I can't say if that was what Mark was going for, but I don't see it as being any different than saying Frank Castle fought in the Middle East instead of Vietnam.
In spite you both you and Brack making decent rebuttals to my feelings about the book, I happen to have a pretty good idea what he "was going for" - since I'm familiar with Mark Waid's social media politics. I'm sticking with original response. I'd be very surprised to learn that he, in fact, couldn't find any other villain to tell this tale.
I submit that white supremacists were not only irrelevant in 2007, they are less relevant today. And in a culture where this kind of prank is causing people to lose their minds, I think many people are tired of identity politics in their comics and would like to see them more as escape entertainment again. I doubt that is the future of this title since I am hearing Ta-Nehisi Coates is taking over Captain America after this first arc.
My two cents. Thrilled for you if it worked for you. Don't get me started on Hulk #700...
I think it worked even less for me than it did you, it sugarcoats white supremacy by giving it an easily punchable face and having it not do anything remotely resembling real-world white supremacy.
White supremacy does not start and end with the KKK. It's more insidious than that.
For all of Champions' 'How do you do, fellow kids' bad teenage dialogue, at least there Waid frequently recognises that solutions to real world problems are not simple even when you apply superheroes to them.
Between this and the Avengers/Champions crossover Waid's writing has not been at its best of late. Cap at least has more comprehensible visual story telling.
I think, in large part, modern day "white supremacy" is a fallacy. I think there's a lot more people being dicks to each other because one, the other, or both are dicks. I think the whole "white supremacy is on the rise so punch a nazi" mentality is merely a convenient straw man to hang a litany of grievances and unrest, and an excuse for lots of dickishness from anyone inclined to be one, and looking for a reason.
Unpopular, I know, but I feel stories like Waid's merely paints a picture of a world where all injustices can be explained in a convenient "racism is always the reason for everything". And the more that picture is painted, the more "real" it becomes.
It's not a perfect analogy, but look at the fervor stirred up in the early 20th century, when eugenics was on the rise. The "high" percentage of the handicapped, infirmed, poor, and "retarded" among us was going to be the end of civilization in mere generations. This was told to us in all forms of media, to the point that it became a reality so real that we began sterilizing people, and worse. If not for the horrors of WWII, we would probably still be following that straw man path, today.
Well, technically speaking, I think all of our comic book superheroes are superantiheroes.
I more or less agree with that. The difference between a character like the Punisher and Captain America or Spider-Man—for me, anyway—is that with the latter there is a deep sense of fantasy that allows one to ignore any questionable aspects in the ethics of their adventures—there’s a certain purity (or at least there used to be). They are superheroes—emphasis on the super—characters (in general) we can aspire to be more like. The Punisher, however, relies on real-world weapons—there is nothing fantastic about him (other than how he survives and stays out of jail). He’s not a superhero, anti- or otherwise. Because of that it becomes harder to ignore those questionable ethics—especially since his ethics go beyond being questionable.
Why stop at calling the Punisher a villain? Wolverine has gutted scores of opponents, shouldn't he qualify?
Wolverine is definitely problematic for me. He has just enough of that fantasy element that I can still put him down as one of the good guys, but I don't consider him a true superhero either. And it helps that he doesn’t go out of his way to kill. Wolverine will kill on a mission, whereas the Punisher’s mission is to kill.
At the end of the day, the Punisher is a guy that normal law enforcement should be able to handle, but a lot of cops don't want to. Every criminal he puts down is one they don't have to deal with.
And that’s the real fantasy aspect of the Punisher.
It's not a perfect analogy, but look at the fervor stirred up in the early 20th century, when eugenics was on the rise. The "high" percentage of the handicapped, infirmed, poor, and "retarded" among us was going to be the end of civilization in mere generations. This was told to us in all forms of media, to the point that it became a reality so real that we began sterilizing people, and worse. If not for the horrors of WWII, we would probably still be following that straw man path, today.
As crazy as it might sound, like white supremacy, eugenics is still in practice today—even quite recently in the US.
Grave Diggers Union #1 by Wes Craig and Toby Cypress, was a pretty good little story. I'm getting a little tired of the group of characters fighting the undead thing, but this book doesn't take itself too seriously, and it moves along at a brisk pace, so it was still enjoyable. I really only picked it up because I really like Toby’s artwork, and he doesn’t disappoint here. His style certainly isn’t for everyone, though, so fair warning. Overall I give it a B+, and I'll be sticking with it for at least the first arc to see how it goes.
