Not-Very-New Comics: The November 7 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #58:  I admit I skipped the lengthy poem King uses to build suspense here as Penguin’s hitman allegedly prepares to assassinate Alfred on Bane’s orders.  I’m glad Penguin ultimately pulled the punch, so to speak, because it would be beyond ridiculous for Alfred and Dick to get shot in the same way in such quick succession.  But, it’s exactly that ridiculousness that robs this issue of any suspense, poem or no poem.  Either Alfred isn’t going to be shot (as we expect if we’re paying attention) or he’s going to be shot (and we’ll roll our eyes).  Either outcome feels tired.  It’s much more interesting that Bane and Penguin seems to be behind the murders they apparently tried to pin on Mr. Freeze.  I’m not sure where King is going on this front, but that’s the interesting part of this issue.

Infinity Wars #5:  I’ll admit, I lost the plot here long ago.  As Gamora herself says, I can’t quite remember how Loki managed to break out his version of the Infinity Watch from the Soul Gem.  I also don’t understand how Gamora “accidentally” created new lifeforms when she folded the Universe in half.  I thought the whole point was to send the existing lifeforms (if merged beings created from two previous lifeforms) to the Soul Gem so Devondra could devour them.  Right?  Or is Loki referring to other new lifeforms beyond the merged beings. maybe ones we've yet to see?  It’s unclear.  At this point, the entire point of this series seems to be Loki using these new Infinity Stones to storm the God Quarry, with its seemingly infinite number of Infinity Stones and, importantly, brooding Celestials.  Do the Celestials live in the God Quarry?  Is that why it seems to be a one-way street?  I guess all will be revealed next issue.  That said, I wonder if anyone is reading this "event" other than me.

Shatterstar #2:  This issue is great, though Seeley is very talky here.  The series' omniscient narrator gives us livestream commentary of the events occurring in Shatterstar’s life, though we're not privy to his actual thoughts.  Like, we learn he fell in love with Gringlave (sp?) when they fought in Mojo's arena together and she taught him not to love anyone since it could be used against him.  It’s why he’s struggling with his relationship with Rictor, as we see when Seeley uses their vacations to a cabin in Michigan to show just how much he does love him.  But, this narration doesn’t really give us too much insight into what Shatterstar himself is thinking.  That said, Seeley is achieving his seeming goal of given us a sense of Shatterstar as a coherent and integrated character, as the narrator does a good job of laying out his feelings and motivations.  But, I find myself wishing he accomplished that same goal through show not tell.  Instead, it seems clear he’s rushing to hit the points he needs to hit before he gets to the fifth issue, which feels like a shame.  For example, we’re only quickly shown Star falling in love with Gringlave (sp?), whereas Seeley could’ve definitely used more pages of flashbacks to make that love unfold more fully before our eyes.  Does he love her just because she’s there and he’s never loved anyone before, never felt anything for anyone before?  Or, is there something about her in particular he loves?  Seeley never actually takes us there, and it’s what’s keeping this series from being as revelatory in terms of characterization as something like “Edge of Spider-Verse” #2.  He still has time, though, so I'm hoping for more show and less tell soon.  If he does that, Shatterstar is really his character, more so than Liefeld's or David's.

X-Men:  Red #10:  Taylor continues to do a great job of showing Jean as a tactician.  Every time Cassandra puts a piece in play, Jean has a counterattack that leaves her (Cassandra) in worse place.  In this issue, Cassandra hijacks several planes and a Korean helicarrier to build an army she telepathically controls.  So, Jean brings in Atlantis and the Avengers.  But Cassandra might use her powers to take control of them!  So, Jean has Tony Stark makes hundreds of duplicates of Magneto’s helmet to cut off Cassandra's advantage.  (She had some help on the inspiration front:  Honey Badger asks her what would work against her.)  But, something still feels missing in this series.  I think it's that Jean never really faces a challenge she can’t master.  She’s got Trinary, she’s got Atlantis, she’s got the Avengers:  she’s always able to overpower Cassandra.  She also doesn’t seem all that emotionally invested.  We never really see her face any doubt; she’s always just convinced she’s going to do the right thing and the public will see through Cassandra's manipulations.  It’s not a fatal flaw, but I feel like this series is going to be a missed opportunity, a low-stakes enterprise where the X-Men easily save the day with the help of their friends.  It could've been more.

Also Read:  Death Orb #2; Iceman #3; Nightwing #52; Spider-geddon #3; Star Wars #56