Batman #40 starts off with Batman and Wonder Woman still stuck defending us against the everlasting horde, all so that the standard guard, the Gentle Man, can have a chance to visit his wife. The catch? The Gentleman may or may not have failed to mention the slight time difference between the two dimensions. I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s anxiously awaited the last two weeks, hoping that the hinted at event wouldn’t actually occur.
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This special, ahem, intermission sorry, starts off on a pretty cute (or mushy, depending on how you look at it) note; there’s a whole page dedicated to pink and red roses and the adorable couple known as…wait, is there a ship name for Jory and Hunter? I don’t know this, but I feel like it’s something I should be aware of. If there isn’t one, I call dibs on naming it!
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I want to start off with the one thing that irritated me with Mother Panic - Batman #1. Maybe I never noticed it in Mother Panic, but I wish they’d use actual curse words instead of Violet losing her “@!*&&#$” mind. I’m going to lose my @!&&#$ mind over that. I’m starting with the negative because the rest of this review is going to be a long-winded fawning over Mother Panic as a title, followed by a serious appreciation for the adventure Mother Panic - Batman #1 sets up.
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I am very confused on what exactly VS #1 is about. It’s really pretty to look, and Flynn seems like an interesting enough character. But it’s really confusing to know what is real and not real in the world of VS? Obviously, Flynn is a grizzled combat veteran, but did that combat happen in cyberspace, a virtual reality rehab program, in his past, or in his future? Flynn is obviously a celebrity but how did achieve it? Hopefully, we’ll see in future issues, because VS #1 is definitely successful in making me want more of it.
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This is the start of a four-issue weekly miniseries, and man does it start off with a bang. The first issue in this intriguing new series is called ‘Old Flames’ which is very appropriate, considering what occurs inside. The main character is a main named Meserov (aka Misha), and he runs Heartbreak Incorporated. As the business name implies, it’s his job to break couples apart. He doesn’t care what the reason is for a person wanting a couple to break up, as long as they can pay. Though I get the impression, his usual clientele are looking for him to get their cheating spouses to knock it off (even if temporarily).
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It seems I was wrong about “Deadly Fable” being only two issues long. Well, sort of. Because while DC claims the next issue is part one of “New Life and Death” (which is supposedly “following the Queen of Fables saga”), this one ends on a cliffhanger without any kind of conclusion in sight. Now, could I simply be taking DC’s description of next issue a little too much at face value? Sure. In fact, I hope that’s the case. But, it’s hard to be certain with a book that has previously failed to end arcs satisfactorily and at one point abruptly injected two flashbacks into the middle of a story before resolving its own cliffhanger. Of course, the biggest question regarding Justice League of America #23 is whether or not it keeps up the actually decent quality the previous issue finally managed to achieve. And, the answer is, again, sort of.
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It’s not often that I get to review the second issue of something; usually, I can’t say more than “a promising start,” or something like that. Seeing a series continue and getting to comment on whether or not it lives up to that potential is something of a rarity in the world of indie comics review. White Ash #1 was one of those books; I liked it, but had concerns about certain aspects and wasn’t sure it would address them. Fortunately, White Ash #2 very much fixes the flaws of the first issue. Just note that this is a spoiler-free review; I’m not going to talk about anything more specific and plot-relevant than general tone and concepts.
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Typically when you read a series of graphic novels, you become aware of the structure of the story. Many writers use the same setups and pacing to give each volume a familiar feel. The problem with this is that by the time you reach the end, you’re complacent with the material. The setup and pacing for the second volume of Isabellae are vastly different from the first. Whereas the first volume of Isabellae had several reveals and high points, this volume of the series is slowly building towards the ending.
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With a title like Infidel, your comic is going to get a lot of looks. Not necessarily positive ones because I mean do I really have to explain the landscape of society in a review for a comic book? I don’t think so either. At any rate, I recall getting a few comments about this book when I posted the press release, and the concern was how the subject matter was going to be handled.
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Bonehead is one of those comics that I’m merely glad it exists. It has some rough edges for sure, but setting and design of the world is intriguing. The plot is still alluding us; sure we have the basic idea of everything, but the presented end goal is far in the future barring the question of where’s this arc going?
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Does your mom want you to stop conducting interrogations in her kitchen? Have your disco days put you at serious risk for throwing out your back? If so, you’re not as alone as you may think.
Let me start by saying that I have never experienced a comic book quite like The Black Crown Quarterly before. That may say more about my need to branch out than it does about the book, but this issue was a ridiculously fun read with a unique and well-executed format. Imagine a mix of short, well-written articles surrounded by intermittent stories ranging from hilarious comedies to crime noir- all of which have top quality writing. As a comic book reader, it’s easy to pick up on when a writer is just phoning it in to reach a deadline, and when they’re dedicated to delivering high-quality work regardless of the subject matter or page count. As of issue #2, Black Crown is still delivering strong.
