Who Deserves a Happily-Ever-After? Earth2 Society volume 4 - Life After Death

   

Review:

The DC Comics New-52 Earth 2 reboot comes to its end with this collection. After more than 60 issues across three series, we learn the final fate of Earth 2. And it's ... surprisingly happy an optimistic.

After years of dark, dystopian stories, putting the earth and its Wonders and citizens through multiple wars with Apokolips, the deaths of countless heroes, the global population reduced to a fraction of a percent of its original number, after all that pain and suffering we reach the end. And it's bright, cheery, filled with smiles.

Like a fairy tale or heavenly vision, all is restored. Through the actions of Wonder Woman's daughter Fury, unleashing the mystical powers of the Pandora Casket, old Metropolis, old Earth, it is all back, and filled with all the social and economic and environmental challenges we would expect.

Oh, the path from dystopia to restoration is not smooth. We spend 2+ issues in a world of white panels, with Bruno Redondo giving us his pencils but inker Juan Albarran getting the month off - no need to ink these panels!

Lurking throughout is the Ultra-Humanite, seeking to eliminate the Wonders and control this world the same as he sought for the previous one.

The final chapter is pure Epilogue, as author Dan Abnett gives these heroes, who have been through so much, a chance to breathe, relax, smile, do their hero thing. In many ways it's a clever reversal, taking Earth 2 out if its early twenty-first century dystopia all the way back to the candy-colored optimism of the Golden Age of comics, from whence these character originally came. He leaves this Earth and its heroes ideally set up for unlimited possibilities in DC's future.

For a happy ending and the novelty of page after page of all-white panels, 3.5/5 capes.

Description:

Writer Dan Abnett (AQUAMAN, TITANS) and artists Bruno Redondo (INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US) and Vicente Cifuentes (BATGIRL) bring the story of the Wonders of Earth-2 to a stunning conclusion!

The heroes of Earth-2 have lost their planet twice—first to the forces of Apokolips, and now their newly rebuilt world has fallen thanks to one of their own. To prevent the all-powerful Pandora Casket from falling into the Ultra-Humanite’s hands, the Wonder known as Fury used it herself in an attempt to recreate their original world.

Unfortunately, Fury and a small band of other Wonders have awakened in a ghost of a world…one that appears to have entirely wiped out and replaced Earth-2 and all of its survivors.

But the Wonders are not alone in this ghost world. Something is stalking them…something familiar, and powerful, and with one all-encompassing mission: to kill the Wonders before they can solve the mystery of this strange new world!

Collects: issues #17-22

Authors: Dan Abnett
Artists: Bruno Redondo
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Aug. 15 2017
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401271435
Pages: 136 pages

How Many Pencils? Earth 2 Society volume 3 - A Whole New World

   

Review:

Turnover in a book's creators often feels like a portent of doom - when a series starts jumping from one set of hands to another almost every issue,, the lack of coherence and focus can hasten its collapse, already under way.

This collection fortunately has a stable hand at the keyboard, with Dan Abnett crafting a new and growing challenge that is actively subverting the already unstable structures and institutions of this new Earth 2 society. Increasingly the Ultra-Humanite emerges from the shadows as the brain behind much of the recent turmoil.

However, the art chores seem like a hot potato that no one wants to hold onto long. This is a relatively short collection - four issues and an annual - yet it has 8 different artists handling the pencils and inks. The growing inconsistencies in its visuals mar Abnett's tales. From facial distortions to exaggerated forms, the flow of the narrative across the page is frequently interrupted by a sloppy panel here or a figure there who looks rushed and slapped together.

The end of Alan Scott's great sacrifice - walking away from being Green Lantern to allow the ring to power the planet - comes as no surprise. Despite his best intentions, he is out-foxed by the Ultra-Humanite. As mind-control takes over Green Lantern, it sets up one of the finest sequences of the whole series: Red Arrow facing down the mind-controlled Green Lantern with his godlike powers. Nothing but a bow, some arrows, and a spine-full of courage. In the end, it's the man that matters most.

Also not to be missed is the Annual and its reflections on heroism, family, duty, legacy and more. It's a beautiful parallel tale of Dick Grayson being talked out of retirement as Batman by his lost-and-now-found son John. All mixed together with flashbacks of Huntress going into hand to hand combat with one of Ultra-Humanite's most powerful children.

Some strong stories, gripping tension, and frequent visual letdowns. It's a mixed bag that scores 3 / 5.

