This week's comic book expectations

I'm sick and annoyed at several different things. So, despite the fact that THIS LIST of comic book releases is pretty good, with several good monthlies like 'Green Lantern," "Justice Society" and "Captain America" hitting the stands, I'm not up to the whole spiel tonight.

What a funny word "spiel" is.

Anyway, blame the flu. I'll do better for you all next time.

'Deadly Creatures' review

Ladies, Gentlemen, I apologize for the delay in getting this up here. I finished "Deadly Creatures" on Thursday (?) night, but I have not had time to type up my review... until now.

You all are lucky I am in bed sick, because that's the only way I had time to do this today, too.

Anyway, HERE IS THE LINK to the review. I did not enjoy this game as much as some other reviewers, but I say I'm right. Neeners.

'Deadly Creatures,' the first of many games this year

As I said before, I was away from civilization for a few days. It was nice. Nicer than being around you people on the Internet. The only downside is, I have a pile of games to play and I had no time to get started on them.

That is, until Wednesday morning, when I got all of one hour of time (that's right, a whole hour!) with "Deadly Creatures" for Wii, a game I have been looking forward to getting my mitts on for a long, long time, if only for the unique protagonists of the game.

Unfortunately, I've obviously not played enough of this game to really discuss it with you all, but I did get a chance to play both a level with the tarantula (which you start off as) and a level with the scorpion. So while I won't get into any story spoilers yet, I will give a few thoughts:

1) I really like the mixture of talents between the two main characters. While the tarantula can go many more places than the scorpion can, the scorpion is a far more potent-feeling fighter, giving each character their bonuses.

2) While stabbing something with your stinger can be fun, the combat just doesn't feel natural in the early-going. This may improve, I don't know, but for now, the more complicated combinations of hitting and swinging the Wiimote don't feel as responsive as they could and consequently feel like a chore.

3) The early level designs are fun, and varied. Again, maybe I won't be able to call them varied after a few levels, but for now I am having a good time exploring. In fact, on a couple of occasions following the tarantula up and down walls has made me downright dizzy.

That's about it for now, but we'll have much more and a full review in days the come. Tonight I plan on putting in some more time with "Deadly Creatures," but only after breaking into my steaming-hot copy of "Halo Wars." Yeah, it's nice to be back in civilization.

This week's comicbook expectations

Sorry folks, it's going to be a slow week. HERE'S the full list, though there isn't much to see.

As sad as it is for a "Dark Reign" critic like me to admit, Dark Avengers #2 is probably the top book of the week. How's that for an illustration of how slow Wednesday will be? This issue will focus on the yet-to-be reveled Dark Avengers vs. Morgana Le Fay (Wait, from "Trinity?") and continue the overall mystery of who these people are, anyway.

The Marvel event I am more looking forward to is "War of Kings," and a couple of books this week pave the way to that. The first of those is, of course, X-Men: Kingbreaker #3, in which Vulcan is a little mad with power and looking to expand, even as Havok and Polaris have been sprung free. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing how the Havok/Vulcan throwdown will go down, especially considering this mini is only a precursor to "War of Kings."

The other issue leading up to "WofK" which you may not have on your radar is Guardians of the Galaxy #10, featuring a massive Negative Zone melee led by Rocket Raccoon and Blastaar. If you're looking for the place to fill you in on the non-Shi'ar side of "WofK," this would be your place.

There are also a bushel of X-related books for you this week, from Uncanny X-Men #506 to X-Factor #40 to Young X-Men #3 and New Exiles #18, the series finale before a new Exiles book is launched soon.

And speaking of series finales, that brings us to DC's offering for the week, highlighted by a couple of Bat-Family finales in Robin #183 and Birds of Prey #127. Of the two, "Birds" is definitely the more intriguing title, as there is no official word of a new incarnation of the book on the horizon just yet. But since both lead into "Battle for the Cowl," Bat-fans should have both on their radar.

Supergirl #38 also drops this week, featuring the second part of the Superwoman mystery, and Justice League of America #30, the last issue before the fallout from "Final Crisis" takes effect, includes a battle with Starbreaker.

Heroes Report: "Building 26"

After a long break in which I literally did not touch a computer in five days (probably my longest stretch in six months), the first thing I did when I returned to the electronic civilization today was visit NBC.com to watch last night's episode of "Heroes."

Actually, the first thing I did was visit resignedgamer.com to check what yesterday's "Motivational Monday" post was, but then I went to NBC.com.

And while the highlight of the show may have been the "Chili's to go" bowl of chili I was eating while watching (It may be cliche, but Chili's does make great Chili), for the second straight week, I was able to watch a full episode of "Heroes" without getting a continuity- or logic-based headache.

