Review: Wonder Woman Volume 5 - Flesh

Having bested the deadly First Born in battle, Wonder Woman is crowned as the new God of War. While she’s expected to take up her rightful place on Mount Olympus, it’s clear that the Amazon Princess has no intention of doing so. Meanwhile, the nefarious Cassandra is hellbent on rescuing the First Born after he is captured by Apollo. As the First Born’s most devoted (and demented) follower, she will stop at nothing to find him.

Wonder Woman Volume 5: Flesh collects issues 24-29 of Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman #23.2, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Cliff Chiang and Goran Sudzuka.

As Azzarello’s run on Wonder Woman hurtles towards it conclusion, Flesh serves as a brilliant reminder of where we are in this epic and how far these characters have come. This volume, on the surface, appears transitional. It serves a bridge towards the climax of Azzarello’s tenure on the book, functioning as the set-up for Wonder Woman’s final fight against the First Born. Of course, this is nothing new for the New 52 Wonder Woman title. From the get-go, it has unfolded like an ancient Greek epic – expansive and never-ending, consistently building towards and hinting at something bigger and badder for the Amazon Princess. Where the preceding volume suffered from the transitive nature of Azzarello’s storytelling, Flesh is so much more layered and exciting.

The overall themes of this collection are rebirth and redemption. Azzarello hones in on his characters, catching them at a distinctive moment of change for each of them. Wonder Woman is the new God of War, Hermes is actively seeking forgiveness for his past indiscretions, Zola seeks her independence, and Hera’s role within the Wonder Woman family shifts drastically. The interplay between Wonder Woman and the Gods is really interesting, particularly since we’re getting to see the different facets of Diana’s personality. She toys with Artemis, consoles Hera and rebels against Apollo. Most fascinating, however, may be her relationship with Hermes. Despite all Hera has done, Diana has forgiven her – but she has not extended the same privilege to the messenger god. It shows that our titular heroine is not without flaws or beyond holding grudges.

Volume after volume, Azzarello continues to make me love and care for these characters. They grow and evolve, especially in Flesh. Once again, I find myself drawn to Hera. She’s been a source of comedic relief, particularly when played against Zola. Here, she’s given even more dimensions. We see Hera mourning her former life more seriously, as well as embracing her new life as a mortal. She provides readers with an interesting commentary on what it means to be human.

Wonder Woman Volume 5: Flesh is yet another exciting entry into Azzarello’s impeccable take on the Amazon Princess. Chiang and Sudzuka’s art work in tandem to create a stylish and cohesive aesthetic for this world, something which has been consistent across the entirety of Azzarello’s tenure on Wonder Woman. The changes made to the characters in this volume are intriguing and breathe new life into this series. Unlike most other writers who write for the Big Two, Azzarello proves how rewarding and engaging a comic book can be when you abandon the six-part storyline format. By the end of this collection, you realize that you’ve been reading a seamless continuous story not contrived solely for the purpose of being sold as a trade paperback. Above all else, you’re left loving Wonder Woman and waiting with bated breath for what’s going to happen next.

RATING: A-

Review: Suicide Squad Volume 5 - Walled In

During the Crime Syndicate’s takeover of the Earth, the most dangerous villains are freed from their prisons in hopes of unleashing anarchy on the world. With the members of Task Force X free from her purview, Amanda Waller must find a way of bringing them back into the fold in order to defeat the Thinker.

Suicide Squad Volume 5: Walled In collects Suicide Squad #24-30 and Suicide Squad: Amanda Waller #1, written by Matt Kindt and Sean Ryan.

This collection functions as a pseudo tie-in to Forever Evil. The plot of that event has bled over into the lives of the Suicide Squad, creating a slight jump in the overall flow of their narrative. It’s jarring and makes the title far less accessible than it previously had been. Readers unfamiliar with Forever Evil are likely to be confused as to what’s going on and even those who are may be displeased with the direction taken with the Squad. Harley and co have been freed from Belle Reve, while Amanda Waller is stuck in the prison she formerly ran. It’s an inversion of roles, but is done haphazardly as a result of Forever Evil imposing its status quo onto the DC Universe at large.

Overall, Walled In is a bit of a chore to read. Its narrative hinges on two teams converging on Belle Reve with the intention of defeating O.M.A.C., a powerful cyborg that the Crime Syndicate has turned into a weapon. What’s really cool about this arc is that we see Power Girl and Steel teaming up to help in the effort to stop O.M.A.C. Power Girl in particular is a standout in this volume, as her snarky personality and aggression on the battlefield give her a unique presence amongst the other characters. King Shark is another memorable character, whose development is rather notable. We finally get his origin (which is tragic, I might add), cementing my growing affection for his character. Sadly, Power Girl and King Shark are pretty much the only good things about this volume. Harley Quinn oddly fades into the background, Deadshot continues to be unremarkable and the rest of the cast is kind of blah. 

