Fantastic Four #9 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Marc Laming (Penciller), Scott Hanna (Inker, 4-6), Jesus Aburtov (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer), Leonard Kirk & Israel Silva (Cover Artists)

The Story: Problems are always made worse when running into your ex-girlfriend.

The Review: First of all, the cover. It’s something quite fun and exuberant, and it’s not often you can say that for today’s comics. Partly that comes from the smiles on the children’s faces, which, again, is not something that you’re likely to see on any given cover nowadays. (Assuming, of course, that Franklin’s expression is, in fact, a smile. How unfortunate that the most prominent face on the cover is also the most poorly depicted.) Also fun? The Kirby-crackle in the Human Torch’s powers, with flames that are also more bubbly instead of edgy.

Inside, it’s artist Laming’s turn to provide art, and he has a key set piece in presenting an Escher-like scientific Eden. By contrast, one of the other scenes really require much else, such as a window-paneled SHIELD headquarters and gray walls of a prison. What I’d like to see more of, overall, is some variety of expression by the characters. In general, everyone just slightly opens his/her mouth, as everyone is in a constant state of saying “uhhh….” until there is an occasional subtle smile. Push those expressions more, please, and have characters act/pose in a greater variety than simply lifting a hand to indicate they are talking.

I count a total of eight blows given by supervillains, making the first time in half a year or so that there’s been a hero-villain showdown, thanks to the Thing being imprisoned. It’s all a set-up for a surprising reveal of the She-Thing, which promises some interesting interaction for sure, at least for those that remember she was once Ms. Marvel, a member of the Fantastic Four, and love interest for Ben Grimm. (Still, some part of me wonders if there is a logical piece of the story missing– as in the actual investigation of Grimm’s accusation of murder. I get the sense that this is just taken for granted since the story that is “important” is the Thing’s life in prison, but it reflects poorly on any other aspect of the FF’s world.)

Fantastic Four #8 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Penciller), Scott Hanna (Inker), Jesus Aburtov (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Story:
Reed and Sue find Eureka on Eden, Lake Michigan; Johnny is no longer an American Idol; Valeria and Franklin think Dragon Man is Almost Human; and Ben will find out if Orange is the New Black.

The Review:
Things seem to be finally moving into place, which is an odd thing to say of course because the “place” is “rock bottom” for our heroes. I’ve criticized some of this narrative in the past since the moving process itself has often felt ham-fisted and maybe even illogical, all for the purpose of forcing characters and plot to go where the narrative dictated.

Such as in this issue. The Thing needs to be arrested, so he is. What’s not clear is exactly how he was apprehended. It’s reported that Reed found the Thing over the body of the Puppet Master and was “compelled to relay to SHIELD,” which I suppose also means they both just waited around for SHIELD to show up (in silence, because they aren’t speaking to one another) and didn’t look for clues or try to solve anything on their own.

Because it’s all just set up for what is supposed to really be important: the Thing’s reaction to his predicament so we can return to motifs where he feels monstrous. It’s disappointing that it’s a tired trop, but at least the silent resignation of Ben is reinforced with some nicely expressive art, including heavy shadows and mopey posture, and a nicely positioned final splash page where Ben is dwarfed by the prisons of actual monsters in the “Power House” wing at Ryker’s. I do wish, however, that some of the heavy-hitters were recognizable, but they just look like generic hulking aliens in jelly tubes.

Fantastic Four #7 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Penciller), Karl Kessel with Rich Magyar (Inker), Dean Haspiel and Nolan Woodard (Flashback Section Artists), Jesus Aburtov (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Story: What the Thing didn’t know might just kill someone else.

The Review: There is again two distinct sections of this comic, the flashback and its fall-out, each with its very distinct artistic style. Last issue had some compartmentalization, too, and this one suffers from the same feeling, but to a lesser extent. While certainly a deliberate choice and something that enhances the story being told, the reading experience itself seems to suffer, as it does feel somewhat “slight” as a comic. This could be seen as only 18 pages of story, counting double-page spreads as one “page,” which is increasingly my experience when reading on a tablet. That’s 8 pages of flashback versus 10 pages of fall-out. The modern readers’ paradox– it makes for a dramatic and exciting story, but it makes for an unsatisfying and swallow reading experience.