I think the highest compliment I can pay the writers is that I did not even notice the absence of Peter, Parkman or Suresh until they (SPOILER ALERT) showed up in the final 20 seconds. After months and months and years and years of force-feeding these characters (Peter in particular) into every episode, "Building 26" shows there is enough going on in the "Heroes" universe to afford us a break from Peter & Pals.

That's not to say we didn't still see familiar faces, though. The four storylines we followed in this episode were anchored by four main characters. And while some worked better than others, the episode still advanced the overarching story to where it needs to be in every case.

Out in Costa Verde, Claire decided to play Freedom Fighter by warning a targeted special of his captors. In doing so, she draws the attention of the government (again), her father (again) and decides to throw another little tantrum by telling her Mom about HRG's new job.

But what I liked about this storyline was that while Claire was doing her same dumb-teenager bit, the writers didn't try to take this down the same old (poor every time they try it) path of making Claire hate HRG. On the contrary, I got the feeling that both characters wish they could just agree on everything, but their own personal compunctions are not allowing that. Frankly, I felt their scene in Claire's bedroom was the most touching of any Bennett Family moments since Season one.

Oh, and by the way, Claire is, apparently, trying to restart the Underground Railroad in her house. Smart girl.

In Washington ("Building 26?"), Homeland Security threatens to shut Nathan's project down, until "The Hunter" (honestly, the bald schmuck needs a name) secretly lets Tracy loose in order to have the Homeland Security Rep watch her freeze and kill a man.

More than any other storyline this episode, I was encouraged the most here. As soon as Homeland Security stepped in threatening to shut down the program, I remembered the mess that Volume III was and how many storylines it set up only to be quickly abandoned. I envisioned Nathan's project getting shut down, only to have "The Hunter" lead a secret, no-holds barred, operation of his own without the government's consent, and Nathan would become one of the hunted. But, to my surprise, the writers actually were able to keep a storyline going for a change. Let's have three cheers for basic plot development!

Believe it or not, I also enjoyed Sylar's roadtrip. Now, personally, I find this search for Daddy Sylar contrived and weak. It's like the writers don't know what to do with such a powerful character, so they're taking him off the board for a while. Which means, I also didn't care much for Zachary Quinto's heartfelt little speech about his wittle wed wagon (honestly, do people actually think he's a good actor, or do women just find him hot?). Further, if you're hunting Sylar, and you get a gun to the back of his head, pull the bleepity-bleeping trigger! Such horrible writing!

All that said, watching Sylar walk out of that van, dressed in full-commando black gear, with the laptop in one hand and the boy over his shoulder, I had a vision of just what kind of fantastic anti-hero Sylar can be in this storyline. He could be the hero hunting the hunters. He has their information, he knows he can take large groups of them as long as he doesn't get caught off-guard -- Sylar may become the Frank Castle of this storyline, and that would be the first truly great use of this character.

And oh, by the way, Hiro and Ando were in this episode, with Hiro deciding that by stopping a wedding, he became a hero again. That makes a lot of sense. So every redneck best man who sleeps with the bride the night before the wedding is a hero now?

Anyway, I'd have to say this was another good effort overall, and a good table-setter for the next phase of this storyline. Now the biggest questions are 1) What will HRG do for Peter/Suresh/Parkman; 2) What will Claire do with Aquaman in the closet (get it?); 3) What will the government do about Claire?

I guess we find out in six days. My interest in this show is slowly making a comeback, how about you?

Heroes Report on 'Trust and Blood'

I don't have all too much time to beat around the bush tonight, so I'll just come right out and say it -- tonight's episode of "Heroes," the second episode of "Volume 4: Fugitives," was pretty darned good.

I say that, mind you, considering there were still several flaws evident that I've spoke about in the past. But, all things considered, this episode, "Trust and Blood," felt like the "Heroes" of old. Which is ironic, seeing as the episode was written by Mark Verheiden, a first-time "Heroes" writer but a veteran of "Smallville" and "Battlestar Galactica."

As I said, it's late, I've an early morning, I'm going to make this quick. So let's get right into the positives for this episode:

- Nathan returned to being a three-dimensional character. Sure, it's still kind of ridiculous that he started this powers-hunting initiative in the first place, but at least here we saw that the man still has a heart. And more importantly, we saw this is the same old Nathan -- once again he's in waaaaay over his head. Kudos goes out to Verheiden for using Nathan's conversation with Momma Petrelli as both a framing device and a way of hammering Nathan's ineptitude home.

- For as cliched as HRG's character has become (Gee, Noah, you're doing all this to protect your family? Really?), it was also nice to see the writers have added to his old motivations. In this episode, we saw that he is not only looking to protect Claire, but also looking to protect the human rights of the powered people. And I cannot wait for the HRG vs. Danko throwdown.

