Young Justice S02E14 – Review

By: Kevin Hopps (story)

The Story: Even they’re supposed to be DC’s runaways, where’s the mind-controlled dinosaur?

The Review: Before we get down to anything else, we really have to talk about this impending cancellation for Young Justice.  I’m really rather surprised DC hasn’t stuck a “WTF Certified” stamp all over that one.  After all, it was only last year that Cartoon Network started its DC Nation bloc, and the whole period has been riddled with erratic scheduling, only to climax in this utterly baffling sudden turnover.

Granted, I don’t really have the numbers for the show in front of me, and I’m not really sure I’d understand them even if I did, but how badly could the series have done to be get canned just midway through the second season?  And if it was doing that badly, then why?

Static Shock #5 – Review

By: Scott McDaniel (writer & penciller), Andy Owens (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Folks, it’s never a good idea to mess with a guy’s sister.

The Review: In my experience, the end of a love affair—and of course I’m talking about comics here—always comes into two flavors: bittersweet or bitter.  Admittedly, my fling with Static Shock started out less than moony, gradually growing more and more disenchanted with each issue, but there’s still enough feeling in the relationship for me to say that even at the end, I still think it could’ve worked, had things been a little different.

Because honestly, the story so far has not been bad.  Rozum and McDaniel (and now, just McDaniel) have done a fine job weaving in a number of different plotlines, breaking up the story to keep it from being sedentary.  And in fact, in this issue, a lot of those plotlines actually come together to form a fairly cohesive picture of where this title might be going.  It’s just frustrating that it took this long for it get its act together.

Static Shock #4 – Review

By: Scott McDaniel & John Rozum (writers), Scott McDaniel (penciller), Andy Owens (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Come on, Static, it’s New York—you have to expect to get shanked at some point.

The Review: These teen-centric titles tend to follow a somewhat familiar formula.  The protagonists are all various shades of breezy smart-alecks with a modest gallery of C-list/cheesy rogues, and their storylines mostly revolve around trying to balance real life and vigilante life (while having fun!), occasionally delving into mildly dramatic territory.

Static follows this trend more closely than some.  Our hero falls into tiresome trap of trying way too hard to come up with witty lines every other panel.  While a few do have some juvenile cleverness (“You’re the first woman I’ve ever seen whose legs can shave themselves.”), most are either pointlessly dumb (“…moisturizer can soften unsightly, scaly skin!”) or just plain pointless (“They’re the latest in flying fashion!”).  By the way, these lines represent a mere sample of a whole slew Static tosses in one five-page scene.

For our dose of the mildly dramatic, we have the well-worn “It’s all my fault” (which Virgil actually says at one point) guilt trip.  At least Virge doesn’t dwell in his angst, what with Frieda on long distance rebutting with the also traditional “Everything happens for a reason” bit.  This all gets followed up by a re-steeled sense of purpose as Static vows to become “stronger,” “sharper” so he “can make things right.”

Static Shock #3 – Review

By: Scott McDaniel & John Rozum (writers), Scott McDaniel (penciller), Andy Owens (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: Even gangsters can’t resist the allure of electronic gadgets.

The Review: Besides the various diversity issues that all comics publishers have to grapple with, one area the DCU infrequently explores is the urban setting.  By and large, most of our heroes operate out of middle-class suburbia, the gentrified cityscape, or in outright luxury.  Even though the Bat-family fight crime in the worst cesspools of Gotham, they eventually return to rather extravagant abodes, so we don’t really see characters rubbing shoulders with the less-privileged.

So it’s intriguing to think of Virgil not only working his vigilantism in the Big Apple, but also living in the less glamorous parts of the city.  Unfortunately, the first couple issues kept almost strictly on point with the crime-fighting plot—as it should, but it would’ve also been just as entertaining to see Static dealing with his home, school, and work life as well.  That was half the fun of his solo series, both in comics and on television.

