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(Click title to go directly to the review)
Advance Review: CRYPTOCRACY #1
TITANS REBIRTH #1
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #8
JUSTICE LEAGUE #51
THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG #4
BATMAN #1
In stores next week!CRYPTOCRACY #1
Writer: Van JensenArt: Pete Woods
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Reviewer: Lyzard
I don’t like to get political in the public sphere. Not on Facebook, Twitter, or any other form of online discussion including comic reviews. But I’ve gotta admit that Dark Horse is profiting off of the political unrest our country is in right now when it comes to the time of release for CRYPTOCRACY. A cryptocracy is a form of government where the real leaders are hidden or merely unknown. So think Freemasonry, Illumaniti, or whatever conspiracy paranoia strikes your fancy. The comic doesn’t shy away from the irony of how the “crazies” are actually right this time, round. But CRYTPOCRACY focuses too much on its titular elements and spends little time on what actually makes the comic interesting.
CRYPTOCRACY #1 shows us just how problematic having nine families ruling the world, each adhering to a strict nine-circle organizational structure can be. After an an attempt to “save humanity from itself” turns into a PR nightmare, Senior Grahame is left having to clean up his inferiors mess, all while having to take the blame for their incompetence. Throw in some family squabbling, cold war political tactics, hush-whispers of prophecies and the early of events of the issue soon become irrelevant when the real conflict is presented: the hunting of the hunters.
We all saw earlier this year what happens when the reveal of a global alien conspiracy is handled poorly. I’m lookin’ at you Fox! CRYPTOCRACY doesn’t jerk us around with whom or what is truly controlling humanity. Now usually the hero of these sorts of stories would be some sort of young, tech-savvy black sheep who attempts to expose these creeps to the world. CRYPTOCRACY has that character, but that’s not who I’m cheering for. I’m rooting for the mysterious figures that embody the hubris of the families, the stuff of legends, the conspiracy creations of the conspirators. In a world all about unbelievable scenarios, these are protagonists I can actually imagine going up against such a global threat.
I wonder if Jensen is a fan of the Bard because his writing is quite theatrical. Grandiose breakdowns of how the nine families control Earth are given through dialogue rather than narration, creating stilted conversation with characters’ motivated to reveal such information so informally for the sake of plot advancement rather than logic. This isn’t a spurn on the quality of his writing, more a rebuff on his ability to self-edit.
Jensen’s words are best put to use during realistic and natural conversations. There’s actual character to them, individual voices, and quite a bit of humor. Which brings us to what makes the comic interesting, but also where it fails. There is a disconnect tonally, both in writing shifts and artistic direction. This is supposed to be a gloomy, sinister world and yet here I am wanting some of its denizens as action figures on my desk: a bugbear that seems to have stumbled out of OFFICE SPACE, suited aliens that are somehow an adorable mix between the big-eyed buggers from Roswell and Doctor Who’s the Silence. At the end of the day it wasn’t the conspiracy elements that captured my attention, but the sci-fi and tonally light aspects. I’d rather just explore a world outside of our own that featured these outrageous creations, but that would just cut out the core of CRYPTOCRACY.
With so much developing in the first issue it is hard to determine the direction the comic intends to follow. How much time will be spent with the smirking royal and his furry sidekick? Will we be bogged down with the stereotypical enlightened hacker storyline? Are we going to pull a Season 10 of X-FILES or not?
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."
TITANS REBIRTH #1
Writer: Dan AbnettArt: Brett Booth
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Lionel Putz
The REBIRTH of the DC Universe continues this week across a number of titles, but nowhere more directly than in TITANS: REBIRTH #1. After getting to extol the virtues of the classic Wally West as a legacy character in my review of FLASH: REBIRTH #1 last week, this week brings us a book that actually shows Wally’s legacy, in the New 52 continuity and also reminding us of his importance in the overall publication history of the DC Universe.
Picking up shortly after the events of FLASH: REBIRTH #1, the issue opens with Wally again providing central narration* to our story as he stealthily searches through the recently-reunited Titans’ home base. We find him looking at an old photo of the Titans—one he remembers both taking and appearing in (super speed!)—but he’s been erased from it here, and there’s only an awkward gap where he should be, continuing a theme from the recent TITANS HUNT series wherein the group sought each other ought, feeling something was missing. Wally is interrupted by Nightwing, who immediately attacks the unrecognized intruder. As he tries to calm his former best friend down, Wally accidently shocks Dick with a bolt of the Speed Force, and memories of he and Wally taking the Batmobile for a joyride as Kid Flash and Robin come flooding back. Wally realizes that physical contact with him allowed the Speed Force to restore Dick’s memories of the pre-Flashpoint timeline, and similarly reconnects with the rest of the Titans in a series of flashbacks that restores some humor and fun to characters like Roy Harper and Donna Troy while also illustrating the role that Wally always served in the larger DC pantheon.