- Speaking of Claire, I do find myself intrigued that she is receiving messages from -- was that Wireless sending out messages?

- It was also nice that we received a reason for Peter's confusing actions during the plane crash, explaining early on that he can only hold one power at a time. While there is no logical reason why this would be the case, it was still simply nice to hear that the plane fiasco was not simply shoddy writing.

- And finally, last but most certainly not least -- how kick ass was Parkman in this episode, taking over one soldier to kill the rest?!? That's the kind of power use we just don't see enough of in this series, and it was one of the best moments since season one.

However, it was also in that scene that was saw the same old negatives which are still plaguing this series:

- Killing Daphne is NOT a good idea. When fans like myself have said "Heroes" needs to kill characters, it means "Heroes" needs to kill some ESTABLISHED characters in order to return a sense of gravity to the series. Daphne would be just the next in a long, long line of new characters who have bitten the dust while the same old main cast survives. Now, Daphne will appear in at least one more episode this season, according to IMDB, so let's hope it's not simply a flashback.

- And speaking of Daphne and Matt, am I the only one SICK AND TIRED of this whole drawing the future thing? Especially lately, it just feels like lazy writing trying to put characters into place for events without giving a reason to do so. I imagine the writers' interaction to go like this:

"We need Matt at the crash site."

"Why in the world would Matt go to the crash site?"

"Ummm... let's force him to randomly paint the future in order to make him want to go there. Yeah, that's the ticket."

And could that painting scene be any goofier? The man breaks into a mobile home and comes out with his art supplies? Seriously?

- I'm also pretty darned sick of Sylar. The man is the Jason Todd of the "Heroes" universe, always showing up with a different personality in each episode. This time he decided to be Mr. Sentimental, helping out a young boy he identifies with. And in a most ridiculously contrite turn of events, the boy may be his half-brother. Give me a break! I don't care about Sylar's Daddy issues, and frankly, I don't care about Sylar, especially when the writers decided to give him phantom mental complexes just to get him and his insanely powerful talents away from the main storyline for a while.

- I'm also pretty sick of Mr. Rah-Rah Peter. We get it, you want to be a hero even without your normal set of powers. And I know the writers are trying to paint him as a heartfelt leader opposing Nathan, a leader who never listens to his heart. But right now Peter just feels like a whiny little Emo boy to me.

Remember back before the Season One finale, I said I wanted both Sylar and Peter killed off in the final episode? Let's see a show of hands of who thinks I was right?

As I said, this was a downright entertaining episode of "Heroes." But the same old problems still remain.

In all fairness, another six or seven episodes like this will prove a great deal in terms of the writers being able to navigate around those same old issues and still deliver entertaining television. But, until that happens, the horrors that were Volumes 2 and 3 are preventing me from trusting this series or its writers.

New York Comic Con panels!

The joy of New York Comic Con has begun, and more wealthy Web site have begun their live blogging from the many, many panels. To help you out, I'm going to post links to all the panels I can find, so keep checking this space for updates.

Superman: Building a Better Tomorrow

Marvel's War of Kings Panel

Marvel's X-Men Panel and here's news on X-Men: Forever?!?

An IGN interview on "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2"

Marvel's Dark Reign

DC Nation

Battle for the Cowl

Cup O' Joe

DC Universe

Sunday Conversation with Dan DiDio

Mondo Marvel

More to come...

Buy Pile Report

I am back from my day trip to New Hampshire, and no book I picked up at "That's Entertainment" in Worcester, Mass., got me going quite like Final Crisis: Legion of Superheroes #3. If you've any love for the Legion at all, this book was better than crack. Oh, so many Legion members. Oh, so many villains. And, oh, so much more.

And before I even go into how much fantastic Legion action there was in this book, I need to talk about the opening pages featuring a good deal -- Geoff Johns, you property-tying genius -- Green Lantern news. In a short scene with the ageless Sodam Yat, there is plenty of possible "Blackest Night" foreshadowing:

1) Kyle Rayner dies at some point in Sodam Yat's past, at which point Kyle appoints Sodam the new "Torch Bearer."

2) Sodam recites a NEW Green Lantern Oath: "In Brightest Day, Through Blackest Night, No Other Corps Shall Spread it's Light! Let Those Who Try to Stop What's Right, Burn Like My Power, Green Lantern's Light!"

3) Sodam says he has "Done too many things that have stained my soul."

That last part is likely a throw-away random bit of future characterization, but the first two points are worth pondering.

Following the Green Lantern bit, there was just so much to love, from George Perez's gorgeous splash page of the Legions brawling to the Brainiac trio squabbling to Superman calling Superboy Prime "Clark."

