Detective Comics #967 - A Review

Tim Drake has freed himself from the inter-spatial prison of Mr. Oz. The bad news is that Tim's counterpart from a dark future where he becomes Batman has also escaped into the modern era and he's determined to avert his future by killing the woman responsible for making him become Batman... Kate Kane!

Now, all of the Knights - Tim's name for Batman's team that he's amazed nobody else thought of using before - must stand against a Batman armed with all of Tim Drake's intelligence, technology from twenty years in the future and no qualms about killing.


There's little I can say about this issue I did not already say about the previous chapters of A Lonely Place Of Living. Suffice it to say that James Tynion IV has outdone himself on the script for this story and any fans of the Titans Tomorrow arc from Geoff Johns' Teen Titans will want to check this out. The artwork equals the story in intensity and the only reason not to read this comic if you're any kind of Batman fan is if you're waiting for the trade to get it all in one glorious big gulp.

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. 

Detective Comics #962 - A Review

With the Artificial Intelligence created by The Order of St. Dumas poised to take over every computer network in Gotham City, the only hope may lie within the brainwashed mind of Jean Paul Valley - the man who would have been Azrael. Will a change in program save the day? Or will Zatanna's magic have to work a solo act?


The final chapter of Intelligence continues the larger problem that the storyline as a whole possessed. While I appreciate the effort to restore Azrael's place in The Bat Family in the wake of Rebirth, it has proven difficult for the reader to develop any sense of attachment to Jean Paul as most of the story has focused on other characters telling us about Jean Paul rather than letting us learn about him through his actions. Another problem is the much more riveting subplot focused on Zatanna and Batman, which only distracts away from the main story.

The artwork, at least, remains phenomenal.  Messrs. Martinez, Fernandez and Anderson are one of the greatest artistic teams working in comics today and every page of this book looks fantastic throughout. Would that they had a stronger story to illustrate this time around!

The Final Analysis: 6 out of 10. Great artwork, but despite being nominally focused on Azrael, the story makes him seem like a supporting player and Zatanna's presence only distracts further from his story.

Detective Comics #960 - A Review

As Batman continues to win-over Zatanna, the rest of the team in The Belfry explore the mystery of Jean Paul Valley's Azrael armor and the intricate artificial intelligence hidden inside the seemingly ancient suit. Unfortunately, another sort of intelligence seems to have taken over Jean Paul himself...


Many great artists have tried to capture the mood and spirit of Gotham City over the years. For the life of me, I can't recall any of them doing so fine a job of it as Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez and Brad Anderson. The ennui and depression inherent to the setting of Batman has rarely seemed so strong as it does here, with most everything rendered in muted blues and greys with shadows that seem far deeper for not being ebon masses.

James Tynion IV is an equally amazing writer but his work on Detective Comics has suffered somewhat as he has taken on more and more subplots. The interplay between Batman and Zatanna and the revelations regarding "Zee" are far more gripping and exciting than the rest of the team and the business with Azrael. This is particularly vexing as Jean Paul himself seems removed from the action of the issue and is a supporting player in what is meant to be his story!

The Final Analysis: 8 out of 10.

Detective Comics #959 - A Review

The Order of St. Dumas - the mysterious cult responsible for creating Azrael - have returned to Gotham and their ultimate weapon has been unleashed. As Jean Paul Valley prepares for the fight of his life, the rest of the team learn of his odd origins. Meanwhile, Batman seeks out his old friend Zatanna to seek her aid on another case that requires her magic touch.


Detective Comics is my favorite Batman book and that's almost entirely due to James Tynion IV. His grasp of these characters is phenomenal. While a flashback to a young Bruce Wayne and Zatanna Zatara discussing magic might seem indulgent under a lesser author, here it is a joy to read even if it ultimately has little to do with the main plot. Such is the magic of Tynion's pen and his gift for gripping dialogue.

The artwork is as excellent as the story. I'm hard pressed to think of any artistic team who has captured the savage beauty of Gotham City as well as Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez and Brad Anderson have here. I regret that Martinez' gorgeous two-page layouts cannot be properly conveyed due to the size of my scanner but they are simply gorgeous and guide the reader's eye perfectly.

If this issue has a flaw it's that for all the focus on Azrael and revising his background for the reality of DC Rebirth there's surprisingly little of Jean Paul Valley in it outside of the fight scenes. It does make more sense for Batwing to be explaining the Azrael costume's AI given how taciturn Jean Paul is but it still seems a bit odd.

The Final Analysis: 8 Out of 10. A solid issue that suffers only in its inaccessibility to new readers.

Detective Comics #958 - A Review

Jean Paul Valley thought himself free of the Sacred Order of St. Dumas that trained him to be their perfect assassin but a visit from one of his former handlers confirms his worst fears about The Order's ultimate goals. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne plays a dangerous game trying to infiltrate the casino in The Penguin's new Iceberg Lounge.



