ANOMALY by Krista McGee

Anomaly is a 2013 young adult science fiction novel by Krista McGee. Here, in a post-apocalyptic eugenics lab, a girl is singled out for execution because she experiences emotions.

Anomaly is reminiscent of a number of books and films, including The Hunger Games, The Island, and THX 1138. The problem is not that Anomaly ever feels too derivative, but that it never really carves out its own niche. A little more setting and world building would have gone a long way toward making the book more immersive and giving it a distinct identity.

Anomaly follows all the traditions established by The Hunger Games for the currently popular female-protagonized dystopian young adult sci fi genre, no matter how forced, such as writing in the first-person present tense and including the obligatory two love interests, regardless of how believable. This doesn’t help Anomaly’s quest for identity, either.

Anomaly turns out to be an overtly Christian book, and McGee does a nice job of presenting the Gospel accurately and exploring faith in the face of death. Unfortunately, the Gospel presentation itself feels forced, like McGee has an agenda, and this contrivance saps meaning from Thalli’s obviously inevitable conversion.

Contrivance, which turns out to be widespread throughout the book, is Anomaly’s biggest problem. Things happen because McGee needs them to happen, perhaps leading the reader to ask things like “Why on earth don’t they ever lock Thalli’s door?” “Why doesn’t anybody seem to care that she has constant access to John?” and “Who the heck is responsible for the cameras around here?” (never mind questions like “Why do they call them ‘the Ancients’ when this is like two generations later and at least one is still alive?” and “Why don’t they ever kiss?”).

Complicating this criticism, however, is the fact that McGee tries to address nearly all these contrivances in the last few pages. It’s a nice try at getting away with it, I guess, but it’s pretty unsatisfying, it may make the reader wonder at just how oblivious these characters are, and it really doesn’t have the air of competence about it.

There are other issues. McGee’s writing is at a lower level than one typically expects from this genre: there are a lot of simple, see-Dick-run sentences, and it doesn’t help that Thalli is a master of stating the obvious or that everyone talks to her like she’s a little child (which may be necessary for the character but is grating for the reader). The general lack of contractions in speech makes for some stilted dialogue (but these test-tube kids do use them every now and then), and McGee has a tendency to go back and forth between the past and present tenses in an awkward way.

Thalli herself is just too passive to be a compelling protagonist, as by and large, she’s acted upon by various other characters, clueless, led here and there by their actions. No, the real protagonist of Anomaly is Berk, who perpetually risks both his life and career to act on behalf of Thalli. But he remains on the sideline as a supporting character, appearing when needed to save the day or advance the plot.  

Anomaly is a book I wanted to like, and I take no pleasure in giving it a bad review. But the volume of contrivance and the quality of the writing are deal-breakers.

NOT RECOMMENDED

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1-3

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1-3 (DC) are written by Keith Giffen and illustrated by Pop Mhan. Here, the Evil Horde, led by Despara (Adora) invades Eternia.

The murderous rampage of an unstoppable Horde army is a compelling plot – if we could ever focus on it. But Giffen’s focus is always on the Most Powerful Bickering in the Universe! Just like in the miniseries, Giffen feeds us page after page of inane banter and petty bickering between Yellow Cross He-Man and Teela (in issue #2, it’s page 7 before we get a meaningful line of dialogue). This is certainly annoying in its own right, but it’s particularly bad in juxtaposition to Randor’s high fantasy speechifying. Giffen might not be able to deliver a compelling twist, cliffhanger, or narrative, but he is the undisputed king of immature sarcasm.

We’re also sticking with the no-secret-identity business, which is idiotic for a number of reasons, including the fact that Adam still runs off to transform (because he “needs space”? Seriously?) and, most egregiously, that there’s no reason for him to ever be Adam for any reason.

The problems mount. In #2, we get a cynical exchange between Randor and Yellow Cross He-Man about the unlikelihood of some of the characters, and in addition to making no sense in the context of the story, it absolutely shatters the reader’s suspension of disbelief. We also get some pretty severe Mekaneck-bashing, which is both in poor taste and too easy. It’s obvious that Giffen has not bought in to this franchise. To that, I say: Jesus, man, stop bitching about what you have to work with and tell us a story. We know Mekaneck is lame; stop telling us what we’ve known since 1984 and maybe try to do something about it.    

There’s still no development of any of the supporting characters. Roboto gets some significant screen time in #3, but he talks just like everybody else. And here we come to the foundational problem of these comics: Giffen has swept away decades of backstory and characterization, but made only a perfunctory effort to replace them. There is, therefore, no foundation upon which to relate to any of these characters or to care about what happens to them.  

If all of this isn’t enough evidence that Giffen is the absolute wrong writer for the job, there’s also the part where Teela randomly strips to her underwear in front of everybody for absolutely no reason.

On a more positive note, I’m okay with Pop Mhan as the regular artist for this series. His work generally ranges from competent to above average, and even if the backgrounds can be as scanty as Teela’s outfit, it’s the consistency – which was missing from the miniseries – that makes the difference. There are some nice touches with the design, too, as various buildings, characters, and vehicles hearken back to either the Filmation series or the 200X series. To that I say: the more, the better. But while we’re on the subject of the art, why on earth are Skeletor’s minions on the cover of #2?