What is interesting is that two parts, while containing vastly different art styles, are actually transitioned quite well. The flashback starts with bright colors, dynamic shapes and layouts, then descends into darkness and muted colors, complete with rain from automatic sprinklers. The present time continues the darkness and shadows, although the rain is not quite as prominent as last issue.

The “original sin” at play is Reed and Johnny’s cover-up of a failed attempt to “cure” the Thing. Now, the drama only works if, in fact, this cure actually WOULD have worked, and to be fair to Johnny, we only have Reed’s assurances that it will. Frankly, that’s the only thing we have every other time this is attempted, and those ended in failure every time, too. Still, if we assume that this really would have been the time it worked, it is a tragedy, but moreso because everyone really deals with it in their own exaggerated way, such as Reed’s ownership of the problem that masks his pomposity, and Johnny’s carefree attitude that enables his irresponsibility.

Fantastic Four #6 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Penciller), Karl Kessel (Inker), Jesus Aburtov and Veronica Gandini (Color Artists), Dean Haspiel & Nolan Woodard (Flashback Artists), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Story:
Susan yells at the Avengers, the kids yell at Hammond, and Ben yells at Johnny.

The Review:
This issue is broken down into four distinct and linear chapters. The first is the Fantastic Four facing the Avengers (six pages), the Future Foundation facing Hammond (one page), the Thing facing against the Human Torch (three pages), and a flashback that details the memory of why Ben is confronting Johnny (six pages.) (Yes, this is counting double-page spreads as one page, which is kind of how things read nowadays on a tablet reader.)

Unfortunately, this kind of compartmentalization, exasperated by having the last compartment in an entirely different artistic style, fragments any kind of momentum for the story. This issue marks six months since the new relaunch, and it seems like the characters are still merely being pushed around, a long-form positioning so they can fit the kind of story Robinson wants to tell, which I hope will be soon. But let’s forgo a meta-textual critique and leave Robinson’s name out of it. Looking at the in-text narrative, it’s still apparent that all the forces coming down on the characters are coming from outside themselves. The FF’s troubles are coming from the courtroom (which is still not clear if that was a government action or civil suit, which nonetheless results in government action in-between panels), the Avengers are representing said courtroom’s interest, the Camp Hammond kids are complaining about things they overhear other people talking about as well as what other people will be doing to Dragon Man, and the Thing is reacting to a new memory given to him from the Original Sin crossover plot point, in which Reed and Johnny did something to him that we will have to wait until next issue to see.

Yes, there are some moments of clear characterization as these people react to what’s put upon them, most notably Invisible Woman with her cry of “won’t somebody think of the children” in a double-page spread of impressive display of power. But the ultimately what’s happening is that, for at least the second issue in a row, the Four are completely without agency in their own comic with no hint that this will be resolved soon.

Fantastic Four #5 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Pencil Artist), Jay Leisten and Rick Magyar (Inkers), Jesus Aburtov (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer); Guest Artists include: Chris Samnee, Matt Wilson, Dean Haspiel, Jim Charalampidis, Paul Rivoche, Felix Serrano, Phil Jiminez, Rachelle Rosenberg, Mike Allred, Laura Allred, Jim Starlin, Andy Smith, Nolan Woodard, Jerry Ordway, Derlis Santacruz, Israel Silva, June Brigman, Roy Richardson, Vero Gandini

The Story:
Mr. Toliver wants the truth, and the truth cannot be handled.

The Review:
If the previous issue was a wall-to-wall action spectacular, this issue provides a distinct contrast as a wall-to-wall courtroom drama with talking heads and splash page cut scenes.

