What I Bought 6/1/2021 - Part 1

I hope everyone had a wonderful Clint Eastwood's Birthday Day on Monday. It is the most holy of days on the Reporting on Marvels and Legends' calendar. I observed the traditional ways, watching the Leone trilogy while eating pizza.

The Union #5, by Paul Grist (writer), Andrea Di Vito (penciler), Le Beau Underwood (inker), Nolan Woodard (colorist), Travis Landham (letterer) - Runnin' away from a ghost like they're the Mystery Inc. crew.

The tech bro has the Empire Stone. The heroes' attempts to stop him all fail, not that we see them try much. Doc Croc and his gain take a run at it and don't do any better. Britannia's sort of a ghost that's been lurking inside Union Jack to survive (and keep him from dying when he does stupid crap), but neither of them can stop tech bro alone. Together? Sure, that works. Doc Croc briefly gets the stone, then loses it to the government official, who impersonates a the intelligent corgi and eats it. The day is saved!

I am not sure what this was supposed to be about. The conclusion says Britannia kind of faded away after making some cryptic/uplifting statement. Union Jack's in the hospital, and the rest of the team has apparently vanished. There's no moment where the team really comes together and gets anything done. The public reacts negatively to their actual appearance, but there's no follow-up with that. I wonder if Grist had something entirely different planned for this when it was sort of tying in to Empyre instead of King in Black, but I doubt it. Maybe the point was you can't artificially create a super-team, just because some billionaire wants it to happen? If they aren't on-board with some common purpose, it'll fall apart. Or if it all hinges on one person - Britannia in this case - it's not going to work.

I don't know. I'm just guessing.

Runaways #36, by Rainbow Rowell (writer), Andres Genolet (artist), Dee Cunniffe (color artist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Gert's wisely decided to get the heck out of this book before she gets killed again.

The issue focuses on two conversations involving Gert. One, set several weeks before the previous issue, has Chase come home and find Gert from five years in the future waiting for him. She's 21 now too, and she's here to a) be with him, and b) take him back to the future with her. Chase is actually suspicious of this, especially when Gert won't tell him what she's trying to save him from. He won't go, so Gert's just been coming by to visit and make out with him off-and-on ever since.

The other conversation is between 16-year-old Gert and Victor, at the same time as the previous issue. There's a little tension after that whole Justice Inc. thing, and Victor worrying that since he can't fight against the programming Ultron gave him that makes him geek out over heroes, he won't be able to fight the programming that will make him evil, either. Gert figures everyone on the team is likely to go evil, and she's more concerned about getting left behind. And while they're walking, they find Chase and 21-year-old Gert making out.

I have no idea how this is gonna go. Future Gert seems sad or worried about seeing Victor, which seems like the kind of thing that could lead to explosions and "How could you?!" On the other hand, Gert's not typically the sort to freak out or get violent. So there might just be a lot of sarcasm between the Gerts, and confused stammering among the guys.

 

You can see similarities in the Gerts based on facial expressions - they both love rolling their eyes - but Genolet adds some differences in body language. They're both talking to guys who are taller than them, but Future Gert is constantly looking Chase in the eye, while Present Gert spends a lot of time looking at the ground or just down in general. Future Gert's body language is a lot more confident. Hand on one hip, or just willing to reach out. She's not holding herself in, while Present Gert seems like she's trying to minimize contact with anything for most of her walk with Victor. She won't even let her arms swing at her sides while she walks, she keeps them both on her backpack straps. It's a much more reserved, withdrawn posture.

I even think Present Gert and Victor are viewed at more of a distance than Future Gert and Chase. That may just be a matter of the two of them not standing as close to one another, so the p.o.v. has to be from further away for them both to be in the same panel, but Present Gert seems to sit lower in the panels, and just generally is less of a presence than her future self.