Pacino86845 wrote:Now, about #27, a question: What did Drummer mean when he said to Snow "I don't know how, but you knew," when multiple future versions of themselves started showing up? I mean, Drummer had predicted future people coming back to visit, so what was surprising to him exactly? That it was only future versions of themselves? My first instinct was that Snow's organization keeps time travel a tightly guarded secret, which is why it's only them that come back to visit.
Seppuku wrote:That particular issue didn't enthrall me as much as the others though, so maybe I'd have a better line on it if I'd paid more attention. Too much techno-talk for a humble layman such as myself. Otherwise, I'm right with you that it was a classic series, summing up 70 years of comic book history. Although it seems to me that almost too many comic books pay homage to the past, from The Invisibles/Flex Mentallo to Astro City to Watchmen to this, and I might have gotten a little fidgety if they weren't all so well-written. I suppose that's just because the writers were so damn fanatical about comics growing up that they want to recapture that unique silver age feeling that inspired them to get into the industry to begin with.
There were a few Planetary crossovers released, too. Mostly I feel crossovers just don't work, at least not outside of the main respective series. Either they become glorified fan-fiction with one fight scene stretched over the whole issue, or the characters of one side are given short shrift in favour of the others. I'd say the Planetary & Authority crossover was the former, while the Planetary & JLA crossover was the latter- with the Planetary crew actually serving as the villains of the piece (they're probably from some other corner of the multiverse, though); Elijah Snow was actually the one who shot Bruce Wayne's parents to death!. That being said, I thought the Planetary VS Batman crossover was actually really good. The Planetary team track a man down to Gotham City who keeps on accidentally brain-farting the world into some cross-dimensional flux or some such shit. There we get to see various iterations of Batman- from the Detective Comics' version, to Adam West, to Frank Miller's and more. And there were some definite sparks between Jakita and the Bat! I think it's worth reading if you can find it.
I think the main series could have been improved by moving Jakita and especially the Drummer's backstories earlier on in the run. Right up until the last few issues, their characters seemed to be totally overshadowed by Elijah and his adventures. Which I suppose isn't so bad, as he is quite the badass, but having the two secondary leads feel like, at best mysteries, at worst ciphers, was a little alienating. But Warren Ellis has always been about crazy feats of the imagination, and with issues like the one with the asteroid/spaceship and the "angels" he certainly didn't disappoint. He just casts off in throwaway lines wild ideas that most scifi writers would have given their front AND back teeth to have come up with.
TheButcher wrote:I just read this for the first time. It's cool.
Leckomaniac wrote:TheButcher wrote:I just read this for the first time. It's cool.
Read WHAT?!
Seppuku wrote:Leckomaniac wrote:TheButcher wrote:I just read this for the first time. It's cool.
Read WHAT?!
Check the subject title...
Leckomaniac wrote:Green Lantern Corps. #43 - I see. Well, that was anti-climactic?! Seriously, I am a bit perplexed by this choice. It just seems so sudden. I don't want to spoil anything, but this issue is not really what I expected...and not in a good way. I mean, especially given the nature of the story being told...aren't the events of this issue a bit ironic? I mean a story that kind of references how meaningless death is in superhero comics, containing the immediate ressurection of a character that died the previous issue? Way to completely belittle Kyle's sacrifice everyone! I am seriously baffled. This was just some bad storytelling. Made all the more embarassing by the talent on display in the title reviewed just above this one. It did kind of look nice though. The art is sure handed, as usual from GLC. And there are some decent moments, just saving this from being a complete waste. 2.5/5
Fried Gold wrote:Indeed. It completely cheapened the impact of his act. And it was a shame also that, up until that point, the book hadn't put a foot wrong in a long while.
Leckomaniac wrote:Fried Gold wrote:Indeed. It completely cheapened the impact of his act. And it was a shame also that, up until that point, the book hadn't put a foot wrong in a long while.
I have to question the removal of Tomasi from GL Corps. to that new GL title. Why change up something that has worked so well? Tomasi has been solid handling the Corps. why introduce a new element?
Anyway, glad to know SOMEONE is reading these things I write.
Leckomaniac wrote:Green Lantern # 50 - 51: I really, really, really hate when a cover spoils a big plot development. I tend to avoid the solicitations, so as to be spoiler-free, and a cover that gives the plot away is so frustrating. The cover to issue 50 was of Hal as Parallax. Guess what the big reveal at the end of that issue was? That Hal was going to become Parallax! Not nearly as exciting as it could have been without that cover. Beyond that, issue #51 has some seriously awesome art. Mahnke inks his own pencils in that issue and it really shows. Superbly done. That issue features some nods to the future as well. And also features a development that NEEDS to persist after Blackest Night: Orange Lantern Luthor. His exchanges with Lafreeze are priceless. 3/5
Green Lantern Corps. # 45: Hmmmmm. That was kind of...anti-climactic. If Mogo had that power, why the big song and dance? Why not do that the second they got there? This whole thing just seemed like an excuse to get some mileage out of Guy as a Red Lantern. It was cool, but hardly worth the long arc. There were, however, some nice individual character bits. And I admit that I am sorry to see Tomasi leave the title. He had a great handle on things. 3/5
Leckomaniac wrote:Blackest Night # 7: A reviewer for IGN made a good point when reviewing this issue. The gist of it was that the penultimate issue of an event tells a lot about how the story will ultimately be perceived. Up until this point, you are kind of moving along with the story hoping for the best, but once we get here we know that the warts that are still around are not going away. This is the story. Blackest Night's penultimate issue is a frenzied (one might say dizzying or impenetrable) cosmic soap opera starring a myriad of characters featuring a lot of abstract ideas. That pretty much is the story in a nutshell. There are times where I am spellbound by what I am seeing, but really can't tell you what the story is. There have been tons of character beats, but I have no clue how they all fit together. Johns just seems to have TOO many ideas. He wants to accomplish so much with Blackest Night and the result is that the book often feels bloated and fragmented. The Luthor stuff is a prime example from this issue. Is is funny and revealing about the character? Yes. Does it have ANYTHING to do with the Blackest Night story? I doubt it. And the way the panels just JUMP from action to action can be quite hard to follow. For the life of me, I don't see how people can just WAIL on Final Crisis for being "impenetrable" and yet rave about Blackest Night. There are elements of Blackest Night that I really enjoy. And the general premise is one that I am fascinated with. I just don't think the story succeeds on a very basic level. John has hit Morrison-like levels of cramming ideas into a story, but instead of concepts (which is Morrison's MO) he has to many ideas for CHARACTER moments. He wants everyone to shine. At some point, you need to tell your story and that is something I believe Johns is finding difficult to do. He can play with any toy in the sandbox and he wants to. 3/5
Fried Gold wrote:And the "trilogy" of Rebirth, Sinestro Corps Wars and Blackest Night has been a pretty epic undertaking.
The main criticism seems to be that the story lacks depth at times and that Orange Luthor had too much of the spotlight.
DennisMM wrote:I think you should pass on Flash, sir. I don't think Johns handles Barry nearly so well as he does Hal. They're going to keep him dark, I suspect, and that's all wrong.
Yes, I'm buying it.
DennisMM wrote:I got NO SUCH RING! Perhaps it's a UK-only promotion. Or perhaps it's a limited number of rings, one for so many copies the LCS ordered.
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