fullcolor booty call

on a recent binge again to Forbidden Planet (damn you, delphi!), i came away with several great graphic novels ... that means comic books, peasant. given that i don't really follow/collect them like i used to (making reservations, waiting in suspense for weeks, loitering on message boards and forums), i only indulge in binges like these maybe once or twice a year (okay, thrice). besides, since collected editions come out almost as quickly as DVDs for movies, i can totally ignore them for months, dabble once in a while in the latest news, then go buy some books when the opportunity presents itself ... even when the intent or the capability to buy isn't there (i say again, damn you, delphi!).

so without further ado, here's some more additions to the library (and my kids' someday).

Justice League Elite, Vol. 1
writer: Joe Kelly
art: Doug Mahnke, John Byrne, Tom Nguyen

what happens when superheroes cross the line? specifically what happens when the Justice League crosses the line? and not just a rhetorical line in the sand. when you need to be monsters to defeat monsters. this is what Kelly tries to answer.

i've liked Kelly's run on the XMen and the JLA, even if its kind of offbeat and delves more into mysticism and magic most of the time. he creates the Justice League Elite, his version of The Authority (Wildstorm/Image's superhero black ops team, a personal fave of mine), who seemingly has a tougher stance on bad guys than regular superfolk. after Superman defeats an earlier version of the Elite led by a arrogant Brit named Manchester Black, Black's sister Vera relaunches the Elite but this time on the side of the good guys, and does the dirty work necessary to get the job done. she manages to enlist to her cause current JLAers Major Disaster, Manitou Raven, Green Arrow and even Flash (who pulls double duty by switching uniforms along the way).

unfortunately, Kelly doesn't answer the question completely, as he chickens out and the League, Elite or regular, still maintains its clean hands. he does have heroes who could cross the line if necessary ... but that's still coulda, woulda, shoulda. leave the killing to Wolverine. easily the weakest of my booty.


Supreme Power: Contact
writer: J. Michael Straczynski
art: Gary Frank, Jon Sibal

The Squadron Supreme was designed to be an otherworld dark-mirror image of Marvel's Avengers, and basically a rip-off of DC's Justice League. But a funny thing happened when writer Mark Gruenwald took over - a now-classic 12-issue limited run redefined the Squadron in a world of political intrigue and power struggles, and they became more than one-note characters. the series became Gruenwald's own Watchmen even before Watchmen. yes, i own both collections.

now comes Babylon 5 creator Straczynski, who had his own comic success with Spiderman, Fantastic 4, and Rising Stars, putting his own imprint by rebooting the Squadron for our new world. stop me if you heard this one before: an alien craft lands in the farmlands, childless couple takes the baby inside and raises them as - ok, this part you haven't, because the US government takes the baby away from them and raises him as their own. "him" being Hyperion, a Superman without the toothpaste smile and apple pie aura. Hyperion knows he is different from everyone, and he knows that there is something wrong in being used as an edge to defeat America's enemies, despite being raised on patriotism and loyalty to the American flag since he was in diapers. this is an alternate universe, but some things stay the same. Hyperion was discovered during the Carter administration, kept hidden thru the Reagan and Bush eras, and once the Democrats won the White House, was unveiled to the public.

pretty soon, other 'freaks' show up: a speedster nicknamed 'the Blur' (becomes a media sensation and a pitchman for athletic apparel - did i mention he was black?), a military man gaining the powers of an alien crystal (just not green and no lantern involved), and a black non-powered vigilante calling himself Nighthawk (also a multimillionaire no less). how their stories tie in together makes an interesting read, and the clean art of Gary Frank is great eye candy. the food comparison applies to the writing as well, and gets me interested to pick up some of Straczynski's earlier work. spoo, anyone?


She-Hulk: Superhuman Law
writer: Dan Slott
art: Juan Bobillo, Paul Pelletier, Marcelo Sosa, Rick Magyar

this is actually the second collected volume of the critically-acclaimed series on the Hulk's cousin, Jenny Walters. Jen, aside from being a gamma-powered green-skinned gorgeous babe, is also a good lawyer. so good in fact, that someone finally explored the idea of having her handle cases in the Marvel Universe (like bad guys suing the superheroes for beating them up). and so very good in fact, that cosmic gods even recruits her for a stint to arbitrate interplanetary and interdimensional cases (apparently the concept of justice is indeed universal).

lest this devolve into an Ally McBeal soap opera (definitely not! you think McBeal can even press half her own weight?), we also get the requisite punch-ups, as writer Slott neatly weaves a tale involving second-rate badgal Titania and making her a heavyweight contender to go toe-to-toe with our heroine. in contrast, Jen uses her brains more than her brawn to save the day.

darn it, where's the first volume???


