Detective Comics #973 - A Review

His mind broken by the tortures of The Victim Syndicate, Clayface is rampaging through Gotham City... straight for the protesters assembled by The First Victim. The Gotham Knights have some unexpected help in trying to prevent disaster, but will they be able to save their former comrade? Or will one of their own take it upon themselves to solve the Clayface problem permanently?


James Tynion IV brings the current storyline to a stunning and satisfactory conclusion. Unfortunately, while Tynion's writing is as great as ever, the artwork for this issue doesn't work at all. Colorist Jason Wright uses a bright palette that doesn't suit the story, particularly when applied to the ink-light artwork of Jesus Merino. Despite this comic looking way too bright, Merino over-inks the outlines of his characters without adding any shading to the interior line work. This leaves the entire book looking odd, but still worth fighting through to enjoy the story.

The Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Great story, but the artwork is totally at war with it.

Detective Comics #972 - A Review

As riots break out around Gotham and Anarky revels in the chaos that he and The First Victim have unleashed, Batman must stare down a Basil Karlo driven mad by the torture he experienced at the hands of The Victim Syndicate. Batwoman may have a way to stop the rampaging Clayface but could her solution unleash Tim Drake's worst nightmare?


Again, I find myself wanting to sing the praises of this book yet unable to articulate its glories to the uninitiated. Such is the rich tale that James Tynion IV has told that it is impossible to relate the parts without considering the whole. This is Detective Comics only flaw - it defies the casual reader and denies easy access. To read it, one must start from the beginning or not bother at all. The journey will prove well worth it, however, particularly with the amazing art of Miguel Mendonca, Diana Egea and Jason Wright.

 The Final Analysis: 10 out of 10.

Detective Comics #971 - A Review

Anarky and The Victim Syndicate have control of Arkham Asylum and Clayface in their clutches. Now, with the people of Gotham City turning upon their vigilantes in the wake of the news that Batman enlisted Clayface in his war on crime and Batman's closest allies with the city and The Gotham Knights questioning his actions, Batman must make a bold choice in order to save his city.



The only bad part about Detective Comics #971 is its complete inaccessibility to new readers. James Tynion IV's plotting is dense and there's no way to just jump into this book at this point. You must have been reading since the beginning of DC Rebirth or there's just no chance of understanding it. Those devote Bat-Fans who try it, however, will find one of the most rewarding stories in years.

This complex story is told through some equally complex artwork. Miguel Mendonca's detail-driven style is a good match for Tynion IV's script. It is the inks of Diana Egea, however, which truly make this issue sparkle. Egea adds just the right amount of shade and definition, leaving the finishing artwork looking distinctive but not overly dark. Jason Wright's work on the color art is equally impressive.

 The Final Analysis: 10/10.

Detective Comics #969 - A Review

With Tim Drake having revealed himself to Stephanie Brown, The Gotham Knights (as Tim calls them) are completely reunited and ready to run gangbusters over the criminals of Gotham City. Naturally the costume criminals decide the need a team of their own to counter the vigilantes...


The only real flaw to Detective Comics #969 is that you have to have been reading James Tynion IV's epic tale of Batman's efforts to build an army of vigilantes to protect his city to truly appreciate everything going on in this issue. Ignoring that, this is a damn good start to the next storyline and Tynion's story is well matched by yet another amazing art team. Joe Bennett's character designs are divine, the inks by Sal Regla are perfectly applied and Jason Wright does his usual stellar job on the colors.

The Final Analysis: 9 out of 10. If it were just a little friendlier to new readers, it would be perfect. 

Detective Comics #940 - A Review

The plans of the paramilitary group known as The Colony have been thwarted!  The state-of-the-art drones intended kill hundreds of innocent Gothamites have been hacked and redirected towards a single target. Unfortunately, that single target is Tim Drake!


I wish I could show you more of the wonderful artwork in this issue beyond this single page. Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira and Adriano Lucas are delivering the greatest work in their careers. There is one splash page in particular that astonished me.

Unfortunately, such is the nature of this James Tynion IV's story here that I can say little and show less without giving away the game completely. In fact, there's only one thing I can say regarding this issue. Detective Comics is the best Batman book on the stands right now and you'd be a fool not to be reading it.

Detective Comics #939 - A Review

Before the battle with The Colony began, Tim Drake had made a fateful decision regarding his future as a vigilante and his collegiate career. It was a decision he had hoped to discuss with Batman in private but circumstances did not allow it. Now, with The Colony sending an army of drones into Gotham City, Tim Drake will have to make another big decision to save the city and his team.


Detective Comics continues to be the best of the new wave of Batman comics. While the focus of this issue is on Red Robin, James Tynion IV takes care to give every moment of the ensemble cast a moment to shine. Indeed, this may be the best issue yet for Clayface as far as character moments go.

The artwork maintains the same high level of quality. Eddy Barrows is one of the best artists working in the field today and every page of this book looks fantastic. It is the work of inker Eber Ferreira and colorist Adriano Lucas that truly make this book memorable, however, with subtle alterations crafting wonderful faded asides like the one above of Stephanie Brown.

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.

Detective Comics #935 - A Review

The new team Batman has formed under Batwoman's command continues to train together but has yet to venture out in search of the vigilante hunters now patrolling Gotham's streets. All of them are anxious to fight but none more so than Tim Drake, who is more used to leading a team than following orders. Yet Tim has his reasons for wanting to get out in the field - a once-in-a-lifetime chance may soon take away his ability to serve as a superhero at all...


