Robin Rises: Omega #1 – Review

By: Peter J. Tomasi (story), Andy Kubert (pencils), Jonathan Glapion (inks), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Invasion of the body-snatchers.

The Review: Superhero deaths and resurrections have become so commonplace nowadays that I do believe an unwritten etiquette has developed regarding the proper amount of time that must pass before publishers and writers can start thinking about bringing a character back from the dead. From my completely unscientific observations, it seems the mourning period is somewhere between one-and-a-half to two years, give or take a few months.

And what do you know, it’s been just about a year and a half since Damian Wayne was pincushioned to death in Batman Inc. #8, and now we have a storyline titled, quite explicitly, Robin Rises. There’s a possibility Damian might not come back—the title emphasizes it’s Robin who’s rising without specifying which one—but whoever picks up that red, green, and yellow mantle, it’s Damian who’ll carry this story along. Let’s hope for a good one, at least.

Damian: Son of Batman #1 – Review

By: Andy Kubert (story & art), Brad Anderson (colors)

The Story: Hey, at least his dad managed to survive until his adolescence.

The Review: I may not have loved the idea of Damian Wayne at first, but I grew inordinately fond of him over time, thanks to the efforts of both Grant Morrison and Peter J. Tomasi.*  I was thus very sorry to see him go in Batman Incorporated.  His death seemed cruel on a lot of levels, not only because he was so young, but also because it cut short his sweet, painful efforts to become a better hero and a more devoted son.

I’m probably not alone in admitting that the question of what might have been had Damian lived is haunting enough to drive me towards even a work of such dubious quality as this one.  DC’s artist-turned-writer campaign has produced quite a mixed bag of results, and Kubert is not a stupendous artist to begin, besides being untried at writing.  It seems extremely unlikely that DC would entrust a story that would have even the remotest chance of realization in continuity in such hands.  So Son of Batman functions more like a What If…? or Elseworlds-type series than a portent of Damian’s possible future.

Batman #23.1 – Review

By: Andy Kubert (writer), Andy Clarke (art), Blond (colors) and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Review (with very minor SPOILERS): “Boring and pointless” is how I’d sum up this issue.  I’d also add, “I’m not buying any more of these Villain’s comics from DC after this.”  It isn’t a terrible, wretched issue or anything like that, but it’s hard to see anyone but the most passionate Joker fans or Batman-completists being very interested in this title.  This is just the sort of issue that Marvel and DC shovel out there from time to time because they know that passionate fans will buy it (or people buying it for review purposes…).  On one hand, you are selling an incremental issue.  On the other, publishers risk readers having a “moment of clarity” every time they foist average comics upon us.

The issue tells the story of how Joker raises a baby gorilla to become a criminal.  He and some fellow criminals are loitering at the zoo, killing zookeepers when a baby gorilla catches his eye.  So he Joker-gasses the mommy gorilla, steals the baby and raises him in the best Joker tradition.  Throughout we see little vignettes of Joker’s own awful upbringing and in the end, we are left with the “promise” that we’ll be seeing more of the gorilla in the pages of Batman.

I can’t say that I’m eager to see the gorilla again.  I think Joker is totally overused, but he makes a good villain for Batman because he’s “just a man” in the same way that Bruce Wayne is “just a man”.  Most of the other good Bat-villains are pretty close to baseline humanity (or have plausible connections to reality): Penguin, Riddler, Bane, etc.  The sillier villains are folks like Killer Croc who just don’t make any sense.  So NO… I am not looking forward to seeing a gorilla fighting Batman.  Too silver age for me.

Batman #18 – Review

Chapter One by: Scott Snyder (writer), Andy Kubert (pencils), Sandra Hope (inks), Brad Anderson (colorist), Nick J. Napolitano (letters)

Chapter Two by: Snyder & James Tynion IV (writers), Alex Maleev (art), Nathan Fairbairn (colors), Carlos M. Mangual (letters)

The Story: An angry and grieving Batman gets a reality check from a teenage girl.

A few things (with very minor SPOILERS): 

1). The regular artists are missed. – The best way to find out how much people appreciate you is to go away and see if they miss you.  Well….this comic really missed the talents of regular art team Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia.  We readers have been truly spoiled by their excellence and consistency over the last 1.5 years.  Suddenly, it is harder to pay attention to Scott Snyder’s nifty script because one is distracted by how poorly Andy Kubert draws teenage girls or how “massively detailed art” and “striking panels” are not necessarily “good sequential art” or how any editor thought that Andy Kubert and Alex Maleev were a great combo on a single issue.  I guess I can understand how someone would think that Andy Kubert would be a good stand-in for Capullo because they do have basically similar drawing styles, but this issue showed that if you’re following Capullo you should just draw things differently and avoid the direct comparison because you’re going to look bad.  Plus, Alex Maleev should be chained to a desk drawing Scarlet all the time with no Bat-distractions.

