Batman #695 — Writer/Penciller: Tony S. Daniel; Inks: Sandu Florea
Batgirl #6 — Writer: Bryan Q. Miller; Penciller: Lee Garbett; Inker: Trevor Scott
Any Batbook not written by Grant Morrison (or, possibly, Frank Miller, assuming that ASBAR even still exists) suffers by comparison right now, and these are no exception. Batman continues to demonstrate why most artists shouldn’t write, just as most writers shouldn’t draw — Daniels can deliver a few pin-up pages, but the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plot is confusing, there’s no linear flow to the narrative, none of the characters is particularly in character, and he can’t write dialog to save his life. Batgirl‘s actually better — the art’s not as pretty, but it tells the story more smoothly, and the Stephanie/Damian and Barbara/Dick scenes make sense and have at least a little depth — they act like the characters we know. I could at least tell you what happened in this book, and might read the next one; I can’t say either of those things about Batman.
Nation X #2 (of 4) — Writers: C.B. Cebulski and Jim McCann, John Barbar, Tim Fish, Becky Cloonan; Art: Mike Choi and Sonja Oback, David and Alvaro Lopez, Tim Fish, Becky Cloonan
As with the premier issue, this anthology offers four short stories about life on Utopia, the X-Men-sponsored Island of Mutants. The first centers on Jubilee, and is forgettable except for a couple of good panels of her; the second involves Quentin Quire and Martha (the Living Brain) Johansson, and is a clever little valentine to the Morrison New X-Men run. The last two are solo efforts; both have cartoonier, more-exaggerated art, and are more interesting for it, but neither is very well-written (Fish tries so hard to be comfortable about Northstar’s sexual orientation that he ends up making it feel uncomfortable, while Cloonan’s dialog founders on the rocks of Gambit’s Cajun accent). This book won’t make any new converts, but readers fascinated by all things mutant will probably find their $4 well-spent.
Blackest Night: Catwoman #83 — Writer: Tony Bedard; Artists: Fabrizio Fiorentino, Ibraim Roberson, Marcus Marz and Luciana Del Negro
Blackest Night: Power of Shazam #48 — Writer: Eric Wallace; Pencils: Don Kramer; Inks: Michael Babinski
Catwoman‘s problem is that the “classic” artist on a throwback issue like this ought to be Jim Balent, and he’s nowhere around; instead, there’s a four-man committee that can’t agree on a style and is mostly undistinguished. Bedard tries (even bringing in Harley and Ivy), but this needed either Doug Moench or Gail Simone to give it any legitimacy, and it’s just not there. Nice Adam Hughes cover, though.
Shazam will be worthwhile to those who were fans of 52, since it involves both Osiris and the Crocodile Guy Whose Name Escapes Me; the twist is that Osiris, out of all the reanimated corpses, is actually himself, struggling against the influence of the black ring. This contradicts everything that’s been established in the other BNbooks, but there’s a “special thanks” note in the credits to, among others, Geoff Johns, so apparently he gets a magical lightning exception. In the event, it’s not too bad, an attempt to take a sad-sack character who went out as a shock punchline, and give him a more dignified sendoff.
Action Comics #885 — Writers: Greg Rucka and Eric Trautman; Art: Pere Perez, (Captain Atom story/8 pgs.): Writer: James Robinson; Artist: Cafu
Adventure Comics #6 — Writer: Geoff Johns; Art: Francis Manapul
Action still can’t get over the now year-long absence of Superman, considering that, I’m sorry, but no one gives a crap about Mon-El (to say nothing about Nightwing and Flamebird). The Lois/Dad stuff doesn’t work either; blame the general lameness on overall editorial edict, since Rucka is usually so dependable (and a high-profile artist certainly helps; one Detective right now is worth ten of these Actions). Adventure wraps up a not-embarassing Kon-el story via a confrontation with a suitably-nasty Lex Luthor, even throwing in a surprise super-villain team-up for him; it’s Johns giving fans what they want, and clearing the decks for the Paul Levitz-scripted Legion of Super-Heroes (with a young Clark Kent as Superboy) to take over the title this summer.
The Ghoul #2 — Writer: Steve Niles; Art: Berni Wrightson
This is the part where I talk about how, in the old days, a Wrightson book would have been an event, but as he’s shed his flashy EC swipes he’s settled into a solid-but-nonpyrotechnic horror artist; if, earlier in his career, his art was less than it appeared, it’s now made the transition to being better than it looks. Niles, who has a sure hand at cobbling decent stories together out of standard genre conventions, is the perfect match for him here.
Phil Mateer
