Read This Too: R.E.B.E.L.S.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming in order to bring you this special bulletin.

Today’s post is a part of Read This Too, a massive crossover in which myself and other comic book bloggers bring to your attention great books that have flown under the radar.

So what’s my pick? The criminally underrated R.E.B.E.L.S. from DC Comics.

Written by Tony Bedard (sound familiar?) and most often illustrated by Claude St. Aubin, R.E.B.E.L.S. deals with Vril Dox, son of Brainiac, and his varied compatriots…all of whom hate his guts.

A bit of background information: Dox is the head of L.E.G.I.O.N., the Licensed Extra-Governmental Interstellar Operatives Network (not to be confused with the Legion of Super-Heroes), a group of peacekeepers-for-hire. In the past, L.E.G.I.O.N. turned on Dox, and he had to form R.E.B.E.L.S., the Revolutionary Elite Brigade to Eradicate L.E.G.I.O.N. Supremacy. (That’s a lot of goddamned words, especially if you expand the acronym within it.) The original R.E.B.E.L.S. series in the early 1990s dealt with Dox’s attempts to regain control of his organization by any means necessary.

The new R.E.B.E.L.S. book kicks off much the same way, as Dox is on the run from his own forces. He forms a new generation of R.E.B.E.L.S., but the acronym is only mentioned in passing, as a bit of a joke. This time around, he forms the new team because his future descendant Querl Dox (better known as Brainiac 5) told him to, as a specific group of heroes was critical to the timeline. Naturally, Dox tweaked the formula a bit, instead choosing members that would suit his own needs. The timeline be damned!

The first year of stories dealt with Starro. We’d always thought the giant alien starfish were trouble enough, but R.E.B.E.L.S. reveals that they’re just lackeys who serve an alien overlord dubbed Starro the Conqueror, who is a much larger threat than anyone could have realized. Following that, Vril Dox had to deal with the usual galactic diplomacy, plus his son Lyrl (aka Brainiac 3) and their ultrapowerful patriarch returning to conquer their homeworld of Colu.

Oh, and since this is a Green Lantern blog, I bet you’re wondering about the Corps’ place in all of this…

The universe already has a peacekeeping force in the Green Lantern Corps, and they’re not pleased with Dox edging his way in. In fact, upcoming issues will deal with the Corps fighting a turf war with Dox and crew. Like both sides don’t have enough to worry about already!

Green Lantern references aside, why should you read R.E.B.E.L.S.? Put simply, it’s just a fantastic science fiction comic book. Tony Bedard excels at writing gripping science fiction deftly mixed with humor and action, and his character development is excellent. Even though R.E.B.E.L.S. takes place within the DC Universe, familiarity with said universe isn’t required. Other DC Universe events are mentioned from time to time, but you need not be following them in order to enjoy R.E.B.E.L.S.. Issues #10 and #11 actually crossed over with the mega-popular Blackest Night, but even if you weren’t reading that story, you still wouldn’t get lost.

The artwork accompanying Bedard’s prose is a perfect match. Claude St. Aubin’s handled most of it, but even the few fill-in artists that have drawn the book have been up to snuff. Action sequences pop right off of the page, and character interaction is drawn with detail and emotion, as well it should be.

The big highlight of R.E.B.E.L.S. is, of course, Vril Dox. He’s one of the biggest assholes in comics, and you can’t help but love him for it. Dox’s heritage makes him far more intelligent than most people, which of course makes him exceedingly arrogant. (Think Lex Luthor’s attitude on steroids, minus the anti-Superman insanity.) He also has no qualms about screwing people over in order to meet his own ends, and he’s unfortunately rather realistic in the face of certain death.

Not exactly inspiring words for the troops, are they? These are but a few of the reasons why Dox’s comrades hate him, but they stick with him because his intellect almost always guarantees success. (That, and they’re rather well paid.) Aside from generally being a douchebag and treating others like shit, Dox even had the audacity to make a joke about Despero’s dick.

Yes, Despero, the alien tyrant who could tear most superheroes apart without breaking a sweat. And Dox cracks wise about his royal junk!

In keeping with R.E.B.E.L.S. tradition, plenty of guest stars have shown up for the ride, joining Dox’s team for one reason or another. Cosmic mainstays like Starfire, Captain Comet, and Adam Strange have all come on board, and Dox recently hired Lobo to deal with his wayward relatives. (Fun fact: Lobo was a star of the original R.E.B.E.L.S. book, so it’s only natural that he eventually returned to the new one.)

