It’s one of two new comic book days! What do you plan on getting? What are you looking forward to? Sound off in the comments below. While you think about that, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web to start the day.
The Comics Journal – “This Book Is About My Hatred Of Chaos”: Daniel Clowes on Monica – That’s what it’s about?
Reviews
CBR – Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1
The Beat – Ennead
Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.
These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.
Logan
Giant Robot Hellboy #1 (Dark Horse) – Mike Mignola, Duncan Fegredo, and Dave Stewart reunite for the enticingly named Giant Robot Hellboy #1. Set in the 1960s, Hellboy is kidnapped off the streets of London by some secret organization, and his brainwaves are connected to a giant robot fighting a monster on a distant island while a stealthier spy does her thing. Pacing is this first issue’s strength with Mignola relying on Fegredo’s visual storytelling skills to show the trials and tribulations of connecting someone to a mecha against their will. The spy action is as sleek as the robot fight is clunky. The ending is a little abrupt, but it’s a good first foray and would probably make Guillermo Del Toro smile. Overall: 8.2 Verdict: Buy
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 (DC Comics) – Alan Scott: The Green Lantern is another hit from DC’s new JSA line of books. Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey spin a tale of Scott’s life as a closeted gay man and early superhero in 1941. There’s tension between him and the JSA, an extended scene with J. Edgar Hoover, and of course, pining for Alan Scott’s lost love Johnny Ladd who appeared in the DC Pride special. On the visual side, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 is a modernization of a classic superhero/war comic with sharp lines from Tormey and bright colors from Matt Herms. Much of tension doesn’t come from the overarching threat, but if Scott will be caught with another man because being gay was a felony in the 1930s and 1940s when much of this comic took place. Alan Scott #1 is all about the struggles to live your truth and explores queerness and sexuality just like Wesley Dodds #1 explores class and privilege. It has light jokes, at times, but is miles away from a happy ending at this point in the story. Overall: 8.5 Verdict: Buy
I’ll admit, I know very little about Alan Scott and his run as Green Lantern. His history, and the Justice Society as a whole, aren’t comics I’ve ever really read or had an interest in. I’ve read some here and there but it’s never been a regular read. But, with the hyperbolic controversy surrounding Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1, I made sure to see what the deal was all about and honestly, I’m glad I did.
Written by Tim Sheridan, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 is an interesting comic. It’s part origin, it’s part fact-ish, it’s also fiction. The comic blends history with superheroics to create a story that explores the real and imaginary past. Taking place in 1941, the Justice Society of America is a relatively new team pushed by J. Edgar Hoover to fight crime. While Alan Scott, as Green Lantern, is supposed to be a part of it, he’s still flying solo, angering Hoover. And Hoover being Hoover, uses his resources to blackmail Scott into being a team player.
Sheridan’s take is an interesting one that dances around the reality of Hoover’s war against crime. Yes, he absolutely blackmailed individuals. Yes, Hoover regularly used propaganda in his battle, including writing comic book scripts to be published (yes, he seriously did it). And all this while Hoover himself was hiding his own secrets. Sheridan explores that all in his own ways while most importantly diving into Scott’s life.
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 acts as an origin in a way as we learn about his mission in the army concerning something called “Project Crimson,” and his relationship while in the army. All of this at a time when homosexuality was not accepted and kept a secret. There’s an unease the Scott feels about it all that bleeds off the page. The tragedy is there in so many ways.
But, beyond that, Sheridan keeps the heroics coming. There’s lots of action and lots of dynamic moments whose visuals are engaging and interesting thanks to the art of Cian Tormey. Tormey is joined by Matt Herms on color and Lucas Gattoni on lettering, and it feels like a style that has a bit of a throwback look to it in some ways. There’s some great visual moments on the page such as the entire sequence of a ship being attacked that has a very cinematic feel to it all. There’s a bit of an exaggeration to it all that works really well and makes it all have a bit more of a fun vibe about it, when things could otherwise be rather gloomy.
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1 leaves things in a bit of a shocker, and I was able to read the second issue which makes me even more confident in Sheridan’s direction. It’s a comic that feels like it’s a nice mix of what was and what is, using history to blend it all together for a new adventure. I never really cared about Scott and the JSA, but this debut has me intrigued to go back see what I might have missed.
Story: Tim Sheridan Art: Cian Tormey
Color: Matt Herms Letterer: Lucas Gattoni
Story: 8.15 Art: 8.15 Overall: 8.15 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – Kindle
DC has revealed three new titles under “The New Golden Age” banner spearheaded by writer Geoff Johns. Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, and Wesley Dodds will star in three six-issue mini-series. Alan Scott: The Green Lantern is by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey, Jay Garrick: The Flash by Jeremy Adams and Diego Olortegui, and Wesley Dodds: The Sandman by Rob Venditti and Riley Rossmo. All three will debut in October.
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern will be Alan Scott’s first solo title since 1949. Through a twist in the timeline the series revisits and recontextualizes the origins of the first Green Lantern through the lens of our modern understanding of the man. The story, which begins in the 1930s, is about an old flame – the kind that burns eternal – and the sometimes head-on, single-track collision of our personal and professional lives. This is Alan’s coming-of-age, in which he must embrace the man he is, to become the hero he’s meant to be. In the end, he’ll have gained a greater understanding of himself and his gifts – as he unlocks a new, previously unknown ability that could make him the most powerful Green Lantern in existence!
It’s hard being a parent in Jay Garrick: The Flash, especially when your kid is a speedster! Jay Garrick has been reunited with his long lost daughter, Judy, but figuring out how to connect with her is proving to be difficult. They’ll need to work to find common ground when a mission that started in Jay’s early days as the Flash comes roaring to today. But will The Flash and The Boom be able to thwart a plan that’s been in the works for decades?!
Wesley Dodds: The Sandman shows the character as a pacifist. He has given up on the hope of a peaceful world, but he hasn’t stopped believing that people can be better to each other, if they’re only given the right tools. Possessing a scientist’s optimism and romanticism, he is convinced that humanity can invent cures for its own ills. Having learned about the battlefield horrors of World War I from his father, he sought to create a sleep gas that would allow for “humane” warfare. During his research, he recorded all of his attempts in his science journal – even those with horribly deadly consequences – swearing to never show them to the world. Now his journal has been stolen, and he must find the culprit and stop them before his deadly mis-inventions fall into the arsenals of the belligerent nations threatening to pull the United States into the next world war.
