JLA #78-90 by Joe Kelly Review

 

Rules of Engagement [#78-79] / White Rage [#80-82]

• JLA #78 - Rules of Engagement, Part I : "The Price For Peace" = I already knew about the last page reveal, but man was this great. I love this era of DC, because it seems like the writers aren't afraid of putting the JLA in difficult positions and have them confront tough issues. Kelly did this during Golden Perfect, and now Rules of Engagement is attacking the moral quandaries of the JLA in full force! The JLA's jurisdiction has always been a great debate, and you could arguably see virtue on both sides; I would agree with Batman because they are heroes, not a police force. The Green Lantern Corps however, is something that is much more suited to deal with this (even the United Planets!). However, Bureaucracy gets in the way of things happening, and Diana is always going to choose to be proactive anyways. The Faith stuff is interesting as well, and I'm sure that brings more clarity to the scene we saw during issue 69. Manitou Raven and Dawn are awesome, and all the new members including John Stewart have meshed really well into the lineup. I do miss Plas and Kyle though, even if he got mentioned at the beginning.
• JLA #79 - Rules of Engagement, Part II : "Look To The Tribe" = Those first couple pages were hilarious. Joe Kelly is a master of dialogue in this run, and I've said this a billion times but he really gets these characters. Manitou Raven is still my favorite, although Supes and Diana were fantastic in this. The space plot got resolved pretty quickly with the deus ex faith, as well as Kanjar Ro getting caught in 4K, but this chapter gave us a lot of great set-up for the rest of the run. Who is Manson? How did Batman find Faith? What is her connection to the US military, and who is the evil that she worked for? Why has she been referred to as the fat lady? Is Firestorm trying to hit on Dawn? Where did J'onn go to get over his pyrophobia?
• JLA #80 - White Rage, Part I : "Safe Haven" = The art killed this one for me. I did not enjoy Rouleau's style; his caricatures are a huge departure from the sleek figures of Doug Mahnke. The plot was fine; the pacing was very off. I'm interested in the Bats/Wondy stuff and the J'onn/Scorch dynamic, but this Haven arc was not as interesting. There were a couple good lines about sovereignty in the US, but besides that... I honestly feel like the art skewed my enjoyment of this. The final page with Faith is either a machination by this clandestine group trying to take her down, or she just lost control of her powers for some reason.
• JLA #81 - White Rage, Part II : "Dead Dreams" = There was one good page: the Martian Manhunter/Scorch mental sequence. Besides that, the art is killing this book. We learn that the whole situation last issue was a cover-up, the Safe Haven metas are part of an Elite 2.0 called Axis America. These Neo-nazi's come out of nowhere, and this either sucks or I've just completely lost the plot. I enjoyed the J'onn sequence. That's pretty much it: I would call this book a slog, but it reads pretty fast. The dynamics and dialogue aren't good enough to save this book from bad art. Let's pray Joe Kelly can save this arc before the end.
• JLA #82 - White Rage, Part III : "Clockwatchers" = At this point I'm just going through the motions of this story. I don't care for Axis America, I don't care for the Faith plot. The fights were fine. The revelations were meh. The J'onn/Scorch last page was wild. Ready for some better art please!
• JLA #83 - "American Nightmare" = Art upgrade! This one needs a reread at some point, but a great piece on Superman and the concept of the JL as an American super-team. How does that affect their goals, ideologies, jurisdiction? Some cool ideas and dialogues, but like I said I definitely need a reread bc of the wonderful twist that threw things into flux.

Trial By Fire [#84-89]

