Comics! Batman Incorporated #9

Batman Incorporated #9 

Grant Morrison: writer
Chris Burnham: artist
Jason Masters: art pages 8-9, 12-13

Solicitation and Preview

Review
Whew. Now we get to an actual Bat-comic that feels like a "Requiem" issue. But does it deliver?

Well, Nightwing steals the show. Seriously, he does. He has a very realistic reaction to seeing Damian lying there dead. Just plain disbelief, that turns into anger focused on Damian's killer. Even at the funeral, he is the one pushing Bruce to say something, to what would probably have been total silence if he didn't.

Squire, watching the funeral of her own partner from afar, decides to take up the mantle of the Knight and move forward. It is in the same page space that it is also revealed that there may be a Lazarus Pit somewhere in the world, which I knew had to be coming so Damian as an out for his return.

The rest of the issue sets up what should be the finish of Morrison's run. You start to see the pieces go back into the box as Morrison pretty much outlaws Batman Incorporated and Bruce Wayne is to be brought in for his part in funding the vigilante, which is a scene we saw play out in issue #1 of the series. (Remember, Bruce was in front of two graves that issue. So who else dies?) So it seems like Morrison is hitting his own reset button for everything he has done in the series so far, which is almost entirely expected.

The art was kinda weird in this issue. We got some fill in pages by Jason Masters which took a similar look/style of Burnham's art, which is a nice way of not trying to jar the reader with awkward fill in art. Burnham's art seemed to go between some nicely detailed scenes to some that looked like some more time could have been spent cleaning them up. It wasn't anything too terrible to the eye, and I will say that the scene where Bruce is standing in the rain and the rain takes the shape of his angered face was nicely done.

It will be interesting to see where the story will go from here. I am thankful that we actually got a Requiem issue that really felt like it dealt with Robin's death. It really felt like Bruce was holding back until the very end, when even Batcow got a word in about the state of affairs. Bruce's reaction is expected, and now I'm ready to see Batman avenge his son's death.

Grades
Words: 8/10
Pictures: 8/10
General Feeling After Reading: Ready for a conclusion, but i don't quite want the story to end yet.
Buy Next Issue: Bring it on!

Comics! Batman #18

Batman #18 

Scott Snyder: writer
Andy Kubert: penciller
Sandra Hope: inker

Part 2: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV: writers
Alex Maleev: artist

Solicitation and Preview

Review
Fuck you, Snyder.

Sorry, but this issue got to me. Damian isn't even in the ground yet and it feels like Snyder is bringing in the next Robin.

And fuck you, DC Comics. You approved of this? This is a Spoiler/Steph Brown/Tim Drake character all rolled into one. Oh, this one has a nose ring and multi-colored hair. I guess that makes this character different. And she has a sibling.

Look, this is a decent comic. There isn't anything downright terrible about the art or writing when you look at it by itself. The issue at hand is if you have been a Bat-fan for longer than say 5 years.

If you know your Bat-history, then you know all about Steph Brown as Spoiler, and you know about Tim Drake and his origin story. Harper Row is a character that has the best elements of both those characters and have rolled them into one. There is very little original work that was done for this character to really distinguish herself that is different from those previous two characters.

Ever since the relaunch, anything Snyder has done has sounded like a loud echo of recent Bat-history. When it comes down to it, what has Night of the Owls and Death of the Family brought to Batman as a character that wasn't previously done in another Batman story? Or really done anything with any Bat-characters at all besides sell books?

I would enjoy the works if I didn't have to review them. When I review them, I give them a couple of reads and really look at everything within the pages. It has actually helped me to see when creators are actually trying  something new or if a story is really hitting home.

Snyder is better than this. Snyder had something good going before the relaunch, so why has it felt so un-original since?

Grades
Words: 5/10
Pictures: 7/10 - Standard Kubert and Maleev work.
General Feeling After Reading: Suspicious and angry.
Buy Next Issue: I believe that next issue begins a huge Year Zero look at Batman. So you know, re-hashing Year One for the New 52.

