FlashPoint – Abin Sur: Green Lantern #2

Some things never change.

This is what I learned in spite of the life altering events borne about from the current DC crisis called Flashpoint. It’s the current storyline following the previous years biggest event, Blackest Night that involved our favorite Green Lantern, Hal Jordan and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps as well as all other DC superheroes. It was that much of an “EVENT”.

This time around for Flashpoint, of which I myself am trying to wrap my head around, centers on an altered timeline in which Abin Sur, the original Green Lantern who bequeathed Hal Jordan his ring, is actually alive and is on his way via orders from the Guardians, to retrieve the White Entity (as revealed in Blackest Night) from Earth in order to be brought back to Oa for safekeeping from Nekron and the rest of the Black Lanterns. Apparently, in this time line, the Blackest Night was not stopped and took hold of the best, even our favorite drill sergeant, Kilowog.

Issue #1  ended with Abin Sur’s craft being shot down. The bolt was colored Violet, so I may be thinking what your thinking but that has yet to be revealed. I am hoping the last issue which is #3 will tell us that. Simultaneously, Sinestro is on the planet Ysmault talking to the crucified Atrocitus and extracting information about a prophecy; or should I say The Prophecy about Flashpoint.

Issue #2 begins with Abin having sought out Hal and giving him the ring but was stopped by Cyborg of the Teen Titans, nursed back to health and begins his own quest to save Earth from harmful elements of society, as a personal penance from not being able to save his own planet Ungara and his beloved sister, Ariana.

Sinestro soon arrives to tell Abin Sur of the prophecy and that it is caused by someone from Earth who has altered not only events in Earth but in the entire Universe as well. If you must know, in this current story line Aquaman is Emperor of the Seas and Wonder Woman is married to him; Batman is working for the government and Clark Kent is still a reporter. Here comes in what I mentioned about things not changing as Thaal Sinestro has revealed that The Flash is currently fixing to alter and fix the timeline once more. For Sinestro, he can make the Flash change the world in “Their” image. And only he being Sinestro can “fix” it all.

I guess in any timeline, ego will always be ego. And in so doing, Sinestro is blind to all and follows the prophecy to the letter; for as revealed by Atrocitus, as long as Abin Sur is alive, he is doomed to fail. Needless to say a battle between these two ensues and we are left hanging for the next issue.

Figuring that these stories are just supplementary tales to the main arc of Flashpoint for DC this year, I decided to collect them and found myself enjoying these changes. Plots involving timelines are certainly not new in any form of fantasy writing. Shows like Charmed, Legend of the Seeker, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have certainly incorporated this “alternate universe” angle and it does freshen up any franchise and gives us a peek into the the world of the “What-If”.

What if Sinestro does fulfil the prophecy to the letter, does that fulfil and rectify his timeline and complements the “work” that Flash is doing, or will this timeline be an added running story that the writers can continually reference and go back to whenever they just wanna spruce up the stories. I guess I would have to wait for Issue 3 next month. And looking up to the calendar, it is only a week away. 

Can’t wait.

FlashPoint -Hal Jordan #1

Having re-written and given birth to a new and alternate timeline that involved Abin Sur being alive in the current Flashpoint story arc involving Green Lantern and the rest of the DC superheroes, why should Earth’s first Green Lantern, Hal Jordan be any different and out of the action right?

Picking up the story from Abin Sur Green Lantern #1, Hal Jordan in this timeline is still a pilot flying for Ferris Air, pining for Carol Ferris and dealing with the loss of his father from that tragic airplane accident when he was a kid and just dealing with the attack of a shark-man that latched onto his plane in one of his flying sessions with Carol. 

And like Sinestro, in this timeline Hal is still as brash and hardheaded as he is in the timeline we know. Along with that, he crashes a multi-million dollar plane into Carol’s own in the process of saving her from the shark but not before taking off in another one and bearing witness to Abin’s own craft being shot down and be offered the chance to save Earth.

