Showing posts with label Court of Owls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Court of Owls. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2023
Sensei Starman Plays Gotham Knights - Part 54
In which we bust into Jacob Kane's bunker, only for things to go totally pear-shaped. This leads to a race across the rooftops of Gotham and a battle with a mob of ninjas.
Friday, February 17, 2023
Sensei Starman Plays Gotham Knights - Part 53
In which we infiltrate Kane Industries and the Court of Owls' seat of power.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Sensei Starman Plays Gotham Knights - Part 45
In which I once again keep my mouth shut (for the most part) to allow you to enjoy the full terror of the Court of Owls' Labyrinth.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Sensei Starman Plays Gotham Knights - Part 44
Behold the cursed episode!. I attempted to record it four times and wound up with only the video on the fourth attempt. The irony is this is a creepy chapter that takes us into the Court of Owls' Labyrinth and it is all the more effective for being silent. So enjoy!
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Sensei Starman Plays Gotham Knights - Part 41
In which we continue exploring the 13th Floor of the Orchard Hotel and one of the many secret lairs employed by the Court of Owls. This leads to a meeting with Talia Al Ghul and the discovery that our problems are only just beginning.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Sensei Starman Plays Gotham Knights - Part 40
In which we infiltrate a high society soiree and start trying to unmask just which rich jerks in Gotham City are part of the Court of Owls.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Nightwing: Rebirth #1 - A Review
Despite Chuck Dixon's Nightwing being one of my favorite series of all time, I haven't been following Dick Grayson's recent adventures that closely. I was unimpressed with the first issue of the New 52 Nightwing series and haven't thought much of what few cameos I've seen of Dick playing the secret agent in Batgirl. I haven't read a single issue of Grayson and was only vaguely aware of Dick's secret identity being outed during the Forever Evil storyline.
Thankfully, Nightwing: Rebirth #1 proves a welcome introduction for readers who don't know Dick Grayson or, like myself just haven't been keeping up on recent events.
There isn't much of a plot to this issue nor is there a lot of action. The story is made up of a series of vignettes, showing Dick saying goodbye to his old life and reclaiming the Nightwing name. There's also some brief scenes involving Dick's enemies in The Court Of Owls and a scene establishing the new Huntress, who was apparently a character in Grayson, before she goes off to star in the new Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey series. Tim Seely does a fantastic job of providing this exposition naturally, without it seeming like he's just throwing out factoids for the newbies.
The artwork is equally efficient. Yanick Paquette instills a sense of motion to every panel - even the ones which just feature two people sitting down talking! This keeps the story moving and exciting, despite a distinct lack of fight scenes. And the color art by Nathan Fairbairn finds the perfect balance between light and dark, as befits the title character.
Thankfully, Nightwing: Rebirth #1 proves a welcome introduction for readers who don't know Dick Grayson or, like myself just haven't been keeping up on recent events.
There isn't much of a plot to this issue nor is there a lot of action. The story is made up of a series of vignettes, showing Dick saying goodbye to his old life and reclaiming the Nightwing name. There's also some brief scenes involving Dick's enemies in The Court Of Owls and a scene establishing the new Huntress, who was apparently a character in Grayson, before she goes off to star in the new Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey series. Tim Seely does a fantastic job of providing this exposition naturally, without it seeming like he's just throwing out factoids for the newbies.
The artwork is equally efficient. Yanick Paquette instills a sense of motion to every panel - even the ones which just feature two people sitting down talking! This keeps the story moving and exciting, despite a distinct lack of fight scenes. And the color art by Nathan Fairbairn finds the perfect balance between light and dark, as befits the title character.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Batgirl Annual #1 - A Review
Batgirl Annual #1 is many things. An amazing read on its' own. A wonderful continuation of the Court of Owls saga. A perfect introduction to the characters of Batgirl and Catwoman. A glorious example of how amazing painted comic books can be. It is all those things and so much more.
The plot centers upon Batgirl as her investigations into a string of arsons leads her to conclude that the criminal conspiracy known as The Court of Owls is not as dead as previously believed. At the same time, Catwoman has been hired to spring one of the Court's conditioned mercenaries (a.k.a. Talons) from prison but finds herself unable to abandon what she recognizes as a horrible broken woman. The two will find themselves unlikely allies as Catwoman's boss proves to have plans too dark for her to stomach and Batgirl recognizes the Talon Catwoman rescued as the same one that nearly killed her father.
The script by Gail Simone has a lot of bases to cover, but it manages it all with style. Batgirl and Catwoman are both quickly established as strong individuals with more in common than either of them suspect. Simone also manages to make the complexities of the Court of Owls storyline and the nature of the Talon assassins accessible for those who might just now be getting into the Batman family of books.
The artwork is all-around excellent, though I wish Admira Wijaya had been able to paint the entire issue. That is not to say that Daniel Sampere, who penciled the climax of the book, didn't do a fine job. Far from it. But the sudden shift in the art style is noticeable and distracts somewhat from the ending, though I will allow that the shift occurs at a point when the tone of the story changes as well. I don't know if this was a deliberate choice on the part of the editor but while it serves, I still think having one artist would have been more effective.
Regardless, if you have yet to enter into the world of Batgirl, this is a fine time to do so!
The plot centers upon Batgirl as her investigations into a string of arsons leads her to conclude that the criminal conspiracy known as The Court of Owls is not as dead as previously believed. At the same time, Catwoman has been hired to spring one of the Court's conditioned mercenaries (a.k.a. Talons) from prison but finds herself unable to abandon what she recognizes as a horrible broken woman. The two will find themselves unlikely allies as Catwoman's boss proves to have plans too dark for her to stomach and Batgirl recognizes the Talon Catwoman rescued as the same one that nearly killed her father.
The script by Gail Simone has a lot of bases to cover, but it manages it all with style. Batgirl and Catwoman are both quickly established as strong individuals with more in common than either of them suspect. Simone also manages to make the complexities of the Court of Owls storyline and the nature of the Talon assassins accessible for those who might just now be getting into the Batman family of books.
The artwork is all-around excellent, though I wish Admira Wijaya had been able to paint the entire issue. That is not to say that Daniel Sampere, who penciled the climax of the book, didn't do a fine job. Far from it. But the sudden shift in the art style is noticeable and distracts somewhat from the ending, though I will allow that the shift occurs at a point when the tone of the story changes as well. I don't know if this was a deliberate choice on the part of the editor but while it serves, I still think having one artist would have been more effective.
Regardless, if you have yet to enter into the world of Batgirl, this is a fine time to do so!
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