Jayson > Recent Status Updates

Notes:
(1) This is more or less a checklist read for me.
- I've already read it in singles and, while it's always interesting to compare experiences (re: binging vs breaks), I wasn't particularly enamored with it the first time.
- I don't remember it adding much as a companion series either.
- Sister Hood might be interesting to revisit, now that I've read her origin story.

Notes:
(1) The last two issues are technically Parts 1 and 2 of "The Butcher of Hyde Street" storyline, though there's nothing introductory about them: they're at the very least Act Two.
- Issues #7-10 are really where the story begins—where ideas and characters are introduced.
- Issues #11-12 are where things unravel, twists are revealed, and characters go into panic mode.

Notes:
(1) This volume continues the trend of storytelling in paired-up parts, albeit within the series' first real story arc.
- Hitherto, it's mainly been introductions, worldbuilding, and clarifying the concept.
- Issue #8 picks up where #7 ended last volume, re: the "Pranky's Mask" storyline.
- Issues #9-10 are both origin stories drawn by fill-in artist Francis Portela.

Notes:
(1) One of the biggest revelations rereading Volume 1 was how it was narratively and thematically relayed in pairs, two issues at a time.
- That's not something you notice reading in singles, a month between sittings.
- Of course, Volume 1 ended on an odd number, so whether that pairs with this first issue or if the one-two punch paradigm remains is to be determined.

Notes:
(1) Issue #7 is an odd choice for a closer. Frankly, it's much better suited as the first issue of a new volume.
- Really, ending on issue #6—in addition to making the first two books an even six issues each—would've made far more sense and been a far more satisfying cliffhanger.
- Possibly, it's meant to end with an issue that's not a character profile or follow-up.

Notes:
(1) Issues #5-6 are a pair in more ways than one.
- Not only do they spotlight 1980s fitness freak Miss Goodbody, both are drawn by fill-in artist Francis Portela.
- Though seemingly unrelated, the theme of culpability in #6, once again, echoes and illuminates Miss Goodbody's character.
- These initial paired-up issues are like a series of one-two punch combinations.

Notes:
(1) Like the first two issues, #3-4 offer insight as a pair that wouldn't be so apparent (if at all) if read individually.
- We first encounter The Matinee Monster as a kind of Batman figure, literally swooping in to rescue a soul from damnation.
- Subsequently, we get his tragic origin—I guess they're all tragic—as a 1940s actor... typecast as a monster forevermore.

Notes:
(1) Issues #1-2 tell the origins of Mr. X-Ray and Pranky, offering insightful juxtaposition when read back-to-back.
- Mr. X-Ray turns away his daughter, not wanting anything to do with her after her mother dies.
- Not dissimilarly, Pranky has no mother and is regularly abused by his maimed, WWII hero father.
- They're clearly surrogate father and son for one another.

Notes:
(1) So, I've been meaning to read this for a while. It's just never been a priority.
- I've already read it in singles and forgot to read it (as I usually do) to prep for the second arc.
- But it's Halloween season, and no better time to binge the first two volumes to prep for the third arc.
- Hopefully, I'll binge it... my present year-long slump suggests I may not.

Notes:
(1) So, perhaps I'm overrating it, but I'm giving the last issue here points for being intellectually interesting. Except for the very end, nobody does much of anything.
- It's a lot of talking about doing stuff, plus more mixed-media storytelling with text messages, e-mails, etc.
(2) If there's a single takeaway, it's that the whole series was merely act one.

Notes:
(1) Issue #11 might be the weakest so far. Which isn't exactly ideal going into the finale.
- Unlike issue #9, which didn't have much going on, this has a lot going on but Tynion makes it difficult to make sense of anything.
- For example, we get a flashback to Day 31... which is when, exactly? It's Day 48 in the present, but was Day 31 before or after the big reset?

Notes:
(1) You know, issue #10 is the first one where I've felt any real drive or urgency to read on.
- I think that's a major reason why this series hasn't been very bingable.
- Being fast and bingable is one of the reasons I'm usually eager to read Tynion's work.
- Not that this isn't good, but it's more... cerebral. I'd have to be in the right mood to really eat this up.

Notes:
(1) This is the most low-key, uneventful issue so far. On its own, I wouldn't think too much of it, but it's a decent follow-up and connective tissue issue, if you get what I mean.
- Characters discover something we already knew, which blunts the revelation.
- Ryan steps forward as the main character/hero of the series, which is ironic since she's barely in this one.

Notes:
(1) There are some pretty interesting things going on here. Two stand out the most.
- It's very clear that Ryan shouldn't be there. She's not only the odd one out socially, she also doesn't really fit the guest list criteria.
- Walter's carefully laid plans are being stymied by free will and human nature... and love. He didn't count on love outside his social circle.

Notes:
(1) One major criticism I have of Tynion is that he has a really weak chit-chat game.
- I see it a lot in his other work too, it's just particularly noticeable here since most of what characters do is chit-chat.
- It's never really all that interesting, never really adds much to the narrative and (if characters are gay) very often defaults to talking about being gay.

