The Dark Knight Rises

By: Christopher Nolan (director), Christian Bale, Michael Kane, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cottilard, Jospeh Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy (stars)

The Story: Batman has been out of commission for 8 years, but when some other bloke in a mask tries to take over Gotham, Bruce Wayne puts his back on.

The Review: The Dark Knight was better. Let’s just get that out of the way so that we don’t have to question “which of Nolan’s Batman films was the best.” In fact, in many ways Batman Begins is better too. However, this does not mean, in any way, that Dark Knight Rises was a bad film. It survived the Curse of Three! Now the question is how to review the damn thing without giving anything away. The first problem is quite simply that there was no way it could live up to its predecessor. I actually went to the Trilogy Event hosted by AMC and watched all 3 in a row–great for being able to see all those connections big and small….but it also makes Rises have to live up to both films immediately instead of in retrospect. The Dark Knight is just so damn good that when Dark Knight Rises starts, your anticipations and expectations are staggering. Some of them are fulfilled…but enough aren’t.

Batman: Year One (Film) – Review

By: Tab Murphy (writer), Sam Liu & Lauren Montgomery (directors), Bryan Cranston, Eliza Dushku, Benjamin McKenzie (voice actors)

The Story: Uplifting a depraved city takes more than just putting on some tights, you know.

The Review: No matter how grim cartoons get, we still rarely think of them as truly edgy or dangerous, at least enough to satisfy the adult palette.  Japanese animators have been doing this kind of dramatic work for years, basically, but of all the American producers, only DC has ventured into that territory with commercial success.  With each yearly release of their animated films, they’ve shown a willingness to take bigger risks, yielding more fruitful results each time.

You can see the evolution in the animation.  All-Star Superman showed subtle signs of moving toward an anime standard of production, but in this film, it’s unmistakable, beautiful, and fitting.  By now, DC has grown quite formidable at depicting action, but here they show surprising aptitude for subtle body movements and changes in expression that gives a whole new level of craft to the “acting.”  The animation itself shows emotion, even without the voice actors’ help.

But then, we’re working with a pretty excellent source to begin with.  Anyone who’s flipped through Frank Miller’s original story arc knows what a groundbreaking piece of work it is.  So much of its success derives from what Miller left brilliantly unspoken; as aggressive as it seems, most of its tension feels almost subconscious.  This film is about as faithful an adaptation of all those qualities as it can get, and remains gripping nearly its entire length as a result.

If you want to capture the Miller spirit, you better just go for it, and Murphy, Montgomery, and Liu pull no punches.  Fifteen minutes in, you’ve got violent cops, corruption almost visibly festering in all places, fist-fights with pimps and prostitutes, underage hookers stabbing men in the thigh, even (unless I misheard it) an F-bomb at one point.  Heck, you even get to see a couple stark-naked men, bound up and lying (privates-side down) around.

Dark Horse Presents #1 – Review

By: Paul Chadwick, Howard Chaykin, Jesus Alburto, Ken Bruzenak, Neal Adams, Moose, Carla Speed McNeil, Jenn Manley Lee, Bill Mudron, Michael T. Gilbert, Frank Miller, Richard Corben, Clem Robins, Randy Stadley, Paul Gulacy, Michael Bartolo, Michael Heisler, David Chelsea, John Schork (assistant editor), Scott Allie, Rachel Edidin, Sierra Hahn & Diana Schultz (editors)

The Story: A great name in anthology comics comes back with pretty hot list of creators (see above) tossing a few pages each at the effort.

Anthologies: When I read an anthology, I am looking for something very specific: I just want one electric story that grabs me and makes me want to see more material from that creator NOW.  Other than that, I’m just looking for few nice stories, some nice art, etc.  And, I really don’t care that much if a few of the stories suck.  Just turn the page!  I think you score anthologies based on the high points, rather than the average of all the stories combined.

