Tpull's Weekly DC Comics Review – Part 1

Batman and Robin 2

by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely

This series may end up being a good outcome of a bad situation. I really disliked the Mephisto retcon in Spider-Man, but the effort put into their new storylines has been good ever since. In the same vein, I saw a lot of things in Morrison’s treatment that I didn’t like in both Batman and Final Crisis. Frank Quitely was a good choice for this new series, and there’s a nostalgic atmosphere to the way he treats Gotham.

The story beats are excellent, with the cops reacting poorly to the crook on fire. In a city that has so many freaks, you might think they would be better briefed, but the reaction was very human. Instead of the guy being on fire and needing help, though, the fire doesn’t hurt him one bit, but he used it as a lure to gain a few seconds to wreak havoc. Morrison has a tendency to use unusual characters, and the freakshow circus performers fit right up his alley, with Quitely more than capable of making them appear less flashy and less “appealing” than the average movie-star super-villain.

Robin continually shows his inexperience, Gordon shows his suspicion of the new Bat-duo, and his frustration with the less-than stellar outcome of the battle. Dick overreacts towards Damian, and Damian throws a fit and stomps out. It’s all delightful, delicious and makes for relatable drama of a different type than we are used to with Bruce Wayne. Alfred’s advice to treat the Batman role as a performance rather than a replacement or something else is genius.

If this team can keep things firing on all cylinders every issue, this will be a top ten book for a long while.

Green Lantern Corps 38

by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

The Oan battery has been broken up, and the Corps moves into damage control mode. Soranik and Iolande share a moment as Soranik learns she can’t burn Sinestro’s tattoo off her face, and we get a quick status update on Daxam, where Mongul decides he needs a friendlier place to set up a base for his Corps.

With all of that covered, we then move into the main meat of this issue, where the Alpha Lanterns have been ordered to execute all prisoners, since the science-cells have been destroyed. Kyle and Guy leap to their defense, leading to a tense, believable stand-off. The Oans have no problem with Kyle’s request for transparency, though, and quickly move the executions into the public arena. So much for that attempt!

Kyle gets approval to spare Kanjar Ro and Bolphunga, due to his promises when they helped fight against the Sinestro Corps. The two Earthers are summarily dismissed to Brooklyn for their opposition, and the rest of the prisoners are killed, with an excellent shot of Kanjar Ro and Bolphunga having to stand there while everyone else dies around them. It’s a brilliant, ruthless scene, and worth the cost of the entire comic alone.

The final page shows the Black Lantern rings formed. Since the color black forms from the absorption of all other colors, their depiction is really cool: the other main energy colors assemble around the raw material, and then are all absorbed in a massive energy transference that ends in a ton of black rings hurtling through the cosmos, all of them with a single mission, a single focus, a single word. Flesh.

Best issue of this title ever.

Justice League: Cry for Justice 1

by James Robinson and Mauro Cascioli

It’s here at last. This mini-series starts at a double disadvantage. For one, the chronology is way off, with events in the main DCU having already occurred months ago. This issue only begins to catch up to the current continuity, and Robinson tells us in the bonus material that this story is a “slow build.” I question the choice of a slow build when you only have seven issues to do something in the first place. If he goes too slow, the team will disband by the time they get their final member!

The second strike is the cover. They give us two excellent covers, each half of the total picture. For $3.99, DC, would it have killed you to make it a wrap-around cover? Most of us will not get the other cover, and it sucks. There’s no other way to put it. Trinity had interlacing covers, and wrap-arounds would be a comparable treat for us poor slobs shelling out the extra money. As it is, I feel slightly ripped off, despite the fact that I liked the “DVD” bonus material in the back.

The story itself is slightly “off” in the beginning, with Superman sounding very unsure of himself, giving Hal too much of an opening to take things the direction he wants. The cool thing is that Hal is asserting his place in the bigger scheme of things, with a reminder that he is galactic law for these parts. The one part where the story falls completely apart is where Superman says, “I don’t think we can allow that, Hal… you running off wild…” Who said anything about running wild?!?

