Phantom Stranger #1

By: Dan Didio (story), Brent Anderson (pencils), Philip Tan (inks), Ulises Arreola (colors)

The Story: Judas Phantom Stranger sets out to earn redemption in the most bizarre way possible…he has to keep betraying people until every piece of silver he received betraying Jesus is paid off. It’s been 2000 years, and he’s gotten rid of 2. Man. Remind me never to piss off God. (My mother just told me that I’m too late)

The Review: Where did this book come from? The #0 issue last month was pretty good. It’s one of the strangest (no pun intended) takes on a superhero comic I’ve seen in the past few years. Plus the guy wears a fedora, which I have been rocking since before Mad Men and hipsters had to ruin them (they kept rain out of your eyes! The rims are perfect!). But the fedora fits the Stranger well because he is quite possibly the most Noir superhero ever created. That title gets passed around. Batman is a good example. Daredevil has had it for years. But now that Mark Waid has decidedly taken Daredevil out of the Noir spotlight, it’s time for a character to step in. To have his life beaten to shit again and again and again. To have nothing hopefull ever happen to him. And every time something good and wonderful is shown, it’s to let the reader know it will be taken away in heartwrenching brutality (wow, so Whedon basically has Noir at the spine of all his work.) We need a hero to fall into a dark abyss.

The Savage Hawkman #1–Review

Written by Tony S. Daniel, Art by Philip Tan, Colors by Sunny Gho

The Story: Side effects of the Hawkman suit: piss it off and it will bond to your muscles.

What’s Good: I have almost no knowledge of the character Hawman, so I was a little excited reading this–especially after reading Daniel’s Detective Comics. I got to say this–the story is really promising. I love the idea of Hawkman as an Indian Jones kind of character.  And with a fresh introduction to the character, Daniel sold me on this idea. What’s good to see is that he’s not simply Indiana Jones with the powers of Hawkman; he’s more like if Indiana started thinking his fedora was out to get him and tried to burn it multiple times. He’s done being Hawkman and just wants one of them to die.

We’ll get back to the story later. What really shines in this issue is the art. Phillip Tan and Sunny Cho make a great team. Tan’s art isn’t “savage,” but it has this energy like it’s about to burst open. And when it does, it’s a wonderful thing. The alien nemesis has the savagery we don’t get from Hawkman as of now, and I can’t wait to see Tan’s version of a SAVAGE Hawkman. But the explosive potential felt in the art is highlighted (no pun intended) even more by Cho’s colors. The best part of her colors is that you don’t even realize she was holding back until the first beautiful full page spread of Hawman in his new armor. Everything before it is slightly muted and hazy. And on that page, the only vibrant thing is Hawman. They backgrounds, the cave, the in-your-face placement of that creepy girl in the hood that keeps coming up? All muted. In fact, despite the girl being so prominently there, it might actually be easy to skip over her from just how striking the colors are of Hawkman on that page. I’d pick this up regularly for this kind of quality.

Batman and Robin #7 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Cameron Stewart (artist), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Blackest Knight, Part One: Pearly and the Pit: Last issue left Damian with five bullets in his body and no feeling anywhere. It also left us with the Red Hood’s rant that Dick was failing Bruce in not finding some Lazarus Pit to bring Bruce back to life. Now, Batman is in England, teamed up with Squire, beating up bad guys and on the hunt for a last, hidden, Lazarus Pit. There are explosive obstacles in the way and some surprise moments.

What’s Good: Morrison tackles one of the big plot holes in the whole death of Bruce Wayne event, which is: if there are a zillion ways to bring back heroes and villains from the dead, why aren’t they using one of them to bring Bruce back? The storylines of the death of Bruce Wayne and the Battle for the Cowl, to be realistic, had to ignore one of the central rules of comics, which is that no one stays dead except Bucky, Jason Todd and Uncle Ben (I’ll let you do the math). So now, Morrison is going to tackle this metaphysical and metafictional problem head-on (at the same time that Blackest Night is doing the same), so this will be a fun ride. On style, Morrison’s spare writing forces the reader to fill in parts of the story. He treats us like we’re intelligent and I like that. It also leaves a lot of room for the art to tell the story.