As I said in other reviews, it’s interesting that the themes Robinson is exploring seem reminiscent of early Marvel comics, where the Fantastic Four was an integral part of the fictional New York around them, even when such public spotlight hurt them as much as helped them. As early as the second issue, way back in 1963, the Fantastic Four had to deal with a world whose public opinion could sway immediately against them. In fact, such “hates and fears them” themes are quintessentially a feature of Marvel comics, all the way through Civil War (2007) and recent issues of Captain America and Uncanny X-Men. Here, opinion has swayed decidedly into the “Anti-” camp, appropriately bringing the Four down another notch in the story arc titled “The Fall of the Fantastic Four.”

Yet, even if I can understand this plot direction on a rational level (“I can see the lawyer’s point, even if it is fallacious!”) and on an emotional level (there is genuine pathos in the collateral damage described by the lawyer) and on a meta-historical level (seriously, where was a debate this poignant in the pages of Civil War?), I personally don’t find it satisfying. There’s a certain suspension of disbelief that I engage in when reading superhero stories, and part of that suspension is to hand-wave away some of the implications of “reality” of such a world. Here, Robinson is holding our heads into it, not only so we can’t turn away but so that it also dictates the direction of the plot and tone. That’s uncomfortable as a reader, and that discomfort can be a turn-off just as much as it can be dramatically engaging. Like looking at a slow-motion and potentially deadly car crash– should I continue staring or look away?

This is an oversized issue, with many guest artists providing the flashbacks and cut scenes as the courtroom builds their case against the Four. The splash-page is a somewhat lost art (pun intended) in comics nowadays, which usually default to trying to be storyboards rather than single page of pure artistic expression. Even here, some artists really try to be more symbolic than representational, while others depict a fairly straightforward, descriptive scene or montage. The most artistic, in that sense, would be the Starlin/Smith/Woodard page of Blastaar and Annihilus, with Samnee/Wilson providing the more scene-by-scene examples, and the others somewhere in between. Santacruz/Silva and Brigman/Richardson/Gandini provide story pages rather than flashback/splashes, but the art remains pretty generic and sometimes vaguely distorted/out of proportion. Santacruz, in particular, decidedly fails the What-Age-is-Valeria? Test.

Fantastic Four #4 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Penciller), Karl Kessel and Jay Leisten (Inkers), Jesus Arburtov (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Story:
Firstly, the Frightful Four and Fantastic Four fight, in furious and four-color fullness; Subsequently, S.H.I.E.L.D. serves a summons for a civil suit.

The Review:
My criticism regarding issue #3 detailed its somewhat formless and needlessly multiple plot threads. Thankfully, that criticism is completely absent here, as the comic focuses on one central moment, a massive slugfest between two powerful teams, and its collateral damage, the most serious of which is S.H.I.E.L.D. threatening the Fantastic Four with a lawsuit.

And what a massive slugfest it is. This comic is full of spectacle, with several blows from villains and heroes, toppling buildings and civilian rescuing, and all the cracking energy, speed lines, smoke you’d need to create an intense, high-stakes tone with participation from all the players on both sides of the battle. One particularly effective moment is the choice of small panels to set up the page-turn reveal of the “second string” FF, complete with a dramatic panel and color palette change for emphasis. (Unfortunately, the size relationships among the characters in that panel ruin the dramatic moment, as more context or a more extreme camera angle might be needed to help Ant-Man’s giant-size “read” better.)

It’s more than just a good fight scene, as care is taken to render facial expressions and relationships, too. When the comic’s subplots show up here, it’s in context of the main storyline/battle, so whether it’s Johnny’s frustration or Sue’s desire to protect her family, or even the Wizard’s gloating or Bulldozer’s determination, the characterization flows through the action thanks to the artistic expression.

C2E2 Report: Marvel – The Next Big Thing

 

 

Not to be outdone, Marvel had me scrambling out of the Batman panel to secure a spot in Marvel: The Next Big Thing. While the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman still rule the roost, Marvel’s made huge strides with some of their less famous characters lately and this was the place to hear about it.

