« Happy Picky-versary To Me! | Main | Pour Out a Little Liquor for Rampage!!! »
October 13, 2005
Subway Reading: Infinite Crisis
SPOILER ALERT!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Infinite Crisis #1 - Was it good? Speaking as a superhero fan who didn't read any of the lead-in material: it wasn't bad, per se. Various superheroes that I've never heard of get killed, one at the hands of Bizarro (remember when he was comic relief?); Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman stand around and share their feelings; and there's a big last-page reveal of Golden Age Superman flying in to save the day, which seems to serve as commentary on the generally ineffectual nature of the "real" heroes. Events from the various lead-in series appeared, though there wasn't any more connection made between them than the fact that they're all happening simultaneously and they're all unpleasant. Did I mention that Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman stand around and talk about their feelings? They have the kind of "heavy" discussions that I kind of remember having with my 7th-grade girlfriend: "I don't even know who you are anymore." Oy vey.
Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning do a nice job on the artwork. The level of unnecessary detail that you've come to expect from Jimenez is here in full force. Take a look at the two-page spread of the team of super-villains (I don't know what they're called collectively; it's the gang that features Bizarro, Sinestro, etc) to see how effectively this kind of detail can render an otherwise dynamic scene inert and lifeless. But that's a style that always seems to tickle the fancy of the tights & capes crowd, so there it is. The complex panel arrangements were expertly laid out, clearly presenting an unusually heavy load of story information. One thing you can't accuse this book of is decompression. The amount of activity and the crowded pages do a nice job of establishing the urgent pace that the story calls for.
All in all, this book delivers exactly what it sets out to. There was a legitimate feeling of, dare I say, CRISIS, albeit a crisis that the big 3 heroes might have alleviated by taking some kind of action. Once you get over the plot-hammering, the fanboy wankery, and the pervasive misery, there is a kernel of an engaging superhero epic to be found in this book.
In case you missed it, check out Rich Kreiner's "5,137 Pages of Brian Michael Bendis." It's an exhaustive critical analysis of Bendis' writing from the latest issue of The Comics Journal.
"His is a mannered verbal mimicry of a narrowed, imaginary social American stratum, that of pop-culture street level."
(brought to my attention by BeaucoupKevin)
Posted by jdonelson_nyc at October 13, 2005 02:14 PM
Comments
"Tights & cape crowd"! Bah!!!
Don't deny your true nature. Join us.
Posted by: Suckytarian at October 14, 2005 11:17 AM
I knew I should have qualified that statement. I never claimed that I wasn't part of the tights & capes crowd. I freely admit to a borderline unhealthy love for stories of rippling-muscled men in their long johns. But being one of those people doesn't prevent me from recognizing the millions of massive flaws in logic and taste that they often display.
Posted by: jdonelson_nyc at October 14, 2005 11:37 AM