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BATMAN VS. ROBIN BluRay/DVD (2015)
Advance Review: THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #2
CONVERGENCE #1
REBELS #1
CONVERGENCE: NIGHTWING/ORACLE #1
Indie Jones presents HEADSPACE #8
CONVERGENCE: THE QUESTION #1
Advance Review: MASKS 2 #1
ROYALS Vol.1
BATMAN VS. ROBIN Bluray/DVD (2015)
Director: Jay OliviaProduced: Warner Bros. Animation
Reviewer: Mighty Mouth
So far the DC animated projects set in the New 52 continuity have been well… kind of meh really. JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR and THRONE OF ATLANTIS were mildly entertaining at best and SON OF BATMAN was just god-awful. I’m pleased to report BATMAN VS. ROBIN may just be the light at the end of the tunnel that you have been waiting on.
Taking much of its plot from the acclaimed “Court of Owls” comics by Scott Snyder, the story focuses on Damien Wayne’s struggle to adjust to being both the son of Bruce Wayne and the sidekick to the Batman. Before coming into the care of his estranged father, Damien was trained by the League of Shadows to be a ruthless assassin. As we all know, killing is something that the Batman does not tolerate. This places a lot of strain on their relationship. Matters become more complicated when a mysterious assassin named Talon encourages Robin’s killer instinct and takes the boy as his protégé. This sets up a father & son confrontation with the fate of all of Gotham city hanging in the balance.
What sets BATMAN VS. ROBIN apart from its predecessor is its emotional substance. Almost instantly, you get a sense that the story will have an impact on its characters. For all his audacity, Damien is still just a kid trying to understand himself. He’s pretty much been manipulated by grownups his whole life and he’s just beginning to realize it. Then there is Bruce. He may have trained himself to be the world’s greatest detective, but that training could never prepare him to be a parent. Bruce is out of his depth for once and he knows it. These poignant beats make the story more than just another superhero adventure tale.
One thing these animated features have always had going for them is the animation. Once again, everything from the characters to the backgrounds looks incredible. The thing that really impressed me this time around was the intense action. It feels like the animators really tuned up the choreography for this one. Although at times it’s a bit of a stretch to accept that a 10 year old boy can be so well trained that he can go toe to toe with adult costumed vigilantes, the fight scenes are done so well that I often found myself reacting to well-placed punches and slashing blades the same as if I were watching a live action fight scene. Seriously, this one probably has the best action segments to date.
Much of the cast from SON OF BATMAN rightfully reprise their roles for BATMAN VS. ROBIN and they work well enough. Jason O’Mara’s Batman is starting to grow on me, although I wish he’d make more distinction between his Bruce Wayne and his Batman voice. I guess not everyone can be Kevin Conroy. Speaking of Mr. Conroy, fans of his work will be happy to know he has a little voice cameo in this one.
More intransigent fans may not like certain liberties taken with the Court of Owls storyline, but I truly feel this is one of those instances where the alterations serve the story very well. With any luck BATMAN VS. ROBIN is not just a fluke, but a blueprint for what future DC animated projects will look like.
Fingers Crossed.
In stores this week!THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #2
Writer: Roberto Aguirre-SacasaArtist: Robert Hack
Publisher: Archie Comics
Reviewer: Lyzard
On the back cover of CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA #2 you’ll find plenty of praise for its Archie Horror counterpart, AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE. Sharing the same writer, I find it hard to believe that the same amount of praise isn’t worth bestowing on SABRINA. Both these series have elevated Archie Comics to a legitimate contender for my@$$ie pick for Best Publisher next year.
This issue is rather light on the Sabrina action, and by light I mean the teenage witch doesn’t even make an appearance until halfway through. Instead, this issue focuses on “the secret history of Madam Satan,” as its chapter title and alternate cover by Francesco Francavilla suggest. With a little help from Betty and Veronica, Madam was set free from Gehenna, the capitol city of hell. After giving a whole new meaning to “put my face on,” Madam is off to New England where she finds Edward, her long-lost love but also Sabrina’s father. Hell hath no fury yadda yadda yadda, and after a nonviolent but ever so evil visit to Sabrina’s mortal mother, Diana, Madam finds her way to Greendale days before Sabrina’s 16th birthday.