This issue has Virgil applying real street sense to get a lead on his current target, the Slate Gang.  Any gang has its leaders and followers, and the facts of life are that the followers tend to be of school age.  Virge uncovered one of these would-be delinquents last issue, and here he smooth-talks his way into Quentin’s favor in the time-honored fashion of all teens: tall tales of extreme exploits (“You rocked at Paris Island, son?  What’d you pack?”  “Snub-nosed revolver.”)

Static Shock #2 – Review

By: Scott McDaniel & John Rozum (writers), Scott McDaniel (penciller), Andy Owens (inker), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: No use losing your head over losing your arm.

The Review: Young superheroes have a tough time establishing a distinctive identity for themselves.  It’s a little too easy for people to compare any smart-talking teen to Spider-Man, and almost every character suffers from the comparison.  Writers really have to go above and beyond the typical one-liners and puns to forge true-blue personalities for their creations, or risk committing them to generic class forever.

And with his physics geekery, Static has even more reason to come across like the “black Peter Parker.”  On the other hand, his love of science provides some of the more entertaining, clever beats in the issue, including a rather elaborate explanation of how he still has both arms after getting one of them sliced off by a flying disc.  He even seems to rely on sound scientific principles (although since I’m a science moron, don’t take my word for it).

The problem is Virgil dispenses most of this information on an audience of no one other than you, the readers.  The problem gets highlighted by the use of word balloons for most of this sequence, making it look uncannily if inexplicably as if Virgil is talking to himself.  Rozum gives him a very personable voice, but without other characters to bounce off of, it makes the issue feel rather monotonous, and he never diverts from the typical bright, witty teen persona.

Going back to what I said last issue, we really need to see more of Static at school and especially at home, since this issue reveals a whole new dimension of drama lurking within Virgil’s very own family.  He must have gotten up to quite some trouble before this series began, what with his family now including a doppelganger of his sister Sharon, only no one knows who is which.  Honestly, you’re more interested to see where this plotline will go than all his vigilante hijinks.

While we do get an ever-so-brief glimpse at Virgil’s new school, not much comes of it.  He exchanges onceovers with another girl (“Nice!”), and he scopes out a classmate with ties to the Slate Gang.  Neither incident does much to build up Virge’s civilian life, nor do they introduce any potential members of his supporting cast into play.  The only use we get out his two pages at school is a convenient shortcut to Virgil’s next encounter with the thugs of the day.

Static Shock #1 – Review

By: Scott McDaniel & John Rozum (writers), Scott McDaniel (penciller), Jonathan Glapion & Le Beau Underwood (inkers), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: He’s not just a smart-talking kid who shoots lightning—he also loves physics!

The Review: I may have mentioned before at some point that I’m a fan (not an avid one, but a fan nonetheless) of the Static Shock cartoons.  Having few ethnic superheroes to look up to at the time, I suppose I just glommed onto whichever ones wandered into my awareness, and Static was among the most accessible of those.  I just appreciated that for once, someone other than the white dude—someone young—could be the heroic center of an entire show.

In spite of the anticipation following DC’s assumption of Static and other Milestone characters some years back, the teenaged lightning rod didn’t really show up as much as expected, and made little impact even when he did.  After seeing him get marginalized for so long, it sure is a pleasure to watch him flying around in a solo title again.

Better yet to know this isn’t a drastic reconceptualization of our hero, despite the updated threads and equipment.  Though transplanted into New York City (in Harlem, of course), Virgil comes packaged with his Dakota background and colorful family, and, as his constant communiqués with Hardware shows, he still retains ties to his Milestone fellows, possibly signaling more sightings of them in the future.

For now, we can simply enjoy seeing Static in action, mostly on his own, and delivering his usual potent mix of witty, nerdy, and hapless dialogue, penned by the always dependable Rozum.  Though electric-generating characters (and black ones in particular) come a dime a dozen in comics, Static’s unnatural zeal for science allows him some excellent usages of his powers even in the first few pages, where he uses double positive charges to repel innocents from danger.

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.”