Batgirl #30 – Review

By: Marguerite Bennett (writer), Robert Gill (artist), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (colorist)

The Story: If there’s something strange in your neighborhood. Who ya gonna call?

In the fallout of Forever Evil, Barbara Gordon finds that she may need a new answer.

The Review: Marguerite Bennett returns to Batgirl for this horror-themed fill-in, handling Barbara’s chiropteran alter ego for the first time. It’s an interesting change for Gotham. Unlike many supernatural Gotham stories, this one doesn’t try to force our hero out of her comfort zone or attempt to piggyback off of the noir atmosphere of the city. Instead, this one plays things impressively straight. Bennett makes her goals clear from the very start, “There are rules,” one boy says to his skeptical friend, “Nothing ever really happens. The fun is in the setup…in scaring yourself.”

It’s a pretty accurate way to describe this issue. We all know that Batgirl isn’t going to die and she’s not about to get injured or seriously traumatized in a fill-in story – nothing ever really happens in comics – but this is just far enough outside of Barbara’s experience that it’s fun to wonder how she’s getting out of this.

It also helps that the Midnight Man is pretty cool as a concept. Made of that awesome generic black slime that shows up in cool movies, the Midnight Man is all the eerier for how unthreatening it is. I don’t know that it really attacks the whole issue through, but, fascinatingly, attempts something worse. Some roaring and sharp teeth are enough to trigger our self-preservation instinct but the Midnight Man truly attacks our identity, not our bodies. Sure, Batgirl regularly takes down Clayface, a much more serious shape-shifter, but the ambiguous threat of the Midnight Man’s slow assumption of your face is much, much creepier.

Eternal Warrior #6 – Review

by Greg Pak (Writer), Robert Gill, Victor Olazaba (Artists), Guy Major (Colorist)

The Story: It’s tough to refuse a request from a little girl, especially when said request is to kill a being who enslave people.

The Review: Opening an arc with a great hook is something that must be hard. To provide just enough intrigue, action and a direction that can sustain itself for a few issues is certainly something that must require a lot of thoughts and work. Still, what must be even harder is to continue in the same vein, with the same qualities and a consistency that makes the ongoing tale as interesting as it was in its beginning.

To say that this issue is as good as the previous one would be an unfortunate lie on my part. While there are indeed a lot of qualities to be found here, it seems that Greg Pak has the unfortunate task of trying to continue the world-building while at the same time bring a better focus on just who Gilad and Caroline are. While not as good as the opening, does this issue provide enough to make sure readers might want to continue with this arc?

One of the qualities that might ensure it is how Pak writes both Gilad and Caroline as well as their dynamics. The mix between brutality and kindness is fun to read in Gilad’s action and reaction, but it is even more so when it can also be seen in Caroline’s own. The bond between them and how they perceive and educate each other makes for a particularly effective duo, making them interesting but also utterly likable in the process. How Caroline reacts to the slave-trade, how Gilad tries to explain his plan and how everything goes makes for some great character moments, making this story as much about them as it is about the world of 4001 AD in the Valiant universe.

Eternal Warrior #5 – Review

by Greg Pak (Writer), Robert Gill (Artist), Guy Major (Colorist)

The Story: It seems that pissing off an immortal is still a bad idea even in 4001 AD.

The Review: I love surprises. Some people might prefer to have a more stable experiences with book, with a series that can constantly promise a certain modicum of stability in its execution and quality. While a book that can deliver with each issue is certainly nice, one that can suddenly improve and show new and exciting ideas is always something I am looking for.

This issue of Eternal Warrior certainly fits the description. While I am an overall fan of Greg Pak and the Valiant universe as a whole, it seems that this issue is a huge improvement in the series, providing one of those coveted ”jumping-on points” as well as continuing the themes of the series as established by Greg Pak himself.

Set in 4001, this issue shows a future that is rather inspired, with a continuation of what could potentially happen if the representation of the Earth would disappear, as Gilad has destroyed it in the previous arc. The first thing that Pak does right is in setting down the voice of Gilad in this future, representing him once more as an immortal, yet not someone who necessarily grew all that wise or feeble, representing the warrior part of the character quite well. The confident and rather analytic, yet not completely devoid of compassion warrior is one that is rather entertaining to follow, as his relation with the villagers and his granddaughter makes for a rather stark contrats with his demeanour and his abilities.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise #24 – Review

By: John Barber and James Roberts (writers), Robert Gill and Livio Ramondelli (art), Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Livio Ramondelli (colors)

The Story: Shockwave proves that you don’t need a face to smirk as Cyclonus makes a new friend.

The Review: “Dark Cybertron” has been full of interesting moments but, so far, it’s moved at a fairly leisured pace. Though the stakes are increasingly apocalyptic, there’s definitely been a sense of preparation rather than action.

With its fifth chapter, “Dark Cybertron” is finally beginning to pick up steam. Shockwave’s plans have been millions of years in the making but finally they begin to come to completion. The consummate master planner, it doesn’t bother the cycloptic Cybertronian one bit when a joined Autobot-Decepticon coalition bursts through his wall.

Though it’s hard to tell what’s occupying some of the bots, especially as Shockwave’s troops are handily outnumbered, the issue opens with a suitably impressive battle scene. The book focuses in on individual conflicts, allowing for good character work and solid storytelling. It even has Waspinator. The team dynamics are strong and familiar, even if I’m getting a little tired of Prowl complaining and Bubmblebee…well, bumbling. Shockwave gets the best of it though, absolute arrogance apparently being eminently logical.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye #24 – Review

James Roberts, John Barber (Writers), Atilio Rojo, James Raiz, Nick Roche, Livio Ramondelli, Robert Gill (Artists), Romulo Fajardo Jr. (Colorist)

The Story: Ultra Magnus and the crew of the Lost Light meets some violent Ammonites, Starscream deals with people losing faith in him and the team in the dead universe discuss things.

The Review: Enjoying something is not necessarily a proof of its quality. Being able to love something for the greatness inside despite its fault is always something nice to see. It’s something that can go with every form of media or culture, which means comics aren’t expelled from this particular vision. There are many comics that some could consider bad, yet for nostalgic reasons or because of other inscrutable definitions, one can learn to enjoy something for what it is.

This is pretty much how I am feeling right now for the big crossover that is Dark Cybertron. It’s really not as great as MtMtE can be sometimes and there are numerous faults in terms of storytelling and presentation, yet there are several elements that do manage to entertain throughout each issues, with this one not being any exception.