The best way to describe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing in this issue is literary. While in the hands of lesser writers the extensive use of narration may come off as overly expositional and drag the pace down, Aguirre-Sacasa finds a way to balance page after page of narration along with purely dialogue-heavy scenes, and also panels blending the both of them perfectly. All these words create a slower pace indeed, but the trudge is part of the suspense. You become wrapped up in Aguirre-Sacasa’s beautiful language. You could also call his work literary based solely on his numerous winks to other famous authors. Poe, Bradbury, and Capote are all honored here, along with several uses of homage to 1960s pop culture.
Robert Hack, on the other hand, has a style all his own. This issue is far more grotesque than the last, with unyielding horror through the first half. It’s isn’t meant to be consistent or even. Clean artwork would only distance the reader. His work is meant to be raw and dirty. While Aguirre-Sacasa’s words are haunting, the true terror comes from Hack. He brings the chilling to these adventures of Sabrina.
Aquirre-Sacasa promises his acolytes that there will not be an excessively long break in between this issue and the third of the CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA. I may not speak for all the other fans out there, but as long as Roberto and Robert continue to pack the punches, then the next issue is worth waiting for.
Lyzard is Lyz Reblin, a graduate student at the University of Texas pursuing a master's degree in Media Studies... which is just a fancy way of saying she plays a lot video games, watches far too many horror films, and then tries to pass it all off as "research."
CONVERGENCE #1
Writers: Jeff King and Scott LobdellArtist: Carlo Pagulayan
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Masked Man
Well, after months of teasing, it's finally here—CONVERGENCE, meant to celebrate everything about the DCU that we aren't allowed to read about anymore. Which, let's face it, is pretty odd. It apparently was also meant to be a collection of non-continuity comics for DC to knock out while moving their headquarters to Los Angeles, causing them to replace much of their staff (who aren't making the move west) and hopefully give a shot in the arm to their sagging New 52 line, starting off by not calling it the New 52 anymore and hoping we will all start using the term Post-Flashpoint (has the marketing department now declared their brain child, The New 52, damaged goods?).
First off, let's break down the issue and throw out some spoilers. So, on a planet outside of time and space, every DC alternate universe lives in one of many domed cities. The one true Brainiac has put this all together, and the avatar of the planet, Telos, is the caretaker of it all. Well, Brainiac has gone M.I.A., so Telos decides he needs to know which of the cities/realities is the best, so he demands they all fight to the death (anyone not willing to fight will be killed, of course). Now before he makes that exclamation, one city holding the Injustice video game-inspired universe basically self-destructs (this maybe why Telos thinks he must find the 'best' city and dump the rest of them, although there is no mention of this in the issue). And then supposedly on the heels of the destruction of Earth-2, possibly seen in EARTH 2: WORLD'S END, a few Earth-2 heroes get dropped onto this planet, but without a city. This upsets Telos to no end.
And that's pretty much it. The first thing that jumps out at me (aside from this being a rip-off of Marvel's SECRET WARS) is how little happens in now two issues (counting #0). You get the random destruction of a world with no real context of its meaning anything (did they do it to themselves or not?). Then a bunch of heroes waste space by saying they don't know anything (wow, us either). Finally, the call for COUNTDOWN: ARENA on steroids is made. Apparently TV scribe Jeff King (and company) is trying to prove that when it comes to decompressed comic book writing, Brian Michael Bendis is a rookie chump. Again, counting issue #0, they have spent 60 pages(!) telling us not much more than everybody has to fight each other.
Artist Carlo Pagulayan, known mostly for Marvel books and making his first big splash at DC, does a really good job here. His work is in the vein of DC's current artist king, Ivan Reis. If he has any cracks in his armor it's two page action spreads. He likes to get creative with the panels, and added to his highly detailed art, it makes the spreads rather confusing. I also found it amusing that a character who was surprised to see she had claws attacked like she had claws before she knew she had 'em. It's like “I'm going to slap you with my tail! Oh wait, I don't---oh look, I do have a tail!” Nitpicking aside, it's a really nice looking book; it's a shame it's not as fun to read.