• JLA #84 - Trial By Fire, Part I : "Life Is A Strange Play" = What a way to get me hooked back into this series! Mahnke's art is fantastic as always; there's something about it that keeps my eyes glued to the page. So glad that we traded Duncan Rouleau's style for this godly depiction of the JLA. The first three pages had my jaw drop, and I absolutely loved the premise of this arc. The flies returned in the Dawn/Ronnie sequence! What do they mean! What does the flashback mean? What caused the mental incursions across the DCU? Who gave these gifts to the JLA? What's really going on between J'onn and Scorch? And what the heck is that Firestorm creature at the end?
• JLA #85 - Trial By Fire, Part II : "Something Extraordinary" = "WTF" comics is back! What did J'onn see in tree form? What has possessed him, because he clearly looks like it in the Scorch sequence. John and the GLC are obviously connected to this because of the Guardian in last issue's flashback. The caveman with the bloody sack last issue was Vandal! And in his sack was the severed head of a martian! He refers to them as Dakath/Destruction/The Burning, which is totally dope. The pacing is excellent, and those final pages were nerve-wracking: now I definitely think it's J'onn since he phased Clark into the table. Btw, were those guys phased into that citadel the same soldiers outside of Major Disaster's trailer, forced to look at the sun?
• JLA #86 - Trial By Fire, Part III : "Fernus" = Page after page, I become more certain that I am reading a banger JLA story for the ages. This is so good! The brawl on the Watchtower, the Vandal backstory, the Ganthet stuff, and that last page reveal! Come on! Interesting that this Burning Martian is a sub-species just like the Green & White Martians. If Scorch somehow activated this personality within J'onn, I'm assuming that means that the Greens are the Dakath? Is Fernus a dark personality of J'onn, or something/someone else? Is Scorch in on it? What are the guardians' involvement? Ganthet implies they created the Burning.
• JLA #87 - Trial By Fire, Part IV : "Barbaric Ancestry" = History lesson! Oh my god, Joe Kelly is one of the best at power scaling, a master at maintaining continuity of powers without diminishing the feats demonstrated previously by characters. The formidability of Fernus is terrifying, even more so than the evil Superman analogues we see so frequently. The lore was fantastic as well, with the decision to implant a weakness to fire intentional due to the euphoric and procreative nature it causes on the Burning Martians. The plastic man stuff was awesome as well, so happy for him to finally be brought back to the fray. The identity switch is interesting and fits very well as a foil for Fernus/J'onn.
• JLA #88 - Trial By Fire, Part V : "A Burning Earth" = Escalation in Excelsis! Joe Kelly finds a way to pit the JLA against Earth shattering threats while simultaneously telling such a personal story about the League and how they operate. I was very let down with the stories post Obsidian Age (Rules of Engagement was actually really good), but this has raised my standards so freaking much. Doug Mahnke is one of the greatest JLA artists - scratch that one of the greatest artists in the entire history of the industry. I cannot stress how much I love his style. Plastic Man stole this issue, and I can tell Kelly is just as happy as I am that he is back amongst his heroes to curb stomp this world-breaker. Forget the last page bait, let's finish this arc with a bang.
• JLA #89 - Trial By Fire, Part VI : "Out of the Ashes" = Brilliant ending to this arc. Easily one of the best Martian Manhunter stories ever, I would definitely put it on level with New World Order. This really made me want to check out Ostrander's run on J'onn with Tom Mandrake (I believe?). Bittersweet that I only have one last issue with Joe Kelly before this run comes to a close, but I'm so happy I finally got around to reading it because oh boy this is Grade-A cape storytelling. What's not to love about this arc: great lore, great character development, powerful dialogue, unbelievably good art, the whole shebang!
• JLA #90 - "Perchance..." = NOOOOOO! I think this might have cemented wonder-bats forever in my eyes. To frame the relationship in the context of either destroy the world or bring in into utopia is kind of brilliant, both agents of war and peace in some ways, trying to find the good in each other. Perfect issue, only complain I have is that with a better artist (cough cough Mahnke) this would have been elevated a lot more.

Justice League by Christopher Priest Review [#34-43]

Justice League #34 - "Three Rooms" {Art by Pete Woods}

• Crisis Times Three? Priest knows how to start things off with a bang, and I absolutely adored this. The roster in this run is really interesting, and I'm excited to see how Priest explores each of their characters. I read this back when it was coming out monthly and I remember liking it, but I'm super excited to jump in now that I've become accustomed to Priest's writing style, which is ten times more engaging then the stuff modern cape comics put out. This reminds me a lot of the Joe Kelly run (which I'm actually reading concurrently), and these kind of grounded JLA stories if done well are just as much fun as the cosmic stories we all love. Pete Woods' art suits the script in a big bad way, and this partnership is getting me hyped the more I think about it.
• Subtitles : "Praying Man" , "Day Three" , "Thirty Percent" , "Day Four"

Justice League #35 - "Swarm" {Art by Pete Woods}

• I am loving every page of this. The inclusion of Wally was so much fun, and the intro to Glenn Gammeron was cool. Priest seems to be using freak of the week (more like month) vignettes while linking them with the overall plot thread of the first issue's league-failure. It's only #2 so this prediction isn't that substantial, but regardless, this kind of storytelling continues to be engaging. Pete Woods knocked it out of the park with this one; the depiction of the Swarm was terrifying, but this is coming from a guy who hates bugs with a passion. The personalities of the team are well-fleshed out, I think we're just missing Priest's voice for Supes and Arthur. The hinting of Cyborg to League leadership warrants consideration, and I hope we see Glenn later in this volume. The final pages with the absurd accusations towards the League verily pissed me off. I hope Priest can do something interesting with this trope.
• Subtitles : "Evidence" , "Glenn & John" , "The Plan" , "Pinkeye"

Justice League #36 - "The People vs. The Justice League" {Art by Pete Woods}

• A pretty wild opening to set up the overarching villain of this run. The standout of this issue was Aquaman, although I was most interested in the discussions regarding the jurisdiction of the JL as a super-hero peacekeeping force. They're not the JLA in this era, but they do have a charter with the UN, and each side brings an interesting/worthwhile point to the debate. Batman losing support in the team is interesting, and he himself having doubts sets up for some great character development. The scenarios Priest puts these heroes in always end up surprising me and keeping me hooked; he just finds a way to make the solutions and interactions so much fun.
• Subtitles : "Which Hunt" , "Leaders" , "The Speech" , "Die Kunst der Diplomatie" , "Carbon"

Justice League #37 - "The Fan" {Art by Phillipe Briones}

• And that's when things got knocked into twelfth gear! The Fan is a fascinating exploration of a JLA worst-case scenario. Scratch that, this whole book is a JLA worst case scenario! Not a page is wasted, not a line of dialogue is insignificant, everything in this chapter was incredible. I love Priest writing these characters, and I'm so excited to continue. Phillipe Briones takes over the art from Pete Woods, and it's still fantastic. Maybe the colors could be improved, but his depictions of action and framing is picture-perfect.
• Subtitles : "Identity Crisis" , "Master Mind" , "Shadow Boxing" , "Snapshot" , "Watching the Watchers"

