Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #20 - A Review

In the wake of Gus Yale's death, the secrets of The Birds of Prey have been lain bare and the team is all but broken. Black Canary hid the fact that her powers were still overclocked from a previous encounter.  Batgirl hid that she was using intelligence stolen from The Calculator to influence their activities. And Huntress... well, she's been visiting her crime-boss mother in prison and has been called to act as a character witness at her parole hearing. Despite the tension between them, the three heroines must come together again and soon, as the robotic assassin Burnrate begins to arrange a different sort of union...



Unfortunately, this series is coming to a close and I'll be sad to see it go. The Benson Sisters' stories have been nothing short of phenomenal and I've greatly enjoyed how they revitalized the classic Birds of Prey line-up for the reality of Rebirth. I just wish they'd had an art team worthy of their work. While not as bad as they've been in earlier issues, Roge Antonio's pencils are still incredibly uneven (particularly during the action scenes) and while Marcelo Maiolo's lighting effects are decently applied this month, this is still a very rough-looking comic.

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10.

Batgirl and the Birds of Prey #17 - A Review

A mysterious plague threatens the lives of every man in Gotham City. The Birds of Prey have gathered the rest of the city's heroines - and even The Sirens - to help them keep the peace and find a cure. Can they thwart the plans of Patient Zero - the super-genius behind the viral attack - and her followers in The Daughters of Gotham?


The story comes to a satisfying conclusion under the pens of The Benson Sisters. Despite the large cast of characters, nearly everyone gets a moment to shine. All of the characters sound like themselves, even special guests Wonder Woman and Lois Lane.

Unfortunately, the artwork continues to be an ordeal to work through. There's no consistency to Roge Antonio's work, with differing levels of detail being provided to different characters in the same panel. Patient Zero, for instance, is rendered in a more realistic style than the cartoonish, streamlined superheroines she's taken hostage. A larger problem is the colors of Marcelo Maiolo, which leave everything looking washed out or orange-tinted to the point that all the white heroines are the same shade as Harley Quinn!

 The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #16 - A Review

The Birds of Prey have picked up some unexpected back-up in dealing with the plague that is slowly killing the men of Gotham City. Not only have Batwoman, Orphan and The Spoiler offered their aid but Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Catwoman have joined them along with Wonder Woman! Even with such formidable assistance, the battle ahead of them will not be easy - particularly once they learn of the new organization that stands against them!


(Click On The Image Above To See The Full Two-Page Spread!)
My comments and complaints about Batgirl And The Birds Of Prey #15 remain the same in considering this issue. The script by The Benson Sisters is fantastic and does a wonderful job of capturing the personalities of all the heroes and villains involved. The artwork by Roge Antonio is lazy and ill-defined, with a coloring job by Marcelo Maiolo that leaves all the characters save Huntess with the same washed-out white skin-tone as Harley Quinn. Read it for the story. Suffer through the artwork.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Again, that's purely for the story.

Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #15 - A Review

The mother of all flu bugs seems to have hit Gotham City and it only seems to be infecting men. With Commissioner Gordon in his death-bed, half of Helena Bertinelli's class out-sick and Oliver Queen having just come into town, all the men closest to the Birds of Prey are endangered. Can they get to the bottom of things or will ace reporter Lois Lane beat them to the punch? And what other unlikely allies might join them in their fight?


Batgirl And The Birds of Prey #15 is a prime example of how terrible artwork can sink a great story. Not only does Roge Antonio seem to have rushed his pencil work and barely inked the artwork but there are numerous examples of figures being retraced throughout the book. Throw in some weird facial expressions and a coloring job by Marcelo Maiolo that leaves Lois Lane and Barbara Gordon as pale as Harley Quinn and there's not a single page of this book that looks good!


This is doubly unfortunate because The Benson Sisters have outdone themselves on the script for this issue. Bringing Lois Lane into the action adds a whole new level to things and the guest stars are perfectly handled. The final page offers up an honest surprise that I dare not spoil but it is well worth fighting through the rest of the issue to get to it.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Great story. Terrible artwork. 

Detective Comics #956 - A Review

The battle for Gotham ends here. Orphan has freed her family from the clutches of The League of Shadows but can they save Gotham City from certain destruction? Even if they can, will Cassandra survive a battle with her birth mother, Lady Shiva?


