Previously on GraphiContent . . .

First off, go read Greg Burgas' excellent review of JLA #10, including the comments as they are important. I'll wait, as it should take you a while, but it's worth it, trust me. (Seriously, I wish I could write reviews as intelligent as that. I bet the six of you who read this blog do, too.)

Done? Great.

I find the whole topic of "Previously . . ." pages or montages interesting, as I've been paying close attention to those used on The West Wing since January, when Canadian Learning Television began running the show every weekday from the beginning (this is the second run-through, I believe since it was airing before, but, luckily, it started again in January and I've been watching--and if I missed an episode, used my DVD set of the show to fill in the blanks--yes, I bought the show on DVD for this specific purpose as I wanted to watch the show daily and enjoy it over a period of seven months instead of seven weekends--if that). The West Wing is a show that needs a recap usually, because if you watch the recaps, you'll note that a lot of the time, they show scenes from three or four episodes back, NOT what happened last week. And, even when they do, they usually do so in a way that both provides information and, in a way, acts as a short, 30-second trailer for WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS SHOW! (Oh, and then there are the recaps where scenes of characters saying their names are shown very quickly to great comic effect. I love those.)

Of course, it's just unfair to demand that everyone else do recaps as well as The West Wing, isn't it?

Fuck it, if we're going to discuss the concept, we're going to look at the best (and if you think another show/book/whatever does it better, I'm open to that) and demand that everything else do it just as well, if not better. Otherwise, what's the point?

So, I think Burgas is right in saying some comics need recap pages, especially ones involving large casts and in the middle of a storyarc (and fuck YOU if you think being anything but part one of a story is an excuse to demand that a reader not bitch about not knowing what's going on--most people recognise that they're not going to know anything and complain only when they can't follow along AT ALL, which is a big problem), but that's not enough. Recap pages should not merely give information, they should make the reader want to see what happens in this issue based on the description. A new reader should read the recap page and say "I must know what happens next!" the way a reader of the previous issues (supposedly) does.

This means only one thing, let's look at some recap pages and ask ourselves if they make us want to read the comic following it. Now, I'm not going to tell you what I think. I will give you the title of the book and the recap. Try and pay attention to the books you don't read, because if you read it, odds are, the recap will just make you want to read it. (Oh, and I don't know who wrote most of the recaps, so I'm not crediting anyone unless I know for sure who wrote it.) And forgive the selection since I am choosing from books I read--which means the first three are from Warren Ellis books, but that shouldn't matter.

1. newuniversal #2

(we have a picture of a large spaceship approaching the figure of a small human)

The evening of March 2, 2006 started like any other. But at 06.49 UTC, the sky ignited, illuminated by the most startling celestial phenomenon ever witnessed by the human race: the White Event. And from the wake of the White Event, a handful of humans emerged as something more...

NYPD Detective JOHN TENSEN awoke from his coma, most of a bullet still lodged in his brain. After "seeing" the crimes his nurse had committed, Tensen murdered the man and then disappeared from the hospital, leaving only the word "JUSTICE" written in blood on the wall.

In Oklahoma, KENNETH CONNELL awoke in the field where he and his girlfriend, MADDIE FELIX, had fallen asleep. He was horrified to find all that remained of Maddie was a charred corpse.

IZANAMI RANDALL awoke not in her home in San Francisco, but in a dream--a dream in which a massive construct informed her:

THIS IS A PARADIGM SHIFT.
EVERYTHING YOU KNOW HAS CHANGED...

