Detective Comics #797

August 3, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Flashpoint (War Games Act 1, Part 1) & Low Part One

The war has erupted – can Batman’s family keep Gotham whole?

Writer: Andersen Gabrych & Shane McCarthy
Pencils: Pete Woods & Tommy Castillo
Inks: Nathan Massengill & Rodney Ramos
Colors: Jason Wright & Tony Avina
Letters: Pat Brosseau & Ken Lopez
Editor: Bob Schreck & Michael Wright
Cover Art: Jock
Publisher: DC Comics

This is going to be a very difficult issue to review because, first of all, thanks to its “advance” status I haven’t read the first part of the storyline in this week’s Batman: The 12-Cent Adventure, and second, because I’ll have to try to avoid spoiling the events of that issue.

Here’s what I can tell you – Gotham City is in serious trouble. A gang war has erupted, threatening to consume the streets, and only Batman’s family has a chance to get things under control. I know that a lot of people are put off by crossovers like this one, but when they’re done well, I’m a big fan. This issue does everything you really need out of a crossover chapter – it advances the main storyline, and it quickly recaps the events of the other Batman titles to allow people who haven’t been reading every title to jump right in. It manages to do this, however, without dragging down the story or boring regular readers.

Pete Woods, whose work I last saw over in Robin, is a natural for the Batman family. Each hero, even satellite characters like Orpheus, get to shine a bit here. He manages to capture the lunacy and chaos that Gotham is in, but doesn’t make things so chaotic that you don’t know what’s going on.

Most readers have made up their minds – they’re either going to get all of the “War Games” chapters or none at all. If you’re going to read, I think you’ll find yourself satisfied with this issue. If you aren’t, then I’d urge you to give it a try – based solely on this issue, I think this will be a good one.

“Low,” the backup story by McCarthy and Castillo, is okay, but seems a bit superfluous. The Riddler finds his way into Poison Ivy’s lair, only to find himself up to his neck in trouble. So-so story, but Castillo, Ramos and Avina do a very nice job on the artistic side. I’d like to see this art team take on a bat-book full time, Robin for instance.

Rating: 7/10

Justice League Unlimited #28

December 9, 2006

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Season’s Beatings, Justice League!

The Phantom Stranger takes Flash on a trip to Batman’s Christmas past!

Writer: Mike McAvennie
Pencils: Sanford Greene
Inks: Nathan Massengill
Colors: Heroic Age
Letters: John J. Hill
Editor: Michael Wright
Cover Art: Ty Templeton
Publisher: DC Comics/Johnny DC

Back in the early 90s, DC put out a Christmas With the Super-Heroes special, reprinting some of the best seasonal tales from the company’s history. If they were to produce another such volume, this comic would certainly be one of the stories worth consideration for inclusion.

As the Justice League takes on Clayface, disguised in a festive Santa Claus suit, the Flash rushes in headfirst, screwing up the plan. Because of his carelessness, one of Clayface’s henchmen – a heavily armed “Elf” – manages to escape. An angry Batman sends Flash back to the satellite to sit on monitor duty while the rest of the team goes out to round up the missing elf. Flash finds himself wondering how even Batman can be such a Grinch at Christmas, when a visitor appears to answer that very question.

It’s always fun to see the Phantom Stranger put to use, and somehow he’s always felt at home in Christmas stories. (Maybe that’s because the first time I ever saw the character was in a Justice League Christmas story where they were battling the Key.) He takes Flash to visit two significant Christmases in Batman’s past, trying to help him understand exactly what it is that makes Batman who he is. The resultant story is really fantastic. This may be set on “Earth-Timm,” but the conclusions drawn here would be perfectly applicable to the “mainstream” Batman as well. It’s a great story that sheds a lot of light on the character, leading up to a very strong last page, where things all seem to turn out all right.

Sanford Greene’s artwork is also of note. Like any artist who successfully works on one of these animated comics, he’s found a nice balance between the models of the cartoon show and his own storytelling style. He has a really nice gift for putting emotion on the characters’ faces without getting either too exaggerated or too off-model.

This is one of the best issues of Justice League Unlimited I’ve yet read, and one of the best Christmas comics to have crossed my path this year.

Rating: 9/10