Justice League #38 - "Entropy" {Art by Marco Santucci}

• Thunk! Spotlight issue, The Flash! Regardless of the science jargon that I maybe caught 25% of, this was so much fun! The so called poetry in (and between) the lines is turned up to 11, an I love how distinct Priest allows each issue to be. The vignettes have been perfect up to this point, and I'm interested to see if he ends up fleshing out each Leaguer to the fullest. I suspect the Batman we saw in this was actually The Fan since there is no way in hell that he kissed Jessica. And the appointing of Cyborg as the chairman, fanboy move to the max!
• Subtitles : "Home Alone" , "The Enemy of Good" , "Five Stages" , "In Limine" , "Thunk" , "Come to Jesus" , "Complications"

Justice League #39 - "The Race" {Art by Ian Churchill}

• They're tearing us apart! Modern Media vs the JLA! A PR Nightmare! Who the hell would load trains with cargo that would cause a major chemical spill/outbreak if involved in an accident? I'm not sure how the logistics work for the oversight in the final sequence: were they just going to let the toxic fallout affect the rest of the neighborhoods? How the hell did Cyborg not vet this Lawyer? (Great twist btw). The Aquaman sequence was great, and the shark metaphor warrants some thought: is he trying to get the JLA to kill him, become more authoritarian? Is it one of those where "the villain tries to better the heroes"? Or when he says he shouldn't have killed that shark, does the Fan want him to let the League crumble so it can evolve into something more efficient, void of all the moral noise that prevents it from being the true vision Fan desires? Then again, it doesn't really matter compared to the fact that SIMON BAZ DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE LUNCH MEANS!
• Subtitles : "Shark Tank" , "Mr. Chairman" , "Westies" , "Batmen" , "The Ball" , "Mr. Ed"

Justice League #40 - "Selection" {Art by Pete Woods}

• Saving the Multiverse? Give me a break. Giving the Legion of Doom a slap? Puh-Leaze. Preventing the Watchtower Satellite from burning up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere? OH CRAP. This was so much fun! I've never seen anything like this, apart from the storytelling style presented in Kelly's run (which I've already mentioned). The mental gymnastics regarding the weight and worth of sacrifices, the pseudo-science barely keeping our heroes alive, and the banter, oh god the banter is so good! So this lawyer is one of the pawns of the Fan? Or is it the Fan himself? I guess Batman really did kiss Jessica! Lobo jettisoning himself out of the satellite was hilarious, and I loved that Batman just sat back and watched everyone scramble. It's so obvious, the League(s) are teams, of course they are going to trip up over new chains of command! The only criticism I have for this is the fact that Pete Woods didn't do his own colors, and it really shows.
• Subtitles : "¡Salir!" , "Thunk Redux" , "Ninety-Five Cents" , "Selective Service"

Justice League #41 - "Saigon" {Art by Phillipe Briones}

• The JLA PR nightmare continues! Heroes vs jurisdiction, heroes vs non-interventionism, heroes vs ethics! Priest is taking the League into the pits, an abyss much deeper and more nerve-wracking than any crisis they have ever faced. IT'S ALL SO MESSY! Bringing back Ja Zaki was such a delight, and I think it's great that the League is getting whupped mainly due tot he fact that they've been bombarded non-stop by someone who's been planning to take them down since he was a kid. Prometheus step aside, The Fan is here to stay! The twist about his identity as an engineer on the Watchtower was fantastic; only serving to enhance (or diminish depending on your perspective) the threat of the Fan. I guess Regina was down for his plan and just as capable, but there's no way he planned for the crash landing in Buredunia or the collusion with Bland and the natives. That Diana shock moment caught me off guard bad.
• Subtitles : "Lunch Break" , "The Apple Tree" , "Mad Maxine" , "Spunky" , "Three Rings" , "The Problem"

Justice League #42 - "A Strange Place of Dying" {Art by Pete Woods}

• DEATHSTROKE GO JACK SOME MESS UP BOYYYY. At the end of the day, Priest has excellently proved to us that some issues are too big for the League to handle. They are not global police, they are heroes acting to save the innocent from evil. You cannot use a hammer to fix a malfunctioning computer. There is no black and white in a culture war, only different perspectives and practices and traditions that are impenetrable to outsiders. However, when you need to kill a shark, morals and ethics are useless compared to a harpoon. Let's see the one eyed assassin close this contract.
• Subtitles : "Men in Tights" , "Lies My Mother Told Me" , "Palace Intrigue" , "Titans" , "On the Wall" , "Better Never Than Late" , "Invade Thy Neighbor" , 

Justice League #43 - "Justice Lost"

• I am at a loss for words! Priest has said in 10 issues more than any JLA writer has since Morrison, Kelly, or even Meltzer. The League learned a hard lesson, cleaned up the mess, and got a good slap all in an afternoon. Deus Ex Deathstroke worked really well, and the Thanatos segment brought it all full circle from the first issue. The epilogue left me sad since right after this Snyder and Tynion arrived and injected liquid cocaine into the book, and once it came off the high and dropped to the low of Bendis' snorefest. And then Williamson killed them in the dumbest way, so we as fans are left waiting for the Dark Crisis bs to pass over. After finishing this, I found myself eager to embrace an evolving League; Orlando and Priest were doing such innovative things with both books, but Snyder just rehashed Morrison and Bendis stuck his OC and Black Adam of all people on the team. I have no problem with a classic league, but it's one of those situations where I find myself wanting my cake and eating it too.
• Subtitles : "Leftist" , "Frenemies" , "Empathy" , "The Menu" , "Catspaw" , "Saturday"