One more thing. Here’s the alternate cover to issue #1, the one I got from my DC subscription:

That’s right, it’s an ad, complete with the website where you can buy all those toys. It’s terrible. It’s shameful. It’s insulting. It’s the new DC.

In conclusion, then, Giffen isn’t really hammering the square peg into the round hole any better than he did with the miniseries. You just can’t trust him with this property, nor should you. Just because these comics are slightly less terrible than the miniseries doesn’t mean they’re worthwhile.  

NOT RECOMMENDED

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: THE ORIGIN OF HORDAK

***SPOILERS***

Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Hordak is a 2013 DC one-shot written by Keith Giffen and Brian Keene and illustrated by Giffen and Scott Koblish.

Origin. DC He-Man people, you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Zodac, eh? And he’s Hordak’s brother, eh? Is that what we’re doing now? Okay, I guess, although there doesn’t seem to be much point to it. This “origin” is little more than a protracted fight scene over which exposition is spouted (see also the God-awful Origin of He-Man); there’s none of the backstory needed to make us care about these characters, their relationship, or even the death of a million people.

The paper-thin plot doesn’t make a ton of sense either: Hordak can’t fight Zodac to the death in Backgroundless Rubble-Filled Place 1; they have to travel to the identical Backgroundless Rubble-Filled Place 2? Why? To make Zodac fight Leech for five minutes? And yet, there are the building blocks of a good story here: a mini-series chronicling the events Hordak and Zodac discuss, for example, could have worked quite well.

Aside from the fact we seem to be borrowing from King Hiss’s 200X backstory for Enforcer-fighting Hordak (which doesn’t really matter because they never make us care), his reimagining as a magical energy vampire works just fine. Meanwhile, however, Zodac apparently doesn’t rate having any of his backstory retained (it’s also interesting, given the fact that DC imported Dekker from the 200X series, that the decision’s been made to re-Caucasianize him).   

This one-shot’s connections to the monthly comic’s “present day” are also disappointing. There’s a little insight into Skeletor’s red skull, but that’s about it. The most burning question – how good old bat-Hordak became a Giger-esque abomination – is not addressed in the slightest.

Giffen’s art is as unimpressive as his writing. I appreciate the fact that his Fright Zone pays tribute to both the Filmation version and the playset, and he does a good job of putting emotion on Hordak’s face; however, his characters are angular, his layouts call to mind someone who can't figure out how to make his camera zoom out, and, while maybe it’s not fair to call this “Twenty Pages of Rubble and Glowy Magic,” the backgrounds are deal-breakingly few. And Hordak’s casting a Batman shadow, Giffen? Seriously?

In short, The Origin of Hordak relates a vignette in which everything of significance or interest has either already happened or is yet to come. The teasers for this comic included the question, “What the heck is a demigod anyway?” I’m not certain what sort of brain-damaged young people DC’s targeting with their Masters of the Universe comics, but they’re absolutely nailing that demographic.

NOT RECOMMENDED

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: THE ORIGIN OF SKELETOR

Masters of the Universe: The Origin of Skeletor is a 2012 DC one-shot written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and illustrated by Frazer Irving.

So we’re using the MOTU Classics origin of Keldor as Randor’s bastard half-brother. Fine; it’s not so terribly different from what the 200X series gave us. Except…the reason Keldor can’t be king after Miro is because he’s mixed race, not because he’s illegitimate. Is it just me, or does spineless Randor’s perpetuation of the culturally-ingrained racist establishment not jibe with any of the He-Man worlds we know?

In line with this, Randor is presented as a rather weak character, which is, I suppose, consistent with the horrific moral failure he commits in the digital comic. Man, when I was a kid, Randor had a pair; even more so his 200X incarnation; times have certainly changed.

Keldor is also entirely unimpressive, but for storytelling reasons: even though the book is half flashbacks, we get none of his character arc here. Keldor tells us repeatedly how great he is, but we never see him do anything – all we see is a pathetic egotistical loser with his face melted off.

I’d wager that most people who read this comic already have a pretty good idea about the origin of Skeletor – and given that, this issue needs to impress – which it doesn’t. But if you’re brand new to the He-Man party, this issue will raise as many questions as it answers, both in terms of the specifics (e.g., Keldor’s betrayal, his acid face, why people hate the Gar, etc.) and the general (e.g., what’s going on in a meaningful sense with any of the relationships between these characters).

The murky art – heavy inks, smudgy colors, surrealist tendencies, minimal backgrounds – fits well enough with the murky storytelling. That is to say, I didn’t care for it; your mileage may vary. Hordak looks like something H.R. Giger would have come up with.

Whether you’re an old reader or a new one, The Origin of Skeletor probably isn’t going to do much for you – except, perhaps, irritate you.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Its He-Man.org archive page is HERE

HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1-6 (DC miniseries)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is a six-issue DC miniseries published in 2012 and 2013. It was written by Keith Giffen and James Robinson and illustrated by Philip Tan, Ruy Jose, Pop Mhan, and a number of others. Here, Skeletor has conquered Castle Grayskull and erased the memories of all the Heroic Warriors.

