Static Shock #6

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Static Shock
Issue: 6
Date: April 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott McDaniel
Penciler: Scott McDaniel
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Editor: Harvey Richards
Cover: Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, Le Beau Underwood

Apparently, I bought six issues of this when it was released as part of the New 52 in 2012 and only got around to reviewing the first five. Looking back at that fifth review, I can see why I wasn't so enthusiastic about reading more.

Unfortunately, a lot of the phrases I used for the previous issue, phrases like "too many plot elements", "not enough character development", and "convoluted mess" apply to this issue, but even more so.

I like Static Shock a lot, but this climactic episode of the ongoing storyline featured about 85 villains, guest appearances by Hardware and Technique, various alien species, an interdimensional portal, alternate timeline versions of characters, and a climactic battle where it was impossible to tell what the heck was going on. Okay, probably not actually impossible. More like not worth the effort, which is worse.

The opening bit with static hunting for the bad guys who have abducted his sister was pretty cool, and the ending epilogue bit did a reasonable job of setting up for more stories moving forward. Unfortunately, the series only went two more issues after this. It could have used some more time to move in some different directions after this opening storyline.

Rating: 4/10

Batman and Robin #1

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Batman and Robin
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Cover: Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray
Editor: Harvey Richards, Mike Marts

The opening teaser has one of the Batman's "Allies of the Bat" in Moscow attacked by an unknown ("I'm Nobody!") villain in an armored invisibility suit.

From there it's back to Gotham and the Batman's first official patrol with Damian Wayne as Robin. If you read my reviews, you may know that I am not a Damian Wayne fan. This story didn't help his cause. He was the same insufferable jerk that he always seems to be, and furthermore, he just isn't particularly entertaining.

He griped his way through Bruce taking him to Crime Alley to pay tribute to Bruce's parents, and then he proceeded to go all Jason Todd loose-cannon during a fight with some generic terrorists.

The action was solid, but there just wasn't anything particularly appealing about where the story is heading, and I don't have the patience to wait around for some moment when Damien Wayne stops being the most annoying character in the DC Universe.

Edit: Apparently, I had forgotten that I reviewed this one previously. It was that memorable. And gave it the same rating, so at least it shows I have some consistency. The previous review is here.

Rating: 4/10

Batwoman #8

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Batwoman
Issue: 8
Date: June 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: J. H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman
Penciller: Amy Reeder
Inker: Rob Hunter
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Todd Klein
Cover: Amy Reeder
Editor: Harvey Richards, Rickey Purdin, Mike Marts

This is the last of an eight-issue run of New 52 Batwoman that I bought back in 2012. My reviews for the issues leading up to this one are here: Issue #1, Issue #2, Issue #3, Issue #4, Issue #5, Issue #6, Issue #7.

Based on how #7 ended, my expectation was that this would be the finish to the arc, but instead, it ended up adding another layer of complication.

Batwoman has to fight through Falchion's minions, including a more-mutated-than-usual Killer Kroc.

And again, much of the issue jumps around in time. We get to see Batwoman dealing with Maggie Sawyer on a professional, rather than personal basis. Not surprisingly, love between a cop and a vigilante and be a bit star-crossed.

This felt like it should have ended here, but it was still all pretty good, and the gaps in the overall plot continue to get filled in bit by bit. This issue was also a bit more gory than the series has generally been.

I'm curious to see how this wraps up. I may have to go searching to find #9 at some point.

Rating: 6/10

Batwoman #6

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Batwoman
Issue: 6
Date: April 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: J. H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman
Penciller: Amy Reeder
Inker: Rob Hunter, Richard Friend
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Todd Klein
Cover: Amy Reeder
Editor: Harvey Richards, Rickey Purdin, Mike Marts

I'm reading the early issues of this series in pretty random order (my reviews: Issue #1, Issue #2, Issue #3, Issue #4, Issue #5, Issue #7), and the fact that the story is loaded with time-jumps is not helping matters.

This issue brings us the origin of Gotham's Weeping Woman, a few bits of interlude including a nice scene with Kate and Maggie and their relationship, and a couple of fight scenes.

The art really stands out here. This has been my favorite Batwoman issue in terms of art. The use of splash pages and the flow of the action scenes is great, and the artwork on the quieter moments is pretty effective as well.

There is some nice character development, even if the overall progress of the plot is somewhat choppy.

Rating: 8/10

Batwoman #7

A cover variant that I got in 2012 when I was reading a bunch of DC's New 52 titles. It ended up in the random stack of unread comics after I hit New-52-burnout a few months in.

