Doug BraithwaiteReviews
Author of Doom Patrol, Vol.1: Crawling From the Wreckage
Reviews
Overall, the story was somewhat enjoyable. It fell apart a bit over time. Every issue seemed to be leading up to something and it kind of led to half-second conspiracy explanations that were kind of off-putting and a bit of a let-down. One of the biggest problems was the Joker. I fail to see what relevance his part in the story had and it kept distracting from the plot. I suppose a case could be made for demonstrating how the villains would act if they WEREN'T mind-controlled (they'd just screw each other up), but it's kind of a long shot and it just didn't work.
I'm also confused about The Dream. If the characters are all already mind-controlled and their plan is to kill off the JLA and rule the planet, then why do they need The Dream? This seems like a fallback to one of my major issues with "Kingdom Come": the frequent biblical(?) text intermixed with shadowy fortellings of the future that broke up the story. It was irritating. It's kind of like overkill for what I'm sure is the primary story-telling purpose (besides sounding like an epic concept): in KC, it would be to explain to the human witness what MIGHT happen if things go badly so he has a stake in stopping things, and in J, it's part of the mind control to keep the villains in line. Except when they lose the overt mind control, all the villains abandon the cause anyway so... It's kinda stupid? The Dream fails to explain HOW the supers lose their powers or when all of this takes place or who is doing what's happening. It's full of so many unexplainables that I think SOMEONE among all the geniuses of the JLA would figure something out and cry foul.
There were a lot more cameos here that mattered than in KC, which I liked. More screen time was given to actual characters (particularly female characters) than oh... random human males that no one knows, and I liked that. The dismissive nature of Hawkman and Green Arrow was KIND of irritating, though. My favorite character interaction was probably Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman. Their friendship was quite sweet. I don't see Marvel being really smart and thoughtful in a lot of comics (or you know... using his Wisdom of Solomon) and this was a nice change.
I also really liked how they played with Wonder Woman's character. That was interesting and enjoyable. And I love that she refused to stop believing in Rich. Batman also gets some interesting story moments, and I liked how Marvel came to Clark's rescue. It was quite interesting to see Marvel carrying Superman in his arms.
Overall... worth a read if you like JLA comics and "Kingdom Come". If you haven't read KC first, go read it. It's better.
Already reviewed as part of a different collection here.
The Big Broadcast of 2006 / Space Pirates!
You can read a version of the below that includes illustrations here.
"The Big Broadcast of 2006" was actually a US story (reprinted in Classics, Vol. 4), set in the future era of The Transformers: The Movie. But while the US comic never did anything with the future era other than this story and the movie adaptation, the UK comic had by this point depicted a robust and detailed future history—which was completely contradicted by this tale. UK writer Simon Furman solved this problem by writing a two-page frame to "Big Broadcast" that established it was a story being told by Wreck-Gar, full of lies to mislead his Quintesson interrogators: "Wreck-Gar's whole account is full of absurdities and contradictions." As the Quintessons point out, by this point in the UK continuity, Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge were all in the 1980s, not the future. And besides, the UK continuity was up to 2008, not 2006. It's a clever conceit, though I imagine it will have more impact if I ever read it where it "goes"; this just reprints the two UK pages.
It leads into the next UK future epic, Space Pirates!, one of those future stories that actually doesn't intersect with the present-day timeline. I wasn't really convinced this one held together, to be honest; the maguffin that everyone is chasing after didn't make a ton of sense to me, and the story requires seasoned warriors to make dumb decisions for everything to hang together. I do like a bit of Rodimus angst, but I feel like such angst was done much better in IDW's original continuity two decades later. Now, arguably a lot of Simon Furman epics probably wouldn't make sense if you delved into them, but this one didn't grab me the way some of those others did, so I'm less apt to forgive it its mistakes.
"Ark Duty"
Already reviewed as part of a different collection here.
The Transformers and Marvel UK: « Previous in sequence | Next in sequence »
I have to say I loved the story! Not only is the child Loki a fun and captivating protagonist, but he is an imaginative and still faithful interpretation of the character. Here is the trickster, the mischief-maker, of mythology that is not yet an outright villain. And, Gillen perfectly captures the voice of a young teen boy. Certainly Loki would be as smart-ass, but so would any other 13-15 year old boy (about the age I'd judge the character to be). Add to this the fact that everyone in Asgard remembers the previous incarnation of Loki, that nearly destroyed the world, and this boy's life is challenging to say the least. In Volume 1, Loki learns how he came to be reincarnated (a clever twist worthy of a god), but also goes on an adventure to save not only Asgard, but the older brother who is the only person who does not hate him - Thor.
The art in the book is vibrant and stunning. I love how the characters are rendered, and the backgrounds are rich and detailed. The art not only complemented the story, it helped with clarity and flow. The volume also concluded with a "recap" of the Thor storyline that lead to the events of JiM, V1. This was a nice addition to help newcomers find their footing. This book is a good place for a newcomer to comics to dive into the Marvel universe, and especially for fans of Loki. But be prepared to continue the investment. I enjoyed this so much I immediately ordered volumes 2-4. And, it hooked me enough that I have several Thor omnibus collections on my wishlist, as well as Siege. I think it won't be long before I have to add another bookshelf just for my Marvel graphic novels. Highly recommended!
I don't have the 2 spotlight comics included in this graphic novel (they're harder to find for some reason) but I don't think they contribute that much to the story (hopefully).
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As Universe X begins, Reed Richards prevented the destruction of the Earth at the hands of the Celestials by summoning Galactus, secretly Franklin Richards who has reached the highest form of evolution and is susceptible to the identity others project upon him. Thus, Reed and X-51 – the Machine Man – must never acknowledge him for who he truly is. Meanwhile, Reed has installed Human Torches around the world to burn off the Terrigen mists that transformed humanity. Humanity is loath to relinquish its new abilities, but larger changes are afoot. Steve Rogers looks after the resurrected Mar-Vell, who promises to return the dead to life. He has begun by bringing back Susan Richards and now travels with Captain America to collect what he needs in order to achieve his victory over death. Kyle Richmond, the former Nighthawk, narrates this volume in conversation with the Gargoyle, Isaac Christians, revealing events going on elsewhere in the world including the actions of Immortus’ church and the Tong of Creel, who seek to gather the broken parts of the Absorbing Man. Flashbacks reveal that it was the Absorbing Man who defeated the Avengers, setting the stage for Hydra and Norman Osborn to further shatter America.
This volume only collects the first half of Universe X, which is the middle volume of the larger trilogy. It primarily sets up the final confrontation while using the epistolary format to deepen the background of the world that Earth X introduced. An interesting narrative experiment that served as a possible conclusion to the Marvel Universe, it never quite achieved the same staying power as Alex Ross’ Marvels, which looked at the early years of the Marvel Universe, or his Kingdom Come, that told a similar story for the DC Universe. Still, this narrative features gorgeous artwork and the storytelling helped to expand experimentation in mainstream comics.