Forever Evil #7 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Nothing lasts forever, and that includes evil.

The Review: I’ve heard people complain about the delays on this series, but relatively speaking, seven issues over ten months aren’t so bad, compared to the ridiculous dry periods between issues of Jupiter’s Legacy or The Sandman: Overture. But maybe it’s easy for me to be blasé about Forever Evil‘s delays since I don’t actively care about all that much. Why complain about not getting something you’re not really looking forward to anyway? I might as well rant about not getting my tuition bill right away.

Part of my general dissatisfaction with Forever Evil is it hasn’t really fulfilled its goals of exploring the nature of villainy, much less the even more abstract idea of evil. If anything, the conflict between evil and really evil reveals just that: some people are evil, and some people are really evil. As for how evil arises, Johns provides no answers through the Syndicate, who mostly seem to be born that way, nor through the various DCU proper villains: Sinestro, Manta, Cold, Deathstroke, etc.

Forever Evil #6 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Not only is morality topsy-turvy on Earth-3, the spelling is off, too!

The Review: After I reviewed the first issue of Forever Evil, commenter Invasionforce and I had a slight disagreement about its merits.  Invasionforce was of the mind that the storyline served as a kind of political allegory, with “evil” as a stand-in for social Darwinism, where one’s fitness for survival need not include scruples or any humanist sentiment whatsoever.  I was of the mind that Forever Evil was just another splashy event drenched in mindless superpowered battles.

No offense to Invasionforce, but at this point, I’m convinced that history will validate my perspective on things.  It’s been many months since we’ve seen the Ultraman, Luthor, or anyone else espouse their views on anything; they’ve been too busy fulfilling their intended roles in this melodrama, either killing or getting killed as most befits their stature.  And that’d be hunky-dory with me if only the plotting and character work had a little more going for it.

Forever Evil #5 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: There’s no better way to fight fear than with fear.

The Review: Prepare for a short review, folks, because this issue offers little to talk about.  Action is a great thing for entertainment, but you’re not going to get deep analysis out of it, unless you want a blow-by-blow summary.  In comics, action sequences are especially fleeting, limited to a handful of static images where movement is only suggested.  This doesn’t have quite the same impact as a meticulously choreographed, raucous action sequence you see on film.

Even so, watching Luthor and Deathstroke, with their respective bands, go at it with each other is pretty fun.  Battles between heroes and villains are all well and good, but they don’t compare to the no-holds-barred viciousness when villains fight each other.  I would have appreciated more of an effort from certain characters—Catwoman and Captain Cold come readily to mind—but otherwise, this is a pretty decent punch-fest.

Forever Evil #4 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: With the world near the end, now’s exactly the time to discuss romantic futures.

The Review: We’ve come to the dreaded Big Fat Middle of Forever Evil, and with Johns at the helm, the middle is even bigger and fatter than usual.  By now, Johns has become notorious for his decompressed style, which is sometimes just a fancy term for dilly-dallying.  To spot the difference, just ask yourself whether the scene is giving you anything new about the plot or characters, or if it’s just regurgitating the same stuff you’ve been given before.

You’ll notice a lot of this issue falls into that latter category—not everything, obviously, but I’d say, in my completely unscientific way, about half: the consequences of Dick’s identity being exposed, Luthor’s perceptions of himself, Ultraman’s weaknesses, Superwoman’s pregnancy, Power Ring’s freakouts, etc.  The players occasionally change, but the content being exchanged stays pretty much the same, allowing the story to move forward only inches at a time.

Forever Evil #3 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: I really can’t believe it’s not the Justice League!

The Review: I freely admit that I’ve given Trinity War and Forever Evil a hard time for skipping over what exactly happened to the three Leagues after the Crime Syndicate showed up.  As I said in reviewing the first issue of this series: “It seems pretty outrageous that Johns would simply go from there to ‘the Justice League is dead,’ (‘Hell, yes, they are.’) thereby skipping over some fairly crucial plot points in the process.”

