Thursday, April 23, 2015

You've Been Warned: DC Special Series #6

When will I learn? I've have been burned by issues from the main Secret Society of Super-Villains series, so why did I think this would be any different? This stuff should be right up my ally. A handful of my favourite heroes going up against some of my favourite villains (sorry, Angle Man). Perhaps it's a matter of too many cooks spoiling the broth. This issue is an absolute mess, with a very convoluted plot involving far too many moving parts. Gerry Conway's script feels like something salvage from Roy Thomas' wastepaper basket. The villains take the heroes down one by one, but rather than through brute force or intelligence, it is done using some sort of inter-dimensional mind control or something along those lines (honestly, I wasn't following). I am not generally a fan of Arvell Jones' artwork as I find his storytelling lacks fluidity and this is compounded by 8 or 9 splash pages throughout. I know that people love big splashes, but I find that they can kill momentum. As it comes from 1977, there are some cool ads but that's about it has going for it. Avoid.

4 comments:

Doug said...

I have the two SSoSV hardcovers but have yet to crack them open. I owned most of the series, including today's fare, as a kid and generally enjoyed the series. However, my grown-up sensibilities tend toward "tolerable DCs have just become dumb in middle age". But that's part of the charm of Bronze Age DC, isn't it?

Doug

Scott M said...

I am definitely finding that some series have aged much better than others. These SSoSV stories are a real slog for me. Too many moving parts and not enough character development. It's like a bad crossover event.

Scott M said...

btw - thanks for the comment.

Mark said...

Have you ever read Marvel's Super villain Teamups? I remember them as awesome but a teacher took away the pile of comics they were in and I never got around to buying replacements. I'm worried they might be awful.

I also had the Joker issue when he switched minds with Lex Luthor. Same thing.