Nightwing #2

Bonus Review! I goofed and bought the third issue of three DC titles that I had planned to drop after issue #1, so I went out and bought the second issue of those three titles today (yay for a good sale going on at New England Comics!).

Title: Nightwing
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Penciler: Eddy Barrows
Inker: JP Mayer, Paulo Siqueira
Colorist: Rod Reis
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Katie Kubert, Bobbie Chase
Cover: Eddie Barrows, JP Mayer, Rod Reis

This was a big improvement on the first issue, especially once we got past the rather generic (and inconclusive) fight scene between Nightwing and new villain Saiko.

Dick Grayson's relationship with new love interest (well, old flame, actually) Raya Vestry developed nicely, with a decent flow to the dialogue and some advancement of the plot along the way.

This was followed by a BIG plot twist that was actually pretty clever, especially if they allow it to be a long-term development rather than something that gets resolved and forgotten at the end of this storyline.

Ending brings us round two with Saiko (still generic; this villain is doing nothing for me right now), and some tragedy and mystery to finish things up.

Saiko isn't doing the story any favors, but fortunately he appears to be a hired gun. Maybe there's a more interesting boss waiting in the wings. Other than that, the handling of Dick Grayson continues to be good, and the new plot elements in this issue raise a ton of potential.

Rating: 6.5/10

Aquaman #3

And here we go with the #3's!

Title: Aquaman
Issue: 3
Date: January 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Ivan Reis
Inker: Joe Prado
Colorist: Rod Reis
Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Sean Mackiewicz, Pat McCallum
Cover: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Rod Reis

Introductory flashback scene and then it's right back into the brawl we left off with last issue. Better job this time of showing the police/soldiers involved in the fight in the background and making it look more like the pitched battle it was meant to be. Added bonus for showing a female officer among the casualties. Diversity does need to extend to the redshirt roles.

Eventually, the Trench deep ones retreat back into the sea and I guess we can call it a draw. Then comes the detective work of figuring out where the monsters came from. Because they didn't actually mention their collective (dumb) name to anyone.

Oddly, Justice League member Aquaman apparently only knows one competent marine scientist, and it's a guy who's definitely on the mad side of the scientist spectrum. This is basically an excuse to 1) Infodump, 2) Establish some more of Arthur's backstory, and 3) Set up a future villain. Still, all I could think of through the whole scene was why doesn't Aquaman just pick up the (bat) phone and call Bruce Wayne.

Then it's over. Next issue will finally take place... wait for it... under water!

This issue was a bit short on plot and long on exposition. In general, "The Trench" feels like a two issue story that is being padded out to four or five issues with long fight scenes and unnecessary explanations. The science involved in the analysis of the origins of the deep ones was weak, and all it really established was where Arthur and Mera need to go searching. I'm not sure if this was the best introduction for Atlantis-obsessed Dr. Stephen Shin since it didn't feel like Arthur really needed to call on him, but it may have been important to establish him for upcoming plotlines.

On the good side, Arthur and Mera continue to have a really strong vibe, and their dialogue is sharp. The art looks great and this issue in particular is loaded with cool background details (the establishing shots of Shin's house were perfect).

I'm enjoying this series, but much like the deep ones, I'm waiting for an issue with a bit more meat to it.

Rating: 6.5/10

New 52 Recap #2

This is the second in my series of stats posts on the DC Comics New 52. The previous installment is here.

Here is the list of New 52 titles I stuck with through two issues, in order of their issue #2 ratings:

Action Comics #2 (7.5)
Batman #2 (7.5)
Animal Man #2 (7)
Batwoman #2 (7)
Birds of Prey #2 (7)
Detective Comics #2 (7)
Justice League #2 (7)
Static Shock #2 (7)
Wonder Woman #2 (7)
Aquaman #2 (6.5)
DC Universe Presents (Deadman) #2 (6.5)
Superman#2 (6.5)
Swamp Thing #2 (6.5)
Batgirl #6 (6)
Batman: The Dark Knight #2 (6)
Justice League Dark #2 (4)
Catwoman #2 (2.5)

