My NYCC Experience Pt. 3

After a full day of panels I returned to whence I began, Empire Stage, for another big one, this time presented by the distinguished competition.

Gone were the charming advertisements – apparently someone thought better of them – and now we simply waited, glancing occasionally to the silent screen which informed us that we were sitting in DC Comics – Batman.

John Cunningham, a DC marketing VP, took the podium and introduced us to our guests. At the far left of the table was the beloved creative team behind DC’s relaunched Batman, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Beside them was James Tynion IV, who writes Talon and Red Hood and the Outlaws. Next came Marc Andreyko, the controversially incoming writer on Batwoman. Beyond him was Kyle Higgins, who writes Nightwing, and Ann Nocenti, who pens Selina Kyle’s adventures in Catwoman. On the far end were John Layman, the surprisingly mild-mannered-looking man behind the current run of Detective Comics, and Peter Tomasi, writer for Batman and Robin.

As in nearly all things DC, this was largely Snyder’s show. Cunningham gave Snyder every opportunity to discuss last week’s Batman #24 (review here), but Snyder, in classic form, really just wanted to talk about how honored he was.

Snyder opened with a heartfelt thank you to the fans for not only letting him tell his stories, but supporting him in doing so. He waged charming, unassuming war on the notion that he did not respect the power and responsibility given to him in writing Batman’s origin story. Snyder called “Zero Year” his favorite story ever and seemingly could not help but show off some of the tricks that he brought to the table. Though he’s never been shy about it and his writing reeks of love for the character, Snyder put his status as a massive Batman fan on full display for this panel.

Green Lantern Corps #2 – Review

By: Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Fernando Pasarin (penciller), Scott Hanna (inker), Gabe Eltaeb (colorist)

The Story: Here’s a natural resources shortage solution for you: just steal ‘em.

The Review: While the main Green Lantern title offers an epic scope to its tales, Green Lantern Corps shows how even the nitty-gritty grind of a Lantern’s daily routine can have an excitement all its own.  These cops stretch their beat across an entire sector of the universe.  When they get called to duty, it usually means a pretty major threat is going down compared to the, say, grim but still small-scale skirmishes between Batman and his rogue-of-the-night.

So how exactly does a Lantern, or even a group of Lanterns, handle a force that can plunder an entire world of its most precious resource?  Well, they don’t do it by being wimps, that’s for sure.  While our human corpsmen have received the lion’s share of attention, this issue shows just how competent and hardcore any of the alien Lanterns can be.

If you want to make a guess on who’ll break out as a star in this series, I suggest you place your bet on raptor Lantern Isamot.  His rage upon finding two of his former comrades brutally murdered rivals that of Guy at his blood-spewing worst, but he doesn’t let it cloud his tactical choices in battle.  You’d think his first instinct would be to lay into the strike force of the same warriors who took down his friends, but Isamot has enough foresight to fly headfirst into the warp gate and detonate it, preventing others from coming through.

Another intriguing member of the team that accompanies John and Guy on their investigation is Sheriff Mardin, who, despite her rave ensemble, demonstrates a pragmatic, but nonetheless passionate sense of justice.  She may practice coolness in scoping her fallen peers’ bodies for evidence, but don’t take her for emotionless: “We should leave this horrific site as a reminder…so when we bring the bastards to justice we’ll make them do the burying.”

As much faith as want to place in this formidable party of space cops—Isamot loses all four of his limbs (“‘Tis but a scratch!”) and still comes flying by placing his ring on his extended tongue—don’t take the enemy lightly.  These guys can face the full brunt of Guy and John’s energy blast without flinching and, lest you forget, steal en masse an entire planet’s resource, be it fresh water or an entire race of aliens who can create a livable atmosphere with their breath.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #5

by Peter Tomasi (Writer), Fernando Pasarin (Penciller)

The Story: Our Emerald Warriors clash with a group of mentally-controlled GL rookies convinced that they’re Sinestro Corps members.  After narrowly escaping the battle and suffering a shocking loss, Gardner’s secret pact with Atrocitus comes to light and we’re shown exactly what has driven him to make such a deal.

What’s Good: Fernando Pasarin delivers a strong body of work within these pages and does a great job of reminding me why I’ve always been a fan of his pencils in the first place.  Not only does he come through with some solid storytelling, but there are plenty of awesome visuals to be found here.  The Green Lantern symbol-inspired constructs the rookies use to imprison our heroes is wonderful little treat that I’m surprised I don’t remember seeing before.  Also, The final image with Gardner’s visions painted on the wall in blood is also an effective visual, although most of the characters are simply faceless figures.  That might be intentional, though, so I’m not going to complain about it too much.  The interesting and frankly, gross, way that Atrocitus communicates with Gardner is yet another inspired choice and makes for another nice visual.   On the scrip end, the villain’s forcing the rookies to commit suicide was suitably harsh and shocking and I could believe the reaction it elicited in Kilowog, he having been their drill sergeant.

Outsiders #24 – Review

by Pete Tomasi (writer), Fernando Pasarin, Jay Leisten (art)

The Story: Yup, it’s another Blackest Night crossover as super-villainess Terra drops by Outsiders HQ to visit her half-brother, Geo-Force.  Meanwhile, Katana is confronted with the family she lost years ago to tragedy.