Action Comics #6 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), John Dell (inker), Brad Anderson (colorist), Sholly Fisch (feature writer), Chriscross (feature artist), Jose Villarrubia (feature colorist)

The Story: Now you know where all those little voices in your head are coming from.

The Review: I don’t think I’m the only one, but I sometimes give Morrison a lot of flak for being purposely obscure in his writing.  The combination of his strange ideas, highly stylized choice of words, and loose playing with time and space often leave me bewildered, unsure if I’m reading genius or gobbledygook.

After reading this issue the first time around, I sat back, my mouth slightly agape, and murmured aloud, “Am I high, or is he?”  Maybe I read it too quickly or too carelessly, but I could not make head or tail of it.  On the second reading, I sat back again, this time my mouth pursed in thought.  All the pieces I had found so disjointed, wordy, and confusing the first time around had come together and made a deep impression on me.  Or, to be accurate, I should say it impressed me.

For one thing, Morrison amazes, as he regularly does, with the boundless enthusiasm and scope of his ideas.  Who else would come up with a plot involving tesseracts that allow objects to be bigger inside themselves than out, allowing Superman’s enemies to hide and plot within his very brain?  Who else can give a rocket ship character, actually making you feel invested in its fate?  When it comes to sheer creativity, this issue beats all preceding ones by a mile, and that alone makes it truly memorable for the first time since this series relaunched.

That’s not to say there aren’t flaws.  It’s still baffling why Morrison chooses to tell this particular tale smack-dab in the middle of a story arc where T-shirt Superman already has his hands full against the Collector of Worlds.  The fact that his rocket ship plays a significant part in the issue also throws you off track, since up until #3, the military still had it in their possession.  Also weird is the presence of Drekken, or Erik, or whoever that shapeshifting foe is; he doesn’t do much other than get in Superman’s way, and you never find out where he came from.

Action Comics #5 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Invasion of the Space Babies!  They’ll overwhelm you with their cuteness!

The Review: The coming of Superman to Earth as a babe rocketed from the doomed planet of Krypton is probably the origin story of origin stories, one which still retains a lot of its purity and sense of wonder to this day.  There’s just something inescapably poignant about the idea of a mother and father doing all they can to save their child, putting their trust in an unknown world to foster him, and him becoming its savior in return.

It’s a great story, but one that’s been told and retold so often, and with so little variation in the telling, that it’s become a bit tiresome to hear.  Weariness is the predominant feeling you get when reading through the first half of this issue.  For anyone who knows anything about the Superman mythos, nothing Grant Morrison writes will surprise you.  The classic details are all here, untwisted, and while that’s a relief on a lot of levels, it’s also rather dull to read.

The changes Morrison introduces to the story are few and subtle in nature.  Lara has a more critical role in Kal-El’s sojourn to Earth; she helped Jor-El build the saving rocket, and she’s the one who arrives at their last, desperate option to save their son when Jor-El freezes.  You discover that before they put Kal into the rocket, they attempted to save themselves by escaping into the Phantom Zone, only to find it already occupied by the worst of Krypton’s sadists.

While a lot of the issue is at least readable, if not refreshing, Morrison dives into some very exotic turns of phrase when writing the voice of the rocket’s Brainiac A.I.  I’ve never liked it much when Morrison puts on his beat poet hat; it just seems distracting and sometimes confusing: “Then blinding gulfs of superspace.  Of un-time.  Exquisite calculations.  The last son of Krypton dreams.  And searching.  And now!”

And that’s before you get to the completely baffling sequence involving a time-traveling chase of the Anti-Superman Army by Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and grown-up, body-suited Superman (as opposed to folksy Superman).  This scene not only breaks into the middle of the “Collector of Worlds” arc (which doesn’t continue this issue), it delivers puzzling language of its own: “This, all the K in the universe—the colored isotopes synthi-K and Kryptonium…”

Flashpoint #5 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), Sandra Hope & Jesse Delperdang (inkers), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: The Flash realizes sometimes it’s better to just start from square one.

The Review: And so we come to the end.  But what exactly is ending?  A misdirected war between races?  The atrocious perversion of an entire universe?  The tenuous existence of those brought forth in that universe?  A whole era of comics history?  The answer, of course, is all of those at the same time.  For those reasons, this final issue should be a testament to the last few decades of DC storytelling, and those same reasons assure that this final issue is anything but.

The war between Atlantis and the Amazons, by itself, deserved much greater focus from this series than it got.  As the major motivation for Barry to make things right, and as the most pressing conflict for pretty much every character besides Barry, it should’ve had more time to expand to critical proportions, to convince us of how dire the situation truly is.  Johns betted the tie-ins would somehow supply this missing tension, and that wager gets defeated big time.