Flash Run Riot & Blitz (#192-200) Review

 

Run Riot [#192-196]

• The Flash #192 - "Run Riot, Part I : Awakened" = I audibly said, "Oh Crap", when the gorilla paratroopers descended on Iron Heights. Warden Wolfe has some savage comebacks in this issue, and I'm shaking every time Hunter is on panel since I know the end times are nearing. Wally and Linda are wholesome af, and that also hurts since I know a little bit about how Blitz goes down (screw spoilers honestly). I'm kinda over the usual rogues at this point, but the Doctor Alchemy sequence was so good. Crazy that Wally's hand was broken just by punching the gorilla (speed-force field?) and he gets banged up by Double-down and Tarpit. Blacksmith getting yeeted was hilarious, and Scott Kolins is just murdering on art page after page after page! I'm assuming they will explain how Grodd got out and summoned the gorilla henchmen to jailbreak.
• The Flash #193 - "Run Riot, Part II : On The Run" = This one read super fast. Interesting that they finally decided to give Wolfe some character development. Rip Zolomon's legs, at least he go to have some time without pain before getting mauled. Grodd is so OP not even Fallout's nuclear beams did anything to him.
• The Flash #194 - "Dead or Alive" = What a great issue. The first page was absolutely fantastic; comics 101 on how to grab a reader with an opener. Kolins knocks it out of the park with the depictions of Gorilla City. Nnamdi is pretty goated, and the new/improved incarnation of their society brings a lot to the table. It's fascinating to see Wally at his breaking point, I just recently read Ending Battle, and it seems like Johns enjoys pushing the veil with his favorite heroes. Broken and battered by a barrage of psychic assaults, Wally is forced to make a decision; how far will he go for vengeance? The use of Linda is great too since we just got the reveal of her pregnancy; of course Wally is going to be on edge! The last pages with Zolomon were heartbreaking. The countdown to Blitz begins!
• The Flash #195 - "Off Balance" = This one was okay. I don't care for the Top, and the Linda stuff didn't have any legs to stand on before this issue. The Zolomon stuff makes me sad, and the Peek-A-Boo final page did nothing because I also don't care for her. The most egregious thing in this issue was the shade thrown at ABBA by the Rogues; excited for Flash to whoop them very soon.
• The Flash #196 - "Helpless" = One more Rogue I care very little for. The Zolomon Wally stuff was great as usual, but the title has been meandering lately. I was surprised by the fact that Wally defended Flash killing Zoom, which I'm not a big fan of. Honestly screw Peek-A-Boo, she's an idiot. What could you possibly do that a team of doctors couldn't? I actually enjoyed the Phil Winslade art; reminded me of a Neal Adams or Mike Grell kind of style. With the final sequence at the Flash museum, let's see how believable they make this transition to Zoom.

Blitz [#197-200]

• The Flash #197 - Blitz, Part I : "Rogue Profile: Zoom" = Don't know how I feel about this 180 for Zolomon. The motivation is just stupid, Wally didn't do anything wrong, time travel is dangerous, and the desire to be a villain in order to better the Flash is wonky at best. Johns did the same thing with Batman during Three Jokers, and it was even worse than this seems. The Zolomon backstory was great, and the art by Kolins was unbelievable, but this transition to evil doesn't make much sense to me right now. He even addresses the 180 during the final pages, wondering if the cosmic treadmill accident has caused him to go insane. If that's the case, then I will give this some leeway.
• The Flash #198 - Blitz, Part II : "Rush" = This whole chapter was a calm before the storm. The union of the Flash family is always a pleasure to see, mainly because it's something we lack in today's comics (then again, Jeremy Adams and Williamson have done a great job rebuilding). My jaw dropped when Spectre Hal showed up, the harbinger for tragedy. The Bart stuff is interesting as well, I think it's too early to tell if they're trying to cause a rift between the two. From the little panel time, we can already tell that Zoom is a different kind of rogue: he's not going to waste time, he's efficient, not allowing distractions to his goal. Kolins continues to kill it on art, and I feel that this reads much better together in a binge instead of the chapters standing on their own.
• The Flash #199 - Blitz, Part III : "Into the Fast Lane" = This is something else. Let me first say that Scott Kolins is a mad genius with his art in this issue. Props to him, Doug, Ken, and James; y'all did a stand up job. As much as I don't find the transition from goated left-brain Hunter to psychotic abortionist Zoom, this issue was fantastic. Zoom is threatening, more so than any villain the Flash Family has ever encountered. The fact that no one has been able to touch him yet is crazy. I've only read the Williamson and current Adams run on Flash, but nothing has ever compared to this. He's so fast that he's ripping holes in time, windows into the past and future. The heartlessness of Zoom is appalling, and I'm just so shocked at the fall from grace in such little time. Then again, this is a book about fast people, so maybe those moments in that hospital room were more than an eternity for Zolomon. I enjoyed the power up scene, and I enjoyed the fact that it didn't work (take that CW Flash!). Those final pages were awesome, and I couldn't be more hyped for Flash #200.
• The Flash #200 - Blitz, Part IV : "The Final Race" = Wow. What an issue. The explanation for Hunter's powers was really cool and made the scaling work a lot more substantially, while Jesse giving up her powers for a temporary boost ended up as a competent and unproblematic deus ex, since Jay and Impulse utterly failed last issue. Hunter trapped in suspended animation and forced to watch the death of his father in-law was brutal as hell, but he deserved it after last issue. The second half of the book was easily the standout, with Barry and Hal hitting the cosmic reset and OMD-ing the mess out of the Flash timeline. The art shift was fantastic, and I could not be more excited for this new direction the book is going!