I'm a bit behind on this one, but I just read The Kamandi Challenge #9 by Tom King and Kevin Eastman (yes, his DC interior art debut!), and it might be my contender for the CGS Awards' One-Shot of the Year. Eastman's art is spectacular, unique in its detailed, grey-scaled glory. The whole issue takes place inside a dank, mysterious cave, but Eastman's characterizations (everything from the cute to the terrifying) keep you enthralled. And King once again shows he's a master at creating immediate drama and then building and building it with every beat, all within a macro message - in this case, a dedication to Kamandi-creator Jack Kirby's own inspiration. The Kamandi Challenge #9 is easily the best issue of this noble experiment of a title, and it's certainly one of the best single issues I've read this year.
Doom Patrol #9 was fantastic. The descriptions of the Brotherhood of NADA were great fun and Nick Derington's work over the last few issues has been really good. Btw, DP #7 (with Allred doing the pencils), might be my favorite comic of 2017.
Quite worthy of the Marvel "Legacy" moniker. There is some heavy violence, but the story by the creative team of Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (both of Image's God Country) know what they're doing and have a vision for this arc. Pick it up while you can this week.
I got a lot of reading done while I was out of town for the holidays, but the absolute best thing I read—and the best thing I've read in some time—was Archaia’s English translation (also the first English translation) of Sergio Toppi’s The Collector stories. I've never actually read Toppi’s work before, only goggled over his artwork, and his plots and writing were much better than I was expecting. And, of course, his artwork is simply stunning. I think Sean Murphy said it best in his foreword when he wrote Toppi is “a pioneer with the courage to try and create order with chaos.” And that’s exactly what he does. He uses no thick-and-thin brushstrokes to delineate depth of field. He uses no crosshatching, no feathering in his inks, just simple bold strokes, and lots of them. But those strokes build patterns, and the patterns build shapes, and the shapes build a world of amazing beauty.
While I realize Toppi’s style won’t be for everyone, I give The Collector my highest recommendation.
While I realize Toppi’s style won’t be for everyone, I give The Collector my highest recommendation.
Great rec, I'll look for it. I confess I've never heard of Toppi but that art and setting are really cool. Reminds me a bit of Eddie Campbell's From Hell.
While I realize Toppi’s style won’t be for everyone, I give The Collector my highest recommendation.
Great rec, I'll look for it. I confess I've never heard of Toppi but that art and setting are really cool. Reminds me a bit of Eddie Campbell's From Hell.
I would not be surprised if Campbell was influenced a bit by Toppi. Walt Simonson and Bill Sienkiewicz are big fans as well. In fact, first learned about Toppi from Walt.
As for the settings, The Collector goes all over the place, from the American Old West (the stories are set in the 1870s/1880s) to the New Zealand Wars to the mountains of Tibet. It’s part Spaghetti Western (the Collector even reminds me a bit of Lee Van Cleef), part mythological epic adventure, part Indiana Jones.
Quite worthy of the Marvel "Legacy" moniker. There is some heavy violence, but the story by the creative team of Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (both of Image's God Country) know what they're doing and have a vision for this arc. Pick it up while you can this week.
Agreed, was the highlight of last week's Marvel books.
Like Old Man Logan (Brisson/Deodato) and Moon Knight (Bemis/Burrows), this is such a big improvement over what Lemire was giving us.
Hopefully readers stuck around after he left those books to get hooked on what the new teams have been putting out.
If you haven't picked up Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon’s Batman: Creature of the Night #1, you should stop whatever it is you're doing and go out and get it now. It’s excellent.
(Edit: Oh, and Todd Klein shows once again why he’s the best there is at what he does.)
Mystik U was... about as good as I expected. Really the only reason I picked it up is because Mike Norton is drawing it, and he did a great job. The writing, on the other hand, felt off to me—like it couldn’t make up its mind whether it was trying to be The Magicians or Harry Potter, and so it ended up without the edginess of The Magicians or the innocent charm of Harry Potter. Some of the cameos (the staff of Mystik U) felt forced and out of character (see the Three Witches), but some made me chuckle in spite of that (see Frankenstein as the teacher of Magickal Ethics 101), so it wasn't all bad. And, like I said, the art was nice. But overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
Mystik U was... about as good as I expected. Really the only reason I picked it up is because Mike Norton is drawing it, and he did a great job. The writing, on the other hand, felt off to me—like it couldn’t make up its mind whether it was trying to be The Magicians or Harry Potter, and so it ended up without the edginess of The Magicians or the innocent charm of Harry Potter. Some of the cameos (the staff of Mystik U) felt forced and out of character (see the Three Witches), but some made me chuckle in spite of that (see Frankenstein as the teacher of Magickal Ethics 101), so it wasn't all bad. And, like I said, the art was nice. But overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
Shame. I was waiting to hear the reviews on this one. Based on this, I’ll give it a miss. About try it when it goes on sale on comixology.
