Fake Geek Boiz

I am proud to announce that my good friend, Ryan Fraer, and I now host a podcast, Fake Geek Boiz, on the Jetpack Joust network together. New episodes drop on iTunes every Tuesday/Wednesday.

Blog posts to return after school ends!

http://jetpackjoust.podbean.com/e/fake-geek-boiz-ep-4-comic-book-tv-report-card/

Deez Knights: The Epic Troll-Job of "Moon Knight #1" by Lemire, Smallwood, and Bellaire

I'd be angry too, Spector.

Decompression in comics storytelling is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but for the purposes of what I'm writing about today on JHI, let's say that "decompression" refers to the "purposeful elongation of a storyline that might, if judiciously edited, take place in one issue of a comic book series." I'm not against decompression in my comic book storytelling, if it's done very well.

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples, is currently dominating the Image lineup, partly by providing readers with a story that ages with them. Six trade paperbacks in, and baby Hazel is just starting to walk for the first time. She's taking her first steps along with readers into the strange world of robot Princes, Lying Cats, and bounty hunters like The Will. Those small storytelling steps, on a monthly basis, help the book to develop smaller character moments, like the deep and affecting story of marriage set against the stars with Marko and Alana.

It's easy to forget, too, that the comic book that got me into this expensive habit, Bendis & Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man, was essentially the Patron Saint of Decompression. The Ultimate line of books began with the publisher deciding it should take 4 issues for Uncle Ben Parker to meet with his fate, and that a smaller-scale battle with a powered-up Norman Osborn should dominate the better part of 2 issues immediately after. Of course, the Bendis approach to storytelling in those books paid dividends as character interaction piled up; the rapport developed between the strong women in the book (like Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and the best Aunt May ever published) and Peter's early-series superheroic confession to his girlfriend were only possible because of the time taken by a craftsman like Bendis. I tend to strongly object whenever someone reads a decompressed book and complains that "nothing happens."

Well, nothing fucking happens in Moon Knight #1. Written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Greg Smallwood and Jordie Bellaire, this $4.99 whopper is about as filling as a fast-food sandwich, and half as pleasurable to consume. Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, begins the issue and ends it in a mental hospital, being treated for psychosis and told that his beliefs about being Moon Knight are just that: beliefs. I'm no zealot about moving a story at a breakneck pace, but when your character starts a #1 issue not-quite-believing that he's the Moon Knight and that he might be under the spell of some Egyptian villain, and it ends the exact same way, I might feel like I'm getting trolled a little bit. I'd give Marvel all the credit in the world if they were willing to actually have Marc Spector not be Moon Knight at the end of the arc, but I doubt that's coming.

If that story sandwich were peppered with other interesting ingredients, it might work better than this post-Secret Wars debut for Khonshu & Co. Spector is surrounded, throughout the issue, by allusions to older Moon Knight stories, and a couple of guards in his Arkham-lite hospital that make the orderlies in Sucker Punch look subtle. Khonshu looks good when he's dressed in Moon Knight's traditional three-piece suit, but many of the other costumes, including the wildly unfortunate bedsheet headwrap worn by Spector during a botched escape, just don't work in the context of this relatively barebones book.

A book this thick shouldn't feel so barren, either. The art takes a respectably minimalist stance toward paneling and division of frames, allowing Smallwood's pencils to bleed from moment to moment. This is an especially nice technique for the longer scenes of dialogue, and again, Khonshu has never looked more menacing than when he towers over Spector. Smallwood can only do so much to carry the otherwise thin material, though, and you realize before long that you're being strong-armed into buying issue #2.

All of this is especially heartbreaking in the wake of the absolutely stunning, and dearly departed, Marvel NOW! run on Moon Knight that was spearheaded by Warren Ellis. Those books, anchored by one-off stories that explored what a New York City protected by the Knight would be like, found time to include a ridiculously propulsive take on The Raid and an amazing encounter with a scarred S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. These self-contained stories managed to explore more of Spector's 4 possible personas and approaches to crime-fighting with more nuance than any decompressed arc could possibly achieve: while Lemire's take focuses on asking IF Spector is even Moon Knight, the earlier issues wanted to show how awesome Moon Knight can be. A drastic difference in storytelling approaches, and a major step down for what could be an exciting series from Marvel.

