Fun But Utterly Inconsequential: Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War

The Good: Moments of artwork, Moments of character
The Bad: Incredibly basic plot, Some underwhelming artwork, Fails to capture the villains in a compelling way
The Basics: Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is a marginally interesting idea with a pretty middling execution.


Back in my youth, I did not read comic books. In fact, it was not until late middle school, when I became obsessed with Star Trek that I ever recall picking up a comic book. Throughout high school and college, I read the various incarnations of Star Trek in comic book form, in addition to the vast array of novels in the Star Trek franchise. Back then, there were very few crossover events; it was a big deal when the original Star Trek crew had any sort of interaction with the crew of the Enterprise-D! In fact, the first out-of-universe crossover event I recall was when Marvel published the Star Trek/X-Men crossover.

Now, things are different and crossovers happen between even vastly incongruent universes in comic book forms. Last year, for example, I found Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation (volume 1 reviewed here!). Today, I discovered Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War. Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is set in the universe of the 2009 film Star Trek (reviewed here!) during the five-year mission, after Star Trek Into Darkness (reviewed here!). And Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is about as good as one might expect for a compilation of six issues that try to combine two such big universes.

Opening with the final Guardian about to be killed on Mogo with the last of the power rings, the Black Lantern is unable to kill him because he traverses universes. The U.S.S. Enterprises comes across a rogue planet suddenly, the dead Mogo, and on its surface they find the remains of the dead Guardian and a single example of each of the power rings. While Scotty and Kenser run tests on the power rings, a Klingon Bird Of Prey with General Chang decloaks, demanding Captain Kirk surrender to him. Scotty's test activates the power rings and Chang, Uhura, Chekov, and McCoy are chosen to be ring bearers. Hal Jordan appears with his Green Lantern ring to save the Enterprise, while Kirk advocates retreat.

While Yellow Lantern Chang seizes control of Kronos, only to be put in his place by Sinestro, the Orange and Red rings find their bearers on Romulus and the Gorn Homeworld. Hal Jordan explains how his universe ended when Nekkron tried to kill everyone in the universe again and that Ganthet must have used his ultimate escape plan to enter Kirk's universe with the rings. Hal Jordan was not teleported alone; Sinestro, Atrocitus, and Larfleeze also were saved from the destruction of their universe and they set out to stop the new ringbearers of their color rings. When Star Sapphire leader Carol Ferris arrives on the Enterprise with the near-dead St. Walker, she reveals that Nekkron was teleported to the universe as part of Last Light as well. Soon, Sinestro and the Red Lanterns are at war and Sinestro unleashes the power of fear on the Enterprise crew. With the Enterprise crew incapacitated, Hal Jordan takes control of the Enterprise and gets it to safety. When Nekkron resurrects Vulcan as Black Lanterns and Hal Jordan is rescued by other surviving Green Lanterns from his universe, the various Lanterns work to save the universe with the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War seems to be built on the premise that readers know who all of the various Green Lanterns are, as their characters are entirely glossed over. Hal Jordan is glossed over some in the book, while Guy Garner is given no distinct character; even John Stewart is characterized more. But the Star Trek characters are each given a few moments where readers are told explicit character traits that either contrast the DC Comics characters or apply to the ring color they were granted.

The very basic premise of Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is much dodgier than its execution. The ridiculous notion of a Star Trek/DC Comics Universe crossover is somewhat negated by limiting the crossover to the interstellar characters from DC Comics - it's not like trying to integrate Wonder Woman and The Flash into the Enterprise crew. Nekkron is the appropriate villain for the combined Corps to justify the crossover, but characters like General Chang from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (reviewed here!), get somewhat under-served by the speed of the narrative.

On the artwork front, Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is a decidedly mixed bag. Writer Mike Johnson smartly includes a named Romulan from the correct era - the 23rd Century of Star Trek - in the form of Decius. But the Star Trek fans geeky enough to know who Decius is will see absolutely no resemblance between the aged Centurion and the character on the pages of Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War. In a similar fashion , the Gorn in Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War look nothing like the Gorn of Star Trek or Star Trek Enterprise.

Ultimately, Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is momentarily diverting and fun, but not at all an enduring, timeless or essential graphic novel.

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out:
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation, Volume 2
Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness
Green Lantern: Sinestro

4/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Supergirl Joins The Alternative Lantern Corp At Her End In Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible.

The Good: Good artwork, Moments of character
The Bad: Awkward relationship changes, Irksome plot progression, Weird place in the larger DC Universe
The Basics: Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible works to resolve Supergirl's arc before the abrupt end of her storyline when Kara joins an intergalactic peacekeeping force.