Cameron Stewart has some big boots to fill in this issue. Philip Tan and Frank Quitely both did superb jobs on Batman and Robin, and although the styles are different (most obviously, Stewart’s Batman appears shorter and heavier), he is up to the task. The early chase scenes are dynamic and clear as Batman surges through London traffic to meet up with Squire. Stylistically, Stewart is much less gritty than previous artists, maybe because they’re in a different city. The night action is bright and the walls and buildings and even the subway are all well-lit and clean. The coal mine was the big exception and it changed the mood for the better, getting Batman back to settings that suit him more.

Batman and Robin #6 – Review

by Grant Morrison (writer), Philip Tan (pencils), Jonathan Glapion (inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

The Story: Revenge of the Red Hood, Part III: Batman and Robin have more to worry about than just getting out of the clutches of the Red Hood. Dick Grayson is fighting a bigger battle for the soul of Gotham. The Red Hood is offering Gotham eye-for-an-eye justice, and they’re reaching for it. The new Batman has got to show Gotham, the Red Hood, and his own sidekick, that violence begets greater violence. The problem is that the Red Hood’s solutions have already brought the psycho killer Flamingo into Gotham. And Batman and Robin are still captives…

What’s Good: Grant Morrison has set up a basic moral struggle and he’s leading the reader along. In issue #4, Morrison had me with Gotham, wondering why they couldn’t just grind the bad guys into the ground. In issue #5, I started to have my doubts because of what Dick said would happen. Now, in issue #6, Morrison has shown me that Dick was right. None of this was simplistic or over the top. He did this by pitting two powerful figures (Batman and Red Robin) with a powerful goal that we could completely understand and letting them sort it out. None of this detracts from the action, which is seat-of-your-pants and revolves around Flamingo, the whirlwind sown by the Red Hood.

What’s Not So Good: I think Tan is a great draftsman, does fine layouts to show the action and paired with Glapion on inks, brings gritty darkness to Gotham. My problem with the art is that sometimes his camera lens is just a bit too close to the action for us to understand what’s going on. A good example is page 3, panels 2 and 3. He may be going for a claustrophobic, moody effect, but the two rules of comic storytelling are: (1) communicate clearly, (2) then entertain. Tan’s images are entertaining, but there are occasions when the reader has to struggle to keep up, because of the close camera shot style. Not much pulling back would be needed to make the art pretty flawless.

Conclusion: If you’ve been following the Weekly Top Picks, you’ve probably heard some of the other editors calling Batman and Robin the Batman book. They’re right. Morrison and Tan and crew are building up a new Batman, grounded in the old mythos, but charging into a new one, with a new set of villains and surprises. If you haven’t been following Batman and Robin yet, do yourself a favor and hop on with the next issue as Morrison starts a new arc.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault

Batman and Robin #5 – Review

by Grant Morrison (writer), Philip Tan (penciller), Jonathan Glapion (inker)

The Story: This issue is narrated from Scarlet’s point of view, and jumps off (literally, for the Penguin) right where Morrison left us on the cliff’s edge last issue. Batman and Robin have their hands full, trying to manage the Red Hood and Scarlett, but do make away with the Penguin. They stake out the watering hole they know will draw the Red Hood, but things don’t always work out.

What’s Good: If you like creepy, boy, is this issue for you. I really shouldn’t have read it during lunch. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not gratuitously violent. The violence and brutality are a necessary part of the setting, revealed in incrementally escalating doses. The depraved villains, who would have made a 1950’s horror comic writer proud, serve to set into starker and starker contrast the moral choices Dick Grayson has to face, both against all of Gotham and even against his own sidekick who looks more and more like he would have been more comfortable as the sidekick to Elektra or Wolverine.