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: SKIP IT

HEY BUDDY (Guest blogger Cory Stine): "Poe Dameron #1" by Soule & Noto

The King Oscar Isaac's likeness lighting up a Marvel cover.

Welcome back to JHI! I've not only got single issues of comics, but also serious issues with time management! You can expect a double-shot of comics greatness this week! I'll be back with hot takes on Lemire's new run on Moon Knight later!

For now, enjoy an unedited conversation with the God Cory Stine, leader of the Jetpack Joust media network! We mostly gush over Poe Dameron #1! I also make it clear that my opinions on the King Oscar Isaac are not at all professional. Enjoy, and read me soon!

JC: So, I really like Poe Dameron #1!

CS: Yeah dude! It's a nice compact little story. I'm very excited to see where it goes. Soule is such an underrated writer.

JC: Yeah and I was really stunned, from the getgo, by how accurately Soule captured Poe Dameron with dialogue. There's something so singularly pure about Poe's "gee whiz" heroism and it's all there. Even when he's miffed, he's still very nice.

CS: There's something very classic about Poe. He's the type of hero we don't see too often in modern fiction: someone who wants to do the right thing for seemingly no other reason than the fact that it's the right thing. Obviously, he could get more layered, as I imagine he'll play a larger role in the events of Episodes VIII and IX, but I think it's actually very refreshing that Poe is the opposite of all grimdark heroes that seem to be dominating our culture at the moment.

JC: I was literally just thinking about that. There's something very dorky about Poe and I mean that in a good way. It's like if a good-natured honor student was the protagonist of a comic book.

CS: Exactly! He's Captain America prior to the events of The Winter Soldier. Good-natured, smart, charismatic, and maybe even a bit too idealistic for his own good. And Soule does such a great job of capturing that, even if Poe only had fifteen minutes of screen time in The Force Awakens.

JC: The book, and Leia herself, mention that he's really our peek into life for a Republic member who never knew the Empire.

CS: Poe, as a character, helps to remind us that quite a bit of time has passed in the Star Wars galaxy. He never lived under the thumb of the Emperor and Vader, so he may not fully understand the complexities of that time period. Just like I highly doubt that anyone in our age group fully grasps the ins-and-outs of the end of the Cold War. Poe feels the impact of history, but only understands the present. But I just got very philosophical about a book that, more than anything, is just incredibly light and fun.

JC: Yeah the book really breezes along, even with the (predictably adorable) BB-8 story at the end. It whets the appetite for more info about his team.

CS: I really hope that we get to explore some of the supporting characters. Probably the best comics in the old EU were the X-Wing books and the reason they were so successful was the supporting cast and the team dynamics. I want this to be Poe's book, but I'd love for this series to have that same dimension. I'm already interested in L'ulo, who flew with Poe's mother in the Shattered Empire series. How did you feel about the artwork? I think Phil Noto is very talented, but I wasn't a huge fan of the Chewbacca mini-series, so I'm glad they brought him back for another chance at Star Wars.

JC: I thought the art was the strongest part of Chewbacca and this looked even better! There's, again, a stern and quiet decency to everything Poe does and instead of looking like a square, he just looks firm and Steve Rogers-esque.

CS: Definitely. There's a trend in these Star Wars comics where artists clearly trace moments from the films when drawing familiar characters. It can be a bit distracting. You can tell that Noto is reverent to the characters, but he also has his own style that very much fits the tone of the story being told. I love it.

Dameron, you wry bastard.

JC: So Poe is definitely on a mission to find the Max Von Sydow character, right?

CS: That's definitely the impression I got. Which is great, because that character came and went so fast in The Force Awakens and it feels like he had a lot of potential. He's important enough to be the only person in the galaxy with a map to Luke Skywalker, so he could potentially be some of the connective tissue between the original trilogy and the new films.

JC: Yeah I'm really hoping he pops up in Rogue One too. So, I know that on my end, I've read Chewbacca and Vader Down from the newer Star Wars comics. I got deeper into this than Chewbacca, but so far it lacks the real propulsion of Vader Down. Where does Poe Dameron sit for you?

CS: As a first issue, it's very strong and it definitely left me wanting more. I've read every Star Wars comic that Marvel has put out and I'd definitely say that this is in the top tier, at least at the jump, but it has to maintain the momentum to keep me interested in. I have faith in Charles Soule after his run on the Lando mini-series, so I'd definitely call this a buy.

