Green Lantern #10 - A Review

Issue #10 starts right in the thick of it, with Hal Jordan still trapped on the planet Nok.  The good news is that Sinestro, who is Hal's only way off the planet, is no longer brainwashed by the power of the Indigo light of Compassion.  The bad news is that neither are any of the gang of ruthless murderers, criminals and other assorted low-lifes who make up the Indigo Tribe.  


This issue is a poor one for new readers to jump in on but it is an amazing conclusion to what has been an epic chapter in Geoff Johns' on-going revamp of the Green Lantern mythos.  Despite the revelations of the Indigo Tribe being laid bare in previous issues  Johns still delivers a number of surprising moments even as he continues to explore the theme of redemption.  Chief among these is Sinestro's arrogance faltering for a moment as he actually admits that, for once, his way might not be the correct one.  


Doug Mahnke continues to wow the audience with his impressive pencils.  This issue seems to be more lightly linked than previous issues, subtly emphasizing the theme of the issue, vis a vis the lightening of hearts and the world not being quite as dark as we thought.  Truly one of the best books DC Comics has to offer now.  

Earth 2 #2 - A Review

The second issue of Earth 2 is light on action and heavy on set-up.  This is to be expected given that James Robinson is having to build an entire world from the ground up.  Thankfully, while what few moments of action exist are brief, Robinson does find a way to keep things interesting - particularly for those of us with a little knowledge of the original Earth 2 and the heroes of the JSA.




Case In Point: This issue not only shows us the fate of Michael Holt following Mister Terrific #8 but it also introduces us to Terry Sloan - a.k.a. the original Golden Age Mister Terrific.  Shockingly, he seems to have been expecting Michael Holt.  And, even more shockingly, his intentions seem to be less than benevolent.

Cliche as it may be to say this, "Everything old is new again".  Robinson may be utilizing the same names and gimmicks as he did his classic Golden Age miniseries but the devil is in the details.  Jay Garrick is still the hero known as The Flash but the whys and wherefores are completely different.  Originally, Jay Garrick gained his super-speed through an ill-defined college chemistry experiment involving "hard water".  This time, with a tip of the hat to Grant Morrison's theories that modern day superheroes fill the void left by tales of heroes and gods, Jay Garrick is literally elevated to the status of a living god by a dying Mercury.



And speaking of big changes, I am going to address the elephant in the room.  Yes, Alan Scott - the man who will be Green Lantern - is revealed to be gay in this issue.  And no, it's not really a big deal.  Nor should it be. His sexuality has about as much bearing on this issue as whether or not he is left-handed.   There is no big sex scene.  No shocking revelation.  Just one kiss and a hug.  That's it.   

 

As always, Nicola Scott's artwork is excellent.  I've been a fan of her work for a while now and she's one of the few artists who can get me to buy a book regardless of the writer or the characters involved.  You can only imagine how overjoyed I was when I found out she'd be the monthly artist on this, a title I was looking forward to since it was announced.  I don't think I need to say anything more about her art, other than to point to the above scans and say again that you should all be reading this book.

Supergirl #7-9: A Review

As I've noted before, the new Supergirl title has proven to be one of the best books to come out of the original New 52 line-up.  The three issues released since my 52 Catch-Up review of the first six books have continued to uphold the same high level of quality in terms of both writing and art.

Issue #7 concludes the storyline started in Issue #5, with Kara Zor-El facing down a foursome of Worldkillers - sentient biological weapons created on Krypton.  This issue is noteworthy in that it confirms what had been hinted at in the previous issue - that Kara has completely accepted her status as a hero and the responsibilities her new-found powers have given her.  More importantly, the combat scenes show that Kara is more than dumb-muscle and has a natural head for strategy despite her relative inexperience as a warrior.



Issue #8 picks up on the heels of #7, with Kara facing down an ungrateful military platoon that is naturally scared about this young woman who defeated four monsters, single handedly, when their own weapons could do nothing.   Luckily Kara seems to have gained one supporter - a strong-willed, outspoken Irish woman named Siobnah, who has unusual powers too... including the ability to understand any language.