Two weeks later and Marcio Takara's pencils are back to being sloppy and his finished artwork over-inked. The red-orange dominated palette utilized by Marcelo Maiolo doesn't do this issue any favors either. It's a shame because James Tynion's writing is as fine as ever but even his scripts aren't worth suffering this kind of hack-work.

Final Analysis: 4 out of 10. And that's purely for the writing.

Detective Comics #955 - A Review

With Batman and most of his allies captured and held captive in the caverns under Gotham City, only Cassandra Cain remains to save the city from the League of Shadows. Can she overcome her conflicted feelings regarding her birth-mother, Lady Shiva, and be the hero her friends need? Or is she doomed to remain an Orphan at heart?


I don't know why but the artwork for this issue seems to suit the story better than it did two weeks ago, despite the creative team not having changed. I think this is due to most of the action taking place in a dark cavern where the heavy inks and extremes in color suit the emotional turmoil of Cassandra Cain at the time. James Tynion's scripts remain excellent however, and this issue is a fantastic character study of Orphan. As I've said before, I've never been a fan of the Cassandra Cain Batgirl... but I think after this story I might be transformed into one.

Final Analysis: 7 out of 10. The artwork still looks overly dark in the scenes that aren't set n a cave but things look less sloppy than in the last issue.

Detective Comics #954 - A Review

With The League of Shadows laying waste to Gotham City and all of his operatives abducted, Batman is in little mood to indulge Ra's Al Ghul's desire to talk. Can the two old enemies find common cause against Lady Shiva and her splinter group? Or will "The Detective" have one more enemy to face this night?
Detective Comics #954 is a decidedly average comic. James Tynion IV's writing is in fine form, presenting that rarest of all sighs - an emotionally out-of-control Batman who is off-balance and fighting blind. His take on Ra's Al Ghul is solid too. Unfortunately, the artwork by Marcio Takara is uncharacteristically sloppy and over-inked. It's difficult to follow the action of the issue and the muted palette utilized by Marcelo Maiolo leaves everything looking dull and washed out. Hopefully the art game will be stepped up in two weeks.

Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 - A Review

In the wake of the Justice League's battle with The Suicide Squad, Batman has come to realize the power of redemption and the need for heroes to act as a source of inspiration rather than mere peacekeepers. To that end, he has begun assembling a team, starting with a reformed Killer Frost. Their mission? To show that anyone can be a hero.

I missed this book the week it came out and I really did miss out! This first issue does little beyond introducing our cast and setting up some of the conflicts between the various volatile personalities. Standard fare for a superhero team book, of course, but Steve Orlando's command of the personalities in play makes this engaging reading despite the standard set-up.

The artwork proves equally amazing. This is no surprise given the creative team involved. I've been a big fan of Ivan Reis since his work on Green Lantern. His work with Oclair Albert and Joe Prado on the New 52 Justice League book was fantastic and it is good to see Marcelo Maiolo - whose colors were one of the few bright spots (no pun intended) of the New 52 Green Arrow series - at work again.

This book hooked me with the first issue. Hopefully it will prove as engaging once the plot kicks in.

Convergence #0 - A Review

Somewhere outside of space and time, one version of the A.I. Brainiac has grown so advanced as to become god-like! It is no longer enough for it to catalog whole worlds before destroying them, while saving one city for analysis. Now Brainiac has begun destroying whole timelines, preserving one city from each.  But the time for study is over and soon these divergent cities shall be pitted against one another in battle for the right to exist!


As far as set-ups for a Crisis event go, Convergence is hardly original. When you get right down to it, most of this issue is just an excuse for yet another Superman vs. Braniac(s) fight. That being said, it's a pretty good fight as far as these things go and the novelty of a completely confused and outclassed Superman is enough of a change of pace to hold the reader's interest.


The artwork proves more imaginative than the script.  Ethan Van Sciver performs at his usual level of high quality. And colorist Marcelo Maiolo makes everything look bright and powerful.

Convergence #0 isn't a bad comic but neither is it as epic as a reality-spanning cosmic tale should be. Lackluster, I think, is the word to describe it. All in all, I think I'll skip the main Convergence book and just pick-up those books featuring my favorite characters or writers I'm a fan of.

Green Arrow: Future's End #1 - A Review

As I commented in my review of the first two issues of Future's End, I would dearly have loved to have seen a comic detailing the events they described there.  I want to see that tale of a Green Arrow who preached unity over division - a hero who stood up for what was right at a time when others were lining their pockets or arguing over their own personal positions of power.  I want to see comics where the heroes act like heroes and work together instead of fighting one another, for cripes sake!