As I have found myself into Supergirl of late, I have been interested in the direction that The New 52 took the character in. To that end, I figured that I had to finish the series and the end for The New 52 came with Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible. Whatever momentum the character arc for Supergirl had going into Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible, it is cut short in the final volume. Kara Zor-El has weird beginning in Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible, with an abruptly terminated attack by Brainiac that finishes off yet another crossover with Superman and Superboy that is concluded in Supergirl. But then, Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible goes into an entirely new arc that puts Supergirl as part of a new interstellar team that seems redundant in a universe filled with Corps's like the Green Lanterns.

Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible picks up after Supergirl: Volume 5 - Red Daughter Of Krypton (reviewed here!), with Kara abruptly falling to Earth some point after her Red Lantern Ring has been removed. No longer attached to the Red Lantern Corps and stuck on Earth on her own (Kal-El is apparently completely re-evaluating his place after his experience with the Doomsday virus), it seems instantly strange that after starting a new relationship for Kara, rather than give her real time on her own, Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible puts the Kryptonian woman in a group that is essentially the Green Lantern Corps without the rings!

Kara Zor-El crashes to Earth after the U.S. Military has deployed a Kryptonite bomb to stop Superman after he went crazy and mutated after fighting Doomsday. Rescued by Michael and kept away from the poisoned atmosphere in a bomb shelter, until she learns from Michael that his parents are in Metropolis, which is suffering from everyone inside suddenly falling into a coma. After recharging by flying above the Kryptonite cloud, Supergirl goes to Metropolis and starts to get survivors out, while Wonder Woman fights Lois Lane, who is behind the comas. Supergirl rescues Michael's parents and just as she begins to develop a relationship with Michael, Brainiac and Cyborg Superman attack Queens. After repelling Brainiac, Supergirl returns Michael's parents to him and there she finds Red Hood, who needs her help in taking down a syndicate who is selling alien weapons to street gangs.

After Kara starts working as a barista, where she is visited by Kal, she is abducted by Lys Amata, Perceptor Of Crucible Academy. There, Kara Zor-El is teamed with Maxima, Tsavo, and Comet to train to be a better protector of her homeworld (or adopted world, Earth). After extensive education at the Crucible, Kara and Tsavo are sent to Tsavo's homeworld, Ngo, which is embroiled in a civil war. There, Tsavo's brother has taken over, with the aid of rejects from the Crucible. Supergirl must fight to save Ngo and figure out what is going on with the Crucible Academy!

Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible is a weird volume that yet again redefines Supergirl and marginalizes her within her own book. Kara bounces between Michael, Kon-El (at least in that the volume devotes time to her making peace with the Kryptonian clone), and Comet. Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible rushes through having Kara actually get trained by the Crucible Academy before she ends up on Ngo as part of a "case." The character arc is erratic and hardly focused on Kara.

The artwork in Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible is good, brightly colored and with all of the characters consistently rendered. The sense of movement is all right in Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible, but the narrative is troublingly choppy.

Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible is the short straw of narratives for both Tony Bedard, who starts the volume and whose Red Lantern arc for Kara Zor-El is abruptly ended and is only a tiny portion of a larger crossover that makes Kara "just another Kryptonian," and the by K. Perkins and Mike Johnson, who get stuck at the end juggling between a lingering relationship story and a whole new organization that is created right before it is abruptly canned.

As a result, Supergirl: Volume 6 - Crucible is a mess that never quite hits its stride.

For other Supergirl New 52 works, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Volume 1 - Last Daughter Of Krypton
Voluime 2 - Girl In The World
Volume 3 - Sanctuary
(Supergirl: Volume 4 – Out Of The Past

3.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, be sure to check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the graphic novel reviews I have written!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Too Much Missing To Be Satisfying: Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary Is A Partial Crossover!

The Good: Moments of character, Moments of story, A few good panels of artwork, Intriguing beginning to the next story
The Bad: Missing story parts, Abrupt ending, A lot of mediocre artwork
The Basics: Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary is committed to the issues that comprise it, which makes for a terrible anthology as it only tells a fraction of the H'El on Earth story and its follow-up.


It seems that I have gotten into Supergirl (the latest episode, "The Darkest Place," is reviewed here!). I realized after watching the television series that it has been awhile since I went back to the source material and gave it a fair shake. Given that I have been generally enjoying the way Supergirl has been standing on its own, without living wholly in Superman's shadow, I figured it was a good time to go back to the books and see if I enjoyed them any more now. I resumed where I left of in The New 52 incarnation of Supergirl with Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary.

Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary picks up after the events of Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World (reviewed here!) and the context clues are more than enough to allow new readers to pick up Volume 3 and not feel truly lost. Unfortunately, the fractured nature of the crossover event that the chapters in Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary contain make for a much less satisfying read than they ought to. Apparently, the chapters in Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary are alternating chapters from a crossover with Superman and Superboy called "H'El On Earth" and these chapters do not tell nearly enough of a story to be satisfying, either on their own or even for Supergirl's character arc in them!