George Perez is the guest artist on Issue #8 and - while I am a bit biased in saying this as a Perez fan - I am hard pressed to think of a better artist one could hope to have had draw this particular issue.  The action moments early on and in the final pages are drawn well enough but the heart of this issue centers around two young women - both of whom have come a long way and are trying to rebuild their lives - getting to know one another and establishing a friendship that they both sorely need.  Perez is well known for masterfully drawing these slower moments while still infusing them with energy and this issue shows why his reputation as one of the grand masters of American Comic Artists is so well-deserved.



Issue #9 brings back artist Mahmud Ashar on pencils and inks. The sudden shift from Perez's style to Ashar's couldn't be more timely.  Ashar's darker inks and more stylized designs better suit this particular issue and it's decidedly disturbing story.



As the issue opens, we find  that Siobhan's dad is not as dead as previously imagined.  More, we discover that both father and daughter are infected by a magical curse that has transformed them both into creatures not unlike the banshees of Celtic Myth.  Of course Celtic Myth says nothing about male banshees but if they are anything like Siobhan's father, the Celtic Bards might not have gotten a chance to tell the tale after running into one.



 

The issue ends on a cliff-hanger, as The Black Banshee uses his magic to "unlock" Kara's energy, making her into a greater danger to the innocents watching the battle than the two banshees.  This leads Kara to make a faithful choice and a hero's sacrifice.  Or so it would seem.  Given that there's an Issue #10 coming out shortly I think we can safely assume Kara will emerge safe if not unscathed.  But it will be fun to see just how she manages it.  

Again, I say this is one of the best books DC Comics is publishing right now and one of their best-hidden secrets.  I'd suggest picking up the single issues on Comixpedia now, as the first print-trade of this series will not be out until September. You won't regret it.

Green Lantern Corps #7-9: A Review

When it comes to books with large ensemble casts, I am hard pressed to think of any author who has been so consistently excellent as Peter Tomasi.  If Geoff Johns can be said to be the brains behind the resurgence of Green Lanterns in the DCU, then surely Peter Tomasi is the heart.  For when you pick up a copy of Green Lantern Corps, you can safely bet that whoever the issue focuses on, you will get a fascinating character study that is second to none.

Issue #7 exemplifies this principle, being primarily focused on John Stewart.   In the opening arc of the series, Stewart and several other Lanterns were taken prisoner and Stewart was forced to kill Kirrt - one of his fellow Lanterns.  Kirrt had broken under torture and was close to  revealing classified information to the enemy before Stewart snapped his neck.  Afterward, Stewart lied about the circumstances of Kirrt's death, not wanting his final moments to cloud an otherwise exemplary record..  This issue focuses upon Stewart as he takes on the responsibility of cleaning out Kirrt's quarters and delivering his body to his family, all while coping with his own growing unease..





A soldier in the US Marines before being recruited for the Green Lanterns, Stewart is not unused to death and is no stranger to making hard choices.  He is also not unused to having to kill in the name of a greater good but that doesn't make the choices any easier to cope with.  Stripped of the science-fiction setting and the alien characters, this story could just as easily be portrayed in a modern military thriller.  Such is the magic of Tomasi's writing, that he so easily tells stories about characters that, though frequently alien to us, are all too human.

Tomasi's script is well rendered in this issue by guest penciler Claude St. Aubin.  Indeed, until looking at the credits while preparing this review, I was unaware there had be a guest penciler!  I don't know if St. Aubin was intentionally aping the style of regular GLC artist Fernando Pasarin or if their styles are just naturally sympathetic.  Either way, the artwork is well sketched and well emphasized by inker Scott Hanna.  

Issue #8 opens with a re-introduction to The Alpha Lanterns - the Internal Affairs department of the Green Lantern Corps.  Once wholly organic beings, The Alpha Lanterns were created by merging living Green Lanterns volunteers with the robotics technology used to create the Manhunters; a group of robotic police men who marked The Guardians of the Universe's first attempt at creating an intergalactic police force. 

To make a very long story short, The Manhunters started taking their directive to keep order too literally, having concluded that life, by nature, was chaotic and so the obvious solution to maintaining order was to start killing everything.  So if you're starting to think that bonding this technology to a sentient being and charging them to watch the watchmen is an incredibly bad idea, congratulations - you are smarter than The Guardians of the Universe!





