mutated humanoid creatures as they battle extra-terrestrial creatures who want to consume the Earth, (how many aliens does that make who want to destroy and/or take over the world?).  Issue 5 follows a brief battle with OMAC, Issue 6 and 7, another mutant from Frankenstein’s past and an attempted elimination of S.H.A.D.E., and Issue 8 following the hunting of a creature unexpectedly close to Frankenstein.

            They made great use of the alien creatures in the first four issues and the various ways that they had to kill them.  The art direction is good as is the action and the characters are interesting.  The concept of S.H.A.D.E. is also a decent one but I’m starting to question just how many shady government organizations they can have in this universe, (by my count it’s around five or six).  I also like the way the stories are a bit more episodic and don’t really follow any apparent long term story as it allows the character to fight new creatures and the readers to see new things and I feel that that’s a strength in its own right.

            However the characters ultimately leave something to be wanted and aren’t nearly as fleshed out as they should be and we don’t really connect with any of them.  While I do like the kid of episodic thing they have it results in storylines that leave something to be wanted.  Their doesn’t seem to be any rules regarding the creatures, in terms of what they can survive as we see them go through all kinds of hell and get through it relatively easily and without much harm and this is something that I find really distracting.

            While this one does have some good ideas going for it, I really wouldn’t call it great.  I can’t exactly pinpoint what it is but everything about it just leaves something to be wanted.  But still, it’s a decent enough read and I’d recommend getting your own opinion on it.

Verdict

Browse

I, Vampire

            I, Vampire is a line that I find a little difficult to talk about because I don’t feel much towards this line, (love or hate), and what I do feel towards it is mixed.  The storyline follows vampire Andrew Bennett as he tries to keep his former lover, Mary Seward from wiping out humanity with her army of vampires.  And that’s really all it is in terms of plot.

            So what works about it?  Well, it has great action and the crossovers with Justice League: Dark was well done.   I liked the way they actually made vampires bad guys and had less in common with the vampires of modern pop culture.   The problem that I have with it is that it doesn’t really do anything new.  I just feel like I’ve heard this story before in a dozen different places and I just can’t bring myself to support it because of that.  However, the crossovers with Justice League: Dark in Issues 6-8 make it worth wile and the payoff is pretty damn good and you should read it if only for that reason or if you want to see more traditional vampires and Batman fighting off an army of them in Gotham City.  But other than that, it’s just ok.

Verdict

Browse

Resurrection Man

            I have to admit that when I first heard about the idea of Resurrection Man, I honestly thought it was one of the dumbest things that I had ever heard.  A guy who can’t die?  Well, you could say the same thing about any of the D.C. heroes.  They die all the damn time yet somehow keep coming back.  But then I actually read the comic and holy hot damn was it good.  It follows Mitch Shelly, The Resurrection Man who has no memory of whom he is and has the unusual ability to resurrect after death with superhuman abilities that change after each death while the forces of heaven, hell, mysterious corporations and government agencies hunt him for their own reasons.

            What makes the story in this line work is the great mystery involving the protagonist, who has no memory of who he is which makes him incredibly compelling.  You want to know who he is and find out how and why he has his powers.  The actual story arcs work very well, sometimes taking an anthology route and others that involving people who claim to know him and angels and demons who want to claim his soul.  It’s also incredibly fascinating to see how he uses all these powers and what he’ll have after he dies again.  Finally, the art direction is great as are the action panels.

            The only things that may keep some people away is the fact that the character is a D list one and their area few questionable design decisions, (wired fan boy pleasing stuff with hints of lesbianism).  Other than that, however this is a great line and, in my opinion, one of the best of the New 52.  If you can get past the fact that this guy is a D lister I highly recommend that you give it a read as it’s worth both your time and money. 

Verdict

Read

Demon Knights

            Finally, we have Demon Knights, a line that takes place thousands of years before events of most of the current comics in the Dark Ages.  The storyline follows Jason Blood and his demon counterpart, Etrigan and various other immoral characters included Madame Xanadu, the female Shining Knight, (although the character doesn’t acknowledge being a female so I don’t know what’s up with him/her), and Vandal Savage before he became a big super villain of the D.C. Universe and a few other characters as they try to defend a village from a massive army that is attempting to invade a nearby kingdom.

