Rick and Morty #6 - A Review

Rick and Morty #6 is proof of the truism that some things are best left to the imagination. The whole issue is devoted towards depicting an episode of Ball Fondlers - an extra-dimensional TV show that - from what little we've seen - is a glorious parody of 1980s action shows like The A-Team and Airwolf. That's it. There's no Rick and Morty until the final panel.


Writer Zac Gorman has no way of living up to the impossible concept of the series as depicted on the show. By giving names, dialogue and motivations (however rudimentary) to characters who haven't ever spoken, Gorman has killed the joke of how shallow and mindless Ball Fondlers is meant to be. The amateurish artwork by Andrew MacLean doesn't help matters.


To describe Rick and Morty #6 as a disappointment would be an understatement. To describe it further would require my hiring Christophe The Insultor. And I don't have that kind of budget.

The Flash: Season Zero #24 - A Review

Caitlin and Cisco's investigation in to the death of one of Caitlin's old professors has revealed an even greater mystery than a perpetual motion engine. It seems the particle accelerator explosion has transformed Caitlin's old mentor, turning her into half an energy being that can absorb the essences of others! Thankfully, Caitlin knows just who to call when dealing with a rogue metahuman. But can even The Flash save the day this time?


At first I was disappointed that The Flash showed up for the second half of this story.  After Issue #23, I rather liked the novel idea of a story focused on Caitlin and Cisco as they went off an adventure without Barry. Thankfully, the battle turns out to be a true team effort and Barry's contributions do not overshadow those of his friends.


Sadly, the artwork of Ibrahim Moustafa isn't quite so strong this week. Some of the character expressions look odd and seem incredibly forced. Thankfully, the action sequences are well-blocked and flow smoothly. And Nick Filardi's colors are as fine as ever.

The Flash: Season Zero #23 - A Review

It's another typical day at STAR Labs, with Caitlin and Cisco helping The Flash deal with the city's latest crisis, when Caitlin gets a call about a funeral she has to attend. Caitlin's mentor from college has died and her passing has left Caitlin in little mood for work or Cisco's well-meaning but misguided efforts to cheer her up. Then a mysterious package arrives and the two scientists find themselves drawn into a mystery and a race against time against a murderous colleague to retrieve the mentor's magnum opus - a working perpetual motion engine!



At first I was afraid when this issue opened with The Flash battling giant spiders in a sewer but this B-movie plot is quickly put aside as Sterling Gates delivers his A-game, with a spell-binding story that focuses on The Flash's best friends. Gates perfectly captures the spirit of the characters from the show and it is gratifying to see a story that focuses on Caitlin and her past that doesn't draw upon her romantic life.


The artwork by Ibrahim Moustafa is the best this series has seen. Moustafa perfectly captures the likenesses of the show's cast.  And his inks - coupled with the muted color palette utilized by Nick Filardi - create the perfect ambiance for a story set in a spooky old house with a secret laboratory.

The Flash: Season Zero #22 - A Review

Like the previous issue, The Flash: Season Zero #22 is a flashback devoted to Len Snart and Mick Rory and their criminal careers before they became Captain Cold and Heatwave. It is revealed that the two crooks exemplified their respective elements long before they got their hands on high-powered super-guns. More, we see why the calculating Snart works with a loose cannon like Rory.


The script captures the attitude of the characters from the show perfectly. Nevertheless, some of the action doesn't make a lot of sense. I can swing with Rory's plan to throw off the police by setting the museum they're robbing on fire before they go in. The problem is the plan doesn't work (despite the burglar alarms being disabled) and the police somehow beat the fire department to the museum, purely because we need a reason for Joe West and his partner to be there. This issue is a great character piece but it strains credibility as an action sequence.


Thankfully, the artwork saves the issue.  This is the kind of story Phil Hester draws best and the inks by Eric Gapstur beautifully enhance Hester's pencils.  But what really makes the artwork pop is Nick Filardi's colors, with a palette of strong oranges and cool blues creating a perfect visual representation of our two main characters.

The Flash: Season Zero #21 - A Review

Before they became Captain Cold and Heatwave, Len Snart and Mick Rory were ordinary criminals. But how did two such different men become partners in crime? Now the tale can be told of how a cool and calculating mastermind came to trust a passionate hothead.


Phil Hester's in his element here with a dark, atmospheric story set on the wrong side of the tracks. His pencils are a little sloppy at times but not to the point where it's distracting. The inks and colors - by Eric Gapstur and Nick Filardi respectively - perfectly enhance Hester's pencils.


The script by Andrew Kresigberg and Lauren Certo is decent enough. There's a suitable number of gags regarding the characters personalities, including their differing drink orders - Cold orders an ice-cold beer while Heatwave orders Fireball Whiskey. Still, I can't help but wishing Geoff Johns had written this story as nobody writes The Rogues quite so well.

The Flash: Season Zero #19 - A Review

This issue of The Flash: Season Zero is unlike any we've seen before for a number of reasons. For one thing, this issue was written by creator Phil Hester, who had previously done the pencils for most of the series. Another difference is that this issue seems more like a work of hard science-fiction rather than the science-fantasy tales we usually see in The Flash.  Finally, this issue is less of an action piece centered around Barry Allen and more of a character piece about Caitlin Snow.