Nick Lowe, our moderator and editor of Spider-Man and Moon Knight, took a moment to thank the Chicago fans before introducing the panelists. The first was Mike Marts, an Executive Editor, newly returned from DC’s Batman office. Lowe asked him what it was like to be back. Marts replied that it felt like slipping on an old shoe. Lowe was not entirely thrilled with the analogy, leading Marts to amend his statement, “A shoe that makes a lot of great movies.” Next up was Joshua Hale Fialkov, the writer of Ultimate FF. After him came Charles Soule, the writer of Thunderbolts, Inhuman, and She-Hulk, the last of which received particular applause. Then came James Robinson, writer of Fantastic Four and All-New Invaders. A trio of artists rounded out the panel; Mahmud Asrar, Wolverine and the X-Men; Ryan Stegman, Wolverine; and Skottie Young, both writer and artist on Rocket Racoon.

Fantastic Four #2 – Review

by James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk, Karl Kesel (Artists), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist)

The Story: It seems the nineties are back to kill the whole Marvel universe, as crazy bugs brings darkness with them to Manhattan.

The Review: It must be hard to write the Fantastic Four. With a history that is simply rich with creativity and some impossibly talented creators bringing a great deal to the team, anyone writing them will have a colossal and threatening presence looming over them. Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Mark Waid and Jonathan Hickman all had their turn at bringing a very deep sense of fun, but also adventure to those beloved characters as they balanced nostalgia with innovation. Anyone coming after them has the challenge to do just the same in order to contribute to these almost historical personalities that opened up the Marvel universe itself.

With an opening issue that was decent, does James Robinson show that he has the very potential to carve himself a name as one of the famed writers of legend, or does he merely stumble as his story continue this month?

It’s a bit too early to answer in a conclusive manner, but one thing that is certain is that Robinson really does try here, with something a bit different. With an issue with a bit more darkness and more action than a more regular and classical Fantastic Four tale of old, there is certainly an attempt here at innovation, which works yet not completely.

The Saviors #3 – Review

by James Robinson (Writer), J. Bone (Artist)

The Story: It seems to me that James Robinson might take the name ”day of the dead” a bit too literally…

The Review: Having no expectations can be a great thing. When there is no hype or prejudice set against a book, it provides a good chance for the very piece of graphic literature to provide surprises and please the readers with its concepts, its characters and its execution. It’s always a very tough task to let go of expectations, yet it can be achieved through numerous methods.

One of them, it seems, is to not really mind the book’s existence. It might seem a tad harsh, yet I haven’t been wholly impressed yet by James Robinson and his new series The Saviors. While it is decidedly a good idea to base a story around, the world building itself and the various elements haven’t cemented yet to provide for a definitive appreciation on my part. However, it is still a young series and Robinson could very well amplify things in this one. The question is, does he actually achieves this?

What he does well is set up some new ideas as well as presenting new characters. While the focus of the first two issues was decidedly more on Tomas, the writer presents a larger cast here. With each of them being affected by the appearances of lizard men differently and having a different background, Robinson does bring the readers up to speed on their personality and their quirks rather quickly, yet not without efficiency. Some are perhaps a bit stereotypical, yet there is a certain clarity in their motivations and their semi-functionality as a group that does manage to make them interesting enough to make it so there could be development and surprises in the long run.

Still, despite it all, Tomas is still the main protagonist, with a certain focalization on his feelings and reactions brought to the forefront. His personality and his general assessment of the situation driving some of the scenes forward, there is a comprehensible reasoning behind Tomas, yet not one that makes him that interesting or particularly likable in the process. His fears and his desire not to be involved in an underground war against weird lizard people is something that can be easily understood, yet his desire to be protected without him lifting a finger to help in the war effort is something that it more irritating than it is appreciable. While a flawed character makes for a much more interesting lead than a good and utterly perfect one, the character of Tomas Ramirez is perhaps a bit too cowardly to be effectively liked. There’s plenty of room for development and deeper understanding of just who he is, yet so far it’s a bit too soon to properly get attached to a stoner and generally cowardly and detached hero.

Fantastic Four #1 – Review

by James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk, Karl Kesel (Artists), Jesus Aburtov (Colorist)

The Story: The beginning of dire events are retold to us as Marvel’s first family stand unaware of what will eventually happen to them.