Issue #8 delivers another sign that The Gods (or Guardians) Must Be Crazy, as they create a special command position for Guy Gardner - another Green Lantern of Earth, whose reputation for even-handedness and respect for others is non-existent.  Most would consider it charitable to say that Guy thinks with his heart.  Actually, most would consider it charitable to say that Guy thinks.



Surprisingly, given his hot-headed nature and general disrespect for authority, Guy seems to take The Guardian's request to mellow out to heart and later stops a potential bar brawl without brawling.  And in one of the best character-building scenes I've read in anything ever, John and Guy bond in the bar Guy runs in his off-duty time while John builds a small building out of toothpicks.  Even before Guy calls him out on it, this is a subtle sign as to John's true nature - that for all his warrior training, he is still, at heart, a creative spirit who would rather build than destroy.  And Guy, for all his blustering and bravado, is a far more empathic man than he lets on.

Things come to ahead in Issue #9, as the Alpha Lanterns - armed with footage obtained through a secret spy-cam in the deceased Kirrt's ring - arrest John Stewart on charges of murder.  Naturally, the literally-minded Alpha Lanterns care little for the circumstances behind the killing.  The letter of the law says killing a Green Lantern is wrong, even if he was about to betray The Corps and everything it stands for.





Most of the rest of the issue details Stewart's trial and the efforts undertaken by his fellow Lanterns, Guy chief along them, to defend their colleague's actions.  There are also some scenes which focus on Guy Gardner, as he butts heads with a group of Lanterns out to destroy Kirrt'smemorial statue in the Hall of Honor once word gets out about what he'd nearly done in a moment of weakness.  Anyone who doubts that there is more to Guy Gardner than a buzz cut and an attitude would do well to read this issue, as he defends both Kirrt's honor and John Stewart's decisions with intelligence and compassion along with the threat of a good ass-kicking.

   

Regular penciler Fernando Pasarin returns for Issues #8 and #9 and further cements his reputation as one of the best Green Latnern artists in years.  Pasarin's ability to draw unique looking aliens and detailed constructs is second to none but he proves equally capable, in these issues, of rendering even more mundane stories with a certain unique energy.  Again, Scott Hannah's inks and Gabe Eltaeb's colors help complete these images that seem to glow on the page.

I enjoy all the Green Lantern books published by DC Comics right now.  But if I were hard pressed to pick a favorite, I dare say Green Lantern Corps would be it.  The writing is consistently excellent, featuring some truly heart-felt tales and classical drama besides the amazing action.  The artwork is always eye-catching and memorable.  Really, I can't recommend this book enough.

Green Lantern #7-9: A Review

Reviewing Green Lantern is an increasingly difficult task for me.  The mythology Geoff Johns began with his Green Lantern: Rebirth mini-series has grown into one of the most complex in comics history.  That complexity has brought with it more sophisticated stories but it has also made it difficult to describe the book to a casual reader, to say nothing of finding a good starting point among the recent monthly issues for the new readers! 



Miraculously, Johns does a decent job of trying to establish the status quo for new readers with Green Lantern #7.  In brief, we are reminded how ex-Green Lantern Sinestro has been forcibly reinstated to his old post after an incident which bonded a Green Lantern ring to his hand.  Tasked with freeing his homeworld from the army of fear-empowered soldiers that bears his name, Sinestro turns to the one person whose talents he can rely on -  his arch-enemy, Hal Jordan! 

Needless to say Jordan is reluctant to join forces with Sinestro, even when offered a noble cause to fight for and a chance to be a hero again.  Still, Jordan agrees to the bargain and true to his word Sinestro does give Hal a modified Power Ring in exchange for his help.  Of course once the deed is done,  Sinestro notes that he never agreed to give Hal a battery and leaves him stranded on Earth.   Sinestro has come seeking Hal again as this issue opens, claiming to have discovered a prophecy which indicates that The Guardians of the Universe will soon destroy The Green Lantern Corps!