The plot reveals that before she went to work for STAR Labs, Caitlin was involved in a Department of Defense project that sent an astronaut wired to various censors into space, where he was abandoned long past his due date to come home.  One dose of dark matter later and the so-called Dark Star slowly achieved sentience, though the man who made up its core remembered little of his past life, save the pretty face that assured him he would wake up from a short nap to see her again.


The tale is a thrilling one and suites Hester's style as an artist well. And the story does a lot to develop Caitlin as a character, beyond being the uptight doctor who is still getting over her dead/absent fiance. The flow is a little confusing at first, as we cut between flash-backs, flash-fowards and the action as it is happening now with only subtle changes in the coloration by Nick Filardi indicating which scenes are which.  Thankfully, this confusion is temporary and the story is even more enjoyable after a second reading.

The Flash: Season Zero #18 - A Review

The good news is that Barry Allen has stopped the so-called King Shark from killing again. The bad news is that, in the process, he allowed a terrorist to escape from The Suicide Squad. The worst news is that they all have just ten minutes to stop a bomb from going off... and Deadshot just pumped Barry full of enough tranquilizer to make sure The Flash doesn't get in the way of The Squad and their target a second time...


The script for this issue is fairly good, with dialogue that sounds like it came right from the show. Cupid is appropriate flirty, Captain Boomerang makes a number of puns involving his favorite weapon. All well and good.

The actual story, however, suffers from a few logic gaps. The big one here is that Deadshot - a character not known for his compassion  - just happens to be carrying enough tranquilizer to take down a speedster in one shot. And then there's Amanda Waller's apparent stupidity in utilizing a blood-crazed monster as an agent on a mission requiring them to capture and question a suspect.


I've said before that I didn't think Phil Hester was the right artist for this series, but his talents prove well-utilized here. With the focus of this issue largely on The Suicide Squad, Hester's gritty style and talent for drawing monsters seems a good fit. And Eric Gapstur's inks perfectly enhance Hester's pencils.

The Flash: Season Zero #17 - A Review

Trapped in the bowels of ARGUS, Barry Allen has only minutes to save the unfortunate King Shark from killing again at the behest of Amanda Waller.  Naturally The Wall doesn't care about the toll the shark-man's endless hunger is taking on his mind - only that he's an asset that Task Force X can use. A little help from his friends may get Barry loose but can even he reach Coast City in time once he's free?


This latest issue is thrilling right up until the very last page where a whopping big plot hole reveals itself as we find out King Shark's target was a terrorist who needed to be questioned about an active bomb. Of course Amanda Waller wouldn't lose sleep over a dead terrorist. But the idea that The Wall would send an untested resource - to wit, a man-eating shark-man - out to capture a target who needed to be taken alive and hope that it could be kept under control long enough for an interrogation to occur is just plain idiotic!


Phil Hester is back in the artist's chair this time around and I can't say I've missed him too much. Some of the pages in this issue look rushed and sloppy. And I really do believe Eric Gapstur's style better fits the brighter aesthetic of The Flash universe.

The Flash: Season Zero #16 - A Review

Barry Allen is still determined to rescue the so-called King Shark from the clutches of The Suicide Squad. But even with Cisco and Caitlin backing him up and blueprints of ARGUS' headquarters and security systems, can The Flash accomplish this impossible mission? Not if Amanda Waller has anything to say about it. And armed with some newly built drones designed specifically for bringing down The Fastest Man Alive, she may indeed have the last word.


This issue marks the first time Eric Gapstur has handled the art duties on this series himself and it proves a welcome change. I love Phil Hester's artwork but his blocky style seemed a little stiff for The Flash. Gapstur's style is more fluid and there's a greater sense of motion to the book as a result.


The script itself is as enjoyable as we've come to expect from this creative team. Cisco makes A-Team references nobody else gets but proves to be far more than simple comic relief as he takes charge in the field and comes up with the plans that keep Barry in once piece. And while I side with those who dislike the newer, slimmer Amanda Waller design, I cannot deny that John Ostrander's Wall is very much here in spirit, no matter her appearance.

Batman: Annual #3 - A Review

Five years ago, Tommy Blackcrow was a newcomer to Gotham. A hard-nosed reporter of the old-school, Tommy didn't believe the mystique that Gotham's supervillains generated - particularly The Clown Prince of Prime. Tommy's courage took him places few would dare to go... including The Joker's lair! And it was there that Tommy did something brave but foolish. Tommy laughed at The Joker as he played nice with his minions and boldly declared that The Joker didn't have any real friends.

Little did Tommy realize that bold statement would change his life and that the next five years would seen him changing his name and running around the country. Because it turns out The Joker appreciates honesty - particularly honesty expressed as an insult - and decides that only a true friend could be so honest. And Tommy Blackcrow is about to discover that the only thing worse than having The Joker as an enemy is having him as a friend.


It's been said that some of the best Batman comics don't feature Batman as a character. That's certainly the case with Batman Annual #3 where Batman's presence is limited and the focus is firmly upon Joker's new best buddy. The script by James Tynion IV is a strong one, with a lot of honest humor as The Joker goes through great lengths to try and bond with the increasingly unbalanced Tommy.


The artwork isn't quite as strong as the script, unfortunately. Roge Antonio does a decent enough job in general. His design for The Joker is truly terrifying but nothing else in this issue really stands out or demands attention. The coloring by Nick Filardi is a bit off at points, with Harley Quinn's hair-coloration continually changing in regards to which side is red and which side is black.