G.I. Joe #21 was an experiment, a one-off effort that Hama presumably had time to plan out properly. I think it is worth noting that Hama, although primarily known as a writer, does also have a background as an artist. Hama himself did the layouts for "Silent Interlude." He was therefore able to plan out the entire pacing of the issue, allowing the silent story gimmick to be used effectively.
I have always regarded G.I. Joe #21 is analogous to the Alfred Hitchcock film Rope. Hitchcock filmed Rope as one continuous flow of action, without any cuts or edits. It was a novel, innovative experiment, as well as a marvelous film. I can see it as a technique future directors might want to return to on occasion. But that does not mean that it is a format anyone would want to see a movie studio impose on all its directors.
Likewise with Nuff Said month. I think most of the writers at Marvel really did not know what to do with the imposed narrative format of a completely silent story. Especially those writers who had it fall in the middle of story arcs they were telling. Although, interestingly, one of the strongest Nuff Said issues was Avengers #49 by Busiek & Dwyer, which fell smack dab in the midst of the "Kang War" story arc. But that was the exception to the rule. Overall, the results of the Nuff Said experiment were rather unimpressive. Hopefully Quesada & Jemas will have second thought about imposing such a constraining storytelling structure on Marvel's creators in the future.
Defenders volume 2 # 12, $3.50 US, published by Marvel Comics
"Silent But Deadly" - Writer & Artist: Erik Larsen
"Fooling With Mother Nature" - Writers: Jo Duffy & Kurt Busiek; Pencils: Ivan Reis; Inks: Randy Emberlin
Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars
Defenders #12 is a somewhat odd item, as it serves as a transition issue, seeing the end of one direction for the series and the beginning of a very different story arc. In addition, the first story is also part of the aforementioned Nuff Said silent storytelling month.
When the revival of Defenders began a year ago, it teamed Erik Larsen and Kurt Busiek together on writing chores, with Larsen also handling the pencilling. This was an interesting collaboration, as Busiek had expressed a fondness for Larsen's Savage Dragon book in the past. I was keen to see how the two would work together.
Traditionally, the Defenders line-up included the Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Doctor Strange, and the Silver Surfer. The four have never been team players, and they seldom liked one another. When trying to devise a plausible reason why these characters would once again band together as a permanent team, Busiek and Larsen hit upon a clever idea. After reluctantly teaming up against a threat in the first issue, the Defenders were magically cursed by their defeated foe. The curse was that whenever a danger arose to the Earth that no other heroes were available to battle, the four Defenders would be mystically snatched from wherever they were on the planet and teleported together to fight the menace.
Quite obviously, the quartet was extremely unhappy with this curse. At the very least, it was a major inconvenience, as the four had their lives repeatedly disrupted. At the worst, it ended up creating more crises than it solved. For example, the undersea kingdom of Atlantis was invaded because Namor was yanked away by the curse.
While the premise was an intriguing one, the actual execution was somewhat underwhelming, at least for the first few months. Larsen and Busiek later admitted that they hadn't creatively "clicked" as they had hoped. Things did pick up around #6, though, and the last few issues were well done. The pair managed to end their collaboration on a high note with #11.
Which, unfortunately, brings us to Larsen's story in issue #12. It does not seem so much an epilogue to his partnership with Busiek, as it does an afterthought. I don't know how much of that can be laid at Larsen's feet, though, as he was saddled with the Nuff Said theme.
"Silent But Deadly" is a rather bland piece. To fulfill the requirement of a silent story, Larsen has the four main Defenders whisked off to a dimension without sound. Unable to use any dialogue, Larsen has to resort to various visual gags and an extended fight scene to move the story along. In fact, it isn't even too obvious within the context of the actual story that the reason for the silence is because there is no sound in the dimension. The reason why I know it is supposed to be a soundless dimension is from an online interview of Larsen that appeared beforehand, where he specifically states that the Defenders are transported to a soundless world.
I think Larsen did his best here. His art is up to its usual high standard. And his characteristic wacky sense of humor is in full force. The Hulk is teleported while taking a shower, and arrives in the buff. So Doctor Strange whips up a pair of polka-dot pajamas and fluffy slippers for the jade giant!
Larsen is given much-needed assistance in the storytelling department by colorists Gregory Wright and Tom Smith. Through the judicious use of colors at the end of the story, Wright and Smith are able to bring across what events are transpiring in the story. It's one of the finest examples of coloring I have seen in recent months
In the end, "Silent But Deadly" can be regarded as innocuous. Nuff Said month fell just as Larsen's stint on the series was concluding. So while we are left with a rather undistinctive final entry to Larsen's stint on Defenders, at least it didn't interrupt any storylines.