The difference in philosophy that has been born here is a little arbitrary, and so the start of this feels artificial, something designed just for the story concept itself, not something that organically flowed out from these characters. Why is Supergirl on the satellite? Why is Plastic Man shown three times? Plastic Man?!? These two, at least, make no sense, especially for any sense of fitting in with what was going on in the DCU at the time this story is supposed to take place. Granted, it could be that Hal called them there because he wanted them to hear his spiel, but that is something that needs to be stated directly to the reader. That would have been better writing than having Ollie sit there going “Oh boy” over and over.

Still, the interaction between Hal and Ollie is great, and ditto for that between Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi. The rest is scenes showing us Starman and Congo Bill. I like the art, but the feel is too static for a comic book, and you actually get jarred out of the mood when the scene cuts to Wonder Woman standing like a statue with her other three associates on page 5. Talk about unnatural!

Despite all the shortcomings, the art was still a hit with me, and the story is good enough to pull me in. I would like better execution in a couple areas, but if they can stay on a monthly schedule, catch up quickly, and stop making me choose between two equally good covers, I will enjoy it a lot more.

Secret Six 11

by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

This title has gone totally off the rails. Deadshot has nonchalantly murdered a woman, a stranger who was trying to escape slavery. He insists on carrying the dead body, with things almost coming to blows between the Six and their new employer?!? He didn’t care about the girl, so why would he kill for the right to carry her corpse? Simone goes two ways at once, and never explains, so we never learn anything about what is motivating these people.

Nicola Scott’s art saves the comic, that and Ragdoll’s funny dialogue. The new boss gets to do his Amway-like sales pitch calling for equal-opportunity slavery to cover the globe, so we can build worthwhile monuments. Somehow Artemis has become involved, which gives Simone an excuse to cross over the two titles she writes, bringing in Wonder Woman.

Deadshot sleeps with what’s-her-name, then shoots her. The switch each person makes from alliance to murder attempts is dizzying, too nonsensical, and too freaking common every other issue to be fun or suspenseful. I’m with Ragdoll on the whole thing: you’ve done so much worse, why does half the team have a problem with slavery? And why would Catman, someone who ran free with his pride, of all people, be the one that goes along with a slavery scheme because “we gave our word?”

Finally, Artemis slumps against the prison wall, but we are supposed to believe the marksman Deadshot accidentally shot her, even though the artist shows no mark on her body. Wonder Woman claims she is dead. I just can’t find a way to believe any of it. Nice cover, though.

Solomon Grundy 5

by Scott Kolins

For those who may have been confused about the sudden appearance of Amazo, you have to have read the latest reboot of JLA, where a smart Solomon Grundy entered into a pact with Dr. Ivo to trade immortality problems. Things didn’t work out then, so Ivo is planning to make Grundy’s life a living hell for as long as he can. The art is interesting, with Amazo doing something strange in his power-absorption scheme.

The weak element is still in the writing, which is to be expected from this artist handling all the chores. Amazo’s “thoughts” literally tell us he realizes he has suffered “decapitation,” so next, he thinks “run new-head program.” Hah! What a miserable excuse of an editor, that can’t help Kolins come up with better than that. It’s so bad it’s hilarious.

Other main events. Bizarro misses his buddy, and we may be witness to the start of a Bizarro.Grundy bromance. Alan Scott spends the issue pulling his magic lantern back together, and the Stranger confesses that something is preventing him from knowing what will happen, which has to be irritating the hell out of him. Finally, S.H.A.D.E. enters the picture, taking Cyrus out.

This is a strange series, with several twists and turns, but each one is logical so far. The mystery is still there, and I am not too impatient with it, so I have to say the whole thing is shaping up fairly well, with some problems on occasion with the writing. It still might be a better read in trade format.

Strange Adventures 5

by Jim Starlin and Michael Shoyket

Starlin does the words and pictures for the first section, which is mostly a brawl with the power-enhanced Weird. There is one major slip-up, when Prince Gavyn shoots his astral energy to get rid of the Weird’s duplicates. Since Gavyn could not have known that Synnar was an ally, he claims his energy had no effect on the “dark Weird.” But Starlin forgets to show a beam of energy striking him at all on the previous page. It’s those little inconsistencies that form a break in the story, and a veteran like Starlin shouldn’t be making those rookie mistakes.

The second feature is interesting, with the two characters being on a “terror plane.” The overall feel of the second feature is too much like filling space, though, and has run on for too long. Bizarro needs to link up with the main storyline quickly.

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

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