Well, we finally get some answers as to what happened in this issue and, as it turns out, there may be a good reason why Johns didn’t feel like getting into it earlier.  As the three-page sequence shows us, it was less a matter of the combined Leagues falling to the Syndicate’s power, and more that the Syndicate caught them with their pants down and took advantage of the opening to trigger a trapdoor beneath them before they even knew what was happening.  No wonder Johns didn’t want to dwell on it.

Forever Evil #2 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: So we have to turn to Lex Luthor for salvation?  Well, beggars can’t be choosers.

The Review: A commenter on my review of last issue pointed out the premise and tone of Forever Evil represents a more sophisticated style of writing than we typically associate with Johns.  I confess that I didn’t give the observation much credit at the time.  A few quotes of evolutionary theory does not a high-concept comic make.  But after reading through this issue, I’m starting to believe that Johns may be at least aiming beyond his usual literalism after all.

Mostly, I see this in his more nuanced approach to the characters.  For my part, I’ve always felt that with few notable exceptions, Johns tended to struggle with antagonists.  Their powers and goals varied, but they didn’t have much of an identity.  Quite often, the more powerful the villain, the less dimensional they became (e.g. Nekron, Krona, Volthoom).  Their characters are subjugated to their roles in providing the heroes something to fight against.  Forever Evil’s absence of heroes thus forces Johns to find more specific motivations for the featured villains.

Forever Evil #1 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (pencils) Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: As it turns out, nice guys do finish last.

The Review: Obviously, I have a judgmental streak, otherwise I wouldn’t be so committed to this gig, but usually I try to suppress my instincts to make snap judgments.  After all, we wouldn’t get very far in this world if we let initial impressions dictate the course of our actions.  That begin said, every time I hear Forever Evil, I can’t help giving in to a shudder.  There’s just a lot of eye-rolling lameness going on in that title.

Nevertheless, I support the purpose of the series even if the branding makes me want to gag.  As many of these comic book writers are so fond of saying, a superhero is only as good as his villains, and DC happens to have a lot of good ones.  Even more than its heroes, DC’s villains have more recognition in the public consciousness than any from the Marvel end of the industry, and it seems right, now that the DCU is young anew, to celebrate that fact.

Green Lantern #21 – Review

By: Robert Venditti (story), Billy Tan (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Alex Sinclair & Tony Avina (colors)

The Story: The Corps now has serious reason to consider switching to a democratic leadership.

The Review: If DC has just lost its seminal writer on the most important title in one of its biggest franchises, then probably they want to replace him with someone just as capable of bringing the same level of game.  Call me crazy, but that’s my logic.  So it sort of puzzles me why they ended up choosing Venditti to be that replacement, when his only mark on the DCU to date has been the benign and soon-to-be-axed Demon Knights (#155 on Comichron in April).

Of course, DC happens to have a dearth of big-name writers of Geoff Johns’ caliber as of late; Scott Snyder can’t write everything, and Green Lantern seems to be out of Grant Morrison, Gail Simone, and Brian Azzarello’s alleys.  And it’s not like Venditti hasn’t proven himself capable of sci-fi action on X-O Manowar, a relatively acclaimed small-press title.  But reading this issue makes me wonder if DC editorial actually paid attention when reading his initial scripts.

Justice League of America #3 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (art), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Catwoman is kind of like your coworker who likes to steal supplies from the office.

The Review: If there’s one thing the JLA definitely has going for it, something that puts them a step above their iconic peers, it’s a bubbling brew of personalities.  With the Justice League proper, you can tell there are differences between them, but very narrow ones, kept very tight to their characters.  The members of the JLA, on the other hand, wear their differences quite openly, allowing them to clash with a lot more abandon.