And speaking of Prime, I know he's an awfully divisive character, but count me in the camp who loves this guy. I buy his motivations, I buy his characterization, and I even buy his over-the-top antics, seeing as this whole world he's mucking around was at one point completely fictional to him. If you at all see what I see in the guy, this was one issue where Prime shined. The only thing better than Prime burning a hole through Superman's hand was "Did YOU Do THAT?! IDontThinkSo."

But, of course, the showstopper was the man (or is he again a boy?) who shows up on the final page. Who called it?!? OK, at this point, everyone called it, but I remember being one of the first, back when Wally West first came back. And say what you will about delays and solicitations ruining big moments (I've certainly said plenty on the topic over the years), but Johns and Perez manage to keep a good bit of drama in this predictable moment with some stellar dialog and art direction.

What an issue. And worth the wait.

DC's other top book this week, as far as I am concerned, was The Mighty #1. Now, I actually just read a less than stellar review of the book on another site, but I, for one, am very happy to have given this first issue written by Peter Tomasi and drawn by Keith Champagne (who I normally don't like) a chance. Again, I may be in the minority here, but I am intrigued by this world inhabited by just one hero who attained his powers in World War II. The main character is actually the new head of his supporting "green beret"-esque force, a likable young guy who was forced to take the job after his mentor was murdered (cue the plot!). The series still has a way to go and even has yet to have its superhero "Alpha One" speak a word, but I felt this was a good first issue.

The only Marvel book in my Buy Pile worth noting was Cable #11, continuing the tale of Nathan Summers and Kid trooping around the desolate future. My one problem with this book is that the Messiah Child -- now named Hope for fantastically touching reasons -- is growing up too fast. This issue lists her as seven, although their count of days on the run age her at four and a half. Either way, this issue features some narration from Hope, for a change, and it really adds a sense of humor to an otherwise hopeless situation for the pair, jumping farther and farther into the future only to find less and less food and shelter. Given my current faith in the X-Men creative team on the whole, I am really nervous the upcoming "Messiah War" ruins this series in a couple of months. But until then, these last 11+ issues of "Cable" (counting the "King Size" issue) has been some must-read stuff. The only major flaw here? Replacement artist Jamie McKelvie was pretty horrible.

This week's comic book expectations

Marvel's "Dark Reign" is settling in and "Final Crisis" has crashed to it's demise. I mean conclusion. Either way, this week is certainly slower than the last few, but it does have its share of charm.

From DC, Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #3 headlines the week. Suffering from months of delays, "Final Crisis" will have long since finished by the time this tie-in concludes. Still, seeing as the events take place a 1,000 years in the future anyway, I'm willing to bet the events of "Final Crisis" proper don't tie in too closely. In case you've forgotten (how could you have not? It's been months!), Superboy Prime's Legion has just attacked, and Prime himself just snapped the neck of the final Green Lantern, making his ring travel back to Oa, where Sodam Yat resides. Despite all this, Superman's plan is still to try and reform Prime, since stopping him would be darned near impossible. Meanwhile, Brainiac-5 has just summoned the other two Legions and confusion ensued. That about covers it, enjoy the show.

Speaking of the Legion, Adventure Comics #0 reprints the first story featuring the Legion of Superheroes. It also contains an "Origins and Omens" backup story, which likely contains buckets of details on the upcoming Legion reboot. All that, and it costs just a dollar.

Finally from DC, I am awfully curious about The Mighty #1, written by Peter Tomasi. The basic story for this first of 12 issues is a fairly familiar one: The world of "The Mighty" has just one superhero, who was given his powers during World War II... sound familiar? But, I do trust Tomasi's writing, it looks like Tomasi is going to be giving this book a decidedly human tone. It should be worth taking a look.

From Marvel, the Dark Reign premieres continue this week with Agents of Atlas #1 and Secret Warriors #1. It should be interesting to see what plans Marvel has for both groups, seeing as their respective purposes for existing were both closely tied-in with "Secret Invasion." My prediction is both groups keep that event-driven tone for a while longer and serve as resistance to Norman Osborn's plans. "SW #1" also marks the return of Nick Fury to monthly books, a character who was sorely missed by many.

By the way, I'm watching "Spider-man and Friends" in the background right now, and Ice Man just said "No more Mr. Nice Guy. It's time for Mr. Ice Guy!" You don't get great writing like that anymore.

Where was I? Oh yeah. Cable #11 begins a new two-part story, and yes, Nathan and the kid are still trooping around in the desolate future. But, if you're not reading this series, you're really missing out on some great character work by Duane Swiercynzski. The man is really making me feel exhausted right along with Nathan, mainly because Swiercynzski keeps creating supporting characters and situations that would seem perfect for Nathan to raise the kid in, only to steal it away. Oh well, I guess that's necessary to keep things interesting. Still, last issue's tragedy and surprises had some real weight to them, so I am excited to see what this two-part story brings.

