(COMIC) 4-SENTENCE REVIEWS #4!

Resurrection Man #10
(Abnett, Lanning, Saiz)

I've been a extremely avid fan of Resurrection Man since last September, mostly based on the fact that Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning were less concerned with creating some amazingly big story arc and more focused on just writing interesting stories. I was pretty upset when DC announced that the series would end after it's 'Issue Zero' this coming September, but after reading Resurrection Man #10, I'm wondering if maybe it wasn't all that bad of a call. This month, Mitch Shelley and Kim Rebecki are still on the hunt to uncover Mitch's mysterious past, but instead of advancing the story at all, Abnett and Lanning bring back the 'avenging angels' that came after Mitch way back in issue four or five, a move that shows that maybe these writers really don't have a solid future in plan for the man who can't die. It's far more likely that Mitch Shelley's story will have a super-satisfying conclusion come next month, but we'll just have to wait and see.

GRADE: B

Before Watchmen: Minutemen #1 of 6

(Darwyn Cooke)

Minutemen is supposed to be a look back at the original superhero team that set the (arguably) 'golden standard' for what the Watchmen eventually aspire to attain: the original idea of truth, justice, and the American way. And while we know the Minutemen had their own set of problems, they also operated in a simpler time when origin stories didn't involve intergalactic sentries or mystical interventions, but instead came from ordinary people looking to make their world a little bit better. In this first of six issues, Darwyn Cooke spends a lot of time going over the origins of each member of the Minutemen, and while this could come off as cheesy and overbearing, Cooke masterfully makes each introduction feel like you're meeting these characters for the first time. It's a phenomenal first issue and even better beginning to the Before Watchmen event.

GRADE: A

Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #1 of 4
(Cooke, Conner)

In the first title dedicated to a member of the Watchmen (the first in the Before Watchmen series focused on the Minutemen, which features the Comedian, but none of the other Watchmen proper), and it's pretty damn good. Laurie Juspeczyk has grown up in the shadow of her mother, both in terms of training and studying to carry on the Silk Spectre name, as well as her infamous streak of compromising work after her days as a superhero ended. Laurie's tale starts as a romantic story with chisel-jawed Greg, a boy who knows about her mother's racy past and doesn't care - all he wants is to be with Laurie, and the two of them decide to run away from home and hitchhike to wherever. Darwyn Cooke has set up a very mid-60s story, complete with adolescent angst, social hierarchy, and a pinch of hippies to keep us interested for the next issue.

GRADE: B

(MOVIE REVIEW) JUSTICE LEAGUE - THE NEW FRONTIER

Directed by David Bullock
Written by Stan Berkowitz and Darwyn Cooke
Produced by Michael Goguen, Stan Berkowitz, Sander Schwartz, Gregory Noveck, and Bruce Timm

Original artwork from the comic book series.

As long as superhero movies have been made, fans have been critical. Even the best of films - like, say, The Dark Knight - have their detractors who wished it were more like the comic book. At to an extent, they can't be blamed; the point of adapting a comic book into a film is to please the fans while simultaneously attracting new fans. When a studio thinks too much about mass appeal (like with Green Lantern), the results were horrendous. And while staying as accurate as possible can have it's downsides (Watchmen got a little long in the tooth), a screenplay faithful to the source is usually better.

One of the best examples of this theory is Justice League: The New Frontier. The 2004 six-issue limited series was such an astounding achievement; it re-imagined the origins of the Justice League of America under the McCarthy-era scrutiny of communism and secrecy, with vintage American-style art that complimented the story perfectly. When DC announced the animated film adaptation of The New Frontier, many were skeptical. With such a unique story and art style, could Cooke's tale of intrigue and mysticism be successfully adapted? The answer is a resounding 'Yes'.

Set after the Korean War, the film follows the founding members of the Justice League as they make their ways toward a first meeting to battle an enemy called the Centre, voiced by the commanding Keith David. In an age of distrust, all the members of the Justice Society have retired, and superheroes are a thing of the past. The New Frontier explores superheroism as a metaphor for the USA's own fear of the unknown during that time. It's an interesting juxtaposition to the real-life decline in popularity of comic books during the 1950s, after the 'Golden Age' of the Justice Society, and before the 'Silver Age' of the Justice League.

Cooke also provides alternate histories for Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Martian Manhunter. Jordan is re-imagined as an ex-soldier who fought in Korea before becoming a test pilot for, you guessed it, Ferris Aircraft. J'onn J'onzz, on the other hand, keeps his arrival on Earth intact, but alters the way he connects with humanity by giving him television as a means of absorbing information. J'onn morphing into Bugs Bunny and the dead air Native American chief was just as nostalgic and Americana as in the comic.

Overall, the central plot of The New Frontier isn't the focal point. So much so that the Centre is hardly delved into beyond being old as sin and spawning dinosaurs, for some reason. To a degree, the Centre somewhat resembles Lovecraft's Cthulu in it's design and raw, evil nature. The New Frontier is more about how a new generation of heroes comes together to save the world. As a Green Lantern fan, it's hard watching the entire film with Hal Jordan resisting the ring. But when he finally puts it on, it's game over. Cooke is one of the rare writers that understands the scope of Green Lantern's power, and it's refreshing to see that conviction animated.

Justice League: The New Frontier is by and far my favorite DC animated film. Existing outside the flimsily-connected world of all the other films, Darwyn Cooke's epic tale exceeded it's expectations by keeping true to the source material, using the comic book's same visual style, and casting a great team of voice actors to bring the characters to life (I mean, Kevin Conroy's great for Batman, but Jeremy Sisto? Awesome). Bringing actual panel scenes into the mix is the icing on top of the cake that makes this film just so damn good. It's an homage to a great piece of graphic literature that does the original justice.

GRADE:

A+