While I've always had mixed feelings about Azrael as a character, I must say that James Tynion's handling of him here is masterful. It's still unclear exactly how much of Jean Paul Valley's background from the original Knightfall story arc in the 1990s  has been transplanted into the DC Rebirth reality but the script for this issue does a fine job of explaining the technical aspects of Azrael's history and abilities. And you have to love any story in the modern day that gives a cameo to Funky Flashman of all people at the high-rollers table in The Iceberg Lounge.

The artwork for this issue is equally above par. I'm hard pressed to pick a favorite creative team for this book but Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez and Brad Anderson are one of the best in the business. The pencils, inks and colors for this comic are perfection incarnate. And I want a poster of the final splash page!

The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10. If you haven't been reading Detective Comics, now is the time to start! Easily the best of the Batman books right now. 

Detective Comics #950 - A Review

Detective Comics #950 is an over-sized anthology special. More than that, it's a showcase of everything this series has to offer in the Rebirth era, giving both the regular art teams and guest artists Marcio Takara and Dean White a chance to display their talents bringing James Tynion IV's masterful writing to life.


The first chapter - a prologue to the upcoming League of Shadows storyline - is told from the perspective of Cassandra Cain a.k.a. Orphan. I've never been a big fan of the character but damned if this story didn't make me see Cassie in a whole new light. Her frustration with being unable to communicate her thoughts verbally will be sympathetic to anyone who has ever had trouble expressing themselves. The artwork is easily the best thing I've ever seen drawn by Marcio Takara and Dean White's colors are perfectly applied.



The second story, Higher Power, is a short one which focuses on two members of the Bat Family in need of further development - Batwing and Azrael. Tynion's script goes beyond its simple faith vs. science set-up, focusing upon the odd friendship and differing attitudes between the two tech-based heroes.  The artwork by Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez and Brad Anderson is consistent with their usual output - entirely excellent.


The final chapter, The Big Picture, details a flashback conversation between Batman and Tim Drake. Despite nominally serving no purpose other than setting up the Dark Days crossover event due to run through all the Batman books in 2017, its an solid character piece for both characters. The artwork by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas is damn good too.

Detective Comics #943 - A Review

In the wake of Tim Drake's apparent death, the rest of his team try to carry on. Nobody has been harder hit than Stephanie Brown but everyone is feeling Red Robin's absence. Still, the recent attacks on the city by honest-to-goodness giant monsters neccesitate Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane appearing at a police gala to fundraise the rebuilding of Gotham. The rest of the team attends as well, with no one aware of the new gang that is about to enter their lives.

James Tynion IV devotes most of this issue to simple dialogues between our core cast, plus other Gothamites such as Rene Montoya, Harper Row, Jean Paul Valley and Luke Fox.  There's not much in the way of action but his command of these characters is such that they could discuss their library books and it would still be fascinating. The scenes between Oprhan and Clayface - perhaps the two least touched-upon members of the team thus far - are particularly enjoyable.


The artwork showcases a worthy team effort. Alvaro Martinez has a great gift for faces, drawing unique characteristics for every character. Raul Fernandez enhances the pencils perfectly, avoiding the over-shading that often plagues Batman books. Colorist Brad Anderson's contribution is perhaps the most subtle, with palette switches occurring mid-page in the fight sequences to emphasize the action of a particularly powerful blow.

Detective Comics #938 - A Review

Trapped inside the headquarters of the secret military black-ops group called The Colony, Batman needs a miracle. Or, at the very least, he needs back-up. Luckily Batwoman ignored his orders about not taking the team he placed in her command into the field yet...


This issue is largely one running fight sequence. And it's a damn fine sequence as these things go. Where James Tynion IV excels, however, is in the brief character moments in the midst of the fighting that further define the cast of this book. Everyone is given a chance to shine in the battle. We also get a touching flashback sequence explaining the motives of Jacob Kane, turning him into - if not a sympathetic antagonist - than at least a relatable one.


These flashbacks are also noteworthy in how well they display the skill of the art team. Not many artists are capable of varying their styles enough to create something that looks like it was created by a different artist. Yet the flashback sequences are rendered with softer inks and colors that leave it looking like it came from another art team entirely! Such is the skill of Raul Fernandez, Alvaro Martinez and Brad Anderson on this book.

Detective Comics #937 - A Review

The Colony, the militaristic group that has been hunting the vigilantes of Gotham, now stands revealed as the work of Colonel Jacob Kane - Batwoman's father and Batman's uncle! He dreams of an army of Batmen fighting against America's enemies. There's just a few small problems - namely that Batman and the team Batwoman commands are still at large!


James Tynion's script for this issue is a solid piece of work from start to finish. Col. Kane is an interesting antagonist, not only for his connections to the Bat-family but because his actions could be said to be more positive and selfless than Bruce's activities as Batman. There's also a fair bit of humor here, with Bruce having to deal with a know-it-all intelligence expert who shows surprisingly little intelligence in how far he goes in pushing Bruce's buttons.


The artwork remains as strong as the writing this month. Alvaro Martinez and Raul Fernandez have created one of the best-looking books on the stands. And the tricks colorist Brad Anderson works with the colors to simulate the glow of computer screens and camera flashes are something to behold.

