Archive
Justice League Dark #2
November 6, 2011
Title: In the Dark Part Two: Dark Matter
Writer: Peter Milligan
Art: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Cover Artist: Ryan Sook
Editor: Rex Ogle
Publisher: DC Comics
The Enchantress is growing more unhinged, her power more unchecked, and Zatanna know she’s going to have to draw together a team to fight back. Across America, though, the likes of Constantine and Shade the Changing Man are dealing with issues of their own. The book is coming together slowly, but not in a bad way. Like a lot of team books, this first story arc feels like it’s all about bringing the group together for the first time. We see their connections here to Zatanna, we see why they may be needed, and the slow convergence is entertaining to me. The big surprise is just how big a role Dove seems to be playing in the book. Considering her relationship with Deadman, I expected her to show up once in a while, but this issue really makes it feel as though she’s going to be a regular cast member, which would be just fine by me. In addition to a good story, the artwork by Mikel Janin is nothing short of gorgeous. His ability to blend superhero characters with a book that feels like high fantasy is absolutely uncanny, and his faces are very expressive and energetic, telling the story of the characters’ emotions as neatly as the speech balloons convey their words. The “Dark” corner of the New 52 has really turned out to be one of its finest.
Rating: 8/10
DC Universe Presents #2
October 31, 2011
Title: Twenty Questions Part Two
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Art: Bernard Chang
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Cover Artist: Ryan Sook
Editor: Will Moss
Publisher: DC Comics
With no more answers about why he’s been chosen for his afterlife mission or why the parameters seem to have changed recently, Deadman tries to force the Goddess Roma to play her hand. It’s not as easy as all that, though, and he soon finds himself back on Earth seeking clues in the one place he has left… a club that caters to the occult set. Without an invitation to the Moonstone Club, though, he’ll have to resort to drastic means. Paul Jenkins’ rejiggering of the Deadman concept is proceeding really nicely here. I like his take on the character very much. It’s in keeping with everything we already knew about him, while still leaving plenty of room to try something new. The Moonstone club and its various inhabitants is a very cool concept, one that works with Deadman very well. The continuing questions about Deadman’s true nature are also intriguing While we haven’t really learned anything new yet, it’s easy to believe that by the time this story arc reaches its conclusion, the life (such as it is) of Boston Brand is going to be different than it is right now. Bernard Chang does good work here, with some nice “acting” on the characters Boston possesses. The subtlety of the facial expressions and body language really make it clear it’s the same person in multiple bodies, even if we didn’t have the crutch of the energy-aura to point it out for us. Very nice issue two.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: September 21 & 28 Releases
I’m just realizing I neglected to do a “recent reviews” post last Tuesday. It was a busy day, sorry about that. So here are my recent reviews from CXPulp.com for the past two weeks, including a lot of New 52 and several other goodies.
- All-Star Western (2011) #1
- Avengers Academy #19
- Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7
- Batman (2011) #1
- Blue Beetle (2011) #1
- Captain Atom (2011) #1
- Darkwing Duck (2010) #16
- DC Universe Presents #1
- Doctor Who (2011) #9
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #1
- Fables #109
- FF #9
- Ghostbusters (2011) #1
- Green Lantern Corps (2011) #1
- Green Lantern: New Guardians #1
- The Guild: Clara #1
- Justice League Dark #1
- Legion of Super-Heroes (2011) #1
- Nightwing (2011) #1
- The Red Wing #3
- Star Trek (2011) #1
- Supergirl (2011) #1
- Superman (2011) #1
- Teen Titans (2011) #1
- Voodoo (2011) #1
- Witch Doctor #3
- X-Men: Schism #4
Recent Reviews: August 10 Releases
I’m a tired, tired man. But I’ve turned out some reviews. Just for you. You’re welcome.
- Batgirl #24
- Batman and Robin #26
- Booster Gold #47
- DC Retroactive: Green Lantern-The 80s #1
- DC Retroactive: Justice League of America-The 80s #1
- DC Retroactive: Superman-The 80s #1
- Fear Itself #5
- Flashpoint: Deadman and the Flying Graysons #3
- Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman #3
- Flashpoint: Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown #3
- Life With Archie #12
- Mega Man #4
- Morning Glories #11
- Red Robin #26
- The Red Wing #2
- Teen Titans #99
- War of the Green Lanterns Aftermath #2
- X-Men #15.1
Recent Reviews: July 20 Releases
So today I’m back from a lovely wedding for some friends in Maine, followed by an excruciating 23-hour ordeal of trying to get the hell home despite US Airways’ best efforts to prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, I was a bit tired today and didn’t get to knock out the last few reviews for the July 20 releases. But here are the comics I reviewed over at CX Pulp before I left for Maine.
Recent Reviews: June 15 Releases
Hey, look, I remembered! Here’s my roundup of the June 15 comics I reviewed over at CX Pulp!
