Books I read: Action Comics, Animal Man, Huntress, Swamp Thing

Yes, I do plan on spending some time this month reviewing some of the non-DC/Marvel comics on my pull list. But that doesn't mean I stop covering the New 52. Here are some quick thoughts on the new issues I read this week.

Action Comics #2
Written by Grant Morrison; pencils by Rags Morales and Brent Anderson; inks by Rick Bryant and Brent Anderson; colours by Brad Anderson; DC 

One of my biggest concerns with DC's relaunch is that their commitment to shipping all the books on time will lead to more unsolicited fill-in artists. I hate unsolicited fill-in artists with the passion of a thousand suns. I understand that artists need a break from time to time. But I think how much work an artist can handle should be planned into the schedule. Either alternate between two art teams, or plan for guest artists between story arcs. It's simply not acceptable to announce a book with one creative team and then ship it with a different (and most of the time inferior) creative team.

Consistency of art is really important to me. I have a feeling that I'm in the minority, but whatever. As a consumer, I'm just not willing to keep supporting books that constantly disappoint me in that department. I've learned my lesson from DC in recent months, and one of the conditions I set for myself when I decided to try out some of these New 52 issues was that the moment an unsolicited fill-in artist would appear in a book, that book would get dropped from my pull list.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Action Comics made it through one-and-a-half issue before Rags Morales needed some help. The art in the second issue is wildly inconsistent. I'm assuming that the pages not drawn by Morales are the ones that feature Lois Lane. That would certainly explain why she looks like a completely different character in every panel she appears in.

The patch-up art job is already enough for me to stop buying this book. But there's another reason. This book costs $3.99. If I remember correctly, the justification for the extra dollar on some of the New 52 books (despite DC's much publicized "holding the line" campaign pre-September and their promises to stick to $2.99 till the end of the year) was that it's a longer than the standard 20 pages we get in other books. Well, I counted the story pages in this issue and there are 20. The rest are bonus material, ads and a preview for some Batman graphic novel. So where's my extra dollar going? Hint: It's not "bonus" material if I have to pay extra for it.

All this ranting and I haven't even talked about the content yet. Is this a terrible comic? No. It's an average comic book that I already wasn't that stoked on after the first issue, but I figured I would give it a chance. I did. And now it's over. I will not be buying issue #3.

Animal Man #2
Written by Jeff Lemire; art by Travel Foreman; colours by Lovern Kindzierski; DC

I didn't enjoy this issue quite as much as I enjoyed the first one. I think it's because of the way Maxine feels more like a plot device than a character. I find it a little bit of a cop out that Buddy doesn't really have to do any work to figure out what is going on. All he has to do is listen to his daughter explain everything to him and guide him to this magical world nobody knew existed just 24 hours earlier. It's just awfully convenient that Maxine has all the answers.

In spite of that, I did enjoy the issue. I still think the art is visually striking and original. I think those who weren't sold on the art in the first issue will probably have even more problems with it in this one, but I actually find it refreshing to have a comic that is so stylistically different from anything else that DC puts out each month. It's about as far away from a conventional "house style" as you can get.

Still a strong title and in no real danger of getting bumped off my pull list for the foreseeable future.

Huntress #1
Written by Paul Levitz; pencils by Marcus To; inks by John Dell; colours by Andrew Dalhouse; DC

This is the first of a six-issue mini-series. The first thing that struck me about it is how unfortunate it is that DC hired Guillem March to do the covers instead of letting Marcus To handle them. The difference between the tacky mess of a cover and the gorgeous, classy art inside is almost shocking as you open the book. Marcus To was fantastic on Red Robin and here he continues to impress me with his clean lines and layouts. The only criticism I have of the art is that there isn't much to differentiate the women's faces from one another, but that's a very common problem in comics. In any case, it's not really a big enough deal to take anything away from my enjoyment of this first issue.

Paul Levitz has a good handle on the character. This was a good, introduction to what seems like it's going to be a pretty straightforward (but potentially very satisfying) story. Helena's character doesn't seem to be affected by the relaunch at all (from what I can tell), so if you're a fan of the character you won't be disappointed.

Solid first issue. I'm onboard.

Swamp Thing #2
Written by Scott Snyder; art by Yanick Paquette; colours by Nathan Fairbairn; DC

The first issue was good, but this second issue is even better. Paquette's art (helped by Fairbairn's detailed colours) is blowing my mind.

A large part of this issue is mostly just an info dump, as (one version of) Swamp Thing explains to Alec Holland what the deal is with the Green, the Parliament of Trees, and his connection to Swamp Thing. I was a little bit worried when I found out a few months ago that Swamp Thing was coming back to the DCU and that Alec Holland would be resurrected. I don't worship Alan Moore's work, but I think some of the concepts he established in in run on Swamp Thing are really rich and fascinating, and I didn't want to see that get wiped out of continuity.

What's amazing is that Scott Snyder somehow manages to honour Moore's run while establishing a new status quo for the character. Instead of just retconning Moore's run, he adds new elements that force us to reinterpret it. I don't know how interesting it is to new readers, but I thought all the back story in this issue was great. And now I'm really excited to see where it's all going to lead.