Since R.E.B.E.L.S. is a fantastic series, it has also fallen prey to the usual comic book inverse law: the sales are in the toilet. Even the Blackest Night tie-in and the guest star power hasn’t helped, so it’s in considerable danger of cancellation. Fortunately, now that you’ve read this post, you can do something about that. Get your ass to your friendly neighborhood comic book shop and pick it up! Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Now, make sure you check out what the other bloggers participating in Read This Too have to say about their picks! You might just learn something.

• Dan Woodward covers Adam Strange: Planet Heist on It’s A Dan’s World.

• Doug Zawisza covers American Vampire on Doom Patrol and Booster Gold and Zatanna on Red Tornado’s Path.
• Eric Stettmeier covers Scott Pilgrim on Toyriffic.
• Erika Peterman covers Welcome to Tranquility on Girls Gone Geek.
• Kelson Vibber covers Astro City on Speed Force, and The Unwritten on K-Squared Ramblings.
• Luke Jaconetti covers glamourpuss on Being Carter Hall.
• Michael Bailey covers Peter David’s run on Hulk on Fortress of Baileytude.
• Rick covers Spire Christian Comics (with a focus on In His Steps) on Mail It To Team-Up.
• Rob! covers Son of Tomahawk and Thor the Mighty Avenger on Aquaman Shrine.
• Shag covers Essential Man-Thing on Firestorm Fan, and Franklin Richards on Once Upon a Geek.
• Siskoid covers Strange Science Fantasy Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery.
• Acrobatic Flea covers Spelljammer on HeroPress.
• Vanessa covers Forgetless on Girls Gone Geek.
• Walter covers Jonah Hex on Boosterriffic.

Green Lantern Corps (Vol. 2) #52

Release Date: September 22, 2010
Cover Date: November 2010

Story: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Ardian Syaf
Inks: Vicente Cifuentes
Cover: Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes
1:10 Variant Cover: Patrick Gleason and Mark Irwin

John Stewart helps to repair the fallen Boodikka, while Kyle Rayner, Hannu, Soranik Natu, and the entire Grendan population mount a massive assault on Cyborg Superman’s base. Inside, Ganthet has successfully removed a power battery from an Alpha Lantern, and Cyborg Superman demands that he work on him next. The attack disrupts his plans, however, and even though he’s able to reestablish control over the Grendans, the Green Lanterns take him down. His body is vaporized, but his mind jumps into Boodikka’s body. He attempts to take control, but Boodikka’s mind proves to be more powerful, cutting the villain down for good.

“Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns” has come to its end, and it was a completely expected one. Aside from the usual coda of the good guys winning, lo and behold — Boodikka’s back to her old pre-Alpha self, at least in mind and personality. (I called that from the beginning.) As hardcore as the Guardians were about the creation and use of the Alpha Lanterns to begin with, they sure seem to have softened a bit. I guess a force of your most powerful soldiers jumping ship and enslaving a planet might have that effect.

Ardian Syaf’s art is usually top-notch, but this issue had some problems. One or two of the splash pages just looked a little…off. Nothing glaring, but just a few anatomy and perspective errors. Overall, Syaf’s work is to be commended, but it was just a bit odd seeing him falter here. Maybe he was having a rough day when he worked on those areas?

We readers are not stupid: we know this is not the end of Cyborg Superman. Hank Henshaw’s like a bad penny: he just keeps turning up, and…did I really just use that shitty cliché? Harvey Korman needs to come along and shoot me in the foot for that one. I’ve earned it.

Anyway, “Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns” was still a great story overall, and this issue capped it off nicely. Next month…the Weaponer!

Brightest Day #10

Release Date: September 15, 2010
Cover Date: Late November 2010

Story: Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi
Pencils: Ivan Reis, Scott Clark, and Joe Prado
Inks: Oclair Albert and David Beaty
Cover: David Finch
1:10 Variant Cover: Ivan Reis

Firestorm is undergoing further tests from Professor Stein, who explains that the Firestorm Matrix is accelerating towards its final stage. Stein believes that the Matrix is actually the spark that started the Big Bang, and is likely to do so again. Meanwhile, Aquaman pledges to hunt down Aqualad alone, but Jackson Hyde’s father has taken him to a seaside cottage to tell him the truth. He was given to them as a baby by Mera, but this revelation is short-lived, as Black Manta shows up to claim the boy. Jackson may be inexperienced, but he’s powerful enough to toss Black Manta around until Siren shows up. Black Manta then tries to kill Jackson’s adoptive father, but Aquaman arrives and intervenes. Back in Stein’s lab, the professor tells Ronnie and Jason that if they keep arguing, then it makes the Matrix all the more unstable; if it kicks off another Big Bang, only the two of them would be left. Well, them and the malevolent entity inside them that finally takes its cue to escape. Black Lantern Firestorm bursts forth, splitting Ronnie and Jason apart.

