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Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Trinity #36

Trinity #36

Scheduled to arrive in stores: February 4, 2009

Cover date: February 4, 2009

Back-Up Story: "God War"

Main Writers: Kurt Busiek
Main Pencillers: Mark Bagley
Main Inker: Art Thibert

Main Story: "Fellow Prisoners"

Back-Up Story Writer: Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza
Back-Up Story Penciller: Scott McDaniels
Back-Up Story Inker: Andy Owens

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey with Jeffrey Bridges and Barry Freiman

Click to enlarge



As the heroes seeking the trinity look on, Dinanna, Kellel, and Ahtman grow wistful and begin to remember their god war.

As the blue people grow disconcerted (in the past), the evil bald Luthor/Joker analogues blow up a city. The heroes meet, squabble over who was responsible, Dinannah hits Kellel, and it is implied that the fighting between the three continued.

To be continued...



Back-Up Story: "Fellow Prisoners"

Cheetah, Sun-Chained-in-Ink, and the Gentleman Ghost remake a city in their image. The Dreambound see this, then decide to go back to the lair.

The Dreambound verbally spar with Enigma as he extrapolates about his daughter to Morgan, who he indicates knows the things he's extrapolating about.

The Dreambound go to the evil canteen and have lunch after being discounted by Sun. They're interrupted by Primat attacking the food, revealing Atom.

The Atom and the villains fight, and Atom convinces them they're not really evil. SPHERE appears and transports Atom back to headquarters.

To be continued...



Neal's Review:

1Main Story - 1: That's the whole plot. An incomprehensible baby-talk rehash of Infinite Crisis with nothing novel, intellectual, or critically relevant. I can summate it in two small paragraphs, and literally none of the story is missing.

The story has been in a holding pattern for so long now, it's lost all relevance. I can't even work up the energy to be angry. It's just absolutely apathy driven sighing right now. I, like the writers, have been driven to apparent by-the-numbers work. It's hard to find something here I haven't said twice about how awful this book is.

3Main Art - 3: The art is strong, but the subjects depicted are so boring to me, it's hard. I want to fault the art for that, but it's not the artist's fault he's drawing a baby-talk vision of Diana called "Dinanna."

Still, that said, many of the usually awesomely detailed backgrounds are gone in favor of really cool coloring work, but it seems like a talking heads issue. Which works when it's Bagley drawing Bendis, who has a good eye for dialogue, but when it's Busiek, with the names in the dialogue and the extrapolation, it's literal hell.

1Back-Up Story - 1: Read the page where Atom uses thought bubbles (anachronistic thought bubbles) to extrapolate his actions. Then watch as he, through dialogue, extrapolates his actions further and talks about Ralph Dibny, giving away the secret identity of the Elongated Man to extrapolate through dialogue. Then watch, on the same page, where he tells the bad guys he's dodged their attack, but it's made him weak, giving them the cue to capture him.

And tell me how this is entertainment for anything other than a five-year-old just learning how to read.

5Back-Up Art - 5: The art is actually very strong, visually distinctive, and creative. A bright point when you realize it's depicting a giant female ape going to the evil canteen after being spurned by Sun-Chained-In-Bad-Extrapolating-Dialogue.

1Cover Art - 1: None of these characters appear in this book, and this does not depict anything that happens in the issue. It's false advertising, and that's s___. It could be Robocop on a unicorn drawn by Curt Swan, and I would 1 it, because it's not in the book, and that's crap.

Jeffrey's Review:

1Main Story - 1: So the Trinity somehow became gods, and in so doing all of their personalities changed so as to no longer be recognizable as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (beyond their lame physical redesigns) and then they all fought each other.

Whee?

2Main Art - 2: An entire splash page devoted to nothing but... an explosion.

Not one that anyone cares about, not one showing something or someone beloved ripped and torn asunder... just.... an explosion. A page of fire... all by itself.

What the hell is the point of that?!?

1Back-Up Story - 1: Hey, for no reason at all people who've happily been villains for three years' worth of comics (we're on issue 36, remember) suddenly... don't want to be, and the Atom somehow knows this via no reason whatsoever.

Whee indeed.

3Back-Up Art - 3: Worth it just for the plate overflowing with tater-tots.

5Cover Art - 5: This is absolutely unequivocally the best Trinity cover yet.

Why, you ask?

Because Diana is clearly as thrilled to be on the cover of this book as we are to read it.

FINALLY, TRUTH IN ADVERTISING!

Barry's Review:

1Main Story - 1: OK children, time to go to your rooms and think about what you've done here. The magically changed Trinity go to war with each other. Superman threatens the other two to leave his planet, but it's not a credible threat when he's wearing Diana's girdle, boots, and some kind of bracelets.

They've been stripped of their emotions. My hunch is their emotions are contained in their supporting characters and somehow the hard-traveling former friends of heroes will return their compassion and selflessness to them. Good for them. Only 16 more issues of this nonsense. Good for me.

1Main Art - 1: Bagley seems to be losing interest too. A full page of art devoted to a big orange boom? And the super-motorcyle helmet? Reminds me of the TV Wonder Woman's motorcycle suit. Oy.

3Back-Up Story - 3: I will give the back-up stories credit. When, as here, they focus on character moments, Busiek and Nicieza show the promise that this 52 week extravaganza could have had. And I think I'm in love with Primat.

3Back-Up Art - 3: There are some clever moments artistically this time out - straightjacket guy eating by shoveling food into his unattached head; the Atom riding straightjacket guy's reality pulse power; and the Atom being thrust full-sized through the S.P.H.E.R.E.'s teleportation rift.

2Cover Art - 2: Diana over-conditions her hair. That makes her sad. The heroes must be attacking her hair stylist on her behalf. You always need the support of (super-)friends after a bad haircut.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2009

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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