What’s Good: We have a winner!  In a comic that has a lot of pretty strong efforts from some creators who know a thing or two about creating comics, the best short-story is that of Michael T. Gilbert as he gives us a story of his character, Mr. Monster, fighting with a giant tree-alien calling himself Oooak (get it?).  This story has a very retro vibe both in terms of the language and the art, but it is just zany fun as Mr. Monster tries one thing after another to kill Oooak before he finally resorts to throwing a jar of “Acme Termites” at the bad guy.  This is the awesome sauce that made the whole comic worth buying.

There were a few other nice little stories in here too.  Paul Chadwick contributes a very nice story of his character Concrete.  I don’t even know the last time we got a new Concrete story, but this is some vintage stuff as we get to see the protagonist’s humanity filtered through this character that couldn’t look more different if he tried.  Neal Adams also tosses in a teaser for a new concept he has called Blood.  We get a singular image of the anti-hero Blood, but the rest of the story is recounted via a torture scene as some bad guys sweat the details out of one of Blood’s buddies.  It’s a very original way to lay out a story and Adams is on his A-game with the art too.

I’d absolutely like to see more of those three stories either in future editions of DHP or on their own.

What’s Not So Good: Considering the teaser on the cover for “Frank Miller’s Xerxes!”, it might be nice to have gotten more than 4 splash pages of art/story.  What we see is good, but it was a little disappointing when the name “Frank Miller” was one of the large attractions for the issue.  As if to compensate for the lack of story, we are treated to an interview with Mr. Miller.  I don’t know about you, but I have less than zero interest in reading an interview in my comic book.  For one thing, I pretty much don’t read interviews about upcoming projects; I’ll just look at the work when you get it done, thank you.  For another, in the year 2011, there are a bajillion places to find interviews online without having a few pages of a $7.99 comic devoted to them.

CBLDF Liberty Annual 2010 – Review

By: Various including Darick Robertson, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba, Garth Ennis, Paul Pope, Evan Dorkin, Rob Liefeld, Gail Simone, Scott Morse, Geoff Johns, Scott Kolins, Brian Azzarello, Frank Miller, Terry Moore, Jeff Smith, Skottie Young, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Ben McCool, Billy Tucci, Larry Marder and more

The Story: Comic creators collaborate on an anthology comic to raise money to protect free speech!

What’s Good: You know what’s good: free speech!  Too often the term “free speech” is only thought of as it applies to journalists, but as soon as you start eroding artists abilities to portray their art in whatever why they please because some people find it distasteful, you start to threaten some of the essential liberties that are part of what it means to be human (much less American).  There are places in the world where people cannot say and print what they please and there are people in the good old USA who occasionally give a comic shop a hard time about displaying comics with – gasp – wanton violence or – double gasp – naked people or – triple gasp – naked people doing naughty things! And by “hard time” we mean “take the comic shop to court”.  The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit that helps comic shops and creators defend themselves against such intrusions into free speech and every so often they put out an Annual to raise awareness and money.

Batgirl #6 – Review

By: Brian Q. Miller (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Trevor Scott (inker)

The Story: Core Requirements, Part Two of Three: Stephanie wakes up in an ambulance. She gets herself out of there in full Stephanie Brown style and goes on to pursue the kidnapping of the boy she was interested in last issue. This involves spying on Batman and doing funny voiceovers. This means that Robin, who’s been itching to cut Batgirl down to size, gets the drop on her.

What’s good: I loved Bryan Q. Miller’s take on Batman. He’s all old school Batman in his dialogue and actions (ignoring the commissioner’s assistant), except for a playful exchange with Barbara. And Garbett’s take was equally strong. He shows up all in shadows, filling the panels in looming menace. And the Batgirl book gives DC a chance to see the new Batman through the eyes of the junior ranks of Gotham’s superheroes. Dick’s growth has continued and he is becoming the dark figure of authority. Damian, Steph and Barbara all took his orders, almost with grace. This is great to see happening. I also have to say that the scene in the ambulance was well-written and well drawn, down to the sound effects.

