2008: The Good & The Bad

 

Here in the closing days of 2008, I thought I'd take a rare jump onto the bandwagon and offer my own take on the best...and worst...the world of comics (and comics-related media) had to offer over the past year.

With the optimism the holiday season brings, let's 

begin with the Good Stuff (in no particular order):

1.  The Iron-Man movie: Although I was cautiously optimistic toward Marvel Studios' freshman effort, I had no idea just how wildly successful Iron-Man would turn out to be, both creatively and financially. Marvel proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that fidelity to the source material (as well as clever, carefully-seeded connections to future Marvel movies) is a winning strategy...and an approach the perpetually flat-footed Warner Bros. studios are quickly trying to adapt to their inert (non-Batman) superhero franchises. Check out my review of the movie for more specifics, but to sum it up: Iron-Man was a finely-tuned collaboration between a director who "gets it", top-notch actors (especially Robert Downey Jr.), eye-popping special effects, and a very smart marketing campaign. In other words, it's the new standard against which all Marvel movies will be measured (sorry, Spider-Man 2...you've been replaced)!

2. Writer Geoff Johns: As one of the most prolific, enthusiastic, and professional writers in the business (if not the most), Geoff Johns has become a sort of defacto "quarterback" of DC Comics as his ideas and ambitious storylines propel the publisher into exciting new directions. Like any popular creator, Johns has his vocal critics...many of whom claim he's systematically reinstating DC's "Silver Age" of the 1950's and 60's, but fans of his (like me) don't see rote revival but rather carefully considered re-imaginings combined with compelling new ideas.

Yeah, I can agree with some of the criticism leveled toward his occasional use of visceral, violent imagery...but the key word is "occasional".  Experience seems to have given Johns a bit more wisdom regarding where and when to use such imagery, but it's still a characteristic that dogs his work...and, frankly, a bit of a "crutch" he could easily drop altogether in my opinion. His work is strong enough without having to resort to the cheap shocks. 

However, that's the only qualification I have in endorsing Johns' writing. In fact, considering so many of my monthly comic books are either written by Johns (Green Lantern, JSA, Action Comics, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds), are collaborations with Johns (Superman, Green Lantern Corps), or his upcoming titles (Flash: Rebirth, a Legion of Superheroes revival in Adventure Comics), it's obvious the positive, entertaining aspects of his writing far outweigh the occasional turn-off of excessive violence. As with the past couple of years, Johns remains the writer to watch.

3. Superman's 70th Anniversary: Back in June, I tried something I'd never done here at Comic Coverage before or since, and that was 30 consecutive days devoted to a single topic: 70 years of Superman. The character has always been a favorite of mine, but my enthusiasm for the month-long commemoration was certainly fueled by the ongoing quality of DC's line of Superman books. Following several years of colossally bad stewardship of the character, DC finally hired an editor and a stable of creators who reinvigorated the character and his world...once again making the Superman titles the first books I read on a weekly basis. Finally...it really IS a great time to be a Superman fan.

4. The Incredible Hulk movie: Hitting two for two, Marvel Studio's second film was also great fun...and certainly more entertaining than Ang Lee's dull-as-dishwater 2003 version. Equal parts a comic book adaptation and a nod to the 1970's TV series, this version had many more of the elements I'm looking for in a Hulk movie...namely huge amounts of noisy smashing sprinkled with a bit of angsty emoting (which the 2003 movie got exactly backwards). Where the franchise goes from here is anyone's guess, but it's great to see an old favorite brought to the screen in such style and wall-shaking volume.

5. The Reprint Tsunami: In addition to the usual trade paperback collections of recent stories, there seems to have been a virtual explosion of affordable volumes reprinting the great (and, yes, not-so-great) comic books of decades past. Whether it's the pricier hardcover color volumes or the dirt cheap black-and-white "phonebooks", comic book history has never been more accessible to old and new fans alike. Dark Horse has recently jumped into the ring with their reprints of Gold Key titles like Magnus Robot Fighter and Doctor Solar, and other defunct publishers like ACG (who published cult favorite Herbie the Fat Fury). As a steady stream of consumers and public libraries snap up these books, more people than ever have easy access to several decades worth of outstanding entertainment.

With those five highlights duly noted, let's make the inevitable 

turn to 2008's comic-related lowlights...a.k.a. "The Bad".

1. The Dark Knight movie: I said it then, and I'll say it again: I don't get it.  I simply don't get the hysterical enthusiasm for The Dark Knight which, outside of a single brilliant performance by Heath Ledger, was a dreary, incoherent mess. Most disappointing was the inert performance of Christian Bale as a blank-faced Bruce Wayne and laughably robo-armored, monster-voiced Batman. Depressing, non-sensical crap.

