Multiversity: Mastermen #1

What an open. I’m certain that I’ve never read a comic where the opening shot was Adolf Hitler reading a comic and crying on the toilet. Holy cow. That’s a statement!

We’ll lead off with the artwork, because it is pretty rare to see Jim Lee drawing a full comic these days, and I believe this is the first time Lee has worked with Grant Morrison. (Or am I forgetting a previous collaboration?) Lee does a nice job with the art, as always. His redesigns for the Nazi Justice League aren’t off-the wall creative, but they certainly get the point across. I particularly enjoyed the blonde and Aryan Wonder Woman. Most interesting to me is seeing Leatherwing, the evil Batman. Even that variant makes me miss seeing Lee’s dynamic Batman in action regularly.

Morrison comes out with a bit of nature vs. nurture here. The Nazis raised this alternate Superman into Overman; an evil tyrant. Yet as we see him age into adulthood, he clearly retains some of Superman’s inherent goodness. He has done some bad things and supported the wrong side, but it clearly weighs on his soul. It’s neat that Morrison loves Superman enough to write him like this.

As for the Freedom Fighters? Uncle Sam is more of a rebellious leader representing a forgotten America. The Human Bomb gets a few moments to shine. The rest of the team is reduced to one (admittedly cool) splash page. That’s OK, this is a book starring villains, where the heroes get the page count reserved for antagonists.

Should I be embarrassed that I think I finally understand the structure of these Morrison Multiversity books? Let’s start with the obvious; each issue shows us a glimpse of an alternate Earth, complete with its own set of super heroes. And again, it is obvious that at least one member of the Gentry will show up, sewing chaos and discord on that Earth. What is unclear to me is the role the multiple versions of Dr. Sivana serve. Is Sivana working for the Gentry? Do the Gentry work for him? Is Sivana incidental or integral to the greater Multiversity plot?

Now, for the first few issues, I was annoyed at the cliffhanger endings. In almost every case, the book ends with an apocalyptic scene clearly caused by the Gentry. SOS had the huge invasion. Justice League Me had the Superman robots turning on humanity. And this issue has the Nazi League satellite crashing into Metropolis as the world is tossed into chaos. Each issue ends at about the same point, with little to no resolution for that issue’s plot. I had hoped to see some sort of progression as we moved along, but I don’t’ think we are going to get it. Instead, I think the true conclusion will be in Multiversity #2 (much like the structure of Seven Soldiers). That leaves me with one big question: Will we even see these characters again at all? Will they play a part in Multiversity #2? Will we just follow President Superman and Nix Utoan? I’m curious.

So, like the other Multiversity issues, this is a glimpse of an interesting world with unique takes on the DCU’s heroes and villains. And just like every other issue of Multiversity, I am left wanting more. I want to know how the story ends.  

This is a FAIR comic; I just wish I had more of the story. Even when the set up is simpler than most of the other Multiversity titles, I’m still more interested in this than the new 52.

Multiversity: Thunderworld #1

Once again, Multiversity and Grant Morrison deliver a comic that I wish I could be reading every month. Let’s face it; each and every issue of Multiversity has given us a book superior to many of the monthly comics published by DC comics every month. But while many of the Multiversity issues have been good, a lot of my enjoyment has been conditional. There have been some big issues that kept me from loving the issue as-is. With Thunderworld, I have no such problems.

Morrison’s Captain Marvel is a smart and dynamic hero in a world full of excitement. Morrison dodges the gritty, modern sensibilities that Geoff Johns emphasized in his modern reboot. Instead, Morrison embraces the joy, optimism, and excitement that happens when a little boy, his sister, and his friend transform into the world’s mightiest mortals.

Focusing on the Sivana Family rather than Black Adam, Morrison leaves plenty of concepts un-mined for future follow-ups (that I can only dream about). The alliance of Sinvanas from multiple dimensions is handled so well that I found myself amused and spooked while reading the same panel. It is hard to laugh at the spooky, murderous Sivana who seems obsessed with Mary Marvel after only a glimpse. (That is probably the New 52 Sivana. Seems about right, doesn’t it?)

