Wednesday 1/14/09

I have been busy/lazy.

Young Liars #11: Like I predicted, this issue made me want to pull out every single issue to re-read and make sense of. I completely did not see that twist coming, although it does make a weird kind of sense. I love how the narration even gives up and just goes along with it - that's exactly how this book should be enjoyed. Save the analysis for later, and just roll with the craziness. Like I've said before, this book reminds me of the days Grant Morrison comics made you feel like you were reading the rantings of a manic genius.
Predicted Rating: A; Actual Rating: A+

Gravel #8: It's weird to see Gravel caught off guard, and unsure of himself. This cautious approach seems so out of character for him, but it makes the issue work and sells the importance pretty nicely. I would have preferred Jimenez' on art, as I really liked his Gravel as this weathered, fuck-you-up-and-not-care old warhorse. Wolfer does a nice job, although his characters dont have quite the expressiveness of Jimenezs, which would have improved the story. Good, though.
Predicted Rating: B; Actual Rating: B+

Captain Britain #9: I'm not typing that damn title again. Poor Captain Midlands. Hopefully he isn't gone - I really enjoy his character and Cornell added tons of weight and complexity to what was originally a sort of one-note joke before this, which speaks highly of the man's talents. Solid ending for the story, great character work, and I'm looking forward to more. Slightly marred by the fill-on art, but not enough to ruin the book for me. Megan's face looks so Alan Davis-ish 'm wondering if it was traced, though.
Predicted Rating: B+; Actual Rating: A

Final Crisis #6: Let's get the rating out of the way:
Predicted Rating: A; Actual Rating: A; Fanboy Rating: D-

I don't normally weigh in at length about comics that have alread been discussed to death elsewhere, due to my pointlessly contrary nature. I like FC, and I hought this was a great issue. BUT - I thought it was a great issue as a Grant Morrison fan, and as someone who has read his Batman run. There were a lot of really great moments that worked for me on both a fanboy and critical level, and the mashup of artists didn't bother me in the slightest - hell, I could even say it works for the story, as time & reality breaking apart and getting weird is part of the plot. The various artists manage to feel similar enough and carry a consistent tone that it works fine. Doug Mahnke is the only one that has a different feel, but Doug Mahnke is awesome, so who cares?

Batman's death. OK, we know he's coming back, especially if you read Mr. Miracle (my favore of the 7S series, possibly due again to my pointlessly contrary nature). I think it's really funny the right after his body is shown on the last page, there's a big two-page spread showing Bruce Wayne apparently alive and healthy shortly after the end of this story. DC - your editorial department needs to get its shit together, yesterday. This is ridiculous.

Back to Batman's death. Like I said, as a Morrison fan, understanding how this series works and how Morrison's writing works, and how this fits in with his Batman run, the death works well. Reading this is a fanboy... that was awful. The character deserved more of a buildup to his death. Yes, I know he had a great buildup - but not in this series. The Event comic itself needs to stand up down the line. It needs to be read as a collected edition someday and stand up to future readings. This won't. It's going to read like an ungodly mess. It won't to people who read it strictly in the context of other Morrison works, like myself, because that's how most of his stuff is meant to be read and enjoyed. And that's cool, normally. But not for a major Event comic.

So: reading it as a Morrison fan and pseudo-critic, this was a great issue. Just reading it as a fan of the story who understands it (other than the multiple Earths floating around - please explain that, sonone, because it makes no sense to me_, it was a great issue. As a fanboy, as someone who just gets a visceral thrill from larger than life superheroics and turgid drama, this is hard to justify as anything other than a nearly total failure.