Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.

Underground > Comic Books >

Final Crisis

Page: 1 ... 2 3 4 5 6(7)8 9 10 11 12... 34

19:38 / 27.05.08

Seriously, though, Metron... stop slouching!

He's either really bored, or trying to entice Anthro to ride on his Moebius Chair.....

Rachel Evil McCall

03:21 / 28.05.08

Misfit and Black Alice were also kidnapped for the Dark Side Club over in Birds of Prey.

So, apparently it's a thing.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

06:52 / 28.05.08

Sounds a bit, you know, Roulette-style. Has Darkseid -- I'm sorry, Dark Side fallen that far? Or, um, risen that far? Whatever the appropriate verb is. Darkseid has jumped the shark.

Metron hasn't, though. Metron's dreamy.

09:17 / 28.05.08

It's probably only me, but does anyone else think that Metron looks a tad bit like... Jones?

Cowboy Scientist

17:53 / 28.05.08

Ok! Done reading #1!

WARNING! MANDATORY SPOILER EMPTY SPACE INCOMING!:

It's good, but the comic is in story build-up mode. And doesn't feel very... I dunno... "Morrison-y."

Loved Turpin! "These boys would hate to have their asses handed to 'em by an old man!" So badass!

Darkseid teaching how to say the Anti-life equation to the kids reminds me of the Mikey Eye guys teaching its song to the bug on the moon.

Oh, and the kids become like the kids in "Village of the Damned". Midwich Cuckoos again? Of course, it reminded me of New X-Men; that and the fact that it starts with Prehistoric Cavemen Action.

Why are Dr. Light and Mirror Master looking for Metron's chair?

Did NOT like J'onn's death scene. Kind of blah.
And while I like Lex's armor, does he use it all day long? I'd rather have him in buisness suit, and armorin' up for action. On the plus side; although he doesn't do or say anything here, I love how J.G. Jones draws Gorilla Grodd.

I am indiferent to the subplot about love between Monitors. Although Monitor-Land looks awesome, with its orange Van Gogh clouds and Kirby-tech skies. And the thing about them now having names, stories and time was cool too.

Anthro meets Kamandi? Maybe time is circular? And why is Anthro painting Metron's mask in his own face?

Who is the guy in the last page? My bet is a new Orion, but I'm hoping for the original, Kirby OMAC.

Other stuff worth noting:
-The Mr. Miracle poster in the background when Hal and John meet in the crime scene.
-The Supervillain protest march.
-Dr. Light and his Viagra.
-"I AM NOT AVERSE TO THE TASTE OF HUMAN FLESH, SIR!" Try saying that at work today.

18:45 / 28.05.08

The guy on the last page is either the ex-Monitor, or Barry Allen. I'm not sure which.

What I don't understand is how Light and Mirror Master _found_ the chair... The nearest I can figure is that (ignoring DotNG and Countdown) Metron went back in time to hide a weapon in Anthro (possibly the _real_ "human flame") before getting wiped out in the war.

Keith, like a scientist

20:05 / 28.05.08

how...wha...why? From which wonderful country are you buying comics? I'm under the impression that both US and UK have holiday malarky mixing up the comic schedule.

20:14 / 28.05.08

In my case, scans_daily and posted spoilers.

Phex: Dorset Doom

20:19 / 28.05.08

That's the exiled Monitory waking up- there's a picture of him in his human form in the Final Crisis Sketchbook.

I was distinctly underwhelmed by this. Two months ago I shouted 'Holy fuck!' at the Skrull reveals in Secret Invasion, today I saw a whole shedload of what should be massively significant stuff and just got bored. J'onn's death had one percent of the gravitas of Bart Allen's death in Flash a while back, and that was Bart-bloody-'Impulse'-Allen (though, as I understand it, this is the event that causes the formation of the edgy and unofficial 'New' Justice League, as opposed to the conformist but professional 'Mighty' Justice League, another Marvel concept to go alongside Libra/The Hood). It all felt so rushed that I worry about the forthcoming appearances of characters I really want to see, like the Japanese heroes. The Question's role was to turn up, exchange gritty dialogue and hand over a plot token to somebody whose role is to die so that we can see that Darkseid is indeed evil.

On the plus side:

-Green Lanterns actually acting like Space Cops, and even the Guardians getting in on the act.
-The Monitors speaking and acting in dreadful cliches as a result of their contamination by the DCU.
-Mas y Menos!

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

21:04 / 28.05.08

Wow, that was really fantastic.

