Confessions of a Comic Book Guy is a weekly column by Steve Bennett of Super-Fly Comics and Games in Yellow Springs, Ohio.  This week Bennett reviews the current Marvel and DC editorial events, plus some odds and ends.

As we all know the Marvel/DC events always seem to have a theme, some sort of subtext with a torn from today's headlines component.  Some kind of socio-political context to elevate the proceedings at least over the expected epic superhero slugfest.  But I can't find that kind of resonance in this year's batch; if DC's Convergence and Marvel's Secret Wars do have a "theme," it's "apocalypse cage deathmatch."  And since DC went first, for the most part I'll deal first with Convergence.

It's premise, cosmic creep compels domed cities to engage in gladiatorial combat to the death, is the sort of thing that Adam Strange could have dealt with in a 9-page story in Mystery In Space.  But we're already up to #5 of an eight-issue series and so far the proportions of this Under The Dome and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome mashup has been running roughly 80% Dome, 20% Max.  Which to me seems like a whole lot of soap opera and world building for a comic that by the publisher's own admission "doesn't count."  Convergence is just a placeholder, something to hold our attention while they finish moving into their new offices.  Me, I've been around too long to get emotionally invested in this kind of thing.

The numerous tie-in titles have been only been marginally better.  Don't get me wrong, they're also mostly meh but it is admittedly fun to see some of the old creative hands on deck.  Like, I never thought I'd see Len Wein and Kelly Jones on an issue of Swamp Thing (especially one with Swamp Thing looking the way Swamp Thing is supposed to look) or Tim Truman on Hawkman.  Being foolishly sentimental I, of course, was happy to see the return of Scribbly Jibbet, former Golden Age Boy Cartoonist, in World's Finest.

But for me the title which justifies the existence of Convergence is Shazam by Jeff Parker and Doc Shaner.  Following hot on the heels of Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart’s work on The Multiversity: Thunderworld, it invariably shows that a contemporary yet faithful version of the original Captain Marvel can and should be done.  So DC, please, make Captain Marvel your next Digital Comic; you can even call it Thunderworld if it makes you feel more comfortable.

On the other hand, Secret Wars #1 is mostly apocalypse.  Don't get me wrong, the denizens of the Marvel and Ultimate Universes do brutalize each other a bit here, but the actual Battle Royale stuff doesn't begin in earnest until #2 which is shipping today.  This issue is the culmination of years of Jonathan Hickman's work on Avengers and New Avengers where he's been meticulously orchestrating the end of all things.  I've admired Hickman's writing and especially enjoyed his run on Fantastic Four, and have nothing but respect for the way he neatly subverts the trope of the last-minute saves and the heroic ideal of optimist in the face of the inevitable.  But with that having been said, the relentless nihilism here is a bit oppressive for something that’s supposed to be light entertainment; Secret Wars #1 comes off as a veritable hymn of no hope.

I was happy to hear about the upcoming "New Archie" titles (see "Archie Adds Three Titles To 'Riverdale Reboot'"), the same way a lot of retailers and creators were made unhappy by the fact that it was being funded via a Kickstarter campaign.  If you go to the Bleeding Cool website you'll find a piece by Rich Johnston titled "Archie Comics Answers Its Kickstarter Critics" where the publisher addresses some of those concerns.  It addresses at least one of my concerns, that these new titles will be direct sales shops exclusives.  Meaning that if the project gets promoted the way I believe it will, people wanting them will have to come to us, and I can't see how that can be a bad thing.

And to show that there are things which can still surprise me, in August writer/artist Fred Perry, best known for Gold Digger, will be doing Momeye, a one-shot "homage/parody," gender-bent mash-up of Sailor Moon and Popeye.  I see it, but I still don’t entirely believe it.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.