Scott Snyder is simply amazing. There's no doubt in my mind now that he's the best writer working for DC. I am so completely sold on what he's doing here and in Batman (and in his creator-owned work) that I'm basically just going to buy anything and everything he writes from now on. You want good comics? I suggest you do the same.

Reviews: DC New 52, week 1

(no spoilers)

Action Comics #1
Written by Grant Morrison; art by Rags Morales and Rick Bryant

I wonder if this title is going to outsell Justice League #1. We've all been told last week's crap-fest by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee was the big launch of the New 52, the one that would set everything up for the rest of the line, but I have a feeling the book most people were really excited about was this one. I showed up at my LCS at noon today and they had sold out, whereas last week they still had dozens of Justice League issues lining up the walls. (Though I didn't ask how many they had ordered.)

In any case, this a much better first issue than Justice League #1. It's fast-paced, full of action and information. You get a good sense of how this world and these characters are different from the old DCU, dropping in on important supporting characters like Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and General Lane. There are references to Clark Kent's work as a reporter and how Jimmy and Lois fit into that. It establishes that Superman has started helping people around Metropolis, that the citizens are starting to notice and to appreciate it, and while the authorities are treating him as a threat, you get a good sense of their motivations and understand why they'd be freaked out by this powerful alien among them who seems to be getting stronger every day.

The art is always way better. Rags Morales' art is clean and elegant, two terms I would never use to describe Jim Lee's scratchy mess of over-detailed and cluttered panels. Maybe some of it has to do with inker Rick Bryant or colourist Brad Anderson, but this looks just how you would expect DC's flagship title to look - professional, dynamic, clear, but also very "house-style-ish," meaning it doesn't really take any risks the way some of the other books reviewed below do. And certainly if you think about the amazing work that Frank Quitely did on All-Star Superman, this seems a bit bland in comparison.

I'm not really convinced that this is a book I'm all that excited to keep reading. I'm just happy that it's not awful, I guess. It's a good start and unless there's a significant drop in quality ahead, fans are probably going to get a good Superman story over the next few months. Oddly, in spite of some of the continuity changes, this feels more true to the spirit of the original Superman than some of the garbage we've gotten lately from JMS's "Grounded" debacle.

But will I, personally, keep reading? I haven't quite decided yet. It will probably depend on the quality of the other New 52 books I sample this month. If I end up adding a lot of them to my pull list, for budgetary reasons, I might drop this one. Especially considering the extra dollar on the price tag.

Verdict: Good, but somewhat underwhelming.

Animal Man #1
Written by Jeff Lemire; art by Travel Foreman and Dan Green

Prepare to have your mind blown.

Jeff Lemire's mainstream super-hero work at DC has been a little hit-and-miss for me. There were a lot of good ideas in his Superman run (and it looked like he was building up to something that could have really paid off with the subplot involving Psionic Lad, which was unfortunately cut short by the arrival of the New 52), but the execution never quite gelled. The pacing was awkward (in part because of the Doomsday crossover hijack, maybe) and I kind of got the impression that he was phoning it in.

With this first issue of Animal Man, I feel like I finally recognize the work of the man responsible for what is currently my favourite ongoing series, Vertigo's Sweet Tooth. The writing on this issue flows perfectly. There's not an awkward beat. The dialogue feels natural. The characters immediately come across as real people. It's obvious that Lemire not only has a good grasp of the characters but also is excited about the story he's going to tell.

And the art. Holy shit, where the hell did this Travel Foreman dude come from? I love his style and it's exactly the kind of visually stunning work that Jeff Lemire's storytelling requires. These two are a match made in heaven and I hope the book continues with this creative team for a while.

Verdict: The best New 52 book so far. Add it to your pull list right now!

Batgirl #1
Written by Gail Simone; art by Ardian Syaf and Vincente Cifuentes

If you read this blog on a semi-regular basis or follow my rants on Twitter, you know that I've been a very vocal critic of what DC decided to do with this book. As a fan of both Bryan Q. Miller's excellent take on Stephanie-Brown-as-Batgirl AND the well-established status quo of Barbara-Gordon-as-Oracle, this felt like getting stabbed in the heart... twice!

I've said what I had to say about all that. I've said it loud and I've repeated it a million times. And all those issues I've brought up before are still valid. To the point where I had made up my mind that no matter how great Gail Simone's new series turned out to be, I would not buy it and I would not read it. I felt bad about it, because I love Gail Simone's writing and I know how excited she is about this book. But I just didn't think I could do it. I didn't want to send the message to DC that I was supporting this move with my money.

As it turns out, I ended up throwing all those convictions out the window when someone asked me to participate in a podcast to review this book (among others) (and more on that later, by the way). I was happy to use that as an excuse to justify my purchase. And I'm glad that I did, because as it turns out, this is a fantastic first issue. Gail Simone's writing is pitch-perfect and I'm convinced that there is not another person alive on this planet that could have pulled this off and done the impossible: get me onboard with this move. I'm serious.

I don't want to say anything more because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. But this is a good book and I'm looking forward to the next issue. Ardian Syaf's art is very nice, too, and I have my fingers crossed that he will stay on the book at least for a full story arc. (I will not put up with unsolicited fill-in artists in DC books anymore. I've had enough.)