It all makes for a livelier read, even when not very much happens.  The JLA’s encounter with the robot-Trinity is only moderately exciting, as the fakes seem to have only the most basic abilities of the real thing.  You’re not inclined to see the JLA’s takedown of three mechanical imposters as the same as facing against all ten current members of the Justice League (soon to be eleven, with Zatanna slated to join—re-join?—the team).  That doesn’t stop Steve Trevor from remarking, perhaps naively, in wonder, “The Justice League versus the Justice League.”

Justice League #13 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Tony S. Daniel (pencils), Richard Friend & Batt (inks), Tomeu Morey

The Story: I just have to say, Wonder Woman, your “friend” seems pretty catty to me.

The Review: One of the complaints I’ve had about this series from nearly the beginning is the relegation of Wonder Woman to sideman status on a team where she should stand our more prominently as its sole female member.  Johns seemed completely at a loss of what to do with her other than portraying her as someone’s girlfriend, whether Steve Trevor’s ex or Superman’s newest flame.  The chauvinism behind this should be pretty clear to anyone.

Johns may be just as aware of these problems as anyone else, as this month’s issue gives Diana a whole plot of her own outside the relationship stuff.  Not to say that the relationship stuff is dead by a long shot.  Diana continues a pathological concern for Steve’s safety (however pointless, since even without associating with her, he could get bumped off by any one of his innumerable work-related dangers), even while the sexual tension between her and Clark continues to build.

Batman: The Dark Knight #10 – Review

By: Gregg Hurwitz (story), David Finch (pencils), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Bruce, you should be glad your girlfriend doesn’t have the hands of Rachmaninoff.

The Review: While I like to think of myself as a mostly objective person, I’m not free from making a purely subjective decision once in a while.  My choice of fiction, for example, is frequently based on whether I ever read or watched the creator’s previous work, and whether I liked it.  Doing this poses some risks, admittedly.  Sometimes a person only has one great work in them, and once that work comes out, all they have left are the dregs.

Hurwitz really impressed me with his work on Penguin: Pain and Prejudice, which despite its stupendously awful name was a tightly written, affecting series.  Apparently, quite a few people shared this opinion, so it was natural for him to transition from writing Batman rogues to writing the Dark Knight himself.  Yet there’s a huge difference in the two subjects, however related they may be.  Hurwitz had a lot of leeway in crafting a lesser-used, underestimated character, but with Batman, he has to deal with a collective of classic interpretations, both old and new.

Batwoman #6 – Review

By: J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman (writers), Amy Reeder (penciller), Rob Hunter & Richard Friend (inkers), Guy Major (colorist)

The Review: Talk up any comics enthusiast, and one of the first things out of their mouths will be something along the lines of how unique comic books are for storytelling.  You hear less about their painful limitations.  I don’t know about you, but the most frustrating restriction on comics, in my mind, is their painful shortness.  Many writers have made the most of the pages they get, but by and large, I find myself wishing there was a little more substance in my hands.

That was the prevailing feeling I got reading this issue.  You shouldn’t take that to mean Williams-Blackman skimped on the story in any way.  After all, it’s fairly ambitious of them to not only play around with a number of different character perspectives in the story, but also to set each vignette at a different time.  All told, you get six mini-tales, each standing on their own, and each with enough drama to support half an issue on its own.

This fragmented structure can easily get confusing, but Williams-Blackman do two things to keep things moving smoothly and clearly.  First, they bookend the issue with the central action, Batwoman facing down the kid-thieving Medusa, which lays down some context for each of the different stories we get here.  Second, while each scene has only faint connections to the others, they have enough common ground to deliver a unified story overall.  Think of it as a mosaic, each scene piecing together to form a bigger picture of where this series plans to go next.