Opening at a facility at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean where the half-alien, half-remnants of human Simon Tycho are attacking Supergirl, when Tycho convinces Kara to stop fighting him. He plays her a recording that seems to indicate Kara's mother killed her father when she learned he was experimenting upon their daughter. Quickly learning the nature of the Kryptonian structure Sanctuary, Kara is able to neutralize Tycho and contact Siobahn. After helping Kal-El neutralize a Kryptonian dragon, Kara returns to Sanctuary where she falls asleep and encounters H'El. H'El is another Kryptonian who has the ability to teleport instantly and tells Kara he wants to return home to Krypton before it was destroyed. After giving Kara the ability to understand English and the choice of whether or not to kill the cloned Kryptonian (Superboy), H'El teleports Kara to Kal.

Reuniting, H'El and Kara visit Kal-El's Fortress of Solitude, where Kara is oblivious to Kal being locked out by H'El! H'El miniaturizes Kara and teleports her into the bottled city of Kandor, where Supergirl encounters remaining forces from Brainiac. Removing the power crystal from Kandor and giving it to H'El puts Supergirl in the crossfire from the Justice League. The Flash vibrates into the Fortress of Solitude to rescue Kara, but Kara does not allow him to help her, as she is determined to rewrite time with H'El and save Krypton. With the Star Chamber ready to be activated, Kara squares off against Wonder Woman. While the Oracle that H'El summoned to Earth is wreaking havoc, Wonder Woman and Kara fight to a standstill . . . when Diana is able to convince Kara of the truth. In the aftermath of stopping H'El, Supergirl is severely wounded, Kryptonite poisoned and sent off-planet to recover. Returning to Earth, though, puts Kara in jeopardy from both Lex Luthor's ally Appex and the Kryptonite poisoning she is suffering!

On the plus side, Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary opens with an intriguing character. Kara Zor-El exhibits quick thinking against Tycho and that sets up an engaging potential story with a protagonist who seems to be worth following. As the story with H'El gets going, Kara Zor-El remains interesting and the progression of Supergirl's character arc is initially very well-executed. In Supergirl's story, H'El is a potential savior who comes to Kara saying all of the right things needed to make Kara believe him. While readers have a pretty good feeling that Kara is being duped - simply by the larger continuity in the DC Universe where Krypton is destroyed and the consequences of saving it would be catastrophic to the overall comic book universe - the progression is surprisingly well-handled by writer Mike Johnson. Johnson has a realistic development for the seduction of Kara Zor-El, so the reader is able to invest in her journey.

It is a shame that journey - including the apparent grand act of sacrifice by Kara - is not fully included in Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary!

Fidelity to the original issues of Supergirl leads to a narrative gap when Kara and Kal-El have already killed the Kryptonian monster from the first chapter at the outset of the second chapter. Similarly, the second chapter ends with Kara walking in on Kal and Lois Lane, but the third chapter opens with a flashback to Kara and her best friend on Argo City. The entire incident at the end of one chapter disappears before the beginning of the next chapter! Throughout the volume, readers are left lost as the book leaps forward without the actual story being told of how H'El is doing what he is doing. While it helps Kara Zor-El's character arc to be duped for so long with Wonder Woman having to deliver exposition to Kara about what is actually happening, it is unsatisfying to read only a portion of Kara and H'El's storyline.

The artwork in Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary is generally all-right, though the quality is fractured. Near the end of the book, the panels that contain aliens and both Power Girl and Supergirl together are well-drawn and colored. But The Flash is incredibly poorly rendered when he appears in the alien weapon he attempts to use to take down Supergirl and much of the fight between Supergirl and Wonder Woman is presented with a mediocre sense of movement to it.

Ultimately, there is little purpose to Supergirl: Volume 3 - Sanctuary. Most of the issues in this volume are a part of the book Superman: H'El On Earth, which seems to be a more complete version of the story than the one told in this book. The result is a disappointing volume on its own that will underwhelm those who are fans of Supergirl . . . or those who just want to be able to follow a story about the character!

For other New 52 titles, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Harley Quinn: Power Outage
Red Lanterns: Blood And Rage
Wonder Woman: A Twist Of Fate

2/10

For other graphic novel reviews, be sure to check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the graphic novel reviews I have written!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sink Slowly: Supergirl – Volume 2: Girl In The World Does Not Progress The Heroine!

The Good: Most of the artwork, Moments of character
The Bad: Exceptionally simplistic plot, Story elements presented out-of-order/with gaps
The Basics: The New 52 story of Supergirl continues in Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World, which is plagued by fidelity to issues problems as well as gaps in the story itself!


As the DC Cinematic (or Television, anyway) Universe prepares to welcome Supergirl into the fold, I have been boning up on my Supergirl knowledge. Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of Superman or Supergirl, so I had limited knowledge of the franchise (despite being able to list powers and adversaries for Superman, I had no idea who the main antagonists in Supergirl were!). So, having read Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton (reviewed here!), I had just enough interest to pick up and read Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World.

Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World is plagued by a number of problems, not the least of which is that its serialized elements hinge almost entirely upon other volumes. References to Volume 1 are fairly infrequent, so it is easy to get into reading Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World, but when allusions pop up, they frequently come without strong enough triggers (for example, the artwork of the young man in Volume 1 who helped Kara Zor-El escape Simon Tycho was not so distinct or memorable that when he appears for a frame or two in Volume 2 he is instantly recognizable). As well, Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World has fidelity to issues, as opposed to fidelity to story, which is a state I dislike. As a result, Supergirl #0 tells the origin backstory of Kara Zor-El on Krypton after issue 12 is reprinted in Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World. This is a two-fold slap in the face; it should have been at the beginning of Volume 1 for fidelity to story, but after Kara Zor-El commits to solving the mystery of her origin, Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World simply spoon feeds it to the reader. What joy is there in discovery for following Supergirl when we, the readers, have all the answers so long before the protagonist?

That said, Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World picks up immediately after Volume 1, with Supergirl in the ruined section of New York City, having just defeated the Worldkillers. The military forces that were deployed surround Kara Zor-El and they are preparing to (attempt) to stop her when she is rescued by a young woman. Siobhan Smythe runs through the crowd and begins speaking Kryptonian, which allows Kara to start to bond and communicate with a human for the first time. Escaping the military, Kara and Siobhan start to relax together.

Unfortunately, while out at a club where Siobhan is performing, the pair is waylaid by a powerful magic entity. The Black Banshee attacks and, in the process, Siobhan reverts to her own magical form: the Silver Banshee. The Black Banshee is the mystical, cursed, form of Siobhan’s father and his power is the ability to absorb souls. Kara Zor-El’s soul looks mighty tasty to him and he attacks her . . . with unintended consequences for Kara, Siobhan, and the Black Banshee!

Following the attack by the Black Banshee, there is a vignette involving Kara getting waylaid by nanoarmor-protected soldiers from Simon Tycho and a somewhat baffling exchange in which Kara Zor-El and Kal-El (who reunite sometime between chapters?!) argue about how Kara may best pursue her search for the secrets of how she was saved from Krypton’s destruction. The book caps off with Kara Zor-El’s complete origin story.

Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World is as much Siobhan’s story as it is Kara Zor-El’s. Almost an entire chapter is given to detailing Siobhan’s tragic backstory and why she is running from her father. In that sidestory, Siobhan’s lost brother Tom is introduced, which seeds the way for him to return, thanks to Kara’s heroics. But before the relationship can actually develop or grow, Kara flees the city and the book abruptly ends.

Such is the problem with Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World: the volume is so plot-based that Kara Zor-El hardly has a chance to develop or grow as a character. Instead, she dukes it out, loses control, and finds herself bewildered. For those looking for a strong female protagonist, Supergirl is very much a mixed bag – her record in Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World is almost equal parts being the rescued character as it is having her heroically rescue Siobhan and Tom!

The artwork in Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World is good enough. The characters are all recognizable and the coloring is vibrant and looks good. Some of the supporting characters are hardly distinct, but Kara Zor-El and Silver Banshee/Siobhan look good throughout. In fact, the most serious art issues comes in the prequel chapter, where there is a panel that makes it look like an adult Kal-El, wearing a red suit, comes in and menaces Kara’s mother. While fans of the Superman franchise might instantly get it, newbies are left baffled.

All this adds up to a quick read which is unfortunately unsatisfying volume. Supergirl: Volume 2 – Girl In The World might minorly progress the story of Kara Zor-El and introduce her essential ally to the narrative, but it is simplistic, plot-centered and unremarkable.

For other New 52 titles, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Batgirl: Knightfall Descends By Gail Simone
The Flash: Rogues Revolution By Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Green Lantern: Revenge Of The Black Hand By Geoff Johns
Wonder Woman: Guts By Brian Azzarello

3.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, be sure to check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the graphic novel reviews I have written!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Intriguing Start: Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton

The Good: Most of the artwork, Moments of character, Moments of plot, Concept of the villains
The Bad: Villains are way too expository, Assumes a lot of knowledge of the franchise (not entirely accessible to new readers), Somewhat simplistic
The Basics: The New 52 reboot of Supergirl starts in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton when the Kryptonian girl comes to Earth.


I was, perhaps, the most skeptical fan in the world of the DC Comics reboot of its stories a few years back. “The New 52” was a terrible idea and the execution of the idea has borne out my trepidation to the concept. And yet, every major superhero that DC Comics wanted to continue to invest in was reworked and reimagined and their stories were (for the most part) rebooted (with a number of problematic exceptions!). One of the characters whose story was entirely restarted was Supergirl. Her story has a pretty straightforward beginning in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton.

Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is one of those quick reads that is simultaneously very good at what it sets out to do and increasingly frustrating the more one considers it. The trade paperback anthology collects the New 52 Supergirl issues 1 – 7 and it does tell a fairly solid story, albeit a clear beginning with the promise of much more to come. And there are many elements to like about it, but it is by no means a great story or exceptional writing. It is, also, clearly geared toward fans of the Superman franchise as it makes passing reference to things like Kara Zor-El studying on Krypton for her trials which will make her a woman without any explicit reference to her age. The result is an instant sense of alienation within the narrative because exactly what stage of cognitive development Kara Zor-El is supposed to be at is unclear.

A space station orbiting Earth monitors objects from space that hurtle through the Earth creating a hole from near-Kansas to Siberia. They send a team of humans in mechanized suits to recover the object and its potential occupants from Russia, per international agreements the station’s owner has with the various governments of Earth. The mechs encounter Kara Zor-El, a young woman who is confused and thinks she might be dreaming. As the mechs attempt to restrain and capture her, Kara begins to experience dramatic physiological changes – she finds she is ridiculously strong, can see through things, can burn her targets with her eyes and can more or less fly. She encounters a man who claims to be Kal-El, her baby cousin, whom she saw only three days prior on Krypton. After a fight with Kal-El, Kara separates from the other Kryptonian when he rushes off to save the lives of some of the humans nearby.

That gives Simon Tycho the chance to engage Kara Zor-El. He lures her up to his space station with the information that he has the pod in which she arrived. When she gets there, though, Tycho tries to incapacitate her, using his artificial life form, The Brain. In subduing Kara Zor-El, Tycho learns about her outfit and in the ensuing battle, loses the memory crystal he recovered from her pod (and most of his space station and staff) to her. Kara flies off to a portal that takes her to the remnants of Argo City, where she was raised. There she learns the truth of the destruction of Krypton and she is discovered by Reign, a Worldkiller engineered by the people of Krypton (despite being outlawed). Reign wants to find out the truth of her origins – and the origins of the other worldkillers – and she and Kara bring their fight from the remnants of Argo City to New York City!

Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is instantly problematic because of the language barrier. Kara Zor-El does not understand any Earth languages; her internal monologue establishes that. But the men in mech suits talk to her, Simon Tycho talks to her, and civilians talk to her and while she is not supposed to understand their languages, she behaves as if she comprehends them entirely. I get the instinct of knowing that mechs that start shooting at you are inherently bad, but Tycho tries to get involved with somewhat sophisticated ideas with Kara Zor-El and she more or less goes with it, not nearly as confused as someone blocked by a language barrier ought to be!

At the other end of the spectrum is Reign. Reign is established as a pretty cool, if obvious, adversary (it seems like it is supposed to be a big revelation that Reign is a Worldkiller and that Worldkillers are entities, not engineered objects of destruction). The problem with Reign is that she’s not terribly smart (she tells Kara how to defeat her and her posse) and she does not talk like an adversary at all. Reign is searching for her origins and she ends up delivering more useful exposition to Kara than a Bond villain! She details what she knows of herself, the destruction of Krypton, her plans, her (and the other Worldkiller’s) abilities, and that makes very little sense. In fact, after Kara encounters the Worldkillers at Argo City, their trip to Earth makes no logical sense. Reign is convinced that Earth is the refuge for the Kryptonian survivors and thus it must mean something to her own search. There is no logical correlation between those two ideas (in fact, if the Kryptonians were fleeing the Worldkillers, logic suggests that they would want to make their sanctuary the place farthest from anything useful to Worldkillers!). So, Reign seems to be phoning in her heart-felt quest to understand her own origins and find her home.

The final real problem with Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is in the context of the larger DC Universe. I know I mention this whenever I read a book or see a show/movie set in the DC Universe, but I have to ask: Where the hell is the Green Lantern Corps?! The whole purpose of the Green Lantern Corps is to maintain peace and order in the galaxy. Somehow, a suspended animation pod travelling for decades away from the last remnant city of Krypton eluded them?! The Worldkillers managed to slip by them, unnoticed?! Kara Zor-El falls to Earth, leaves Earth and returns to Earth entirely without setting off any alarms within the Green Lantern Corps in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton. Wow, the Oans suck!

Ironically, Simon Tycho is an instantly intriguing villain. His motives seem to be simple greed, but he’s using his fabulous assets for a surprisingly realistic purpose. Tycho notes that the major governments of Earth have given up on space exploration, so he – as a business enterprise – has decided to pick up the slack. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a good argument for private sector development like Simon Tycho, but there he is. He’s doing what governments bullied by low-tax right-wingers won’t; investing in research and development. What he does to Kara Zor-El is terrible, but at least he makes sense.

The artwork in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton is generally good. Kara Zor-El is clearly recognizable throughout the book and the panels have a decent sense of movement and color to them. This is a good-looking book.

And there is just enough in Supergirl: Volume 1 – Last Daughter Of Krypton to make one want to come back to it. Technical problems aside, Kara Zor-El starts as an intriguing-enough young woman and at the beginning of her story there is a lot of potential to make her an interesting character quite different from Superman.

