Star Trek: Into Snarkness

While watching Star Trek: Into Darkness last night, a number of thoughts pranced through my head; some are laudatory, most are snarky. As the #1 film at the box office for two weeks so far, I'm sure they're big enough to take it.

My friend Craig prepared me for the film by describing it as "better than Star Trek: Nemesis... like Star Trek: New Voyages with a budget." That helped.

As Kirk & McCoy leap off a cliff:

"Looks like we'll have to... JUMP!"

"STAR TREK 2: THIS TIME, IT'S DEFINITELY NOT STAR TREK 1!"

Enterprise is unable to beam staff because of the volcano:

I realize later on they declare they can't use Scotty's transwarp from the previous movie any more, but it's quite something to go from the previous film's ridiculously powerful galaxy-spanning transporters to this film's transporters, which are useless every time the good guys need them.

Spock declares the volcano will wipe out the "species":

Is this volcano going to cause a global upheaval which will annihilate all life on the planet? 'Cause from here, it looks like a village is in jeopardy, not a "species." Mount Vesuvius has tried it's best, but the human species has survived it so far.

Khan offers to help a Starfleet officer save his daughter; the officer asks, "Who are you?" The camera focuses on Khan's face for several seconds, but he doesn't speak:

"Oh crap! Who am I? Want to say... Susan? No, no, no, not right! Play it cool, he's starting to stare back, don't give away... damn, he's on to me! I've got nothing!"

Kirk is in bed with two cat-women:

Why must Star Trek insist on courting the furry community?

Pike relieves Kirk of his command:

It's almost as though a guy who never graduated the Academy and cheated on his tests is a poor choice for commanding a starship!

Kirk realizes - an instant too late - that Khan knows Starfleet's protocols in case of a disaster and is preparing an attack on their location:

It's nice that Starfleet has protocols in place for when someone bombs their facilities... pity they have no protocols in place for when staff possessing classified information turn on them.

Kirk wields a fire hose against an aircraft strafing a skyscraper:

"What are you doin', Jim? What the f*** are you doin', Jim?"

Admiral Pike dies:

WHAT?! They killed the best character and the best actor?!

Kirk wants revenge on Khan:

This is quite a change from last movie, where he wanted revenge on Nero.

"STAR TREK 2: THIS TIME, IT'S DEFINITELY NOT STAR TREK 1!"

The facility Khan destroyed turns out to be Section 31:

As a big DS9 and Section 31 fan, it does amuse me that in spite of fandom's intense reaction against Section 31, it's only become more significant in Star Trek since DS9 ended!

Carol "Wallace" introduces herself:

Very nice Easter egg, considering Carol Marcus was first intended to be the original series character Janet Wallace. That's some mighty obscure trivia!

While on a dangerous away mission, Uhura brings up her relationship problems with Spock; Spock explains he feels emotions, even if he doesn't display them:

Not only is this poor timing on Uhura's part but surely she hasn't been dating him this many years without figuring out how Vulcan emotions work before now?

The Klingons wear headgear obscuring their faces:

This way they save money on makeup! Finally, something we all can agree is true to the spirit of Gene Roddenberry!

Kirk's away team winds up in a firefight between Khan and the Klingons:

In advance, I heard the Klingons came off looking poorly in this film; it's not so much that they're pathetic against Khan, as it is... they're just generic bad guys. The movie's not about them, I don't think it's a problem.

Khan surrenders to Kirk; Kirk reacts by beating him for several seconds:

Joe Don Baker is captain of the Enterprise!

Kirk angrily and tearfully confronts Khan in the brig:

Oh, honey. Please, just keep being yourself - don't try to act.

Kirk offers himself to Admiral Marcus (no, not like that) to save his crew; Marcus refuses:

Not that it isn't a grand gesture on Kirk's part, but what hope did this plan have? Since Kirk broadcast Marcus' entire villainous tirade to the crew, surely he understands Marcus now has to kill them to keep his secrets?

Kirk releases Khan for his help in capturing Vengeance away from Marcus:

Laying aside questions of whether Kirk could've captured the ship any other way, since they know they can't trust Khan, why not place a transponder on him so they can at least track him? It would've come in handy later. Of course, Star Trek technology is such that querying "why didn't they use...?" will tear apart even the best stories (ie, "why not time travel? why not psychic powers?").