Description:

For the first time since their planet was destroyed, the citizens of Earth-2 finally see a path forward. But for some Wonders, it’s not enough. Not when there’s a chance to bring back what they’ve all lost: Earth itself. Fury, the daughter of Wonder Woman, has arrived with an Amazonian artifact called the Pandora Casket, which possesses the power to recreate the Earth that they’ve lost…or destroy the new one that they’re creating.

But the choice of whether or not to use the Pandora Casket might not lie with the Wonders. The Ultra-Humanite wants to create the world in his own image, and he’s engineered an army to take the artifact for him. These super-powered Humanites are strong enough to take on the Wonders

Collects: EARTH 2: SOCIETY #13-16 and EARTH 2: SOCIETY ANNUAL #1

Authors: Dan Abnett
Artists: Angel Hernandez, Federico Dallocchio
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: April 11 2017
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401267971
Pages: 136 pages

Of Peace and Politics - Earth 2 Society volume 2 - Indivisible

   

Review:

The group of crossover-event Convergence-related mini-series from DC Comics occasionally gave glimpses into what life would be like under a dome for a year, and the increase in social chaos that the inevitable shortages would cause. When that planet, Telos, became the new home of the Earth 2 refugees, it had, it turns out, scant natural resources. The budding young city-states slowly realize this, and political wrangling begins in earnest

Led by Green Lantern, can the Wonders play diplomats and keep the peace? As they become increasingly blamed for the current situation, what role do they have in this young new society?

Author Dan Abnett raises some interesting questions and he packs some clever ideas into his narrative. But ultimately this collection feels overly simplistic in its purported stakes. The city-state politics, Green Lantern's miserable failure at diplomacy are a frustrating subplots. Far more interesting is the re-emergence of Fury and the Amazons (and briefly Queen Marella and the Atlanteans)

Jorge Jiminez's are is fun, fluid and dynamic. The battle sequences, postures, hair and faces are reminiscent of Manga. When the art team changes to Federico Dallachio in issue #11, the visuals become simpler, and the colors brighter. That the art team changes again for issue #12 is a sign of the looming end - high turnover among less-established names surely hints at the publisher's struggles with the series.

With a story that meanders between fascinating and simplistic, and the beginning of head-spinning artistic shifts, I score this a mediocre 2.5 out of 5 capes.

Description:

Earth and its greatest champions have never felt so familiar—or so alien—in this alternate take on the DC Universe.

Green Lantern, Superman and a World Army cabinet of “Wonders” have assumed leadership roles in an effort to unite the cities of Earth-2…whether the population of the still-rebuilding world likes it or not.

But the growing sentiment against metahumans may soon prove moot. Earth-2 is a geologically barren world, unable to produce vital natural resources for its newly arrived inhabitants. And the resources that do exist are rapidly dwindling, prompting cities to wage all-out war against each other.

Even as the Wonders struggle to prevent the last of a civilization from renewing its violent history, Batman and his allies take the battle to the mysterious Mist, who profits from the racketeering of power cells steeped in toxic waste. Unfortunately for them, he’s also recruited a Wonder of his own in Hourman. Meanwhile, Hawkgirl may have uncovered Earth-2’s greatest threat: the world-changing intentions of an Amazon race resurrected by Wonder Woman’s daughter, Fury!

Collects: EARTH 2: SOCIETY #8-12

Authors: Dan Abnett
Artists: Jorge Jimenez
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Aug. 30 2016
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401264710
Pages: 128 pages

Homesick Heroes - Earth 2 Society volume 1 - Planetfall

   

Review:

At last, the diminutive label "Earth 2" makes sense to its occupants. Calling anything "number two" diminishes it relative to the prime, the "number one". And since the Silver Age it has always carried overtones of supremacy and superiority with the occupants of Earth-1 - DC's mainstream reality and continuity - relegating their Golden Age forebears and counterparts to second-class heroes.

But just as we are learning to change our language away from, for example, saying Columbus "discovered" the Americas (one cannot discover a land already filled by other nations), so DC has finally given Earth 2 a proper meaning. It is now "Earth 2.0" a reboot of the original, and not defined by the self-referential "discoverers"

Now, finally, the residents of Earth 2 occupy a new Earth. They can proudly apply the label to this new planet in their own context. It is a brilliant evolution, emerging from the DC Comics Convergence crossover extravaganza. They are now no longer the discovered, but rather the literal colonizers, putting their energy toward settling their new planet, building cities, societies and new lives.

