Same Geek Channel: ‘Convergence’ Week Five, Back for More

Mordechai:  Sorry for the delay, folks. Had some issues with images.

Corrina: Before we get started, I’ll point out that several of this week’s issues do something incredibly radical in superhero comics nowadays: they have a happy ending.

(No, not that kind.) The happily ever after kind.

They also have previews for upcoming DC books that do not seem nearly as happy. More on that at the end.

Mordechai: Everyone still with us? Good, here goes:

Convergence: The Question #2
Story by Greg Rucka; Art by Cully Hamner

Corrina: This is the most personal of the stories in this event, and it feels like Greg Rucka’s love letter to Renee Montoya and the rest of the Gotham. It’s sad and poignant and, while it’s not a happy ending, it’s a satisfying and sentimental one. Gotham misses you, Rucka, particularly Kate Kane and Renee Montoya. Hamner’s facial expressions are gold, too.

Mordechai: Indeed. This was just a good, solid comic. One totally worthy of the creative team. You have to love the little touches, like Kathy thinking Helena and Renee are an item just because they’re roommates, and the larger ones like what Harvey Dent would do if there was another him out there. It’s not just a good book for the crossover, it’s a good book period.

Buy it? Yes. This is likely the only comic that completely transcends the event.

Convergence: Nightwing & Oracle #2
Story by Gail Simone; Art by Jan Duursema

Corrina: Not only did we get Nightwing and Oracle back, readers also received the extra gift of Black Canary teaming with them and using the Canary Cry in a new way.  This is one of the happy ever after endings I mentioned and I ate it up with a spoon for the awesomesauce it is.

Mordechai: I had one quibble–“Wait, so the Thangarian tech is unhackable, but the Brainiac tech is?” was my initial response–then I remembered that Barbera was once connected to Brainiac. Then all was fine. We get to see why Dick is awesome, why Oracle is awesome, and why it’s important to remember to never, ever pick a fight with the Birds of Prey.

Buy it? Yes. Go. Buy. Read. Enjoy.

Convergence: Batman & Robin #2
Story by Ron Marz; Art by Denys Cowan

Mordechai: I didn’t care for the first chapter, but the second is a bit better done. For one thing, we get to see our heroes actually be heroic. I read this after Justice League, so it was a nice palate cleanser. It was a basic comic, with good art and a passable story.

Corrina: Agree on all points, that this was an improvement over the first issue and I liked seeing the Bat-family as a family. For that, plus the art, I’d recommend it.

Buy it? Yes.

Convergence: Harley Quinn #2
Story by Steve Pugh; Art by Phil Winsdale

Mordechai: What a great cover.

I admit, I didn’t care as much for the first issue as Corrina did, but the second one was solid. In fact, taken together, this makes for a very good read. Harley is funny, Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew are done well, and the fight is just entertaining. I honestly enjoyed this way more than I expected.

Corrina: Perhaps there’s no way this comic could ever top the current series. Next to that, this is inferior, and I wasn’t into the fight that much. But Harley fans will enjoy it.

Buy it? Yes.

Convergence: Superman #2
Story by Dan Jurgens; Art by Lee Weeks

Corrina: A full-bore, Superman loves Lois Lane, happily-ever-after ending, even with some redemption for the Flashpoint-era Thomas Wayne. Heck yes, I loved it. It’s been a good week for Lois, with this issue and with the release of Lois Lane: Fallout. (Great book–go buy that too.)

Mordechai: I’m not a fan of the whole “Superman tracked Lois via her computer headset” thing–he’s Superman. C’mon. Otherwise, an enjoyable read. Since we know that we won’t be getting the older version of Superman back anytime soon, the story works as a decent sendoff for him and Lois.

Buy it? Yes, if you loved the married era Superman.

Convergence: The Atom #2
Story by Tom Peyer; Art by Steve Yeowell

Corrina: Definitely an improvement over issue #1, which was just weird. This one does bring back Ryan Choi and provides some Silver Age-style goofiness to his return. It’s not very substantial overall but I liked it.

Mordechai: The “I went to the place our mass goes” is very, very Silver Age Marvel, in that there have been several stories taking place in the universe that Pym Particles shift mass to. Not a very DC concept. Indeed, the whole story felt off. Cute, but not even close to being Tom Peyer’s best work. I’d actually argue that the first issue was better, and I’d argue against buying it at all.

Buy it? If you need to read Ryan Choi.

Convergence: Batgirl #2
Story by Alisa Kwitney; Art by Rick Leonardi

Corrina: Alas, DC didn’t send me a review copy of this one, so I’m bowing out.

