3/13/13

This week was depressing in comics, all of the titles in the Bat-Family had the word "Requiem" on them. The whole weeks comics were about the death of Damian Wayne. It also proved to be a terribly bleak week in comics. In some cases this proved to be to the books benefit and in others, not so much.

• Batman #18

I really don't understand DCs love for selling so many bridge issues. My guess would be that the normal artists are just so exhausted by the rigorous release schedule that they need a months break. I usually don't enjoy this type of issue, Batman #12 was the worst of the Batman title thus far into the New 52. So this issue surprised me. We revisit the seemingly insipid character of Harper Row, except this time a little of her origin is mixed in. She visits her dad in Blackgate where the dad is nasty to both Harper and her brother Cullen. If this dialogue was put in the words of any other writer it would be cheesy and boring. Somehow, Scott Snyder makes the dialogue crisp and natural. The second half of the book is a story of how Harper tries to help Batman out of this dark place. Scott Snyder does a terrific job of painting the picture of a Batman who is similar to the post-Jason death Batman in being feral and uncontrollable. This is a very well made issue and a good way to bridge the story of Death of the Family and the events of BI #8.

These Bat-Issues had some of the most amazing and heartfelt covers I have ever seen.

• Batman and Robin #18

I was really skeptical as to how they were going to pull this one off without Damian, but they did. It was really nothing more than a sob-fest, but that was all that was needed. What was the real shocker in this issue was that there were no words at all. The amazing creative team behind this title managed to showcase the extreme misery of Bruce and Alfred without any dialogue. There was definitely lots of strong emotion in this book, but $3 is a little steep for three minutes worth of reading material.

• Batgirl #18

Thus begins part two of the Ray Fawkes take over for Gail Simone. It was not as bad as the first part, but still not a quality comic. While I think that James Gordon Jr. has potential to be a very interesting character Ray Fawkes just fails to bring the mysteriousness that Gail Simone did so very well. I think the story told in this issue was mediocre, more about how Batgirl is a hero and how psychotic James is really demented. The thing that really made this issue not as good as it could have been was the fact that all of the non-dialogue text-boxes were about Batgirl in the voice of James. This took his mysterious edge away. I also think that if a Robin is on the cover and the book is marked "Requiem" there should be a larger Robin presence than just one moment. I just wrote an article about how DC never gives us enough of the story we bought the book for. Here it is: The article

• Thor: God of Thunder #006

I was thoroughly pleased with the "Gorr-igin" Even with the artist change this book continues to be one of the most prominent in Marvel NOW. The book completely lives up to the title with nothing but origin as Thor doesn't make a single appearance in the book. Gorrs life is so bleak it is hard to even read about it. The few people he cares about in his life all meet terrible fates while he lives his life hearing all about how the gods will look after him. He is a rebel and a leader and doesn't seem inherently bad until the last couple of scenes where he whips a helpless God. Jason Aaron really does the perfect job in writing this amazing story.

Although the interior art is done by Butch Guice, Esad Rubic still draws amazing covers for the series.

• Age of Ultron Book #2

I have to say, of all of the books this week AoU was the one I was most excited for. Why? Because #1 was so damn good. This one doesn't quite match the quality of the debut, but it comes pretty close. This issue was really just a way to get settled with the cast of characters and the circumstance. There is lots of talking about what will be the next step and even a flashback to before the crisis. I appreciate that this creative team is trying to really give the reader a strong grasp on the story. There is also a team-up in this book that I quite enjoyed, this was Black Widow and Moon Knight. They had entertaining conversation and seemed like a realistic alliance given the situation. I am so ready to see how this plays out.

• Before Watchmen: Ozymandias

I have very little to say about this book. It was just as good as any of the other books on the series. Two things I will commend them for: it was not nearly as wordy as the other issues and it wrapped up the series nicely. I am so excited that Before Watchmen only has one more book left!

2/13/13

Today provided a marvelous Batman story, a sub-par Batgirl story, a pleasantly unusual story of my favorite, Damian Wayne and an utterly nonsensical and confusing Comedian comic. Once again, here are this weeks reviews.