What’s Good: Like most comic fans, when I heard a few months ago that DC’s Blackest Night event would be crossing over into several of their ongoing series that didn’t have “green” in the title, I was wary.  We’ve all had the unfortunate experience of picking up a book we normally wouldn’t even glance at because it crossed over into some larger story-line that did interest us, only to discover that we’d been hoodwinked.  Not only did the comic in question, well, suck, but it also had only the most tangential connection to the main uber-plot.  Well, with their fair share of ups (Civil War) and downs (Final Crisis), the Big Two have mostly figured out how to handle the blockbuster events and their effects on individual series.  Despite an iffy initial entry (Yes, I’m looking at you Doom Patrol #4), DC continues to demonstrate this with this latest installment of the Outsiders.

Much like last week’s Booster Gold and R.E.B.E.L.S, Outsiders #24 manages to smoothly move forward the ongoing story-lines of the title, while still servicing the needs of those readers just dropping by because of Blackest Night.  Tomasi gives you all the super-zombies you’d expect, but also gives you good reasons to want to come back beyond this particular tie-in.  While mainly concentrating on Geo-Force and Katana, he injects just the right amount of personality into the other members of the team to make them feel just as fully-formed and real as the leads.  Whether it be Looker wanting to ride shotgun instead of fly because of her feeling bad for the bugs who are slamming into her at 70 miles per hour or Owl-Man’s wise detachment at Terra’s sudden resurrection and the implications of her arrival, Tomasi expertly conveys who these people are and why you should care about them.

Extra kudos go to the writer for a wonderfully engaging re-introduction to the Terra character.  While her appearance here continues directly from Blackest Night Titans, I thought this issue served as a much more successful taste of what she is capable of, what she’s about, and more importantly, why she’s this way.  In three pages, we’re shown the highlights of her history, while also getting a very clear picture of the kind of person Terra has always been and continues to be in death.  And it’s not pleasant.  Not one bit.

Fernando Pasarin is probably not a name that you’re familiar with.  He’s been an under-the-radar mainstay of DC for the past couple of years and it’s always a pleasure to see his name in the credits when I open up a comic book.  He falls into that category of artists that I am extremely fond of and vocal about: the dependable, solid storytellers.  He makes Tomasi’s story here work quite well, and keeps the eye moving down the page with ease.  In an issue that is heavy on the talking heads, especially in the first half, the artist keeps the visuals interesting, which is not always easy to do.  The fact that he does this while also communicating the strong emotions present in the characters is impressive.  In a story that depends so much on the reader sympathizing with the heroes’ emotional reactions to their deceased loved ones return, it’s imperative to get that across in the visuals.  Pasarin accomplishes that feat nicely.

What’s Not So Good: Tomasi, from the outset, sells this as a Terra story.  I mean, she’s even on the cover.  However, the character only shows up for eleven of the thirty pages, and that’s including the three-page history lesson at the beginning.  If anything, the real action and focus is on the Black Lanterns connected to Katana.  While that confrontation is interesting and full of emotional punch, I found I was disappointed.  I’m sure it was more about my expectations of the story than it was about anything lacking in the story itself, but it still stung a bit.  Also, Tomasi very clearly has Terra state that she has nefarious purposes in the opening of the issue, but then spends the next several pages trying to convince us that she’s got nothing but the best intentions instead.  It was a minor problem, but the disconnect still bothered me somewhat.

Conclusion: DC’s continues to land the majority of their Blackest Night crossovers in the win column.  Tomasi and Pasarin not only deliver a solid story that entertains plot-wise, but it also looks great.

Grade: B

-Joe Lopez

 

Green Lantern Corps #42 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman & Tom Nguyen (inks), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Along with their new Indigo ally, the Green Lantern Corps make their last stand defending the central power battery.

What’s Good: This is probably the best issue of Green Lantern Corps since Blackest Night began in earnest, and that’s largely due to all of the black lanterns coming together for one attack. The book has felt far too scattered and disparate over the last few months thanks to the black lanterns singling out characters and their change of tactic is welcome, as it brings all of our heroes together. This feels like a coherent narrative once again as opposed to a series of 3 pages vignettes.

As a result, our protagonists feel like a team and not simply a bunch of tangentially related people doing different things in different places. This helps foster some very strong character moments. The character death at the end of the book is certainly a gut-punch and it’s only the book’s newly regained cohesion that makes it possible.

Strangely though, my favourite scene involved Kilowog. The combination of rage, denial, and sadness was fantastically executed and oddly touching. It was a fantastic summation of the emotional reaction, and aftermath, that the black lanterns are capable of bringing forth. Kilowog’s tragic dialogue is only so effective because it hints at deeper, existential issues and personal pain that the character has harbored, and concealed, for a very long time.

Gleason’s art is more intelligible this month and also provides some really jaw-dropping moments, with some particularly awesome splashes and spreads. The size and scope of some of Gleason’s work here is astounding, daunting stuff. The character death at the end of the book is rendered beautifully and the mass black lantern assault is a sight to behold.

What’s Not So Good: While it’s much improved, Gleason’s art still isn’t without fault. The chaotic nature of the action still makes it occasionally difficult to decipher. The opening scenes were a bit hard-going at some points and the later sequence involving a released red lantern is nothing short of incomprehensible. Also, Gleason again shows himself to have some difficulty drawing Soranik’s face, which at times feels overly cartoony, even comical, with expressions that feel exaggerated, misplaced, or both.

What really disappoints about this issue, however, is Tomasi’s handling of the major character death.  Putting it simply, he dropped the ball.  It’s clearly the most important occurrence of the book and the most emotionally significant moment of the series for quite some time, but I just didn’t feel as though it was treated as such.    It comes off as random, rushed, and hence, underwhelming.  It takes just long enough that it isn’t shocking, but there’s also not enough build up for it to carry the emotional weight that it should.  It’s just about the most abrupt last stand and farewell that I’ve ever read.