Green Arrow: Future's End #1 is not that comic.  It is, however, damn close.  This vision of the New 52 Green Arrow five years from now is everything I've always felt Oliver Queen should be as a character and Jeff Lemire captures that outlaw aesthetic perfectly.  The only problem is that as good as this story involving Ollie's efforts to unite The Outsiders in the wake of his impending death is, I really want to see the stories that lead up to this point.


Still, I cannot judge a comic for what I want it to be and not what it is.  Thankfully, the script for this book is good and Lemire does a fine job of explaining things for those readers who haven't been reading Future's End..  And the artwork by Andrea Sorrentino  and Marcelo Maiolo is as good as ever.  I don't know if I'll jump back into Future's End to see how the rest of this tale plays out but this issue was a welcome glance back to my favorite hero as I remember him.

Green Arrow #34 - A Review

Green Arrow #34 is Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's final issue working together on this title.  This lends this issue a certain bittersweet aura, for what these two creators have managed to do in so short a time is truly miraculous.  Before Lemire and Sorrentino came along, Green Arrow was on the fast-track to cancellation after having had three different creative teams try - and fail - to make the book interesting.


Lemire's script here - as in more recent issues - will doubtlessly remind readers of the current Arrow TV series and not just for the presence of John Diggle, revealed in issues past to have been Ollie's hereunto unmentioned partner in the fight to protect Seattle.  Heck, this issue even borrows a few catch-phrases from the show (i.e. "failed this city").  But that is where the similarities end.  Lemire may have added in some elements from the show but only as window-dressing for his own unique ideas.


It has been a challenge for me to describe Andrea Sorrentino's work on this title every month.  "Good" doesn't begin to do it justice, but neither would a thousand words describing Sorrentino's attention to detail or the way colorist Marcelo Maiolo uses differing palettes to emphasize the panels within panels that Sorrentino utilizes to enhance the action of the issue.  Suffice it to say, I shall miss their work as much as I will miss Lemire's scripts.

Green Arrow #33 - A Review

Green Arrow #33 continues last-issue's fire-fight between our hero and three super-villains who are out for the price on his head.  Luckily, Ollie gets some unexpected help from multiple sources - including his young half sister, who is now determined to be his apprentice despite all protests that he does not need a sidekick.  These moments are intermixed with flashbacks in which we see how Oliver Queen fell into alcoholism and apathy, leaving John Diggle to protect the city of Seattle when it most needed a hero several years earlier.


Jeff Lemire and Andreas Sorrentino are one of the finest creative teams to be seen on any comic series in recent memory.  Lemire understands Oliver Queen like few writers do and he manages to sneak in a few classic references for the old-timer Arrow-heads while still telling an involving story.  Sorrentino's artwork is indescribably good, further enhanced by the work of colorist Marcelo Maiolo, whose use of tints subtly label multiple time-periods in different flashbacks.


Reading Green Arrow #33 was a bittersweet experience.  This is a good issue of what has been a good series, but I can't help but feel somewhat sad about it.  Why?  Because right before I read this issue, it was announced that Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino - the men who saved this book from cancellation - would be leaving Green Arrow after September.  Their replacements will have a tough act to follow.

Green Arrow #32 - A Review

Green Arrow #32 opens with Oliver Queen returning home and finding out about the rioting that is destroying his hometown.  He doesn't get a chance to breathe, much less react, as a gang of super-villains - both old enemies with a grudge and newcomers looking to make a name for themselves - show up looking to collect a price that has been put on his head.  Meanwhile, Ollie's former partner-in-crime-fighting John Diggle learns the history of the mysterious Richard Dragon, whose actions have kicked off the gang-war.


Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino have turned this book around and transformed it into one of DC Comics best titles.  The action sequences as depicted by Sorrentino are well portrayed and Lemire's gives each character a unique voice.  Colorist Marcelo Maiolo should also be singled out for praise.  The final product of their work combined is astonishing!


If you've been looking for a way to get into Green Arrow, this issue is the perfect place to start.  Those who only know Oliver Queen through the TV series Arrow will quickly find themselves caught up on the status quo of this series and learn how different the stories are while still being similar enough in tone and content to be familiar.  And fans of good street-level action-based comics will enjoy this book whether they are fans of Arrow or not.

