Now I am not what one would call a die-hard Batman fan. For me, he is far more enjoyable in team setting, with the Justice League or the Outsiders. His ‘Network’ has a reach that touches nearly every Earth-bound corner of the DC Universe. However, Batman’s fate through the Final Crisis and the Return Of Bruce Wayne was hardly the Dark Knights standard territory, except maybe in the pages of the Brave And The Bold and of course the aforementioned JLA.

Still, such an experience can hardly leave a man unchanged, even one as obsessive and pragmatic as this one.

In Batman The Return we see the start of those changes, and some feel a little more familiar than others.  A thousand G. I. Robots on order? Echoes of The Kingdom anybody? They keep creeping in, Magog vs Captain Atom in Justice League Generation Lost, the creation of the Emerald City in the recent JLA/JSA crossover. Who would have thought that one Elseworlds novel would have had such an influence?

Return is rather a strong word as well. Bruce Wayne was already on ‘The Road Home’ while he was still bouncing ‘Returning’ through time. Scheduling this so that it came out in chronological order would have been a nightmare, and now it’s all over I rather admire DC for throwing any attempt to the winds and telling each section of the story almost simultaneously.

So, Batman The Return sets up a nice new villain deep in the shadows by the original name of Leviathan. Batman Inc however gives full range to Grant Morrisons inventiveness and hopefully his encyclopedic knowledge of comics history will come into play. This is enough for me to jump back in to the Bat-titles, waters I have not played in since the days of Contagion.

World’s a-changing. Hop on to enjoy the new dynasty. For as long as this one lasts at least.

Let’s take these points one by one.

1) Rising Costs

If I was to be honest, I cannot argue with this one.  Over the last decade the cost of my weekly pull has steadily risen alongside the rise in the price of paper. Of course, variant covers, special editions, and tie-ins all increase the bill, but I remain reasonably immune to the former two. (My weakness is the latter.)

However, as the world shifts more and more to digital technology, I can see that cost falling again, not that it has yet to any considerable degree. The politics of not undermining the traditional local comic book shop still manages to keep the price of digital content inflated beyond what it needs to be, and that is understandable. Who doesn’t love to have the physical comic in their hand? The smell, the feel of the paper all enhance the experience. Yet many years ago, I started running out of storage space and began the process of releasing my collection back into the world. (Thank heavens for eBay!) As a lover of the medium, whether I read it on the screen or in physical form does not bother me too much, and honestly? I now prefer the digital. They are so much easier to store.

2) Increasingly ludicrous depictions of the human form

Yup, got me there as well.  Yet then again, look at the various styles throughout history. This is no different to the manga-style eyes of the Nineties, or the more cartoony artists of all generations. It is a fad, it will pass, and many artists will just totally ignore such fashions and draw in a style that they feel comfortable with.

3) Too much hype, not enough depth

Now I can understand this one, but I have just come to expect that hype with every event, story or mini.  I do not feel it is new, many comics used to beat their own chests. Why, you only have to look at many of the Marvel comics of the Seventies to see exactly the same process occurring.  The thing that is different is the quantity of that hype, for which there is only one cause.  This is the internet.  There’s a great quantity of everything, and if you are into the comics sites, then you will see even more hype. After all, isn’t that what they are there for?

Now Robin also noted how fast the lineups change in the team books.

Case in point: how often do superhero teams like the Avengers, the JLA, and the X-Men change their rosters? These teams are revolving doors, with a single line-up never lasting long enough to let the characters stretch their legs and see how the new mechanics work between heroes who are suddenly working side-by-side.

Maybe we look at the stories differently.  I see both members and non-members as consistent members of the cast.  These titles are tales of a part of a well established world, through which various characters pass through regularly. In my view, once an Avenger, always an Avenger.  Moondragon may be part of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Two-Gun Kid may be back in the Old West and who knows where the Living Lightning is nowadays, but all three are Avengers, and thus part of the Avengers story. Change in the real world can be rapid, but when we look at the big guns like the Avengers or the JLA, then many of those characters have their own titles to back them up, or minis to focus on them. Change can and should be rapid when it happens in the comics world. If that were not true, then mini-series like the Fallen Angels would never have happened.

4) Throwing endless ideas at the reader is not storytelling

No, it’s not, but then that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Again, it depends on what you are looking for. This was the point that I really want to tackle, with great passion.