A major character’s dying, especially in such heroic fashion, should garner more of a reaction from me.  Hell, Tomasi could very well have had me tearing up.  Instead, it doesn’t feel as significant or powerful as the character deserves and the fact that I bordered on feeling non-plussed is almost a travesty.

Conclusion: The best issue of GLC in a while, but I can’t help feeling a little soured by the missed opportunity.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

 

Green Lantern Corps #41 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne & Tom Nguyen (inks), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Soranik teams with Kyle to fight Jade, Arisia wrestles with her family, and Kilowog is forced to battle an old friend.

What’s Good: This is basically 22 pages of almost  non-stop Lantern-related violence.  The huge blasts, numbers, and scope of what’s going on is impressive, as is some of the gore, which at times pushes the boundary of what you’d expect out of a mainstream DCU comic.

What GLC has done best with Blackest Night, however, is fully convey the emotional impact made possible by having the dead rise.  In fact, I’d say that Jade has made the best of use of a black ring in this regard. She and her mind games are downright evil.  Seeing Soranik team up with Kyle against her is as fun as it is troubling.  Tomasi makes use of every opportunity that raising a dead character provides in this scene: the guilt, lingering emotion, and history all come into play and are manipulated perfectly.

Arisia and Kilowog also provide a nice juxtaposition, as Tomasi shows the nature of a battle with the Black Lanterns.  If you don’t believe them to be real representations of the bodies they inhabit, you’re fine.  But the minute you start to talk to them or treat them like they really are your loved ones, you’re done for.  Tomasi makes this line very clear.  It’s also nice to see someone making use of those  Tales of the Corps stories that came out a while ago.  Readers who picked those up will really dig these two scenes, Kilowog’s surprise opponent in particular.

What’s Not So Good: Though it’ s not as bad in this respect as last month’s issue, as there aren’t any truly detached scenes, the fast and frenetic pace of this book again makes it feel as though its spread a little thin at some points.  While it’s all centered around a battle at Oa, it’s hard not to feel like every scene is its own separate story, treating its own separate characters.  As a result, GLC feels somewhat scattered.  Characters are off doing their own thing, and Tomasi seems to feel obligated to give us monthly updates on all of them.  The fact that I’d totally forgotten the two characters in the book’s final scene is a bit indicative of the book’s current state.  It’s just a bit “all over the place.”  I’m still not sure how necessary Gardner’s scene was.

Similarly chaotic is the artwork, which at times, particularly in the smaller panels, borders on being an incomprehensible tangle of limbs and light.  Though it’s generally all right, at times, it’s a bit hard to piece together what’s going on.

Conclusion: A generally enjoyable 22 pages of chaos with a nice surprise ending.

Grade: B –

-Alex Evans

Green Lantern Corps #40 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen & Prentis Rollins (inks), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Kyle Rayner battles his old lover, the Corps settles on who’s in charge of Oa with the Guardians gone, and the Black Lanterns do a good amount of chest ripping.

What’s Good: Tomasi really managed to get across the emotional impact possible in Blackest Night.  For instance, the resurrection of Arisia’s parents at the start of the issue made total sense, but was both surreal and unexpected.

As another example, the scene between Kyle and Jade was far and away the best of the issue.  For once, it was interesting to see a Black Lantern play a different role, appearing soft, sweet, and seductive as opposed to monstrous.  Gleason’s art played to this quite well, making Jade seem cute, and yet not quite right.  After what we’ve seen thus far from Blackest Night, it was definitely refreshing to see the psychological aspect taking the forefront as opposed to Jade just being another threatening monster right off the bat.  That said, Gleason does a wonderful job in turning Jenny from pretty to monstrous in the span of a few pages.

Tomasi also continues to make the Alpha Lanterns appear increasingly ominous.  The executions were bad enough before, but we now get hints of them almost seeking out a political power play.  Seeing Salaak take charge of Oa was expected, but cool, given that he’s been a bit underused the past few months.

What’s No So Good: I find that Green Lantern Corps is always a juggling act, and every month, it’s a battle to see whether or not Tomasi can pull it off or whether he’ll end up dropping a few balls from taking on too many.  Unfortunately, I felt that this month’s issue fell a little more into the latter category.

In an effort to keep us up to date on the comic’s myriad characters, things do end up feeling a little scattered, and some scenes end up feeling more extraneous and unrelated.  For instance, the side-story of Kryb seeking out her children felt jarringly detached from the rest of the issue and didn’t seem particularly pertinent to anything.  Furthermore, was anyone really pumped to see Gardner battle BZZD?  There’s just a little too much going on here.

That also leads to some elements not getting the development that they should.  For example, Katma Tui’s resurrection was a big deal last month, as it should be.  She gets one page here, flying in out of nowhere and munching on a random dude’s heart.  We should’ve seen a lot more of her than that.  Furthermore, Arisia gets mobbed by dead family members in the first couple of pages in one of the coolest moments of the comic, only for that scene to never be revisited or updated.  Every character gets his or her one scene, and that’s it.

Finally, Gleason finally cracks a little under the pressure of all this chaos.  Some of the action here is just too expansive and frenetic and becomes incomprehensible.  I challenge anyone to figure out the splash involving the Sciencell prisoners.  Gleason’s drawings of Kryb are similarly indecipherable.

Conclusion: Some really awesome moments, but there’s just too much going on here.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

Blackest Night: Batman #1 – Review

By Peter Tomasi (writer), Ardian Syaf (pencils), John Dell, Vicente Cifuentes (inks), and Neil Ruffino (colorist)

The Story: The black rings make their way to Gotham, disturbing and raising the dead. Relatives and D-list enemies of the Bat-Family rise, while Deadman comes to Gotham to find some answers. The Blackest Night continues as the trio gets set to take on the Black Lanterns of Gotham.