[*Narration of the book has so long been a Wally West staple that I’ll be curious to see if the trend continues in Titans, the first time Wally has only been featured in a team book since the mid-80s… seems like it would marginalize the other players, but it works perfectly for this opening issue, as Wally is our POV character for the central mystery of REBIRTH.]
There is real joyfulness in the flashbacks, with the whole issue only taking a few moments in real time as the Titans each rediscover Wally. But therein, several questions about the nature of this new timeline are raised. Many of the memories experienced by the other Titans—like Roy Harper’s time serving as Ollie’s sidekick—can’t be readily reconciled with the New 52 continuity. Did they just “forget” a Wally that was supposed to be present in the New 52 timeline, or by touching Wally, are they being restored to their former selves from the pre-Flashpoint continuity with all those attendant memories? Those questions aren’t answered in this issue, and as one of the only REBIRTH tiles to be published on a monthly basis (most of the relaunch titles are bi-weekly for the foreseeable future), it appears TITANS is going to take some time exploring them. Make no mistake, though; if you’re excited about the central mystery of REBIRTH and the certain figure behind the stolen memories, TITANS looks to be the book that will be tackling it head on.
Writer Dan Abnett and artist Brett Booth seem to be very in sync on this first issue, with each character getting equal time and equally lovely moments reuniting with their forgotten comrade. Abnett certainly understands and captures Wally’s heart, and—in the flashbacks—his casual sense of humor and easy going nature, and Booth illustrates the action admirably. If I have one complant, it’s that Booth’s redesign of Wally’s new Flash costume has him with his hair flowing free from the top of his cowl like in his Kid Flash days, but now in a two-tone red costume. It looks a bit too much like the Kid Flash costume to really grant him the maturity that he displays and remembers, even if he is younger again in his current incarnation. That said, it’s a minor quibble from a major fan, and no reason to discount the book overall.
REBIRTH has so far shown itself to be a surprisingly good initiative, and a certified hit among retailers. If you’ve enjoyed any of it so far, TITANS is going to be a book you want to follow as Wally continues to lead both the renaissance of DC legacy heroes and the investigation into the timeline manipulations of the New 52. Don’t miss this one.
Lionel Putz is a lawyer by day. He watched Matlock in a bar last night; the sound wasn't on, but he's pretty sure he got the gist of it. Email him at lionel.putz@gmail.com
WRATH OF THE ETERNAL WARRIOR #8
Writer: Robert VendittiArtist: Raul Allen & Patricia Martin
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Reviewer: Masked Man
Valiant’s immoral @$$ kicker Gilad Anni-Padda has found himself in a pickle jar. As someone who is only referred to as ‘Sovereign’ has locked him in a horror movie like dungeon (i.e. THE CUBE, SAW, etc), in hopes of discovering the secret of his immortality.
Breaking down this part two (of the story arc) even more (aka spoilers), our man Gilad isn’t having a very good time in this dungeon. As he just keeps getting killed over and over and over again. Each time he wakes up in the hereafter, he blows off his wife and kids, because he’s in a rush to get back to his body in the dungeon and escape. Which could have ramifications on his eldest son, because teenagers are still teenagers in the after-life it seems. As one would expect, no diagnostic machine can figure out why Gilad keeps coming back to life. So they pull out a magical creature to fight Gilad to change things up. Gilad then discovers the dungeon is susceptible to magic. Which he then uses to escape, causing everyone who locked him up to quake in their boots.
So a cute enough concept, and Venditti does a decent job with it. I suppose the plot could have moved a little faster, with it’s ‘GROUNDHOG DAY’ concept. But on the flip side, slowing it down to see the nature of these trap could have been entertaining too. As that is usually the appeal of the horror movies Venditti is borrowing from. Either way, he sets up a nice @$$-kicking for next issue.
The artwork by Allen and Martin is decent as well. It has a soft brushwork feel to it, not common in most comics. The storytelling and figures are all good. And many of the death scenes are pretty cool looking.
Overall, it seems Venditti is trying to do something different with the ETERNAL WARRIOR, which is a good thing. But it’s still not much stronger than it’s genre.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #51
Writer: Dan AbnettArt: Paul Pelletier and Sandra Hope
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Galaxy Girl
As a BIG fan of Dick Grayson, I was waiting with bells on to read the latest issue of Justice League. Set six months after the first Darkseid attack on Earth Prime, we see the Justice League battling various interdimensional beings as they make their way through dimensional cracks. We’re told that these cracks were created when Cyborg slammed the Mother Boxes closed on Darkseid’s face (back in volume one of JUSTICE LEAGUE, the New 52).