JC: Agreed. I think it's a great add to a pull list for anyone who already reads Star Wars, and a strong entry point for the casual fan.

CS: Yeah, so many of the other Star Wars lines are intertwining narratively and are deep enough in that it could be difficult to find a good starting point. Because Poe takes place in this completely unexplored area of the timeline, it's perfect for casual fans of the franchise.

There you have it, Rebels! Don't wait to stream it on Unlimited, Poe Dameron is a buy!

Quake, Interrupted: "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #3" by Guggenheim, Peralta & Rosenberg

The Tarantino -shot cover lacks the very ugly Standoff logos.

When the Jeph Loeb-headed television branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began back in 2013, it opened with a thud, inaudible even to Matt Murdock. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. featured an inexplicably resurrected Phil Coulson leading a team of lesser-ranking super-spies going against even lower-status agents of Centipede. The series centered around Skye, played by Chloe Bennet, a stressed-yet-gorgeous hacker who managed to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. using only her wits in the back of a van. The rest of the cast, filled out with Abercrombie models, "nerdy" characters by your usual "TV-ugly" brand of actors, and the legendary Ming-Na Wen, playing a character well below what she deserved. I expected it to die a quiet midseason death, after an episode meant to tie into Thor: The Dark World featured Peter MacNicol as a former Asgardian.

Something happened around The Winter Soldier in 2014, however: the show crystallized around a main MCU plot and began moving. Suddenly, Brett Dalton's performance as Agent Grant Ward became an intentional cypher of a "good guy," and the rest of the cast began to fill out like a regular Whedonesque ensemble, and not just the disconnected facsimile they were in the first 16 episodes. The show was also pursuing a LOST-style mystery around Coulson's resurrection (going so far as to link his rebirth to the Tahitian ISLAND) that it quickly dropped in favor of making threats to the world explicit in the rebirth of Hydra.

Season 2 added even more to the show, opening with actual Marvel villains like the Absorbing Man and TV-ready heroes like Mockingbird. Talented actors like Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood jumped on to the cast (and will sadly be missed moving forward) and mainstays of the MCU like Samuel L. Jackson and Hayley Atwell dropped in for world-building scenes. Most importantly, the show performed some breathtaking storytelling parkour in destroying the ground underneath Skye's feet by turning her into Daisy Johnson (not yet Quake) and establishing her as an Inhuman (as well as the daughter of Mr. Hyde, played gleefully by Kyle Maclachlan) having just experienced Terrigenesis. The show also found new depths to old characters like Deathlok (played by Whedon alum J. August Richards) and space for experimental episodes, like the Agent Simmons showstopper "4,722 Hours." Renewed already for a fourth season, Agents rests comfortably now as a Once Upon a Time-style fixture on ABC's schedule, while fans bite their nails in anticipation of a third season of Marvel's Agent Carter.

Great, expressive action shots help move the story along in issue #3.

It makes sense that Marvel wouldn't want to launch an Agents tie-in that takes 2 years to get good, and it's a good thing that they pulled in rival showrunner Marc Guggenheim from the CW's Arrow to make things sing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his storytelling expertise shows from issue #1. The book plays out like a "best of both worlds" compilation of characters from the show, as Quake leads Coulson's field team consisting of Agents Fitz, May, and Simmons. Mockingbird and Deathlok are also on hand for the spy capers of the show, and each character gets plenty of face time. Rick Jones even swings by for a bit to help Coulson with the mission at hand.

Peralta and Rosenberg do great work with pacing and color, as you can see in the explosive opening shot above, and there's plenty of space for Guggenheim's dialogue-heavy action to dominate the panels. Deathlok hasn't been so simultaneously fearsome and friendly in years, and to see him drawn this way is a joy for longtime fans.

Ironically, my only misgiving with an issue like this is that the Agents book, unlike the show, loses something when it has to tie into a bigger picture. The Standoff crossover is currently occupying a rather boring miniseries by itself, while also splintering into some dull stories in other books. Sam Wilson: Captain America is strong enough by itself to survive the crossover, but Agents lives and dies by the high-powered adventures that refresh themselves between issues. Standoff forces these characters to flip into the continuity of a bad lead-up to Civil War II, and it really shows. Guggenheim and Peralta got hired for their ability to tell a great story on their own; here's hoping that Marvel lets them out of Inhuman jail long enough to do it!

