Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2.fluke 9/24/84; site colossus.fluke.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!fluke!moriarty From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) Newsgroups: net.comics Subject: Crisis on Infinite MORIARTY REVIEWS (Part I of II) Message-ID: <2489@colossus.fluke.UUCP> Date: Sun, 8-Dec-85 23:29:51 EST Article-I.D.: colossus.2489 Posted: Sun Dec 8 23:29:51 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 10-Dec-85 06:20:50 EST Distribution: net Organization: The Institute for Criminal Masterminds Lines: 156 REVIEWED IN THIS ARTICLE: FLAMING CARROT AMBUSH BUG STOCKING STUFFER HULK SWAMP THING GREEN LANTERN CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS ------------------------------------------------ "There *are* standards. If you can't see one, you *make* one and stick to it come Hell or high water -- until you see a BETTER one." -John Gaunt "Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *can* you believe?!" -Bullwinkle J. Moose **************************************************************************** |==>A< One of the best of the year. Example: ZOT #8 | |==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month (usually 6/month) | |==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: Jon Sable | |==>D< Boring, but with a few good points. Example: SQUADRON SUPREME | |==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: Secret Wars. | |==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: Several of Haney's UNKNOWN SOLDIERs | **************************************************************************** FLAMING CARROT COMICS #9 [C]: As the kid on the Apple IIc ad is saying, "Another Christmas Miracle." Finally, the Carrot has gotten through those ka-ka dream sequences, has gone on the wagon, and is back to his old dangerous & retarded self. There is a semblance of a plot, and no one spouts poetry anywhere in it. Patience is its own reward, I guess; or better still, "It's guys like that that make it fun to be Bad Guys!" AMBUSH BUG STOCKING STUFFER #1 [B-]: Not up to mini-series, but still very, very funny. The scenes with Cheeks running around ingesting various dolls was just what I needed after an evening in a local mall; and the Mr. A. satire had me dropping the comic with laughter. If you like AB, you'll want to get this; if not, 1) you won't want to get this and 2) have you considered nitrous oxide? HULK #317 [C+]: Some may be wondering just how much good John Byrne can do for Superman once he starts on that. I suggest that they take a look at his work on the Hulk -- a comic that I haven't read for six years on account of consistent re-treads of old plots and poor writing. Byrne has made it interesting again through about the only way I can see of doing it -- by taking the Hulk out of the majority of the story, and focusing on the supporting characters. Doc Samson (looking quite a bit like a updated Doc Savage) and Bruce Banner lead the new "HulkBusters" (that suffix is getting somewhat tiresome), and it looks like an interesting crew. Basically, this doesn't remind me of a superhero book as much as a well-done version of a fifties sci-fi films, with someone releasing something awful, and now having to get it back in the bottle. Recommended. SWAMP THING #45 [C-]: I think you'll enjoy this more if you look at this as macabre humor; otherwise, it seems to be more of a watered-down Twilight Zone episode (off the subject, anyone notic that Marty Pasko did the "Beacon" episode of TZ last week?). The humor is Moore's imagining what the famous Winchester house (here called the Cambridge house) really lived up to it's legends, i.e. the Winchester house is an archaelogical nightmare built to house the ghosts of all those killed by Winchester rifles. I found it amusing to find that this included bison and rabbits, and the two cowboys in the never-ending gunfight reminded me of The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail ("Come over here and I'll gnaw your kneecaps off!"). SWAMP THING #46 [C]: Finally, the reason for all the errands ST has been running for the last few months, and the tie-in with Crisis. The suggestion of spiritual as well as physical disruption by the Anti-Monitor is a neat idea, and I think it'll work well -- especially the thought of having a supernatural cult using the chaos to destroy Heaven. This should give Moore lots of grist for ideas. Oh, the constant twitting of ST by Constantine is a nice ribbing about keeping up with the Crisis... GREEN LANTERN #196-198 [B-]: Whew! Read these in one long stretch, and the last story ('0') really had the juices flowing. Kind of like an updated version of the Lensmen stories (in fact, the Green Lantern Corp have always struck me that way). It DOES make you wonder, though, how entities as bright as the Guardians are supposed to be could ever have picked Sinestro or Guy Gardner for any kind of duty at all. And Tomar-re, the Green Lantern who (in the pre-Crisis days of continuity) was responsible for Krypton surviving long enough for The Els to get Kal off in a rocket ship. The major thing this story leaves me with are more questions than answers (haven't read Crisis #12 yet). Who is left in charge of the Guardians? Will the Lanterns remember how things were before the Crisis (the old Flash, etc.)? Who is being shipped where (two Lanterns on Earth? Three (Katma Tui)? Four (Guy Gardner gets out of his slump)? Any suggestions? I imagine that either Stewart & Katma will stay on Earth and Hal will take outer space, or (more likely) visa-versa. All three are rather independent of their homes -- Katma and John just want to be together, and Hal (with Carol gone) just wants be a Lantern. Well, I hope none of them are phased out of the storyline -- Katma and John make a nice team to follow (Englehart always is good with couples -- check out the VISION & THE SCARLET WITCH mini-series). Any ideas? CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #12 [B-]: Phew! Satisfactory ending from the emotional standpoint; however, it doesn't tie up things in a way I would like. All the John Byrne changes, with the Kents being alive and all -- will Superman remember the way it was? Most of the DC heroes seem to have their memory left from this -- do they notice the difference? OK, let's assume that the Byrne changes are seperate from the Crisis changes. Then we have the huge coincidence that everyone who was "left over" (not recognized by the general public, like the Earth-2 Superman, Robin and Huntress) after the merge to one Earth conveniently perished. Does that seem to be straight? Unless some "higher forced" marked the "leftovers" for annihilation. Also, I assume that the battle in issue #12 is remembered by the populace at large -- how is it being explained? As I understand it, no one remembers (except for the heroes involved in it) the merging of the multiverses into on universe; but they do remember the battle in #12, which killed one hell of a lot of people. This has got to leave a mark on the planet... Finally, I'm a bit worried that DC writers from now on are going to use Crisis as a blank check for continuity errors; when someone says, hey, that person doesn't have the power to do THAT, or how could ______Man know that villain, he never fought her, the author will just say, well, when Crisis melded the universe, it changed it so that they DID fight. If I see some of that, a little flaming will be called for. Crisis was, in my opinion, a good idea in the first place, besides the fact that it was executed with more panache than I've seen in years. But if it's used as a Handi-Wipe for editing errors, that would be shoddy; I'd prefer they just say "We Goofed!" I wouldn't have any problems with that... An admirable mini-series, one of the best ever. Everyone involved should be very proud of their work, especially Marv Wolfman. [Err, does this mean that George can go back to Teen Titans?] "And I heard Jeff exclaim, as they strolled out of sight, `Merry Christmas to all -- you take credit cards, right?'" Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty <*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>