My Monthly Reading...

I'm not going to make any claim that the below is a blog entry however I just thought I'd post a pic of my current monthly comic pulls.

Goes without saying this is subject to change. Better to do this now than include the 20+ DC 0#s I'll probably be buying next month!

Batman #12 Review (DC Comics)

 Let’s be clear about one thing. Batman #12 is a filler issue. Certainly not a bad filler, but one nonetheless.

This is no bad thing as, after the previous year-long ‘Court of Owls’ storyline, there would be no real advantage in going straight into the upcoming Joker saga. As the current DC range is also about to release their #0 backstory features over the next month, starting a new arc now, only to then go on a month’s hiatus would not have done any favours to the reader.

The issue is a one-shot from the perspective of Harper Row, a young punk rebel girl whose attempts to protect her gay brother from homophobic bullies do not always prove successful.  In addition to fending off members of Gotham’s undesirables, we also see her work on the city’s electrical grid and how this relates to Batman’s exploits.

The story takes place during the first few issues of the Court arc as Harper is introduced getting ready for the same dinner seen in #1 where Bruce outlines his vision for a future Gotham. In terms of Harper, this is the same girl seen resuscitating the Bat in #7 after his escape from the Court’s maze of torture. It now becomes evident that Batman’s warning to Harper in #7 to stay away from him refers to their brief meeting in this backstory. Whilst it has yet to be determined whether she will appear in the future, Harper shows a determination in continuing to aid Batman.

Aside from the main storyline, #12 does raise an interesting point in highlighting Batman’s reluctance in accepting help from the public. An unfortunate consequence of his image as Gotham’s ‘saviour’ is others wanting to either assist him or emulate his actions. As seen with Harper, this approach often puts them in danger, situations they are not prepared for. With a sense of responsibility for their actions, Batman does his utmost in dissuading them from this course of action. Whilst he does have the Bat-family to occasionally help him, it shows, in defending Gotham’s citizens from the city’s criminals, he must also protect them from themselves.

Scott Snyder continues writing duties here, no surprises there, however the artwork sees a change from Greg Capullo to the joint efforts of Becky Cloonan and Andy Clarke. I have never seen the advantage of a comic being split in two for artwork and this is no different. Cloonan draws the majority of pages however the change to Clarke occurs for the final six pages as we get to the conclusion. Not that this should be seen as a significant setback, however it does disrupt the flow which I see as unnecessary and could have been avoided.

In conclusion, Batman #12 is used to introduce the character of Row, showing Gotham from her perspective, and the struggle for many of Gotham’s underclass. Her role as electrical whizz-kid also shines some light on to a previously un-touched aspect of Gotham in how Batman manipulates the city’s power supply. Whilst this was a satisfying one-shot, its relevance will likely depend on Harper’s future role in the Bat-universe.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts on Prometheus (spoilers)...

 Prometheus will likely end its run at cinemas in the next couple of weeks and have achieved somewhere close to a worldwide box office total near $310 million. Whilst this figure is certainly nothing to get excited about, given the hype surrounding the film, it has been considered enough of a success that a sequel has been recently been given the go-ahead. 

Since release, it has met with a mixed response from audiences, with the majority still giving generally favourable reviews. Now, even as a die-hard fan of the Alien franchise, I don’t intend to use this blog to promote how amazing I found the film and bash those who had reservations. Instead, I am going to focus on the possible factors behind some of the negative press it received, in addition to why it didn’t achieve the financial success  many had expected. 

Despite the excitement over Prometheus, one must remember the last films in the Alien series, Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), only made $172million and $128 million respectively, and were almost universally panned with even diehard fans in no rush for a further instalment. Given the state of the franchise, if not for the involvement of Ridley Scott, director of the original Alien (1979), it is debatable whether Prometheus would have been green-lit by 20^th Century Fox with this level of exposure. That being said, whilst Scott’s reputation as one of the world’s leading directors can’t be denied, his films over the last decade have not been met with the acclaim of previous efforts.  Kingdom of Heaven (2004), A Good Year (2006), American Gangster (2007), Body of Lies (2008), Robin Hood (2010) all came and went without lingering in the memory for long. It is back in 2000 with Gladiator where Scott last displayed he still had ‘it’. 

Credit goes to Scott however, as, despite alleged pressure from Fox, the film continued with its R rating in the United States which would automatically have an adverse effects on audience figures, despite the flip-side of this giving more freedom over the film’s content. Whilst this would undoubtedly satisfy fans of the Alien films, it seems a 50/50 decision if the intention was to launch a new franchise. How successful would this be if the next generation of potential Alien fans were too young to watch the film? Perhaps as a result of the R rating and the known content of the previous films in the series, Prometheus was shown at considerably less cinemas in the United States than the other major release that week, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, 3396 cinemas compared to 4258.

Now to the film itself. 

After reading many reviews, the area Prometheus has received most criticism has been the script. One of the more endearing features of Alien and Aliens were the characters and their every-man backgrounds. In Alien, we had a crew of a rusty salvage ship, complaining about not getting paid. The same complaints also come from the marines in Aliens and, ultimately, when the going got tough, many wanted to get the hell out of LV-426 and go home. Concerns over not getting paid and doing a runner in tough times are feelings I’m sure most have felt at some point. Compare this to Prometheus where the bulk of the dialogue between the main characters is concerned with questioning humanity’s origins, who are our creators and what might their true intentions be? These are certainly issues that are not for everyone. Staying within sci-fi, the same problem is seen when comparing the prequel Star Wars films with the original trilogy as the rogue-like ways of Han usually win over the ongoing jedi-wisdom of Qui-Gon.      

