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Final Crisis

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Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

21:06 / 29.08.08

Y'know, this really made me want to reread Smith's Monster Society of Evil. He didn't have much to do, but Billy Batson was a definite high point.

21:14 / 29.08.08

Of course, if I really wanted to get metaphysical, I'd say that New Earth is the Malkuth of the Orrey, with the Monitor Realm as Kether. In that case, the Anti-Matter Earth would be the qlipotic reflection.

08:53 / 30.08.08

It's not perfect by any stretch, particularly because I'm so unbelievably bored with meta-fiction of particular styles in my comics right now, as exemplified by the trip to Limbo with the forgotten characters. Luckily we're not treated to too much of the Limbo stuff but it was a very near thing. The King of Limbo was a surprise, but... I think it may be that this particular ship feels like it sailed with Animal Man and it's weird to go back to that well.

Hey, it's been practically 20 years since Animal Man; I think Limbo's due for a revisit. And establishing its relationship to the DC multiverse is gravy.

It's a well-done revisit, I think. This is a much more hostile Limbo, very similar to ASS' Bizzarotropolis. Merryman's much like Zibarro now, an originally decent person infected by his world's aggressive pointlessness. Which works, because now Limbo can and should be fought. Buddy just wandered futilely, lost and overwhelmed, but Superman goes in with a mission, figures out how to use Limbo's weirder features to his advantage, and leaves planning a mass rescue.

Which fits the change in theme between the books. Animal Man was about the power creators have over their fiction; Superman (both ASS and Beyond) spins that relationship 180°. The Monitor, most powerful being that ever existed, vast Hegelian absolute, is traumatized and infected by the stories teeming inside its own intellect. ASSuperman discovers that, even in universes where he never existed, the human imagination will manufacture him anyway and use him to save itself.

I really wish Beyond went for more issues. This could be Flex Mentallo for the mainstream DCU.

02:40 / 02.09.08

Ultraman's inclusion makes me wonder if the anti-matter earth is one of the 52 in the orrery. I'm guessing no, becasue then wouldn't the whole thing go "Boom"?

This Ultraman is probably from Earth 3, not the antimatter Earth. The new Earth 3 is, confusingly, basically analogous to the antimatter Earth, which also still exists. Both have JLA analogs (the Crime Society on Earth 3, the Crime Syndicate on antimatter Earth) that include Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Power Ring and Johnny Quick (although Earth 3's version contains other characters as well, like White Canary and an evil Spectre -- see here). I look forward to the now inevitable "Crime Syndicate vs. Crime Society" miniseries...

09:44 / 02.09.08

This Ultraman is specifically described as being from the antimatter Earth, though. And the Earth-3 CSA may be dead after Countdown--assuming editors will pay any attention to what happened in that, which they probably won't.

huckleberry glove soup

04:11 / 06.09.08

Caught up on a bunch of Final Crisis tie-ins. Unfiltered thoughts below. Be warned.

Superman Beyond was fun and read like a superfiction mainline. Lots of little bits about the monitors. It (the original Monitor intelligence) first becomes aware during the commotion of the first crisis, becomes infected by the narratives/time (hmmmm, where have I heard this story before...) that exist within it's own awareness, scabs over the "flaw" with the orrery and the monolithic Superman armor? Contains the multiverse within, monitor culture developes without, Mandrakk (the ultimate evil intelligence) is locked away ready to be unleashed. Interesting stuff. Verrry quickly paced... like it's unfolding within the span of a heartbeat even!

Rogues' Revenge had an interesting developement. Libra is trying to bait the Rogues into murdering their titular target; a cloned, evil Bart the Secret Society is ritually transforming into the symbolic, sacrificial speedster via the Kid Flash identity. Libra wants the Rogues on his side cause the speedsters are the key to this crisis and every crisis, and he's going to need people who can kill a Flash.

Legion of Three Worlds was a very well done book but it didn't really ring with me. Some of the characters came off one dimensional and Prime seemed to shift between Eddie Haskel and Charles Manson. For 3 issues I'll see where it goes. Johns seems to have an overall plan on how to make these minis relevantly tie in to the main story in an interesting way.

Last Will and Testament. I'm guessing this takes place in the future. Apparently Superman returns from his voyage, declares all to be lost. Hal, Flash (Wally), Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Starfire, Black Lightning, Grace (outsiders right?), Geo-Force, Superman, all get character bits on the eve of another Final Battle. The main thrust is an interesting suicide run Geo Force takes at Deathstroke (who they gave awful orange boxers for some reason). Very nice little bit of comic bookery by Meltzer and Adam Kubert. Interesting ending, if not a little brutal.