Batman: Hush
writer: Jeph Loeb
art: Jim Lee, Scott Williams

as you can see from the picture on the right, this is the punch that shook the world. why does Superman always take a beating from Bats, who has no powers at all, save his brilliant mind? no respect. damn Frank Miller for starting the whole idea ...

Hush is the overwhelmingly popular Batman storyline (even spawned an action figure set) that combines the talents of 3-time Eisner winner Jeph Loeb and the still-brilliant Jim Lee. someone is out eliminate the Dark Knight (like that's news), but is such a cunning puppet master, manipulating events that even Bats gets frustrated at every turn. Hush had several things going that excited the fans - that much-hyped mano-a-mano with a Poison Ivy-controlled Big Blue, Batman finally revealing his true feelings (and identity) to Catwoman, and the possibility of the main villain being someone close to Batman: his protege Jason Todd, the second Robin, dead for years thanks to the Joker (and to the thousands of fans who voted thumbs down to kill this whiny version of Robin).

and what can i say about Jim Lee? still churns out dynamic and gorgeous art, especially the curvy women. woooohooo! Scott Williams is the only inker for this man. the splash pages should become posters (but in all likelihood i wouldn't be able to afford them anyway).

Next pit stop: Superman/Batman, which according to hype, even bested Hush as a critical and commercial success.


Ultimates 2: Gods and Monsters
writer: Mark Millar
art: Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary

just for the record: Marvel started an Ultimate Universe line, where writers could re-imagine their beloved characters in a new light and closer to our world, taking them to places where they've never been before, and generally just driving longtime fans crazy. having said that, its been very popular, as variants continue to flourish (Ultimate Spiderman, Ultimate XMen, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Daredevil, etc), without having to worry about continuity.


The Ultimates is this universe's version of the premiere Marvel superhero team, the Avengers, and though the structure of the team's formation and characters are a nod to its past, you get a sense of being in a completely new world (which longtime fans hate) even though it is closer to what we have, and everything you know about the characters has been more or less sent to the shredder.

This is the second series of the Ultimates, and I am still reeling from the first one. The Ultimates, if it were a live-action movie (heard its gonna be a direct-to-DVD animated one), will have Jerry Bruckheimer directing the action sequences only, while the backstory and character development would be more Coppola, Stone, Scorsese or Lee. This is storm und drang and brains, no matter how much fans would love to crucify Mark Millar for treating the heroes this way. you need to read this book to understand.

I've followed Millar and Hitch since their Authority stint, and they still awe me. I am actually fidgeting to get my hands on the follow-up to this (Grand Theft America), because they ended with a cliffhanger. bastards.


Avengers Disassembled
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
art: David Finch, Danny Miki, et al

judging from the fallout, not since the Image guys took over Marvel's major characters for a year back in the 90s, has a series been so controversial with longtime fans. Bendis, fresh off hit runs on Ultimate Spiderman, XMen and Daredevil, takes on Marvel's favorite superhero team and completely umm, disassembles them. what i said. fave characters Vision and Hawkeye among the dead. The Mansion in ruins. the culprit? an insane Scarlet Witch. hey, the man has 5 (yep, 5) Eisner awards. let him say his piece. you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.

since it does look like Marvel is riding the hot hand at the moment (this series led to the crossover events The House of M and the ongoing deciMation, where you probably should expect more deaths and controversy), middle-of-the-road readers like me (who are not exactly casual fans, but do not live and breathe it either) have no choice but to just watch them unfold, and just enjoy it for the reading pleasure. i am not going to slag off the creators, but i will probably say one thing about artist David Finch. perhaps his work does suit the darker tone of the series, but for my untrained eye, he at best mirrors the Kubert brothers on a lazy day, and at worst, descends into Rob Liefeld stiffness. some characters keep catching my eye, and now i remember why: they all look like The Darkness (its the hair, man!).

ok, if it looks, smells and talks like a gimmick ... by golly, it must be ... ! which leads us now to ...