For other New 52 titles, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Batgirl: The Darkest Reflection By Gail Simone
The Flash: Move Along By Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato
Green Lantern: Sinestro By Geoff Johns
Green Lantern New Guardians: The Ring Bearer
Justice League: Origins By Geoff Johns
Red Lantern Corps: Blood And Rage By Peter Milligan
Wonder Woman: Blood By Brian Azzarello

5.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, be sure to check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the graphic novel reviews I have written!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Just As The Sequel Is Underwhelming, So Too Is The Graphic Novel Prequel: Countdown To Darkness

The Good: Moments of character, Plot concept
The Bad: Light on character work, Artwork, In-jokes do not pop.
The Basics: The graphic novel prequel to Star Trek Into Darkness, Countdown To Darkness details the Mudd Incident alluded to in the film and sets up the tone of the new film well, but stands on its own poorly.


As audiences flock to Star Trek Into Darkness (reviewed here!) this weekend and before a bunch of irate people demand their money back, devotees of the Trek have another chance to be financially exploited in relation to the film! Just as Star Trek (reviewed here!) was given a loose prequel in graphic novel form, with Star Trek: Countdown (reviewed here!), Star Trek Into Darkness has been granted its own graphic novel prequel. That book is Countdown To Darkness and while it actually has some admirable qualities, it is not worth shelling out $17.99 for (as I did yesterday!).

On the plus side, Countdown To Darkness does establish several of the thematic beats that dominate the motivation of the real villain in Star Trek Into Darkness. Countdown To Darkness tries to bridge the year between Star Trek and the comic book (and trade paperback anthology) stories that lead up to Star Trek Into Darkness and it does that fairly, though this book does not lead into the film as directly as Star Trek Countdown did. Instead, this is another adventure of the U.S.S. Enterprise and while the film focuses very tightly on Captain Kirk, Countdown To Darkness gives Spock the spotlight for the bulk of the volume.

When the Enterprise approaches Phaedus for a scouting mission, Spock is plagued by nightmares of Vulcan’s destruction and Kirk is feeling restless as well. Given that the Prime Directive applies to the life forms on Phaedus, Spock is predictably cautious about Kirk’s desire to actually go planetside on the primitive planet. Despite it not being ready for first contact, there is an energy spike from Phaedus that draws the crew’s attention and Spock, Sulu, Kirk, and a red shirt take a shuttle down to the planet. Unfortunately, the ship is shot down using weapons the primitive people should not possess and the when Kirk and Spock go in search of the source of the advanced weaponry, they make a shocking discovery.

Living on Phaedus is Robert April, former Captain of the former Enterprise, logged as dead over a decade before. April brings Kirk and Spock to his people, who are at war with the Shadows (black Phaedans who have advanced weaponry and have captured Sulu and the security officer). In rescuing the officers, April explains that the Prime Directive does not apply because the Shadows have been given advanced technology from an outside source, so his involvement is only balancing the equation. April’s supplier, a young woman named Mudd, arrives and Uhura takes her ship into custody. After Spock rescues Sulu from the Shadows, April returns to the Enterprise where he uses an embedded code to take control of the computer and Kirk and Spock must work together to regain control of the Enterprise and stave off a Klingon attack at the same time.

Outside the remarkably clever allusion to Section 31, which sets up the film nicely, Countdown To Darkness does not have any in-jokes or allusions that really pop. Instead, the references to other Trek works fall remarkably flat. The fact that Mudd is, apparently, Harry Mudd’s daughter and half-Bajoran is hardly clever. The inclusion of Kor as the Klingon who is dealing with Robert April lacks resonance because the character is virtually a non-entity in this book.

Add to that, Countdown To Darkness has thoroughly underwhelming artwork. Most of the characters are recognizable, but they have an underdeveloped quality that looks more like a comic strip than a graphic novel. The coloring for the book is slightly faded and not nearly as distinctive as most comic books.

Even so, writers Mike Johnson and Roberto Orci (though given how he is credited, one suspects Johnson bears the lion’s share of the praise for this) do a decent job of getting Kirk’s voice right. The writing pops in an auditory way so that Kirk sounds like Chris Pine’s Kirk. As well, the book is not entirely devoid of character. Spock and Uhura are wrestling with issues in their relationship which, unfortunately for the same in Star Trek Into Darkness, are nominally resolved by the end of this book. The idea that Spock is wrestling with heavy, complex emotions is a good one and well-executed in Countdown To Darkness. That his feelings over the loss of Vulcan creates a rift between him and Uhura is very real and well-executed.

For other Star Trek graphic novels, please visit my reviews of:
Debt Of Honor
The Best Of Peter David
Death Before Dishonor
The Trial Of James T. Kirk

4.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Clunky Animation And Garbled Music Kill Corpse Bride

The Good: Moments of fun, Good casting
The Bad: Animation isn't the greatest, Not funny, Predictable plot, Music isn't clear
The Basics: When Victor Van Dort accidentally marries a corpse, the viewer is taken on a frantic visual trip to the world of the dead accompanied by mumbled music.


