Polite Dissent

12 Responses to “ The Anthrax of Comic Books ”

1. Eric TF Bat
   March 4th, 2010 at 7:22 am
   

   I knew it was bad, but are you seriously saying it’s worse than Identity Crisis?

   Wow.

2. Bryan L
   March 4th, 2010 at 8:34 am
   

   I wouldn’t necessarily call it worse than Identity Crisis, but dang, I’d be really hard-pressed to split that hair. It is most definitely stupifyingly awful. It’s unbelievably poorly plotted, to the point where it’s almost impossible to follow or understand. The plot exists solely to string together moments of horror, most of which defy established characterization and basic logic. In that respect, it almost perfectly resembles Identity Crisis.

   Why did I read it? And that’s a fair question. For one thing, I ordered it from my comic shop and I won’t stiff them even when the product is wretched. For another, I simply couldn’t believe that James Robinson, who wrote Starman, could possibly churn out something that’s this unremittingly BAD. It started out mediocre, and I thought, well, he’ll pull it together, but every single issue got WORSE. I could break it down panel by panel, but it’s not worth the effort.

   Seriously, it’s so bad that Robinson has now gone on my no-buy list, like Meltzer before him. I will never purchase another new book by him (I’m still going to finish Absolute Starman) unless it’s critically lauded by at least 10 sources whose opinion I respect unreservedly, and then I might buy it in trade. Maybe.

3. James Figueiredo
   March 4th, 2010 at 9:12 am
   

   Oh, c’mon, don’t we get a actual review of the series? ;)
   The puppies are adorable though.

4. Sleestak
   March 4th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
   

   I’m just treating it as an Elseworlds and forgetting about it. I mean, Lian? Will that stick in DCU proper?

5. Dave
   March 4th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
   

   I bailed after the first issue. Considering Robinson’s work on JLA, I’m starting to wonder if “Starman” was a fluke.

6. Bryan L
   March 4th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
   

   “I’m just treating it as an Elseworlds and forgetting about it.”

   Y’know, sometimes I have dreams where the DC editor-in-chief simply releases a statement that says: “Please disregard the events of X. I have declared this out of continuity and it will never again be referenced. Please accept my apologies, and thank you for your business.” Sometimes in my dreams he (it’s never DiDio, by the way) offers refunds, but not often.

   Hey, I can dream, right? Can’t I? Can’t I have something that’s not trampled into the muck of incompetence and faux realism? Is that too much to ask?

   Honestly, in my head, the DC animated universe long ago became the “real” DC Universe, and everything else is Elseworlds. It’s an important delusion that helps me cope with garbage. Okay, I’ve vented. I promise not to post on this again, lest I become one of those weird Internet guys.

7. Your Obedient Serpent
   March 4th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
   

   Thank you. This is the best response I’ve seen to that book.

8. Eric TF Bat
   March 5th, 2010 at 1:35 am
   

   Chris Bird has a magnificent blow-by-blow of this career-ending, respect-nuking piece of fishwrap over on mightygodking.com. I recommend it.

9. bottleHeD
   March 5th, 2010 at 5:29 am
   

   When you said Anthrax, I thought of the band.. :’(

10. Bob
    March 5th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
    

    I didn’t hate Identity Crisis — there were a lot of bits I disliked, but I don’t hate it.

    I didn’t hate All Star Batman & Robin — I rolled my eyes at it, and dropped it, goddamn Batman and all.

    I don’t even hate the second Star Wars trilogy.

    So you see, I have either a high tolerance for crap, or horrible taste.

    I loathe Cry for Justice.

    It was horrible. The last issue was one giant bad false dilemma — let Prometheus go or see cities destroyed by poorly defined WMDs that were malfunctioning anyways. Shall we count the ways the entire superhero community of the DCU should’ve been able to handle that? Shall we count the number of ways the JL could’ve tracked Prometheus?

    DC should publish it in collected form, as Absolute Crap.

11. Marlon M.
    March 9th, 2010 at 3:13 am
    

    It cannot possibly be worse than “The Darkness” series. Unless the creators have already been strung up by a righteous mob.

    I threw the $50 “Darkness” hardcover I bought right into a dumpster. My conscience wouldn’t permit me to trade it in. Apparently godawful filth and language can substitute for any and all other aspects of storytelling.

    But hey, the artists could draw hot babes! I guess that makes everything else all right.

12. Scott
    March 9th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
    

    Many thanks for the warning. Now I won’t accidentally pick this one up.

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