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Tpull's Weekly DC Comics Review – Part 1

Detective Comics 854

by Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III

I had to begin the reviews with this title this week because of the art. As story-centric as I tend to be, sometimes I skip over descriptions of the art too fast. Here, Greg Rucka gets to (finally!) trot out his heroine Batwoman, but the art choices are what grabs your attention. The veteran Todd Klein is professional with his lettering, and Dave Stewart is on the colors, giving us a Batwoman in solid black, with brilliant red hair, gloves, and cape, while her face is pasty-white. The effect is jarring, and an excellent choice.

Williams divides the pages with a technique worthy of study, choosing shaped dividers to form marvelous two-page spreads that can be taken in with one glance, then read separately panel by panel, then pulled back again to admire the panel composition that gives you yet another picture. It reminds me of Eisner’s Spirit in a way, and I can’t remember making that comparison before.

The switch to regular panels when Kate switches to her civilian guise helps us to transition from the night to the normal day, and the variation, such as the stone wash type of reflection that is given to her memories of being held captive blend in well with the story, even as they stand out in your eye.

Rucka’s story is fairly straight-forward, and he has a lot to do in a short space. He shows us the heroine in action, an interlude with Gotham’s premiere protector, a reminder of her sexual inclination, and her support and logistics system with her father’s aid. It’s still a little weird to see another figure take center-stage in the Detective title, and she doesn’t use much in the way of detective skills, but the pace is actually a little fast for Rucka’s normal style.

The second feature is the Question, another favorite character of Rucka’s, with Cully Hamner on art duty. Hamner is a poor choice to follow Williams, as the backgrounds are sparse, there’s no independent inker, and the story is disconnected from anything involving the Question before. After everything Montoya has gone through, all she does here is fade into a typical backup story that has an episodic feel with no development, meaning it’s easy to forget. It would have been better if the second feature was along a path that would link up with the primary feature.

Green Lantern 42

by Geoff Johns, Philip Tan and Eddy Barrows

Eddy Barrows in for some backup on art, and the final product looks as great as always. One thing that I don’t like is Fatality’s claim to John Stewart that Xansi was not “innocent.” The biggest cross for Stewart to bear has been his failure to save that planet, and the idea that a new revelation to show the planet maybe “deserved” to die removes a lot of the meaning of John’s failure, or at least attempts to do so. It’s a mistake for the character, and lessons the drama for no good reason.

I am starting to love Larfleeze. He reminds me of a spoiled nine-year-old, one who is sure that he is right. Usually when a comic spends too much time giving us a full page splash panel, it comes at the cost of the story, but there is plenty crammed into this book. They give us one-page splash panels, tons of action, and still put in some development scenes. All this, and they move the story closer to Blackest Night, as two Lantern members find the Anti-Monitor’s corpse used to fuel the Black Lantern battery.

In a bit of real-politic bargaining, the Guardians make a new deal with Larfleeze, which involves them siccing the Orange Lantern on the Blue Lantern Corps! And you think Hal was corrupted by Parallax before? Who knows what can come of his exposure after he possesses the power of the green, the blue, and the orange all at once for a short time here. There is a ton of potential to be covered in the future, and it makes me look forward to each and every issue.

Justice League of America 34

by Dwayne McDuffie, Aridan Syaf and Eddy Barrows

I’m not sure why Syaf doesn’t get a cover credit, but Eddy Barrows is here and on the Green Lantern title doing some pinch-hitting. Never let it be said Barrows isn’t a team player! Unfortunately, the attempt at drama from the previous issue was lame, because Dharma is not dead, despite what Icon said in issue #33. That’s what we call cheap storytelling, kids, and everyone should stay away from it at all costs. I don’t know what number it is in the hallowed comics hall of cliché, but it’s the one where you see somebody lying on the ground at the end of one issue, and you’re supposed to wait until the next one to see if they’re really dead. I know it has to be done sometimes, but this one was unnecessary, and therefore bad.

