Betty #187

September 6, 2010

Title: Battle of the BFFs Part One

Writer: Dan Parent
Pencils: Pat & Tim Kennedy
Inks: Mike DeCarlo
Colorist: Digikore Studios
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Cover: Dan Parent
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics

When Betty and Veronica learn of a contest to discover the greatest “BFF”s in America, they figure they’re a cinch to win. Frequent antagonist Cheryl Blossom, however, plans to throw a wrench into their hopes – but Cheryl has a problem. She, like many of the other girls in Riverdale, doesn’t really have a BFF. (Cheryl, in fact, doesn’t even really have an “F”.)

Archie’s been doing more and more extended storylines lately, even ones that cross over between titles like this one. While I’d hate to see them abandon shorter stories entirely (as those really are the perfect format for new readers) I do applaud them branching out and trying new things like this. That said, this book is kind of corny, even for Archie Comics. It’s fun, yes, and very sweet, but at times the sweetness between the girls treads the Saccharine border. I can accept that these two are best friends despite fighting over the same boy for nearly 70 years, but there is a limit to just how sweet they can be. Aside from that, the story is cute, and it gives Dan Parent a good opportunity, in the next three chapters of the story, to open up the world of Riverdale to several new girls and to give a bit of a spotlight to some of the more recent additions to Riverdale High that may not have really gotten a chance to develop as characters yet.

Pat and Tim Kennedy provide the artwork this month, and it’s pretty standard Archie stuff. They’re not breaking any rules or going outside the box or any other set of buzzwords you could imagine, but they tell the story well and give the book a style consistent with the rest of the Archie line.

A good little book, and it should be fun to follow the rest of this story.

Rating: 7/10

Batman: Gotham Knights #50

February 17, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Pushback Book One

As the Riddler sits in prison, Batman sees a face from the past.

Writer: A.J. Lieberman
Pencils: Al Barrionuevo
Inker: Francis Portela
Colors: Noelle Giddings with Heroic Age
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Lee Bermejo
Publisher: DC Comics

This issue is famously publicized as being the return of Hush, that’s slightly misleading, as the character himself doesn’t appear at all in this issue. His fingerprints, however, are all over it. In prison, the Riddler finds himself the center of attention thanks to his near-defeat of Batman. His notoriety brings danger with it, however, and a threat sends him scrambling to use his major bargaining chip in exchange for outside help.

Meanwhile, Batman sees someone who has been dead for some time, at least as dead as anyone gets in comic books, and this sends him on a chase that sends things into complete turmoil. This person can’t be alive, shouldn’t be alive, and if you interpret some of the dialogue in a certain way, you see no reason to believe this person is alive. A.J. Lieberman is kicking off his run on this title with a good old-fashioned Batman mystery, and that’s a good way to start.

Al Barrionuevo has a very good, solid style with these characters. His Batman is tough, but still human, and his Riddler looks like a smarmy used car salesman – in short, just about perfect.

This issue does seem to shift the focus of the series, however. In the past, it has been about Batman and his relationship with the other members of his “family” — Robin, Nightwing, etc. Except for a quick radio exchange with Oracle, none of them appear in this book. The focus is solely on the villains.

This issue also abandons the “Batman Black and White” back-up feature that the title has had for 49 issues. I’m kind of sorry to see it go, because although not all of those books were great, I always like a comic that provides room for different creators to play around, and back-up stories are one of the best ways to do that. If the backup doesn’t come back next issue, I would hope the price will go down to that of a regular Batman title as the page count drops as well.

This is a solid issue, one that fans of the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee collaboration won’t want to miss. Solid story, solid art and a beautiful cover. Out of the three core bat-titles, this issue immediately places it in the running as my current favorite.

Rating: 8/10

(2010 Note: This is a case of a good opening that didn’t live up to its promise.)

Annihilation #5

December 26, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Ascension
Rating: T+

With Thanos dead, can anyone free Galactus?

Writer: Keith Giffen
Art: Andrea DiVito
Colors: Laura Villari
Letters:Cory Petit
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Cover Art: Gabrielle Dell’otto
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Drax has killed Thanos, supposedly the one being with the power to free Galactus – and only Galactus has the power to stop Annihilus on his path of destruction through the universe. As Drax and Moondragon seek a new way to free the devourer of worlds, Nova’s team plans a last stand and Ronan and the Super-Skrull go to war with the Kree Empire.

Keith Giffen really has done a masterful job with this storyline, weaving the sort of war story combined with action combined with an air of last-stand desperation that really makes for an exciting cosmic event. What’s more, in the process he’s refined characters like Ronan the Accuser, who in the past have been little more than plot devices to make things a little more difficult on the Avengers, and turned them into people to root for. The same goes for the likes of the Super-Skrull and Blastaar. Meanwhile, we see a real evolution of Nova – he’s become much more than the teen superhero he used to be – now he’s a genuine general, and it’s a role that suits him in this book.

Mixed in with a strong story is some truly wonderful artwork. Andrea DiVito has long been one of the best traditional artists in Marvel’s stable, but his style is particularly well suited for this sort of space opera. There’s a lot of superhero style in here, but he mixes it with the sort of aliens and sci-fi energy effects (no doubt aided by Laura Villari’s fantastic colors) to give the book just the right look.

Ronan’s final scene is perhaps what puts this book over the top for me. It’s one of those final moments that really tugs at you, which is something that a character like Ronan never would have been able to pull off prior to this story. That’s a pretty good summation, in fact, as to what makes this issue good.

Rating: 8/10

(2010 Note: I later went back and got the hardcover Annihilation collections. They were well worth the money.)