Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #1 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Superman returns.

The Review: About a month ago, I decided to stick to Doomed despite many misgivings about the storyline. It was a close call, however. Part of what kept me onboard was the resignation that the event was nearly over anyway. A few more issues, I could handle. Had I known the Doomed showrunners planned to add two annuals to the mix, I probably would have reconsidered my commitment. Annuals are costly things, and the thought of putting that much more money into Doomed was hard to take.

On the plus side, the annuals confirm that what we thought was a Doomsday story is actually a Brainiac one, which is an improvement, sort of. It seems somewhat repetitive to make the villain yet again the center of a major Superman story (the last time being one of Superman’s earliest big adventures); can’t they come up with someone else to challenge our hero? Must we always turn to the usual suspects? Shouldn’t there be at least a three year moratorium on a supervillain after he’s been featured in a major story arc?

Superman/Wonder Woman #9 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Tony Daniel (pencils), Matt Banning & Sandu Florea (inks), Tomev Morey (colors)

The Story: Never ask an Amazon to do a god’s work.

The Review: I feel safe with you guys, so I’m just gonna let it all out: I don’t know how much more of this I can stand. It’s true that my general distaste for Doomsday made me predisposed to dislike Doomed, but I don’t think I’m out of line for saying that the storyline has been an overlong bit of mindless drivel so far. When you have four ongoing titles involved in a crossover, and the story still feels like it’s going nowhere, that’s unacceptable.

Anyway, don’t take my word for it. The repetitiousness of Doomed is obvious in this issue alone, in which once again Clark has a tiresome dialogue with himself—his Doomsday self, that is—and various well-meaning individuals attempt to put him down, only to irritate him further. It’s enough to make you wonder where everyone’s brains went. It’s one thing for Guy Gardner to throw himself into battle without thinking, but you’d think women as intelligent as Hessia or Supergirl would be better than that.

Superman/Wonder Woman #8 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Tony Daniel (pencils), Matt Banning & Sandu Florea (inks), Tomev Morey (colors)

The Story: If even the best man on Earth can be a bad boyfriend, what hope is there for the rest of us?

The Review: The tendency with writing Superman is to portray him as a goody-goody, such a paragon of model behavior that he comes frequently across as bland and unrelatable. That’s how he inspires both worshipful respect and defensive hatred from people, both fictional and otherwise. In real life, it takes real effort to maintain that degree of goodness, and in the new DCU, with a younger, brasher Clark, the suggestion is that it takes real effort for him, too.

But if Clark’s public virtues are the product of strict self-control, of suppressing an inclination to “punch down” (as Greg Pak always puts it), then we now have opportunities for him to relinquish that control. Such is the effect of the Doomsday infection, unleashing all those mean-spirited, primal thoughts that you’ve always wondered if Clark ever felt, much less repressed. It’s an interesting direction for Soule to take, exploring the psychological, rather than purely physical, dimensions of a Clark gone wild.

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.

Detective Comics #5 – Review

by Tony Salvador Daniel (writing & pencils), Szymon Kudranski (art), Sandu Florea & Rob Hunter (inks), Tomeu Morey (colors), and Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Batman has to fight through a mob of Occupy Gotham Joker fans to catch a killer.

The Review: Thus far, I’ve found Tony Daniel’s Detective Comics to be one of the new 52’s biggest surprises in that it’s actually been pretty enjoyable.  Hell, I’ll go as far as saying that Daniel has been doing some of the best work of his career both as a writer and as an artist.

Well, I guess he had to trip up eventually.

To be fair, it’s not entirely Daniel’s fault.  Rather, this victim falls prey to DC’s attempting a creative solution to hitting deadlines.  It’s clear that Daniel couldn’t get an entire 20 page issue drawn in time, so DC ends up publishing a 12 page Batman comic alongside an 8-page Catwoman-related back-up, both written by Daniel.  Sadly, neither story satisfies.

In the case of the main feature, it’s too damned short.  It’s meant to function as a prelude, but Daniel sets so much up, but moves forward so little, that it ends up being a little befuddling and feels almost like a waste of time.  Sadly, the pacing doesn’t help here.  This doesn’t feel like a 12 page prelude.  Instead, it feels like 20 page comic with the last 8 pages ripped out.  It feels as though Daniel accomplish what he wanted to, but running up against that page limit, he and DC just called it quits and sent it to the printers.  The result is a comic that feels terribly incomplete and unfulfilling.

Then there’s the back-up, which is definitely a case of “your mileage may vary.”  I actually rather enjoyed it and found it fairly well-written, but then, I’m a sucker for dirty, gritty noir.  As such, anything in that genre often gets more latitude from me.  Honestly, while technically it’s written fairly well, it’s also unremarkable.  It’s standard fare but, more frustrating, it’s fare that’s completely and utterly unrelated to the main feature and, thus, the upcoming arc.  There’s no Batman or Bat-family in sight, for instance.