Also this week, Black Panther vol. 2 #1 debuts with its new female Black Panther. Who is she? I can't tell you, hell, that's Marvel's whole hook here!

Anyway, that's about it, I'm off to watch tonight's episodes of "Scrubs." Surprised I didn't say some comic book-related show? I do have other interests, you know.

Heroes Report on 'A Clear and Present Danger'

I am not a fan of the "new direction" for this fourth "Volume" of "Heroes," otherwise known as the second half of season three. For one, the premise is ridiculous, seeing as Nathan wanted to flood the world with special people one moment and exterminate them the next. For two, making all your main characters go on the lamb is not the way to bring the sorely-missed human element back into the show.

That said, this first episode of the volume, "A Clear and Present Danger," was watchable. That's about as far as I'll go.

Once again, show-runner Tim Kring is trying to begin the story by putting all his pieces out on the table immediately and catapulting his characters into the storyline. In this first hour, we learn plenty:

1) In six short weeks, Nathan has become the head of a secret black-bag hero-hunting government agency, and both Angela and HRG are working with him.

2) Nikki, Suresh, Hiro, Parkman and Claire were all black-bagged and put on a plane to the government internment camp. Sylar was the only target able to evade the Hero Hunters.

3) Thanks to Claire, the group was able to break free mid-flight, and now they're about to crash land to their new fate as fugitives. Hey, the Volume title!

Sound simple? Sure! And for all I know, the heroes working together and staying alive could make for good television. But there wasn't much in this episode that encouraged me.

For one, the writers still don't know the physics they set up for their own show. Suddenly Peter needs to make contact with people to absorb their powers. Plus, the cliff-hanging ending of the episode features Peter losing grip of the plane, getting pulled by the suction of a hole in the plane... the only problem is, Peter can fly. Where's the danger there? If he gets sucked out of the plane, won't he just be able to fly back in? And frankly, with his aerial powers, should he even be getting sucked out right now?

This may sound like a fanboy nitpick, but I am a firm believer that Sci-Fi needs to follow its established physics, or else it's just make believe.

On top of that, the episode wasn't even put together well. Watch that scene with Parkman speaking to his African Spirit Guide and count how many continuity issues there are, just with the Spirit Guide's staff.

But those issues are just cosmetic, I suppose, compared to the bigger problem -- "Heroes" lost its emotional weight after season one, and nothing I watched tonight indicates this volume will recover it:

Claire is betrayed by her father, again. How many times is this now? And are we really going to have to endure another of their "heartfelt reunions"?

Peter and Nathan are fighting again. How many episodes before Nathan has another change of personality and all of a sudden it's the Petrelli Boys to the rescue once again?

Sylar is still looking for his father. Need I say more?

The fact is, these are the same old characters with the same old problems that were handled beautifully in season one, only to be dug up again and again. Want to know where "Heroes" went off the rails? Look no further than the end of Season One: Sylar was killed, Peter and Nathan blew up and Parkman was shot. Plus, Nikki was cured. If any of those plot-endings stuck, the show could have just moved on to different areas to explore.

Instead, "Heroes" has just tried to go to the same plot wells again and again, and this premiere looks to be no different.

Want that new and exciting direction, Tim Kring? Kill off half of your beloved cast and bring in new blood for new stories. Until you can deal with not seeing your buddy Milo or Zachary on set everyday, your show will continue to flounder.

But I suppose all we can hope for in reality is for the unspectacular but adequate action series this premiere seems indicate. Oh well.

Why 'Final Crisis' is both a success and a monumental failure

I'm going to say something right now that will sound like it goes against all of my previous opinions on the subject, but just hear me out.

"Final Crisis" was undeniably successful in doing what it set out to do.

Oh, and it was also one of the worst series DC has put out, ever.

As I said, hear me out. Grant Morrison had a story he wanted to tell. He wanted to involve the New Gods and bring a conclusion to Jack Kirby's dreams. He wanted to explain his love for the DC Universe by telling a quick-hitting, wide-spanning tale which truly ignores all the details in order to show the DCU at its core. And, after learning this story would be a "Crisis," Morrison wanted to incorporate his ideas on the Monitors' mythos and bring a conclusion to their tale. Oh, and it had to fit into seven issues.

Yeah, readers were given absolutely nothing but bare-bones events happening one after the other after the other, but that's exactly what Morrison wanted in order to strip each character down to his or her essence.

Whether you were able to follow Morrison's oddball concepts along the way, is one thing, but by the end of the story (if you bought a couple of tie-ins as well) it was even impossible to say the story as a whole was confusing, because it was all out there on the table. It may not have made sense, but it wasn't confusing.

In all this, his tale was a success, with flying colors.

