Robert Venditti

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Back in the day, I read most of Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle's Sandman Mystery Theatre, the Vertigo series that chronicles Wesley Dodds's adventures as the original Sandman in the late 1930s. I didn't finish it, because at the time DC didn't have any collected editions that spanned the whole series (I think this has been rectified now). This made a lot of adjustments to Wesley Dodds lore, in particular regarding his show more relationship to his girlfriend Dian, making her almost a co-partner with him as the Sandman. Robert Venditti and Riley Rossmo's interpretation of Wesley and Dian clearly owes a lot to Wagner and Seagle's—which I appreciate because of how good SMT was! Wesley and Dian are much as I remember in their relationship, while Wesley himself is that interesting combination of authoritative as the Sandman but nebbish as himself that worked so well in that series. According to my chronology notes, the last collected SMT story was set in 1939; this book takes place in 1940, so it seemingly even works as a long-delayed continuation of Sandman Mystery Theatre. Maybe someday I'll reread it in that context and see how it holds up. (The one thing I know it's missing, though, is an appearance by my favorite SMT character, Lieutenant Burke.)

The premise of this story is that Wesley has grown increasingly anxious about the war in Europe; he's haunted by how his own father was changed by the previous war, and wants to stop something like this from happening again. He develops the gases he uses as the Sandman for battlefield applications, trying to come up with a way that will help the Allies win the war with a minimum of enemy casualties... but along the way, he discovers some deadly gases too. The Army turns down his nonlethal gases, but it seems like someone might know the truth of who Wesley is and wants his lethal weaponry.

It's not quite the grounded tone of Sandman Mystery Theatre, but that's fine, this is its own thing, and Venditti and Rossmo do a great job with it. It's a bit more exaggerated, but in a way that really works; you get the horror of the premise without going full-on Vertigo. This is my first time encountering Rossmo's work, and I liked it a lot. Sort of darkly cartoony, enhanced by some great atmospheric coloring from Ivan Plascencia.

The story is a bit noirish, a bit detetectiveish, though not terribly complicated or surprising; if you thing it through a bit, you won't be surprised by much that happens. I didn't mind, though, because it hit all the notes I wanted from a story like this. Some dark turns, some investigating, some nightmares, some good fights. It's very much character- and theme-driven, which feels like all too much a rarity in contemporary superhero comics. The glimpses of Wesley's future and past are both very well done.

I think DC's "New Golden Age" initiative is already over, alas, because I would gladly read a second miniseries or even an ongoing from this team. I hope these takes get picked up somewhere! show less

I enjoyed the pulpy, action-adventure mix of historical origins and sci-fi hero's quest - "an ancient nomadic warrior Aric is abducted by aliens and turns out to be worthy of their superpowered suit of armor just in time to come back to earth in the modern day," with all the trappings of Aric missing his old way of life and not understanding what's happened since then. Between The Force Awakens and this book, I've seen a lot of space-age claymores. Nord's artwork is up to the task of showing show more off the disparate settings (ancient field of battle, alien jail & plantation, modern-day Colosseum), and the action satisfies in all four issues collected here.

However, this book has a problem with women, and it's particularly bothersome because of how this book frames itself within the Valiant universe. A foreword (and lots of marketing) points to X-O Manowar as a launch point for the Valiant universe, a shot fired across the bows of Marvel and DC. Good for them! Show the big two the errors of their ways! Subvert some cliches and show us what superhero comics can really do! When Aric has a flashback to his passionate nights with his wife then wakes up and mourns her absence, I can almost let the trope slide. He's not just fighting for his freedom, he's fighting... for love! ...Or he would be, but his flashback shows that she only existed to love him physically (when he's away in battle, she "thinks of new tactics" to use on him, nice fantasizing there Venditti). Is Aric the ancient nomad warrior only aware of murder and sex? Is he the equivalent of a caveman crossed with Iron Man's armor and a lightsaber?

At the end of the book, the perspective shifts to a new character (I suspect Ninjak, Valiant's equivalent of Bruce Wayne) who's watching the news of Aric's arrival on Earth while two women pine for him in bed, observing that perhaps it's the "other" ladies' turns with him. He steps out of his bedroom and there's a whole waiting room of young women waiting for their number to be called to sleep with the billionaire playboy. Watch out, Aric the bold warrior who challenged the Roman empire, you're about to go toe to toe with... some lothario? I appreciate the division of characterizations, but there's a side effect that I hope was unintentional:

Unless I missed a background cameo, these scenes tell me that the only roles for women in the series are "fondly remembered nympho wife" and "prostitutes for the male rival." This element of the story is a cringeworthy blind spot that should be addressed in later volumes. As it stands, based on the first book, this pulpy adventure hits some fun beats but is not at all what I would recommend to people interested in trying out the Valiant universe beyond seeing "Who's Manowar? Okay, back to the great stuff." show less

So, this is more like the Green Lantern TPBs I like and have liked in the past. More bantering, more Carol/Hal drama, oh, and for some odd reason the New Guardians that are just out of their other world put Hal in charge of the entire Corps. I have to say that I’m with Hal, perhaps they need to brush up on his past before they put him in charge.

Still, they do, and then they go out into the universe to try and figure it out with some good old fashioned science.

But, of course, if it were show more really all that peaceful and easy it wouldn’t be an interesting TPB. OA comes under attack by Larfleeze and that’s not even the worst thing that happens, everyone’s rings suddenly blink out for a bit. And it doesn’t just happen once.

So, Hal and his new underlings have to set out to right this. Along the way we get to see Kyle do some stuff, there’s some more Hal/Carol drama too. And we meet a new sorta bad guy called Relic. His story was quite cool, and I even sorta hope that maybe we can see him again.

Overall I liked the TPB. It was more about the Lanterns, and not so much about the Guardians. The last few storylines had been about them, and it just got tiring, if DC had wanted to make a Guardian title then they should have named it that. When I read a Green Lantern title I want to read about actual Green Lanterns like Hal, John, Kyle, Kilowag, etc. And that was exactly what this had.

I got this advanced galley through Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment. show less

After three trades of buildup and bull-headed heroism, the series finally gives Aric of Dacia the richer history, personality clashes, Visigoth cultural challenges, and narrative payoffs it has been hinting all along. This book feels like it pulled the curtain off of the Aric-in-progress, and now I'm seeing what everyone else has praised about the series.

The introduction of hard-edged Colonel Jaime Capshaw didn't hurt, either.