Spock sends Khan the torpedoes he wants, but detonates them within Vengeance's deck:

In Wrath of Khan, Spock outwitted Khan after realizing he didn't understand starship combat tactics; in this film, Spock outwits Khan by winning a semantics argument ("the torpedoes are yours"). If Khan is this much of a dope, why not try the "got your nose" trick? You could ransom Khan's nose back to him in exchange for his prisoners.

Khan teleports Kirk, Scotty & Carol into the Enterprise brig:

I realize this only briefly slows down the characters, but even though Enterprise's shields are down, shouldn't the brig be shielded against transporters?

Scotty guides Kirk & Chekov in assisting him in repairing Enterprise's engines:

Is the engineering staff really so useless that without Scotty around, no one bothers to remain at their posts to try and fix this stuff? Start paying the extras more money!

Kirk knocks out Scotty so he can sacrifice himself by realigning the warp core:

Not that I think Kirk should've sent Scotty to his doom (though it is one of those things captains are supposed to be capable of), but how did Kirk know how to fix the core? Isn't it fortunate for him it required nothing more than caveman-like bludgeoning to get the power back online?

Just think of all the trouble Starfleet could save themselves if they bought a few robot arms for use in radiation-heavy zones. I think Tony Stark has a couple he's not using...

Scotty tells Spock he'd "better get down here; better hurry.":

I don't think a guffaw was the intended reaction.

Kirk has taken a lethal dose of radiation:

See, it's nothing like Wrath of Khan because Pine refused to wear radiation burn-makeup. That would've been a crime against beauty.

Spock converses with Kirk through a glass door:

I'm not buying this - in Wrath of Khan, Spock's death was the culmination of a 15-year friendship. In this continuity, Kirk seems to barely tolerate Spock. I'm sure he'd rather have Scotty or Uhura on the other side of the glass - he's actually friends with them!

It is interesting though, that in this case Kirk's "death" is what seems to begin he and Spock's friendship.

Spock screams KHAAAN!:

Okay, the makers had to know we'd laugh at this, so I feel no shame.

Enterprise & Vengeance crash toward Earth:

Wait, Earth? That brief scene in warp which ended abruptly brought them all the way home? Then why haven't they radioed Starfleet for help before this? Where's the rest of the fleet? How would Marcus have kept his mission secret when any satellite in orbit could be filming him destroying the Enterprise?

Vengeance crashes into a city:

In addition to all the civilian deaths here, whatever became of Vengeance's crew? I mean, all the guys Kirk & Scotty stunned?

Khan leaps "30 meters" to the ground:

"Looks like I'll have to... JUMP!"

"STAR TREK 2: THIS TIME, IT'S DEFINITELY NOT STAR TREK 1!"

The transporters can't find Khan, so they send Spock to him:

In the midst of sighing about the continually useless transporters, I almost missed Chris Doohan's cameo as the transporter chief; nice tip of the hat there.

Spock pursues Khan on foot through the streets of San Francisco:

In case I forgot I was watching a J.J. Abrams program, I suppose. STAR TREK! WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE!

Spock leaps from a flying object to another flying object:

"Looks like I'll have to... JUMP!"

"STAR TREK 2: THIS TIME, IT'S DEFINITELY NOT STAR TREK 1!"

Khan, having already shrugged off the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, takes 8 stun blasts from Uhura's phaser and still remains conscious:

Sfdebris has repeatedly noted how useless guns are in Star Trek, but this is a new low; why not just go back to bullets? He's already been condemned to death.

Kirk's medical chart indicates Dr. Boyce:

That's a very unexpected Easter egg; I hope the intern who thought of it got an extra doughnut.

Khan is returned to suspended animation:

Uh... I thought we were told he'd been condemned to death? Is this just to set up the sequel where the Borg revive him? Then they'll have to call up old Spock and old Spock's all, "I can't alter your destinies, but I can tell you this: the Borg are very dangerous. I hope that helps. Where's my money?"

Carol joins the crew of Enterprise for a 5-year mission:

This could actually be very good for Kirk's character development, if he winds up in a serious relationship with her.

The cast are listed in alphabetical order:

Great touch, very appropriate for an ensemble film.

Iron Man 3 creator credits

Following from last year's Avengers credits, I give you Iron Man 3; as usual, please let me know how I might improve the list:

Updated 5-13-13; thank you Nitz!