Naturally, the issue goes the way you expect (fighting, quipping, more punching, quipping…) but it was a fairly enjoyable read compared to the dull-ness of the Justice League: Darkseid War drivel we’ve been slogging through recently.
What I liked best was the part I anticipated: Batman’s take-your-kid-to-work day! This issue features Earth Prime’s first meeting of the Justice League and Robin, and some parts do not disappoint. Robin gets has a fangirl moment with Superman, Cyborg offers some heart-to-heart advice and Batman predicts that Robin will be running the League in the future. As a Dick Grayson fan, I was reasonably happy with this issue.
Dan Abnett does a great job using this issue to springboard into the much anticipated Titans: Rebirth (also out this week!) and gives us delicious foreshadowing about our favorite short-pants-wearing detective. I really enjoyed his work in TITANS HUNT and I liked that this issue was able to tie-in to where we’re headed with Dick Grayson.
The art on this book (Paul Pelletier and Sandra Hope) was very pretty too! I loved the excellent use of color to really capture the contrasting positivity of Robin’s first meeting with the League with the dark foreshadowing that’s to come. I also liked that the pencils and inks were used to show the levity of the battle. The light ink and openness of the penciling allowed the colors and words to tell this story unburdened. It was definitely a great visual story to behold.
Overall, I’d give this issue a solid 7.5. This book has pretty art, a good story and is fairly enjoyable. I wouldn’t call this my favorite book of all time and it certainly didn’t meet every expectation I had for it, but it was definitely worth the money to read it.
GalaxyGirl is spinning around in happy circles thanks to half-way decent (and many more than decent) Rebirth stories! DC has redeemed itself and here’s to hoping that no one screws it up…
THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG #4
Writer: Rafer RobertsArtist: David Lafuente
Publisher: Valiant Entertainment
Reviewer: Masked Man
Valiant’s battle pair have entered a bit of “Quantum and Woody” territory, as they engage in a mad cap adventure filled with much debauchery. Seems the god Bacchus has been trapped in Archer’s magic bag. Breaking free, drunken, nude riots are the result.
Getting into the spoilers of this climatic issue, Archer and his sister Mary-Maria have made the scene to help the quite over-whelmed Armstrong get Bacchus back under control. First up, taking care of his drunken horde. Using a variety of humorous tricks, the drunken Santas, Frat boys, and others are taken off the table. Next our heroes turn their attention to the giant sized Bacchus. With some large scale puking and coffee (revealing a dark secret of America’s favorite coffee shop), Bacchus shrinks back down to a manageable size, so Mary-Maria can kill him. Things then take a somber turn as Armstrong reconnects with a former partner of his. As the third of his former trio has recently passed away. Giving her a $10,000 bottle of wine (which caused the whole Bacchus frickus), and mending fences.
This issue is definitely crammed with lunacy, I’m just not sure if it’s inspired lunacy. As the drunken gags are all kind of standard- even if they are done on a giant size scale here. The characters are all reasonably likable, even Mary-Maria, as the plus one to this buddy comedy. The resolution to each scene is fairly predictable, but at least satisfying.
Lafuente’s artwork is very nice and fits well with this madcap story. Although I’ve never seen an artist so in love with panels as he is. Typically, a new panel is designated for a different view or the passage of time (which can be just pacing- beat / punch line). Lafuente loves to use them for none of those reasons. And what his reasons are, I have no idea. To a degree, he can use them so much it hampers his storytelling, especially with big chaotic scenes. When he doesn’t get carried away with making 12 panels out of one drawing, it’s nice work.
So despite some frivolous execution, Roberts manages to tell and entertaining story and Lafuente does a good job drawing it all out.
BATMAN #1
Writer: Tom KingArt: David Finch
Publisher: DC Comics
Reviewer: Humphrey Lee
This here’s a little bit of déjà vu. Not just because this is the first new issue of the Caped Crusader in a reboot setting, but also because it is all of that plus it’s featuring a writer who in relatively short time has gone from newcomer to premiere name in the industry. Like Scott Snyder before him, Tom King has really only had a couple of comic book titles under his belt as he goes into this, arguably the highest profile gig you can have in the business, writing the medium’s most popular character worldwide. No pressure, obviously. Not that the man – who has a stint writing in Hollywood and working for the motherlovin’ CIA – really has any reason to feel the heat given such a past. Nor also since he is being backed up on art chores by one of the biggest names and talents in the industry as well in David Finch. But there is a precedent of quality and inherent hype here, after fifty-plus issues of what Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo accomplished on this title/character. Combine that with the excitement a brand new volume after a big old jumping on point for the DC Universe musters up, and it’s hard to say this isn’t a pretty big deal, even for a writer who probably helped administer a coup or three (I assume that’s what he did in the gig) and a high profile artist who has done all the high profile a person in the industry can hit.
