Forever Evil #7 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Nothing lasts forever, and that includes evil.

The Review: I’ve heard people complain about the delays on this series, but relatively speaking, seven issues over ten months aren’t so bad, compared to the ridiculous dry periods between issues of Jupiter’s Legacy or The Sandman: Overture. But maybe it’s easy for me to be blasé about Forever Evil‘s delays since I don’t actively care about all that much. Why complain about not getting something you’re not really looking forward to anyway? I might as well rant about not getting my tuition bill right away.

Part of my general dissatisfaction with Forever Evil is it hasn’t really fulfilled its goals of exploring the nature of villainy, much less the even more abstract idea of evil. If anything, the conflict between evil and really evil reveals just that: some people are evil, and some people are really evil. As for how evil arises, Johns provides no answers through the Syndicate, who mostly seem to be born that way, nor through the various DCU proper villains: Sinestro, Manta, Cold, Deathstroke, etc.

Forever Evil #6 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Not only is morality topsy-turvy on Earth-3, the spelling is off, too!

The Review: After I reviewed the first issue of Forever Evil, commenter Invasionforce and I had a slight disagreement about its merits.  Invasionforce was of the mind that the storyline served as a kind of political allegory, with “evil” as a stand-in for social Darwinism, where one’s fitness for survival need not include scruples or any humanist sentiment whatsoever.  I was of the mind that Forever Evil was just another splashy event drenched in mindless superpowered battles.

No offense to Invasionforce, but at this point, I’m convinced that history will validate my perspective on things.  It’s been many months since we’ve seen the Ultraman, Luthor, or anyone else espouse their views on anything; they’ve been too busy fulfilling their intended roles in this melodrama, either killing or getting killed as most befits their stature.  And that’d be hunky-dory with me if only the plotting and character work had a little more going for it.

Forever Evil #5 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: There’s no better way to fight fear than with fear.

The Review: Prepare for a short review, folks, because this issue offers little to talk about.  Action is a great thing for entertainment, but you’re not going to get deep analysis out of it, unless you want a blow-by-blow summary.  In comics, action sequences are especially fleeting, limited to a handful of static images where movement is only suggested.  This doesn’t have quite the same impact as a meticulously choreographed, raucous action sequence you see on film.

Even so, watching Luthor and Deathstroke, with their respective bands, go at it with each other is pretty fun.  Battles between heroes and villains are all well and good, but they don’t compare to the no-holds-barred viciousness when villains fight each other.  I would have appreciated more of an effort from certain characters—Catwoman and Captain Cold come readily to mind—but otherwise, this is a pretty decent punch-fest.

Forever Evil #4 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: With the world near the end, now’s exactly the time to discuss romantic futures.

The Review: We’ve come to the dreaded Big Fat Middle of Forever Evil, and with Johns at the helm, the middle is even bigger and fatter than usual.  By now, Johns has become notorious for his decompressed style, which is sometimes just a fancy term for dilly-dallying.  To spot the difference, just ask yourself whether the scene is giving you anything new about the plot or characters, or if it’s just regurgitating the same stuff you’ve been given before.

You’ll notice a lot of this issue falls into that latter category—not everything, obviously, but I’d say, in my completely unscientific way, about half: the consequences of Dick’s identity being exposed, Luthor’s perceptions of himself, Ultraman’s weaknesses, Superwoman’s pregnancy, Power Ring’s freakouts, etc.  The players occasionally change, but the content being exchanged stays pretty much the same, allowing the story to move forward only inches at a time.

Forever Evil #3 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: I really can’t believe it’s not the Justice League!

The Review: I freely admit that I’ve given Trinity War and Forever Evil a hard time for skipping over what exactly happened to the three Leagues after the Crime Syndicate showed up.  As I said in reviewing the first issue of this series: “It seems pretty outrageous that Johns would simply go from there to ‘the Justice League is dead,’ (‘Hell, yes, they are.’) thereby skipping over some fairly crucial plot points in the process.”

Well, we finally get some answers as to what happened in this issue and, as it turns out, there may be a good reason why Johns didn’t feel like getting into it earlier.  As the three-page sequence shows us, it was less a matter of the combined Leagues falling to the Syndicate’s power, and more that the Syndicate caught them with their pants down and took advantage of the opening to trigger a trapdoor beneath them before they even knew what was happening.  No wonder Johns didn’t want to dwell on it.