Iron Man, alias Tony Stark, a playboy philanthropist and former weapons designer who wears a high-tech suit of armour which includes enhanced strength and the power of flight; has shrapnel embedded in his heart and needs pacemaker to survive, pacemaker also powers his armour; Ho Yinsen, famous Asian scientist: Derived from Tales of Suspense#39 (1963) by Larry Lieber, Don Heck, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Harold "Happy" Hogan, friend and employee of Tony Stark, formerly his personal bodyguard; Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's assistant and romantic interest; Stark Industries, Tony Stark's technology company: Derived from Tales of Suspense#45 (1963) by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein, Don Heck & Jack Kirby.

Maya Hansen, old acquaintence and lover of Tony Stark who develops Extremis, a virus which accelerates and enhances living things; Aldrich Killian, a scientist who works on the Extremis project: Derived from Iron Man#1 (2005) by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov.

A.I.M., Advanced Idea Mechanics, a cabal of scientists with designs on ruling the Earth: Derived from Strange Tales#146 by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee & Don Heck.

Iron Man's armour coloured red & gold: Derived from Tales of Suspense#48 (1963) by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko & Jack Kirby.

Iron Man's armour coloured red & silver; Iron Man armour with triangular unibeam: Derived from Iron Man#200 (1985) by Dennis O'Neil & Mark Bright.

Iron Man's unibeam in the center of his armour: Derived from Tales of Suspense#40 (1963) by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein & Jack Kirby.

The design of the Iron Man armour: Derived from Iron Man#75 (2004) by Adi Granov.

Iron Man's eyes & unibeam glowing light blue: Derived from the Ultimates#2 (2002) by Mark Millar & Bryan Hitch.

Tony Stark injecting himself with nanomachines to interface with the Iron Man armour: Derived from Ultimate Human#1 (2008) by Warren Ellis & Cary Nord.

Iron Man armour assembling itself around Tony hands-free: Derived from Iron Man#5 (2006) by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov.

Iron Man punching the ground in a dramatic stance: Derived from Iron Man#76 (2004) by Adi Granov.

Iron Man's chief weapon, repulsor rays: Derived from Tales of Suspense#57 (1964) by Stan Lee & Don Heck.

Jarvis, Iron Man's artificial intelligence assistant who helps design the armours: Derived from HOMER of Iron Man#298 (1993) by Len Kaminski & Tom Tenney and named after Edwin Jarvis of Tales of Suspense#59 (1964) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Tony Stark keeping older suits of Iron Man armour in display cases: Derived from Tales of Suspense#90 (1967) by Stan Lee & Gene Colan.

Tony Stark's cliffside manor overlooking the sea: Derived from Iron Man#222 (1987) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton & Mark Bright.

Tony Stark building suits of armour as a means of trauma therapy: Derived from Iron Man#188 (1984) by Dennis O'Neil & Luke McDonnell.

James Rhodes, best friend of Tony Stark: Derived from Iron Man#118 (1979) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton & John Byrne.

James Rhodes wearing a suit of Iron Man armour: Derived from Iron Man#169 (1983) by Dennis O'Neil & Luke McDonnell.

War Machine, a suit of Iron Man armour equipped with gattling and mini guns: Derived from Iron Man#281 (1992) by Len Kaminski & Kevin Hopgood.

James Rhodes as the operator of the War Machine armour: Derived from Iron Man#284 (1992) by Len Kaminski & Kevin Hopgood.

The Iron Patriot, a suit of Iron Man armour repainted red, white & blue: Derived from Dark Avengers#1 (2009) by Brian Michael Bendis & Mike Deodato, Jr.

Tony Stark's identity as Iron Man being public knowledge: Derived from Iron Man#55 (2002) by Mike Grell.

Tony Stark & Pepper Potts in a romantic relationship: Derived from Invincible Iron Man#15 (2009) by Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca.

A.I.M.'s leader having "a huge brain": Derived from M.O.D.O.K. in Tales of Suspense#93 (1967) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Eric Savin, a former soldier with superhuman abilities: Derived from Marvel Comics Presents#26 (1989) by Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy.

Iron Man armour operated remotely: Derived from Iron Man#174 (1983) by Dennis O'Neil & Luke McDonnell.

Tony Stark identifying his armours with a "mark" system: Derived from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition#6 (1985) by Mark Gruenwald & Peter Sanderson.

