Book One shipped back in November and I liked it. I liked it so much, I started a "Black Lightning" thread to discuss the rest of the series. The thing is, I know now that only the first issue focuses on Black Lightning. I don't really know where they could have taken the story from where Book One left off; it was a complete, pre-Flashpoint story with a satisfying ending. I would still like to discuss the rest of the series, though, so I thought I'd move it into a thread of its own.
First, here's what i posted about Book One on November 26 (with one correction): "This is basically the story of Black Lightning, part one of three. It covers the years 1972 through 1995, and what makes this story unusual if not unique is that it is set against real world events. It is also set against the timeline of the DC universe, and many drawing are taken from well-known sources (covers, interior artwork, etc.). Recommended."
Here is what Bob posted on November 29: "I thought was very good. It’s a good story well-told and takes a character I was never very into and makes him interesting. It gets into how the DC Universe for most of its history has been largely a white guys’ club. (The Marvel Universe, too, really.) I also like the way that it’s laid out the way the original History of the DC Universe was. It’s not in continuity, but I don’t think that matters because continuity ain’t what it used to be anyway."
Finally, here's something Travis posted yesterday: "I remembered that Jeff was a fan of The Other History of the DC Universe, I thought the first issue was really boring. Which is a huge disappointment because I really like Black Lightning. Sorry, when I get a superhero comic I want some action. I'm still on the hook for issue 2, because of pre-ordering it. Then again I thought the original series was really boring."
Now I'm off to read Book Two.
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Book Two deals with Mal Duncan and Bumblebee (1970-1989).
NOTE: Although I generally refer to comic book characters by their super-heroic alter egos rather than their given names, I have made an exception for Mal Duncan not only because he has had multiple heroic identities, but also because it fits with the theme of the story.
I am probably less familiar with Mal and Bumblebee (pre- New Teen Titans, anyway) than I was with Black Lightning. Book Two is quite similar to Book One in that it presents the main characters' history against a backdrop of real world events as well as the timeline of the DC universe. To address Travis's complaint, like Book One, Book Two is not action-oriented but, to be fair, the word "history" is in the title. I don't always like it when comic book stoies are run through a "real world" filter, but that technique works particularly well in this case.
Like I said, I'm not overly familiar with most of the stories upon which Book Two is based, but it inspires me to read them.
I can hardly wait to discover which characters will be featured in Book Three.
Jeff of Earth-J said:
Thanks. It's not a spoiler for me to know in advance which characters are going to be featured. the only reason I don't is that I generally just skim articles about upcoming projects so that i can decide in advance whether or not to buy them, or perhaps pre-order them. Once I decide, I stop reading. for some reason I thought The Other History was going to be only three issues, but I'll buy as many as they publish.
So first I thought "The Other History of the DC Universe" was going to be a three-issue series about Black Lightning. Then #2 came out and I realized it was going to be about other characters as well. Then #4 came out (today) and I realized I had missed #3.
Four came out today? I didn't see it at my local.
BOOK THREE:
There's a character I've seen pictured in the DCU alongside the Suicide Squad and the Birds of Prey for the past couple of years but I had no idea who she was. Turns out it was Katana in a different costume. Katana is best known, I suppose, as the least interesting character in group colloquially known as "Bat's Kooky Quintet"... which is saying something in a group in which each character is more boring than the last. It is a testament to Mike Barr and Jim Aparo that they could tell any interesting stories at all with a group of such uninteresting characters.
Fittingly, the most interesting part of Book Three wasn't even about Katana but rather a little sidebar about about Tara Markov and Slade Wilson. The best thing ever done with Deathstroke was The Colbert Cut, but the New Teen Titans was undoubtedly a better book than Batman and the Outsiders. Tara and Wilson had a very suggestive (if not explicit) relationship, and I always wondered why more was not made of it in the fan press.
To be clear, I thought Tara Markov was a great character (from a storytelling point of view), and the title was never as good as it had been after she died. She was psychopathic, equally adept at playing Changeling's virginal girlfriend as she was Deathstoke's sex partner. A part of me wanted to believe that her behavior toward Wilson was a put-on. I knew plenty of girls who dressed and acted like that when I was in high school, but I was pretty sure they were virgins. The Other History comes right out and says that what looked like was going on was actually what was going on.
"Slade Wilson raped Tara Markov. Not with physical force. He coerced an underage, mentally unstable girl into having sexual relations with him. Again, and again, and again. And Slade used that sexual dominance to manipulate Tara. Basically, Tara was trafficked... Deathstroke developed a cult following for being a 'badass,' and a 'man's man,' but rarely was he called out for what he was: a pedophiliac rapist."
That's exactly that way Wolfman and Perez presented it, but I'm still surprised not more of an uproar was made at the time. The above narration and "The Colbert Cut" pretty much wraps it up for Deathstroke as far as I am concerned.
Back to the topic at hand, Book three is every bit as well-written and researched as the first two, but if I have one complaint its that every character John Ridley writes speaks with the same voice.
Got it.
The Baron said:
Yeah, I never understood it when they were trying to make Deadstroke Deathpool Deathstroke into a quasi-hero, either.
I hadn't seen the Colbert Cut before, but that's awesome!
BOOK FOUR:
I have read all of the Ditko "Question" and virtually nothing else, and by "virtually" I mean I have also read Americomics Special #1 (featuring the "Sentinels of Justice") and nothing else. That's not quite true. I also remember The Question from Countdown and/or 52, but I honestly don't recall whether it was the Vic sage or the Renee Montoya version. Regarding Renee Montoya, IIRC she was introduced in the comics then carried over to the cartoon. It was later still she was "revealed" to be a lesbian (in a desperate attempt to make her interesting, I assume), and later still she became The Question.
The Other History of the DC Universe goes into somewhat more detail.
Again, Book four is written in the same "voice" as the other three.
I know one transgender teen and I would feel comfortable recommending this book to him.
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