With this issue, we’re halfway through, and there’s a lot to digest. (Please forgive the unintentional Thanksgiving pun….) There’s not so much in the way of trivia this time, but I’m starting to look at this series a little differently now.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
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LEAD STORY
“Worldsoul” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
In Brief: Charity and Rita take a magical mystery tour.
Page 1
– The view from … is that the Olympic park? … would be familiar to a resident of the regular DC-Earth. The last time multiple Earths popped up in the sky was during Infinite Crisis. However, I have the feeling that (for various reasons, including the lack of Superman and Batman) this timeline never experienced Crisis On Infinite Earths or any of its sequels.
– Scipio was musing that Miami never seems to get any attention, but I don’t remember too many main line DC stories set in Atlanta either. (It was a big part of the Tangent universe, though.)
Page 2
– I don’t think the “alternate” cities are meant to be familiar, except that the “eldritch” version could be the one Batman visited briefly back in issue #2.
Page 3
– I have to say, I got a very “James Robinson Starman vibe” off of the narration here. Nice work, especially with the Forbidden Tales Of Dark Mansion references.
– “Charity O’Dare”: as I thought last week, Charity did get married.
Page 4
– This whole prehistoric domestic-violence sequence seems to be an extended retelling of the prologue to Wonder Woman vol. 2 #1 (February 1987). There, an angry caveman, feeling “emasculated” after losing his hand to a sabertooth tiger, takes out his frustrations on his mate, killing her and her unborn child. She is eventually reincarnated (more about this later) as Hippolyta, and her child is given life as Diana. That original sequence was produced by writer Greg Potter and artist George Pérez.
– “Her name … may be Magala”: well, once upon a time there was an Amazon sorceress named Magala who created a magical duplicate of young Princess Diana so she’d have a playmate. According to Wonder Woman vol. 2 #136 (August 1998), this twin later established her own identity and “grew up” to be Donna Troy. It helped that she was a “reborn” version of Donna, living a life from the old Multiverse … but from there it gets kind of complicated. Magala was created by John Byrne and first appeared in WW v.2 #124 (August 1997).
– “Alone. And yet not”: This might support the idea that “Magala” is pregnant (and thus will be reincarnated as Hippolyta), but it is probably a reference instead to her connection to the “worldsoul.”
Page 5
– The caveman losing a hand to a tiger, and his attacking her with a club, are both elements of the Wonder Woman sequence.
– At the end of the Wonder Woman sequence, the caveman sees his dead mate’s soul transformed into a bolt of energy, which leaves her body and shoots into the sky. Eventually it enters the Greek pantheon’s Cavern of Souls, where it joins the souls of other women whose “lives [were] cut short by man’s fear and ignorance.”
Page 6
– Not to dwell on it, but obviously this issue and Wonder Woman #1 suggest that the same series of events happened to different people. The WW issue implies pretty clearly that the woman’s spirit was reborn in Hippolyta. Here, it is manifested in a series of women each connected to the Worldsoul, and therefore to the Earth’s other “seekers.”
– I would say that the altered timeline is responsible for the differences, but that by itself wouldn’t account for Rita’s connection to the Worldsoul in the unaltered timeline.
Page 7
– No annotations.
Page 8
– So … Rita is the latest incarnation of Magala? It would give her a definite connection to Wonder Woman, as well as a nice link to Donna Troy’s multiverse-spanning history. It could also facilitate a plan to “jump-start” the regular timeline using whatever spark of Diana is (still) inside Donna.
Page 9
– “ZEE-NA”: subtle! At first I thought this was Starfire, a sword-and-sorcery heroine created by David Michelinie and Mike Vosburg for Starfire #1 (August-September 1976), but she lives on another planet.
– This week’s mulligan comes in panel 2. I’m inclined to think she is a plant elemental like Swamp Thing, but she doesn’t seem to be either Lady Jane, and she’s not Tefé Holland. I don’t think she’s Bog Venus either. Anyway, I’m sure a commenter will tell us….
– Panel 3 looks like a version of Black Bison, a male character created by Gerry Conway and Pat Broderick for The Fury Of Firestorm #1 (June 1982). The character’s powers were derived from a magical amulet and coup stick, and it looks to me like this female character at least has the same amulet.
Page 10
– Sindella was created by Gerry Conway and Dick Dillin and first appeared in Justice League of America #165 (April 1979). She is (or will become) the wife of Giovanni Zatara and the mother of Zatanna Zatara.
Page 11
– No annotations.
Page 12
– “Oh! Sit.” Somehow, I read that differently the first time….
* * *
SECOND STORY
“Explaining Faith To A Rock” was plotted by Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza, scripted by Nicieza, pencilled by Scott McDaniel, inked by Andy Owens, colored by Allen Passalaqua, lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, associate editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
In Brief: Morgaine summons Konvikt, who in the meantime has noticed that the universe is messing with him.
– Actually, I don’t have much to add to this story, beyond reiterating plot points already covered thus far. Essentially, it fills in more of Konvikt’s background, from his sentencing to the accident (a consequence of Krona’s escape from the egg) which caused him and Graak to crash on Earth.
– Konvikt’s “big shock” in the present is the revelation that Anthony Vittaglia, the man he killed earlier in Trinity, is alive — and much wealthier — in the altered timeline. I suppose we are to infer that Anthony (who was a policeman) was affected significantly by the lack of one or more Trinitarians, and I’m guessing we’ll get some answers in a later issue.
