I was disappointed not to get to see the accalimed puppet retelling of A Christmas Carol by the National Theatre of Scotland. But I feel like there's been a surfeit of Dickens (and Sherlock). Time for a tardy collection of rapid-fire reviews of my hoarded annual Xmas comics , a la Newsarama's Best Shots...
The biggest event in comics in 2011 was the 90s nostalgia-fest that is the New 52: DC comics rebooted their universe to accomodate Jim Lee's plethora of overly-fussy costume designs and rehashed X-Men plotlines.
My favourites, the Legion of Super-Heroes, have spent four issues being quite dull.At least a variety of Legionnaires are being used and I like the newish looks for Tinya and Dirk. But I'm reminded increasingly of the largely disappointing Greg LaRocque Years when those Universo and Starfinger stories plodded on, month after weary month. Fandom seemingly suffers from a collective false memory syndrome: it was Keith Giffen, not Levitz,who made the early 80s LSH so exciting.
Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's Justice League is a modern-day Super Powers, devoid of any original ideas and dependant upon recycling Kirby's Apokalips (again) and Wolfman/ Perez's Cyborg.There's more action than the Brad Meltzer revival but little characterisation: Mutton-chops Aquaman is aping Namor and Wonder Woman (by far the most likeable personality in the group) owes a great deal to the script of the WW animated feature.
Paul Cornell's Demon Knights - a sword and sorcery Magnificent Seven- is somewhat abstruse and willful in its storytelling although not as confusing as the Batman Inc. one-shot which rips off Sixties spy-movie kitsch and wheels out the usual torture porn for the anti-climatic reveal of the mastermind behind Leviathan. Meanwhile, Morrison's working-class hero Superman is joined in battle by the New 52 version of 90s Iron Man/Thor hybrid, Steel, in a lacklustre issue of Action.
The biggest disappointment was Green Lantern 0. I bought this for my friend Jason's wee boy, attracted by the CGI-rendered retro Hal Jordan on the cover. Lacking even an origin caption, the story of this animation tie-in is very dialogue-heavy and the technobabble is printed in tiny balloons that are a massive pain to read.
However, Batman The Brave and the Bold remains a hugely fun-packed read from the Johnny DC imprint. The Robins issue featured the Phantom Stranger, Carrie Kelly from Frank Miller's Dark Knight and homaged "Robin Dies at Dawn". The Holiday issue, meanwhile, showcased Joe Kubert's Ragman (whom I'd place in the JLA in a heartbeat)
Bendis' Avengers has reverted to "Norman Osborn (twice) Monthly" but I'm delighted to see the return of Marvel's favourite Synthezoid. However, just as there seem to be too many Evil Female Scientists (The "Toxic Doxie"?!!) there are far too many Assemblers. I'd like to see Protector, Iron Fist, Mockingbird, the Thing, Red Hulk, Dr. Strange and new additions Storm and Quake all go. Basically, I'd prefer the 2005 line-up of the New Avengers (with Ms. Marvel, Daredevil, Squirrel Girl and the Vision.) Anyway, we know there's still an Ultron storyline to come and a third Bendis title, tying in with the Whedon movie.
I'm still enjoying Bendis' and Maleev's outstanding, impressionistic super-hero noir, Moon Knight. Poor Echo, though- I think she'll be a casualty in this storyline.
Wolverine and the X-Men is enormously entertaining, paying homage to various strands of the mutants' long and convoluted history. The conceit of Professor Logan is logical and witty and so refreshing, after decades of tragedy and heavy-handed allegory. DC could learn from this book (and Waid and Rivera's Daredevil)- they honour the boom times of the Nineties but feel totally modern without the excesses of mutilation and horror.
Next: Titans Together.
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I agree about losing the excess Avengers (which sounds like a whole other team book). Iron Fist should stay away until his costume reverts to the classic colours - with slippers and disco collar!
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