The Review: I have a fondness for the Fantastic Four. Being the very first team that actually opened up the Marvel universe, the way they functioned and operated was a barrel of fun, with some huge name like Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Walter Simonson, Mark Waid and Jonathan Hickman portraying their adventures. With a penchant for adventures fueled by a heavy dose of imagination and exploration, this team has turned plenty of cynics into fans thanks to a good dose of nostalgia and evolution which makes them still relevant in this day and age despite the fact that they are more than fifty years old.

However, not all the tenures on the title have been particularly good. For some, the tenure of Matt Fraction, Dwayne McDuffie, Mark Millar and others haven’t been of great quality, which makes this latest volume somewhat of a mystery. With James Robinson being a writer that is usually good with older concepts while also having a good deal of missteps in the past few years. Does the hit-and-miss writer succeed or fail when handling those treasured characters?

In many ways, it is a bit too early to tell when looking at the merits and the less-successful moments found in this opening issue. Going for a perhaps darker approach with this usually brighter team, Robinson shows a certain willingness to innovate and goes in a different direction. It is, however, a mixed success due to many factors.

All-New Invaders #2 – Review

by James Robinson (Writer), Steve Pugh (Artist), Guru-eFX (Colorist)

The Story: Revelations are always better after a violent battle against an alien being.

The Review: There is a certain complaint about comics nowadays saying that perhaps super heroes are now a good lot darker than they once were in the past. Some camps are in accord, while others disagree, much like any topic, but many people seem to particularly like comics that have a certain sensibility toward lighter or more heroic dispositions. Series like Mark Waid’s Daredevil or Action Comics by Greg Pak are currently critically acclaimed for their general positive tone, or at the very least for their capacity to let their heroes be good in an outspoken manner through their actions and words. Still, despite it all, there is always room for every type of tones in the sun, though there seems to be a certain affection for the regular super hero adventures nowadays.

However, even though there is a certain appreciation for the genre, it doesn’t mean that everything that tries to do just that will find success. All-New Invaders, so far, possess everything it needs to succeed, yet is plagued by some particularly big problems that weights it down, never letting it reach the quality it could very well attain.

Using regular super hero tropes, James Robinson does not do much of anything new in this story to warrant any actual excitement or surprises. To make matters worse, there is a certain use of the much-less appreciated faults associated with the genre that makes some moments rather cringe-worthy, like the boasts of Tanalth the pursuer, the fact that she runs away even though she is winning, the general acceptances of Captain America over rather important revelations and a few jumps in terms of logics makes this issue rather simple and much more easy-going than it needs to be in some places.

The Saviors #2 – Review

James Robinson (Writer), J. Bone (Artist)

The Story: Escaping from certain death, Tomas wants to know what exactly is going on with those weird alien reptiles.

The Review: Trying new things can be hard. While many people generally hold in a positive light any attempts of others to try different genres, writers and artists, it’s not always the easiest of process to just go out and actually get invested in something entirely new. It’s always a matter of quality, of talent behind the creative team, yet there has to be a willingness for the readers to try it out in the first place.

Despite my first reactions and my fears, I rather enjoyed the first issue of James Robinson and J. Bone’s The Saviors, a series that tries to breathe new life into an old story of alien beings in our midst without our knowledge. Presenting us their protagonist and a general sense of danger in ways that felt right for the most part, it made me feel rather good at the prospect of continuing with the series in the first place. However, first issues aren’t everything as there needs to be a good continuation of the story to prove that the concepts has legs of its own. Does the second issue prove that this has the potential to be interesting in the long term?

In some ways, it’s a bit of a tough question to answer straight away. James Robinson, the mind behind this story, does provide enough information and development to make sure readers might be intrigued toward what might happen next and what everything might actually mean in the long term, yet he stumbles a bit along the way as he tells the rather simple story in this issue.

All-New Invaders #1 – Review

by James Robinson (Writer), Steve Pugh (Artist), Guru e-FX (Colorist)

The Story: Jim Hammond receives the visit of an alien being who is rather chatty about what she wants and where she think it might be.