Many of us probably assumed, with the appearance of Zoom at the end of last issue, that we knew who brought this mess into being.  But as Zoom himself crows, the real person responsible is actually a little closer to home.  Most of these revelations get told through rambling dialogue in the middle of a heated battle (and you all know how fun those can be), and in the midst of all that chaos, it seems a weak attempt to add one more “twist” to the story.

Flashpoint #4 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), Jesse Delperdang (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Remember kids: never accept juice boxes from strangers.

The Review: It’s pretty clear that whatever point Johns originally conceived Flashpoint with, the series serves little more purpose now than as a convenient vehicle to carry the upcoming DCU into fruition.  After three issues of steadily declining interest, it seems almost all the engaging material has dried up, leaving the storyline struggling to fill itself between plot beats.

This issue repeats a pattern Johns has put to use for a while now: not-Batman systematically disparaging everyone and everything, Barry clutching his head against further memory revisions and moaning about how he has to act before it’s too late, the two of them squabbling over priorities, and everyone else standing around awkwardly, waiting for orders.  It’s such a familiar formula you can easily skip the pages altogether and miss nothing, as I’ve personally discovered.

You’d expect a five-issue mini, especially with an Event of this scope, would be overflowing with story, yet it feels as airy and insubstantial as Wonder Bread.  Maybe Johns subsidized too much of his plot to the dozen or so tie-ins out there, but if you restricted your Flashpoint dosage strictly to this series, it’s almost a crime how Johns has neglected this elaborate altered reality he’s pushed onto us.  Certainly we don’t experience enough of it to grow too invested in its fate.

Flashpoint #3 – Review

 

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), Sandra Hope (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Huh…  So this is Superman.  He’s shorter than I imagined.

The Review: There are essentially two important conflicts driving the events in Flashpoint: you have Reverse Flash’s alterations to reality, the consequences of which remain unclear; and you also have the oncoming final blowout between Aquaman and Wonder Woman, which threatens the altered Earth.  Johns has tried to give equal weight to both plotlines, but with mixed results.

It’s pretty clear Johns has relegated the Amazon-Atlantean brouhaha to second banana in the grand scheme of this series.  Maybe he assumes we’re reading more of the clarifying tie-ins than I suspect most of us actually are, because he only drops in developments on the war front through brief, interstitial asides.  Instead of letting us see things reach a fever pitch, he has Lois Lane cipher facts to us, and even then we cut away from her before it gets really interesting.

So despite Cyborg’s insistence that this war will be the end of the world, you really can’t take it all his forebodings all that seriously.  Besides the rare glimpses of devastated Europe, the war seems only to exist on the fringes of your awareness, especially since the rest of America seems (as it often does in real life) only dimly concerned about the doomsday about to visit them.

The rest of the issue once again centers on Barry striving to put right what once went wrong, in possibly the most ludicrous manner possible.  Only in comics could you possibly be expected to even consider suspending your belief enough to accept that after frying himself in his first attempt to regain his powers, Barry wants to have another go.  And here’s the even crazier part: spoiler alert—it works!  Why the second time around proves the charm, we don’t know.  It just has to for the story to get a move on, I guess.

Flashpoint #2 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), Sandra Hope (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Barry, I need you to know, if you don’t make it through this…this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.

The Review: Unlike many comic book Events, Flashpoint intends to move fast (ba-dum­-tch!), as its story has been written to fit five issues instead of the traditional seven, and we’re already on the second.  Some see this truncation as a welcome relief from having to deal with Event-mania for a few extra months.  But it’s worth pointing out it also cuts down the time for proper world-building and pacing, which can be hazardous to such an important, large-scale story.

Here we do get some up-close, personal moments with the new, hardened Aquaman and Wonder Woman, being among the most integral obstacles/players in this story.  The encounter between Diana and the resisting Steve Trevor feels more profound and useful, since it reveals some developments to the Atlantean-Themysciran war, but Aquaman’s confrontation with pirate-Deathstroke is just an opportunity to show off his current inclination for violence.

Johns would’ve been better off had he cut down the amount of time we spend with the Flash and not-really-Batman; their scenes take up most the issue, and do little to advance the plot.  Basically, they spend half the time fighting (though you can’t really call it a fight, since it’s mostly the depowered Barry getting his butt handed to him) while dealing with all the “I don’t believe you, you’re crazy!” issues that come hand-in-hand with these altered-universe stories.

That’s all fine and necessary; the several pages Barry spends describing his past and the real world to Thomas Wayne are not.  It basically re-describes everything we already know, instead of moving on to some new points.  It also makes little sense how all this suddenly gets Thomas to place his faith in Barry; it’s hard to understand how someone that cynical can so quickly flip-flop from calling Barry a “delusional son-of-a-bitch” to believing that SOB can get his son back.

