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

Lex Luthor #1

Here is the last of the small batch of comics I picked up this past week at Newbury Comics. I recently reviewed Forever Evil #1 and wasn't that impressed, certainly not impressed enough to buy the zillion crossover comics needed to get the whole story.

However, hype is hype, and the holographic covers for this "Villains Month" event certainly got plenty of hype. So I figured I'd at least check out one.

Title: Lex Luthor
Issue: 1
Date: November 2013
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Charles Soule
Penciler: Raymond Bermudez
Inker: Dan Green
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Editor: Anthony Marques, Eddie Berganza

Apparently, this is actually Action Comics #23.3. No, really. We've gone to fractions.

I picked this issue up, somewhat at random, from among the 3-d holographic cover versions of the Villains Month comics that were in stock at the store I visited last week. These have been selling quite well, so a lot of titles were sold out, and I just went with a character that I knew reasonably well.

The cover itself is the most impressive 3-d effect I've seen on a comic, one of the best I've ever seen in print. It is also headache-inducing to look at.

The story is pretty straightforward. Luthor gets out of jail and immediately manipulates a bunch of evil schemes, all of which fall into place perfectly because we are supposed to believe that he is an evil genius. Some of the details were fairly clever, and the pacing of the writing was good, but there really was never any doubt as to the outcome of anything. And like most stories of this type, the more you think about it the less impressive it is, because really, Luthor needs to have ridiculous amounts of luck on his side for his plans to actually work. This is always my gripe with stories like this one, and given that, this particular issue did a better job than most with the evil scheming.

This issue also turns out to be a very direct prequel to Forever Evil #1, which made it a good choice if I was only going to read one crossover comic. The story here is actually pretty nicely self-contained, which I also took as an added bonus, considering what I could have been getting into.

Not terrible if you want to see Lex Luthor behaving badly, but nothing especially insightful either.

Rating: 5.5/10 



 

Justice League Dark #4

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle
Cover: Ryan Sook

Four issues and and the team is still being assembled.

At least the heroes were acting a bit more heroic this time around, although Zatanna continues to be pretty much useless in every situation. Deadman, surprisingly, is actually pretty effective. Constantine is a jerk, as usual, but at least he's staying in character.

This issue also gave some attention to Madame Xanadu's personal problems, interspersed with occasional glimpses of mayhem that the Enchantress is causing, which seem strangely out of place. I felt like we needed to see some news reports or at least some more extended reactions to all of this random horror that is being inflicted on the world. Instead, it feels like Milligan is just brainstorming shocking ideas and presenting a few panels of each without follow-up (Look! Children turning evil and stabbing their caretakers! Look! People being driven insane by banal music that they hear in their heads! Look! Mass murder at the mall!). The reader is meant to be shocked by the images, but not to actually spend time contemplating the long-term repercussions of these events, because we need to get back to assembling the team to defeat the Enchantress.

Can we just assemble to team, already?

Better issue than the last couple, but STILL operating way below potential.

Rating: 5/10

Batgirl #4

Another DC issue for tonight. I'll be heading to Queen City Kamikaze tomorrow and to Boskone on Sunday, so I may pick up some comics to review at those shows.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

It took a few issues, but this one finally gets it right.

Opening dream sequence was effective, tying in nicely with the current ongoing plot while also filling in some background and giving insights into Barbara's emotional state.

This was followed up with a good scene between Barbara and her roommate that finally felt like a natural interaction. Then Barbara gets to win one. Okay, so it was a jobber squash of some muggers, but it was necessary. And it also featured one of the cleverest little details I've seen in a while: A batman-tracking smartphone app in use by the criminals (and it actually made pretty decent sense and even hinted at a possible future villain).

Then the final confrontation with Mirror, which saw Barbara use some downright nasty psychological tactics in a fight where she was physically outmatched.

Ending surprise came out of left field, but after a bunch of really good scenes I'm not complaining. This is the level of quality that this series really needed to start out on, but I'll definitely accept it as better late than never.

Rating: 8/10

Justice League Dark #3

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle
Cover: Ryan Sook

Boy did the pacing on this ever slow to a crawl. Enchantress babbles on the side of a road while Constantine wakes up Zatanna from the coma we left her in last issue. Apparently, that entire scene actually accomplished nothing.

Meanwhile, Deadman describes his actions in the previous issue as "I was a jerk" and then hints that it might not even have been his fault. I'll be sticking with my previous assessment that what he should be saying is "I was an attempted rapist."

