Batman #683 — Writer: Grant Morrison; Penciller: Lee Garbett; Inker: Trevor Scott
OK, so let’s get this straight: the whole Batman: R. I. P. thing had no effect whatsoever on Bruce Wayne’s life and/or death; he came out of it fine, beat the bad guys, and then went off to join the JLA for Final Crisis, where he was captured, stuck into a mind meld with that Lump thing from the Kirby Mister Miracle books, and that’s where we are now. The reason I can live with that is that these last two issues of mindplay have given Morrison a chance to do a condensed retrospective of Batman’s career, and between them and the last R. I. P. issue he’s managed to drive home his “Batman not only can’t be beaten, but he’s so far ahead of you that he’ll kick your ass before you can even find it with both hands” tutorial. Fair enough, because it’s fun to read about a guy like that (especially when, as readers, we don’t know he’s ahead of everybody — which explains a lot of the seeming plot hiccups in R. I. P., too). Now, if only the next, and supposedly “last adventure,” in Final Crisis #6, can offer a satisfyingly apocalyptic version of that Batman Lesson, we can all enjoy the show, go home and relax, and wait out the next few “Battle for the Cowl” months until the real deal comes back again.
Captain America: Theater of War #1 (of 1) — Writer/Artist: Howard Chaykin
Chaykin offering a 44-page story of the 1950s Cap, involved with both the Red Scare (via a thinly-disguised “Senator Joe McMurphy” and his aide, “Ray Kahn”) and actual Reds. As per usual for Chaykin, it’s sophisticated, cynical, very knowledgeable about the fashions, language and politics of that era, and beautiful to look at; considering that it would be two full issues of a regular comic, the $4.99 price is a bargain. Throw in 12 pages of reprints of the actual ’50s Cap, too, and you’ve got yourself an even better deal.
Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam #3 — Writer/Artist: Mike Kunkel
This is definitely a “younger readers” version of the character, especially given the sketchy, cartoony pencils, but it’s a good story for all that: adults can appreciate the interplay between the main characters, and Kunkel manages to triangulate the C. C. Beck, Jeff Smith, and (what? Don Newton? Jerry Ordway? Alex Ross? Whatever you want to call the “realistic,” DC-house version…) styles of the character into an understandable, readable and satisfying combination. Good for him. Now, if people would only buy the thing….
New Avengers #48 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Billy Tan; Inker: Matt Banning
Back to present continuity, thank God, as the current anti-Osborne membership gets sorted out, and the saerch for Luke and Jessica’s baby drives the plot, culminating in a final scene that’s both logical and chilling. Points off for having one of those stupid scenes where the critical information is about to be revealed by the defeated bad guy, but just as she begins to speak… well, you can see where that’s going, and it’s lazy and disappointing on Bendis’s part. Otherwise, the Tan art is an improvement (unlike Yu, he can sometimes draw recognizable human faces), and my inner Avengers fanboy is just happy to have the book’s story engine revving up again.
The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #2 (of 6) — Writer: Gerald Way; Artist: Gabriel Ba
The two guys in the cartoony animal masks are kind of a ripoff of the last few innocents-menaced-by-faceless-psychos horror movies, but Way and Ba get off a couple of nice, um, bits with them, so OK; given the general oddball nature of this book, the monkey dressed up like Marilyn Monroe barely elicits a raised eyebrow. Some people think this is a great book; I wouldn’t go further than “good,” but it’s so confident in expressing its own voice, and so unlike any other superhero title out there, that “good” is good enough.
Stuff I read and liked enough to buy, but don’t have much to say about, so read previous reviews in the archives if you’re interested:
Knights of the Dinner Table #146 — Creators: Jolly Blackburn, Steve Johansson, David Kenzer and Brian Jelke
Daredevil #114 — Writer: Ed Brubaker; Artists: Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano
Ultimate Spider-Man #129 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Stuart Immonen; Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Runaways #5 — Writer: Terry Moore; Penciler: Humberto Ramos; Inker: Dave Meikis
Punisher War Zone #3 (of 6) — Writer: Garth Ennis; Art: Steve Dillon
Batman: Gotham After Midnight #8 (of 12) — Writer: Steve Niles; Artist: Kelley Jones
Usagi Yojimbo #116 — Writer/Artist: Stan Sakai
Phil Mateer