What We’re Looking Forward To In November

Dean

There is a LOT to look forward to in November. For one thing, there is a lot of neat stuff in the Spider-Man world as Amazing Spider-Man kicks off its new “big” story line Big Time written by Dan Slott with art by Humberto Ramos. This is also the end of the thrice-monthly ASM with a rotating team of creators, so it should be interesting. Also in the Spidey-world, we get Spider-Girl #1 by Paul Tobin. This is not Mayday Parker (who could never find a stable audience) but Arana of Young Allies fame. If you like teenage drama, it should be fun. Finally, we get Osborn #1 by Kelly Sue Deconnick and Emma Rios (who are both really good) to see what Marvel’s favorite villain has been up to since Siege ended.

A few other things in Marvel that I’m looking forward to. She-Hulks #1 launches in November with art from Ryan Stegman. Stegman is a very gifted artist and he draws a mean She-Hulk, so this should be good. Although Invincible Iron Man has had slow pacing, the current story arc, Stark Resilient wraps up this month and Matt Fraction seems to have this title headed to a very good climactic battle. For all those Punisher fans who HATED Franken-Castle, you get plain, old, normal Punisher in the Blood #1 from Rick Remender. And finally, there is yet another X-book with Generation Hope. The idea for this book is to have Hope running around with all the “new mutants” who have had their powers come alive since Second Coming.

Over at DC the big news is in the Bat-books as we get 2 new Bruce Wayne titles: Batman, Inc. by Grant Morrison and Batman: The Dark Knight by David Finch. If you’re into Batman, these are going to be must reads. And….after much waiting and delay, we get Batwoman #0 by JH Williams, III. I am really excited for this book and eager to see if it can maintain the quality that Williams and Greg Rucka established during their run on Detective Comics last year. Also, just to prove it isn’t all about new Bat-books, we also get a whole new creative team on the venerable Detective Comics with Scott Snyder of American Vampire fame teaming up with Jock and Francesco Francavilla on what is sure to be very well done series of Dick Grayson stories.

Not a whole lot going on over at Image, but folks might want to take a look at Utopian #1 by Marc Guggenheim. The story is: “What happens after the heroes win and the world is saved?” Image has become the go-to publisher for many creators to do interesting things, so this has promise.

 

 

Alex

While I’m as excited about all the Grant Morrison stuff as the next guy, the Batman title that really has my eye is Detective Comics #871 by Scott Snyder and Jock. It’s an utterly fantastic creative team and Snyder’s promise of a realistic, CSI type Batman has me curious. Of course, there’s also Batwoman #0 by JH Williams III to consider, which anyone with a pulse should be excited for.

Outside of Batman, I find myself confronted by two relaunches of titles I’m either completely unfamiliar with and/or indifferent to. Yet I’m picking them both up. They are THUNDER Agents #1 by Nick Spencer and CAFU and Superboy #1 by Jeff Lemire and Pier Gallo. In both cases, it’s the creative teams that have me excited, crewed as they are by exciting new talent with writers that have proven track records outside the superhero realm.

At Marvel, it’s all about Spider-Man’s Big Time. Now bi-monthly with a steady, and good, creative team, I’m happy to be back aboard with Amazing Spider Man #648 and #649 with Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. Hopefully big times are also good times. Meanwhile, Thor #617 by Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry has my attention as well, with its seeming promise of a reincarnated Loki. Fractions other book, Invincible Iron Man #32, also isn’t to be missed as it concludes the excellent slow-burn of “Stark Resilient” in explosive fashion.

Finally, it’s a big, but sad, month at Vertigo as two excellent titles reach their conclusions. Madame Xanadu #29 goes out with a bang as main series artist Amy Reeder returns for the farewell. Meanwhile,  Unknown Soldier #25 is sure to end things in bloody and tragic fashion, as Joshua Dysart’s fictional tale directly collides with a real world villain of the worst kind. On a happier note, Fables #100 is a giant-sized book of excitement featuring a mega-powered duel; it’s also a landmark for Vertigo, an imprint for whom longevity isn’t common.

