Static Shock Special #1 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Nothing like ten years in the slammer to make you appreciate being able to boogie freely again.

The Review: I got seriously into comics only a few years ago, so I had little to no familiarity with all the major names in the biz.  Dwayne McDuffie I only knew by name as writer of the terrific Static Shock and Justice League cartoons, and later by his unremarkable run on Justice League of America.  Until his messy exit from that title, I didn’t even know he was black; to me, he was a terrific writer of cartoons with an interesting, to say the least, history in comics.

So it is rather bittersweet to read this special, featuring his most famous creation and paying tribute to McDuffie himself.  The sweetness comes from the obvious love this issue’s creators has for him; the bitter arises from Felicia D. Henderson’s uninspired writing.  Better known for her television work, her biggest effort in comics was a polarizing stint on Teen Titans, which brings up the question of whether she was truly the best choice to take the lead on this special.

From the start, you encounter problems with featured character Teshomé Gabriel Hawkins, Static’s beloved uncle.  Henderson tries to paint him as sympathetic when he gets sent to prison unjustly for murder—presumably.  But she fails to delve into the case with any detail (you only know the victim gets killed Thanksgiving afternoon, and Teshomé shows up at Virgil’s house later that night for dinner), so you can only take Virg’s word that his uncle is innocent.

Henderson might still have pulled off Teshomé as a likable, worthy figure if she had given us more of his background beyond the fact that he’s a hustler.  If she had shown circumstances forced him into that sphere, and if she had revealed more of his redeeming virtues, you’d have more cause to believe in him.  But Henderson actually undermines Teshomé’s character by describing him as a “master of stolen goods”, and by having him show no excess of scruples when he says, “State wants to settle for ten mil.  Life’s good.  Life’s real good.”

All-Star Superman (Film) – Review

By: Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Sam Liu (director), Bruce Timm (producer), James Denton, Christina Hendricks, & Anthony LaPaglia (voice actors)

The Story: How does Superman spend his last days?  Shuffleboard probably isn’t on the bucket list.

The Review: Anyone who has ever tried to adapt anything into film will come across a lot of challenges: how to fit all the story elements into the span of a watchable movie; how to bring alive the characters and details that make the work so appealing; and how to possibly inject some new ideas to make what you see on the screen respectful to the original while still giving you a sense of freshness.

The animated adaptation of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All-Star Superman clears these hurdles very convincingly.  Written, produced, and directed by veterans of animated comics, the movie lifts its script (even, delightfully enough, much of the dialogue) straight from Morrison’s words, and the animation is clearly trying its hardest to mimic Quitely’s distinctive lines.  For fans of the original, rest assured there’s plenty of love involved in the making of this movie.

It’d be unfair to compare it to its comic predecessor; it doesn’t have the luxury of unlimited time to tell its story and include every clever detail the originators put in.  McDuffie (God rest his soul, as I sadly heard in the midst of writing this that he has passed) wisely chose those stories that linked together with the most thematic sense to create kind of a thesis on why Superman, as a character and symbol, is so important, beloved, and inspirational.

R.I.P. Dwayne McDuffie

I can’t remember how many times I’ve thought and felt that some of the best DC stories came from the Justice League animated series (and later on JLU). Dwayne, thank you. You will be missed.

Fantastic Four #553 – Review

By: Dwayne McDuffie  (Writer), Paul Pelletier (Pencils),  Rick Magyar (Inks), Wil Quintana (Colors)

Dwayne McDuffie will never be known as crafting the best Fantastic Four stories of all time, but that’s not a slight against him. The Fantastic Four has wallowed in mediocrity for decades now. However, McDuffie has made the book fun and this has actually been enough for me to buy this book on a monthly basis; the last time I bought a FF book is when Jim Lee drew it for his Heroes Reborn stint. Michael Turner’s cover is atrocious, so please don’t let that detract you. He obviously has trouble drawing feet and middle-aged women.

A Dr. Doom from the future has come back to the past to prevent Reed Richards from enacting an idea called #101. What it is, we don’t know, but it’s got Doom’s panties in such a bunch that Reed decides to hear him out. When a Fantastic Four from the future arrives on the scene to detail Doom, things get hairy. McDuffie’s run on the book ends with this issue, and he caps his run with a standard, but fun story.

Issue #553 seems to have all the classic elements that make a good Fantastic Four story. You’ve got the wacky science fiction elements in the form of time travel. You have Reed Richards talking in a lot of techno-babble. You have Doctor Doom, the group’s arch-nemesis trying to mess things up. And you’ve got a family arguing amongst itself. Perhaps the only missing element is The Thing proclaiming that it’s “Clobberin’ Time!” I’ll miss McDuffie and Paul Pelletier’s work here, but I’m very eager to see what Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch have in store for us. (Grade: B-)

– J.Montes