THE FILTH BY GRANT MORRISON REREAD/REVIEW!

 THE FILTH REREAD

A DEEP DIVE INTO THE BOWELS OF THE ULTRA-SPHERE! You have no idea how proud I am to say that I loved every second of this reread. Let's dig in!

Chapter One : "US vs THEM"

• Greg Feely is your average Joe Schmo working nine to five and coming home for R&R with his cat and a 1v3 against lotion, kleenex, and exotic porn. However, Greg Feely is not Greg Feely. He's actually a para-personality, a vacation-avatar used by Ned Slade, agent of a ultra-clandestine organization known as The Hand (their agents are known as The Filth). He's been called back to the fray by another agent, Miami Nil. One of the interesting dynamics I enjoyed was the fact that Ned's grown very comfortable living as Greg, and he's not completely ready to leave his life of mediocrity as well as the adorable cat, Tony. As Ned leaves, his place will be filled by a doppelganger, Douche Greg. Absolutely heartbreaking to see Tony watch as they speed off (crazy car design by the way). Forget that, crazy designs everywhere! Chris Weston knocks it out of the park with this, and the page featuring LaPen, the hyper-sex scene, and the reveal of the Soon Experiment with her burning corpse on it were my favorites. Who is the redhead chick with glasses at the beginning? Who is this mercenary in magenta? Who is Simon?

TF #2 - "Perfect Victim"

• This one was great. The concept of I-Life is absolutely fascinating, and as of today I'm sure we're not a few years out from some technology like this, unless it already exists. The banter between Dmitri and Nil was great, and I'm really digging Morrison's wacky dialogue conventions more than I ever have. The hierarchy of the Hand was super cool (Fist, Palm, Finger, Horns, Frequency), but I just need to get familiarized with the bonkers environment. I find it strange that every time Mother Dirt speaks, the frames are concentrated on LaPen. The showdown with Hughes was cool, and his cryptic final words will hopefully mean something by the end (honest to god I'm coming to this super fresh). Why can't Ned fully remember time before Greg Feely? Who is Cameron Spector? Who is Babalon Mandrill? What is the Science Gestapo? Where is the Hand headquarters (The Crack) located? Why do those dolphins have Nazi markings? Who is Man Green/Man Yellow?

TF #3 - "Structures & Ultrastructures"

• Brilliant, but freaking depressing. The sequence with the halo jumpers exiting the comic-book world was mind-bogglingly awesome. I live for meta-mess like that (done the right way!), and of course Morrison and Weston are going to deliver. Harlotte and Mercury were fun, but Secret Original was no doubt the highlight. Him revisiting his past was sad as heck; Morrison is great at making you relate & sympathize with these characters who've descended to the lowest of the lows, becoming pathetic and depressed (something we've all felt at some point). I'm finally feeling that sense of existential dread, the post-9/11 reality that is so contrary to everything shown during The Invisibles. The Ned returning to Greg sequence was also sad, the funeral + Dmitri's nihilism did not make it better. At least he tied up Douche-Greg. Why did they bring back King Mob's scorpion gun from the Invisibles? Why was Ned cutting out a picture of an ant?

TF #4 - "S**t Happens"

• What a fascinating read. The back-half was great, Ned finally getting some of his groove back to take out anti-person filth. Interesting to see his development as a character, he's become a bicameral personality, composite, maintaining a mixture of elements from Ned and Greg. One of the most intriguing parts of this chapter were the tidbits regarding the geography of the Drains. These under-dimensions where the Hand operate (referred in this chapter as The-World-In-The-Crack) are so crazy and fun, only acting as proof of Morrison's skill as a world-builder. The relativity/entropy associated with the Drains was very cool, and I wonder how someone would arrive in these under-dimensions without one of those mouth-vehicles that the Hand uses. Arno Von Vermun was fun, and this very much was an analysis of his character, though I loved the subversion of the serial killer luring his prey with it being the opposite and giving us ultra-Ned Slade. Drowning in piss while confessing a horrific murder was wild, and Ned still having to make it back was great. So who is Max Thunderstone? What is up with Douche-Greg? Why do the vehicles have mouths?

TF #5 - "Pornomancer"

• Very much a "WTF" issue, but not in the conventional sense. Anders Klimakks is a pornstar who's has an irresistible aura as well as black jizz. Yup, bro shoots obsidian loads from his ten inch penis. He's hired by a psychotic experimental porn director named Tex Porneau, who walks around naked wearing a cowboy hat and holding a camcorder at all times. Tex uses Anders' magic black cum to create giant sperm creatures that burst through females in an attempt to procreate. I would say you can't make this stuff up, but Grant really did. The main theme of this chapter was stated by Tex perfectly: "Fucked or Be Fucked." Literally, everybody gets fucked in this issue. Two LAPD detectives are introduced: they get fucked and collared. A new Filth agent, Jenesis Jones: she gets fucked and then obliterated by a giant sperm cell. The mailman drops off a package, he gets fucked while wearing a bird mask. Ned Slade and Dmitri-9 appear in two panels of this issue: they do not get fucked. Only question I have is what the gimp dudes were building that giant ball of junk for inside the mansion?
  