Comics! Batman and Robin #18

Batman and Robin #18 

Peter J. Tomasi: writer
Patrick Gleason: penciller
Mick Gray: inker

Solicitation and Preview

Review
I've said before tha Tomasi really hits it on the head when it came to the relationship between Damian and Bruce. But I've left something very important out of that equation - Gleason's art. Tomasi takes a step back from writing to give us an issue where the story is entirely conveyed through the pictures that Gleason puts together.

Nothing shows more about what that relationship meant than this entire issue. And that is something that all the creators on this book put together to show the readers.

Out of any of the Requiem issues that have come forward, this was the one to watch. Forget the main Batman book. Forget what will come in Batman Incorporated #9. This was the funeral of Damian Wayne.

Grades
Words: 10/10
Pictures: 10/10
General Feeling After Reading: Sad.
Buy Next Issue: Yes.

Comics! Bedlam #5

Bedlam #5 

Story: Nick Spencer
Art: Riley Rossmo

Solicitation and Preview

Review
So I heard a rumor that Riley Rossmo will be leaving art duties for this book after issue 6. Saw the solicitation and the rumor got confirmed.

I cried for this book.

Rossmo on art has been a wonderful thing to see and look forward to each month. It will be really hard to imagine another artist's take on it, but the writing is strong enough that I will stick with it regardless.

So, that would make this issue Rossmo's penultimate issue. Let's see how things shape up for everyone.

And it is just another fantastic issue. We get the set up for how Fillmore got out of the really insane - insane asylum. The best thing about the setup is that I really believe that Fillmore is ready for the outside world. If anything, ask Mr. Wimble, the cat who has the same "x" mark on his forehead as all the other prisoners in the asylum.

I think one moment that really telegraphs where the next issue could go is the red coloring around Fillmore's last speech balloon, which was only around Red Mist's balloons in the book. It makes you wonder which what Fillmore will go; towards the past persona of Red Mist or towards the rehabbed version of himself.

We didn't get the reveal of Fillmore's face at the end of the issue that the comic built this tension for. I think that will play out as the last page or the first page of the next issue. But outside of that one prediction, I don't want to make any more. I have a feeling that this book will still pull out a surprise or two before the end of the next issue, and I must say that I an greatly looking forward to that reveal.

Grades
Words: 10/10
Pictures: 10/10
General Feeling After Reading: Anticipation.
Buy Next Issue: Definitely.

Comics! Animal Man #18

Animal Man #18 

Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Steve Pugh

Solicitation and Preview

Review
"Epilogue"

Yea, this comic is supposed to be an "epilogue." I think they used the wrong word and should have gone with "finale-for realz!."

There is a whole mix of stuff in here that is just going to drive me off the book. Something went very wrong somewhere down the line and the book lost some focus.

We start off with a general reset of everything back to pre-Rotworld set up, just as predicted. Then, in a moment that just made me wonder why this hasn't happened before, Maxine suddenly stands up to the Rot and takes all of the rot out of them and restores them to what they were before the rot. Not too shabby, and I liked the idea, but why hasn't something like this been done before? And doesn't that just seem a little convenient to have her discover that power at this time?

Throughout all of this, Ellen Baker hasn't grown as a character. She doesn't like all this superhero stuff, and still doesn't at the end. She really hasn't grown at all in all 18 issues. And the ending of the book, featuring the death of a title character's son again for the second week in a row, will just push her even more away from Buddy.

Animal Man has felt more like a Fantastic Four type of book, with a strong sense of family. There were a couple of things going against this book - Rotworld and artist changes. We had to pull back from the family focus that I enjoyed the first few issues, to bring in elements of Rotworld into play that just drug this book down. I don't know if Lemire has to adjust his story to match Snyder's story beats in Swamp Thing or vice versa, but this whole Rotworld thing should have ended after 12 issues. Travel Foreman's absence on art duties also took away from the strong, unique visual sense that this book had with it. Granted, Pugh's art hasn't been terrible or even mediocre, but it has just been there. Compared to how the book was started, it just makes me long for those issues to come back.

