Decisions: Teen Titans and Superboy

I'm trying to lump together titles that intertwine or are at least related by character line.  These two are both.

Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

---

Issue #3

Teen Titans

Since I'd already covered two issues of TT, this will only cover Issue #3, but really, do I need to?

Re-cap:  So much is going on in this story line, it might take me as long to recap as it would take you to download and read.  Kid Flash rescues Solstice from the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. facility somewhere in the Antarctic, but because of the weather, and the muting of Solstice's powers, they don't make it too far. Bunker, on the run, hops a railway car on his search for Red Robin.  Instead he meets a gritty hobo traveling with a strange cocoon. After a brief scuffle, lo and behold, the hobo is Red Robin in disguise.  The two  stop in a town of mind-controlled citizens and RR meets Detritus, a self-sentient scrap metal beast with the ability to erase memories.  He's going to take over humanity.  Finally, Wondergirl confronts 1/3 of "Thrice" to grill him for more information on who hired him/them.  I have a feeling she'll have to beat it out of him.

What Soars: What doesn't?  The art in Teen Titans is amazing.  I'm ranking Brett Booth up there with Jim Lee and Ivan Reis.  I love the way he pencils with such interesting details.  Lobdell has an amazing ability to write a complex story that is so seamless, the reader is able to move through it without feeling lost or whiplashed.  There was so much I couldn't believe there were only 20 pages.  The humor is also HILARIOUS.  It's adult humor and juvenile humor all rolled into one.  Perhaps his ability to do this is why there is such great character development.  I feel like I know Bunker more in 10 pages then I know most other characters after several issues.  And no, it's not because I have a thing for gay latin guys. I do, but that's not why.

What Crashes:  Honestly, I can't say anything does.  OK, maybe I don't quite understand Bunker's powers yet and maybe he's a little too stereotypically latino twinkie flamboyantly gay, but he's a fucking riot.  And if the shoe fits...  Besides, this series is GREAT!

Decision: A definite keeper!  In fact, I've already downloaded the rest of the issues up to now.  Worth every penny, I'm sure.

---

Issue #2

Superboy
Issue #2

Re-cap:  Superboy is released from the lab to team up with Rose Wilson to stop a "prison riot" where three aliens are trying to break free of a holding facility. Even though he is stopped physically, Superboy manages to take down the aliens and the entire facility with his powers of tactile telekenesis.  Rose Wilson barely manages to escape and return to the N.O.W.H.E.R.E. plane as the prison disintegrates.

What Soars: I am actually pretty impressed with the story.  There is enough action and plot to keep me engaged AND thinking this book is much longer than it actually is.  The great part is that Lobdell writes Teen Titans as well so the stories mesh well.

What Crashes:  I've said it before.  The art is abhorrent. It is so distracting, it keeps me from enjoying the story.  How many issues have to run before publishers decide to replace an artist?

Decision:  I hate to say it, but I had my mind made up on this one by the end of Issue #2.  While I think it would be a good companion to Teen Titans, I just can't justify following them both.  Because I like a variety of characters, I'm picking TT. Goodbye, Superboy.  I'll see you in a book where you're drawn much better. Maybe if Silva is replaced in the future, I'll pick you back up.

---

All images copyright DC Comics and used under the guidelines of Fair Use.

Decisions: Green Lantern Corps and Green Lantern: New Guardians

Deciding to keep or ditch any comic in the GL family is a tough one.  I gave these series four issues each just to be sure.

Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

---

Green Lantern Corps

Issue #3

So here is the Guy Gardner/John Stewart collab.  I dislike both these Lanterns.  Is that enough to keep me following?

Re-cap:  An unknown army is pillaging worlds for their natural resources, and the soldiers are impervious to the Green Lantern ring energy. While Lantern Porter is able to transport most of the Corps from Oa for the rescue, he is unable to transport all Lanterns AND citizens of Xabas away, leaving John Stewart behind as a captive.  However they were able to bring back an unconscious member of the opposing army where they realize the origin of the attack and the reason why the solders were impervious.  The soldiers' life essence was willpower and their attack: an attempt to recapture what is rightfully theirs: The Central Power Battery. 

Issue #4

What Soars: I like that this story line makes the Guardians out to be the bad guys.  Yes, they assembled the Corps to be an intergalactic police force, but they were hush hush about where they got their power.  With the help of Martian Manhunter (Stormwatch), Guy learns from the captive that the Guardians stole the energy of willpower from these people and all they are fighting for is their rightful property. Not so noble now, are we Guardians?

What Crashes:  Not much.  I have to admit, watching Isamot fight limbless with the ring on his tongue is quite creepy.  I guess being a lizard has its advantages.  His limbs will grow back. Issue 3 had a "guest penciler" but his art wasn't far off the norm. Overall this is an intriguing series.

