POBB August 16, 2017

Pick of the Brown Bag

August 16, 2017

by

Ray Tate

It’s time for the Pick of the Brown Bag.  Welcome, I’m Ray Tate, the creator and writer of the POBB.  This week I review Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows, Aquaman, Astonishing X-Men, Batman, Green Arrow, Guardians of the Galaxy, Monsters Unleashed, Motor Girl, The Sandman, Sheena, Space Ghost, Superman, Trinity and the Ultimates. The condensed capsule reviews can also be found on Twitter: #PickoftheBrownBag.

The introductory issue of Sheena is twenty-five cents!  I shouldn't need to review this book.  You’re a fool if you didn’t cough up a quarter.  Look what you're missing.  All for one tiny quarter.

Does the style look familiar? Moritat embellished Jonah Hex’s new adventures in All-Star Western.  Still not convinced? Did I mention it's twenty-five cents? 

Sheena takes place in the present day and starts anew with the jungle girl being less sophisticated than the modern world Sheena of Devil's Due but certainly not stupid.  This is a satisfying blend of old and new by writers Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujillo.  Exciting, gorgeous and fresh, Sheena is also only a quarter.  What’s wrong with you!

In Motor Girl while Sam finds out her dire medical options and flashes back to the events that caused these problems, Mr. Walden attempts to capture a live alien.  The summary pales to the emotive drawings of Terry Moore.  You cannot believe how much trauma Sam endures in Iraq.

Even more than this graphic lends to the imagination.  You cannot believe the miniature one-sided war occurring between Walden, his heavily armed mercenaries and Bik, a largely innocent shape shifting alien.

Bik’s treatment instigates changes of heart from the cast members, a trick that Moore is adept in, and throughout the book humor and humanity keep it all afloat.

The Sandman returns but this isn’t a big deal.  The Sandman guest-starred in recent issues of Bug! His appearance wasn’t merely a cameo.  He played a pivotal role in Forager's return.  No matter.  There’s no such thing as too-much Sandman.  The Sandman is an anthology consisting of two new Sandman stories followed by four Jack Kirby shorts from Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen.  In the first Sandman tale, Jon Bogdanove mimics Jack Kirby’s energetic style while expressing his own.

You may believe I lauded Bogdanove first because the writing is subpar.  False.  I’ve been very down on Dan Jurgens lately, and Sandman is why.  Jurgens seems to be completely jazzed about Sandman and he transfers the vigor to the reading experience.  This is, I kid you not, a perfect Sandman story.  Sandman sounds authentic: selfless and dramatic.  It’s got Glob and Brute.  Jurgens generates humor through the bottled nightmares’ antagonistic relationship with the Sandman.  Sandman uses the Hypnowhistle. The story without the Sandman has a point, and it’s a fitting tribute to Jack Kirby.  With an aesthetic homage from a guest star.

I’ve said in the past that Steve Orlando is a hit or miss writer for me.  His Sandman is a hit.  A palpable hit.  This one involving Sandman’s frequent guest star Jed.  As is typical for Kirby, Jed was a long-haired lad similar in design to Kamandi, but Orlando brings Jed to maturity.

There’s the threat of deconstruction.  Orlando instead celebrates the boy inside the man.  At the same time, Orlando with artist Rick Leonardi, where the heck has he been, draws Sandman into a tale suited for the Kirby Dreamscape, complete with dialogue that's bathed in Kirby pseudoscience.

Jeff Parker and Ariel Olivetti focus their talents on Spaaaaace Ghoooost.  

Space Ghost is just fun.  The opening James Bond like gambit introduces and reintroduces Space Ghost to the familiar and unfamiliar audience.

The characterization and the exhibition of Space Ghost’s power neatly conveys his effectiveness and charisma.  From there, Parker introduces some new ideas to Space Ghost mythology.

Space Ghost never had a secret identity.  We never knew who he was, but that lack was never important.  Parker explained and identified Space Ghost in Future Quest.  The particulars were significant to his story.  Still, not to overall continuity.

Parker's history gives Space Ghost some extra depth, explaining the echo of substance that helped grant the character longevity, but in the end his origins and his name doesn't matter.  

Space Ghost embarks on a new story that’s integral to his makeup.  This tale neither bears the desperation or personal trauma depicted in Future Quest.  It's instead lighter.  More of an ordinary Tuesday in the life of Space Ghost where he bloodlessly foils intergalactic grand theft and interacts with Jan and Jace.

I misidentified the relationship between the three in a previous review as uncle, nephew and niece.  Though some articles refer to the bloodline, what’s aired does not.  Anyway, our heroes travel to Amzot to obtain the ore needed to power the remaining Space Force bands.  This of course means a meeting with the Herculoids, and nobody should be sorry for that.