***

2. Nextwave: Agent of H.A.T.E. #10

(we have the members of Nextwave all lined up, including Dirk Anger)

WELCOME READERS!! Welcome to your interactive NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. Primer Page. We'll start with a Q and A session:

Q. What is Nextwave?
A. Nextwave is a group of super heroes put together by the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (H.A.T.E.).
Q. Wait a second, I thought they were fighting H.A.T.E.
A. You are correct! You see, Nextwave discovered that H.A.T.E. and its parent company, the Beyond Corp., were being funded by a terrorist organization when Tabitha (see later answer) stole the Beyond Corp. marketing plan.
Q. Then why is the book called NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E.?
A. I don't know. Have you ever really, really, really ever loved a woman?
Q. "Really, really, really ever"?
A. That's what I said.
Q. There was Bernice Baxter, back in second grade. Wonder where she is now? Who are the members of Nextwave and what are their powers?
A. Monica Rambeau is their leader. She can transform her body into any form of radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum. Aaron Stack is a robot who does robot-y things. Elsa Bloodstone has a magical stone that she wears around her neck that gives her super-strength and invulnerability. And she's English. Tabitha Smith can make things explode. The Captain is really strong and can fly, thanks to powers bestowed on him by aliens. He's your hero.
Q. Who is this Dirk Anger person?
A. He's the leader of H.A.T.E. He's not happy that Nextwave has rebelled. Last we saw him, he hung himself. And he makes a very untraditional, warm gazpacho.
Q. I'll have to try that. Cold soup always freaks e out. Did I miss anything in #1-8?
A. Boy, did you! The Beyond Corp. has ambushed Nextwave with three brand-new super hero teams. Things look dire for our friends!
Q. Are you really friends with them?
A. Not really. But I met them once.
Q. You're such a loser.
A. Sticks and stones... Now READ THE BOOK!

***

3. Thunderbolts #113

(tiny little text at the top of the page) ONCE THEY WERE AMONG THE WORST EXAMPLES OF VILLAINY MANKIND HAD TO OFFER! BUT NOW, CONSCRIPTED BY THE COMMISSION ON SUPERHUMAN AFFAIRS, THEY HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A FORCE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE! THEY ARE THE THUNDERBOLTS--FEDERAL MARSHALS, EMPOWERED TO TRACK DOWN A BRING IN UNLICENSED, UNREGISTERED SUPERHUMAN OFFENDERS COAST TO COAST!

(a small pic of the Thunderbolts below the book's logo)

(large text in the middle of the page) WHEN CIVIL WAR SPLIT THE SUPERHUMAN COMMUNITY DOWN THE MIDDLE, THE GOVERNMENT RECRUITED SUPER-VILLAINS TO HUNT DOWN UNREGISTERED SUPER HEROES OPERATING IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW. A NEW THUNDERBOLTS TEAM WAS ASSEMBLED AND CAST INTO THE PUBLIC SPOTLIGHT. BUT CAN OLD T-BOLTS MEMBERS LIKE SONGBIRD, RADIOACTIVE MAN, SWORDSMAN AND MOONSTONE COPE WITH VICIOUS NEW TEAMMATES VENOM, BULLSEYE AND PENANCE?

WHILE ROGUE SUPERHUMANS LIKE JILLIAN WOODS, SOMETIMES KNOWN AS SEPULCHRE, JASON STRONGBOW, A.K.A. AMERICAN EAGLE, AND OLLIE OSNICK, THE STEEL SPIDER, EITHER TRY TO LEAD QUIET CIVILIAN LIVES OR GUARD THE STREETS ILLEGALLY, NORMAN OSBORN--THE NEW DIRECTOR OF THE THUNDERBOLTS--REVIEWS THE TEAM'S LIST OF TARGETS.

(three pics of Woods, Strongbow and Osnick from a previous issue)

(small text at the bottom of the page) "I AM NO MAN, I AM DYNAMITE, AT A HEIGHT WHERE I SPEAK NOT IN WONDER BUT IN THUNDERBOLTS. MY FERVENT WILL TO CREATE ME THUS AS THE HAMMER IMPELLED TOWARD THE STONE."--NIETZSCHE

***

4. New Avengers #31

(a pic of the group fighting Elektra and a shitload of ninjas)

The Civil War has ended. Captain America surrendered to Iron Man's pro-registration forces, and now the Avengers are no more. Superhumans such as Luke Cage, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Spider-Woman have gone underground rather than register their identities with the government.

