A long post about comics

If this doesn't interest you just get in your time machine and go to the post I'll write next Monday, I'm sure you'll like it better.


A gift in the form of Singapore’s National Library has allowed me to read up on a host of comics I would not have otherwise ever purchased. It has also allowed me the opportunity to cast my own critical eye on the ‘hottest’ writers of the past 7 years. Yes, I’m talking Bendis, Millar, Brubaker and Geoff Johns. While they all work for either Marvel or DC it’s worth examining their mainstream works considering that all of them write books that regularly field in the top 20 American mainstream comics produced.

Brian Michael Bendis
I’ve read up on his work through New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-man trades and must admit that his writing is far more irritating than the haters ever made it out to be. People have often commented on his gift for dialogue. Now I have to admit that he has a knack for dialogue, perhaps even a gift. However, it doesn’t suit the comics medium. Bendis seems enamored with jis own ability to write ‘witty’ lines at the expense of the flow of the medium in which he is writing. His writing reminds me very much of Gilmore Girls where the back and forth would have the Flash struggling to keep pace. In the case of NA and Ult. Spidey this just doesn’t work, particularly in the case of the first. In particular, the Avengers are just not a group that lend themselves to such a style of dialogue and even when Bendis revamped the team so that he could play with his favourite toys it made little sense given the characters he was using. Oh yes, it may be ‘clever’... but I have to question the intelligence of making characters ‘clever’ just to show off. Frankly, the book is an indulgent mess that makes a mockery of a franchise with a long and successful history. While I haven’t read Daredevil, which is supposedly Bendis’ mainstream opus, I just can’t find the energy to give it a shot based on the mind-bogglingly boring experience of the other two titles. So it’s a thumbs down to Bendis.

Mark Millar
I’ve read a decent chunk of Millar work over the past few years. From his follow-up to Ellis’ Authority to the recent Civil War. When Millar has worked for me has been when the gloves are off. The Authority, The Ultimates and even his Wolverine run. I just didn’t care anymore. Millar likes to use the tried and true Tarantino method of tough guys shocking for shocks sake. And quite often, it works. When his hands are tied however (be they by editorial demands or just by the brand of the franchise he’s working on) it just tends to come off as trying very hard to be edgy. This was obvious in his Spider-man run and the Civil War series, which started off promisingly and by the time the final issue came around I was so bored that I didn’t even bother buying it. His Ultimate X-men I thought was fine though really wasn’t all that different from reading a regular 616 X-book. Millar does giant, over-the-top dumb fun. And he’s quite exceptional at it. His books are the equivalent of Summer event movies though I would on balance put them into the category of the good Summer event films (as opposed to the poor ones like the War of the Worlds remake).

Ed Brubaker
I’m including Brubaker here even though I haven’t read extensively of his library. The two biggest things besides some Bat-books back in the day are the X-men : Deadly Genesis mini and his run on Captain America. I’ve heard very good things about Gotham Central and his Catwoman but can’t comment on them from firsthand experience. Deadly Genesis? A mess that sought desperately to prove itself as important but was really just one giant ret-con that added little except further complication to the X-mythos. I don’t blame Brubaker for this one as it was obviously an editorially driven story that was handed to him when he became Marvel exclusive rather than an idea he himself came up with and pitched. Captain America, and here’s where I move into territory I never thought I’d be in, is exceptional. I’ve read the first 20 issues in trade and was just enthralled by the political intrigue and the handling of a large cast with an even longer history. Brubaker’s ability here to establish personalities and motivations in the midst of solid action has actually made me want to read a Captain America comic, something I thought would never ever ever happen to me in a million years. Given the reactions to his runs on Bats, Cats, Sleeper and Cap it would appear that Brubaker has a much firmer grasp of solo titles with large supporting casts than of team books. So Brubaker gets a very strong nod for doing the impossible – making me like Captain America.

Geoff Johns
From JSA to the Flash to Infinite Crisis and 52, Geoff Johns has become the go-to man at DC. Need a character revamped? A continuity nightmare made intelligible? Just shine the Johns-signal into the night and 6 months later you have a title people are prepared to read. This is not to say he’s perfect. Infinite Crisis just didn’t make it to the finish line after a very strong first three issues. It was also marred by guest artists but that hardly seems Johns’ fault. The work I’ve enjoyed most by him is his run on the Flash which showed long-term strategic planning, my favourite thing in any serialised story (whether that’s comics or tv). He managed to play with readers’ expectations and throw in genuine surprises when needed or alternatively build up a sense of foreboding in the case of others (I’m thinking Zoom here). He’s currently crafting the Sinestro Corps storyline in Green Lantern which I will be getting as soon as they trade it up for me. One of the things I also like is the vague rumour that he really likes the character of Dick Grayson. I would actually start reading that title again if Johns started writing it. Hopefully he would have the sense to put Dick and Babs in their rightful place – together.

Follow the Leader

Now that I am on a somewhat human schedule I'm able to enjoy some of the finer things in life. Yesterday I watched the final season of Justice League Unlimited. For a show that was only passable in its infancy, this is one cartoon that absolutely hit strides once the format of the show changed and the league was expanded. They were also clever enough to use the established format that Buffy the Vampire Slayer really brought to mainstream attention - the season-long arc. Where the larger plot weaves in and out of different episodes with certain key episodes being given over to direct advancement of said plot. Naturally, Unlimited was always going to appeal to hardcore DC people because you pretty much see everyone that ever was from that universe - even Aztek!