And here are the titles in order of their running average:

Batman (7.75)
Batwoman (7.5)
Action Comics (7.25)
Aquaman (7.25)
Static Shock (7.25)
Wonder Woman (7.25)
Animal Man (7)
Swamp Thing (7)
Detective Comics (6.75)
Birds of Prey (6.5)
Superman (6.5)
DC Universe Presents (Deadman) (6)
Justice League (5.75)
Justice League Dark (5.75)
Batman: The Dark Knight (5)
Catwoman (4.75)

Biggest Rating Increase From Issue 1: Justice League (+2.5)
Biggest Rating Decrease From Issue 1: Catwoman (-4.5)

Here is the list of titles that I have purchased a third issue of:

Action Comics
Animal Man
Aquaman
Batgirl
Batman
Batman and Robin*
Batman: The Dark Knight
Batwoman
Birds of Prey
DC Universe Presents (Deadman)
Detective Comics
Justice League Dark
Nightwing*
Static Shock
Suicide Squad*
Superman
Swamp Thing
Wonder Woman

*Apparently I bought a couple of titles that I had not actually purchased the second issues of. Must have been a couple of slow weeks at the comic shop. Not sure if I'm going to go back and pick up the second issue of those three books or not.

Pleasant surprises so far:

• Both Superman books (Action particularly, but Superman has been good Silver Age style fun).
• Wonder Woman. I was really prepared to hate this book, and it's been excellent through two issues.
• Static Shock! There's this concept called fun. Sometimes it feels like Static Shock is the only book in the New 52 that constantly remembers that.
• Batwoman. Complex plots right from the get-go.
• Justice League. Shaky start, but the non-stop action and awesome visuals in the second issue won me over. Now if they would just get Hal Jordan to shut up, this could be the flagship title that it's intended to be.
• Birds of Prey. Showing hints of becoming something with more depth than just women doing kung fu.
• Batman. Batman titles come in with high expectations. This book is meeting those.
  

Some less pleasant trends:

• Misogyny. Brutal killing of a good female supporting character. An implied attempted rape (two, actually) by a hero. Plus the usual skimpy costumes and generic Barbie-doll body types all over the place. This stuff is easy to fix. It involves actively realizing that there are females in the audience (well, there are a few left after DC and Marvel lost most of them to manga years ago; but still it would be nice to at least try!).
• Same old same old. Look, I am enjoying Swamp Thing and Animal Man. I've given them good ratings and I plan to continue reading them. But both titles feel like they are simply retreading ground covered in their Vertigo runs. It IS possible to have too much of a good thing, especially when what might have been shocking in 1992 just feels run-of-the-mill today. I'm not saying the two former Vertigo titles are guilty of this yet, but I am a bit concerned.
• Aquaman started off great, but I remain dubious about the Trench as a major villain. Too generic, too derivative, and not interesting enough. The dialogue writing remains good, so I would love to be proved wrong on this, but I am concerned about where the book is heading.
  
• Bad names. Mirror? Nobody? N.O.W.H.E.R.E.? White Rabbit? The Reach? The Trench? (Hey, can we have a The Reach vs. The Trench vs. The Brood vs. The Hand Marvel/DC crossover? Because I'm telling you, THAT would sell comics!).

I already reviewed one of the #3's, and starting tomorrow I'll be making my way through the rest of them. Look for another stats post after that!

DC Universe Presents #2

This is the last of the DC New 52 #2's that I am reviewing.

Title: DC Universe Presents
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
By: Paul Jenkins, Bernard Chang
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Wil Moss
Cover: Ryan Sook

First up, Ryan Sook's cover is just an awesome bit of surrealism.

The story picks up where we left off last time with Boston Brand (in the body of a disabled veteran) confronting Rama, who basically feeds him a bunch of bullshit about what his purpose is. At least Brand recognizes it as BS, but Rama's dialogue drags the scene out for way too long. I do like the design of Rama herself, but this whole scene felt unnecessary.