Batman and Robin #4 – Review

By Grant Morrison (writer), Philip Tan (artist), Jonathan Glapion (inker)

The Story: A dark knight and a mysterious sidekick turn Lightning Bug into burnt leftovers. The vigilante talks about being scarred. Batman (Dick Grayson) and Robin (Damian Wayne) are too late to stop him. Dick and Damian attend a Wayne Enterprises cocktail party and meet Sexton, a mysterious figure who is masked because his face was scarred by his wife’s killer. Then Dick and Damian decide to go on the hunt in nocturnal Gotham for the vigilante killer.

What’s Good: This is either the start of a new arc after Professor Pyg’s capture, or the continuation of a much larger tableau, where Pyg was just the feeder fish. It’s a good launch. The writing is lively and dynamic. The criminals were written in the lunatic tones that Morrison used for his villains in the first three issues, but they are more serious, closer to us, despite their obvious insanities. It was a lot of fun to watch Red Hood gush over the self-absorbed, psychologically unhinged Scarlet like an artist over a muse.

I also like the pair of dynamic duos Morrison is offering (Batman and Robin vs. Red Hood and Scarlet). Both pairs are driven by their particular obsessions and mental issues, while each has their own internal conflicts. Both pairs choose to fight crime, and they differ in their ethical lines and methods (in essence, how they choose to serve justice). In creating the alternates, Morrison invites us to pick between the moral choices. However, I think Morrison is being honest with us and himself in that Red Hood and Scarlet are not straw men arguments set up just to be knocked down. A whole lot of heroes nowadays use lethal force, and seeing all those villains around the table, talking about how they were going to make addicts out of school children, housewives and judges, I can’t say I was upset when Red Hood came in and gave them a talking to in his own language. Morrison made me think about something outside the book, after I finished reading, and I think that’s the best compliment I can give him in this review.

Art wise, this was also the first issue sans Quitely. Although I love Quitely, Philip Tan’s style worked well with Morrison. The villains were menacing. The layouts were impressive (especially the building to building leap Lightning Bug makes in the first scene). The level of detail was as high as Quitely’s and the realism sharp. And, both Dick and Damian cut the iconic figures they have for Batman and Robin to work. Hats off to Tan. Tan had big shoes to fill, and he didn’t disappoint.

What’s Not So Good: Despite the great writing and art, I didn’t get a sense of urgency or tension in this issue as I had with the first three, partly because the victims of the crimes were just other awful people. But that was part of the calculus Morrison had to do to make his issue work as “The Fight Against Crime Grows Up.”

Conclusion: Very solid storytelling opens up bigger and more dangerous things for the new dynamic duo. Get on board.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault

Green Lantern #42- Review

Geoff Johns (writer), Philip Tan and Eddy Barrows (pencils) Jonathan Glapion and Ruy Jose’ (inks), Nei Ruffino and Rod Reis (color)

The Story: The battle between the Orange Lanterns and the Green FINALLY concludes. Additionally, Hal finds something to hope for and activates the blue ring while the Guardians do some super shady double-dealing with Larfreeze. Meanwhile sector 666 gets even more interesting and reveals its important, if not transparently expected, connection to Darkest Night.

What’s Good: This is the best installment in the disappointingly tepid Agent Orange arc.  I gotta give Johns credit in how he naturally built up the “War of Light”, despite the sloppy execution. There are very interesting battles waging or about to be waged in the Lantern universe outside of the impeding threat of Black Lanterns.

As I’ve said in my previous reviews of Lantern books, the developments and characters hanging out in sector 666 are the most fascinating part of this “epic” story so far. Seriously, even though those two lanterns are most likely dead-meat, literally,  I would like to see a few stories just about their team-up.

The whole scenario when Hal lost the Blue Ring was good (that’s what I “hoped for”) and his vision at the end of this scene was very interesting. Many engaging things can come from this new development. Additionally, Johns effectively painted the Guardians as the sleeze of the DCU superhero community. I loved the way Johns made me hate them.

