Batman #30 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Danny Miki (inks), FCO Plascencia (colors) and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Riddler pulls his final move as Gotham descends into chaos.

The Review (with minor SPOILERS): I could almost copy and past the preamble to these Batman reviews at this point: This is another very, very good issue of Batman from Snyder, Capullo & Co.

We’ve now entered the final chapter of this very long Zero Year story and it’s all come down to Batman versus Riddler in a post-apocalypse version of Gotham.  Even though we have a young Batman and a young(er) Gordon, by now we have characters that long-time Bat-readers will recognize with Gordon and Batman working together as a team.  All they have to do is figure out a way to solve the riddle of the Riddler.

What makes this issue special is how smartly Snyder was able to include a post-apocalypse theme into a cannonical Bat-story.  I think we’ve seen Batman in a destroyed Gotham before, but it’s usually some old Batman in an elseworlds-type story.  I guess there was No Man’s Land, but that felt very different – the snow, perhaps?  Still, it was very clever to see this Gotham that was destroyed by Pamela Isley’s botanical research.  The way Greg Capullo depicts Gotham, it looks like something out of The Last of Us or countless other post-apocalypse stories.  I love stories of the apocalypse because they smash enough rules of society that we can see new constructs arise…

Enter the Riddler.  I really enjoy the bigger picture question that he is putting to Batman and Gotham in this story.  He’s basically tackling the problems of the modern world (pollution, climate change, wealth inequality, food production, overpopulation, etc.) by turning Gotham into a microcosm of everything wrong in the world and challenging someone to solve the riddle.  My goodness, don’t you wish we could chuck some real life politicians into this fictional Gotham and tell them that they cannot come out until they have fixed everything?

Thor #603 – Review

By J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Marko Djurdjevic (pencils), Dany Mik (inks) Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic with Lauran Martin (colors)

The Story: Thor is in deep trouble as he and Sif try to get acclimated to their new lives together while Loki and Doom plot all-out evil and destruction. William has his first heroic adventure that ends in disaster for him and possibly his new King, Balder. While all these dramatic themes and dire threats culminate, the Warriors Three look for small town employment.

What’s Good: Happily, everything about this book is great except for the fact that this is the second to last time that JMS will be on this series. Seriously, raise your hands if you will be reading Thor after JMS will wrap up his run in thirty days. I for one won’t be. To me, the fact that JMS decided to leave this series is a gross mistake for Marvel. Basically, because he refused to write Thor into the next “event,” whether it is Dark Reign Seige or World War Hulks, JMS had to leave the series. Let me not understate this point; Marvel lost one of their most prolific writers and in turn, arguable their best on-going series because one of the best writers of all times wouldn’t write his muse, Thor, hit She-Rulk with his hammer. Insane, insane and insane.

Anyway, back to this issue. It’s basically perfect. The art is way back on track since the dip in quality that took place last issue. It’s a gorgeous affair and works on every level ascetically and story telling wise. Especially note worth was the band of attackers at the end. Those character designs are almost unforgettable. However, the biggest compliment to the art is that it perfectly compliments the varying perfect moments that JMS writes. The comic beats are flawless and the slower dramatic moments are lasting and emotive.

Of course every comic works from the top down. It all starts with the writer. JMS has so many great ideas and characters being flawlessly executed simultaneously. This is master story telling in any medium and Thor is a true classic. The best part is Thor is mostly absent from this issue, but the whole story revolves around him completely. You lean so much about his character by his influence in his world.

The other high point is the Loki and Doom relationship. The reader gets the feeling that these two could easily destroy and rule the world and their characterizations are impeccable.

Conclusion: A great, great issue. There is something in Thor for everyone. The only down side is that it signals JMS’s run coming to an end. It’s hard to not long for what could have been if JMS was able to stay on this series for another dozen or so issues. Marvel promises that the next and final installment in this run will be in thirty days and trust me, I’ll be the first in line to buy it.

Grade: A

-Rob G.

Thor # 602 – Review

By J. Michael Straczynski (writer), Marko Djurdjevic (pencils), Dany Miki and Mark Morales (inks) Paul Monts (colors)

The Story: Thor gets wind of Sif’s whereabouts and enlists the help of Doctor Strange to fix Mjöllnir. However, his mighty hammer’s repair comes with a mighty price and one that may eventually cost him dearly. On the other side of the world, the Asgardians, led by king Balder and manipulated by Loki, continue to settle into Latveria, the kingdom of Doctor Doom. Kelda brings William the mortal into the new Asgard where he quickly becomes an unexpected  confidant of Balder and almost nearly as fast a target for restless warriors.

What’s Good: The highest praise I can heap on this book is that it is a full read. JMS tells a lot of story in these pages and at $3.99, you almost get your money’s worth. Almost. Many different plot lines develop and end, and there are many interesting moments. It’s in issues like this where you see why JMS was such a good TV writer as Thor reads like a soap opera. Not that I ever watched one of those…

Over and over JMS has set up Thor’s return to be an uneasy, delicate, and tenuous affair. Thor is dealt another dramatic challenge as Mjöllnir’s  rehabilitation is a veritable Pandora’s box. After being exiled from Asgard, killing his Grandfather, and busting his hammer, you’d think that finally finding Sif would be a pure moment of happiness for Thor. But, it’s not to be, and Thor’s troubles continue.

The scenes with Strange were the highlight of this issue. Its good to see both of these heroes interacting, and the way Strange fixed Mjöllnir by calling primordial energies and such was very well done. Also, William’s role in this series suddenly became more interesting and important. A nice development that I’m sure will be used to tell some compelling story.

What’s Not So Good: I’m not sure if it was the pencils, inks or colors, but something about the art in this issue just didn’t seem up to par with previous installments. For sure,  the color scheme seemed flat and burnt, rather than the sharp and bright hues of the first couple arcs. The character designs while decent, seemed rushed, with faces left undefined.

This issue seemed more like a Simonson issue than a Straczynski one. Just something about Thor lying on a bedroom floor seems silly; and that bubbly, almost campy  feel of tons of characters and big dialogues in varied settings, pulsed throughout this issue. I became a fan of this series for JMS’s character work on Thor and his near unmatched ability to capture memorable moments of a story, not this type of crowded, perhaps rushed even, story telling. I’m not saying this is a bad, it just lacks the novelty and specialness of the first 12 issues of this series.

Conclusion: This may be the weakest point or issue in this series so far, but at the rung of the comic book ladder where Thor resides, that is still not a bad a place to be. There is quite a lot to like here, but I wish it focused more on Thor and less on the Asgardians, as I rather learn about their plight through Thor’s.

Grade: B-

-Rob G