The New Avengers: Breakout
writer: Brian Michael Bendis
art: David Finch, Danny Miki

well, this is his omelette. Bendis wanted his own team of Avengers, one that he's already comfortable with, so are you ready for the Avengers of the 21st century? we have longtime members Captain America and Iron Man, Spiderman (duh), Wolverine (double duh), Daredevil kind of turned the offer down, and his personal faves (which he wants to build up) - Spiderwoman and Luke Cage (a.k.a. Power Man). Two new characters, the Sentry and Ronin, will play more defined roles as the series progresses. suffice it to say, this is one heavy-hitting team.

before you say "too many arachnids", Bendis has sneaky plans for Spiderwoman (she's a spy for someone else). the event that brings the "team" together is a terrifying breakout from the superhuman prison The Raft. Captain America successfully recruits all of them (except DD), and their investigation leads to ... the Savage Land (where they bump into Wolverine, conveniently hiding in the bushes) ... where those "allegedly-stupid" mutates have arranged to spring out ... Karl Lykos (a.k.a. TSPKAS, the stupid pterodactyl known as Sauron). what the-? exactly. there's more to this than meets the eye, as Bendis puts in his two cents worth on how a Marvel Universe could function in this new world order/reality.

favorite parts? Iron Man's techno-savvy, as usual. and wisecracking Spidey. but there's still that Finch art that leaves me scratching my head ...

Formerly Known As The Justice League
writer: Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
art: Kevin Maguire, Joe Rubinstein

L-Ron: if this is the kind of archenemy you've been reduced to, Captain ... i did you a favor by shooting him.
Captain Atom: what's that supposed to mean?
L-Ron: Really, sir ... you are a human nuclear reactor ... you could have incinerated him 5 seconds into your imbroglio.
Captain Atom: "imbroglio?" isn't that some kind of Italian cheese?
L-Ron: the point is, sir, that you were toying with him ... or perhaps with yourself -
Captain Atom: (mumbling) i stopped toying with myself years ago!
L-Ron: - in order to maintain the fiction of a challenge.

in the mid to late 80s, the Justice League became more of a barkada of easy-going jokesters rather than a high-profile, world-beating supermen. this was due to the presence of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. now scattered all over, their former boss, millionaire industrialist Maxwell Lord recruits the remaining members of that group to earn money as ... freelance heroes for hire, far below the stratosphere treaded by the current League. but they have to get beyond bumbling and bickering around to even be accepted by their own neighborhood!

the humorous JL run was conceptualized by Giffen and Maguire, and here they are back for second helpings. its more of witty banter and outrageous situations rather than slapstick hijinks (which really doesn't work well in print). our heroes haven't even concluded their first meeting yet, and they've already been kidnapped as contestants for a WWE-style gladiator arena battles. after they've extricated themselves out of that, they get into a sticky situation with the theatrically-inclined and overly-dramatic alien overlord Manga Khan, where a breakdown in negotiations could mean an extinction-level event. or not. basta.

one thing of note here is the presence of Ralph Dibny (Elongated Man) and his wife Sue (who's practically a Leaguer). this is the final look at happy times for the couple, as things take a turn for the worse in ...

Identity Crisis
writer: Brad Meltzer
art: Rags Morales, Mike Bair

with gushing praise from the likes of The New York Times, Washington Post, Spin and Entertainment Weekly, Identity Crisis was a critical and commercial hit for DC, having mystery novelist Meltzer weave a whodunit for superheroes that had lasting effects and ramifications on their universe (yeah, its far-reaching alright - this kickstarted another mega-crossover called Infinite Crisis - stop taking my lunch money, bastards).

playing with mature themes - the Elongated Man's wife Sue is raped and murdered (ok, little twist there: its not the same event) - Meltzer sends the DC superheroes into a tizzy trying to find out who the killer is. as with a good whodunit, red herrings abound. even Batman doesn't figure it out until the culprit is finally revealed. i could almost hear the 'Psycho' theme playing. man, that was so left-field. fans both loved and hated it. Meltzer sidesteps the dilemma of having the killer be one of the heroes, but ties it all up neatly that no one is left clean or unscathed. in DC terms, the storyline introduced the notion that superheroes are forced to cross the line (this is how you do it, Joe Kelly) when their identities are compromised, endangering their loved ones. a great setup to Infinite Crisis, and the subsequent fallout between Batman and the rest of the heroes.

the lovely Michael Turner covers aside, i have a couple of favorite parts - Deathstroke's takedown of eight (yes, eight!) of DC's most powerful superpeople, just like (snap your fingers) that, and the tear-inducing funeral scene (beats the ending of Avengers Disassembled, above). Rags Morales, take a bow, man.