What’s Not So Good: The art. Seriously. This is a marquee title in the DC line-up and it looks like it was drawn with a carpenter’s pencil. And sometimes, curiously, with an airbrush. Obviously, not a good recipe here. I know that Philip Tan is a better artist than this and I have no idea what the reason for this outing is here.

Okay, last month my most annoying comic book moment was when Spidey and Wolverine trashed Bush and fist bumped in Amazing Spider-Man. This month’s is Hal turning into a…Orange Lantern! So. Bad. What was the point of this? It was so expected and ridiculous that I assumed Johns would avoid this move like a plague. But, no, oh no. Johns had to do it. He had to write Hal as every lantern possible. Prediction: Hal will be in drag as a Star Sapphire right after he dies and comes back as a Black Lantern.

Conclusion: Overall, this was a decent read and hopefully this momentum will filter into Blackest Night. But, it is great to move on from this Orange Lantern story. I should have known it was going to be a bumpy road when I had to look up “avarice” in the dictionary. I knew what it meant, sort of, but its not really part of modern vernacular. Anyway, basing a character on a fairly obtuse word isn’t usually going to pan out well.

Grade: B

-Rob G.

Green Lantern #41 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Philip Tan, Eddy Barrows (artists), Jonathan Clapion, Ruy Jose, Julio Ferreira (inks)

I really wish I can write a review for this book in our typical format, but there just isn’t enough good to write about. Earlier this week, I had chosen this book to be my top pick for Wednesday. But thinking back now,  I wasn’t really expecting much, since I only chose this book after coming off of the Blackest Night oneshot high. Johns may have restored my trust in him with the free comic book day book, but I can’t help but feel that the Agent Orange arc has been doomed from the start.

In the third part of a prelude to Blackest Night, secrets are revealed. Johns crams a very last-minute history behind Larfleeze, and the truth behind the Guardians’ relation to the Vega System are finally explained. Meanwhile Hal Jordan struggles with his new blue power ring, as the Orange Lantern hungrily comes after the hope-powered ring. However, even with all of these situations transpiring, the creative team’s flaws are just too obvious, failing to make this issue and this story worth re-reading.

It’s unfortunate how the writing has been really disappointing. It’s gotten to point where you have to wonder if DC had decided to keep Johns’ name on the cover, while bringing in a ghostwriter to tackle these TPB-filler preludes. I honestly can’t see anything appealing behind the story in Green Lantern #41. There’s nothing deep or profound, and there aren’t even anything exciting moments. The nonsense simply carries on, as the Blackest Night prelude continue to steer away from any sort of development. You’ll continue to see Hal Jordan have an underwhelming presence within the story, and you’ll find yourself caring less about this chapter on the Orang Lanterns.

As for the art, it is fucking awful. Philip Tan and Eddy Barrows offer nothing appealing, as they manage to make the final product look like a a complete mess. There’s no art here, just garbage. Your eyes are going to want to omit the numerous busy panels in the book; and the look on Hal Jordn’s face on the final splash will have you laughing for all the awesomely bad reasons.

Conclusion: Although these preludes have been rocky, we just need to sit tight since we all know Blackest Night will be way much better. It’s just frustrating to buy these books and think about jumping ship as we get closer to the summer event. Thankfully, we still have Green Lantern Corps.

Grade: C-

-Raymond Hilario

Green Lantern #40 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Philip Tan (artist), Jonathan Clapion (inks)

There is no doubt that the War of Light tales haven’t exactly been up to par with Rebirth or Sinestro Corps. Yet, in Johns’ second new corps story, the arc continues to fall. The second chapter to Agent Orange is no better than the first. Just like the previous issue, you have the same amount of easily forgettable scenes, where unimportant characters (in the previous issues it was the Controllers, in this issue it’s Fatality as a Violet Lantern) engage in dialogue that is lacking in the signature moral debate that we’re used to reading.  At this point, everything and everyone is just a plot device, used to fast forward this already fast-paced story. With the first two chapters absent of the deep context that we’re used to seeing in Johns’ works, Agent Orange is starting to read like a fast-paced 90’s space opera comic book.

