Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials
Trinity #26
Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 26, 2008
Cover date: November 26, 2008
Main Story: "Worldsoul"
Main Writers: Kurt Busiek
Main Pencillers: Mark Bagley
Main Inker: Art Thibert
Back-Up Story: "Explaining Faith to a Rock"
Back-Up Story Writer: Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza
Back-Up Story Penciller: Mike Norton & Ande Parks
Back-Up Story Inker: Allen Passalaqua
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Bridges with Neal Bailey
Click to enlarge
Tarot meets up with Charity O'Dare, who recounts her origin over a multitude of pages.
They talk about women through time who've... protected, guarded, used the "Worldsoul"? I think? It's unclear. One woman named Sindella somehow broke that and it all went downhill from there. Tarot asks if she needs to know this, to which Charity says no, so one has to wonder why Busiek is bothering to tell us.
Then they see a vision of a bunch of these women, which Tarot says is more like they should be.
To be continued...
Back-Up Story: "Explaining Faith to a Rock"
Morgaine and Enigma go looking for Konvikt, who recounts his origin of false accusation to himself. Morgaine the offers him an option to reshape reality in order to regain his honor.
To be continued...
Jeffrey's Review:
 Main Story - 1: Ladies and gentlemen, now halfway through what should easily be the biggest thing DC is doing right now, and we have... the origin of Charity O'Dare. And Tarot suddenly has a costume, and it's an arrow that points to her crotch.
Homo-magi?
And the one woman who ruins the "WORLDSOUL" is... Sindella?!
HOW IS THIS BOOK NOT A JOKE?
I mean, it IS a joke, but what I'm getting at is how was it not intended as such? How is this a serious endeavor of dramatic writing? How could ANYONE take this crap seriously? How is this in any way about Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman?
Sindella, the homo-magi, who lost the worldsoul.
My @$$, you say.
 Main Art - 2: Whoever designed Tarot's "arrow toward her crotch" should be fired.
Not that there was much to her to begin with, but what a way to undermine her anyway, eh?
Back-Up Story - 1: Konvikt! See? Konvikt!
How is this in any way about Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman?
Crap on a stick!
 Back-Up Art - 3: There's only so much Konvikt I can take. I had my fill about 24 issues ago.
Cover Art - 2: Jim Lee wants to do covers? Awesome! What does everyone want to see? ENIGMA! YEAH!
...no?
How about next month we get pet character, up for most useless and least cared about ever created in all of DC, Konvikt? Make it so, you say?
SIGN ME UP, THIS IS THE BEST JOB EVER.
Neal's Review:
Main Story - 1: We spend a bunch of time expositing on Tarot/Charity's history, with a lot of ethereal mumblings about tarot cards and the way that the world has a soul.
Nothing happens, though, really, beyond bluntstick characterization. I think they vibe that it was going for was the Geoff Johns, "Here is my character through caption" (also sometimes used by Jeph Loeb, which can work, but only if you shift from that characterization to the actual plot within three or four pages, instead of sixteen pages of: "She has walked dark mansions! And heard -and told- forbidden tales!" "Apart. Alone. And yet... not!" Count the oxymoronic statements on the page, and you get what seems like characterization but in actuality is a bunch of stereotypes that accomplishes nothing for the reader.
Main Art - 2: Bagley's usually great work flags here, when there is very little visual distinction between Tarot and the B character whose name I forget and can't be bothered to go look up (such is my apathy about this project as engendered by the piece).
There are great backgrounds, per usual, but the character work grated on me this time around. Good, though, that this is the exception to the rule for me.
Back-Up Story - 1: Konvikt's origin... again? And now he's honorable despite wanting to defeat everyone he sees, earlier? And now he's a perfect proxy for Despero despite wholly differing motivations, species, and abilities?
Righteo.
1'd!
 Back-Up Art - 5: Still digging McDaniel Owens. I wish they'd get something to draw other than this lot.
Cover Art - 3: Never has such a ridiculous character look so uncharacteristically badass. Still, it's that character which has a negative fifteen to charisma. Sucks to be Jim Lee.
Mild Mannered Reviews
2009
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