Comments on Rokk's Comic Book Revolution: Comic Book Review: Final Crisis #4

yeah, the whole thing about the artists, i justy d...

2008-10-27T23:37:00.000-04:00

yeah, the whole thing about the artists, i justy dont understand it, you are paid to do your work and that is it, do it to the best of your ability but do it on time. People like Mark Bagley, Leinil Yu, Mike Choi and Stuart Immonen deserve to be praised. I am pretty sure that in the year before he left marvel, Bagely put out like 15-16 issues of Ultimate Spider-man. That is just insane. And say what you want about Leinil Yu's art but you have seen the splashpages in secret invasion, can you think of an artist who puts that many characters into an event comic and still has it ship on time? The only delay that i can think of that is in any way shape or form tangentially related to SI was when Cho delayed Mighty avengers during the first six issues of that series. Everything else has been on time. Dont get me wrong, i think that Jones is one of the best artists in the industry, but if you cant meet deadlines then what is the point? Same goes for you mcniven! i want my next issue of wolverine already!
-hobosk8er

@Kirth: Good post. You make a good argument for y...

2008-10-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

@Kirth: Good post. You make a good argument for your view of FC. I agree that it does feel like we are missing "meat" of the story in the action scenes and such. They all take place outside of FC itself.

I also agree that the poor work ethics by many artists currently is truly inexcusable and unprofessional.

@mq1986: Nice comparison to the two CLAMP manga ti...

2008-10-27T09:55:00.000-04:00

@mq1986: Nice comparison to the two CLAMP manga titles. I didn't think about it from that view, but you are correct.

I agree that Morrison's more complex and subtle story might be a miss with the masses. However, I do not think that FC will end up being a historical footnote. As a general rule, Marvel's big events post monster sales numbers and rule the day when the event is being published while DC's big events lag in comparison.

However, after 5-15 years, DC's big events become much more popular and respected while Marvel's big events are quickly forgotten. A good example is how COIE is viewed as a classic comic book story while Secret Wars is generally viewed as a joke and has languished in obscurity.

@Anonymous: I definitely agree that FC will read s...

2008-10-27T09:51:00.000-04:00

@Anonymous: I definitely agree that FC will read so much better in trade format. I also like the idea of having made FC a 12 issue stand alone story serving as the opposite of KC.

@Kevin: LOL! Yeah, Tuprin/Darkseid is sporting th...

2008-10-27T09:50:00.000-04:00

@Kevin: LOL! Yeah, Tuprin/Darkseid is sporting that Darth Vader look from Ep. VI.

Great point about the scene transitions. Morrison has done a poor job with the scene transitions. It makes FC a bit of a clunky read at times.

I also agree with you about Turpin. DC should have brought him into the mix with Countdown so that more readers would have been familiar with his character and built up some type of connection with him.

I just said this in my blog but doesn't Turpin/Dar...

2008-10-27T00:41:00.000-04:00

I just said this in my blog but doesn't Turpin/Darkseid look a little like Darth Vader in Episode VI when Luke takes of his Vader helmet revealing his actual face.

I have to agree with Kirth all the way. Your line ...

2008-10-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

I have to agree with Kirth all the way. Your line about hope vis-a-vis acceptance nailed it. Excellent.

..I got a big "ho-hum" from this and every other i...

2008-10-26T12:47:00.000-04:00

..

I got a big "ho-hum" from this and every other issue of FC.

It's like I'm in 1985 again and I'm reading everything BUT COIE, just the tie-ins. That's the way these books hit me.

Let's compare this to Seven Soldiers. Seven Soldiers was SO COMPLEX I read it three times and I still don't think I "get" it. But FC I "get" and I don't care. It's "new DC" at its worst. Let me explain:

In "new" DC, most, if not all of the action sequences happen off-panel or we are told by the Editorial Staff that the "meat" of the story is in a cross-over book. With books approaching $3.99, (I think) the fans want the STORY and the elements PRIMARY to the progression of the "plot" in the series of books they have chosen to buy.

The key example (so far) of this for FC is FC:Submit, wherein we have (of ALL characters) The Tattooed Man II becoming the key MacGuffin to the resolution of the story. (Oooh, it's Metrons PATTERN...BOO!).

