Batman (1940 Series) #628

June 22, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Scary Monsters (As the Crow Flies Part Three)

As Jonathan Crane continues his work for the Penguin, a horrifying new Scarecrow terrorizes Gotham City’s underworld.

Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Dustin Nguyen
Inks: Richard Friend
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Matt Wagner
Publisher: DC Comics

I didn’t expect Judd Winick to spend so much of his Batman tenure focusing on the villains, but that’s just what he’s doing, and it’s working well. For a long time now, the Penguin has been portrayed as a sort of bumbling snake oil salesman, at best a washed-up kingpin who’s unable to reclaim his past glories. Here he finally feels like a mob boss, like a nasty bad guy to be reckoned with.

The Scarecrow, meanwhile, is a man who is both confused and torn. He seems to have a real emotional attachment with his assistant, Linda, and truly disdains being in the Penguin’s employ. Still, he has a warped duty to perform, and he keeps going.

Our heroes aren’t absent, of course. Batman sends Robin (Tim Drake, this clearly takes place before Robin #125) off for his regularly-scheduled weekend with the Teen Titans, clearly glad to get his young partner out of harm’s way, and then sets out to find the creature that’s driving mobsters insane. There seems to be a fairly obvious culprit in the creation of this nightmarish Scarecrow substitute, and I’m hoping Winick is either fooling me by looking in the wrong direction or has a really original backstory that is yet to be revealed.

Nguyen and Friend have a wonderful style in this series. They have a fine traditional rendition of Batman and a great big, nasty monster. The creature comes out like something out of L. Frank Baum’s nightmares, a real Scarecrow from hell.

The Winick/Nguyen Batman may not go down in history as the greatest run of all time, but it’s a good, solid run that should be satisfying any mainstream Batman fan. If the mystery turns out to have more to it than it seems, it’ll be better than solid. I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #627

May 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Partners in Crime (As the Crow Flies Part Two)

The Penguin and the Scarecrow make their schemes as Batman tries to track them down.

Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Dustin Nguyen
Inks: Richard Friend
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Matt Wagner
Publisher: DC Comics

Didn’t the last issue of Batman ship just two weeks ago? One hopes DC isn’t going to follow Marvel’s lead when it comes to double shipping or skewing release schedules – there’s enough of that going on already. But at least we get a solid issue of Batman this week.

Mobsters in Gotham City are going nuts, killing indiscriminately and usually ending up dead themselves, and the Batman wants to know why. The readers already know the answer, however – the whole thing is a plot concocted by the Penguin and the Scarecrow, who is forced into a subservient role even though it is his biochemical genius making the plan possible.

This is a pretty good study of the characters, showing how meek the Scarecrow really is when not amped up on his chemicals or his own self-importance. The Penguin also comes across as more brutal and dangerous than he has appeared in recent years, and quite the joke he frequently appears to be.

We’re also introduced to a new character this issue, the Scarecrow’s lab assistant, Linda Friitawa. Linda is a true albino, with pale skin, white hair and pink eyes – and a sensitivity to light that makes her as much a creature of the night as the Batman. She has an odd affection for the Scarecrow, something that promises to add a dimension to the old villain who sometimes feels like he has no stories left to tell. It’s a nice little twist that Winick adds, and one that is welcome.

Dustin Nguyen is a really good Batman artist. He and inker Richard Friend do a fine job casting the Dark Knight in the shadows, and bring out the grotesqueries of the Penguin and the spindly weirdness of the Scarecrow very well. The final monster that appears on the last few pages looks especially good, like something out of L. Frank Baum’s nightmares.

Winick is serving up a good old-fashioned Batman tale – nothing spectacular, nothing groundbreaking, but entertaining and a lot of fun. I’m enjoying this story arc, and I expect I’ll keep enjoying it through to the end.

Rating: 7/10

Batman #626

April 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Visions (As the Crow Flies)

One of the lords of Gotham’s underworld goes nuts – can Batman figure out why?

Writer: Judd Winick
Pencils: Dustin Nguyen
Inks: Richard Friend
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Bob Schreck
Cover Art: Matt Wagner
Publisher: DC Comics

In the interests of full disclosure, I suppose I should mention that I’m predisposed towards enjoying this issue for two reasons – one, I didn’t care for Brian Azzarello’s “Broken City” arc, and two, Judd Winick appears to be using one of my favorite Batman villains in his run. So keep that in mind when I tell you that I thought this was a rather enjoyable issue. Thomas Alliaotto, alias Big Tommy A, one of the seemingly endless ganglords that calls Gotham City home, goes nuts before this issue even opens, pulling a gun and opening fire on what he sees as a room full of demons. Batman discovers him to be amped up on some sort of hallucinogenic drug, massively powerful and incredibly dangerous. (This info, given to us in the first few pages, is probably enough for most Bat-fans to figure out the last-page villain. If that isn’t, the fact that he’s on the cover of an issue a couple of months from now that’s already been solicited all over the internet should be).

Even though the identity of the villain isn’t new, his old tricks are amplified and altered in this issue. That’s not exactly anything new, but the way it’s played up is pretty original. Winick has shown a surprising talent for a good crime drama in his Caper series, and some of that skill definitely shows in this issue. He also does a good job with the supporting cast, including a great sequence with Alfred and a disguised Robin that’s slightly ironic considering upcoming events in that character’s own title.

Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend do a fine job on the art chores, with a very classical-looking Batman as he leaps out of the shadows and a beautiful job on the architecture of the city. For lighter scenes the colors of Alex Sinclair sell the book, giving us a Batman that exists in shades of gray. It’s a look that really works for this title.

Given my disappointment in the last few months of the book, it’s probably inevitable that I would enjoy this story considerably more. I honestly don’t think it’s just me, though, I think this is a good, solid, old-school Batman story. Check it out yourself and see if you agree.

Rating: 8/10

Supergirl (2005 Series) #55

September 6, 2010

Title: Fakeouts
Writer: Sterling Gates
Pencils: Jamal Igle
Inks: John Dell, Marc Deering & Richard Friend
Colorist: Jamie Grant & Jim Devlin
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Cover: Amy Reeder, Richard Friend & Guy Major
Editor: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC Comics

With Jimmy Olsen, Gangbuster and Dr. Light among Bizarrogirl’s captives, Supergirl descended into the sewers to try to save them, only to fall victim herself to Bizarrogirl’s reverse X-Ray vision, a power that apparently can encase people in stone. I’m still not sold on that being the opposite of seeing through things, but it’s certainly original, and Gates doesn’t dwell on it too long to really get in a bunch over it.

What does work, as we approach it from the “opposite” angle, is the characterization of the two girls. Bizarrogirl, as Supergirl’s opposite, is a cruel and unfeeling creature, which makes Supergirl’s actions at the end of this issue far more understandable and easy to accept. She takes a pretty big risk here, one that I didn’t see coming, but one that fits into her story perfectly. Using the villain to characterize the hero? A dandy little stroke of brilliance that pays off.

Jamal Igle’s artwork is beautiful. His women are soft but strong, his Gangbuster really looks like a guy who’s taken a beating, and the man does rubble very well. Even the double-page spread that opens this issue is choreographed and posed flawlessly. The man is one of the finest Supergirl artists I’ve ever seen.

This is the creative team we’ve always wanted on this title, and they’re finally getting the freedom to do some really cool stuff.

Rating: 8/10