The Four Color Media Monitor

And nor is the forced retcon of recent in good taste. But that doesn't seem to matter at all to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, which published some alleged reviews a few weeks ago beginning with Dan Slott's Iron Man run, which they predictably wasted no time in fawning over. The beginning paragraph, however, is quite surprising when you consider how biased this is:

Weird days in comic land as publishers try to figure out what readers want, which seems silly since all we want are good stories. But in their attempts to interest as many people as possible, we’ve been treated to some interesting events and welcome returns of characters not seen in a while.

Well I admit that's exactly what we'd like to see published - good storytelling - but we won't get it from writers as awful as Slott, who apparently keep some of the worst retcons nailed in place, like the "brother" called Arno, and the "revelation" Howard and Maria Stark weren't Tony's biological parents. Those aren't what I'd call interesting events at all. The article gets worse with the following:

TONY STARK: IRON MAN Nos. 5 and 6 (Marvel, $3.99) Issue five answered the question, “Whatever happened to Tony Stark’s brother, Arno?” while issue six raised the question, “Is Arno Stark more interesting than Tony?” Even though the comic is titled with Tony’s name, he does not show up at all in issue five, which spotlights his recently-discovered brother. And to further complicate things, Arno never puts on the armor, which does not matter since he’s far more interesting without it.

Where Tony slips on his armor at the slightest hint of danger, Arno uses his brain. He’s also a very complex guy with a strange set of morals, as seen in this issue. Writer Dan Slott, who is fast becoming the savior of Marvel’s writing staff, presents Arno as a man who travels the globe helping people whose plight interests him. He also has a bizarre sense of justice, which I can’t explain without ruining the stories Slott set up. But trust me, pick up issue five and you won’t regret it.

And you won’t soon forget it.

I hope to see more of Arno soon.

It's not hard to figure the story's some kind of meta-commentary intended to slam the audience for rejecting these contrived alterations. And the sugarcoating of Slott's past conduct here, is absolutely shameful. Of all the recent Spider-writers, he's proven the worst, especially with the whole Doc Ock in Peter's body monstrosity, so why should I waste time on his IM mishmash or expect any improvement? His Fantastic Four run, as mentioned some time ago, doesn't seem to be selling big either. Yet this paper actually thinks this makes for great storytelling? Sigh.

Issue six features business as usual with Tony in the armor adventuring with The Wasp as his company releases something called “eScape.” And anyone who has read comics for a while knows that the reality-escaping video experience will not end well. To his credit, Slott did not resort to bringing Arcade as the villain, the ridiculous bad guy who always seems to be at the root of these kinds of stories. There is a villain, and he’s a surprise.

Art for issue five is by Max Dunbar and Greg Hyuk Lim while art for issue six is by Valerio Schiti. All are excellent.

That's strange, didn't this article say Tony doesn't appear in 6 at all? In any case, Arcade or none, it wouldn't work with a scribe as wretched as Slott helming it.

The following clip about Nightwing is also absurd:

NIGHTWING 52 and 53 (DC, $3.99) Batman’s first Robin, Dick (now calling himself Rick after decades of jokes) Grayson, is starting a new life after a gunshot to his head has taken away a big chunk of his memory. He’s driving a cab in Bludhaven, a city so nasty Gothamites avoid it, and building a new life without costumes. Writers Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza with artist Chris Mooneyham are creating a fascinating new world for the character. It’s the best he’s been portrayed in a long time.

This doesn't sound very interesting either, since it draws from Heroes in Crisis, now shaping up as one of the most awful "events" next to Identity Crisis. But, how interesting two former X-Men writers are behind this latest misuse of the former Teen Wonder, yet they seem to put him in a role removed from crimefighting? Maybe under better circumstances not connected with Tom King's atrocity, there would've been some potential, but in the confines of the current status quo, no chance. Now, what's next:

DOOM PATROL No. 12 (DC/Young Animal, $3.99) Really? Why call a book “Doom Patrol” and then not feature the team at all? These are new characters in a horror and sorcery saga that put me right to sleep. The title bears no relation to the Doom Patrol. Pass.

I guess this can sum up where the DCU is headed next under DiDio's catastrophous management. This is one sentiment I can agree with on principle, but if the writer's going to sugarcoat the situations with IM and Nightwing, then I don't see why he'd lament this mess.

Also enjoying “The Sentry” (MARVEL, $3.99) exploring the backstory of Marvel’s near omnipotent character. Also excellent is DC’s almost female-heavy version of The Titans (DC, $3.99). The new team does not have stalwarts like the currently dead Kid Flash or Arsenal or the amnesiac Nightwing, but does feature Raven, Donna Troy, Beast Boy and Aqualad (Tempest) with some help from Miss Martian and Steel’s daughter, also called Steel.

Doesn't sound like somebody was ever a fan of Roy Harper and Wally West, the latter whose offensive death is canon in the latest Flash issues too. As for having a lady-heavy cast in the Titans, it would've been far more welcome if that too weren't connected with a story as repellent as Heroes in Crisis.

Also, notice that the prices are all just a penny short of 4 dollars? One more reason why it's not worth buying all this tommyrot. And again, if Marvel's sticking with the Arno Stark retcon in IM, they're only keeping the worst elements of recent in place to the detriment of Stan Lee's hard work in the past.

Labels: crossoverloading, dc comics, dreadful writers, Iron Man, marvel comics, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, Titans