What’s Not So Good: My first complaint is a bit of a fanboy quibble. Stephanie starts the book with an untreated gunshot to the head, which has apparently given her a concussion. Three pages later she’s up and in costume after having ditched the ambulance. Violence having no consequences is a convention of the comics medium, but comics are just better when consequences occur. Think back, way back, to Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil, when horn-head had to take on the underworld with a cast and a crutch, or later, without his radar sense. Frank Miller got about 6 issues of great story out of DD’s injuries and showed a lot of Daredevil’s character in dealing with them. Here, we don’t see Stephanie dealing with the concussion or having to face her mother because of it (both hinted at in the story). Avoiding both these problems makes last issue’s ending (gunshot to the head) a false cliffhanger, since Steph didn’t have to do or pay anything to get out of it.

Batgirl #4 – Review

By Bryan Q. Miller (writer), Tim Levins & Lee Garbett (pencillers), Dan Davis, Aaron Sowd & Trevor Scott (inkers), Harvey Richards (assistant editor), Michael Siglain (editor)

The Story: As always, Miller makes his themes (in this case, the title “Field Test”) do double duty. Stephanie Brown is field testing her new high-tech Batgirl costume. Barbara Gordon is helping monitor the suit while giving advice, but when she has to deal with something, Batgirl herself is field tested against someone well out of her league.

What’s Good: If there’s one issue that can vouch for Miller’s writing, it’s Batgirl #4. The plotting and thematic ideas are always tight, but my hat remains off on his character work. His characters are just fun to follow. The back and forth between Barbara and Stephanie is solid, as Miller packs his dialogue with personality. Stephanie’s running self-deprecation could get tiresome in another character, but when put together with her natural exuberance and fun, it works, with lines like “And this Batgirl doesn’t sing – not in front of people anyway” and “I’m almost fifty percent sure nothing could go wrong.” I’m also waiting to see where this romantic tension between Batgirl and the young detective is going to go.

Art team has changed a bit. Tim Levins has replaced Scott and Hope in the driver seat with Lee Garbett. The art is clear, the expressions tell the story and the poses are more natural. The layouts also seem to be evolving positively. The final battle page between Batgirl and the villain is a funny and well-told stack of panels.

What’s Not So Good: The superhero skeleton of the story is nothing original. Batgirl’s encounter with this super-villainess is pretty forgettable, but I’m wondering if the search for something truly field-expanding is what Batgirl readers are looking for when they buy this book. Would something truly original to the field (think the teen angst of Lee/Ditko Spiderman, the gritty noir of Miller’s Daredevil or the soap opera of Claremont’s X-Men) fit within a book whose focus is the fun of watching a flighty, occasionally quixotic teenager turn herself into a real superhero? But if ground-breaking work is not in Batgirl’s future, will the series survive? Sales estimates for issue #3 from Diamond are around 37,000, which is pretty respectable for a new book, so Michael Siglain has some flex before making any serious decisions, but Miller has got some work ahead of him to convince readers that Stephanie Brown matters, without losing the fun of what makes her great.

Conclusion: Batgirl is an entertaining book and very accessible to the new reader. This is what mainstream comics do well. But I hope that Batgirl does not get lost behind a lot of other books that are also delivering mainstream stories.

Grade: C+

-DS Arsenault

Daredevil #500 – Review

by Ed Brubaker (writer), Ann Nocenti (second feature writer), Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Klaus Janson, Chris Samnee, and Paul Azaceta (art), David Aja (second feature art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Battles with the Hand and bad guys aplenty sees Matt Murdock finding himself in a role in which he never imagined himself.

What’s Good: Daredevil #500 succeeds where other landmark, giant-sized issues have failed in that it actually has a thrilling, must-read main feature.

The main feature is a kinetic thriller with electrifying action scenes coming one after another at a breathless pace.  The pages fly by and it is definitely a very, very fun read.  After the blandness found in Captain America #600, I almost feel that Daredevil #500 shouldn’t be allowed to be this exciting.