Meanwhile, Maya Lopez--the deaf woman known as Echo--is violently killed by Elektra, the current leader of the Hand, after being dispatched by the Avengers to Japan to keep an eye on the Japanese underworld. But Elektra brings Maya back to life and begins to brainwash her. Before her mind is completely destroyed, the New Avengers, including Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, and Clint Barton, who now wears the mask of Ronin, arrive to rescue her.

The Hand tracks the team to Castle Yashida, home of the Silver Samurai. And it is not long before Maya gives in to the Hand's brainwashing and violently stabs Doctor Strange...

***

5. Casanova #5 (by Matt Fraction)

(the recap box is at the left of the inside cover, under the logo, title of the issue and credits)

Casanova Quin--rogue, scoundrel, thief for hire--was kidnapped from the safety and security of his own timeline and brought to a new continuum where he's blackmailed into betraying his father.

Joining the forces of E.M.P.I.R.E., Casanova secretly serves at the behest of W.A.S.T.E. and its mastermind Newman Xeno. Monitored, tortured, and taunted by his wicked twin sister Zephyr, Casanova begins his new life beholden to several masters.

E.M.P.I.R.E. has tasked Casanova to dismantling the criminal empire of a computer and robotics specialist named Sabine Seychelle as part of a larger war on supercrime.

Casanova eliminated a Seychelle agent named Winston Heath. Afterwards he was punished by both E.M.P.I.R.E. and W.A.S.T.E. for various failures. Suspended from active duty, Cass tracked his catatonic mother down to a home in Big Sur, California.

Last month, a mission critical to geopolitical stability suddenly arose: the reincarnation of Buddha was about to return and Casanova needed to stop him. A W.A.S.T.E. counter-mission brought him face to face with an unknowing Sabine Seychelle, and climaxed as Casanova returned home to find his mother under attack by three mysterious--and totally hot--assassins...

***

6. Godland #13 (by Joe Casey)

(inside cover, recap at left above company credits, in the middle of the page are pics of Adam Archer and the Never with labels and at right is some text ("THE COSMIC EVENT YOU WERE WAITING FOR!") and book credits)

Commander ADAM ARCHER--former NASA astronaut who possesses incredible cosmic powers--lives in Manhattan with his sisters in a hi-tech facility known as INFINITY TOWER. Of course, all of this is true... in our universe. But Adam isn't in our universe. Not any more...

***

7. Green Lantern #16 (by Geoff Johns)

(not actually a recap page, but the first page of the comic--images correspond to text and I'll use a single asterisk to denote panel change)

MY POWER RING WAS GIVEN TO ME BY A DYING ALIEN NAMED ABIN SUR.

IT GIVES ME THE ABILITIES TO FLY, GENERATE FORCE FIELDS, AND CREATE ANY OBJECT I IMAGINE.

*

THAT'S WHY I NEVER WORSE THE RING WHEN I FLEW MY JETS. I DIDN'T WANT A SAFETY NET.

AND I DIDN'T HAVE ONE WHEN MY F-22 WAS SHOT DOWN BY A GROUP OF TERRORISTS OVER RUSSIA.

FOR MONTHS, TWO OF MY FRIENDS AND I WERE HELD AS P.O.W.'S.

*

YESTERDAY, COWGIRL WENT ON ANOTHER RUN AGAINST THEM WITHOUT US. OVER-EAGER AND FLYING OW, SHE WAS SHOT DOWN.

I TORE APART THE TERRORIST CAMP LOOKING FOR HER.

*

AND WHILE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIND HER, I'VE BEEN ATTACKED BY EXTRATERRESTRIAL BOUNTY HUNTERS OUT TO COLLECT A PRICE SOMEONE PUT ON MY HEAD.

*

NOW, BECAUSE KARMA'S STILL CHASING ME DOWN, I'VE GOT RUSSIA'S ARMORED WATCHDOGS ON MY ASS.

THE ROCKET REDS WANT TO ARREST ME FOR PATROLLING THE PLANET AND CROSSING THEIR BORDERS...

***

Seven comics, seven recaps. Do they do the job of telling you what you need to know AND making you want to read on? Let me know.