• Batman #17

What have we come to expect from comic finales? Drama, tension, resolution, and most importantly a change. We don't want to have spent hours of our lives reading a comic that will never mean anything than the initial thrill it provided us. Snyder and Capullo's stunning ending gave me all four of those things.
There was definitely drama. Hell, when isn't there drama when it's a story about the Joker? From an interesting trap to the psychotic jokes and tricks we have come to expect from the Clown Prince of Crime. There was also drama to the point of me feeling like I was there, I credit that mostly to Greg Capullo whom I will always think of when I think of the Joker.
Tension is a hard thin to bring to a comic. In a movie scary music, slow-motion and quick dialogue will do the trick, but in a comic the tension is purely the excitement and the vividness of the drawings. I was scared, worried and excited all at the same time. One of the key factors in this chapter of Death of the Family was the actual family. The family is a hard group to bring together and keep the suspense high. Snyder managed that by having the family face a different form of Joker evil than Batman.
The story pulled into the finale with many loose ends and questions left unanswered, I felt at peace with the end result. One of my favorite parts of the whole comic was the end where Joker leaves one last non-lethal gag that I will forever remember.
Did it change the entire universe? No, not really. However, this will always be remembered as one of the greatest Joker stories ever told. People refer to a great comic storyline as a party, you can be late to the party, or not come at all. I think I overstayed my welcome and read the invitation too many times. By that I mean that I probably shouldn't have bought all of the tie-ins and I shouldn't have read all of the pre-event articles. But it was a party I am glad I attended.

• Batgirl #17

This issue tells the story of the fallout of Death of the Family and describes the difficult relationship between James Jr. and the rest of the Gordons. It was kind of good, and kind of random, I really don't see what DC sees in these Joker-inspired gangs but they seem to really be trying to suck all of the material possible out of them. My main problem with this comic, however, was that it was a change of creative teams. Gail Simone was doing a great job on the book and it seems like a stupid idea to take her off the book. The new artist is quite good but the writer has yet to impress me.

• Batman and Robin #17

This was the single most pointlessly weird issue thus far in the New 52. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to showing Bruce, Alfred and Damian's dreams. They are all brutal and somewhat psychotic, but very entertaining. The art, especially the extraordinary inking, adds to the eeriness of this comic.
I have come to realize that they do this kind of thing in the Batman and Robin book just to show what a queer relationship they have.

• Before Watchmen: Comedian #5 of 6

Of all of the mediocre Before Watchmen titles two books have really stood out. 

1. Silk Spectre was awesome
2. Comedian is terrible

Comedian has just been incomprehensible. They are trying to tell this elaborate story of the Vietnam war by flashing back and then switching back to the present, again and again and again. It really drives me nuts when I see the Comedian playing games with some Vietcong kids and then immediately turn the page to find a violent jungle battle. There is literally no transition between scenes, I mean at all. It is also way over-brutalized and the language is filthy for no reason. I understand that the Vietnam war was gory and the Comedian is a brutal character, but did they show that kind of stuff in the original Watchmen? I am not excited for the sequel, and I don't think it will include any of the traits of a good sequel from the Batman review.

2/6/13

This was a very fun week for one reason. HIT-GIRL. There was also The New 52 Young Romance valentines day special. I can pretty much write the conversation they had in their conference room. "Okay, we've done this before and we can do this again. How do we extract the most amount of money from our fans and giving them the least possible amount of entertainment?" "How about we release a hardcover edition a year before the paperback so that fans have the choice of waiting 1 and a half years for their comics to be collected into one book at a normal price or they could throw ten dollars down the toilet by buying a hardcover?" "Great idea!" "Wait a second, haven't we done that before?" "Yeah, how about we do a holiday themed issue where we get a bunch of creative teams to make about 5 crappy pages and then show 2 awesome characters kissing on the cover?" "Best idea yet!"

• Hit-Girl #5

Hit-Girl is awesome. Kick-Ass is awesome. Mark Millar is awesome. This issue is awesome. This couldn't have been a funnier, more gore filled, intriguing comic. I liked every aspect of it. From the clever plot to Hit-Girl hanging someone with their guts spilling out. I though that JRJR's art was terrific like usual and that this was a fantastic way to wrap up this awesome mini-series. To make things even better in the back I found out that the Kick-Ass 2 movie just finished filming, the Secret Service is going to get it's own movie and that Kick-Ass 3 is coming out in May. Really, what could be better?