And I would say that after this new creative team debut, excitement is pretty well warranted.
I’m not here to blow smoke up your skirt (or whatever loose, leg-covering garment you’re wearing that I can apparently blow air up) and say this is the best Batman has ever been and OMG! THE HYPE! This was a nicely executed, investing issue of America’s Top Vigilante that had as many “oh, that is cool” moments as it did some overly melodramatic ones. But the key to it is that word I just used, “execution.” What King and Finch do here is execute the shit out of a Batman comic. The main conceit of this new volume of the nocturnal knight is that some very bad men have stolen some very bad artillery in the form of surface-to-air missiles and used that weaponry to strike a commercial airliner. And for eighteen pages from explosive contact it’s all about the Bat doing what he does best, and that’s putting all his energy and resources to saving his damn city.
Essentially, this issue is a hit because it ends up being a really good distillation of what makes Batman the character he is, all well rendered and paced at an excellent clip. As soon as the missile strikes the plane, The Dark Knight is leaping off a rooftop and in the dissective, all business mode that makes the character a fan favorite. He’s in his bat mobile heading toward the disaster film in the making, doing the calculations to get to the flaming metal bird, working on the Comms with Alfred who is further directing the show by (fruitlessly, of course) trying to get some actual superpowers on the scene and coordinating trajectories with new Robin apprentice, Duke Thomas. Some creative jet-powered ejection seat usage later, and the “mere man with some cool toys” is figuring out how to single-handedly steer hundreds of tons of flaming, screaming metal to a safe landing. Without a single thought of self-preservation, he’s mounted on the plane, mustering it down to a landing that will be rough on the passengers – though they will most likely all survive – but a tad bit rougher on him as the force not absorbed by the big metal cylinder will mainly just rip him to shreds. That, my nerdy friends, is how my Batman operates; determined, skillful, analytical, but always willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. And the execution of those traits and attributes from a scripting standpoint and then how David Finch brings it all to highly detailed life, is where my excitement for this new creative run is birthed.
Of course, the Bat doesn’t go splat, and then the other end of the spectrum of why I recognized Batman as one of my favorite comic book characters enters the fray: a big old goddamn mystery! Right as the plane is about to have its Shamu times a hundred splashdown, just enough of the force of it is diverted by two brand new, super-powered crusaders calling them Gotham and Gotham Girl, here to let Gotham City’s protector know they’re here to save the city now, which of course will go over with the Bat about as well as that time the Joker had a sniper rifle. So, obviously, the focus will shift over to these new “allies” on crime, who they really are, what their real motivations are, or maybe they’re actually on the up and up? Doubtful since this is a comic book after all, but new, powered beings on Batman’s turf has never been an event that rubbed the Bat the right way or ended in anything but bruises and broken teeth. Not only that, but there is also that whole “who the fuck stole those missiles and shot one at a goddamn plane?” mystery to unravel, which King and Finch expressly emphasize at one point is most definitely a domino to a bigger arc that has been kicked off here, making this an intriguing twofer on threads for our Dark Detective to unravel.
At the end of the day, you could boil this issue down to “Batman saves a plane” if you really wanted to and knock it for a couple pages of overly melodramatically emphasizing the whole “you could die Master Bruce!” bits where Batman is essentially telling Alfred his last wishes as he faces down his end if you wanted to knock it. Those are valid criticisms to the content of this issue, as not exactly a lot happens in a bullet point standpoint, despite the scale of the emergency. But it is in how everything established in this issue proceeds, the determined tone and the way King and Finch weave one lingering mystery that promises to lead to much bigger things before they put the giant “oh crap” block of flying, super strong muscle in at the cliffhanger. The tone is there, the high-stakes action is there, the suspense is there, and if Tom King has shown anything in his somewhat smaller repertoire so far (I’m mainly looking at you, THE VISION) it’s that he knows how to build a large yet intricate story from humble beginnings. And we all know what kind of scale that David Finch works on and it this issue is no exception, though of course now the question is how long/often he throws his weight around here given the bi-monthly nature of this book and his also well-known production cycles. Regardless, now that we are a week into the official new volumes of DC’s icons, I feel safe in saying that at least their biggest one appears to be in great hands.
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, The MySpaces, 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.
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