From: jz1j+@andrew.cmu.edu (James D. Zelenka)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: DC: misc stuff
Date: 7 Jan 93 12:48:47 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.4fH=BDm00hYzIC545e
Organization: Junior, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Thoughts on several DC titles of late, in no particular order:

Sandman: I've enjoyed this title a lot up to Brief Lives, and BL itself
is pretty good but somehow doesn't seem quite up to the level of quality
of the previous storylines. I can't put my finger on exactly why though.
Maybe it's just the pacing. Jill Thompson's (sp?) art is OK, but not
outstanding. I wish she could draw hair and eyes a little better.

Animal Man: moving to a mature reader's label was good for this book, I
think. This first storyline has been really good. I'm glad there wasn't
any urge to suddenly make Cliff "all better" now that he's reunited with
his family. It looks like he's gonna need some serious counselling. I
don't think "Cannibal Kid" is a symptom of his problems, even though
it's the sort of thing that'd probably make a lot of parents suddenly
worry about their son's stability. Rather, it's his attitude that "Life
is really terrible, and you can't convince me otherwise," and the way he
treats his sister. I wonder if in some way he blames his parents for
what happened with Uncle Dudley.

Hellblazer: this is one of my favorite DC titles. It's consistently very
good, both the artwork and the storyline. John Constantine is a great
character; I'm glad they're pressuring other writers _not_ to use/abuse
him in other titles (even if the consequence is a legion of Constantine
clones like Kipling :-).

Flash: When Messner-Loebs left, I was depressed, because I really
enjoyed his run. Mark Waid, however, has done an excellent job in his
own right. The sudden return of Barry Allen last issue could prove very
interesting... I wonder exactly what they're up to? If Barry's back to
stay, how will this affect Wally's career as the Flash? I'm looking
forward to the next few issues.

Superman titles: drek, drek, drek.

Titans titles: More drek. If I wanted to read this kind of stuff, I'd
collect X-titles.

LSH: I like a lot of Giffen's stuff, but judging from how this title has
improved since he's left, he was dragging it down. The destruction of
Earth was handled much better than I thought it would be, and made for a
couple powerful issues. The most recent issue wasn't quite up to snuff,
though. Maybe it's because the old-legion-meets-young-legion was just
too corny for me. I dunno. I'll be happy when the two legions go their
separate ways. In general, though, I like the book. Pearson's pencils
are much easier on the eye than Giffen's.

JLA: look, a fifth superman title! Now they've killed off the last
couple characters that I liked (beetle, booster, fire, ice), and brought
Wonder Woman in as a new leader. Then again, I think the "new" Wonder
Woman deserves JLA membership... since the primary membership
requirement seems to be bad writing and dialogue. I want Giffen back.

Wonder Woman: I've liked a lot of other stuff Messner-Loebs has done,
including his Dr. Fate and Flash. When I heard he was going to be taking
over WW, I was happy; I figured he had the skill to handle the character
properly. Well, if he does, he's sure not showing it. The Space Pirate
storyline is one of the most abysmal in a looong time, and I hope it's
not a harbinger of things to come in this title (but, unfortunately, it
seems to be, since M-L is writing a more "action-oriented" WW).

JLE: still standard superhero fare. Nothing too terrible about the
writing or art, but nothing exciting or different. At least it's better
than JLA by leaps and bounds. It's funny, though, based on his Green
Lantern and JLE work, I would say that Gerard Jones isn't that great a
writer. However, his Martian Manhunter miniseries has been fantastic so
far. Maybe he was just inspired on that one. I wish he would get that
inspired more often. Or maybe if DC gave him less work to do, and he
concentrated on just a couple books, he could do a better job.

LEGION: In general, I like the title. Vril Dox is one of the better
schemers of the DC universe. Also, the LEGIONnaires have well-developed
characters and personalities (well, except for Lobo, but he's kind of an
exception...). The art is also pretty good. 

Heckler: At first, I was a little uneasy with the title because it
seemed to lack that maniacal feel that Ambush Bug and JLA had under
Giffen, and I was worried that he couldn't maintain the hilarity on a
monthly basis. However, it's gotten better, not worse, over time. It's
gone from "mildly amusing" to "pretty funny." Still not hilarious like
Ambush Bug, but entertaining enough.

Green Lantern: It's taken me a while to notice, but I think it's been
getting steadily worse since somewhere in the mid-teens. Each issue is
only a little worse than the last, so it's taken me a while to notice.

Green Lantern Mosaic: I think the book aspires to more than it is. It's
as if Gerard Jones is trying to imitate the sort of philosopical
backdrop that haunts better comics, like Hellblazer and Doom Patrol. The
sad thing is, Mosaic could easily be written as one such title.
Something is lacking though, and I don't know what it is. The series so
far has ranged from "OK" to "pretty good" but no better than that.

Guy Gardner, Valor: yeah, I put these together. They're both pretty
standard stuff. Both are characters who have the potential to star in
interesting series of their own, but aren't being written up to their
potential. At all. Not even close.

Swamp Thing: I like Doom Patrol. I like Sandman. I like Hellblazer. I
like Shade. So, every so often, I forget and pick up a copy of Swamp
thing thinking, "It's billed as being one of DC's better books, just
like those others. Maybe the last issue I tried was a fluke." Then I
read it and think, "Eeeew, why did I even bother? Why do I ever bother?
I'll never make this mistake again..." Maybe it's just that I really
really hate Collins' writing. Or something.

Doom Patrol: Wow, Morrison pulled out all the stops for his grand
finale. And I like it :-). Then again, I also liked Zenith and his
Animal Man. He does well with eccentric almost-mainstream superheroes.
It would be interesting to see what he could do with Green Lantern:
Mosaic. Certainly, Jones isn't getting anywhere new.

Batman: I like seeing Bruce totally at the end of his rope. Clever of
Robin to dress Azrael up as Batman, too. Bruce has always been totally
obsessed with being the Batman, and has consistently pushed himself
harder and harder into the role, forsaking his personal life, sleep, and
health. Good to see he's got limits, too. It's kinda scary, but I was
just thinking that one of the better characterizations of the Batman
that I've seen was Giffen's in JLA.

Robin III: very convenient that no newspapers or tv news reported on
Robin's involvement in several firefights in Gotham lately. Or on
sightings of the Huntress. I like Tim Drake, but overall I think I'd
rather see a Huntress miniseries or regular series again than a Robin IV.

Stanley and His Monster: <snicker>. I like Foglio. It's in things like
this that his sense of humor really comes through. It's just a shame to
see his pencils getting mangled by wusshisname (don't have an ish near
me).

Comments/thoughts/flames/whatever welcome.

-jim
jz1j@andrew.cmu.edu