Showing posts with label Damian Wayne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Damian Wayne. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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!










Thursday, February 28, 2013

2/27/13

This week was a great week, but the most sad comic week I have ever been through. I think you all know why.

  • Batman Incorporated #8
This issue was one of the single most dramatic issues I have ever read. The story begins in a warzone unlike anything you've ever seen and just gets better. They really should not have named this series Incorporated, but rather Batman Family I mean seriously, you have Dick, Tim, Damian, Bruce and Commissioner Gordon all fighting at the same time against the same enemy...But, anyways, the writing was clever and snappy (what we have come to expect from Grant Morrison) and I though the artwork was also phenomenal. Without going into the gory details I will say that Damian's death was very well thought through. I really hope that this series will continue even without Grant because it is a really intriguing story arc.



  • Batman: The Dark Knight #17
I have really come to enjoy this series for what it is. And it is a way to settle a solid foundation for Batman while keeping fans entertained. I have never though the Mad Hatter as anything but in Gregg Hurwitz's hands he is quite an interesting villain. This issue has a perfect balance of flashback and suspense. The Mad Hatter is beyond brutal and completely insane, if they ever make a movie featuring him it will send children into endless fits of nightmares.


  • Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1
I bought this book off of a recommendation, so I clearly wasn't a fan before today. It was a very good comic, I think it was the best way to introduce me to the main character and it made up a good, entertaining issue. I though it was weird (space guns, aliens) although it wasn't as weird as say Fear Agent. Steve McNiven's art was very clean and satisfying. I will be anxiously looking forward to #1.



  • Talon #5
I though that the last issue of Talon was a truly compelling comic, I was back this month to read all about the next chapter in Calvin Rose's life. This book started out well, Calvin and his ragtag team of companions talking about their tedious lives living in a bunker. The daughter of Calvin's love interest Casey Washington is a very cute character and the only young comic book character character authors have ever gotten right. The dialogue is the star of this comic as Snyder and Tynion masterfully create scene after scene of smooth and natural conversation while not boring the reader. This is a skill that is to be admired and cherished. I got really desperate when the band of anti-courtists were discussing the infiltration of a Court controlled fortress that was seemingly impossible. I am very excited for the next issue.


  • Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #4 of 4
As much as I hate JMS I have enjoyed Dr. Manhattan. This last issue was strange, and I don't think the strangeness really paid off. There were two times when I had to twist the comic around in my hands to understand what was going on. There was also a large Ozymandias prescence in this particular issue. I actually think this creative team got the character of Ozy much better than they did Dr. Manhattan so this issue was a break from the ordinary series. Like the other Before Watchmen titles, I'm glad I was along for the ride, but I'm glad the ride is over.

  • Teen Titans #17
I was just picking up my friends comic, this is not my sub, but I decided to read and review this anyways. This was also a Death of the Family Aftermath issue, so I was mildly interested. This comic started mediocre with the sad creation of a new villain that seemed suspiciously like something that belonged in an X-Men book. It was really a standard new mutant introduction; young boy afraid of his powers, he says how the powers started out weak and then grew more intense, blah, blah, blah. Anyways this kid is hooked up to this machine and gets stabbed a bunch of times, classic. Then some supervillain takes the new villain in as his minion. The Titans move their residence to a giant cruise ship (courtesy of Tim Drake) and they set sail moping in self pity about their recent run-in with the Joker and checking out the ship. In the course of the night the Titans manage to: piss one another off (multiple times), make terrible jokes, have a conversation that made my skin crawl and Tim Drake made out with every woman on board. There was really no entertainment at all in this entire issue.




Tuesday, February 26, 2013

My Final Goodbye to Damian Wayne

I hope you all know that I love Damian, with all of my heart. He is the best Robin and one of the best characters in comics. I was heartbroken when I looked on my Google+ feed to see an article about the death of Damian. Since then I have been preparing for Wednesday when my heart will be torn from my chest as I read Batman Incorporated #8. So this my friends and loyal readers, is my final tribute to Damian Wayne.
When I first got into comics I loved Batman. But I hated Robin. I always thought of Batman as some kind of bad-ass loner who didn't need an annoying little kid at his side. As I got to know the Bat-Family better one character stood out to be the most interesting seeming; Batman's Son. However, I still was opposed to Robin. It was that bittersweet moment when I just finished one of my newly purchased graphic novels. I turn the page hoping for some more of the story even though I knew that I was at the end of the book. I saw one of those ad pages where they spotlight an author and show all of the Batman books they have written. This particular page showcased Grant Morrison. I looked the page up and down and came across the cover of Batman and Son. I don't know what it was about that picture but in my mind I decided that moment that I needed all of the comics with Damian in them that I could possibly get my greedy hands on. Thus began my relationship with this particular comic book character.
A couple days later a box arrives from Amazon marked with my name. I ripped the box open and found all of the GNs I ordered tucked in. I first "met" Damian as an infant on the last page of Batman: Son of the Demon. I devoured Batman and Son in the same night. I think Grant Morrison introduced me to many things that night.