What’s Good: The dynamic between Dick Grayson and Damian are further explored in this issue, as Tomasi provides us some much needed character moments for the new Batman and Robin. Subjects such as death and family are brought up, serving as some deep dialogue that surely further develops this new duo, while it appropriately parallels the ongoing event. Seeing Grayson during these moments should make his inevitable confrontation with the dead family member in his life the more unforgettable.

What’s Not So Good: Three things. First, this #1 issue falls flat as an introduction to the story. I know that this is Blackest Night, and the dead are rising, but I was hoping to see more than what we’ve been reading. I suppose I expected more than the typical “black ring visits and awakens the dead.” Second, too much Deadman. This is a Batman book. I want to see Batman-related characters, not a bunch of pages dedicated to some B-list hero playing catch up and scenes of unimportant rogues rising. I wanted 22 pages dedicated to the heartbreaking and haunting appearances of the dead family members and the villains that make Batman!

Conclusion: As expected, there’s no indication of Bruce Wayne’s resurrection being deeply explored in this issue. Therefore, this book is nothing more than an entertaining read that doesn’t really offer anything important. Is it a must pickup? Sure? I guess it doesn’t hurt to read another story about the Dick Grayson Batman.

Grade: C-

-Ray Hilario

Green Lantern Corps #39 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman & Tom Nguyen (inks), Randy Mayor (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: The black rings assault Oa, Arisia’s work on Daxam reaches its unfortunate conclusion, and Mongul finds a new base of operations.

What’s Good: Strangely, I actually enjoyed the bits divorced from Blackest Night the most in this issue.  That’s not to say the Blackest Night stuff was bad, just that I really like the ominous background threats of Mongul and the incurably xenophobic Daxamites. The Sinestro Corps’ invasion has had a particularly nasty effect on the Daxamites, making them even more violent and racist, but also super-powered.  The menace they pose is definitely palpable. Meanwhile, I loved the short Mongul bit. The reveal of his new base planet is a real gut-punch.

As far as the Blackest Night stuff goes, this issue is, more than anything, another “credibility builder.”  Much like the last issue of Green Lantern, this issue of GLC is all about putting forth just how unstoppably powerful the black light really is. Watching the rings go through a shield as if it were nothing gets that point across well. Meanwhile, while it’s a futile struggle, I’ve never seen cryptkeeper Morro look so badass.

Gleason’s art continues to be fantastic. He does a great job of detailing all of the chaos that the rings brings, but manages to keep it comprehensible. With thousands of little black rings flying all over the place, that’s no small feat. Furthermore, his work depicting Morro is awesome and a good part of the character’s badassery this month comes thanks to Gleason’s efforts. I also loved Senator Diro’s facial expression during his conversation with Arisia. If that doesn’t say “this dude is monstrously evil,” I don’t know what does; Gleason made Senator Diro reach black lantern levels of frightfulness.

What’s Not So Good: With so much going on with Mongul, Daxam, and, of course, Blackest Night, Guy’s quips about Kyle’s romance with Soranik just seemed out of place this month.  It felt a little forced, crammed into an already packed narrative, and hence a little unnatural.  I love Guy, so I did enjoy the dialogue, which is of course in his trademarked “meathead” vernacular, but it just didn’t seem like the time or the place.  Oa is being assaulted by power rings, and Guy’s really going to bring up Kyle’s relationship with Soranik?  Yeah, I don’t buy it.

While fantastic, the scenes with Mongul and Arisia also almost feel too detached and distant from the rest of the book.  Blackest Night has become such a dominating presence in the GL world that when there are simultaneous strands running through this issue that, right now, have no connection at all to it, it just feels off-putting. If anything, it dilutes the Blackest Night stuff.

Also, I’ve gotta say that if you didn’t, on page 1, predict the identity of the resurrected Black Lantern coming for Kyle at the end of the book, you need to have your head examined

Conclusion: A solid issue that feels a little scattered. Neverthless it’s still a fun issue.

Grade: B-

-Alex Evans

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Chris Samnee, Mike Mayhew (artists), John Kalisz, Andy Troy (colorist), Pat Brosseau (letterer)

What a jip! 2 stories only?! What the hell?! If DC’s gonna skimp out us on our expected Lantern stories, they could’ve at least given us 2 compelling stories related to the ongoing event; not two character profiles that read like annuals that you can pass on. And what’s with the Directory’s Commentary for Free Comic Book Day’s Blackest Night #0? That’s something I usually expect to find at the end of the trade.

So what are we really getting with Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3? 2 character histories (Kilowag’s and Arisia’s) that don’t reveal anything new about the characters, just the dead people in their lives– who we can expect to be in the background somewhere when all hell has broken loose and Johns has each respective character battling the ghosts from their pasts. I guess that’s supposed to be the point of these two stories– to expect and know who those Black Lanterns are.

But if you’ve already picked up the first two, you might as well swoop this one. The Kilowog story takes up most of the pages, and I guess I can say it’s all right. In this story, Tomasi gives us the history of how Kilowag came to be the hardass that he is. And although you may know where the story is going by the second page, it’s still somewhat entertaining to witness the half-assed character exploration behind Kilowog and how he got his ball-busting drill sergeant ways from Lantern Ermey (lame Full Metal Jacket reference by the way, Tomasi…). As for the Arisa story, it’s forgettable, unexciting, and reads as if the creative team thought it would be funny to forcefuly run an unfunny gag over and over…

There aren’t a lot of redeeming qualities with Tales of the Corps #3; but since it’s the 3 out of 3, you may as well get it. Read it once, slip it back in the bag and board, and marvel at it for a couple of seconds when you connect all three covers. Then pray that Blackest Night #2 comes out already.