2. Writer Grant Morrison: Though just as prolific and high-profile as fellow DC writer Geoff Johns, Morrison's stock really took a tumble during 2008, at least from my point of view. To be sure, when Morrison is "on", his ambitious high-concept epics are a thing to behold (like his JLA, Seven Soldiers, and All-Star Superman stuff)....but man, when he's phoning it in, it's a lazy, non-linear stagger through fever-dream journals and meta-textual abstractions. Which leads me to...

3. Final Crisis: Yaawwwnnn. As the supposed be-all end-all of DC's Crisis-themed projects, the still-incomplete Final Crisis has become the poster child for poorly conceived and executed event comics.  Plagued by art delays and a dull, meandering storyline, Final Crisis is little more than Morrison's arcane meditations on word power, cosmic symbology, and...oh yeah...his refurbished version of the New Gods, Jack Kirby's campy-cosmic space opera that's never been a good fit with the DC Universe. Sure...we got the return of Barry Allen out of it, but even that's been handled in such an obtuse way, I wish it had happened somewhere else (like in The Flash or even Legion of Three Worlds). All in all, a crashing disappointment...with little hope the two remaining issues will somehow make sense of it all.

4. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Fantastic Four: The much-ballyhooed takeover of The Fantastic Four by golden boys Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch was probably the biggest creative belly flop of 2008. Unceremoniously kicking the critically-acclaimed team of Dwayne McDuffie and Paul Pelletier to the curb, the King of Self-Promotion and his pal "Hitchy" spectacularly missed the target with Marvel's First Family, growing more pathetic with the long delays that inevitably accompany the self-styled rock star creators. Now that his narcissism and relentless self-promotion seems more at home in Hollywood, is it fair to say that Mark Millar's time in comics has passed? Sure, he's been threatening to overhaul the Superman character for at least a decade...and is equally determined to write a trilogy of Superman movies...but as the hot air from so many of his over-hyped projects continues to dissipate...does anyone really care? 

5. $3.99 cover prices: Comic book fans are good at threatening to cut back on comics (or drop them altogether) following a cover price increase, but now that Marvel (and shortly DC) has surpassed the $3.99 barrier, I suspect many of us will finally follow through on those threats. Just as we found out what the breaking point was for a gallon of gasoline earlier this year (also about $4.00), four bucks for a lousy 22 pages of story seems to be another "clarifying moment" for comic book consumers. I know I'll be cutting back in 2009, although it'll be more out of protest than actual financial strain. We need to see more diverse, innovative formatting in comics...not another bump in cover price.

Comments

[Pat Curley]

Agree on Iron Man; it was splendidly done, with just enough inside jokes and reasonably true to the original (with Afghanistan replacing Vietnam). Disagree somewhat on Dark Knight; although there was far too much philosophizing I enjoyed the heck out of it.

[Hube]

Great choices, Mark. Your word choices for Millar and Hitch are more than apt. They're a prime reason I haven't bought a single new comicbook in over a year now. Instead, I opt to engage in buying those noted in your #5 under "The Good!" ;-)

[Chris Mullen]

I have to disagree with you on Dark Knight. it was one of the best movies I've seen in years, but I have to agree with you on Morrison. It seems like he's become a celebrity comic artist like Frank Miller and Rob Leifeld before him. The DC Universe wouldn't suck so much right now if Grant Morrison was giving his A-game, but he's apparently just throwing out incoherent philosophical gobbledegook and calling it "deep."

[Skeeter]

Mark, couldn't agree with you more about Iron Man vs TDK. I thought Ledger was otherworldly, but the movie was riddled with plot holes and Batman came across as a jerk with an idiotic voice that completely took me out of the movie. And I really like Bale as an actor.

Downey owned, the movie never let up and they threw some bones to the IM Fanboy (which I never was). Plus, I really enjoyed watching a superhero movie where I rooted for the hero.

I want to like Millar but he's all idea and poor execution.

[Bruce Lombard]

First time commenting here. I think your blog is awesome! Great insight, great seeing all those old comic book covers.

I totally agree with you on the "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk" films. I hope Marvel Studios can keep it going with its upcoming "Thor" and "Captain America" movies (along with "Iron Man 2") as they lead into "The Avengers." I loved the cameos at the end of each film that connect the Marvel Universe.