It beggars belief, the things they were able to build within a year of Planetfall. Even with a handful of Wonders, and with scavenging from the wrecks of their space-going Arks, to have such apparently well-established civilizations is an immediate annoyance. Superpowers can do amazing things, but bend the rules of physics? Concrete takes time to cure, welds to cool, iron to set. These would pose real limits to their ability to build such amazing cities in such a short time. But let's suspend belief enough to accept how shockingly far this society has come in just a year after crash-landing in wrecks scattered around the planet.

Daniel H Wilson's tale brings our heroes (Superman, Power Girl, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Red Tornado, Huntress) into conflict with both the brilliant megalomaniac Terry Sloan and Doctor Impossible. Jimmy Olsen, reimagined as a brilliant early-teens hacker, has now been transformed into a superpowered anarchy-minded villain. Both Sloan and Impossible wish to remake the earth under their own vision and control.

The tale moves at a brisk pace, as Wilson tries to fit many scattered plotlines into his limited space. Jorge Jimenez and Alisson Borges' art leans toward dark tones and images, working somewhat against the mood of hope at the new start, and of relief of their very survival. Their stylized characters strike Manga-esque poses, minus the big eyes, and their body poses, spiked hair and narrow, pointed chins and combat poses evoke such influences repeatedly.

Overall this is a promising new start for the very beleaguered citizens and heroes of Earth-2, now justly considered Earth-2.0. Looking forward to more, I score this 3.5 capes out of 5.

Description:

Continuing the saga that began in EARTH 2, writer Daniel H. Wilson (EARTH 2: WORLD'S END) and artists Jorge Jimenez (SUPERBOY) and Alisson Borges (LOBO) start civilization from scratch in EARTH 2: SOCIETY VOL. 1: PLANETFALL!

A year has passed since Earth-2 was destroyed by the armies of Apokolips. The survivors of the catastrophic tragedy have now made planetfall on a new world, and, with the help of heroes old and new, built a home.

But some threats can survive even Apokolips. New super-villains have arisen to capitalize on the confusion, even as heroes like Batman, Power Girl, Superman, Green Lantern and The Flash struggle to find their place on an unfamiliar world.

And unknown to all, Terry Sloan has developed technology with the power to change everything. Some will want to use his Genesis Machine to re-make this planet into an exact copy of the Earth they left behind; others, to build a brand new society, free from the mistakes of the past. Who wins this debate will determine the course of a civilization, but one thing is certain: in the wrong hands, this device has the power to destroy the last hope of a people who thought they'd already lost everything.

Collects: issues #1-7 and DC SNEAK PEEK: EARTH 2: SOCIETY #1

Authors: Daniel Wilson
Artists: Jorge Jimenez, Alisson Borges
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: March 15 2016
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 9781401261238
Pages: 170 pages

Vaguely Unsatisfying - Y: The Last Man volume 10 - Whys and Wherefores

   

Review:

2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the start of Y: The Last Man, a stunning and ground-breaking science fiction comic series with nary a cape-wearing super-powered hero or villain to be found. Instead, it contained classical allusions, contemporary pop culture references, depths of character and relationship dramas, and plenty of action sequences, all framed in a speculative fiction world of what might happen, both locally and globally, if all the men (save one) died suddenly.

This re-reading and series of reviews wanted to explore how well the series aged, as it turned 20. After two decades, including such an earth-shaking event as a global pandemic, would this seem prescient? laughable? naive? My first time through, I found the conclusion and the explanation of the plague causing the gendercide to match Yorick's own assessment: "vaguely unsatisfying". Maybe it is the influence of already knowing the ending, but this 20th Anniversary rereading felt more, well, satisfying overall.

In this final volume, all roads converge on Paris, France. Yorick and 355; all the many Beths; Alter and her squad of soldiers. And amazingly, against all odds and after 5 years and tens of thousands of miles, Yorick and Beth Deville are reunited at last! Their reunion sex is great! Their ensuing pillow-talk not so much. They've passed each other, philosophically, and his desperate search for his beloved turns sour as they debate the power and meaning of the very dreams that have sustained them both. This sequence is a long, uninterrupted dialog, yet in the hands of master storyteller Brian K. Vaughan and his Master of Visuals Pia Guerra, these pages are gripping, beautiful, intense and intimate.

