"'Cause She's The Music MEISTER!!!"

Comic-Con is always a good time, but some years are less fun than others. 2010 was the unlucky year this time around.

I enjoyed myself, and saw some great stuff, but for a lot of it, I just felt like I was going through the motions. Let’s take it day-by-day, shall we?

Join me after the break.

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...Or like this?

Show of hands: Next year, do you think Wonder Woman will be dressed like this...?

Let’s get the elephant out of the room right now:  I loathe the new costume. Call me a rigid traditionalist if you must, but if DC is going to update an admittedly impractical and anachronistic costume, they should replace it with something less bland and more modern. I can just imagine Tim Gunn seeing it for the first time: “Biker jackets and black tights? Is it 1994 again already?”

Now that we’re past the publicity stunt, let’s talk about the issue itself. Like Superman #700 from a few weeks ago, this comic consists of short stories and pin-ups, begins with a story by the outgoing writer, and ends with a prologue of J. Michael Stracyznski’s upcoming story arc. Expect a few spoilers, and maybe some more whining about the costume after the break…

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He wasn't actually here for WonderCon; he wandered in off the street. The homeless problem in SF is staggering...

WonderCon is the middle child of the Comic-Con family. If San Diego is the overachieving oldest child, and APE is the free-spirited art school student, WonderCon is the slacker that is perfectly happy just doing its own thing. And I, for one, prefer it that way.

For one, I was pleasantly surprised that most of the panels were actually comics-related. Sure, I saw a panel about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and got to see the Series 5 premiere of Doctor Who (which was exceptional), but almost all other panels had comics as their primary focus.

Plus, unlike Comic-Con, I was only unable to get into one of the panels I wanted to see. People may have complained about how crowded it was on Saturday, but it was a leisurely stroll compared to the lightest day of Comic-Con foot traffic. And San Francisco was not ground to a halt in the wake of WonderCon, although I do feel a small amount of power knowing that my people and I control an entire city for a week.

Anyway, on to the highlights:

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The irony of this book being released in time for Thanksgiving is not lost on me...

Premise: Tony Chu is a detective who gets psychic impressions from almost anything he eats. As an agent for the FDA (which has grown into a powerful agency in the wake of a devastating case of bird flu), he gets involved in cases that are even weirder than his psychic powers.

I tried describing this book to my girlfriend and she was revolted, so I’ll tell you up front that this book is not for everyone. However, if you are a fan of black humor, surrealism, and procedurals, this is a book that you cannot miss. Writer John Layman economically establishes a rich setting with a minimum of exposition (vital information is usually delivered with brief, Pushing Daisies-style flashbacks).

The most important characters are well-rounded and fully realized, and the cliche characters (such as Chu’s antagonistic superior officer) still manage to be entertaining. Plus, he is as deft with moments of side-splitting humor as he is moments of jaw-dropping horror.

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What has happened before: The Kree and the Shi’Ar went to war again, this time lead by Earth-born conquerors (Black Bolt and Vulcan, respectively). The Kree won when Black Bolt set off a doomsday weapon that appeared to kill both Vulcan and himself.  While all this was going on, the former Shi’Ar empress, Lilandra, was assassinated by what appears to have been Darkhawk.

If the War of Kings miniseries had a failing, it was that the ending was rather abrupt. Thankfully, this issue provided a much needed epilogue for this epic crossover.  Writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning maintain their high level of quality output here, as does artist Paul Pelletier. Like their Secret Invasion: War of Kings one shot, this issue concisely sums up the previous crossover, tells a self-contained story, and provides all the necessary set up for the next crossover event. My only problem with it is that it makes me want to follow the upcoming Realm of Kings crossover, despite my crossover fatigue and rapidly shrinking comics budget.

Of course, if Marvel continues to publish transitional one-shots of such high quality, I may just skip the crossovers altogether and buy these every few months…

Saw this outside the DC booth...

Ever since I moved to San Diego in 1993, I have never missed a Comic-Con. It has always been huge for as long as I’ve been going, in the last decade, it has become a monster. People complain that Hollywood has completely engulfed the event, but it still says Comic-Con on the marquee, and I spent the majority of my time there either buying graphic novels and Black Lantern T-shirts, or attending panels devoted to comics. Hell, in a lot of cases, the big movie studio panels drew people away from the panels I actually wanted to see, so Hooray for Hollywood! Anyway, since the days blurred together a bit, I’ll just give you a list of some of the highlights:

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Short Pants No More!

For the past few years, the issues of Detective Comics written by Paul Dini were at the top of my “to read” pile the Wednesday they came out. Gritty, snarky, and new-reader friendly, Detective was everything that a comic book should be. As his run continued, he did have to accommodate the occasional editorially-mandated crossover (such as “The Resurrection of Ras Al Ghul”), but immediately returned to his previous “done in one” method of storytelling. During the “Batman R.I.P.” event, he had written the uncharacteristically long 5-part “Heart of Hush” arc, which I would have liked a lot more had it been two issues shorter and about anyone but Hush, a character that I have little to no interest in. Then the Bat-Titles took a break, in order to get back on schedule.
Anyway, despite shaking the Batman titles to their very foundation, DC decided to keep Dini and Grant Morrison around to write the adventures of the new Dynamic Duo. Can Dini get great stories out of Dick Grayson like he did out of Bruce Wayne?
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Review Secret Six #7

Secret Six 7 Cover

Writer:  Gail Simone
Pencilers: Nicola Scott
Inkers:  Doug Hazelwood

Issue #7 concludes the first arc in the Secret Six series.  Once again the writing is spot-on with liberal doses of humor and drama intermixed.  The issue draws you in from start to finish and leaves you wanting more.  In my opinion this is what comic books should strive to be.  Too often we are stuck between entertaining and thought provoking or deconstructing a long running character.  We are confronted with drawn out arcs with a quick single issue filler sandwiched in-between.  Ms. Simone has gone a long way in perfecting a balance in her story writing between giving us a complete story each month and adding to the overall narrative.  Furthermore Ms. Scott’s pencils are as beautiful as ever and her attention to detail is excellent.

Beyond here be spoilers.

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It's all fun and games until someone ends up in the Phantom Zone...

What Happened? The bottled Kryptonian city of Kandor was Re-Bigulated. The Kryptonians felt unwelcome on Earth, so they made their OWN planet! With Blackjack! And Hookers!!! And they welcomed General Zod back into the fold. Needless to say, Superman isn’t taking any of this very well…

I think it was Alan Moore that complained about comics that read like grocery lists, but sometimes they are a necessary evil. Geoff Johns and James Robinson have seriously upset the status quo in the Super-titles over the past year. This issue does a good job of bringing new readers up to speed while whetting the appetites of the longtime readers for what’s to come.  James Robinson is quite skilled at this technique, as he used to include “checklist issues” like this during his run on Starman between extended story arcs.  Is it filler? Perhaps. Is it still an entertaining comic? Yes.

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Great Cover, Marginal Comic

When Last We Left Our Hero:

The Flash’s Powers are killing him. His wife, Linda, was attacked by a swarm of bees. ALIEN bees. She’s at death’s door.

Full disclosure: The Flash is my absolute favorite superhero, no question. It doesn’t matter who’s wearing the costume; matter of fact, the generational nature of the comic has been one of its great strengths as far as I’m concerned. Also, from the early 90s to about two years ago, the title has been a breeding ground for the best writers (Waid, Johns) and artists (Carlos Pacheco, Scott Kolins, Ethan Van Sciver, the late Mike Wieringo) in the field.

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