That's about it I think...

huckleberry glove soup

04:49 / 06.09.08

And I'm guessing the female monitor is from the Red Rain Vampire Batman Universe?

19:24 / 06.09.08

Have to say Deathstroke did have it coming to be fair .

Im finding teh problem with Grants comics is they just too short , they normally fantastic , once collected in graphic novel form and you can loose yourself for several hours , but not a monthly comic.

The Natural Way

21:09 / 06.09.08

That's really not true though, is it? FC is always pretty much full of story and events. Batman's pretty dense at the mo' too. I'm not saying his comics are always this way, but they are at the moment.

Mark Millar's on the other hand....

I felt utterly skanked when I went against all my better instincts and bought War Heroes. Slight, nothing there... Oh, so, so shit on so many levels.

21:38 / 06.09.08

Totally agree re Millar , oops sorry I meant to say recent (including Batman RIP) issues.

22:01 / 06.09.08

Well, you want a serial comic to make the next issue necessary, don't you? They have to be that litte bit unsubstantial, or you'd be sated and not need to come back.

In the same way that the second part of orchestrated trilogies is usually narratively and emotionally incomplete.

The Natural Way

09:41 / 08.09.08

true, but millar takes it too far.

My Mom Thinks I'm Cool

17:14 / 08.09.08

And I'm guessing the female monitor is from the Red Rain Vampire Batman Universe?

surely if the monitors are from outside the universes, there's only one set of them. unless this was a joke and I missed it?

17:43 / 08.09.08

well, there are vampires in our universe and in other universes, outside the Red Rain VampireBatmanverse... I got the impression she was a Monitor who had been corrupted by her contact with Mandrakk or in some way corrupted by the coming eeevil.

18:20 / 08.09.08

I guess the scenes with the She-Moniter draining Übermensch of his blood obviously conjure thoughts of vampirism, but I don't think she is meant to be a space-vampire per se, or even remotely evil. The Monitors are being depicted as God-like, right? Can it be that she simply needed a blood-sacrifice, like gods of old?

Gods have consistently required blood sacrifices throughout human myth and history. Rites of blood are a primal path of access to ULTIMATE MYSTERY! and to gain the favour/aid/blessings of the gods. There's nothing actually evil about what she does, and just because she looks friggin scary after her blood-ritual doesn't mean she's a baddy all of a sudden. It's all there: She tells Übermensch her heart is what powers their craft and there's only one way to replenish it. She needs fuel, like a heart requires blood. Later she tells our Superman that his Nazi counterpart would do anything to save his beloved cousin, suggesting he willingly sacrificed his life to the She-Monitor so she could restart the ship and save them all from Limbo. She laments though because she claims they are too late to prevent Mandrakk the dark one from waking, seeking them out in Limbo and destroying them, not because she has been corrupted somehow. She's still good.

I think it is also significant that Superman has often been considered a Christ figure and that GM may be playing with that here. Christ inverts the traditional blood ritual in that he sacrifices himself to save mankind. Similarly, Übermensch becomes the Cosmic Lamb by allowing his blood to be consumed in the name of Salvation. Because of this parallel, I also believe we have not seen the last of Übermensch: a resurrection is immenent, and may be what saves them from Mandrakk and the Echoes of Midnight.

huckleberry glove soup

19:30 / 08.09.08

Re: Vampire Monitor,

I should say I think she's in charge of the Red Rain universe and has been corrupted by its' narrative. RR is one of the 52.

She's definitely a vampire. She grows fangs that aren't present earlier in the ish, her eyes turn red and UM has two tiny bite bite marks draining down his neck. Not saying she's an evil creature, but she feeds on people/characters, whatever.

Maybe it'll turn out all the monitors are vampiric/narrative sucking in nature, but I'm guessing she's in charge of RR.

20:08 / 08.09.08

I didn't like the creation story of the Monitors. It felt like it was adding more to the story than is necessary, especially in Limbo, where stories are shaved and separated. Plus Superman is a Tycho Monolith? The importance of Superman is getting a bit heavy. I'm bored and sad.

huckleberry glove soup

20:17 / 08.09.08

From newsarama regarding everyone's favorite ALE (or lack there of) disease:

"GM: As we’ll learn, it’s a variant on Morticoccus, the death virus introduced by Jack Kirby in Kamandi and used recently to destroy life on Earth 51."

04:41 / 09.09.08

Maybe it'll turn out all the monitors are vampiric/narrative sucking in nature

Is that really in doubt? It's been established that reality is vampiric...the universes are all parasites swimming in the primal Monitor's bloodstream. And the Monitor civilization's greatness comes from their ability to directly exploit the Bleed. They're definitely vampires, even if it's not normally so ugly and straightforward as it was in this instance (whether because Zillo Valla's been tainted by the narrative corruption of the approaching Mandrakk, or because she's simply desperate and out of time.)