Decision:  Such a tough call.  I'm interested in finding out what happens with this storyline, but I'm not so interested in the corps as much.  I'll wait til these issues go on sale down the line and buy them digitally, like a TPB in digital form.

---

Green Lantern: New Guardians

Issue #3

Kyle Rayner is my backup GL. As Ion, he was the most powerful being in the universe. Now he has all rings of the spectrum.  Where do we go now?

Re-cap:  Kyle has taken control with a ring from every element of the sector and plans to defeat the Guardians for their lobotomizing of Ganthet, but he's not strong enough to sustain it.  With members of the others corps attacking, the Guardians defeat them all, except Larfleeze who comes to get what is his: everything. This new rainbow alliance sets out to destroy the Guardians since they have become the largest threat in the universe.  Retreating at the advice of Orange Guardian Sayd, The group learns there is a far worse threat to the universe which sent the rings to Kyle. An artificial construct larger than the solar system has emerged from a "White Hole" and that's where the adventure must continue.

Issue #4

What Soars: As I read this, I think about The Breakfast Club.  It's this mismatched group of characters who, despite their distaste for each other, are working together against something bigger.  The question is, will it be successful like any John Hughes film, or will it sink like so many of the poor imitations that followed.  We shall see.

What Crashes:  The action here is a little fast and the story jumps a little too quickly, but after a few re-reads, you get back on track.  I'm not sure about this "White Hole" entity.  It has the capacity to be a mondo success or an epic fail.  I am interested though.

Decision:  I'm so intrigued by this, but like GLC, I think I'm going to have to wait and follow these as they go on sale.  I'm not super-assured that the story will be going places.  We shall see. 

---

All images copyright DC Comics and used under the guidelines of Fair Use.

Review: Green Lantern #4

Yes, there's only one this week that has been circulating in full review mode.  I've decided to take a new approach to the others.  Unveiling soon.

It's New Comic Book Wednesday!

Green Lantern #4

I have to say I was HANGING on the resolution of this one.  Issue #3 ended with such insanity that I was wondering how they would ever get Hal out of it.  I have to admit, that while the idea of Hal's survival was a good way to "save" him, it played out very quickly and anticlimactically.  I guess it makes me think of some old-time serials where the solution seems so easy and is just brushed aside like it was no big thing.  I kinda feel like that's what happened here.  Oh, you aren't Sinestro? Then we won't transport you to the anti-matter universe.  That is all.

I guess that would be my
dying wish too.

Hal doesn't get off that easily though. He's taken prisoner by the Sinestro Corps to be dealt with after they torture Sinestro himself.  Thrown in a de-charging cell, Hal's ring depletes rather quickly.  What I was touched by was his desire, in his last moments of power, to use his ring to make a construct of Carol. He really does have a heart and a soft spot even if he is a cocky douchebag.  It's what makes him so loveable.

When the Corps can't figure out how to "de-green" him, Sinestro is "thrown to the wolves" for all intents and purposes.  He is imprisoned with all of the people of Korugar the corps has been defeating and torturing.  They feel that they put their trust in Sinestro and he betrayed them.  As much as he tries to convince them he didn't want this, that the Corps is acting against his orders, they simply don't believe him.  Would you?

Oops! Maybe giving my
enemies weapons wasn't
such a good idea.

What really speaks to me though is the element that I brought up last issue. "Bad guy" is all about perspective.  Did Sinestro set out to be a bad guy in this situation?  No.  His intent was to protect his people and his planet.  Unfortunately, the army he created to do so took on their own mission which didn't involve holding Sinestro's values as their own.  Where the people of Korugar once saw Sinestro as their savior, the now see him as nothing but a ruthless tyrant.  And all he wanted to do was help.  Sinestro even goes as far as creating Green Lantern rings for his people to prove his good intentions, but unfortunately, they turn his own rings against him in the final panel.  Fear and rage beget hostil action.  I get that.  Perhaps these Korugarians should have gotten red rings.  It really points out how important it is to consider all of the sides in any skirmish. Maybe understanding the intent behind actions could help resolve our own conflict.

Sometimes people look at me strangely when they find out I read comics.  They ask me, as an English teacher, why I don't read "more challenging" and "more thought-provoking" material.  My response to them is they have clearly never read good comics and they have definitely never looked at how this medium can really be a gateway to reading for the struggling reader.  There's so much about comics that can challenge thinking, especially as social commentary on the world around us.  This series and the Red Lantern series have really helped me to see the evidence behind that.

---

All images copyright DC Comics and used under guidelines of Fair Use