What’s troubling about Agent Orange is that the villain is not quite established. Instead, this arc is packed with lots of subplots that are either being developed, or are finally being revealed. To make up the bulk of the story, new laws are added to the book of Oa (which we’ve seen before), and a new thread is introduced involving John Stewart (which is supposed to play some role later on, and not validate Fatality’s boring monologue in the beginning). But this isn’t what the fans were looking for. They wanted what they got in Sinestro Corps War, where Johns introduced a new color, and a new emotion. In a story that is supposed to introduce a new formidable opponent for the Green Lantern Corp, we are only getting a childish villain that seems to be making a cameo appearance. In a story that’s supposed to be rich in metaphors and overtones, we’re treated to fast-paced action sequences that are to be forgotten.

Grade: C

-Raymond Hilario

Green Lantern #39 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Philip Tan (artist), Jonathan Clapion (inkers), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colors)

In the previous arc, Geoff Johns sprayed the pages with Red Lantern keywords such as, “RAGE” and “HATE.”  In this one, he does the same thing, except using only one word: “MINE.”  And along with using one word, Johns introduces something different, he make the Orange Lantern Corp an army of one.  Unfortunately, this and the ongoing debate of Hal Jordan and the Blue Lanterns– Will vs. Hope, make you wish that the Black Night came already.

Green Lantern has been so good for so long, it’s easy to expect that the next thing Geoff Johns cranks out is the best thing coming out of DC.  However, with a surprisingly uninteresting previous arc, and now a silly brand of Lantern introduced, it looks as though Johns’ preamble to the big blockbuster — Blackest Night, is starting to fizzle out.

Fans had reason to be excited for the ongoing War of Light in Green Lantern.  You had an assortment of Lantern Corps emerging, new oaths to secretly memorize, and new characters that you would hope would stay in the DC universe.  Yet, it’s all been pretty drab.  Hal Jordan going red and then blue, all seemed like cheap ploys.  The droning text and dialogue that accompany the new color Lantern Corps  have either been silly or unintentionally funny.  And the absence of Ethan Van Sciver haunts the pages with a lack of vivid emotion and code of conduct that each ring is attributed to.   We see this all again in the first part of Agent Orange.

In this issue, the Orange Lantern emerges within the Vega System after the wannabe Guardians (the Controllers) discover its location.  A secret that the the little blue men have kept is revealed, and violence and avarice ensue in the form of orange light.  Meanwhile, you get a few forgettable pages of Hal Jordan engaged in a conflict with the two rings he now holds: the blue and the green.  Encountering the new color introduced is inevitable, and their reason for getting caught up in the mix with the other Lantern Corps is easily set up in the first few pages.  There’s nothing complex or deep, here.  Just another all out battle between two Lantern Corps…

From the Red Lanterns puking out “RAGE” and “HATE” and “PAIN” to the Orange Lantern crying like a child, “It’s MINE…”  The battle of all these colors is turning out to be a silly event that fans will second-guess when they finish reading it for the first and last time.  But for some odd reason, Green Lantern is a book that’s still kinda worth getting.  Let’s just hope Johns is able to deliver just the way he did in Sinestro Corps and Rebirth, come Blackest Night.  Till then, I look forward to the Black Lanterns overshadowing these previous arcs.

Grade: C+

-Ray Hilario

Final Crisis: Revelations #4 – Review

By Greg Rucka (writer), Philip Tan (pencils), Jonathan Glapion (inks) and Hei Ruffino (colors)

The Story: Following the momentum of last issue, the slugfest between Vandal Sage a.k.a. Cain and the Spectre concludes in the utter defeat of the latter.  Savage than turns his wrath towards the Radiant, the Question, and the rest of the anti-life survivors holed up in a church.  After a successful rescue attempt by the Huntress, the survivors discuss the convoluted history of the Spear of Destiny.  Then, a last minute attempt of reconciliation by the Radiant results in a disastrous response by Savage who utilizes the Spectre’s power to deliver humanity to a new level of suffering.