Verdict: Shed a tear for Oracle, then give this a try. You won't regret it.

Stormwatch #1
Written by Paul Cornell; art by Miguel Sepulveda

This was strangely disappointing. I read through the whole thing not really caring about any of it, up to the very last moment when Midnighter shows up and I got a bit of a chill at the thought of the lover story that was about to begin between him and Apollo.

In a way, I'm kind of annoyed, because that just might be enough to get me to continue buying this book, even if I'm not all that excited by any of the other characters or the premise. I can't say I'm a huge fan of Miguel Sepulveda's art either.

I don't know. Will this gay love story even pay off ultimately? I think it's worth sticking around for a few more issues to find out. Plus, Paul Cornell is usually a pretty funny writer and there were little hints of his trademark style in the dialogue. ("--and certainly the horniest!") That's an added plus.

Verdict: Meh. But I'll keep reading I want Midnighter and Apollo to have sex.

Swamp Thing #1
Written by Scott Snyder; art by Yanick Paquette

Yeah, this was pretty much everything I expected (and wanted) it to be: creepy, well written and beautifully drawn. I believe this is the best work I've ever seen by Yanick Paquette. (Although I noticed how ugly Superman's padded costume is when I saw his rendition of it. What an awful, awful design. Please do not let Jim Lee design any more costumes, ever again. Urgh!)

When I found out that Alec Holland was coming back to life at the end of Brightest Day (which I wasn't reading - I found out on the internet), I was extremely skeptical of this new direction. It just seemed like such a departure from some of the coolest aspects of Alan Moore's run (Swampy's struggle with whether or not he was once human, etc.). It wasn't until I heard Scott Snyder talk about this in an interview, about how it was his idea to begin with and how it was specifically a set-up for what he was planning to do in this series, that I got onboard with it.

With this first issue, I still don't know exactly where it's going to go, but I'm definitely intrigued and excited to find out.

Verdict: Excellent. Along with Animal Man, this is the other must-buy of the week.

Flex Mentallo deluxe edition coming this fall

This is great news!

From iFanboy:

With few details and no art, Vertigo has announced that the long out-of-print and disputed Flex Mentallo will come to shelves in deluxe hardcover form this fall.  The 4 issue mini-series, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely, was published in 1996, as a spin-off from the character's appearance in Doom Patrol. 

The core of the conflict had to do with Mentallo's similarity to Charles Atlas, the sand-kicking workout hero from classic comic book ads.  The Charles Atlas company filed a lawsuit, which was dismissed, but DC still haven't reprinted the series. Until now.

Quick Reviews: Secret Avengers, Neonomicon, Traveler, Superior, Superman/Batman, Batman Inc

Secret Avengers #8 

I never seem to have anything to say about this title, but it's pretty solid, in terms of both story and art.

Neonomicon #3

I really wish this book wasn't published by Avatar. Rick Johnston's infantile attempts at hyping it up on Bleeding Cool annoy the hell out of me. It's disgusting that he's using rape as a selling point for this title, while simultaneously denouncing the popularity of rape as a plot device in contemporary super-hero comics. Regardless of what Alan Moore's intentions are with this title, there something really disingenuous about this sensationalistic promotion that relies on shock value while at the same time claiming that there's more going on than just sensationalism.

I realize that none of this actually has anything to do with the quality of the comic book itself, but it does have an effect on my enjoyment of it, because I'm not reading this in a vacuum. As for what it all means and whether or not it's any good, I'm going to continue to reserve judgement until I've seen the conclusion, in the next issue.

The Traveler #2

This second issue is a lot less confusing than the first one was. Plot and characters are starting to fall into place, hinting at a larger mystery that's probably going to to be gradually revealed as the series continues. I like the fast pacing of it and the story, but some of the dialogue really grates me. Especially when the protagonist is speaking out loud about what is happening during the fight scene. "And now I will punch him while slowing down time. Oh, I see that didn't work. In that case, I will try this different approach - speeding up time while kicking him in the face! Yes, that seems to work better." I'm paraphrasing, of course, but it's almost that hackneyed. Is it because the art is so bad that the fights wouldn't make any sense without this kind of exposition? Or is it some kind of self-conscious meta-commentary on comic book conventions and the type of dialogue Stan Lee used to write? I'm not sure.

Superior #3

This is good. I want to write more about it later, but for now I'll just say that I'm really enjoying it and, after the twist on the last page, really looking forward to the next issue.

Superman/Batman #79

I was disappointed that Robot Robin from the future only makes a brief appearance in this, despite being prominently displayed on the cover. But otherwise this was really good. And I love the old-fashioned thought bubbles! I wonder if these are coming back in style. Anyway, conclusion in next month's issue.

Batman, Incorporated #2

Still not convinced. Not that this is a bad issue. Nice art and nothing blatantly wrong with the writing. I'm just not sold on the Batman going international premise at all. Something about it stinks. The American hero going to other countries to show local heroes how it's really done. "My people have to be better than that." What does this all lead to? Some kind of global homogenization of super-heroes? Batman is not just hiring heroes to join his team. Mr. Unknown ceases to exist and is replaced with Batman Japan. It all makes me kind of uncomfortable. I'm giving this a couple more issues, but I think I might drop this one. I think Detective Comics is the only Batman book I'm really interested in at the moment.

