Nightwing Annual #1 – Review

By: Kyle Higgins (writer), Jason Masters with Daniel Sampere & Vincente Cifuentes (art), Chris Sotomayor (color)

The Story: Play it again, Alfred. Play ‘As Time Goes By’.

The Review: Have two characters of such high profile ever had such uncertain fates? Months after her writer was fired and swiftly rehired, Batgirl is wanted for the murder of her sociopathic brother. Hunted by her outraged father, her boyfriend in a coma, Barbara has forsaken the bat. Meanwhile, Dick Grayson is having a swell time in Chicago, but rumors of his demise and a creative change on his book swirl. Rather than pretend that there’s certainty one way or the other, Kyle Higgins has cleverly called upon that very uncertainty to drive his extra-sized story.

Higgins seems to have a good grip on both of his protagonists. Dick is the same character that readers of Higgins’ monthly work have come to love, but we get to see a slightly different side of him thanks to Barbara’s appearance. Higgins’ take on not!-Batgirl is similarly strong. Barbara’s wit and natural affinity for superheroics come through loud and clear. There’s something hungry, biting in her words and actions. The issue deals with Dick and Barbara’s relationship and, as such, its greatest accomplishment is allowing them chemistry. Honestly, this is a girl who makes the boy wonder play not only boy scout, but straight man to her fiery wisecracks. Dick Grayson is a smart lad, he knows that the proper response to finding a woman who can kick your ass is to hold on tight.

Batman: The Dark Knight #23.2: Mr. Freeze – Review

By: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti (writers), Jason Masters (artist), Dave McCaig (colors)

The Story: As Arkham’s residents pillage and plunder, Victor Fries reminds us what’s really important: family.

The Review: Mr. Freeze has shown up a couple of times in the New 52, but he hasn’t really thrown his weight around as a villain much. The major exception to this was Batman Annual #1. That issue changed everything that we knew, and many of us loved, about poor old Victor. Though Scott Snyder presented an interesting view on the character, my biggest criticism, at least my biggest objective criticism, then and now, was that it really only served that one story. It’s been over a year and now it falls to Justin Grey and Jimmy Palmiotti to figure out what comes next for Mr. Freeze.

The good news is that Grey and Palmiotti make wise investments in tone and character. Especially in a hero-free issue, it’s important that the villain have a dramatic arc and a compelling voice. Throughout his brief odyssey, Victor presents himself as the most rational one in the room, a choice that serves to highlight the nearly heroic journey that he undertakes.

So the voice of the character is strong, but what about the plot? Well, to be honest it’s kind of weak, but our writers do an admirable job of using intelligent jumps between the present and various scenes from Fries’ past to keep the issue moving, which, in turn distracts the reader from the somewhat predictable story playing out before them.

Batman Incorporated #10 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Chris Burnham, Jason Masters, Andrew Bressan (art), Nathan Fairbairn (colors)

The Story: Who needs a corporation when you’ve got a one-man army?

The Review: I used to do workshops in improv comedy—something I highly recommend for anyone who has an opportunity to do it.  As intimidating and nerve-wracking as it can be at times to create something from nothing, to me it feels like the creative process in its purest form: using whatever came to mind as a spark, teasing out every interesting thread, molding it into something coherent by instinct.  There’s a lot of risk, but that’s what makes it so thrilling to do and see.

Morrison writes the same way improvisers act, with similar variation in quality.  When he’s good, his work has an in-the-moment, totally present feeling which is irresistibly engaging.  When he’s not so good, there’s a borderline random looseness which makes you feel that he’s writing himself into a corner that he’s not quite sure how to get out of.  In the case of Batman Incorporated, he’s not quite there yet, but you do sense the story closing in on him.

Detective Comics #19 – Review

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

The Story: Gotham’s always had a bat problem, but now they have a bat problem.

The Review: In the grand scheme of things, the number of issues a series has under its belt isn’t really important—quality over quantity and all that—but it does quantify a title’s longevity, which sort of says something about the title’s popularity.  Obviously, reaching 900 issues is a pretty big achievement, and you know the most painful thing DC had to accept when they relaunched their entire line was resetting Detective Comics’ numbering back to square one.

Here, they make an attempt to have their cake and eat it too by incorporating the 900 number into the story, which John Layman faithfully does.  Unfortunately, the number has no real value or purpose in context other than as an ominous reference, and the story itself is just yet another variation on the virulent transformation premises that have been infecting the DCU lately: Rise of the Third Army, Rotworld, Demon Knights (not to mention I, Vampire, in which you literally have murderous creatures spreading across Gotham’s citizenry).

Batman Incorporated #9 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Chris Burnham & Jason Masters (art), Nathan Fairbairn & Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: Now is not the time for Batman Inc. to have its first public offering.

The Review: Although the fallout of Damian’s demise has spared no book in the Bat-family, I think consensus would agree that the most poignant, effective, and important scenes of the aftermath came in Batman and Robin #18.  Yet the Boy Wonder’s death must have at least an equal impact in the book where he actually died.  Pete Tomasi has already covered the grief and despair of the event quite masterfully; what emotions are left for Morrison?

Rage, pure and simple.  Yet as Bruce reels upon his son’s murderer, all the pain and anger fueling him proves unavailing and he’s forced to retreat with his remaining family with Damian’s body in tow.  But once the casket is lowered and the eulogy made, the build-up toward range starts again, with the first victim being Alfred.  In hindsight, of course, the butler’s decision to let Damian go does seem quite egregious.  Nevertheless, the wounded expression in his eyes as Bruce tells him, euphemistically, to “[t]ake a vacation,” is quite heartbreaking to see.

Batman Incorporated #8 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Chris Burnham & Jason Masters (art), Nathan Fairbairn (colors)

The Story: As it turns out, even the slightly bad can die young.

The Review: I guess I have little choice but to start this review by addressing the elephant in the room, this “death of Robin” thing.  While fans may protest when their pet characters get killed off, they have to make peace with the fact that even in stories, death is a fine and natural thing—when done to some important purpose.  In contrast, death for the sake of shock value or cheap emotional impact, without any groundwork along the way, is lazy and hackish.

In comics, death and resurrection happens on such a regular basis that we’ve grown pretty cynical about it.  No one ever dies nowadays without the readers thinking, Eh—they’ll be back.  With that kind of mindset, it’s easy to look at all the publicity that preceded Damian Wayne’s demise as a purely commercial move.  But once you examine the whole of Morrison’s story, not just within Batman Inc., but everything he’s developed since he first introduced the ten-year-old assassin, you realize that the doom of Damian was a very necessary, perhaps inevitable thing.

Batman Incorporated #7 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (story), Chris Burnham & Jason Masters (art), Nathan Fairbairn (colors)

The Story: Talia adds yet another enemy to her list: Greenpeace.

The Review: Does anyone get the feeling that Morrison has gotten marginalized post-DC relaunch?  Less than two years ago, he was the unofficial mastermind of the Batman universe (and the secret architect of the DCU at large) and now Scott Snyder has taken over his helm in the Bat-family of books (with Geoff Johns the openly declared architect of the new DCU).  Maybe that’s why both Action Comics and especially Batman Inc. feel so out of place these days.

Here you have Snyder’s Death of the Family rampaging across the various Bat-titles, wreaking havoc and making changes wherever it goes.  The struggle with Leviathan in this series is no less major, and frequently feels even more threatening (more on that later), yet its impact is being felt in no other title, recognized by no one else.  If it weren’t for the updated costumes, you’d never know this story is even taking place in the present DCU.