Grade: D

-Ray Hilario

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2 – Review

by Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi (writers), Eddy Barrows, Gene Ha, & Tom Mandrake (pencils and inks), Ruy Jose (inks), Nei Ruffino & Pete Pantazis (colors), Steven Wand & Sal Cipriano (letters)

The Story: How Red Lantern Bleez, Star Sapphire Carol Ferris, and Orange Lantern Blume (the giant floating head) ended up in their respective lantern corps.

What’s Good: Bleez’s story is probably the best of the bunch this month, making me care about a character I knew little of. Johns does a great job of making things go horribly wrong while also adding new depths to the Sinestro Corps’ depravity.  It’s despicable stuff that makes Bleez sympathetic, but Johns also makes no attempt to paint Bleez as innocent or perfect: Bleez was nonetheless elitist and spoiled. This makes the Sinestro Corps invasion all the more effective, as it opens her world in a huge way, shattering her ignorance as it shatters her.

Barrow’s artwork was also absolutely superb, particularly in his depictions of Bleez’s homeworld and her angelic form. From page one on, it’s clear that this is Eddy Barrows at his best.

As far as Carol Ferris’ tale goes, I enjoyed the level of sentience and conversational ability that the violet ring possessed. Make no mistake though: this story is a showcase for Gene Ha and Pete Pantazis, who put out perhaps the best artwork of any Tale thus far. There’s almost a retro feel to it, lending itself well to the flashbacks, while Pantazis gives the entire story a fitting violet hue. It’s rare that a colorist asserts himself so well in the storytelling aspect of comic art.

Blume’s story is fun for what it is, with Johns’ “God of Hunger” concept being a really neat one. This is a rare case where I feel that the short page count of the Tales actually does the story favours.  At six pages, it doesn’t overextend itself or lead to questions of relevance. Rather, the cool concept alone provides enough mileage for the Tale, which aims to be nothing more than fast, simple fun.

What’s Not-so-Good: While it’s the best of the bunch, the Bleez tale is severely hampered by its low page count, as the pacing feels somewhat crushed, with one massive plot development following another with little to build-up. The Tale is excellent because of its larger scope, but it’s this very scope that also proves to be its weak-point, as the story would clearly have lent itself better to a full 22 pages. The invasion out of nowhere happens far too quickly and Bleez’s getting the red ring feels a little too convenient, giving the feeling that a ridiculous number of rings are floating around at any one moment. Also, due to the page count, Johns isn’t fully able to do a thoroughly convincing job of depicting Bleez’s rage. Yes, what she undergoes is horrible, but she doesn’t have quite enough lines to express her anger.

The Carol Ferris tale, while not bad, is probably the weakest of the bunch, only because it feels like something of a rehashing. It simply re-tells things we already knew or have already seen and thus feels a little more lifeless than it should. While not quite to the extent of the Son of Mongul tale last month, I just don’t feel like this story had to be told.

Conclusion: While the Saint Walker tale is still the best, this week’s offering is a better overall package than last week’s.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

Green Lantern Corps #38 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman & Tom Nugyen (inks), and Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colors)

The Story: Things settle post-riot, and the Guardians reaffirm that they’re biggest little assholes in the DC Universe.

What’s Good: This is a really solid issue of Green Lantern Corps.  Clearly the core issue this month is the philosophical differences that Guy and Kyle see, opposing the Guardians.  On the surface, the disagreement seems to be merely a situation of yet another comic lamenting capital punishment.  However, what makes the conflict so engaging is not the topic itself, but rather how it defines the characters.  Kyle and Guy take the stance that we’d expect them to, but the Guardians once again show the failings of the emotional spectrum.

I really enjoyed this depiction of the Guardians’ rigid and single-minded dedication to Will and found it especially effective due to its sublety. In other words, Tomasi has the Guardians personify Will and carry the failings of single-minded dedication to one emotion without having them stomp about screaming asinine catch-phrases (Geoff Johns, take note).

The more this arc goes on, the more I truly begin to fear the Guardians. What they order in this comic is pretty damned brutal and their increased rendering of the Corps as an authoritarian construct is disturbing.  This is just one of those moments where you KNOW the bubble will burst.

As for Gleason and things down in his end, his work continues to serve the book well.  It balances a whimsical, Saturday Morning feel with the realism of a mainstream, modern blockbuster comic.  I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever regarding his work this month, as his storytelling feels fluid and effective.

What’s Not-So-Good: Aside from the philosophical conflict with the Guardians, this issue is more of a denouement and thus isn’t particularly action or development heavy, for the most part.  Oa is on clean-up duty, Soranik tries to remove Sinestro’s mark, Voz is rushed to sick-bay… It’s really just a lot of consolidation and tidying up before Blackest Night.  It’s necessary and it’s not bad, but it’s also not particularly edge-of-your-seat gripping, either.

Also, the last page of the comic really seems to come out of nowhere.  With most of the issue spent dealing with clean-up and the Guardians, the final page really felt a bit like Tomasi suddenly remembering that an event was coming up, and yelled “WHAM! BLACKEST NIGHT!” just before sending his script off.  It just felt pretty random.

