I know that if I don't mention Final Crisis I'll get e-mails about it, so let's spell it out: I'm not buying it.  DC Universe Zero killed stone dead any remaining interest I might have had in the thing.  I'm simply not interested in reading a story about the DC Universe (as distinct from a story set in the DC Universe), no matter who's writing it.  I skimmed the thing in the store just in case it was radically different from my expectations, and it didn't seem to be.

If, by some miracle, it turns out to be a work of godlike genius, and a story about something more than DC continuity, I might, just might, buy the trade.  But more likely, I'll have completely forgotten about it by the time the trade comes out.

And that's the last thing we shall say about Final Crisis.

Now, that leaves us with a review slot to fill, so over at Marvel, we have the first issue of Mark Millar's long-delayed 1985 miniseries.  It's a high concept book.  Marvel characters show up in the "real world", as seen from the perspective of a 13-year-old fan.  Millar describes it as a spiritual successor to Secret Wars (which finished in 1985), presumably because, just like that series, it sees Marvel heroes and villains being dragged to another world to fight.

Obviously, this isn't an original idea.  There are tons of DC stories based on heroes coming to the "real" world and meeting their writers.  The reader perspective is a little less common, but really the success of the series depends on whether Millar can find a new angle on this familiar gimmick. 

At one point, 1985 was going to be a fumetti (a photo comic, in other words).  I suppose the idea was that this would make everything seem more "real."  They got some way into the digital photography before realising that this was never going to work on their budget.  So they chucked that idea, and asked Tommy Lee Edwards to draw it.  Edwards' approach is to draw the story in a down-to-earth style, and to incorporate the superguys into that world.  For the most part, he pulls it off, no doubt because although he's working in a style that most readers associate with "realism", he's making no attempt at photorealism.

Millar seems to be telling a coming-of-age story, with the kid coming face to face with his fantasy world.  In interviews, Millar has made the point that he sees 1986 as the end of his own personal childhood, hence the choice of this particular year.  Whether other readers will recognise 1986 as the end of their own personal Silver Ages is perhaps a little more doubtful; although there's something to be said for the idea that Secret War, by ushering in the age of megacrossovers and "event comics", was in some sense a loss of innocence for the Marvel Universe.

And the book works when it's presenting us with a more innocent view of the Marvel characters.  Millar is basically working with the archetypal versions of the characters here, and he captures something of the way we first see them.  By the nature of the story, Millar has to set aside any of his usual attempts to subvert the characters or make them edgy, and just write them straight.  His affection for them comes through.

The weak spot is Toby, the lead character.  The story relies heavily on him - not only is he the narrator, but he's supposed to be viewing the Marvel characters from a "real world" perspective.  For that to work, he needs to be a convincingly rounded character, and unfortunately, he's more of a generic teenage protagonist.  He gets a hobby and he gets divorced parents (that all-purpose symbol of gritty social realism), but he doesn't really get to be a convincing character beyond that.  There's some murmurings about depression, but it doesn't seem to be reflected in anything we see him do.

Despite that, it's a likeable enough book.  It's nothing groundbreaking, and I suspect that without the photo-art, it's not quite the book Millar had in his mind when he wrote it.  But it's a pleasant enough read, and it's usually for the best when Millar puts his cynicism on hold and tries - in however roundabout a manner - for some sort of sense of wonder.

Rating: B+

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