Ok, let's talk DCU proper now. So a few months ago DC defined their universe with a guidebook and a map explaining everything about the DCU. Well, surprise surprise, CONVERGENCE throws that all under the bus as there is an uber Brainiac outside of time and space, and that all the other Brainiacs in the whole of the multiverse of the DCU are merely aspects of him. This seem contrary to everyone other being in the greater DCU (as in there are no other host beings). CONVERGENCE also states these domed cities on Telos are from alternate realities that don't exist anymore, although many are mentioned in the guidebook as alive and well. Now, the guidebook did state alternate greater universes existed before this current one, but this just makes me ask: where outside of time and space is Telos, Since the guidebook actually defines all the areas outside of time and space (in the map)? So, DC, why define things one month only to chuck it all the next month?
Overall, this whole thing is just giving me a bad taste in my mouth, as DC claims to be building a universe, telling us to buy comics because they are important to the whole greater DCU, but then doesn't seem to have any idea which idea is the greater DCU. Before FLASHPOINT the DCU was becoming a messy place, as each new writer seemed to be able to rewrite anything they wanted about the DCU. Well, now it seems worse as DC isn't just rewriting things, they are rewriting things with authority, saying “This is it--oh wait, no this is it--our bad, this is it--you know, we'll get back to you on this with another $25 miniseries you need to buy. It will all make sense then--promise!” The main problem is, DC is trying to construct something that can't be constructed: a comic book universe run by dozens of writers, artist, and editors. The Golden Age, Silver Age, and even the Post-Crisis universes were not built like that. It took years of growth, not mandates, for them to become the successes they were.
Back to CONVERGENCE: I'm sure we will get some good and fun comics of Superman B fighting Superman E, or Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew fighting the Watchmen, but aside from that it doesn't look like CONVERGENCE has anything to offer the reading public, much like DC's RETROACTIVE, which let fans enjoy beloved concepts but had no goal in story or company strategy.
Finally, I'll finish with a crazy idea. In some way, CONVERGENCE reminds me of DC Comics' real decision-making editors. Just like Telos, they get to decide which version of the DCU is worthy of surviving and getting published. I'd like to see that get flipped. How about they check the sales figures of all the CONVERGENCE titles? Ideally, the ones that get the most sales, are the version the public wants to read the most, so make that (whichever it maybe be) the 'new' DCU--a little like how comic books used to be, when covers said things like “Back because you demanded it!”
REBELS #1
Writer: Brian WoodArtist: Andrea Mutti
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewer: Humphrey Lee
Sometimes it kind of astounds me that we don’t get more historical fiction than we do in the realm of comic books. Obviously we get a good bit of period pieces between noir material or throwback superhero comics to certain eras, but it seems absolutely rare a creative team comes together and really tackles a time period and plays with the events and politics of the time. Hell, I would say that if you (god forbid) struck Garth Ennis from the record that like half of such material in the comic book industry this century would not exist, and even then Mr. Ennis has not been one for longer sagas when he tells his tank fetish tales of horror and glory. But you always read and hear about how expensive an extensive period piece tends to be in motion pictures due to costume designs and replica level sets and so on, so you would figure the comic book medium would be a great place for such jaunts given the main limitation is really just research level and time (just like with everything in life, really). Now here we are though, with talents such as Brian Wood and Andrea Mutti and Jordie Bellaire coming together to let us know that the Red Coats are doing something something--I’m blanking on exactly what.
Oh, wait, now I remember. They’re beating down doors and seizing property for the King. Y’know, that old chestnut. Seth Abbott is the even quieter son of a quiet man who teaches him how to stand up and be a man probably a bit before he was ready. Not that there was any alternative; it was 1768 and the King’s men were coming for the Abbotts’ land and then some. An altercation with some redcoats when he was younger led him to a life of mostly silent guerilla action against these tyrants, alongside best friend Ezekiel Learned whose companionship he gained shortly after the 1768 incident. Now the year is 1775 and the scale of things is getting a mite bit wider in the colonies and in Seth’s everyday life and role in the war that’s been coming essentially every day he’s been drawing breath.
