And the last issue of Arena arrives in stores today, ending what was a fun work month for me. It's been enjoyable hearing the different reactions to the series after working in a bubble on it for so long. I don't have my printed copies of the last issue yet, shipping seems to have been thrown off by the holiday. But I was very happy with the PDF that I proofread earlier this month, I think the ending works well and spins out in a way people won't expect.
To put the frosting on the cake, I did a commentary track of the fourth issue for Comic Book Resources. I'll edit this and post a link when it goes live today/over the weekend.
And that's a wrap...until THE ATOM #19 ships next month.
(Edit) Here's the linkage to the commentary track of #4. It basically spoils the whole finale of the series so, if you care about that kind of thing, I would recommend reading the issue first.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12663
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11 comments:
I have to be honest: While I thought the fight choreography was consistently good, Arena's cavalier snuffing out of dozens of characters who never got a chance for character development, or worse, of established characters that I rather liked, bothered me quite a bit. In fact, it made me quite angry.
I don't mean to offend. That's just my impression as a reader.
I also can't understand why Monarch even needs an army if he's so absurdly powerful as to destroy half a continent with but a thought.
Sorry. Read the commentary, I've always had a plan in place to bring them all back when I get a chance.
Because The Monitors are even more powerful.
Read the commentary, I've always had a plan in place to bring them all back when I get a chance.
That's good news. :)
On a more positive note, I enjoyed the characterization, especially between the three Supermen.
Keith, I have been a fan since your days with Geoff Johns at JSA. Some great stuff there. But I agree with Will Staples up there, when is this senseless carnage of killing off characters stop?
I'm sorry to say that as a whole -- not just your section -- I am disappointed with Countdown. I felt sorry for you to have to clean up the mess they created in 52 with the sorry excuse that was World War 3 (which should have been titled World War 4, don't even get me started on that) and now you get stuck with this.
Sir, you are much better than this.
Keith, I wish to skippy I had known about ARENA when it was in the planning stages, I would have lobbied hard to have done even a cover, I love this sort of thing, and I dearly miss my Elseworld's Finest characters. ;) Cool beans and happy new year - mh
http://blackmatte.blogspot.com
PS - how fun is it to be able to do commentary tracks for comics now?
Hey Keith, had to start a new account lol. I'll write the password down this time! Just wanted to say that Arena was AWESOME! Despite the critics, I personally dug it! Happy New Year bro!
Well, hopefully you'll get that chance, Keith. Sorry I haven't been able to do a play-by-play like I did with the first three issues. Overall, another well-written issue, but the victory of the DKR Superman feels pretty hollow when one considers that nothing's really changed. I guess I expected a more solid victory against Monarch, a major delay, a setback, something to make him shout, "AAARGGH! Now I have to _____ all over again!" Otherwise I greatly enjoyed the Captain Atom battle and seeing Dr. Metropolis was a neat kick. ^_~ The battle between Monarch and Captain Atom of Earth-4 was well-played and hopefully you'll be able to have your chance at bringing them all back. I for one am more in favor of resurrecting characters than killing them (that's seriously what needs to happen in Final Crisis - every dead character back to life. Now THAT'S storytelling potential plus it gives every fan of a particular character their favorite back again).
So, overall Arena was well-written but the ending was a bit of disappointment. Let's see what else you have in store for us, Keith!
What's funny, Lewis, is that #4 is my personal favorite of the series. Different strokes for different folks, I guess! But thanks for taking the time to review it so thoroughly, don't be a stranger around the blog.
Khaver, thanks for the nice words, sorry it wasn't your cup of tea. I had a blast writing Arena and it lead to my next project, which may be a step up--so long as I don't screw it up.
Chris, happy New Year, pal! I'll try to get my ass in gear and send you out a some signed comics in short order.
And MATT HALEY! Wow, that's a nice surprise.
I have a question concerning the characterization of the vampire Batman.
Is there any reason why he was portrayed the way he was? I don't think this is entirely your fault; he was portrayed the same way in the other Countdown-related material (the Halloween short story, the Search for Ray Palmer one-shot), but it all stands in stark contrast to the character's original trilogy (Red Rain, Bloodstorm, Crimson Mist) where he was tormented and was able to have enough self-control not to attack other innocents.
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