Justice League United #11 - A Review

My hopes for Justice League United #11 all but died when I saw the cover. This may well be the worst piece of work I've seen from Tony Harris. I think the character in the middle is meant to be Animal Man, but it looks more like Gambit is angry about running out of styling gel halfway through combing his hair.


Gambit once ate a po'boy 'DIS big!
Things don't improve once we open the book and get to the story. Apparently Martian Manhunter, Supergirl and Green Arrow all quit the team at some point between this issue and the last one. Also, Adam Strange discovered that - rather than being an alien technological device - The Zeta Beam is some kind of force that unites all of time and space.

Oh! And he merged with it and can now sense impurities in reality that he calls Breakers. And he can somehow inform the rest of the JLU about these Breakers. And somehow they can travel around, pulling heroes and villains from key points in time to deal with these Breakers before they break reality.

Confused yet? I can't blame you. This is a dramatic departure from the classic idea of Adam Strange and, as such, should have merited a much more involved explanation. As it is, it's a prime example of that greatest of mistakes - telling the audience what happened rather than showing them. It might have felt more organic had we seen what happened to Adam rather than having the information dumped on us in a single page.


The artwork is similarly problematic. Travel Foreman is generally a fine artist but I think he's the wrong one for Justice League United. Foreman's use of forced perspective is disorienting and while that was effective in conveying the horror of Jeff Lemire's Animal Man, it doesn't work here. There's far too many panels where we see people talking in the middle distance, unable to tell who is who. Additionally, Foreman's fight choreography is sloppy and there is a complete lack of visual continuity. Consider how the the number of stars on Stargirl's sleeve changes from panel to panel below.


Given all of that, I'm done with Justice League United. The artwork is sloppy and doesn't fit the story. The writing is erratic. And with half the characters I liked in this book jettisoned in favor of a rotating roster of characters without their own comics, I have no other reason to keep reading.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #23 - A Review

The battle between Trigon and Mister Mxyzptlk has grown ever larger, with wild magics now threatening both the House of Secrets and House of Mystery.  Thankfully, Dick Grayson - the (Dead)man with the plan - has an idea on how to save everyone.  But it will require Superman and Batman's teams to put aside their mutual distrust and work together. Can they do it after all that has occurred?  And what is the trickster mage John Constantine hiding even at this late hour?


Brian Buccellato's script for this issue is the definition of action-packed. Some may say that the script falters somewhat in dealing with some of the emotional relationships between the characters. Indeed, the matter of Damien Wayne being forced to confront the ghost of a man he killed is hastily brushed aside after a brief shot of a discomforted Robin looking at the ghostly Dick Grayson. Thankfully, the issue is not ignored completely and is brushed aside only because the characters - and by extension Buccellato - have bigger things to address.


As always, the artwork is well-done.  Mike S. Miller has created distinctive facial designs for each character, so there is no question who is who even in the close-ups where all we can see is part of a mask or an eye. J. Nanjan's inks do a superb job of enhancing the original pencils. And Wes Abbott offers a vibrant display of colors to bring the final artwork to life.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #22 - A Review

The battle between The Regime and The Resistance continues, though the battle is beginning to take a toll on reality.  Between the magic being tossed around by Trigon and Dr. Fate. Poison Ivy and Swamp Thing's connection to The Green, the odd 5th Dimensional Magic used by Mister Mxyzptlk and the presence of two Sinestro Corps members, there is a lot of energy being tossed around.  And if action isn't taken quickly, everything is going to go to Hell.  Literally.


One thing you can say about Brian Buccellato is that he does not play for small stakes. The last few issues have been steadily building the action of this battle to an almost (pardon the pun) comic level, as heavy-hitter after heavy-hitter has been brought in.  Buccellato has balanced this manic display with the skill and energy of a plate-spinner on espresso and it has been a joy to read.


