uncas007's Identity Crisis #1 - Identity Crisis review

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    • uncas007 has written a total of 268 reviews. The last one was for Book Six

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    This is a book that will a) remind you why you got into comics in the first place or b) force you to ask yourself why you didn't get into comics before. My cynical self picked this up (from the library) and thought, "oh, a commercial and critical success? Must mean it's not that good." I hope that part of me is gone, now. Sometimes (but not as often as statistics may try to convince us), a book is a critical and commercial for a good reason: it's a great book. This is one such book. Many years ago, when I started reading comics, I was not one of the die-hard "either/or" readers, as in I wasn't just a Marvel fan or a DC fan. Being young and fresh, I assumed it was okay to read both. I watched Adam West's Batman re-runs every day, I watched Super Friends incarnations when I could, and I read Marvel Team-Ups books and Origins collections, as well as X-Men, FF, Avengers, WCA, and a whole lot of other things. Soon, I became mainly a Marvel reader, though I continued watching DC shows (especially Batman: The Animated Series) and watching Batman movies (Batman Returns was one of the first movies I saw twice in the theater). I returned to DC for major events, especially when they were in TPB form, primarily the Death of Superman, but I didn't keep up with the comings and goings of the DC Universe too often - which didn't always seem to matter, since it appeared the DC Universe was committed to re-booting itself every other year or so, disregarding all the storylines and iterations of characters over the years. Suddenly, Marvel started doing that too, and, combined with going off to college, I drifted away from comics

    I have recently returned, and though I'm not sure I'll try to keep up with the new 52 or Marvel Now, especially since Vertigo seems to be doing the really compelling things lately, I'm always glad to read good stories about DC or Marvel characters. Identity Crisis is one such good - great - story. It's simple without being simplistic, has multiple foci and narrators (cleverly distinguished by color-coded thought "bubbles"), and excites and purges genuine human emotion exactly like classical literature does/intended to do. In a way, it is the antithesis of a superhero story, since it is all about the human, mortal aspects of these costumed people, but that in no way diminishes its greatness - perhaps that adds to it. Meltzer does a great job of keeping the Icons above the rest (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman), but he also does a great job (along with Morales and Co.) of reminding us the rest of the heroes are just as important - and so are their supporting infrastructures, their families. What "Family" does for ST:TNG, Identity Crisis does for DC - and it's pretty close to brilliant from beginning to end. Infinite Crisis is a telescope, a wide net catching the entire DC Universe and all its characters in a mighty swath of cause and effect. Identity Crisis is a microscope, pinpointing the heart and soul of heroism and humanity. Even if you don't know all the villains, or all the heroes, you will know enough about them before you finish this great book. You will become an Elongated Man fan. You will become a Green Arrow fan. You will become a Ray Palmer (Atom) fan. This will remind you why you shouldn't leave one titan of comics for another - no choice is necessary. Your library is big enough for all of them.

    One of the great things about comics is that they are an unquantifiable mystery. In one sense, they are static works of words and pictures, especially if looked at them unconcernedly from a distance - but as one reads a comic, the human brain works with the comic to fill in the movement and progress intimated between panels. We hear the characters' voices, we see the swinging of their punches, and we stifle (perhaps) our tears when we see them cry. Comics are all about movement and direction and progress - but even if you don't like the overall direction of a series or a character or a company (such as a company-wide reboot/relaunch), comics give us the ability to go back to a time we prefer, stories we enjoyed, characters the way they were when we liked them better ... and the passage of time does not need to change that in any way. Reading Identity Crisis will make you a fan of the Silver Age (it certainly made me want to catch up on those days). Yet at the same time, it will show you the possibilities of Ideas of the Icons: things can change for the better, too. Read Identity Crisis. Be reminded about why you got into comics in the first place, or be encouraged that it's never too late to start reading good stories, even if they also provide some of the artwork for you.

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