Fortunately, issue #12 picks up significantly with it's second story, "Fooling With Mother Nature," which serves as a prologue to the upcoming arc The Order: Defenders Against The Earth. The premise of The Order is that the four core Defenders, angry at having their lives constantly interfered with by the curse, decide to impose their rule on the Earth. They reason if they can keep the world under control, presumably there will be no further crises to activate the curse.
Obviously it is a radical decision for the quartet to adapt a strategy of global conquest. But it is nevertheless plausible. In the last few issues, Busiek has been gradually building up the idea as a subplot. So this is not an abrupt development. And it makes sense, considering just who the characters are. Namor, the original comic book anti-hero, has attempted to conquer the world on several occasions in the past. The Silver Surfer has often shown impatience and frustration at human nature. Doctor Strange possesses a rather aloof, manipulative attitude. And as for the Hulk, where to start?!? Since day one, he has constantly been hunted and harassed by the authorities. The Hulk has the most to benefit from seizing control. And Peter David did establish the Hulk's potential to become a tyrant in the Future Imperfect miniseries.
Wisely, Kurt Busiek and new co-writer Jo Duffy do set up a specific event that pushes the four Defenders to this totalitarian course of action. The quartet entreat Gaia, the spirit of Earth itself, to lift the curse. Gaia refuses, apparently preferring to have on hand a group of powerful beings who have no choice but to protect the Earth. This is the straw that breaks the camel's back. The idea of taking control of the world, formerly something the group had only half-considered in theory, suddenly becomes all-too-reasonable a course of action to them.
There is a definite implication that the Defenders actions are, if not the result of mind control, than at least being influenced by an outside force. Actually, I prefer the later. If the Defenders turn out to be someone else's puppets, then it robs their actions of any drama. But if the unknown individual behind the scenes has merely given them the one last nudge that sends the quartet into action, then they are at least partially responsible for what follows. The thoughts, the plans are theirs, if not the actual actions. There's a definite moral ambiguity to that.
The arrival of Jo Duffy as co-writer of Defenders is a welcome one. In this column, I am often citing such-and-such writer or artist as a talented creator whose work I enjoy, but who nowadays seldom appears due to changing popular tastes and the depressed comic book market causing a scarcity of work. Jo Duffy certainly falls into that category. I've enjoyed much of her work in the past. Ms. Duffy's all-too-short stint as writer on Catwoman at DC Comics had great potential, and it's a shame it was truncated.
I also loved Duffy's work on Marvel's Star Wars ongoing series in the 1980s. She had a number of colorful contributions, including the Hoojibs (pink telepathic bunny rabbits) and the Hiromi (hopelessly inept beret-wearing insectoid invaders). Duffy's run on Star Wars was zany and unpredictable. I preferred her approach to the various recent books from Dark Horse, which often take themselves too seriously and are fixated on continuity.
In recent years, what with the depressed market, Duffy's work has mostly been on Elvira at Claypool Comics. While I'm an avid fan of the Claypool series Soulsearchers and Company (I *must* review that one of these days!) I have never been too fond of Elvira. Always found her accent to be rather annoying, fer sure! Also, I always worry that people will think I'm just picking up the comic for the boobs. I have the same problem every time I want to purchase an issue of Heavy Metal, too…
In any case, I'm glad to once again see Duffy on a high profile project. Hopefully this will lead to further work in the future. I'd like to see her tackle a creator-owned project one of these days, where she can let her creativity and humor run rampant.
The artwork on "Fooling With Mother Nature" is courtesy of Ivan Reis and Randy Emberlin. I haven't seen much of Reis' work in the past, due to a lot of it having appeared it various Chaos Comics titles (I don't care for most of their oversexed horror books). I liked Reis' work on last year's Avengers annual, so it's nice to see it again here. He and Emberlin produce very detailed work. The opening splash of the Hulk fighting a tyrannosaurus is dynamic. And the rendition of Gaia's realm is quite exquisite. I'd be happy to see Reis get work on a series whose objective was presenting an entertaining, intelligent story, rather than showing off as much T&A as possible!
Justice League Adventures #3, $1.99 US, published by DC Comics
Writer: Fabian Nicieza; Pencils: John Delaney; Inks: Randy Elliot
Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
The brand new Justice League animated series running on Cartoon Network has been impressive so far. I would even go so far as to say that, in certain ways, I find it superior to the version of the League currently being published by DC Comics in their ongoing JLA title. The animated series is able to take the best elements of DC and utilize them in a manner unencumbered by the concerns of continuity.
As they have done in the past with Superman and Batman, DC Comics is now publishing an ongoing comic based on the animated version of the Justice League. Somehow or another, this one nearly slipped under my radar, as I didn't even realize the series was out until after the second issue had hit the shelves. I still haven't been able to find a copy of #1. Apparently it is sold out. No doubt it will surface on Ebay at some point soon for a ridiculous amount of money! In the meantime, though, it does appear that the success of the animated series has translated over to the comic book version.
Justice League Adventures is currently working with rotating creative teams for each issue. In this month's issue, Fabian Nicieza makes one of his rare forays over to DC Comics, penning "The Star Lost." Nicieza has written quality material at Marvel in the last decade plus. So it is always refreshing when he tries his hand at the DC's characters.
Art is provided by John Delaney and Randy Elliot. I recall Delaney's work from Adventures in the DC Universe, an animated-style anthology series featuring various characters. Delaney's work is obviously influenced by the Bruce Timm style from the various DC animated shows, as well as by the work of the late Mike Parobeck. Delaney's art is very clean, and well laid out. The only qualm I have is that it is a bit too similar to the various other artists also working in the cartoon-inspired style. As for Randy Elliot, I first saw his work in the late 1980s, when he was inking Bart Sears' pencils on Justice League Europe. Since then, Elliot's name has popped up in credit boxes periodically. He's always struck me as a skilled inker. He certainly works well with Delaney here.
In "The Star Lost," the League discovers a ship of refugees from the planet Daxam. Only four of the Daxamites remain alive after the ship's life support fails. The four are rescued by the League and brought to Earth. As in the mainstream DC universe, the Daxamites, under a yellow sun, develop powers similar to Superman's. The four express a desire to become heroes, to help the people of Earth. Superman, feeling a kinship with the aliens, is ready to accept them. But Batman is suspicious of their intentions.
Nicieza uses the tale to highlight the differences in ideology and outlook that characterize Superman and Batman. While this has been done at numerous points in DC books post-Crisis, it still feels fresh here. I think that is due to the fact that the clashes between the two in mainstream DC books seem to be based as much, if not more so, on an inability between the two to get along as it is on their differing opinions. Their disagreements seem to transcend the matters at hand to become personal issues. I did not sense such of a feeling of that here. Part of that is a result of the two being divorced from continuity, which allows them have a somewhat more easy relationship. They aren't fast friends, as they were in the Silver Age, but neither are they constantly at each other's throats. And so their arguments seem more substantive, because the debates aren't as entwined in a clash of egos.
Nicieza's plot also touches on the fine line that exists between "freedom fighter" and "terrorist." Which of these two are the Daxamites? The Martian Manhunter observes that it often depends on your perspective. And, as the story points out, it can be quite easy to cross the line between one and the other. As Batman rhetorically asks his teammates, "Which road is paved with the best of intentions?"
The premise of superpowered beings deciding to become "proactive," working to permanently changing the world, and the ethical questions that arise from their actions, isn't a new one. I would regard it almost as a distinct subgenre of superhero books that has been prevalent since Alan Moore's Watchmen series. Thankfully, Nicieza avoids the more cliched aspects of the debate by not making it quite so black and white. The Daxamites are presented in a rather positive light, and not just as fanatics who all too easily let power go to their heads.
Of course, I do feel the League's morality is in itself rather black & white, as it is in mainstream continuity. But considering this is a single issue story geared to an all-ages readership, it's understandable that Nicieza didn't attempt to construct too complicated a debate. As it is, the story does achieve a degree of depth and sophistication in addressing various ethical concerns.
Nicieza does a good job handling the various animated versions of DC archetypes. I mentioned before his treatment of Superman and Batman. Nicieza portrayal of the Martian Manhunter as representing a middle ground between Superman and Batman's viewpoints is an interesting one, as well. It gives the debate a more rounded edge. Nicieza also captures the dry humor of the television series perfectly.
Actually, I haven't quite enjoyed many of the animated tie-in books DC has published in the past , due to their being such quick reads. But Nicieza's story has a good amount of material to it. It is a difficult task to write a story that appeals to a young audience, but which adults will also find engaging. Many have tried; few have succeeded. A few columns ago I pointed out Scott Morse's Magic Pickle series as one of the successes. With Justice League Adventures #3, Nicieza also proves himself capable of that feat. Hopefully he will have further opportunities to contribute to this series, or others of the animated books DC publishes.
I'm glad that DC priced Justice League Adventures at $1.99. While not cheap, it is lower than nearly all of DC's other monthly books, which range from $2.25 to $2.99. I realize that twenty-five cents less than the normal cover price isn't too impressive. But it does at least give a slight incentive to casual readers to purchase it, and for parents to pick it up for their children.