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: Wait for Unlimited

SHE SLAY: "The Mighty Thor #5" by Aaron, Dauterman, and Wilson

They gonna get it on, cuz they don't get along!

A good friend of mine, one particularly interested in conspiracy theories, had a very specific idea about the purpose of Battleworld and Secret Wars last Spring before it dropped and scattered the greater Marvel universe. In short, he thought that it was a thinly-veiled opportunity for Marvel to sneak the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity into the books. It's not an unreasonable thing to believe; for many, the Captain America and Iron Man films redefined the characters for a new century (and in the case of Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, have raised them from obscurity into mainstream consciousness). As anyone who's been keeping up with the All-New, All-Different landscape can tell you, that isn't exactly true, unless the Tom Holland Spider-Man films will feature him filing TPS reports in Pyongyang.

A few series have leaned hard into the benefits of mainstream exposure, though. Daredevil sees Charles Soule working on his best Steven S. DeKnight impression, featuring ol' Hornhead fighting off supernatural ninjas in a mostly black costume, featuring only the shades of red that you would normally expect from the (definitive) Samnee costume. There's a fitfully amusing Hellcat (it works well if you're expecting a slow-food version of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) book on the shelves that barely capitalizes on Patsy popping up on Jessica Jones. And sadly, a young gentlesir could break his back carrying out all of the different comics featuring the word "Deadpool" on the cover. It's been a wise business move, considering that my LCS is literally across the street from the nicest movie theater in the state. Very few nerds could resist the temptation of seeing Deadpool on the big screen and then picking up a few books with his face on the cover. Unlike the House of M giving the X-Men universe at large the Legacy Virus treatment, they're capitalizing like Hell on the success of the Merc with a Mouth.

One can't help but fear, though, that the publishing side of things might be too influenced by the MCU. After all, the films need a certain amount of story fuel to keep being made, and (as teachers know), you can't pour from an empty container.

A great moment in an issue full of them.

Thank goodness that the barrels of mead in Asgard runneth over! The first arc of Jason Aaron's relaunched The Mighty Thor sees Jane Foster and company, for the most part, carrying on. Jane is still suffering from the cancer threatening to destroy her corporeal form, and she only deepens her problem by constantly transforming into the Goddess of Thunder. Jane Foster is, in the classic Peter Parker tradition, bound by her need to save the Nine Realms regardless of the threat to her body. It's every metaphor about superheroism made literal. Aaron's careful reintroduction of Jane Foster and, eventually the Odinson, shows the respect for pre-2015 Marvel that only the heaviest of heavyweight writers have gotten to exercise in the All-New, All-Different era.

The book around Foster, however, could easily be mistaken for the films. Heimdall, seen only through his helmet, bears a striking resemblance to Idris Elba, and the handsome, art-school dropout Loki practically wears a sign that says Hiddleston. The Rainbow Bridge, Frigga, and even the barren cliffs of Nifelheim look identical to their counterparts in the first two Thor films. It's striking (I personally love the visual language Kenneth Branagh and poor, poor Alan Taylor used in the Thunder God films) to see the comics match up so precisely to what has become common understanding of the setting and charactesr. It's to Russell Dauterman's credit that he's able to so closely replicate some of that visual language, while also striking out on his own. His action scenes, especially that depicting the titanic clash between Thor and Odin, are amazing in their use of minimalism in the face of realm-spanning fights.

Dauterman: Master of Scale.

The balance between the iconography of the films and the storytelling coming from Aaron's mind makes The Mighty Thor a delightfully exciting book to read month after month. Aaron has managed to take a joke of a character like Malekith and make him threatening again, while deeply humanizing the problems in Asgard. One can't help but read Odin's loss of self-control and his aggression against Thor as an allegory for dementia, and Thor's constant striving to save all of Asgard and Midgard, despite her failing body, remains one of the most compelling stories in Marvel lore. It truly feels, like the stories of fellow Avengers Sam Wilson and Miles Morales, like Jane Foster deserves to hold Mjolnir.