            Now you would think that given my love for series like First Law or the Shannara series that this one would be right up my alley.  Well….Ok let’s just start with the good.  For starters, the art direction is fantastic with everything looking amazing.  The action is also great, especially when the full blow battle starts in the later issues.  The characters are all likeable and fascinating in different ways, and I think it’s really cool to see some of Vandal Savage’s pre-super villain exploits.  However, it takes a while for things to get started and I found some of the concepts involving Camelot and Merlin to be more than a little confusing and felt that it could have used better explanation and the actual story doesn’t really impress me.  It’s just ok.

            All around if you want to see a fantasy comic line, then you could do a lot worse.  However, I think that if you want a good fantasy story, you better off looking for novels by Joe Abercrombie or George R.R. Martin.  But as it stands, this one is just ok and is one that I recommend that you get your own opinion on.

Verdict

Browse

            And that’s it for my look at The Dark.  It took me over two months but I finally finished them all.  But out of all of them, this one was the least interesting.  I mean, Swamp Thing and Resurrection Man were both great and I really enjoyed Justice League: Dark, but those aside none of these lines really made that big of an impression.  Not that any of them were horrible, but most of them were just ok and I suggest that you get your own opinions on them.  Next time I’ll be reviewing The Edge and from what I’ve read of them so far, they’re frikkin awesome so I’ll probably have a lot more to say in that article.  So until next time, this is The Illusive One signing off.

Across the Universe: The D.C. Stories of Alan Moore

            Well, I've put it off for as long as I could, but I have more comics to review.  Yea, I know I said not to expect too many of them, but I just can't help myself.  Who is to blame for this?  Why, Korsgaard.  That son of a bitch kept on nagging me and nagging me to read more comics until I caved in and decided to read The Killer Joke which has, in turn, led me to read and review even more Alan Moore D.C. Comics.  Rather than just review anyone of them in particular I'm going to review the stories from the collection Across the Universe: The D.C. Stories of Alan Moore.  Here it is and lets dig right into them.

 

 

 

Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything

            To put it simply, this is one of those “what if?” type stories.  In it, an intergalactic Darkseid knock off called Mongul send Superman a plant that put him in a kind of comatose state where, within his mind, his heart's deepest desires come true.  Superman's happens to be living a normal life on Krypton.  Most of the story focuses on his life their while Batman tries to figure out how to get this thing off him while Wonder Woman gets the shit kicked out of her by Mongul.  To be perfectly honest, I didn't care for this story.  I know a lot of people like the “what if?” premise for super hero stories and it was the basis for a Justice League episode but I've never cared for them, mainly because they do next to nothing to advance the plot.  That aside, the dialog was good and it was interesting to see what kind of a life Superman may have lead on Krypton but it just didn't entertain me the way other comics have and I don't think it represents the best Alan Moore has to offer.

6.75/10

Green Arrow: Night Olympics

            This is a story that I felt really lacked in depth and plot.  To put it simply, it's just the Green Arrow chasing down criminals.  That's it.  One's a petty thief and the other is an archer who mistakenly thinks he can go head to head with Green Arrow.  The only good thing I have to say about it is that there was some pretty good dialog in it and I think the thief's reaction to the fact that he was being captured by Green Arrow was pretty damn funny, (if you've read this story you'll know exactly what I mean).  Other than that, there was just nothing to it at all.

5/10

Tales of The Green Lantern Corps: Mogo Doesn't Socialize

            This is one of the shortest yet one of the most hilarious comics I think I've ever read.  In it, a young Green Lantern named Arisia is looking through the names of various distinguished Green Lanterns when another Green Lantern tells her a story involving one named Mogo.  The less said, the better, because the comic is so short that saying anything else would ruin it.  Suffice to say that the ending will probably make your jaw drop and laugh pretty hard and is more than worth the time to read it.

7/10

Vigilante: “Father's Day!”

            This is super hero that most people aren't even aware of but to make a long story short, he's a D.A. who goes around and fights crime out of court as well as within.  This particular story revolves around a man who raped his daughter and has recently been paroled, kills his ex and mainly deals with Vigilante's hunt for the girl and her father while the girl runs from the both of them.  The only major flaw with this story was the choice in super hero.  To put it bluntly his costume is kind of lame, his name just sucks and it just doesn’t seem right that a D.A. would do these kinds of things.  I'm not entirely sure why but something about the character just didn't add up.  That aside, it's a pretty good story that has everything from drug dealers, to hookers, to pedophiles and murderers.  It's not the best comic I've read by any means and a lot of the coloring seems off but is well worth anyone’s time.