Competing for biggest emotional wallop are the multiple goodbyes. Especially touching is 355 melting away as the reunion with Beth approaches. When they both realize their love, Yorick and 355 seem on the verge of crafting a new direction and a new life, which the final confrontation with Alter brings to a shocking end. A scene that is breath-taking in its clean simplicity. After all the previous miraculous survivals, this seems too easy, too quick, almost out of character. Until we reach Yorick's heart-breaking resignation: "Enough" he says and walks away.

The series ends with an Epilogue set 60 years in the future. It is a more promising and hopeful future. The women of the world have rebuilt society, technological progress has spiked, society has flourished. My original impression of the Epilogue, on first reading some years ago, dismissed it as an anticlimactic letdown - after so much drama and high adventure, its sleepy pace seemed out of character for the rest of the series. I must revise that opinion on rereading it as part of this 20th anniversary review. It exchanges edge-of-your-seat drama, conflict and tension for calm conversation and exposition, interwoven with beautiful and heart-rending flashbacks into the post-Paris lives of our beloved characters. The death of Ampersand is especially moving. And the final sequence, of octogenarian Yorick's escape from his family's loving confinement is, in retrospect, a perfect cap to an amazing series.

In sum, 20 years later, the assumptions of how much of the world would fall apart minus the men is balanced by the portraits of resiliency, strength and creativity of the women. More than survivors, they become architects of the next great civilization.

This daring, moving, ultimately satisfying finale, with its simple layouts that perfectly frame visually the mood and offer subtle illustrations and metaphors to work hand-in-hand with the narrative, earns another 5 capes.

Read all 10 reviews of Y: The Last Man here: Volume 1 Unmanned; Volume 2 Cycles; Volume 3 One Small Step; Volume 4 Safeword; Volume 5 Ring of Truth; Volume 6 Girl on Girl; Volume 7 Paper Dolls; Volume 8 Kimono Dragons; Volume 9 Motherland; Volume 10 Whys and Wherefores.

Description:

Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES and on NPR, Y: THE LAST MAN is the gripping saga of Yorick Brown, an unemployed and unmotivated slacker who discovers he is the only male left in the world after a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome. Accompanied by his mischievous monkey, Ampersand, and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his long-lost girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on earth.

Yorick Brown's long journey through an Earth populated only by women comes to a dramatic, unexpected conclusion in this final volume. Collects issues #55-60 of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's award-winning Vertigo series.

Collects: issues #55-60

Authors: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan
Published By: Vertigo 
Published When: July 1 2008
Parental Rating: Mature
ISBN: 9781401218133
Pages: 168 pages

A Fractured Kaleidoscope: Review of Earth 2 Volume 6 - Collision

   

Review:

The New-52 series Earth 2, a critically acclaimed reboot of this corner of the DC Multiverse in its early issues, staggers and crawls to its demise in this volume.

From the start, the series tried to do too much. With too many characters, spread over too many settings, with too many competing plot directions, it was always a struggle to tell coherent and compelling tales. The novelty and strong characters and relationships, coupled with stunning art, succeeded for a time. But not anymore.

The stories in this volume are reduced to episodic jumps from one slice of Earth 2 life to another. We find origin tales of the Furies of Apokolips, followed by those of the Earth elemental powers and their champions; then death and destruction in Chicago; and last stands around the world. The singular unifying theme is the death and destruction of Earth 2 in a final victory for Apokolips.

Hence the large number of writers and artists in these tales, each filling a quarter or a half an issue with their little vignette. Missing from this collection are all the in-between bits found in Earth 2 World's End, where even more of the same death and destruction happens.

There are still occasional glints of gold. The best examples include Khalid / Fate and Kendra / Hawkgirl sharing a touching moment; Thomas Wayne / Batman and granddaughter Helena / Huntress with their running generational family dysfunction; and an African American version of Harley Quinn.

The Earth 2 Universe has so much potential, and so much creativity and clever takes on familiar characters. But the authors have written themselves into a tragic corner, and this series ends with a fizzle, to be re-rebooted in Earth 2 Society. One and a half capes out of five.

Description:

Cataclysm has come to Earth-2. The forces of Darkseid, which were thought to have been repelled years ago, have struck back with a vengeance. Apokolips itself is attacking the Earth, with Darkseid’s Furies leading the charge of destruction. This may be humanity’s final hour.