I appreciate that the writers are trying to do something new with a thirty-year-old franchise, but this premise doesn’t work at all. With memoryless protagonists, there’s not much recognizable here beyond names and faces, as the personalities of heroes and villains have been greatly altered or aren’t developed.

The writing isn’t great, either. Adam goes through Skeletor’s minions Sinister Six-style, accomplishing little other than making the reader wonder why they insist on putting him through these James Bondesque scenarios instead of just killing him (not to mention why Skeletor didn’t just kill all the Heroic Warriors when he had the chance). The dialogue contains a painful amount of bickering between Adam and Teela, and the fact that Adam has no idea what’s going on, even though the reader does, prevents the buildup of any real suspense or interest. There are other story issues, too (e.g., how is Battle Cat still Battle Cat? And don’t tell me that’s a giant, feral Cringer), and there isn’t a great deal of payoff.  

This mini-series would have more appropriately been titled The Adventures of Amnesiac Adam, as He-Man doesn’t show up until the end of issue #5. And when he does, it’s something of a disappointment: this Yellow Cross He-Man – not much of a leader, not unduly clever, pouty, given to petty bickering – is the product of the unwise decision to put an immature Adam in He-Man’s body (Filmation Adam, in contrast, had a cleverness and maturity worthy of He-Man, and 200X Adam was getting there).   

This miniseries tries – too hard – for a gritty tone. There’s blood, killing, swearing, and the murder of an integral supporting character; none of these are inherently bad (except the last one, which is gratuitous), but none of it feels natural, nor does an angry, revenging He-Man.

One last thing on the writing: the whole climactic “I am the power!” exposition is dramatic and all, but it’s also stupid and blasphemous. It stands in stark contradiction to every incarnation of Adam-as-He-Man we’ve ever had as well as to He-Man’s transformation invocation. The sword channeling the power from him makes no sense whatsoever. From him to where? It’s never gone from him anywhere except to Cringer. And if he is the power, why does he even need the sword?

Ugh. On to the art. This six-issue series contains art from more illustrators than can be listed here. That never bodes well for the quality of the art, and it’s no different in this case. Many cosmetic changes have been made to costumes and characters, and none for the better. Scale mail is in, as is just enough fan service to be irritating. Teela is long-haired and blonde again for some reason. Castle Grayskull usually looks ridiculous. Skeletor looks like a steroid-fueled scarecrow, and his troops look like the Shredder. At least, unlike the 200X version, the Power Sword looks like it should.

From little things like a new origin for Trapjaw to big things like everybody knowing Yellow Cross He-Man’s identity (which really takes the point out of Adam in any future stories), this mini-series boldly proclaims a new direction for the franchise. Now, I have no problem taking things in a new direction (as long as it’s not space), but if you can’t be true to the spirit of the source material or to the characters, then what are we doing here? Go write some Conan stories.

DC gives us the first real He-Man comics in nearly a decade, and it’s a profoundly disappointing experience: everything is so different and so badly done that it’s hard to take seriously. The new monthly ongoing is going to have to do substantially better than this if it’s going to stick.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Its He-Man.org archive page is HERE

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE STORYBOOK

Masters of the Universe Storybook is a 1985 children’s book containing five stories; no author or illustrator is credited. Here, He-Man seeks an antidote when Orko is poisoned, Skeletor pursues an ancient artifact, Tri-Klops finds a city made of emeralds, Skeletor tries to conquer a remote village with life-extending water, and Hordak plans revenge against Skeletor. The stories are interspersed with short introductions to the primary characters.

These stories are neither well told nor well written. Inconsistences and convenient coincidences abound. Key parts of stories are glossed over or skipped entirely. Characters’ motives and the narratives themselves frequently make little sense. This all occurs to an extent that even a young reader will find distasteful. For example, in “Skeletor’s Inheritance,” Skeletor teleports into the Royal Palace, then drives the Land Shark (which was conveniently there already) out, all in a fanatical quest to possess an item that doesn’t actually do anything.

There are plenty of canonical shenanigans going on, too. Here, Skeletor is descended from “generations of Skeletors,” Mekaneck seems to be one of a community of telescopic-necked people, Man-E-Faces is apparently a robot, and Hordak’s face is actually a mask. In one story, Prince Adam strikes his sword against a stone wall to become He-Man, which follows the 1983 series guide for the Filmation cartoon – but in the other stories, he transforms by the conventional method.

The punctuation here isn’t always up to snuff, and inexplicably, “He-Man” is written sans hyphen in all cases, as are Mer-Man and Man-At-Arms; other names, like Beast Man and Wind Raider, are run together without a space.

The multiple uncredited artists who worked on this book have duplicated, with varying degrees of quality, the Filmation cartoon’s style. This is well and good, and aside from a few sorry-looking pages, the only real complaint is that the underground city in “The City of Emeralds” is drawn as being explicitly outdoors.

The real problem, in short, is that all five stories are critically flawed, making Masters of the Universe Storybook not really worth bothering with.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Read it HERE