Comics of the Week - Beginnings and Endings

True Story: On November 24, 1971 a man who referred to himself as Dan Cooper, hijacked a plane in Oregon, claiming to have a bomb, and demanded $200, 000 in cash and a parachute. The plane landed in Seattle where his demands were met and the passengers were released, at which point Cooper demanded to be flown to Mexico City following a specific flight plan. At some point during the flight to Mexico City, Cooper parachuted out of the plane with the cash, never to be seen again. The Secret History of D.B. Cooper by Brian Churilla is a fictionalized (I hope) account of this man leading up to the events of 1971. The first issue introduced us to some wild concepts, as this man works for the CIA as a "dream assassin." This month, the second issue expands on those concepts and begins to give us a glimpse of some of his personal motivations. This book is pretty out there, particularly when Cooper is in the dreamscape. I'm not sure where it's going and that's a good thing. If you're looking for something completely off the wall, but grounded in the cold war spy/assassin genre, that is what this is.

As Irredeemable wraps up, I have no idea how it will end. Just when you think these characters are headed one way, there's a turn and then another and you have no clue where you stand. Is Tony really going to get a second chance by the end of the series? Is he actually going to contradict the title and be redeemed? I doubt it, but who the hell knows, except Mark Waid, who made a smart decision in ending the series, rather than have it go on too long. The next issue is the last one and I can't wait to see what happens. This, and Incorruptible, are required reading for anyone who wants to see how to play with the superhero genre in a good way. There a lot of stories about heroes gone bad, but for my money, this beats them all. Waid didn't simply create a Superman analogue here. He created a character that stands on his own in a fully fleshed out universe with a wide range of fully developed characters. It all holds together well, with cause and effect rippling across both titles. I've said before I don't care about continuity, but the continuity Waid created and maintained in these two books is outstanding. It would be easy to go back and tell "classic" stories in this universe (Before Irredeemable?), but then, this is so fully fleshed out, that it's not necessary. We know those stories already.

Comics of the Week - Vampires and D-Bags

I guess what will be my last post of the year should include a Scott Snyder book. The man just has done no wrong as far as I'm concerned. This issue of American Vampire kicks off a new story arc and actually looks like a good place to jump in, if you've been curious. The story takes place in the 50's and there's much talk about teens and rebellion. It's been pointed out on the net that this series is not only about vampires, but also about America itself. What makes it work is that the vampire mythologies are used to comment on and reinforce what is being said about the particular era that the story arc is taking place in. The series started in the 20's, but along the way, we've gone backwards as well as forwards in time, and each era has brought something new to the mix.  Make no mistake, though, this is not a heady series for history buffs. It's filled with excitement and you really don't need to get into the historical aspects at all to enjoy it. This issue is a great example, as it's filled with fun. A vampire hunter that likes to "bite back" with fake wooden teeth is just brilliant. For this arc, series regular artist and co-creator, Raphael Albuquerque returns and you can just hear Link Wray playing over some of these scenes. The different arcs of this series could be individual movies that link up, but can be taken on their own. As far as I'm concerned 2011 was Snyder's year, and it's hard to pick one of his books as a favorite, but this is the one that really kicked it off for him, so do yourself a favor and pick up the trades if you haven't been reading it. These vampires may not sparkle, but the stories sure as hell shine.

What would you do if you could fly? What if you were also a ginormous douchebag? Well, that's kind of what Joe Hill's The Cape is about. And this issue takes it to the next level. Eric, the main character of this story, is not just a douche, though, he's a plain evil bastard. You'd think flying, in and of itself, wouldn't be such a scary power to have, but if you want to see creatively evil ways of using the power of flight, and also bears and chainsaws, then this is the series to be reading. This issue goes by very quick, but it's a satisfying kind of fast. The art by Zach Howard is right on. It's just the right amount of dark, without making the piece too moody, so it gives everything a more realistic feel, resulting in the events being that much more horrific. There's just one more issue left in this mini, and I can't wait to see how it wraps up. I expect there will be another series in the future though. Probably following a different character. But who knows, since this has been pretty surprising and hard to predict.