From there, Brand does his host a bit of a favor in a local bar, and then heads off for the major action of this issue: A rather comical sequence involving him attempting to sneak into an exclusive Gotham nightclub full of supernatural beings (a significant number of which can actually see him or otherwise sense his presence).

It's goofy fun, although it had a bit too blatant a paranormal romance vibe. I'm not really sure if trying to win over the Anita Blake crowd is the direction Deadman should be going in. Still, harmless fun is harmless fun.

Rating: 6.5

Animal Man #2

Still working on New 52 #2's. Only one more after this.

Title: Animal Man
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Penciler: Travel Foreman
Inker: Travel Foreman, Dan Green
Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Kate Stewart, Joey Cavalieri
Cover: Travel Foreman, Lovern Kindzierski

Things go rapidly from strange to stranger in the Baker household, and Maxine tells Buddy that he needs to go "into the Red" to save the Old Tree, on which all other life depends. Conveniently, the map of the way into the red as appeared tattooed onto Buddy's skin.

Maxine as the mysterious prodigy with all the answers is walking a thin line on the edge of cliche territory, but the actual execution of the plot was pretty good in this issue. The art is surreal in places and intense everywhere, and the horror elements were pretty disturbing.

This is a solid follow-up to the first issue that delivers good emotional conflict, well-paced advancement of the plot, and some nice shocks along the way.

Rating: 7/10

Stormchasers #2

Here's a comic I picked up at the 2011 New York Comic Con.

Title: Stormchasers
Issue: 2
Date: 2009
Publisher: Unstoppable Comics

Okay, before I get started on the actual story here, I have to mention something that hits a pet peeve of mine, and I'm sorry to have to do that because I know JayDee Rosario, who publishes this line, and he's a good guy.

But... No credits for the creative team?!?

I'm used to seeing this with big companies who are doing books based on familiar licensed properties. For an indy book which (I assume) features talent who are trying to make names for themselves in a crowded field of small press comics, I can see no excuse for leaving their names off the book. And while the Unstoppable Comics website is better about crediting the writers, artists, and letterers, it's still missing a lot of the information. It does look like this oversight is fixed in subsequent issues, but it still seems like a rather glaring omission.

On to the book itself, which is a superhero team book in the style of The Avengers or Justice League. This is the second issue, but it is the beginning of a storyline. The Stormchasers are based in their skyscraper headquarters in New York City, and they are in the midst of a poker-game-turned-brawl when an old friend teleports in with news that her child has been abducted.

From there, it's time to assemble the team and head out for the first big cliffhanger of the adventure.

The best aspect of this issue was the dynamic of Starstriker, who is the new leader of the team in spite of a rocky past history with them (and in general, according to the profile in the back of this issue). Starstriker is trying to hold together the team when they are fighting among themselves and not exactly brimming with confidence in his leadership skills.

The book has a nice silver-age-Marvel feel to it, and the art style is on the simple side, but effective.

Rating: 5.5/10

Batwoman #2

Just two more #2s after this one.

Title: Batwoman
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: J. H. Williams III, W. Haden Blackman
Artist: J. H. Williams III
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Todd Klein
Editor: Janelle Asselin, Katie Kubert, Mike Marts

Opening scene has Batwoman and Flamebird brawling with some generic thugs, complete with little overlaid x-ray panels showing the bones breaking. Odd effect, particularly when juxtaposed against the conversation that the heroines are having while they casually beat up the bad guys. This is the kind of thing that works once in a while, but could get annoying (and fight scenes with too much talking in them are always at a certain level of annoying to begin with).

Fortunately, it gets better. I'm really digging the complex intrigue that's going on between federal agent Cameron Chase, Gotham detective Maggie Sawyer, and Kate Kane/Batwoman. Kate and Maggie's first date is a great scene loaded with sharp dialogue and a ton of underlying tension.

There are several other plot elements that get advanced, including the supernatural water-spirit that has been taking revenge for a drowning and a brewing metahuman gang war in Gotham.

The Batman makes a guest appearance (and gets surprisingly meta when he observes that "Murdered sidekicks tend to come back from the dead. As supervillains."; seriously, that's a direct quote!).