The Natural Way

07:57 / 09.09.08

Re vampire monitor bit: she does, afterall, give nazi supes his heart's desire. He wants to be reunited with his sister/cousin (whatever she is), and he is. IN DEATH 23 !!!

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

05:24 / 29.09.08

Dear Batman,

Can I have fresh issues of Legion of Three Worlds and Superman Beyond? They'll help be a better crime-fighter. I'll do my homework promptly and everything.

Also, can I have a super-pony for Christmas? I'll feed it and clean up after it and everything. Honest. It won't be any extra work for Alfred.

Love,

Robin

Haus of Mystery

14:55 / 29.09.08

Done!

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

15:44 / 29.09.08

You're the best, Unca Batman~!

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:47 / 29.09.08

And, since somebody has mentioned narrative sucking, and thus brought us beautifully full circle - when's the next issue of Final Crisis out?

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

18:26 / 29.09.08

*rocks back and forth* They say it'll be over by Christmas. They say we'll be going back to our familes by Christmas. But it won't. Final Crisis will be forever. The wait will...never end.

01:23 / 01.10.08

Issue 4's now supposed to come out on October 22, with 5 and 6 scheduled for the last week of November and December respectively. So, the Crisis will continue into 2009. It sure has been a while since the last issue, though at least Superman Beyond and the upcoming FC: Submit will fill the gap. Either way, I think this is going to be a series that reads best in trade, preferably as the finale to a read through of Animal Man/JLA/Seven Soldiers.

22:38 / 01.10.08

Has Grant overreached himself again, like the Seven Soldiers/Wildstorm relaunch period? Or is JG Jones TOO DAMN SLOW?!

And where's the next Batman issue, fer chrissake? Isn't it Dan Didio's job to prevent this kind of thing from happening? Morrison is obviously so bipolar, he thinks he can write four genre-busting best-selling titles a month, and still find time for writing unfilmed screenplays, corporate consultancy and yet another draft of The If. He cannot. No human can. Yet he still tries, and DD lets him.

ONLY NICE THINGS

23:42 / 01.10.08

I can't wait for Wildcats 2. Exciting times!

23:44 / 01.10.08

Batman #680 came out today, actually.

And if I remember correctly, The IF has been in a coming soon state since at least 2004, when I first heard about it.

huckleberry glove soup

00:11 / 02.10.08

Holy shit, Daredevil let's Grant Morrison write comic books?

00:17 / 02.10.08

Only if he stays out of Hell's Kitchen.

--

02:11 / 02.10.08

Hell, Morrison mentioned "The If" all the way back in the final issue of "The Invisibles", and that was in 2000!

Hallo, Paper Spaceboy

18:04 / 16.10.08

Legion of Three Worlds #2 came out this week. I picked up the Saturn Girl cover, of course, since I like the pin-ups better than the FINAL CRISIS red-banded ones for this series.

Again, Geoff Johns wrote away the Five Year Gap and resulting storylines written by Giffen way back in the day -- but he sure seems to be going to its well a lot, what with this issue opening with Mysa Nal in bondage to Mordru (again), and a battle with Rond Vidar. As a rule, I liked a lot of the Five Year Gap stuff in spite of the numerous flaws (adherence to history-warping editorial mandates and proclivity for superwomen in abusive marriages to villains that almost demanded a 30th Century Amazon story).

Prime is still a joke.

I like the references to the original JLA/JSA team-up with the crystal ball and heroes emerging from clouds of smoke.

The characterization of Rokk Krinn and the other Legion founders was interesting, and it's the first time I've really felt like I wanted to read about what's happened to this Legion since whenever the cut-off point was.

Also love the Levitz "weird couples" of Dawnstar/Wildfire and Mysa/Blok.

Did anyone else pick this up?

02:28 / 19.10.08

FINAL CRISIS #7
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Doug Mahnke & Christian Alamy
Covers by J.G. Jones and Doug Mahnke
The dramatic finale to the epic, seven-part saga of the DC multiverse concludes with an apocalyptic battle for the soul of humanity that must be seen to be believed! Can the heroes of 52 Earths save the multiverse? And is the only way to save it, to change it forever?
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers by J.G. Jones and Doug Mahnke that will ship in approximately 50/50 ratio. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale January 28 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

Doug Mahnke on art? I like his stuff, but what happened to J.G.? He must be way, way behind if there's been so many delays already and he's not even doing the last issue. When was the last issue out, July?

Our Lady Has Left the Building

08:55 / 19.10.08

'Change it forever'? Doesn't the DC Universe 'change forever' every few months?

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