Quick Reviews: Batman, Red Robin, Batman and Robin, Invaders Now, One Month to Live, Daytripper

BATMAN #703
Written by Fabian Nicieza; art by Cliff Richards.

Fabian Nicieza fills in for Peter Milligan, who was originally announced as the writer for this filler issue before Tony Daniel returns as regular writer and penciller. Given the last minute change, I'm assuming this was a bit of a rush job, but FabNic uses the opportunity to expand on a theme he's been exploring in Red Robin, namely, Vicky Vale's snooping around the Bat family, trying to expose their identities.

This is billed on the cover as "A prelude to Bruce Wayne: The Road Home." In other word, this is pretty much prelude to a prelude to the actual Return of Bruce Wayne, which will presumably take place in the final issue of said series. It's not a bad story, but it seems a bit unnecessary (much like the previous two issues from Grant Morrison).

Where the rushed nature of this job is most apparent, though, is in the art. There's an appalling lack of detail in Cliff Richards's lines, especially when it comes to facial expressions. And Damian looks like a 17-year-old girl instead of a 10-year-old boy.

RED ROBIN #16
Written by Fabian Nicieza; art by Marcus To and Ray McCarthy.

This was probably the weakest issue of Red Robin since Nicieza took over the title. I'm not sure why it was so unsatisfying. There's too much narration, not enough action. It seems like nothing much happens and this is just more filler setting things up for Bruce's return. It's possible that some of what ended up in Batman this week was originally supposed to be in this issue, which would explain why this all feels a bit redundant. The most exciting part of the issue is probably the short blurb at the very end of it where Nicieza teases some of the changes that are waiting for Tim after Bruce's return. Tie-in events often interrupt the flow of ongoing titles, and I think there's a bit of that going on here. Hopefully once that's been dealt with, the pacing will improve. I have faith in Fabian Nicieza. Meanwhile, Marcus To's art remains excellent.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #14
Written by Grant Morrison; art by Frazer Irving.

This is another really good issue from Morrison and Irving, although it didn't quite blow my mind the way the previous issue did with its shocker opening. I don't even know what else to say about this. The next issue is going to be epic and I can't even... Words fail me.

INVADERS NOW! #1
Story by Alex Ross and Christos Gage; art by Caio Reis.

I decided to give this a try, because I was curious about this old-school team featuring Captain America (the first and the second), Namor and a bunch of characters I've never heard of before, including one that looks an awful lot like Martian Manhunter. This wasn't very good. The entire issue consists of this green guy gathering members of the old team, most of which have died and returned to life in one way or another. They're all conveniently hanging out in pairs, spending a lot of time reminiscing about the past while fighting monsters or villains, when they are summoned. Then they all gather in Steve Rogers office, where we are told for about the fourth or fifth time that they are the only ones capable of saving the world. And this is all because of this terrible thing that happened during WWII, the "darkest chapter in their history."

Maybe things will pick up in the next issues, but this was just about the worse possible introduction to a team of (to me) unknown characters I could've imagined, and it does nothing to make me want to continue reading. I've come to the conclusion that I'm really not a fan of Christos Gage at all. His dialogue is really terrible. (I haven't yet given up on Avengers Academy, which he's also writing, because I'm interested in the characters and the story, but that title is also on probation at the moment.)

ONE MONTH TO LIVE #2
Written by Bob Williams; art by Koi Turnbull, Shawn Moll, Mark Irwin and Allen Martinez.

I wasn't entirely convinced by the first issue of this five-part weekly mini-series, and now after another issue I'm still kind of on the fence. It's an interesting premise, but the execution is strange. The decision to have a different creative team on every issue (including different writers) is definitely a weird one, but it's kind of an interesting experiment. I was really annoyed by some stereotypical "urban" thug in the first part of this issue, and then by Spider-Man's totally off-key sassy dialogue.

For example: "Time to shake your booty on the catwalk and announce your brand name. Work it, girlfriend. Show Spidey the voguish heroic apparel that's going to be simply everywhere this season." Any one of these sentences would have been bad enough, but all three of them in succession is just ridiculous.

I can't really recommend this, although now that I'm two issues in and still kind of curious about where it's going, I figure I'll probably keep reading it.

DAYTRIPPER #10
Written and drawn by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba.

This series has been amazing and I was almost apprehensive about reading the final issue, afraid that it wouldn't live up to expectations. I still don't fully know if it does and I'm kind of reluctant to comment further at this point, because I feel like I need to let it sink in and probably re-read the full series in order to better process it.

All I can say is I highly recommend this series. I've resisted reviewing any of it until now because I always felt that it would be better appreciated as a complete work. I'll write more about it at some point in the future.

Quick Reviews: Batman and Robin, Red Robin, The Atom, Sweet Tooth, Tom Strong, Orc Stain

Haven't had much time to write reviews lately, so here are some quick comments on the books I bought last week.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #13
by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving.

This issue was the best and most fun the series has been since the first arc (with art by Frank Quitely). The first three or four pages are shocking and amazing. The scene between Damian and the Joker is another highlight. All the loose threads from the beginning of the series (and some from Morrison's previous work on Batman) are coming together brilliantly. This arc is going to be very exciting, and it all culminates with the return of Bruce Wayne, probably in issue 15 or 16. Don't miss it.

