Look At Me, Dropping A Title

Worlds' Finest No. 26
DC Comics
Paul Levitz, writer
Tyler Kirkham, Scott Kolins and Joe Weems, artists

I've enjoyed this title for 24 issues; former DC publisher Paul Levitz is a terrific writer, and he and his various artistic collaborators crafted fun, worlds-spanning adventures for his two heroines, one of which he created several decades ago.

Helena (Robin) Wayne and Kara (Supergirl) Zor-L were the secret weapons of an alternate reality Batman and Superman, respectively. These covert heroines aided the champions of the re-imagined Earth 2 in the New 52 continuity until Helena's father, Kara's cousin and Wonder Woman all fell at the hands of Darkseid's forces from Apokolips. While trying to avenge their fallen mentors, the girls were transported to the main New 52 earth.

True to their natures, the pair continued to fight for justice in this unfamiliar but strangely similar world while trying to find a way to return to their true home. Operating mostly under the radar of the new world's heroes, Helena became Huntress, and Kara assumed the name Power Girl. Huntress, created by Levitz as the daughter of Earth 2's Batman and Catwoman, has no super powers. Instead, she is expertly trained in deduction and fighting styles by her father and prefers to operate in the shadows. Power Girl, on the other hand, is much more outgoing and flamboyant, both in personality and habits. She adopts the public identity Karen Starr and begins to amass a fortune and scientific tech to help the pair find a way home. Despite having a public identity, Power Girl is much less concerned with hiding her costumed identity from those around her, much to Huntress' chagrin. Despite their differences, however, the two mesh well together, much like that other famous World's Finest team, Superman and Batman.

As much as I liked this title when it debuted as part of the New 52's second wave of titles, I quickly lost interest in Worlds' Finest's sister title, Earth 2, which chronicled events on the young women's home world in the absence of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. A new Alan Scott Green Lantern and Jay Garrick Flash joined established second-stringers like Hawkwoman and the Atom. Soon other heroes and menaces began to emerge. But the title differed too much from the previous incarnation of Earth 2 and the Justice Society to give me a true sense of nostalgia, and the writing and characterizations of the new versions of older heroes just didn't grab me on this title, despite Nicola Scott's always beautiful artwork. Since Huntress' and Power Girl's tales only impacted Earth 2 in flashbacks to their younger selves, it became easy to simply drop Earth 2.

Then came DC's latest wave of weekly series, all of which I opted to take a pass on. I am looking forward to the skip month Convergence titles that will be solicited while DC moves its real world offices from the east to west coast in a few months, and if need be to follow that series, I might pick up titles like Future's End and Worlds' End later on in trade form. But the concept behind neither of these titles seemed to have an impact on my favorite characters when they were announced. Then later, when it became obvious that they would at least impact heavily on Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest, I still didn't care; I'd already dropped Earth 2, and it began to look like Huntress and Power Girl would return to Earth 2 before long. Since I was no longer following the main Earth 2 title, I began to contemplate dropping Worlds' Finest when the two linked back up. And sure enough, the story presented in Worlds' Finest No. 25 and this issue do in fact bring the pair back to their own world, and I just didn't care for the story as much as before, likely because I was no longer following events on that world.

Most times when a title undergoes a major change in direction, creative teams or story lines, companies promote it as a perfect jumping on point for new readers. Equally valid, though, is the fact that most natural jumping on points also make very nice jumping off points, too. I've enjoyed these two heroines' adventures in a strange world while they tried to find their way back home. Well, now they are home, and while things are not like they remembered on their world, I've still seen them safely home and enjoyed the ride along the way. Unless something unforeseen happens to once again grab my attention, Helena and Kara are on their own again. They'll be fine; they've proven they can handle themselves.

(Now if only I could convince myself to just give up on the damn New 52 Green Arrow title, but more on that later.)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

Earth 2 0
DC Comics
James Robinson, writer
Tomas Giorello, artist

We are finally given some background and context for the DCnU version of Terry Sloan with this issue.

Not much is known so far of the history of Earth 2 in this new continuity. We have the Trinity -- or the Ternion, as they are known on this world -- of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. We also know that the two male members of the Ternion, Superman and Batman, each have a female sidekick or protege, Supergirl and Robin, respectively. If we also count Catwoman, Robin's mother -- And why wouldn't we? -- we have six costumed adventurers known to have existed on this version of Earth six years ago.