What we have here, at least so far, is somewhat of a broad strokes piece of Americana that is entangled in a life’s story about a man who fictionally played an important role in that greater scale. Of course, it has to be like that because it makes for the best stories a good bit of the time. Where REBELS succeeds in this first go around is just how simple it makes the events that fall around Seth’s life seem compared to how the bigger picture around it is being painted. It starts from the open, with Seth quietly doing chores with his father, and it culminates in an end sequence of him mostly tight-lipped conversing with a girl name Mercy, while overlaying monologue boxes nonchalantly inform us that Seth takes her on as his wife in the damn close future. It creates a very personal narrative direction around this character who is written very sparsely but commands a lot of identifying with his general being. While of course there’s going to be a buttload of pressure for our creative team to present a somewhat factual yet bowed rendition of the War of Independence for us to chew on each month in REBELS, the heart of the book is obviously going to be these interpersonal relationships and how they twist and turn as the state of the colonies does around them.
Now, that political state of affairs, that is a bit of a wild card still because it remains unclear just how deep Seth and Ezekiel and Mercy will dive into that sea that will eventually extend to other shining sea. Mostly this debut dabbles in a bunch of rabblerousing. Seth’s father in the opening sequences gets a handful of local landowners fed up with the crown and their overreach together, and it ends up being the defining moment of Seth’s life up until he shacks up with Mercy. After that the main focus for setting the revolutionary tone comes onto another landowners’ congregation, only this time it is not a colonials on redcoats ambush, but the result is a redcoats on landowners slaughter this time as they come to settle some dubious land rents meant to be a means to seize land. It’s that level of tension building I’m curious to see play out in the pages of REBELS. It interests me on a more intricate historical level to see Wood and Mutti throw some more detailed tidbits at us that you do not always bring up when discussing this era of American history. The creative team obviously anecdotes the high notes of inner turmoil the colonies experienced as tensions grew – the Tea Party, the Boston Massacre, etc – but I think it’s little skirmishes like this, where a handful of the King’s men descended on a handful of landowners (including Mercy’s father) over a collection policy essentially designed to make property forfeit and seizeable and it ends in bloodshed and plotting by the colonials. It’s much more interpersonal and interesting than your typical revenge plots over a murder or whatever MacGuffin stories in similar veins tend to hatch as an excuse for someone to pick up a gun and go fight them some tyranny!
Overall, REBELS has itself some really good heart even though at times it maybe plays itself off a little matter-of-factly. But I also think that’s the essence of Seth Abbott, and it will be interesting to watch the Revolutionary War through his eyes for several reasons—one, of course, being that Mutti has a great visual hold on this tale already from capturing the aesthetic of the time and depicting some lush and serene backdrops to go with all the boiling over tensions and conflict. Another is that despite Seth’s simple and stoic upbringing and how it affects his current, almost documentarian narrative you can just feel more emotions simmering as more people enter his life for him to love and worry about, and there has to be a boil-over point. Watching him develop into that man and seeing what kind of role is carved out for him not just as a revolutionary but also as a husband feels like an interesting saga. If Wood and Mutti can continue to find the balance between telling a story of how a silent, unassuming man could rise to an important role in this world-changing conflict (let alone what that role actually ends up being) and taking a not often seen look at this grand struggle, then REBELS would be poised to carve itself out a prime piece of my monthly attention, much like the books’ inhabitants are just trying to carve out a life of their own within its pages.
Humphrey Lee has been an avid comic book reader going on fifteen years now and a contributor to Ain't It Cool comics for quite a few as well. In fact, reading comics is about all he does in his free time and where all the money from his day job wages goes to - funding his comic book habit so he can talk about them to you, our loyal readers (lucky you). He's a bit of a social networking whore, so you can find him all over the Interwebs on sites like Twitter, Facebookand a blog where he also mostly talks about comics with his free time because he hasn't the slightest semblance of a life. Sad but true, and he gladly encourages you to add, read, and comment as you will.
