I need to mention a few things before I begin my reviews:
First off, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Alan Camuto for providing me with the opportunity to write this weekly column. Alan is a great guy, and he's done the lion's share of work on this website. He deserves all the credit for how well it has turned out.
Second, I should point out that the opinions expressed in "In My Not So Humble Opinion" are solely my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Alan or any other contributors to this web site. If you don't like what I have to say, don't take it out on them. I take full responsibility for what I write.
Third, my reviews will almost always contain massive spoilers, so if you yet have not read the books I've reviewed, and don't want the plots given away, please feel free to skip them. Don't worry; I don't mind.
Cable #87, $2.25 US, published by Marvel Comics
Writer: Robert Weinberg; Pencils: Michael Ryan; Inks: Ketchum & Pertzborn
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Cable was one of the few X-Men related titles I was still reading in the late 1990s. James Robinson and Joe Casey were writing stories that were far superior to, not to mention much less convoluted than, the material appearing in most of the X-team books. And Jose Ladronn's Kirby-inspired pencils were a breath of fresh air amidst the forest of Manga-imitating artists. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, as did the Casey/Ladronn team, supplanted by Rob Liefeld on plots & pencils. With that my interest in the title rapidly waned, and not even having former Caliber Comics editor/writer Joe Pruett come aboard to co-plot and script was able to restore my dimmed enthusiasm.
After the departure of Pruett and Liefeld, novelist Robert Weinberg took on the writing chores on Cable. He started off with a tale of an alternate dystopic timeline. That, for me, was the last straw. Alternate dystopic timelines have been plaguing X-Men storylines since "Days of Future Past" was published in 1980, and the result has been a mess of convoluted continuity that boggles even the long-time fan, and is completely impenetrable to the casual reader. The last thing I wanted to read was yet another story in this vein, and I quit the book faster than Bill Clinton dropping his trowsers.
However, as months went on, I heard positive word-of-mouth regarding Weinber's work on Cable. And soon I learned that his alternate dystopic timeline story had wrapped up with a definite conclusion. This intrigued me, and I began to consider picking up Cable again.
Looking at Cable #87, there are definite signs of Weinberg's strengths as a writer, as he breaks the molds of conventional X-Men related stories. At the same time, there can be still seen certain weaknesses that are characteristic of the X-titles as a whole.
"Life Decisions" is part two of a four part crossover, "Dream's End." Despite this, it works rather well as an accessible, stand-alone tale. Senator Robert Kelly, infamous for his proactive stance against mutantkind, is once again running for President of the United States. The last time he ran, he was almost assassinated by the Mutant Brotherhood (as seen in, yep, "Days of Future Past"). Now Kelly is once again trying for the White House. So, too, the Brotherhood is once more trying to kill him. And the X-Men are yet again caught in the middle, trying to save Kelly and prevent human/mutant strife from breaking out into full-fledged civil war.
One of the strengths of "Life Decisions" was the well-rounded characterization of Senator Kelly. When first introduced during Chris Claremont's original tenure on X-Men, Kelly was portrayed as an anti-mutant advocate who had let his fear of mutants override common sense and morality. Scott Lobdell later wrote Kelly as more three-dimensional. The Senator didn't blindly hate mutants; he merely wanted to protect humanity from the menace he saw them as posing. Kelly gradually came to realise that the path he walked might eventually lead to tragedy for both humans and mutants. Indeed, when Kelly saw the fanatical anti-mutant crusade Operation: Zero Tolerance in action, he worked to shut it down. This was character development at its finest, as the fearful, advantageous politician slowly but surely came to recognise his prejudices and mistakes. When the recently-returned Claremont had Kelly running for President in recent X-Men stories, again on an apparent anti-mutant platform, I was very worried that all this characterization and development was being tossed out the window. So I appreciate that Robert Weinberg portrayed Kelly in Cable #87 as someone who can still recognize his mistakes and work to change his ways.