  1. Truly good comic writing.
  2. Damian Wayne.
  3. The idea that Robins are pretty awesome.
  4. Some of my favorite ever stories.
As I kept reading about and getting fascinated by the ten-year-old boy my interest for comics grew. I bought boxes and boxes of GNs loving everything about the "Death Era." I think that the New 52 has also made Damian the amazing character he is. Batman and Robin is the only series of the New 52 in which I have never had a complaint about a single issue. Batman Incorporated has also been a super exciting and fun series.
As I think about these decision Grant Morrison is making I am ultimately sad. The Batman canon will not be quite as intriguing without him and that will disappoint fans, but most of all I am sad because Damian is going to die. Batman Incorporated will be the first title I read tomorrow and I plan on burying a picture of Damian in my backyard. I really hope he's gonna get resurrected in a couple years, because if not I will send DC so many complaint emails they won't even be able to breath. (that didn't make much sense.)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

2/20/13

I enjoy storyarcs and crossovers. I thought Death of the Family was quite a good storyline, and just when you thought it was over you pick up your comics on Wednesday, Friday for me, and find "Death of the Family; Aftermath" in giant letters on the cover of all of the bat-titles. For me I say "YAY! More of the story I so enjoy." Yet as I sit down and actually start reading the comics I find myself thinking something different altogether. This weeks reviews:

  • Catwoman #17
New story, great. Black Diamond Probability was subpar at best in Catwoman's title, I think we can all agree about that much. This issue finds Catwoman breaking up a kid's heroin dealing by whipping them senseless, a nice "I'm going to tell your parents." would have been appropriate to the situation, but Catwoman is rated T+ for some reason so the author just wants to throw in random, racy moments of violence for no purpose other than to prove it is rated T+ for a reason.
The art, as always, is neat but nothing outstanding and sometimes the scenes of action get a little hard to understand. My main problem with this title, however, is that the dialogue is poorly written. This includes cops making remarks that are so unlifelike that it's funny, and an endless slew of cat metaphors that make my skin crawl. Catwoman is a very interesting character, and her title could be very interesting, the writer just has to come up with more interesting enemies than a fat guy with a fishnet over his head.
Spoiler Alert: The scene depicted doesn't occur in the book.

  • Nightwing #17
The title of this issue is The Long Week, and that pretty much sums up the entire issue. Dick is moping around complaining about the fallout of Jokers visit and feeling really sorry for himself. He visits the circus and some clown who is close to death blames Dick for the disaster for who-knows-what reason then Dick pretty muh goes crazy and violent while fighting crime. Of course it is Damien who stops Dick's spontaneous rampage and brings him to his senses. I felt that this was a decent way to show us readers how Dick feels after Death of the Family, my complaint about this issue comes from the art.

There is a new artist on the book who is not bad at all, he just can't cover up Dick's identity. That's right, for the first time since I started reading comics I think that the identity of a superhero might be at stake. Dick looks identical to Nightwing that even the youngest child could tell the difference.


  • Thor God of Thunder #5
This is my first review of a Thor comic, I read the first four way after they came out, so I am pretty darn excited. The series has been awesome both in writing and in illustrations, and I couldn't wait for the finale to the God Butcher storyline.
Writing dialogue is hard. That is the main barrier that keeps great writers from being fantastic. Jason Aaron nails dialogue every single time, that's what makes him such a phenomenal writer. This finale is spectacular consisting of the three Thors dealing with the God Butcher in different ways. The present Thor fights the God Butcher head-on as he revisits his past encounter with the God Butcher through memory. This shows the past Thor and his decibels fighting Gorr in a cave. The future Thor gets a much needed visit from his confused, past-self and continues to fight Gorr's berserkers. The issue leaves us with just the right amount of answers and questions and leaves us wanting next month's Gorr-igin issue.


I can't get over how great Esad Rubic's art is.
  • Indestructible Hulk #4
IH has been the best damn Hulk series I have ever read, Mark Waid captures perfectly the two very different characters of Hulk and Bruce Banner and Leinil Yu's art is the best the Hulk book has ever gotten. I think that this creative team is better at times when a scene has lots of thinking or dialogue, the beginning of this issue was one of those scenes. The last third of the book was a fast-paced action scene that was interesting but not very well laid-out. I give them credit, however, because the action is all underwater which is hard to write. Overall this was a good issue and I am very ready for the next.


  • Red Hood and the Outlaws #17
Of all of the Death of the Family tie-ins RHO was my least favorite, yet the aftermath was the best thus far. Roy was annoying as usual but other than that the story was sad and moving. All of the reactions of the characters to both the other characters and the situation at hand. The art is OK but nothing special and the dialogue is also decent. I do think that Lobdell nailed Damien and Jason's relationship.


Thank you everybody for joining me for this weeks reviews and please come back next week for more.


Thursday, February 14, 2013

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.




