Ye Olde Iowa
04-27-2007, 10:42 AM
Firestorm: The Nuclear Man # 35
“The End is Here”
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils by Pop Mhan
Inks by Pop Mhan and Steve Bird
Colors by Guy Major
Letters by Ken Lopez
Cover by Pete Woods
It’s been an uphill battle for this Firestorm comic ever since its inception nearly three years ago. The new Firstorm, Jason Rausch, debuted before the previous one had been killed. He’s a black superhero with a solo-title. The book has been full of high concepts, received little marketing, and never benefited much from its tie-ins to event books such as Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis. Despite being loved by its small band of relatively unvocal readers, the book never caught on thanks to these factors. It’s not surprising, then, that the book is being cancelled. It is, however, surprising that it lasted 35 issues. I have to give DC credit for that one. Despite its poor reception, the book has been a great read from start to finish (though, admittedly, it didn’t hit its stride until Stuart Moore took the reins), and DC stood by it for much longer than I would have suspected.
In this issue, Firestorm continues to have trouble with members of Kirby’s Fourth World, all stemming form Martin Stein’s research that ties closely to the Anti-Life Equation. The issue opens with Firestorm, Firehawk, Firestorm’s girlfriend Gehenna, Orion, and Mister Miracle having their hands full with Kalibak and his legion of Parademons. Despite their best efforts, Kalibak seems undefeatable until Jason has the idea of using his connection to Firehawk to literally turn himself into a nuclear explosion. All seems great as Orion and Mister Miracle prepare to take Kalibak to New Genesis when Darkseid makes his return by physically ripping Martin Stein out of the Firestorm Matrix and heading on his way. As the issue closes, Jason vows that he will save Professor Stein and Gehenna adds her support.
So, the big story here isn’t that Firestorm is being cancelled, its that Darkseid has finally returned. Granted, it wasn’t that long ago that the leader of Apokolips showed up in Superman/Batman during the “Supergirl” arc, but with DC’s slow build towards the return of the New Gods to the DCU, Darkseid’s appearance here is an important and surprising one. This is an interesting move on DC’s part. Once Countdown and its subsequent New Gods storylines get rolling, this will be seen as an important issue. Collectors will hopefully seek out the issue, give it a whirl, and drum up interest in the character. It’s been said that Firestorm will make a large impact in the DCU as Countdown gets going and the statement that Firestorm’s adventures will continue throughout DC’s line of titles is promising. Quite frankly, this character is too great and has too good of a supporting cast not to be a major part of the DCU.
Dwayne McDuffie’s writing is solid on this one, despite not having a ton to work with. Most of the issue is taken up by the fight with Kalibak, but he does a good job of adding appropriate banter and giving each of the involved characters a chance in the spotlight. He has a good grasp of who Jason is and how he should act, resulting in some great one-liners (including one about one-liners) and everything reads very true to character. The scene with Darkseid’s return feels a tad underwhelming because it just happens and then it is over without much reaction. However, most readers will have some idea of who Darkseid is and why he is important, so its not out of the question that the reader can fill in their own reactions here.
Pop Mahn’s art is good, but nothing to spectacular. It is much less stylized than some of Mahn’s other recent efforts, which I think is a good thing. This is a straightforward superhero story and needs straightforward art. Despite normally being a big fan of Guy Major, the coloring of this issue didn’t seem to work well for me. Despite having some indication from the inks, there really isn’t much in terms of lighting in this issue because the colors are so flat. This also affects the depth of the art and the result is less than spectacular. Also, what is with the new Parademon design? They look sinister and all, but after falling hard for the Parademon in Villains United, this change is a bit jarring.
The return of Darkseid and the promise of more Firestorm adventures definitely help this issue, as does McDuffie’s soldi writing. The art brings it down a notch, as does the ending to the Kalibak fight (mostly because I’m still not sold on the Firestorm/Firehawk explosion situation). In the end, the final issue of this volume of Firestorm is a good read that longtime readers will enjoy, but it isn’t the defining issue of the series or anything.
Story: B McDuffie’s writing is solid, but only three things actually happen in this issue. There’s a fight, Darkseid shows, and Darkseid steals Martin Stein. That is a little thin for a final issue.
Art: B- The coloring brings this one way down, which is unfortunate because I really like Guy Major’s work.
Cover: B+ I really like this cover, but it doesn’t strike me as “final issue” cover, mostly because it looks like an awesome page of interior art more than it does a cover.