Forever Evil #2 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: So we have to turn to Lex Luthor for salvation?  Well, beggars can’t be choosers.

The Review: A commenter on my review of last issue pointed out the premise and tone of Forever Evil represents a more sophisticated style of writing than we typically associate with Johns.  I confess that I didn’t give the observation much credit at the time.  A few quotes of evolutionary theory does not a high-concept comic make.  But after reading through this issue, I’m starting to believe that Johns may be at least aiming beyond his usual literalism after all.

Mostly, I see this in his more nuanced approach to the characters.  For my part, I’ve always felt that with few notable exceptions, Johns tended to struggle with antagonists.  Their powers and goals varied, but they didn’t have much of an identity.  Quite often, the more powerful the villain, the less dimensional they became (e.g. Nekron, Krona, Volthoom).  Their characters are subjugated to their roles in providing the heroes something to fight against.  Forever Evil’s absence of heroes thus forces Johns to find more specific motivations for the featured villains.

Forever Evil #1 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils) Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: As it turns out, nice guys do finish last.

The Review: Obviously, I have a judgmental streak, otherwise I wouldn’t be so committed to this gig, but usually I try to suppress my instincts to make snap judgments.  After all, we wouldn’t get very far in this world if we let initial impressions dictate the course of our actions.  That begin said, every time I hear Forever Evil, I can’t help giving in to a shudder.  There’s just a lot of eye-rolling lameness going on in that title.

Nevertheless, I support the purpose of the series even if the branding makes me want to gag.  As many of these comic book writers are so fond of saying, a superhero is only as good as his villains, and DC happens to have a lot of good ones.  Even more than its heroes, DC’s villains have more recognition in the public consciousness than any from the Marvel end of the industry, and it seems right, now that the DCU is young anew, to celebrate that fact.

Justice League of America #3 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (art), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Catwoman is kind of like your coworker who likes to steal supplies from the office.

The Review: If there’s one thing the JLA definitely has going for it, something that puts them a step above their iconic peers, it’s a bubbling brew of personalities.  With the Justice League proper, you can tell there are differences between them, but very narrow ones, kept very tight to their characters.  The members of the JLA, on the other hand, wear their differences quite openly, allowing them to clash with a lot more abandon.

It all makes for a livelier read, even when not very much happens.  The JLA’s encounter with the robot-Trinity is only moderately exciting, as the fakes seem to have only the most basic abilities of the real thing.  You’re not inclined to see the JLA’s takedown of three mechanical imposters as the same as facing against all ten current members of the Justice League (soon to be eleven, with Zatanna slated to join—re-join?—the team).  That doesn’t stop Steve Trevor from remarking, perhaps naively, in wonder, “The Justice League versus the Justice League.”

Justice League of America #2 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: The team goes on their first mission without so much as a proper, rah-rah send-off.

The Review: One thing that really hampered Justice League when it first hit the stands was how much time it spent simply getting itself together.  It wasn’t until I think the fourth of fifth issue that you finally had the entire group in the same place, which is a pretty long time for a team book to gather its wits about it.  On the plus side, with the invasion from Apokolips as the trigger for their formation, they never wanted for action from the first issue.

Justice League of America seems to have the opposite problem.  Although you get pretty much the whole crew (minus Simon Baz, who’s still occupied over in Green Lantern) in one room within the issue’s first few pages, by the end of the issue, you still haven’t really seen them go to work.  In fact, aside from Green Arrow’s brief flashback to his infiltration of the Secret Society, there’s no League action at all.

Justice League of America #1 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Proof positive that America only thinks it can do it best.

The Review: This was pretty much my feeling about Justice League International, but when I heard the announcement for Justice League of America, I had to wonder: did we really need another one?  Then someone pointed out to me that in a world where we’ve got the New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Dark Avengers, Uncanny Avengers, and, simply, Avengers, maybe I needed to have a little perspective on the one Justice League spin-off.  True indeed.

So what does JLA offer that Justice League does not?  I think it’s a sense of possibility, one that’s been missing from the League for a long time.  Despite boasting the biggest icons of the DCU, the current League feels a little mundane.  In fact, I’d say they’re downright coasting on their own fame rather than going out of their way to earn the title of premier superhero team on the planet.  Not so with the JLA; every single one of these characters has something to prove.