Surprisingly, Sinestro is telling Hal the truth.  Even as they speak, The Guardians are following Sinestro's trail and taking steps to kill any who they suspect may know the truth of their plans.  However, before Hal and Sinestero can take any action, the two are captured by the Compassion-powered Indigo Tribe and taken back to their homeworld - the planet Nok.




Issue #8 is a largely taken up by an extended action sequence, as Hal escapes from the Indigo Tribe's prison.  Critics who claim Geoff Johns is unable to write anything but talking-heads comics would be well-advised to check out this issue as Johns proves himself every bit as capable of high-action, low dialogue stories as the next fellow.



The plot picks back up with Issue 9, as Sinestro - who we briefly saw being tortured in the previous issue - is consumed by the Indigo Ring.  After making yet another hurried escape, Hal seeks out the source of the Indigo Power and meets Natromo - the being responsible for creating the Indigo Tribe.  It is Natromo who confirms much that has been hinted at previously regarding the Indigo Tribe being made up entirely of brainwashed criminals and further explains the history between The Indigo Tribe and Hal's predecessor, the Green Lantern Abin Sur.


 

If it seems like I am giving away too much, rest assured that what little plot information I am giving away is but a drop in the bucket.  And if I spoil or spell-out any details here, it is only to showcase the majesty of the universe that Johns has built.  There are many plot details and twisted turns I have said nothing about, so you can still enter into this book after reading this review without fear of knowing everything that is coming.

All three issues are amazingly illustrated by long-time Green Lantern penciler Doug Mahnke.  His work is as amazing as ever but it is the inking team - which includes Mahnke himself - who deserves the highest praise.  Believe it or not, a team of five separate inkers worked on these three issues but you would never know it from looking at the artwork, so uniform is the inking on each page.

In all fairness, despite the high quality storyline and wonderful artwork, I cannot whole-heartily recommend this series to new readers.   Pick up Green Lantern: Rebirth and start working you way to catch up to us.  But if you're a long-time Green Lantern fan looking for a good place to jump back in, you couldn't pick a better time to start reading.

 

A Requiem for Mister Terrific

It's far too late for me to save what I thought was the most innovative new title to come out of the New 52.  Now all I can do is mourn, admonish you all for not giving this wonderful high-concept book a chance and use what space I have to ensure that this title is remembered, even if only as a lost treasure that helped to set up two new titles that have gone on to greater critical acclaim. 

Mister Terrific could have been a slam-dunk for DC Comics.  Ignoring the following that the original character had from his days in JSA and Checkmate, the book would have been a perfect sell to hard science-fiction fans as well as the fandoms of other weird-science shows with Fringe, Eureka and Doctor Who.  Indeed, the first issue of Mister Terrific made a Doctor Who reference and the very last page of the final issue seems to be something of a nod to the time/space vortex imagery of the Tom Baker days.  But what really made this book the prefect complement to those series was the hero - a super-genius who used intellect and romance to combat evil rather than brute force and cynicism. 

 

I think it's worth noting what an excellent job Eric Wallace did of bringing this series to a close, even as he had to step-up the introduction of the character I think was clearly meant to be Mister Terrific's arch-enemy - a treacherous underling executive whose attempts to steal Michael Holt's technology result in him becoming a technopath.  A shame he couldn't last past his premier appearance for while the idea of a machine-manipulating madman has been done before, Wallace did put a unique spin on the concept.  And Gianluca Gugliotta's art continued to be excellent to the very end.

 

If you're a fan of the new World's Finest book (and why wouldn't you be?), you might want to pick up issues #7 and #8 of Mister Terrific while they are still in the store or pick up the upcoming trade paperback.  Not only do you get to see how Power Girl was starting out on Earth 2 but you get a bit of a preview of what led to the events of the first issue.  Fans of Earth 2 will also want to check these books out, as it appears that Michael Holt will be teleporting himself into that book within a few issues. 






Here's to you, Michael Holt.  See you soon!

Earth 2 #1 - A Review

A week having passed since this issue came out, I think I can now safely discuss it without having to worry about spoilers.  There's no way I can really discuss this issue without giving away some major information.  So if you haven't read this issue yet but consider my opinion a factor in whether or not you should pick it up, I say you should pick it up.  James Robinson has set up something really special here and Nicola Scott's pencils make any book worth buying.

