The good things in life

Woahhh. September has been a busy old month, both personally and in terms of stuff coming out. Let me clarify that last sentence. I mean there's been loads of activity in the world of comics, great TV (being broadcast on UK stations), books, music, so much 'stuff'.

It gets a little overwhelming sometimes. I recall Dara O'Briain doing a routine about the amount of stuff in his life - new technology, music, films, books, the internet - and the fact that it's impossible to keep up with everything. Then it overwhelms you and you long for the days when you had to buy a newspaper to read the news, go to the cinema to watch the latest films, and browse in book and record shops to find the latest new thing. Imagine that!

Now, I love the fact that almost any information I require is available at the touch of a few buttons on a keyboard or the touch screen of my phone. And I can view, sample, listen to watch things before I buy them online - fab. But I also love to SLOWLY browse in real bookshops and charity shops, rifle through second hand CD racks, and leisurely pick my way through the treasure trove that are the back issue boxes in my local comic shop.And I think all the above activities can happily co-exist.

Anyway, as I was saying, September has been an exceptionally busy month for cool stuff. Not least because of the huge relaunch of DC Comics entire line of monthly comics. 52 in total. Now I haven't bought them all, my budget would not allow it. But I have checked out more of them than I first thought I would. And some of the best titles have been the ones that have completely taken me by surprise. Titles which I thought I would check out the first issue and then drop straight away. A case in point is Animal Man by Jeff Lemire, with art by Travel Foreman. I was not familiar with either of these guys work, but boy they have produced a truly great comic as far as I'm concerned and judging by reaction on the internet a lot of people agree. I really wasn't expecting this book to be as good as it is. Animal Man is not a character I've had much exposure to but he is really interesting, certainly not your typical superhero in a Superman or Avengers sense. We meet him as a family man, concerned with environmental issues and torn between his hero guise and his home life. He is really well developed as a character in this first issue by Lemire and the art is fantastic, again because it isn't the slick superhero type art that you expect from the main DC and Marvel titles. I'm really excited to see how these guys develop this book.

I'm still reading this weeks DC titles but so far my favourites of the relaunch are Animal Man, Swamp Thing, Nightwing, Batman, Detective Comics, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Batwoman. Oh Batwoman. If you've never read a comic before I would heartily recommend Batwoman because it is absolutely gorgeous. A stunning achievment by JH Williams III which proves comics are an art-form.

I also read the new masterpiece by George Pelecanos this month. It's called The Cut and I'll be posting a review of it here soon.

Finally, for now, Hard Case Crime have this month released a brand-spanking new Lawrence Block book, writing as Jill Emerson. It is titled Getting Off and the cover alone is enough to make you want to buy the damn thing. You can’t deny it. Unfortunately it’s not released in the UK until January so I may have to utilise a popular online auction site to get my hands on a copy before then. You can read a sample chapter here http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?title=Getting%20Off and see the cover below. I told you.

Finally, again, I overheard somebody saying "Well the thing is, she likes the good things in life." My good lady pointed out what a strange saying this is. And she's right. I mean who doesn't like the good things in life? Are there people wandering around professing to like the bad things in life? It strikes me that it is something said from a position of jealousy and envy by frugal people about their more carefree friends. Well, I like the good things in life and I am not going to apologise for it. I will continue to indulge in the good things in life and tell you about them here.

I'm done for now.

Welcome to the future - the new DC universe

So the comic book world was turned on it’s head this week as DC, the second biggest comics publisher in the world released the first title in the huge re-boot of their entire main line of monthly books. Or was it? Maybe not quite as dramatically as expected.

Releasing only 2 titles this week was a definite statement of intent, and I think it was successful in generating more and more interest in the flood of new titles which follow in September – 52 new titles in total, 52 new number 1’s. To a comic book geek that is very exciting. Or infuriating, depending on your perspective. I do think it is somewhat sad that a title like Action Comics, which had been one of the longest running comic books in history, is stopped on issue 904 and has to start again as part of this renumbering exercise. But, I also think it is a bold, brave move on DC’s part to have the conviction to include all their titles in the renumbering and not be scared to make changes to sacred texts. Anyway I’m not too precious about the whole thing and I’m damn excited. Bring on the new titles.

                                                                              

So what about the 2 books DC released this week?

First up was Flashpoint #5 written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Andy Kubert. Johns, DC’s star writer has been tasked with concluding the old continuity in one comic book. Now that’s gonna be tough. But if anyone can do it, Johns can. And he does, if not entirely successfully or satisfactorily. But he gives it a damn good try, and he has produced an entertaining comic book in the process. We basically ended up with a time-travel gone wrong scenario. There was a little too much going on in this last issue of Flashpoint and I think it suffered for that. However it was great fun to see a whole host of DC characters, both major and minor, brilliantly drawn by Kubert. The inks of Sandra Hope and Jesse Delperdano, and the rich colours of Alex Sinclair makes the pages really jump out and hit you between the eyes. The best bit of the issue for me was contained in the last few pages, after all the action has died down, and things have returned to “normal”. The Flash gives Batman a letter from his father which he gave to The Flash in the alternate timeline. The four panels that show Bruce, having removed his cowl, reading the letter, while The Flash stands beside him in respectful silence are masterful. The tension and emotion in the scene is palpable on the page, even before we see Bruce’s tears. This final coda to the book is a suitably emotional end and farewell to the current DC universe and it is clear that Johns is very aware of the significance of this book.

And so to the start of the new DC universe (DCNU). Our first introduction to this brave new world is Justice League #1. The biggest comic book release of the year? I ain’t gonna argue. Also written by Geoff Johns (busy man), and illustrated by Jim Lee, with colours by Scott Williams, this first look at the biggest shake-up in comics history is not as bombastic and earth-shattering as one might have expected. It focuses mainly on Batman and Green Lantern, with a four-page sequence introducing Vic Stone A.K.A Cyborg, and a great entrance from Superman. But no Wonder Woman, no Aquaman, no Flash!

Some people have argued that this first issue was too slow, not enough action, not enough characters introduced. Whilst I was expecting more characters to appear each time I turned the page, on reflection I think this slow-burn approach works well. In this age of immediacy it is a brave move to leave out three members of the Justice League entirely, only briefly introduce two others and focus most of the book on Batman and Green Lantern. What this enables Johns to do is concentrate on introducing and developing the characters over a longer period, thereby creating a greater connection with the reader. I particularly like the interplay between Batman (typically dry, refreshingly sardonic) and Green Lantern (brash, cocky and sarcastic). As a long-time fan of Batman I am very excited to see how his character will develop in this title as well as all the other ones he is going to be appearing in.

As far as the art in this book (of course acknowledging that Johns’ writing is an art) goes – Wow. Jim Lee is on fire. I’ve been a big fan of Lee since I first saw his work on Wildcats in the early 90’s. And this is surely some of the finest work he’s ever done.

Overall I really enjoyed Justice League #1. As an introduction to the new DCNU it worked very well. It was never going to be possible to encapsulate an entire new world in one book. That’s what the other 51 titles are for. And I can’t wait.