The dichotomy of the Human v. Superhuman in pretty much every scene was really well-done. The focus on so much significant "Humanity" in the DCU (Lex, The Question, Turpin) against the decidedly superhuman (J'onn, Monitors, New Gods) really resonated.

Absolutely fantastic start.

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

21:06 / 28.05.08

Also, of course, the two most signifigant humans in the DCU, Kamandi and Anthro.

Damn, there's a lot going on in this series, thematically.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

21:55 / 28.05.08

Loved the Kamandi and Anthro stuff. What's Anthro's background? I only remember him from Crisis. Was he another Kirby product, a knock-off of Moon-Boy, et cetera?

Guardians dusting for radiation prints was awesome. All the galactic CSI jazz was wicked. Hal Jordan is a useless lump, though. As he should be.

MM and Light want the chair because Libra asked them to find it.

I do not like the post-Identity Crisis Doctor Light. At all. I do not want to read about him.

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

21:59 / 28.05.08

You don't like hearing about a rapist's romantic peccadilloes?

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

22:17 / 28.05.08

It always comes off as a boring and generic, pointlessly "gritty and uncomfortable." And, post-Meltzer, most writers (with maybe the exception of Johns) don't seem that thrilled either, so he always "sounds" like he's reading his lines off a cue card.

00:19 / 29.05.08

Anthro isn't a Kirby creation, but was created in 1968 by Howard Post.

In another forum, it's been suggested that Doctor Light's dialogue should be read with the voice of the Monarch from Venture Brothers.

03:04 / 29.05.08

hahaha...

Gorilla Grodd! have you got a cigarette?

There! I just sold you for a cigarette! ...AND I DON'T SMOKE!

Yotsuba & Benjamin!

08:30 / 29.05.08

I was seriously reading it as The Monarch already. It's possible I've been watching too much VB in preparation for the new season but, yeah. Perfect.

14:26 / 29.05.08

Spoilers ahead.

I'd have to agree with Cowboy on the storytelling approach here. It struck me as being rather linear, with ample space to move in, so no, not Morrison's usual quirky modus operandi. Having said that, I felt the same way about SSoV: Klarion, as well as Batman: Gothic, which I both enjoyed, so I think this'll be pretty cool.

Hard to pin a time line to the Anthro/Kamandi/Metron side story, although since we have been told that the series ends with Kamandi on the last page(and starts with Anthro on the first), it's likely that the series is merely a long prologue to the Anthro/Kamandi storyline.

Liked the Metron bit, where he tells Anthro that, "Here is knowledge," with "knowledge" being the fire that Metron leaves behind(and which Anthro subsequently uses to scare off the savages/cook dinner).

And "Terrible" Turpin! It was really nice to see this guy again. While I know that it's a superhero book, I wouldn't actually mind seeing Turpin play a larger role in the series. Disappointment: no snide remark from Turpin when Boss Dark Side addresses the fleshsuited Kalibak.

"Kalibak eh? I put the cuffs on one of them muk muks with the same name while I was still in the force. Twice your size, but just as ugly."

Didn't much care for the Martian Manhunter, sad to say.

Spotted the Mister Miracle ad, can we hope that Aurakles will make an appearance in here? Please? PLEASE??

And lastly, for someone who really hasn't been following the Countdown maxiseries, I actually found the first issue to be pretty accessible(though knowing a bit about the Monitors might have been nice), so I guess I won't have to fret about picking up all 50-odd issues.

Last question: any guesses as to what Orion was trying to say to Turpin? A reference to the fact that Darkseid and sons are now wearing fleshsuits?

14:43 / 29.05.08

FANTASTIC start, fabulously-paced issue. Last guy is definitely Nix Uotan. I like the "true human flame" theory--it makes sense. Personally, I loved Martian Manhunter's death--it was done in such a matter-of-fact, cold and surgical manner, that the horror of it was insane.

The Monitors are treated beautifully--one of the most stand-out scenes in the issue--in stark contrast to the whole Countdown debacle, the treatment of them in this issue imbues them with the majesty of some celestial secret society.

I'm also loving the style in which the issue is written--using a very focused 'camera'--perspectives are tight and intense (unlike the usual Infinite Crisis/COIE George Perez panoramic panels) and yet, it feels like so much happened in the issue. Every bit of it feels significant.

And the whole thing has a hypnotic, story-focused quality to it--a lot of build-up and set-up plus some nice big moments. First salvo, surgical strike. It's wildly different from Secret Invasion #1, which I feel splayed its cum shot all over people without so much in-series foreplay. This is more intriguing.