RED ROBIN #14
by Fabian Nicieza, Marcus To and Ray McCarthy.

I can't get enough of Marcus To's art. This issue is mostly about Tim and Damian fighting, and as much as I'd like to see these two get along, Fabian Nicieza handles the characterization really well, making both of their motivations believable and somehow making us sympathize with both. The question everybody is asking is whether Tim has become too much like Bruce. I don't think this book gives us an answer yet, as I'm sure we haven't seen all the repercussions of Tim's "hit list" plan yet. Another solid issue.

BRIGHTEST DAY: THE ATOM SPECIAL
by Jeff Lemire, Mahmud Asrar, John Dell.

I probably shouldn't have bought this because (a) I don't really care about Brightest Day and (b) I don't really care about the Atom. But I do care about Jeff Lemire, and I was curious enough about his transition to mainstream super-hero comics at DC to check it out. It's not a bad book, but unless you're following the bigger story of Brightest Day or are a big fan of this particular character, there isn't really a whole lot to recommend here. Although this is a one-shot, it's not a self-contained story but rather the prologue to the story that will continue as a back-up feature in the next few issues of Adventure Comics. I haven't quite decided yet whether I'm interested enough to keep following, although the fact that Adventure has Paul Levitz writing the Legion as the main feature is certainly an added selling point. We'll see.

SWEET TOOTH #11
by Jeff Lemire.

This is more like it! This is the conclusion of the "In Captivity" story line and probably the last of the flashback issues filling in the gaps about Jepperd's background from before he met Gus. What's amazing is that by the end of the first arc, Jeppard was pretty much revealed to be a "bad guy," but now that we better understand where he's coming from, his motivations don't seem so selfish and what seemed like immoral actions before now need to be reinterpreted and seem to fall in a much greyer area. There's so much more to say about all this, but I'm going to save it for a longer review of the full series up to now that I plan to write soon. This is probably one of the best ongoing series out there at the moment.

TOM STRONG AND THE ROBOTS OF DOOM #2
by Peter Hogan, Chris Sprouse and Karl Story.

I feel pretty much the same way about this as I did about the first issue. I think the art is brilliant, but I don't feel too invested in the story. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm not familiar with the character, but I'm still kind of waiting for things to really take off. I was surprised to see Tom go back into the past so soon. I thought most of the issue would take place in the alternate timeline where Nazis have taken over the world, with Tom fighting the robots of doom promised in the title, trying to find a way to go back and fix history. But instead, a few pages in this issue, he's conveniently handed a time machine and goes back to enlist the help of his younger self to set things right. I kind of hate this type of story, but trying to keep an open mind here. It's still early in the mini-series, but I hope things get more interesting.

ORC STAIN #1
by James Stokoe.

This came out a while ago, but the store had sold out so I had to re-order it. I've got issue #3, and #4 comes out this week. Unfortunately, I still haven't been able to get my hands on #2, which screws up my reading plans. This opening issue was amazing and everything I'd hoped it would be – insane art, lots of penises, sex on hallucinogenic drugs, and lots of weird looking creatures. The best part is definitely the bear-safe-cracking scene, which reminds me of Aeon Flux in the way it mixes bizarre puzzle-like technology and biology. This comic book is pure joy.

The problem with time travel

Last week, Greg Burgas at Comics Should Be Good mentioned his difficulty getting past the way time travel is being portrayed in The Return of Bruce Wayne.

So in this issue, Dick and Damian investigate the weirdo coffin in which Bruce was trapped and the Justice League checks out the cape that they found in the cave, and the God of All Comics is pulling it all together decently. But here's the thing: while Diana and the rest of the League and Dick and Damian are talking about all of this stuff, I can't get over the fact that the past and the present simply can't exist at the same time. It bothers the hell out of me that, in comics, a person in the "present" can be talking about events that happened in the past, and those events are being shown, not as if they're happening in a different time, but as if they're just happening at a different place in the world and at the same time. I can't get past that, I'm sorry.

Meanwhile, several fans have pointed out the obvious blunder in the art on page 15 of issue #3, which shows Green Lantern Hal Jordan sitting at the JLA table, even though he is supposed to be with Superman and the others hunting for Bruce. J. Caleb Mozzocco illustrates the mistake on his blog with some added dialogue.



Personally, what I can't wrap my head around is why when people travel to a different time they would then be absent for an extended period in the present. It doesn't matter if they go on a year-long journey, they could still return to the moment immediately following their departure. That's what the time machine is for! Why keep everyone else waiting for weeks?

Similarly, in issue #1, Superman and company showed up just moments after Bruce Wayne had disappeared from prehistoric times. Their reaction: "Oh, no. We just missed him. We have to keep chasing him through time." No, you don't! You know he was there 5 minutes ago, so just use your time machine and go back in time!"

It doesn't make any sense. But that's the thing with stories involving time travel - they almost never do. So I'm trying not to let this spoil my enjoyment of the series, which is really quite a lot of fun in many other ways. I'm just a little bit disappointed that Grant Morrison wouldn't treat time travel more intelligently.