Batman: The Dark Knight #15 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Batman proves it takes blood to counter the work of sweat and tears.

The Review: To my own surprise, I’ve spent a great deal of time wringing my hands and going back and forth on whether to Drop this title or keep on keeping on.  Though mostly diminished, Hurwitz still retains a grain of trust with me from the lingering memory of Penguin: Pain and Prejudice.  That alone hardly breaks even with the largely bland first arc he’s given us, but with the amazing Ethan Van Sciver set for art duties next month, do I really want to skip out now?

Ultimately, my decision boiled down to a matter of economics, which tends to make every choice simpler.  I’m willing to keep an eye on the title and see if Sciver can push Hurwitz back to greater heights, but not on a dedicated basis.  So here’s the deal.  If you see a review of #16 next month, you’ll know things have turned around promisingly; if you don’t, then that just confirms what I’ve always maintained: even great art can’t fully compensate weak storytelling.

Batman: The Dark Knight #14 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: In a contest between urban spooks, who will psyche each other out first?

The Review: So apparently, in southern California, all it takes is a flash of rain (and I use the term loosely, as yesterday’s weather could only be called a heavy sprinkle) to mess up my home internet service.  Lord help us all if anything like Hurricane Sandy or Japan’s tsunami strike our part of the country.  We’d probably be living in apocalyptic conditions for about seven years.

Anyway, I say that only to explain the delay in reviews.  Not that there was any burning rush to get this one out, since overall, Hurwitz’s opening run on The Dark Knight has been generally shallow and contradictory.  Last month, I really took issue with the premise of Hurwitz’s big, emotional storyline, that Bruce purposely isolates himself from love and good things.  I dismiss that idea entirely; you need look no further than current issues of Batman and Robin, Batman Inc., even Justice League,to see this doesn’t groove with the character Bruce has long become.

Batman: The Dark Knight #13 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: So Batman’s afraid of commitment and children.  Hey, he’s still a man, right?

The Review: I hate to continually bring up comparisons to Hurwitz’s Penguin: Pain and Prejudice, but I don’t think anything works as a better contrast to the writer’s work than his other work.  Looking at his earlier mini, Penguin made for a compelling protagonist because beneath his villainous cruelty he had a poisonous insecurity many of us understood, even shared.  Even better, Hurwitz explored this part of Penguin’s psyche without much direct commentary on it.

Crane’s own hang-ups don’t resonate nearly as well, and Hurwitz doesn’t write them quite as effectively.  Whatever bad parenting any of us lived through, I’m pretty sure it didn’t involve science experiments where we got thrown into a basement of horrors, our pleas to be let out ignored.  While Hurwitz pulls off the premise well enough, you don’t have any real connection to it.  You can see the tragedy, feel the trauma, but you don’t relate to it.

Justice League #12 – Review

By: Too many to list—or even talk about.  Check out the review.

The Story: Cue the violins—love is in the air for the League!

The Review: Warning—mild rant ahead.  A lot of people like to blame the media for our social problems today, but it’d be more accurate to say it’s not so much the media but the media hype.  Chalk it up to the relentless 24-hour news cycle or our human need to make every story a little more colorful.  If we as a society are strident, misinformed, distracted, or ignorant, blame it on the media’s tendency to make a big deal over non-issues, to incite excitement over nothing.

This brings us to the obvious question.  Did we really need to have so much controversy and brouhaha over Wonder Woman and Superman’s romantic entanglement?  Was the tabloid-style plastering of their illicit embrace and kiss all over the internet valuable in any way?  The answer, of course, is no.  I’ll refer you to a very perceptive article on the subject, and add on my two cents by saying: frankly, it’d surprise me if the two most powerful and attractive people in the world didn’t even consider a fling at some point.

Batman: The Dark Knight #12 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Aw, is lil’ Bruce scared of some movie violence?

The Review: Even if you’re someone with barely a smidge of a background in psychology, you know how intensely complicated and involved any degree of mental illness can be.  You’re dealing with any combination of genetic and environmental factors, some of which you can only guess the impact of.  That’s what makes the mentally ill such good material for fiction, slimy as it is to say so.  For writers, there is no exercise like getting into the head of the disturbed.