Tony Stark operating his armour with a headset device: Derived from Iron Man#272 (1991) by John Byrne & Paul Ryan.

The Mandarin, a warlord and terrorist leader, ideological opponent of Tony Stark, wears ten rings: Derived from Tales of Suspense#50 (1964) by Stan Lee, Don Heck & Jack Kirby.

Jack Taggert, a former US soldier: Derived from Iron Man#230 (1988) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton & Mark Bright.

The Extremis virus giving its recipients heat-based power, including flame breathing: Derived from Iron Man#2 (2005) by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov.

Terrorists with unstable superhuman ehancements becoming human bombs: Derived from Invincible Iron Man#1 (2008) by Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca.

S.H.I.E.L.D., an international espionage agency: Derived from Strange Tales#135 (1965) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Roxxon Oil Corporation, a scandal-ridden energy resource business: Derived from Captain America#180 (1974) by Steve Englehart & Sal Buscema.

The Mandarin seeking Extremis and making an ally of Maya Hansen: Derived from Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.#18 (2007) by David Knauf, Charles Knauf & Roberto de la Torre.

Pepper Potts donning a suit of Iron Man armour: Derived from Invincible Iron Man#11 (2009) by Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca.

Iron Man's allies, The Avengers: Derived from the Avengers#1 (1963) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Ellen Brandt, a facially-scarred woman who becomes an operative of A.I.M.: Derived from Savage Tales#1 (1971) by Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway & Gray Morrow.

Maya Hansen knowingly assisting terrorists in acquiring Extremis: Derived from Iron Man#6 (2006) by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov.

Thor, Norse god of thunder, defender of Earth, wields hammer Mjolnir: Derived from Journey into Mystery#83 (1962) by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby.

A vast array of Iron Man armours being kept within a secret bunker: Derived from Iron Man#318 (1995) by Len Kaminski & Tom Morgan.

Tony Stark's deep sea Iron Man armour: Derived from Iron Man#218 (1987) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton & Mark Bright.

Tony Stark's space-worthy Iron Man armour: Derived from Iron Man#142 (1981) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton & John Romita, Jr.

Tony Stark's jet-black Iron Man stealth armour: Derived from Iron Man#152 (1981) by David Michelinie, Bob Layton & John Romita, Jr.

Multiple suits of Iron Man armour being operated simultaneously in combat by an artificial intelligence: Derived from Mighty Avengers#4 (2007) by Brian Michael Bendis & Frank Cho.

Tony Stark undergoing surgery to have the shrapnel removed from his heart: Derived from Iron Man#19 (1969) by Archie Goodwin & George Tuska.

The Hulk, alias Bruce Banner: Derived from the Incredible Hulk#1 (1962) by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby.

Ellis, President of those United States: Derived from Warren Ellis, product of the unholy union between Hunter S. Thompson and the beard of Alan Moore.

Free Comic Book Day 2013

Another year's Free Comic Book Day has come and gone; I believe I missed 2012's altogether (I think I was in Africa), so it was nice to venture into the managed chaos of FCBD again; I'm glad I brought a book with me to the comic shop because I spent about 8 minutes waiting in line to get inside the store.

One unusual thing about the five comics I chose this year is none of them are from publishers I'm currently following on a monthly basis.

From Red 5 Comics comes Atomic Robo/Bodie Troll, with an original Atomic Robo story by Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener and a preview of Bodie Troll#1 by Jay Fosgitt. Up until last year I had been a regular follower of Atomic Robo, but I reached a point where I felt the series' stories had become too familiar. This tale, in which Atomic Robo fights a robot, does nothing to change my opinion. Still, for people who haven't tested Atomic Robo before, perhaps it'll be to their liking. The real surprise was the Bodie Troll preview: it's the story of an ADHD troll who wants desperately to be fearsome, but is cursed by his inate cuteness. The jokes throughout the story are well presented (such as news stories being presented via the medium of puppet shows), it's clear Fosgitt has put a lot of effort into finding his voice for the story; I'm interested enough to buy the full comic book when it arrives.