Review: Batman #700

BATMAN #700
Written by Grant Morrison. Art by Tony Daniel, David Finch, Andy Kubert, Frank Quitely.

Although there are many awesome things about this issue, it ends up being a disappointment for a number of reasons:

1. The price. I think 4$ books are a rip off most of the time, because the extra pages are rarely worth the extra dollar. So when you price something at 5$, I expect it to have something very special in it, or at least make up for it with a longer story – quality or quantity. Although the cover claims this is a "giant-sized anniversary issue," there are only 31 pages of story inside, followed by a pin-up gallery of mostly recycled promotional images that have been floating around on the internet for a while. As a 4$ book, this would be a great value, but I don't see anything here to justify the extra dollar. Let's get something straight: "bonus" material isn't really a "bonus" if you make people pay extra for it!

2. The high expectations. Part of this comes simply from the landmark number. Part of it comes from all the hype, including stuff Grant Morrison said in interviews, features on DC's blog, and all the buzz and chatter on message boards. With all this excitement, it becomes very difficult for any comic book to hit a home run.

3. The art. The idea of having four different artists, each handling a specific time period that the epic story is set in, was good. Unfortunately, Frank Quitely (my favourite of the four artists) wasn't able to finish his section. (I've read some comments online about health problems being the reason for this, but I don't know where fans get that information or if there's any truth to it. Let's hope he's doing okay.) Quitely has a very unique style, so rather than to try to imitate it, Scott Kolins draws the remaining pages of the section in his own style. The shift becomes even more jarring because there's a different colorist working with each artist, and it occurs smack in the middle of the section, with no in-story justification for it. It's very distracting and it ruins the intended effect of having each time period in its distinct visual style.

Still, the few pages we do get from Quitely are amazing. The way he choreographs action scenes always brings a smile to my face. You're never quite sure if they're fighting or dancing a ballet, and while that might sound like negative criticism, I mean it as the highest form of praise:



Meanwhile, Tony Daniel, Andy Kubert and David Finch are all competent artists and they handle their sections well, if less spectacularly (at least for my tastes). Even Scott Kolins is pretty good, and if it weren't for the fact that I can't help looking at those pages while asking myself what they would have looked like if Quitely had drawn them, I would probably be able to enjoy them on their own merit.

As for the story, I didn't like it on my first read, but as often happens with Grant Morrison's work, it got a lot better the second time around. This is probably because of the way I read comics as much as it is because of the way he writes them. I tend to go through the book quickly, eager to find out what happens next and how it all comes together in the end. Even when I don't quite understand what's going on or the significance of certain details, I tend to just move on, expecting things to get become clear eventually. Once I get that out of the way, a second read-through allows me to savour the details and catch whatever subtleties I might have missed.

So the story is fine, and there are lots of very cool little character moments, as well as plenty of references to Batman history (past, present and future). As a regular, appropriately priced issue, I would rate this highly. As an overpriced anniversary issue, it falls a bit short of the mark, but is still a fun read once you forget about your initial expectations.

Review: Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1

BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1
Written by Grant Morrison; art by Chris Sprouse

I said last week that the book I was most excited about was Birds of Prey #1, but that was obvious a lie. There was one book I couldn't to read when I got back home from the comics shop on Wednesday and it was this one. We've all known for months that Bruce Wayne is trapped in time and that in this mini-series he's going to gradually make his way back from pre-history to the present. The concept is outrageous and it's the kind of thing that very few writers could pull off. Thankfully, Grant Morrison is pretty much at the top of the list of the few who could. Bruce Wayne hardly says a word. He basically just looks cool and kicks ass. And that's perfect.

One thing that really surprised me was how little time Bruce spends in this first time period. I had always imagined that Bruce would spend years, possibly even an entire lifetime, in each period before getting zapped to the next. But by the looks of it he was only in pre-history for a few days. The fast pace of the story caught me off guard, and based on the last couple of pages, it looks like this kind of frenetic rhythm is going to continue in the next issue. I don't really understand how that's going to work in some of the upcoming issues (like the one where Bruce is supposed to be a private investigator) but I trust that Morrison will find a way to make it work.

Two things that make me a little bit wary:

1. The appearance of Superman & co. at the end of the issue. I had hoped that this whole Time Masters parallel series was just a blatant cash grab from DC attempting to capitalize on the buzz surrounding Bruce Wayne's return and that it wouldn't actually play a major role in Grant Morrison's magnum opus. The way they show up a few minutes late and claim to have "just missed him" is tacky and nonsensical – you have a time machine, just go back 5 minutes into the past and you'll catch him! – and it feels like something that editorial imposed on Morrison, rather than an organic element of his story. I would be more than happy if that was their only appearance in the series, but I'm afraid that we're going to get this same ploy in every issue. Which brings me to my second point...

2. The structure of the story works well for the first issue – we get lots of references to Batman mythos and Bruce's brief adventure in caveman land is like a condensed and transposed version of his history. While this is a lot of fun, I sincerely hope that Morrison has more in store for us in the next issues, because following the same basic structure and pattern for every issue is going to get very boring and very repetitive. It's a big challenge to tell a full story in a completely different setting with a completely different set of characters in each issue.

This is a great start, though, and I look forward to the next issue, which is coming out next week!

