Batman #0 – Review

Main story by: Scott Snyder (writer), Greg Capullo (pencils), Jonathan Glapion (inks), FCO Plascencia (colors)

Back-up by: James Tynion IV (writer), Andy Clarke (art), FCO Plascencia (colors)

The Story: A flash-back story of Bruce Wayne before he really was the Batman.  Kinda Year One style.

Review: This is a tricky comic to review.  It flashes back to a pre-Batman Bruce Wayne and shows him making awkward attempts to fight crime.  We get to see early prototypes of the Batsuit (cool!) and an early rooftop conversation between Bruce and Jim Gordon (also cool).  [In hindsight….this rooftop conversation is very clever.  We all know that Gordon talks to BATMAN on the roof a lot, but he doesn’t talk to BRUCE up there much.  But, it makes sense since Bruce hasn’t fully become Batman at this point in time.  Snyder is a clever devil…] Then the back-up tale focuses mostly on Jim Gordon’s relationship with his daughter and young Tim Drake and Dick Grayson.

Batman and Robin #1 – Review

By Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Mick Gray (inks), John Kalisz (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Robin (his son Damian Wayne) mark the anniversary of Thomas and Martha’s death before being called out to work: someone is attempting to steal nuclear fuel rods from a Gotham power plant. And that someone could prove to be far more dangerous than even that terrifying crime implies.

What’s Good: Although there is clearly a story arc that needs to be set up in this first issue, the key to this #1 for me was in seeing how Tomasi chose to handle the interaction between Bruce and Damian. A great deal has been written about how good the dynamic between Damian and Dick Grayson was (and I agree), so I was very interested to see how the Batman/Robin dynamic would change in the DCnU, and how that would affect the feel of this book.

Aside from a few issues which I’ll discuss below, it actually works quite well. Rather than the old Dick/Damian ‘bright and happy vs. dark and brooding’ clash, the new dynamic duo seem to be establishing an interesting ‘old guard vs. new guard’ competition that has the potential to be very interesting indeed. While I think having Damian essentially disrespect Bruce’s parents might have taken the antagonism factor a bit far for my taste (I found myself wanting to smack him for that, which is not a reaction I’ve had to the character before), it was effective–if not subtle–in establishing where the two characters stand with each other.

Batman and Robin #26 – Review

By David Hine (writer), Greg Tocchini (artist, pgs. 1-14), Andrei Bressan (artist, pgs. 15-20), Artur Fujita (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Batman, Robin and Nightrunner must deal with a mass escape from Le Jardin Noir, the Parisian equivalent of Arkham Asylum. Will they be able to conquer an entire new pantheon of super-powered criminals, including one who might just be even more twisted than the Joker himself?

What’s Good: Holy conflagration of evil, Batman! This is the last issue of Batman and Robin before the big reboot, and what an issue it is. An absolutely packed 20 pages that introduces an entire new metahuman rogue’s gallery, including the Son of Man. Named for the well known surrealist painting by René Magritte, Son of Man may be the most terrifying and inventive incarnation of evil since Harlan Ellison dreamed up AM. Bad guys have done a lot of nasty things in comic book history, but I gotta say–the reveal on the last two pages just went to the top spot on my own personal list. Not that it wasn’t rather deserved, but still… *Shudder*

Although the issue’s third act more than makes this worth reading in my opinion, the preceding pages are fairly standard, if quite well written, Batman fare. Although it’s great fun seeing new villains and important locations added to the ever-expanding Batverse, Hine is really handicapped in his exposition by only having 20 pages to work with. It’s just about impossible to get the needed information about all the new villains across, and tell a proper story to boot. To Hine’s credit, he doesn’t really try–he introduces the villains, and jumps right into the story, trusting the reader to put everything together. For the most part, this works very well: although none of the villains (save the Son of Man) are really fleshed out as people, Hine is able to use them as storytelling tools to great effect, and I would eagerly read more about any or all of them.

Batman and Robin #25 – Review

By Judd Winick (writer), Greg Tocchini (artist, pgs. 1-16), Andy Smith (artist, pgs. 17-20), Artur Fujita (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: The Red Hood, Batman and Robin continue to work together for ostensibly mutual benefit. Can Jason Todd actually be trusted, or does he have his own plan and agenda? (Hint: he’s Jason Todd.)

What’s Good: Winick continues to knock his Batman and Robin scripts, and his characterization of the protagonists, out of the park. Watching Dick and Damien play off of each other, and argue about their different approaches to crime fighting, is so much fun. Their dynamic reaches a happy balance that very few pairs or teams have, where they are able to disagree (in Dick and Damian’s case, almost constantly), yet still work together very effectively and believably. Adding Jason Todd to the mix only improves the verbal ping-pong between the characters.