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There are points in some creator’s careers in which they hit a point of almost superstardom in the industry. They can do no wrong with their fan base, and their fan base buys a lot of comics. You can likely think of countless creators like this, some of them are still at that level while others have fallen from grace. I have stopped this practice after years of over-inflating comics that didn’t deserve it because the writer or artist was, “really good.” It’s a dangerous practice, and it’s one that I, unfortunately, see that happening to Jeff Lemire more and more. That’s not to say that he doesn’t make good comics. He actually has a couple out at the moment that are better than good, but that doesn’t mean everything he releases is gold.
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You may remember from the last issue that our beloved Harley Quinn has been turned into a bat woman (is here a good point to make another vigilante joke?), if you don’t it’s likely that the cover would quickly spark your memory of this. This whole plot still feels a bit on the silly side, but I have to admit I absolutely adore this cover. The bat ears on Harley remind me of Anubis’ ears, which is actually pretty cool.
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Quantum and Woody is just weird. It’s a comedy full of drama that fits perfectly with the rest of the Valiant Universe, but then also feels horribly out of place at the same time. It’s the curse of the comedic superhero book. Recently there’s been a lot more attempts at humor in superhero comics, and most of them have frankly sucked ass. The whole ass. This isn’t a meme, no one’s getting points for eating ass, it just sucks. But, it makes you appreciate comics like Quantum and Woody all the more. Comics that manage to find that balance of humor, drama, and action without feeling like a hollow shell of its former self. That’s all my review should be, but that’s now how I roll, so I’ll just keep going and hope that my sentiments are destroyed by my own words. Oh wait, I said suck and eat ass a lot already, so I’m sure it’s all uphill from here.
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The Silencer is a new DC series, based in the Dark Nights Metal universe. Honor Guest (yes, that really is her name) is one of the world’s deadliest assassins, and the description for the series felt the need to point out that this is true, even though we’ve never heard of her. Personally, I feel that the best assassins would be the ones that keep their names from being mentioned all of the time, and thus I’m willing to consider that further proof, rather than a reason to question the validity of the series.
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Three issues into Dread Gods and it finally seems like the story will fulfill on the promise of the original issue. Throughout almost the entirety of Dread Gods #3, I gave up on the series. Nothing new or exciting happened. The supposed plot revelation felt cliché and the writing was adequate at best. But the ending opened up a whole new element for future issues that I never would have expected.
Writer Ron Marz’s series hasn’t been a groundbreaking piece with biting socio/political commentary. If anything the series has simply served as a way to see ancient Greek Gods adorned like modern-day wrestlers duke it out. And this isn’t a bad thing as that is an awesome premise that would have most readers hooked. It simply becomes an issue because Marz is so intent on forcing it away from entertainment. Marz seems predetermined to draw obvious parallels between the Gods World and Carver’s.
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This is the first issue in a new series by Vertigo; it appears it’s only going to be six issues long, so it’s not a huge investment for any of the fans. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty willing to give anything by Vertigo a try (but then again, they published Y: the Last Man, so of course I feel that way). Tabitha (AKA Tab) lives in a world where multiple parallel earths are interconnected to one another. Sounds like pure chaos, right? It pretty much is, and that chaos seems like it would be a bounty hunter’s dream come true. Which makes it pretty fortunate that Tab is a bounty hunter.
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There is absolutely no joy in giving a bad review to the first issue of a new imprint. Frankly, it sucks to do that, but that’s what I’m here to do. At its core, the story here is fascinating. The era and setting are all things that are fairly new to American comics, at least from the vast majority of titles I’ve read. It’s just that Mata Hari actively makes it difficult for the reader to understand what exactly is going on in the story. Reading the first issue feels more like a punishment than something joyous or entertaining.
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Whenever I see an annual issue, I always assume that the creators are setting up for a major event in a series (or two). The Flash Annual is no exception to this, which just further affirms that belief for me. From the title (Who Remembers Wally West) it’s pretty clear that this is going to be a Wally heavy issue, though likely the other Flash’s will be making their appearances as well (especially since they are setting up for a major event).
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As I said on my podcast, if Umami had released just one more issue in 2017, it would have likely ended up on my best of list. The inner debate with myself was non-stop about this book a one or two more that were also very close to making the top five. What Umami has going for it above all other comics, is the overwhelming feeling of happiness that it fills you will. That is the main dish that Ken Niimura’s two characters are cooking up, joy and happiness.
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