Batman #33 - A Review

Having read Batman #33, I cannot envision a more perfect comic with which to mark Batman's 75th anniversary.  Not only does it prove an epic conclusion to the Zero Year and Savage City storylines but it also proves a celebration of everything that makes a good Batman story.  We even get a new origin for The Bat-Signal in the bargain and get to see The Riddler defeated in a way that does nothing to mitigate his brilliance or his new-found sense of menace.


Scott Snyder's script pays tribute to the rich history of Batman while simultaneously exploring new ground.  While the concept that Bruce Wayne may be as crazy as the villains he faces each night is nothing new, Snyder explores the mental depths to which Bruce Wayne has truly sunk as no writer ever has.  Fans of the theory that Bruce Wayne is another victim of the madness that envelopes Gotham City and those who see him as one who has taken up the idealized path of the knight errant in the modern day will both find evidence to support their viewpoints in this story.


In a word, the artwork by Greg Capullo and Danny Miki is excellent.  Unlike the vast majority of Batman art teams in recent years, Capullo's pencils are light and airy and Miki's inks match them perfectly.  This is one of the brightest-looking Batman comics in history and that uniqueness makes it stand out all the stronger in a series where the artwork is usually drowned in ink.

This book should be on every comic-lover's pull list.

Batman #32 - A Review

Zero Year and Savage City continue, as Batman #32 finds Batman, Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox launching a three-wave attack to end The Riddler's control of Gotham City.  But is the Prince of Puzzles one step ahead of them again?  If not, he's certainly doing a good job of playing it cool...


Scott Snyder continues to excel on the writing duties on this title.  The Riddler has never been so dangerous and Snyder has done a fine job of establishing Edward Nygma as a credible threat after years of being stuck in the comic relief corner of Batman's rogues gallery.  Yet for all the high-pctane action in this issue, there are also a number of touching emotional scenes, such as Bruce Wayne leaving a final message for Alfred.


Greg Capullo and Danny Miki do a fantastic job on the issue's artwork.  They are one of the best creative teams to work on Batman in years and they are worthy of any awards it is possible to nominate them for.  Everything is dark and atmospheric, as it should be in a Batman book, but without seemingly overly obscured or the fine detail of the pencils being muddied.

Batman #30 - A Review

Batman #30 is simultaneously the final act of Zero Year and part one of Savage City.  We finally learn the meaning of the title Zero Year, as The Riddler - now firmly in charge of Gotham City - elected to establish a new calendar when he took over.  It remains to be seen how this will affect Julian Day but I'd just love it if The Calendar Man wound up saving the day instead of Batman, as he fights for the concept of time itself!  This is probably why I review comics instead of writing them.


I appreciate Scott Snyder's attempts to turn The Riddler into a more credible villain but what The Riddler has accomplished here strains credibility.  At least, that's what I thought until Eddie showed his face on the jumbotron in Gotham's equivalent of Times Sqare and Snyder reveals that while the stakes of the game may have been raised, Riddler is still the same know-it-all who has to prove he's smarter than everyone else.  What makes this story so revolutionary is that - for the first time in a long while - you actually believe Edward Nygma is as smart as he thinks he is.  And perhaps even more astonishingly, Batman has actually lost a battle to him.  Twice even!


I hate to dismiss the awesome artwork of Greg Capullo and Danny Miki by describing their work on this issue as "up to their usual standard" or some equally humdrum phrase.  And yet, that sentence - while dull - would be accurate.  Capullo and Miki consistently bring their A-game to this title and it is one of the best looking books on the shop stands as a result.

Batman #29 - A Review

After my review of Batman #28, Scott Snyder sent me a private message on Twitter.  He thanked me for the kind review and also addressed my complaint that the Batman: Zero Year storyline had been subverted for a month to give us a preview of Batman: Eternal. This after months of relatively slow build-up and a lot of telling us how dangerous The Riddler was without really showing us much of anything.

The action picks up in 29.  Promise. :)

The action picks up, he says.  Boy, is that an understatement!


Batman #29 is pretty much all action and those who were annoyed by the slow boil of previous issues will be gratified to see that the wait was worth it.  Yet there is much more to this issue than base thrills - though the scenes with Batman piloting his new Bat Blimp toward The Riddler's airborne base in the middle of a thunderstorm are thrilling.  There's also a number of nods - in both the text and the art - to the rich legacy of Batman.  Some - like the existence of the Gotham City Police Blimps - are subtle and unlikely to draw much comment.  Others, like one of Capullo and Miki's splash pages - are blatant in their homage.