Conclusion: A solid book that works well as a denouement for the last arc at the expense of leading into the next one.  That said, I’m sure this menacing portrayal of the Guardians will pay dividends during Blackest Night.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

The Mighty #6 – Review

By Peter Tomasi and Keith Champagne (writers), Chris Samnee (artist), John Kalisz (Colorist)

The Story: Taylor Rhines, one of Gabe Cole’s predecessors, is being autopsied by Cole, after he finally manages to chase Alpha One out of the room. He’s looking for something, and what he finds scares him. When Alpha One joins him later and invites him for a view of the Earth from space, he accepts, but Cole’s suspicions dog him and the tension builds from there.

What’s Good: There is one tone in this book and it is tension. Right away, we are delivered this nagging sense that under the picturesque Mayberry, something sinister can be detected. By issue #6, Alpha One is now seriously creeping me out and it gets worse every panel he’s in. Tomasi and Champagne are creating a rising sense, not of fear, but of dread. There’s a difference and it’s very hard to do, but they’re doing it right. If you haven’t read the Mighty yet and don’t get what I mean, imagine Superman as a stalker.

As for the art, the scratchiness works for this story. This style of the art sets the visual tone for the book: stark, austere, it never gets too comfortable and doesn’t trust anyone. The faces tell the story and little details make it all the more real. Take note of the x-ray shots and the cut of Cole’s suit and the boy scout shine on his shoes, as they tell us more about the character than a page of text boxes. I also like that some of the depictions of Alpha One having a primitive (early) sort of feel to them, like 1930s Superman.

What’s Not So Good: If Alpha One was behind me, forcing me to complain about something, I would say that the slowness of the development of the story is a flaw. However, I’d mostly be saying that to save my skin. Tomasi and Champagne have drawn out the tension that they have created and they are doing it on purpose.

Conclusion: This is high-quality, disturbing stuff, with an impending sense of dread. Few comics go for this route and fewer still do it right. Buy this book.

Grade: B+

-DS Arsenault

Outsiders #19 – Review

By Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Fernando Pasarin & Jeremy Haun (artist), Prentis Rollins & Wayne Faucher & Jeremy Haun (inker)

The Story: A mysterious group of near-immortal acolytes starts the book off by pulling together enough pieces of an ancient immortality-granting meteorite to be able to gather the remaining pieces and thereby renew themselves. Switch then to the Outsiders trying to take down Deathstroke. This takes a lot of the book to resolve, but the fight takes an effective break to see Vandal Savage as he closes in on the acolytes.

What’s Good: There’s a lot of tension in this book: scheming immortals, a relentless Vandal Savage, a major fight scene and competing factions. It’s fast-paced and constantly building.

The large art team delivers visuals that really drive the book along. The attractor machine plowing energy into molten earth was awesome, as were explosions and light effects throughout the book. And the walk of Vandal Savage, through desert, seashore, forest and snow-capped mountains showed a tireless, approaching menace. The level of detail in the people, especially in the faces (hair and teeth) was also great, even though I found some expressions and poses slightly awkward, in a Paul Gulacy sort of way. The colors suit the scenes perfectly and on many pages, panels had different, but logical color dominances and the effect on the page as a whole made it a delight for the eyes.

What’s Not So Good: Although the readers haven’t been let into the nature of the approaching menace, I’m ready to wait another issue for it. On the flip side, I think there are some serious problems around the credibility of the story in the writing.

Firstly, the acolytes especially are guilty of a lot of talking-head exposition, which is telling each other things that they already know, for the sole purpose of letting the reader know something. There are lots of ways to do exposition. A text box may seem old-fashioned, but it is still a useful tool and would have made the characters more believable by (a) giving them less dialogue and (b) making the dialogue more natural.

Secondly, nobody in the DC universe seems to understand teamwork. Deathstroke is holding a blade to Alfred’s neck. Fine. Five Outsiders (three of whom shoot some type of energy blast) stand still. Katana comes from behind. The hostage is out of the way. Do the other Outsiders help Katana? No. What about when Deathstroke runs for the bodies? No, although Geo-Force does tell Rex to get the body out of the way. It would have been faster to tell Rex to get Deathstroke. It also would have been faster for any of them to have blasted Deathstroke in the back, since he was right there with his back turned. The whole Deathtrap story in the Titans was full of ineffective superheroing like this, and I’m worried that I’m seeing more of the same in the Outsiders.

Lastly, some of the action makes me wonder about the age of the target audience of this book. On one hand, you’ve got Deathstroke cleaving a corpse in half, but at the same time, the whimsical, blasé way it was done really cheapens the effect and stains credibility (think B-movie Hollywood barbarians).

Conclusion: There’s great art here, but some pretty flawed story-telling that gets in the way of the story.

Grade: C-

-DS Arsenault

Green Lantern Corps #37 – Review

By Peter Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (penciler), Rebecca Buchman and Tom Nguyen (inkers), and Gabe Eltaeb (colors)

The Story: Three exceedingly awesome plot-line continue exploding under Tomsai’s craftsmanship. First we see that after Sodam Yat’s self-sacrifice into the heart of Daxam’s redson, the occupied Daxamite population develops their latent superpowers and take on Mongul and his rogue band of yellow lanterns. Next we check out the weird and wonderful Lantern team-up in sector 666. Lastly, the mayhem continues on Oa as the prisoner revolt climaxes with the arrival of some heavy hitters while Scar makes an unexpected and game-changing move. Blackest Night has begun.

What’s Good: From the first page to the last, this is a near perfect book. Every story line is completely engrossing and the art is diverse and perfect for the variety of settings and events. And unlike the main Green Lantern title which just treads water with protracted stories and  bleeding (and lacking) character studies, things actually transpire in this series that actually effect the momentum of Blackest Night.