Superman’s adventures rarely delve into the horror genre, but when they do, the contrast works remarkably well.  The bright and cheery Superman set against aberrant unnatural creatures often magnifies both sides of the spectra, and memorable entertainment results.  This issue of Superman is no different.

The cover to Superman gives the game away, and it’s a damn shame.  Writer Keith Champagne intended and treats the story as a missing persons mystery; its solution nestles in the territory of terror, grotesquely realized by penciler Doug Mahnke, inkers Scott Hanna and Rob Hanson and colorist Wil Quintana.

Superman is no detective, but as a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper, he is a sleuth.  With his extraordinary science fiction powers, he’s a remarkable tracker.  John Byrne frequently played with this idea when he reintroduced the character in Man of Steel.  Superman would utilize his extraordinary senses to investigate unusual phenomena, like Batman for instance, before using muscle or more overt ability.

Somebody is abducting children, and Superman vows to stop him.  My first thoughts turned to the Byrne Superman villain Skyhook.  It’s his m.o.  However, Champagne slowly peels back the veil to reveal something even more insidious, and illustrated Lovecraftian.  It’s difficult to find things that can match wit and strength against Superman, but the creative team takes something that I considered ridiculous and reconstitutes it as something wicked. More than a match for the Man of Steel.  Although the cover divulges the nature behind the secret, the actual monstrosity is still a nightmare, and you shouldn't eschew adding Superman to your bag even if like me you hate the concept of Lucky Charms Lanterns.

Aquaman was very strong this week.  For those that haven’t been following the underrated comic book…Trump-like Atlantean usurper Rath ordered Aquaman to be killed, Atlantis surrounded by magical nettles and artifacts of power collected.

Mera escaped Atlantis.  Her story is just as interesting as Aquaman’s.  Maybe more so.  Using her power to control water, Mera attempted to hammer at the magical shield, ending up threatening the coastlines and alerting the Justice League.  Batman offered her a home and a purpose in the League, which she accepted.

Aquaman ended up in the underworld of Atlantis, best explained this issue by Krush a mutant gang lord.

Presumed dead, Aquaman took the name Orin and eked out a living as a scrimshaw carver, but in secret he would become the Aquaman a spectral defender of the oppressed.

One of those oppressed is Dolphin, a Silver Age superhero introduced in Showcase and infrequent champion of the Bronze Age.  Krush exploits her against Aquaman in a brilliant scene where he confirms that Aquaman is indeed Arthur Curry, the supposedly Dead Sea King.

Readers should have had no doubt about Aquaman’s rumor of demise.  However, Murk, Aquaman's alleged assassin has much to explain.  

If Murk somehow secreted Aquaman among the living and not buried him like he claimed, then he’s been on Arthur’s side all along.  That should be obvious, but the way Murk comports himself makes him one of the greatest underwater thespians or a true warrior that nevertheless failed in performing his duty.

In addition to this intrigue, Throne of Atlantis architect Vulko escaped his imprisonment, and now allies with a rogue member of the Widowhood, a group of weird Atlantean women with quasi-religious motives.

Behind the scenes, Witchblade artist Stjepan Šejić replaced sharing artists Ivan Reis and Brad Walker.  Šejić's artwork uniformly creates bemusement amongst the characters.  This look I think facilitates writer Dan Abnett’s intent.  Without Rath in sight Aquaman benefits from an Errol Flynn Robin Hood atmosphere.  Rath is overtly political, but Aquaman’s dynamic with Krush and Dolphin though dramatic is humorous and given to swashbuckling.  Aquaman’s Sheriff of Nottingham Murk bumbles with less than adequate cohorts in the hunt, and Aquaman’s Friar Tuck Vulko meets another of the Merry Men.  The post Crisis creators and fans sometimes liked to parallel Aquaman to King Arthur, but he’s so much more at home in Sherwood.

Tom King reaches a penultimate point in Batman “War of Jokes and Riddles.”  I cannot really put down any graphics in this review.  Any one will spoil the bizarre turn of events.  What I can say is that once again Mikel Janin’s artwork is a gold mine of eye candy.  Janin’s take on the Joker in particular is notable for the villain's youth and an adherence to the classic look with a feel of realism exhibited by the original.

King’s story takes place in the second year of Batman, and this gives the writer the opportunity to rewrite the Batman mythology as he sees it.  King’s vision is unique and one that agrees with mine.  Even though I would have never thought to write certain characters exactly in his way, I say yes.  This is how they should have always been written.  

I love for example that King’s Batman and Catwoman don’t often talk to each other that much.  Their few lines of dialogue instead bookmark an almost telepathic understanding.  That communication says everything about their relationship.

Scott Snyder reintroduced the Riddler in his odd de facto post apocalyptic Zero Year.  I cannot connect King’s Riddler to that version.  There’s more disconnect throughout.  Penguin and Poison Ivy are the only characters that appear to sway with their counterparts in present day new 52.  Even so, they stand out in certain respects.  I look at King’s work as a total recreation of Batman’s history, and this issue reinterprets the persona of Bruce Wayne.