While all this can be blamed on the issue’s format, not all this issue’s faults are out of Daniel’s hand.   You see, this month, Daniel attempts to get political, or “current.”  I’m sure that’s going to induce cringing and it rightly should.  Daniel does a completely ridiculous, ham-fisted, and embarrassing parody of Occupy that feels horribly simple-minded and immature.  Bear in mind, I myself am far, far from a fan of Occupy, but “awkward” doesn’t begin to describe this.  At best, it’s completely simple-minded.  At worst, it’s an utterly bizarre and left-field demonization of Occupy that would make Frank Miller proud, I’m sure.  Well, I take that back.  Frank probably would’ve had Batman viciously beat up slews of protesters, all while laughing maniacally.  Nonetheless, this was really, really strange and I hope Daniel doesn’t go back to this well any time soon.

Detective Comics #3 – Review

Written and Drawn by Tony S. Daniel, inks by Sandu Florea, colors by Tomeu Morey

The Story: Batman faces off against the Dollmaker and his twisted family.

The Good: There was a lot of action in this issue. Brutal, Batman-getting-his-ass-kicked action. And we get to see how much balls Batman has–or still has, despite the relaunch. Half paralyzed and realizing he can’t make it out alive, he simply tells the freaks “What the hell are you waiting for? Bring it on!” And that’s the first page. Batman then proceeds to barely escape the fight and go on to solve the mystery. That’s another thing great about this–it is a detective book. We see Batman actually do detective-like things, where in some recent stories (and movies), he’s more of a guy who simply responds. It would make sense that at least in Detective Comics, we see him investigate. And the investigation leads to more clues about the Dollmaker and what form of crazy he came from–and it’s the kind of crazy that only a Gotham City villain could have. This villain is right at home in Batman’s rouge galleries. Pretty soon a doll head will be joining that giant penny and T-Rex. Yet there are still some great mysteries left to solve–like who his “children” are. Who is he working for? What is–and why does he even seem to have–his code of conduct? The Dollmaker is becoming an easy villain to get invested in, and it also helps that Daniel puts most of his artistic talents to this character. He’s the most visually striking (I almost said appealing, but that just feels wrong) character in the issue. And for a comic artist, he’s probably a wonderful character to draw, ink, and color. All that patchwork!

Detective Comics #2 – Review

Written and Drawn by Tony S. Daniel, Inked by Ryan Winn and Sandu Florea, Colored by Tomeu Morey

The Story: Batman and Gordon discover the Joker’s face left behind in Arkham and begin their investigation. But first, Batman must save a little girl…

The Good: An issue 2 that doesn’t feel like filler to fit a trade. This has a story to it. Beginning, middle, and end. Character arc. Subplots. So many comics now are one note made-for-the-trade these days that getting something with a lot of content is almost overwhelming.  But Daniel gives us a lot of meat for our three bucks, whether it’s developing Bruce’s personal life, showing us how Gordon works, or building towards the crescendo of the issue, there’s nothing thrown in for filler. Everything is working towards something. And this mystery is just beginning to explode. It’s so hard to write about these issues without spoiling them or mentioning some very intriguing key parts. So, how to do this and be vague… The new villain set up in the last issue, the Dollmaker… I am now convinced that he is a credible threat to Gotham. Riddler, Two-Face, Penguin–you’ve got a new buddy in your league and he is young and hungry (well, maybe not young. And maybe a bit more hungry in a literal sense). But Dollmaker succeeds as a villain where Morrison’s Professor Pyg fails–in that, I didn’t give a crap about that villain and never saw him as a threat to Batman. Dollmaker is. I am interested in Dollmaker and his….agh…can’t say it. And he’s a villain with a scheme. Okay, all villains have schemes, but you get the sense that he really has something cooking in that deranged noggin.

Batman #707 – Review

By: Tony Daniel (writer and penciller), Tony Daniel, Sandu Florea and Ryan Winn (inkers), Ian Hannin (colors)

The Story: Batman and I-Ching race against time to get to the Mask of the Beholder before Sensei gets there. Too late!

What’s Good: I enjoy Tony Daniel’s Gotham art. He draws a powerful Batman (check him fighting on the pier sans cape), dynamic action (like Sensei’s kick in the archives), and general weirdness (look at the spiritual madness coming out of Sensei when he gets his mitts on the beholder). The inks team made Gotham dark and brooding, from the bottom of a dirty river, to the hidden hideaway of the Riddler’s new employer. And Hannin’s colors were awesome in the cloudy effects of battle and the mystical forces coming out of the beholder. And speaking of the Riddler (and his twisted daughter Enigma), they look awesome. Riddler is genuinely ugly, with greasy, dirty hair, a textured, wrinkled face and some whacked out facial expressions. I also enjoyed the Chinese-motifs in the masks of Sensei henchmen. Très cool.