Hermes Press published Buck Rogers 25th Century A.D., featuring two linked stories from 1936-37, meant to advertise their Buck Rogers comic strip collections. Unfortunately, unlike most of the comic strip collections I've purchased, the pages don't identify when each strip originally appeared. I'm not particularly interested in Buck Rogers (if anything, I like Flash Gordon), but these strips were diverting; I got a huge laugh from the sequence above, where in the first panel Buck is assigned his first mission for the American Defense Force to see if an enemy fleet is arriving; flash ahead to the subsequent panel wherein Buck is being blasted out of the sky: "It's the Enemy all right!"

Bonus features in this book include reprints of the first few days of the Buck Rogers strip and pictures of vintage Buck Rogers memorabilia. Finally, there's an ad for a forthcoming Buck Rogers series by Howard Victor Chaykin. Although Chaykin has a bit of science fiction in his docket, I was skeptical about him tackling Buck Rogers at this point in time. Having seen the ads, I'm actually reasonably interested in checking out the product.

Similarly, Fantagraphics offered Hal Foster's Prince Valiant, collecting a series of strips from circa 1949. As with the Buck Rogers book, this is advertising a collection of the comic strips but the original publishing dates of the strips are not provided - in fact, even the introduction omits mention of when they first appeared. I've never warmed up to Prince Valiant, which was told in a fashion nearer to that of an illustrated novel rather than a comic book; there are no speech balloons and seldom any sequential action. Still, Foster's art is admirable.

Debuting a brand-new series is Oni Press with the Strangers#1 by Chris Roberson and Scott Kowalchuk. I'm afraid I haven't read much work by Roberson - my favourite thing he wrote was his statement about leaving DC Comics - it influenced my own decision to leave Marvel Comics. Sadly, I haven't been interested in Roberson's stories as of yet. The art by Kowalchuk is evocative of Bruce Timm/Mike Mignola. The series is set in the 1960s and follows a mysterious trio of operatives called "the Strangers" who possess superhuman powers. It doesn't focus on plot or character, but is instead mostly action - which is kind of refreshing in an age where most super hero books are ashamed to attempt an action scene (because so few of today's artists can render one effectively). There's not much to say in terms of the character or plot, but it's told with considerable skill - this might be one to watch.

Finally, New England Comics presented the Tick with an all-new story by Jeff McClelland & Duane Redhead, with two short back-up tales. Strangely, although I enjoyed the Tick's 1990s animated series, the only Tick comics I own are the various Free Comic Book Day editions. This was a decent enough tale where the Tick's sidekick Arthur is badly sunburned on the beach, but must come to the rescue of the Tick and their friends when lobster-men invade the surface world. As soon as the lobster-men appear, it becomes clear Arthur will be the one to resolve the problem, but it's told with a lot of charm. The brief back-up tales are also fun.

Free Comic Book Day is over; starting tomorrow, we have to pay for them again.

Review: Flash Gordon on the Planet Mongo

From the Shadow and the Green Hornet, I turn again this week to a star of 1930s entertainments: Flash Gordon! I've done a pretty decent job of sampling Gordon's adventures in various media, yet I hadn't delved into the original comic strips by Alex Raymond before, despite the many glowing references I'd heard. It finally took Colin Smith's review of Titan Books' Flash Gordon on the Planet Mongo collection to break the last of my resistance.

This collection follows the Flash Gordon comic strip from it's beginning in 1934 and into 1937, with each page reprinted in full colour. It details the story of how Flash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov journey to the planet Mongo, battle Ming the Merciless, befriend Prince Thun, are repeatedly betrayed by Princess Aura, then befriend Prince Barin, then are captured by King Vultan and his Hawkmen, then Flash and Barin each becomes kings on Mongo, then Flash has to conquer the area of Mongo set aside as his kingdom, then Flash is attacked by Azura the Witch Queen, then a war with Ming erupts, then Queen Undina tries to make Flash her consort, then Flash battles Tusk Men and somewhere along the way flying squirrels attacked.

No, I'm not kidding. Flying squirrels. On Mongo, every animal is vicious.

(I'm not as familiar with comic strip history as I am with comic books, so you'll have to forgive me for the forthcoming comparisons to Milt Caniff's Terry and the Pirates. Having just finished IDW's collection of Caniff's Terry the previous week, Terry is my best point of comparison to Flash Gordon, as both were photorealistic adventure strips which began in 1934.)