This particular volume acts as the final note in the Suicide Squad saga that started with Adam Glass at the helm in 2011. As such, Walled In provides zero closure and almost no character development. It closes on something of a cliffhanger, which is obviously intended to be the lead-in to the New Suicide Squad title. It’s recommended to those who have stuck with the series, but isn’t an essential read to anyone looking for some Suicide Squad fun.

RATING: C-

Review: Justice League - The Flashpoint Paradox

When the Flash finds himself trapped in an alternate timeline, he must team-up with that reality’s Batman in order to stop a brutal war being waged by Aquaman and Wonder Woman. But first, he must recover his powers and determine what has happened to place him in this strange world.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is a 2013 animated film based off of the graphic novel Flashpoint, originally written by Geoff Johns. It stars Justin Chambers, C. Thomas Howell, Kevin McKidd and Michael B. Jordan.

The Flashpoint Paradox is a dark and deeply moving film that grapples with a lot of mature themes, so much so that it makes you wonder how the film achieved a PG-13 rating. The plot focuses primarily around Barry Allen – otherwise known as the Flash – whose childhood was marred by the murder of his beloved mother. We see that as an adult he’s become an incredible hero and has rightfully earned his place among the Justice League. Then, out of nowhere, he wakes up in another world. This abrupt shift is jarring and not very well executed, but the events that follow are certainly very bleak. Barry no longer has his powers and he is now trapped in a reality where Aquaman and Wonder Woman have nearly destroyed the Earth because of a war between Atlantis and Themyscira.

The film stays relatively close to the source material, though it is further supplemented by the many comic book one-shots that were written to tie into the Flashpoint universe. The idea of a darker, more depressing world created by a ripple or change in time is not a new concept, which made the original Flashpoint fairly lackluster. Over the course of the film, and the graphic novel it was adapted from, we see just how terrible this timeline is and how desperately it needs to be changed back to what it once was. It’s fairly predictable and unremarkable. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the idea of a major comic book event centering around the Flash. It’s a nice change. When looked at through that lens, The Flashpoint Paradox is a fascinating character study of the Flash and helps to endear the viewer to him. Over the course of the film, we understand who he is and what it means for him to be a hero.

Unfortunately, the Flash is pretty much the only likeable character in the film. Batman is a jerk, Cyborg naively follows the government’s orders, Aquaman is a relentless dictator, and Wonder Woman is a terrifyingly violent madwoman. The latter two characters serve as the antagonists for The Flashpoint Paradox, which actually angers me as a Wonder Woman fan. The set-up for her character’s descent into villainy is shallow and seems out of character for her. Regardless of how messed up this world may be, Wonder Woman would never carry on an affair with a married man and would never kill Mera out of “self-defense.” Are we really to believe that she couldn’t just use her lasso to bind Mera and help her to calm down? The fact that we then see Wonder Woman murder innocent people, and children in particular, is unsettling and unnecessary.

In fact, a lot of this film is unsettling. It relies heavily on bloody violence and gore, which I’d imagine is done to really shock the reader. It’s a very cheap and obvious way of portraying how messed up this world is. The various deaths could have been portrayed far more imaginatively. I understand the choice made to be as gruesome as possible, but it’s distracting and doesn’t actually add much to the plot. You could also say the same for the sheer number of characters that appear over the course of the film’s 81 minute running time. It wasn’t necessary to cram as many characters as possible into the movie. It probably would have been just as effective, if not more effective, to tone down the violence and be more selective with which characters made the final cut.

The Flashpoint Paradox is not a pretty movie – and I’m not just speaking about the grim alternate reality it is set in. The animation is far too exaggerated, particularly due to the rather comedic proportions of the characters in the film. The characters’ faces all look pretty darn great. They’re expressive and most likely inspired by anime styles that are oriented more towards older viewers. Unfortunately, once you get past the neck the characters look awful. The men have massive shoulders and chests, but have waistlines that would rival the waif-like Audrey Hepburn. Depending on the character, we see something similar happen with the women. They’ll have tiny heads placed on hulking bodies, consisting of huge shoulders and thighs contrasted against impossibly small waistlines. Needless to say, I’m not a fan of the animation style. Many of the preceding films in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line have been absolutely gorgeous (especially Wonder Woman), so it’s disappointing to have such an adverse reaction to the animation here.