– Otherwise, the story leads up to one of the “brazier visions” from issue #1, which may be inevitable given that Enigma mentions the vision on page 14/2.
* * *
As I type this, it’s late on Wednesday night and we’re winding down in order to get ready for Thanksgiving. It’s been a long day already, what with reading the new comics, polishing up the last Grumpy Old Fan, and dealing with the reactions to our collective departure.
Accordingly, although this is not the end of my Trinity annotations (not for another twenty-six weeks), I would like to say a few things.
As always, thanks to all the readers and commenters, especially those of you who have offered your own notes and/or corrected mine. Some days I don’t know exactly why I volunteered to do these — maybe it’s some subconscious nerd calling — but more than likely it’s a pure fandom thing, and what is fandom without participation?
Speaking of which, special thanks also to the people behind Trinity who have chosen to comment; including Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza, and Allen Passalaqua. It’s always fun to get your insights and learn what the annotations might have missed.
But hey — as long as this isn’t issue #52, there’s still work to do! We don’t have to go home, but we can’t stay here.
Therefore, look for the annotations to issue #27 next week over at Comics Should Be Good, courtesy of my new host (for a little while, at least) Mr. Brian Cronin! Brian and I were Great Curvers together, and he’ll be taking care of issue #27 while I’m away on business. After that, I’ll be back for issue #28 and the rest of the series.
Until then–!
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Act One (including links to previous issues)
November 28th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Great job, Tom, as always, but I’m pretty sure we never said specifically said what the civilian victim, Anthony Vittaglia did as a profession, since we know he’s not a policeman.
It’s all part of the character arc for Konvikt.
Happy holiday weekend everyone!
– fabian
November 28th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
One more thing I’ll be visiting a different website to read.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
He wasn’t part of the National Guard contingent at Thayer’s Notch?
November 28th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
>> Here, it is manifested in a series of women each connected to the Worldsoul, and therefore to the Earth’s other “seekers.”>>
No, Magala-or-not’s spirit isn’t reincarnated. The link to the worldsoul is passed on.
>> So … Rita is the latest incarnation of Magala?>>
No, she’s the latest link to te worldsoul.
>> “ZEE-NA”: subtle! At first I thought this was Starfire, a sword-and-sorcery heroine created by David Michelinie and Mike Vosburg for Starfire #1 (August-September 1976), but she lives on another planet.>>
And besides, this is Zeena, from an old issue of G.I. COMBAT. Subsequent warrior princesses are latecomers!
>> This week’s mulligan comes in panel 2. I’m inclined to think she is a plant elemental like Swamp Thing, but she doesn’t seem to be either Lady Jane, and she’s not Tefé Holland. I don’t think she’s Bog Venus either. Anyway, I’m sure a commenter will tell us…>>
She’s new, but is similar to Blackbriar Thorn.
>> Panel 3 looks like a version of Black Bison, a male character created by Gerry Conway and Pat Broderick for The Fury Of Firestorm #1 (June 1982). The character’s powers were derived from a magical amulet and coup stick, and it looks to me like this female character at least has the same amulet.>>
Kee-rect.
>> Sindella was created by Gerry Conway and Dick Dillin and first appeared in Justice League of America #165 (April 1979). She is (or will become) the wife of Giovanni Zatara and the mother of Zatanna Zatara.>>
Since she’s wearing the Crystal Crown and sitting by that pool, this scene is well after Zatanna’s birth, and takes place after Sindella’s presumed death and her return to the Hidden City.
>> I suppose we are to infer that Anthony (who was a policeman)>>
Anthony was/is not a policeman, nor a National Guardsman. Either of those would have been considered a soldier by Konvikt, and he wouldn’t have felt any dishonor in killing him in combat.
>> Therefore, look for the annotations to issue #27 next week over at Comics Should Be Good, courtesy of my new host (for a little while, at least) Mr. Brian Cronin! Brian and I were Great Curvers together, and he’ll be taking care of issue #27 while I’m away on business. After that, I’ll be back for issue #28 and the rest of the series.>>
I’ll look forward to ‘em wherever they are!
kdb
November 28th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I am thankful for Tom Bondurant’s annotations (and I don’t even have to be! I’m Canadian!) Good to hear you’ll be continuing them.
“Panel 3 looks like a version of Black Bison, a male character…”
Along those lines, was that a female Viking Prince in the ship?
November 28th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Kurt: Thanks much for the memory refresher, as it was definitely needed.
November 28th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
And G.I. Combat?
*admiring glance*
Damnation.
November 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
>> Along those lines, was that a female Viking Prince in the ship? >>
No. Viking Prince was a character, not a role played by multiple people, like Black Bison.
And even if you generalized it to include all Viking princes, rather than just Jon, then there wouldn’t have been female princes by definition.
The Viking woman in the issue is a Viking woman who channels the worldsoul — whether she’s a princess or some other rank, we don’t know.
>> And G.I. Combat? >>
#259, in fact.
kdb
November 28th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Lady Jane is dead, having been killed by the Word during Mark Millar’s run. Tefe is no longer an elemental, having been turned into a regular girl during the fourth Swamp Thing series. And Bog Venus is out traveling the stars.