I'm ALL FOR the re-birth of Darkseid in the means Morrison is using. What I'm NOT FOR are these after-the-fact "gotchas" where Editorial tell us "we" don't "get it" or "we" didn't buy that one special tie-in that EXPLAINS IT ALL.

Just let me buy the books and tell me a story. Don't make me piece together some editor/writers "cool" puzzle.

It's a STORY I'm here for,not to wonder at the ego strokes of a writer or criticize a late artist or sloppy editor. And that is all that "new" DC seems to give.

Just get a load of Mark Waids defense of Jones over on the CBR boards. The job of comic artist requires you to complete a page a week, not a page a month. And a page a week STILL only adds up to 52 pages a year. It's a piece-work JOB, not being voted in as POPE.

Characterization, motive, plot, climax in six issues. Am I asking too much? Each issue should take 30 minutes to read and for that the artists think they're producing meisterwerks. It's sequential storytelling, not completing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

We are all watching the demise of something that we love, in whatever form we love it. I like messy, nonsensical 1970-1975. I dont' care about world-changing epics, I want costumed vigilantes searching for Justice in an unjust Universe (you know, Watchmen or the average Bob Budiansky comic).

This is why Iagitate for chid-friendly books. I want to read a universe where I can escape from the darkness outside my window, not let it wash over me. I'll take HOPE for something better over ACCEPTANCE of Merciless Fate any day.

..

I like FC, but I love the FC tie-ins. In some weir...

2008-10-25T23:07:00.000-04:00

I like FC, but I love the FC tie-ins. In some weird way I would say they are the rare exception where the tie-ins are actually superior to the big event.

I actually really enjoy Final Crisis for its huge ...

2008-10-25T18:52:00.000-04:00

I actually really enjoy Final Crisis for its huge span. In a way, it reminds me a little bit of the CLAMP manga series "Tsubasa" and "xxxHolic" because of the way time and space interacts--how the past and future and players across the Multiverse have parts. It's very intricate and has such a far reach. It's much more expansive than Secret Invasion, but it's so subtle that most readers, I think, would miss it. I do think that Morrison's problem is that he's so subtle that people who give his work a superficial read will be doomed to not enjoy it.

As for me, I can't wait for the next issues to come out. I think it's unfortunate that Final Crisis will be a footnote on 2008's big events, in comparison to Marvel's, like, three or four big events.

It would be better if DC Had published Final Crisi...

2008-10-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

It would be better if DC Had published Final Crisis as a 12-issue limited series out of continuity, like Justice or Kingdom Come. That way Morrison would be able to do what he wants with characters and he would have more space to include action scenes.
I think that was done then Final Crisis would be something like the opposite of Kingdom Come. With Kingdom Come being a story of hope and better days to come, and Final crisis being... well, the day that evil won.
For sure Final Crisis will be read better as a trade paperback

While I like the issue my general problem with Fin...

2008-10-24T18:01:00.000-04:00

While I like the issue my general problem with Final Crisis is that Morrison doesn't know how to transition from scene to scene well. Also I could have cared less that Turpin turned into Darkseid. Maybe if Turpin appeared in Countdown or another title in the past few years I might have cared more, maybe not.

A couple of little comments. I think that FC will ...

2008-10-24T15:53:00.000-04:00

A couple of little comments. I think that FC will be a comic that you, upon reading the last issue, will want to re-read to see how all the pieces fall together.

For all its depth, and clever little messages (not unlike the orignal Star Wars in that way)this is a mystery of sorts. The reveals at the end of the story will makes sense to folks. Just like how it was not clear right off that Turpin had become Darksied's host, I would bet that it won't have been clear that Metron brought Barry back, but anyone could gather the near infinite and piece it back together.. Well.. :)

Oh, I have not read Submit yet, and don't feel I missed anything. I know that there is an symbol that Metron passed on in issue 1, and somehow it get to the JLA in space via the Tattoed man. That being said, sounds like the Ultimate version of FC will include all the Grant written stories for sure.

Still, I'm very happy with the story. I think that, given what we have so far, It'll stand up years later, in trades, much better than other stories.

For What Its Worth.