Batman #706 – Review

By: Tony Daniel (story and pencils), Sandy Florea and Ryan Winn (inks), Ian Hannin (colors)

The Story: Eye of the Beholder, Part Three: Speak No Evil: Lucius Fox is getting his ass kicked in interrogation by Sensei. Batman (Dick Grayson) is getting his ass kicked for the fun and profit of the Riddler. Robin pulls Batman’s chestnuts out of the fire, but that doesn’t help catch Sensei.

What’s Good: We’re in Act II, alright: high stakes, high danger, fast-paced action, lots of moving parts. I’m enjoying the frenetic detective chase on for Sensei and the Beholder, and there are enough characters involved for this to be a farce. Lucius Fox is connected to the Beholder through his father. We don’t know how the Riddler is connected. Catgirl is connected because she saw the Reaper staking out a Chinese butcher. Reaper is involved because he’s insane….no, wait…he’s also out to stop Sensei’s plan….but his elevator doesn’t make it even halfway to the top floor. Batman’s after Sensei and the Riddler, because this is his town.

Daniel’s dialogue works well, especially on the subtler character moments and the back-and-forth between the characters. Batman accusing Robin of hitting puberty was funny. Catgirl’s burning need for acceptance and approval was like watching Batman talk to a girl-Damian. I-Ching was cool as a cucumber, and mysterious while going out on his little sortie. All in all, a well-written piece of a fun adventure.

Batman #705 – Review

By: Tony Daniel (writer, artist, inks), Sandi Florea (additional inks)

The Story: The Eye of the Beholder, Part Two, See No Evil: Batman (Dick Grayson) and Peacock are fighting Sensei, the great-grandfather of Damian Wayne (I’ll get you a family tree later). They kick some ass, but are nearly overwhelmed and get away, to try to find where the Sensei’s people have taken Peacock’s brother.

What’s Good: Tony Daniel did a pretty awesome job with this issue. Visually, I love how he does Dick Grayson as Batman. The action is fast-paced, with intriguing layouts (check out page 3 or the double-splash on pages 4-5 for great examples of cool layout work). The gratuitous posing that gets into some of Daniel’s work at times, to make his heroes look cool, is kept to a minimum because the story really moves. Swinging through the streets. Throwing poisoned weapons. Charging away on horses. Motorcycles. Explosions. I’m serious. Don’t believe me? Well, we also run through a Chinese festival, do two cool flashbacks (the resurrection of Sensei and the origin of the Mask of the Beholder, which take us to rural, early-modern China), a crime scene and a junkyard. Visually worth the price of entry.

The writing is fun too. I had been a bit confused about where all the pieces were last issue, but the set up page at the beginning really oriented me to what was going on. The introduction of I-Ching was paced well, done dramatically, with conflict, and still provided useful information that drove the story forward without drawing attention to itself. The dialogue does a lot of work in this issue because the plot and the characters are relatively convoluted, but Daniel set up the characters so that the dialogue was natural and the information they gave each other relevant and the way people really would talk in these situations. Tony Daniel is also doing a good job of catching the bits of Dick that make him different from Bruce. Dick has exuberance for life that shone through in a double splash-page on horseback you really have to see.

Batman #704 – Review

By: Tony Daniel (writer and artist), Ian Hannin (colorist)

The Story: My favorite Batman (Dick Grayson) tackles the reaper with Robin. Catgirl. A poseur follower of Catwoman’s gets in the way. She’s going to be a problem, because Bruce wants her off the streets. In the meantime, bigger fish are showing up.

What’s Good: Daniel delivers classic Batman: weird criminals, capes and cowls, clever tech gimmicks and a rich, playboy secret identity. Throw in a femme fatale (check!) and you have everything you need. The issue is fast-paced (take down Reaper, lose Catgirl, get new instructions, head off on missions, deliver message, get caught in the middle, all in under 30 pages) and the writing is brisk and smart. On the dialogue, I loved the responsibility that Bruce lays on Dick (“Gotham is your city when I’m not here”), but nuanced by the clever, exuberance that Dick hasn’t outgrown (“That was a Bruce move…”).

Artwise, Daniel puts dynamism on the page. Check out Batman and Robin leaping across the rooftops, or Batman taking down Reaper. He also does beautiful detail, as in Selina Kyle, or the textured detail of Catgirl’s boot in Reaper’s craggy face (or the wrinkles in the clothing, the dust, the dirt, etc…I could go on). The effects of the rain, on the fight scene and on Dick running cast a cool, threatening mood over the Gotham that Dick now owns (when Bruce isn’t there….).

Batman #702 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel (artist), Ian Hannin (colors)

The Story: R.I.P. The Missing Chapter, Part Two: Batman’s Last Case. This story fills in the gaps in the story of Batman and the Justice League prepping to face Darkseid, and what happens when they finally do.