The problem is, Morrison's goals were in direct conflict with what DC was trying to sell fans.

The idea of a DCU "Crisis" implies certain truths that fans have come to expect:
1) "Crisises," especially those involving the Monitors like "Final Crisis," have ALWAYS been in direct continuity with the rest of the DC events leading into the story.
2) Because of that continuity, the series has its impact felt in the rest of the universe, creating cogent tie-ins and a lasting aftermath that must be dealt with.
3) The storyline itself is told in a much more conventional manner, in which one issue leads directly into the next and the antagonist actually makes appearances before the final issue.
4) That antagonist, as well as other story points, like "Lord Eye" and the "Miracle Machine" also come from a logical place, not from the depths of one writer's imagination at the last minute in a feeble attempt for drama.

"Final Crisis" should NEVER have been a "Crisis" at all. If this story was released as a side mini-series, possibly even out of continuity, with no need for all the fanfare, then "Final Crisis" would not have needed the Monitors involved and it would have likely gone down in DC history as the greatest Darkseid story ever told. We wouldn't have expected it to adhere to continuity, the "channel zapping" story telling style would have been praised from the mountaintops, and the HORRIBLY GLARING lack of an aftermath would not be a major issue.

DC's first mistake, was making Morrison's story become a "Crisis."

DC's second mistake was letting Morrison, a man known for his wacky concepts and higher-than-though attitude when it comes to continuity, do whatever the heck he wanted to with this story, regardless of what else was going on in the DC world. The other side of this same problem is, DC editorial failed to accurately get Morrison disclose all of "Final Crisis" in advance, which would have allowed for proper lead-ins.

What resulted was "Final Crisis," "Countdown" and "Death of the New Gods" crashing together in one massive trainwreck of continuity before the event even began. Once the event began, DC also had the problem of characters acting differently in tie-ins and the "Final Crisis" mothership. In "Rogues' Revenge," the Rogues are looking to get out of the evil business, in "Final Crisis" they're in the thick of Libra's meetings. In "Revelations," Catwoman and Batwoman are attacking a church and The Question is helping the Spectre, in "Final Crisis" they are thralls with The Question sailing around the Multiverse. In "Submit," Mr. Terrific is busting out of his fortress with the power of the OMACs fighting the Anti-Life equation, and in "Final Crisis" Mr. Terrific is running away to a different universe and the OMACs are barely seen. Heck, Morrison could not even let his buddy Geoff Johns know how to introduce Superman to "Legion of Three Worlds."

NONE of that could be communicated to anyone else? Really? None of it?

It all comes down to DC editorial needing to do a better job of keeping its talent in check. I don't care how much reverence for Grant Morrison there is out there, if he's writing a company's flagship event, he has to be able to be a team player. I don't know how hard series editior Eddie Berganza worked at keeping Morrison within the parameters of the DC Universe, but it wasn't good enough.

Because I wasn't looking to buy a "Look at how funky Grant's mind is" story. In fact, I tend to avoid Morrison's work because I know I don't like how he thinks his wonky ideas should be viewed as intelligent and coherent. I wanted to buy a "Crisis" book and a DC Event book.

But none of it fit together as anything more than a thesis by Grant Morrison on "This is why Superheroes are cool." Which would have made for a monumental mini-series.

Unfortunately, DC took a great story and tried to make is 10-times bigger and more inclusive than it was.

Want the proof of this? Even DC isn't trying to use any of the story points from "Final Crisis" in the coming months or spin-off any mini-series.

When have you ever heard of that? Every single DC book next month should deal with the fallout from Darkseid's onslaught. Mini-series should be popping up on the New New Gods on Earth 51, or on Nix Uotan.

But no. The only series springing from "Final Crisis" are the ones created by DC mandates. DC wanted Flash back, so "Flash: Rebirth" is on the way. DC wanted Bruce Wayne dead, so "Battle for the Cowl" is on the way. Heck, DC wanted Arthur back as Aquaman so a tiny little throwaway panel with Arthur was in "Final Crisis #7" for no good reason.

DC is not carrying on any of Morrison's ideas or plot threads, because even DC knows it made a mistake by giving Morrison the creative keys to the castle.

And so, I've come to my conclusion. "Final Crisis" was a peerless success in achieving what it set out to do. But it failed miserably in giving most of us what we were sold, and because of that, "Final Crisis" will be a blackeye for DC for years to come.

Bring on "Blackest Night."

Buy Pile Report

So, "Final Crisis" has now come and gone. Am I the only one left unfulfilled?

Frankly, I don't know where to begin with this final issue, Final Crisis #7. I'll have a more wide-spanning look at the even as a whole tomorrow, but for now, we're going to try and evaluate this final issue on its own. Just like the rest of the series, though, this issue a chock full of contradictions. (And Spoilers are coming...)

