Comic Book Talk The Place to talk about Comics

The Nail

Old 07-04-20, 11:45 AM
  #1  
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
 
B5Erik's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Southern California
Posts: 13,528
Received 450 Likes on 333 Posts
The Nail

So one of the 20 titles I got from the DC/Eaglemoss UK collection was The Nail.

I had just stopped buying comics months earlier when this came out in 1998, and I was in my anti-DC mode at the time, anyway, so I had never heard of it. But the description sounded good. An alternate universe where Jonathan and Martha Kent don't discover little baby Kal-El, and the superhuman world doesn't know of a Superman.

The story (overall) and art are fantastic. Great dialogue, great plot - I mean, it's really well done. I disliked Alan Davis' art on Batman and the Outsiders (it was really quirky, especially the faces), but for this series, with Mark Farmer inking, his art looked great!

It's a pretty brutal story at times, too. But there is a point at which it just becomes a longer What If? story - near the end when...

Spoiler:
...Jimmy Olsen is revealed to be the secret Big Bad.


That took it down a notch from how great it could have been. It's still very good, but that twist at the end took it a bridge too far.

Even so, I give it high marks, overall.



Old 07-04-20, 11:47 AM
  #2  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
davidh777's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Home of 2013 NFL champion Seahawks
Posts: 52,393
Received 980 Likes on 811 Posts
Re: The Nail

I blind-bought this on sale and like reading your review!
Old 07-04-20, 12:32 PM
  #3  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 7,114
Received 78 Likes on 63 Posts
Re: The Nail

I also thought Davis drew faces weird. Now he’s one of my favorite artists.

I agree on the twist. Just making it the most unlikely person just because that’s unexpected and no other real reason. I suppose the part where Jimmy finally meets Superman works a bit. He says something like “we could have been friends.”

But it’s a very fun story and gives off X-Men vibes.
Old 07-04-20, 01:21 PM
  #4  
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
 
B5Erik's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Southern California
Posts: 13,528
Received 450 Likes on 333 Posts
Re: The Nail

I just read Another Nail, and I actually liked that one even more. Davis and Farmer really hit that one out of the park. It's a much larger scale story (by design), but he didn't lose sight of the individual characters and their stories among the galaxy wide plot. It's a great follow up.

The art is just as good, and I'd go so far as to say that Davis got even better at plotting in the 6 years between mini-series.

I especially liked how Superman is trying to come to terms with who and what he is, given his past and the beliefs that his parents gave him. But there were a lot of great individual stories there, too. Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary - in a story with a ton of characters Davis did the improbable - he managed to give each one of them a chance to shine and grow.

Good stuff.

Old 07-04-20, 05:02 PM
  #5  
DVD Talk Hero
 
PhantomStranger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: The Phantom Zone
Posts: 27,346
Received 780 Likes on 654 Posts
Re: The Nail

It's one of the very best Elseworlds books. DC calls their What-If stories "Elseworlds". Agree on the art, it's some of Alan Davis' best work. I haven't read them in years.
Old 07-04-20, 06:02 PM
  #6  
DVD Talk Legend
 
The Valeyard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Building attractions one theme park at a time.
Posts: 10,800
Received 82 Likes on 49 Posts
Re: The Nail

^ Actually, Marvel called their Imaginary Stories "What If?" Then DC went the "Elseworlds" route. Marvel switched it up with their "Alterniverse" label. More recently, DC revamped the concept with their "Tales from the Dark Multiverse."

Last edited by The Valeyard; 07-04-20 at 09:50 PM.
Old 07-04-20, 06:30 PM
  #7  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
b2net's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 5,941
Received 131 Likes on 106 Posts
Re: The Nail

Nail and Another Nail are 2 of my favorite elseworld takes.

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.