Review: Batman and Robin #12

I'm really struggling to find my voice with these reviews. I follow so many comics blog and they all review the same issues that come out every week and a lot of them have very insightful things to say. By the time I get around to writing my review, I kinda feel like I have nothing to add. I also realize that very few people ever read this blog. To be honest, I don't think the internet needs another comics blog right now. But that's not really why I'm doing this, is it? I'm just trying to record my personal reactions to the things I read. If I come up with some interesting observations along the way, it's like an added bonus. I just don't want to get too hung up on trying to say something insightful, and instead focus on trying to be sincere.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #12
Written by Grant Morrison; pencils by Andy Clarke; inks/finishes by Scott Hanna; layouts by Dustin Nguyen

(Possible spoilers.)

I think I'm starting to understand what is so different about the way Grant Morrison writes comics, and it's got nothing to do with the meta-textual elements or his penchant for the weird and trippy. It's more about the pacing and how much story he packs into every issue. I've read a lot of comments about how comic books are "decompressed" these days, but Morrison seems to go against that trend. He comes up with crazy complicated stories and then doesn't waste any time getting from one plot point to the next. It takes a bit of getting used to, and I think that's why every issue of Batman and Robin that I read initially leaves me feeling a bit disoriented and confused. It's only after a second or third reading that I start to fully grasp everything that's happened, and only then can I appreciate how the subtle character moments and scenes that brought us from point A to B to C were carefully chosen by Morrison in order to tell that story.

A lot happens in this issue, and on my first read, I felt like the transitions were too abrupt and the overall structure a bit awkward. They go from the fight in the graveyard, to a brief stop in the cave, to a visit to Talia's HQ halfway across the globe, back to the Batcave, and finally to Oberon's hotel room, where his identity is finally revealed. It's a lot of jumping around, and it's presented as one continuous sequence of event, when it seems you would need several days to cram all that into a schedule. But who cares? The structure is less built around a realistic sense of time than it is designed to hit all the right story beats and character moments. Examined in that light, it works.

The confrontation between Damian and his mother is the emotional climax of the issue, and it's full of great lines and shocking revelations. One of my favourites is when Talia tells Damian: "Take off that ridiculous costume. It's not normal." Considering the insane childhood that Damian has had so far, it's hilarious that she's now all of a sudden concerned with normality. Damian tells her that being Robin is the best thing he's ever done. It's the life he chose, whether or not his father returns. Talia shows him the creepy foetus she's growing in a laboratory and tells him that he's made from the same augmented DNA combination as Damian. This is essentially her backup copy. Her experiment with Damian failed, and now she rejects him and is preparing to start over with Damian #2. Damian asks: "Can't you just love me for who I am? Not what you want me to be?" To which she says no, then expels him from the Al Ghul family. Damian replies that he hopes he can be a worthy enemy.

Over the course of Batman and Robin, we've seen Damian's character evolve and mature. We've seen how seriously he takes the job of being Robin, and how sincere he is in his decision to honour his father and fight crime. With this scene, Morrison firmly cements Damian's place in the Bat family, and proves that he does in fact deserve our sympathy. Whether this will actually help to silence all the annoying Damian haters who still can't see past the annoying little brat, I doubt it. But for the rest of us, this simply confirms what we already knew – that Damian is a great character full of potential.

The major revelation at the end of this issue is of course Oberon's true identity. I saw it coming, because it was one of two popular theories that were being thrown around on message boards a lot, although it wasn't one that I personally subscribed to. I still don't know how I feel about it. Since it ends on a cliffhanger, we don't know exactly how that fits into the bigger picture or how it's going to affect what happens next, including of course the return of Bruce Wayne. I'm going to hold off on commenting further until we know more.

Review: Batman and Son

BATMAN AND SON (TPB)
Written by Grant Morrison; art by Andy Kubert

When I started reading Batman and Robin, the idea was to jump right in and not get bogged down trying to catch up to current continuity. It's always a losing battle, because by the time you make your way through all the trades, more issues have come out and you're still not up to date, and before you know it everyone's halfway through a major crossover event and you've been left behind. That's exactly what happened to me when I was trying to catch up on Green Lantern so I could read Blackest Night. I ended up reading a shit-ton of Green Lantern trades and by the time I was done, Blackest Night was almost over and I was sick of Green Lantern (and Geoff Johns).

So I read the first 11 issues of Batman and Robin without having read any of Grant Morrison's previous Batman work. And for the most part, it's been fine – I'm enjoying the books and the mystery that Morrison is setting up. But the more I get into it, the more I realize that I'm missing some very important parts of the puzzle and it would probably be more rewarding to read the whole story.

So I got the Batman and Son collection and read it fairly quickly. It's a good read, although it's kind of jarring to see what an annoying little brat Damian was when he was first introduced. His character has changed so much since then – and I mean that in a good way, not in the sense that Grant Morrison is writing him differently, but in the sense that the character himself has grown and matured.

I don't know what it is with me and the batkids, but they always turn out to be my favourite characters. Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and even Jason Todd are all very interesting, multi-faceted characters that I care about deeply. And now Damian has taken his place in that lineage and he's no exception. It'll be interesting to see what DC does with him after Grant Morrison stops writing Batman. I hope they find a way to keep using him.