The problem is selling these moments with more credibility requires more time, which Johns can’t afford.  He even sets up a ticking clock of sorts as Barry’s memories start to adapt to the new reality, just to motivate the characters to act as hastily as possible.  And yet for all this haste, you don’t feel like you’ve moved very far forward on this story.  It seems like Johns wants you to assume there’s some high-stakes tension here, rather than showing it to you.

Flashpoint #1 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Andy Kubert (penciller), Sandra Hope (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Nothing is as it seems!  Everything isn’t as it should be!  Alright, some things are kind of the same!

The Review: I’m a huge fan of parallel-universe nonsense; there are few things quite as fun as taking the familiar and spinning it in a different direction, either by a bit or a big leap.  When DC revealed the premise of Flashpoint, I immediately flashbacked to Marvel’s House of M, which I followed and enjoyed, and reading this first issue, I can’t help making some connections and comparisons between the two storylines.

Flashpoint drops us right into the thick of this new world without actually seeing it come into being with a physical event, unlike Scarlet Witch’s infamous “red wave” of magic.  This has the effect of immediately upping the tension, making us as disoriented and anxious as Barry as he finds everything he knew or had has been twisted away.  Before he can go into full-panic mode, he discovers not all the twists are bad—but some are even worse.

Johns very successfully carries that sense of tension throughout the issue as every panel offers a discovery that’s either majorly altered from what we recognize, or entirely brand-new.  HoM had a focal point from which all the changes of its world took place, but Flashpoint has none.  That means the sky’s the limit for Johns and the other writers to wreak havoc on the DCU.

You can really see the imaginative leaps in store for this series when Cyborg tracks down Batman with his team in tow (though you can’t call them a team when most seem to downright loathe each other).  Johns goes all-out creating new characters with already intriguing histories, like the disfigured Outsider’s interest in using the teenaged Blackout as a power source for India.  Otherwise, Johns boldly messes with the status quo: my favorite has to be scar-faced, vengeful Captain Thunder (formerly known as Captain Marvel) and his giant, armored saber-toothed tiger.  Kudos—if you’re going for this kind of story, go big, and Johns is aiming for that.

DC Universe Legacies #2 – Review

Len Wein (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Andy Kubert (penciler), Joe Kubert (inker)

The history of the DCU continues to unfold as the story of Legacies proceeds forward.  Our Justice Society of America is called before Congress, specifically the Un-American Activities Committee is, to answer for their vigilante behavior, but face a difficult decision when demanded to unmask themselves in order to be cleared by the Congressional committee.

DC Universe Legacies is taking on a huge challenge in highlighting the important historical background of the DCU in only ten issues.  Issue number 2 has seemingly gotten past its Watchmen overtones and is breaking out into its own storyline.  In this particular issue, we start getting a more focused story about one man, Lincoln—-, and how the Justice Society of America was important to him in his own upbringing.  He is our narrator throughout the story thus far, though it’s hard to say if he’s talking to us, the reader, or a character who might be interviewing him.  Either way, that’s hardly a point of contention.

What I am enjoying about this story is that Len Wein has found a touching way to bring the history of the DCU to the masses, by making it one person’s fond recollection of the events of the Golden Age of superheroes.  Though there will be more significant moments in history yet to come, issues one and two of this ten-parter bring us through the introduction and end of our Golden Age heroes; The Atom (Al Pratt), Black Canary (Dinah Drake Lance), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Hawkman (Carter Hall), Flash (Jay Garrick) and Doctor Mid-Nite (Charles McNider).  When called upon to share their real identities during a time of national crisis, these six “mystery men” have a deeper understanding for the need of their personal privacy and opt to simply go away and not bother anyone ever again.

Batman #700 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert, and David Finch (artists), Ian Hannin, Alex Sinclair, Tony Avina, Brad Anderson, and Peter Steigerwald (colorists), Richard Friend (inker)