Title: Batwoman
Issue: 7
Date: May 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: J. H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman
Penciller: Amy Reeder
Inker: Rob Hunter
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Todd Klein
Cover: Amy Reeder
Editor: Harvey Richards, Rickey Purdin, Mike Marts

The last issue in this run that I read was #3 (reviewed here), which had Batwoman going up against the urban legend figure known as the Weeping Woman.

Now, the Weeping Woman has been revealed to be part of something larger, a criminal gang with supernatural abilities and connections led by a man named Falchion. The opening scene sets up their confrontation, but this issue is almost entirely flashbacks. There is enough here to piece together the basic scenario but it's got probably a few more parts in motion than it really needs to have.

I did like the modern urban fantasy vibe that smoothly meshes high tech cop drama with supernatural magic, and it sets up what looks to be an epic showdown that will hopefully be worth the convoluted path getting there. I do have issue #8, so I should get to find out soon.

Rating: 6/10

Wonder Woman #8

From the random stack of unread comics.

Title: Wonder Woman
Issue: #8
Date: June, 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Matt Idelson, Chris Conroy
Cover: Cliff Chiang

Diana and Hermes enter the Underworld to free Diana's friend Zola from imprisonment in the realm of Hades. If you have read your mythology, you probably realize that this kind of quest usually doesn't end well.

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of the version of Greek mythology that shows up in Wonder Woman comics. I've also seen a LOT of versions of the underworld in one incarnation or another over the years. So I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised in both regards with this story.

The Greek gods were written in clever and original versions that kept the flavor of the stories. The underworld was imaginative and creepy, with Cliff Chiang's artwork doing an excellent job of bringing life (well, undeath, really) to the vision.

Diana spouts a lot of cliches in the dialogue, and she kind of blunders into big trouble as the story unfolds, but it was still a fun read that kept me interesting in seeing what was coming on the next page.

Rating: 8/10

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

Detective Comics #934

Another of the new comic purchases I made over the summer. This one came from one of the Newbury Comics locations I visited.

Title: Detective Comics
Issue: #934
Date: August, 2016
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: James Tynion IV
Penciler: Eddy Barrows
Inker: Eber Ferreira
Colorist:Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Marilyn Patrizio
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz

First of all, I'm happy to see Detective Comics restored to its original numbering! When the New 52 started, one of the little things that I was most disappointed with was the renumbering of the "legacy" books, Action and Detective, to new #1's. I was cool with all the other titles, but these two have had their consistent numbering through all of my comic-reading, and way back to the beginning of DC. So I'm not surprised, but I am pleased to see the original numbering restored.

As for the story, well, Detective has been a lot of things in over 900 issues. With Rebirth, Detective is becoming a team book. The Batman and Batwoman are leading and training a team consisting of basically two Robins and a Batgirl (Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Cassandra Cain), plus Clayface, for no real reason that makes any sense to me.

They're up against a new threat/conspiracy that seems to be closely tied to the Batman, and is operating with powerful technology and a seemingly omnipresent reach in Gotham. So, basically the Society of Owls, but not. The Batman's reaction to this new threat felt horribly out of character, but it was really all just an excuse to put the team together, and its the interactions within that team that will make this an interesting story (or not).

So far, it was entertaining, even if one needs to swallow the urge to apply logic. Clayface is fun, even it his presence in the group is ridiculous. Cassandra Cain, who calls herself Orphan these days, continues to be annoying as a character, and the interaction between Tim and Stephanie slipped too easily into stereotypical gender roles. Kate and Bruce were a lot better in that regard, although the ending interaction of "there's something you're not telling us..." felt like a tired cliche. For the love of Pete, just go ahead and tell them, Bruce! That holding back information stuff never ends well.

The book has a nice look, although the opening fight scene felt clunky due to limitations in showing much detail on the (Batman-imitating) villain.

This had a lot of weaknesses, but still had an overall sense of momentum and potential.

And also, onward to #1000!

Rating: 5.5/10

Batgirl #40

The last of a three-issue run of Batgirl that I bought last summer at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH. My review of the previous issue is here.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 40
Date: May, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Defeating Batgirl, murdering citizens of Gotham, and unleashing weapons of mass destruction? Turns out, there's an app for that.

Barbara confronts an out-of-control AI that's imprinted with her own brain patterns, and it's decided that Gotham isn't big enough for the two of them. It's also planning on stopping crime that has yet to happen through some strategic mass murder.

This was a solid conclusion, perhaps a bit too neatly wrapped up, but still loads of fun. Barbara employs some classic Star Trek tactics against her digital likeness, and gets a hand from Canary to deal with a fleet of ill-intentioned drones.

Good fun that wraps up a bunch of loose ends, and nicely transitions into a new chapter of Batgirl's story.

Rating: 7/10

Batgirl #39

I have a small run of three Batgirl issues that I picked up last summer at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH (they happened to have some signed issues in stock!). I reviewed the first of them (#38) here.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 39
Date: April, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Batgirl discovers that a social media mob can escalate quickly, in this case turning into a good old-fashioned literal mob with torches and pitchforks (well, clubs and rolling pins anyway).

And as the world seems to be turning against her, Barbara begins to suspect that there is more going on with her internet presence than meets the eye. She's going to need help, and she's alienated the one friend best equipped to help her.

This was loaded with plot twists, some good action, a few high-five moments, and the continued really strong and diverse supporting cast. There turned out to be a lot more going on than I picked up on in the previous issue, and it all worked really well.

Looking forward to #40!

Rating: 7.5/10

Batgirl #38

I'd been hearing a lot about the new-look Batgirl, and Double Midnight Comics & Games in Manchester NH happened to have a couple of signed issues in stock.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 38
Date: March, 2015
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
Artist: Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart
Colorist: Maris Wicks
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Dave Wielgosz
Cover: Cameron Stewart

Batgirl has become a neighborhood social media celebrity, and Barbara Gordon is enjoying her moment in the spotlight, even if it's put her friendship with Dinah in jeopardy. And then there's her budding relationship with a young cop who has no use for Batgirl's brand of vigilante justice.

When she goes after a street-racing reality TV star, the lines begin to blur between her brand of social media attention-seeking and his, and social media has a way of being very fickle.

As mentioned, this was my first chance to read the new version of Batgirl. Like a lot of people, I like the new costume, and I enjoyed the down-to-earth low-key style of story.

Boyfriend Liam is a bit longwinded in what is a pretty standard run-through of the pro-law anti-vigilante argument, but there are also some hints that there is more to Liam than meets the eye.

The action was good, and I liked the new supporting cast. Lots of minor characters with good potential.

I'm glad I picked up three issues of this, so I'll get to follow the story a bit.

Rating: 6.5/10

 

DC Universe Presents #5

Here's another book from my initial foray into DC's New 52.

And just because I am feeling proud of the accomplishment, this comic review is my 31st for the month of January, 2014. Comic a day indeed. We'll see how February goes.

Title: DC Universe Presents
Issue: 5
Date: March 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Jenkins, Bernard Chang
Artist: Bernard Chang
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Wil Moss
Cover: Ryan Sook

Boston Brand has his final confrontation with the goddess Rama. He wants a new deal, or at least an adjustment to the terms of the old deal. To pay for it, he has a question that a goddess would not think to ask.

Seems like a fair trade.

This issue revolves around a fairly specific philosophical point, and then comes full circle with a cute variation on that point in the ending line. The conclusion is satisfactory, if a bit neatly packaged, and there is even a gun battle thrown in at the end for the readers who weren't digging all the mysticism.

The confrontation with Rama is longer and more wordy than it needs to be, but the visuals are pretty nice.

This issue apparently concludes the Deadman run for this title. Next issue will feature the Challengers of the Unknown. Who will be doing what they do best: Challenging. The unknown.

Rating: 7/10

Action Comics #6

I still have a lot of early New 52 books to read. I'm on the #5's and #6's with most of the titles that I kept following. I read up to #7 on most of those, and that was when I realized that the comics were stacking up unread again and I stopped buying them regularly.

Title: Action Comics
Issue: 6
Date: April 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Grant Morrison, Sholly Fisch
Penciler: Andy Kubert, Chriscross
Inker: John Dell, Chriscross
Colorist: Brad Anderson, Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau, Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Wil Moss, Matt Idelson
Cover: Rags Morales, Brad Anderson

Superman gets some help from time-traveling members of the Legion of Superheroes to deal with a threat that is hiding in plain sight. This story had a lot going on, and a ton of plot twists. Some of the paths taken to get to the end were a bit awkward and overly complicated, but the good moments were really good, including a really awesome Superboy/Legion ending.

Backup story is another look into the past. This time, it's Clark Kent's last day in Smallville before heading to college. It's sweet and sentimental, with some amusing bits of dialogue.

This was worth the slogging through all of the time-travel silliness.

Rating: 8/10

Batman Beyond Unlimited #1

I liked the couple of animated episodes I say, so I picked this one up when it came out.


Title: Batman Beyond Unlimited
Issue: 1
Date: April 2012
Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Adam Beechen, Derek Fridolfs, Dustin Nguyen
Artist: Norm Breyfogle, Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs
Colorist: Randy Mayor, Andrew Elder
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Cover: Dustin Nguyen
Editor: Sarah Gaydos, Jim Chadwick, Kristy Quinn, Ben Abernathy

For those not familiar with the Batman Beyond animated show, this takes place in a near-future setting where Bruce Wayne has retired and now acts as a mentor to teenager Terry McGinnis, the new Batman.

 

Two stories here. First up is a Batman Beyond solo story involving gangs of Joker followers gathering in Gotham for some unknown purpose. The Batman makes short work of two different groups of them, but something more sinister is afoot, and it involves someone dangerously close to McGinnis’ ex-girlfriend.

 

The girlfriend drama was irritating, mostly because Dana is totally in the right when she says that Terry isn’t giving her the attention she deserves. He is, after all, off being the Batman all the time. Terry, meanwhile comes off as something of a whiney jerk in his attempts to convince her to renew the relationship while basically not even attempting to say he’ll to better.  Dude, maybe you should have thought about the effect on your social life before, you know, taking up the Cowl? Just a thought.

 

The fight scenes also could have been better. They had a nice look, visually, but the “Jokerz” were just so incompetent that it was hard to take any of it seriously. And Bruce Wayne was actually pretty unhelpful as far as the whole mentoring thing goes. McGinnis is supposed to be an inexperienced kid, but he’s also supposed to be taking his real-time advice from one of the greatest tacticians who ever lived. This should make a difference at some point.

 

I did like Barbara Gordon as Gotham Police Commissioner. Clever idea, and well executed.

 

The second story was a Justice League Beyond story (it took me til about halfway through before I figured out what the “B” in “JLB” stood for). The roster is Warhawk (a “half-breed” Thanagarian; no they did not tell us what his other half is), a Green Lantern named Kai-Ro, the Batman (McGinnis again), an older Superman, Aquagirl (on monitor duty; figures!), Micron (future version of the Atom), and Big Barda (drawn a bit more sexy than in other books I’ve seen, although this may be in line with her look in the current continuity).

 

They go up against… wait for it… more Jokerz! And some animal-mutant-types called Splices. This is seriously swatting a mosquito with a sledgehammer. I was feeling sorry for the villains by the time it was over.

 

Once the mopping up of the bad guys is done, various plot developments follow, setting the seeds for a number of future stories.

 

Hopefully with an improved quality of opposition.

 

Rating: 4/10

Justice League Dark #5

One of the remaining comics from when I was buying a lot of DC's early New 52 titles.

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 5
Date: March 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Chris Conroy, Matt Idelson
Cover: Ryan Sook

This is the conclusion to the opening storyline of the series, and it manages to wrap things up without actually ending with, well, a team. A lot of the wrap-up feels overly convenient too.

The opening sequence name-drops some character in other DC Universe books (all characters under the general umbrella category of "Dark"), but they are really not instrumental to the story at all. It comes off more as a clumsy way of trying to get readers into checking out more titles.

There is also, once again, little in the way of feelings of long-term consequences for all the mayhem that has been unlesashed on the world. When it's all said and done, it's the team going their separate ways, and the reader knowing full well, they'll be dragged back together next issue.

The character of John Constantine does shine through very nicely here. He absolutely steals the show both in his serious moments, and with his more silly spots. The results of Deadman attempting to posses his mind are hilarious. This issue is essentially all Constantine, and that is a good thing. Unfortunately it is the only good thing

Rating: 5.5/10

Worlds' Finest #1

Another foray into the seemingly endless backlog of unread comics. I picked this one up at my local Newbury Comics a while back during one of those "Well, it's issue #1. You never know." moments.

Title: Worlds' Finest
Issue: 1
Publisher: DC Comics 
Date: July 2012
Writer: Paul Levits
Penciler: George Perez, Kevin Maguire
Inker: Scott Koblish, Kevin Maguire
Colorist: Rosemary Cheetham, Hi-Fi
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Cover: George Perez, Hi-Fi
Editor:  Wil Moss

A reboot of the classic "World's Finest" comic, which traditionally has been a Batman/Superman team-up book. Notice the clever placement of the apostrophe in the title. "Worlds' Finest", as in multiple worlds. If you're not into silly DC-Multiverse multiple-Earth stuff, you might not want to get started with this.

This book features Huntress, formerly Robin of Earth-2, and Power Girl, formerly Supergirl of Earth-2. Huntress, AKA Helena Wayne, is the daughter of Earth-2's Batman, who was killed by Darkseid along with Earth-2's Superman and Wonder Woman. Also, this version of the Huntress has apparently been assuming the identity of the previous Huntress, Helena Bertinelli, who was killed in the past on Earth-1.