What’s Good: Batman #701 had sub-wowed me, so I came to Batman #702 with mixed feelings. Was I going to be disappointed? Was Morrison losing his luster? Hell, no! The uneven start to this 2-issue arc could not hold back this moody, layered narrative. Batman’s monologue and its undercurrents were so strong that I felt like I was swimming in a river.

The big part of this swept-along feeling comes from Batman’s reactions to the situation. This is not some gadget-driven guy, blithely facing off against Superman-level foes with a smile on his face (as so often happens in the world of superhero teams where one guy can run at the speed of light and another happens to be good at gymnastics). This is a soldier in a war realizing that, man for man, he rates about as high as a stormtrooper in a Jedi fight. This is not the story of Achilles the Strong, but of Odysseus the Crafty, tinged with a fatalism that is new to my experience of Batman. A good writer of science fiction and fantasy will tease out all the implications of an idea or situation rather than continue to try and set us a-wonder under a deluge of ideas and tech. The implication that Morrison explores here is simple: what does an essentially normal guy in tights do when he has to face off against a god or monster? This is not Batman thinking about justice, but Batman thinking about his mortality. Can he face this with bravery? What will this drive him to? Odysseus violated the Greek ethic of guesthood. Here, Batman chooses to go against his own ethic never to use a gun. And Batman’s fatalistic thoughts and the psychological effects of his confusion are skillfully shown in Morrison’s running monologue in Bruce’s voice. This not only drives the story, but pulls us deeper into Bruce’s mind as he too is swept along.

Batman #701 – Review

By: Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel (artist), Ian Hannin (colors)

The Story: R.I.P. The Missing Chapter, Part One: Bruce Wayne survives a helicopter crash. On shore, he waits for Hurt to emerge from the depths of the river, but Hurt doesn’t. When Bruce later checks out the helicopter wreckage in the Bat-sub, he finds it empty. Hurt is gone. So where does this leave Bruce?

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: I’ve never seen Daniel draw Bruce Wayne in costume. It is very different from Dick Grayson under the cowl. Bruce’s stance is more imposing, more ominous, and dark. This is a good thing, but I also found his physique overdone, sometimes grossly so. Bruce walking into Wayne manor is a figure that in no way could be mistaken for Dick Grayson, or anyone else who hasn’t juiced up on steroids all his life. This is a bad thing. Bruce’s facial structure was also craggier and more hawk-like, which is probably a lot closer to the art style of the early 1940s and Kane’s original conception of Batman. This is good. However, the same effect taken head-on (not in profile or on an angle) was done with Superman’s face, which made him look a bit ridiculous. So, on draftsmanship, I think Daniel has the required skill, but it seemed like his discipline slipped once in a while, taking him from effective exaggeration in some panels, into disproportion and ugliness in others. On a side note, Hannin rocked the colors and Daniel did pick effective and dynamic camera angles, within relatively traditional layouts.

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.

Batman #698 – Review

By: Tony Daniel (writer), Guillem March (artist), Tomeu Morey (inker)

The Story: Riddle Me This, Part One: Batman is called to a weird murder that doesn’t quite fit easy theories. Who shows up to help out and make suggestions? Edward Nigma. No one is comfortable with his help, but he seems to be on to something in terms of spotting a series of copycat murders. As the story goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that someone is trying to play Batman, but who is it, and will Dick get out alive?

What’s Good: Guillem and Morey draw some very evocative art. The blotches of color in the dream sequence, the scratchy darkness, the mutilated corpes and a grim-faced Batman make Gotham come to life in its lurid, creepy way. Nigma, with his stringy, greasy hair and fluid mouth fits right into the creepy. And everything is textured: the rain, the pavement, the buildings and the faces. I really enjoyed the effort the artists made to evoke this reality. At the same time, I think that Daniel offered us a typical Batman puzzle, although I had some issues.

Batman #697 – Review

By: Tony Daniel (writer and artist), Sandu Florea (inker)

The Story: Life After Death, Part 6… The Conclusion: Batman, with a small army of helpers, descends on the chaos of Devil’s Square in Gotham after the Black Mask has released his toxin. Batman breaks through the enemy lines and makes a run on the Black Mask himself. Black Mask is not exactly defenseless…

What’s Good: There’s a lot of action in this book, many obstacles big and small, and none of them are easy. And on the art side, I still think that Tony Daniel draws a great Batman. He’s thin and muscular, and twisting and turning in the air, around gunshots and explosions and bad guys. Daniel draws Dick Grayson as if he’s making it all look easy. Batman defies gravity without looking like he’s breaking the laws of physics. He creeps out of the river or jumps through fire like he lives for this. Daniel draws good dynamics and he keeps a chaos of action from being confusing.

Batman #695 – Review

By: Tony S. Daniel (writer and artist), Sandu Florea with Norm Rapmund (inkers)

The Story: Life After Death, Part 4: Smoke and Mirrors: Batman pursues a complex mystery, peeling back layer after layer: the Gene-Corp murders, the Penguin, the Falcone mafia, the Penguin, Catwoman and a stray Falcone sister. He has to rough up a few people on the way, but the path he uncovers leads him into more danger than before.