The Story: Sometime in the past, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson stop the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman, the Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter from using a time travel device. A weird loose end segues the reader into the story set in the present, with Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin. More weird mysteries are revealed, leading us to the future, where Damian Wayne is full-grown as the new Batman and sees the mystery fully revealed.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Morrison wrote a story that couldn’t have been done without Bruce being gone. He wrote a multigenerational mystery and it was well done. It had the feel of another time travel murder mystery Batman had solved from beyond the grave (America versus the Justice Society). It’s great fun to try to stay a step ahead of the caped crusader as he adds causality to method, motive and means. Morrison also did an excellent job in characterizing the villains and different heroes. Deft touches of dialogue and mood make the characters individuals. For example, Bruce, still captive, threatening a roomful of villains is classic Bruce. The Joker is truly lunatic in this story, with disjointed, jumping thinking that suits a time travel murder. In a funny nod to Batman’s occasionally campy past, he even has Bruce call Dick “pal.” Dick, on the other hand, carries a different mood as Batman. He asks about the health of the policeman’s partner. He shows happiness when he discovers a new weapon. He’s not jaded. He is no less the dark avenger, but he is not jaded and somber. We can relate to him. And Damian of the far future. You can imagine what kind of Batman he becomes. On plot, did this work? Pretty much. There is a mystery and we discover what happened and how things went, but can I really say that “Batman” solved a crime because he was on the hunt for it, or is this more a case of three men who share an identity and intersect with a temporal crime? It’s not less fun, but the sense of satisfaction at the end is not as great as if the Batmen had been running down a quarry with their detective skills.

Detective Comics #853 – Review

Neil Gaiman (writer), Andy Kubert (artist), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

Before the Review: If you haven’t already picked up Batman #686 (the first part of “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”) it is strongly urged that you do so. STRONGLY…

The Story: It is a rare privilege to be present at one’s own funeral.

Bruce Wayne, accompanied by a strange female voice, is a voyeur at a gathering of friends and enemies alike. They all speak in his memory, and they all say the same thing: I saw him die, and I know how he lived.

The Batman has one last mystery to solve – and when he does, what will he find out?

The Good: “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” is one of the rare comics that brings a literary sensibility to the medium, in addition to outstanding, iconic art. As with their earlier team-up on Marvel’s 1602 (the very comic responsible for bringing me into the fold), the result of pairing Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert is nothing short of breathtaking. It makes you wish they could do more than just two issues.

It’s inevitable that comparisons should be drawn between this and Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” – a source of inspiration. Instead, I’d propose that closer kindred would be found in Grant Morrison’s “All-Star Superman” run. Granted, this is much, much grimmer, but the purpose and outcome are the same; death is inevitable, and while we mourn the eventual loss of our heroes, we realize that death is a chance for rebirth. “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” is a fitting eulogy to Grant Morrison’s “Batman R.I.P” arc, and were it to serve as an end for the series, it’d be much the same.

This isn’t just Batman’s wake, though; this is a semiotic celebration of the Batman. Gaiman, Kubert, and Co. are the only ones that could’ve done this, and it shows – The issues are strong individually, but when put together, they create a magical moment in comics.

The Bad:

Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert have justified their $3.99 price point. I weep for our wallets.

Grade: A

Grade: E when read together

-Brian Lynch

Second Opinion

Thoughts before the Review: Although I’ve been loathing the fact that DC’s been trying to convince everyone that Bruce Wayne (who is– and who can only be Batman) has “died,” I can’t help but say the story of “Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader” so far is an interesting read that is both, good and bad. On one hand, you have the deep character study that takes you through a nostalgic ride; honoring the life and times of the Caped Crusader. On the other, you have the muddled collage of Bat-tales that offer no insight, just the obvious and repetitive sense of Batman’s tenacity.

The Good: Neil Gaiman proves to be the appropriate writer for this kind of story as he provides a plot-less narrative that reminds us of Batman’s tenacity and how he’ll always live on, regardless of any tragedy. Just like in the previous chapter, this story continues to show how Batman’s actions have afected all of his friends and ennemies so deeply, he can never die. Gaiman shows how each person in attendance of the funeral, carries on a part of Batman, thus making him live on in memory for the time being. Also, Andy Kubert’s beautiful artwork accompanies each Bat-tragedy effectivly. Starting from the cover that echoes back to #27, to the Bolland-esqe Joker telling his side of Batman’s death, Kubert effectively captures the various Caped Crusaders from each respective era.

The Not-so-Good: Although Neil Gaiman did give us an interesting tale where Batman’s friends and foes come together to tell multiple stories of how he died, the true heart in this tale was nothing new. Throughout this whole story, I couldn’t help up but get sick and tired of reading about Batman’s tenacity and how he never quits. Rereading over and over how Batman never gives up, not only got redundant, but it was as if that is some important aspect that readers forget. It’s ridiculous how obvious the subtext was for this tale. Batman never gives up. We already knew that. From the moment we learned that a man decided to wage an ongoing war on crime, we knew that it was a man that would never surrender.

Furthermore, the writing overall is half-assed. Some may consider this a prime example of Gaiman’s signature literary style, where his uniqiue way of showcasing character and through the use of a door (oh Neil, you and your doors…) offers some human story; but realistically it’s lazy, and perhaps even rushed (considering the late release date…). From the goodbye rambles (which will pass off as a literary nod to the famous children’s book) to the rehashing of how Batman never gives up, you can’t help but feel that maybe two issues aren’t enough to tell this tale.