•  The New 52 Young Romance Valentines Day Special

More like, what could be worse? This book had several flaws, so many that I will list them as bullets:

• Too damn expensive. I pay $8 for a book that's not even worth the time I spent reading it.
• Sloppy writing. Every conversation was so awkward and forced it made my skin crawl.
• Art changing every five pages. I can't stand when a series changes artists so you could imagine how I would feel as I switched from one art-style to another while I was just getting used to the first.
• Too many stories. I wish that they had cut half of the tales in the book so that the two somewhat interesting ones; Batgirl, Aquaman, could get some more time in the spotlight.

There was one good thing. In the middle of the comic there were the funniest Valentines cards ever.

1/16/13

My favorite week of the month, Batman, Batgirl, and Batman and Robin! Best $7.00 ever spent!

• Batman #16: 

Death of the Family has been great all around. Notice I said great and not phenomenal, it has been very good but not as good as Court of the Owls. This issue turned that completely around. This single 40-paged comic has everything a good comic should; good pace, great plot, snappy writing and amazing art. This issue was so intense that I had to intermittently pause and take in what had just happened. The Joker rigs Arkham with traps that are both creative (in a sick way) and freaky. Joker's talking seems naturally insane (if that makes any sense) and is not forced like so many terrible authors make happen. The ending was crazy and awesome. I hope the finale is spectacular.

• Batman and Robin #16:

First of all I would like to say that this series has been the best Death of the Family tie-in thus far and #16 didn't disappoint. In #15 Damian is forced to eat bugs at the zoo in this issue he is forced to fight his own father, really what could be better? The art is beautiful as usual and the Joker that Peter Tomasi has created is wonderfully maniacal. There is a near escape that is thrilling and creepy. I don't think I can say much more about this book without spoiling all of it.

• Batgirl #16:

Wouldn't it be cool if Joker and Batgirl got married? Well they do in this very good comic. Their wedding is proceeded by an already creepy issue and has the story all set up for a chaotic issue. This issue is chaotic but very well thought through. An uninvited guest comes and crashes the wedding literally. The Joker is also very psychotic in this tie-in which serves the story well.

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1/2/13

I had three books pulled today. The best being Batman Incorporated #6 and the worst being Teen Titans #15. The other book was Talon #3.

• Batman Incorporated #6:

I love Grant Morrison, let me just get that across. His entire run on Batman was phenomenal and I enjoyed the original Batman Incorporated immensely. Of the New 52 Batman Incorporated this one is definitely the best. The Al Ghul's are awesome and this portrays Talia very well. She is smart and gives Batman a mental and physical challenge that makes a very interesting story. Leviathan takes center stage again as Batman recovers from the battle in issue 4 while trying to find where Talia's elusive voice is coming from. An extremely interesting interaction happens where Dick, Jason and Damian get a little more familiar with each other. The ending left me speechless. I am very excited for next month!

• Teen Titans #15:

This is one of the worse Death of the Family tie-ins. Scott Lobdell is a hack, and this book shows exactly that. The book guest stars Batgirl but doesn't go anywhere with it. All of the Titans respond in exactly the same way by being snotty and disrespectful to someone who is clearly superior and has much more experience dealing with the Joker. That being said the confrontation between Tim Drake and the Joker is very interesting. The Joker wears Tim's wings and flys around the rafters. He also has a very creepy way of guessing exactly what Tim is thinking that I thought was clever but not exceptional writing. The art is okay, but of course all of the women are grossly over-sexuallized and the Joker is not nearly as well drawn as Greg Capullo's version of the Joker.

• Talon #3:

Court of the Owls was one of the best Batman stories ever written. Period. When I saw that a former Talon was going to get their own book I was super excited, and just when I thought it couldn't get any better I found out that Scott Snyder was writing it. After four books I am still not delighted with how they are directing this book. In almost every book Calvin (the protagonist) kills a Talon or two in some uninteresting way. This issue was no different. However, this issue did feature an interesting run-in with a rogue group of anti-heroes and an interesting robbery. The writing was quite entertaining and the art was decent. I really hope they find their groove with this book, because if they do Calvin will become a very interesting character.