Pick of the Brown Bag
December 21, 2021
by
Ray Tate
Welcome to the 2021 finale of The Pick of the Brown Bag. In 2022 I hope to keep a better schedule for writing these hopefully enjoyable comic book reviews. As a whole, I can't really say much about this batch of books without spoiling the surprises. On the other hand, that gives me the option to tackle more subjects for our 2021 send-off.
This is not the usual Sonya Devereux story. Rather it's probably the most meta thing you'll read in two years. It is after all the last day of 2021.
For those not in the the know or those that don't feel like clicking on the tag, Sonya Devereux is a fictional actress who stars in grade Z to B films. What you see in the book is a movie she features in. The guest stars in Sonya Devereux distinguish the latest issue from previous cuts.
All of the above ladies are actual scream queens from the horror biz. The director, a real director. Sonya Devereux a fictional actress knows the real, breathing actresses and director. That's not the only meta thing happening. Sonya Devereux reads like the literary version of a Russian nesting doll.
Even the plot is a lot more complicated than the average bear. All of the figures take part in a movie jamboree of terror set in a cosplay summer camp. Murders begin to occur, but don't expect a tried and true formula.
I can't really say any more, other than the art throughout matches the quality of the samples I included in the review. The writing agrees with the art, and the comedy is sly rather than overt. Most of the time.
Why on earth would I buy an issue of The Joker. Obvious isn't it. She's on the cover. Batgirl. The Joker is barely in the comic book. So fans the maniac may be a little incensed.
The story takes place in the past. Jim Gordon is relatively new to the office of Commissioner. He's trying to finish cleaning up Gotham, and he has a daughter to worry about.
Barbara Gordon is Batgirl. She's teaming with Batman frequently to take out miscreants like Cat Man.
Batgirl's brief battle on the rooftops is the best thing about the Annual. The Commish appears to suspect Barbara is Batgirl, but other times he doesn't. Babs is quick on the uptake to explain the bruises she sustains.
On the whole, the story's kind of blasé. First it takes place in the past. So, writers Matt Rosenberg and James Tynion cannot really accrue any illusion of threat to the characters. Second domestic drama between Babs and Jim just makes me feel old and tired. I miss their best father/daughter relationship Third Jim's one-Ness clean up of the Gotham PD lacks the verve of an average episode of The Untouchables.
Batgirl makes a peppier appearance in Nightwing, and artist Bruno Redondo alone can take this bow. No bones to scribe Tom Taylor, but compared to the previous issues, Taylor provides a simple plot to let Redondo do his stuff. Double splash pages and after image animation comprise that stuff. Impossible to capture fully with a simple scanner but you'll get the picture from this example.
Pretty sharp. Dick Grayson is wealthy thanks to...whatever happened in the Batman books. He takes after his adopted Dad Bruce Wayne and tries to make Bludhaven a better place in both his guises. Trouble is a group of hit men want Dick dead. Batgirl joins Dick's alter-ego to stop that from happening and save an important hostage. Done in one and only five to ten minutes to read.
Tom Taylor also constructs an entertaining Superman Son of Kal-El Annual. The story examines the duel between Lex Luthor and Superman, Father of Johnathan Kent. A lot of the dialogue and tete-a-tete scenes remind me of Christopher Reeve vs Gene Hackman. So good on Taylor.
After about ten pages, the tale jumps to the present where Superman is in space for...reasons. Supergirl is also in space for...reasons. Jonathan Kent is now Superman and protector of the planet.
For those unfamiliar with modern DC, Jonathan Kent is the son of Superman and Lois Lane. He was the little tyke teaming up with the Damien Wayne Robin in the Tomasi/Gleason/Gray era of the World's Finest titles: sometimes Superman, sometimes Batman and Robin. Always interesting.
John now defies physics as a teenager. Lois was young when John was a boy. She's still that young, if not younger, along with Bruce Wayne, who guest stars.
Awwww. Dude.
Look let's just say. Stuff happened, and it was either magic or bad science fiction that probably conflicts with the Grandfather Paradox. It irritates me, but let's just say that.
It's time for young Superman to meet Lex Luthor, just released from prison. Of course, it's not going to be casual. Lex announces his release with typical ego.
That however attracts some competitors that want Lex dead. This looks like a job for...Superman.
Right. After the fight Jonathan plays a game of chess against Lex Luthor.
During the game, John makes an appeal to Lex's genius, that's actually quite refreshing. Steve Pugh handles the lion's share of the illustration so you know the annual will be pretty. Artist Clayton Henry isn't a slouch either.
The entire Justice League turns out for the return of Wonder Woman. After the Infinite Frontier one-shot, Diana bounced through the afterlife and the multiverse. For her first arc, she teams up with the Viking warrior Sigfried in Valhalla. All of those chapters impress. Then, Diana walks through Olympus, fairy land--where you can see Jill Thompson rendering Wonder Woman again-- and a sort of limbo. Doesn't matter. She's back now.
Wait. I thought you were in space.
These latest issues of Wonder Woman detail Diana adjusting to breathing again and seeing all her friends. Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan write this opener with an appropriate light touch. The Martian Manhunter for example is about to polish off an Oreo cookie analogue when Diana teleports to the Hall of Justice. An affection he developed in the bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha era of the Justice League.
Perhaps Black Canary's reaction is the biggest surprise. I don't recall Diana and Dinah being that chummy. Of course, she's a sister and all that. Besides, I don't read Bendis. So, I don't know if he drew them any closer.
There's a lot of laughs and smiles in the issue. So, I'll certainly not complain. The whole world welcomes Diana back, except of course her Rogue's Gallery, one of whom caused some trouble in Asgard and features in the next issue.
The stories unfold at a pleasant, leisurely pace. Diana for instance may be eating lunch with Etta Candy, teaming up with Deadman to lay Sigfried's sword to rest or saving lives, which she does frequently throughout the run.
It's all less focused than the Asgard tales but more interesting than the in-between tour of the other mythical realms and parallel earths, that aren't the historical ones.
The very latest issue of Wonder Woman banks on Wonder Woman duplicates turning up all over the place. These duplicates are remarkably unconvincing. They also break too easy.
Still they leave behind a puzzle that's solved at the end of the chapter. Who is behind the duplicates? Conrad and Cloonan answer. Why is another question. That's of course Steve Trevor shooting the insulting image of his lady love.
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