Batman and Robin #24 – Review

By Judd Winick (writer), Greg Tocchini (art), Artur Fujita (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Jason Todd is sprung from prison by the Menagerie, but finds himself fighting alongside Batman and Robin when he realizes that the price for his freedom might be more than he’s willing to pay.

What’s Good: I’ve been a fan of Jason Todd since watching the Under the Red Hood movie. He’s a tragic and fascinating character, and its always fun to watch him play off of the rest of the Bat-family. Although the fact that Todd has less of an emotional connection with Dick Grayson does make his interactions less personal than it would be with Bruce’s Batman, the fact that we have three Robins together in one place almost makes up for it. (I do hope, incidentally, that this conventions of Robins becomes at least a small plot point in the arc’s final issue. Add in a Tim Drake guest spot or cameo, and you’ve got a nice way to send all of the characters off before the big reboot.)

Batman and Robin #23 – Review

By Judd Winick (writer), Guillem March (1-10) and Andrei Bressan (11-20) (art), Alex Sinclair (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Jason Todd, the Robin-turned-resurrected-homicidal-maniac, wants out of Arkham and into a general prison population. He gets his wish, and things go just about as well as you’d expect with Jason surrounded by bad guys who ‘deserve’ to die. The Dick Grayson is kept mysteriously out of the loop until it’s too late, and Todd has apparently escaped (…with some help from a new set of friends.)
What’s Good: Jason Todd, while not as flashy as a Joker or Riddler, has been a fantastic Bat-villain since his inception and is one of my own personal favorites. His very direct connection to Batman makes him an excellent foe to bring out when a writer wishes to give the Dark Knight and emotional challenge to overcome. Of course, Todd’s most personal connection is to Bruce Wayne, so I was quite curious to see how undisputed Jason Todd master Judd Winick would handle the relationship between Todd and Dick Grayson’s new Batman.

This is actually subverted in the beginning of the book by having Bruce’s Batman be the one to initially confront Todd in Arkahm Asylum. Batman and Robin is Dick’s book, no question, but bringing Bruce in, at least for the storyline’s kickoff, was absolutely the right choice. Not only does it serve to remind us of Todd’s origin, it gives the scene a much stronger emotional impact. When Dick’s Batman arrives later, Todd, and his place in the story, have already been well established. The transition between the two Batmen is handled seamlessly, and is the key to accepting Todd as Grayson’s villain for this storyline.

March and Brosseau do a fantastic job on art duties. March, in particular, shows off his skill to great effect when drawing Jason Todd at the start of the book. His sly expressions, his relaxed body language all prove just how at ease Todd is, both with himself and in his environment. This is a powerful nonverbal statement, especially when contrasted with (Bruce’s) Batman’s tension and discomfort.

The Joker’s Asylum: Killer Croc – Review

By Mike Raicht (writer), David Yardin and Cliff Richards (art), Rodney Ramos (inks, pg. 21), Joe Villarrubia (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Another tale spun by the Clown Prince of Crime, this one dealing with Killer Croc’s escape from Arkham and his adoption by a severely dysfunctional criminal family.

What’s Good: Although I’m a pretty big Bat-fan, Killer Croc has never really been my favorite villain (aside from his very cool appearance in the Arkham Asylum video game.) I don’t dislike him, mind, I guess I just prefer seeing Batman take on the slightly more humanoid side of his rogue’s gallery. (Of course, since Batman is only peripheral in this book anyway, that’s not really an issue.)

Speaking of human, though, that’s one thing this book does quite well: humanizing the monster that is Killer Croc. He’s still not as sympathetic as his Marvel counterpart, the Lizard, but this story goes a long way towards parting the curtain and letting us see a little bit of the man behind the beast. The whole “beauty and the beast” angle, while Raicht overplays it a bit for my taste, is still effective, and helps the story more than it hurts.

I particularly enjoyed the artwork in this book. It’s not overly photo referenced, but it doesn’t fall into the “cartoony” trap either; in other words, it fits my definition of a very well drawn comic. It’s not perfect—facial expressions get sloppy when they aren’t in the foreground, and the detailing of the scales on Croc’s skin tends to come and go—but overall, it’s very solid indeed.

Joker’s Asylum: Harley Quinn – Review

By James Patrick (writer), Joe Quinones (art), Alex Sinclair (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: Joker settles in to tell us another tell, this one about Harley Quinn and her quest to break out of Arkham so that she can be with her Mr. J on the most specialist day of the year.

