An Eventless Summer: Why I'm Not Reading 'Flashpoint' or 'Fear Itself'
As the university calendar comes to a close, I can bid adieu to 10 page papers and mandatory reading assignments to focus on the literature I actually want to read. Marvel and DC both try to slap their names onto the summer reading lists every year with big, flashy events (sorry), and in past summers they've succeeded. But not this year. My summer of 2011 will not tolerate Fear Itself's hammer smashing, nor Flashpoint's elseworld encounters. The term 'event fatigue' gets tossed around the comics internet liberally, but even then, my decision has nothing to do with the longbox-filling slew of tie-ins, nor fanboy conservativism that fears changes to the status quo. Flashpoint boasts, "Today the World Changes", but looking at the 'changes' that Brightest Day brought out under Geoff Johns' orchestration, they amount to character reveals. Character Development is a great way to move a book forward; Loudly announcing you're going to include an underrated, underused character is a trope saved for the end of issue 1. I see Swamp Thing in a comic, and don't think twice about how he got there, I care for what he's going to do. Johns writes the coolest issue 8 of 8, but the stories leading up to its payoff are worthless on their own.
And if it turns out that Flashpoint exceeds my expectations, and isn't the glitzy showgirl it promises to be, Johns' goal-minded style is much more enjoyable in paperback format. You see the polar opposite of this in Fraction's writing for "Fear Itself", an event that's trying too subtly to tell you that it's big and interesting. Having read both issues of the main series printed thus far, I feel confident that I won't be waiting all night for the lightshow. Marvel has an understandable agenda at present to draw attention to Thor and Captain America, with the event acting as a gilded showcase. Somebody's mettle will be tested, Some sort of truism about the characters will be highlighted, girl loses hammer, The End. The Capitol dome gets bombed in the preview ad, yet the comic itself provides one page of the blitzkrieg (nonetheless drawn amazingly), and tons of pages of heroes staring at screens. It's a bold attempt by Fraction if he's trying to become the Brecht of comics, keeping the readers from feeling much of anything, but there's no joy to be had in superohero comics that way. The lack of bombast is a fresh twist at best, but it does little to ensnare a monthly reader.
So instead of 'too hot' and 'too cold', I'm going with the Grant Morrison slow-burn this summer, catching up on his earlier Batman material to gawk at how much of his planning has come to fruition, and wonder what he still has coming. His tales with the caped crusader have long-term goals, and each issue tends to move the story in small increments. These are stories with worthwhile payoffs, subtle changes not drowned out by all the surrounding noise - Elements that either of this summer's events wish to emulate. While Morrison's attempt at an event in Final Crisis was seen as abstract and muddled, the compendium of his work through Batman definitely has it merits that Johns and Fraction should take from. And when the back issues run out, which they won't, I'll find the biggest superhero stories of the summer at the movies, sad to say.
Rubber Justice
Posted to Ask-a-Fanboy on 13 May 2011
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: Events, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Matt Fraction
I'm 100% with you on this. I read a couple of the Fear Itself books and I just can't get it up to care. As for Flashpoint, I'm like... alternate universe? Nope, not worth my time. I'll stick with X-Factor and various Batman(s), kthx.
As much as I like Matt Fraction, its a recession. Comic books are too expensive an indulgence to throw in on new books and overblown summer events. I hope Fear Itself is good... but I'm not setting foot into the comic shop until I can afford to walk away with a few months of X-titles.
(That said, this Schism arc...any thoughts?)