The other strong point of the issue also dealt with character development, and it involved the mutant Pyro. A ruthless, flamboyant murderer, Pyro was one of the Mutant Brotherhood members who was involved in the first assassination attempt on Kelly oh so long ago. He is present in #87 as the Brotherhood make their second attempt, but now in a much different capacity. Pyro contracted the debilitating Legacy Virus. His last several appearances have shown him gradually wasting away from the Virus, and he became more somber and full of despair. In Cable #87, he is finally on his last legs, literally at death's door. It is only now that Pyro realizes that his life has been spent futilely. He arrives at the battle not to aid his former comrades, but to try and convince them not to kill Kelly. When this fails, Pyro uses the last moments of his life to save Kelly from the Brotherhood's attack. As Pyro lays dying, he pleads with Kelly to help avert a war between humans and mutants. This ending is all the more tragic because we know that Pyro was a ruthless terrorist, and that it took his impending death for him to change his ways.
Oh, yes, then there was Cable himself! This is his book, after all. Rgerettably, some of the weaknesses of the issue center around him. He experiences yet another of those crises of faith that periodically strike the long-suffering X-Men. We see the heroes giving in to despair, as they see ever-worsening human/mutant relations, and they start to wonder if their efforts to promote peace and understanding are futile. Then some character makes a brave effort, or sacrifices himself, and the heroes' faiths are restored… until the next crisis. That happens here, and Pyro's death is the act that helps Cable rediscover his faith. But at least Weinberg writes Cable's optimism as a cautious one that recognizes the dangers that still lay ahead.
There is also something of a miscasting here, namely with Mutant Brotherhood member Post. When last seen in Cable #72, Post seemed ready to turn over a new leaf. Yet here he is in #87, eager to turn Senator Kelly into Swiss cheese. This is a recurring problem in the Marvel universe, where a villain is written in a story as willing to reform, yet the next time he appears he's back to his criminal ways, with no mention of his previous plans to change his ways. So it is with Post. Pyro's death adds an (inadvertant?) spin to this, though. Cable has tried to help Post again and again, but Post continues to commit terrorist acts. What will Cable's reaction be to Post's actions this issue? Will Cable finally give up on Post? Or will Pyro's sacrifice convince Cable that maybe one day he can change Post? I hope this is followed up on somewhere, somehow, but I'm not holding my breath. Assuming, of course, Post is still alive after the beating he takes this issue. I'm assuming he is, since it doesn't actually say he's dead.
The weakest part of #87 is the prologue, a flashback to the past, as we see Cable rescuing a teenage Rogue from an anti-mutant mob. The temptation to take Cable and retcon him into numerous older characters' pasts has proven unresistable to most writers. Wolverine, Professor Xavier, Moira MacTaggert, and various others were all revealed to have a history with Cable. Now we can add Rogue to this list. Additionally, the whole scene is barely connected to the main plot, and serves only to eat up nearly a third of the issue.
Add to that the somewhat unimpressive fight between the Mutant Brotherhood and several X-Men, and what could have been an outstanding issue is instead rather less so.
Nevertheless, Cable #87 does still stand out from most typical superhero comics, if only for the excellent characterizations of Pyro and Senator Kelly. Pyro's death is the highlight of the issue, as it was definitely unexpected., I had assumed that Pyro, a long-time X-Men villain, would survive until a cure for the Legacy Virus was finally discovered. So I was surprised that he actually died. And he did so acting, for once, as a hero. It was a dramatic end to a long-time foe of the X-Men. I hope Pyro stay deceased, because a resurrection would rob this issue of its drama and tragedy.
Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame, $5.95 US, published by DC Comics
Writer: Neil Gaiman; Art: Mike Allred, Terry Austin, Mark Buckingham, John Totleben, Matt Wagner, Eric Shanower, Art Adams, Jim Aparo, Kevin Nowlan, & Jason Little; Cover: Frank Miller
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
This is the long-awaited (by some, at least) publication of the "lost" Green Lantern/Superman story penned in 1989 by then up and coming writer Neil Gaiman. It was intended that this story would wrap up Action Comics Weekly (DC's ambitious, but editorially unwieldy, experiment at an ongoing weekly anthology). Unfortunately, after Gaiman completed the script, DC's ever-shifting post-Crisis continuity changed yet again, and it was decided that no one in the Justice League would know that Superman was really Clark Kent. The central focus of Gaiman's tale revolved around Superman and Green Lantern's long-time friendship, which included their knowledge of each others true identities. Gaiman decided the story wouldn't work if the two leads weren't friends, so he decided to shelve it.