What’s Good: Daniel’s art worked for me. The layouts were clean, the camera angle choices were evocative, and his Batman is menacing and dark. Check out Batman walking away from the house he just burnt down! One thing that I also respond to in Daniel’s art is the level of detail. The Reaper’s wrinkling face, the texture of Arkham’s flat, mousy hair, and the wrinkles in Batman’s cowl evoke sensation.

I know some of my colleagues at WCBR have criticized Daniel as a writer. Maybe I haven’t been with Batman long enough, but I really enjoy his take on Dick Grayson being the Batman. Dick is obviously growing into the role and is scaring the crap out of bad guys. I wouldn’t cross him.

Batman #694 – Review

By Tony Daniel (writer and artist), Sandu Florea (inks), Ian Hannin (color), Mike Marts (editor)

The Story: Life After Death, Part 3: Someone is sparking a gang war in Gotham. The Penguin is taking the brunt of it while Dick Grayson races to stop it from spinning out of control. In the meantime, after the shooting of his informant last issue, the kiss with Huntress and the uneasy fit of Batman’s cowl all make this mission very personal.

What’s Good: Daniels is keeping the pressure up on poor Dick. Not only is Gotham’s underworld splitting at the seams, with Commissioner Gordon, Oracle and the Huntress looking to Batman for guidance, but the serious attitude he gets from his new ward Damian never stops, one of his best friends (Oracle) won’t see him because another one of his best friends (Huntress) kissed him pretty hard “in the line of duty.” When you add to that Dick’s feelings of responsibility for a boy who got shot, stuff going south at Arkham, and an unsettling link between some murders at Gene-Corp and the substitute Bruce Wayne, I don’t know how Dick gets up in the morning. But, that’s why Dick is a hero: he possesses the relentless endurance and character to face overwhelming odds. Nice character work, Mr. Daniels!
Daniels also delivers some great art for this issue. It’s dark and moody, reflecting the world (psychological, geographic and sociological) around Dick. Daniels draws a vile Penguin, an angry, driven Batman, heartless killers, scary sociopaths, a resentful, arrogant sidekick and sympathetic friends (the Huntress and Alfred). In addition to his fine work on mood and emotion, Daniel’s action scenes are clear and evocative. Check out Dick swinging through the rain on panel 3 of page 9 and then the Bladerunner-esque cityscape in the next panel. Or, if you prefer an edgy Batman-style interrogation, look at his “conversation” with the Penguin on pages 2-4.

Batman #692 – Review

by Tony Daniel (writer/ artist), Sandu Florea (artist)

The Story: Batman works with Catwoman to bring down villain Black Mask’s False Face Society, while a familiar crime family returns to Gotham City.

What’s Good: I didn’t have the greatest confidence in my enjoying this issue when it was originally solicited.  The return of Tony Daniel to the art chores was not something I was happy about.  There are artists who bring Batman to life, and then there are artists who simply draw him, and Daniel has always fallen in the latter category for me.  However, the artist has submitted a much-improved entry into his Batman run this month, and I’m pleasantly surprised that’s the case.

It seems that the downtime Daniel’s had between this issue and last Spring’s Battle for the Cowl miniseries has allowed him to recharge, as his pencils are much more vibrant this time around.  The full-page image of the Dark Knight on Page 1 alone is a testament to Daniel’s improved handling of the character.  This feels like Batman.  Ian Hannin’s color choices also work well here.  He’s gone for a darker tone than has been used in previous story-arcs, and it suits the tale well.  His decision to go with varying shades of gray for Batman stands out particularly well, as I’ve felt that the more common blue cape and cowl always seemed to be an odd choice for an avenger of the night.

Complimentary to his improved art this issue, Daniels’ scripting abilities have followed suit.  While in no danger of breaking new ground with the character, he does seem to have a good handle making this new Batman still feel like The Batman, while maintaining the Grayson persona under the cowl.

What’s Not So Good: I’ve never been a fan of Black Mask’s new look.  We already have a Red Skull in the Captain America title, so I really don’t need a Black Skull running around in my Batman books.  Despite that the fault for his new design doesn’t lay with Daniel, the artist does give the villain a new Hellraiser-esque costume this issue that really doesn’t help things.  Not only is it ugly, it seems out of place and out of character.  I also must confess that I’m uninterested in the mystery of the character’s true identity.  It’s been dragged out for months and I sincerely hope that this is the beginning of the end for this tale.

Also, Daniel’s inclusion of a character from Jeph Loeb’s and Tim Sale’s amazing Long Halloween and Dark Victory miniseries, along with some possible plot points carried over from those stories, only serves to remind me of better-told Batman mysteries.  While I hope the writer/artist manages to come through on the promise, he certainly is setting himself up for possibly unkind comparisons.

