Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth #1

Second of the five recent comics I picked up at Newbury Comics in Braintree MA during my quick trip back to the US.

Title: Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Rebirth
Issue: #1
Date: September, 2016
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Julie Benson, Shawna Benson
Artist: Claire Roe
Colorist: Allen Passalaqua
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Dave Wielgosz, Chris Conroy
Cover:Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn

I had mixed feelings on the amount of time this issue devoted to origin-recapping. It's part of DC's "Rebirth", so it wasn't unexpected, and there were some insights that I thought were pretty good. But in the end, yet another retelling of the events of The Killing Joke felt unwelcome and I enjoyed this story more once I was past that part.

The story itself has Batgirl, having been operating for a while now in her return to the Batgirl identity (since the New 52), discovering that someone else has taken over the identity of Oracle, and is providing the information that Oracle used to deal in to the bad guys.

Black Canary gets recruited for the case, and Huntress soon returns, although for the moment she's not exactly acting as one of the good guys. There was also a lot of references to plot points that I wasn't familiar with as far as Huntress goes, but there was also enough direction to the main plot here that I didn't have a problem putting the backstory aside and just going with the flow.

The revelations at the end did a nice job of setting the stage for some big plot points to follow.

The book has a nice look to it, and it makes a good effort to incorporate a lot of the continuity and flavor that has been put into Batgirl over the last few years.

Rating: 6.5/10

Batwoman #5

Title: Batwoman
Issue: 5
Date: March 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: J. H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman
Artist: J. H. Williams III
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Harvey Richards, Rickey Purdin, Mike Marts

Batwoman has her final confrontation with the Weeping Woman, and the battle is absolutely gorgeous, and incredibly detailed. I loved the changing face of the Weeping Woman, which shifted from panel to panel.

From there it's on to a confrontation of another sort, as Kate gets a visit from Mr. Bones and Cameron Chase. What follows is an offer that Kate can't refuse. And one that might just put her on a collision course with the Batman.

The first half was more interesting and creative than the somewhat generic spy-dealings of the second half, but this was still a good effort overall, and the concluding two pages were powerful.

Rating: 8/10

Batman #5

Title: Batman
Issue: 5
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Penciler: Greg Capullo
Inker: Jonathan Glapion
Colorist: FCO
Letterer: Richard Starkings
Editor: Katie Kubert, Harvey Richards, Mike Marts
Cover: Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn

Layout gimmickry abounds as a drugged Batman fights to stay alive and stay sane in a maze constructed by the Court of Owls.

The odd layouts manage to accomplish their purpose thanks to the excellent artwork by Capullo and Glapion. I like the use of story as a theme and the concept of the Batman's story as something that he needs to cling to and fight for, something that can be taken away from him.

The Court of Owls continues to be built up into an extremely powerful enemy, and that buildup continues to be effective.

Rating: 8/10

Swamp Thing #4

Had to take a hiatus for a few days due to crunch time at the day job. Back to the comics! I'm continuing through the DC New 52 #4's.

Title: Swamp Thing
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Penciler: Marco Rudy
Inker: Marco Rudy, Sean Parsons, Michael Lacombe
Colorist: David Baron
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Editor: Matt Idelson, Chris Conroy
Cover: Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn

William Arcane murders the patrons at a diner for no real reason, and Alec has a conversation with the Parlaiment of Trees.

New art team on this issue, and the result was gorgeous. The issue is loaded with full-page spreads (and even one two-pager). There are creative layouts and truly captivating visuals throughout this issue. The visual of Alec and Abigail sleeping side-by-side surrounded by the forces of the Rot and the Green is the most beautiful single page that I've seen so far in the New 52.

As far as plot goes, this was primarily a chance to set up future conflicts, but it was all handled with such dazzling visuals that it definitely managed to have a "big issue" feel to it.

Rating: 8.5/10

Swamp Thing #3

Last review for January!

Title: Swamp Thing
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Yanick Paquette, Victor Ibanez
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Matt Idelson, Chris Conroy
Cover: Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn

The cover is a bit of a bait-and-switch, and the opening posturing between Abigail Arcane and Alec Holland is tired and tedious, but the main story in this issue is the introduction of a pretty disturbing new villain, and that story is intense and creepy enough that it nicely covers the infodump that goes along with it.

William, the "boy in the bubble" is allergic to chlorophyll, which means he's pretty much allergic to everything. But his connection to the Rot, by way of the Arcane family might just make him the perfect counterpart to the Swamp Thing.

It's the details that make this work. At it's core, this is just the bullied kid with the secret dark power who gets pushed over the edge. It was done in Carrie, and it was done with Kid Miracleman (done better in both of those cases; but this version is still pretty good). The little bits of dialogue, and the pacing, and the gory details make this a compelling read, and set up what looks to be a really good future confrontation between the Green and the Rot.

Rating: 7/10

Swamp Thing #2

Title: Swamp Thing
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Yanick Paquette
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Matt Idelson, Chris Conroy
Cover: Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn

We meet a one of the past Swamp Things, and get a glimpse into his origin, followed by a very long infodump that reveals the identity of the villain-entity that will be Alec Holland's major foe, along with some insights into the nature of Alec Holland and his past as the Swamp Thing. In fact, the infodump is long enough to allow just a basic combat encounter (zombie-like townsfolk with their necks twisted so their heads are backwards; a disturbing image but at times a confusing one in fight scenes).

We end with a big shocking revelation/cliffhanger, and a great final image.

This issue accomplished several important objectives in terms of bringing the reader up to speed on the current incarnation of the Swamp Thing. It did so is a slightly heavyhanded manner, but still managed to entertain. It will be nice to see the story flowing again now that the exposition is taken care of.

Rating: 6.5/10

Swamp Thing #1

More New 52. Here's one of DC's classic horror characters.

Title: Swamp Thing
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Yanick Paquette
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Matt Idelson, Chris Conroy
Cover: Yanick Paquette, Nathan Fairbairn

Alec Holland has woken up in his human form with only faint dreamlike memories of three years as the Swamp Thing. He's quit his job as a researcher and tried his best to disappear. But you can't hide from nature. Or should that be you can't hide from YOUR nature. Both statements would seem to apply.

A fair portion of this issue is a conversation between Holland and Superman, who is investigating a series of strange mass animal fatalities. Oddly, Superman as depicted here is nothing like the Superman who was introduced in the debut of the new Action Comics (my review is here). They very much went for the traditional Superman persona for this story, which I believe is set five years ahead of Action Comics in the continuity. I would have liked to have seen at least a nod to the new version here. Sure, maybe that five years is all the maturing that Clark needed to be back to the Lawful-Good, 18-Wisdom version of Superman that we typically got before the relaunch, but my gut reaction was that this was a big inconsistency. And it seems like the kind of thing that would be easy to avoid, given the planning that went into the relaunch.

Once Supes leaves the scene, we very quickly exit superhero-mode and enter horror-mode, which usually works better for the Swamp Thing character. We just get a quick scene with the new villain that, while is explains nothing, is imaginative and definitely disturbing.

The Swamp Thing himself only appears in the ending cliffhanger, but the build-up to that scene is nice.

Aside from the issue I had with Superman (and the scene itself was good), this was really solid. It had the philosophical musings and the horror elements that we expect from Swamp Thing, and it did a nice job of building the tension up.

Rating: 7.5/10