Clearly, this is Hurwitz’s kind of thing.  The difference here is that Scarecrow’s hang-ups come from a much more complex, deep place than Penguin, which requires a much higher degree of attention from both you and Hurwitz.  While I still would’ve preferred we avoid yet another Gotham rogue with major childhood trauma, I admit Hurwitz plays it in a compelling way.

Batman: The Dark Knight #11 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Kids, beware the disfigured, masked man stalking you from the bushes.

The Review: This goes without saying, but if you’re going to have a whole gaggle of titles all under the same brand, the ideal would be for each of them to have a reason for being there; each should have a voice distinctive from the others.  Otherwise, what’s the point?  This applies especially to the Bat-family of titles, since all told, they include about a dozen different ongoing series, and four of them have the man himself in the starring role.

To be perfectly frank, some thinning may be in order here.  While Scott Snyder has pretty much immortalized the post-relaunch Batman with some epic storylines, and Batman and Robin delves into the always-volatile relationship between the titular characters, you can’t escape the fact that Detective Comics and Batman: The Dark Knight haven’t really set themselves apart.  They both seem to drill from the same well of filler material, the fun and forgettable answer to Batman.

Batman: The Dark Knight #10 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Bruce, you should be glad your girlfriend doesn’t have the hands of Rachmaninoff.

The Review: While I like to think of myself as a mostly objective person, I’m not free from making a purely subjective decision once in a while.  My choice of fiction, for example, is frequently based on whether I ever read or watched the creator’s previous work, and whether I liked it.  Doing this poses some risks, admittedly.  Sometimes a person only has one great work in them, and once that work comes out, all they have left are the dregs.

Hurwitz really impressed me with his work on Penguin: Pain and Prejudice, which despite its stupendously awful name was a tightly written, affecting series.  Apparently, quite a few people shared this opinion, so it was natural for him to transition from writing Batman rogues to writing the Dark Knight himself.  Yet there’s a huge difference in the two subjects, however related they may be.  Hurwitz had a lot of leeway in crafting a lesser-used, underestimated character, but with Batman, he has to deal with a collective of classic interpretations, both old and new.

Xombi #5 – Review

By: John Rozum (writer), Frazer Irving (artist)

The Story: Riding on pterodactyls.  Golems with rocket packs.  Nuns and guns.  ‘Nuff said.

The Review: There’s been a lot of speculation, both dark and ecstatic, about the upcoming state of the DCU, post-Flashpoint.  Through it all, I’ve managed to keep my cool, encouraging cautious optimism whenever possible.  But one of the few things that threatens to break my veneer of objectivity is the thought that among the new lineup of titles coming this fall, Xombi will not be counted with them.

While it’s true I have a soft spot for David Kim, since we share a racial demographic, I really just appreciate that Rozum treats him as a person, not a cliché.  Even if you strip away David’s last name and distinctly Oriental (yup, I said it—I’m Asian so I can) appearance, his character remains just as sympathetic.  His good nature, decency, and affectionate manner are qualities we can all appreciate in a hero, and none of it has anything to do with his race.

You have to admire how the entire cast always shows fully-formed personalities well beyond their stereotypical appearances.  For example, your first instinct is to understand Nun of the Above’s distaste for magic as part of her religious devotion, so it’s all the more surprisingly impressive when she snaps, “I don’t agree with all church doctrine, but embracing the occult as Julian does only invites darkness.”  Bitter personal experience, not dogma, fuels her prejudice.

Batman: The Dark Knight #2 – Review

By: David Finch (writer and penciller), Scott Williams (inker), Alex Sinclair (colors)

The Story: Golden Dawn, Part Two: Batman and the Penguin tangle over exactly who is interrogation whom. They’re both lugging around some Dawn Golden baggage. Killer Croc smashing entrance doesn’t even things up. In the meantime, Commissioner Gordon is getting his own Dawn Golden problems. And somebody stole the Batmobile!

