Comic Review for MOOC Module 5: Media, Government Intervention, and Information Privacy

Daredevil V1, written by Mark Waid, art by Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin

I have a terrible feeling now that I have read the wrong section. I saw #4,5,6, and I took that to mean issues in Volume 1, and now wonder if I should have read Volumes 4, 5, and 6. What I read had Matt Murdock's legal career seriously compromised by the news revealing his identity, and then had him resolving a situation by gaining control of some data that basically allowed for mutually assured destruction of various criminal syndicates. However, the descriptions for the following volumes do sound like they could pertain to discussions on media and privacy.

The thought that I might end up reading more Daredevil to keep up does not disturb me, so that is a positive review. I was a little distracted in the resemblance of one of the bad guys to Kick-Ass, but I have not actually read that one, so I could be mistaken.

Transmetropolitan V1, written by Warren Ellis, art by Darick Robertson

This was my introduction to Spider Jerusalem. He is likable at his core, but exhausting to spend time with, and so that's kind of how reading the book goes. The class did get an interview with Warren Ellis, and I don't think he answered a single question as asked, but was nonetheless delightful, and there is probably some symmetry there.

Ellis did tell us that Spider is a child, and yes, that makes sense, but there was also a pause to realize that the is from the late '90s, and so much has passed and developed since then that there is this realization that this is a much more mature writer now, which leads to the next assigned reading...

Global Frequency V1, written by Warren Ellis, multiple artists

I am tempted to call this a more mature work. Transmetropolitan has a lot of depth and smart things going on, and it does have a sense of responsibility as over and over again Spider's motivations do indicate that he cares, but he is lashing out angrily and tempestuously. Those on the Global Frequency are organized, precise (at least as much as possible), and they are trying really hard to do the right thing.

That sounds like it is more optimistic, but some of the issues get very dark. I kind of hate only having "multiple artists" there, because each story had such a distinct look, and the art and the subject melded together. If my favorite image is the parkour practicing agent rising from the Thames after successfully preventing a bomb detonation, the images of a burned out agent perishing with the subjects of horrific experiments is more haunting. The set-up allows for infinite stories.

Nightly News V1, art and writing by Jonathan Hickman

Take the clamor of the loudest pages in Transmetropolitan, and the darkness of the darkest pages of Global Frequency, and you may still not be prepared for Nightly News.

In addition to a complex plot, with some very thin disguises over pretty recognizable characters, and lots of additional statistics, and there is a very real sense of information overload. It is an amazing feat that Hickman created everything that you see and read in the book, but it also feels appropriate, like bringing in another person would have diluted the effect.

It is not a happy feel-good book, but it is powerful.