I haven’t talked about too many newly published comics lately, so I thought it would be time to catch up on just a few things I’ve been reading lately.
Batman - The Ressurection of Ra’s al Ghul: You’ll never guess what happens at the end of this story! That’s right, someone comes back from the dead. You’ll have to read it to see who.
All in all, I really enjoyed this cross over. Having started reading new comics right after the “War Games” story arc, I haven’t been able to enjoy a true, epic crossover that tied to a specific family of books rather than the entire DC universe. ResRa’s is a pretty decent story and I may even find it in my heart to forgive DC for passing up the great potential with the post-”Death and the Maidens” status quo.
But now I wonder if Ra’s return from the dead (shit! SPOILER ALERT!) doesn’t actually serve to drive him and his family into the background. I enjoyed how Grant Morrison has used Damien and Talia since his skint on Batman began, but from the looks of it, Talia and her son are now in hiding and won’t show up for a while. Likewise, Ra’s is now in the normal villian rotation and may not show up again for some time. Hopefully he’ll have some roll in Final Crisis. Please, Grant Morrison. Please!
Grendel - Behold the Devil: I’ve always had this attraction to the character of Grendel (in all its incarnations) but this is the first Grendel series I’ve actually read. This is probably due to the fact that Matt Wagner himself is writing and drawing this series. And it looks great for it. I love Matt Wagner’s art, especially in black, white and red.
Unfortunately, the story leaves much to be desired with this series. After two issues, not much had happened. Where was the “big reveal” at the end of the second issue, but it’s really not a big deal for anyone with a passing knowledge of Grendel. Here’s hoping thing get punched up in the next few issues.
Spider-Man - One More Day: I didn’t actually read this story arc past the first issue and thank God I didn’t! According to this spoiler I found on the Four Color Media Monitor, things when seriously downhill for Spider-Man, taking Joe Quesada’s credibility down with it.
Ok I will be mr spolier but you might not believe it as it is SO bad. Pete wakes up alone in the bed to find MJ in that bathroom puking I guess (the art & story telling are so bad who can tell what is up). First 3 1/4s was pete & MJ talking over accepting the offer. They come off as so dumb with neither asking the ultimate question, what would May want which we all know she would want then to stay married. So then the devil appears, they say yes cuz… well theres no believable reason they would. Then as just a freebie the devil tosses in that he is gonna rub out the demasking of peter parker. MJ whispers something to the devil to get an easy way out if the writters need it later. Then after they agree the devil says what I predicted, hes rubbing out the child they would have had in the future,,, UGH, Then… poof! Pete wakes up alone, goes downstair to ol aunt may making wheat cakes then run off to a party for .. HARRY OSBORN!!!! Yes everything is totally as if the last 20 years hasnt happened (in fact last panel shows them making a toast & you can see petes web shooters peeking out just to say screw you payed to read is worthless now). It is so much worse than I expected it to be. They have just turned Amazing into the start of Ultimate Spider-man. Its the worst time ever in Amazing Spider-man history.
So, if this spoiler is accurate, not only is the marriage whipped out of continuity, but so is the unmasking, Harry Osborn’s death (which had nothing to do with the marriage) and effects of “The Other” are all gone. And Peter is living at home? Basically, this is a character specific Crisis-type reboot. It makes my head hurt to even consider what this must be doing to the continuity of every other character in the Marvel Universe. Could this be any more sloppy? Any more stupid?
It’s a good thing I’m focusing on older comics, though. This now means I can read comics from twenty years ago and still be up to date on all things Spider-Man. I suppose I should thank Quesada for using his editorial control for cutting out over 250 issues of Spider-Man comics from the relevant back issue list.