What Good: I loved the visuals in this book. Finch is a great artist and he captured the eerily slow, deliberate movements of Batman in full-on menace mode. Check out the difference in Batman between the credit page and the bottom panel of the next. In terms of dynamicism, Finch has got it down. Check out Killer Croc’s move on Batman as he surprises him. That’s art in movement. The level of detail on the settings and the people (especially Penguin) were highly textured. Another great example of detail is the theft of the Batmobile. The artistic anti-heroism doesn’t stop at the Penguin either. The three surviving hobos (after last issue’s offing of the one called the King) are living wrecks, expertly done. I have to mention Sinclair’s colors throughout. Whether it’s a bright orange suit on a green Croc, or some subtle purples and blues to set off night in Gotham around the hobos, Sinclair sews it up.

Batman: The Dark Knight #1 – Review

By: David Finch (writer, artist), Scott Williams (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: The Golden Dawn, Part One: Dawn Golden, a childhood friend, if not a childhood fascination, of Bruce Wayne’s, has disappeared. Gotham’s finest aren’t getting anywhere with the case and Batman puts off a lot of other important Bat-work to embark on this personal quest.

What’s Good: David Finch’s visuals were stunning. The level of detail in background (check out the broken glass on Croc’s head), the gadgets (check out the Bat-Cave) and people (throughout the whole book) was right up there, while the dynamism of posture and panel layout made the whole issue feel like it was in movement (even though there was only one fight scene). Finch’s Gotham is dark and worn down, but real, unlike the psychologically-disturbed Gotham we’d find through Frazer Irving. The grit, realism and lack of exaggeration in the art tells us that this is a hard-boiled, noir crime story with the cowled detective in his element and his obsession. I have to say that I also really liked Finch’s take on Killer Croc and Penguin. Neither has ever looked better or more menacing to me.

On the writing side, Finch did everything he needs to do to propel a new mini-series into action. He set up the deep and personal relationship between the detective and the victim, he put society and its pressures into play, added mysterious opponents and traps, and ended on a cliffhanger. While I thought yet-another-personally-connected-damsel-in-distress (you’ll recall we’ve got the Cornell’s Absence arc happening in Batman and Robin at the same time) to be a bit tired, Finch made it work to really drive up Bruce’s normally obsessive personality and make the reader *really* want the bad guy. I bought into the knight-errant-on-a-quest story. The repulsiveness of some of the details (I can’t give spoilers) of the crime raised the stakes and had me wanting more.

X-Men: Second Coming – Review

Writers: Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Matt Fraction, Zeb Wells, and Mike Carey

Pencillers: David Finch, Terry Dodson, Ibraim Roberson, Greg Land, and Mike Choi with Stuart Immonen, Lan Medina, Nathan Fox, and Esad Ribic.

And so here it is: the last installment of the “Messiah Trilogy” or Messianic X Cycle (Say it. Make it catch on!). We’ve been through Endangered Species, Messiah Complex and Messiah War. Now it’s time for Second Coming, the event that concludes three years of X-Men stories. It’s been some of the darkest times in X-Men history. They’ve exiled themselves to an island nation after Norman Osborne and the Dark Avengers attacked them in San Francisco (Read Utopia for that), which then caused Magneto to return—with his powers back—and pledge allegiance to Cyclops. The Black Queen raised an army of dead mutants to attack their new home (Necrosha). In the meantime, Cyclops has been sending his own wet works team out to kill every threat to mutant kind, and they kill plenty. And Cable is off the future raising Hope, the mutant messiah, in a wasteland of a timeline literally blown to pieces by Bishop.  But X-Force has killed pretty much all except for their first target: Bastion, the robot-made-man-then-decapitated-and-later-made-cyborg-by-attaching-the-head-onto-a-Nimrod-sentinel-from-the-future. You know, one of those. And Cable has stranded Bishop in a future so distant that the sun is about to consume the Earth. It’s time for Hope to go back to the present and join the X-Men.

