Showing posts with label Sinestro Corps War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sinestro Corps War. Show all posts

Thursday, December 13, 2007

This week's books (as yet unread)

The thing about the Sinestro Corps war is that it’s in a holding pattern now, just killing time. It was supposed to have been over by now, but DC saw the initial success it had and prevailed upon Johns to stretch it out over a few more months than was originally intended. So, the story remains the same, but we get such wasteful issues as last month’s Green Lantern Corps which featured an issue-long fight between Ion Mark II and Emoboy Prime. And not even a resolution. And we get scattered GLC vs SC battles in nowheresville America before suddenly relocating to New York City. You just KNOW that these elements got no more than a page or two in the original script, but now they’ve been blown out of proportion and the event has begun suffering because of it.

Simon Dark is certainly interesting, but it’s not that good. For one thing, it’s set in a Gotham city unlike any that we’ve ever seen before. What’s the point of setting this book in a shared universe if you’re not even going to take advantage of said universe’s preexisting elements? I’ll read it, because I’m mildly curious, but I’m not excited about it or anything, nor would I strongly recommend it to anyone as anything more than a curiosity.

Astounding Wolf-Man has been moving v e r y s l o w l y. So slowly that I can’t really recommend it to anyone looking to pick up a new book. I love the K-Man, don’t get me wrong, and am therefore reading this book. But it’s more out of loyalty and anticipation than anything else. I’m really just waiting for K-Man to bring the AWM into his shared Invincible Universe. As an agent of The Pentagon (parking in rear).

As for the resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul, there’s one huge problem that keeps coming back to me, and that’s that the ONLY functioning Lazarus pit in THE ENTIRE DCU is SUPPOSED to be IN THE BATCAVE! Recall a few years ago (Ra’s Al Ghul: Year One) when Bats destroyed every single one, only to be confronted with the reanimation of the dead and the refusal of the dying to actually die? And he realized that by destroying all the pits he had disrupted the universal balance? At that point, he figured that the safest place to create a new pit would be in the Batcave, so that’s what he did. Yet, others apparently have sprung into existence since that time, with absolutely no explanation! Continuity IS important, regardless of what others may say, otherwise, each story must need to stand alone in its own microcosm.

Booster Gold is GREAT FUN, but it's not for everyone.

Battlestar Galctica: Origins has nowhere to go. The show is so tightly plotted, with such a tight continuity, that no matter what happens in the series, there’s no possibility of jeopardy, surprise, or, therefore, fun.

Salvation Run has MAJOR PLOT HOLES THAT YOU COULD DRIVE A TRUCK THROUGH. Primarily, if the point was to exile criminals to another planet, WHY send them there in their COSTUMES WITH THEIR WEAPONS??? Makes no sense. Might be fun, but ultimately isn’t worth the read.

Gen13 #14 was AWFUL, so bad that it was tough to read through. Gail ripped the heart out of the series in her last issue, and #14 had the characters acting completely against their previous 13 issues of characterization. I’m NOT going to be continuing to read this series.

The rest of the Wildstorm Armageddon books have been really, really BAD, and I see no reason to believe that the Stormwatch book will be any different.

Captain Carrot has just NOT BEEN FUN.

The problem with Ultimate Iron Man II is that the original series was supposed to tell a complete story, but Orson Scott Card just couldn’t stick to his monthly deadlines and it ended up getting cancelled after FIVE issues! I see no reason to expect any differently THIS time around. This reader is STILL waiting for the long promised conclusion to the Alvin Maker series. Long delays like this make me start to worry that a writer will actually DIE before finishing the story. The Crystal City was published in 2003!!! And no word from Alvin Maker since.

My ongoing problem with New Avengers is that Bendis has been writing The Hood COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY than he was originally envisioned by BKV. I’d have preferred that he just create a new character, as opposed to butchering the characterization of an already extant one.

Top Cow managed to alienate me completely with its last Marvel crossover issue. That was teh SUCK, and following it I have absolutely NO INTEREST in reading any of their established properties AGAIN.

