Gatecrasher #2

The Plot: Alec Wagner and his fellow soldiers discover the malevolent plans of Solen Cagliar, who wants to use the Gate-finding device to conquer millions of new worlds. Cagliar is narrowly defeated and swears revenge, but Alec may pay a price for the victory of the Split-Second Squad seperate from Cagliar's revenge.

I am really looking forward to Empire, Mark Waid's upcoming series.

Because the storyline sounds intriguing. Basically "What If the Bad Guys Won?" writ large. The preview material I have seen so far makes me anxious to read the first issue, set to be released this spring.

Why do I bring this up? Waid is good with dialogue and plotting, but overall Gatecrasher's premise does not intrigue me. Waid's Captain America run (the first one) remains some of my favourite comics of all time, and I loved The Flash when he and Mike Weiringo were teamed up on that title.

But Waid has proven (in The Kingdom, to name one title) that he is capable of less than compelling work as well, so when it comes to Mark Waid I tend to be optimistic, but not blind.

I was a bit worried after the first issue of Gatecrasher, but the dialogue was strong and the main character likeable and the art well-done enough to make me check out this second issue. Unfortunately, everything I didn't like about the premiere issue is emphasized here, and everything I liked is downplayed.

The best part of the first issue was the quiet, civilian moments showing Alec with his girlfriend and family members, giving us a real sense not only of who he was, but of what he was protecting in his secret life and what he stood to lose should he fail.

This issue is nothing but his secret life as an alien-battling soldier, and it frankly bored me to tears. The fact that Waid includes plenty of humour, and makes Alec Wagner sympathetic among the chaos, does nothing to mitigate the fact that I have no interest in the setting in which this story is told, an alien landscape populated by dangerous aliens.

I'm sorry, I've seen Aliens. I've read about the Brood. I don't care. If Waid and Company can make the alien-invasion plotline the background to explore Alec's civilian life, fine; if they use his civilian life as background to contrast with the way-cool laser-battles, well, no, thanks.

I'm not angry about the direction this issue took, and it's competent for what it is, but I'm not kidding you when I say my absolute favourite page was the third-from-the-last, where Alec, finally back on Earth, arrives very late to pick up his prom date and his told off by the girl's angry mother. No aliens. No futuristic technology. No battles, no explosions. Just a young man being chastised for a perceived wrong. The page is terrific.

Maybe it's just me. I note in publisher Gareb Shamus's editorial that Alec was made a teenager so the "readers can relate to him" better. So, they're assuming the bulk of their audience will be kids. Okay, I gotcha. There probably wouldn't be much of a market for a comic I could relate to, about a father of two who works in radio, and come to think of it, if a comic like that ever is published, I better damn well be the one writing it. But if my diminished enthusiasm for this title in its second issue is due to the fact that I am not quite the intended audience, then, so be it. Not a hell of a lot I can do about that.

Gatecrasher could still go either way, I guess, and I'm willing to give it a few more issues to see which way Waid and co-plotter Palmiotti will take the title. But Alec's dilemma, revealed in the final panel, indicates a continuing exploration of the more science-fictiony aspects of the plot, and as I say, I'm not terribly intrigued. It looks like Alec has become "one" with the living, intelligent computer known as "Thinktank" that allows the Split-Second Squad to find the Gates they use to travel through the Universe.

On the other hand, I can see where it could develop into a story of Alec trying to hide his condition from his family and friends, who remain unaware of his extracurricular activities. And that could be entertaining, and funny, as hell.

The fact that the comic is published by a division of the company that brings us Wizard: The Bane of Comics every month is a bit problematic. While the "T & A" quotient is considerably lower than in the debut issue, the smarmy, Wizardesque back-up features create nothing but negative associations in my mind. While I get a kick out of Wizard's sarcastic tone, I am increasingly aware of how little of value appears in its pages, and to mimic its look in the back of an ongoing series that, I admit, is better than much of the mainstream crap out there, strikes me as a serious misstep.

If you like smirky, post-modern science fiction based superhero comics, this issue is for you. I myself prefer something a little more focused on character than this issue was, but am willing to give the creators the benefit of the doubt--they're doing more than competent work, and with a slight change of focus, this could be an excellent title.