7/10

Vega: Brief Lives

            This is probably one of the strangest yet deepest comics I've ever read.  It deals with a guild of spiders who try to conquer a land called Ogyptu.  The only problem is that there are two giant blue men in the area who don't even seem to be aware of the spiders' existence.  This is another story where the less said is better, but suffice to say it is an interesting look at time and how different creatures of the universe value it.  That said, give it a look because it's entertaining, and well worth reading and deep on the subject.

8/10

Vega: A Man's World

            This is a story that is....really fucking weird!  In a nut shell it’s about a scientist who is trying figure out just how an alien race made up only of men reproduce.  And the less said about that the better.  Suffice to say it has a hilarious yet dark outcome and like Brief Lives and Mogo Doesn’t Socialize, it's an ending you're not likely to forget.

7/10

Superman and Swamp Thing: The Jungle Line

            In this story, Superman gets extremely sick by touching a strange fungus that came from Krypton and slowly starts to lose his powers until he ultimately discovers that he is dying.  Rather than facing anyone else in this moment of crisis he decides to drive away from everyone he knows and die alone.  On the way he encounters Swamp Thing, who may be able to save him, if Superman doesn’t kill him first from dilutions caused by the fever.

            The only problems I had with this story were that Superman and Swamp Thing don't really interact with one another and it didn't seem right that he would just leave everyone to go off and die in the middle of nowhere.  However it was interesting to see a virus from Krypton and just how Superman would react to it.  That said it's an interesting that keeps you interested in the ultimate outcome of the story.  

7.25/10

Tales of The Green Lantern Corps: Tygers

            This is a story that more or less explains why it was the Green Lantern Abin Sur died and passed his ring on to Hal Jordan.  To put it simply, it's just him talking to these Lovecraftian looking creatures who tell him his destiny which leads to his fatal crash on Earth.  Saying anything else will probably give too much away but it should suffice to say that it's a well drawn and interesting story.  The only problems I have with it are that it was a little difficult to figure out what was going on at the start of the story and the drawing style was inconsistent at times.  That aside, it's certainly a story worth checking out if you want to know a little more about what lead to Hal Jordan becoming a Green Lantern.

7/10

Secret Origins Starring The Phantom Stranger: Footsteps

            Now I could be wrong in this, but I think that this is the origin story behind the character of The Phantom Stranger.  It reveals that he had been an angel who was forced to pick a side in the battle between God and Lucifer and showed the results of his decisions while a gang coup is being planned and a gangster is in an identical situation. 

            I'm still not entirely sure what to make of this one, mainly because I am unfamiliar with this character.  From what I could comprehend, however, it did show the dilemmas someone in that kind of situation could go through and was executed very well.  The only problem I had with it is that the story with the gang member is bit confusing and half the time you’re not sure what the hell they're talking about.  Still, if you're familiar with the character, I say give this story a read because it isn't a waste of time by any means.

7.75/10

Tales of The Green Lantern Corps: In Blackest Night

            Of all the stories in this compilation, I think this one is the cleverest.  In it a Green Lantern has to appoint a guardian in an area of space with no concept of light, color, or sight and this makes explaining what a Green Lantern is impossible.  Throughout most of the comic she's trying to figure out a way to get the message through while explaining her actions to the Guardians.  I just really liked the way it addressed the problem and showed how frustrating and difficult it could be and the resolution was just as clever as the problem.  The last good thing to address are the final lines in the story.  I won't spoil it but it will make you laugh uncomfortably.  The only major downside is that it was a little too short for my taste.  That said, I think this one was my favorite and one of the best the collection had to offer.

8/10

Batman: Mortal Clay

            This one is...a little weird to talk about because...well...IT'S JUST FUCKING WEIRD!  In it the third Clayface, (yes the third Clayface) ...um....well....it's all about his....married life...with....a manikin doll.  Yes.  You read that correctly.  His married life with a manikin doll.  That doesn’t even sound real!  It sounds like a satire of a Batman comic.  But such a ridiculous themed comic actually exists and it's meant to be taken seriously.  I guess the main point of it was just to show how nuts this character is and they do succeed in this but....it's just too weird to take seriously.  To me it just took itself way to seriously to be funny but was so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh at it.  Not much else more to say about it other than that and I'd only recommend it if you're in the mood for a really weird Batman story.

6/10

            And those are my thoughts on Across The Universe: The DC Stories of Alan Moore.  Some of them are good, some are bad but all are readable.  If you like this kind of stuff and are an Alan Moore fan then definitely check it out.  It shouldn't take long to read and is more than worth anyone’s time.  So until next time this is The Illusive One signing off.