IDW Previews Review for March 2011 Part 1 of 2

Lee: DH had an absolutely atrocious month for new releases. Hopefully IDW will be better. IMO, IDW has replaced Image & DH as the #3 publisher in the business. I don’t remember if the numbers support this, but in terms of quality IDW is better than the other two.
Thomm: I’m still an Image fan, mostly for Kirkman, but Proof and Dynamo 5 are reliably good, too. The only thing I have from IDW on a regular basis is Locke & Key.

Best of Dick Tracy Vol. 01 SC by (W/A) Chester Gould
Highlights from Dick Tracy's long and storied career, as chosen by comics historian and comics writer Jay Maeder. This 128-page trade paperback contains the Best of the Best sequences from the 1930s through the 1970s, and is a great introduction to the character for new readers and old ones alike. Featuring such villains as Doc Hump, The Blank, B-B Eyes, Flattop, The Brow, Shaky, Mumbles, T.V. Wiggles, Model, Rughead, and Flattop Jr.! $19.99
Lee: Dick Tracy was one of the better strips for a very, very long time. This is an excellent collection and well worth the low entry cost to discover why this was so good. I am glad that IDW is producing this along with the more expensive hc’s so that the material can even be enjoyed by cheapskates like Thomm.
Thomm: If this was very good, what’s the difference between it and the current version? Is the current version very good, too? My only exposure to the strip currently is the ripping on it by the great Comics Curmudgeon site.
Lee: I think Dick Tracy's best years ended in the early 90's when Max Allen Collins stopped writing it. This collection doesn't contain any of the newer material and contains only the material that made Tracy famous and beloved.

Danger Girl Vol. 01: Destination Danger SC by (W) Campbell, Yune, Hartnell (A) Various (C) J Scott Campbell
A collection of fantastic Danger Girl stories from across the globe, including the Danger Girl novelettes Viva Las Danger and Hawaiian Punch, both painted by Phil Noto, and Danger Girl Kamikaze, by Tommy Yune. Plus, a fantastic Danger Girl adventure delineated by legendary artist Arthur Adams, and a host of pin-ups by some of comics brightest stars. $19.99
Lee: Is there still a market for Danger Girl? Between this and new collections of Lady Death and Witchblade it feels like the 90s bad girl craze all over again.
Thomm: Easy pass. I like tangible boobs much better than two dimensional ones, and there’s really nothing else to recommend here, so far as I can tell. Other than showing off assets, what does this character do?

Ghostbusters: Infestation #1 of 2 by (W) Erik Burnham (A) Kyle Hotz (C) Hotz, John K. Snyder III
IDW's Infestation event continues here in this bi-weekly two-part Ghostbusters tale! Thanks to a plague of poltergeists that resist long-term storage in the containment grid, the Ghostbusters are dealing with a surplus of work... and their job is only going to get harder when Britt's zombies try to take a nibble out of the Big Apple! Written by Erik Burnham (The A-Team: War Stories) and illustrated by Kyle Hotz (Marvel Zombies). $3.99
Lee: It’s good to see that DH isn’t the only company thriving on licensed products. Again, I have to wonder if there is that much of a market for this material. Between GI Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, and this… I would think the average fanboy would be overloaded.
Thomm: I guess publishers do make money off the licensed stuff or they wouldn’t do it. My son likes Transformers but he’s not so wedded to it that he goes out of his way to ask me for the comics. I haven’t enjoyed a licensed product story since Marvel’s old Star Wars continuations when only the first movie (1977) had come out.
Lee: BUT, Hotz is an awesome monster artist so I’m betting it looks great no matter how good, or bad, the story is.
Thomm: Art’s not going to be enough for me, which I’m sure is a surprise to no one.

More tomorrow....

Dark Horse Previews Review for March 2011

Lee: Wow does this look like a crappy month for DH. I hate to say that so soon in a post but it’s really true.
Thomm: Not having selected what we’re looking at this month, I’ll wait until the end to pass judgment.