But that would probably slow down the plot, wouldn't it?

Not that we're exactly going at a breakneck pace here. Shade tries to contact Deadman and Deadman does the mystical equivalent of sending his call directly to voicemail while June Moone screams, panics, falls off a roof, and requires saving. Because she's a girl, I suppose. I might be a bit harsh with that last point, but seriously, can anyone imagine them actually doing that same reaction with a male character? I can't.

The rest of the book involves Shade tracking down some guy called Mindwarp because he's an out-of-control psycho and therefore would make a great addition to the team. That scene gets as far as "We need to talk."

Then it's back to the Enchantress and just as it looks like she might actually get to do something to June and Deadman, we're done.

I really want to like this title. Really. And I was willing to give another chance even after the nonsense with Deadman last issue. But this issue consisted of that whole thing being brushed off just like I expected it would and, well, pretty much nothing else of consequence. I did enjoy the interaction between Zatanna and Constantine, but otherwise, this issue did not go far in terms of winning me back. Actually, it simply didn't go far at all.

Rating: 3.5/10

Batgirl #3

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

This is basically split into two parts. First up, in something that was a bit reminiscent of the film Speed, Batgirl chases down a subway train carrying a bomb planted by villain Mirror. Barbara tries to out-mindgame mirror, and it works about as well as her attempts to brawl with him, which is to say, not well at all.

Unfortunately, Mirror still comes off as needing all sorts of trumped-up contrivances in order to "outsmart" Batgirl. His overly-complex plans don't actually make much sense, and they only end up working because that's how the plot needs to advance.

The whole train scene is also full of logical flaws from atrocious physics to gaping holes in the continuity. I'm still not exactly sure what happened with the trains.

The second half of the story involves Batgirl in a confrontation with Nightwing. This is a lot better, even if it falls back on some cliches in places. There is some good intensity to their relationship, and I really liked the dynamic between Barbara's need for respect and understanding and Dick's love for her. The brawling was a bit silly in that whole "whenever two superheroes meet they need to fight" sense, but there was enough emotion in the dialogue to give the scene some punch. The use of flashbacks was good too.

Looks like we're done with Mirror after next issue, which is probably about three issues longer than he needed to appear.

Rating: 5.5/10

Batgirl #2

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

As you might recall, I had some serious reservations about the new version of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl as presented in issue #1 (see my review).

This issue gives the reader a bit more of a chance to get inside Barbara's head. While I'm still not totally warmed up to vibe that they are going for here, I feel like writer Gail Simone's concept came through a lot better in this issue. Barbara Gordon came returned to her costumed identity too soon. She is skilled and talented, but out of practice, and she is paying a price for that.

Okay, I am buying into it a bit more here.

We pick up right where we left off, and we proceed directly to Babs vs. Mirror, who is quickly established as very formidable in a brawl. Batgirl may be outmatched against this guy. The running fight is a good mix of strategy and brutality. There's even a momentary comic relief bit involving a woman cab driver that actually works pretty well (these things usually don't). We can finally call the thing a close-fought draw (or possibly a saved-by-the-bell situation for Barbara), and we make the switch over to detective mode.

Oh, but first we have a couple of scenes establishing Barbara's new life.

Scene involving roommate was cringe-worthy. The tough and confident roommate takes one look at Babs' injuries and immediately assumes (quite reasonably) that Babs is a domestic violence victim. But then she backs down on the flimsiest of excuses. I think I actually would have preferred it if they'd simply gone with Babs revealing that she's Batgirl on the spot. Okay, admittedly that wouldn't have made for interesting logic, but at least it would have been a bold and different approach. This was just awkward, and it left me with the feeling that the roommate is in line to suffer a horrible fate (ironically, at the hands of the writer who was responsible for the original "Women in Refrigerators" essay). Really hoping that Simone is going to prove me wrong on this one.

We also get an introduction to Barbara's boyfriend (her physical therapist, conveniently). Decent scene. Good dialogue. Character is likeable enough. I wonder who will survive longer, him or the roommate?

Now we get the detective work. Nice little nod to tradition with Barbara doing her research in a library. This leads to an ending cliffhanger that was pretty standard fare, but should keep the pace of the story brisk to start the next issue.

This was a lot better than the first issue, but I remain unconvinced.

Rating: 6/10

Justice League Dark #2

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle
Cover: Ryan Sook

This issue was impressive visually, but I had a lot of problems with it story-wise.