But I'm not sure for how long, exactly: my only misgiving about this fifth issue is the intimation at the end: the Odinson is closer than ever to picking up his hammer again. Of all the impending returns to the status quo, this one hurts the most: I'm still waiting at the phone for Bruce Banner to come back and Hulk it up, but I'm fine with Steve Rogers and the Odinson staying out of things for a while. I haven't been this fascinated by a Thor story in a long time, and I'm sure it wouldn't work without the power of Jane Foster's struggles underlying the story. Frost Giants, be on lookout for a hammer to the face.

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: Buy it!

Plot: What Is It Good For? "Rick & Morty #11" vs. "Black Widow #1"

Regardless of my hot take, this is a great cover.

It's my own fault for reading a Rick & Morty comic and expecting it to live up to what Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon created, really.

The ongoing Rick & Morty book, by Oni Press, has fitfully created engaging stories around the Sanchez-Smith clan and their interdimensional, psychosexual adventures. One issue, focusing on the in-universe show titled Ball Fondlers, was especially hilarious. Most, however, have read as an approximation of the voice of the original creators, but never coming as close as the best issues of Simpsons Comics.

Issue #11, by Pamela Ribon, Marc Ellerby and Ryan Hill, is so busy that I wonder if Rick Sanchez worked on it in a split-screen setting. Rick puts Morty through HSS, a simulator of high school experiences intended to wise up his grandson to common experiences, like sex or bullying. A blatant critique of online school systems, HSS fails to engage a student like Morty Smith...or a reader like Joshua Conner. This in itself is a simulacrum of when Rick mastered Roy: A Life Well Lived on the mothership show itself.

One great choice made by Ribon is the B-plot with Summer and Jerry, wherein they switch bodies and help each other through basic problems. Unlike the main story, this felt like something that would be in the show, not like something simulating it.

Two stories is a lot for a comic that doesn't necessarily slam-dunk either one, and nearly every panel of Rick & Morty is packed with dialogue (again, in an attempt to capture the firecracker rapport that Justin Roiland established with...himself) that tries to pass with jokes. They never quite land the way the book wants them to hit, and it drags toward the end. The book is absolutely brimming with what you could call plot but, for the life of me, I can't tell you what happened. Rick & Morty is existing in several dimensions, but not in my pull list any longer.

SAMNEE BACK

There might be fewer word bubbles in the entirety of Black Widow #1, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, than one page of Rick & Morty. The issue, reuniting the former Daredevil team on Marvel's premier Avenger-Assassin, focuses on Natasha escaping from a S.H.I.E.L.D. establishment for...reasons. In a deft trick of art imitating the central character, little is revealed in the way of information, only what readers absolutely need to know. For instance, the beginning of the book shows Natasha escaping from a building...but it's really a Helicarrier, only revealed when it's absolutely necessary to the story.

Thanks to the MCU and Scarlett's character-defining performance, the sharper edges around Nathasha Romanoff have been sanded off...for the most part. The Widow spends the entirety of the issue inspiring a hot pursuit from other agents, and then she finds herself forced to break her own new code in order to survive. Waid and Samnee do a great job of putting readers in Natasha's stilettos, as we are only just learning the details of her mission as she works through it. This first issue is just a riveting piece of spy fiction, wrapped up in a propulsive action sequence.

I think a lot about the difference between Rick & Morty and Black Widow when I try to figure out the place of plot in a single issue of comics. The former definitely attempts to have it's storytelling not only match up with the self-contained nature of the mothership show, but also to hearken back to a past time of comics, when any issue was someone's first issue. To the book's credit, you could pick it up immediately and get the gist. The Nick Fury-types heading up Marvel Entertainment, however, know that the first issue of Black Widow is destined to be the first issue of a collected volume that'll fly off of shelves when people talk about how much people like me loved it. I highly recommend getting on it before then!

Rick & Morty #11 - BUY IT, SKIP IT, WAIT FOR A TRADE: SKIP IT

Black Widow #1 - BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, SKIP IT: BUY IT

#sameastheoldboss "DKIII: The Master Race #3" by Miller, Azzarello, Kubert, Janson, & Anderson

What an incredible cover! What a shame not to use that key, though...

Earlier this week, the internet exploded over a trailer for a remake of a loose, dialogue-based comedy about four schlubbish scientists in the Big Apple who end up shooting proton lasers at a Big Marshmallow. Regardless of the way people chose to unpack it (criticisms of Paul Feig's craft, morally-upright and uptight views of Leslie Jones as a municipal worker, nearly-parched thirst for Chris Hemsworth), everyone seemed to settle on the same theme: we don't need a new Ghostbusters...unless you count the beans at Sony, in which case, who ya gonna call? BRAND RECOGNITION!