CONVERGENCE: NIGHTWING/ORACLE #1
Writer: Gail SimoneArt: Jan Duursema
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: DrSumac
I've been eagerly waiting for this comic ever since its announcement. Not only is Oracle back, for two issues at least, but she is being written by Gail Simone. While Gail didn't create Oracle, she played a large role in popularizing her and female heroes in general. It's also refreshing to see her after the New 52 decided that Barbara was miraculously healed, which upset many fans that connected with her on a personal level as the most famous and popular disabled superhero of all time. Since Gail has written both versions of the character, this felt a bit like coming home.
Nightwing, on the other hand, is a lot less exciting for me to see in Convergence. The whole fun of this event for me is that beloved characters have come back from the past, but we already have Nightwing, or at least Dick Grayson. Perhaps this is an attempt to see if the fans would like to see some return to his old persona or a return of their relationship, but it all seems a bit muddled. If this issue was considered a hit it would be difficult to see what the fans were attracted to it for.
I know this isn't a very popular opinion, but I'm not a fan of Nightwing--or any of the Robins, really. It's not because the idea of a kid sidekick is silly; I can suspend disbelief enough for that, and sidekicks add much-needed fun to superhero books. Instead I find Dick simply uninteresting, and the other Robins only add to that since they are really all clones of him. If DC wants to try to do new things with their characters to make them more exciting, they really need to start by making Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian less alike. Sure there are subtle differences now, but they are more or less written or handled the same. Even Jason, who should be radically different from the others, just hangs around Dick's friends and hooks up with his exes.
That brings me to my biggest problem with Nightwing. While Batman's popularity seems to stem from the fact that he has no powers yet still triumphs over his enemies in the end, Nightwing seems to be popular for having the best butt in comics and for hooking up with many of the women in the DC universe. Now, there is nothing wrong with the girls having some beefcake in comics since we guys have gotten more than our share of sexy women on display over the years, but if you really look at it Dick is practically as much of a womanizer as Oliver Queen. The most disturbing example of this, of all things, came from the comic based on the second season of the “Young Justice” cartoon from a few years ago now. Within one day he wakes up after hooking up with Bette Kane (Flamebird) where it was implied she didn't even know who he was or his age, then he makes out with Zatanna and gets a kiss from Rocket in front of his entire team, only to hook up with Barbara after the adventure was over. Barbara even says that he isn't good enough for her right before taking him to her apartment, and let’s remember that this was a comic marketed to children.
This is relevant to this issue since it happens here as well. Immediately after making date plans with Barbara, Starfire shows up calling him her love and nearly kissing him without much complaint from Dick. I could be reading into it, but the scene is ambiguous enough to make it look like Dick either is or has been cheating on Babs. Sure Dick/Babs is an old ship and a very popular one, but how am I supposed to care about it when he is, perhaps appropriately, such a dick? This kind of stuff is exactly why Gail kept relationship nonsense out of BIRDS OF PREY as much as possible. All it does is take away from the story and make it look like the female characters need to be in a relationship to have any value.
The actual story involves Hawkman and Hawkgirl from some other world where they are bad guys coming to Gotham. Their actual intentions are something of a surprise that I will leave for you to discover, but needless to say they are pretty badass and seem to easily out match Dick and Babs. Meanwhile, Gotham seems to be in a bit of a malaise as it struggles to survive “under the dome” and Babs herself begins to succumb to it as well. In the end, however, we are left with a reminder that Oracle is still a badass and capable of handling the situation in ways that only she can.
As excited as I was for the comic, it still left me wanting. This seems more like fan service for shippers than a return of the much-beloved Oracle. I would have much rather Nightwing be left out and replaced by Dinah and Helena, as the old versions of them are also much beloved and sorely missed. It seems like Helena was saved for THE QUESTION and I'm guessing Dinah will be in GREEN ARROW, but it's still a shame they didn't get the old team back together. Still, I'm glad to have supported Oracle and will definitely get the next issue where she will be allowed to be more effective.
HEADSPACE #8
Writer: Ryan K. LindsayArtist(s): Sebastian Piriz & Eric Zawadzki
Publisher: Monkeybrain Comics
Reviewer: Morbidlyobesefleshdevouringcat
Endings are by far, I would say, the most difficult part of story-telling. Sorry, scratch that, good endings are the tooth and nail battles that all creative individuals seem to be in constant struggle with. The abundance of ‘how to write this’ and ‘how to write that’ makes good storytelling a convoluted list of yeses and nos. HEADSPACE has seemingly figured out what that formula is.