Those who aren't afraid of spoilers, for whatever reason, continue on after the image.


  

Well played, DC Comics.  A masterful fake-out.  Didn't see that coming at all and you deserve full credit for pulling this off in this day when advance previews make it hard to do anything truly surprising in a comic book, let along a first issue!  And releasing all the character designs as James Robinson talked about the reality of this Earth 2 and how this Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman would be different from the main universe?  Technically true but totally misleading at the same time?  I tip my hat to you for playing us so masterfully.

 

For those who haven't read the book yet, let me explain: the first half of this issue depicts Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman sacrificing their lives to drive off an alien invasion.  In the resulting wave of destruction, Supergirl and Robin (Bruce Wayne's daughter Helena) disappear and are presumed dead.  The world is now safe from the menace that threatened it... but also lacks any superheroic protectors  Or does it?  For even now the winds of fate are blowing around three men - a soldier who is short in stature but strong in heart, an idealistic media mogul and a college graduate seeking direction.

This is a brilliant conceit on Robinson's part - to avoid the problems of readers confusing one version of the holy Trinity of the DCU for another by using the most obvious and most forbidden solution.  By killing off Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, he has given himself a truly clean slate to work with.  One has to admire Robinson for his daring if nothing else in attempting to do something truly new with this book, even as he draws upon DC Comic's rich past.

The only downside is that with moments like this - in which we find out that the death of the entire Amazon nation save Wonder Woman has spurred the Old Gods to fight the New Gods in defense of mankind - I wish we'd gotten to see a little bit more of this war!  I know no comic could possibly be half as awesome as the image of the Roman Pantheon fighting Darkseid in my head.  But if anyone could pull that off, it would be Robinson and Scott.

Scott's pencils are as strong as ever and while I wish we'd seen her on a regular monthly title before now, I have to say that this book was worth the wait for us Birds of Prey and Secret Six fans who have missed seeing Scott's work every month.  The character designs for the beloved heroes of this world are great and it's a shame that we'll probably never see them again after this issue.  Then again, this is a comic book and never is a shorter time than you think.  Still, I think I speak for everyone when I say I can't wait to see what the upcoming heroes are going to look like.

Bottom line - get this book.  It's going on my pull-list and it should be on yours too.

Green Arrow #9 - A Review

There's a general rule of thumb I've developed after years of reading comics - any comic whose cover depicts an archer hero using guns will inevitably suck.  It was true years ago when I first read Green Arrow #84 and Green Arrow #85.  And it's just as true this week with Green Arrow #9.






  

The above image should tell you everything you need to know about just how far off the rails this book has run under the pen of Ann Nocenti.  It matters not one whit that once we get into the issue we see that the guns in question are apparently the six-shooter arrows we heard mentioned back in Green Arrow #7.  So the six-shooter arrows are... a gun?  It doesn't matter if the ammunition has pointy arrow-head shaped tips - they are still bullets, not arrows!

 

I hope you'll forgive me for singling out this one point.  I harp on the guns because to discuss the other problems with this issue in-depth would be repetitive in the face of my earlier review.  The King Lear metaphors are hammered even harder into our heads, as one of Leer's creations is called "The Fool".  There's talk about the environmental damage caused by mining randomly squeezed into Ollie's dialogue with some friendly natives that would be preachy even by the standards of Dennis O'Neil.  The nearby mining town, which is having its' wealth stolen by Leer, appears to have been taken from a stock Western, with the one woman we see dressed as a saloon girl!  I'll remind you all that this story is set in modern day Canada and that this all-in-one general store/inn doesn't seem to be a theme restaurant that would encourage its' employees to wear period dress.  And even if it were, it wouldn't explain the rest of the patrons dressing like refugees from a John Wayne movie.

In the end, three things have killed this book for me, the first being Oliver's inconsistent morality.  The man who refuses to use his weapons when facing down mutant wolves for fear of harming another living creature has no qualms with using dynamite to start an avalanche and bury the abominations unto nature Leer has been creating underground.  To say nothing of the damage an avalanche might do to the already perilous local environment! 