It has been mentioned by Ridley Scott that he was not going to be able to fit all ideas into a single film, therefore leaving some unresolved plot threads to a future film that was not guaranteed at the time. Taking this approach, there has been criticism at some of the film’s open-ended aspects, what happens to Elizabeth and David, what were the intentions of the engineers? Whilst there is now news of a sequel in the works, Scott has mentioned it may take two further films to full bridge the gap between the Prometheus films and the original Alien. One can only hope that, by looking at Prometheus’s box-office performance, Fox will realise they will only be able to squeeze out one more film and wrap up the series instead of, should the second film be unsuccessful, leaving it in limbo, for geeks to theorise over for years to come.

In defence of the film, where many have remarked it is not a horror film like Alien, it was never advertised as one. Some have clearly gone in with a drastically incorrect impression of what they were about to see. From interviews, online features, and trailers, Prometheus has always been marketed as a film focused around the origins of humanity and the identity of our creators. This may be a natural consequence where the Alien franchise is seen as sci-fi horror however, if you can get past that, by placing the film within the Alien universe, it builds on so much rich mythology and untapped materials, such as the identity of the space jockey, who has never been mentioned since Alien.

Where my objectivity is severely stretched is when I see people ranting on Facebook and Twitter that the film didn’t answer any questions. Unless I saw a different film, it answers, almost everything except for why the engineers decide to plot a course for Earth to unleash holy hell. Due to the time between the Alien films, there have been many years for people to discuss the role of the Space Jockey and how its ship landed on LV-426. Viewing Prometheus, the audience is essentially told these questions are not overly important as it delves into something much bigger. The ship seen in Alien is one of many and the engineers, our creators, reveal they are imperfect beings as their creations rise up against them, as evident by the corpse found by the crew of the Prometheus. As their flawed nature is revealed, it shouldn’t be a surprise that, on another ship 30 years later, an egg hatches early and the rest is history. 

In conclusion, Prometheus takes considerable risk in building upon the mythology, mainly found in the series’ first two films and, expands its universe without downplaying the significance of Alien and Aliens. Whilst it may suffer from leaving some open-ended plot threads, these are areas, fingers crossed, that will be resolved in the upcoming sequel.

Revival #1 Review (Image Comics)

With Revival, Image Comics have done their best to show there can be a fresh perspective on the zombie genre. Labelling it as a ‘rural noir’, the comic focuses on a small community in Wisconsin, USA, where a to-be-confirmed number of dead have risen back to life. Not overly original until the reader discovers these ‘Revivers’ are not the mindless, salivating zombies one might expect. Instead they return exactly as their previous selves.

As such, this small community is overrun by both the national media and the CDC (Centres for Disease Control) as the world seeks an explanation for this freak occurrence. In the meantime, the local population do their best to cope with this extreme situation as they are forced to remain within the town limits and those back from the dead are left to question how they fit back in to the world.

In its first issue, Revival covers considerably more ground usually seen in a #1, as it raises several open-ended storylines in which the writers will hopefully have many issues to cover. What is the cause of all this? Will it spread out across the rest of America? How far will the authorities go to contain the situation? And what’s the deal with that alien??

It is perhaps not a huge surprise the first issue has adopted this approach given the highly competitive nature of the comic book market at the moment. Whilst the excitement of the DC re-boot has now died down, recent months have seen a steady flow of #1’s from Image, not to mention it receiving inescapable comparisons with arguably the company’s flagship series, The Walking Dead.

Whilst this is understandable, given both series’ central premise of the living dead, Revival couldn’t be much further removed from the exploits of Rick Grimes and I certainly hope it manages to create its own identity.

One easily identifiable difference between the two series is the role played by the ‘dead’.  In The Walking Dead, they feature as the stereotypical zombie, mindless, bereft of personality or soul, as they aimlessly wander the land, driven only by a lust for blood. Switch to the ‘Revivers’ where their identities and personalities remain intact, essentially making them characters. The focus is on the community as a whole, inclusive of the dead. Already in the first issue, it questions whether they should go back to their previous lives of working in a convenience store or going back to school. Additionally, we see an elderly lady resentful at returning, happy that her time had come.

A much needed feature shown is the search for exposition. Robert Kirkman, writer of The Walking Dead, has repeatedly stated the source of the virus will not be revealed. For that comic, it is not necessary as the focus is on survival and how humanity copes when stripped of even the basic elements of life in the 21^st century. With Revival #1, the search for what happened is already underway as the main character, police officer Dana Cypress, is introduced as she gets dressed for work as she listens to a radio debate on the cause of events.

With the choice of location, it also puts rural communities at odds with the more mainstream aspects of society as they are placed under the magnifying glass. Along with the clash of theories between faith and science, it emphasises the level of conflict in the comic.

It is certainly early days however Revival is looking like it could be one of the outstanding comics of the year and is definitely worth a read.

Rating: 4/5

Revival #2 is released on 15^th August