Cameron Stewart’s bright artwork works perfectly with the classic tone of the story. Stewart gets to really show off when the villains of the monster society show up. Mr. Mind, Sobek, and more show up looking threatening, but at the same time each of them could have just stepped from a well-drawn Saturday morning cartoon. I’m also tremendously pleased with the backgrounds. Stewart makes Fawcett City and the Rock of Eternity feel like fantastic places I want to visit. The locations almost steal the show from the tremendous figure work!

This is another GOOD issue that just reminds me that I used to love DC comics. Can I hope that after Convergence we might get some new monthlies set on these alternate Earths? I really want to read about these characters again. 

Multiversity: Pax Americana #1

Well, no one can accuse Grant Morrison of pandering. I consider myself a fairly sophisticated comic book reader, but this was a difficult comic to get through. In addition to the unique presentation of the story (Morrison starts at the end and works backwards), the art is a challenge as well. I noticed that the sense of motion on the page was unique, but it took interviews for me to realize that Morrison was explicit in his instruction to artist Frank Quitely. Most if not all of the pages lay the motion out in a figure-eight style; infinity on a comic page.

There are a few ties to the overall Multiversity plot, but more than any of the other one-shots so far, Morrison seems to be telling a self-contained, experimental story. Clearly, Morrison is challenging himself (and his readers) with this one-shot. That might even be more of the goal than furthering the Multiversity core plot.

I have a ton of affection for both of the “sources” for this issue. I love the Watchmen; it blew my mind when I first read it. It obviously still holds up as one of the best stories ever. But at the same time, I have sort of moved away from the dour, grim, and depressing attitude that permeates its pages. Alan Moore’s intellectual exploration doesn’t accept much of the inherent joy of super-hero comics. And that is the tone that Morrison is directly channeling here. Captain Atom isn’t really Captain Atom in any way I recognize. He’s totally the distant, thoughtful Doctor Manhattan.

That brings me to the other source. The Charlton super-heroes. My exposure to them began in DC comics, the versions of the characters we see here are in no way related to their DCU counterparts. They have the same mental afflictions, guilt, and neurosis of the Watchmen. It is almost painful seeing Quitely’s beautiful take on Blue Beetle, Nightshade, and Peacemaker, but to see the characters in such a unique and off-putting presentation. This is Rorschach, not the Question. This is Nite Owl, not Blue Beetle. Heck, in a world that produced a million Before Watchmen titles, I wonder why DC didn’t just make an Earth-Smiley for the Watchmen to live on.

This is a challenging, challenging read. Much like the issue of Earth-Me, this comic takes characters I am very fond of and presents them in a way that really leaves me wanting more. This is good stuff. The story is interesting. The art is absolutely wonderful and immersive. But man, am I the only one who finished this and thought “man, I’d really like to read about these characters in a normal book?”

So I probably sound like a moron. I can accept that. This is a comic that simply must be re-read in order to understand Morrison’s message (or even get close). I understand sales were insane at my comic shop, I wonder how most people responded to this? Surely the average new 52 fan isn’t keen on treating a comic book like a college-level English discourse?

This is a GOOD comic, because it is so challenging. But I can’t give it an EXCELLENT, because Morrison is determined to make me work while I read. This comic isn’t one for relaxing and unwinding. You’d better bring some paper to take notes. 

Multiversity: The Just #1

For Halloween, let’s review a comic that really scared me! Grant Morrison’s Multiversity: The Just #1 scared the heck out of me because it reminded me how OLD I am!

Whatever else the new 52 has done, it really made me forget about a lot of my old favorites. I’m in the generation that had Wally West as Flash, Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern, and Connor Hawke as Green Arrow. Alpha Centurion was a rival to Superman. There are dozens of cameos of characters that I like more than their counterparts in the New 52. Max Mercury. Steel. Argus.Tempest. Heck, even Artemis as Wonder Woman is OK by me!

So yeah, this book made me feel really old because it made me miss characters and versions of characters I know we’ll never see again. Sure, it also has Chris Kent and Damian Wayne as the new Super-Sons, and Alexis Luthor mixing things up, and they aren’t flashes from my past like the rest, but they fit in well with the story. I know the Super-Sons are the protagonists of the story, but I would have liked a tad more time with some of the other old-timers from the ‘90s.