Brightest Day #19
February 5, 2011
Title: Aquawar Part One
Writers: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert & Rob Hunter
Colorist: Peter Steigerwald
Letterer: Rob Clark, Jr.
Cover: David Finch
Editors: Adam Schlagman & Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
As Deadman interrogates the White Lantern, trying to figure out why it would destroy Hawkman and Hawkgirl, in the depths of the ocean a war is brewing. The army from Mera’s dimension is swarming the beaches on the surface world, Black Manta at their command, leaving Aquaman and Aqualad as the only line of defense.
The Deadman stuff goes quick this issue, although we get a nice chunk of information. We still don’t quite know what the White Lantern’s true game is, but I feel like we have more of the puzzle pieces we need to put it all together. The battle scenes are impressive – large in scope, sprawling and chaotic. We definitely get a sense that our heroes are at war in this issue. The final pages are pretty abrupt, with a final cliffhanger that echoes some of the more interesting things that have happened to Aquaman in the past. It’s been plain from the outset that the writers have plans for Arthur Curry, and this issue makes that clearer than ever. I still can’t quite figure out where they intend to take him, but the surety that there is a plan is important.
Good story, great artwork.
Rating: 8/10
Brightest Day #14
December 4, 2010
Title: Acrobats
Writers: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Ivan Reis & Joe Prado
Colorist: Peter Steigerwald
Letterer: Rob Clark, Jr.
Cover: David Finch
Editors: Adam Schlagman & Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
Deadman thinks he’s found the object of his quest. He’s been charged to find the one person destined to wield the power of the White Lantern, and who better than the recently returned-from-the-dead Batman? When he tries to give the power to Bruce Wayne, though, the White Lantern winds up sending Boston Brand on a journey of self-examination instead.
I doubt that anybody truly thought Batman would become the White Lantern, but I was kind of surprised at how quickly the possibility was dismissed in this issue in favor of examining Deadman’s past. The story takes him on this whole Christmas Carol/It’s a Wonderful Life journey sort of quest until he comes to a pretty important realization. It’s not exactly anything surprising – in fact, what happens with Dove here is something I think most readers of this book have really seen coming for some time – but the execution is very good. The Deadman storyline in this series has, hands-down, been my favorite, and giving this entire issue to following it made me very happy.
Ivan Reis and Joe Prado did very nice work on the artwork, with the colors helping to draw the contrast between the darker present-day segments and the brighter, in some ways happier scenes set in the past. I like the Batman/White Lantern hybrid costume we see briefly as well, and I have no doubt that plans for an action figure are in the works. Plus, they do something pretty rare: they get to draw Deadman in actual physical combat, in this case with Mr. Freeze, which is something the character’s previous status quo often made impossible. You forget how well his costume is designed for the sort of acrobatic kick-slinging he does here.
Very strong issue.
Rating: 8/10
Brightest Day #6
July 30, 2010
Title: Dead Zone
Writers: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Penciler: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Scott Clark & Joe Prado
Inker: Vicente Cifuentes, David Beaty, Mark Irwin, Christian Alamy
Colorist: Peter Steigerwald with John Starr
Letterer: Rob Clark Jr.
Cover: David Finch, Scott Williams & Peter Steigerwald
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
Realizing that Deadman’s White Lantern ring seems to have the power to resurrect the dead, Hawk tried to force a resurrection for his brother. Failing that (because he’s “at peace”), he turns to Dove’s sister, a soul most definitely not at peace… with highly unpredictable results.
I’m really intrigued by what Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi are doing with this series. The previous storyline, Blackest Night, was reportedly a way to explain how death works in the DC Universe. While we definitely got that explanation, this series has been making it very clear that we only got a partial explanation. There’s more to it, something that we haven’t really been made to understand yet, and something that I think we may be approaching very quickly. Deadman’s story has easily been the most engaging of the various tales in Brightest Day, and this issue is no different.
That said, just because Deadman’s story has been the best doesn’t mean the others aren’t good. Firestorm especially has grabbed my attention. This week we see Jason and Ronnie forced into action when a Firestorm-style stunt is pulled off without their involvement, endangering innocent lives. It seems they aren’t riding alone, and the implication about just who may be somewhere in the Firestorm Matrix with them is pretty chilling. We also have a nice heart-to-heart between Aquaman and Mera, his wife, who kinda came to Earth to kill him originally, and we see that the Martian Manhunter may have changed up his power set along with his resurrection. He’s not the only one –Aquaman and Captain Boomerang have both showed off altered powers since their return from the dead, and the question of why and how is right up there with “Why did these twelve people – and no one else – come back?”
The only thing that hurts this book a little is the tag-team roundup of artists that provide the interior pages. While none of these specific artists are bad at what they do, nor are they particularly well-matched. It’s really easy to tell when one artist ends his section and another begins, and while the shifts are done to match changes in the characters and stories, it’s still just noticeable enough to be a problem. Not a big one, but it’s still there.
Good issue overall, and I can’t wait for the promised big reveal next week.
Rating: 7/10
The Back Issue Bin 