The cover for this issue did pay homage to a classic Flash cover. I believe it was Flash #76, where Wally's world turned upside down as well.

My hope is that we can just move forward and forget this mess ever happened. Let's deal with the fallout of the death but then let's get this book back to doing some good. There is so many places for this book to go, I really want to see them happen sometime soon, or I'm gone.

Grades
Words: 6/10
Pictures: 6/10
General Feeling After Reading: Sigh of relief that this is over with.
Buy Next Issue: Will give it two issues to define itself again in a post-Rotworld world, and then go from there.

Comics! Comeback #4

Comeback #4 

Written and Lettered by Ed Brisson
Illustrated by Michael Walsh
Coloried by Jordie Bellaire

Solicitation and Preview

Review
There are some stories that are made for big budget movies. And this story could be one, but it wouldn't fit just right.

This story belongs in a comic book.

There is still the air of mystery around everything in this book, but a lot does get revealed in this issue. I can say for sure that even after a second read through that I am still filled with the desire to read more and re-read everything that came before. Somehow I think I will be forced to re-read it again when the final issue comes out.

That last sentence was not a complaint, but a statement of glorious anticipation.

Everything about this comic, from the story to the art, just shines. And I just heard that IDW will be doing an X-Files series with the art team from this book carrying over to that one. Yea, I'll be picking up that title as well.

Time traveling stories can sometimes be a mess to handle. What type of "rules" of the genre will you follow? Well, this story seems to be able to create it's own rules, and the end of the comic giving you a glimpse of a "reset" is something that I can't wait to see how it is resolved.

To say much more would be too revealing. Let's just say that this is a book that I highly recommend to anyone who loves comics.

Grades
Words: 10/10
Pictures: 10/10
General Feeling After Reading: Excitement.
Buy Next Issue: In with this book until the end, which happens to be the next issue.

Comics! Professor Frink: Fantastic Science Fictions #1

Professor Frink: Fantastic Science Fictions #1

Ian Boothby, Hilary Barta, Andrew Pepoy, Chris Yambar, James Lloyd, Nathan Kane, and John Delaney

Review
Ok, I'm nerdy and all, but even I have to admit that having an entire issue devoted to Professor Frink can be a bit much. Luckily, this issue is divided into three stories that each have the right length and humor.

I gotta say, the thing that sold me on the comic right away was seeing the phrase "Sweet DeGrasse Tyson's Mustache!" on the second page. Being a huge Neil DeGrasse Tyson fan, and seeing him in a recent Superman comic, has me thrilled to see two big interests of mine coming together.

Each arc has a focus on a type of "science gone wrong" story. And to my inner shock, the third story even involves a trip through a 3-D world, giving this book a pair of 3-D glasses in the center. I know 3-d printing can be expensive, and I wonder if that is the justification for the price increase to $3.99. These Simpson one-off books have been a nice treat every few months for $2.99, and I still think i would get this book at the higher price point as long as the stories keep up the typical Simpson's humor that I expect.

The sad thing here is that I feel burnt out on the character of Professor Frink after reading this. I'm a fan of the character, but I think he works best as a side character and not as a main focus of a whole comic. If the stories each came out on their own spread out over a few weeks, I could have gone for it. As they stand in the comic, it just feels like he was stretched out. The writers did a great job having him carry the full issue, but I think I've had my fill of Frink and will look forward to seeing him about a year or so from now.

Besides, all the best science jokes were used in this issue, how could anything on the show top that for being relevant?

The art continues to have a similar look and feel throughout the whole issue. The one thing I noticed is that Sergio Aragones' art did not grace these pages. I've been looking forward to his art in each of the previous issues and am sad to not see him here. Maybe the next one-shot featuring Mr. Burns will bring him back into the fold.

Grades
Words: 9/10
Pictures: 9/10
General Feeling After Reading: Burnt out, but happy for Science!
Buy Next Issue: Mr. Burns? Excellent.