 As it is, this is only Issue #1 and so we can only wait for the next issue to see how different this timeline featuring Hal will play out and with a man legged shark up and about looking for meat as reminiscent of another compiled issue of GL featuring mutated animals due to some alien experimenting that also brought William Hand’s back but with much dire consequences, some things just needed to be played out in time, much like this 3 issued storyline. Strap in and wait.

Learning from Nate Berkus

One word. Oprah.

Either you love her or you don't. Either you listen to her or you tune out. But at the very least & with regards to her guests on the show, you should listen to them.

Chicago's own, Nate Berkus is one such person.

Unlike my other fave, design doctor, Thom Filicia from Queer Eye & his own show, Dress My Nest, which finally we have here, Nate's sense of design & style is self taught. He was thrust into the spotlight in 2002 when he guested on Oprah & since then has been giving home styling tips. He currently has his own show on Oprah's O.W.N network.

But this book which I got & also gave as a bday gift for a friend will most certainly give you tips on how to make you home a better one. This coffeetable book has lotsa great pictures which I know you will love & wouldn't mind incorporating into your own houses. From tackling each room what you need it for to little addendums to personalize your space, Nate's own rules for making your space should be heeded. And with my own house project coming up in the month, I know I am guided with these 2 Masters, Nate & Thom to keep me inspired & happy. ;)

One on One - Anne Rice

Wanna get THE GIFT?

After reading I felt the graphic novel may have omitted a part of the title. If read fully, it should be called The Gift of Comeuppance.

The premise is this ancient being in an overcoat goes around bestowing items of power to different people; most of these having been at the wrong place at wrong time & suffered more than their share of injustice & cruelty. These victims of circumstance become the Ancient Being's "champion" and chosen recipient of these items. Only 1 per person so don't be greedy. :)

The items infuse the recipient with powers enabling them to get back at their tormentors or in some cases increase their odds for survival exponentially. The artwork is crisp & the writing is as dark & veiled as the Ancient Beings purpose for undergoing such a task. If you want your reading to be dark, graphic & moody, then this is your thing. If not, there's always Harry Potter, Tolkien, Twilight & Narnia. ;)

Rediscovering My Giselle Villard...MYSTIC

I first came across this title when I browsed Book Sale stores in the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Having nothing better to read, I figured to try out a magical looking and gorgeous to boot, female character which costs just P50. And having 3 consecutive issues on hand, it wasn’t a bad deal at all.

The title being new was released by a new Comic book company then called, CrossGen Comics. It was relatively a spec in the arena dominated by Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse. So were they in their right minds to go after the big guys and take a slice of the pie? Well, they have their hearts in the right place and by issue 3, I was won over.

Here was a new character that magically could rival my favorite Dr. Strange and upseat Dr. Fate in his place in Salem. With no other info available to me about the style, and theme of the comic then, only the story as well as the sharp and colourful rendering of the character and her magical surroundings were the only things to draw me in. It was only during the recent 2011 Comic Con that I was able to get this trade paperback collecting the first 7 issues did I know the inspiration behind the title; from Steve Ditko's earlier work on Dr. Strange for Master Mondru, to J.C, Leyendecker for Giselle's duplicitous suitor, Darrow to Art Noveau prominent in the 1800 to 1900 by Czech-French Artist, Alphonse Mucha. 

The setting is in the magical planet of Ciress where magic is commonplace and the only way of life for the populace. The citizenry are governed by 7 ruling Guilds of magic each with its own master and own set of discipline, not to mention disciples. At the heart of the story is the Noveau Guild currently being groomed to receive its new master by way of Genevieve Villard. 

The other Guild Masters were there to bear witness to this ceremony and consisted of Magus, the Master of the Dark Magi Guild; 

Vashua, Master of the Tantric Guild; 

Atyaah, Master of the Djinn Guild; 

Mondru, Master of the Astral Guild;   

Zai, Master of the Shaman Guild 

and Yinma, Master of the Enchantress Guild. 