As I neared the end of reading Caniff's Terry and the Pirates the style of pacing Caniff employed had become very familiar. As such, when the characters would discover a problem, then spend about a week's worth of strips not doing anything to solve it, I would get a little irritated, wishing the plot would advance (especially because I was reading the final volume and wanted as many stories as I could from what remained). Flash Gordon's pacing runs in the opposite direction: too much happens in each strip! While Terry had the advantage of running as a daily strip, allowing Caniff space to draw out every little conflict, Raymond's Flash ran just once a week. Perhaps he felt he had to deliver as much plot and action in one installment as he could manage, since his readers would be without Flash for another week.

Thus, Flash Gordon runs at a breakneck pace as problems compound upon other problems, characters weave in and out of the narrative and danger lurks around every corner of Mongo. Flash's life is such that he never seems allowed to relax; I believe the nearest Flash comes to getting sleep during these first four years is when he's knocked unconscious by various enemies. Boy, Flash must need a lot of coffee to keep going.

One great example of the breakneck pace is the character of Dr. Zarkov. In the very-rushed first strip, he forces Flash & Dale into his rocketship, directing them toward Mongo. The ship crashes on Mongo in the 2nd strip and although Flash carries Dale from the wreckage, no mention is made of Zarkov's fate; the strip seems to forget about him, so you'd imagine Zarkov was dead, but four months into the strip he turns up, alive. Not much time is allowed for the cast to get to know each other, not only requiring Flash & Dale to be suddenly in love, or for Prince Thun to be Flash's most loyal friend within minutes of knowing him, but for Zarkov to declare "I love him like I'd love my own son," after two years of virtually nothing but combat at each other's side. This is super-compressed comics storytelling.

I expected to see Raymond's art change and improve over time (just as Caniff's did across Terry), but I wasn't prepared for how sudden those differences would appear. On July 22, 1934, during his first story with the Hawkmen, Raymond suddenly began dividing his pages into thirds instead of fourths and vastly increased the amount of detailed shading in his art, as well as the volume of speech represented in balloons. Many of the earlier strips read like illustrated novels because of the heavy captions (although this persists throughout Flash Gordon on the Planet Mongo). The art shifted again by the end of the year as the characters became even more realistic in appearance and his backgrounds began using a sort of blurry shading effect, which I now realize must have inspired Gene Colan.

There's a lot of imagination within the 200+ pages of Flash Gordon on the Planet Mongo and Raymond seemed to be still warming up. It's a small wonder the strip become so popular so quickly!

Review: Green Hornet#1

Although I'm very keen on old-time radio programs, the Green Hornet isn't one I'm particularly interested in, even though it was one of the longest-running super hero programs on radio. I suppose my lack of interest is because I found the series to be much the same from episode to episode, nothing in particular which stood out. Although Dynamite have been publishing a ridiculous amount of Green Hornet comic books over the last few years, I didn't pay attention... until they added two magic syllables: "Mark Waid."

Thus, here we have Green Hornet#1 by writer Mark Waid and artist Daniel Indro (with a swell cover above by Paolo Rivera). This series is set in 1941 and features all the vintage cast members found in the original radio program. Mention is made of the Green Hornet's ties to his grand-uncle, the Lone Ranger (who has somehow wound in the hands of a separate copyright office) and all the basics are in place: we have Britt Reid serving as publisher of the Daily Sentinel by day, dressing up as the Green Hornet to fight crime by night. Kato is Reid's butler and the Hornet's chauffeur. Lenore Case is Reid's secretary, while Mike Axford is the hapless Irish reporter who runs a one-man crusade to capture the Hornet, unaware he's after his own boss. If I didn't find this set-up interesting as a radio program, why should I find the comic book any different?

That's where you have to reckon with Mark Waid, who's never content to simply rehash an old formula, but instead is always seeking new angles for worn-out premises. The key to Waid's take comes out during Reid's introductory narration as he takes pains to describe how he set himself up as the Green Hornet, only to subvert our expectations by describing himself as "the world's first super-criminal." On the radio, the Hornet would frequently exploit his status as an outlaw to trick criminals, but here his self-described "sting" operation is the apparent focus of the series.

There's an extremely effective two-page sequence where we see glimpses of how the Hornet's "sting" functions: he meets with his "fellow" criminals, unleashes his (non-lethal) gas gun on police officers and shoots criminals who are enemies of his "allies." Lest we think he's gone too far with act like an amnesiac Sonny Crockett, we also see the Hornet burn down a building (then learn it was owned by Britt Reid) and sink a man in the river (whom Kato secretly rescues). There's no attempt made in this issue to place our sympathies with the criminals, that is see the seduction of crime from Reid's perspective where we might wonder if he'd become a true villain - instead we get our vicarious thrills by witnessing how the Hornet outsmarts his supposed allies while secretly dismantling their operations.

