R.E.B.E.L.S. #28 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Claude St. Aubin (penciller), Robert Campanella (inker), Rich & Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: You’re not the boss of us anymore, Starro!  We’re taking back our streets!

The Review: It’s been a strange, not-so-long journey for DC’s non-Green Lantern-related space opera.  Having started with a fairly high-stakes mission rebelling against the rule of Starro the Conqueror, how fitting it is that we finish with—a mission rebelling against the rule of Starro the Conqueror.

Unfortunately, there’s little interest to be had in reading L.E.G.I.O.N.’s (way to make even the title for this series pointless) final adventure, as the conclusion is pretty much foregone. Last issue Lyrl had already conceived a foolproof way to free the Rannians from the grip of Starro, so there’s not much left to see on that point.  Last issue also saw Lobo and Smite’s duel cut short by their mutual love of bars, so we can’t even look forward to that possibly entertaining brawl.

Speaking of which, as amusing a gag as Lobo and Smite’s newfound bond, you can’t dismiss the fact that it comes out of nowhere and for no reason.  Well, no reason except to have Smite provide the non-essential members of L.E.G.I.O.N. a convenient way to get back to the planet.  And also so Bedard can execute a silly, conclusive wrap-up to Starro the Conqueror’s uneven career as a villain, indicating you were never supposed to take any of this story arc seriously.

Pretty much the only moment of tension in this issue is Starro’s last act of defiance, threatening to have all the Starro-controlled citizens do away with themselves.  And yet there’s a bizarre gap of logic in all this: all the Rannians bring knives to their throat.  Where and how they find such instant, universal access to knives (especially Adam Strange’s little daughter), we don’t know.  It’s pretty clear this is the only method Bedard can think of to threaten their lives without having the risk of their actually harming themselves too soon.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #27 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Claude St. Aubin (penciller), Scott Hana (inker), Rich & Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: Prepare to be sucker-punched—and by sucker-punch I mean getting a telepathic starfish in your face.

The Review: A big cast can be a handful to write, but their usefulness to fiction is invaluable.  The more well-developed characters you have, the more opportunities you have to mix and match them up to see what kind of reactions you can get out of them in various situations.  If you give them a chance, they can practically build their own stories for you.

So it’s not a shocker that when Bedard gets more of the R.E.B.E.L.S. involved in the plot, the issue instantly feels more active and invested.  The back-and-forth chatter among them has an energy and dynamic that’s largely absent when it’s just Vril Dox condescending to whoever manages to get his attention that moment.  It’s also plain refreshing to see the team acting like—well, a team.

Even so, they still get comparatively little to do, what with half of them beaming back to Rann to counter the Starro invasion, and the other half going off to find Brainiac (a mission which proves virtually worthless as the first team winds up accomplishing both).  Really, it’s Vril’s son and lady-friend who get the most page-time, with Lyrl devising a method to free the Starro-infected, and Blackfire facing off against the Conqueror himself.

Lryl’s use of Tribulus to disinfect the Rannians from the possessing starfish is quite ingenious, although the science behind it doesn’t get explained very well.  It also seems a bit too easy, as the invasion barely feels like it’s started (mostly because Bedard’s focus in past issues has been on Starro the Conqueror and his Lobo clones).  On top of that, the whole plot has been executed predictably; Starro stories rarely go any other way, after all.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #26 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Daniel HDR & Claude St. Aubin (pencillers), Scott Hana (inker), Rich & Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: Place your bets, folks—who’ll destroy the system first: a Starro invasion, or a rampage of Lobo clones?

The Review: By now, you should know the drill: with this title’s cancellation imminent, a step back to see where things went wrong can always be a valuable move.  For R.E.B.E.L.S., its biggest downfall has been it doesn’t live up to the kind of title it claims to be.  It’s a team title that spotlights only a couple characters and sidelines the rest, and it’s a cosmic title that seems less interested in traveling the stars and more interested in establishing a bureaucracy.

The first problem has been present and obvious in every issue since day one, and this one is no different.  Things weren’t so bad when Dox was Bedard’s only pet character, but once he brought Lobo in, the rest of the cast got reduced to nearly cameo roles.  Even with Dox under Starro control and Lobo distracted with fighting Starro’s henchmen, the rest of the team still only gets a couple pages total (cumulatively!) of panel time.

Instead of letting the other R.E.B.E.L.S. take more important parts in the story, Bedard fills the issue by fleshing out Lobo’s origins—and none too well, either.  If you’re at all familiar with the baddest alien in the galaxy, you already knew he caused his own race’s genocide.  It’s not as if Bedard brought much depth to that grim event: Lobo was different; his people outcasted him; he took revenge, somehow (we don’t see how) bypassing their own regenerative resilience.