What’s worse, the Batman cowboy from an alternate universe is the only one who remembers to save Dharma! For a team centered around protecting people, it’s almost unbelievable that they would forget to save the innocent. These are little slip-ups, but they add up to harm the overall story. McDuffie also interjects his own character, Hardware, in between the John Stewart/Firestorm relationship. Something that Busiek started nicely in Trinity is virtually nonexistent here, but only because McDuffie is forcibly injecting a third variable into the equation. Unless some new writer does some damage control, the friendship and mentoring between these two characters will disappear faster than the Flash eating a burrito.

The inconsistencies continue, as Doctor Light is easily knocked out in the beginning, and then she magically overpowers the Shadow Thief, right when the storyline needs her to do it. Another cliché, and poorly executed. Although Firestorm’s idea of plugging another place the guy could hide his energy was hilarious. There’s one more discrepancy that can be explained away, but the fact is that the team shows up in one place, and then Zatanna brings Doctor Light and Firestorm to her. To the reader, this is the first time the team has reunited. The next panel, we learn Hardware has already linked up with Doctor Light to tinker around with her costume. This should have been shown, because the way the story was laid out for the reader, it does not flow well.

The final pages are used to attempt to explain how the Milestone characters are being incorporated into DC proper. I think any continuity nut can point out the discrepancies in the explanation, an probably already has on the net, so I won’t bother to nitpick on it. It is just one more nail in the coffin, adding to a bunch of nails that shut the door on the story. The art is good enough to buy, and the story isn’t that bad, but it’s just not good enough either. I want so much to be able to recommend this, but if this were a stock, I would put a “hold” on it. That doesn’t mean sell, it means it’s in the middle of the road, and you’d like to see it doing better before you recommend that others buy it.

Justice Society of America 28

by Jerry Ordway

Ordway is almost a one-man team, taking us on a ghostly revenge trip. The atmosphere reminds me of the issues that Paul Levitz wrote while back: entertaining, but only good for the entertainment while you’re holding it in your hands. Veteran that Ordway is, he knows how to craft dramatic panels and imposing figures, though, and there is much to admire in the art and coloring.

Kung’s plot is revealed, and he attempted to abuse the JAS members so he could resurrect himself, using the ghosts of nuclear weapon victims from Japan during World War II. Ordway makes sure to mention the magical weapons used by the Axis powers during that era to prevent the heroes from using their powers to end the war in a day. The setting allows the Spectre to showcase his magical prowess, and gives Judomaster a couple more words to say than usual. The reporter’s perversion of what Stargirl attempted to do earlier in the story gives her a reason to nestle next to Al for comfort, which prods the elders on the team to confront him about that relationship.

It all adds up to masterful plotting, and Ordway can move the figures around the chessboard like a pro. Maybe he should help out with JLA, and the characters there might show some development.

Superman 689

by James Robinson and Renato Guedes

The cracks are showing in this story, with a story similar to one showcased in Wolverine recently: Mon-el fights a different villain each day in a different setting. Robinson sets up Morgan Edge to be the critic at the beginning, and the Guardian converts him into a cheerleader with a couple obvious sentences. Either that’s lousy writing, or when Tellus gave Guardian protection for an upcoming battle, he also gave him a telepathic manipulative boost. Those lame parts aside, it is cool to see other heroes from around the world, and Guedes is growing as an artist, and helped out by a good inker.

Atlas sneaks into Steel’s base to kill him, all part of Major Lane’s moves. At this stage of the story, though, we really should have been given greater insight into Lane’s endgame. Right now, he is turning into a caricature of a rogue general, followed by Nazi-like obedient soldiers. There needs to be more explanation up front for the reader to know why this is happening. If it continues the way it is, the quality just won’t be as good.

Tpull is Travis Pullen. He started reading comics at 5 years old, and he can't seem to stop.

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Posted by Travis on June 26, 2009 1:41 AM
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