 

SoldierHawk

So I’ve been harping on it since it was announced months ago, but my pick for November is, without question, Batwoman #0, the prelude to the new Batwoman ongoing series written and illustrated by J.H. Williams III. I’m quite literally X-ing the days off my calendar until this comes out. Kate Kane/Batwoman are fantastic characters and–perhaps even more importantly–she has a fabulous supporting cast surrounding her. Even leaving all that aside… MORE J.H. WILLIAMS III ARTWORK! That alone will be worth the cover price.

I’m also really, really looking forward both to the first Kill Shakespeare Trade (which collects Kill Shakespeare issues #1-6), and to issue #7. This series has been a gem (albeit a slightly rough one in spots) since its launch last April, and issue #6 set some very interesting plot points and characters into motion. I’m waiting with baited breath to see how this is going to play out, and what other famous Shakespeare creations might throw themselves into the mix.

 

Batman #700 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert, and David Finch (artists), Ian Hannin, Alex Sinclair, Tony Avina, Brad Anderson, and Peter Steigerwald (colorists), Richard Friend (inker)

The Story: Sometime in the past, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson stop the Joker, the Riddler, Catwoman, the Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter from using a time travel device. A weird loose end segues the reader into the story set in the present, with Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin. More weird mysteries are revealed, leading us to the future, where Damian Wayne is full-grown as the new Batman and sees the mystery fully revealed.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Morrison wrote a story that couldn’t have been done without Bruce being gone. He wrote a multigenerational mystery and it was well done. It had the feel of another time travel murder mystery Batman had solved from beyond the grave (America versus the Justice Society). It’s great fun to try to stay a step ahead of the caped crusader as he adds causality to method, motive and means. Morrison also did an excellent job in characterizing the villains and different heroes. Deft touches of dialogue and mood make the characters individuals. For example, Bruce, still captive, threatening a roomful of villains is classic Bruce. The Joker is truly lunatic in this story, with disjointed, jumping thinking that suits a time travel murder. In a funny nod to Batman’s occasionally campy past, he even has Bruce call Dick “pal.” Dick, on the other hand, carries a different mood as Batman. He asks about the health of the policeman’s partner. He shows happiness when he discovers a new weapon. He’s not jaded. He is no less the dark avenger, but he is not jaded and somber. We can relate to him. And Damian of the far future. You can imagine what kind of Batman he becomes. On plot, did this work? Pretty much. There is a mystery and we discover what happened and how things went, but can I really say that “Batman” solved a crime because he was on the hunt for it, or is this more a case of three men who share an identity and intersect with a temporal crime? It’s not less fun, but the sense of satisfaction at the end is not as great as if the Batmen had been running down a quarry with their detective skills.

Batgirl #9 – Review

By: Bryan Q. Miller (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Jonathan Glapion and Richard Friend (inkers), Guy Major (colorist)

The Story: The Flood, Part One of Four: It’s a typical evening in Gotham for Batgirl, jumping onto a speeding train while making quirky, distracted comments about gym class. She bursts through the window, making short work of a guy who held the train hostage with more than sausages strapped to his chest. But as she rejoins Oracle, something more sinister looms on the horizon. Some sort of phone-transmitted nanovirus is forcing people to collect pieces of technology for ends unknown. Can Batgirl stop the rising tide?

What’s Good: Miller is pretty close to top form in this issue. Stephanie Brown is quirky, funny, self-deprecating, proud and uncertain all at once. She has throwaway lines that kept me enjoying the fun ride, even as they exposed her character. She’s always been a bit of a screw up (to the point where she has to point out the stuff she does on purpose to whoever’s listening), so her uncertainty of what to do with praise from Commissioner Gordon is a fun change to see. The romantic tension between her and the detective was also great. I mean, her ex Tim has like, what, four possible girlfriends, so maybe she’s moving on? Nope. She and the detective are certainly interested in each other, but Miller has Stephanie resolutely holding onto that torch she’s holding for Red Robin. Miller is also a great writer to watch if you’re trying to learn about pacing. He spools the mystery out at the beginning of this new arc, even as he mixes it with beautiful character moments and action-filled laughs.