That’s not to say that it’s mindless, however.  Daredevil’s fight with the Owl in particular is brutal, thanks in part to its emotional savagery and DD’s final act this is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Of course, I can’t go without commending the cliffhanger that Brubaker ends his run on.  It really is a case of leaving the reader dying to know what happens next.  It’s so unexpected, it has Matt making a complete 180. Although Brubaker could be condemned, he nevertheless manages to pull it off through making Matt’s change of heart logical; making him grow out of his self-loathing.  It’s a natural choice and Brubaker successfully injects the sense of tragedy always present in Daredevil.

Ann Nocenti’s back-up story is absolutely, pitch-perfect fantastic. Brooding, cerebral, and at times downright surreal. It’s simply amazing work.  After taking a beating from Bullseye, Daredevil finds himself recovered by a retired boxer, Larry, and a schoolgirl, Gina.  The dynamic here is fascinating and both Larry and Gina are uncomfortably interesting characters.

On the one hand, Larry and Gina reflect different aspects of superhero voyeurism.  Larry’s the backseat driver, full of criticism, while Gina is the bloodhound, in it purely for the violence.  Yet, the genius is that despite this seeming division between DD and these two viewers, in their surreal dialogue, they almost seem to be parts of himself, Gina the off-kilter Id and Larry the curmudgeonly superego.

Aja’s art meanwhile is beautifully realized and thoroughly imaginative.  There are some truly inspiring images here, from DD’s fall through a cloud of balloons, to DD preparing to leave Larry’s bar, pausing at the doorway before breaking out into a run.  It’s very dark, yet oddly beautiful, poetic even, and that’s how DD should be.

What’s Not So Good: For the main feature, with so many fight scenes, some of them were just too quick and as a result, too easy.  Essentially, one side just totally steamrolls the other in a thoroughly non-competitive two page brawl.  Lady Bullseye in particular is far too much of a pushover.

Also, though I loved it for its mood, I at times found Aja’s stylized work to be a little too barren detail-wise.

My only real complaint about Daredevil #500 however is the package itself, which is absolutely brimming with filler.  Along with these two stories, you also get a preview of Diggle’s Dark Reign: the List entry, a pin-up gallery, a reprint of Frank Miller’s Daredevil #191, and a cover gallery.  The galleries offer some cool pictures, but  I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t prefer another story instead.

The Dark Reign: the List preview is even more offensive.  It’s pure advertisement, but it dwells right smack in the middle of the book, not at the end.  What’s worse, Dark Reign and Norman Osborn feel completely out of place in this book, as does Billy Tan’s slick, bright artwork.

Miller’s reprint is, well, a reprint.  A fantastic issue, yes, but also one that I’ve read before and have in a trade.

Conclusion: A very good main feature and an absolutely fantastic back-up in a book that would reach an A, were it not for all the damn filler.

Grade: B+

-Alex Evans

All Star Batman and Robin #10 – Review

By Frank Miller (writer), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (colors)

I’ve got one word to describe this issue: Yawn.

I literally fell asleep reading this book. I couldn’t even finish it. When I woke up and continued where I left off I really had to push myself to power through Jim Gordon’s excruciatingly boring monologue. With all the crap Frank Miller’s taken from this book, I’ll give him one thing: it looks like he’s actually trying – at least with certain scenes. Batman and Robin are around for a few pages and basically do nothing but go to see a beaten Catwoman. The rest of the story focuses around Jim Gordon and his family – which is a nice change. But all these overly fluffed monologues from Batgirl, Black Canary, and Gordon do nothing more than bloat the book.

What I do like is that this feels much like the Jim Gordon from Batman: Year One. The nuances and the way he talks – as annoying as some of it is – feels somewhat genuine. The rest of the characters, however, are crap – throwaways. The censored dialogue that everyone’s been fussing about is completely overrated. Any kid who’s watched any TV will be able to fill in the blanks with their own set of colorful metaphors. Miller easily could have replaced these words with symbols or other, less harmful words but chose not to. DC editorial is just as responsible for this mess as Miller and that’s all I’m going to say about that. Does the inclusion of these words make the book more compelling or powerful? Nope. It’s just lazy writing.