I don't want to spoil any more of this issue than that but I will say it was gratifying to see Scott Snyder do something with this story I don't think has been done with Batman in a long time.  This is a must-read comic for all fans of the genre and the character.  It is also surprisingly accessible to new readers, given how much material was required to build up to this point.

Batman #27 - A Review

Batman #27 continues the on-going epic that is Batman: Zero Year.  The Riddler - in his first public caper - has knocked out all the power in Gotham City in the wake of an oncoming hurricane.  The corrupt police commissioner is more interested in hunting down the vigilante Batman than dealing with the current crisis and a message from The Riddler implying that Batman is his disgruntled ex-partner in crime offers all the excuse he needs to send the SWAT teams after Batman in-force.  Luckily, there's one cop in Gotham who believes in what Batman is trying to do... but can Bruce Wayne bring himself to trust anyone else in his war on crime?


Scott Snyder's script has a lot of great character moments.  The flashback where Jim Gordon recounts precisely how he came to decide to stand against the corruption in his own department because of a young Bruce Wayne is a powerful one.  As is a scene where Alfred speaks to his fears that Bruce's quest will devour him if he tries to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders alone. 

Good as this is, the script is not flawless.  The action of the issue falls a bit flat in the end and for a storyline that is meant to be all about The Riddler there's been very little of the Question Mark Criminal.  We see the effects of his actions and are told about what he's doing but see nothing of Mr. Nygma himself.  It's also worth noting that we've yet to see any riddles in all of this.



Thankfully, Greg Capullo and Danny Miki's artwork is as good as ever.  Capullo's pencils are crisp and clear and the man is a great visual storyteller.  Miki's inks enhance without enveloping and - unlike many Batman comics in the past - do not drown the original pencils in darkness.

Batman #26 - A Review

I may stand alone in feeling somewhat cheated by Batman: Zero Year so far.  Don't get me wrong - it's a fine story!  I'll not deny that!  Yet it is a far cry from what I expected when Scott Snyder spoke of his renvisioning of The Riddler (one of my favorite Batman baddies) and his first major joust with The Dark Knight.

The Riddler's role in Dark City thus far has been a supportive one.  True, The Riddler's presence looms ever-large in the background, with everyone's favorite genius having cut the power to much of Gotham City as the hurricane of the century closes in on Gotham's shoreline.  Yet most of the action of this issue is concerned with a new villain called Doctor Death, who is nowhere near as interesting as Edward Nygma despite a truly gruesome gimmick. 

Despite this, Snyder does find ways to keep things interesting.  Perhaps the biggest change in this retelling of the Batman origin is a novel twist - that Bruce Wayne might not trust the police of Gotham City, disbelieving the idea of any honest cops like Jim Gordon existing.  Given Bruce's background, it makes sense that he might have issues with authority and it answers the question oft-asked since the Silver Age - why didn't Bruce Wayne try to become a police officer or some other kind of lawman?


Greg Capullo and Danny Miki do their usual stellar job on the artwork.  Capullo was born to draw Batman and his character designs, while differing from the classic characters in some degree (i.e. Bruce Wayne with a Marine-issue hair-cut and The Riddler with mutton-chops) are memorable and unique.  Likewise, Danny Miki bucks the trend so common among Batman inkers of slathering shadows on every page, limiting his inks to astonishing effect.

Batgirl #25 - A Review

Batgirl #25 sees Gail Simone taking a break as Marguerite Bennett (most recently seen on Batman Annual #2) takes over the book to tell the tale of what Barbara Gordon did during the event known as Zero Year.  The action focuses on Barbara as she and her brother are forced to evacuate their home during a fearsome hurricane and find themselves in dire straits.  Naturally Barbara discovers an inner strength she didn't know she had and - realizing no one is coming to save her - becomes the hero she and her city need. 

Bennett's script is a strong one that goes beyond displaying Barbara's spirit perfectly.  The action depicted here is truly thrilling and especially powerful in the wake of the recent typhoon in the Philippines.  Indeed, I would go so far as to say that this issue better captures the terror of flash flooding and the heroism of ordinary people in the face of disaster than this year's earlier Hawkeye issue devoted towards the Hurricane Sandy disaster. 


