EARTH 2 #2

Review by: akamuu

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1157
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Avg Rating: 4.3
 
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Written by James Robinson
Art by Nicola Scott & Trevor Scott
Cover by Ivan Reis & Joe Prado

Size: 32 pages
Price: 2.99

A customer who has only ever talked to me about zombie books and why David Lapham and Garth Ennis are really awesome came into the store today and said, not having any idea I was gay, “It really sucks that DC made such a bottom level character gay. I wasn’t expecting Batman or anything, but this shows no respect. Who the fuck is Alan Scott?”

It’s the kind of outlook one can only have if they read books for events instead of stories. For me, I don’t care which characters in any comic book universe is gay, straight, bi, Black, Lation, transgender, a magic narhwal, as long as they’re written well.

So while Marvel stands on the roof of the highest building in the city using a megaphone hooked into an expensive set of super speakers screaming “WE’RE PROGRESSIVE, LOOK AT THIS GAY MARRIAGE WE’RE PLANNING IN FOUR MONTHS…THREE MONTHS…TWO MONTHS…NEXT ISSUE…PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE NOTICE HOW PROGRESSIVE WE ARE!!!!!”, James Robinson has written a really good issue of a superhero comic wherein a gay character proposes to his boyfriend. It’s treated with the same gravitas as any straight proposal. It’s not the focus of the issue. This is mainly a Flash issue. The proposal is just a moment in a comic.

As a mainly Marvel guy, I’m a little let down that they chose to go the sensational route while DC took the opportunity to make this issue a mostly non-issue. They didn’t mention the gay aspect in time for stores to order more, they didn’t send out postcards with GAY PROPOSAL!!! written on it. In short, they treated this like a natural occurrence (apart from one Didio mention and then an announcement of which character was gay a few days before the issue came out.

Setting that issue aside, this is also a fantastic comic. I’m not a big fan of the multiverse, and pulling characters in and out of alternate worlds (sorry Age Of Apocalypse fans) but Robinson has made both of his first two issues phenomenally interesting without resorting to using unnecessary adverbs like “phenomenally”. I think this is his best work since his Starman run.

I also hope Nikola and Trevor Scott make enough money creating comic book art to buy their own island. I’ve yet to be disappointed by Scott art.

Story: 5 - Excellent
Art: 5 - Excellent

Comments

  1. I haven’t even read the first one yet, but I’m hearing fantastic things about the book. The ‘gay’ news is getting tedious on both sides (DC/Marvel), but I can’t blame them. Ryan made some good points in his article about how comics write/display the issues of the time and gay marriage is a pretty big deal right now in the current political climate. I’m a little more forgiving of it in that light. They are businesses after all, and desperately trying to bring in new readers. Now will it work? No.

    Also, your write-ups are getting more breathy. I’m starting to get winded:)

    • “Also, your write-ups are getting more breathy. I’m starting to get winded:)” Hahaha. Yea, notice I only did two of them this week. I was both sick,and had to pick up a friend at the airport (despite my not owning a car). So I picked the two comics I most felt like talking about and…yes, definitely got wordy. 😉

    • Also, that was my user icon for Livejournal in those dark, dark years when I used Livejournal. Manamana.

    • lol. I really have no idea why I think that skit is so funny, but it gets me every time.

  2. “For me, I don’t care which characters in any comic book universe is gay, straight, bi, Black, Lation, transgender, a magic narhwal, as long as they’re written well.”

    Ditto. I’ve been feeling this way since sexual preference became an issue in comics -or at least in the media when they pay attention to comics.

    • In three weeks, once Astonishing 51 comes out, the mainstream media will forget about comics again until Grant Morrison reveals that Bruce Wayne has, in fact, been in White Face for the last 70 years of comics.

  3. As a gay guy, I wholeheartedly agree with your review 🙂

  4. This comic doesn’t feel tied down to the New52 barge like some many other books did when they relaunched. This feels very self contained in a way that comics used to be.

    Way too many have these blurry amourphous edges too them.
    AVX tie-ins especially. They’ve turned every book into the same book.

    Makes me wish they would just let books be themselves instead of editorial blandwashing everything.

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