DOLLHOUSE: EPITAPHS
Maurissa Tancharoen (W), Jed Whedon (W), Cliff Richards (A), Michelle Madsen (C), Phil Noto (Cover), and Steve Morris (Variant Cover)
FC, 40 pages, $3.50, One-shot
Having penned the show's final, post-apocalyptic episode, show writers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon continue the tale of three survivors in a world overcome by a devastating technological virus. The wealthy and powerful could buy any kind of companionship at the Dollhouses, where the Rossum Corporation paid young people to have their minds wiped clean and be imprinted with computer-enhanced personalities and skills—all according to a buyer's request. Now the technology has gone viral, wiping the minds of everyone it reached, turning them into mindless butchers. Those who've avoided the call must try to survive their friends and families if they hope to destroy Rossum and save the world. Written by T.V. series writers Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon! An excellent introduction to the upcoming comics series!
Lee: What happens when a marginal TV show is cancelled? It continues to live on as a marginal comic book series. Ok, ok that isn’t fair because this is a one shot and not a series but other than that my comment holds. Let’s not even discuss how transforming the series into a zombie story smacks of desperation.
Thomm: They’re brainless, not undead. That would make them Know Nothings, not zombies. That being said, who’s Jed Whedon? Joss Whedon I know (well, not personally), but Jed? I enjoyed this show and thought the ending was rushed because it wasn’t renewed, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to look for an ending in a comic. Besides, this sounds almost entirely different from the show.

THE GUILD: TINK
Felicia Day (W), Kristian Donaldson (A), Jeremy Bastian (A), Tim Seeley (A), Adam Warren (A), Wellinton Alves (P), Ron Chan (Cover), and Peter Bagge (Variant Cover)
FC, 32 pages, $3.50, One-Shot
Felicia Day returns to her Internet and comics sensation The Guild with a story spotlighting the Knights of Good’s most mysterious member, Tinkerballa!While some of the other Guild members have gotten a little too involved in each other’s offline lives, Tink has fiercely guarded her privacy, and the Knights of Good still know almost nothing about her. When they begin to pry, the Guild gets more than they bargained for—but is any of it true? Joining Felicia Day for these tall tales are Kristian Donaldson, Jeremy Bastian, Wellinton Alves, Tim Seeley, and Adam Warren!
Lee: It’s like Peter Bagge channelled his inner Gwen for his cover. That’s exactly how I picture Gwen doing DC picks.
Thomm: Um, ok. Never even heard of this series or the web show it’s based upon, but then, I’m a luddite when it comes to entertainment on the web. Blogs and other reading material I get. Videos, not so much. Just don’t have the time or interest in them. Needless to say, this has no appeal for me.

LET ME IN: CROSSROADS #4 (of 4)
Marc Andreyko (W), Patric Reynolds (A), Dave Stewart (C), Sean Phillips (Cover), and Photo Variant Cover
FC, 32 pages, $3.99
Abby and Thomas fight desperately to protect Abby’s secret from someone who wants them dead, as their life in Wellsville, Indiana, goes up in flames! With plenty of blood on the ground already, and more innocent people threatened by the crossfire, one thing’s for sure: tonight’s a night this sleepy little town will never forget! This chilling conclusion leads directly into the Let Me In film!
Lee: Somehow I have managed to talk about this book for 3 of the 4 months that it has been published. Anyway, I finally managed to see the movie this book is based on and, to my surprise, it was excellent. The movie was high on atmosphere, low on gore, and it’s really, really good. Don’t bother with the original book the movie was based on and just go see the movie. As far as the comic goes, I was planning on passing on this but now I’m gonna get the trade.
Thomm: You’re killing me this month. This is the second one I’ve had to look up to see what’s going on. Now only your comments have me confused. Why pass on the book but get this comic in trade? This appears to be a prequel, which isn’t necessarily a detraction from the original story, but is it something a fan of the movie or the book wanted to read?
Lee: I say pass on the book because it was mostly inspiration for the movie. They kept sections, and eliminated whole swaths of the book. Not to mention the books ends really badly and needed a strong editor. As for this comic, the characters were interesting enough that a prequel could be really good.
Thomm: Funny how the movie’s better than the book, considering the screenwriter was the same guy who wrote the book. Funnier still that we’ve moved so far afield from talking about the comic. I’ll let the reader if it’s funny “ha ha”, funny “odd” or funny “shut up and get back to the point”.
Lee: To clarify, the screenwriter and the book author were not the same. The original book Let The Right One In was written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay for the original Swedish film. The original screenplay for the American movie, Let Me In, was adapted by Matt Reeves, who also directed the movie.