I suppose in the interest of full disclosure, I ought to open the review by saying (for those who have not read my review of it) that I was not a fan of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. It didn't grab me. Where I had hoped for dark, quirky and macabre, I just found disappointing and surprisingly childish. It was, therefore, with rather low expectations that I popped in Corpse Bride to evaluate. The short response is that the movie pretty much lived down to my lowered expectations.

When Victor Van Dort, son of new money fishmongers, is pledged to be married to Victoria Everglot, daughter of parents who are poor-as-dirt old money, he seems to have some problems with getting into the spirit of the marriage. While practicing his vows, he accidentally places the ring on the finger of a desiccated corpse who suddenly is reanimated by his commitment to her. She drags him off to the world of the dead and while Victoria is searching for him (and Victor searches for a way home) she is preyed upon by the golddigging Lord Barkis Bittern whose connection to the Corpse Bride is obvious.

Where have you gone, Tim Burton? I'm calling out for the Tim Burton whose genius with Danny Elfman created such dark, dreamy, funny and/or quirky visions as Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns, and the unrelentingly depressing Edward Scissorhands (which still surprises me is not found in more DVD players at the sites of suicides). Burton used to have a writing style and visual sense that was imaginative and unique. He could create creepy, he made action-adventure movies that used dialogue and created character (Batman Returns kicks The Fantastic 4 any day of any week), and he made haunting works that remain with their viewers.

As they say at the climax of The Usual Suspects, "And then like that . . . he's gone!"

I cannot recall the last Tim Burton movie I truly enjoyed. Big Fish didn't live up to my expectations and Charlie And The Chocolate Factory was just disappointment in bright, lush colors. Corpse Bride joins that sad descent in Tim Burton's works and it has a significant number of problems that Charlie And The Chocolate Factory had.

First, what's right; the casting. Tim Burton seems to have found a posse of actors and actresses that he has become comfortable with repeatedly exploiting for his cinematic experiments. Michael Keaton is out of the club, but Johnny Depp remains firmly entrenched, now with Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, and Deep Roy at his side. Perhaps Corpse Bride was completed using their voice-over talents while on breaks from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, but either way, Burton has assembled a quality collection of vocal talents. And they do their best with what they are given.

And there are a few moments that are quirky enough to make one smile, though almost exclusively relegated to the world of the dead. Burton, no doubt, is making a statement by keeping the world above in dark, moody grays while down below there are colors and a tremendous sense of movement.

Unfortunately, that ultimately works against the movie when the soundtrack is added. Danny Elfman has created one of his least memorable soundtracks for Corpse Bride, but during the frenetic moments in the world of the dead, the music only serves to jumble already confused, rapid-fire shots that are not effectively creating a world, but rather jerking the viewer through it. Much of the movie ends up feeling like a roller coaster. With some music.

With the animation style being what it is, and I understand it was a rather painstaking process, Corpse Bride ends up looking like a Puff's commercial on acid.

And for a musical, there are remarkably few songs in Corpse Bride. None of them are particularly memorable and, like several of the numbers in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, many of them are jumbled, at least in part. The songs in the underworld all suffer at one point or another from moments where the lyrics are obscured by the music and I had to rewind just to catch lines. This is not an ideal way to make a movie.

But ultimately, the film fails because of the story. None of the characters are particularly interesting. The viewer ultimately does not care whether Victor ends up with Victoria or the Corpse Bride. Whatever sense of jeopardy from Bittern's presence is swallowed up in the absurdly obvious notion that the Everglots are virtually bankrupt.

All in all, this is a disappointment and while we applaud Tim Burton for stretching out in new directions, we wonder when his stretching will result in another work of enduring quality.

For other works by Tim Burton, please check out my reviews of:
Alice In Wonderland
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Big Fish
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Batman Returns
Edward Scissorhands

3/10

For other film reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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Star Trek The Deleted Scenes (Special Edition): Star Trek: Nero!

The Good: Fills in the gaps well, Ambitious concept, Generally decent artwork.
The Bad: Abrupt (weird) turn in the story, Not as vital as one might hope.
The Basics: Star Trek: Nero is a nice bridge work for those who liked Star Trek and Star Trek: Countdown, even if its appeal is limited to the fans.


For those who loved last year's reboot of the Star Trek franchise with the film Star Trek (click here for my review!), it probably comes as no surprise that the rebooted Star Trek universe is being continued in the comic book series. It is far less of a surprise to those who read the prequel to the film, Star Trek: Countdown (click here for that review) which tied directly into the very first scene of the movie. Interestingly enough, while "Star Trek" did an amazing job of establishing Kirk, Spock and the new incarnation of the universe - rather than just becoming a standard "kill the villain" flick that the last several Star Trek films have become - the comic books have been working on fleshing out the villain more. They did that with the books that are now anthologized as Star Trek: Nero.