For one, I loved the narrative advice of using Lois Lane to jump around in time -- but frankly, I was left wondering if all of creation is being threatened here, who, exactly, is she hoping will find that final issue of the Daily Planet? And how the heck did they assemble the Fortress of Solitude, where they printed the paper, onto the satellite? And if all of creation was being unmade, how was Earth 51 OK for Mr. Terrific to go to? And is Mr. Terrific still there living with the New Gods?

OK, I am bring a little negative, let's get back to the good: Superman did get to confront Darkseid. Unfortunately, the Flashes' attack on Darkseid was pretty darned predictable, and the big baddie was dying anyway. Speaking of which, was anyone intimidated by Darkseid at any point? All he did was put the Anti-Life equation out there, then sat on his ass inhabiting Dan Turpin. Big Deal! Oh, and why was Arthur of Atlantis randomly placed into that final scene with Darkseid?

Positive again, here we go: You have to love Lex Luthor's involvement in the resolution, even if that too was predictable. But, in that same scene, what the heck was up with Wonder Woman? She was really under Darkseid's spell all this time? What a rip-off.

And yes, the assembling of so many Supermen was cool. That doesn't change the fact that I have questions aplenty here too. For one, why did The Question have to be with them? Given her involvement with "Revelations," it would have made more sense for her to be absent from these scenes. Speaking of which, why are Radiant and Spectre at Mandrakk's feet? Didn't DC editorial discuss the endings to these two events and swap notes?

But I guess that belittles the bigger annoyance of, Where the hell does Mandrakk pop up from anyway?!? Nice that he didn't appear in "Final Crisis" proper up to this point. Good thing Captain Carrot was there to stop him, though. We really needed Captain Carrot, Grant. Really. We needed him. Captain Carrot. Thank You.

I'm sorry, I tried to stay positive with this issue, I really did -- especially since I do have a new perspective on the series as a whole which I will share with you tomorrow -- but this issue was nothing more than a collection of decent scenes wrapped in a VERY THIN THREAD. And don't even get me started on the lack of a resolution.

All that said, Final Crisis: Revelations #5 was a brilliant ending to one of the best tie-in series you will ever read. To be perfectly honest, I've never cared for The Spectre. I've also never been much for the ground-level style Greg Rucka is known for. But after this series, I will read anything Rucka writes in the future, especially if it features The Question or The Spectre. Up against a wall of Cain-led Anti-Life, it's down to The Question to come up with some way to save the day at the last minute -- and boy does she find an unorthodox way to get the job done. Along the way, as predicted, Crispis Allen does grow into his role as The Spectre, and it's handled in such a way that I have 100% more appreciation for the character's place in the DC Universe. This is the sort of comic series that proves the genre should be considered true literature.

Keeping up with that theme of Former writers of "52" (sorry, I read nothing from Mark Waid this week), Justice Society of America #23 is a pleasant return to the Geoff Johns-penned team that really gained steam before Kingdom Come Superman popped back up, even if the issue is nothing spectacular. A good portion of this issue handles the aftermath of the recent Gog-filled events, as Jay, Allan and Ted debate who should stay and who should go. While this is only logical given the recent events, I do find it odd that Johns would shake the roster like this right before handing the team off to a new writing duo who will likely have their own ideas.

The second half of the issue sets the stage for the rest of this Black Adam-centric arc, showing how Teth Adam recovered Isis and how he and Isis usurped Billy Batson off the Rock of Eternity, which all led to a fantastic final couple of scenes in young Billy's Kitchen. That said, I do have to wonder about Johns' handling of Isis' character here. I don't know if it is just me, but she seems much too severe, given her former merciful nature. Oh well, I do trust Johns here.

The only issue really worth mentioning from Marvel this week is Captain America #46, which continued Ed Brubaker's subtle examination of Bucky Barnes' current life. I've said it before, I'll say it again, this is a series EVERYONE should be reading. I don't know what was better in this particular issue, Bucky's interaction with old friend Namor, the Black Widow's discovery of Bucky's past, or the strange experiments Bucky's friend Professor Chin is up to. A good amount of this issue is simply laying the groundwork for more explosive issues coming up, it's true, but the quiet character work done on Bucky is just as sharp as ever, as Brubaker has quickly made him the most interesting character in the Marvel Universe.

That's it for me, but on Friday I will have a deep look at "Final Crisis" as a whole, so tune in then!

X-Men Animated Series on DVD!

Well, if ever I needed good news for the aforementioned crappy day, THIS LINK is it.

X-Men the Animated Series is FINALLY coming out on DVD. April 28 will see the release of the first two volumes.

Snow Day for Comics?!?

I guess I now know what "Final Crisis" truly means. DC was talking about the snow hitting the mid-Hudson Valley today.