But Earth-2 is not without its defenders. There are the heroes, like Huntress, Power Girl and Batman. There are the soldiers of the World Army. There’s Green Lantern and his fellow Avatars of the Earth, wielding the power of the planet’s plant life, animal life and even the air and water.

But it’s Doctor Fate, the powerful but inexperienced sorcerer, who alone may have the ability to repel Apokolips and save the planet. Empowered by the Helm of the ancient wizard Nabu, Doctor Fate could turn the tide against Apokolips…or, if the Helm were to fall into the hands of Darkseid’s servants, Fate could be handing absolute power and total victory to Earth’s enemies!

Collects: Earth 2 (New 52) issues #27-32

Authors: Marguerite Bennett, Daniel Wilson Tom Taylor, Mike Johnsons
Artists: Andy Smith, Trevor Scott, 10 others
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Feb. 14 2017
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401272616
Pages: 168 pages

Superman of War and Peace: Review of Earth 2 Volume 5 - The Kryptonian

   

Review:

Tom Taylor, of Injustice fame, spins another tale of Superman as a super-powered despotic tyrant. In this collection of Earth 2 chapters, plot threads that once were scattered with only the loosest of connections have been woven into a more coherent picture, one that is dark, grim and rapidly worsening under Superman's mighty thumb.

The strength of Taylor's storytelling is in the relationships and complex, nuanced characters. They show us their ability to hate one another on one page, then courageously risk their lives for their frenemy in the next. Even the villainous Superman has hints of depth and humanity beneath his near-omnipotent power and unstoppable rage.

Alternate realities such as this New-52 Earth 2 give creators lots of room to experiment, and DC's multiverse has a long history of fostering such imaginative alternate tales. One of the cleverest twists here has Red Tornado in female form and with Lois Lane's mind. This takes some getting used to for the reader, though apparently not for Superman, who grasps it in seconds. Likewise turning Jimmy Olsen into a 13-year-old tech hacker flips familiar characters into exciting new roles.

In this story, Superman has become a loyal servant of Darkseid, and works to destroy the World Army and other Wonders, with great prejudice and gory violence. He is also compelling the world's greatest brains to build a planet-sized Boom Tube, to take the whole planet Earth back to Apokolips.

The secret weapon of the good guys is Val-Zod, another Kryptonian. Alas, with his embrace of pacifism, can he truly confront Superman and save them all?

When the visuals are in the hands of Nicola Scott, she continues to deliver jaw-dropping panels and clever sequences. In this collection, she shares art duties with others, whose more constrained style serves to help Scott's stand out all the more.

Description:

Superman is the most powerful being in the universe. And for once, that's not a good thing.

The Last Son of Krypton is now an enforcer of Darkseid, the evil despot who will stop at nothing to take over Earth 2. However, there is one man who can stop them and that's...Superman?

A new Superman--named Val-Zod--has appeared and the heroes of Earth 2 must convince him to help them in their darkest hour in one last desperate attempt to stop Kal-El. Can they band together in time to prepare for Apokolips and the forces of Darkseid? And can Val-Zod become the hero they need him to be?

Collects: Earth 2 (New 52) #21-26 and Earth 2: Futures End #1

Authors: Tom Taylor
Artists: Nicola Scott, Scott Trevor
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Dec 1 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401257576
Pages: 176 pages

Enter the Bat - Maybe? a Review of Earth 2 volume 3 - Battle Cry

   

Review:

Is James Robinson's Earth 2 tapestry a complex weaving of plot threads? or a frayed and tangled mess? Volume 2 suffered from an ever-widening scope of Earth 2 stories competing for attention, and likewise this collection has so many scattered plotlines and characters doing their own independent things that it feels too big for a single series. Either Earth 2 needs a second series to give the characters more room to breathe, or Robinson needs to tighten his focus. As it stands, they compete and crowd each other out, and the rich characterizations of the earliest issues get compressed into disconnected vignettes.

Including sightings of a mysterious, reborn Batman. Hawkgirl has a brief conversation with him. Mister Miracle and Barda hunt for him. But despite his prominent place on the cover, these tiny glimpses are all that get fit into these 160 pages.

Still, Robinson has so many clever ideas, and they are so beautifully brought to life in Nicola Scott's images, that the series merits sticking around a little longer.