14:46 / 29.05.08

when turpin is talking to dark side, and dark side says how 'endurance makes us strong', and turpin says 'my father used to say the same thing' this is a pretty clear hint that whatever is left of orion was passed to turpin.

...and can we assume that anthro was fighting vandal savage and the gang in the prehistory scenes? I think we can.

16:04 / 29.05.08

Spotted the Mister Miracle ad, can we hope that Aurakles will make an appearance in here? Please? PLEASE??

I wonder if he already has... Anthro isn't usually depicted with red hair, and the very first thing he does with the fire/knowledge/human flame is fight a super-villain.

when turpin is talking to dark side, and dark side says how 'endurance makes us strong', and turpin says 'my father used to say the same thing' this is a pretty clear hint that whatever is left of orion was passed to turpin.

Either that, or Dark Side is playing mindgames with Turpin by telepathically extracting (or possibly even planting) a comment to support the idea that Dark Side is the proper path. It's a very evil thing to do:

Suggest to a person that "your father would agree with me, and you loved/respected/believed in him...."

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

16:08 / 29.05.08

Depends on Turpin's relationship with his father, doesn't it? I took the comment as a snottier response than that.

Like the idea that Anthro -- who we see later garbing himself in war-paint equivalents of Kirbydesign -- might be Aurakles. Fits with Seven Soldiers and the story of the Astro-Gods (notably Metron) coming and changing a man into a Hero-Demigod.

16:49 / 29.05.08

well, darkseid IS orion's father, and there was the visible burning as turpin touched the dying orion, so it seems pretty straight-up to me. passing of the flame and whatnot. turpin and the urban godfather are orion and darkseid meeting each other in a new form.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

16:58 / 29.05.08

I suppose Turpin could be a fleshsuit -- and it fits with Shiloh's black hole initiation with Orion in a fleshsuit. Metron was preparing him for something, after all. And Shiloh=Scott does suggest that the fleshsuits were people first...

I also like the implication of this issue, that Metron (who walks between Apokolips and New Genesis) initiated the breaking of the pact between worlds by bringing fire to mankind -- the pact included a lack of intervention on Earth. Possibly because he already knew about the eventual arrival of the Fifth World.

17:05 / 29.05.08

So Kamandi's last name might be Harrower?

17:09 / 29.05.08

I kind of like the idea of anthro becoming aurakles, but I know it wouldn't stick, because squishing properties together like that never does. hal jordan/spectre, hector hal/doctor fate etc... never holds. too complex for 'new readers'.

I suspect the 'weapon' that metron gave anthro is the 'life equation' ie; knowledge, love, hope transcendence etc.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

17:22 / 29.05.08

Anthro and Aurakles aren't exactly big name properties, though.

Heh, Harrower. That would be cute, actually. Kamandi's actual last name, as far as I remember, is Blank. Or Tomorrow, depending.

17:37 / 29.05.08

Considering Aurakles/Oracle had a total of two appearances (the second being Seven Soldiers), I'm not worried.

19:14 / 29.05.08

not a good first impression, i have to say.

i liked it for everything you guys have already mentioned and for having a lot pf stuff hapenning, but as Phex i was left underwhelmed by it. the bits were better than the whole. high expectations, maybe?

i have a feeling JGJ may have screwed the visual narrative a bit, which felt slightly clunky and not engaging. the unmasked\masked Question scene could be an indication of possible problems with script interpretation.

in most cases i saw a lot of pretty detailed pictures but some scenes lacked emotion: Dark Side's appearance [even in human flesh], Martian Manhunter's death for ex.. Anthro's, The Monitors', The Lantern's were great, though.

one strange thing: i like the idea of the New Gods being treated as such [higher-dimensional entities very far from ordinary], but Superman talked about them in the JLA meeting almost as if that was the first time they ever appeared in the DCU. or i didn't read it ptoperly.

i don't know, i have to reread it. but first, BATMAN RIP pt 2.

Imaginary Mongoose Solutions

21:36 / 29.05.08

I'm not comfortable calling all of the New Gods contactees "Flesh Suits". It seems from 7 Soldiers and this that when the New Gods intersect with people in that fashion, that the Gods of Apokalypse do wear people as suits, but the Gods of New Genesis instead inspire the part of the human that is like themselves. Shiloh Norman is still Shiloh Norman, but he's Scott Free/Mr. Miracle in spirit.

Or so it seems.

Also: I too read Dr. Light's dialog in the Monarch's voice.

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

04:44 / 30.05.08

I think we'll have to wait and see how the fleshsuits or whatever play out.