First there's Zatanna. Remember how last issue she hexed (dexhe?) the Batman because she thought she'd be better off handling Enchantress on her own? Well, in this issue she gets to match sorcery with Enchantress and Zatanna accomplishes essentially nothing. Or, as she would say, she gets ylhguoroht decnuort.

(Aren't you glad the New 52 didn't include a Zatanna solo comic? I would SO be writing the entire review sdrawkcab).

On to a much more serious problem.

Then there's Boston Brand and Dove, who are apparently dating. Actually by the end of this they're pretty much reset their relationship status to "it's complicated". Why? Because Deadman keeps wanting to engage in some fooling around while in possession of someone's body. Okay, I get what Milligan is going for here. Brand is cursed with his ghostly, invisible status and the only way he can think of to actually get some physical affection is to have a convenient possessed body on hand.

Except that there is a word for forcing someone to unwillingly engage in sex. It's called rape. And you know what? If you do it by spiritual possession using superpowers, it's still rape.

I haven't followed Deadman's adventures all that much. I get the impression that Boston Brand isn't exactly Lawful Good on the old alignment chart. But nothing I've ever read about him before suggested rapist.

And no, I don't care that he doesn't actually go through with it. He tries it TWICE, and the only thing that stops it from happening is that Dove actually has a bit of morality.

I'd feel better about the scenes if I thought that the full implications were really going to get addressed, but the impression I got was that this was all a ploy to make the Deadman character somehow "edgy", and that it will all get glossed over or never mentioned again. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but that looks like the direction the story is heading in.

Constantine gets the one really good scene in this issue, and it ends with one of those "shocking" twists that seems to come out of left field, because, well, it pretty much DOES come out of left field.

The overall plot is developing fairly well, but the business with Deadman (and to a lesser extent the uselessness of Zatanna) really ruined this one for me.

Rating: 4/10

Justice League Dark #1

Title: Justice League Dark
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Rex Ogle, Eddie Berganza
Cover: Ryan Sook

Interesting. This was the title that I had the highest hopes for among the "New 52". I loved Milligan's writing on Shade: The Changing Man for Vertigo, and this title pairs him back up with Shade and also lets him play with John Constantine. Upon reading the comic I found that it managed to hit several pet peeves of mine, but the writing was good enough in parts to leave me feeling good about the book overall.

We open with Madame Xanadu, who has a surprisingly bored expression for a person who's just had a vision of future doom. Tarot cards are scattered through the scene with pictures of characters on them: Zatanna (wit pants!) as the Magician, Enchantress as the Hanged Man (actually, just "The Hanged"; which, of course would be different from "The Hung"). Deadman is Death. You'd think Death would be Death, but I guess they decided not to bother getting the courtesy okay from Gaiman. June Moone is the Fool. Some dude I didn't recognize is the Sickness. Apparently we're not playing with the standard Ryder-Waite deck here. Shade is the Madness. And John Constantine is... cut off at the bottom of the page. Tease!

June Moon is walking around reciting rhymes while dozens of clones of her commit mass suicide via highway.

Scene with Shade and Kathy follows, and it's a total continuity-rewriting sucker-punch, but it's handled so well and is such a shock that I was okay with it. Some Shade fans are not going to be (although Milligan wrote in some wiggle room).

Scene shifts to Enchantress, who's in a farmhouse in the midwest and she's spreading madness out to the surrounding countryside. This is the kind of thing that Milligan is awesome at, and his madness effects are sick, twisted, and clever.

But then we hit one of my big pet peeves in comics. The idea here is that the regular Justice League can't handle this kind of threat, so the Justice League Dark has to get formed. Unfortunately this idea is conveyed in a throwaway scene where Enchantress' magical defenses thoroughly trounce Superman, Cyborg, and Wonder Woman. I don't like scenes that arbitrarily have the bad guy easily overpower the most powerful forces on the planet just to convince the readers that they are a major threat. This does nobody any good. Superman, Wonder Woman Cyborg, and the Batman (who's watching the scene from the JLA monitor room) all look like chumps, but the reader knows that this is just a plot device, so it really doesn't actually do Enchantress any favors either. And when it comes down to it, the book didn't need this scene. It could simply have been Zatanna on duty and she decides to call in magical talent to handle a magical threat.