Introducing twenty new characters in a single story arc is not storytelling. Coming up with cool new ideas is not storytelling. Giving superheroes new powers is not storytelling. If characters don’t emote, if they don’t grow and change, if they don’t experience things that we as readers can relate to… then you don’t have a story. You have mind-blowing ideas and lots of cool imagery, sure, but there’s no substance.

I agree with every word of that, but on the other hand, I am in love with the throwaway concept. If these are introduced at a consistently high rate to the detriment of the core story, I am behind that statement 100%.

Yet every throwaway concept can be taken by a later writer and expanded upon. Look at how much we know about Boom Tubes nowadays? Look at the Legion Of Super-Heroes, that grew from such inauspicious beginnings. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the entire catalogue of work by the great god of comics Jack Kirby, whose work was peppered with such concepts that were repeated so often, they became standard fare, yet we still knew very little about them.

A shining example of this was Morrison’s Final Crisis. You either loved it or you hated it. I belong in the former crowd. I love the stories that tell you enough for the story construction, yet leave that much more left unsaid, inviting you to complete the peripherals of the story in your own mind. From such fertile soil is the best fanfic grown, and the future epics we have yet to see. I can read Final Crisis again and again, and every time see a new aspect that captures my attention.

I want to see the history of Wonder World from the JLA Rock Of Ages. Just because it was destroyed, does not mean it is finished. After all, wasn’t it not on some plane perpendicular (or some-such) to ‘our’ space-time. I want to see more of the Legion Of Legions as glimpsed in the backdrop of Flex Mentallo. I want to return to the world of DC One Million. (Erm, can you detect a theme here?)

Looking at the older stories, character development is not always a pre-requisite to me. Sometimes, the character can remain the same, as the world changes around them. Change for change’s sake is not a good thing. (I’m not sure if I agreeing or disagreeing with Robin there.)

I want my stories to have a beginning, middle and end, some consequences, (though not always for the central character) and even more importantly, to give that sense of recapturing that childhood wonder of whole new worlds that I first felt when reading Crisis On Infinite Earths, Squadron Supreme, or the Fantastic Four.

Long Live The Throwaway Legions!

Warren Ellis takes on the X-Men in the newest incarnation of the Astonishing X-Men, presumably set after all the Second Coming event has come to a conclusion. I like Ellis’ writing, and if he can stay true to the spirit of the X-Men (spiritus-superior?) while bringing in elements of his irreverent humour then this should be a grand ride.

In the meantime, Bruce Wayne works his way back to the future from prehistoric times at the hands of Grant Morrison. Considering that we are promised a Puritan Batman and a Pirate Batman, I’m wondering which direction Grant will take with this title. Emotionally charged stories with a touch of surrealism? Or will his love of the sixties kitsch of comics shine through?

With Final Crisis, Grant showed his love for the more forgotten institutions of DC, with a vast arrange of Kirby legacies both from the New Gods and from Kamandi. (On that note, where is the Kamandi ongoing that was intimated?)

The Tiger-men, Caesar, not withstanding the plague that swept New Earth 51 . I think I got the number right, but then wasn’t it the second time that earth had been destroyed in Countdown? The story was so convoluted that even I lose track now.

Then again, who could forget the reprise of Jimmy Olsen, as Giant-Turtle Boy. Versus Darkseid no less! How cool was that?

Still, if you really want to see Grant’s love of comics history, then you only have to read four issues (the conclusion of his run on Animal Man not-withstanding), and that is of the classic Flex Mentallo mini-series. A presumptuous meta-fiction with many levels of ‘reality’, you could simply feel yourself there with Wallace (or more to the point, teenage Grant himself), devouring comic after comic. The whole series made me remember my first fascination with comics as I discovered hero after hero, world after world.

So let’s see if this weeks offering give us the magic of the Invisibles, the wonder of Flex Mentallo, the humour of Nextwave and the paced story-telling of Planetary.

Oh, and Siege finishes, and the other Blackest Night/Brightest Day spin-offs commence. But I think my attention has wandered already.

REBELS Annual 1, the Warlord Starro

I’ve always liked Starro as a villain.

There’s something about a giant mind controlling starfish that you just can’t hold a candle to. My first exposure to him was during my first exposure to the entire DCU, during the CRISIS On Infinite Earths. What a jumping on point eh?