Written by Ryan K. Lindsay with art from Eric Z, Sebastian Piriz, and colors from Dee Cunniffe, HEADSPACE has recently seen its final digital release from Monkeybrain Comics and will be publishing a print trade with IDW coming out this month.
Carpenter Cove is an ominous island where the civilians are unable to recall their previous existence prior to becoming a part of the town, and where dragons and crocodiles rampage when convenient. One thing is clear, though: Carpenter Cove is not a lawless state. Shane, unknown to why or how he was placed in his position, is the local sheriff of the Cove, executing problematic situations and inhabitants. He’s come to discover that he and the rest of the town are part of a secret government project residing inside the mind of killer Max Johnson while their bodies lay dormant elsewhere--but something’s gone wrong in the real world, with the real Max, and it’s severely affecting Carpenter Cove.
The last and final issue eight of HEADSPACE takes Shane to a showdown with the real ID, the real Max, the one who controls himself, while reality sees that Max has found Zara Blackwell —and her children.
Now, if you’ve been following the series, you're aware that multiple artists act for multiple realities, Zawadzki fleshing out the narrative for Shane and the inhabitants of Carpenter Cove while Piriz illustrates the real world and Cunniffe colors it. What’s unique about the art is the juxtaposition of styles emitting from each artist. Zawadzki is almost completely realistic, while Piriz sides on more traditional cartoon-like inks. This makes for an even more physiologically vibrant reading experience as the lines of reality and imagination are blurred due to the completely opposite artistic nature of each artist and their roles in the comic.
Each of them bring some great panels to the comic,most notably Zawadzki’s character composition and specifically his action sequences and Piriz’ unique way of creating intensity through slightly obscure paneling methods.
Overall, HEADSPACE’s finale goes about a typical narrative route, but executes a final issue with eloquence. The comic’s ending is sincere, well-thought and intelligent, but what really brings together Lindsay’s script for the last pages is the art. It’s really no wonder why the team is getting a print trade in addition to the digital.
CONVERGENCE: THE QUESTION #1
Writer: Greg RuckaArt: Cully Hamner
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: DrSumac
This comic is what CONVERGENCE is all about for me: nostalgia incarnate. Most people probably don't know this, but The Question may very well have been a big part of how Greg Rucka got into comics in the first place as it was one of the topics he discussed with Dennis O'Neil shortly before getting hired by the then editor to work on BATMAN: NO MAN’S LAND. On that particular run he largely wrote stories that involved Renee Montoya, which established her unique relationship with the villain Two-Face. That story then culminated during Rucka's award winning story in GOTHAM CENTRAL (where Greg first worked with Michael Lark, his partner on the acclaimed LAZARUS series). After that series ended, however, Greg finally introduced Renee to Vic Sage, the original Question, whom she would take the mantle on from. Adventures were then had with Batwoman and Huntress and things were good…until Renee disappeared.
Like many characters, Renee vanished form existence with the New 52, but she seemed a little more unusual than some of the others. I get that they wanted to make Barbara Batgirl again and that left no room for Cass and Steph, but there was no reason Renee couldn't be a cop in Gotham again. She has always been a cool character, and being both Hispanic and lesbian she was a great example of successful representation within the DC universe. If anything, it feels like a downfall to the New 52 has been that it seemed more heavily geared to appeal to teenage boys in the beginning rather than the ever-expanding audience that comics have found due to their popularity in film and television.
But I digress. That whole history I explained in the first paragraph all gets a nod in this single issue, which is impressive in itself. She compares CONVERGENCE to NO MAN’S LAND and hangs out with Harvey and Helena, and another old friend at the very end. It's pretty much everything a Renee fan could want, and that certainly makes me happy. The art is also spot on, which is no surprise since it was drawn by Cully Hamner, who also worked with Greg on a Renee story in DETECTIVE COMICS. So yeah, good stuff.