THE ART OF ALICE: MADNESS RETURNS
FC, 184 pages, HC, 9" x 12", $34.99
Legendary game designer American McGee created one of the most visually arresting games of all time in Alice. Eleven years later, McGee returns with a sequel just as groundbreaking as his critically acclaimed classic—Alice: Madness Returns!Just in time for Madness Returns, Dark Horse and Spicy Horse studio invite Alice fans to take a journey through the wonderland of American McGee’s imagination for an unprecedented look at the creation of this magnificent and disturbing world. With an introduction by McGee, The Art of Alice offers an intimate look into the stunning and terrifying artwork behind this blockbuster reinterpretation of Lewis Carroll’s enduring masterpiece!
Lee: DH has been doing these oversized art books for years now and seems to be having success with them. Most, have been centered on comic book artists, but some have dealt with posters and graphic artists. I guess gamer art falls into a similar category but I am surprised to see this. As for the source material, I believe this is the game that managed to twist 50+ years of cutesy Alice in Wonderland imagery into blood soaked, s&m, b grade horror movie fodder. Call me traditional but I still like Disney Alice and will pass on this travesty.
Thomm: Holy crap, I’m definitely not bothering to look this one up. Is DH doing anything that’s not derived from some other source material? Give me some Goon or BPRD. Surely there’s something other than the Mignola-verse that DH can offer.

Lee: It’s hard to believe that Let Me In is the bright spot in an otherwise listless month from DH. I hope next month is better.
Thomm: If this is what we have to work with from DH for March, then I’d have to agree that there’s not much to anticipate. Seriously, though, does DH have anything entirely new that’s not Mignola? I used to get a lot of stuff from DH, though that was many years ago.

The Week of Dec 29 in Review

2010 was an interesting year and I think 2011 is going to be more of the same. The world is changing and our hobby is going to be going through some changes also. I believe the digital revolution is going to really start making an impact to the industry in 2011. The advent of the iPad makes reading a digital comic as appealing as reading a regular comic. It took some time for e-books to make big inroads into print books, but they have started to make their presence felt as they will for comics. A continual poor economy and the digital wave starting to take hold will make this year a difficult road for publishers to navigate.

Green Arrow #7 – Writer JT Krul, Art Mike Mayhew

What I Liked – The art was decent. Mayhew and colorist Andy Troy delivered a slick looking book. I’m would bet a big chunk of this, if not all, was done with the computer. It had some great facial expressions, nice design of pages and stunning rich colors.

What I Didn’t Like – The series has been a failure in my view and with this issue I’m pulling the plug on this book. In seven issues we have gotten nowhere. Is Green Arrow Star City’s hero or is he just a guy in the woods dealing with issues he has with his parents. I think Ollie is at least 40 and so much of this series is about him whining over his childhood. By that age most of us have gotten past parent issues and are comfortable with ourselves. The problem is the series has gone nowhere and explained nothing. It has dropped mysteries like Lost and like Lost is never answering them. Either give me good adventures about Green Arrow fighting some crime or injustice or start explaining what the forest is all about, but I decided I’m tired of treading water and I’m out of this pool.

Spider-Girl #2 – Writer Paul Tobin, Art Clayton Henry and four others

What I Liked – Clayton Henry’s part of the art.

What I Didn’t Like – The book reads very light, almost young. I know Matthew disagrees but the book is missing a certain level of something, maybe in the dialogue as Tobin goes for a teen-age girl’s syntax. The story is also moving at an extremely rapid pace with no explanation of what is going on. Spider-Girl’s Dad is killed and buried fairly fast. They even have thrown in a hint that her Dad may not be dead as someone remarks his skin is an odd color. As her Dad died we have to assume Spider-Girl was doing a twitter account posting about this adventure. Your father dies and you twitter as Spider-Girl? The other half of the art was at times very amateurish. There are so many artists on the second half it had to be rushed. Also, we are on issue #2 and the main artist already can’t handle the work load, time to rethink your productions scheduling. Spider-Girl falls off my list after a 2 issue try out.