TF #6 - "The World of Anders Klimakks"

• Ho-lee-math. I was having so much fun with this issue, and then the last couple pages literally turned into Ander Klimakks and absolutely mind-donked me into jet black oblivion. This had a great opening, we finally get to see how LaPen functions; they linked her up with Moog Mercury who is now sporting drip feeds that convey info between them. I finally found out who Cameron Spector is (I went back to issue 3 and saw mercury refer to her as they escape the comic book dimension). Why are Mercury's intravenous terminals infected? So this chapter reveals the reason why Anders doesn't remember jack: he's an answer for infertility, a homunculus designed to repopulate the planet! However, he's designated as an anti-person since his repopulation will make his children exact clones of him until humanity is replaced by Anders Klimakks. Miami probing Tex was great, and him getting devoured by the kaiju sperm was even better. Crazy to think that they can just resurrect agents into new host bodies after they die; it's truly the para-persona makes the agent effective. We finally learn why the vehicles have mouths; to clean up the filth! Before the finale's mind-blowing sequence, Ned states his memory has come back, and he remembers why he asked for so much time off; hope that gets elaborated on. Now, this is where it gets weird: Ned arrives home to find everything in shambles, but was it actually he who's been losing his mind? Has everything that's been happening a fabrication in his own head? The pictures of the kids with the ant-heads are still an enigma: we saw him cutting the heads out in issue 3, but why did he put them on the kids? He states he wanted to learn photoshop? As for the kid killing, that's clearly just seeing Dmitri-9 coming in, the gunshots were also Dmitri, and the coffins are the buried cats (revealed that he's buried multiple besides Barney). Mentions of missing twins, as well as the neighbor's Laurie; is there a kiddie killer? Where did Douche-Greg go?

TF #7 - "Zero Democracy "

• My mind is falling into the pit! Spotlight on the Libertania! A colossal cruise ship society descends into chaos! The return of Spartacus Hughes got me good: this brings light to what he stated before his death in issue 2. "Anyone can be Spartacus Hughes", the agents of the hand are all para-personas, this blonde rando now has the cunning of Hughes. His recruitment and seduction of Neville Quain into the religion of sadistic A-holes was fascinating to watch, the equivalent to a ten car pile up on a massive interstate highway. I can't help but wonder if the morphine he gave to the president was some kind of contagion that spread to the population and caused them to go mad. Money means nothing; art is our god. The final sequence with Greg's interrogation was interesting too: we are still on the fence between delusion and framing. Him talking about children as soulless monsters makes me think he is crazy, but the mention of Thunderstone + taking out the guards turns me in the other direction. The final pages where he finds the tampon from earlier was brilliant. This series has my head in a vice grip. Excited to continue. Who sent this new Spartacus, and how did he come to be? Who were the masked opera phantoms in Italy? Who is the woman with the flowers?

TF #8 - "<3*%$ Police"

• The Libertania Experiment revealed! This truly is the anti-invisibles: the whole point of that book is that humanity is one collective organism that forgot and split into tribes, but when Glitterdamerung comes and we ascend we will have awakened and born into the new medium of existence as one fully realized being. This shows that idea as an evolution of the destruction of society, out of the ashes rises this hive mind virus that consumes all. Spartacus is definitely employed by someone against the Hand (Thunderstone perhaps?). I liked the mention of Dmitri missing his first shot on purpose because it ties into the JFK thing, and if you go back to issue 2 he does the same with the OG Spartacus (however, in issue 6 he does not shoot twice to kill Anders). Douche-Greg is back somehow and leaving Tony to starve to death! Is he someone else, or just a manifestation of Greg's psychosis? What do the ant-heads mean!?

TF #9 - "Inside The Hand"

• Here's the thing, for the sake of my pride as a Grant Morrison fan I will not admit that I have lost the plot. So instead, let's dissect the mess out of this. Fact: I hate having to decipher Spector's glaswegian dialect phonetically. Man Green/Man Yellow revealed! I'm assuming that they are the Science Gestapo? the art in this sequence is phenomenal, and I would rather have this kind of schizophrenic storytelling 10x over the Spector exposition (which I definitely think Grant is cheeky enough to have done on purpose). So the world-in-the-crack is a meta-physical ethereal dimension, where all the booboo of humanity rains down. This sequence and real-captain noxinnixon describe it as discarded blueprints by some creator in a higher world. The mention of being dull angels without the crack seems to imply that this dirtiness is essential to making humans human: a similar parallel message seen in the Invisibles where the Outer Church and the Invisibles college are two sides of the same coin: no dualities, only symmetries. We get some answers regarding the Horns as well as a mind-donk revelation. The dolphins harvest ink for subs to transport, ink from a giant hand holding a giant pen. The ink apparently gives life: possibly the life in those comic book sequences seen during issue 3. Lore dump: first explorers in the crack built the headquarters until realizing the entropy decaying their age, using an atom bomb to break the pen nib. I wonder if the entropy in this dimension is a representation for how whole years can occur in the span of pages in the comic world? Relativity between dimensions? They say the hand could belong to the blueprint-maker who cut off his hand after seeing the horror he wrought, or maybe it's still attached and he's just stuck with writer's block. Was he writing the suicide not they call existence? Bio-ship Sharon Jones returns from the second issue (she was the lady with the flowers) and possibly blows I-Life into Tony's corpse to resurrect it? Diving into this next filthy issue!

