It has been over 100 posts since I discussed the latest chapter in the DC reboot. I apologize for dragging my ass, like you care, but I haven’t really received any kind of Comments so I’m going to default with…if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
I thought I was going to have more time to cover the DC “outing,” because I was using it as my opening or lead. The lesson I learned, write faster! Instead, I will just jump into what this long delayed installment is about, the more adult yet not Vertigo titles.
With past posts, I’ve been going over all the traditional fare DC Comics does…long-underwear titles. In the Eighties DC took the plunge into more daring territory. Other publishers had been doing such stuff for years but DC and Marvel had the distributive reach. What DC succeeded at though was widening comics’ appeal beyond young men/boys and successfully courted young women who are the equivalent of the Philosopher’s Stone. Eventually, these titles were transformed into a new line called Vertigo. Sandman is the iconic book thanks to the Goth girl stereotype associated with it.
With the reboot, several have been brought back into the core 52-fold I think time has worked to their advantage. I don’t see DC toning down the elements which made Vertigo different: the violence, the language or more adult themes.
Swamp Thing: Before Alan Moore became the legend behind for The Watchmen and other more grown-up fare, DC gave him this title nobody paid much attention to. I guess they wanted to see what the Brit could do or they hoped he’d quit, leave superheroes to the Yanks and Canucks. The former happened and he exceeded everyone’s expectations which then transformed into the Eighties renaissance. What exactly did Moore do with Swamp Thing? He transformed the title character from a mediocre horror/monster into a force of nature, aka the world’s most powerful earth elemental/defender. Moore widened the scope of storytelling by taking a more intelligent approach and covering some things comics usually avoided…controversial perspectives.
Obviously Moore left years ago and sits on the sidelines grousing from the other side of the political fence from Frank Miller.
Moore’s (re)creation is in very good hands. Snyder and Paquette are a fantastic team. Their kick off entails Dr. Alec Holland transforming back into the Swamp Thing. If Holland refused, the world would succumb to the Rot which is natural force held in check by the Green and the Red. Being an Earth avatar, Swamp Thing is logically the champion for the Green. His job is just harder because his girlfriend is the Rot’s avatar.
Overall Swamp Thing is an excellent comic. Very adult storytelling, well-defined art and intriguing without being preachy about the environment. I often can’t wait to see what happens next month. I will warn you, I almost puked while reading the first issue when I saw how the Rot turns people into its agents.
Animal Man: Seeing how Moore shook things up, DC handed this and Doom Patrol over to Scotsman Grant Morrison. He transformed a D-list superhero into something equally interesting; and a poster child for PeTA. Unlike Moore, Morrison went on to write mainstream books for DC and Marvel and continues to this day.
Morrison’s revisions are in competent hands too. Lemaire and Foreman have brought Buddy Baker out of retirement by necessity as the Rot has reached out to kill his daughter. Seems Buddy’s little girl inherited his powers. Eventually she will grow to be the Avatar of the Red while Animal Man is a mere placeholder. In the meantime, Animal Man must get his family to safety, team up with Swamp Thing and then save the world.
I can’t see how one can get Animal Man without Swamp Thing or vice versa. These DC teams have done an excellent job tying the characters’ stories together without it coming off as a forced crossover such as the current Court of Owls (decent) or The Culling (crap).
Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE: First thing to eliminate. I know the scientist who created the monster is named Frankenstein, not the monster. For the narrative’s sake, the title-character adopted his creator’s surname, hence I will refer to him as Frankenstein from here on.
To those unfamiliar with DC’s long history, Frankenstein appears to be a ripoff of Hellboy. There’s many factors to back this: SHADE = BPRD; co-workers are monsters too; fighting supernatural threats. However, DC Comics really ripped off Universal by introducing Frank, Dracula, the Mummy, etc. as a special WWII commando group around 1980. The creatures continued to re-appear over the years in different incarnations and capacities. Grant Morrison’s recent Seven Soldiers of Victory miniseries incorporating Frankenstein would be the core foundation of this book: he is the uber-agent for SHADE, killing mind-blowing and/or extra-dimensional threats the JLA couldn’t fathom. Assisting “Frank” are his ex-wife the Bride, a mummy, a wolfman, a manbat and a “black lagoon” lady. Their boss Father Time, who currently resides in the body of a little Asian girl, sends them on the suicide missions to save the world.
Compared to Swamp and Animal, this was pretty weak yet the book grew on me after a few issues. Lemaire writes Frank as a morally strict, stoical being who feels that defeating evil is more important than sweating how humanity will never accept him. Now SHADE is being pulled into the war against the Rot. I think the fight is going to get more interesting soon.
All Star Western: I saved my favorite for last and this book was hard to categorize other than it won’t interest kids. It also costs a dollar more because the first two-thirds focus on an A story, usually starring Jonah Hex and the last third is a B story with some other lesser known Western character in DC’s catalog: Bat Lash, El Diablo, Night Hawk & Cinnamon, the White Ghost, etc.
Don’t let the horrible Jonah Hex movie from last Summer turn you off on this comic. Jonah may also be DC’s rip off of Clint Eastwood but the writing team Gray and Palmioti have given the character his own voice long before the reboot.
What changed in the new 52 was Jonah got more integrated in today’s superheroes’ past, namely Batman. When All Star launched last Summer, it began with Jonah arriving in Gotham City in the 1880s. Somebody hired the ex-Confederate soldier-turned-bounty hunter to find some kidnapped children. Helping him navigate the urban labyrinth is this goofy Dr. Arkham who blathers on about this new field called psychiatry. Overall, Hex and Arkham’s current adventures are a geekfest as they encounter the ancestors of contemporary villains (Mayor Cobblepot) and heroes (Mr. Wayne). For me, Jonah Hex is a more credible anti-hero than Catwoman or the Punisher.
The supporting stories are decent. They’re not terrible, just not great enough to warrant All Star to be a 40-page/$3.99 comic. DC might be hedging on two fronts. They want to bring back the old anthology comic books which faded in the Eighties; in case Jonah Hex runs out of steam, another character can take the spotlight while they recharge the publisher’s most successful Western hero in years.
This wraps up my long, long overdue endorsements for DC’s non-kiddie titles I subscribe to. These four I would put my money where my mouth is too, I completely stand by them as choices to spend on, especially with those who can’t get into long-underwear stuff. If you’re curious, ask me. When Somara is done with them, I will be finding new homes for them after bundling them into story arcs.
Next up in DC…I need to look over what I have remaining and I’m seeing a pattern, these titles are often victims of frequent rebooting and/or retconning: Supergirl and Green Arrow. I would like to incorporate the new Earth 2 and World’s Finest because they are inhabited by the Golden Age incarnations which were the biggest victims of the 1985 Crisis consolidation and every other “universe” changing event that followed for the next 25 years. Or I might take a break from DC, focus on some equally exciting stuff. The Doctor Who/Star Trek: The Next Generation team up finally started this week!