The Aqualad stuff in this issue was expected and by-the-numbers, but the real focus was on Firestorm. There was plenty of character and plot exposition, along with some retcons (surprise!). For example, we discovered that the Firestorm Matrix is responsible for the creation of the universe. You’d think this would clash with the Entity story told in Blackest Night #7 and Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #52, but that’s not the case. Those issues made it quite clear that there was already a universe in existence before the Entity showed up. Remember, the Entity didn’t create the universe; it just added life and light to it. That’s the whole reason why Nekron instigated his master plan: to return to the universe to the way it was before the Entity’s incursion. As it stands, the Firestorm Matrix was essentially responsible for the creation of Nekron!

The most obvious retcon was that the Matrix actually rejected Professor Stein over time, and that’s why he became a fire elemental in Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #85. Originally, it was the opposite, as the Matrix had made Stein its sole host! As powerful as that elemental was, that’s nothing compared to the rapidly evolving Firestorm now; he’s literally the most dangerous being in the universe, and the sum of Firestorm’s parts are filled with conflicting emotions.

Speaking of which, it was interesting how Black Lantern Firestorm (who may or may not be named “Deathstorm” now, if the teaser text on the last page is any indication) attributed the seven emotions of the spectrum to Ronnie, Jason, and Stein. I’m guessing that since they’re the only ones who can stop Black Lantern Firestorm (according to the Entity), he’s going to use those emotions and the unstable Firestorm Matrix against them. Of course, if they did restart the Big Bang, Nekron would be fucked, too. His realm of the unliving may be its own dimension, but it’s still part of the main DC Universe; it’s not a completely separate universe like the antimatter universe or Earth-2.

But, that’s all pointless speculation. We know damned well our heroes will stop “Deathstorm,” and we’re not going to see another Big Bang in the DC Universe. (Unless there’s another goddamned Crisis series waiting in the wings…ugh.) Regardless, #10 has been one of the better Brightest Day issues to date.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #2

Release Date: September 15, 2010
Cover Date: November 2010

Story: Peter Tomasi
Pencils: Fernando Pasarin
Inks: Cam Smith
Cover: Rodolfo Migliari
1:25 Variant Cover: Felipe Massafera

Guy Gardner ruminates over his secret mission, wondering how his friends will handle it when the shit hits the fan. Arisia’s been having nightmares about Sodam Yat, and she’s convinced that he’s still alive. Meanwhile, deep within the Unknown Sectors, the villain from the last issue reveals his name as Zardor of Kralok, a former ally of the Guardians. He’s collecting psychosensitive races from across the galaxy and using them for an insidious plan to gain control of the Green Lantern Corps. Back on Oa, Arisia and Kilowog volunteer to accompany Guy on his mission, and the three leave the planet. Arisia wants to stop by the Daxam system to retrieve Sodam, but Guy explains that they need to visit Odym first so he can have a Blue Lantern purge the remaining Red Lantern infection from his body. When they arrive, Brother Warth offers to help Guy, but Bleez shows up to prevent it.

While this issue wasn’t bad overall, I noticed a glaring error right off the bat: Guy’s ring tells him that four Green Lanterns currently serve in Sector 2814. This is completely wrong: two Green Lanterns are assigned to each sector. Furthermore, at this point in time, only one Green Lantern is actually assigned to 2814, and that’s Hal Jordan. Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, and Guy are not assigned to 2814. They’re Honor Guard members, who are assigned to Oa itself (aka Sector 0). Granted, they technically have jurisdiction across all sectors, but that’s common to any Green Lantern. Regardless, this is an error that should’ve been caught well before the issue went to press.

Arisia’s nightmare sequence looked great, and aside from the obvious fact that it clued her in to Sodam’s survival, I think it’s going to set up some romantic interludes between the two down the line. I mean, come on: other than the nightmares, she’s been sculpting clay figures of the dude in her spare time. Kyle may have told her that she’s got some artistic talent, but she’s clearly a bit obsessed. Sodam was her sector partner, but there’s got to be more to it than that.

Zardor is clearly not one of Despero’s kind, even though he looks a bit like him and shares his powers. Besides, I’ve never seen Despero cough up snakes to chew out people’s eyeballs! I’m assuming his schemes will tie into the secret pact between Guy, Atrocitus, and Ganthet, but I doubt we’ll find out until at least the end of the first story arc, or even the second. Most importantly, though, I do like the fact that Zardor is a new character, rather than a repurposed old one.

Green Lantern: Emerald Adventures

Can’t wait until next year’s Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters to get your viridian video game fix? Well, then why not give Green Lantern: Emerald Adventures a try?