Mystik U was... about as good as I expected. Really the only reason I picked it up is because Mike Norton is drawing it, and he did a great job. The writing, on the other hand, felt off to me—like it couldn’t make up its mind whether it was trying to be The Magicians or Harry Potter, and so it ended up without the edginess of The Magicians or the innocent charm of Harry Potter. Some of the cameos (the staff of Mystik U) felt forced and out of character (see the Three Witches), but some made me chuckle in spite of that (see Frankenstein as the teacher of Magickal Ethics 101), so it wasn't all bad. And, like I said, the art was nice. But overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
Shame. I was waiting to hear the reviews on this one. Based on this, I’ll give it a miss. About try it when it goes on sale on comixology.
I’d say give it a shot if you can find it cheap, you may like it more than I did.
overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
This week, so far Thanos #13 and Doomsday Clock #1 worked for me. I haven't gotten all the way through my DCBS monthly shipment yet, but so far my ratio on the month is 50/50.
Thanos was quick, powerful, beautifully drawn and written, even if I saw where it was headed. I am sticking around for Donny and Geoff's run wherever it leads. I'm excited to see where this leads. Is "Thanos wins" the Marvel equivalent of "Darkseid is"?
Doomsday Clock is also beautifully rendered, and interestingly paced. Is there a thread for this series that I've overlooked? The Clark and Lois scene at the end was a bit jarring, but necessary, and a lot of plot threads were set-up in this first issue. I'm intrigued and will be sticking around. Lots of questions here.
overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
overall the book was a big plop for me, and I can only give it a C+ (bumped up thanks to the artwork). I will not be getting the second issue. Sorry, Mike!
I didn’t hate it. I liked the art, and certain moments of the story. Just felt like I'd already read it before in a sense.
Sorry. Didn't say you "hated" it, but I presumed your comment that "the book was a big plop for me" meant it didn't work for you.
The “plop” comment was more a jokey reference to a big aspect of the plot of the issue, which I don't want to give away. I guess it comes off a little harsher than I really meant it to.
On the whole Mystik U is an average comic with above average art, hence the C+ grade (I kept wobbling between C+ and B-). There was a time when that probably would have been enough for me, but there are just too many other things I'd rather be reading now. My thinking is that I'll save the didn't-work-for-me posts for the below average comics.
I've been catching up on Kill Or Be Killed from Phillips and Brubaker. I had been a little lukewarm and skeptical about this one (at least, by comparison to their other works, which still puts it above most of the rest of what I read) when it first started, but I am totally invested in it now. Their collaborations are always top of the pile for me, but I would say this one is shaping up to be one of their best.
Comments
Unpopular, I know, but I feel stories like Waid's merely paints a picture of a world where all injustices can be explained in a convenient "racism is always the reason for everything". And the more that picture is painted, the more "real" it becomes.
It's not a perfect analogy, but look at the fervor stirred up in the early 20th century, when eugenics was on the rise. The "high" percentage of the handicapped, infirmed, poor, and "retarded" among us was going to be the end of civilization in mere generations. This was told to us in all forms of media, to the point that it became a reality so real that we began sterilizing people, and worse. If not for the horrors of WWII, we would probably still be following that straw man path, today.
Btw, DP #7 (with Allred doing the pencils), might be my favorite comic of 2017.
Quite worthy of the Marvel "Legacy" moniker. There is some heavy violence, but the story by the creative team of Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw (both of Image's God Country) know what they're doing and have a vision for this arc. Pick it up while you can this week.
While I realize Toppi’s style won’t be for everyone, I give The Collector my highest recommendation.
As for the settings, The Collector goes all over the place, from the American Old West (the stories are set in the 1870s/1880s) to the New Zealand Wars to the mountains of Tibet. It’s part Spaghetti Western (the Collector even reminds me a bit of Lee Van Cleef), part mythological epic adventure, part Indiana Jones.
Like Old Man Logan (Brisson/Deodato) and Moon Knight (Bemis/Burrows), this is such a big improvement over what Lemire was giving us.
Hopefully readers stuck around after he left those books to get hooked on what the new teams have been putting out.
(Edit: Oh, and Todd Klein shows once again why he’s the best there is at what he does.)
Thanos was quick, powerful, beautifully drawn and written, even if I saw where it was headed. I am sticking around for Donny and Geoff's run wherever it leads. I'm excited to see where this leads. Is "Thanos wins" the Marvel equivalent of "Darkseid is"?
Doomsday Clock is also beautifully rendered, and interestingly paced. Is there a thread for this series that I've overlooked? The Clark and Lois scene at the end was a bit jarring, but necessary, and a lot of plot threads were set-up in this first issue. I'm intrigued and will be sticking around. Lots of questions here.
On the whole Mystik U is an average comic with above average art, hence the C+ grade (I kept wobbling between C+ and B-). There was a time when that probably would have been enough for me, but there are just too many other things I'd rather be reading now. My thinking is that I'll save the didn't-work-for-me posts for the below average comics.
From flicking through I already know the art is gonna be outstanding.