Notes:
(1) Volume 1 started with a bang but quickly plateaued at a slow-paced melancholy.
- Not that there's anything wrong with that, especially in the initial issues when fleshing out characters and spelling out how the world works is important.
- I expect a lot more plot development in Volume 2, now that setup's seemingly done and sci-fi/fantasy rules have been laid out.

Notes:
(1) This is sort of a weird issue to end a volume on.
- On one hand, you pretty much get all the answers, and in a way that maps out aims and obstacles for the rest of the series.
- On the other hand, it's a lot of filler chit-chat that, while dispensing a lot of references and info, is a bit too cozy, threadbare and whatever to have you hanging on every word.

Notes:
(1) Coincidentally, I was just reading the Brainiac entry in my "DC Comics Encyclopedia" and this whole plot/situation is basically the Bottle City of Kandor after Krypton exploded—a sort of Noah's Ark meets purgatory.
- The characters consider this too, though not in Superman terms.
- No one recalls how they arrived, meaning it could be an alien abduction situation.

Notes:
(1) This hasn't been the breezy read that I assumed going in.
- Not that I expected post-apocalyptic horror to be light reading, but Tynion's "Something is Killing the Children" goes by very fast.
(2) This is sort of like "The Hunger Games," except the "Gamemaker" here tries to keep you happy and alive, not kill you.
- In that sense, it's also like "The Truman Show."

Notes:
(1) Three issues in and I finally have a handle on everyone's names!
- Being thrown in the deep end with an eleven-character ensemble and a web of relationships was a bit rough, and I did a lot of flipping back-and-forth to the character guide at the back of the book.
- Frankly, giving everyone simple occupational monikers at the start was the perfect way to ease in.

Notes:
(1) There's a lot of... mixed-media storytelling (for lack of a better word).
- Not merely speech bubbles and narrative captions, but also security footage, audio transcripts, handwritten notes, social media feeds, etc.
- It gives off a very point-and-click adventure game vibe—like you're just wandering around and sniffing out breakthroughs by examining random stuff.

Notes:
(1) Nearly three years after I started this and I'm only at the letter C!
(2) I can understand Blue Beetle getting a two-page spread, but the Jaime Reyes version?
- I doubt even Jaime Reyes fans want to read two pages on Jaime Reyes!
(3) The word superhero here is spelled "Super Hero"—two words and capitalized. I have no idea why.
- Makes it seem like some team name.

Notes:
(1) This reminds me a lot of "The Wicked + The Divine"—everyone has their own logo and codename.
- It's also the same sort of conspicuous racial and gender representation.
- Instead of godly purviews, it's occupations that define the characters.
(2) Facemasks and temperature readers! Holy Covid, Batman!
- How ironic... fretting over Covid during a literal apocalypse.

Notes:
(1) The crime is conducted here via remote controlled computer.
- I expect that "computer" in 1980 was like "hacking" in the 2000s or AI is today: modern magic spells to get things done without having to explain anything.
(2) Except for computers and Dick going to college, this could pass as a Silver Age, or even Golden Age story.
- It's just got that old-timey vibe.

Notes:
(1) This started off awful slow, but picked up at the end.
- Frankly, if you nixed recaps and setup, this would be maybe five pages of actual story.
- But then, that's the Bronze Age for you.
(2) Batman recalls how Two-Face and Joker both recently fell to their supposed deaths.
- Possibly, this is Wein giving a wink and a nod to the Bronze Age "apparent death" trope.

Notes:
(1) Batman is reeling so much over his latest breakup that he ends up playing Keystone Cops with an old Jewish man and a biker jewel thief.
- I hesitate to label the old man as "Jewish" except Len Wein, for some reason, really wants you to know he is.
- On one hand, I do appreciate this more human Batman. On the other hand, Batman should never be any sort of bumbler.

Notes:
(1) There's a newspaper photographer here named "Parker."
- Peter Parker? I can only assume so.
(2) Since when are police commissioners elected? and even so, they have candidate debates?
- Frankly, given the crime rate, I'm shocked Gordon's always re-elected.
(3) This starts with a version/homage of Steve Englehart's "Night of the Stalker."
- Just not nearly as good.

Notes:
(1) I'll admit, I don't really know anything about this apart from it being a horror series by James Tynion IV. Frankly, that's more than enough to entice me.
- First off, I'll read anything James Tynion... well, maybe not his rookie work—I'm not reading "Talon"!
- Also, we're nearing Halloween, and this seems like the perfect book to kick off my spooky season reads.

Notes:
(1) Cat-Man's magic costume gives him "nine lives," better understood in gamer parlance as nine character respawns.
- Catwoman had the same gimmick, sans magical fabric, in "Batman Returns."
(2) I was initially down on the ending as too deus ex machina, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it makes.
- It's sort of like "lucky charm" or bezoar logic.

Notes:
(1) I liked this better than the last several issues, mostly because it's not focused on the villain du jour, but goes all-in on one of the long-running subplots: the Selina/Bruce romance.
- That said, it's not free of the usual gaps in logic, albeit much less glaring.
- Batman and Catwoman go through a booby-trapped warehouse, which to me is unwelcome filler.