Fernando Pasarin and Jonathan Glapion do their usual stellar job on the artwork.  The action of the script doesn't let up for a moment and Pasarin's pencils perfectly capture the intensity of Bennett's script.  Glapion's inks find the perfect balance between shade and saturation, creating deep shadows as appropriate to the story while leaving the original pencils clearly exposed throughout much of the issue.


Should it come to pass that Gail Simone should ever leave Batgirl, I think this issue proves Marguerite Bennett would be a worthy successor on the scripting duties.  This issue, while a diversion from the larger story of Batgirl at the moment, is not an unwelcome one.  Indeed, it's a good issue to start with if one hasn't been reading this book and is looking for an entry point.

Batman #25 - A Review

After last issue's cliffhanger, I fear that Batman #25 is something of a disappointment.  Promised our first dramatic battle between The Batman and The Riddler, we are left instead with a high-action escapade rather than a battle of wits.  The story here is about Batman contending with the efforts of a police department more concerned with catching him than the criminals who are taking advantage of Edward Nygma's cutting all the power in Gotham City and the chaos caused by the approach of a major hurricane.

Putting aside my disappointment over a serious Riddler deficit, there's very little to recommend this issue on its own merits.  We do get glimpses of certain Batman mainstays before they became the characters we know and love.  We also get to see some of Batman's wonderful toys, such as the first Batmobile - which more closely resembles Speed Racer's Mach 5 than any previous Batmobile.  This is fascinating on an intellectual level but ultimately as pointless as this issue's introduction of a new villain - Doctor Death.  The uninspired name says it all.  


Even the back-up feature is lackluster, focusing once more upon Harper and Cullen - Scott Snyder's favorite P.O.V. normal Gothamites.  The best bit of this sequence is a two-page splash poster depicting all the heroes that were in Gotham helping people during the disaster.  This is marred only slightly by the fact that this page primarily exists as an advertisement/check-list for all the Zero Year tie-in issues one might have missed.  


Thankfully, the artwork is top-notch as usual.  Greg Capullo and Danny Miki add a manic energy to the main portion of the book.  Andy Clarke adopts a spookier, more somber tone with the back-up feature, perfectly capturing the aura of a dark and spooky night as seen from a child's perspective.

Alas, this is not enough to make this issue worth buying.  Particularly with its' inflated $4.99 price tag!  My advice would be to wait for the collected edition of this storyline.  It may well prove cheaper in the long run.

Green Arrow #25 - A Review

Whenever a comic book property finds success in another media, the publishers usually make an effort to reshape their books to reflect the more popular adaptation.  This is why Spider-Man eventually developed organic web-shooters in the comics and why Spider-Man briefly readopted his black costume around the same time that Spider-Man 3 came out.  Presumably that is why this issue of Green Arrow has seen fit to bring John Diggle and Oliver Queen's mother Moira into the New 52 universe.

Nominally a tie-in with the Batman: Zero Year storyline, the real focus of this issue is Diggle and his efforts to protect Mrs. Queen from the villainous Killer Moth.  Batman does show up to deal with the criminal but it is Moira's son Oliver - newly returned from his time on the island - who truly saves the day.  Jeff Lemire wisely does not allow Oliver Queen to be upstaged in his own title - a lesson that escaped far too many Green Arrow writers during  past team-up stories.


 Lemire continues to develop the characters in a back-up tale which reveals an interesting little wrinkle - Diggle was a part of Ollie's original support team when he first began his campaign as The Green Arrow!  Fans of the Arrow TV series will be relieved to see that Diggle is largely unchanged in terms of personality, though his motivations for helping Oliver in this reality are slightly different.  Hopefully this story will continue to be explored in future issues and we will finally get some explanation about the relationship between Oliver Queen and Roy Harper in the New 52 universe. 


The artwork on this title is as excellent as ever.  Andrea Sorrentino continues his usual stellar job on the main portion of the book.  The back-up feature - with pencils by Denys Cowen and inks by Bill Sienkiewicz - is somewhat sketchier but no less enjoyable than Sorrentino's style.  My one complaint is that Oliver looks far older than he should in this sequence, even allowing for the years added on by the beard.

That being said, if you're an Arrow-head who has yet to get into the monthly comics, this issue would be a fine one to start with.  The story is a good one, full of action and excitement.  The artwork is top-notch.  Truly one of the best books on the stands today! 