Green Arrow #31 - A Review

Lemire's Outsider's War has been an interesting ride but, now that we are at the end, my own feelings mirror those of Ollie Queen, who notes that he is sick to death of The Outsiders and wants nothing more to do with them.  This is not to say that this has not been an enjoyable story.  It has.  But mystic brotherhoods and elitist nobility have no place in Oliver Queen's life as a hero.  And the choice that Ollie makes near the issue's end - while likely causing trouble further down the line - will ensure that The Outsiders stay out of his life for now.


I may stand alone in this, but my favorite moment of Green Arrow #31 was the ending.  It is here that we get our first glimpse of the story to come in the next few issues.  It's also here that Jeff Lemire provides something that Green Arrow - as a character and as a title - has needed for a long time.  A unified gallery of rogues.  True, all of them are based on characters whom Green Arrow has fought at one time or another but given what Jeff Lemire was able to do with just the name of The Outsiders, I can't wait to see what he does with characters that have a somewhat firmer footing in the Green Arrow mythology.


As per usual, Andreas Sorrentino's artwork is amazing.  With clearly defined character designs that never leave the reader wondering who certain characters are and an amazing grasp of inking that finds the perfect balance between shading and highlighting, Sorrentino is one of the most underrated artists out there.  Colorist Marcelo Maiolo also makes this book a beauty, as enjoyable to look at as it is to read.

Justice League United #0 - A Review

I'd abandoned all the Justice League titles several months ago when it became clear during Trinity War that I would be expected to read them all if I were to make heads or tails of just one.  Throw in the fact that the entire line became part of the much-lamented Forever Evil mini-series and I felt little need to keep going.  Given the mess that story-line has made of the New 52 universe, it would take a lot to get me to wade back into that swamp again. "A lot", in this case, equaling one of my favorite writers working with some of my favorite characters to create Justice League United.


After an opening flash-forward showcasing the titular team in action, we cut to three days earlier.  The story truly begins with anthropologist Adam Strange approaching Stargirl and Animal Man (during a personal appearance at a comic convention) with evidence that aliens are abducting people - including his research assistant Alanna.  The two are eager to help but prove out-classed and out-gunned when armed aliens show up with homicide on their mind.  Thankfully, Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter respond to Stargirl's request for back-up.  Two interludes round out the issue - one giving us our first glimpse of new heroine Equinox and another revealing the fate of the alien's captives and how Hawkman is among them.

Jeff Lemire's grasp of the characters and gift for drama dresses up an otherwise drab premise for a superhero team's formation.  We've seen this scenario before - a big crisis forces a group of otherwise unrelated heroes together, uniting them when they realize how badly said alliance is needed - but Lemire makes it seem new by playing the characters off one another masterfully.  Green Arrow and Animal Man keep the proceedings from getting too dark and this new take on Adam Strange is a gripping one.  What little we see of Equinox seems promising as well.    



The artwork is more problematic.  Mike McKone is not a bad artist but he does a poor job of hiding his shortcuts.  There are a few obviously recycled panels and the thick inking on some of the character outlines leaves them looking like they should be in a coloring book rather than a comic book.  Even the usually stellar colorist Marcelo Maiolo seems to be off his game, with the Caucasian members of the cast being as white as the snow they are walking through.  Despite this, Justice League United looks to be an enjoyable series worth picking up.

Green Arrow #30 - A Review

Writing reviews of Green Arrow is becoming increasingly difficult for me.  I am running out of unique ways to say "This is a great book and you should be reading it!" every month.  There is so much to praise and yet I feel as if I am repeating myself, when I point out little touches like how Jeff Lemire recaps the story so far at the start of each issue, on the off-chance there might be some new reader jumping into the series with this particular story.


This is a nice touch yet an odd one for what is the penultimate chapter of the current storyline.  There's a lot of things going on in this issue and most of them are dependent on some knowledge about things that aren't covered in the summary, like how Green Arrow's fellow JLA member Katana is also a part of one of the new clans of Outsiders (The Sword Clan, obviously) and who the cavalry who show up to aid Ollie in his battle are.  Lemire's secondary subplot - involving the on-going gang war in Seattle while Ollie is occupied - feels like an unwelcome distraction from the action of the issue.


The action is heavy in this issue and Andrea Sorrentino captures it all perfectly.  For what my money is worth, Sorrentino is a highly underrated artist and his kinetic style is a good fit for Lemire's scripts.  Colorist Marcelo Maiolo further enhances the artwork with muted palettes contrasted by single panels rendered in monochrome, save for a single dominant color.

