Brian Michael Bendis's second Wonder Comics offering was mostly wonderful.

First, the writing was nice and crisp and flowed nicely. It didn't seem to drag anywhere. Bendis and David F. Walker turned in a great script on this one. We were taken through just a couple days in a sleepy town where Superman has been through during a fight with Mongul, just for a few seconds.

Secondly, the art was beautiful. It almost came off as painterly, and the colors reminded me of Ariel Olivetti's work. The line work looked different than that, but in a good way. I look greatly forward to seeing more from Jamal Campbell.

My only wish is that they would have just gone ahead and said who Naomi's parents were on the last page. It seems like the obvious first page on the second issue, and it would have been a bigger cliffhanger in my opinion than what they did.

Anyway, I'm onboard for this series for the foreseeable future as well. I'm looking forward to Dial H for Hero and Wonder Twins.

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  • I liked it a lot, too -- and also wish they'd gone a little farther into the story in the first issue.

    That said, I don't necessarily agree that revealing who her parents are is the next thing that happens. I think of it as the Amazing Race rule -- place the cliffhanger at the most dramatic place possible. If, on the Amazing Race, we cut to a commercial when a team is racing to board a plane, they'll probably make it. Because if they missed the plane, the better cliffhanger is to cut to commercial after they've definitely missed it.

    And you're right: If her parents were going to be revealed right away as, say, Star Boy and Dreamer on a trip from the future, you'd definitely want to put that on the last page. On the other hand, if the reveal is going to be put off a while, they've got to stop the action at the next-best crescendo. Which, in this case, is Dex's revelation about the date. That'll lead to something, sure -- but not immediately, in a very-next-page sort of way. So it seems like Bendis, Walker, and Campbell have a little more of a delaying tactic up their sleeves before we find out that nugget of info. With luck, it'll be as entertaining and gorgeous as this first issue. 

  • I didn't even think about the fact that they may draw it out even longer.

    Hopefully it really is as entertaining and gorgeous.

  • I think Bendis has listened to the criticism about his dialogue. His Superman/Action comics have practically been anti-Bendis, and have moved along crisply. Maybe Naomi is reflective of this idea, too.

    An idea, I hasten to emphasize, is purely speculative.

  • Actually, this issue felt the most "old-school Bendis" of anything he's written for DC. It wasn't a bad thing, though. It felt appropriate in a book about teenagers.

    Captain Comics said:

    I think Bendis has listened to the criticism about his dialogue. His Superman/Action comics have practically been anti-Bendis, and have moved along crisply. Maybe Naomi is reflective of this idea, too.

    An idea, I hasten to emphasize, is purely speculative.

  • It's definitely got some old Bendis tricks in it, like the two pages of talking-head grids of people responding to the same question. (Which I think is a pretty great technique, to be honest, though it'll have more meaning when we get to know some of these characters better.)

  • Well, the second issue has come out, and we've found out just a little bit more. But we've learned that the town's mechanic, Dee, did time in Iron Heights. 

    Which makes me wonder...is he Big Sir?

    I mean, he's a hulk of a man. He's a Flash villain, which Iron Heights would indicate. And his given name was *groan* Dufus P. Ratchett. Which, if it were my name, I sure as hell would shorten to Dee. 

    So is it?


  • You certainly present a great case for it. Could be interesting!

    Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) said:


    Which makes me wonder...is he Big Sir?

  • ...I don't see a thread about the first Wonder Comics title, so I'll ask it here. Is the Wonder Comics line supposed to be a " milder/ less ' edgy '/' like a modern- day version of the good ol' days " younger audience-aiimed line? Like, IIRC. that M2 line that Marvel had about 20 years ago that Spider-Girl was the sole hit from?
  • It's not supposed to be milder, per se -- it's just focused on teen heroes, and some of their problems will be smaller. 

  • I posted about the first Wonder Comics book here, although I didn't tag it as such:

    https://captaincomics.ning.com/forum/topics/young-justice

    I still haven't done one on Wonder Twins because I haven't read it yet.

    Emerkeith Davyjack said:

    ...I don't see a thread about the first Wonder Comics title, so I'll ask it here. Is the Wonder Comics line supposed to be a " milder/ less ' edgy '/' like a modern- day version of the good ol' days " younger audience-aiimed line?
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