The actual plot continues in the same vein as the other Multiversity titles. A haunted comic book has interrupted the idyllic world of Earth-Me. In a world where Superman’s robots keep the peace, having powers is more about staying busy and being entertained than it is about saving the world. When the awesomely named Megamorpho commits suicide, it throws the entire super-community into a tailspin. Our first window in is the fantastically titled “Sister Miracle.” Morrison makes it look so dang easy to do these great legacy names!

The haunted comic book is influencing the world, causing villains to do bad things and heroes to doubt themselves even more than usual. There is barely any conflict in the issue, unless you want to count middle-aged heroes struggling with ennui and younger ones struggling with fame. Each of the Multiversity titles has left me wanting more, but this one… man, when the Superman robots are unleashed on the world, do the heroes have a chance? Are we to assume that the Gentry’s haunted comic book has destroyed this world? Or can the struggling heroes maybe stand up for themselves (I certainly hope so).

Ben Oliver’s art excels in some areas, but lacks in others. His figure work is great, but the facial expressions are unbelievably good. In a medium where facial features are hard to do right, Oliver nails it, giving different ages, outlooks, and personalities different facial structures, expressions, and body types. Just top-notch stuff. The backgrounds are lacking, which could be by design. Instead of a fully-realized alternate world like in Society of Super-Heroes, this feels a lot more dreamlike. The lack of backgrounds and extensive use of color makes this issue sort of flow by in a haze. Perhaps that was the intent, but I would have liked a bit more of a glimpse into this alternate world.

This is another GOOD comic in a string of them for the Multiversity series. I can’t wait to see what’s next. 

Multiversity: Society of Super-Heroes #1

This is sort of a hard comic to review. As usual, Grant Morrison is biting off a huge task in his comic book work. This one issue has to set up a parallel Earth, complete with alternate history. It needs to establish a new world of super-heroes and villains. It needs to tie into the greater threat of the Gentry from Multiversity #1.

Heck, in addition to all of that set-up, we also need an actual story, complete with rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. Morrison ALMOST pulls it off. The problem is, as near as I can tell, the story just abruptly stops in the middle of what I’d call the climax.

The Society of Super-Heroes, or S.O.S is a pretty easy to like group. Led by the enigmatic Doc Fate (sort of magic-powered pulp version), the Iron Munro-trained Atom, a very alien Abin Sur, a squad of Lady Blackhawks, and a fascinating Anthro the Immortal Man, the group covers a lot of bases. Abin Sur’s Green Lantern is pretty dang powerful, but the rest of the folks seem pretty grounded in pulp sensibility. 

Doc Fate gets a lot of dialogue, but Anthro seems to anchor the story a bit more. I was immediately interested in the Immortal Man’s long-view perspective and outlook. When he gives a piece of jewelry to one of the Blackhawks, he states he’ll just go get it back after its current home crumbles. That’s a long view!

The villains are ostensibly working for the Gentry, the main villains in the Multiversity series. Fate describes the situation involving Nix Uotan and the Gentry pretty well, although I’m never quite sure if the main story involves those weird creatures or not. Felix Faust is powered by their dark energies, but Vandal Savage, Parallax, Lady Shiva, and Blockbuster all seem to be motivated by their normal desires. At one point, Vandal Savage declares his desire to be pirates invading other Earths, “Prepare to board!”

Like everyone else, it is hard not to comment on the similarities between the invading parallel Earths in this story and the ongoing, multi-year marathon that Jonathan Hickman is writing over in Avengers. I certainly hope that this story runs a lot faster, though. I can’t stand the idea of waiting 5 years to see this one resolved too. As long as the story inches forward in each of these one-shots, I'm not going to complain too much.

In a story like this, with relatively few pages to establish an entire universe and continuity, there is a heavy burden on the art. Chris Sprouse is up to the task. The WWII-era pulp setting is clearly established from page 1 forward. The architecture, vehicles, and even the tone of the action (established in script, of course) sell the alternate reality. Sprouse’s character designs are great. The almost formal look to many of the characters (including Atom and Sinestro!) lends dated feeling to the proceedings that enhances the alternate universe concept.

$4.99. Dang. I didn’t even notice that at the shop. The book is 40 pages, so I just need to remember that this would have been a “prestige bookshelf” book back in the day. It is certainly GOOD enough content to justify the price.