And this origin story ends up having no effect on the plot, as Starro the Conquerer backhands Smite from feeding it to the Lobo-clones (in hope they’ll avenge their ancestors’ deaths).  It’s unsurprising though that Smite would try for such a desperate choice.  Dox says it best this issue: “Only Lobo can beat Lobo.”  It effectively sums up Lobo’s limitations as a character; he’s incapable of defeat, so you never feel danger when he’s on the job.

Not that there’s much danger to begin with.  With Starro, the plot spells itself out fairly predictably: a bunch of starfish on people’s faces, mass hysteria/paranoia, the heroes find a way to break the connection, celebrations ensue.  That leaves fairly little to look forward to as this arc wraps up, unless Bedard somehow brings a totally mind-blowing new twist at the eleventh hour, and there’s little hope of that—he can hardly keep track of the details he already has.  Blackfire offers her services to Director Sardath in defeating Starro, yet several pages later Sardath has been Starro-ed (we never see how it happens) and she’s nowhere to be seen.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #25 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Claude St. Aubin (penciller), Scott Hanna (inker), Rich and Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: The return of Starro the Conquerer!  Or, more technically, the return of the return of Starro the Conquerer!  By the way, it’s raining Czarnians.

The Review: There are generally two kinds of villains: your garden-variety, day-to-day thugs who might end up occupying our heroes for half a day, if they’re lucky; and then you have your big-momma, criminal masterminds who will push the good guys to the brink of defeat before inevitably giving way.  No matter which you end up, they all end up like bad houseguests: no sooner gotten rid of before they’re back again.

Starro the Conquer certainly fits the bill; since his introduction, he’s served as the main baddie of now three story arcs in R.E.B.E.L.S. Considering the series is still relatively young, at twenty-five issues, this feels like one arc too many.  Although the initial concept of a humanoid Starro offered some interest at first, by now we all know that besides a giant axe and super-strength, he follows the same M.O. as all Starro plots: possessing people by throwing starfish in their faces.

It all boils down to predictability.  Bedard writes the issue competently enough, but you just can’t help having a “been there, done that” attitude about the whole thing.  After all, Starro is still after taking Brainiac 2 for his own, and he’s still all about galactic conquest.  Since his motivations aren’t any different than before, and neither are his means for carrying them out, half the premise has been recycled from previous stories—not exactly thrilling.  Still an army of Lobo clones (male and female, interestingly enough) has some potential for thrills, though it’s unclear how they’ll be used in this arc.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #24 – Review

By: Tony Bedard (writer), Claude St. Aubin (penciller), Scott Hana (inker), Rich & Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: With a bout of peace at last, our R.E.B.E.L.S. finally have some time to work on their romantic entanglements.  These are…the days of their lives…

The Review: With the last issue focused mainly on the Vega sector’s Green Lanterns, the R.E.B.E.L.S. haven’t had much opportunity to develop their characters and show their stakes in this whole operation.  Unfortunately, that’s been the case for most of the series’ run.  Despite a great cast of cosmic personalities, Vril Dox continues to get the lion’s share of page-time and big moments, and that’s really no way to keep up the integrity of a team comic.

This issue does some work to reverse that trend.  Sure, once again Dox’s burgeoning relationship with the edgy Blackfire gets the biggest showcase, but at least you also get touching scenes with Adam Strange’s wife and daughter (still one of the most well-adjusted families in the DCU), Captain Comet trying to drink away his problematic crush on Starfire, and even Lobo getting some action.  These are all good moments to give the characters some drama besides cleaning up whatever mess Dox has gotten them all into again.

On the other hand, Tony Bedard tends to be a little too talky with his writing.  He does pen some good dialogue, especially where his pet characters (Dox and now Lobo) are concerned.  But too often the characters talk about their problems or recall events instead of having those things shown, and that’s a pretty lame use of a visual medium.  For example, Strange and his wife spend two pages talking about their past and their friends’ love lives, all in panels of various close-ups, like the storyboard of a soap opera.  It doesn’t make for very lively reading.