If I have to complain about this issue, though, there are a few things worth mentioning. First of all, someone that isn't very familiar with Renee, The Question, or her role as The Question may be a little lost here. Honestly, it wasn't written for newcomers, which again begs the question as to what DC will take from this event. If we see her return, it would be solely based off her remaining fans that happen to buy these two issues. Perhaps instead, as the event warns, she will be gone forever after this and this is simply one last celebration for a great character. One would think if they did want to do more with her they would have done something that would appeal more to new readers or, god forbid, fans of hers from GOTHAM. That said, nothing is forever in comics, so who knows what may happen.
My other problem is that there isn't much to this story. The issue is on the short end, but it doesn't really go anywhere for the most part. Harvey helps her, Helena tells her to stay away from him, she doesn't listen, and Harvey runs off to find the him from another world. It's all fun to see since I love all of these characters and Greg writes them so well, but it still feels somewhat nonsensical to me. I mean, when the cities face off in CONVERGENCE it's not like they meet EVERYONE form the other city, do they? Seems odd that the other Harvey would come see this one, although I suppose he is likely having the same problems.
It is important for me to point out that this is very much not the Renee Montoya form GOTHAM, and thankfully so. If you like her there I suggest you pick up some GOTHAM CENTRAL trades to see what she is supposed to be like. However, if you have ever read a comic with her in the past, you should get something out of this issue that you will enjoy. I know I certainly did and can't wait for the second issue.
In stores this week!MASKS 2 #1
Writer: Cullen BunnArtist: Eman Casallos
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewer: Masked Man
Once again, all of Dynamite's pulp fiction heroes gather together on an adventure of epic proportions! Last time The Shadow, Green Hornet, and The Spider (and others) hit the road it was a decent series, killed by some really awful comic book art. With a new creative team, hopefully that won't happen again. Writer Cullen Bunn, mostly known for horror books, creates a time traveling tale in hopes of including even more Dynamite (licensed) characters.
So the good and the bad of this first issue is, the action starts up fast. No boring set-up, just action--which unfortunately doesn't give us any idea how we got in conflict with the bad guys. So in 1939, The Shadow and the Green Hornet interrupt the smuggling of some ancient canisters, which turn out to contain a poison gas called 'Red Death'. How they learned about this and why they are working together (since they aren't like The Avengers, or even buddies like Batman and Superman) is never addressed. The Black Terror shows up to help out, as he was just in the neighborhood, and soon the Green Lama appears with Lady Satan and The Spider. The Green Lama tells them (and us) this undetermined Red Death villainy will plague mankind throughout the next 80 years, so it's very important that they put an end to it now (although we know they will fail, since future issues will be about the Red Death in the future—oh, those tricky time travel stories). How the Green Lama is hip to all this, again, is unknown. Next it's off to a fancy masquerade party, where the Red Death cult/poison plans to kill everyone there—and, yup, no reason is given. Hopefully, Bunn will fill in the cracks of this story in future issues.
As a get up and go adventure story, this delivers pretty well, and for a superhero crossover fan like myself, it's always fun to see these guys all in one book. But aside from general tropes, the story doesn't really gel, and some things just come off as clumsy. The Shadow laughs for no reason (although this is common in nearly every Shadow comic--I don't understand why writers don't use the laugh the way it was intended, which is to reveal The Shadow to the villains and mock whatever plans they were just talking about). He also speaks in catch phrases. Seriously, does Batman go around saying criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot all the time for no reason? The Black Terror is rather odd as well, as he seems to just blast his way through things, like a bull in a china shop--no subtlety at all, though this might be because of the art.
First off, Eman Casallos is light years better than the artist who drew the first MASKS series (obviously I'm not talking about issue #1, which was painted by Alex Ross). He's got overall good comic book skills. A few ticks, but he is a primetime player for sure. But his one tick appears to be going to extremes with the action, as with the Black Terror, who is flying down to catch crooks engaged in a car chase. Old BT comes blazing out of the sky like a Polaris missile, slams into the car and smashes it to pieces. Somehow everyone it the car is just fine. Also, being a Filipino, Casallos draws all the steering wheels on the left side of the car: good for Paranaque, bad for New York (note: his car chase scene is so loose, I can't tell if the cars are driving on the left too).
Again, I love this concept, I love it, love it, love it. I just really hope they can finally get it right.