Emerald Adventures is a free 3D online game that you can play in your browser after installing the Unity Web Player plugin. (Lots of other browser-based 3D games use Unity, so you might already have it.) You take on the role of Hal Jordan as he chases after Despero to save the kidnapped Princess of Gravitron.

Now, this is a kids’ game, and I’m going to review it as such. I’m not going to hold it to any ridiculously lofty adult standards, but the usual stuff such as graphics, sound, and controls will still be examined.

So let’s begin! There’s three different missions, plus a bonus mission. Only the first one is available from the start, of course, but the others open up as you progress. Each mission is divided into two parts: a spaceborne rail shooter, and a ground-based action game. In both mission types, your goal is to defeat enemies and pick up colored orbs. These provide experience points (we’ll get to those later) and map coordinates, which are used to get to the next area. Simple enough, right?

For the space missions, you blast asteroids and other items with your ring, dodging larger rocks all the way. The controls here are a little floaty, which may result in Hal flying into obstacles rather than avoiding them. The space missions are short, and all three look relatively alike. You’ll keep flying in a long loop until you acquire enough map coordinates to proceed, and then the real meat of the game is found once Hal touches down on a planet.

Here, you’ll explore and fight various goons while hunting for experience points and map coordinates. You’ve got more options when it comes to ring constructs, and you can also find secondary items that last for a limited time, like shields and speed boots.

The controls on the ground are better than those in space, though the combat needs some work. Even with varying constructs, it boils down to the basic beat-’em-up formula: keep button-mashing until your enemy dies. The other downside is that you may find yourself going in circles and getting lost while trying to track down new enemies.

There’s a lot of ground to cover, with secret routes galore, but falling off the edge means instant death and a respawn at the most recent checkpoint. Your inability to fly when on a planet is cleverly explained: Despero is forcing the captive princess to use her gravity powers against you.

Checkpoints not only save your progress, but they also allow you to link up with Oa. Now you can use the experience points you’ve accumulated to buy new power ring constructs or enhance your abilities, like recharge speed. (If you’re running low in experience points between missions, you can hit up the bonus mission to earn more.) Some constructs are ranged weapons like plasma blasts, but others are more suited to melee combat, including the ever-popular giant baseball bat. The more powerful the construct, however, the longer it’ll take to recharge.

To break up the action, ground missions also have random puzzle sequences, wherein completing one will open up new areas. The sequence shown above is a slide puzzle with a set amount of time to solve it.

There’s also a second type of puzzle, in which you must bounce the Green Lantern symbol around and avoid tripping an alarm. If you fail to solve the puzzles, there’s no real penalty; you can just keep attempting them until you succeed. The rewards are worth it, as the new areas found beyond the puzzles often contain lots of experience points and other items.

Let’s take a quick look at the rest of the game. The second mission begins in space, as usual, but then deposits you on a jungle planet. There’s a lot more opportunities to fall here, and platforms move a lot faster. Stronger enemies start showing up, too, but at this point you’ll likely have bought more powerful constructs to deal with them.

The third and final mission takes you right to Despero’s citadel, where extremely powerful enemies and cheap-ass laser beams are there to make Hal’s life hell. Since you don’t need to acquire map coordinates in this level, you just need to fight your way to the top. After you make it through the citadel, you get to square off against Despero.

Of course, in true villain fashion, he sends his lackeys after you first. Dispatching them is a piece of cake, but then you get to fight Despero himself.

The villain’s easy at first, but once he starts floating and using his telekinesis to throw objects at you, that can sap your health bar very quickly. Still, keep up the assault, kick Despero’s ass, and earn yourself a lackluster victory screen.

The graphics in Emerald Adventures are on par with most PlayStation 2 and Wii games, which is pretty impressive for a free browser-based game. You don’t need a superfast gaming computer to play it, though that certainly helps. You can even play the game in “true” 3D if you have a pair of red-and-cyan glasses lying around! This looks rather cheesy, and it may hurt your eyes after a while. You’re probably better off playing without them.

As for audio, the sound design is nothing special, but it’s certainly not horrible. Effects are general science fiction fare; in fact, Green Lantern’s default power ring blast sounds like a classic raygun. Background music is decent, but not memorable, especially since it’s the same thing looped over and over. Besides, you can switch the audio to effects only, or off entirely, if you wish. This lets the player focus on the action, as well they should.

If you’re expecting deep thematic stories and mindblowing high-definition visual effects, you might want to go elsewhere. However, if a diversion featuring your favorite emerald hero is what you’re looking for, then Emerald Adventures will be right up your alley. It’s certainly not perfect, but for a free game, there’s not a whole lot to complain about. (At the very least, your kids oughta love it!)