Month: September 2013

Don’t Call it a Review: Forever Evil

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The bad guys have won. The outlook is bleak. The heroes are not just defeated. They are gone…?

That’s how Forever Evil, DC Comics first company wide crossover in the New 52, begins. It begins with despair, hopelessness. It starts with that sinking feeling where you cannot imagine how the heroes will over come. It starts with questions.

Lots of questions.

Is the Justice League really dead?

What happened at the end of Trinity War?

What will happen to Nightwing?

Questions are good at the beginning of an epic storyline. You slowly start filling in the answers as you get to the end. These questions are good ones. But I have an even better one.

 Why should we believe anything the Crime Syndicate tells us?

They are the epitome of a ‘unreliable narrator’, they are the bad guys. They should be lying to us. It is kind of their thing.

They tell us they have killed the Justice League, they tell us they ruled their world, they tell us they destroyed the world there. That is what they say.

The truth may be very different. The populace of their world may have finally stood up and said “no more”. They may have rebelled, fought back and finally vanquished the villains. At this point we just do not know.

That is what makes it interesting. What is the truth, what is the lie? In between perhaps we discover what the heroes will need to triumph.

For the first time in a long time I am excited about one of these epic, company wide stories. Time to show me what you have got.

Before I forget. Favorite part of the issue. Kord Industries. What does that mean? I may be dreaming but it may mean…Ted ‘frickin’ Kord. And that cold mean the return of Blue and Gold…I’m pumped.
Bwahahahahahahaha…

Villain’s Month…How about an Heroes Month?

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Villain’s Month is here.

It is a wonderful idea. One shot comics spotlighting our favorite bad guys as we head into Forever Evil, DC Comics first company wide crossover epic in the New 52.

Going into a major storyline featuring the villains who have won it only makes sense to give readers the opportunity to learn more about the characters. The comics themselves have had varied success. I am sure everyone has their favorite books, along with those they could have done without. But it begs the question: What about the Heroes?

These are the comics after all. We know at some point the heroes will return, the heroes will vanquish the villains. But which heroes?

Why not a Heroes Month? I mean we all know about Superman, Batman and the like. But what about the other heroes. What about the ones we have not seen in the New 52 or ones who were needlessly cast aside?

There is an opportunity here, a chance to present characters to readers they may not have seen otherwise.

There could be a Doom Patrol hiding somewhere. What about a re-imagined version of the Freedom Fighters trying to undermine the Crime Syndicate?

There is a chance to bring Ted Kord, the former Blue Beetle, back. Not to mention giving us an updated version of ‘Blue and Gold’. Maybe even a new version of Detective Chimp?

The possibilities abound.

That is what comics are about aren’t they. Possibility…

The Secret Adventures of Wally West

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In DC Comics New 52, something is wrong, something is missing.

They tell me that Barry Allen is the fastest man alive. They tell me that Barry Allen is the Flash.

They are wrong. While Barry Allen is one of the fastest men alive, he is only ‘a’ Flash.

art by Brett Booth

art by Brett Booth

Wally West is the Flash.

More importantly he is my Flash. For some Wally was always the Flash, Barry a distant memory. I remember Wally as the original Kid Flash. I remember him as Dick Grayson’s best friend. I remember the Teen Titan. I was there when he hung up the Kid Flash costume and I was there when he first donned the scarlet colors of the Flash. Nothing can ever take those memories from me.

Barry Allen is a great hero, but for me he is just kind of there. He never really connected with me.

Wally on the other hand. I watched him grow into the hero he was. It was a true heroes journey. He had given up the super-hero life only to pick it back up to honor his mentor, his friend. Wally wanted to be the Flash but he never wanted to replace Barry. For years he was the fastest man alive, still never faster than Barry had been. In time he realized his potential, he realized being the hero he was meant to be did not mean making people forget about Barry. It meant reminding people of the man who came before, reminding them of his legacy.

From sidekick to man to hero to legend, Wally had a long twisting journey till he found himself side by side with his heroes. No longer the sidekick, the little brother, now he was a legend in his own right.

Now he is gone…

The Flash is dead. Long live the Flash.

Long live Wally West.