First Wave Special – Review

By: Jason Starr (writer), Phil Winslade (artist), Lovern Kindzierski (colorist)

The Story: I think we can all safely conclude the Avenger’s got some major issues.

The Review: With the end of the First Wave miniseries, DC now has the awkward situation of having set up a fully-realized, separate world from their primary continuity, but with only two titles to support it (the underwhelming Doc Savage and the more pleasing The Spirit).  It’s not clear where they’ll take this strictly pulp/noir universe from here.

First Wave Special doesn’t really give a good indication of DC’s plans for this world.  The story doesn’t follow up the series in any way, nor does it tie into any of the related ongoings (except for featuring El Mano Negra and Shonder Zeev, New York mobsters briefly mentioned in The Spirit).  Mostly the issue acts as a character piece for the Avenger, AKA Richard Benson, who played a fairly big role in the First Wave miniseries, but whom you got to know the least.

And overall, he gets a fairly strong showing here.  His gunning for Zeev gives him ample opportunity to demonstrate his utter ruthlessness, which is pretty intense.  I’m not sure even Batman would beat the teeth out of a mobster with a brick, especially after saying he won’t.  Starr does a good job balancing the Avenger’s narration with exposition and his internal broodings, though it gets heavy-handed every now and then.

Besides the angst, the Avenger’s sense of justice is incredibly contradictory.  Savage is correct in his assessment that Benson has a code only he understands; the Avenger spends the issue going after Zeev and his thugs for crippling a client, but when it comes to the atrocities El Mano Negro commits against the innocents of the city, Benson doesn’t “give a damn about any of this.”  But considering his grim origins, it makes sense personal vendettas are the only ones he’s interested in taking up.

First Wave #6 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Rags Morales (penciller), Rick Bryant & Phil Winslade (inker), Nei Ruffino (colorist)

The Story: If you happen to be fighting giant robots and dinosaurs on a floating city in the middle of a tsunami, you’ll get pretty down too.

The Review: Figuring out the ending to any kind of story is probably the toughest part of writing.  There’s an urge to neatly wrap it all up with a bow on top, but that’s not always possible.  Some endings take time to come together, making it rough for comic book miniseries.  Since there’s a definite cap to their space and deadline for their completion, they don’t have the luxury of letting the story meander along until it kind of finishes itself.

This last issue of First Wave definitely seems like a spare issue or two would have helped out a lot in pulling all its plot threads together in a tighter way.  Azzarello does his best with what he’s got, but the pace still feels rushed, almost furiously cobbled together.  Even to the very end, he introduces twists which never pan out—the serum that turns blood into gold, for example—which indicates he has a much grander vision in mind that what he ends up with.

Certainly a lot of the more emotional, pontificating scenes need more grounding to sell.  Anton Colossi’s childish breakdown would be more convincing had we seen more signs of his instability beyond a weird, but not totally off-putting devotion to his mother.  But his mad ravings are kind of an eye-roller: “I am sooooo [sic] done hearing can’t, when I can do any damned thing I want!”  You’re really left with the sense of him as an insignificant lunatic.

First Wave #5 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Rags Morales (penciller), Rick Bryant (inker), Nei Ruffino (colors)

The Story: The Blackhawks, Doc Savage, the Spirit, Rima the Jungle Girl, the Bat Man, and the Avenger are set on a collision course with the Golden Tree just as it pushes toward its ultimate goal.  Facing destructive powers beyond those of the last world war, our heroes must act fast to prevent another from taking place—if they can survive long enough, that is.

The Review: Even though history’s taught us that the fifties weren’t quite the sunny years people believed them to be, there’s still a lot of nostalgia for that period, and for good reason.  It was a decade of unprecedented confidence in what people—Americans, in particular—were capable of.  That’s the magic Brian Azzarello attempts to capture in First Wave.  By making a world scrubbed clean of all metahuman and alien elements, he raises the stakes for his characters by challenging them to show what they’re really made of.

Having a world entirely populated by mortals instantly pumps the tension bar.  There’s no Superman to fly in, bare his bulletproof chest, and save the day.  The heroes have to take risks to get things done, and when they’re in danger, the only tools at their disposal are their skills and guts.  Azzarello does a great job setting up tight situations for his characters to force or bluff their way through, keeping the action pumping all throughout the issue.  It’s classic stuff—speeding bullets, fisticuffs, and daredevil stunts.

