Grifter #8

Was his brother really that interesting or important to Grifter's story that he had to come back from the dead?

This issue begins with Grifter's delusions of grandeur filling up his Narration Boxes.

Really? Midnighter represents all the super heroes. Batman wants you dead? Superman wants you dead? Sir, none of them even know who the fuck you are.

Now that Grifter received the influx of information from the crashed bit of the Eye of the Storm, he suddenly realizes that his lone gun bad-ass mentality isn't going to be enough to defeat an ancient alien invasion. But what's kept him alive this long other than the poor writing? Is the reader supposed to believe that he's an actual threat to the Daemonites because he's been infected by one? Or partially possessed by one. Whatever happened to him in Issue #1. I don't find this guy interesting at all and I especially don't find this character type appealing. He's just one of those guys who thinks he can beat anything up and he says stupid lines like "Don't Blink" when busting a flare in Midnighter's face or "Say cheese" when stealing a gun from a Daemonite. I think he also once said, "Is that all you've got," when he was out of ammo and surrounded by aliens. I really can't stand this guy. What's his appeal? What do readers like about this comic?

Cole is on a plane leaving Paris. I'm not sure if he's started his plan to become a huge super villain yet. But he's once again with Sofia as they take off. And then shit happens.

He really got that bomb and detonator on a plane?!

This is how Edmondson shows he doesn't care. He just wants the plane to blow up with no regard to how believable the scenario is. Is the reader just supposed to over look this? Am I supposed to believe, "Well, he's a Daemonite. He got it through by his special alien powers"? Or do I believe this happened because France has weak security? I don't believe this at all, Mr. Edmondson. Try again.

Grifter survives the explosion and the plane crash. Sofia does not. How does Grifter survive? Maybe he's extra tough because of the link he has with the Daemonites. Or he's just lucky. But if he's lucky then that kind of tarnishes his tough guy persona.

The next panel should be a bullet hole in the middle of your head, Mr. Tough Guy.

Two Daemonites in their alien form come out of the smoke along with MAX CASH! But Max is actually a Daemonite now having taken over the body of Cole's brother. Either the US Military has been infiltrated by the Daemonites or the general has no idea that Max is now a Daemonite. It doesn't really matter because I'm pretty sure Nathan Edmondson doesn't even know at this point. He's just winging this whole story!

Here's Cole's fight repartee:

I'm sure he practiced this line while just replacing 'human connection' with 'noun'. "You want to stretch the bands of decency? You're about to feel how hard they snap back!" "You want to stretch the bands of verbal communication? You're about to feel how hard they snap back!"

Cole fights a whole shitload of Daemonites and his brother the Daemonite as well. Since he's in France, the fight has to end up on the Eiffel Tower. He faces off against his brother who he can hear telepathically. A piece of Max survives but only a piece and not enough to bring back. So Max tells Cole he must kill him. And Cole does. Boo hoo! Now Cole has nothing to live for and he's willing to die if he must. But he's still going to fight back. He decides this while sliding down the side of the fucking Eiffel Tower shooting Daemonites.

Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb. But wait! That's not the big twist ending surprise! It turns out this was the whole plan in the first place! ALL OF THIS WAS PLANNED! And Cole fell right into Tsavo's trap! Ah ha ha ha!

This is not a twist ending. This is changing the story eight issues in. You can tell even the artist has had enough at this point.

Nathan Edmondson: "Where am I going with this story? What the hell am I going to do with Sofia? How did she know about the Daemonites again? They're supposed to be super secret? How do I explain that now?
Editor Brian Smith: "Just fucking kill her off! Kill everyone off and start over!"
Edmondson: "Even Grifter?"
Editor Smith: "No you stupid pork pie! Just start over with a new story. Maybe the Daemonites didn't really want him dead? Hey! Remember how in X-Files there were different factions of aliens and those muscle bound blind ones were rebelling against the other ones using the black oil to control people? Maybe you could have a group of Daemonite Rebels trying to overthrow the Black Curate!"
Edmondson: "Yeah! I'll just say that the first seven issues were all just a plan to break Cole so he wouldn't fear dying! Yeah! And then I won't have to worry about how Gretchen survived!"
Editor Smith: "Whoa whoa whoa! Don't just throw her out with the rest of the story! There's a super great love story in the making here! Remember how Red Dwarf was actually a love story across all time and space between Lister and Kochanski? You can do that here with Gretchen and Cole!"
Edmondson: "Hey! That's not a bad idea! I mean, it's not my idea or your idea but I can probably use it!"
Editor Smith: "If you need any more ideas for later, you can borrow my Men in Black and Independence Day DVDs."

Grifter Issue #8 Rating: -1 Ranking. I'd drop it by two if there were more room on the charts to fall! One thing I really can't stand is a writer who doesn't have control of his story. As a writer, you don't just throw away or make 180 degree changes in characters just for the sake of surprise. You use everything you've written previously. You DO NOT throw anything away. And this issue was Nathan Edmondson completely cleaning house. Poor form, sir! I can't wait until the next round of DC cancellations. I hope the comics at the bottom of my ranking all get shitcanned!