Mordechai: This is a really choppy comic. The solution to the fight is interesting, although I’m really not sure what Catman’s motivation is for giving up. OK, he saved one person and himself, but he doomed his entire world. And let’s not even talk about the Steph/Tim dynamic. Ugh.

Buy it? Nah.

Convergence: Speed Force #2
Story by Antony Bedard; Art by Tom Grummett

Mordechai: For a book about super speedsters, this goes a bit slow. The overall point (that Wally is better than Flashpoint Wonder Woman because he has love) is a bit heavy-handed. The art is passable. All-in-all, this just feels like filler. And in a filler-riffic crossover, that’s saying something.

Corrina: I could have happily existed without more angry Amazons killing people and waving swords around. It’s nice Wally loves his kids, but the story is paper-thin.

Buy it? No.

Convergence: Justice League #2
Story by Frank Tieri; Art by Vicente Cifuentes

Mordechai: The hell did I just read? I avoided Flashpoint, so maybe super-rapey murderous Aquaman was a thing, but savage-beat-down Supergirl? A basically useless Zatanna? And a Mera who… okay, so I’m okay with what she does, but wow. Aside from the sheer lunacy of Atlantis *just happening* to have Kryptonite with them on this planet, I’m having a really hard time buying that any army could take down a Kryptonian, a Green Lantern-like person, a top magician, and a speedster. Even with prep time.

Corrina: Like the first issue, this one teases us with an “hey, look, all-women Justice League!” and then it ill-serves most of its characters. I’m good with the ending and what Mera did, but the whole thing felt pointless.

Mordechai: It just hit me–her act was a total mic drop. We don’t get an actual resolution to the main conflict, just of the side “Aquaman misses his wife so he’s going to kidnap her alternate version” story that has nothing to do with the overall conflict. That worked for The Question, doesn’t here.

Buy it? No. Don’t even read someone else’s copy.

Convergence: Titans #2
Story by Fabian Nicieza; Art by Ron Wagner

Mordechai: Blegh. Just… blegh. I wanted Lian back, indeed, and a return to competent Roy should be good, but this story! Lian was apparently snatched through time and space by Dreamslayer before she died on the same Earth the Titans come from, which means Dreamslayer has the power to leave at any time. He’s more powerful than Telos. But Roy beats him and the other Extremists (a team that took out the entire JLE when it included Powergirl and Captain Atom), with some guns. Which he has apparently been busy tricking out *all of Gotham City with* in the last year, just in case.

Corrina: I’m glad they veered away from the whole “look, we brought Lian back to kill her” thing, and I’m happy it all ended well for the Titans (or as well as it could end). The story? It’s not very exciting, the villains were one-note and dull, and the story is completely jumbled.

Mordechai: The Extremists were wasted, Cyborg was wasted, Beast Boy was wasted… this was just a waste of time, money, and paper.

Buy it? Only if you’re an Arsenal fan and want to wipe away Justice League: Cry for Justice.

And we saved the worst for last!

Convergence #5
Story by Jeff King; Art by Andy Kubert

Mordechai: Don’t. Really, do not bother. Not even Andy Kubert art is enough to save this hot mess of an un-needed book. The only thing of note that happens is someone uses the phrase “blood moon”; the original name for the crossover.

Corrina: What is this? I don’t know. The most memorable panel is of a half-naked women being stabbed through by a sword and that pretty much says it all, doesn’t it? There might be something interesting in the idea that the bad guy is just another kind of pawn, but you’d have to wade through everything else to get to it.

Buy it? No! BAD GEEK!

Corrina: On those previews for upcoming DC Comics:

Each comic contains an eight-page preview of an upcoming DC Comic, save for the main Convergence title. Of the nine previews I read, some were just plain weird (Section Eight), some promising but oddball (Starfire) and others were okay. I give DC points for thinking outside the box–Omega Men are terrorists!–but most of the previews confused rather than intrigued me.

The one likely to cause the biggest splash is Detective Comics, which features Jim Gordon in an armored Batman suit. I hate Gordon’s shaved head and the seeming lack of mustache and glasses. That’s just not right. The preview indicates that Gordon and Bullock are plotting to kill another police officer, an obvious a fake-out. I’ll look at this because, hey, even with the cosmetic changes, I’m one of the biggest Jim Gordon fans on the planet.

Mordechai: I freely admit to liking the Green Arrow preview quite a bit. Didn’t really bother with the others because they don’t interest me, with the possible exception of Prez.

So, how did the second issues stack up? Better than I thought, but the central book continues to be a muddles mess full of characters and concepts no one cares about. Way to sell the series, DC.

Corrina: Some of these Convergence series say the stories will end in the main Convergence book.

Be very afraid.