Conclusion: While far from perfect, Tony Daniel has given a surprisingly solid performance after a few months away.  Despite the story not being my exact cup of tea, it’s a marked improvement over the previous story-arc.  That said, the jury’s still out on where Daniel will go with this.

Grade: C +

-Joe Lopez

 

Batman: Battle For The Cowl #3 – Review

By Tony Daniel (writer and pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Ian Hannin and JD Smith (colors)

The Story: As Gotham reals from the destructive attacks from the Black Mask, Nightwing assembles “The Network,” a band of Gotham heroes, to plot a response to the unprecedented terrorism that has been unleashed on the city. Afterwards, he confronts an unhinged Jason Todd who has attempted to claim the mantle of Batman, while Tim Drake, a.k.a Robin, struggles for his life.

What’s Good: Well, we finally find out who’s the new Batman (hold the exclamation point). Which is a good thing, if not solely for the fact that the series can attempt to move on into some stable arcs and stories. Agood thing to note is Tony Daniel’s art; which is typically effective in capturing the characters and feel of Gotham (although not as good at R.I.P, which helps the story plod along).

Some of the characters and their personalities are also well-done. Jason Todd’s insanity and motivations are pretty interesting and he makes for a strong character in this series. Also, the mystery of who the Black Mask is effective in enriching the overall structure of this mini-series.

What’s Not So Good: My biggest complaint of this issue, and this series, is that nothing, and I mean nothing, exceptional or unpredictable transpires. I was hoping, albeit naively, that Batman wouldn’t end up being who we all thought it would be. It is such an expected move, I wonder why it warrants a whole series (I mean besides DC being able to make dough).

I’m not sure if it was editorial restrictions or not, but Tony Daniel really stumbles in spinning this tale. Besides the overall story being lackluster, there are scenes that are borderline silly. For example, in one panel Nightwing is having a conversation with a scarecrow of sorts, wired with a speaker, constructed by Jason Todd out of Tim Drakes costume. Sounds like a trap, no? Well, not to Nightwing, who for some reason hugs the scarecrow and gets electrocuted. There was also the Bruce Wayne doing an Obi-Wan Kenobi impersonation in the middle of a fight to the death that struck me at particularly ridiculous.

The Conclusion: I wanted to like this book, really, I did. But it wasn’t meant to be. Seriously: is there anyone who is excited about Batman not being Bruce Wayne? Through the unnecessary and unresolved plight of Tim drake; the annoyingness of Damian; the shoddiness of the third-string European Batman club of heroes brought into the DCU; the overly dramatic and heavy handed inner-monolgues of Nightwing, and his journey of personal growth; you have a basically throw away comic in Batman: Battle For The Cowl #3.

Grade: D

-Rob G.

Batman: Battle For the Cowl #2 – Review

By Tony Daniel (writer/ artist), Sandu Florea (inks),Ian Hannin (colors), Jared K. Fletcher (letters)

The Story: Following the months of Batman’s/ Bruce Wayne’s “death,” there has been nothing but chaos in Gotham City: members of the Bat-Family face various internal struggles regarding the call for the cowl, there’s a mob war between Two-Face and the Penguin, the Black Mask has returned, and a new and murderous Batman emerges and fatally punishes his victims in his war on crime.  In this issue, the war between Gotham’s criminals intensifies, as the Black Mask continues his involvement in the onging war between Two-Face and the Penguin.  Also with the city in need of a Batman, another Dark Knight rises from the ashes to reclaim the mantle of the Bat, as Tim Drake continues his search for the murdering pretender.         

The Good: Along with his amazing art, Tony Daniel’s tale of “Dark Knights” duking it out for the cowl is shaping to be an unforgettable mini series.  It’s finally good to see a simple and entertaining storyline that’s able to accompany it’s wild and brutal battles with some deep moral studies of a world without a Batman.  The film, “The Dark Knight” did this well, and so does Daniel’s, “Battle for the Cowl.”  With this series, Tony Daniel shows us a classic debate of what kind of Batman is needed in the modern world.  A man of honor, or a ruthless and punishing vigilante?  With this theme,  Daniel successfully paints an epic battle between a Batman with ideals, and a Dark Knight that’s lacking of any moral compass.

Furthermore, Tony Daniel’s story has all the symptoms of a legitimate and memorable Batman story.  Fanboys will find themselves drooling over the explicit reference to Batman #428, and the cliffhanger in end of this issue can possibly be just as iconic and timeless as the one in Batman #617.  After reading this issue, you’re going to wish #3 would come out next week.

The Not So Good: Although the story in itself is a good one, the dialogue can make you laugh you out loud unintetionally.  With so many fight scenes, it’s almost inevitable that a cheesy line gets spout out here and there.  Normally I can let this go, but in this issue, there’s just a little too much.  #1 had lines like, Killer Croc saying, “Sushi Time,” as he took a bite out of some human.  #2 has lines like this piece of monologue, “Because Batman has become real fear for once.  And Fear me they do.”  Even though you know what the line means, it doesn’t exactly convey it smoothly.  It’s over-the-top corny, and it sounds like a line reserved for someone that runs through walls, unannounced.