Conclusion: Just as I mentioned in my review for part one in Batman #686, “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” is a mere imaginary story.  A tale that you are going to forget and fast forward through, and never really consider as a legitimate part of the Batman folklore. Furthermore, it’s also just a reminder of how stupid DC is for trying to pass off that Batman is dead or can be killed. My suggestion, enjoy the Neil Gaiman tale, and I guess forgive DC when the dead rise on the Blackest Night.

Grade: C+

-Raymond Hilario

Batman #686 – Review

By Neil Gaiman (writer), Andy Kubert (artist), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors), Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: He’s fucking dead?! Well no, not exactly. We’re dealing with Grant Morrison here after all, so we can’t exactly buy the fact that Bruce Wayne/ Batman is dead. Plus the last time we saw the Dark Knight, he was topless and doing cave paintings. So after the past year of Morrison’s wacky mysteries and references you can care less about, let’s hope that a writer of Alan Moore’s status can deliver. Neil Gaiman, I’m banking on you to really give us a more appropriate “final tale” for the beloved Dark Knight.

The Story: The book opens with Batman’s friends and enemies coming together to pay their respects. The Batman’s service is an open casket, and lots of familiar faces appear throughout the issue. After a brief showing of who’s showing up, two of the most important people in Bruce Wayne’s/ Batman’s life deliver their eulogies, and reveal just exactly how the Caped Crusader died.        

The Good: Neil Gaiman’s writing is as sharp as ever in this tale, as he carefully examines and captures all the quirks and the voice of each character throughout the Batman lore. It’s interesting and actually quite entertaining how Gaiman slowly pans through the event, showcasing numerous characters to guide the story. He finds a way to pay tribute to Batman and really examine the whole mythos of the Dark Knight.  Furthermore, it’s nice to have Andy Kubert back. He reminds everyone that not only can he capture Batman from different eras and different interpretations (as shown in each eulogy), he can also perfectly display the necessary raw emotion shown and conveyed throughout this time of crisis.

The Not So Good: When I picked up this book, I was expecting some sort of proper closure. If DC really was going to “kill off” Batman, then it’s only fitting that he’s sent off right by a legendary writer. An iconic writer for an iconic character. However that’s not the case, as Gaiman’s story carries on in a similar way to Morrison’s, where the characters you thought you knew, weren’t who they were after all, and that story of Batman dying is either exactly what did happen or what could’ve happened. You simply don’t know who or what to believe, as you hear two stories that reveal how Batman died.

Furthermore, I can’t help but remember how stupid this whole “Batman R.I.P” ordeal is in the first place. Aside from all the unbelievable/ bizarre situations taking place, an off-screen conversation between Bruce Wayne and an unidentified character is also happening. As revealed in their dialogue, Bruce Wayne has yet to solve another mystery. Therefore, he isn’t exactly dead.  And with “The Battle For The Cowl” around the corner, then the “Batman” can never exactly die. If this is supposed to be the Batman version of “Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow,” then we can expect to find Bruce Wayne/ Batman living and winking at us at the end of this whole mess. Hence proving that the idea of “Batman R.I.P.” was flawed from the beginning.

Conclusion: “Whatever Happened To The Caped Crusader” is off to a not so memorable start. The portrayal and “revelation” of certain characters will never be remembered, as their depiction tampers with history; making you wonder if this is some “What If” story. Also the focus on the multiple perceptions of the Dark Knight isn’t a memorial of the past’s numerous renditions of Batman. It’s a rehashed concept all packed neatly in one book. We’ve seen this done before in Warren Ellis’ “Planetary/ Batman: Night on Earth,” but I guess we can see how Neil Gaiman does it. So expect to hear more eulogies and more stories that summon the Batman from different eras. However as of right now, this book is not measuring up to Moore’s notable tale, which makes the title undeserving. This tale is rather starting to look more like a mere “imaginary story;” an account that fans DON’T HAVE TO exactly consider canonical with the Batman lore.

Grade:  C+

-Raymond Hilario

Trinity #9 – Review

By Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza (writers), Mark Bagley, Tom Derenick, Wayne Faucher (artists), Art Thibert & Andy Owens (inks), Pete Pantazis, Allen Passalaqua (colors), Pat Brosseau, Ken Lopez (letters), Andy Kubert (cover)

I said before that Trinity is the biggest disappointment so far this year. In that regard, this issue doesn’t fail me and, well, I think you can see where this is going.

The writing has limped along largely without the presence of a major villain. Sure, Le Fey and company have a hand in what’s going on, but they’ve yet to truly make an impact. In Kurt Busiek’s portion, Batman finally feels like himself. Alfred’s cover for why he left the party after the wolf attack was a bit on the lame side, but oddly, a nice touch. Sadly, the bad jokes about Batman lightening up continue. It’s as if Busiek is trying to write an adult story, with young adult dialogue.