The art team does their usual stellar job, easily equaling Buccellato's script.  Mike S. Miller perfectly captures the action of the story, with even the static shots of characters talking having a wild energy about them.  J. Nanjan's inks enhance Miller's pencils without obscuring them.  And Wes Abbott's colors leave everything looking amazing.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #21 - A Review

If you're like me, and I know I am, one question has been in the back of your head throughout the entirety of Injustice: Gods Among Us - where the frell is Poison Ivy?  We've had a lot of good moments with Harley Quinn, but where has Harleen's best gal pal been all this time?  Worry not, bad girl fans!  For Pamela Lillian Isley joins the battle in this issue, after being given a ride on the Bat-Wing courtesy of Dick Grayson a.k.a. The new Deadman.


Most of this issue is devoted towards the continuing battle between Superman and Batman's respective teams. The script by Brian Buccellato is packed with action worthy of the video game that inspired this comic.  However, the best moments of this book - as per usual - occur when the characters just talk with one another, as when Dick Grayson - through Billy Batson - tells Bruce Wayne what he never could say in life.


The art team for this issue bring their A-game to the table.  Bruno Redondo and Juan Albarran place an amazing amount of fine detail into every panel.  And the colors by Rex Lokus are vibrant and well chosen.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #20 - A Review

Things have gone from bad to worse for The Resistance. Caught between a furious Trigon and Mister Mxyzptlk, things already looked dire with Superman and his Regime forces hot on their heels. But now The Swamp Thing has shown up and he's not going to listen to John Constantine's lies anymore...


Apart from some philosophical musing from Constantine at the start, this issue of Injustice is all action.  The plot isn't advanced much but there are a lot of great combat scenes.  The best part is that the fights are quite unpredictable with some unexpected victories.


Pete Woods returns to the art duties after a lengthy hiatus from this book. You'd never know it, though.  All of the cast look true to form and the combat is well blocked visually.  Rex Lokus offers up an amazing display of color artistry and Wes Abbott does a fine job on the lettering.

Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #10 - A Review

John Constantine may have escaped The Spectre's wrath but two allies have paid the price for his freedom.  First The Ragman fell and now Boston Brand - the ghostly acrobat known as Deadman - is about to die his final death.  As Brand races the clock to appoint a successor to his position as an agent of balance, John Constantine must face the one being he dreaded seeking aid from most... The Swamp Thing!


What makes this issue so wonderful - and indeed this series so amazing - is Tom Taylor's command of the characters.  This goes beyond well-written situations and funny dialogue - Taylor truly understands the essence of each character and finds unique ways of playing them off one another.

For instance, Pairing John Constantine and Batman seems like an odd coupling until you realize they are both pragmatic strategists who have both invested a lot of time and effort into thinking on how to take down their more powerful colleagues.  Likewise, Taylor gives us a successor to the Deadman mantle who proves so natural a fit that it's a wonder no other writer has run with that same idea before.


Per usual, the art by Mike S. Miller and J. Nanjan is wonderful.  Miller's figures are expressive and Nanjan shades the artwork without overemphasizing certain elements. or obscuring the details in shadow.  This is of particular concern in the sequences with Swamp Thing, which manages to maintain a certain vibrant level of energy despite its dismal setting.

Thursday Night Comic Con News Round-Up - Part One

* Neil Gaiman will be writing a six-issue mini-series bringing Sandman into the modern DCU. (Vertigo Panel) * Neil Gaiman also signed off on Tim Hunter, from his Books of Magic series, becoming part of the cast of Justice League Dark. (Bleeding Cool) * Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE will be crossing over with Animal Man and Swamp Thing in the upcoming 'Rotworld' storyline. "Frank" also be joining the Justice League Dark cast for a while, as will Amethyst from the upcoming Sword and Sorcery fantasy anthology book. (DC Dark & Edge Panel) * All Star Western #13 will offer an origin story for Jonah Hex. It will also involve him shooting a lot of clowns. (DC Dark & Edge Panel) * There are plans to bring back Rene Montoya into the New 52 universe, but NOT as The Question. Apparently, we've already seen "him" somewhere in the New 52 already... (DC Dark & Edge Panel)

Swamp Thing #1 - A Review

Swamp Thing may well have the most convoluted publishing history of any title in existence. Originally conceived in the 1970s for a one-shot story in the horror anthology House of Secrets, the character was reimagined as a more heroic figure for a solo-series at a time when books about monster protagonists were all the rage. Alan Moore revamped the character once again in the 1980s, with the concept that The Swamp Thing was not a dead scientist mutated into a plant monster but an elemental avatar and guardian of nature who had absorbed the memories of that scientist.