We learn in this book that there are two more. We aren't given a name or any details about the seventh costumed hero working to repel the hordes of Apokolips, but we know a seventh hero exists because Terry Sloan, the narrator of this issue refers to himself as "Mr. 8, the eighth and final wonder of this world" and "the smartest man on Earth."

For the first time, we see Mr. 8 fighting alongside the other heroes. We also learn that the people in the areas of this world that have fallen to Darkseid are not dead; instead, the citizens of Italy, Brazil, South Africa and Pakistan are victims of the anti-life equation, whose effects were first seen in Final Crisis.

Sloan decides he is tired of winning small battles while barely making any headway in the war against Darkseid. He determines the best way to deal a truly crushing blow is to sacrifice the people of these fallen lands, but he knows full well his comrades-in-arms won't like that solution. What's an unappreciated genius to do?

I'm Guessing Alan Scott Will Be The Lead Here

Earth 2 3-4
DC Comics
James Robinson, writer
Nicola Scott, artist

James Robinson is certainly playing with longtime readers' expectations in this series as several familiar faces are being used in seemingly unfamiliar ways on this DCnU version of Earth 2.

These two issues not only give us the secret origin of Green Lantern -- a heavy-handed affair just dripping with forced emotion -- but also introduce us to Capt. Al Pratt, the Atom. Pratt, it seems, was in the military during the Apokolips invasion of five years ago and came out of that conflict with some pretty fantastic new abilities. In the fourth issue, he seems to display super strength, but he has also been able to alter his physical size, growing to about twice his normal height. He has been working as a covert, powered agent of the military and is quickly dispatched to shut down the activities of Hawkgirl and the Flash before they have a chance to even figure out what they are supposed to do. So, is the Atom one of the good guys or not?

The bulk of the third issue is devoted to Alan Scott being given his powers and adopting a ring to focus his energies through. Scott, the sole survivor of the train wreck we saw in the second issue, is transformed into the Green Lantern by the Earth itself, being given the power of the Green, which would seem to make him this world's answer to -- Swamp Thing? Arguably, Alan Scott was the elder statesman hero of the Justice Society in the old DC Universe, at least since the Earth 2 version of Superman was wiped from continuity in 1985's Crisis On Infinite Earths. Several times during his transformation into the Green Lantern, both Scott and the emerald fire that represents his raw power refer to this world's fallen Kryptonian hero and the fact that Scott must now assume that role, becoming the Earth's ultimate champion.

These issues also introduce a new villain -- Grundy. The new character, an avatar of the Grey, the decay that eternally opposes the living, vibrant Green, has some similarities in appearance to the old swamp monster Solomon Grundy who frequently fought Earth 2's heroes of old, but he also closely resembles Nekron from the Blackest Night story arc in the old DCU.

Comic Book Revew Whirlwind

OK, I’m back again today, and as promised, we have a lot of comic book ground to cover, so let’s get started.

Manhunter 23 (DC Comics) — I really like this series. Apparently sales weren’t too good, as DC announced the title would be canceled after issue #25. Well, this issue promises a reprieve through #30 because so many fans protested the cancellation. This issue continues to explore Kate Spencer’s family history. The previous arc, just before One Year Later began, revealed Kate’s super-hero grandfather and the villainous madman her father was. This issue reunites Kate with her equally heroic grandmother. I won’t reveal who the heroine is for anyone who hasn’t yet read this book, but I must say one of the reasons I love DC Comics so much is their acknowledgment of the heroes who have gone before, familial ties to the heroes of today and the sense of legacy this creates within their line of books.

The New Avengers 20 (Marvel Comics) — This is the final installment of The Collective story arc, which picks up plot threads from the House of M event from last summer. I didn’t follow that series, and I don’t follow most of Marvel’s ‘X’ books on any kind of regular basis. I like some of the mutant characters, but X-Men just doesn’t hold my interest on a monthly basis. Maybe that’s why, but this story just didn’t hold my interest very well.

Captain America 19 (Marvel Comics) — I’ve always liked Cap, but these stories by Ed Brubaker are truly dynamic. It’s a little hard to place these issues in time along with the events of Civil War also running through most Marvel titles right now; Cap’s opposition to the hero registration act has led to S.H.I.E.L.D. declaring him a criminal, yet in his own title, he is clearly working with the spy organization, particularly Agent 13, Sharon Carter. But the whole Winter Soldier storyline and the events that have led directly from that arc are some incredible storytelling, keeping me coming back each issue to see what happens next.