Now, that creative team. Well…it’s not the magic we had in Messiah Complex, nor is it the uniqueness we had in Messiah War. Kyle and Yost basically own this series. Pretty much every majorly important thing that happens in Second Coming happens in their issues.  Still, Mike Carey and Zeb Wells are both fantastic too. In fact, Zeb Well’s is surprisingly good as he was the one writer everyone expected to fall short. Unfortunately, it’s Matt Fraction’s writing that sticks out like an ugly chick in a swimsuit catalog. It’s not always bad, but it’s hard to believe that Fraction read a single issue of Cable or X-Force before writing Hope. When Wells, Kyle, Yost, and Carey are writing, the character is consistent. Yet Fraction writers her (and I’ve said this before) like a bipolar Pixie. His transitions are awful. At the end of the first act, Colossus is freaking out about Illyana being sent to limbo but shuts up when he sees Kurt’s dead body.  Fraction begins act two with Colossus smiling and suggesting a vampire movie to Kittie as she’s confined to her ghost chamber. What the hell? Everyone who was in the field are still standing around Kurt, he’s scared to death that his sister is dead too, and for some reason he takes the time to rent Twilight for his ghost girlfriend? And the thing is…that’ not even the only inconsistent part. Let’s move to the transition between act 2 and 3. In the end of Act 2, Beast gives an update of the wounded, including the fact that “Iceman has third degree energy burns over 25% of his body.” That sounds relative serious and a good reason why Iceman should be out of the game, right? Apparently not because we see Iceman without a scratch taking down a Nimrod with Psylocke and Fantomex. At this point, the other writers seem to have said “F it. Fraction ignored his injuries, we’ll use Iceman too.” What made Messiah Complex and Messiah War awesome was the proof that the writers were working together. In Second Coming we get four writers who do and one who ignores his peers. Having said that, the times Fraction is good, he’s really good. When Nightcrawler learns about X-Force in the second chapter was very well written as was the very last segment of the crossover, which we’ll get into later since it’s the end, but Fraction makes up for a lot of his bad writing there. Nightcrawler’s funeral…. not so much. But back to the writers who really brought their best to the plate. Carey is unsurprising. His last full issue of Cypher taking down the Nimrods is superb (in its writing…we’ll talk about art next). He writes every character perfectly. Even when he’s thrown a new one like Hope, it’s like he sat down, read every issue of Cable took a deep breath and said “yeah, I see what Swierczynksi’s doing with her. She’s not just young female Cable, but she is her father’s daughter nonetheless” and then wrote her. Prodigy describes Hope as the “voodoo doll for the whole mutant race.” Carey is basically the voodoo doll of every X-writer, and yet, like Hope, still has his own kind of power. Wells gives the best line of foreshadowing ever. When Hope and Dani are fighting, Dani says “I’m not the person you want to be putting your hands on.” The fact that Hope powering mutants by touch doesn’t happen until after Second Coming, and only for newly powered mutants, makes this line pretty awesome when returning to the crossover. But his best writing is in the first chapter of the last issue (confusing, I know) when he writers from Professor X’s point of view after Hope destroys Bastion and simply wants to curl up next to what is left of her father, and then when she wakes up and talks to Magneto for a little bit. We get the two seniors of the X-Men and both written so wonderfully. And Kyle and Yost? Well, seriously, their last X-Force issue when Hope comes into power is just fantastic, but it’s also their little beats along the way. For instance, at the end of act two, as Cyclops is about to send Cable and X-Force on a suicide mission. Wolverine blames Hope for what happened to Kurt,  but instead of telling Cable to hurry up and move out, he tells him to “get on with it.” “Get on with it” basically telling Cable to go to Hope, tell her he loves her, and goodbye. They (Cable and Wolverine) both know they’re going to die. Not even Wolverine can be callous towards a daughter about to lose her father, even if she doesn’t know it. And it prepares the reader. Why would Wolverine think it important to make sure Cable does this? Because a few pages later, Cyclops admits to having sent them all to die.

Onto art…sadly, the crossover falters a lot in this department. The only main artists that fit here are Ibraim Roberson and Mike Choi (all the “with” artists do no harm). And while Terry Dodson’s art isn’t bad in any way, it just doesn’t match the story. It’s jarring. His art would be great for a fun Spider-Man story, but for the story about the X-Men making their honest-to-god last stand? It’s just not serious enough. But at least Dodson’s art has quality. Because the fact they not only included Greg Land and his pornographic style, but paired him with one of the best writers of the series is just a sin. A comic book sin. His style doesn’t match, and his art is just bad. Every woman looks exactly the same. At one point it really looks like he just drew the same female boy twice but gave one a gun to indicate which was Hope and which was Rogue. And let’s not forget the most awful double page spread ever where he cuts out Hope’s legs but gracefully leaves her vagina. But we’ve heard every Greg Land complaint a thousand times before, so let’s just move on. You know who really should have been the artists here? Well, everyone from Messiah Complex would have worked, but instead, I would have loved to see Ariel Olivetti and Clayton Crain. Pairing them with Choi and Roberson would have given that “this is it” feeling to the entire story. And I really would have loved to see Olivetti’s Nimrods. That would have been awesome. Oh well.