What prevents the issue from going totally pulp is the inclusion of a bit of retro sci-fi and exotica, which is very fitting for the period Azzarello’s trying to channel.  The technology has all the grandiose flair people envisioned back then, but has enough attention to actual engineering principles to make it believable.  The Red Right Hand is portrayed with the dress and mannerisms of stereotypical natives, but they demonstrate their intelligence through their posture and interaction.  The end result is a Golden Age that feels credible; you could be fooled into thinking this is a world that can exist in a modern era.

Batman/ Doc Savage Special – Review

by Brian Azzarello (writer), Phil Noto (art)

The Story: A rookie Batman runs afoul of Doc Savage, the famous Man of Bronze, when he’s thought to possibly be involved in a grisly murder on the streets of Gotham City.

What’s Good: A lot.  DC’s First Wave line has officially launched with the release of this 56-page special and I’m happy to report that there’s quite a bit to like here.  When hearing the premise of yet another alternate DC Universe involving established and not exactly underused characters such as Batman and Black Canary, I was admittedly suspicious of the necessity of it’s existence. The inclusion of Azzarello as writer didn’t do much to excite me either, as I found his earlier work in the super-hero genre underwhelming.  However, if this one-shot is an indication of the enjoyment to be had with the concept, then I’m eagerly onboard for more.

Azzarello is clearly at home with the subject matter.  Fans of the writer’s usual fare such as 100 Bullets shouldn’t find it surprising that the man knows how to write a comic that leans heavily on noir and pulp sensibilities.  The Batman and Doc Savage Special is full of a damaged, world-weary cast of characters and he infuses them with a wonderful array of wit and charisma.  His gun-toting Batman is instantly dynamic and his Bruce Wayne even more appealing.  This Dark Knight is a younger, brasher individual than his mainstream counterpart, yet it quickly becomes evident that he’s just as sly and cunning.

The writer also ably services the other star of the book.  Doc Savage is obviously meant to fill the Superman role here, and it works.  Batman as a character traditionally works well when used as a foil for lighter, friendlier heroes.  While having Savage play this role ran the risk of making this team-up seem a tad too familiar to some readers, the writer managed to inject a different flavor into the two heroes’ interactions.  Unlike the Man of Steel, Savage is just a man.  A physically and mentally near-perfect man, but still a man.  When he finally confronts Batman, there’s a sense of fair play in the dynamic between them that has been absent in the “God vs. Man” vibe that arises whenever Superman is around.  It makes for a fresh variation on a story we’ve seen many times in the past.

I can’t say enough positive things about Phil Noto.  I find myself picking up the thesaurus often whenever I’m in the position of describing his work.  It’s surprising how quickly you can go through all the synonyms for amazing.  Noto is literally perfect for this story.  His retro-modern style beautifully brings Azzarello’s 1940’s-inspired Gotham City, as well as its inhabitants, to life.  Noto casts Los Angeles in the part of Batman’s infamous stomping grounds and it fits like a glove.  He also does an admirable job on the character of Doc Savage.  While it’s hard to go wrong with the Dark Knight, the Man of Bronze isn’t as well-known to the current generation of readers.  Noto smartly doesn’t change much about the hero’s signature design, but accomplishes conveying a sense of weight and experience in his face and stature.  Even if I were unfamiliar with the character’s history, I’d be able to guess at some of what he’s been through by simply looking at him.

There’s also an eight page behind-the-scenes segment of the upcoming First Wave miniseries that this special leads into at the tail end of this issue.  There’s some nice artwork by Rags Morales previewed and informative text pieces by Azzarello that spotlight some of the additional characters that we can look forward to showing up.  It’s a nice peek at the creative process and serves to further entice me to give this new title a peek when it’s released.

What’s Not So Good: A few minor nitpicks, really.  While Noto’s artwork suitably brings this new world to life, he does have a tendency to produce stiff action sequences. It’s far from a deal-breaker as the plot doesn’t really center on the fight scenes, but it can distract.  On the writing side, Azzarello’s script seems to come to a rather abrupt conclusion.  Just as our two stars finally come to terms with each other, they receive a phone call that effectively ends any reason for the story to continue.  And it just stops.  It’s far from an exciting culmination to what was an otherwise entertaining read.

Conclusion: Azzarello and Noto serve up a fine introduction to DC’s pulp-tinged new universe.  Lush visuals supported by a strong script that persuasively sells the character of Doc Savage as a worthy headliner make this an enjoyable read.

Grade: B

-Joe Lopez