The Review: Some writers are known for certain types of stories, certain genres. Geoff Johns is known for big super hero stories with a certain penchant for revitalization of silver age ideas, Ed Brubaker does noir very well and so forth. With these types of stories, it’s always a safe bet to understand the types of things a writer is best known for, as it does always ensure a certain safe bet in what the strengths of a particular writer might be.

James Robinson, the writer of this new series, is someone who knows how to work with older heroes, doing so splendidly in his magnum opus, Starman, as well in JSA: The Golden Age. With a certain knack for writing the legacy part of super heroes and people who have lived for a long period of time, it does seem quite fitting for him to be attached to All-New Invaders, a series about a team that did its things during World War 2. However, James Robinson is a rather uneven writer, which has been unfortunately shown in his Earth 2 series during the latest issues he wrote and in his previous tenure on Justice League of America. With his reputation, does this title seem to balance in the better part of his writing skills or is the first issue too problematic to be enjoyable?

It’s a bit of a balance between the two, for the most part. While the issue focus on something that Robinson is quite capable of writing, there are occasional troubles that comes down to plague the overall quality of the work. With this issue focusing mostly on Jim Hammond, Robinson is able to push forth his voice rather well, explaining in enough details how he landed in a small town and how he feels about his new life, getting us up to speed in the history of the character as well as what makes him tick. The general understanding of the character and what he went through is aptly balanced in the issue, with the part in which we understand the life of Jim Hammond being rather nice to read.

The Saviors #1 – Review

by James Robinson (Writer), J. Bone (Artist)

The Story: Smoking too much weed can have unforeseen effects, such as dependency, a certain lack of ambition and being the prey of weird lizard monsters.

The Review: We live in an age of comics that is kind of revelatory. With a huge explosion of creator-owned comics, there is now a diversity that wasn’t the norm a good number of years back. Writers old and new arise, with people like Brian K. Vaughn and Jonathan Hickman being in on the game just like others like Kurtis J. Wiebe and Jim Zub, with each of them having a particular story or two to tell. For people looking for comics without any trace of capes or tights, it’s rather grand to see something develop so quickly.

It’s with these kind of thoughts that I approached The Saviors, a new creator-owned series by James Robinson and J. Bone. With Robinson being responsible for some beloved stuff like Starman and JSA: The Golden Age, I was rather curious to see how he would fare with this. Would it be on the same level as those classic, or would it fall in the same category as his Earth 2 run?

This issue shows a lot of potential, to be sure, as it offers a certain horror feeling with a certain ease that allows for a great mix between tension and comfort. With the stoner protagonist at the helm of this comic, Robinson provides for a nice template for development, even though Tomas Ramirez is perhaps a bit on the stereotypical side.

Earth Two #16 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Investing in disaster insurance on Earth 2 must be a very lucrative career.

The Review: I don’t mean to rub it in, but I’m pretty relieved to know that Robinson will be off this title soon.  There have been a lot of creative shake-ups in DC lately, many either undeserved or controversial, but a few have been warranted.  The funny thing about this one is that Earth 2 is actually quite a popular book, generally landing somewhere in the top 50 comics each month.  It makes me wonder if I’m just an idiot who’s not seeing what everyone else sees.

It’s never been lost on me that Robinson has made a lot of effort to really make Earth Two its own place, not just Earth Prime with a little bit of interior decorating.  When you look at this world’s culture, history, its physical rules—heck, even right down to its very geography, you can see the work Robinson has put into this universe over the last two years.  If anything, the end of this issue drives the wedge between the two Earths even deeper, leaving Two a scar that will set it apart from its sister planet forever.

Earth Two #15 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Our heroes get the faintest inkling that they may be wandering into a trap.

The Review: It’s axiomatic that publishers may feign a lot of pride in their critical darlings, but in reality, reviews come a long second to receipts.  Why else would a truly creative and well-crafted series like Dial H fall prematurely to the axe while Earth Two continues to survive?  It’s also obvious that quality has little to do with popularity, otherwise Earth Two would never beat the likes of Hawkeye, Daredevil, Swamp Thing, The Wake, and so many other reputable titles.