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox is far from being one of my favourite films in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line. It’s depressing, laborious and contains a lot of characterization I’m not fond of. I do have praise for it being a Flash-centric story and applaud the explorative work done on his character in this film. However, better stories could have been told… perhaps one where Wonder Woman doesn’t come across as irredeemably evil and where I don’t hate her. Just saying. It does seem like they wanted to use this film as a bridge between the previous Justice League films and the new continuity set in Justice League: War, but the fact remains that the source text (Johns’ Flashpoint) is still one of the weakest events DC has put out in the past decade or so.

RATING: C

Review: Suicide Squad Volume 4 - Discipline and Punish

After a disastrous rescue mission, the Suicide Squad return to Belle Reve battered and fractured. Little time is left for them to recover as they’re forced back into the field with a new, mysterious leader. If that weren’t enough, Amanda Waller finds herself inextricably allied with the sociopath James Gordon Jr.

Suicide Squad Volume 4: Discipline and Punish collects Suicide Squad #20-23, along with the Harley Quinn and Deadshot Villains Month tie-ins.

Discipline and Punish is a fast-paced action romp that pushes its characters to their limits. This collection is fairly short, with the bulk of its content being pulled from four issues of Suicide Squad. However, writer Ales Kot makes the most of it. Kot keeps the cast small and writes each character with a very distinct voice. The addition of Batgirl’s psychotic brother to the cast was completely unexpected and provides an interesting twist to the overall dynamic of the book. He functions as Amanda Waller’s devoted right-hand, which is both weird and fascinating all at the same time. Of course, there’s no denying Harley is still the star of the book. Her continued interactions with Deadshot, as well as a scene involving her dealing with a faux-Joker, serve as standouts for her character. Her dialogue is on point and there’s this persistent sense that she could betray the team at any given moment.

Another character I’ve grown to like in this series is King Shark. He started out as a one-dimensional aggressive tank in earlier collections, but Kot is finally exploring the inner psyche of this would-be villain. There’s a child-like innocence to him, as well as an intelligence that Waller prefers for him not to exhibit. On the flipside of this there’s Deadshot. Like King Shark, he’s been developed further and is still obviously intended to be one of the books mainstays. Unfortunately, I just can’t bring myself to care for this version of the character.

The Villains Month tie-ins for Harley and Deadshot that were collected in this volume are of an inferior quality to the main series. They function awkwardly as half-baked origin stories, supplemented with contextualization for where both characters are siding in the events of Forever Evil. Harley’s story is predictably the better of the two. We’re given a glimpse into her childhood, seeing that academics were the only way for her to escape from the dysfunction that surrounded her. In the cons column, the events of the issue do clash slightly with the origin we were given in the first volume of Suicide Squad and her mass murder of children seemed a little over-the-top even for her. Deadshot’s one-shot, meanwhile, was wholly unremarkable and lacked any developments that would endear the character to me.

I would cite this volume as being a turning point in my affection for the New 52’s Suicide Squad. Under previous writer Adam Glass’ pen, the series functioned as “Harley Quinn and a bunch of random D-list characters I could care less about.” However, the continued feverish pacing of the title and the eventual development of the rest of the main cast made it a must-read. It’s a fun book that never takes itself too seriously, like a big budget blockbuster that knows it’s absurd and unbelievable. 

RATING: B+

Review: Green Arrow Volume 6 - Broken

When Richard Dragon launches a campaign to destroy Green Arrow, he ignites a crime wave and goes after the emerald-clad vigilante’s closest allies. To stop him, Green Arrow reluctantly teams up with his half-sister Emiko and must mend fences with his one-time associate John Diggle.

Green Arrow Volume 6: Broken collects issues 32-34 of Green Arrow, along with Green Arrow: Futures End #1 and material from Secret Origins #4. It is written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Andrea Sorrentino.

The bulk of this collection is comprised of the three-part “Broken,” which closes out Jeff Lemire’s near faultless run on Green Arrow. In this story, Lemire begins wrapping up the loose ends of his tenure on the book. This includes defining Oliver’s relationship with Emiko, closing the schism between Oliver and Dig, Naomi accepting her feelings for Fyff, and Green Arrow finally dismantling Richard Dragon’s criminal operations. In these three short issues, Lemire packs in tons of action and a surprising amount of character development. He also treats readers to more Killer Moth, Red Dart and Brick. “Broken” is highly enjoyable and is a smartly-written conclusion to Lemire’s run.