And is anybody STILL reading Countdown? Why torture yourself? A couple of times since dropping the series I’ve come back for an issue because of somebody else’s online review, and every time, without fail, I’ve found myself hearkening back to the “good old days” of Bruce Jones on Nightwing. That’s how bad it is.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Green Lantern #24

Green Lantern #24
I tell you what, if Infinite Crisis had been half as cool (damn cool) as this book and story, it wouldn't have sucked as much as it did. Why couldn't Johns have made this story the finale to Infinite Crisis instead of that awfully rushed ending? There were so many things in that story that made no sense. Yet, it this story, where one would logically expect the same thing to happen, Geoff Johns has taken several long percolating stories, from the original Crisis, to the Death of Superman, to Parallax, Rebirth, the recruitment of Kyle, Ion, and obscure Alan Moore stories, and has built them up into a cohesive whole. And by god, if that cohesive whole doesn't seem to promise to be cool. Damn cool.
EXCELLENT.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Green Lantern Corps #16

Green Lantern Corps #16
Wow. This issue is jam packed with action, and brings the Sinestro War home to Earth. Mogo ends up not being destroyed, and the Guardians, realizing that their Lanterns have zero hope of prevailing against the Sinestro Corps with their current tactics, decide to authorize lethal force. Hoo-yah! Now it's on, and suddenly this seems like a fight that the GLC could possibly win. EXCELLENT.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax #1

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax #1
That's actually not bad. It's just a one-shot where Kyle talks with and fights Parallax in the prison of his own mind. And then there's a twist at the end which rekindle's Kyle's sense of hope. Problem is, since his prison is one constructed by his own mind, or if not by him then by Parallax, why would such a detail even exist there in the first place? Unless Kyle subconsciously knew it to be the truth the whole time. I'm not going to ruin it, because this issue's pretty GOOD, and you should have the enjoyment of reading it for yourself. Even though nothing happens. If you're just in it for the continuation of the Sinestro Cops War, then I'm sorry, you've bought the wrong book. This book is a vignette. Nothing more. Sure, it takes place during the events of SCW, but it doesn't change anything. It doesn't even have any internal journey...except that of Kyle from despair to hope. And if that's not good enough for you, then, well, at least you know what to expect from this issue now, right?

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Green Lantern Corps #15

Green Lantern Corps #15
Not nearly as good as last issue's Soranik/Sinestro matchup, but still quite competent - for what it is: basically an extended battle sequence. "The Battle of Mogo". It's got a nice ring to it. And that's all this issue is. In fact, it's only part one of "The Battle of Mogo". And yet, it's still pretty GOOD. A host of artists manage to achieve a sort of consistency between their work - something I've never seen in such a collaboration. It works well. GOOD.
Interestingly enough, this entire event is based on a minor detail from a single issue written by Alan Moore a long time ago (Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 (1986)). That's not necessarily a problem. In fact, it shows incredible foresight and planning on the part of Geoff Johns.

Friday, July 13, 2007

Green Lantern #21

Green Lantern #21
That was really VERY GOOD. For the first time since either of these series began (Green Lantern Corps as well), I'm actually excited about the story possibilities. The Sinestro Corps was a stroke of genius. I'm surprised that nobody came up with the idea sooner. After all, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, just as every force in the universe, physical or metaphysical, has an opposite counterpart.
What I truly love about the Sinestro Corps is that Sinestro is not actually evil. What he's doing, he's doing to make the universe a better place. Some of the more powerful individuals he's absorbed into his Corps are evil, such as Superboy, Cyborg Superman, and the Anti-Monitor - although the case could be made for the Anti Monitor being the opposite force to the original Monitor, which would make him not evil, but rather a function of universal balance and harmony.
Parallax, on the other hand, seems to be evil as an entity. I think it's quite a statement towards the relative moral compasses of both Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner that even when Hal was Parallax, he still did everything that he did to, in his mind, make the universe a better place. Whereas Kyle, who accepted the Green Lantern ring because he thought it'd be cool, has no deep seated sense of universal good. And therefore, the Parallax entity, which is one of the purest forms of evil in the universe - unless harnessed properly - has overwhelmed his personality to the point where he's really, really, EVIL! For once, I'm actually looking forward to the next chapter in Green Lantern Corps.

And also, Jack T. Chance!!!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Green Lantern Corps #13

Green Lantern Corps #13
That's an ugly cover, but it hides a pretty GOOD issue. Finally, a basically done-in-one issue which wraps up the crazy Mogo storyline, uses the Lantern team of Isamot Kol and Vath Sarn more effectively than has been done since their introduction, and really gets the most out of Soranik Natu. It also has good characterizations of Kilowog and Guy and a well-done (re)introduction to Mogo's sector partner, a sentient insect named Bzzd. (See? I'm trying here.)

This is the kind of issue that should have been done a year ago. It sets up major Lanterns, provides a good introduction and plenty of face time, has them interact, and resolves a plot issue all at once.

Oh yeah, the resolution? Well, one of my friends said that he thought that Mogo had defected to the Sinestro Corps. Not so, but he was close - all the crazy shit on Mogo has been caused by a sentient fugus that is no doubt a member of the Sinestro Corps. Mogo defeats said fungus by maneuvering himself into the path of an asteroid to wipe it out.

See? I'm not biased against this series. When a book is GOOD, I'll admit it. I just wish every issue of this title were, too.