Batman The Dark Knight #1 – Writer and Pencils David Finch, Inks Scott Williams

What I Liked – The art. David Finch did a great job on this book and with Scott Williams on inks and Alex Sinclair on colors the book looks terrific.

What I Didn’t Like – Grant has remade Bruce Wayne and Finch is writing more of what Bruce was like before, brooding and introspective. The change to Bruce’s demeanor was a major change by Grant in my mind and needs to be recognized by whoever uses Bruce as Batman. Also the story itself was more of a generic type of story. First time out as a writer I will cut him some slack as the characters read okay.

X-23 #4 – Writer Majorie Liu, Art Will Conrad and Marco Chechetto

What I Liked – The art work is solid, especially when Will Conrad was drawing it, Marco’s work is not as strong as Will.

What I Didn’t Like – I’m still trying to determine if this book has any direction. Also with the almost random showing up of Gambit and Ms. Sinister I’m not sure what is going on. The X-Books are so dense it is almost impossible to know all the backgrounds on all the characters. This makes reading a book like X-23 especially difficult when the characters popping up seem to hint of other things and I have no clue of what. I want a story about X-23 and I’m still wondering when we will get to it. I will hang out a little longer on this book.

Hellboy The Sleeping and the Dead #1 (of 2) – Writer Mike Mignola, Art Scott Hampton

What I Liked – Scott Hampton’s art looks great. Scott has mastered the mood of his art. I’m sure Scott uses various computer art tools to achieve his effects, but his work has always impressed me. Where many artists seem willing to publish as they learn Scott’s work has always looked polished. His work has always had an almost ethereal or lyrical like quality rooted in a realist approach. Scott manages to make Hellboy have a great slightly creepy feel to it and it matches the story to a “T”. Mike story is another great one focusing on one of Hellboy’s various adventures. Mike manages to twist our expectations ever so slowly as the old man who fools Hellboy fools us also.

What I Didn’t Like – Nada.

Justice Society of America #46 – Writer Marc Guggenheim, Art Mike Norton

What I Liked – The story is enjoyable. Marc cut down the cast and has given us a focused story. The elements are all building together. We have Alan Scott seriously injured with a solid comic book reason why he is not magically healed, Mr. Terrific’s sub plot in the background, Jay killing himself trying to fix the city destroyed in a JSA battle and more. This is the best the JSA has been in a while. Mike Norton’s art while not my favorite style kept us a consistent look from Scott Kolins’ work.

What I Didn’t Like – The captions introducing each character are too cute and remind me of Matt Fraction’s captions (not a good thing). I’m still not sold on this style of art. I’m not sure how the effect is created, but right now I still don’t like it.

Green Lantern #61 – Writer Geoff Johns, Pencils Doug Mahnke, Inks 4 Guys

What I Liked – This was the best issue of Green Lantern in quite some time. The reason for me is pretty simple we dealt with one of the entities in short fashion. The red entities and embodiment of rage was a well done story. We had a POV character of a man watching his daughter’s killer being put to death in the electric chair. We learned more about Atrocitus and had a very cool battle with the Spectre. The entire story was well laid out and completed in the span of one issue. Doug Mahnke’s art regardless of who inked it looked terrific as always. Not only is Doug one of the best super hero artist in the business he also can produce more high quality pages a month than any other current artist that comes to mind. Also his work never feels rushed it looks great with a strong realism bent but touches that make it his own.

What I Didn’t Like – Zilch, great issue of a series and hopefully a return to form for Johns.

Detective Comics #872 – Writer Scott Snyder, Art Jock on Batman story, Francesco Francavilla on Commissioner Gordon story.

