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November 06, 2004
Subway Reading: JLA CLassified, Astonishing X-Men, Plastic Man
JLA Classified #1 - a healthy dose of old-fashioned super-hero action and thrills, courtesy of Grant Morrison, penciller Ed McGuiness, and inker Dexter Vines. This issue is writen with typically tacit Morrisonian exposition; blink and you'll miss out on what the heck is going on. I appreciate this; as I've said before, it's the anti-Claremont idea of forcing the reader to savor each word and every bit of art. There was one major issue that threatened to derail my enjoyment of this book. That was my unfamiliarity with The Ultramarines, whose battle with Super Gorilla Grodd makes up the majority of the action. For that matter, maybe somebody can help me with another question: is "Super Gorilla Grodd" the same character as Gorilla Grodd?
The art in this book is satisfying, if somewhat straightforward. Very tight, very pro, very slick. I might question some of the super-splashy layouts used in the first half because they tend to muddle the storytelling. Along with my unfamiliarity with the characters and Morrison's obtuse approach to exposition, the confusing staging contributes to the thin layer of inscrutability that keeps me from giving this book more than 3.5 stars.
Plastic Man #11 - This book was actually released two weeks ago, but I didn't pick it up until this past Wednesday. I had the 2nd issue of Millar's Wolverine in my hand, but the amount of Marvel mediocrity in my stack and my general disdain for Millar won out at the last minute. On a whim I picked up this Plastic Man instead and I'm glad I did. It's chock full of clever zings at comic book cliches and President Bush; yes, these are easy targets, but the cleverness of the material still made me chuckle. Combine that with slapstick action and candy-colored cartoon visuals, and you have 2 dollars and 95 cents worth of light-hearted comic entertainment. 4 stars.
Astonishing X-Men #6 - Frankly I'm astonished that I'm still reading this book. For the most part, John Cassady delivers his usual gaze-worthy art, but that's about all this title has going for it. This penultimate issue did help me put my finger on my problem with this series. Yes, the return of Colossus obliterated one of the main pillars of the X-Men's return to comic book greatness. But it also stands as a prime example of the main deficiency of Joss Whedon's scripting. These 6 issues have been Whedon's glowing love letter to the Claremont & Claremont-spawned X-Men of the 1980's. OK, yes, we all liked those characters and stories. An occasional homage or nod to that era is appreciated. But Whedon seems incapable or unwilling to give us anything else. The return of the costumes, Colossus, Kitty Pryde, and Lockheed the dragon. The groan-inducing two-page spread tribute to Wolverine & Colossus' "Cannonball Special." The list goes on and on. If you'll recall, this stubborn clinging to the past led to the X-Men's spiral into crappiness in the years following Claremont. Morrison had the guts (and more importantly, the authority) to break this cycle and nudge the characters forward, out of the status quo morass into which they had sunk. Unfortunately, creativity and original ideas have no place in the newly conservative Marvel. If I want 1980's nostalgia, I can read G.I. Joe or Thundercats. But you know what? I don't read those books. And I'm not reading this anymore. On the strength of Cassady's art: 2 stars.
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at November 6, 2004 11:42 AM