Green Arrow #29 - A Review

The Outsiders War continues as Green Arrow seeks Kodomo and Oliver Queen's long-lost half-sister.  Little does he know that Kodomo has claimed leadership of the warrior clans known as The Outsiders and that they are now hunting him.  At the same time, John Diggle and the rest of Ollie's support staff seek to stop the gangwar that is tearing Seattle apart by making an unlikely alliance with the crime-boss William Tockman.


Jeff Lemire's script is full of action and there are many impressive sequences with Oliver making good use of the trick arrows that have played a surprisingly small role in the series so far.  The only real weakness with the script is that the sequences with Diggle and company seem like an afterthought, added in to give the supporting cast something to do.  We also keep hearing about the devastation Richard Dragon has caused in Seattle while seeing little evidence of it.


Andrea Sorrentino's artwork is truly cinematic.  Many of the panels look like stills from a movie rather than part of a comic-book page.  Colorist Marcelo Maiolo should be highly praised for his own contributions to this book, which take Sorrentino's already stellar pencils to another level with the addition of amazing lighting effects and palette-switched between panels that serve to highlight certain scenes, such as when the trick arrows go off.

Green Lantern Corps #22 - A Review

Two issues in to Van Jensen's run on Green Lantern Corps and I'm still satisfied that my favorite book in the Green Lantern family of titles is in good hands.  My main concern remains the same as it was last month - that a tight connection to the other Green Lantern books would limit Jensen's ability to focus on his own characters and storylines as more and more pages are given over to crossovers.  This seems a legitimate concern given that the plot thread involving the rings of the various Lantern Corps failing (first seen in Green Lantern) continues throughout this issue and the final page of the issue seems to hint at events in New Guardians.


Thankfully, these moments are few and far between and the best parts of the book involve John Stewart taking a group of newbie Lanterns under his wing.  He we see a side of John Stewart that hasn't been seen in a while - John the Leader and John The Teacher..  Given that my first exposure to the character came back in the days with John was leading The Darkstars and acting as a mentor to Kyle Rayner, it was like old times to see John put in this role again.  I'm also gratified that Van Jensen has given Fatality her own storyline to pursue, giving us the first chance in a long while to see her as a warrior and not a love-sick young woman.


Bernard Chang's artwork is as wonderful as ever.  I've sorely missed Chang's work on Demon Knights of late and his detailed smiled proved a perfect match for the aesthetic that a Green Lantern book demands.  The only complaint I have about the art lies with colorist Marcelo Maiolo, who has given Fatality a far lighter skin tone than she should have.

Green Arrow #18 - A Review

Green Arrow #18 continues to move The Kill Machine storyline along at a brisk pace while expanding upon an excellent first issue.  The script by Jeff Lemire balances a thrilling action-movie plot with several well-paced expository scenes, as Ollie Queen seeks allies and answers in the wake of his being framed for murder.  We're introduced to a new ally for Ollie in the form of  Fyff - a brilliant but troubled tech-genius Ollie once fired due to his social awkwardness. Lemire gives Fyff more personality in half an issue than either of Ollie's previous support team - Jax and Naomi - ever got in the previous 17 issues of this title.



Good as this is, for my money the best part of the book is the scene where Lemire develops new villain Kodomo.  Parallels between Malcolm Merlyn from the Arrow TV show are inevitable, given that both villains are archers who favor dark costumes with concealing masks and both are corporate raiders when they aren't out killing people according to their mysterious agenda.  Where the characters differ - and what makes Kodomo instantly interesting in the brief glimpse we see of his typical day at work - is that Kodomo does not hide his double life from his young daughter.  Indeed, he makes a special effort to see that she is as much a part of his life as his business and his assassinations and he seems to be training her to join both sides of the family business.


Andrea Sorrentino was a bold choice of artist for this book but so far he's proven to be a fitting one.  There is not one panel in this book that is not precisely sketched and then perfectly inked.  Colorist Marcelo Maiolo also deserves high praise for making this comic look as good as it does. 

If this book has a flaw, it's that some of the drama does ring a bit false.  The cliffhanger on the final page falls flat since we know from the opening scene of this book that Ollie has survived the action so far long enough to escape from Seattle.  Still, that does not diminish the excitement of the ride as we proceed to that point and this is still the best Green Arrow has been in a long while.