Conclusion: Batman: Battle for the Cowl is shaping up to be a good story. Which is a relief since fans everywhere are treated to a tale that’s not obscured by nonsensical references, and lame story angles.  For the first time in a long time, you can read a Batman book that you can buy.  I can buy that there would be this much chaos if Batman is supposed to be dead.  And I can buy how this is a battle that needs to be told.  Longtime Bat-fans won’t be disappointed, and neither would those who’ve been turned away by R.I.P.

Grade:  B+

-Raymond Hilario

Batman #681 (RIP) – Review

By Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Guy Major (colors)

The Story: Lots of loose ends are tied up in this conclusion, but there’s plenty of dangling threads left open. The Joker, knowing his role has come to an end, flees the scene as Batman puts a lockdown on Arkham. Despite beating the odds, the Black Glove’s confidence is only momentarily shaken before the final sequences of the showdown take place. The final fate of Batman is revealed, and honestly, unexpected!

What’s Good? This whole story’s been about how Batman prepares himself for any situation. He’s not only a master detective, but a brilliant escape artist. The Joker, who’s tussled with Batman for decades laughs at the situation knowing that Batman will prevail. The way he plays the Black Glove for fools is hilarious, while his last hurrah in the ambulance is downright puzzling.

When Batman finally arrives on the scene he downright owns Jezebel Jet. And even though she confidently touts that her group can never be stopped or imprisoned, the humiliation and pure ownage Batman lays on her is laughably fun.

What’s Not So Good? The fate of Dr. Hurt, Batman, and Jezebel Jet are up in the air. Are they truly dead? Probably not. And who is Dr. Hurt, really? The Devil? Thomas Wayne?

Conclusion: Though there’s still some dangling threads left open this last issue does a good job of wrapping up the story. The biggest complaint people have had about this series was how absurd it is to follow in the opening chapters. Luckily, this final chapter doesn’t have many head scratching scenes or dialogue. As a whole, this isn’t an epic Batman story, by far. But it was entertaining. Killing off Batman does seem more of a stunt, however, than a necessity.

Grade: B

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

Congratulations Grant Morrison, you’ve done nothing but state the obvious about Batman being constantly prepared, and somehow you failed to properly conclude your own arc. You gave us a character that’s as meaningless as Jeph Loeb’s Tommy Elliot/ Hush with Jezebel Jet, and you provided us your version of a Batman that many fans are going to forget. Honestly, who’s going to reminisce about the hallucinating, Batman of Nanda Parabat? I don’t even buy your portrayal of Batman as the most ready, escape artist. You’ve somehow forgotten logic; a constantly prepared Batman would not GUESS how an anticipated attack would play out. Guessing is uncertain, and being uncertain is not being prepared. Your version of Batman simply does not live up to the training he claims to have. Instead, you give us a masochistic, hallucinating, psycho-babbling, escape stuntman that happens to know everything and reveals it all in the most faux-badass manner.

Also you call this a concluding issue? A conclusion answers all the questions and satisfies all the readers. You leave many things unresolved, thus making this issue a bad “conclusion” that “leaves what’s in store.” Your Batman R.I.P. story isn’t done yet since we didn’t see Batman’s corpse. Can we expect to see what Superman and Wonder Woman were sulking about in JLA #0 in your pages of Final Crisis, not in this book– the book where you introduced this story? Yet this is supposed to be the conclusion to R.I.P. with an epilogue and all…

After reading and investing in what you’ve given us these past months in Batman, your arc doesn’t deserve the title “R.I.P.” With many questions left unanswered, and the abrupt moments and with all the sloppy explanations, Batman #681 concludes as another unimportant Batman story within the DC universe. Zur En Arrh? Zoro In Arkham? Really? Do you really want us to meditate on that after reading it backwards? I pray you don’t have Bruce Wayne lose his mind and get locked up. Ditch this piece of shit, and hope that Neil Gaiman paints us a better portrait of the Dark Knight in the way Alan Moore gave us “Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow.”

Grade: C-

-Raymond Hilario

Batman #680 (RIP) – Review

By Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Guy Major (colors)

This issue’s probably as straight forward as we’ll get with Morrison’s RIP story arc. It’s made apparent from the beginning that the Batman of Zur-En Arrh is only a temporary persona and not built to last this long (or for showdowns of this magnitude). Nevertheless, Batman (along with Bat-Mite) push on toward their confrontation with the Black Glove. Batman and Joker finally have their showdown and it’s finally conceded that no matter how much Bats prepares for a scenario sometimes there’s nothing he can do to relate to a maniac of The Joker’s caliber.