What’s Good: I’m a little leery of Harley Quinn as a character. Her backstory is very good, her interactions with Joker are entertainingly hilarious, and she acts as an excellent counterpoint to his often heavy-handed nature. In the wrong hands though, she can become nothing more than a pale imitation of the Joker—a female reflection of his psychosis with no motivations or desires of her own. Worse, she can be turned into an overly saccharine and annoying sidekick. Fortunately, Patrick avoids most of those traps here: since Joker is only introducing this story, the spotlight remains on Harley at all times and prevents her antics from competing with his, and at no time does she fall into the Zone of Irritation ™.

The story itself is absolutely the best part of this book. The whole concept of Harley being a cooperative inmate on every day except this one s pretty darn funny, and the offhanded and playful way she handles everything (except for the moments where she gets hilariously worked up over trivialities) gives it just the right tone. Batman’s cameo at the end, along with the rather inspired plan he concocts to try and catch her, was easily the highlight for me.

Joker’s Asylum: Mad Hatter – Review

By Landry Quinn Walker (writer), Keith Giffen and Bill Sienkiewicz (art), David Baron (colors), Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: The Joker spins another tale from Arkham for our benefit. This one is about Jervis Tetch, and gives us a poignant little peak into the Mad Hatter’s unique brand of psychosis.

What’s Good: Quite a lot, I’m happy to report. Although the Joker-as-narrator worked pretty well for the first issue of this series, I’m glad that it isn’t a reoccurring device. It’s a lot more fun to see the events of the book through the eyes of the character it’s actually about (or at least how Joker imagines they might see it, I suppose.) This works especially well for a villain like Hatter, who is a bit less popular and less frequently used, and therefore more enigmatic.

Giffen and Sienkiewicz do an awesome job on art here, and are backed up beautifully by Baron’s colors. This is one of the best marriages of pencils and color I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s a real joy to look at. Just browsing through the book and looking at the pictures is worth the cover price. As good as the script is (and it is good), much of the story and character comes from these illustrations. In addition to just being pretty, the panel layouts are just fantastic—pictures within pictures, scrapbook like touches and childlike side drawings that give us insight into how the Hatter sees the world are inspired, and really elevate proceedings.

Walker does an excellent job as wordsmith as well. Hatter’s delusions and struggles are deliciously creepy, and his frustration at his inability to find “his Alice” is chilling, and not a little poignant. (Not that such heinous acts can be understood or forgiven, but it’s sadly pathetic to see someone so hopelessly confused and not in control of themselves.)

Joker’s Asylum: The Riddler – Review

By Peter Calloway (writer), Andres Guinaldo (pencils), Raul Fernandez (inks) Tomeu Morey (colors) and Patrick Brosseau (letters)

The Story: From his cell in Arkham, the Joker tells us a story about Edward Nygma’s attempt to solve one of the greatest riddles of them all: what makes a person fall in love?

What’s Good: I’m of two minds about this book, but before we dive into the details, let me answer the most important question right up front by saying that this book is quite good, and it’s worth the $2.99 if you’re any sort of fan of the Riddler (or the Joker, for that matter.)

Now here’s the thing about this story: it’s tremendous fun (and quite moving to me, but then I’m a sentimental sap at heart), but calling it a Riddler story is something of a misnomer. Joker (in full forth-wall breaking mode) is the one telling this tale, after all, and so the book becomes less about the Riddler himself and more about the Joker and his unreliable narration. We are ultimately left having no real idea what parts of this story are truthful; in fact, we have no real assurance that the whole thing isn’t simply a tall tale spun entirely out of the Clown Prince’s own deranged imagination—an elaborate joke on the reader, if you will.

With that established, the key question now becomes how it affects the quality of the reading experience. I will say that if you’re coming to this hoping for a straightforward Riddler story, you may be disappointed in ambiguous nature of the story’s reality. If you are willing to roll with it, however, and look beyond the plot, I think any Riddler fan will find plenty of (surprisingly deep and astute) characterization that will stand and endure well past the narrative itself.

In addition to being very well written and lovely to look at, the detail-oriented reader will have a fantastic time picking up all of the little details and references in the panels. As one who has a thing for riddles and visual puzzles, that aspect of the book made it well worth the price of admission alone. If you have a similar proclivity, I recommend it even more highly. (And just how many card references ARE there in the Riddler panels? I’ve managed to count six so far, but I’m sure there are more than that.)