The second factor is the artwork, which continues to be among the worst I've seen in any professionally published comic.  Harvey Tolibao's work continues to be under-inked and badly shaded.  Colorist Mike Atiyeh, who worked on the majority of this book, manages to make it look somewhat better than the previous issues colored by Richard & Tanya Horie...but just barely.  The seperation between Leer and the background is much better, but Ollie's costume still looks like a muddy mess of run-together greens.







The final factor which killed this book for me is Noncenti's half-hearted plotting.  For the past three issues, she's seemed so busy trying to make a statement that she forgot to actually say anything.  For all the Shakespeare references, the symbolic intent of Skylark being a metaphor for how women in general are portrayed in comics and the environmental message, there is remarkably little content to this comic.  We don't even get a satisfying conclusion to the subplot of Emerson's attempt to steal Queen Enterprises, being informed on the last two pages in the thought balloons that Ollie has lost everything... even though Emerson's entire scheme is dependent on Ollie being dead for it to work!

 
  Though I suspect you've all had enough of pseudo intellectual Shakespeare quoting at this point, I cannot help but be reminded of a quote from The Bard in pondering how to best summarize this three-issue story arc -  "It is a tale...full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."  And it has driven me off of Green Arrow for the foreseeable future.

52 Catch-Up: Green Lantern Corps #1-6

Green Lantern Corps was probably the slowest-starter out of all of the Green Lantern titles DC Comics released as part of The New 52. But for what my money is worth, it is easily the best of the bunch. Why? Because it has done the best job of establishing its' characters, it has the best artwork and it is the most friendly to new readers.




The first issue focused upon Guy Gardner and John Stewart - two Green Lanterns of Earth and the only two Green Lanterns from that planet who never bothered to maintain a secret identity. Their personalities, well-known to Green Lantern fans at this point, are smoothly established as the pair of them are seen applying for work outside of their usual jobs as space-cops. The issue closes as Guy and John are summoned to Oa and sent to the scene of a mass genocide, along with a hand-picked team of alien Lanterns.




The team quickly tracks down the beings responsible for the deaths but find themselves out-classed. Somehow, the black-armored assassins are able to resist the effects of a Green Lantern's energy blasts and constructs. Thankfully, Guy Gardner is able to get a distress call off in time for back-up to arrive. The bad news is the back-up, which includes a Green Lantern with natural-born teleportation powers, proves unable to retrieve the whole team when they try and make a fast escape. This leads Guy to form a new team to go back and rescue the lost Lanterns, including John Stewart. At the same time, John Stewart learns more about this mysterious enemy, their grudge against The Guardians and just how they became immune to the energies of the Green Lantern.




Tomasi's writing is top-notch as always. He's been writing Green Lantern team books for a while now and he's an old-hand at handling most of these characters. Despite the sizable cast and the focus upon Guy and John, he still finds time to add little character moments for all of the other alien Lanterns, rounding them out as real characters. He manages this with amazing subtly, with the details of the world being slowly exposed in the narrative as we uncover aspects of the Green Lantern mythos that have never been explored before. Such as where do the Green Lantern batteries go when they aren't being used? Or how a group of the most grizzled Green Lantern veterans created their own secret bar underneath the theme restaurant Guy Gardner opened up on Oa.




Another thing I like about this book is that it has something that has long been missing from too many comic books - boxes with notes from the editor. I'm a deep believer in the old Stan Lee dictum that every comic is someone's first comic and it should be written as such, with a recap of the events thus far somewhere in the text. Tomasi even manages to bring in The Martian Manhunter (on loan from Stormwatch) to act as Mister Exposition without it seeming like an info-dump. I also like the sly dig that J'onn gets in here regarding The Guardians who - in some versions of his background and presumably in the New 52 - were indirectly responsible for the death of the Martian people through negligence. Nice little bonus for the long-time MM fans.