Green Arrow: Futures End #1, which is the final story of this collection, takes place five years in the future and sees Emiko taking Oliver’s place as Green Arrow. It’s a really neat sneak peek into what could happen in the future and I especially loved seeing that Naomi takes up the fight as a vigilante named Dart (using Red Dart’s arsenal, of course). In a way, the issue is reminiscent of the way in which Marc Andreyko ended his run on Manhunter. It also speaks to Lemire’s talent as a writer that, even five years in the future, I’m still enthralled by the world he’s created and that I want to see more.

Andrea Sorrentino continues to be the perfect compliment to Lemire’s writing. His art is stylish and slick, but also quite gritty. It adds a sense of realism to this world, while also elevating the book’s appearance above being just another comic book title. Even though I wish Sorrentino’s characters were more expressive, the dynamic panels and creative way in which he composes his pages more than make up for this. That said, I do wish Lemire had used Katana more… since she’s the coolest looking character Sorrentino illustrates.

Jeff Lemire’s run on Green Arrow is one of my favourites from the New 52. It’s smart, it’s slick and it’s incredibly addictive. Broken serves as a beautiful conclusion and it’s great that Lemire was given the opportunity to do so, rather than merely being ousted before he could tie up his loose ends. While I do wish that Lemire had been on the book for far longer (perhaps at least for a couple more arcs), I still absolutely adore everything about what he did. For fans of CW’s Arrow, this run is sure to please as it’s one of the best you’ll ever encounter for the Emerald Archer.

RATING: A-

Review: Suicide Squad Volume 3 - Death is for Suckers

When the Joker re-emerges after being presumed dead, he seeks out his one-time partner-in-crime Harley Quinn to help him in his quest to destroy the Batman Family. There’s just one problem – Harley is no longer a willing participant in his twisted games. He turns against her, but soon discovers she’s more than capable of taking care of herself.

Then, the Suicide Squad is charged with rescuing a person from Amanda Waller’s past. This once again brings them into conflict with the maniacal Regulus.

Suicide Squad Volume 3: Death is for Suckers collects Suicide Squad #14-19, written by Adam Glass and illustrated by Henrik Jonsson and Sandu Florea.

Glass smartly plays to his strengths, which means he places a lot of emphasis on Harley Quinn in this trade and the results are incredibly satisfying. This volume could easily be called “The Emancipation of Harley Quinn,” due to its decided progression and development of her character from comic sidekick to independent woman. Unlike many other writers have in the past, Glass portrays Harley as no longer entranced by the Joker and as someone who is actively making an effort to be autonomous. He does this by isolating her from the Squad and shows that she’s capable of handling the Joker all on her own when she returns to Belle Reve alive. Further attention is paid to her in combat situations, where she kicks tons of ass. If it wasn’t obvious already in the preceding trades of this series, Harley Quinn is the real star of Suicide Squad.

Thankfully, the other characters are starting to grow on me as well. Notably, I find myself particularly intrigued by and interested in King Shark. Glass is deliberately mum on his backstory, but hints at there being a tortured and intelligent mind behind the villain’s aggressive façade. He also gives us a little bit more of a tease with regards to Deadshot’s past and starts to portray him as a little bit more self-serving (finally!). The character he develops most though is Yo-Yo, a total random who I’m certain very few people cared to know more about. It seems like he’s intended to be the team’s Rag Doll, but isn’t quite as twisted or humorous. Sadly, El Diablo is largely excluded from the action in this collection. He was one of the more interesting characters, so it’s a little disappointing to see him left out.

On the whole, Death is for Suckers is a vast improvement over the previous trade. It’s exciting, it’s fast-paced and it’s much more focused on developing its cast. Interestingly, the book actually benefits from being tied into the “Death of the Family” storyline that otherwise derailed most of the other books. The art is also considerably more consistent. All in all, this collection is worth the read especially if you’re a Harley Quinn fan.

Rating: B+

Review: X-Men - Mutant Genesis

A recently reformed Magneto returns to villainy in order to exact his revenge on humanity after learning that his rehabilitation may have been a manipulation. His first order of business? Kidnap and brainwash the X-Men into being his faithful servants. Then, Wolverine’s past comes back to haunt him when a mysterious assassin named Omega Red comes to hunt him down.

X-Men: Mutant Genesis collects X-Men #1-7, with story and art by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. Additional dialogue is written by John Byrne and Scott Lobdell.

