I've generally been avoiding DC Universe titles for the last while because, frankly, they all seem to be part of this multi-year mega-crossover that I couldn't care less about.  In fact, I was actually enjoying the current Green Arrow and Black Canary miniseries to the point where I thought I might try their new title.  And then I saw the house ad with the Countdown logo.  So much for that idea.

I nearly didn't bother with Metal Men either, since it proudly displays a logo saying "From the pages of 52."  This turns out to mean "The Metal Men appeared in 52, although this story has nothing whatsoever to do with that one."  If I hadn't picked up that information from a blog somewhere on the day of US release (which is one day before the books hit the shelves over here), I'd have left this issue on the shelf on the strength of that logo.  This isn't a point of principle, or anything.  I just can't be bothered with this ridiculous mutli-year crossover, and whatever it is DC are doing, it certainly can't be worth the hassle of trying to jump aboard now.

But Metal Men - on the face of it, at least, has nothing to do with any of this.  Instead, it's another relaunch of a C-list DC character based on some notes by Grant Morrison.  Not that he actually worked on the book - it's written and drawn by Duncan Rouleau.  But the credits proudly contain the eyebrow-raising information that the book is "Based on ideas by Grant Morrison."  You know, if you're going to put in a credit like that, you might want to credit Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru for creating the characters in the first place.  Just a thought.

This is an odd book.  It's certainly not bad, and at times it's even quite endearing, but it doesn't make me want to read more.  The story is in three acts, which don't seem to have very much to do with each other.  The first part of the book, set in the fifth century, sees a wizard and a demon thingy fighting over an artefact, only for a time traveller to snatch it away at the last minute.  Then there's a present-day sequence with the Metal Men fighting UNION, a sort of collective intelligence which is possessing consumer electronics and leading them in a revolt against their human masters.

After that, though, we cut back to some kind of origin sequence featuring Doctor Magnus, the Metal Men's creator, as a young scientist pitching for funding.  He gives us a lecture on impenetrable comic book physics, but then, through some kind of meddling, he's apparently led to go off on another path entirely.  I assume this is supposed to be some variation on the established Metal Men origin story; it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone involved that there might be readers who don't know it by rote.

It's a book with good moments that doesn't quite add up to a persuasive whole.  UNION is a cute idea, and the theme of rebellious machines can always be made to work.  Magnus' impenetrable lecture is downright charming, and the best bit of the issue.  And Rouleau is doing great art these days - he used to be a crazily exaggerated, angular artist, but now he's using that style in a much more controlled, effective way.  His scripting is pretty good, as well, although as with All-New Atom, it's not too hard to play "Spot the Grant Morrison concept."  ("Imagine an inch-high dentist..." seems a good bet.)

But there's an awful lot going on and not much that seems to tie it together.  The opening sequence is longer than it needs to be.  And the biggest problem is that it just doesn't engage by interest in the Metal Men themselves.  They're not defined strongly enough as individual characters.  They're more of an amorphous mass, and it feels almost as though they were only included in the book because they came as a package deal with Magnus.  They're not even especially kooky; they're just sort of there.

That's the point where the book really comes unstuck for me - it just doesn't make its lead characters interesting.  Which is a shame, because it nails Magnus as an eccentric scientist.  The book has its moments, and they're good moments, but it doesn't quite hang together for me.

Rating: B-

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