The Marvelous Land of Oz #1

November 7, 2009

The Marvelous Land of Oz #1 (Marvel Comics)
By L. Frank Baum, Eric Shanower & Skottie Young

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young continue their exploration of the world of L. Frank Baum, and it’s still a great read. Going into the second book in the series, we leave behind Dorothy and company and meet Tip, a young boy who has grown up in the care of a witch named Mombi. Tip decides to get back at the witch by creating a wooden frame with a pumpkin for a head, hoping to scare her. Instead, Mombi uses the wooden man named Jack to test out a new magic powder that brings inanimate objects to life. While the original text is different from the movie, most people are at least a little familiar with the original Wizard of Oz. Beginning here, Shanower and Young are diving into stories that most of the readers will be totally unfamiliar with. The designs are fantastic and the adaptation is very strong. I can’t wait for the rest of this series, and I really hope they keep it going.
Rating: 10/10

Betty #189

March 17, 2011

Title: What’s Old is New Again (New Kids Off the Wall Part 5)

Writer: Alex Simmons
Pencils: Dan Parent
Inks: Rich Koslowski
Colorist: Digikore Studios
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Cover: Rex W. Lindsey
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics

The integration of new students into Riverdale High continues this issue, and this time it’s Betty who’s trying to find a way to compete. One of the new girls, Chloe, seems to be outdoing Betty at everything she’s good at. To try to compete, Betty convinces another of the new kids, Sayid, to help her meet up with the rest of the incoming students, hoping to earn her reporting stripes.

This issue is okay, but not great. The burgeoning Sayid relationship is actually well done, but that’s sort of what causes the problem. He’s not a bad character, and Alex Simmons is doing an admirable job of making him seem like a guy Betty would genuinely develop a romantic interest in. But they very fact that they’ve taken that path with the character limits him severely, because we know that it can’t last. Aside from “possible” futures like we’re getting in Life With Archie, we know the Betty/Archie/Veronica love triangle is eternal, and any time an angle is added or cut off it’s only temporary. The result is that the character is already doomed – he’ll either eventually go away or he’ll have to lose the thing that makes him interesting in order to stay in the spotlight in Riverdale.

Dan Parent and Rich Koslowski always do solid artwork, and this issue is no different. They’ve mastered the Archie style, and while neither of them are breaking any new ground, they’re both doing top-notch work in the realm of what they do.

I’ve liked the new characters. I just hope that some of them, Sayid included, find some say to stick around.

Rating: 7/10

Batman: Gotham Knights #51

March 13, 2004

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Pushback Book Two

Things are looking worse and worse for the Riddler…

Writer: A.J. Lieberman
Pencils: Al Barrionuevo
Inks: Francis Portela
Colors: Brad Anderson
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Matt Idelson
Cover Art: Lee Bermejo
Publisher: DC Comics

The Riddler is having a rough time of it lately. While the man named Hush is planning revenge, he pleads with the Joker to get him to safety. Therein lies the major problem with this story arc, actually – A.J. Lieberman’s characterization of the Joker doesn’t really work. He’s too calculating, too… well… sane. While even at his craziest the Joker has a certain maniacal logic to his actions, in this book the mania takes a back seat and he’s behaving almost rationally, and that doesn’t fit the character. Lieberman could have told the same story using, say, the Penguin, and it would have made much more sense.

Batman and Robin take a supporting role in this issue as they look for an explanation to the late Vesper Fairchild’s appearance last issue. The return of the woman Bruce Wayne was accused of murdering is understandably striking for our heroes, but their actions in this issue don’t seem targeted enough. They’re acting without a rudder or a plan, and that’s something Batman never does.

Bermejo, for the most part, does a fine job on the artwork. He has a great car chase scene and a nasty fight scene at the end (“fight” is really too generous a term, it’s essentially a beating). I’m a big fan of his Batman.

I am not, however, that big a fan of his Bruce Wayne. When he takes off the mask, Bermejo’s Bruce appears almost as scarred as the character walking around in bandages, while his Tim Drake has a weird enlarged forehead that doesn’t work for him.

Although Lieberman impressed me with his recent backup story in Detective Comics, his much-vaunted return of Hush in this title hasn’t really grabbed me so far. For the most part, reading Batman: Gotham Knights is, at the moment, an exercise in waiting around for something to happen that really feels like it matters.

Rating: 6/10