Star Trek: Nero was originally published as four issues of comic books, but now is a single volume with a bonus art gallery. The writing is split between concept (and a few executions) by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers of Star Trek and comic book writers Mike Johnson and Tim Jones. The story elements include some bits and pieces from Star Trek that appear in the two-disc version of the DVD/Blu-Ray as deleted scenes. But largely, this is the story of Nero, the villain from Star Trek in the gap between the destruction of the U.S.S. Kelvin and his assault on Vulcan, which were both illustrated in the film.

Moments after the Kelvin is destroyed, Nero vows revenge upon the Federation and the Narada drifts listlessly, dead in space. It is, therefore, easy pickings for the Klingons, led by Kor, who find the ship adrift and capture it. Nero, Ayal and rest of the tattooed Romulans find themselves on Rura Penthe where Nero frequently kills Klingon guards, but gets away with it largely because the mining output on Rura Penthe is so dramatically improved that the overseer, Koth, feels he needs Nero alive. As the years go on, Nero is tortured (his ear is torn off by a Klingon dog) and Nero begins using a drug that gives him a telepathic connection to Ayal while he remains outwardly silent.

After a daring jailbreak orchestrated with the help of their human ally, Clavelle, the Romulans retake the Narada, only to be swept to the edge of the Delta Quadrant. There, the Narada meets with . . . (I'm not sure a spoiler alert is necessary or if a shudder alert is more appropriate) V'Ger and Nero gains some essential information. The final chapter has the Narada returning to where Spock is expected to enter normal time and space again.

Star Trek: Nero feels at times like exactly what it is, a collection of vignettes that are more or less deleted scenes from the main narrative of Star Trek. Having watched the deleted scenes on the Blu-Ray disc, it makes absolute sense to me that the producers chose to cut out Nero's story of the twenty years between arriving in our time and the events of Star Trek. It would have slowed the film down and distracted from the emphasis of the Kirk and Spock storyline. So, right from the beginning Star Trek: Nero feels gratuitous.

Even so, it is hard for fans of the Star Trek franchise to not appreciate almost instantly the nods Johnson and Jones make to already-established Star Trek universe characters and phenomenon. Seeing Kor (despite the artwork which retroactively gives him his ridges) is cool and fans of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country will recognize the one-eyed jailer, Koth (though it is unclear how the final action of the book affects him). It is possible Clavelle was referenced in Star Trek: Enterprise, but V'Ger is one of the most recognizable (if groan-worthy) references from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The way V'Ger is used is mildly clever, but is a chapter that distracts from the other three which build up far better the idea of Nero's hatred for Spock, the Klingons and when and where he is now stuck.

That said, Star Trek: Nero does exactly what one would hope it might in terms of fleshing the antagonist of the film out. While the deleted scene involving Nero's final interrogation is left out of this comic book rendering, the character is still vivid enough that one does not necessarily feel cheated by it. The idea that Nero would become so obsessed with finding when and where Spock would return and then exploit the tools of the time to find and capture Spock makes a lot of sense. Even so, the Nero as psychic/Narada as a sentient starship concepts both feel like a stretch that makes the character seem more fantastic and less credible. I would have wanted to read more about the crew wanting to revisit Romulus or putting in place ways to prevent the star that destroys Romulus from going supernova. That is brushed aside some for a more generic sense of vengeance.

As with most trade paperback anthologies, the artwork is of utmost importance. David Messina is responsible for making all of the characters look good and he largely succeeds with Star Trek: Nero. The panels have recognizable renditions of Nero, Ayal, Koth and later on Spock. Even V'Ger is surprisingly easy to recognize and the sense artwork looks good enough to recommend the book on the merits as a result. Unfortunately, some of the sense of movement in panels – like in the escape scene – are not terrifically rendered and some of the panels do look more like thumbnail sketches as opposed to fully realized pieces of artwork. That said, the coloring done by Giovanna Niro are homogeneously wonderful, though the colors are brighter and more monotonal than adding truly realistic shading and depth to the initial artwork.

In this anthology, Star Trek: Nero's four chapters are given a bonus section of uncolored artwork sketches from the comic books and while the cover gallery is neat, the artwork thereafter adds nothing special to the experience and is fairly unimpressive.

Even so, those who want a richer understanding of Star Trek and its primary villain will do well to pick up Star Trek: Nero. It is entertaining and reinforces the character seen in the film and deleted scenes enough to make one reconsider his position in the pantheon of great Star Trek villains.

For other Star Trek graphic novels, please check out my reviews of:
Star Trek Omnibus 1
Star Trek: Mirror Images
Star Trek Archives Volume 3 - The Best Of Gary Seven

5/10

For other graphic novels, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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