Gotham City Sirens #3 (Batman Reborn) – Review

By Scott Lobdell (Writer) and Guillem March (Art)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: While the art has been fantastic, everything else about Gotham City Sirens has been, at best, average. Maybe writer Scott Lobdell can turn things around a bit..  I’m fairly certain that artist Guillem March will hold up his end of the book. Also, how stylish is that cover?

The Story: Edward Nigma, the man once known as the Riddler, finds himself trying to crack a murder case with the help of the new Batman. Meanwhile, Catwoman and Ivy begin their search for Harley.

What’s Good: For the first time in the short history of Gotham City Sirens, the writing is actually something worth talking about. Scott Lobdell’s tight one-and-done Ed Nigma story/character study is one hell of a fun, satisfying read. From the back and forth narration (and dialogue) from Nigma and Batman, to the intriguing villain with a clever name, nearly everything about Lobdell’s script just simply works extremely well.

From the excellent character work to the detailed settings, Guillem March’s art is, as expected, incredible (though some of the action is a tiny bit hard to follow). His Edward Nigma looks as shady and charismatic as the script makes him out to be, his Batman is appropriately threatening, and his cheesecake stuff is… well… they’re as expected, but always executed in a way that feels anatomically realistic (even if it is gratuitous). In short, Gotham City Sirens continues to be one great looking series. Also, for fans of cool-looking stuff, there’s another Guillem Gotham gargoyle to check out that looks even more badass than the ones featured G.C.S. #1.

What’s Not So Good: Gotham City Sirens #3 is a pretty great comic all around and easily the best issue of the series so far. There’s two major problems though. The first problem is that the titular Sirens are shown on exactly one page. What’s that say about the group of characters the series is based around? The other problem is that the main writer for the series, Paul Dini, has nothing to do with the latest issue of Gotham City Sirens. What’s that say about the writer that’s supposed to be handling the series? My opinion? I think that Lobdell should be given the reigns and Ed Nigma (The Riddler is dead) should be added to the cast permanently.

Conclusion: Even if the whole Gotham City Sirens thing isn’t up your alley, you really should take the time to check out Gotham City Sirens #3. It’s basically a great looking one-shot about a cool character.

Grade: B+

-Kyle Posluszny

Gotham City Sirens #1 (Batman: Reborn) – Review

By Paul Dini (Writer), Guillem March (Art), and Jose Villarubia (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I decided to check out the first issue of Gotham City Sirens after hearing nothing but good things about Guillem March’s art. While I’m far from familiar with the current status quo of the three Sirens, my hope is that Paul Dini will provide the necessary “#1” information to keep me from feeling lost.

The Story: Catwoman has a run in with new Gotham thug Boneblaster and finds herself overwhelmed. Luckily, Poison Ivy is in the area to make the save. Ivy and Catwoman go back to Riddler’s place (where Ivy has been staying) where they are soon joined by Harley Quinn. The three ladies catch up and form an alliance…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: I picked up Gotham City Sirens #1 for the artwork and Guillem March’s work does not disappoint. While it’s heavy on cheesecake (Zatana in bondage, Quinn as a naughty schoolgirl, Ivy…being Ivy, etc.), it’s also very stylish (March’s gargoyles look AWESOME) and full of impressive details. My only complaint about the visuals is that, from time to time, March gives characters little more than the most of basic facial features.

The script for the debut of Gotham City Sirens is pretty disappointing. While I can’t, in good conscience, knock it for relying on continuity a bit more than I had expected (considering the book is labeled as a #1 issue), I can knock it for being rather bland, formulaic, and completely average. The characters and their relationships are defined well enough (translation: there’s decent banter and exposition that works), but there isn’t any real plot hook that makes me interested in reading the series for the long term. That said, the ending of G.C.S. #1 is intriguing enough to keep me reading for at least another issue or two in order to see if Dini can improve things enough to keep me around.

Conclusion: Gotham City Sirens #1 isn’t bad, but it isn’t all that good either. Guillem March’s work is the obvious highlight, but nice artwork can only take a series so far. Paul Dini’s got a solid concept to work with. Now he just has to do something interesting with it.

Grade: C

-Kyle Posluszny