Batman: The Return #1 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), David Finch (penciller), Batt and Ryan Winn (inker), Peter Steigerwald (colorist)

The Story: Bruce Wayne is back in Gotham and giving orders. It might be best to say that General Wayne is back, because he’s got a small army of people he can draw on for his new vision of crime-fighting.

The Review: This book wowed me pretty much from cover to cover. The production (paper and thickness) felt satisfying to sit back and open. David Finch’s art, ably interpreted by Batt, Winn and Steigerwald, was awesome. There were a few gratuitous poses here and there, but the evocative settings and dynamism of even the heroes standing about made the whole story seem to be in motion. As an example, take a look at some of the non-standard chores the art team really knocked out of the park. First, the three-page opening with the wounded bat, especially the background of the library. Then, check out the batcave in Batman’s first briefing. The level of detail in the backgrounds and in the characters (unfortunately posing like they came out of the 90s) was eye-catching. And, check out the overview of Yemen. Great stuff. Money’s worth it for the art.

On writing, Morrison was nearly tone-perfect. He caught all the characters at their best (with one exception that I’ll get to in a sec). Morrison writes a good Damian. He’s a hateful, spiteful little bastard you’d just like to shake some so he gets his head on straight, if you thought he wouldn’t bite you. His growth under Morrison (via Dick Grayson) was genuine and Dick earned Damian’s respect. Damian’s insecurities here under Bruce completely transform Damian’s axis of aggression as he realizes that Dick is his only hope to keep on being Robin and growing into what he and his father want of him. It was really fun to watch. At the same time, I loved the role Bruce carved out for Dick. It is appropriate, logical (given Bruce’s new vision), and promises to keep my favorite member of the Bat-family at the front of things for a while yet. The quiet moments between Alfred and Bruce were also great to watch. And finally, as a reader of Batgirl, I also like the direction here that will play out in a book that needed a shot in the arm.

What We’re Looking Forward To In November

Dean

There is a LOT to look forward to in November. For one thing, there is a lot of neat stuff in the Spider-Man world as Amazing Spider-Man kicks off its new “big” story line Big Time written by Dan Slott with art by Humberto Ramos. This is also the end of the thrice-monthly ASM with a rotating team of creators, so it should be interesting. Also in the Spidey-world, we get Spider-Girl #1 by Paul Tobin. This is not Mayday Parker (who could never find a stable audience) but Arana of Young Allies fame. If you like teenage drama, it should be fun. Finally, we get Osborn #1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios (who are both really good) to see what Marvel’s favorite villain has been up to since Siege ended.

A few other things in Marvel that I’m looking forward to. She-Hulks #1 launches in November with art from Ryan Stegman. Stegman is a very gifted artist and he draws a mean She-Hulk, so this should be good. Although Invincible Iron Man has had slow pacing, the current story arc, Stark Resilient wraps up this month and Matt Fraction seems to have this title headed to a very good climactic battle. For all those Punisher fans who HATED Franken-Castle, you get plain, old, normal Punisher in the Blood #1 from Rick Remender. And finally, there is yet another X-book with Generation Hope. The idea for this book is to have Hope running around with all the “new mutants” who have had their powers come alive since Second Coming.

Over at DC the big news is in the Bat-books as we get 2 new Bruce Wayne titles: Batman, Inc. by Grant Morrison and Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch. If you’re into Batman, these are going to be must reads. And….after much waiting and delay, we get Batwoman #0 by JH Williams, III. I am really excited for this book and eager to see if it can maintain the quality that Williams and Greg Rucka established during their run on Detective Comics last year. Also, just to prove it isn’t all about new Bat-books, we also get a whole new creative team on the venerable Detective Comics with Scott Snyder of American Vampire fame teaming up with Jock and Francesco Francavilla on what is sure to be very well done series of Dick Grayson stories.