TF #10 - "Man Made God"

• This might be one of my favorite issues of the entire series. The tragedy of Max Thunderstone was engaging from beginning to end; a life and death of a man devoted to bringing enlightenment to humanity. This is framed brilliantly; a beautiful anti-invisible, where Max is our King Mob against the Hand's outer church. There is no US vs Them, only symmetries! So Greg's para-personality was working with Thunderstone the whole time? That's the only way to reconcile this, or maybe he was sent to be Greg undercover for so long in order to lure thunderstone out and defeat him.

TF #11 - "A Very English Nervous Breakdown"

• Sheeit! Greg was working with Thunderstone's invisibles against the Hand the entire time! I just wonder how they were able to inject the Ned Slade para-personality to disrupt his memories of working with Thunderstone. Spartacus Hughes was created by them and infiltrated the Hand, which makes it more interesting that they got their own mole in Greg to go against him. The fact that they inject these para-personalities into anti-persons is fantastic, I read up on a blog comparing this to how our immune system co-ops threats as part of the cure. Greg apparently broke into the drugstore with the para-personality backups and contaminated them? Death of Dmitri with the visions of the space apes was hysterical. The neighbors finally believe him, his name and mind have been cleared. We meet Babalon Mandrill, a female homonculus with enough breasts to make up for a lack of arms. What does the scorpion gun signify? It's a hyper-weapon from the comic book world, but it was King Mob's gun in the invisibles as well. Tony is dead, but I thought the Bio ship sharon jones resurrected it? I want to jump into this finale right now!

TF #12 - "Schizotype"

• None of it was real. All of it was real. My brain is fried. I need to finish this.

TF #13 - "THEM vs. US"

• Right before I go to bed. In an interview with Morrison at SDCC in 2003, a couple months before the release of the final issue, they revealed that Greg had actually created this fictional world + adventures as a way of self-therapy. He's cleaning out the filth in his mind, or better yet, embracing it to grow stronger. The I-Life is a result of himself accepting all the filth and negativity he retains in his body, mind, and soul. It's a cycle: everything decays into mess, but that mess can help cultivate new life. Everything that happened is a psychic spring cleaning: the porn chapters (5-6), the comic books (3 & 10), the class warfare (7-8), the violent/intrusive tendencies (4). All of the adventures, all of the world-inside-the-crack, all of it happened in those few seconds before he died, before he made friends with the filth within him. That's the entropy, that's the decay. This book is also about understanding the futility of US vs THEM: freedom is not chaos and order is not oppressive control. Those are the extremes, but once you realize they go hand in hand, balance brings more prosperity for all. 

Hawkman by Geoff Johns #1-12 Review

 

Hawkman #1-6

• Hawkman #1 - "First Impressions" = A lot of compressed storytelling. I got a lot out of this, but it was a teensy bit overwhelming to some degree. The supporting cast is cool, and the quiet moments with Carter monologuing over St Roch are awesome. Bloque was interesting and I wonder if that's the last we'll see of him.
• Hawkman #2 - "Into The Sky" = Indiana Jones on crack! Break-neck pace and non-stop banter, this is shaping up to be something crazy. I had to do a little (a lot) research on Hawkman lore after the first issue and you'd think it gets better what with Vendetti's series, but the specifics of the cosmic raptor mumbo jumbo from Snyder/Tynion's run kind of ruins it. I loved the fact that Shadow Thief, Tigress, and Copperhead ended being the mercs and Roderic is 100% hath-set. The ghost dude picking up the picture might be Gentleman Ghost? And the final page with the elephant men keeps me hyped.
• Hawkman #3 - "Lost in the Battlelands" = This issue was fun, and I find the secret Hindu mythological lost world cool as mess. The Komeriah vs Makhna stuff brings the class warfare dynamic to a whole new level and the banter between Shadow Thief and Hawkman is great. It retroactively makes Vendetti's "Darkness Within" arc a lot better if you think about it. The green arrow sequence was pretty jarring; I'm not used to a seasoned GA killing CEO's, but now that I think about it he's coming off the Mike Grell run. I read "Longbow Hunters" a long time ago but it was so awesome.
• Hawkman #4 - "Beasts of Burden" = Cool finale, the character dynamics are carrying this book. Tigress sequence was awesome, Shadow Thief is still fun, and Carter and Kendra are badass. The elephant men revolt was dope, and I do hope they return to the Battlelands at some point. SO it seems like Hath-set's spirit is assaulting Roderic and maybe he is a descendant? Let's see this GA vs Hawkman fight!
• Hawkman #5 - Slings & Arrows, Part I : "The Birds & The Billionaires" = That last page got me so good! I need to reread a chapter of the Stargirl run just so I can remember more of the spider lore. Alright, just caught up and remembered that maybe this spider's dad was the one who betrayed the seven soldiers to the hand and nebula man, with wing ending up sacrificing himself. Ollie and Carter banter was great, Kendra coming in was even better. I honestly thought that ollie was the killer bc it fit in with his characterization before his death, but at least it makes him more heroic (thanks to Johns' silver age standards!). What's inside the coffin!
• Hawkman #6 - Slings & Arrows, Part II : "Eye-Spider" = I think this issue is where this series finally settled in with me. I love the characters, the dynamics, the dialogue! It's funny I should say that since this issue was pretty much a huge brawl. The fight was awesome, and I'm surprised Spider put up that much to hold off GA and Carter + Kendra. The history lesson in the beginning was great, and Spider's characterization was very compelling even though I know dear Moz shafts him eventually during Seven Soldiers for I-Spyder (RIP lmao). I think it's really interesting that Johns and Robinson aren't just going to have the two make up and be buddies: they respect the history between the two, it's not going to be that easy. However, Ollie's words end up having profound effect on Carter, and the brilliant soap in this series begins! The final pages with Spider are a testament to the quality of Johns and Robinson's writing.
• Hawkman Secret Files - "Hidden Past, Hidden Future" = This special was cool, and the flashback sequence carried. I'm glad we got an explanation as to why Nabu and Teth-Adam were gone, and the sacrifice scene was brutal. Shadow Thief continues to be a great character and I'm eager to see him in the future.