Detective Comics #936 - A Review

The army hunting down vigilantes in Gotham - now identified as The Colony - have brought down The Dark Knight Detective! Batman instructed Batwoman not to take the new team he placed in her hands into the field until she was absolutely certain they were ready to work together. All Kate Kane is certain of is she's not going to sit idle while her people are in danger.


As the last issue of Detective Comics was largely a character study of Tim Drake, so too is Detective Comics #936 primarily focused on the character of Kate Kane. We're told that she was born and raised to be a leader and, as the events of the episode unfold, we see that she is precisely that. Kudos to James Tynion IV for balancing the action and the character development so well and for pulling off a truly surprising reveal.

The second art team for Detective Comics' bimonthly issues proves to be as skillful as the first. Alvaro Marinez is a fantastic penciler with a good eye for detail. I particularly like his design for the Bat-suit, with a yellow-outlined Batman symbol.  Raul Fernandez uses his inks sparingly, crafting a unique look given how darkly shaded most Batman comics tend to be. And Brad Anderson's colors are perfectly picked throughout.

Justice League Of America #4 & #5 - A Review

WARNING: SPOILER HEAVY REVIEW.


I resisted reviewing Justice League of America #4 last month, during the height of some rather heated discussion during a major controversy.  The subject of "fridging" (i.e. killing off, depowering or otherwise causing bad things to happen to a female character purely to create drama for a male character) had come up and this time the victim was Catwoman - apparently killed in action as she was infiltrating the hideout of the Secret Society of Super-Villains.  I say apparently because I suspected from the start that the death would be some kind of fake-out. 

Why?  Well, I couldn't discuss the clues without spoiling the whole story but there was some cynicism at play as well.  You can't kill off a major character well-known to the public without the comic publisher releasing a press release these days and Catwoman's "death" took everyone completely off-guard.  If they were really going to kill off Selina Kyle, they would have made a bigger deal about it.

I was also reluctant to review the book because I disagreed with discussing the "death" and labeling it as a fridging, because the larger part of the issue lacked the unsubtle sexism that lies at the heart of every fridging I've ever seen.  For the majority of the issue, I thought Catwoman was portrayed as the adaptable badass she should be.  She was able to free herself from captivity easily enough and was continuing her mission without needing to be rescued by the team that was coming in after her.  She even took down one super-villain by herself before superior numbers proved her undoing.


After being captured, Catwoman tried to play off of the fears of her captors, knowing as well as Batman that criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot.   She said that killing her would only bring Batman down upon them like a ton of bricks.  To her surprise, this gamble achieved the opposite of what she wanted..  The leader of the villains said that getting Batman's attention was their entire goal just before shooting Catwoman in the head.

I didn't consider this scene to be a fridging by the technical definition.  While the bad guys said that killing her was a means toward creating drama for a male character (i.e. kill her to make Batman angry) they had just as much reason to kill Catwoman for what she had done and what she had seen as a result of her actions throughout the issue.  Annoying Batman was just a bonus.  

Now, I DID find the artwork and layout of the scene to be incredibly exploitative.  The final shot of a dead Selina was particularly disturbing, being almost fetishistic in how it was drawn by artist Brett Booth. And yet, I resisted writing a review and condemning the book on that point because it didn't add up.  I couldn't believe that Geoff Johns - who is usually so good about avoiding this sort of thing in his writing - would allow the fridging of a major heroine this early in a major storyline.  Particularly given that another major subplot of Justice League of America #4 involved Stargirl's rebelling against her assigned role as the team's poster-girl/spokesperson and sneaking along on an actual combat mission.



As you can see from the above scan, Justice League of America #5 rewarded my faith.  Stargirl kicks major ass and proves her worth to the team beyond Public Relations.  And I shan't spoil how but rest assured that Catwoman is alive and kicking and the rumors of her death have been greatly exaggerated.  I'm still not too crazy about how the fake-out was milked but I must admit some honest surprise at the resolution, despite some foreshadowing that was obvious in retrospect.      


The back-up story by Matt Kindt, focusing upon the origins of The Martian Manhunter is impressive as well.  Kindt has revamped the origin somewhat, changing the specific cause of death for the entire Martian race and giving The Martian Manhunter a new means of traveling to Earth.  Issue #4 gives us a look at a Martian culture that is truly alien yet instantly recognizable and sympathetic once it is lost.  Issue #5 has him following the trail of the killer to Earth and discovering a malevolent telepath who may prove to be his greatest enemy ever.  Issue #4 and Issue #5 have different art teams, but they're both top-notch and incredibly good.



Bottom Line: If you were scared away from Justice League of America because of any fears of sexism, I'd say you should give it a shot.  I'm not happy about how the otherwise skillful Brett Booth laid out the aforementioned scene but otherwise I found his art to be quite good.  Apart from that one Trigger-Warning worth scene, there's nothing objectionable in this book and between Stargirl, Catwoman, Katana and Amanda Waller there's a lot for lovers of strong female characters to enjoy.  Now, if only it had Black Canary too...