(no subject)
Well, if they're going to keep giving me targets...
...well, it’s better than last issue. But then that isn’t saying much, is it?
I’m kind of curious as to what’s going on with Judd Winick--this is the second issue of random filler in three months, and they haven’t exactly been dropped into slots where nothing is happening. And this issue, specifically, was solicited--in fact, is *still* being solicited--as part two of Winick’s “Heading Into The Light.” And OUTSIDERS is running a fill-in storyline too. Health problems? Moving? Just way behind on his deadlines? Who knows. And as I am thusly spared from an issue of Winick’s GA this month, I suppose I ought not to complain. Unfortunately, the attitude of “Continuity? What continuity?” didn’t go with him....
If it weren’t for one big problem, I would have been overall happy with this story, I really would. It’s moderately entertaining, I buy the whole desire to see a monster as a hero, the fill-in art is *much* better, and there were a couple of bits I really liked, like Ollie’s immediate denial of sainthood. There were a few things that irritated me--like my favorite dead horse of Ollie’s not-in-the-canon sleeping around--but by and large it would have been good. Except.
Except that’s *not Solomon Grundy’s origin*. Solomon Grundy is a dead miser whose rotting body was mystically resurrected from its resting place in Slaughter Swamp (and who keeps getting reborn again every so often). Does that sound like a brilliant idealistic scientist injecting himself with his own serum to anyone? Even if you squint really hard? The cartoon came closer than this, for heaven's sake, and it's not even set in the same universe.
This isn’t a minor detail, either to Grundy or to the story. This is giving a completely different origin for a character that’s existed for sixty years--an origin that doesn’t even match the *thematics* of the character--in order to supply a major motivation for one of the two main characters in this issue. And as a result, pretty much every time she opened her mouth, I went “What the hell are you talking about?” This was not, I think, the intended effect. Or rather, it wasn’t *why* I was meant to be saying that--granted that I was supposed to think her objectivity was completely on the fritz, but there was never any suggestion that she was just outright hallucinating, which is what would be required to account for this whole business about her reading Grundy’s journals. *sigh* So, sorry folks, but you get no points. Get back to me when you can work out how to select an appropriate character for your story instead of just grabbing a name at random. I'm disappointed in William Messner-Loebs; I'd thought better of him than this.
Also, in light of the last issue, the fact that this woman Ollie’s just met says she feels more comfortable calling him by his real name made me emit an indescribable noise. God, they can’t even keep their ridiculous retcons straight from issue to issue. That line is inexcusable coming *one issue* after Ollie made a big dramatic deal about how terrifying it is that someone knows who he really is. This one is not Messner-Loebs’ fault; this story was probably written well before last issue (either that or it was a total rush job, given those solicits) and he could hardly be expected to realize Ollie was going to be retroactively given an actual secret identity. This is absolutely the *editor’s* fault; that line could and should have been removed. But that would require someone to be paying attention, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that nobody is.
...well, it’s better than last issue. But then that isn’t saying much, is it?
I’m kind of curious as to what’s going on with Judd Winick--this is the second issue of random filler in three months, and they haven’t exactly been dropped into slots where nothing is happening. And this issue, specifically, was solicited--in fact, is *still* being solicited--as part two of Winick’s “Heading Into The Light.” And OUTSIDERS is running a fill-in storyline too. Health problems? Moving? Just way behind on his deadlines? Who knows. And as I am thusly spared from an issue of Winick’s GA this month, I suppose I ought not to complain. Unfortunately, the attitude of “Continuity? What continuity?” didn’t go with him....
If it weren’t for one big problem, I would have been overall happy with this story, I really would. It’s moderately entertaining, I buy the whole desire to see a monster as a hero, the fill-in art is *much* better, and there were a couple of bits I really liked, like Ollie’s immediate denial of sainthood. There were a few things that irritated me--like my favorite dead horse of Ollie’s not-in-the-canon sleeping around--but by and large it would have been good. Except.
Except that’s *not Solomon Grundy’s origin*. Solomon Grundy is a dead miser whose rotting body was mystically resurrected from its resting place in Slaughter Swamp (and who keeps getting reborn again every so often). Does that sound like a brilliant idealistic scientist injecting himself with his own serum to anyone? Even if you squint really hard? The cartoon came closer than this, for heaven's sake, and it's not even set in the same universe.
This isn’t a minor detail, either to Grundy or to the story. This is giving a completely different origin for a character that’s existed for sixty years--an origin that doesn’t even match the *thematics* of the character--in order to supply a major motivation for one of the two main characters in this issue. And as a result, pretty much every time she opened her mouth, I went “What the hell are you talking about?” This was not, I think, the intended effect. Or rather, it wasn’t *why* I was meant to be saying that--granted that I was supposed to think her objectivity was completely on the fritz, but there was never any suggestion that she was just outright hallucinating, which is what would be required to account for this whole business about her reading Grundy’s journals. *sigh* So, sorry folks, but you get no points. Get back to me when you can work out how to select an appropriate character for your story instead of just grabbing a name at random. I'm disappointed in William Messner-Loebs; I'd thought better of him than this.
Also, in light of the last issue, the fact that this woman Ollie’s just met says she feels more comfortable calling him by his real name made me emit an indescribable noise. God, they can’t even keep their ridiculous retcons straight from issue to issue. That line is inexcusable coming *one issue* after Ollie made a big dramatic deal about how terrifying it is that someone knows who he really is. This one is not Messner-Loebs’ fault; this story was probably written well before last issue (either that or it was a total rush job, given those solicits) and he could hardly be expected to realize Ollie was going to be retroactively given an actual secret identity. This is absolutely the *editor’s* fault; that line could and should have been removed. But that would require someone to be paying attention, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that nobody is.