And after all that, you still don’t really get much of a new handle on these characters than you did before.  Comet’s still a lovesick dog, Strange an adaptable family man, and Lobo—well, he’s still Lobo.  Dox still gets the most profit out of the issue as his evening with Blackfire show the semblance of his sensitive side—possibly even a genuine one.  It’s still pretty clear, however, that there may be some plotting happening from both parties.  These are probably the scenes that get the best treatment and have the largest stakes in the long-run for this series.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 – Review

By Tony Bedard (writer), Andy Clarke (artist), Jose Villarubia (colorist)

The Story: The story opens with a Dominator Fleet Admiral doing possibly the most original thing I’ve ever seen to break out of a force field in space. The splash-page outcome is spectacular. Then Khunds move in and we are brought to the Gil’Dishpan world, where Dox is trying to pull stuff back together. Our favorite little tyrant is as popular as ever with everybody he looks to for help. Then Starro’s forces attack.

What’s Good: Dox, as always, my favorite little dictator is in fine form; blustering, manipulating, ordering and plotting so that he gets his way. It’s worth mentioning that Dox really is a creation of both writer and artist. Bedard has the story, but the superb, expressive faces that Dox makes throughout the book add just as much. Furthermore, since the art is so good, Bedard has the flexibility to do less dialogue and exposition.

The Aliens – Dominators are always cool. Bedard has their point of view down pat. The Gil’Dishpan are the same. They speak differently, think differently and surprise you throughout the story. They even have a Reefmarshall. I don’t have a lot of experience with them (I stopped reading Legion long before they were introduced), but the warping powers are great and I love what Bedard, Clarke and Villarubia do with them. The Khunds are also depicted reveling in their idiosynchracies.

As for the art, Clarke and Villarubia deliver outstanding work. The Lunavore, while scientifically implausible, is visually arresting, as is the Dominion fighter chasing it. Another nice touch is Dox’s personal force field. It’s so much more obviously primitive than Brainiac V’s. I really appreciate this sort of retro tip of the hat to continuity. And the cover, including Villarubia’s blending of the colors, is just fantastic.

There’s a writing rule which says you should never put a gun on the mantle-piece in Act One, unless you intend to fire it in Act Three. When the Durlan faces off against a dominator on the Gil’Dishpan world, she says, “I wouldn’t fire a blaster in a methane ocean, Admiral.” Let’s just say that Bedard doesn’t disappoint in Act Three, so his plotting is up to snuff.

What’s Not So Good: There’s almost no point in having this section here for me when I’m reviewing R.E.B.E.L.S., but if pressed, I will say that Wildstar as a character leaves me cold. I don’t find her slightest bit compelling. However, there are so many other good characters, that maybe this is intentional. If pressed further, I would argue that you can’t ignite a methane planet. If oxygen (which is required to combust methane) were already in the atmosphere, it would be slowly reacting anyway with the methane to produce carbon dioxide and water, both of which are very stable.

Conclusion: Month after month, R.E.B.E.L.S. delivers. This book is no exception. Go buy it.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault

R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 – Review

By Tony Bedard (writer), Claude St. Aubin (artist),  Scott Hanna (artist), and Jose Villarrubia (colorist)

The Story: Dox’s ship is being boarded by some bounty hunters under the thumb of a pretty vicious Durlan, at the same time Astrild Storm-Daughter, one of Starro’s lieutenants, comes for him too. I can’t say too much more without spoiling, but Starro is making Dox an offer that would be dangerous to refuse. Meanwhile, the Dominators find themselves squared off against Starro’s forces, while the Psions start to ante up to get into the game.

What’s Good: There’s a lot going on in this story. It’s a chessboard of action and tension, yet Tony Bedard once again keeps the various storylines moving briskly. The Khunds are funny, without losing any of their menace, while Starro’s forces and especially his new lieutenant, are dangerous. Starro has everyone on the ropes and I don’t see any way out. This is simply storytelling in the making.

As for the art,  Bedard could not have been paired with a better artist for this story than St. Aubin and Hanna. The level of detail in each panel is amazing. The definition on the Khunds ‘ hairy arms and stippled armor… Strata covered by fine lines that make her look more mineral than animal… Amon Hakk looking genuinely scared when the Durlan threatens him… Dox’s one eye-brow, surprised expression… Everything looks nearly perfect.

I was also impressed with the colors. Villarrubia has put together some interesting color effects to show light. From Astrild’s eyes, to the blue light of Strata getting shot at, to the fires burning behind Starro, Villarrubia has really added to the power of the story.

What’s Not So Good: Month after month, I have to really pick to find anything to criticize in R.E.B.E.L.S. This month I’ll say that the skinny Dominators in their military armor are more ridicule-inspiring than fear-inspiring.

Conclusion: Another solid offering by Bedard, St. Aubin, Hanna, and Villarrubia. If you like cosmic stories, but you’re not reading R.E.B.E.L.S. yet, you should pick this book up.

Grade: B

-DS Arsenault