Birds of Prey 95 (DC Comics) — I’m not sure how I feel about the most recent arc of this title. Chuck Dixon did an excellent job when he created this book. His departure meant the book floundered a bit until Gail Simone took over the writing chores. I don’t agree that only a woman can write the book since the main characters are all heroines — obviously, Dixon did it — but Simone was a great fit nonetheless. Most of the changes introduced as part of One Year Later, however, have also been undone as of the conclusion of this arc, or at least seem to be. So is everything just back to status quo? That seems to be somewhat of a letdown from such a good writer.

Fallen Angel 6 (IDW Publishing) — The relaunch of this title continues to explore the origins of the title character. The first arc moved the overall storyline ahead almost 20 years, but also gave us a glimpse of why Lee was cast out of Heaven. This arc continues to explore the origins of the character by picking up immediately after Lee was stripped of her divine abilities and landed on earth. It also reveals a bit more about her relationship and attitudes about God as her first “good deed” among humans does not go “unpunished.”

Marvel Westerns: Outlaw Files (Marvel Comics) — I was disappointed in this book, but I think that has more to do with my misunderstanding of what it was intended to be. Essentially, this is a Marvel Handbook edition featuring the Western characters from Marvel’s past and present. I would much rather read some of the classic stories featuring these western characters than just text pieces, and somewhere along the way, I thought that was what this book was going to be. I was wrong.

Flash (2006) 1 (DC Comics) — This wasn’t a bad story. I bought it mainly to satisfy my curiosity about who would be the Flash in the wake of Infinite Crisis. I don’t know that I will continue with the title beyond knowing this detail. It’s not that I don’t care about the character; I’ve followed some of his solo adventures and some of the team books on which he was a member and enjoyed them quite a bit. I’m just not sure I care that much about the direction this book seems to be headed, and I’ve been needing to make some cuts in the number of titles I buy each month. This one may be cut, again, not because it isn’t good, but just because I don’t care as much about it.

Superman/Batman 27 (DC Comics) — This was a fun comic. I’m pretty sure it was a stand-alone issue. I simply can’t talk about this one without some spoilers; it’s been out long enough, I assume that’s OK; if not, you’ve been warned. OK, taking Superman and Batman and putting them into women’s bodies has a certain adolescent charm. The male heroes having to function as women isn’t a new concept, but it’s not what sets this issue off so nicely. It’s the fact that the Superman and Batman team in this issue are the heroes from Earth 2 and the Huntress in this issue is Batman’s daughter, not Helena Bertinelli. It’s nice to see these Golden Age heroes in action again, probably for the last time as the Earth 2 Superman was killed in Infinite Crisis.

Young Avengers 12 (Marvel Comics) — This is another title that may be going bye-bye from my buying list. Writer Allan Heinberg has made me care about these young heroes and their adventures over the past year, but again, something’s gotta give and this is an easy target that doesn’t affect other books I collect. This issue is also a good jumping off point as it wraps up the Family Matters arc and the first year’s worth of formative stories.

52 Week Eight (DC Comics) — I’m still along for the ride, but this series is raising way more questions than answers right now. Biggest question right now is: What’s up with Green Arrow? This is only eight weeks; how is Ollie not in a hospital or dead from the multiple stab/arrow wounds he received in the last issue of his own book before One Year Later? Next biggest question: Who is this new hero they haven’t revealed to us yet? Third biggest question: I don’t care how mad she is, what is Natasha irons thinking going to Lex Luthor for help?

Batman 654 (DC Comics) — The conclusion of Face the Face, the first Bat story One Year Later. James Robinson did a solid job on this tale re-introducing not only Batman and Robin to the DC Universe after their one year away, but also nailed the characterization on returning supporting cast members Two-Face and Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon. This arc is well worth the bucks.

Action Comics 840 (DC Comics) — As great as Face the Face was, that’s how great this storyline started out. Up, Up and Away! reintroduced Superman to the DCU One Year Later. It started wonderfully, showing us a non-powered Clark Kent confident and at the top of his game following Infinite Crisis. But as the story progressed and Clark’s powers began to slowly return, the story seemed to lose focus. Luthor’s plan seemed desperate and not well-thought out. Superman managed to defeat him, but mostly through luck and brute force, not the clever cunning he displayed when Clark kent was all he was. This story started well but ended leaving me feeling cheated somehow.

That’s enough for today. I’ve got more books in the stack that have been read but not reviewed, but I don’t want this post to grow too large. So, more to come.