Jim Lee’s art is incredibly good here and I’m once again saddened to see such beautiful visuals go to waste on such a sorry story. It’s also disheartening to see his art censored here, but thankfully the panel in question hardly hampers the overall issue.  I’ve also been critical on Alex Sinclair’s coloring in the past – especially with last issue where they’re all in the yellow room. Here, Sinclair shows off his best stuff. The coloring in this book is so incredibly gorgeous – one of the best looking books I’ve seen all year. The scenes where Gordon is hanging around the docks perfectly echo the world of Gotham and her foreboding persona. Really brilliant work by the art team.

Ultimately, this book is your standard hodgepodge of good and terrible. Unfortunately, Jim Lee’s art cannot save this sinking ship. Sure, it may be the selling point, but that doesn’t stop the story from being abysmal. To all those who thought this book was going to make a serious turn around after last issue, I’m laughing at you (and apparently, so is Frank Miller). If the readers are anyone in this book it’s Barbara Gordon: we’re so addicted to this awful mess that we’ve ended up in a terrible car crash. And our only hope is Jim (Gordon) Lee.

Save us, Jim. Save us! (Grade: F)

– J. Montes

Comic-Con 2008: Complete Progamming schedule

The full programming schedule is available now. I noticed a high increment in game related panels compared to previous years. Many people will not like this as it doesn’t have any relation from the comics.

Friday is Star Wars day. Artists scheduled for panels include Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Robert Kirkman, Eric Larsen, Jim Butcher, Kevin Smith, Frank Miller and Brad Meltzer among others.

Media & games related panels include Watchmen, Stargate, Prince of Persia, Star Wars, Spaced, Resident Evil: Degeneration, Ghostbusters, The Wolfman, American Dad, The Spirit, World of Warcraft, The Venture Brothers, 24, Robot Chicken, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, Eureka and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along among a lot more of other panels.

A highly recommended panel is the Kevin Smith one. I don’t even like his movies, but his panels are hilarious.

Check the full list for Friday here.

For Saturday there is lots of panels to pick from: Ralph Bakshi, Joe Hill, Ben Templesmith, Steve Niles, David Mack, Dean Koontz, J. Michael Straczynski and media events for Futurama, The Simpson, Heroes, Dollhouse, Terminator Salvation, Battlestar Galactica, Pushing Daisies, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Fringe and Starship Troopers 3.

The full list of panels for Saturday is here.

All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder #9 – Review

By Frank Miller (writer), Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), Alex Sinclair (color)

Oh boy, here we go again. After last issue being somewhat enjoyable, we’re treated to 18 pages of crap once more. Batman and Robin, completely painted in yellow (dwelling in a painted yellow room), taunt, insult, and demean Green Lantern in each of these 18 pages. It’s completely mindless and disrespectful to the characters. Sure, Green Lantern is being the self-righteous jerk, but Batman is just an ass. What’s worse is he revels in being an ass. In fact, this is the first Batman series that’s not only made me dislike Batman, but Robin as well.

It’s not just Frank Miller’s script that’s awful here – the over abundance of yellow is just too much. It diminishes Jim Lee’s art and makes it painful to look at after the third page. I kept waiting the scene to change, but it just kept going and going! I guess I can’t blame Alex Sinclair’s for his choice of coloring here, he just did what he was told. This “toying” with the Green Lantern goes on all issue until Robin finally does something incredibly stupid. And I’ll admit, what Batman does to punish Robin is hilarious. I actually laughed out loud, because the whole sequence of events that plays out is just so ridiculous!

When things finally become serious, the book becomes readable and even a tad interesting. Alex Sinclair’s lush coloring returns, we get some trademarked gorgeous splash pages by Jim Lee, and even Frank Miller’s narrative becomes compelling. It’s just too bad it only lasts for five pages. If you must buy this book (like me), make sure you pick up the variant Neal Adams cover. It’s pure awesome. (Grade: F)

– J. Montes