THE Wednesday Comics
I am not a DC comics reader, not by any stretch. I never have been, I grew up under an older brother’s buying regime of Marvel all the way, baby. Now, as an adult who can buy what I like, I still don’t really dig on DC. Or, to be more specific, I don’t dig on the DC universe. I have the Kevin Smith Green Arrow collections and one Ed Brubaker Catwoman trade. Apart from that I have the obvious dabble in Batman that everyone has, DKR, The Cult, Year One, Dark Victory, and the very awesome Gotham Central. But I don’t rate any of their characters to any massive degree, and commit to none weekly.
For the sake of this argument other DC publications do not count, otherwise the Vertigo and WildStorm range would make me look like a duplicitous fool. Those books are not DC, in my eyes, not as I view the DC universe anyway. Same as someone could read Icon, and hate Marvel, in my opinion.
So, I bring this up because I just purchased the first issue of DC’s Wednesday Comics. A massive broadsheet (in size and printing style/paper stock) experiement from the obviously throbbing and all-powerful brainstem of Mark Chiarello, DC editor and brain child. The experiment, to use this new style to showcase 15 different stories each week, one page of each story per week. Batman leads on the cover, then followed by an assortment of DC rogues and rapscallions. None of these characters particularly sing to me; Superman, Green Lantern, Supergirl, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Kamandi, Deadman, Catwoman, Metamorpho, Sgt. Rock, the Teen Titans, the Metal Men (never even heard of these guys before today) and Adam Strange in Strange Adventures. Each character has his one broad page to start his story, and they’ll get one page each per week to round out the tale.
It’s a wickedly bold experiment, and one that I was interested in viewing because new things aren’t often enough tried in any entertainment medium. I also heard a dickload of buzz on the net that said I should at least sample the first issue.
I must as, as an aforementioned non-DC guy, I was completely blown away. I was wowed in a way I wasn’t ready for. This thing is awesome for so many reasons. The first being, not only is it different, but then there are variations on that different as each page does its own thing. I think any person could read this and pick at least one page that they love. Yes, love! And each person would probably pick a different page for a different reason. I’ll discuss mine below.
Another reason to love it, it’s got variety. Variety of characters, of art styles, or writing styles, of pacing, of character types that you will like. Is that reason the same as the first one? I’m not sure, but I can’t stress it enough. It’s got a lot in those pages.
Another reason, because you the clamoring public demand constant persuasion, is the format. This is comics in broadsheet, and no ads. No, I lie, there is one add on the back, or back of the front, this thing folds twice, and it’s a crappy Robot Chicken/Star Wars, but whatever, I barely looked at it. I sat on my coach, with a red wine, some crackers and dip (I shit you not) and opened this puppy in front of, and over, me and soaked it all in. Both arms were stretched out, and the art was right there in front of my face. It was an experience like you don’t get often enough.
The last reason to get this; well, it’s pretty bloody good. And herein is where the teller of the tale plays his final, personal, hand. You know I’m not being biased because I don’t really have any personal connection to any character. This is all from someone standing on the outside of the DC windows and looking in through the grimy Gotham rain.
I do not like Superman. I think he’s a lame character and I could do without him. Completely. But, and isn’t there always a big fat but coming (please, no butt and coming jokes, think of the children), this Superman page is absolutely spotless. The art from Lee Bermejo is so fantastic (possibly the stand out creator moment from the issue…), and he draws the best looking Superman I have ever seen (and not, oh he’s so dreamy good looking I’d drop trou for him in moments, I mean good looking like he looks good for the character as I would see him). The story is also a very good intro and definitely makes me want to know where it’s going.
The Batman story is terse and tense and completely how the Dark Knight should be written. Not too much, but a hell of a lot. It’s got a shock, and again, is a great intro and I will be looking back for more. These two entires, served up very early, make for some good reading and watching indeed. They are the basic and solid stand-outs.
Some other pages that impressed me in different ways were; Wonder Woman. Most reviews seem to say the page was too much, and there are a lot of panels (48, I think, on one page in fact), but I kinda liked it for that. It was dense and you had to concentrate and you had to look, but that made me push into all the harder and get so much more for that. I really want to see how the next page looks, and if it’ll be similar, or not. And I dislike Wonder Woman as much as I do Superman, so this was pretty good.
Kamandi did a good job for me, especially for a character I have no affiliation with whatsoever. I liked the art and I want to know who is standing in the last panel. The same with Deadman, a character I have no preference for, I like the set up. It has a good feel.
People have raved about Hawkman, and it does look good, but didn’t touch me as much as some other pages. You have to love the major panel of his flying though, I just don’t know if I care enough, even if he does look cool. he’s Hawkman…
Green Lantern starts off with the coolest intro panel ever, it’s Green Lantern by way of Hawaiian Dick, and I love that. Love it enough to throw it up here for you. And I could be a fool, this might be how he intros every comic, I don’t know, but thanks to this I now have at least seen it.
But then the page doesn’t do much for story, and Green Lantern really isn’t in it. This one could have been pushed along much quicker. The Flash is an interesting exercise in action comic/romance comic which I felt worked well, but coming in media res left me very confused, but I’m sure following pages will key me in. Catwoman, with The Demon, offers something interesting but nothing redefining the genre. Sgt. Rock doesn’t offer much, but nails what little it gives. Strange Adventures lives up to the name completely. I think it will continue to, so that’s good (the aforementioned diversity completely on display in this page). Teen Titans doesn’t offer much, but it does give me a bit of a tingle, something about the bad guy’s lines makes me shudder. I thought the Metal Men were an interesting group, seems very old school 70’s after-school special in approach, and I want to know how the shadowed man sitting at the desk is, who has not been addressed by anyone yet. And finally, Supergirl is very different. Not so much as a miss as it is just not completely my thing. But I appreciate it offering something else, something more cute and kid friendly, and nice to see Supergirl not just being some pin-up slut.
But the win for the week has to go, and this was close with Batman and Superman but you’l see why I went with him, Metamorpho, The Element Man. Why Metamorpho you ask? I know, I hadn’t really heard of him before, and the story is rather pedestrian in parts, simple but effective. But Rex Mason gets the win for two lines in the following scan. See if you can spot them. The first one is good, but the second one punches like a drunken mule. Love it.
I think Wednesday Comics is a hell of a lot of fun, which comics completely should be, I think it’s an absolute experience that you won’t get in trade dress in uniform size, you have to spread it out in front of you, or on a table and simply soak up. A lot of people are waiting for the trade because the don’t want to wait for one page a week, and they don’t like the idea that there will never be a mint copy of any issue because they are folded when shipped. But, those people are a little crazy. They’re the difference between a comic collector and a comic reader. I read comics because I like the stories. At least, only of the comics I read. I don’t read manga, I don’t read a lot of stuff, but the things I do read I do because I like the stories. Not because they might one day be worth something, and not so I can store them away. I like to get my comics out and touch them, read them. I always have been this way. And this comic, it was made to read it one page at a time. A cliffhanger doesn’t have appeal when you get the answer a split second with a turn of the page. The week of witing, thinking, theorising, discussing, that is what it’s about. The same with certain comic titles. It’s nice to have that month wait to soak it in and think things over.
I am surprised that there isn’t any Green Arrow or Aquaman, but in the same breath I could care less. It’s all the same to me, it’s DC. I’m just in for the ride, whoever may come along. It’s on for twelve weeks, and I wonder if DC will back it up straight away. My prediction. They will, and it won’t be as good.
I just wonder what Marvel will should do in retaliation. I have a few ideas.
Posted on July 12th, 2009 by ryan
Filed under: comics
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