Detective Comics 790 (March 2004)

148818 Batman and Batgirl make an odd pair. New writer Andersen Gabrych sets up a strange situation. Batgirl is concerned for Batman, but doesn’t really know how to talk to him about it. He’s upset because it’s Jason Todd’s birthday, but he really doesn’t know how to talk about his feelings. They shouldn’t make a good pair, but they do.

Gabrych has Pete Woods on the pencils and Cam Smith on the inks. They make a muddy Gotham City where Batman’s racing around to break a designer drug ring. He actually investigates the crime, interviews witnesses, the whole thing. It’s cool.

The only place Gabrych can’t make it work is when Bruce has to open up to Cassandra. The interior monologue before that last scene does work, but Gabrych can’t sell the finish (especially since it’s so tied to the Spoiler in the dialogue).

Still, nice try.

Awful backup, just awful.

CREDITS

Scarification; writer, Andersen Gabrych; penciller, Pete Woods; inker, Cam Smith; editors, Michael Wright and Bob Schreck. The Tailor, Part Two; writer, A.J. Lieberman; penciller, Jean-Jacques Dzialowski; inker, Dan Green; editor, Matt Idelson. Colorist, Jason Wright; letterer, Clem Robins; publisher, DC Comics.

Legion Lost 3 (January 2012)

Nicieza keeps going with the Timber Wolf narration. Sure, he’s the only character doing much for this issue, but it doesn’t excuse the lousy narration. I wish third person exposition hadn’t gone out of style in mainstream comics. Writers were much better at it.

Otherwise, this inoffensive series continues to be inoffensive. Nicieza doesn’t concentrate on the “stranger in a strange world” possibilities (and why should he–the new DC has like six series of that type). Instead, it’s a mix of investigation and action. Timber Wolf doing both, of course. Nicieza positions him as the only Legionnaire who gets the gravity of the situation.

Nicieza is covering about a day per issue (this issue is day three and the third issue). If he keeps up that arrangement, Legion Lost might be really interesting. Not exactly real time, but close enough.

Once again, it’s harmless.

What else should one ask?

CREDITS

Red Rage; writer, Fabian Nicieza; artist, Pete Woods; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Travis Lanham; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Legion Lost 2 (December 2011)

Reading Legion Lost feels like reading a nineties comic someone told you was really, really good… only for you to go back and read it to discover it’s okay, but painfully endemic of the period. I mean, where Woods came up with the hairstyles is beyond me….

It’s not a bad issue, it’s just a terribly mediocre one (with some bad elements). First and foremost, Nicieza uses first person narration and it’s rather bad. He’s not able to make it a distinguishable personality among the lost Legionaries. Even though there’s a little logo telling me who it is, I’m not familiar enough with the logos. I think it’s Timber Wolf. Pretty sure.

The content seems, like much of the new DC, a rehash of recent Marvel stuff. A little Civil War, a little of Bendis’s energy guy. Nicieza’s not even feigning originality.

Lost is pointless and passable. It’s totally harmless.

CREDITS

The Dawn of the Hypersapiens; writer, Fabian Nicieza; artist, Pete Woods; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Travis Lanham; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Legion Lost 1 (November 2011)

Legion Lost looks a lot more like old, nineties Pete Woods than the Woods I’d gotten used to a few years ago. He’s looser. Maybe it’s supposed to be more “fun.”

But Legion Lost isn’t fun. It’s a TV pilot about young superheroes trapped in a past they didn’t make. In a lot of ways, it’s totally fine. It’s nothing I’d ever read if it weren’t part of a publisher’s major relaunch—and I can’t imagine anyone else getting excited based on the content, Fabian Nicieza does nothing to characterize the time traveling superheroes.

But still… it’s not terrible.

Nicieza can write thoroughly mediocre superhero books and apparently Woods can draw them.

In a lot of ways, the comic’s utter lack of ambition makes it a diverting read. There’s no “weight” to it. It’s not trying to be fun or serious. It’s just a commercial gesture for its brand.

Whatever.

CREDITS

Run from Tomorrow, Part One: Present Tense; writer, Fabian Nicieza; artist, Pete Woods; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Travis Lanham; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton (2010) #1

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Does DC have any ideas? I mean, any whatsoever? Reading this comic, it seems like the last three crises were just used—as far as Superman is concerned—to reboot Zod as a villain. I mean, he’s a psycho bad guy again here. It’s so incredibly tired at this point, who do they think cares?

Even when the mystery supervillain shows up at the end, it’s another “who cares” moment. I know James Robinson gets geek cred for Starman and Golden Age but he’s the guy who wrote The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie. Maybe he’s past his prime.

Speaking of past his prime… what happened to Pete Woods? I used to love his work and here, it’s so polished and shiny there’s no personality (or particular detail). Maybe he’s just overworked.

It’s a weak, dumb comic… Robinson can’t even write a good “This is a job for Superman” moment.

Superman: New Krypton Special (2008) #1

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Someone has pointed out Johns casting Lois Lane’s dad as a jingoistic, sadistic supervillain really just is… you know, the Hulk, right? I mean, someone besides me. It’s so startlingly uncreative, one has to wonder.

This New Krypton Special does raise a couple interesting ideas—one is the People of Kandor being, well, basically stupid jerks. It doesn’t make me want to read the series, however. Oh, another moronic move—a bad guy named “Agent Assassin?” I mean, that one’s worse than the Image stuff.

There’s some great art. I love the way reading Frank’s pages feels like one’s reading a sequel to the Christopher Reeve movies. It’s too bad Johns’s plotting on everything else is goofy. Woods and Guedes are good too, Woods being better.

It’s too bad Johns shoved New Krypton into a nice memorial to Jonathan Kent. It sort of undoes that whole sequence, the subsequent nonsense.

Deadpool Team-Up (1998) #1

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People read this crap? Deadpool‘s the stupidest comic book character I’ve ever read and this might be one of the worst comics I’ve ever read. A gaggle of drunken rhesus monkeys would write a better comic book. Seriously, Marvel prints this crap–and people who want to be taken seriously still work for them?

But let’s skip the narrative content here and instead concentrate on the artwork. The artwork is absolutely atrocious. It looks like a less talented Scott McDaniel, which is a stretch. It’s Pete Woods; it’s beautiful, wonderful, I love him, Pete Woods. And he’s awful. He does the cartoon-influenced McDaniel crap without the enthusiasm (like that sly complement, enthusiasm doesn’t suggest any actual skill or talent) McDaniel infuses in his crap.

I’m trying to think of a comic book I’ve disliked more. I mean, I’ve probably read worse ones, but not by much.

What incredible garbage.