On the other hand, comic books are almost built from the beginning on brand recognition. The Big 2 have clearly survived on the continuation of the stories of characters, even after death...but even labels like Vertigo and Image have leaned hard into sequelizing their most famous works in order to allow creators more time with characters, and readers an easier way in to a familiar story. Hell, we even now know what the world was like Before Watchmen (also worth noting: a DC book). After picking up a $1 printing of the debut of Image's Phonogram two weeks ago, I became confused with the reading order with the different stock of back issues at my local shop. To quote a character who recently surfed the prequel wave himself, "nothing ends. Nothing ever ends."

Poor, poor Hal.

I'm glad, then, that DC deigned to bring back the Dark Knight Returns continuity for a new mini-series, and even more grateful that they paired creator and master Frank Miller with collaborators who love and appreciate, but are able to focus, his...singular...vision. If you hate most of Frank Miller's work after he made the Boy Wonder eat rats, or after he subjected the Green Lantern to some Charlotte Perkins Gilman-justice, or after he waged a Holy War with the Fixer, this review may not be for you. I've always viewed Miller as a damaged auteur at worst, someone whose vision was adopted as the industry norm for so long that he had to continue coloring further and further outside the lines to remain relevant. You can track Miller's journey into mystery throughout his run on Sin City, where you begin with coherent noir fiction and end with, charitably put, messy work that is unintentionally challenging to decode.

I think the probability of you reading a comics blog and not having read The Dark Knight Returns is low, so I'll skip to the sequel: I love DK2. Just like Stay Positive is The Hold Steady's best record to me because it's the one that came out first when I knew about them, DK2 is enormously special to me because it was the first comic of that level of prestige to drop when I was woke. Nearly every page plays out as the work of an artist freed from commercial shackles, but still allowed to play with the most expensive toys imaginable.

Miller is absolutely fenced in on this one, though it's a good thing. Having publicly stated that he expects to produce a fourth series after this one, it's clear that the DKR continuity is now a universe that Miller loves to play in, and DC loves to let him (issue #3 was the top-selling comic for February 2016). Subtitled The Master Race, the mini-series picks up three years after the death of President Lex Luthor, and Bruce Wayne is once again in hiding, but so is Superman. Through the error of Ray Palmer and others, the micro-city of Kandor is released to the world, unleashing the titular "master race" of Kryptonians on Earth. By issue #3, Carrie Kelly has touched base with Commissioner Yindel (now as grizzled as her predecessor) and motivated Wayne to emerge from hiding to get his old friend and rival out of the Fortress of Solitude. All the while, characters from around the DCU have to deal with the righteous anger of Superman and Wonder Woman's daughter, Lara, who lives on her home planet, but is growing up even lonelier than her father did. Andy Kubert's pencils are absolutely gorgeous and they do a great job approximating Miller's early style, but they're clean enough for more sensitive modern audiences. Brian Azzarello deserves the most credit on the book, however, for grooming Miller's sensibilities from a story perspective while also including all the flourishes we expect from a DKR book; young hoods no longer talk about how the "leader don't shiv," but they do hashtag with #meetthenewboss.

GL doesn't need a hand with the ladies!

One of my favorite features of the book are the smaller insert issues, each focused on a different DCU character. #1 included a story about the folly of the aforementioned Atom, #2 focused on Wonder Woman losing her connection to her daughter. #3 has some of the darkest humor surrounding the Green Lantern character ever. They're incredible not just because of their insight to these Justice League members, but even more because they feel like just the right amount of pure, uncut Miller sensibility in the middle of a story where he's sharing the spotlight.

In a way, though, those smaller issues represent the direction of the series, and a smart way to make commerce with these books: DC is bankrolling higher-rated lower-sellers like Cyborg with the blockbuster DKIII. Every smaller inset issue is introduced with the "Dark Knight Universe Presents" tagline, ensuring us that what used to be a self-contained set of wonders is now, like the democracy Bruce Wayne is fighting for, open to all of life's possibilities. For the Dark Knight himself (or, as compellingly as the book makes a case for, herself), the fire is most definitely burning again.