Nobody's Perfect. Even superheroes.

Hey,
Here's a short review, old school style.

Nobody's Perfect: Infinite Crisis

Infinite Crisis (IC) is a sequel to the legendary Crisis on Infinite Earths (CIE) from 1985. CIE was DC's attempt to clear up it's already convoluted continuity. Trust me there's been plenty of discussion on that event as it is. But the most important thing to remember about CIE is that it wiped out DC's multiverse, trimming down the universe to just Earth-1. Then in IC Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman are at odds with each other. These pillars of the DC Universe have each made choices that are ethically sketchy. It is because of the judgment that is laid down in IC by Alexander Luthor, Superboy Prime, and Kal-L, that these three take a year off.

I have been incredibly intimidated to read anything with Crisis in it's title. Final Crisis had been a very difficult read, and I was worried that Infinite Crisis would be the same. I was very wrong. I have a new motto: In Geoff Johns We Trust. He has the incredible ability of making Silver-Age retro concepts and making them accessible. Here he takes central characters from the original CIE and makes them understandable, even though I haven't read CIE. Superboy Prime is a great villian. He reminds me of every whiny teenager that I deal with on a daily basis. Unfortunately Superboy Prime could punch my head off.

Johns is great at taking superhero characters and giving them human vulnerabilities. I really enjoyed how he resolved the inner conflict of Batman's paranoia. Of course he would isolate himself and not trust anyone. Batman doesn't want to be vulnerable ever and the OMAC crises is the result. Wonder Woman has become a killer, and Superman has to fight his counterpart Kal-L from Earth 2. It's great to see these pillars of the DC Universe given the chance to fight for their existence while realizing that it's okay to be imperfect.

Of course this series requires a much more in-depth analysis but I don't feel like I have enough experience to do it justice. So here's some links where you can find more on Infinite Crisis:
Infinite Crisis
Annotated Infinite Crises
Newsarama
And I really suggest listening to the 7 episodes of coverage by Comic Geek Speak.
And I talk more about Infinite Crisis over at my new blog here that is focusing on the series 52. Have a great week! Book Slave.

I shot a man in Reno.

Hey,
More comic thoughts. Well it is what I've been reading lately.

Sometimes it's hard to be a villian: Rogues Revenge & Sleeper Vol. 2

Every great writer (and reader for that matter) will tell you that a hero is only as good as his villain. This is especially true in comics. In the modern era writers such as Alan Moore and Frank Miller have taken the medium to a new level by blurring the line. Recently I picked up two books that expertly examined the psychology of villiany by featuring the bad guys at the center.

Out of the grand chaotic mess that was Final Crisis emerged a small gem of a mini-series called Rogues Revenge. This side trip from the main story focuses on the Rogues from Geoff Johns's run on The Flash. Led by Captain Cold this Rogue team is dealing with the crazy havoc being wrought by Libra. They also are feeling the consequences of their gang murder of Martian Manhunter. Of course this team of villains has it's own share of dysfunctionality.

Geoff Johns is one of the best writer's in comics. That's just a fact. This series was so much fun. He deftly makes Captain Cold a badass, while still revealing his humanity. I was particularly impressed by how Johns brought in Cold's relationship with his sister Golden Glider. Johns understands that even the bad guys are still human beings with human emotions. He finds a way to make them interesting and complex. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the fantastic art from Scott Kollins. His pencils are very clear and sharp. He sticks to the traditional panel style but has a great depth of field and detail. It's not photo-realistic though, but it still looks like comics.

While Johns is the perfect writer for the Flash, on the other side of the aisle Brubaker is the best noir writer in comics. I read Season 1 at the end of last year and loved it. You can find that review here. So I could not wait for Season 2 and it didn't disappoint. This series was fantastic. Brubaker masterly mixes the noir and superhero genre. He's not afraid to have his main characters do vicious evil acts. Sleeper centers around Holden Carver, a man who comes into contact with an alien substance and develops a resistance to pain. He is also able to absorb pain from others and then redirect it out towards his enemy. Carver is then recruited to go deep undercover with evil mastermind Tao, where he begins to lose perspective. By the beginning of Season 2 Carver is able to reconnect with his handler Lynch but he has turned double agent and is now morally lost.

This is all incredibly compelling because Brubaker is fearless. In fact my favorite character is Holden's girlfriend Miss Misery. I loved the issue where the reader follows Misery as she goes on a horrible tear through the city just killing people left and right. Miss Misery thrives off committing evil acts, otherwise she gets physically ill. If she is not evil, then she's an invalid. It's a fascinating irony that Brubaker explores. Sleeper is all about these kind of moral quandaries. As a reader I constantly questioned what I would do in the same situation. In this world the line between right and wrong is completely blurred. The dark ending is inevitable and expected, but still satisfying.

The art of Sean Phillips adds to the dark tone of this story. His muted colors are wonderfully noir. He also allows the color red to pop out from the page which emphasizes the horror of the violence in this world. Phillips never shies away from the blood and sex that is inherent in this book. Phillips is an incredible artist whose work I already admired from his work on Brubaker's Criminal. Noir and crime is definitely Phillips's wheelhouse.

Have a great week! Book Slave.