This time, the joke’s on Batman and Grant Morrison’s wildly nightmarish Joker is the scariest incarnation I’ve ever seen in a comic. He not only goads Batman as he connects the dots of the “Dead Man’s Hand” (that we saw back in DC Universe #0), but he also forces the issue when he reveals his role in the plot by mutilating his own tongue with a blade! Definitely not for the squeemish.

The Black Glove is finally revealed and it’s outright blatant. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the outcome, too. After connecting the dots it’s very self evident who the person is but the manner of the final confirmation left me rolling my eyes. I wanted someone more mysterious not something we’ve seen a million times before. It’s just too obvious (almost too easy), and nearly deflates this entire enigma of a storyline.

Next issue promises a big showdown and we know it won’t end well. The reemergence of Damien into the storyline only confirms what we’ve all been speculating on for months. Grant Morrison has one issue left to end this on a strong note. If he pulls it off without bewildering his audience, this will have been worth the effort. And by effort, I mean the research and annotation digging 99% of us had to do. (Grade: C+)

– J. Montes

Batman #679 (RIP) – Review

By Grant Morrison (story), Tony Daniel (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Guy Major (colors)

SPOILER ALERT

Wait, what? Alfred is Bruce’s dad? If true and Dr. Hurt is indeed Thomas Wayne, well, this changes everything. Like the last two issues of this RIP story, things are disjointed and hard to follow at times. However, there’s a point in the story where answers are given (strangely enough by Bat-Mite, himself) and things are a tad easier to comprehend.

The Zur-En-Arrh is finally explained as a world created by Bruce when he put himself under the isolation experiment (but was something first induced by Dr. Milo’s gas). Eventually, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh morphed into hidden personality that acts as a kind of fail safe mechanism (given Bruce’s current state of mind), which makes sense given how it is bluntly stated that Batman prepares himself for any scenario. But the lengths he’s gone through to anticipate something like this almost seems ridiculous.

Still, Bruce Wayne is a man driven by an obsession so I wouldn’t count it out. As for Bat-Mite, well, he seems to be Bruce’s conscience or more “rationale” side. Perhaps when the effects of all the drugs wear off, this “Zur-En-Arrh Batman” will go away. But for now, he’s on a rampage and seems to be playing right into Dr. Hurt’s hands.

After posting my review for last issue, I had one reader ask how I could give  Grant Morrison a pass for this “incomprehensible nonsense”. I agree that this arc has been more of fragments and pieces rather than a story. Most of RIP requires digging into Batman lore, which I honestly don’t have the time to do, but I have read some of the annotations out there and found them to be quite telling. Based on the story’s merits alone, it’s a mess riddled with too many nods to Batman’s past. And I can’t think of too many readers who’ve been reading Batman since the Silver Age. Yet on the same token, what’s being told here is completely different and unique from any other Batman story I’ve read and because of that, I think it requires a closer examination. It may not be comprehensible at times, but it cannot be denied that there’s something intriguing going on with this story that keeps me coming back month after month. Bring on The Joker and Black Glove! (Grade: B-)

– J. Montes

Batman #678 (RIP) – Review

By Grant Morrison (writer), Tony Daniel (pencils), Sandu Florea (inks), Guy Major (colors)

In many ways, Batman RIP is very similar to Final Crisis. Both stories are confusing, abstract, and fragmented, but because Batman’s story is only nestled within the “Bat-Universe” there’s less tabs to put on characters making the story a bit easier to follow. I put a big emphasis on “a bit” easier, because after this issue I was more lost than ever. And you know, I don’t mind being lost as long as I know where the general direction of things are headed. In Final Crisis I can’t make heads or tails of the story without consulting appendices and cliffnotes from the DC elite (thanks guys), but in Batman, Grant Morrison manages to throw us a bone every once in a while, and that I can deal with.

This issue makes me wonder if Morrison is deliberately trying to invoke the same amnesiac feelings amongst his readers as Bruce Wayne stumbles around Gotham City with the ghost of a homeless man. Eventually Wayne wanders to Park Row (the area of Gotham where his parents were killed), and here his mind is ignited (by drugs no less). The end result is something that I can only describe as just plain Silver Age flamboyance at its worst (or best, if you’re into that kind of thing).

The Black Case Studies Wayne’s done on his rogues gallery is particularly fascinating and it makes me wonder what kind of damage had been done with Wayne’s “experimentations” into madness. Robin’s wondering this too. Speaking of which, Nightwing and Robin seem to be getting nowhere in their search, yet their less than covert actions has drawn the attention of the Club of Villains ever closer (and unknowingly). I won’t reveal anything here, but wow… poor Nightwing.

Perhaps my only beef with this issue is the lack of resolution with Alfred. Though we see him for just a brief moment latter half through the issue, nothing new is explained on his past dealings with The Black Glove nor of his fate. Anyway, this issue is weird, but perversely fun? (Grade: B-)

– J. Montes