What I Liked – I want to just say everything and leave it at that. In two issues Scott has made this my favorite Batman book. It is so good that I’m now buying two issues as I send books to both of my daughters and neither of them should miss this series. Scott has hit the ground running and the work, time and effort that he puts into his scripts is amazing. What is great is that he delivers and the book reads flawlessly.

The overall concept of the Dick Grayson Batman going after a secret society called “The Black Mirror” is outstanding. The group is given more weight this issue as we find out that the group is long standing, sells items involved in super villain crimes and the group believes that evil is what makes man better then the animals. The group feels perverse and evil as it has all the creepiness of a secret society whose members are often pillars of the community.
We get to see a Batman who is confident, smart, brave, humorous and yet still new enough to be caught unawares at times. In addition Scott continues to build how Dick works and creates cool scenes from even those sequences. The scene where Dick dives out of Oracle’s tower was brilliant. It typifies how Grayson is physically the most confident of all the Bat family and the art by Jock just blows the coolness factor off the charts. We are also seeing Dick actually do Detective work and piecing to together what is happening. At the same time we see Dick’s relationships with Tim, Alfred, Barbara and the police.

The story is also set in time that corresponds to the backup Jim Gordon story. Not that it appears important at this point that the timelines are in synch but it is a wonderful touch that makes the stories feel like one world. Even the Jim Gordon story is a thing of beauty as his son, who is the complete opposite of him, is coming back into his life and the danger that it brings. Jock and Francavilla both know how to draw and make each segment have the noir atmosphere which is perfect for these stories.

Another thing and this is something I constantly notice in Scott’s work, nothing is wasted. Each panel, each page adds to the story. Scott is already a master at when to add dialogue or thought boxes and when to shut up and let the art tell the story. Not only is that true, but the rhythm of the story telling is well developed. We open with a one page splash, two page action sequence and that a half page splash as Dick visits Babs for information. We then get two pages of exposition that drives the plot forward and builds characterization followed by the wordless dive from the tower. Scott knows when to call for the one page splash and when we need a five or six panel page. One great example is when a disguised Batman is going down hallways and then he enters the auction room. We go from a many paneled page to a one panel page of the auction room. The room is filled with people in a massive hallway that makes you immediately understand the magnitude of the Black Mirror Society. This is what I mean about the rhythm of the book being spot on. Beat by beat, panel by panel with artists that deliver a performance to match the music of the script.

Finally I appreciated that Scott is providing this type of effort. Remember this is a middle chapter of a story. So many writers allow the middle chapter to just further the plot and maybe have some action. This is a middle chapter every bit as exciting and interesting as the first part of the story. Also the story is rich in the complexity and what it lays out but no so obtuse as to be indecipherable. Scott is DC’s fastest rising star and maybe the “star” in 2011 and beyond for DC. I’d sign him up for a long term contract now.

And oh by the way, what a great freeling cover.

What I Didn’t Like – Is the next issue is a month away.

Flash #8 – Writer Geoff Johns, Art Scott Kolins

What I Liked – It was an entertaining and well told story giving us a new origin for the Reverse Flash.

What I Didn’t Like – It set the Barry Allen Flash’s origin firmly in the 21st Century, meaning like Marvel the sliding scale of everything has happened in the last ten years is in play. Comics just need to ignore time or allow their heroes to age. Comics will refer to stuff that has happened in the real world and need to either ignore it or allow for aging but placing Flash’s origin in the 21st Century was a mistake. The whole story is based on time travel and while Professor Zoom comes from the future allowing him to be able to change so many events creates more questions than answers.

Scalped #44 – Writer Jason Aaron , Art Davide Furno

What I Liked – It was a good strong story all the way until the ending. Nitz is the fast talking loose cannon loser of an FBI agent with a hard on for Red Crow. When he is fired from the FBI for incompetence it is easy to see what was coming. It all made sense until the rabbit was pulled out of the hat.