Luckily on Fabian Nicieza’s side, the story feels connected again… sort of. I’m not sure why Swashbuckler would want to steal Nightwing’s mask, but I’m sure it’s uninteresting. Speaking of stealing, taking The Joker’s laugh is a good idea, but with no explanation as to why or how Joker’s even connected to the story, things quickly fall flat.

As usual Mark Bagley’s panels do a good job of conveying the action. Sadly, his art still feels weak to me. There’s so little detail in each face it’s like The Question wearing different masks. Scott McDaniel and Andy Owens don’t fair much better. While slightly more detailed than Bagley’s work, the final product comes off as more inconsistent. For example, after Swashbuckler cuts Nightwing’s grapple there’s a panel which shows a detailed Nightwing standing next to a “blank” Swashbuckler – talk about looking off. But The Joker gets the worst look with his feminine features and blue tears. I just don’t get it.

I may be a minority in thinking so, but this series isn’t good. Nine weeks, and almost no story movement. Nine issues is almost 300 pages. I’ve read books with complete stories much shorter than that. I consider myself a fairly patient man. I don’t need constant explosions, loud music, or hot babes to be entertained (though it helps). With Trinity, I just don’t have it in me anymore. I hope you don’t either, don’t buy this book. It’s time me and this title parted ways. (Grade: F)

– Ben Berger

Trinity #7 – Review

By Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza (writers), Mark Bagley, Tom Derenick, Wayne Faucher (artists), Art Thibert (inker), Pete Pantazis, Allen Passalaqua (colors), Pat Brosseau, Ken Lopez (letters), Andy Kubert (cover)

For each glimmer of hope, there is a reminder of why Trinity is mediocre. Even with everything that’s happening I don’t feel any significant story movement. To progress any story you need a mix of action and information. They need to be working together harmoniously. Without that balance, Trinity will continue to be an unsatisfactory experience.

The writing for this series to come around remains an event amongst itself. Technically speaking, it’s better to show story than it is to tell it. Busiek’s choice to only show or tell depending on the issue really hurts the overall flow of the book. Even when we get a good chunk of information, it rarely sees an immediate payoff because the next week is all action. Busiek doesn’t need to pick one, but instead needs to find a way to balance the elements, otherwise the story will continue to be unbalanced and disappointing. I must admit, I feel bad for Fabian Nicieza. Ever since Rita popped up in Busiek’s story, Nicieza has felt like an afterthought. I’m sure his portion of the story is important, but right now it feels like supplemental material. At this point I’d rather have Busiek just write everything since each week Nicieza seems to have less pages and a less compelling story; Busiek’s story would most likely benefit from the extra room.

Artistically, things haven’t changed much. The characters are still drawn well up close, but the further you get from the action the worse and less detailed it looks. Superman looks like a kid in half of the panels because of this. Mark Bagley’s art is at its best when he’s drawing action, so issues like this one seem to suffer as a whole. Tom Derenick and Wayne Faucher get the short end of the stick. They have less pages, so they have to cram more information into less space. The compositions are nice, but each panel just feels claustrophobic.

Inconsistency continues with Trinity. Busiek can’t seem to decide if it’s an action story or something more cerebral. Sure the last five to ten issues may be incredible, but is anyone still going to be reading? We all know that a payoff is only as good as its setup. Someone should mention this to the creative team. (Grade: D)

– Ben Berger

The Joker’s Asylum: The Joker – Review

By Arvid Nelson (writer), Alex Sanchez (artist), Jose Villarrubia (colors), Rob Leigh (letters), Andy Kubert (cover)

My initial reaction to this book was “missed opportunity”. After my second read and some debate with a friend, I love it. My expectations were hurting my initial perception of the book. Instead of the psycho we’re accustomed to I got the The Joker proving a point without murder, and it has more of an impact in retrospect. The concept of the series is brilliant: we’re getting inside info on Arkham’s most notorious inmates, but from the perspective of the most notorious of all, The Joker.

The positive to Arvid Nelson’s writing is the plot itself. It does feel softer than the more modern interpretations of the character, but there’s definitely an edge which was missing at times from the cartoon or 1989 Tim Burton movie. I love the concept of The Joker going to such lengths to prove a point. To tell you “the point” is certainly a spoiler, but it’s definitely classic Joker, and makes you think about society with the recent onslaught of “reality TV”.

The biggest criticism I have is how long it takes to get to the point. Until those final panels it feels like a rejected concept for Batman: The Animated Series. The show is amazing, but it definitely pulled a few punches, most notably with The Joker.  That being said, once you accept the story as a whole you can appreciate the methods in place. It’s like watching Fight Club the second time and catching all those hints littered throughout.