Batman #24 - A Review

Visually, Batman #24 is a stunning book from start to finish.  This should prove no surprise to regular readers, who have grown used to amazing imagery on a regular basis thanks to penciler Greg Capullo and inker Danny Miki.  Yet this issue seems even stronger for the contributions of colorist FCO Plascencia, whose vibrant watercolor-style gradients lend a cinematic aura to the artwork, with alternating oranges and blues dominating most of the palette.    

This may be the first Hunter S. Thompson reference in a mainstream DC Comics book ever.

The issue's imagery borrows a lot from the Batman films of Christopher Nolan.  The idea of Bruce Wayne marking his territory with his symbol  is a reoccurring theme.  It comes off somewhat better here than in the Nolan films, however, as Bruce has good reason to announce his presence beyond showy displays of force.  There's also a greater element of fun, as Bruce creates a Bat-symbol out of squirming members of the Red Hood gang not only to announce his presence but also because it amuses him to do this behind the back of one minion and then whisper into the thug's ear "My bat... it still needs a head." 

Sure, he knocked out power to a good portion of the city to do this... but it's still awesome!
Scott Snyder's plot and dialogue also borrow heavily from the Nolan films and herein lies the issue's one weakness - unoriginality.  We've seen this same origin story for Batman and The Joker played out ad nauseam.  We've heard The Joker - still in his guise as The Red Hood - give similar speeches about the futility of hope.  The fact that the whole affair is well-written does nothing to change the fact that we've heard this story before. 

Thankfully, Snyder does include enough original ideas to make the familiar scenes bearable for long-time Bat-fans.  The best of these is the conceit of Bruce Wayne becoming as much a symbol of Hope in Gotham City as Batman.  Snyder previously established the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne as the inspiration for The Red Hood's philosophy of nihilistic absurdism and Bruce Wayne speaking publicly of Gotham City as a place where people can be made better through adversity is as much a blow to The Red Hood's work and world view as anything Bruce Wayne had done before as a faceless vigilante.



These ideals come full-circle in the back-up story by Snyder and James Tynion IV, with art by the equally awesome Rafael Albuquerque of American Vampire fame.  The story does little more than set-up the next big story detailing Batman's first battle with The Riddler but it does feature a very good speech by Alfred.  On the surface it's about the nature of masks and theater but really it's about fiction and the power of a good story.  It works on both levels and it alone would make this comic a must-read, even if the rest of the issue weren't excellent as well.

Riddler #1 (Batman #23.2) - A Review

The Riddler has always been my favorite Bat-villain and one of my favorite comic characters period.  I have a special fondness for all the characters who feel a need to prove themselves in some form or fashion.  And if my inner supervillain might make a confession, I'll admit to having a certain sympathy for Edward Nygma as another intellectual who doesn't suffer fools well, though I'm not homicidal about it. 

Both of these ideas are at the center of Riddler #1 - a special that focuses upon the method behind the madness of Edward Nygma as he attempts to circumvent the security of Wayne Enterprises' corporate office.  Why?  For several reasons that are revealed as the story unfolds, but in part just to prove that he can.


Nominally this issue is a tie in to the Batman: Zero Year event currently taking place in the main Batman book.  However, the only obvious connection to that story is that this features Scott Snyder's take on The Riddler.  This Riddler is a fixer - a trouble-shooter who sees to the dodgy work of other people for a price.  At least, that was Edward Nygma's role until seemingly being spurred to self-interest after one of his employers asked him what was the point in being the smartest man in the room if nobody else knew it?

Snyder's Nygma is different than previous incarnations of the character, being as much a master of multiple disciplines as Bruce Wayne.  Comparisons might be drawn between this Edward Nygma and Jim Moriarty from BBC's Sherlock, where Holmes' greatest enemy has been reimagined as a consulting criminal who helps other evil-doers as consulting detective Holmes assists the police.  Nygma is as mentally unstable as ever, though his psychosis takes the form of an obsessive-compulsive disorder that drives him to be a literal know-it-all.  It's an engaging take on the classic formula and Ray Fawkes does a good job bringing it about.   


Jeremy Haun offers an equally inspired visual redesign of The Riddler.  With his new sideburns and tools that basically amount to a piece of psychic paper and a multi-tool cane, it's hard not to see this Nygma as looking somewhat like David Tenant - perhaps drawing inspiration from a now famous fan poster?  Regardless of the inspiration, Haun's cinematographic style depicts the story perfectly.  The direction is fittingly reminiscent of several recent heist movies and the action is well-paced throughout.

