Broken Frontier

Hello, everyone! Welcome to Guiding Lines, a look at tomorrow’s comics today! This is William Gatevackes. Let’s find out which books in stores tomorrow you should keep your eye on.

Amazing Spider-Man #533 is the first Spider-Man issue after the earth-shattering events of Civil War #2. If you have been living under a rock or live in a convent that allows you to read only one column about comics (if the latter is the case, thank you for choosing Guiding Lines!), consider this your SPOILER WARNING. Although if this information wasn’t spoiled for you by MTV, the New York Post or the advance copy of Thunderbolts #103, then it quite possibly could never be spoiled for you.

In Civil War #2, Peter Parker revealed that he was Spider-Man to the Marvel Universe version of the world. Naturally, an event of this magnitude has caused a lot of internet chatter. There is a prevalent theme going through most of the responses. People aren’t talking about how good the story was or what a bold move it was, but rather they are wondering how Marvel will reverse it.

I am amused that people think Spidey getting his secret identity back is a fait accompli. It’s not whether or not it will be done, but will Dr. Strange, the Scarlet Witch or Professor X be the one to do it (of those three options, I pick Dr. Strange, he’s the only one to still have his powers post-House of M).

Perhaps this is because Peter Parker trying to keep his life as Spider-Man a secret was such a fundamental part of the character. I find it ironic that Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, who has been complaining how Peter being married to Mary Jane has limited story options in his weekly interviews with Newsarama, decided to approve this change which takes away these types of stories.

Or maybe 1993’s Death of Superman event has jaded comic fans to the less than permanent nature of these types of publicity events. I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t believe that Superman would be coming back to life. Well, maybe the thousands of people who hadn’t read comics in years who bought the issue with the “this might be worth something someday” attitude did, but not jaded comics fans. And sure enough, several months later, Superman came back, better than ever.

I, for one, hope that Spidey doesn’t get his secret identity back. I’m not sure I agree with him revealing his identity to the world, because it not only takes away something from the character, but also the possibility for a lot of interesting stories. But making this change just for the sake of publicity only to reverse it later would feel cheap and tawdry. For better or worse, Marvel has made its bed and must now lay in it. I want to see Peter Parker’s life turned upside down by this decision, not just for a few months, but for years to come.

DCU: Brave New World is an 80-page one-shot special that will serve as a launching pad for six new series that will be hitting the shelves in a month or two. I will be talking about each series—Martian Manhunter, Omac, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, The Creeper, The All-New Atom, and The Trials of Shazam—when they are all released, so I won’t do that now. What I will talk about is this issue as a marketing ploy, and why I think it’s a good one.

DC has been releasing a lot of new series in the wake of Infinite Crisis. Many of these new titles don’t appear to be getting the push they deserve. Although, to be fair, with the massive number of new comics coming out from DC, it would be almost impossible to market each of them to the fullest without depleting DC’s advertising staff and budget.

So why are these six getting the extra push of an 80-page prequel? It could be because these characters have had series before, in some cases more than one, which came and went with very little fanfare. Sure, at least half of them feature different versions of said characters, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t use a little more promotion than usual.

And the $1.00 cover price on the issue is another great selling point. 80-pages of story for only a buck?  Who could pass that up? Even if you don’t know or don’t care about the characters, you might still pick up the special to see if there’s anything there that would change your mind. I know I personally have added only three of the six to my pull list. But perhaps I could be sold on adding the rest by what I read in this special. 

While DC is starting a whole bunch of new titles, it, or rather its Vertigo imprint, has a long time one that is ending. Lucifer #75 is the last issue of that series. The series lasted for six years and goes down as one of the most successful spin-offs from the legendary Sandmantitle.

Lucifer told the story of the prince of the underworld as he tries to regain his wings and powers that he gave up back in Sandman #21-28. The title has been written by Mike Carey from the first issue and helped the writer gain more exposure in the field, leading him to high profile jobs on Hellblazer, X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four.

Lucifer was right behind Hellblazer as Vertigo’s longest running title, a position now taken up by 100 Bullets. I’m sure that a lot of the comic’s loyal fan base will mourn its passing, but readers unfamiliar with the book might want to pick up the numerous trade paperback collections to see what all the fuss was about.

Transformers: Evolutions Hearts of Steel #1 is unique for a number of reasons. It is being published by IDW, not Devil’s Due, the company that holds the G. I. Joe license. It is strange that Hasbro would divide the rights to its two major toy lines amongst two publishers. But it is also unique for the angle it takes on the Transformer property.

The Transformer: Evolution umbrella seems to be one where creators can apply a “What if?” approach to the Robots in Disguise. Hearts of Steel #1 transports the Autobots and Decepticons to the time of the Industrial Revolution and the robots take the form of vehicles and machines of the time.     

This is an original approach to a toy tie-in that has seen many incarnations in the past. The changing of the eras offers a fresh look and the possibilities of exciting new stories to what might be considered an old and stale mythology. Part of me thinks that Hasbro only allowed this shift from what is the current status quo so that it can sell a Steam Locomotive version of Optimus Prime, but I do admire the ingenuity of the concept.

Finally, Oni Press brings us Leading Man #1. The series is written by B. Clay Moore, creator of the popular Hawaiian Dick series, and tells the tale of Nick Walker. Walker is Hollywood’s biggest movie star who also happens to be the world’s greatest spy. Think of it as if Tom Cruise was actually James Bond on the side.

The “famous person as international man of mystery” gimmick is not a new one. This concept was played for laughs in the movie “Top Secret”, with an Elvis-like crooner in the place of the movie star. But that being said, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of potential in the idea.

The super spy and movie star both travel in worlds of glamour and intrigue. When you think about it, a movie star would be the perfect cover for a secret agent. Stars like Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Cruise always travel around the globe promoting their movies. What’s to say that they couldn’t indulge in a little spying in their free time away from the promotional junkets?

It should be interesting to see how the story in this five-issue limited series plays out. The concept has almost limitless possibilities. If the book is successful, we could possibly see much more of Nick Walker in the future.

# # #

William Gatevackes is a writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He writes the periodic comic review at PopMatters.  And no, he’s not a super spy in his spare time. He’s not even a kind of okay spy or a simply adequate spy, either. I guess the fact he hardly ever leaves the house doesn’t make him an attractive prospect for international spying organizations. Shucks.