What I Didn’t Like – Furno’s art is too loose and not as strong as the regular artist and other guest artists. I think it is a slight negative for this book as my standards are high for this comic. The rabbit out of the hat destroyed the entire story. Nitz goes to commit suicide by taking out a meth lab on his own. Not only does he kill all but one bad guy, who offs himself, but he manages to become an FBI hero as the lab was run by Islamic terrorists. It was too pat of an answer that allows Nitz to now have some clout with the FBI to continue to pursue Red Crow. This is not the level of writing and storytelling that Scalped usually has and it was a disappointment in an otherwise great series and easily one of the best books of 2010.

That puts a wrap on this week. One more book I would like to mention is Incognito Bad Influences #2. Ed Brubaker dedicated the book to his Dad who passed away at Halloween. It was a heartfelt dedication and a tribute to a father who loved and cared about his son. This was a class thing to do and nice to see that type of sentiment. I hope I have a positive influence on my girls as Ed’s Dad did for him.

A Fisful of Reviews

Green Lantern Corps #55 (DC)


So we finally get the reveal on the reason Guy and Ganthet are working with Atrocious. I guess since this was already fairly obvious the bigger plot point was that now it's semi-public knowledge. I am interested in why the Sinestro Corps showed up but not Sinestro. I'm really more interested in the main plot with Qward than the sub plot with the emotion spectrum entities. Maybe it's just me but Blackest Night was a major event and I feel like there needs to be a longer break before there's another universe level threat.

Larfleeze Christmas Special (DC)


I normally don't like the seasonal specials for comic books but I was pretty entertained by this one. Although I thought they could have ended it with Hal giving Larfleeze a gift. Either was it was both funny and cute and still was a good Christmas story. Using the greedy lantern as the main character was a good idea.

Warlord of Mars #3 (Dynamite)


While I'm still enjoying this book the art is a bit off sometimes. Also, Woola looks ridiculous. He kind of looks like a giant happy multi-legged slug. Outside of my occasional problems with the art I'm still having fun reading this book. Although the cover is pretty misleading to anyone being drawn in by the mostly naked Dejah Thoris pinup. Only naked men in this issue!

Wonder Woman #605 (DC)


This issue was a nice interlude (well until the very end I suppose when the action started up again). It was nice to find out about how Diana had grown up and see how she tries to help people outside of the Amazons. Also I like the cat, Gal. I've slowly come to appreciate this version of Wonder Woman more - at the very least it's interesting to see where the story is going.

Emerald Warriors #5 (DC)


I feel really bad for Kilowog. Also I swear that Green Lanterns are killed off with little regard in DC comics these days. I'd be going a bit off the deep end same as Kilowog if I was seeing that happen to the GLs I had trained. Either way this book still seems to be lacking focus but at least there seems to be a bad guy goal now.

Invincible #76 (Image)


Sometimes, despite how good of a comic Invincible is the blood and gore is overwhelming enough to be numbing. I mean it's hard to be imapacted by something when it seems to be the normal course of the book. It's good Oliver is still alive though.

Mouse Guard: The Black Axe #1 (ASP)


This was from the previous week but I didn't get around to reading those books until this week. I am so excited about this mini-series. It's off to a good start following a younger Celanawe as his one remaing relative tracks him down to help fulfill a family oath. Early on they have to evade hunters pursuing them. As usualy David Peterson's art is gorgeous and the story pulls you in. I can't wait until the next issue!

Legion of Superhoeroes #8 (DC)


So Mon'el is the new leader. Now we know that the most popular Legionarre is Mon'el since this was, in theory, from the online voting. My fiance was happy since Mon'el and Timber Wolf were his top choices. Of course this makes me wonder if other people are as annoyed as I am about Levitz's interperation of Shadow Lass as it also screwed over Mon'el - not that I'm bitter or anything. At least I still have Mouse Guard to make me happy.

Not The List

Yeah, that's right. No List today. With the last of the December comics coming out only 3 days before the first Sunday in January, I'm pushing The List back a week. Instead, you get my perambulations of a different sort of Imaginary Tale. If you've read any of my past diversions from the comics, TV or book worlds, you know this is going to be ugly. Or is that irrelevant?

Anyway, today's foray is an exploration of the canard that is "the decline of the American empire". It seems to be a thought process that's quite fashionable in these difficult economic times. Mostly I see it from the lefter leaning writers, but sometimes from the right, too. Hell, Jim tends to fall into this to a certain degree, though he leaves out the empire bit.