“The End is Here”
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Pencils by Pop Mhan
Inks by Pop Mhan and Steve Bird
Colors by Guy Major
Letters by Ken Lopez
Cover by Pete Woods
It’s been an uphill battle for this Firestorm comic ever since its inception nearly three years ago. The new Firstorm, Jason Rausch, debuted before the previous one had been killed. He’s a black superhero with a solo-title. The book has been full of high concepts, received little marketing, and never benefited much from its tie-ins to event books such as Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis. Despite being loved by its small band of relatively unvocal readers, the book never caught on thanks to these factors. It’s not surprising, then, that the book is being cancelled. It is, however, surprising that it lasted 35 issues. I have to give DC credit for that one. Despite its poor reception, the book has been a great read from start to finish (though, admittedly, it didn’t hit its stride until Stuart Moore took the reins), and DC stood by it for much longer than I would have suspected.
In this issue, Firestorm continues to have trouble with members of Kirby’s Fourth World, all stemming form Martin Stein’s research that ties closely to the Anti-Life Equation. The issue opens with Firestorm, Firehawk, Firestorm’s girlfriend Gehenna, Orion, and Mister Miracle having their hands full with Kalibak and his legion of Parademons. Despite their best efforts, Kalibak seems undefeatable until Jason has the idea of using his connection to Firehawk to literally turn himself into a nuclear explosion. All seems great as Orion and Mister Miracle prepare to take Kalibak to New Genesis when Darkseid makes his return by physically ripping Martin Stein out of the Firestorm Matrix and heading on his way. As the issue closes, Jason vows that he will save Professor Stein and Gehenna adds her support.
So, the big story here isn’t that Firestorm is being cancelled, its that Darkseid has finally returned. Granted, it wasn’t that long ago that the leader of Apokolips showed up in Superman/Batman during the “Supergirl” arc, but with DC’s slow build towards the return of the New Gods to the DCU, Darkseid’s appearance here is an important and surprising one. This is an interesting move on DC’s part. Once Countdown and its subsequent New Gods storylines get rolling, this will be seen as an important issue. Collectors will hopefully seek out the issue, give it a whirl, and drum up interest in the character. It’s been said that Firestorm will make a large impact in the DCU as Countdown gets going and the statement that Firestorm’s adventures will continue throughout DC’s line of titles is promising. Quite frankly, this character is too great and has too good of a supporting cast not to be a major part of the DCU.
Dwayne McDuffie’s writing is solid on this one, despite not having a ton to work with. Most of the issue is taken up by the fight with Kalibak, but he does a good job of adding appropriate banter and giving each of the involved characters a chance in the spotlight. He has a good grasp of who Jason is and how he should act, resulting in some great one-liners (including one about one-liners) and everything reads very true to character. The scene with Darkseid’s return feels a tad underwhelming because it just happens and then it is over without much reaction. However, most readers will have some idea of who Darkseid is and why he is important, so its not out of the question that the reader can fill in their own reactions here.
Pop Mahn’s art is good, but nothing to spectacular. It is much less stylized than some of Mahn’s other recent efforts, which I think is a good thing. This is a straightforward superhero story and needs straightforward art. Despite normally being a big fan of Guy Major, the coloring of this issue didn’t seem to work well for me. Despite having some indication from the inks, there really isn’t much in terms of lighting in this issue because the colors are so flat. This also affects the depth of the art and the result is less than spectacular. Also, what is with the new Parademon design? They look sinister and all, but after falling hard for the Parademon in Villains United, this change is a bit jarring.
The return of Darkseid and the promise of more Firestorm adventures definitely help this issue, as does McDuffie’s soldi writing. The art brings it down a notch, as does the ending to the Kalibak fight (mostly because I’m still not sold on the Firestorm/Firehawk explosion situation). In the end, the final issue of this volume of Firestorm is a good read that longtime readers will enjoy, but it isn’t the defining issue of the series or anything.
Story: B McDuffie’s writing is solid, but only three things actually happen in this issue. There’s a fight, Darkseid shows, and Darkseid steals Martin Stein. That is a little thin for a final issue.
Art: B- The coloring brings this one way down, which is unfortunate because I really like Guy Major’s work.
Cover: B+ I really like this cover, but it doesn’t strike me as “final issue” cover, mostly because it looks like an awesome page of interior art more than it does a cover.