But back to this book: I love Grant Morrison's frenetic pacing in these stories, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the opening story. How crazy is it that he started his Batman run with a scene featuring Jim Gordon gone insane from the Joker's toxin, followed by Batman shooting the Joker in the face?! Fans must have lost their shit the first time they read those pages. And Andy Kubert's art is brilliant and dynamic, and it perfectly suits the wild pacing of the storytelling.

Unfortunately, I thought the "interlude" written in prose was absolutely unreadable. And when I say "unreadable," that's exactly what I mean. I was unable to finish it. It's the worst prose I've ever read in my life, and although I suspect that part of it is intentionally bad, it's inexcusable. (I've read other prose pieces by Grant Morrison and they didn't suck like this.) Fittingly, John Van Fleet's artwork is terribly ugly and amateurish. This chapter feels completely out of place in the collection and I had to skip it entirely. I don't care if it contains important story points that I'm missing. I just want to pretend it doesn't exist.

The final chapter in the book is from Batman #666 and features a hellish "possible future" where Batman has died (but is it Dick Grayson or Bruce Wayne?), and Damian has apparently made a deal with the devil and is now Batman. It's appropriately demented and it ends with what must be one of the best lines of dialogue that Grant Morrison has ever written. How this nightmare future fits into the big story is still unclear. Are we heading toward that possible future, or have things deviated enough that it has been averted by now?

Reviews: Batman and Robin #11, Flash: Secret Files and Origins 2010

(These reviews contain spoilers.)

BATMAN AND ROBIN #11
Written by Grant Morrison; pencils by Andy Clarke; inks by Scott Hanna

I have a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to Grant Morrison's Batman and Robin, because I haven't read any of his Batman stories leading up to it, nor have I read a lot of stories (from other writers) featuring some of the key players, like Talia and Hurt. So I was a bit lost when I first read the opening scene of this new issue, which is the big reveal that the villain known as "El Penitente" is in fact Hurt, but after doing a bit of research online, the pieces are starting to fall into place. And things are getting really interesting. I'm looking forward to finding out where this is all headed.

I've enjoyed the series so far for the most part, although it can be a bit hit-and-miss at times. The first story arc was great, due in no small part to Frank Quitely's fantastic interior art, but the second and third arcs weren't quite as exciting, although they each had enough good moments to keep me reading. What I've been enjoying the most is the characterization of Damian. I'm a pretty big fan of all the Robins, and I think Damian is a remarkably well written and original addition to the lineage. His relationship with Dick and how it is evolving from a kind of insubordinate rivalry to growing respect and affection is great. And it wasn't really until issue #10 that this really started to pay off – with probably my favourite scene in the series so far, where Damian worries about whether he'll be able to continue as Robin once Bruce Wayne has returned. It was really sweet to see just how much this means to him, and it made the "betrayal" that followed all the more powerful.

In some ways, issue #11 is just the logical continuation of what was set into motion earlier, so there weren't any big revelations or moments that had the same kind of impact those last few pages of #10 did. Dick follows the clues in Wayne Manor a little further, discovering more hidden rooms, a statue of a bat demon, and a railway that leads back to the cemetery, where Damian and Sexton are fighting against the 99 fiends. The revelation that Talia's "executioner" is Deathstroke just kinda made me go, "M'eh." I don't really see what the big deal is whether it's him or Talia herself remote-controlling Damian to get at Batman. I think the best scenes were the ones where Damian questioned Sexton about his identity – although no answers are given, they hint at the big revelation coming next month when Sexton will finally remove his mask (as shown in the preview at the end of this book).

I'm willing to bet that this big reveal is going to coincide with the first issue of The Return of Bruce Wayne miniseries is no accident. Very exciting!

This arc also features the best art (care of Andy Clarke) in the series since Quitely's arc.

*

THE FLASH: SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS 2010
Written by Geoff Johns; art by Scott Kolins and Francis Manapul


I also picked up The Flash: Secret Files and Origins today. I've decided to take my chance with the new Flash series, which starts next week, so I figured this would be a good way to ease into it, since I haven't read Flash Rebirth. The preview on the DC blog made it seem like it would focus on Barry Allen's childhood, which I thought would be interesting.

For a $4 book, I have to say this was a huge disappointment. The story itself is only 17 pages and, aside from a few brief flashbacks to Barry's childhood, basically consist of him getting up in the middle of the night, making his way to the house he grew up in (where his mother was murdered when he was 11), meeting up with all the other speedsters in the DC universe who also felt drawn to that place due to their connection to the Speed Force – and the going back to bed. Nothing really happens. Then there's a brief epilogue that shows the rogues about to do something but the story ends before they do it.

The other 19 pages of the book (not counting advertisement) consist of a bunch of fact sheets with information on the different characters and concepts that will play a role in the series. Most of it is information I was either already familiar with or could have easily looked up on Wikipedia.

Seriously, if this book wasn't meant to be more than an advertisement for the upcoming series, it should have been much cheaper. The art was also pretty unremarkable (it's better in the character bios than in the story itself) and the writing seemed uninspired. I really hope Geoff Johns has something better planned for the ongoing series, or I'm going to be dropping it really fast.