That's really the first falacious part of this outlook. Hard to have an American empire in decline when there never was an empire. Here are the numerous definitions of empire, courtesy of Dictionary.com:
–noun
1. a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire, french Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire, or Roman Empire.
2. a government under an emperor or empress.
3. ( often initial capital letter ) the historical period during which a nation is under such a government: a history of the second French empire.
4. supreme power in governing; imperial power; sovereignty: Austria's failure of empire in central Europe.
5. supreme control; absolute sway: passion's empire over the mind.
6. a powerful and important enterprise or holding of large scope that is controlled by a single person, family, or group of associates: The family's shipping empire was founded 50 years ago.
7. ( initial capital letter ) a variety of apple somewhat resembling the McIntosh.
–adjective
8. ( initial capital letter ) characteristic of or developed during the first French Empire, 1804–15. 9. ( usually initial capital letter ) (of women's attire and coiffures) of the style that prevailed during the first French Empire, in clothing being characterized esp. by décolletage and a high waistline, coming just below the bust, from which the skirt hangs straight and loose.
10. ( often initial capital letter ) noting or pertaining to the style of architecture, furnishings, and decoration prevailing in France and imitated to a greater or lesser extent in various other countries, c1800–30: characterized by the use of delicate but elaborate ornamentation imitated from Greek and Roman examples or containing classical allusions, as animal forms for the legs of furniture, bas-reliefs of classical figures, motifs of wreaths, torches, caryatids, lyres, and urns and by the occasional use of military and Egyptian motifs and, under the Napoleonic Empire itself, of symbols alluding to Napoleon I, as bees or the letter N.

Obviously, the first definition is the one these thinkers are saying applies to the US. Problem is, the US has never been an empire. There's always the technicality of not having an emperor or king, but even going with the fall back of "other powerful sovereign or government", the simple fact is that the US doesn't have nations or peoples it rules over that aren't a part of the US. Territories of the US have always participated in the government to some extent, and the vast majority of the territory in the US consists of the 50 states, which are fully participatory in the government. Those territories that aren't states have their own elected government and participate in the Federal government, albeit on a more limited basis than states.

Only the Spanish American War in 1898 and the aquisition of Hawaii represented a rather half hearted attempt at empire. The former resulted in the acquisition of the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Hawaii had previously been added as a territory. Of these, one became a state, another remains a territory that has considered becoming a state on several occasions, and the other two are independent countries, neither of which forcibly removed US governance (though some would argue Cuba's government was something of a puppet prior to Castro).

The US started as a part of the British Empire, but after the Revolution there was no empire. The US continually expanded, but those areas into which it expanded became a part of the US, not subjects of the US. That's a key difference between empire and the US. One can argue about the methods of the US in obtaining the new states and territories, but it was entirely different from the 19th century empires of England, France, Belgium and the like that carved up Africa and Asia. There was never any intention of making those lands a part of the empire in a participatory sense, even though many of the European powers were representative governments at various points during that age of empire.

In fact, the US is very different from the most recent empire to collapse, the Soviet Union. That conglomeration was much more like the older empires, being ruled almost entirely by Russians though its constituent parts were of many other nationalities. Furthermore, there was little to no local control over decision making and there were ostensibly separate countries, such as Poland and Hungary, that were entirely under the control of the USSR. Contrast that with the US allies during the Cold War who were entirely self governing, and often operating at cross purposes to the US but who remained allied on the broader interests of representative government and trade.

My impression is that these writers use the term "American empire" as a pejorative to take the nation to task for its exercise of power, particularly in the post WWII world. However, the place the US held, and holds, as a leader in the world is due to both its economic strength and its ideals. In fact, the ideals of the US, as expressed in the Constitution, are the most important part of what makes the US the country that it is.

