Some Endings, More Beginnings

Every so often, you'll find your weekly stack of comics has a series of endings and beginnings, a few transitions that definitely seem to mark the passing of one part of your calendar (or, if you want to be dramatic, life) into the new. I've been out of it a bit, I admit–I haven't been able to make it to the shop and have found a few issues from weeks past lingering on my nightstand.  I've worked kinda hard to get caught up, and given that I am stuck at the airport waiting for a plane after a very long day, it seems fitting to ruminate, if briefly, on a few endings…and a few beginnings.

(Please forgive me if I repeat anything in the iFanboy podcasts–you see, it's possible for a staff member to fall behind, too!  I tend to wait until I read the books before I listen to the show, which may be a bit irresponsible, I admit.)

So, the end of Kick-Ass has arrived…or at least the end of Book One of Kick-Ass has arrived. I must admit, when I picked it up at the shop, I scoffed loudly–why was the issue so thin?  Surely, the last issue of this story warrants a double size helping of blood, guts and gore!  But, as is often the case, more pages does not always mean better story, and I found myself very pleased with how this crazy–crazy–title ended up. As those of you who follow me on Twitter might have read, I spent part of my Sunday gathering the eight issue together to lend to my friend, and it was actually kind of cool to sift through those books and realize, "Hey–I actually thought this book was kind of awesome!"  Happy are those who get to read it in the trade, sure — it's going to be a great experience — but I am glad I lived with this title for the past year or so.  I found myself giving into what can only be expressed as completely irresponsible, crass enjoyment of this ridiculously over-the-top story, yet found myself oddly touched by how it ended. I am mildy embarrassed to admit to a certain snobbery about, at least in this case, reading the book before seeing the movie, too. I just feel like I deserve it more, for some reason, after living through this book, that sometimes felt more like an experimental drubbing of my expectations (good and bad) than a coherent story.  Still, I liked the characters and I respect Millar for not taking the easy way out, for slapping the reader in the face with a story that is definitely not happy-ever-after, things-work-out-in-the-end-if-you-are-just-honest-wtih-your-feelings kind of way.  I hope the movie horrifies people…is that bad?

I know I am possibly in the minority in this, but all I can say about the ending of Superman: World of New Krypton is: finally.  I completely and utterly lost interest in this muddled, sloppy, irritating mystery that seemed to have zero stakes and did not resonate with me at all. The best parts of the book for me were the covers and the appearance of Adam Strange. Other than that…like, who cares? I will do the responsible thing and reread the whole thing to see if the story made sense at all, but I am certainly not inspired to do so.  I admit — it's weird to dislike something that so many people whose reputation I admire and respect seem to like, but I just couldn't get into the art, which seemed to be done by that thin kind of marker one might have used in grammar school, to tell what should have been a story worthy of completely redefining Superman's relationship with his past, present and future.  World of Lost Opportunity, more like.  We'll see what happens next. Maybe I'll start reading Superman again. That would be nice.

The return of Demo surprised me big time. I had no idea it was coming back and I was thrilled to see the Demo logo peek out at me from the middle of my stack. Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan are back with stories of young people experiencing something…else and I couldn't be happier. I was a fan of the original series, mostly, I guess, out of a default admiration for Brian Wood, whose trade of Channel Zero marked my return into comics, but what a great opportunity to get some Cloonan in my zone.  I haven't read her regularly in her other books (though her pencils show up from time to time, to be sure) but, wow–she's gotten seriously good since my last issue of Demo, that's for sure.  (By the way, does Demo remind anyone else of Marvel's four issue run of Muties?)

As excited as I was about the return of Demo, I must admit that the art blew me away more than the story. I mean, look–I'm not that smart but pretty much anyone could have called what was gonna happen at the end of this issue.  However…it really doesn't matter, right? Like, the one-and-done issue is less about the ending and more about the journey, I think. After not being able to sleep for many, mahy days, our main character is driven into action by forces she cannot explain, she is torn away from her home, her city, her job, her friends, to London, to St. Paul's Cathedral.  It's this stark realization of having to do something at the expense of everything (and everyone) else that was compelling for me, perhaps because I spend much of my time in a cube typing in front of a computer, I dunno.  Still, what's great about issue 1?  The promise of Issue 2. I'm glad to have Brian and Becky back in my life–they are a formidable pair of storytellers.

Finally, we come to Batman and Robin #7, with Cameron Stewart joining Grant Morrison, with a story that begins in London and ends in pretty astute confusion.  It was great to see the Britsh superheroes Knight and Squire, whom Morrison introduced me to way back in Detective Comics long ago, but I have to say, as much as I enjoy the concept of in medeas res ("in the midst of things"), I felt like I had missed an issue.  I kept finding myself wondering who was who, and, well, what was going on?  Like, Robin was being pulled apart in some kind of bacta chamber and Dick was suddenly trying to resurrect Bruce from a random Lazarus pit with Batwoman screaming at him? Like…what?  I know these stories don't take place in continuity, or at least do seem to, but still…it was frustrating for me.  I mean, maybe I did miss an issue. Like, that's how confused I am. Let's check. Argh. Wireless not working and my plane is almost here. I'll try to get back to you. (10 minutes later.) Nope, #6 was the end of the last run. #7 is all kinds of confusing.

The art by Cameron Stewart was interesting…it remined me of Matt Wagner, or the Steve Ralston art from  Queen and Country. Blocky, more staid…but much more compelling that Philip Tan, whose work never really caught on with my eyeballs.  I gotta wonder, though–like, if you are drawing a Grant Morrison book wouldn't you be kind of annoyed that Frank Quitely kept getting the covers?  That would bug me, especially since Quitely's covers haven't been all that inspiring as of late (and I love the guy, believe me). But it's just the first issue of a few, at least–we'll see where this new team takes us.

The stack is a fickle thing. It's made up of beginnings and endings of all kinds, some more inspiring and fulfilling than others, which is why getting comics week to week is so exhilarating, right?  I am sad to see Kick-Ass go, hoping to see Superman make his way back to Earth, have high expecations of what Demo will bring and trusting that Batman and Robin will make sense. 

Pretty good, all in all!

See ya next week!

Mike Romo is an actor in LA who is actually acting more in his day job as a non actor than he does as an actor, which confuses him. Email him at iFanboy, and follow him on twitter if you like.