In my early teenage years, I picked up #9 of CRISIS, as Brainiac gathered his army of villains without number to take over three of the five remaining earths. This was my first exposure to that lovable tyrant. In Brainiacs satellite Starro lumbered in the background, appearing again later in the massive battle on Earth-S. That was all I knew, but my curiosity was piqued.

My second exposure was in a back issue of Captain Carrot And His Amazing Zoo Crew. In no way could this be described as impressive, but I immediately loved the series and held them close to my heart ever since. The pathetic and endless puns amused me, small things for small minds I suppose. I very relieved in the climax of Final Crisis as the Zoo Crew were returned to humanoid form – can we have another series please?

Anyway, this appearance really didn’t do Starro any justice, but he rose in my estimation when he managed to con Justice League Europe into assisting one of his invasion attempts. That was my first glimpse of how all-encompassing he promised to be.

Where he really rose to prominence however was (of course) in the capable hands of Grant Morrison in the pages of JLA, where even the Sandman Lord Morpheus himself was forced to get involved. Cold, inhuman, hungry, unstoppable, Grant portrayed Starro in a manner that I don’t think anyway using a giant starfish had accomplished before. This made the appetite of Starro as voracious and implacable as the Borg of Star Trek.

So it was with some dismay that I read in recent issues of REBELS that there is a humanoid warlord in control of the Starros. The Dominion has fallen, and the Gil’Dishpan (who when I first saw them were called Dispan. Dishpan? DISHPAN?!? What the hell sort of name is that? Oooh, watch out, the evil Dishpan is coming for you! Sounds more like a nemesis for Betty and Veronica). Then out of the mists comes this warlord guy.

Fortunately, as revealed in last weeks REBELS Annual, it is not as simple as that, and Starros inhumanity has been preserved.. This warlord is like a cross between Marvel’s Overmind and the Spirit Of Vengeance, the final survivor of a telepathic race so filled with the hate of his entire race for the conqueror Starro that he dominated the group mind. Even so, he is driven for Starros hunger to be everything.

If you haven’t been picking up REBELS, here is space drama to rival the War Of Kings. Oh, and Vril Dox is as manipulative as ever, if maybe a little humbled. If you were a fan of the original L.E.G.I.O.N./R.E.B.E.L.S series, you can’t miss this. Space Opera is doing really well in comics currently, and as readers, we are all the better for it. Keep it coming.

`Of course I’m talking about the final chapter of Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds. And without gushing and revealing umpteen spoilers, all I can say is it was brilliant.

I have always loved the Legion, and to see Grant Morrison write a Legion story, with George Perez art no less, is enough to give this fanboy an earth-shaking geekgasm. That’s not even to mention the fact it is a team up between the 1980’s Earth One Legion, the Reboot Earth 247 Legion and the Threeboot Legion. (Just wait until you find out where they come from!)

Of course, we’re assuming it’s the Earth One Legion, but seeing how the mechanics have worked so far, I don’t think we can be so sure. Still, it’s a Legion each for the Super-Family, one for Superman, one for the Conner Kent Superboy, and one for Supergirl.

The series so far has been one massive slugfest, but this final issue more than makes up for it as the battle reaches its climax, and secrets are revealed. The nature of the Time Trapper is theorised upon in a way that makes lots of sense, an awesome change of direction for the White Witch and a glimpse of other Legions as well, including my favorite, the Five Years Later Legion. I know they got a raw deal in the reviews, but I always liked them, even the duplicate Batch SW6 Legion storyline, which after this issue, has the potential of making even more sense. Seeing the clean lines of the clean cut Legion is great, but I would hate to think that the Five Years Later Legion was simply forgotten and swept under the carpet. I’m sure I can’t be the only one.

Plus Earth Prime. Wanderers. Dawny and Wildstar finally professing their love for each other (I think I can reveal that one, but I really daren’t say anything else, almost anything I could comment on would be a spoiler). The destiny of Gates. How I’ve missed that little bug.

If you’ve ever been a Legion fan, then you HAVE to pick up this issue, if not the entire series. It’s too good to wait for the trade, and it has me really excited about the upcoming Adventure Comics series, coming August the 12th. I just hope it has plenty of Legion as well as Superboy, as some places have mentioned 8-10 pages.

Although in the style of the older stories, I’m sorry, 8-10 pages is just not enough. Three stories of that length, all Legion, now that would be fine but just one? C’mon, the Legion is far bigger than that. Nevertheless, it has to be said……….

LONG LIVE THE LEGION!