Perhaps my favorite part is what is going on in sector 666, where two memorable and interesting Lanterns are searching for the Anti-Monitor Husk. I’m not sure if this has to do with Hank Henshaw or if this is related to something else, but in any case, this is a dynamic that has hooked me into this book fully.

I was relieved with how well this book was drawn as the cover looked like attack from killer muppets. But the character designs were awesome, especially the Alpha Lanterns, who looked like the baddest things in the DCU. Also, Scar looks like a black and bloody dwarf  nightmare. She is going to make Blackest Night a lot of fun.

What’s Not So Good: There is not anything to really complain about in this book. The whole affair is pretty stellar. I’m not sure if this is a critique on the book or just Daxam as a whole. My question is this: How can you root for a planet full of xenophobic and racist scum-balls? Now, they are super powered Daxam supremacists.  So, is that good or bad? I would think the latter but by the pull of the story, the Daxamites are supposed to be the protagonists. Look, I’m not saying they are Sinestro Corps evil, but still, there is some heavy ambiguity surrounding why we should cheer for them.

Conclusion: Green Lantern Corps is the best Lantern book on the shelves right now. It’s interesting how Johns dropped the ball on the main series and seeing Tomasi’s home run here, John’s butterfingers are quite apparent. Buy this!

Grade: A

-Rob G

Outsiders #18 – Review

By Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Trevor Scott (inker)

The Story: We open with the origin of Vandal Savage (one of my favourite DC villains) and the Outsiders’ mission to find him. They use the fact that part of Rex’s power comes from the same meteor that empowered Vandal Savage to light him up in orbit like the Staff of Ra to point to where Vandal Savage is. In the meantime, Alfred is doing some hunting of his own and finds an old friend not aged at all. After he leaves, Alfred’s old buddy and Vandal Savage get the shit blown out of them by Deathstroke.

What’s Good: For starters, the art is great, as the detailed work can’t be ignored. Each character has their distinct look and when shown posing, you simply  get a powerful image. I also like the way Garbett laid out his panels in some pages in odd sizes that added to a disjointed and uncertain mood. The shot of Halo lighting up orbit by shooting light through Rex as if he was a lens is absolutely stunning.

Tomasi also took us through three compelling separate plotlines (Alfred after the old buddy, the Outsiders after Savage, and Deathstroke after Savage) without rushing the story. Furthermore, the dialogue was crisp, never failing to differentiat each character’s voice.

What’s Not So Good: Tomasi needed some explanations around what the Outsiders were doing. Unfortunately, he chose to do this through a lot of talking heads telling each other things they already knew. It was a small point, but it took away from their scenes.

Conclusion: This was a solid book in the middle of an arc. Great characters were featured, and solid artwork fairly accompanied the multiple storylines. The next issue might jsut be worth picking up.

Grade: B

-DS Arsenault

Green Lantern Corps #36 – Review

By Peter Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman (inks),

The Story: Things heat up in the Emerald Eclipse arc, as Sinestro reveals to Soranik that he is her father. Meanwhile, shit has hit the fan in the Green Lantern Corps headquarters. An all out riot takes place within the sciencecells and among numerous areas within Oa. Moreover as Oa burns, Sodam Yat prepares to save the intolerant people (that he hates) of his native world, from the power-hungry Mongul.

The Good: The compelling story of Sodam Yat’s return to his home planet, Daxam, and to his xenophobic native people. Every great writer will tell you, a good story is packed with lots of conflict. And from what has been going on in Emerald Eclipse, Sodam Yat’s situation makes up  a bulk of the good of this story. On top of confronting the people he loathes, and with the riot on Oa keeping the Green Lantern backup from coming to his aid, Sodam is forced to set aside his hatred and live truly by the Green lantern oath, when he decides to save his people from Mongul and his Sinestro Corps members. The end result is epic and bittersweet for now.

What’s Not So Good: The pacing seems a little off in this issue; which is no surprise as Tomasi is essentially juggling three stories at once: Sinestro and Soranik, the battle in Oa, and Sodam Yat’s return to Daxam. The story is hurried as the panels are packed with too many forgettable conversations, and as each scene seems to be on fast forward (especially the Oa riot scene which drags on for a chaotic montage).

It seems as though that Tomasi could make this story better if he was able to dedicate an issue for each subplot. Or at least try not to cram everything all at once. There’s definitely something wrong with packing in all three yarns in this issue, as it affects the impact they’re each supposed to have. For example, I was really disappointed that the encounter between father and daughter quickly fizzled. In the previous issue, when we found out that Sinestro is Soranik’s father, we expected some sort of memorable confrontation upon revelation. However, that’s not the casein this issue as Sodam Yat’s story steals the story’s thunder.

Conclusion: Although Green Lantern Corps #36 doesn’t exactly read smoothly, it is probably the most entertaining chapter in the Emerald Eclipse arc. I’m glad that this title is able to hold its own. It has definitely become a book worth picking up, as it manages to keep the readers wanting more from its multiple storylines.

Grade: B

-Raymond Hilario

Green Lantern Corps #35 – Review

By Peter Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman (inks), Randy Mayor (colors)

Man–the Green Lantern Universe is rocking lately. It seems like anything to do with corps is guaranteed to be great entertainment. This issue of the Green Lantern Corps is no exception as we’re treated to a few exciting and divergent storylines.

First, we have the Red Lantern attack on the sciencell that quickly escalates to a multi-light battle, with the Yellow Lanterns entering the fray. Then we have what is going on with Daxom and Ion action over there. Finally, we have the surprise arrival of major character on Koruger (hint, hint: he’s on the cover).

There are so many things to like about this issue, like the giant Sinestro sentinel that is as big as a planet and the pervasive, but underlying, ascension and effect of the Blackest Night. Peter Tomsai carefully culls dialogue and action into great pacing that is interesting and fun.Despite this being an action mag, it is layered enough to warrant being reread.

The art, for the most part, is very good. The problem that I have had with some of the illustrations in the arc and the last is that alien fight scenes are hard to decipher for anatomic and kinetic reasons. Many times a fight scene will be too frantic and busy for me to piece together what is going on and I have to rely on the text to determine who is who and what’s happening. However, Gleason draws great light projections and the panels are always in synch with the story.

I really can’t find too much at fault with this comic—you’re getting your money’s worth here. My one complaint is that the whole Koruger story line seemed forced and kind of cliché. I would rather have seen more of the other plot lines developed and expanded in those pages.

I am really impressed with how well this series works with John’s Green Lantern. In a sense, Green Lantern Corps compliments and completes the main series.

Grade: B+

-Rob G.

Justice Society of America – Kingdom Come Special: Magog #1 – Review

By Peter Tomasi and Geoff Johns (writers), Fernando Pasarin (pencils), Scott Kolins (art), Mick Gray (inks), Hi-Fi (colors)

I’ve been reading the Justice Society of America hardcover trades as they’ve been released so I’m not really up to speed with what’s been going on. Those books are just beginning to scratch the surface of the whole Kingdom Come epic, so I had hopes that I wouldn’t be completely lost with Magog’s storyline here.

I was wrong.

Sure, Peter Tomasi’s a good writer, but unlike Geoff Johns he lacks that rare skill of being able to make a comic accessible for a new reader — regardless of where the story may stand. From page one, I was lost and I hoped with due time I’d get more backstory. Instead I was given a series of horrific events that form the beginnings of who Magog is. Yes, the story told is quite good, but being stamped with a “#1” is very misleading. I’m hoping Geoff Johns’ installment next week will clear up a lot of my confusion, because there’s a lot here that went unanswered. Speaking of Johns, he does a nice little Starman story, which, truth be told, is almost better than the main feature.

If you’re current with the JSA storyline, you’ll probably find little faults with this issue. But if you’re a casual reader or just picking up this book out of curiosity, I urge you to approach with caution.

Grade: B-

– J. Montes

Green Lantern Corps #30 – Review

By Peter Tomasi (story), Patrick Gleason (art), Rebecca Buchman (inks), Randy Mayor (colors)

The Story: In part two of the “Sins of the Star Sapphire” story, an envoy of Guardians journeys to the planet Zamaron to convince Queen Aga’po to stop harnessing the violet light, fearing further proliferation of the emotional light spectrum will advance the “Blackest Night” prophecy that they are struggling to prevent. As diplomatic tensions between the Guardians and Queen Aga’po grow strained, the Lanterns are horrified to discover that the Zamorans have been trying to rehabilitate captured Sinestro Corps members by brainwashing them with love.

The Good: I never would have expected Green Lantern to be the book to get me reading DC again, but I have to credit the “Sinestro Corps War” for being such an awesome story, and I can honestly say I’m really looking forward to following this straight through to “The Blackest Night” next summer. The Green Lantern titles are greatly benefiting from the mythos of an emotional spectrum of light that Geoff Johns has developed, and part of the fun in reading these books is being introduced to a new Corps and observing how their powers and philosophies clash with those of the Lanterns.

The Not So Good: Unfortunately, issues like this one are slow and unspectacular since it’s being written as one small part in a larger story. That’s fine for the graphic novel collection, but when I walk into my local comic shop I want to find stories that can entertain me right then and there, not ones I have to wait to be collected to enjoy.

Conclusion: Faithful fans of the larger story will enjoy this issue as it continues to advance the plot, but I suspect the casual reader will probably feel like they’ve walked in on the middle of the conversation, and would be better off finding more entertaining comics to spend their money on.

Grade: C-

-Tony Rakittke

Final Crisis: Requiem – Review

By Peter Tomasi (writer), Doug Mahnke (pencils), Chrstian Alamy with Rodney Ramos (inks), Nei Ruffino (colors)

I thought this book was going to be just a bunch of heroes crying over Martian Manhunter. And we get a bit of that in the opening pages, but from there it goes into eulogy about J’onn J’onzz’s life, giving lots of little nuggets and highlights along the way. To be honest, I didn’t know too much about the character, so this stuff was most welcomed. Some fans who already know this stuff may find this retread a bit boring, especially at a steep $3.99 cover price.

From there, the story radically shifts to the incident involving J’onn’s death. Personally, I always felt his death in Final Crisis was anticlimactic and just done for shock. In this issue, we see all the details leading up to his final moments including a series of events that bolsters the meaning of his death. J’onn didn’t go out like a chump – he fought tooth and nail until the end. I wish this was shown in the core Final Crisis book, because what’s on display here is much more meaningful. It’s also revealed how his final moments of life will forever resonate with some key Justice League members.

If you’re a fan of Final Crisis, you’ll most likely enjoy this book. If you’ve found the series to be puzzling and a mess (like me), you’ll be relieved to know that this is a straight forward story that digs deeper into a subplot that seemed almost wasted.

Doug Mahnke draws some strikingly detailed art and handles the ensemble cast like a pro, while Peter Tomasi delivers a strong, heartfelt script. It won’t make you cry or anything, but it will make you appreciate one of DC’s most under appreciated (and lovable) characters. Is the cover price a bit too high? Yeah. But then again story told here is much more comprehensible and compelling than the first two issues of Final Crisis we’ve been fed so far. (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes