Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #187

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
Issue: 187
Date: March, 2005
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Shane McCarthy
Penciller: Tommy Castillo
Inker: Rodney Ramos
Colorist: Tony Avina
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Bob Schreck, Michael Wright

This is part three of a story arc called "Riddle Me That", with the Batman being manipulated through a complex series of puzzles and traps by the Riddler, while the Riddler's past is explored in flashback sequences.

It hadn't occurred to me until I read this, but I know pretty much nothing about the Riddler's origin story, which is surprising to me considering what a longstanding and iconic character he is. I've even cosplayed him! And I still know nothing about his background.

So for that alone, I found this a really intriguing issue. It's a pretty transitional piece of the overall story arc, so the present-time action doesn't really amount to all that much, but the bits of Riddler backstory were enough to get me interested in reading more.

Rating: 6.5/10

Nightwing #8

Well, I haven't done a mainstream superhero comic in a while, and I certainly have plenty lying around.

Here is one.

Title: Nightwing
Issue: 8
Date: June 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Penciler: Eddy Barrows
Inker: Ruy Jose, Eber Ferreira
Colorist: Rod Reis
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Eddie Barrows, Rod Reis

This is a prelude to "Night of the Owls", and by prelude, we're going all the way back to Gotham City in 1910.

Actually, what we get is parallel stories. One is an origin story for one of the Owls, which is a nice way to put a human face on what has been essentially an army of faceless monsters.

Meanwhile, there is the present story, with Nightwing attempting to rescue the Mayor of Gotham from an attack by an Owl. This is mostly one big fight scene. Unfortunately, the near-indestructibility of the Owl actually detracts from the tension of the fight scene rather than adding to it, as various attacks on the Owl fail rather arbitrarily until eventually page count runs out and one doesn't.

Then it's time to move on to the shocking finale and the ending cliffhanger. The main story is unresolved, and the flashback story in also unresolved. The ending builds tension nicely, and the flashback story was intriguing, although I would have liked to have gotten a few more plot developments in that story.

Rating: 6/10