Some space is given over to explaining why Kato doesn't use a codename while wearing a mask; "I don't need a name." is some sort of response, although it's unwieldy to think Kato could get by without needing to be called something. Because it's part of Green Hornet lore that Kato doesn't use an alias, Waid seems trapped into supporting the notion. I would say it's fine to leave Kato without a codename as long as you don't draw attention to it; now that Waid's has drawn attention to it... well, we'll see if it remains a problem.

It's been a while since I seriously sat down with a super hero comic (this is my one-year anniversary of having quit Marvel) and it's pleasing to see how much plot and how many characters factor into this tale compared to what I'd been seeing before; when I gave up working for Marvel, one of my few regrets was being deprived of Waid's Daredevil, which was easily the most entertaining book in the line. As with Daredevil, Waid seems to have fresh perspectives on familiar tropes. After sampling various #1 issues of Dynamite titles which weren't to my liking, I'm pleased to say I intend to be back for Green Hornet#2!

Green Hornet#1 had 11 variant covers. Such is the world we live in.

Review: Shadow: Year One#1

So far I've examined the Shadow's career in comic books through the legendarily bad Archie Comics, a surprisingly decent team-up with the Ghost and the recent Dynamite relaunch. Although the rewards have been minimal, here I find myself plunging again into the world of Lamont Cranston via Dynamite's the Shadow: Year One by writer Matt Wagner and artist Wilfredo Torres.

Although the term "Year One" carries a faint reminder of Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One, it's only by accident; "Year One" has been cashed in often enough by comic book culture to the point where such stories as "Black Lightning: Year One" and "Metamorpho: Year One" actually exist. "Year One" has become a different way of saying "origin story," rather than necessarily indicating an effort to emulate the Miller/Mazzucchelli opus.

While the true-blue Shadow aficionados insist the pulp novels are the truest version of the character, his radio, film and comic book adventures are almost definitely better-known (speaking as one who has never read a Shadow pulp novel). I believe the Shadow's origin story was told in the pulps and would therefore have inspired the comic book at hand.

However, the Shadow: Year One#1 doesn't begin with the Shadow's origin. Instead, we open in 1929 on a figure called "the Shadow of Judgment" who burns down a village in Cambodia while searching for a white man called "the White Tiger." The rampaging figure is probably intended as the Shadow, given his black garb, red scarf, handgun and ring along with various quotes from the Shadow's radio dialogue, but the issue never makes this clear who he or "the White Tiger" is. Since the next scene features Lamont Cranston arriving in New York City, one might wonder if Lamont is the White Tiger and is fleeing from "the Shadow of Judgment." Regardless, we soon realize Lamont is returning from his time in the east and thus has already experienced his origin. Assuming he is "the Shadow of Judgment," this then would be the "prototype costume" which turns up in many reimagined versions of super hero origins, as in the movie Batman Begins. However, with Lamont's origin out of the way, what sets this Shadow comic book apart from the other series, aside from the creative team? This Lamont Cranston has yet to don a black coat & hat and develop a network of operatives, but I'm not clear why it would be interesting to see the storytelling engine tuned-up when I might simply pick up Dynamite's other Shadow comic book and read a tale where the storytelling engine is already running? The only possible reason would be to sample the particular style of this comic.

Lamont returns to New York City just as the Great Depression has begun and Prohibition is still a concern. In short order, we meet the series' version of Margo Lane, who is, we're told "A real class number, dat one!" In this version, Margo is sleeping with mobster Giuseppe Massaretti, who slaps her in the face for making a disparaging reference to the size of his "gun." Seeing Margo in this role is akin to hearing a sweet 90-year old lady curse like a sailor.

Later, at an unidentified locale (helpfully identified as long-time Shadow setting the Cobalt Club in the next issue blurb, but nowhere else in these pages) where Commissioner Ralph Weston and Lamont Cranston hobknob, Margo arrives and briefly interacts with Lamont, then confronts Massaretti, claiming to be pregnant with his child. It's possible she's lying in an attempt to regain his good graces.