Hawkman #7-12

• Hawkman #7 - "Fine Day For A Hangin" = This was brilliant. The first non Geoff johns issue solely by Robinson was so much fun; a blast from the past as we visit faces old and new. The gentlemen ghost cameo was great, and I live for the fan-service mentions of Vigilante, Jonah Hex, the Evans ancestor and even the birth of Stonechat house. The reveal that Matilda was married to a Roderic implies maybe hath-set had mystically egged her on via reincarnated curse. Interesting that death ended up being the narrator for the issue, an echo of JLA #15 - "Twilight of the Gods". The wild western dialect was icing on the cake, and the action by Rags Morales was phenomenal.
• Hawkman #8 - "Small Talk" = This was so much fun. Johns did a spectacular job of giving you a whole lot in one issue. Ray and Carter having dinner was my favorite sequence, while the Kendra vs Warwhip brawl was great (besides his phallic arm whips, those were disgusting). We got some more hints for the Saunders murder mystery; "don't mess with the rats" or whatever that means. Excited for the Hector interaction. Less excited now that my boy Speed got yeeted of the mountain by what seemed to be a trusted ally? I hope its not one of the Evans family members.
• Hawkman #9 - "In The Hands Of Fate" = Jesus, Rags was channeling his inner Clay Mann in this issue (or is it the other way around?). We get more about Kendra's backstory, and this seems to answer the hint placed during the second JSA arc "Darkness Falls", where Kendra shows trauma from killing an unidentified man, now revealed to be a corrupt police officer. Very interesting interaction with Hector/Fate, who explains that once Kendra falls in love with Carter, they will be at the mercy of the incarnation cycle + fury of Hath-set. I'm assuming the relationship is going to be very different now, and it's pretty compelling that Carter's love for Shiera would make him cut her off just so she won't be vulnerable to Hath-Set. Also interesting that Hector is tangled up in this too, he will forever be born to warn them of the curse I guess?
• Hawkman #10 - "Snowblind" = So much happening! Gentlemen Ghost has been confirmed! I'm assuming it was him in the coffin a couple issues back, and damn I never noticed that the hotel that the Saunders' were murdered was called the Craddock house! Jumping right into the fire (or should I say ice) with the hawks and Jaiyta and Danny in the Tibetan mountains. The Zhang Zhung lore was cool, and who doesn't wat to see Hawkman fighting Yetis! Raven-bro looked sketchy from the get-go, and the introduction of the Hath-set reincarnation brings up some issues. Are they just going to shaft Roderic in favor of his new character? It seems like the motivations might be different due to the fact that she wants to reverse the curse.
• Hawkman #11 - "Everlasting Love...?" = Fun issue. The reincarnation of Hath-Set into a chick is messy, but I guess it works since it's past lives. As for the prophecy stuff, Fate explained a couple of issues back that Set can only kill them when the two are in love, so Carter's confidence is interesting. The Atom reveal was great, and neatly ties this in with the one-offs into a great 6 issue arc. As for the final battle, I find it cool that Carter and Kendra can take a lot of damage; I mean come on they're the Hawks! Badass brawlers reincarnated through a billions lives are not going to get stopped by steel and bullets. The Absorbacon was cool, I've definitely seen it pop up in a couple of different books and shows, but the purpose was always vague or inconsistent. The transformation into the giant crow/raven was wild, mainly funny because the pet bird got zapped into it too. Hawks vs Ravens for the finale!
• Hawkman #12 - "The Darkraven" = Abrupt ending, but the back-half of the issue made up for it. This whole arc was summed up in the epilogue: Hath-Set's machinations from beyond the grave, fooling the Hawks into thinking the cycle was over with the proxy Astar. Darkraven and Astar had a tragic end, but they were set up as dark mirror foils to Carter and Shiera. It's funny because their motivations were mainly to have their own reincarnating love cycle (albeit via stealing the soul karma of the hawks), they fail like the Hawks do in every life and nobody really gives it a second thought. No explanation for why Darkraven and his bird merged, or why Astar was turned to salt, or if Kendra got her memories back; but it's okay because let's jump into the next arc! Also, Hath-Set claims that Astar and Roderic are not reincarnations, but actually descendants of his bloodline, so the Astar being a chick is not as messy.