I disagree on "The Dark Knight" though. It was probably too long. They should NOT have killed off Two-Face (he should have been saved for the sequel). But otherwise, I thought it was great. I am on the fence about Bale's "Batman voice," but I think it is necessary to differentiate himself from his Bruce Wayne voice (like Kevin Conroy in "Batman: The Animated Series" ... though Bale certainly pales in comparison next to Conroy, who rules).

Anyway, again, great blog!

[suedenim]

Iron Man is just a terrific movie, one I loved even more after seeing it on DVD. It really accomplishes a lot, too. It's a superhero story for grownups, but not in a pretentious way, and delivering plenty of action and adventure.

I also love, incidentally, the way the final battle is very much a battle between two engineers. Who are earnestly trying to kill each other, but the problem is that their heavily-damaged extremely experimental prototypes can't *do* anything! It's a simple notion, but I loved the frustration when Stane could kill Tony Stark if he had, oh, a gun, but can't do anything because Tony messed up his targeting system.

I like the Dark Knight, but at the same time think it's highly overrated. For me, the central problem is that *most* of the time, the movie wants to be a serious, real-world crime story, with elements that fit the real world, or at least look somewhat plausible. Which is all well and good, but then you've got this central unexplored premise that the Joker is able to effortlessly plant huge quantities of explosives wherever he needs them. (Curiously, the movie seems to support "9/11 Trutherism" indirectly, as it's evidently pretty easy to secretly cause the controlled demolition of a huge building full of people....)

[Andy]

I think they're shooting themselves in the foot here. I honestly do cut back when prices go up. I have a budget of how much I have in mind to spend, and if the price goes up, I walk out with less. Either that, or I buy cheap back issues of old comics that were better written anyway.

I enjoy the experience of a monthly story, but for 4 bucks, I'm going to do more "waiting for the trades".

If The Big Two were smart, they would follow the example of the manga publishers like Shonen Jump. Imagine if you could buy a big fat book that had the latest episode of New Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, and three or four others. Personally, I wouldn't mind if was printed on cheap newsprint, either. Heck, pack it full of ads, even.

[Ivan Wolfe]

I'll disagree on Dark Knight as well, but agree on all the rest (more or less, there are minor quibbles such as: I actually liked Ang Lee's Hulk and I enjoyed the most recent one, so I see no reason to like one over the other or disparage Lee's version - but overall you're spot on).

This was the year I dropped Fantastic Four. In the middle of a story arc. I have no idea how it ended, nor do I care. Miller & Hitch ruined what had been a great comic.

[Dean W.]

A couple of responses:

- Ironman really surprised me. I never found him that interesting in the comics, yet I really enjoyed the movie. I had a similar experience with Hellboy - loved the movies, but never really fell in love with the books.

- Jeff Johns is my favorite writer right now. He just tells great DC stories, period. I think to some extent, the "criticism" is right on - he is re-creating the silver age. But to that I say so what? I guess if I was 17 and wanted to defend my generation of comics, I'd be irked, but I'm 37, and quite frankly, I miss the good old days. I miss the days of comics being superhero stories, not endlessly boring pages of character development. Johns tells great superhero stories. If I do have one complaint, it's his "fight" story telling. His battles are usually straight energy blast/ big punch affairs, with the characters rarely relying on their wits to win out in the end. A perfect example - After the great GL Rebirth story, the Lanterns win by shooting Parallex "really hard" with their rings. I kinda felt cheated on that one.

-I saw the DK before reading your review, and saw it again after reading your review. I liked it the first time, didn't love it, but liked it. Now I never see movies a second time in the theater, but the folks from work were going and I tagged along for my second viewing, expecting to be bored. Strangely, I actually found myself liking the movie more upon the second viewing. I expected myself to pick it apart, but instead, I appreciated it more. I wish it were more kid friendly, but overall, I thought it was a good picture.

-Final Crisis - I'm actually considering not buying the two final issues. It's just been an absolute snoozefest for me, to the point I really don't care about the outcome. With the exception Darkseid, I really never got the whole New Gods thing. I think most comic fans feel the need to like the concept because if they don't, they are stepping on their beloved Jack Kirby. I thought identity crisis and infinite crisis were below average, but this thing makes them look like Shakespeare.

-Cover prices - this one jumped the shark for me a long time ago - I'll get the occasional major event story (final crisis this year, unfortunately), but just trades off of Amazon for me (and paperbacks at that). I just can't pay that much for 1/6th of a story. And alot of stories today feel almost falsly streched out so they can be collected in a trade later. Short 1 or 2 book stories based on action can work - Paul Dini's excellent work in Detective comics showed that. I feel if creators are dictated a 2 issue maximum, the stories may actually feel worth the cover price.