All in All

I haven’t done a comic talk blog in a while and so much has happened I should get up to date (I spend enough on these things, I ought to write about them to say what I think).

Infinite Crisis ended more with a whimper than a bang. I enjoyed the series but felt quite deflated at the end as despite everything it all seemed a bit rushed. Phil Jiminez was unable to do the whole series as promised and there were too many additional artists breaking up the flow and look of the book – whether this is because he was too slow and was putting in too much detail, or because editorial changes at the 11th hour kept meaning that they needed extra artists to cover the changes we’ll never really know. Where are we by the end of the saga? Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are all friends again but vanishing for a year to retrain (Batman), reassess her mission (Wonder Woman) or simply live life temporarily depowered (Superman). A lot of people died but the only one that people really care about is Superboy. The space mission seemed pointless other than to mess up a lot of people to give then a new slant. On the whole, I’d give it a 6.5/10 overall. Not a bad read but a bit of a letdown based on promises and expectations.

Since then it’s One Year Later (meaning exactly as it sounds) and 52 (filling the gaps to explain why we got to one year later. Reserving comments on 52 as it’s only just getting going, I’ll pass comments on the One Year Later’s I’m reading.

Outsiders. Team changes (Arsenal’s gone but we don’t know where, Jade is dead, Starfire’s lost in space, Marvel Jr didn’t really join anyway, Shift no-one even seems to care about. Nightwing’s back and we’ll assume it is still Dick Grayson, Metamorpho’s replaced Shift, Boomerang Jr has joined). Harder and darker but becoming a good read.

Aquaman. Complete change, far more (underwater sword and sourcery. The original Aquaman seems to have gone/changed into a deformed aquatic hermit and there’s a new kid in town. Raises more questions than it answers so holds the attention well but may not last past the first story arc for financial reasons. Great art.

Checkmate and Manhunter. Picked both up to see what they are like. Both enjoyable but again will probably only last a story arc as I don’t need this many new titles.

Wonder Woman. Relaunched with the lovely Donna Troy filling the role while Diana is away (but actually incognito as Government Agent Diana Prince). Not sure how I feel about this. I hate the Diana Prince secret identity returning and feel a little disappointed that Donna isn’t being a separate hero in her own right. Still she’s alive, getting good cover time, and is a strong contender to join the JLA, which she deserves. A wait and see title.

Teen Titans. Gone through the biggest changes. Superboy died, as did limbo Titans Pantha, Wildebeest and Bushido). Kid Flash is (temporarily?) depowered. Speedy and Raven left. Beast Boy joined the Doom Patrol with a disfigured Herald (now Vox) and Bumblebee. Who does that leave? Robin (a bit mad and secretly trying to recline Superboy), Cyborg (shut down for a year so not sure what’s going on), Wonder Girl, sort of (very aggressive since Superboy’s death) and newbie’s Ravager and Kid Devil. It’s a good read but really changed and I have to wonder if they are really the Titans I like to read these days or not. Watch this space (again).