What really baffles me is how Earth Two manages to consistently rank higher than series with more overt popular appeal like, say, Wolverine and the X-Men.  Actually, scratch that; I know exactly how.  I know because it’s the same thing that keeps me attached to Earth Two despite being disappointedly monthly by its awkward, heavy, almost embarrassingly simple-minded scripts.  What keeps the Earth Two engine going is the combustion produced by constant new additions to the parallel world and by the revival of fan-favorite characters.

Earth Two #14 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Our heroes ignore the first lesson of invasion—watch out for Hounds.

The Review: If I can be Real here for a sec, we all know the main reason—if not the only reason—we all hopped on board this title in the first place was to see the Justice Society live on, right?  Unceremoniously dumped from primary DCU continuity, the least DC could do to honor its first superhero team was to give them a title, universe, continuity, and standing of their own.  And for most of Robinson’s run thus far, he has frustrated our wishes.

Instead, he has spent a lot of time individually introducing all the characters who will eventually end up in the Society, rarely allowing them to gather in a group.  This wouldn’t seem like such a waste of time had Robinson managed to offer us more than a brief glimpse into more than a few of these would-be Wonders and had he done more with the Wonders he did explore.  Nearly a year’s worth of lackluster issues seems a long wait to see your favorite team come together.

Earth Two #13 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Yildiray Cinar (pencils), Rob Hunter (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Well, this is a first—someone volunteering to enter the pits of Hell.

The Review: I have no idea who will take over this series once Robinson leaves in a few months, but I’m optimistic enough to hope that he or she will be an improvement over the thoroughly mediocre material we’ve gotten for the last few months.  Until then, however, we’ll have to live through Robinson’s plodding, bulky writing a little longer.  It’s tempting (for me at least) to just temporarily step out on this series until the switch takes place.

Tempting, but imprudent, ultimately.  Robinson has his faults, but you can always be assured that every issue will have some kind of important information or development.  Substantively, or conceptually, there’s little wrong with what Robinson does.  It’s just the matter of execution here he has serious problems.

Earth Two Annual #1 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Cafu (art), Julius Gopez (pencils), Cam Smith (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: The big guy goes after the small fry.

The Review: While some might use the recent announcement of Robinson’s departure from this series (and DC as a whole) as ammunition against DC’s creative instability, I happen to see it as a perhaps wise, even necessary thing.  Robinson’s power on Earth Two began waning a long time ago, and by now, his writing is no longer a factor for why I remain attached to the title.  Really, it’s more the concept, as opposed to the execution, that keeps me on board.

It is not lost on me, however, that even conceptually, this series is fully a product of Robinson’s imagination.  I’m perfectly willing to admit that in terms of actual plot development, he has good ideas and Earth Two has become a compelling, independent world because of it.  But his character work has been horrendously shallow on this series, mostly as a result of an increasingly hackneyed style of dialogue and narration.

Earth Two #12 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Barbara Ciardo & Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Up in the sky!  It’s a bird—it’s a plane—it’s—a green man in a fur-collared robe!

The Review: If you ever get into this reviewing business, you’re going to learn in a hurry that calling something “good” or “bad” just won’t cut it.  Like almost any other quality in the world, “good” and “bad” come in all kinds of different shades, each with its own unique effect on the person experiencing it.  The hardest part of this gig is trying to figure out how to describe those effects as accurately as possible.  That’s where experience comes in.

In my experience, I’ve read a lot of bad writing (quite as much and even more good writing as well, but that, unfortunately, is not relevant here), so over time, I’ve come to recognize some of the most common types.  Now, I’ve had plenty of complaints about Robinson’s work on this series before, but this issue really takes the cake as it possesses nearly every kind of bad writing I’ve ever run into.

Earth Two #11 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Alex Sinclair & Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Wotan reveals his gender identity problems.