Am I the only one experiencing this "Crisis" right now? Both of my area comic shop options, Upstate Comics in Freedom Plains and The Dragon's Den in Poughkeepsie, are CLOSED due to the snow.

I'm not sure about Alternaverse in Salt Point, I've never been there, but I was getting into the office late enough so I cannot swing by there anyway.

Whatever happened to "Nor rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night will keep this guy from his appointed rounds?" Wait, that's the post office. And it's a horrible paraphrase. The comic shop owner code probably includes the phrase "In brightest day..."

So, "Final Crisis #7" is going to have to hold on for one more day. No word on if Wilson Philips will be performing.

And right now, I'm pretty cheesed off about it, only because tonight is going to be a VERY SLOW night for me here in Poughkeepsie Journal central. With the snow, the high school games have been canceled so the phones won't be ringing. Meaning, I would have had BUCKETS OF TIME to read the comics I was supposed to be purchasing today.

Adding insult to injury, Newsarama has the first part of their Grant Morrison "Final Crisis" exit interview available at THIS LINK. I spotted it this morning and get excited to read it as soon as I finished "Final Crisis #7." Guess that will happen tomorrow, huh?

In fact, 75% of the Web sites I go to when I need to kill time are likely to have some sort of spoilers on this week's releases, meaning tonight will be a very very boring night for me. Thank God for Duke basketball.

If this isn't what DC meant by "Final Crisis," I don't know what they could have meant.

This week's comic book expectations

It's Finally Finally Finally Here! CLICK HERE for the full list of comic book releases, including a book DC fans have been waiting for for years...

Ever since the beginning of "Countdown," with that scene featuring Darkseid and the chess board, it was obvious an enormous event was on the horizon for the DC Universe. Flash forward 21 months or so, and here we are: Final Crisis #7. For better or for worse, the end is finally here. And if ever there was a time when "for better or for worse" had such a subjective and divisive meaning, I don't know when it was. Grant Morrison's tale has been a bit of a trainwreck, with pieces flying in every direction, the only question is whethere you feel like that trainwreck has been fun to look at or tragic to watch.

This final issue looks to be no exception. Have you seen the preview for this thing? Get a load of it HERE. Are those really the opening pages of the book? When did any of that happen?!? This issue is going to have to go a VERY long way before the majority of readers are happy, and frankly, I don't think Grant Morrison has any interest in doing it, and I don't think DC has any ability to get Morrison to do it. What are we going to need out of this issue? Well, Supposedly the Dark Monitor Mandraak is the biggest big bad. We're going to need a good reason for that. We're also going to need to check in with Darkseid and make sure Bruce Wayne's handywork is working like it should. Speaking of Bruce, I have a feeling we'll learn more of his fate here. Oh, and did I realize we're actually going to need a Resolution to this thing?!? My prediction is this book will be very light on giving a damn and just goes full speed toward the ending, whether readers are along for the ride or not.

Believe it or not, I am actually more enthusiastic over Final Crisis: Revelations #5. Greg Rucka's tie-in has been the best part of "Final Crisis" overall, as far as I'm concerned, placing Renee Montoya in the middle of a theological arguement with God's Spirit of Vengenance and Spirit of Mercy. At this point, the Spirit of Vengenance is killed, if such a thing can be done, and he is at the mercy of Vandal "Cain" Savage. The Spirit of Mercy, meanwhile, has lost faith in God. And it has all been handled beautifully. Again here, we're just looking for what can possibly bring a resolution to the situation. What will restore God into this hopeless situation? I have a feeling it has a big thing to do with the Spectre not only rising from "death" but also rising to the occasion.

Also from DC this week, I'm looking for Justice Society of America #23 to be a return to the good stuff many fans missed during the Superman 22/Magog epic storyline. Jerry Ordway is helping Geoff Johns on this arc, which features Black Adam and the Marvel family. Given that it occurs on the week "Final Crisis" ends and the Marvels had a big part to play in the story, I am thinking we're going to learn something about their post-"Crisis" future here. Also, as I understand it, a good deal of the story will center on Adam and the formerly missing Isis, who when we last saw her was stuck as Faustus' slave. Should be a fun ride, folks.

Over at the "House of Ideas," Captain America #46 begins a three-issue arc which I'm pretty excited about, a story of Bucky reuniting with his former Invaders teammates, namely (in this issue) Namor. Say what you will about James Barnes, I'm more interested in this Captain America than I was in Steve Rogers for a number of years, if only for stories like these, in which Bucky finds himself struggling to reunite with a life he used to know. Something about Ed Brubaker's handling of the character, and his relationship with the Black Widow, really strikes a cord for me.

That's about it for me for now. Be careful on the roads while heading to the comic shop!