Speaking of douchebags, Incorruptible 25 is the second part of the crossover between it and Irredeemable, telling the origins of both Plutonian and Max Damage and how they came to be arch enemies. Both of these series have been good from the start, with Incorruptible slightly ahead most of the time. Interestingly, Mark Waid has managed to have a different tone in each series, proving his talent. Now, doing a crossover that is essentially telling a story in flashback, from different points of view, he's just showing off. But it's a sight to see. For a guy who would become the world's worst supervillain, Max Damage's past is at once, exactly what you'd think and yet, not at all what you'd think. He is irrevocably locked in with Plotunian from a very early age. This is Lex/Clark, Magneto/Xavier territory here. Two sides of a coin, chicken and the egg, with shades of gray, smoke and mirrors. These are icons now.

Comics of the Week

I've never really been a big Daredevil fan. I like the character fine, but never read too many stories. No reason for that, just never got around to it. This week's Daredevil relaunch with Mark Waid might change this. The book opened with what might be the most concise set up of a an origin since Morrison's All Star Superman. And with that, you're off into what it is Daredevil does. He's at a Mafia wedding, stopping a hit, being a badass and having fun. Now, as the book goes along, filling in the gaps of what has come before, we're told that Daredevil wasn't always about fun, at least not recently. But the back up story in this issue nicely addresses this tonal shift in a logical way that makes the character that much more alive to me. The art by Paolo and Joe Rivera is clean but not simple. They use a couple of different ways of making you understand how Matt "sees" the world. I'm going to give this series a shot for a few issues and see what happens.

Uncanny X-Men 541 was much better than the previous issue. While it is still a Fear Itself tie in, things actually happen in this issue. I'm not sure how, or if, any of these events will be tying in with Schism, but if the crux of Schism is whether or not Scott is a good leader, this book makes it clear that he is. There's no doubt in him here. He is careful and calculating when using the few mutants left in the world, most of them children, to fight an amped up Juggernaut. Kieren Gillen gives us Scott as not just a leader, but as a master strategist, always thinking of the next move and ready to adapt to any situation. The best representation of this is when he says it's not plan B, it's plan 2, because B would imply there's only 26 plans. I'm ready to see more plans from Scott.

Comics of the Week

What Mark Waid has created in his books Irredeemable and Incorruptible is a continuity in a world with consequences. Incorruptible #19 has one thread that deals with consequences in one of the most realistic ways I've seen in a superhero comic. Max Damage was a villain who after The Plutonian (think Superman) went insane and started killing everyone in Irredeemable, decided he had to do the right thing. The problem for him has been that he wasn't just a supervillain. Max Damage did some truly horrible, evil things. In previous issues, we already dealt with the fact that his sidekick was an underage girl named Jailbait, who he had a sexual relationship with. In the last issue, Max went looking for the only man honest enough to rebuild the city of Coalville, which is in chaos. The problem is, a few years back, Max killed this man's young son in cold blood. Issues of redemption and forgiveness are impossible in this situation. Instead, this is just the struggle of a man trying to do what he thinks is right, now, and coming up against the brick wall of his past at every turn.

My journey back to Marvel and specifically X-Men is going well. Uncanny X-Men #539, by Kieron Gillen, is a stand alone story focusing on Hope and Wolverine. I don't know much about Hope, but it doesn't matter. This issue gives you enough so you can follow along. Wolverine has been keeping his distance from her, and she doesn't know why. Then, she is kidnapped by The Crimson Commando who wants her to heal him. Wolverine goes in to rescue her, alone. What makes the issue great is the same thing I've been loving from Uncanny X-Force and the Wolverine book. Apparently, Wolverine is interesting again. The reason he has been staying away is because Hope may turn into something horrible (Dark Phoenix?) and he knows he'll have to be the one to take her out. The moments between Hope and Wolverine have me ready to read more X-Men stories. Also helping matters, I have to say the art by Ibraim Roberson had me staring at some panels in awe.

Detective Comics #878 continues the amazing run of Scott Snyder and Jock and ends the arc that started a few issues back about Tiger Shark. That's all well and good and there were amazing moments, like Batman using an ultrasonic device to communicate with killer whales in order to get out of Tiger Shark's death trap. But the real jaw dropper is the last page, leading into the next issue and arc. I can't say this enough, I will miss Dick as Batman. I'm sure Snyder will do well with Bruce on the Batman book, but this is just so good. As I was reading it, I could see this as an episode of a new, gritty, Batman TV series, where the stories can be a little smaller than the Nolan films, but tight and well told just the same.