For King there is no schism between Batman and Bruce Wayne.  They are the same man, but Batman presents Bruce as something dissimilar to the truth.  Rather than make him an obvious foil or see-through opposite, King presents Bruce Wayne as a highly intelligent problem solver.  Bruce isn’t the playboy dilettante of the past, but a savior of Gotham City.  A traditional Wayne, for Wayne history is filled with examples of the family saving Gotham.  King owes a debt to Snyder for this addition, but he expands upon the grain so much.  Simultaneously, Batman is creating a ploy worthy of the Shadow that allows him to control the entire situation.  This issue of Batman gives the reader at least three different aspects of Batman/Bruce Wayne to appreciate.  In addition it is a pitch black comedy to imbibe with delight.

Green Arrow's hunt to end the Ninth Circle leads him to Gotham City and Batman.  

Green Arrow frequently guest-starred in Batman's titles, and in the Bronze Age, they were friends and colleagues in the Justice League.  This latest team-up is a little different because of the new 52.  Benjamin Percy combines several of the more recent elements in Batman stories, namely the Court of Owls.

Percy, adds philosophical arguments about the rich preying on the poor.  Yet, at its basic level, the adventure is really about the Brave and the Bold saving innocent lives from whack jobs.

Percy and his artistic cohort Juan Ferreya make Green Arrow an enticing blend of archetypes and giallo styled flourishes.

While there's political commentary, the pendulum doesn't really swing all the way to Green Arrow's argument.  Batman introduces a counter.  It's not money that makes people bad.  It's the people themselves that are rotten to the core.  Give those people money, and you give them a weapon.  The same is true in real life.  Donald Trump is the Nightmare Idiot.  On the other hand Angelina Jolie is a generous Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N.  The Court of Owls isn't so much the Purge.  The wealth of this newest flock is incidental.

The original Owls were the Nazis.  The current Owls are the Neo-Nazis.  Fit enough against the innocent and unarmed running through dark tunnels.  Piss poor when meeting a marginally gifted martial artist or a large enough crowd of outspoken protestors.

In Trinity, Batman calls upon Zatanna, Deadman and Constantine to save the Red Hood.  This is Rob Williams' latest chapter in his Pandora Pits saga.  Ra's Al Ghul and Circe have formed their own Trinity, although they just can't seem to find that third member.  Denied by Luthor, overcome by a freed from Jason Blood Etrigan, their latest foray draws in Red Hood and the Outlaws.  The villains appear to be increasingly desperate.

The newly demonized Red Hood attacked Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman only to be tied down to a table and given the supernatural treatment by the three Batman called.  

Batman effortlessly networks in the new 52.  Not only can he form a Trinity with a phone call, belongs to the Superman and Wonder Woman Trinity, he's also a founding member of the Justice League and the establisher of a new "street" level group, an extended Batman family in Detective Comics and finally the patriarch of the traditional Batman Family.  In other words, Circe's and Ra's people skills suck.

Trinity is a book that you cannot take seriously for a moment.  The promise of bloody entrails threats to Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman is so very unlikely to happen, especially when Ra's and Circe are in charge.  These two are so remarkably incompetent.  The Red Hood's possessed form is similar to the Mask, which is genuinely amusing.

Somebody's jaw is going to be sore when they wake up.

Williams' handling of the supernatural Trinity leaves much to be desired for.  Constantine is a libidinous parody of himself.  

Zatanna's role is to tell Constantine to shut up in nigh every panel.  Deadman just floats around.  By the time Constantine actually steps up, it's too late.  You already hate the shallow jackass in the first part of the story, and you don't miss Zatanna or Deadman at all.

Monsters Unleashed ends its first arc high.  Mole Man joined the Intelligentsia specifically to betray them and kidnap Kei Kawade, known as Kid Kaiju for his unique ability to draw monsters and giant robots then animate them.  Like so.

Mole Man wished for Kei to resurrect his dead monsters, but the Kid knew that would be wrong and denied Mole Man his wish.  The Intelligentsia--consisting of Marvel's greatest brainy fruitcakes--recapture the Kid and his monsters, miniaturized by SHIELD because Dum-Dum Dugan is actually Dumb-Dumb Dugan.

What she said.  SHIELD has been completely useless in this affair; unwittingly aiding the bad guys and facilitating a threat to the world.  The same cannot be said for Elsa Bloodstone, Kei's bodyguard.  Cullen Bunn has been amazing for her.

The Mole Man accepted Kei's ethical argument and decided that the world's a better place without the Intelligentsia in it.  So he throws in with Elsa and the surface dwellers.  This is perfectly within his historical mercurial characterization.  The combination of the two protagonists added with amusing events in the previous issues cements a hilarious and fitting comeuppance for the Intelligentsia.  