Massaretti reacts badly to the news and decides he'd rather throw Margo from the roof of the building than make nice with her. This leads to Margo receiving another slap in the face and some cruel profanity (translated into Italian for our delicate sensibilities). However, Lamont has tied a red tablecloth around his face (a second prototype costume?) and comes to Margo's rescue as the issue closes.

After the failure to properly identify the Cobalt Club setting, this comic's greatest failing has to be the transition from the opening sequence to Lamont's arrival in New York City. I feel certain the character in the former scene is supposed to be Lamont and I have to assume the creators didn't intend it to be a mystery. The creators have not given enough thought to translating their clever plot to us, the audience.

No one would mistake this story for one of the Shadow's 1930s adventures; then again, when it comes to gender roles it's not exactly welcome in the 21st century either. In the radio program, Margo Lane was often little more than a "damsel in distress;" here, she's a "damsel in distress" plus a "whore with a heart of gold?" Margo as an unlikeable tramp who gets beaten twice per issue? Who thought this was a good idea in 2013?

I just finished reading Message in a Bottle: Comic Book Stories by B. Krigstein, a collection of Bernie Krigstein's work from the 1940s to 50s. In one instance, Krigstein drew a story with 75 panels in just four pages! By way of comparison, Shadow: Year One#1 runs 91 panels across 22 pages. It's unfair to compare the two, but it's like going from a steak dinner to a bologna sandwich.

The Shadow: Year One#1 came with 14 variant covers. Welcome to 21st century economics.

Seven thoughts about Popeye#12

At the launch of Roger Langridge's Popeye comic book for IDW last year, I composed a list of seven thoughts about Popeye#1. With the cancellation of the series as of this month's Popeye#12, I felt it was appropriate to revisit the list format and mark the passing of one truly fun comic book series.

 

Thought#1: Publishing a Popeye comic book series in the 21st century was always Quixotic. If people of my generation just barely remember Popeye as a not-that-great live action film and very-forgettable Saturday morning cartoons, how must generations younger than I feel? Meanwhile, the generation older than me has barely any money left for a $3.99 comic book after purchasing the month's allotment of Muslix. Lasting twelve issues is no small feat, especially considering it was first conceived of as a four-issue limited series.

 

Thought#2: Speaking of the Muslix-munching crowd, this issue guest stars Barney Google; according to the indica, he and Popeye are both owned by King Features Syndicate. I only know of Barney Google through the song written about him (it was in a family songbook - my mother played it a few times). I can't speak as to whether Langridge portrayed Google accurately or respectfully, but it was a little fun to imagine the Popeye cast of characters brushing up against some other comic strip's continuity.

 

Thought#3: Langridge was joined by several artists during his Popeye tenure, beginning with Bruce Ozella in issue #1, who, in my opinion, was the best. It would have been fine to see Ozella on duty for this final story, but instead it's drawn by Langridge himself, who seems to have grown more comfortable with the characters as time has gone on. It's interesting to reflect on the fact Langridge's written-drawn series Snarked also completed on issue#12.

 

Thought#4: The plot concerns Castor Oyl winning Spark Plug the racehorse off Google in a poker game. Determined to win his horse back, Google hires Wimpy to find him a horse to race against Spark Plug; Wimpy being Wimpy, Google winds up with a racing-cow instead. There's also a back-up tale where Swee'pea roughs up a wrestler.

 

Thought#5: It's interesting to note how well Langridge can combine gags and plots; usually, each page starts setting up a gag to be resolved by the end of the page, but at the same time the plot of Google & Castor's rivalry continues. One really feels the economy of entertainment in a Roger Langridge comic book - you get value from every penny of the $3.99 price tag! It's similar to the sort of timing you would expect from a comic strip; perhaps more of today's comic book writers should take a cue from the pace of comic strips.

 

Thought#6: Of all the cast of Popeye characters, Wimpy seemed to be Langridge's favourite and I'll certainly miss the monthly dose of Wimpy jokes I've been favoured with for the past year. Wimpy's characterization - a single-minded individual who can place a square meal over his best friends, yet possesses a peculiar sense of honour despite it all - would be very easy to get wrong, I think. That Wimpy can perform despicable deeds while remaining sympathetic, funny and loveable speaks to Langridge's talent as a writer.

 

Thought#7: Roger Langridge can draw a happy cow like no one's business.

R.I.P., IDW's Popeye.