You know, I realized that I had almost no reaction to the J'onzz portion of the story, which is unusual -- I used to really like J'onn, but with the latest gritty revival with the big, big head and the high collar and the GRRNHHHT of it all, I stopped. But maybe this is just a quick and dirty way of reviving him as a fun character again, rather than someone who shows up at the end of a JLA issue only to be -- well -- you know, the next time we see him.

07:42 / 30.05.08

I wonder if he already has... Anthro isn't usually depicted with red hair, and the very first thing he does with the fire/knowledge/human flame is fight a super-villain.

Didn't notice Anthro's red hair, will have to go back and have a look. It's a rather neat idea, but a far cry from the mixing of new gods and neanderthal man traits as depicted in SSoV #1 - it will be very odd for Morrison to change his own continuity(Invisibles aside), especially since Mister Miracle(christ, I just typed Miracle Man) is sort of a carry over from his own limited series. Ah well, I still have high hopes for the Original! Super! Hero!

when turpin is talking to dark side, and dark side says how 'endurance makes us strong', and turpin says 'my father used to say the same thing' this is a pretty clear hint that whatever is left of orion was passed to turpin.

Whoa:O

I'm not comfortable calling all of the New Gods contactees "Flesh Suits". It seems from 7 Soldiers and this that when the New Gods intersect with people in that fashion, that the Gods of Apokalypse do wear people as suits, but the Gods of New Genesis instead inspire the part of the human that is like themselves. Shiloh Norman is still Shiloh Norman, but he's Scott Free/Mr. Miracle in spirit.

Totally agree that we'll have to see how this plays out, but it's really a bit hard to conceive that Boss Dark Side and boys are actually human hosts to the gods. Having said that, there was that bit in SSoV: Mr Miracle where Boss Dark Side and Darkseid are talking separately when Norman confronts him/them with God-Sight. Otherwise, with the exception of Black Racer(who is quadriplegic Willy Willy Something playing host to a God), I've always read it as the New Gods under different earthly guises all along.

09:51 / 30.05.08

Grant suggested the "flesh suit" idea for the New Gods in a couple of interviews. Part of the rationale for this is to suggest that we've _never_ (well, almost never) seen their true forms, but that even their heroic/villainous appearances were avatars.

In this case, it appears that he's saying that Darkseid's fall (as seen in DCU #0) injured him sufficiently that he has to appear in his "Boss Dark Side" form until he heals. But I don't think it's a question of taking over someone who already exists, so much as creating (not to mention wearing out and discarding) a human form.

The implication, of course, is that you CAN'T kill him, any more than you can kill an idea. Which means that Orion & Co. are probably not dead either. (7S:MM suggests that they've been trapped in their own mortal forms, unable to apothesize, but this issue confuses that a bit).

The Natural Way

11:36 / 30.05.08

Re the flesh suits. Darkseid comments that 'bodies - they wear out hard in here.'

Sounds definitively like a flesh suit to me.

Was great. I really have no problem with this comic. Loads happened, CSI space cops, mortality invades the world of myth, dead superheroes w/ Green Arrow ranting and raving at the camera... All lovely.

A brooding builder.

11:53 / 30.05.08

Naturally, the only thing I found really interesting about all this was the shout-outs to the nigh-universally loathed 7S: Mister Miracle.

Re: the fleshsuit debate -- don't forget that the 7S #1 "Cryptic Crossword" suggests a more nuanced interpretation of how the "Gods" may walk among us by comparing them to the spirits of Haiti: Life Or Anti-life (LOA).

Interestingly, Willy Whatsisface, the Black Racer, may have been a harbinger for a new way that the Gods may walk among us... and in this light, what does "Mister Miracle's" final escape from the tomb in 7S #1 really mean? Is it the Spirit of Mister Miracle looking for a new "host?" Or is it possible that there are variant "faces"/aspects/identities of Mr. M that can exist simultaneously, not unlike how different "versions" of (for example) Erzulie can exist at the same time in the Voudon Pantheon.

(For that matter, I'm wondering where 7S: Mr. M and the whole 7 Soldiers storyline happens chronologically -- was Shilo's Black Hole trip a taste of things to come, or maybe those events occuring "for real" in the midst of the coming Final Crisis chaos?)

And on a random side-note: Is the "police procedural" Green Lantern shtick really a newish thing (taking the "space cop" gag literally)? I haven't been following GL in recent months and assumed this was how Johns & Co. have been treating it.

Page: 1 ... 2 3 4 5 6(7)8 9 10 11 12... 34