Things have become endlessly complicated since then with authors such as Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Brian K. Vaughan, Andy Diggle and many others muddying the waters with their attempts revive and revamp the character. The latest attempt, coming out of the aftermath of the Brightest Day event, returned Swamp Thing to his original roots, with Alec Holland coming back from the dead to reassume his role as Earth’s champion. There’s only one problem – he wants no part of it.





As Swamp Thing #1 opens, Alec Holland is freshly resurrected and in hiding, trying to cope with a head-full of memories and feelings that aren’t his. Writer Scott Snyder (of American Vampire fame) wisely skirts around the previous volumes of Swamp Thing, ensuring that the book remains accessible to new readers while painting a sympathetic portrait of a man adrift who wants nothing more than a normal life. Naturally things won’t be that easy but this first issue gives us little sign of what is to come until the very end...





While the pacing of this first issue is a little slow, establishing things for those readers who are unaware of the history of Swamp Thing, I can find no fault with the artwork. Artist Yanick Paquette and colorist Nathan Fairbairn team to create the perfect imagery for this title, giving us lush, vibrant greenery and horrific skeletal visions where appropriate. It is a rare artist who can prove equally adept at depicting beautiful nature scenes and nightmarish supernatural elements but Yanick Paquette is such an artist.





Skeptics may want to wait for the first Trade Paperback collection of this series. Based on the first issue, I believe it may well read better in a single volume. But fans of classic DC Horror can rejoice for it seems that Swamp Thing is in very good hands.

Swamp Thing #11 - A Review

Written by: Joshua Dysart
Penciled by: Enrique Breccia
Inked by: Enrique Breccia
Colored by: Martin Breccia
Lettered by: Phil Balsman
Editor: Jonathan Vankin
Publisher: Vertigo Comics

And lo, it was said by a Vertigo editor, “Why don’t we bring back that ‘Swamp Thing’ title, which did in part lead to the creation of our Vertigo line.

And so it was that Andy Diggle, of Losers and many a Vertigo special was given chance to restore Swamp Thing to his (pardon the pun) roots. And for the most part he did succeed, taking the uber-powerful god-like being with a nearly as powerful teenage daughter and did fix things and create much drama. And John Constantine was in there too. And it was good.

But lo, it was not to be a lasting thing. For after but six issues, Diggle did leave. And Will Pfeifer, he who wrote the Aquaman did begin to write the title. And things were okay. The tales of reality TV shows and big game hunters attempting to track the Swamp Thing were amusing, if somewhat predictable. And they did raise questions as to why, if the Swamp Thing’s wife Abby Holland were so upset over what had happened and desired to get a normal life, she might have considered settling herself somewhere besides the first city outside the swamp where Alec Holland died and the Swamp Thing lived now. Still, the writing was serviceable enough and the artwork had muchly improved in the hands of Richard Corben.

But alas, this too was to change. With the regular and far more inferior artist Enrique Breccia returning with issue #9. And with him came a new writer: Joshua Dysart. Writer of many a violent independent title and most recently The Demon: Driven. And lo there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the critics. For that series was, in their humble opinon, not worth the death of so many trees.

Still, one critic was not so jaded as to not give the man a fair shake. And so it was that he read Swamp Thing #9 and #10 with much dread. Dread, it seemed, which was much justified. For the books were a confusing mess, with muddy artwork and random events with seemingly little relation between them. And lo it was obvious that long-time villain Arcane had been sent forth from Hell with a demoness and that something worm-like had been sent after him. And somehow Swamp Thing sensed all this and apparently his daughter is still screwed up. And his wife has had yet another change of heart about her feelings for her husband the swamp monster.

And the one critic was heard unto say, ‘To heck with this!’

Looking To The Stars: Slap-Dash

I have a pile of comics to my right, a large cup of tea to my left and a keyboard in front of me. Sounds like the time for some quick reviews.