If this all makes perfect sense to you, you might be a DC Comics fan.

Actually, if you can get past all of the multiple-worlds nonsense, this book was a lot of fun. The interplay between the two characters generally wins out over continuity confusion, even through multiple flashback scenes. Helena and Karen have a really good vibe between them, and their loyalty to each other and determination to make the best of being stranded in a strange world come shining through nicely.

Some attempts to joke about the scantiness of Power Girl's traditional costume are more eyeroll-inducing than clever, but generally the the dialogue and interaction are entertaining. The story exists mostly to set up the new background and current situation of the heroines, with a villain being introduced on the last page in a cliffhanger that leave the reader feeling like the villain is the one who's really in peril here.

Generally harmless fun.

Rating: 6.5/10

Batman: The Dark Knight #8

Another Batman issue from the backlog.

Title: Batman: The Dark Knight
Issue: 8
Publisher: DC Comics 
Date: June 2012
Writer: Joe Harris
Penciler: Ed Benes
Inker: Rob Hunter, Jack Purcell
Colorist: Jeromy Cox
Letterer: Steve Wands
Cover: David Finch, Richard Friend, Jeromy Cox
Editor:  Rickey Purdin, Mike Marts

A subway train full of bodies. They weren't killed by some supervillain. They killed each other. Is it something about Gotham that just drives people mad?

Mad... As a... Hatter?

This is not a spoiler. The Mad Hatter is on the cover. So are Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Well, so is White Rabbit, and she's not actually in this issue, so apologies if the Mad Hatter thing was a spoiler.

Very little in this issue makes any sense, except for Jim Gordon's advice to his shrink: Don't ride the subways. Actually, Gordon has a nice little subplot going on here with overzealous I.A. detective Forbes.

But other than that, the story here was routine if you avoid thinking too much about Hatter's plan and methods. Otherwise, the story just becomes, well, maddening.

Rating: 5/10

Batman #8

More from the backlog. And more "Night of the Owls".

Title: Batman
Issue: 8
Date: June 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
Penciler: Greg Capullo, Rafael Albuquerque
Inker: Jonathan Glapion, Rafael Albuquerque
Colorist: FCO Plascencia, Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Katie Kubert, Mike Marts
Cover: Greg Capullo, FCO Plascencia

The Court of Owls sends an army of Talons to attack (stately!) Wayne Manor as the "Night of the Owls" begins.

I liked the opening sequence, as Bruce Wayne broods over his arrogance after failing to see the threat of the Court of Owls until it was too late.

From there it's all action as the assault on Wayne Manor begins. The pacing is good, and the Talons are presented as a serious threat. I wasn't too thrilled with the attempts at taunting by the Talons, which came off as somewhat halfhearted.

The main story ends in the middle of the fight, and then, oddly, the backup story picks up exactly where the main story left off (except with a totally different art style). I'm not sure what the point of that was. Maybe just a deadline pressure issue, or an attempt to get more artists involved in the big crossover.

Overall, though, this was a well-written and entertaining story.

Rating: 7.5/10

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

Batman And Robin Annual #1

I had some time to kill at the Cape Cod Mall this afternoon, so I picked this up at Newbury Comics. I wanted something that would be a self-contained story.

Title: Batman And Robin Annual
Issue: 1
Date: March, 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Rickey Purdin, Rachel Gluckstern
Cover: Andy Kubert, Brad Anderson

Here's something surprising: A Damian Wayne story that I actually liked.

Damian has set up a scavenger hunt for the Batman, his way of saying thanks for Bruce Wayne's efforts to care for him and mentor him. Damian has discovered a series of moments from the lives of Thomas and Martha Wayne during their time in Europe, and he is traveling through Europe, leaving a trail of clues for the Batman to follow.

Except that he's not.

Damian's plan has more than one layer, and while Bruce is off on the vacation that Damian has devised, Damian is having his own kind of vacation.

This had a surprisingly Silver Age feel to it, especially considering that it centered on Damian, who is usually used in darker fare. It was nice to see Damian having fun, Bruce having fun, and a plot that wasn't overloaded with blood and gore on a massive scale. You can't do stories like this all the time (well, in the Silver Age, actually, you kinda could), but it was a really nice breath of fresh air for the annual.

The insights into the lives of Bruce Wayne's parents were great. Not continuity-shattering. Just nice little insights and vivid details.

Not everything here worked. The villain in the Gotham-based subplot felt thrown-together. And some attempted comedy in the ending sequence fell a bit flat.

But overall, this was a good story about the growth of trust between Damian and Bruce in a situation that was not life-or-death.

Rating: 7.5/10