Penciller Fernando Pasarin is a veteran at drawing Green Lantern books and it shows. His alien designs are foreign-looking but still capable of complex and unique expressions - a welcome change from the comics where the alien beings seem to have the same look on their face throughout, despite their current emotional state. Guest penciller Geraldo Borges, who filled in on Issue #3, also does a fine job - indeed, I didn't know there was a guest artist until I looked at the credits while writing this review to make sure the art team stayed the same throughout. But inker Scott Hanna deserves special praise for how well he separates the physical and ethereal elements of the artwork, making the ring projections and energy blasts stand-apart from the living beings. And the palette used by artist Gabe Eltaeb looks like liquid light poured onto each page.

This is easily the best Green Lantern book on the market right now and one of the best books DC Comics is publishing at present. If you've ever been curious about the Green Lanterns but never picked up one of the books before, this is the one to grab!

52 Catch-Up: Aquaman #1-6

If you had told me a year ago that my favorite new title out of a company-wide DC Comics revamp would be based around Aquaman, I might not have believed it. Unless you told me it was written by Geoff Johns with art by Ivan Reis. Then I might have conceded that it was possible. For one of the few bright spots (no pun attended) in the mess that was Brightest Day, was Johns' and Reis' work in developing both Aquaman and his wife Mera into more serious characters. They continue to do this in the monthly Aquaman book, ironically, through the careful use of humor.





There is much that is funny in Aquaman but none of it is due to the title character himself. All of the humor comes from the other characters and how they react to Aquaman out of ignorance. A key example of this comes in the second issue, where Arthur and Mera are brought to investigate the disappearance of several locals. While some of the officials on-hand question what help Aquaman could possibly be, Arthur is big enough to ignore their words, focus on the task at hand and show just how useful being able to see through the eyes of every fish in the immediate vicinity can be when performing a rescue at sea.




Johns wastes no time telling us how awesome Aquaman is. He shows us! And, by proxy, Johns shows us how Aquaman's powers are not useless - just intensely focused. By the logic employed by those who rag on Aquaman, The Flash's powers are useless because there's nothing he can do to avert a plane crash. But don't worry, Aquafans! This book is far from being a long, joke-filled diatribe on Why Aquaman Is Not Worthless. There's lots of action, beautifully illustrated by Ivan Reis and inker Joe Prado, as well. Issues #2-4 are full of lots of good scenes like the one below, as Aquaman and Mera pursue a gaggle of Lovecraftian horrors into the depths of the ocean to rescue some nearby townsfolk.




There's also a fair bit of drama, with a minor subplot about Aquaman trying to find a balance between his heritage as the son of a surface-dweller and heir to the throne of Atlantis. Johns does not allow Arthur to get angsty, even as he is thinking back on how many people - above and below the waves - tried to kill him as a young man. Johns also adds further definition to Arthur's life before his father's death - a period of time that was little examined, even by long-time Aquaman author Peter David.




The art team deserves just as much praise for this book as writer Geoff Johns, if not more. Ivan Reis, a long-time Green Lantern penciler, offers one of the most horrifying monster designs in recent memory with the deep-dwelling fish-beings. Colorist Rod Reis uses a balanced palette that - when mixed with the inks of Joe Prado - causes items like Aquaman's trident and scale-mail shirt to shine. This effect strikes the reader particularly hard in the underwater sequences, as Aquaman and Mera descend deeper than even they have ever gone. These scenes further highlight Prado's skill as a inker.




Issue #5 shifts-gears entirely, offering a story in which Aquaman - through circumstances too complicated to get into - winds up lost in the desert after pursuing a group of armed men who attempted to steal a piece of ancient Atlantean technology from the U.S. Navy. The stolen technology turns out to be more than just a plot device - it's a black-box for an Atlantean ship from before the time that Atlantis sank. This, in turn, sets up what will apparently be the major arc of the book in the coming issues.



Reading all this, I think that Aquaman's greatest power may be a sense of self-control so strong that it prevents him from going on a one-man crusade to gut-punch every single person who has ever made a fish-related joke at his expense. Mera, on the other hand, lacks such patience and Issue #6 is a nice slice-of-life issue, detailing Mera's problems trying to shop for groceries without getting sexually harassed by a local shopkeeper.




