About six months ago, you might have seen a vanguard of
television commercials promoting DC Comics’ “New 52” line. The company that has
published such icons as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman for nearly a century
decided to completely remake their comic book series, to make them more
accessible to new readers. DC had
attracted some of the best writers in comics, such as James Robinson, Geoff
Johns and Grant Morrison to reboot their characters for the 21st
century in fifty-two separate comic book series. Since they’ve rebooted their
comic book universes about six times in the past two decades, I was a tad
skeptical that this would last. It does seem that there won’t be going back for
DC Comics, but I have the feeling that quite a few of those 52 series won’t be
here next year. There are a few true gems in this new DC universe, and a bunch
of definite clunkers, but there are even more titles that just straddle the
line and do nothing for me.
My favorite titles so far are:
I think I would have to say that Aquaman ranks as one of the best, or perhaps even the best, of the
New 52 titles. Excellent artwork and some of the best scripting I’ve seen in a
long while. Aquaman and Mera are trying to make their own lives in the surface
world. The first story arc has the King of the Seas and his wife battling both
ancient sea creatures and misapprehensions by landlubbers about who and what
the two Atlanteans really are. There are plenty of hints given to both
characters’ revitalized pasts, more than enough to pique the interests of even
casual Aquafans. If they can keep up this sort of quality in the future, I
think Aquaman finally has a future as a major DC character, even without a
movie or cartoon push. I would definitely suggest readers get the trade
paperback of the first story arc when it comes out.
Suicide Squad
For those who haven’t read many comics, the Suicide Squad is
a group of government-sanctioned operatives that have been around since the
early sixties. The initial team was a team of military operatives and
adventurers, but former X-Men artist John Byrne created the current team
dynamic in which the Squad is made up of super-villains, who get their
sentences reduced or commuted if they successfully finish their missions … and,
of course, if they manage to stay alive. One interesting thing about this group
is that the members do in fact die, and die quite often. The New 52 incarnation
features a team centered on long-time Squad member Deadshot, with the popular
Harley Quinn as an added attraction. Other members include a rebooted and
apparently reformed Black Spider, the monstrous King Shark, and a new version
of the old DC western hero El Diablo, along with a lot of newer villains along
for cannon fodder. The stories are intricately-plotted and interesting. The
first issue follows the new Squad’s indoctrination and first mission, which was
to kill everyone in a sealed football stadium. The artwork is very good, the
action is quick, and the character well-voiced. The only bad thing about the
New 52 Suicide Squad is the fact that Amanda Waller, the group’s
behind-the-scenes leader, went from being a somewhat portly black woman into
your standard near-super-model type. I think this takes a lot of force from the
character’s personality and was a very poor decision. Not everyone in a comic
book is a superhero and they don’t all have to have super-heroic physiques.
And the two titles that I currently think are pretty much
crap so far are:
Justice League
I mentioned this title in a previous blog, and it has
definitely lived up to my low expectations. So far, it’s just been a dark and
gritty version of the Super Friends:
Galactic Guardians cartoon. There really hasn’t been anything in this title
that hasn’t been a cliché, and considering that it has been hailed as the
line’s flagship title, that’s a shame. The only redeeming feature is that
Aquaman, as in his own title, is now more bad-ass than he was in Grant
Morrison’s JLA title in the early
2000’s. While the first six issues were bogged down with the retelling of this
Justice League’s origin, the nineties-style artwork and the dark feel does
nothing to make me feel that this is the
Justice League. And while I’ve always liked Cyborg as a character, the token
nature of his appearance here belittles the good characterization he had under
the reigns of Marv Wolfman and George Perez in the original New Teen Titans title.
The next story arc is going to have to blow me out of my
chair to keep me from just ignoring this book.
I think by now everyone one should know that an important
adage in comics is “Don’t let Rob Liefeld draw your comics! And for Raptor
Jesus’ sake, don’t let him write it!” Perhaps fortunately, he’s only drawing
this book, making it the most poorly drawn comic in the whole New 52 line. I
will say that Liefeld has improved his artwork since his last company-wide
attempt at revamping (Marvel’s regrettable year of “Heroes Reborn” back in the early
nineties), as a good number of the humanoid figures in Hawk and Dove are actually recognizable as human beings.
The book does recognize the prior incarnations of the characters,
which were created in the late sixties by legend Steve Ditko, and revamped in
the late eighties into a male and female team (instead of brothers).
Unfortunately, the last two Hawk and Dove
revivals met with sad fates; the second was pretty much ignored, and the first
fell prey to spiteful writers and editors who couldn’t handle the fact they had
devised a crossover event with a plot more transparent than air. Armageddon 2001 featured the
introduction of a powerful, time-bending character called Monarch, who was
formerly a super-hero. The fans, fueled by the burgeoning influence of the
internet, guessed right away that Monarch was originally intended to be Captain
Atom. To show up everyone who guessed that, the writers decided suddenly to
make Hawk into Monarch, and having the female Dove killed in the process.
Hawk and Dove are now the Avatars of War and Peace.
(Previously, the team had served a God-like voice, and also were said to have
been created by a Lord of Order and a Lord of Chaos who were in love.). There are
a number of Avatars for both sides, which have apparently been in existence for
several hundred years. We see the initial villains, Condor and Swan, kill an
Avatar called the Osprey to get his power. Dove is in love with Deadman. Hawk is
pretty much brain-dead and brutish, not bothering to think twice about picking
a fight with Robin. I suppose he doesn’t know that Robin’s been trained by the
League of Assassin and is Batman’s son, but when Batman is in the picture, even
in the farthest corner, you don’t mess with him or his. There’s a clichéd subplot
of a mad scientist with an army of “monsters of mass destruction” out to get
Hawk and Dove for stopping him from bringing down the Washington monument, and
a DC cop who is willing to work with the pair, but may or may not have an
agenda of his own. Hawk’s father, a Washington judge, also plays a supporting
role in the first few issues.
The book is just poorly done on all levels: Mediocre art, dull
scripting, less-than-vibrant characterizations. This is one of those series I
tried to like, since I’ve enjoyed two well-done versions of the duo, but this
comic book can’t rise above the many faults in it. I might give it a second
chance if the book gets a decent artist like most of the New 52 have managed to
do, but I think issue #6 is the end of the New 52 Hawk and Dove for me.
See you folks later this week! I have no idea what my next topic will be, but I'm sure something will hit me.
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