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Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Trinity #49

Trinity #49

Scheduled to arrive in stores: May 6, 2009

Cover date: May 6, 2009

Main Story: "This Planet, These People..."

Main Writers: Kurt Busiek
Main Pencillers: Mark Bagley
Main Inker: Art Thibert

Back-Up Story: "No Future"

Back-Up Story Writer: Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza
Back-Up Story Penciller: Mike Norton
Back-Up Story Inker: John Stanisci

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey with Jeffrey Bridges and Barry Freiman

Click to enlarge



The heroes scheme to use Krona's own power to make him disappear.

Despero makes a run at Krona, and Konvikt stops him. Swashbuckler makes a run at Morgan and stops her.

Enigma is reassured by Charity, who indicates that the strange being with faces (Stephanie?) will survive.

Kanjar Ro attempts to bargain with the CSA. It fails.

Morgan frees Krona, and Krona grows in size and tears the Earth with his hands.

To be continued...



Back-Up Story: "No Future"

Varying heroes attempt to save the world, and fail, including Green Lantern, Alfred, Tomorrow Woman, and Hawkman. We see multiple end scenes.

To be continued...



Neal's Review:

1Main Story - 1: The story quite literally starts with people going, "Huh?" Multiple people. I think it was supposed to be funny.

It then proceeds to reiterate that which we already know from last issue, that Krona has been chained, and that it's really hard, and that he's fighting it and thinks it impossible.

There is a minor dalliance where the trinity talk about what it means to be a trinity again, and there is very slight character work with regards to Enigma and his daughter, but it's all undercut by his seeming desire to work with the Crime Syndikate.

There is a scene with Kanjar Ro where he banters with the CSA to what I cannot see as any discernable purpose to the plot or story.

Krona is freed by Morgan apparently arbitrarily committing suicide, which I'm guessing will somehow have no ill effects for the people holding him prisoner.

Then the entire world is ripped apart, making a notable first foray into something in this book that might have some long-term consequences, if I didn't fully believe it to be a pump-fake that will be fixed in less than three issues.

3Main Art - 3: Unfortunately, the lack of backgrounds hinders this issue, despite the fact that the art accurately and well depicts most of the characters. There's also a really good page at the end where Krona is ripping the world up. The starry multi-colored background really grates after a while, though, and takes you out of the story at times.

1Back-Up Story - 1: A bunch of people we haven't yet learned to properly care in the context of this story (even Alfred) talking about being destroyed, when their destruction happens in a way that will quite obviously be reversed. Or be an alternate Earth or a simulation.

In a broader sense, this is also a story we've seen before multiple times in this narrative. The reaction to the end of/change of the world was done twenty issues ago.

3Back-Up Art - 3: Decent stuff, conveys the story well. At the same time, there's no critical wow factor that pulls me in more. It conveys the story, which is what it's supposed to do, and I can't fault it for that, but there's not much here that makes me want to remember the images, and that's what's requisite to be above average.

2Cover Art - 2: One point for a good image, but minus three for no Batman despite the tease, Batman under a Superman logo, and the fact that the entire run of this series' cover tone has been "BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN" with no real creativity. This is just Batman, standing. There's nothing here to make you wonder or want to wonder. It's not cool enough to just say, "BATMAN!" and have fans slobber. There has to be a context to the image. You might argue that the hand coming toward him. But that just reminds you that in the story Batman is an aloof, out of character demigod.

Jeffrey's Review:

1Main Story - 1: If Morgaine is a god now, how is it she's worried about being killed by some schmucks like the dreambound? Oh, I see, mere moments later the Dreambound are simply... lying prone in the snow like schmucks as she somehow just frees Krona without explanation. So why they hell was she worried when the Dreambound found her? Why the hell were the Trinity so thrilled to have captured Krona if he could be freed by Morgaine, what, LOOKING at him or something?

What the hell is this mess?

I am, however, very fond of Busiek being able to provide my reviews for me via his own dialogue.

"Cram it sideways," indeed.

3Main Art - 3: Apathy and I are getting quite well acquainted.

2Back-Up Story - 2: Look! Random people are being affected by the world breaking. Tomorrow Woman dies (?) for no reason. WELL I'M SURE GLAD SHE LIVED THEN, ESPECIALLY VIA NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER. This book is the bees' knees!

Also, "continued?" at the end? REALLY? Question mark and all? Because DC just isn't going to release the last three issues? Hallelujah!

Or maybe it's just honest because who knows if Busiek will pick up that thread again? Yeah, that seems more likely.

2Back-Up Art - 2: I may be crazy, but I am pretty sure the surface features of our planet are not painted on. I am fairly certain that water runs deeper than a thin flat layer on top of solid rock down to the core of the planet. I am also fairly certain that were the world to crack, as depicted here, said water would, oh I don't know... POUR OVER THE EDGES (or, in absence of gravity, FLOAT UPWARD) instead of remaining perfectly still and cracked like it was painted onto the surface.

I realize this is a comic book and laws of physics get broken routinely, but these ridiculous errors show a general lack of understanding of basic scientific principles that a second grader would know completely destroy the illusion.

It's also indicative of the entire run of Trinity, for me, art and writing alike. No attention to detail, no forethought, no planning, no concern.

Which leads to this reviewer having no care.

3Cover Art - 3: Wow, if only this guy was in the book he's supposed to be a third of, wouldn't that be something?

Barry's Review:

1Main Story - 1: Superman's, Batman's, and Wonder Woman's declarations of who they are in relation to the Earth is obvious - there's no story arc here; the three of them are going to end up where they began. In one respect that's a good thing: it will make it easier to forget this horrible series ever happened.

Only three issues remain for the Trinity to actually engage in any of the pivotal action.

At this point it seems that Kurt is writing his way out of the mess of a plot he's created. It's unclear what purpose Konvikt served. The Dreambound have been free for some time and it's never been clear when they're under le Fey's thrall and when they have any free will. Enigma adds confusion to the matter when he says that he's why they are free now.

1Main Art - 1: The art continues to underwhelm me. Krona ripping Earth apart just looks so unbelievable. Compare that to the same image in the back-up story. I'll do that too. Keep reading.

1Back-Up Story - 1: So the world has come to an end. Could this series be any more obvious? Tomorrow Woman's efforts all appear to have been in vain but the same is true of everyone now that Earth is destroyed. Except we all know the Earth isn't destroyed. Not twice in one year. So Earth will get better - probably when the godly Trinity exhaust their godly energies restoring the Earth.

Hawkman appears to be dead again but after Final Crisis appeared to have killed Hawkman too, who knows? Hawkman was one of Geoff Johns's first character reboots and now it seems his continuity is sufficiently messed up again to bring in Geoff to fix things again. To everything there is a season. Lucky for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck it appears to be hawk season.

There is definitely such a thing as overkill and this issue's cliffhanger is the very definition of the word. When you literally over kill, your cliffhanger just sort of hangs there. No one thinks Earth is really obliterated. Anyone?

3Back-Up Art - 3: The art continues to have that Golden Age feel to it. The image of Green Lantern holding the Earth together stands in stark juxtaposition to the un-real image on the lead story's last page. The art is very Joe Staton who used to draw "All-Star Comics" during its 1970s revival.

4Cover Art - 4: Sure it's a nice cover. And it's great to see the real Batman and looking very classic Neal Adams at that. But it's just a return to the one hero per cover thing that started this series and that lack of creativity is this series' hallmark.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2009

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