The Review: When I used to teach high-schoolers on the virtues of showing rather than telling in a story, by way of example I’d point out the difference between writing, “He was sad,” and, “He went to the window and stared outside, his gazed fixed on nothing in particular.  He spotted a robin off in the distance, flying towards the horizon until it was just a speck then disappeared altogether.  He felt a choking in his throat and swallowed it down.  He left the window.”*

In a visual medium like comics, you can do away with all that wordiness altogether, which is a huge luxury in storytelling.  Imagine not having to go through the slog of actually writing all that information and allowing the artist to just show it in one or two panels.  In comics, the writer has the advantage of only having to use those words necessary to capture ideas that visuals alone cannot.  Unfortunately, Robinson seems either oblivious to this or too stubborn to recognize it.

Earth Two #10 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Khalid and Jay find their world turned upside down and inside out—literally.

The Review: Robinson may have bitten off more than he can chew.  Earth Two doesn’t simply purport to establish a new super-team, which is already daunting in itself.  This title establishes an entire world, which includes not only the superheroes, but their respective villains, supporting casts, bases of operation, and back stories.  And we haven’t even touched upon Earth Two’s unique qualities that have nothing to do with superheroes.

No wonder, then, that the series has been so uneven and scattered.  Sometime after that first arc, perhaps around the zero issue, we’ve lost quite a bit of focus from the plot.  With every character doing his or her own thing and not in concert with each other, Robinson is forced to jump from one scene to another, often with little transition, either tonally or substantively.  This results in a fairly muddled read overall, but worse still, each plot thread gets cut a little short to make room for the others, leaving you dissatisfied with all of them.

Earth Two #9 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Nicola Scott (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Pete Pantazis & Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Just because you’re a rambling lunatic doesn’t mean you can’t be a hero.

The Review: Despite my threats last month to Drop this series in a couple issues, if I’m to be perfectly honest with myself (and you), I’ll probably end up sticking with it in the long run just to see how the characters turn out.  Perverse curiosity, not genuine interest, motivates my investment in Earth Two.  If I want to see the Justice Society live again in some form or other, this is the only place I can turn to.

I do recognize of course that there’s little resemblance between the Justice Society of yore and that of the new 52, but I’m actually not sure if all the changes have been for the worse.  Let’s face it: the pre-relaunch JSA was truly a basket of white-bread characters, a reflection of its Golden Age roots.  I’m not really a purist; I don’t mind seeing superheroes reimagined as from different cultures and backgrounds if I didn’t much care for person under the costume anyway.

Earth Two #8 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Yildiray Cinar (pencils), Ryan Winn & Ruy José (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and your frenemies dead.

The Review: All writers, even the very best, have their weaknesses.  Half of what Grant Morrison writes is just plain confusing; Geoff Johns rarely strives for intelligence in his work; and Brian Michael Bendis tends to forget that he’s not being paid by the number of each character’s lines.  Robinson has issues focus; looking at his body of work, you’ll notice he struggles with dispersing attention equally and keeping on point—or getting to it altogether.

That’s probably why he leans towards solo adventures and two-person scenes (maxing out at three, on the condition that the third character only interjects once in a while), where he excels.  This might also explain why his work on ensemble titles (see Justice League of America and Cry for Justice) were so terribly underwhelming.  He just doesn’t have much of a knack giving each character their due all at once.

Earth Two #7 – Review

By: James Robinson (story), Yildiray Cinar (pencils), Trevor Scott (inks), Alex Sinclair, Dave McCaig, Allen Passalaqua, Lee Loughridge (colors)

The Story: What a waste of a beautiful woman with wings suddenly appearing on the balcony.

The Review: I’ve never understood the superheroes who go out with their heads uncovered or their faces exposed.  It’s just begging to draw the readers’ attention to unexplainable narrative gaps.  Take Alan Scott.  What?  Like no one’s going to get a good look at that lustrous blond hair, the chiseled jaw, and his hoarse whispers of “Sam, oh, my Sam,” and not make the connection?  But this, of course, is one of the basic indulgences we give to comics.

So usually, I would never spend a moment nitpicking at such a contrivance because once you start pulling at that loose thread, suddenly the entire world of the superhero comic starts coming apart at the seams.  That’s why I find it puzzling that Robinson would actually point out how easy it is to figure out the identity of this newest Green Lantern.  It’s not as if it took Kendra a series of mental gymnastics to figure it out: