Metamorpho: the Element Man!

 

As the screen shot above and the title of this post may have alerted you to, I have, as promised, read the new 6-issue "Metamorpho The Element Man" mini-series from DC Comics.

Just as I did with the recent Supergirl and Fire & Ice issues. I read these on the "DC Universe Infinite" app/service, to which I have an "Ultimate" tier subscription. Again, that means that I can read tons of "Vertigo" titles on the app, and I get access to ALL new DC releases just one month after they hit the shops.

Soon, I'll be posting about how Archie Comics has joined the "Globalcomix" service, which their "Gold" level gives you access to new Archie stuff on the very same day they are released in print. But I digress.

So, first thing's first: was this Metamorpho series intended to be a 6-issue mini?

Apparently not.

Having read all six, it seems there were at least six more issues planned, but the title was cancelled half-way through.

"Luckily," modern day comic books tend to be "written for the (6-issue) trade," so there is a satisfyingly complete story arc contained within what this creative team managed to get out the door, here.

That's not to say these proceedings feel padded, either. In fact, each issue feels pretty packed, almost to bursting at times. 

Al Ewing (writer) places words aplenty to pore over, making use of old-school narrative captions with creative flair to boot. In fact, the purposely retro-stylings used to deliver the information in those captions is almost too stylized, to the point of feeling overly-affected.

In fact, I was very nearly put off from even finishing the first issue by the lengths to which Ewing seemed to be trying to impersonate Bob Haney. I can appreciate, and even cheer, an attempt to bring back some of the spirit of pure, silly "fun" to DC comics. 

I mean, I did just that in my previous post about some new DC comics, mentioned above, not too long ago.

However, Haney-speak is a very specific patois, and too many have tried to mimic it already (and none well enough to make it worth the bother, in my opinion). Sadly, in issue #1 of this series, I did find it off-putting, and, as the kids likely no longer say "a bit try-hard."

Some of that "homage" makes a lot more sense WITHIN the story itself, given the theme of the opening salvo of this six-issue scenario. The villain involved is very much associated with, and pontificates on, the dangerously addictive attractions of "faux-nostalgia." So, perhaps this overdoing of Haney Appropriation was on purpose.

To be fair, it does seem to be tamped down from issue 2 on. Sure, the captions still speak directly to the reader in very retro-cool fashion, but the misguided pseudo-60s pitter-patter fades away, thankfully.

Good thing, too, because once you get beyond that misstep, what's left here story-wise is pretty great. 

There's a heck of an adventure to be had, with tons of enjoyable character interaction and plain old action-action, too. Ewing also digs deep into the DC well, and I mean DEEP, but he never lets the digging become a drag (forgive me) on the pacing of the story. Things move quickly without feeling shallow or sacrificing characterization for plot progress.

I know I spent a lot of time criticizing the writing at first, and all that did need to be said to provide fair warning, but overall, the story told over the course of this abbreviated series is a TREAT.

And that's before we even get to the art. Which is even better than the writing, to be honest.

Steve Lieber was the artist on the 2019-2020 12-issue "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen" series, which is one of my favorite things that DC comics has ever published, so it stands to reason that I would speak highly of his work on these issues.

But man, Lieber really kicks out the jams on this series. His character acting, panel designs, page layouts, and clear, crisp storytelling are all in full, confident strut-mode all the way through these six issues. He sneaks in little details, like periodic table symbols sprouting from Metamorpho's body at times, without even once making the visuals feels cramped or chaotic.

Really, it's just stellar, joyously fun comic book art.

Back to the writing, before I shortchange that, Ewing puts in the effort to acknowledge what was done with Metamorpho in the past, particularly in the much-missed-by-me "The Terrifics" series, and elsewhere. The seeds that he sprinkles down these trails in particular make me quite disappointed that we apparently won't get the chance to see just what he had planned.

Still, despite the untimely cancellation, I still very much recommend that you read these six issues any way you can. If you do so in a way that sends a message to DC (as I don't for one second think they care what I read on the app), maybe they'll even let Ewing and Lieber come back and finish what they started?

Yeah...that'd be nice.