And here's the second take: looking at Final Crisis as the first issue in a major event meant to shake up and redefine the DC Universe. The event we've been counting down to for a year. The Crisis to end all Crisis...umm...Crisises...Crises! Yeah...that's it...the Crisis to end all Crises.
Monday, June 02, 2008
SCHWAPP!!! Final Crisis As Major Event
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Can't say I agree with you here. With all the talk in the past couple years about "Event Fatigue", I can't say I blame DC for trying something completely different. It's the major problem I had with Secret Invasion 2. So much intrigue and excitment delivered in the first issue and then when issue 2 comes........ nothing happens. That I feel is a far worse route to take. As for DC promoting this, I can't blame them either. This is a book that will probably affect every direction the companies major books will take in the coming years. They were critisised for not doing this with Sinestro Corps War.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyone who sees the name Grant Morrison on the cover and expects a standard crossover has only themselves to blame. But I do understand some of the critisisms, especially the brief scene with J'onn.
Proper events need to start with some semblance of a bang. This didn't really have one, largely because of how trivially the J'Onn death was treated (even if I understand a bit of why he did it that way).
ReplyDelete"Anyone who sees the name Grant Morrison" was handled in the "as art" review. This part of the review is about all of the expectations inherent with an event, let alone one that comes with all the DC hyperbole. This issue sacrificed important pieces of the event formula for artistic concerns, rather than try to find a way to include both. But that's just my opinion. ;)
"largely because of how trivially the J'Onn death was treated (even if I understand a bit of why he did it that way). "
ReplyDeleteJust wondering why you think he did it that way
Well, the popular reason given is to to demonstrate both the power of the collective villains to be able to not only wrangle him so easily but kill him in a lonely and brutal fashion that is disrespectful of the character. By making it disrespectful in a way that reaches out to real world feelings, it makes sure it is noticed by the readers.
ReplyDeleteI think that last part is why it was a dangerous gambit that may have backfired, at least in the short term. Many long term DC are struck by such a historically important DCU character being shuffled off the mortal coil so off-handedly, to the point that they're pulled out of the story too much to notice how the scene serves the greater good.
I'm still not certain MM is really dead. Or that if he is dead he won't come back. I get excited for these events of DC's even if it's not a mammoth action opening. So I am kind of biased, I also have faith in Grant Morrison, and I have been looking forward to what he can do with a universe altering, high concept story like Final Crisis since it was announced he was writing it.
ReplyDeleteI can see why J'onn was killed in a way, he's up there with the biggest guns in power, and he's well-known and respected throughout the DCU AND fandom in general. His death is the perfect harbinger of all the cataclysmic doom and gloom that's coming. So it sucks, but I still know that we'll see him again.
And are you going to start posting at Newsarama again when the new board is running?
I have faith in Grant Morrison that the whole of the mini-series will feel much more rewarding than the first issue. I know that all of this setup will have a good amount of payoff.
ReplyDeleteI do think that Grant is killing him only to bring him back more in line with his vision for the character. I've seen some stuff in outside sources that I think I can see Grant trying to pull into Martian Manhunter's background. That's why I'm not all that upset. If I thought he was really dead, you'd see a vlog of me looking like Chris Crocker telling DC to leave him alone.
And I have a login for the new 'Rama, but it was just so no knucklehead would create it to post like me. Maybe I'll post, but it will be very rare.