Rapid Reviews - 10 November 2004 - Part I

To start off, the JSA book is a tie-in to Identity Crisis, and although they could be read in either order, if you get them both and haven't read them yet I recommend reading JSA first, as it builds up a little bit of anticipation without giving anything away.

JSA #67: The first thing I noticed about this week's comic books was the covers. There are two very striking covers in the stack I got. The first one was the cover to JSA. It has a powerful layout that caught my eye. The inside of the book? Well, not so bad. My biggest problem with this title has always been the large cast and the fact that Johns insists on trying to visit too many members of the cast each issue. In the opening pages of this issue, Johns covers various JSA members' reactions to the crisis. That isn't so bad, but it doesn't hold together as a story. Not bad for a tie-in, but I wish I liked this book more.

Identity Crisis #6: Ok. I think this story will have a major impact in the future of the DCU, now. I was skeptical, but I think I was wrong. Whether or not any of the long-time fans will actually like the effects is a different question. The artwork... well, it's awful. There's a page with Connor and Ollie... that has got to be the worst looking Connor I've ever seen. It simply doesn't look anything like him, from the haircut to the face. And on the next page, Aquaman doesn't look anything like Aquaman. And is that supposed to be Artie Jr? Doesn't anyone at DC have reference materials? Rags Morales is not this bad an artist, what happened? Despite the artwork, there were some interesting moments in here, and the revelation at the end was not what I expected, so there are still some surprises. I'm curious to see how this ends, and what it will do to the status quo of the DCU. This is still not a great series, but this issue is much more interesting than the last five.

Green Arrow #44: This is the other stand-out cover from this week's comic books. The white border and the lack of large DC logo in the corner gave it a completely different look, which made it jump out. Add in the stark coloring, and we've got a winner. The story was fairly strong. The characters are dealing with the situation the way you might expect them to deal, and the big baddie is no longer so big to them at the moment. I'm not sure what to think about the lack of continuity... I suppose I'll just say it works with the current subject matter and leave it at that.

Bloodhound #5: This is the second part of a two part story. The first part is in a book I don't buy, and that I don't want to buy, so I'm only getting half a story for the price of a full one. I hate title-to-title crossovers. Thanks to Mike Sterling, I know that the plot summary in the opening pages is good enough. Why Clev is out of prison and running from people with Jason isn't really explained, but it's pretty clear that they are in danger, and they are on the run. And I didn't know you could use a word like "pendejos" in a DC book. Some guy name Luis Salvador has lost his memory, but he's really, really, really peeved at Jason and Clev, and intends to kill them. I don't get the thing about Jason's father, since I know nothing about Jason. But for the most part this is just a standard bash-up the bad guys for Clev... except he also shows some signs of whatever it is that makes him good for hunting metas. So, while it's only half a story, it's not a complete waste. I just hope they don't do another crossover any time soon.

Plastic Man #12: Plastic Man acts goofy while taking down a criminal. This one shows glimmers of comic genuis, but I'm still not finding it as funny as the classic Plastic Man stuff. It's ok, but I want something great.

Still to review: Smallville, Aquaman, Batman Strikes, Avengers Finale, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, and Colonia.