Inconsistent is the word to describe the art. The Joker looks as terrifying as we’re used to on the cover, but not the interior. Even more frustrating is the fact that Joker’s look changes almost panel to panel. Sometimes he looks like Ledger’s version from the upcoming film, others he looks like a normal guy, and even Leatherface for a few panels. I just wish Alex Sanchez would’ve picked one and stuck with it.

Sadly, I feel consistency may be tough to find in this series since a new creative takes over for the next issue. From the perspective of making deadlines, I get it, but it’s almost a sure thing that the overall story will suffer since each team will probably have a new take on The Joker. There’s a lot of good work in this issue, for what it’s worth, and I’m excited to read more about Arkham’s best, seen in the eyes of Arkham’s worst. (Grade: B)

– Ben Berger

Tor #2 (of 5) – Review

By Joe Kubert (art, colors & story), Pete Carlsson (colors)

The beauty of Tor is that it’s a simple story of survival that’s presented by one of the Godfathers of comics and boy does he know how to tell a story. This second issue is just another brilliant exhibition of how storytelling should be done in comics. Because none of the characters openly communicate (these are primitive folk), it’s up to the narration to fill in the gaps. And the narrative structure hasn’t strayed from the formula established last issue – it’s just there to compliment the art.  It’s like when you play an audio commentary track on a DVD. You hear little of the actual movie, but you’re given a lot more information on what’s going on. That’s pretty much the same thing you get when you read Tor. Seriously, if you buy this book try looking through the whole issue first before you read it. Other than a few minor details, the story will remain unchanged.

This book will not appeal to some people, but for seasoned comic readers this is a rare, last glimpses to see a master at work. Mr. Kubert’s pushing 82 years of age and the stuff he puts into this issue is just inspiring. The perfectly paced story focuses on Tor’s humanity, giving us a look at his past and how he was exiled from his village. It’s also stressed that Tor, while a keen survivalist, is not an outrageously strong human (like Conan). While he successfully scares away a giant with a simple toss of a stone, Tor later takes on a bit more than he can handle in the form of a tiger and he pays dearly for it. The fight is brutal, violent, and intense as he takes a series of maulings from the beast that could later prove fatal.

There’s really nothing I can complain about with this issue. Some may find it too shallow on the surface – too simple. And I can see where they’re coming from. But you gotta remember that you’re getting old school storytelling – not some crazy cerebral Grant Morrison story. The only thing I can say is that this is visual storytelling on a highly entertaining level. Fans of comics really owe it to themselves to pick this book up. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s still something that should be appreciated. (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes

Tor #1 (of 5) – Review

By Joe Kubert (art, colors & story), Pete Carlsson (colors)

In many ways I can’t help but feel that Tor is an advertisement for Joe Kubert’s School of Art. I’m sure that’s clearly not the intent, but it’s hard for me to feel otherwise. Those ads that have graced comic book pages over the years prominently featured Tor, so I’m having a tough time separating the two. Seeing the beautiful interiors only reinforces that feeling. Because Kubert makes Tor feel like an exhibition of how storytelling should be done in the comics medium. It’s utterly amazing to see this guy still in top form after all these years. Yet I can’t shake the inner voice in my head that says, “Wanna draw like this? Go to my school!” I wish I could draw this good.

With Tor #1 Kubert goes for broke, flexing his artistic muscles and making so many modern artists look bad. Sure, he may not have the cleanest art style or the photo-inspired look that’s popular today – heck, even the coloring is bland, but man, can he draw. I read this book twice – once all the way through, reading all the narrative (there’s no word bubbles in this issue), and the second time, I looked through the book without reading a thing. Two different readings, same result: I completely understood what was going on. Utterly masterful work.

I wasn’t expecting much from in writing department but it actually wasn’t that bad. Tor has been exiled from his clan and from the opening pages it seems as if he’s been washed ashore on some foreign place. From there, he gathers his wits and travels the land until he runs into trouble. As I said, there’s no dialogue in this book whatsoever – it’s all narrative that adds to the story. You can go through the book without reading any of it, but if you did you’d miss out on some of the backstory and thoughts going through Tor’s mind.

I thought Joe Kubert had all but retired, so I really can’t convey how exciting it is to have a book like this in my hands. It’s not the prettiest book I’ve seen, nor is it the best story I’ve read, but it is a classic comic in every sense of the word. It’s a gift that we as a comic culture should be thankful for. Once these pioneers are gone, we’ll be wishing they did more in their twilight years. Thankfully, Kubert will not go quietly into that good night. Now, if we could just get John Romita to do a mini-series… (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes