CONVERGENCE #2

[ BATTY FOR A BARGAIN ] 

The universe is a vast and complicated organism, comprising of endings, beginnings, as well as that ugly looking green fungi that distinctly smells of poo. Wait a minute! That reminds me of something. Something to do with the writer: Jeff King; the artist: Carlo Pagulayan, and lets not forget the publisher: DC Comics, in April, 2015. Sniff-Sniff! It wasn't me!

To QUOTE Denis Waitley: 'Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer'.

THE STORY:

Now for the sake of argument, please try and imagine that you're one of the few remaining heroes who survived the destruction of Earth 2. Like Ant-Flash, Super-Homie, Bat-Dad, Mister Happy, Pussy Galore, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But please remember, whoever it is you so choose, your selection then relies upon you selecting another selection.

'Why?' you may ask. Well, once you and the rest of the Earth 2 gang have managed to escape from Telos' clutches, but only after watching a couple of moments of World-Shag TV, your next decision hinges on who's group you want to be a part of.

I mean, would you want to join Team Batman? And try to find some help from an unknown city nearby? Or would you rather be a part of Team Green Lantern? And do the same thing yet to another nearby city.

The choice, my friend, is yours!  

THE GOOD:

On the whole this second (or is that third?) part of Convergence was a pretty decent read. To begin with, I best mention how Carlo Pagulayan's artwork was very clean and crisp on the page: As I did like his style of depicting mood through expression, highlighting whatever certain characters were mentally going through with an arc of a brow, or a grit of clenched teeth.

Story-wise, on the other hand, well, that particular aspect was a mixed bag to say the least. Despite being confused (or is that irritated?) by select parts of the plot (more on that point later), in the same breath, I did enjoy reading Dick's first person narration (as it gave this piece a more personal tone), the way this story-line kicked off (very apocalyptic), and of course, Thomas' confrontation with Bruce was a damn blast, inspite of its aloof stance (say no more).

As for some of those fight scenes, though, hmmm? What can I say about them? Nothing much I suppose. They weren't very memorable, apart from the fact that Alan may be the key to turning Telos' lock! Hint-hint! Also, what about that sudden appearance at the end, eh? Could this character be someone relevant? Or could he be nothing more than a red herring disguised as a possible saviour?

  

THE BAD:

Once again, comic book fans, my only real problem with this whole Convergence story-line are all those questions it produces due to it's lacklustre script. For instance, in this issue, how come Alfred wasn't shocked to find the Earth 2 Dick Grayson skulking about in the batcave, and visa-versa for that matter? Also, what's the name of the Earth Thomas and Dick went to? Earth-Current? Earth-Previous? Earth 1? Or what about another Earth where people recognise people even though they've never seen them before?

Now please don't get me wrong. As I said in the previous section, there were aspects about this adventure I did enjoy following, especially its personal tone and its visible ways. But what gets me the most, is the audacity that we -- the reader -- should know who's who, and what's what, without any form of explanation given.

THE MUSIC:

I'm going to musically match up this issue to The Coasters song, 'Searchin', mostly because that's what a large chunk of its pretext heavily relies on: Someone searching for someone or something else.

THE COMPARISON:

Now would it be too obvious of me to compare this comic book to a magnifying glass?

Yes? Yes it would? But why, my friend? Why? Didn't my previous musical match-up convey my inner most feelings towards this issues central theme? That of someone searching for someone else, blah-blah-blah? Damn. It didn't. Did it? Then may God have mercy on my minky.

THE CONCLUSION:

The other day, when I went to the comic shop to pick up my weekly fix, the clerk behind the counter looked down at my selection and said to me, 'I wouldn't bother with any of those if I were you, mate. DC are making a right pigs ear with their New 52 and Convergence books. So if you've already picked up Marvels Secret Wars from back in the day, I wouldn't waste my money buying that cr*p'.

So what did I do in turn? Laugh? Cry? Justify to him that Convergence is the only real way for DC to fix the New 52, whilst explaining that they are trying their best, even in the face of adversity? Or did I just pick up my titles and buy them, politely acknowledging the clerks brash statement as I then proceeded to walk out the shop?

Yes. I chose the last choice, dear reader. Coz I didn't see any point in starting a discussion with someone who already seemed to have made up his mind. But then again, why should I? Part of me kind of agreed with what he was saying, despite another part of me not.

I mean, let's face it. To some of us 'old school comic book fans', what DC are doing with their titles is bloody stupid. The New 52 isn't very new, because all they are, are renewed rehashes of old concepts brought back once again. Yet having said that, on occasion they do manage to produce something noteworthy and fairly pleasant to read.

Now will Convergence be such a book? Hmm? Let's see, shall we? Let's see.   

Nuff said.