The art and layout style shifts with the scene. Some of the gimmicks (like the x-ray bit in the opening scene) are, well, gimmicky, but I liked the bat signal as frame for the Batman's scene and the use of two-page spreads in the CSI of the gang fight aftermath.

The ending was surprisingly sudden. Nothing wrong with it; I guess I'm just so used to splash page endings in the New 52 that I was left expecting one.

The overall quality and complexity of this book are so far more than making up for the few little things that don't quite work.

Rating: 7/10

Detective Comics #2

Closing in on the end of my DC New 52 #2's. I believe I only have two more after this.

Title: Detective Comics
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Tony Salvador Daniel
Penciler: Tony Salvador Daniel
Inker: Ryan Winn
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Katie Kubert, Janelle Asselin, Mike Marts
Cover: Tony Salvador Daniel, Ryan Winn, Tomeu Morey

This issue has a lot going on. We get a new business rival and a new love interest (two separate characters) for Bruce Wayne, along with the Joker on the loose and the new villain the Dollmaker, who has his own little troupe of psychos.

Jim Gordon gets a big role here too, and the appearance by Harvey Bullock is always appreciated.

The actual plot still seems convoluted, and the fixation with removal of human skin is a bit gratuitous.

But overall, I liked the fact that this issue had plenty of plot and subplots and the series is succeeding in keeping my interest in where it is heading.

Rating: 7/10

Static Shock #2

Title: Static Shock
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Scott McDaniel, John Rozum
Penciler: Scott McDaniel
Inker: Andy Owens
Colorist: Guy Major
Letterer: Dezi Sienty
Editor: Harvey Richards
Cover: Chris Brunner, Rico Renzi

We launch right into the action with Static being ambushed by Virule, who nearly severs Static's arm with some sort of disc-projectile (with a one-atom cutting edge, as it turns out!). Fortunately, Static has some abilities that even he wasn't aware of, and he manages to escape the situation.

Most of the rest of the story is set-up for the rematch. There are a lot of villains, and a pretty large supporting cast, many of whom have their own subplots already in progress (taken, I assume, from Static's previous comics).

The book juggles a lot this issue, but manages to keep things fast-paced and fun. Even the things that I had problems with were good in their own ways. Sure, Static gets information about a super-powered gang from a gang-affiliated schoolmate a bit too easily, but it was still nice to see the teenaged superhero not being portrayed as horribly socially awkward in his secret identity. Virgil's confidence is a refreshing change from a lot of similar characters.

I also like the fact that Static's powers get some respect, both from the villains and from the plot itself. Having some doubts about how to handle Static makes the villains a lot more human.

We end the issue pretty much where we started, but the book was definitely entertaining.

Rating: 7/10

Wonder Woman #2

Title: Wonder Woman
Issue: 2
Date: December 2011
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Cliff Chiang
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Chris Conroy, Matt Idelson
Cover: Cliff Chiang

We open (presumably) on Mount Olympus with Hera and her daughter Strife, who have been watching the events of the first issue from on high. Strife is, as one might imagine from the name, rather an ungrateful child, but she's happy to go and do some mayhem in her mom's name.

Which brings us to Paradise Island.

Is it just me, or does every story that takes place on Paradise Island absolutely have to include...

1) An amazon challenging Diana to some sort of sparring match, and...

2) A bunch of Amazon's getting killed by whichever villain is invading Paradise Island this week.

The Amazons are seriously the redshirts of the DC Universe (but better looking and wearing less).

To the credit of the team of Azzarello and Chiang, both of these somewhat unsurprising developments are at least handled well. Diana's fight with amazon challenger Aleka is visually fun, and Strife's trouncing of the Amazon guards does a perfect job of building her up as the god-level threat that she is.

Zola has the best line of the issue when Hermes asks her what form Zeus took to seduce her, and we get the beginning of what looks like a major continuity change in regards to Wonder Woman's origin.

This was a case where the details were strong enough to overcome a plot that felt phoned-in.

Rating: 7/10