The focus of this issue is on Tim Drake and that is greatly to its benefit and the readers'. The relationship between Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne was one of the first casualties of The New 52 and it has never been clear just where the two stood with each other over the last five years. James Tynion IV explains everything here simply and quickly, catching-up new readers whilst satisfying those Bat-fans who fondly remember Tim Drake's days as Robin in the 1990s and 2000s.

While the focus is on Tim, the rest of the cast get their moments in the sun as well.  The complicated relationship between Kate Kane and her father from the Batwoman books continues to be explored and we get a few brief pages of Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake being a cute young couple that aren't worrying about their lives as heroes for a bit... even as Steph's sometimes roommate Cassandra accidentally butts in on their "us time".  Even Basil "Clayface" Karlo gets a nice moment as he asks Tim, somewhat sheepishly, if it would be okay for him to take the device Tim created that locked him into a human shape to go out to an audition... purely so he can feel like his old actor self again for a few hours.


The artwork for this series thus far perfectly matches the scripts in quality and tone. Eddy Barrows is one of the best pencilers to work on the Batman books in years and Eber Ferreira's inks complete his work wonderfully. There is a nice effect - I assume it is the work of colorist Adriano Lucas - in which several portraits of the characters have a somewhat muted look that contrasts with the more sharply defined panel work. This softer edge is quite striking, ironically standing out all the stronger amid the more focused artwork in the panels.

Detective Comics #934 - A Review

Gotham City has become full of costumed avengers since Batman began his war on crime. Now, someone with resources and an army is tracking them all, apparently intent on bring them down. In order to win the battle to come, Batman needs to transform them from rogue vigilantes into an organized group. To that end he recruits Batwoman as his partner and teacher to this rag-tag group of vigilantes he hopes to shape into a team.


I went into this title with high expectations, having enjoyed James Tynion IV's previous work on Batman and Constantine The Hellblazer. I was not disappointed. Not only has he perfectly captured the essence of several long-neglected characters but he has also improved upon them. For instance, the relationship between Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown - considered by many to be a highlight of Chuck Dixon's Robin series - seems all the stronger here for being a partnership of equals.



The artwork is equally excellent. Eddy Barrows' designs for all the characters are outstanding, from his streamlined Batman to the nightmarish Clayface. Eber Ferreira avoids drowning the page in ink - a problem many Bat-inkers seem unable to avoid. And Adriano Lucas' finds the perfect palettes to finish everything up.

Convergence: Batgirl #1 - A Review

A year has passed since the dome came down over Gotham City and Stephanie Brown has found a new peace. She's abandoned her super suit for surgical scrubs and gone to work as a nurse's aide. After all, with Black Bat and Red Robin around it's not like the city needs Batgirl.

Except the city DOES need Batgirl. For when the dome lifted and The Powers That Be insist on a fight to the death to decide which of two cities lives or dies, it was Stephanie Brown who was chosen to stand for Gotham City. And with Steph out of action for so long, it's doubtful she'll have a chance against the Catman of another world who is her chosen opponent.


I'm somewhat conflicted about the story of this issue. After everything Stephanie has done to prove herself as a hero - as Spoiler, as Robin and as Batgirl - it seems a bit odd that she'd give that up as readily as she seems to in this issue, even if she did find another way to help people. Ignore the base concept, however, and the dialogue in this issue is spot on, with the friendship between Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown being perfectly captured.


The artwork is similarly unpolished. The pencils are average, at best, with the characters looking misshapen and half-finished in some panels. And  the inking and coloring are some of the sloppiest I've ever seen on a professional book.

Sorry Steph and Cass. I'd hoped to see you return. But not like this.

Dallas Comic Con 2014 - ALL THE PICTURES! - Part Ten

Black Cat, Aquaman and Rogue



Red Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing


Flame Princess


Banshee and Booster Gold


Ant Man


Deadpool and Death


Edward Nygma and Poison Ivy from the Joel Schumacher Batman movies.


Dr. Zoidberg: So all of your friends treat you badly too?
Aquaman: You have NO idea...


The Riddler


Two Green Lanterns Power Up

Batman Eternal #5 - My Review

The best parts of Batman Eternal thus far have little to do with its central mystery.  This is not to say that the mystery isn't engaging but to note that the detail work around the plot is of greater interest.  The world of Gotham in the New 52 universe is still largely unexplored and this series has done a good job of filling in the gaps.


This issue focuses upon three characters we have not seen in this series so far - Red Robin, Vicki Vale and Harper Row.  The issue shows those of us who haven't been keeping up on Teen Titans how the relationship between Tim Drake and Bruce Wayne is quite different in this new reality.  The interludes involving Vicki Vale give us our first glimpse as to how journalism functions in Gotham City.  And Harper Row makes an appearance, showing that she has been personally touched by the mystery that Red Robin and Vicki Vale are both investigating and that she has begun training to take a more active role in helping Batman.



The artwork this week - provided by artist Andy Clarke - proves less conflicted than the art in last week's issue.  Clarke's style is consistent, though some of his proportions seem a bit off.  Torsos become oddly elongated in some panels, while the limbs attached to them seem to be of normal size.  Despite this incongruity, Clarke does a fine job of displaying intricate details without cluttering up the panels.