Not a whole lot going on over at Image, but folks might want to take a look at Utopian #1 by Marc Guggenheim. The story is: “What happens after the heroes win and the world is saved?” Image has become the go-to publisher for many creators to do interesting things, so this has promise.

 

 

Alex

While I’m as excited about all the Grant Morrison stuff as the next guy, the Batman title that really has my eye is Detective Comics #871 by Scott Snyder and Jock. It’s an utterly fantastic creative team and Snyder’s promise of a realistic, CSI type Batman has me curious. Of course, there’s also Batwoman #0 by JH Williams III to consider, which anyone with a pulse should be excited for.

Outside of Batman, I find myself confronted by two relaunches of titles I’m either completely unfamiliar with and/or indifferent to. Yet I’m picking them both up. They are THUNDER Agents #1 by Nick Spencer and CAFU and Superboy #1 by Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo. In both cases, it’s the creative teams that have me excited, crewed as they are by exciting new talent with writers that have proven track records outside the superhero realm.

At Marvel, it’s all about Spider-Man’s Big Time. Now bi-monthly with a steady, and good, creative team, I’m happy to be back aboard with Amazing Spider Man #648 and #649 with Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. Hopefully big times are also good times. Meanwhile, Thor #617 by Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry has my attention as well, with its seeming promise of a reincarnated Loki. Fractions other book, Invincible Iron Man #32, also isn’t to be missed as it concludes the excellent slow-burn of “Stark Resilient” in explosive fashion.

Finally, it’s a big, but sad, month at Vertigo as two excellent titles reach their conclusions. Madame Xanadu #29 goes out with a bang as main series artist Amy Reeder returns for the farewell. Meanwhile,  Unknown Soldier #25 is sure to end things in bloody and tragic fashion, as Joshua Dysart’s fictional tale directly collides with a real world villain of the worst kind. On a happier note, Fables #100 is a giant-sized book of excitement featuring a mega-powered duel; it’s also a landmark for Vertigo, an imprint for whom longevity isn’t common.

 

SoldierHawk

So I’ve been harping on it since it was announced months ago, but my pick for November is, without question, Batwoman #0, the prelude to the new Batwoman ongoing series written and illustrated by J.H. Williams III. I’m quite literally X-ing the days off my calendar until this comes out. Kate Kane/Batwoman are fantastic characters and–perhaps even more importantly–she has a fabulous supporting cast surrounding her. Even leaving all that aside… MORE J.H. WILLIAMS III ARTWORK! That alone will be worth the cover price.

I’m also really, really looking forward both to the first Kill Shakespeare Trade (which collects Kill Shakespeare issues #1-6), and to issue #7. This series has been a gem (albeit a slightly rough one in spots) since its launch last April, and issue #6 set some very interesting plot points and characters into motion. I’m waiting with baited breath to see how this is going to play out, and what other famous Shakespeare creations might throw themselves into the mix.

 

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.

X-Men: Second Coming #1

by Craig Kyle & Chris Yost (writers), David Finch (Pencils), Matt Banning (Inks)

The Story: Ever since House of M, there had been no mutant births. Suddenly, a baby named Hope was born, the first, and last, new mutant since.  Time traveller Cable took her to the future to safeguard her.  He now finally returns to the present, with a teenage Hope by his side, less than a year after they left.  They find mutant-hating groups The Right and the Sapien League waiting for them, intent on killing Hope.  Meanwhile, Cyclops gathers his forces in order to protect the returned travelers and prepares for the inevitable violence that he knows will follow.

What’s Good: Man, two X-titles written by Yost and Kyle in the same week?!  I am a happy camper, let me tell you.  As a result of reading X-Force #25 and this issue back to back, I was left nearly breathless as the writers jumped from the conclusion of one X-Event to the introduction to another.  As if betting that many readers would be doing this very same thing, Kyle and Yost smartly make mention of the casualties of Necrosha almost immediately, as it succeeds in not only giving the titles a healthy sense of continuity, but the moment also reemphasizes the importance of Hope’s return.  Only three mutants died, sure, but considering there are less than two hundred on the planet, that equals one-and-a-half percent of their whole population.  The direness of the situation is also brilliantly conveyed when we see Cyclops, overcome with frustration, let loose on an innocent wall.  I kid, but it’s a powerful scene that reminds us that heavy is the head that wears the crown.