What’s Good: As usual, Greg Rucka does an excellent job of capturing the personalities and emotions surrounding the various characters in this story.  The dialogue comes off as natural and authentic.  However, although perhaps a little too simplistic, the inherent religiosity of this issue compliments the Final Crisis event nicely. These religious themes are interesting and not overwhelming or preachy.

What’s Not So Good: Not a lot actually transpires in this issue and I’m not really sure if what the Spectre unleashes at the end of the issue actually changes anything. It was revealed in the most recent issue of Final Crisis that some people are naturally immune to the anti-life equation. This fact needs to be mentioned in this series because it looks very inconsistent that there are still individuals running around with free will.

Perhaps it is unfair to do this, but I feel inclined to briefly compare this series to Alan Moore’s Crisis on Infinite Earths (the first Crisis) tie-in during his epic Swamp Thing run.  The reason I feel this comparison is warranted is because both of these arcs are religious/spiritual back-stories to a Crisis events.

The jury is still out as this series hasn’t concluded, but as it stands, Moore’s story is clearly the better of the two. I believe the major reason for this is Rucka’s handling of religious themes comes off as a bit superficial because of an overtly materialistic interpretation of spirituality (I’m not reading into or positing anything at all about Rucka’s personal beliefs, just how his story is presented). At different times in the story, specifically when discussing Darkseid’s war against God, it seems that Rucka is casting this battle as two guys in a fist fight. The transcendental nature of God that Moore worked with that allowed for so much creativity and depth is unfortunately absent.  Moore’s godly muse was an energy force that channeled through all creation and the villain was an essential part of its existence. In the pages of Final Crisis Revelation, I get the impression that Rucka’s godly muse is an old man with a white beard, sitting atop a cloud somewhere concerned that Darkseid might come and drop-kick him.

Perhaps this issue stems from the fact that Moore incorporated many different spiritual and religious nuances and ideas, while Rucka seems to be only working solely from a Christian perspective.

Conclusion: This is a very good series that works well on its own and also compliments the main event. If you have been following these characters since 52, this series will be even more enjoyable. However, this issue stalls the momentum that Rucka has been building since the first issue. That being said, I look forward to the conclusion next issue. I am cautiously optimistic that the plot will be resolved in this series rather than being left open to be dealt with in the pages of Final Crisis.

Grade: B-

-Rob G

DC Universe Zero – Review

By Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns (writer) George Pérez, Tony Daniel, J.G. Jones, Aaron Lopresti, Ivan Reis, Philip Tan and Carlos Pacheco (art)

Other than Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the occasional Superman book, I’m not exactly in touch with the DC Universe these day. Well, if you’re in the same boat as me, DC Universe Zero serves as a good jumping on point. The book serves loosely as a primer to all of the major DC storylines going on this year. I say loosely because each segment of this 22 page story is around 3-5 pages in length – hardly enough to give us the full lowdown on what’s going on, but just enough to tease us and grab a new reader on board for the events.

All the tales for this issue have been carefully crafted to lure you in, and I’ll tell you right now, they do their job !  Final Crisis and its mini-series, Green Lantern, Batman, and Wonder Woman all look like fantastic reads. Batman’s RIP story, which has been kept extremely guarded by DC has become much more interesting with the revealing of Joker’s involvement. Final Crisis’ plot has been simplified to a mere few sentences for the many readers who’ve never read a Crisis book. And Wonder Woman’s upcoming book explores the possible extinction of the Amazonian race! Of course, what will get people most excited, especially the DC faithful, is the big reveal of a certain someone’s return in Final Crisis, which was cunningly saved for the last page.

If you read Marvel’s Secret Invasion Saga comic and are expecting a similar book packed to the gills with tons of history – don’t. This book is hardly here to educate, but more so titillate. With art by DC’s top talent and a mere price of only 50 cents, there’s hardly anything to complain about. I wasn’t too keen on DC’s big summer events, but after reading this, I’m pretty pumped. Bring it on! (Grade: B)

– J. Montes