Comics! 3/16/11

Since today is 3/16, I'd like to to give a "hell yeah" to Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Now on to the comics!


Brightest Day #22

Brightest Day has been a real test of patience for me. I keep telling myself that there is going to be a huge payoff at the end. There will be a moment that will shake the DC Universe to its very core. That this journey has been worth it. This issue does little to assuage my feelings that this whole thing has been a bust.

It's not that things don't happen mind you, Firestorm does fight the Anti-Monitor and a character dies. You are gipped out what looked to be a cool fight though. It just doesn't help answer the bigger question, what the hell is going on?! The lack of information that's been given for this entire series is causing solid single issues to be really frustrating. Throw me a bone here!

Overall, it's not bad issue. With only four issues left of this series, you feel like there would have been more details about the over arching theme.



Fear Itself: Book of the Skull

While I've become frustrated with Brightest Day for its lack of information, Book of the Skull provides me with just enough to get really excited about Fear Itself.

In this prologue issue, we find Sin (the daughter of the original Red Skull) and Baron Zemo entering one of the original Red Skull's old bunkers. Sin is in search of a book that contains the notes to one of her father's greatest failures during World War II, summoning the Norse God of Fear. We're treated to a flashback involving Cap, Bucky , and Namor as they try and thwart the Red Skull before his plan comes to fruition. It's a well crafted story that definitely builds anticipation and how scary this new enemy could be for the heroes of today.

Whether this event will be a bust remains to be seen. If it's as good as this prologue issue, then we'll be talking about this story for years to come. Stop in and check this book out!

Fear Itself

I'm getting tired of reading internet message boards where comic book fans are complaining about the upcoming release of Marvel's next event story, Fear Itself. The common complaint is that Marvel is trying to make comic book fans to spend more money by putting out event books with tie-in titles. They also claim that these event stories push people, new and old, away from comic books, intimidating them with their size and overall investment.

These arguments are nonsense for a couple of reasons. Marvel is not forcing you to buy every issue that ties into an event. I can't tell you how many interviews I've read where the editors have stated that you don't need to buy the tie in issues, you can just read the main story and get everything you need to enjoy it. In other words, you could have just purchased Civil War, and never read the X-Men tie-in's for it. You didn't need to, that was the beauty of the situation. If you cared enough to see how the X-Men reacted to that event, then you bought it. If you were me, then you didn't. It's really just that simple. To imply that Marvel, or DC for that matter, is strong arming you into purchasing the event book and all its tie-ins associated with the main book is ridiculous. In the end, you're the consumer. You have the power to say yes or no to a product. If you bought every issue because you felt like you had to, then the only person you should be mad at is yourself.

Say you don't want to read the event, but are concerned with missing possible storyline changes to your favorite titles. I understand how this could be a matter of contention, but I have a couple of easy fixes for this common complaint.

-The Internet! As it turns out, the internet is full of information, not just porn. It even has reviews and detailed analysis of major events. They give you all the information you need in a clear and concise format, and you don't even need to buy the issues! Brilliant!

-Talk to a friend! I'm sure one of your friends is buying the event, or has read something on the internet. Why not have a conversation with them and ask them what's going on. Hell, they may even let you borrow the issues they have already purchased! What an enjoyable, yet thrifty, solution to your belly-aching!

Claiming that event books drive away readers, new and old, is also a fallacy. I've never seen more people coming into our store for the first time, then when a major event was highly publicized. They want to know what's happening. Their interest is peaked and it's a good way for them to jump in and see if they like it. This is also the time when I see readers that may be strictly DC or Marvel check out what the other side is working on. It makes people curious, and excited for what may come.

Why the comic book fan on the internet has developed such a nauseating level of contempt for something that they are a fan of is beyond me. At the end of the day, comics are meant to be fun. Have fun with what you are reading and read what you like. If you don't like reading events, then don't read them. No one is forcing you to. Some people enjoy them, and will continue to buy them. To blame a company for putting out a product that some of its' fan base enjoys, is silly. It's like yelling at Coke for selling Cherry Coke, because you don't like it. It just doesn't make any sense.

That's my take on it anyways.

-Action Chad