Fast forward to the year 2000, and a very different DC Comics. Alternate reality Elseworlds tales are regularly released. And Hypertime has established that every single DC story ever published has actually taken place, somewhere, in one reality or another. Certainly this is an atmosphere much more condusive to publishing a story like Gaiman's. And, of course, the fact that Gaiman is now a prestigous, award-winning writer with a large fan-base probably convinced DC that releasing "Legend of the Green Flame" would make them a buck or two!
If I had one hesitancy about this book finally published after all these years, it was the fear that it might fall prey to what I refer to as "The Phantom Menace Syndrome." This occurs when a long-anticipated work, after years in limbo, is finally produced and released to the public. However, during the long period of waiting, fans' expectations build to gargantuan proportions. So much so, that when the work is at long last, the work is released, it is met with disappointment, because it cannot live up to the over-inflated expectations that have been generated.
Of course, if most readers approach this with realistic expectations, they won't be disappointed. No, it's not a seminal work of epic proportions, a masterpiece of sequential illustration, a shining example of how superheroes can be brilliantly done if handled by a master talent. Rather, it's a fun, offbeat tale courtesy of an innovative creator trying his hand at writing Green Lantern, a character he has an expressed fondness for. Nothing at all wrong with that.
It's an unusual tale, with quite a rambling plot. A mysterious green lamp is found within the bowels of a German bunker in 1949. Fifty years later, it is on display in a Metropolis museum, where Hal Jordan recognizes it as a primitive power battery of the Green Lantern Corps. Attempting to determine its origins, Hal and Clark Kent's souls are snatched from their bodies. Green Lantern and Superman end up traveling to the entrance to the afterlife, down into Hell, and finally into a strange green dimension, before they at last fight their way back to Earth. The story structure seems unconventional, indeed choppy, until one remembers that this was originally intended to conclude an anthology series; hence each chapter having a distinct feel to it.
Storywise, the strongest part of the book is the interaction between Hal Jordan and Clark Kent in the first chapter. Reading this, it's obvious why this would not have worked if Gaiman had rewritten it to suit the then-continuity of 1989. Also noteworthy is the off-the-wall humor of Deadman as he greets the bewildered heroes in the afterlife. Somewhat less effective is the chapter set in Hell, featuring some of Gaiman's characteristic metaphysical rumblings. There is potential in seeing Superman in a Vertigo-style Hell, as opposed to the more watered-down versions of the underworld that most mainstream DC characters end up visiting. Unfortunately, the visit here is so brief that nothing much is made of the opportunity. In the end, that's the major drawback of the "anthology chapters" style of the story, that no one scene is ever given a significant amount of space, and the entire book seems a bit rushed as a result.
Of course, the multiple chapters did provide the opportunity to bring together a diverse selection of artists to illustrate the story. And the somewhat compressed nature of the book at least means that there isn't any unnecessary padding out of the plot!
I rather wish DC had not published this in such an expensive format. I don't know if this book was really deserving of a $5.95 price tag. No doubt DC figured that they might as well make the most of the opportunity to cash in on Gaiman's name. DC has shown an all-too-frequent habit of printing specials and miniseries in this expensive format, when a slightly less fancy printing would do just as well.
My only major complaint, though, is that we are left with an unsolved mystery: where did the old green lamp come from, anyway? And how did it end up buried in a bunker in Berlin?
Well, okay, I have another complaint. The story was supposed to feature appearances by all the major characters who had features in Action Comics Weekly. Yes, we do see the Blackhawks, Catwoman, Deadman, the Phantom Stranger, and a stand-in for Etrigan. But what about Black Canary? Wild Dog? Phantom Lady? The Secret Six? Hero Hotline?!? Hmm, maybe I should forget about that last one. Then again, Gaiman really would have been showing just how inventive he could be if he had managed to fit that lot into this story!