Comics Events

Okay, so we are part way through both Marvel's Fear Itself and Flashpoint. I've read only the core Fear Itself books (plus the lead-up, "Book of the Skull"), and have read most of the Flashpoint tie-ins.

The truth is, I am a little weary of cross-over events. And so is my wallet. So, my early impressions of both of these cross-overs may be tinged by that, but I will try to be objective.

Overall, both are interesting. The Asgardian corner of the Marvel Universe has never been my favorite, so Fear Itself has its work cut out for it to pull me in. The main book's focus on Thor and the Asgardians as well as Odin's opponent, The Serpent, contain the bare minimum needed to drive the story forward. Each issue of Fear Itself ends with a page or two telling you what other books you should pick up.

So far, by my reckoning, Fear Itself has been a little slow moving. I'm not sure why... there seems to be a lot of story, but it doesn't seem to be moving. It might be because some of it is a foregone conclusion to me - Steve Rogers is going to come back to being Captain America. Three issues of him warring between being a SHIELD administrator and a field operative do not hide that. So, when Bucky Cap gets killed, and Rogers steps up, it doesn't feel like a significant development, it felt a little more like "finally." Not to mention, I am never a fan of "good guys gone bad" stories, like with the Thing becoming one of the Worthy. Overall, this is not my idea of a great event, but I still have hopes for it.

Flashpoint, on the other had is moving at a breakneck pace, as suits a story that focuses on Barry Allen. I have always loved Marvel's What If and DC's Elseworlds. Flashpoint is like one of those, so it is right up my alley. I love watching Barry piece together what is different about his new world. The nice job of having Cyborg stepping up as the primary hero in a world where there is no Superman, and where Batman is even less social than in the familiar DCU. And I haven't felt like I needed to read anything other than Flashpoint itself to follow the main story, and understand the scope of it.

I have to say, in the battle of the event books for 2011, so far I feel like the decision goes to DC's Flashpoint. And, of course, the payoff is bound to be bigger on the DC side - Flashpoint is leading up to big September relaunch.

I don't think either of these would be welcoming to someone new to comics, and I think that is an issue. Yes, in the current environment, events sell. But they sell to the existing audience, and probably not to new readers. If I didn't already know Deathstroke the Terminator as he exists today, how much would I care that he is now a pirate, and how significant would it be that he was killed by Aquaman? Similarly, with Fear Itself, the Asgardians are such a significant part of the story, and they are converting characters to the Worthy, Thor-like powerhouses. Using characters like Titania, Absorbing Man, Attuma and the Grey Gargoyle. Is this the right approach? Maybe the next Marvel crossover should feature in starring roles the characters who are in the movies - and be self-contained.