Mera received a great deal of development during Blackest Night but Johns' uses Issue #6 to build upon even that and establish Mera as a separate entity from her husband. Mera, for instance, was raised as royalty and lacks much of Arthur's tolerance for the confusion of the surface-dwellers. She is much more confrontational and unwilling to back down for the sake of avoiding a scene. Indeed, the only reason she allows herself to be arrested for assaulting the man who dared to lay a hand on her is so that she can get the police to take her to a domestic dispute turned hostage situation so that she can intervene. It is here that we also see just how dangerous a creative aquamancer can be if provoked. Two words - "dehydration sickness".

Read This Book. If you like good artwork, you'll like it. If you like creative superhero stories, you'll like it. If you enjoy a good joke, you'll like it. If you like books with strong women who kick butt, you'll like it. Really, I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like this book except for those people who still insist that Aquaman can't be cool. You know what? I don't care if Aquaman is cool. I like him. I like his book. And I think most of you will too.

52 Catch-Up: Batman #1-6

It is not at all surprising to me that Scott Snyder's The Court of Owls storyline will be taking over several of the other Bat-Family books this May. Snyder reportedly offered up the concept to any other writers willing to play with his toys and, knowing a good thing when they saw it, most of them agreed without any editorial arm-twisting. Why? Because Scott Snyder's scripts are some of the best material The Dark Knight has gotten in years and his Batman title was easily the best of the Batman-focused books to come out of The New 52.

As I noted in my review of the first issue, Snyder did a masterful job of establishing the new status quo and the major characters - a necessary step given how much could have potentially changed in this new universe. Surprisingly, very little seems to be different - Bruce still has three sons (two adopted, one by birth) who have all served as Robin at one point and still work with him. Jim Gordon is a far younger, back to being a redhead as he was when he first came to Gotham before the stress of the job drove him gray before his time. And per the Batman Inc. storyline, Bruce is openly using his fortune to sponsor various initiatives to clean-up & improve Gotham despite the objections of some groups of very rich, very bad people.




One of these groups is The Court of Owls - a secret society that local legend claims has ruled Gotham City from behind the scenes for generations. Much of the evidence points to such a group existing, with items relating to owls being found at the scene of a murder that also delivers a grim message that Bruce Wayne shall be the next victim. There's also the extra added wrinkle that the victim has samples of Dick Grayson's DNA under his fingernails and an old Wayne family legend that Bruce's great-great-grandfather may have had some kind of connection to The Court and that he became obsessed with owls in the years before his death.




Long-time readers may scoff at the very idea that such a group could exist and function under Batman's nose. And to be fair, so does Batman when the suggestion is made that The Court could be responsible for the strange murder. But Snyder eveals more and more details as the mystery unfolds, including a minor retcon that explains away just why Bruce was so quick to dismiss the idea of The Court of Owls being involved and the idea of the group existing in the first place - because he already went looking for the group as a boy, having become convinced they had a hand in his parent's death and he found no evidence that they were still active.




One thing I would like to note that marks Scott Snyder as a master writer apart from this gripping mystery and his smooth explanations of how everything fits together - every issue thus far has satisfied the Stan Lee dictum that every comic should be written as if it was going to be someone's first comic. Snyder crafts the perfect expository internal monologues to fill in potential new readers. This is a small thing but well worth noting in these days of writing for the trade.



Issue #5 is perhaps the best comic I've read all year and it will be a travesty of justice if it does not win at least one major award for comics writing. Without giving too much away, I will say that the issue depicts Batman's slow mental breakdown after eight days trapped in a maze within the Court of Owls' underground hideout. This is depicted not only through the increasingly disturbing artwork of Greg Capullo - who slowly changes all the figures to appear less than human - but through a change in the layout that requires the reader to turn the comic sideways, read right to left and even turn the book upside down!



Greg Capullo, best known before this for his work on Spawn, also deserves as many accolades as can be awarded for his contributions to this opening arc. He has perfectly grasped just when he should be precise in his pencils and when he can allow himself to depict the characters in a more abstract fashion. This book also has some of the best use of black-space and shadow I've seen in any Batman work since the Batman Animated Series.

Again, I will say it - this is the best Batman book I've read in years and you're a fool if you aren't reading it.