Monday, February 4, 2013

Damian Wayne haters and how sick of them I am

Damian is the best Robin. Period. He has got more personality, is more deadly, has a richer background, and is more personally connected to Bruce than any of the other Robins. All the time people complain; "He's a brat." "He's too young." He's clueless." He's ignorant." They're all wrong! These comments are said because Damian is young and they are complaining about that. Well news-flash, ten year olds have personalities too. Dick is mature and can handle adult things, but aren't there already enough grown-ups in the superhero universe? I find that the only person who ever respects Damian at all is Alfred. Bruce can't stop mentioning that Damian is his son even though he seems to feel ashamed about it, Tim hates Damian because Damian almost killed him in Batman and Son, Dick is now too preoccupied being Nightwing to talk to Damian and when he finally does he is awkward, Jason doesn't respect him because Jason doesn't respect anybody. Alfred genuinely cares for Damian and supports all of his ideas.


Also remember that Damian isn't living the easiest life possible. He runs around every night fighting druglords and mob bosses and he's not even 5 feet tall. I get that the whole young hero thing is Spiderman's thing but Damian doesn't whine about parking tickets.
He is also really funny. If the haters would just give the complaining a rest and actually pick up a Batman and Robin comic they would see how hilarious Damian can be. He is a clever boy and that is emphasized in every good writers take on him. Especially in Batman and Robin Annual #1 (see full review in post 1/30/13) Damian tricks his dad to go and do something he shouldn't. A normal behavior that is unique to this situation.

Even in this interesting drawing Damian is portrayed as a selfish jerk.

I know this is a controversial conversation and would love to see what you guys think. Comment below or hit me up on Google+. I want to get to 500 pageviews by the end of the week so keep reading and stay tuned for this weeks reviews!


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

1/30/13

This week was a great week to be a comic reader, one of the best for a long time. I am going to review six books that I bought (In order of quality) Batman and Robin Annual #1, Batman Incorporated #7, Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill One-Shot, Talon #4, Batman the Dark Knight #16 and Teen Titans #16. So, without further ado here are this weeks reviews:

  • Batman and Robin Annual #1
Annuals are always fun and long but the best Annual is always the one that tells the most interesting story that has nothing to do with the normal series. This creative team could have squandered their opportunity to create a good Annual if they had droned on about Death of the Family for 40 pages, but they didn't. Instead they created a wholesome story that seemed both loyal to the series and completely original. In this tale Damian gives Bruce a vacation by leaving him an international scavenger hunt to solve in order to rekindle his parents memory. The real reason that Damian is giving Bruce this treat is because Damian wants to try being Batman for a while. I had a smile on my face as I read every page of this wonderful issue. Well done!


  • Batman Incorporated #7
The last couple of issues have been chaotic and confusing, but still good. I particularly enjoyed this issue because Grant Morrison really dialed it back and explained the whole story. In this issue we saw the relationship and the trust between Alfred and Damian grow. Batman was in little of the book as they focused mostly on Leviathan's attack on Gotham and the twisted plans of the sick Talia Al Ghul. I also liked the backstory talking about Damian's perfect twin fighting his way out of his womb in a dead whale and becoming Talia's #1 Henchman. Lots of action with all four Robins and Commisioner Gordon.


  • Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill One-Shot
I went in to reading this comic with very low expectations, Len Wein tends to be a bit wordy and The art seemed a little cartoony for my tastes. I was very wrong. Like the other One-Shot I bought today Dollar Bill delivered an interesting but singular story. The story takes us through Bill Brady's entire life and on to his funeral. One of the best Watchmen prequels yet. My only complaint was that it revisited a lot of the content covered in the Minutemen series instead of coming up with more interesting missions of the Minutemen.


  • Talon #4
This issue was the best comic James Tynion IV has ever written. It was well-paced, the characters were well thought through, the plot was intense and the battle was actually very interesting. This issue takes place in New York right where the last issue left off. The main story was the on and off battle of Calvin vs. The Butcher of Gotham who is an incredibly large and strong Talon (Talon SMASH!) that actually had some personality unlike other comic juggernauts. Calvin's relationship and conversations with Casey (old girlfriend) and her daughter are heartfelt without being overly cheesy. This was the first issue that I began to really enjoy learning about Calvin's troubled journey.


  • Batman the Dark Knight #16
With a new creative team and a relatively new villain The Dark Knight has taken a turn for the best. This issue meant to be mysterious and delivered as well as being brutal and awesome. The story begins with the typical "chain of random kidnappings" but evolves to be much more. Although I am not such a  fan of the notion that "Batman is his Gadgets" the way the other wove the use of the Bat-Plane and various computers was very interesting. The art was some of the best (No inkers! Hallelujah!) I have seen on the book in a long time. I got my friend to subscribe to this book because I thought it was decent but now I am intrigued.


  • Teen Titans #16
This whole mini-crossover within a crossover crap Scott Lobdell has pulled with both of his books has been painful at best. This book was the best, not that good, of the crossovers. I attribute that mainly to the fact that this book had the least appearances from the other team members. Jokers trap was mildly interesting but just played on the fact that Tim is smart and that Jason uses guns which are two points that were already visited upon in this crossover and are over visited upon in general. The art was good aside from the inks which gave the book an unfinished feel. This book turned me off of the series even though I am a big fan of Tim Drake.










Friday, January 25, 2013

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.



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.