Replacing artist David Baldeon with Ramon Bachs doesn't hit the artwork, and I'm pleased that this kitchen sink book found a larger audience.

In Guardians of Galaxy, Darkhawks formerly of the Shiar Empire poisoned Rocket Raccoon.  He lays dying on the hamstrung Milano.  This is unfortunate for the Guardians since he's the only one that knows the ins and outs of the ship.

Rocket's condition catalyzes a recreation of the team's camaraderie from film.  When writer Gerry Duggan first started the series, they were on the outs, and this was to be their last job.  Peter Quill though is determined to save Rocket using the object of power the Guardians discovered during their fight with the Darkhawks.  He does this not for tactical reasons but because Rocket is his friend.  Which is so sweet.

The rescue creates a battle royal pitting Peter against a Darkhawk that harbors an unexplained personal grudge.  Guardians is moving, thrilling with the artwork of Marcus To and still damn funny with a conclusion that's perfectly Peter Quill.

Astonishing X-Men is written with a deference for those unversed in X-Men continuity.  It's a literate tale of super powered individuals related to each other in some way that must defuse a psychic's use of other telepaths as lethal weapons.  The protagonists travel to the astral plane of psychics for a mental duel against the antagonist in a dense artistic experience by Mike Deodato.  I refer to the X-Men as protagonists for the same reason the British government exhibits caution when addressing their presence.  All of the characters have been heroes and villains at one time.  That's also an example of the depth this story possesses.  Writer Charles Soule doesn't just examine the X-Men, he looks at the consequences of their history and the perspectives of outsiders.

Putting down a graphic does a disservice to the whole.  What I can pull is the revelation of the shape shifting Mystique as one of the travelers.

I can analyze Mystique.  This is clearly a version drawing more from the Jennifer Lawrence performance than Raven Darkholm of the Marvel Universe.  The story cannot easily be dissected.  Rather the art and the writing work together to create something fascinating to read.  

The conclusion, yet again, to the Ultimates is an awesome blend of cosmic and terrestrial dealings.  The Ultimates confront the High Evolutionary and the Maker, a counter Earth Reed Richards who injected the First Firmament into Eternity.  The goals were laudable.  The result was not.  The First Firmament--the First Universe--acts as a virus, and it in fact was the warden of Eternity.  The imprisonment of Eternity catalyzed the whole series, turning Galactus the Life Bringer, into a celestial gumshoe resented enough by the Lords of Order and Chaos to be rubbed out.

Though at first willing to listen to the remarkable weighted brainpower on the Ultimates teams, the Maker quickly reverts to type and recreates a suitable counter group to fight Galactus' team.

I never got into the original Ultimate universe.  I was quite comfortable in the Marvel Universe even with its slipshod explanations, but the way Al Ewing writes the Ultimate Avengers coveys to me their importance.  The Maker you see recreates the team too well, and he would have to.  Mere copies couldn't possibly beat the Ultimates.  They would have to be the real deal, perhaps even better than they were.

The Maker by performing this substantial magic trick flicks the first domino, and it is a series of dominoes.  Ewing's conclusion falls in elegant cause and effect fashion to retain what's lost and improve the Marvel Universe.  If you read his farewell piece at the end of the book, you'll learn of an alternate ending that he ultimately--see what I did there--concluded would be wrong given the fight.  He was right.  This is the only way The Ultimates could have ended to satisfy any reader following the book all along.

Ryan Stegman fully takes over the writing of Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows and he brings a new level of outright comedy to the book.  Mary Jane's busy schedule precludes her taking part in the story, and Stegman draws on the sometimes backup features for his inspiration.  It's Daddy-Daughter Day for the Parkers, but it's not Tuesday.  The Spider Family fights the Lizard, plus one.

Stegman brings the Lizard's arc to fruition.  Simultaneously he imbues sympathy to Curt Connor's plight.  It's important that the Lizard wasn't the cause of this mishap.  The Lizard originally was a victim.  He never set out to become a monster.  His goal was humane.  The best Lizard stories build on the source material.  The worst turn the Lizard into a mere beast.  The battle pitting spider and lizard juxtaposes with Norman Osborn's birthday and his life as the heir to the Green Goblin.

Stegman surprised me with his knowledge of Spider-Man history.  I know that Marvel doesn't throw out anything, even when they should, but I didn't expect Stegman to reflect on the death of the second Green Goblin and his heroism.  Harry Osborn was another victim in the Spider-Man mythology.  He was psychologically damaged by his father, the true villain of the piece Norman Osborn.  Stegman uses this moment in time to establish conflict in young Norman's mind.  He so wants to be loved, but he can't experience it properly.  For a moment he seems to recognize reason, but Stegman quickly and plausibly turns that epiphany on its ear for a stirring cliffhanger.