I also watched the pilot episode for HBO's new show John From Cincinnati. At first I wasn't very drawn into this show but the second half of the episode leaves you scratching your head just enough to want more. From what I can tell so far it involves surfing, drugs and possibly superpowers. By the end of the episode I was left with just the vaguest memory of Twin Peaks. So far it doesn't have that level of kookiness, but it would certainly appear to be part of the ingredients. And since when did a television production company (HBO in this case) become a brand unto itself whereby I will pretty much try any program they have to offer? I really am becoming a sucker.

Two years ago I bought the entire first season of The Ultimates and Volume 1 of Ultimates 2. Yesterday, some 24 months later I bought and read Volume 2. I think some of the shine had worn off purely because I had waited 2 years for it. Enjoyable because of the way the series skirts reality, let's face it if the world had superheroes then it would probably all happen the way things played out in the Ultimates. Mark Millar's political leanings are obvious, as ever, and it's stunning that he is allowed to get away with the picture he paints of America and yet still sell to a very mainstream comics crowd. Very much like Michael Moore, I happen to agree with Millar politically on many things but I don't need it forced down my throat in such a way. I guess that's the price I pay for Bryan Hitch art.

Am still in report-writing mode. In fact I should be doing it this very second. It's hard to be diplomatic sometimes in these kinds of reports. You can't tell someone their child sucks because they may pull them from the school - not to mention the fact that I'm not that evil. But it's also difficult to tell them what they can do to address these issues in just two short paragraphs. So it's the old format. Tell them something good, tell them some bad things and then end with something good or a note of encouragement. Yes, after writing 50 of these my brain is officially fried. Tragically I still have 29 to go. Back to the drawing board...

I was tearing from the betrayal

It would appear that there is much betrayal going on in Singaporean schools. Oh yes, and a whole lot of tearing. No, no, not like when you rip a phone book in half to impress a girl. Apparently this tearing is crying, or at least starting to cry. I've been a teacher for some years now and am curious to know whether I am being sold down the river or whether I truly am as dumb as I look. Have any of you guys heard of the verb 'tearing'? I've only ever heard it from Singaporeans which lends credence to my this-is-a-made-up-Singlish-word theory. But I'm open to being utterly wrong. So is 'tearing' actually a word? I've never heard it used in Australia but it is said/written here with such regularity and conviction that I have to wonder whether maybe I'm the one with the vocabulary problem.

Oh yes, and betrayal. It's such a great word that I almost never use - someone recently said that this was because I'm so careful that it would be very difficult for anyone to betray me. And yet, it would appear that the majority of my students have been betrayed by their 'best' friends. Whether is was their friend stealing something and then blaming it on the writer or them making a pact to cheat only to have the friend inform the examiner at the last minute, there seems to be an undercurrent of skulduggery and quite knifing going on across the island. I'm not sure whether this can be attributed to astounding naivety on the writer's part or a willingness to partake in petty criminal activities, but I've just spent the last 2 hours reading all about 'tearing' and betrayal from a bunch of Secondary 4 (equivalent to Year 10) students. My brain hurts.

I'm not yet finished Potter so I'm avoiding all of your blogs and won't read the comments on this one til I'm done. Yes, I've learnt from my students that I can't trust anyone ;)
I'm planning some commentary on the writing styles of Geoff Johns, Brian Bendis and Gail Simone soon. I know how much you all love comics so I'm sure you're drooling in anticipation.
OooooOOOoooooOOOOOoooh!!!
WHEN DID AVRIL LAVIGNE GET HEY OWN MANGA!!!??!?!?!
I noticed this in Kinokuniya the other day. She has manga... my head is still trying to grasp this concept. I understand that she's a record label creation. I get that. It's a carefully constructed image made palatable for the 11-15 year old girl crowd, while being just (corporate) "edgy" enough to avoid total deconstruction by the mainstream media. And now she has manga. Tapping the EXACT same demographic that would buy her albums, hence doubling sales. This news doesn't make me want to vomit, it makes me want to shake the hand of whichever low-ranking office clerk passed off this brilliant idea to the boss that then claimed it as his own in a high-ranking board meeting. It's genius.

Welcome to the reign of black and white. Despite being laughed out of a bbq at a friend's house at the beginning of the season, I take much pleasure in noting that Collingwood are the only team supported by anyone from the conversation that is going to be playing finals this year.
RIP Sheedy's Essendon reign.

Da na na na na na na. da na na na na na naaaaaaaa

As adults, we often yearn for the "simpler" days of high school. Or better yet, primary school. Oh, how glorious such times were...
Yesterday morning there was a Batman sighting at an American middle school. Seeing as how I was definitely in Melbourne yesterday I'm quite upset about this obvious imposter trading on my alter-egos good name. And yes, I would pay money to see Batman run through a school or a street in broad daylight. Wonder if this was a prank that will end up on YouTube in the next day or two...