On hand to bear witness and to muck everything up is Genevieve’s younger and happy go lucky sister, Giselle Villard who knew nothing of responsibility let alone living the life that her sister had for her. Who would have known that in a flash, Giselle’s life would be turned upside down and inside out when during the ritual, the residing spirit of the previous Masters currently in the bodies of each incumbent Guild head along with the one that Genevieve is to receive in order to mark the transfer of power, all are siphon and mysteriously finds its way into Giselle, zapping her right there and then outside the Noveau Guild courtyard which by the drawing alone, has made me a fan.

Giselle during the course of this first compilation denies the power that she somehow obtained and only wishes to go back to her old partying life with her elder sister, taking the mantle and full responsibility of the Guild. In her own defense, Giselle who has no knowledge or interest in magic, explains that right before the ceremony a friendly old man shakes her hand and a sigil or mark appears in her palm. She suggests, albeit weakly, that it is because of the presence of this mark, also unfamiliar to the Guild Masters, that caused her to take in all other Spiritual masters of each of the Guild Houses.

The compilation shows Giselle’s gradual transformation from bratty socialite to a loving and protective sister who would now have to grow up, find a way how to remove the magic that she didn’t need and how to deal diplomatically if not magically with 6 resentful Masters determined to getting back what was theirs regardless of the cost. 

New Avengers: Illuminati

Got this graphic novel compilation for the fact that my favorite Marvel character, Dr. Strange figures prominently in it. And to have other Marvel heavy hitters like Iron Man, Professor Charles Xavier and Reed Richards in it was just too tempting to pass up.

Verdict?

I wouldn’t say that it was a must read but given that it prefigures into the reason behind the Secret Invasion, I say that that alone was price of admission.

This edition collects Illuminati 1-5 and shows the collective force of Dr. Strange, Mr. Fantastic, Iron man, Namor, Professor X and Black Bolt of the Inhumans and how they operate along the sidelines, if not, behind the scenes at some of the cataclysmic Marvel events and how they were able to do some damage control thereby proving to be a worthy force to be reckoned with. And reckon with and deal with extraterrestrial events this secret group sure did; from handling the Infinity Gems of the Gauntlet (love that the Gauntlet resurfaces albeit briefly), the encounter with the Beyonder during the Secret Wars saga of the 80’s, to the “reforming” of Captain Mar-vell and more recently, the discovery of the Skrull presence on Earth.

But as such with power come both the responsibility in wielding it and the line that one has to draw to prevent such wanton misuse and thereby blurring that same line and changes the hero from champion into a walking power hungry ego with legs and superhuman ability.

The Civil War penned Bendis storyline has shown that our heroes aren’t perfect and are subject to the same flaws and judgement-error phases that ordinary people go through and this compilation is no different. Is that credit to Bendis’ writing? Perhaps. Or is it the natural progression of heroes nowdays in Comics to embody their real life reader counterparts and be given angst, pride, distrust and all other emotional facets that make us tick.

So did the compilation do its trick or job to clue me in? It didn’t exactly tick me off and made me conclude that it would be a useless gesture to read this because it doesn’t supplement or create more depth to the Secret Invasion. But what it did show me that this Marvel crisis was something that was painstakingly planned well. The foundations were certainly laid down well and justified the progression of the Skrull crisis.

For an added history lesson into that crisis and ties to the Skrul-Kree dynamic and how they relate to Earth, then yes read it. But if you don’t really want to know the laying-in of bricks and mortar to the whole scene and would just want to stroll into the building itself and get to the heart of the conflict, then by all means, walk along and go straight to Secret Invasion.

But then again a little more knowledge never hurt anyone. So still try it out. Who knows you may like it and appreciate Secret Invasion. I know I did. Only after reading it a second time. I may even have appreciated it the first time, had I read this first.