Jan 24th Comic RoundUp
posted by JediSheltie @ 7:54 PM
First, some... unfinished business... Ah, how time flies. Day late and dollar short, but I suppose if I didn't review this thing after substituting my first stab at "fiction" writing in a long, long time for the "initial" review, then I'd be kind of a jerk.
Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator
This story, for those keeping track, apparently occurs during the period after the B13 virus remade Metropolis into a real "city of the future". This was a bit interesting for me, personally, since the B13 story was the last big Superman story I read before having to take a little financially imposed comic "breather." That being said, if you weren't around at the time, Metropolis of the "present" is transformed into its 64th century equivalent.
Yet still there's some plumbing problems...
These problems tip off the Man of Steel to the presence of some Predators shortly after the Dark Knight encounters the same in Gotham. Both sets do not seem to be engaging in the "ritual hunt behavior", as Batman refers to it. The trail leads back to your standard newly erupting, formally long dormant volcano, where a bunch of people find out that, even if they don't engage in ritual hunting behavior in Metropolis and Gotham, the Predators still have a soft spot for decapitation.
Clark and Lois arrive on assignment from the Planet, seeking some recently vanished (decapitated) explorers, and Bruce arrives on his own trail (you guessed it- the dirt), and shortly the team-up action begins. Though set ostensibly during the "wary alliance" period post-CoIE / pre-IC, there doesn't seem to be much animosity between the two in this book. Not that I'm complaining, that's the one chief annoyance I always had with the post CoIE characterizations. I'm not saying they have to act like old frat buddies, but people with differing points of view can sometimes make stronger friends than people who just agree with you constantly. John Byrne and Frank Miller are hacks. (Yes, that's comment bait.)
Aliens are also there, but they don't figure much here, with the exception of some brief "cameo" action. I suppose I'll say "spoiler alert", but suffice to say, Batman discovers the Predators are a tribe that crashed on Earth a long, long time ago, whilst doing the whole, ritual alien hunt, thing, only to be cut off underground. Now, the newly erupting volcano threatens their home, and they were out on the surface looking for new digs. It's up to Superman and Batman to figure out how to rescue them, and even their little alien pets, before the volcano erupts. Oh, and the government agency charged with defending the Earth from aliens and Predators nukes the place.
In all, after a longer than normal wait, I'd say this was a mediocre outing at best. There was some throwaway bit of dialogue about Superman's powers being "reduced" because he's underground that made for a real WTF moment. Though it's been established in the past, outside of yellow star radiation, his body will slowly "depower", he sure as heck hadn't been underground for more than an hour. Obviously there's a bit of a problem, in terms of spinning a good yarn, that Aliens and Predators, on their best day, would be no match for Clark on his worse, but I'm finding that explanation a bit lacking. Jurgens' original Superman / Aliens story did have Clark depowered, but because he'd been out in space for a while when he encountered them.
The art was serviceable. Not bad, not great, can't say more than that. The dialogue was a bit stilted, I felt. I found the author's Superman a little too exemplary of the more naive 'do-gooder' that's just far too simplistic. Characterizations like that are why a lot of people hate the character. Likewise, this is the cold, calculating "distant" Batman, that, I suppose, technically fits for the time period. I recognize there are big challenges to a story a like this, I'm just not really sure the authors ultimately rose to meet them effectively.
Wow, glad that one ran long, because there's really nothing worthy of much recognition last week. One day I'll do a review for Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes, but I'll wait for a new arc to start. Of course, if Supergirl is really going to be out of the book eventually, then I'll be out of it as well, because I have not really become very enamored of the whiny little teen brats that populate it.
I'll give credit to Waid, he's kind of lucky in that he has a good editorial excuse to provide a completely different personality for Kara. In fact, all you that really dislike the angst-ridden Kara in the main book should pick this up, it's a little slice of Silver Age heaven for you as far as Supergirl goes. She floats through it, easily the most powerful of the bunch, always doing the right thing and never once questioning why she "should" be doing any of it.
Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator
This story, for those keeping track, apparently occurs during the period after the B13 virus remade Metropolis into a real "city of the future". This was a bit interesting for me, personally, since the B13 story was the last big Superman story I read before having to take a little financially imposed comic "breather." That being said, if you weren't around at the time, Metropolis of the "present" is transformed into its 64th century equivalent.
Yet still there's some plumbing problems...
These problems tip off the Man of Steel to the presence of some Predators shortly after the Dark Knight encounters the same in Gotham. Both sets do not seem to be engaging in the "ritual hunt behavior", as Batman refers to it. The trail leads back to your standard newly erupting, formally long dormant volcano, where a bunch of people find out that, even if they don't engage in ritual hunting behavior in Metropolis and Gotham, the Predators still have a soft spot for decapitation.
Clark and Lois arrive on assignment from the Planet, seeking some recently vanished (decapitated) explorers, and Bruce arrives on his own trail (you guessed it- the dirt), and shortly the team-up action begins. Though set ostensibly during the "wary alliance" period post-CoIE / pre-IC, there doesn't seem to be much animosity between the two in this book. Not that I'm complaining, that's the one chief annoyance I always had with the post CoIE characterizations. I'm not saying they have to act like old frat buddies, but people with differing points of view can sometimes make stronger friends than people who just agree with you constantly. John Byrne and Frank Miller are hacks. (Yes, that's comment bait.)
Aliens are also there, but they don't figure much here, with the exception of some brief "cameo" action. I suppose I'll say "spoiler alert", but suffice to say, Batman discovers the Predators are a tribe that crashed on Earth a long, long time ago, whilst doing the whole, ritual alien hunt, thing, only to be cut off underground. Now, the newly erupting volcano threatens their home, and they were out on the surface looking for new digs. It's up to Superman and Batman to figure out how to rescue them, and even their little alien pets, before the volcano erupts. Oh, and the government agency charged with defending the Earth from aliens and Predators nukes the place.
In all, after a longer than normal wait, I'd say this was a mediocre outing at best. There was some throwaway bit of dialogue about Superman's powers being "reduced" because he's underground that made for a real WTF moment. Though it's been established in the past, outside of yellow star radiation, his body will slowly "depower", he sure as heck hadn't been underground for more than an hour. Obviously there's a bit of a problem, in terms of spinning a good yarn, that Aliens and Predators, on their best day, would be no match for Clark on his worse, but I'm finding that explanation a bit lacking. Jurgens' original Superman / Aliens story did have Clark depowered, but because he'd been out in space for a while when he encountered them.
The art was serviceable. Not bad, not great, can't say more than that. The dialogue was a bit stilted, I felt. I found the author's Superman a little too exemplary of the more naive 'do-gooder' that's just far too simplistic. Characterizations like that are why a lot of people hate the character. Likewise, this is the cold, calculating "distant" Batman, that, I suppose, technically fits for the time period. I recognize there are big challenges to a story a like this, I'm just not really sure the authors ultimately rose to meet them effectively.
5 Polished Trophy Skulls out of 10And Last... No business at all...
Wow, glad that one ran long, because there's really nothing worthy of much recognition last week. One day I'll do a review for Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes, but I'll wait for a new arc to start. Of course, if Supergirl is really going to be out of the book eventually, then I'll be out of it as well, because I have not really become very enamored of the whiny little teen brats that populate it.
I'll give credit to Waid, he's kind of lucky in that he has a good editorial excuse to provide a completely different personality for Kara. In fact, all you that really dislike the angst-ridden Kara in the main book should pick this up, it's a little slice of Silver Age heaven for you as far as Supergirl goes. She floats through it, easily the most powerful of the bunch, always doing the right thing and never once questioning why she "should" be doing any of it.
Labels: by JS, comic books, Superman
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