Mutant Genesis collects the first few issues of the blockbuster relaunch of the X-Men from 1991. This series was a turning point for the X-Men, as they’d been previously split apart and fractured. The original X-Men had formed the splinter group X-Factor, while the remaining members of the X-Men had been living in Australia for the latter part of the 1980s. The original and current X-Men were thus reunited during preceding storylines, which brought back plenty of familiar faces back into the fold. Despite being a relaunch, Mutant Genesis isn’t entirely new reader friendly. Anyone expecting to pick this collection up and understand everything that’s going on is going to be disappointed. Both arcs collected in this volume build upon concepts, characters and narratives that were previously established during Chris Claremont’s legendary run on the X-Men.

The first storyline present in Mutant Genesis is a three-parter that serves as Claremont’s farewell to the X-Men. In it, the titular team of superheroes faces off against Magneto high above the Earth on the villain’s satellite base Asteroid M. It’s a splashy and action-packed story featuring a plethora of mutants, which makes the story feel important and gives it a larger scale. Artist Jim Lee, who joins Claremont as co-plotter, helps to enhance the overall feel of the narrative. His art is fresh and dynamic, contributing some of the most iconic depictions of the X-Men of all-time. His then-new designs for the characters brought colour and life back into the world of Marvel’s Merry Mutants. These first three issues illustrate a synergy between Claremont and Lee, but also a slight schism. Lee’s art is so lively, yet it’s bogged down by Claremont’s habit of character grandstanding through dialogue. Gorgeously drawn panels are thus marred by massive blocks of text.

The question remains, does Mutant Genesis serve as an explosive finale to Claremont’s tenure on the X-Men? Yes and no. When you take away the quality of Jim Lee’s work, the story itself fails to match the depth and scale that became synonymous with the X-Men in the 1980s. This had been a continued problem with Claremont in general, as the quality of his stories declined sharply around 1989 when the Outback era reached its conclusion. The great thing about Mutant Genesis is that Claremont makes good use of his large cast and helps to pen yet another fantastic Magneto vs. the X-Men story. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t stand up very well to the test of time. Much of the conflict hinges upon a minor event that occurred several years before, which can be troublesome for people less familiar with Claremont’s oeuvre. It’s a bittersweet finale, of course, particularly because we know that Claremont left prematurely and likely would have ended things a bit more differently.

The rest of Mutant Genesis consists of a Wolverine-centric story conceived by Jim Lee, with dialogue written by John Byrne and Scott Lobdell. It features Wolverine being kidnapped by Omega Red at the behest of a new group of villains known as the Upstarts. The X-Men must then find and rescue their teammate before he outlives his usefulness to the Upstarts. As far as the story is confirmed, Lee’s first foray into being the sole plotter for the X-Men wasn’t half bad. Despite the rather large cast of characters he’s dealing with, he juggles them well and keeps things intimate by keeping the focus on Wolverine. He gives us glimpses into Wolverine’s past and even brings in Sabretooth. He also gives us a number of panels of Psylocke displaying just how badass she is. Nevertheless, there’s nothing too remarkable about the narrative that stands out. It’s solid, but lacks a sense of gravity. In other words, it’s filler and seems to be there only to give us a preview of what we can further expect from this series.

There are also a number of issues with Lee’s art in the final four issues in this collection. It doesn’t look quite as polished, particularly when it comes to their faces. His distinctive style isn’t as noticeable here, which is rather unfortunate. This also means that the flaws you’d normally overlook because of the beautifully drawn characters are all the more glaring. He’s clearly not the best artist when it comes to rendering backgrounds, nor does he seem to know quite how to edit his panels so they’re not too busy. More often than not, transitions seem abrupt and it’s often hard to follow the dialogue as a result of this.

There’s no denying the legacy of X-Men: Mutant Genesis. It has gone through multiple reprints and exists as one of the most iconic moments in the X-Men’s illustrious history. It doesn’t have the same critical acclaim that the Dark Phoenix Saga has, but the nostalgia factor is high on this one for those of us who were ‘90s (or even ’80s) babies. The stories presented here are great. They’re fun and they’re very much what you’d expect from a ‘90s comic. The art, however, is the real star here. Lee’s pencils are why this collection has been reprinted and collected (and sold out) so many times. That said, this volume feels incomplete. Since there’s a subplot involving Dazzler and Longshot in Mojoworld, ending the collection on issue 7 feels abrupt. This storyline wouldn’t be resolved until issue 11, so a larger collection would be nice to see in the future.

RATING: B