It also didn't help that Zatanna decided to do a bit of backwards-talking (backtalk?) to keep the Batman from trying to help her. Because, when given the choice between going into a dangerous situation with or without the Batman on your side, the clear answer is to do it without. I'm somewhat hoping he punches her in the face when this mission is over, but that seems unlikely (even though he'd totally do that to Guy Gardner if he pulled the exact same stunt.

Another interesting detail. Apparently they can show Superman and Cyborg getting cut to a bloody mess (in a storm of magical teeth!), but Wonder Woman doesn't get a scratch, just a concerned expression before the scene fades and a caption informs us the battle's over and the good guys lost.

The story then very quickly introduces Constantine (used for comic relief here) and Deadman (barely used at all) before we end on Xanadu with Shade and predictions of doom.

Okay, that was a lot of griping. And the story barely got started.

But Milligan is so good on the small details and the creepy touches, that I was still feeling good about this in the end. I think what I love about the potential of this book is summed up in the following exchange:

Xanadu: I saw a gathering of men... And women. Each with their own specialty. You must find these men and women. You must...

Shade: You've finally lost it, Xanadu. The only people I know these days are half-insane or... or damaged goods. Most of them are a danger to themselves.

Xanadu: Exactly.

There is a lot of really awesome stuff here, and I think that once the book is allowed to grow on its own without relying on useless guest appearances by the regular Justice League (or maybe just the occasional reminder that we're still in the DC Universe), that this could get really great.

Rating: 7.5/10

Batgirl #1

More New 52 from DC. Probably the most controversial book in the new lineup.

Title: Batgirl
Issue: 1
Date: November 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Penciler: Adrian Syaf
Inker: Vincente Cifuentes
Colorist: Ulises Arreola
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Adam Hughes

A villain called Mirror is going around killing people who miraculously survived deadly peril. It's a lot like those Final Destination movies except that instead of Death being after the survivors, it's just some (admittedly really dangerous) dude. He kills them by the same fate they escaped, so the lone survivor of a shipwreck gets drowned. Oh, and he's got Barbara Gordon on his list.

Speaking of which, we're rebooting Barbara Gordon.

Before I get into some of the (huge) controversy surrounding this book, let me mention that the art here was great, especially on the fight scenes, which were creative and fun. The supporting cast was solid, and I liked the villain. He's genuinely scary without being ridiculously unbelievable. Oh, and the bit where the victims that Barbara saves mistake her for Batwoman? HA! Nice!

That being said...

This comic has opened a huge can of worms that involves all sorts of issues around advocates for people with disabilities and so on. As Oracle, Barbara Gordon was something really unique. A character who lives with a paralyzing spinal injury and is still a capable superhero. The Oracle character has been consistently one of the best-written characters in DC comics over the last 20 years or so, so it's understandable that people have been a bit leery over simply giving Barbara Gordon the use of her legs back and having her go back to being Batgirl.

There was also a lot of speculation about how exactly that would be handled. Would she be healed? Would she be using some kind of bionics or other science fiction plot device? Or would they just change history so the whole shooting by the Joker never happened?

(I usually don't bother with spoiler warnings in these reviews, but what follows is pretty major...)

SPOILERS

Essentially, they took the retcon route here, but left the shooting and the ensuing paralysis in the continuity. They made it temporary. Barbara was in the wheelchair for three years, but gradually regained the use of her legs. She's back in shape (with, as she puts it "upper arm strength like a mother" after the time in the chair) and ready to return to her Batgirl gig.

Or is she? She handily takes out a group of thrillseeking home-invaders (as per the film The Strangers). But she's having doubts all the way through (thanks to convenient captions). And in her first confrontation with Mirror, she freezes up at the sight of a gun.

That was pretty much where this book lost me.

I get it. Getting shot, paralyzed for three years, unsure if you'd ever walk again, your father tortured (by the Joker, no less!). That has got to leave some serious PTSD. Makes sense.

Still, absolutely horrible idea to play up in the reboot of this character. Barbara Gordon was nothing but strength as Oracle. She was awesome because of what she overcame. And now, she's letting someone die because she freaks out? I buy it on a logical level, but my heart's not in it.

And you know what? I have some serious doubts that they'd go this route with a male character in the same set of circumstances.

I've read some great stuff by Gail Simone, and I understand that the point of this is that Barbara overcomes these issues. Got it. But like many fans, I was really dubious about the change from Oracle back to Batgirl.

This isn't the way I was hoping it would be handled. And I would guess I'm not alone in thinking that.

Big disappointment.

Rating: 4.5/10