Riddler #1 is a welcome relief from the banality of titles that have made up the majority of the Villain's Month books so far.  There are no tired tales of abusive childhoods here - merely Edward Nygma being his brilliantly baffling self.  It's a good read for Riddler fans both old and new and gleefully fun in a sadistic sort of way.

Batman #23 - A Review

Batman: Zero Year continues to impress even as it renovates.  Curiously, this series is doing less to define the past and character of Batman than it is to explore the history and motivations of his rogues' gallery.  Then again, perhaps that isn't such a surprise given that Batman is defined as much by his enemies as he is by his history.

If there were any doubts that Scotty Snyder's new take on The Red Hood was intended to be The Joker before he became The Joker, they were eliminated with this issue as we learn the nihilistic philosophy behind The Red Hood's crimes.  I'm uncertain how to feel about how Snyder has tied The Red Hood's origins, albeit indirectly, to the same incident that inspired Bruce Wayne's war on crime.  I do, however, approve of Snyder's revamped Riddler, who begins his career as a consulting criminal ala Jim Moriarty in the BBC Sherlock series. 


The back-up story by Snyder and James Tynion IV is brief but memorable.  Another flashback tale of Bruce Wayne's travels around the world, this one finds Bruce Wayne learning the art of combat in what is meant to be a battle-to-the-death pit fight.  "The Queen" who oversees the arena means to teach Wayne a lesson in how one must be ready to kill to be a warrior.  Yet Wayne learns another lesson and teaches one of his own by issue's end.


The artwork is amazing in both stories.  Greg Capullo and Danny Miki give the greater part of the comic their usual stunning neo-Noir aesthetic.  American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque goes even darker for his flashback tale, which almost looks like it was taken from a Conan The Barbarian comic.  This book looks as well drawn as it is well-written and it should be required reading for all comics fans.

Batman #22 - A Review

When I first heard about Batman: Year Zero, I must admit a part of me rolled my eyes.  Aren't we all familiar enough with the origins of Batman by this point that we don't need to retell them anymore?  What more can possibly be said? 

Plenty, it turns out.

Scott Snyder avoids the usual traps by focusing not on Batman and the villains he fights but on Bruce Wayne before he even conceived of the idea of a Batman.  The conflict here is not between Batman and the mysterious Red Hood gang - it is between who Bruce Wayne is becoming and who Bruce Wayne should be.  This conflict is beautifully summarized by Alfred, who makes the point echoed by so many critics of the superhero genre - couldn't Bruce Wayne do more good with his fortune than through vigilante justice?  





The stylized artwork by Greg Capullo and Danny Miki remains as strong as Snyder's scripts.  Capullo has a unique sense of aesthetics and design, which is given free reign to play throughout the issue.  Perhaps the best example of this is a sequence where an ancient Eygptian board game becomes the panels for a circular conversation between Bruce Wayne and a pre-Riddler Edward Nygma.  


The back-up story, with art by American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque proves equally skilled and enjoyable.  Co-written with collaborator James Tynion IV, Snyder tells another brief tale of a young Bruce Wayne's travels around the world. This time, the young Wayne is learning the fine arts of mechanical engineering with an ex-Soviet scientist who also teaches Bruce an important lesson on the value of creative thinking.
   

Batman #21 - A Review

There's no small irony that I should read this story on what is Father's Day in America because the scene in this first chapter of Batman: Zero Year that most surprised and delighted me involves fathers.  It's a short flashback where we see a young Bruce Wayne with his father, as the elder Wayne works on a car and lectures Bruce about wandering off and exploring the city.  Before this moment, I never really thought about how very little we see Bruce interact with his father in all the various retellings of Batman's origins and how this moment, more than any scene I can think of, shows the depth of love required to make Bruce choose to become Batman. 


Of course there's far more action to Scott Snyder's story than that.  There's a flash-forward depicting a Gotham besieged, Batman's first encounter with The Red Hood and an entirely different threat in the form of Bruce Wayne's treacherous uncle.  All of this will be pleasing to Bat-Fans, of course, but the heart of the issue lies in the aforementioned flashback and the art team of Greg Capullo and Danny Miki do their usual stellar job in depicting it all.


The back-up story by Snyder and James Tynion IV proves equally enjoyable.  This story tells another tale from Bruce Wayne's past as he wandered the world seeking out the teachers and trainers who would help shape The Bat.  In this case, Bruce learns how to drive from a master thief in Rio.  The action and excitement of this story, set entirely during a high-speed police chase, is perfectly depicted by American Vampire artist Rafael Albuquerque.