ROYALS: MASTERS OF WAR V1
Writer: Rob WilliamsPencils: Simon Colby
Publisher: DC Vertigo
Reviewer: Optimous Douche (aka The Real Slim Patey)
The great one-hit prophet Lorde once said “We’ll never be Royals, Royals, it’s not in our blood.” In the real world I wouldn’t want to be born royal; bad hairlines and teeth, zero job skills, a distanced affect from 99% of the world, and hemophilia from a single helix genetic code just doesn’t make up for a big house and penthouse hookers in Vegas.
Now, if Rob Williams’ ROYALS are how the blood of Kings is coagulated, sign me the fuck up for that luxe. Williams takes his panache for view askew history he started in CLA$$WAR with American superheroes in history, but this go round transposes scientific super endowment for simple divinity. Imagine if the tall tales of great leaders were actual fact: Kings that actually singlehandedly stopped forces because they had true super strength, Queens who wooed the masses with more than allure but actual mind control--this series takes any of the superhero attributes we have contrived from imagination to make them the blood of those who shall use them to defend their lands and conquer others.
Wisely, Williams doesn’t get trapped in remember when. The historical context for world setting is naturally delivered against one of the most tumultuous periods of recent history: WWII. If the series was an ongoing, I’d say rock out with the Paleolithic cock out to show where the commoner amoeba spilt from the super amoeba, but in five issues a concise construction of abstract concept is clearly crystalized even for comic neophytes (proof point: I’m writing the review on a cruise ship right now, with my imagination-challenged father reading the book next to me, and he’s loving it).
The UK’s royal family serve as our central protagonists: King Arthur the powerless, the Queen of minds, and their children the black sheep Arthur Jr., Rose the empath, and the powerful (not as much as Arthur Jr.) yet naïvely idealistic Henry. As Hitler makes his first steps out of the Rhineland to take over all of Europe, the UK’s first family sit on their royal jewels even as the West End gets bombed all to oblivion. Why would the Windsors allow this if they possess greater abilities than the Justice League and Teen Titans combined? Because in a stroke of meticulous story planning foresight, Williams created a treatise of yore between noble bloods. Let the serfs, and only the serfs, muddy their hands in battle. It’s a bit contrived to believe a ruler would cower in the face of true invasion or loss of income for royal bro fist bumps, but I had to let this go. As I start writing more of my own comics, I am shit-canning my armchair co-authoring on other books. Buuuuut, I think this agreement would have been busted prior to WWII. If not in WWI, I have to believe King George would have snapped Washington’s neck once the snuff supply stopped flowing from the Carolinas. It’s a nit; don’t let it bother you. I was able to easily abandon these logical inconsistencies once Williams showed me the richness of sibling rivalry as the icing on this delicious story cake.
Not content to rest on ancient agreements of complacency as the people burn, Henry decides it may be time to take the anti-Semitic dwarf with a dwarfier mustache to task despite the extreme misgivings of his father, mother and brother. Only Rose stands by Henry’s side as he aims his powerful fists at planes and panzers. The reasons for the families’ naysaying grow more nefarious than simple pacts as the story unfolds. Arthur Sr. is more than impotent, the Queen more than crazy and Arthur Jr. more than a lush with a penchant for buggery. Even the sweet and noble Rose and Henry end up with a darker spot on their souls than was originally exposed in the first three chapters.
As for the rest of the political stage: the German royals are completely diluted in power (hence Hitler’s “powerless” rise), the Russian tsar totally pissed about that wife and kid murder thing and Japan…bigger and better than one can imagine. They are also capable of turning the tide of how we all saw the real war play out.
ROYALS is a world we all know, yet can’t, thanks to the twists and turns Williams adds to the history books. Without Enola Gay things change; with a more than sympathetic bond to ancient branches of family trees all resets back to right. With art to match the grandeur of big war machines overturned by bigger forces of man, ROYALS was a great single read, but is rife for so much more pre and post this small snippet of mankind.
When Optimous isn't reviewing comics he is making the IT words chortle and groan with marketing for MaaS360, Enterprise Mobility Management. He also has a comic coming out sometime soon, for updates head to robpatey.com.
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G
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