Economics ebb and flow. The US was a very small player for most of its history, at least on the world stage, but throughout its history it has held these principles to be fundamental to its nature. The death knell has been rung for the US many times before this current economic crisis, including The Civil War, The Great Depression and innumerable corruptions of various politicians throughout history. Yet the US has recovered each time. It's done so by continuing to operate within the Constitution, occasionally amending that Consitution to account for changing circumstances (the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Amendments being some prime examples).

Let's put to rest, then, this trite idea of the "decline of the American empire." It never has been an empire. It's in a down moment economically, but that's only a small part of what makes the US special. The US could be the 50th economy in the world. It would still be an important nation, worthy of emulation, so long as it continues to adhere to principles of individual rights and as much freedom of action for its citizens as is possible (which isn't the Libertarian ideal but a recognition that some curtailing of individual decisions is necessary if we're all going to survive together).

Happy New Year, USA.

Detective Comics #872 A Review

You will see this again come my week in review post, but I just had to give this book a solo spotlight.

Detective Comics #872 – Writer Scott Snyder, Art Jock on Batman story, Francesco Francavilla on Commissioner Gordon story.

What I Liked – I want to just say everything and leave it at that. In two issues Scott has made this my favorite Batman book. It is so good that I’m now buying two issues as I send books to both of my daughters and neither of them should miss this series. Scott has hit the ground running and the work, time and effort that he puts into his scripts is amazing. What is great is that he delivers and the book reads flawlessly.

The overall concept of the Dick Grayson Batman going after a secret society called “The Black Mirror” is outstanding. The group is given more weight this issue as we find out that the group is long standing, sells items involved in super villain crimes and the group believes that evil is what makes man better then the animals. The group feels perverse and evil as it has all the creepiness of a secret society whose members are often pillars of the community.

We get to see a Batman who is confident, smart, brave, humorous and yet still new enough to be caught unawares at times. In addition Scott continues to build how Dick works and creates cool scenes from even those sequences. The scene where Dick dives out of Oracle’s tower was brilliant. It typifies how Grayson is physically the most confident of all the Bat family and the art by Jock just blows the coolness factor off the charts. We are also seeing Dick actually do Detective work and piecing to together what is happening. At the same time we see Dick’s relationships with Tim, Alfred, Barbara and the police.

The story is also set in time that corresponds to the backup Jim Gordon story. Not that it appears important at this point that the timelines are in synch but it is a wonderful touch that makes the stories feel like one world. Even the Jim Gordon story is a thing of beauty as his son, who is the complete opposite of him, is coming back into his life and the danger that it brings. Jock and Francavilla both know how to draw and make each segment have the noir atmosphere which is perfect for these stories.

Another thing and this is something I constantly notice in Scott’s work, nothing is wasted. Each panel, each page adds to the story. Scott is already a master at when to add dialogue or thought boxes and when to shut up and let the art tell the story. Not only is that true, but the rhythm of the story telling is well developed. We open with a one page splash, two page action sequence and that a half page splash as Dick visits Babs for information. We then get two pages of exposition that drives the plot forward and builds characterization followed by the wordless dive from the tower. Scott knows when to call for the one page splash and when we need a five or six panel page. One great example is when a disguised Batman is going down hallways and then he enters the auction room. We go from a many paneled page to a one panel page of the auction room. The room is filled with people in a massive hallway that makes you immediately understand the magnitude of the Black Mirror Society. This is what I mean about the rhythm of the book being spot on. Beat by beat, panel by panel with artists that deliver a performance to match the music of the script.

Finally I appreciated that Scott is providing this type of effort. Remember this is a middle chapter of a story. So many writers allow the middle chapter to just further the plot and maybe have some action. This is a middle chapter every bit as exciting and interesting as the first part of the story. Also the story is rich in the complexity and what it lays out but no so obtuse as to be indecipherable. Scott is DC’s fastest rising star and maybe the “star” in 2011 and beyond for DC. I’d sign him up for a long term contract now.

And oh by the way, what a great frelling cover.

What I Didn’t Like – Is the next issue is a month away.

Happy New Year!!!

On behalf of all of us at Comics And...Other Imaginary Tales, we hope everyone has a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year in 2011!
Thanks for reading and commenting.

"Reading comic books: -- a solitary activity that's best shared with others"