I was surprised and delighted to find a Batman Annual sitting on the shelves at my local shop, but I'm sad to say that my delight quickly turned rancid once I started reading. This year's installment takes an interesting premise—the origin of Ra's Al Ghul, one of Bats' most formidable villains—and makes it almost shockingly pedestrian.
Despite a few quirks (an arranged marriage here, a Zoroastrian funeral there), Ra's backstory is recounted in typical fashion here, and his transition from an ambitious, brilliant young man into the murderous Demon's Head is still glossed over jarringly. (Pass on this and re-read Birth of the Demon instead.) Even worse is a misguided side story with Batman traipsing through the outback searcing for a pair of MIA moth collectors. (Seriously, what?) The ish has its moments—we discover that it was actually Ra's who bested Napoleon at Waterloo, and that the bulk of H.G. Wells works are actually Ra's memoirs—but it's not enough. (And wee Damian is unbearable in this one.) The real point of this book is to set in motion the events leading up to Ra's resurrection, but importance to continuity doesn't make a comic worth reading. Ra's is a great character, and he deserves better.
(Also, for a brilliant depiction of a character very much inspired by Ra's, try last year's absolutely fantastic Astro City Special, with the story "The Eagle and the Mountain." I honestly liked Infidel nearly as much as Ra's Al Ghul after reading it, and by now I should know to expect no less from Astro City.)
Despite a few quirks (an arranged marriage here, a Zoroastrian funeral there), Ra's backstory is recounted in typical fashion here, and his transition from an ambitious, brilliant young man into the murderous Demon's Head is still glossed over jarringly. (Pass on this and re-read Birth of the Demon instead.) Even worse is a misguided side story with Batman traipsing through the outback searcing for a pair of MIA moth collectors. (Seriously, what?) The ish has its moments—we discover that it was actually Ra's who bested Napoleon at Waterloo, and that the bulk of H.G. Wells works are actually Ra's memoirs—but it's not enough. (And wee Damian is unbearable in this one.) The real point of this book is to set in motion the events leading up to Ra's resurrection, but importance to continuity doesn't make a comic worth reading. Ra's is a great character, and he deserves better.
(Also, for a brilliant depiction of a character very much inspired by Ra's, try last year's absolutely fantastic Astro City Special, with the story "The Eagle and the Mountain." I honestly liked Infidel nearly as much as Ra's Al Ghul after reading it, and by now I should know to expect no less from Astro City.)
The new issue of Invincible fares a tad better, but still stalls occasionally. Some have complained about the glacial pace of Kirkman's The Walking Dead, but from where I'm sitting Invincible is ten times as frosty. In The Walking Dead, events simmer and boil, and nary an issue goes by without at least one shock or gruesome slaying as Kirkman drags the reader agonizingly towards the next heart-rending tragedy. In Invincible, on the other hand, he drops a few large revelations (the truth about Mark's father being the only truly seismic one) and strings them out over eons. And to a large extent that's okay, because there's still plenty of vibrant and enjoyable heroics along the way—don't get me wrong, this is still one of the best superhero comics around. But this latest arc drags, with the reveal of a female Viltrumite only serving to tell us that (1) Female Viltrumites exist, and (2) Viltrumites are still the bad guys. Oh well, at least we get a cameo by Allen the Alien, who pulls a fast one on the mustachioed astro-fascists.
The real gem this week is—surprise!—Avengers: The Initiative #5. I linked to my review of the first three issues in my last post, and I do not hesitate to say this is my favorite Marvel book right now. Slott just keeps on upping the ante and introducing new mysteries: this week he fleshes out Trauma and introduces the enigmatic deus X-Man Mutant Zero, while helping us to get acquainted with the Initiative's black ops team. And he pulls off a truly admirable feat by subordinating the lame "World War Hulk" crossover to his own book rather than vice versa. And Caselli's art still sizzles. Bravo, and keep up the good work.
Until next time, true believers.
0 comments:
Post a Comment