Aquaman #21

While I've never been one of his detractors ("He's useless. All he can do is talk to fish!), I've never been a big fan of Aquaman either. Will Pfeifer, in one story, not only shows Aquaman for the cool character that he is; he also creates a new villain for Aquaman who is, like him, underestimated by many but potentially deadly in the right environment. In this case, the villain is a psychic with the ability to mentally control large amounts of water. While a minor annoyance to Batman in the relatively land-locked downtown area of Gotham City, he proves quite the danger when armed with scuba gear and set upon the sunken California town of Sub Diego. Creating waterspouts at will and boiling the very water in a person's body are just a few of the tricks he uses. But Aquaman proves no weakling here, using his powers in equally creative ways, summoning a flock of poisonous lionfish (One spine can throw a healthy adult male into cardiac arrest) to corral a group of henchman. Shame he's leaving the title in 3 issues, as Aquaman hasn't been this well written since… well, ever!

Final Score: 7 out of 10.

Ex Machina #5

It's been neck-in-neck for a while, but this is, quite simply, my favorite book being published right now. Tony Harris does his finest work since the good ol' days on Starman and Brian Vaughan shows why he is one of the best writers working in comics today. The story of a man given a great power, who abandons superheroism for the greater responsibility of political office is one not often explored in comics and never to any great detail. This series promises to do just that and more.

Final Scote: 10 out of 10.

Hawkman #33

I wish I could say that this comic doesn't feel like a gratuitous plug for Jimmy Palmiotti's new series "The Monoloith"… but honestly, how else can you justify Batman, Mister "I Am The Lone Avenger Of The Knight" Himself, calling Hawkman and Hawkgirl into Gotham to help him track down a crime-fighting, giant stone golem? Still, the comic isn't a total wash. The scenes at the end with the two avian heroes going to a movie and talking about their relationship and where it stands is quite good and easily makes up for the cheap commercialism of the rest of the book.

Final Score: 5.5 out of 10.

JSA #66

There is nothing for me to explain in this issue after my profile of The Hourmen some weeks back. The tease we get of future issues here suggests I'll have quiet a lot to explain later about some other time-traveling characters. But since I don't have a time machine myself, we're all going to have to wait and see what I say about that. For now, go read this current issue and enjoy the here and now.

Final Score: 10 out of 10.

Knights of the Dinner Table #96

For once, the funniest parts of this magazine came not in the comics, but in the columns. This is not to say that the comics this time were not funny. Indeed, a new comic centering upon the self-devouring gamers of The Black Hands Gaming-Society and their latest attempt at a western-themed role-playing game is one of the best strips in recent memory. And another, parodying a recent gaming release (a gaming adventure titled "The World's Largest Dungeon", changed here to The Biggest Damn Dungeon Ever) promises a lot of humor in the next issue. But the funniest part of the magazine this time around came in a missive by Noah Antwiler, about why we can expect Star Wars, Episode 3 to do nothing to save the franchise by pointing out the numerous continuity problems that will have to be solved and the four ways in which Jar Jar Binks could be turned into a useful character.

Final Score: 8 out of 10.

Swamp Thing #8

It's funny how a writer can be so good on one book and so wrong for another. Case in point; while I loved his work on Aquaman, Pfeifer's two-part tale for Swamp Thing seems rather bland and lifeless. Mind you, it isn't an easy task following up the smashing introduction that Andy Diggle gave this book in its' first six issues. Still, after an epic battle with multiple elemental forces, a cameo by John Constantine and the announcement that his loyal wife was leaving Alec Holland/Swamp Thing, this issue demanded something special. This story, about a big game hunter hunting a mysterious swamp man, isn't it.

Final Score: 4 out of 10.

Ultimate Spider-Man #66

The cover title, "Even We Don't Believe This", says it all. Peter Parker and James "Logan" Howlett star in Freaky Friday. A grand story in the tradition of the old Lee/Ditko "The writer has gone insane and I don't want to draw this… help me" stories of the past, as Wolverine and Spider-Man trade more than spaces. It's hard to pick just one funny moment in this comic to share… so save us both the trouble and read it yourself.

Final Score: 10 out of 10.

Tune in next week. Same Matt time. NEW Matt Website.