Nicola Scott is an amazing comic artist. She shows mastery of her craft page after page. All elements work together: from layouts to structure to innovative perspective shifts, her visuals have always been and remain the strongest point of this series. Jay Garrick's growing maturity is as evident in the art as the narrative. Ditto for Alan Scott's intensity, and Khalid / Doctor Fate's ongoing mental health struggles. These are challenging character traits to illustrate, stretching beyond the brawn and beauty stereotypes of the superhero genre. Yet they are as superbly handled by Scott as the epic battles of armies and Wonders.

As with all my previous Earth 2 reviews, this scores 3 capes out of 5 for its mix of astounding visuals and confusing, over-extended narrative.

Description:

The wonders of Earth 2, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Flash, Atom Smasher, The Sandman, Mr. Terrific and Dr. Fate, take on the forces of Steppenwolf and the Hunger Dogs of Apokolips when all hope is lost. Now a new Batman enters the fray, but is he enough to turn the tide and prevent Darkseid from taking control of Earth 2?

Acclaimed creative team James Robinson (STARMAN) and Nicola Scott (SUPERMAN) enlist the heroes of an alternate Earth in their greatest battle yet in EARTH 2: WAR!

Collects: Earth 2 (New 52) #13-16 plus #15.1 and Annual #1

Authors: James Robinson
Artists: Nicola Scott & Trevor Scott
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 14 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401249380
Pages: 160 pages

Walking in Escher's World: Review of Earth 2 Volume 2 - the Tower of Fate

   

Review:

The sense of confusion and disorientation one feels in M. C. Escher's optical illusions hits us both figuratively and literally in this second volume of the New-52-era Earth 2 series. The story within the collection is somewhat disorienting, as it imperfectly stitches together issues #7-12, plus issue #0 and an excerpt from DC Universe Presents. It's a big Earth-2, with a lot going on, which leaves too much to cover, and therefore too much is left out.

Then artist Nicola Scott drops us into a literal visual riff on Escher's staircase illusion. As Flash and Khalid wander through the Tower of Fate, seeking the fabled golden helm, the two-page spread of their meanderings is the absolute pinnacle of another great set of artistic work. Scott's tremendous visuals are the highlight of this collection. Page after page is resplendent with dynamic scenes of action, detailed and crammed full of stunning expressions and postures. So vivid and amazing! Beyond the stunning work inside the Tower of Fate, her visuals of the mystical battles between Fate and Wotan show a deft touch and care in the tiniest of details. The patterns and swirls of magic power trace back to subtle symbols and tiny gestures. Well worth lingering over each character and panel!

James Robinson's story brings the realm of magic more fully into this new Earth 2. It has been there all along, as acknowledged in a nod to Flash's new, magic costume. But the size and scope of the plotlines, stories, indeed the whole earth, feels like a struggle in this collection. Too many good ideas, too many interesting characters to fit into one book, and Robinson keeps losing some of the threads for extended periods of time.

For its mix of top-notch art and scattered story-telling, I give this 3 capes out of 5

Description:

The World Army has begun rounding up the super-heros of Earth 2, but for what reason?  In an attempt to avoid capture, Dr. Fate and Kid Flash find themselves in the powerful magical realm of Nabu.  The protector of Nabu, Wotan, seeks Dr. Fates assistance in obtaining a secret magic locked deep within a tower that only Dr. Fate can enter.

Collects: Earth 2 issues #0, 7-12

Authors: James Robinson
Artists: Nicola Scott, Yildaray Cinar
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: April 15 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 9781401246143
Pages: 176 pages

Grey vs Green - Review of Earth 2 Volume 1: The Gathering

Review:

It has long been a well-worn trope of comics that, just because a hero or villain dies, it does not mean they're gone for good. Sometimes, publishers make a huge promotional event, as if to say "No, no! this time we mean it!" Other times they treat the moment with an elevated level of dignity and care. See Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the deaths of Supergirl and Flash. Or Batman's 1988 Death in the Family arc about Joker killing Robin, followed by the Death of Superman in 1992 with all the attendant media coverage. Marvel Comics takes turns, too, for example with the death of the Human Torch in 2011.

So, when the Earth 2 series starts by killing off Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman within 7 pages of each other in issue #2, the surprise is muted, and the emotional possibilities neutered by the very narrative setup. But this time it's not about shocking the readers, or mourning and memories, or cloning and magical resurrections. It is an intentional setup of a very different heroic landscape. The world sees not a single "Wonder" for five whole years following their sacrificial deaths.

That is, not until the sudden emergence of Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and the Atom. We wind up with a cleverly rebooted Justice Society, a reimagining of heroes with roots tracing back to the Golden Age of superhero comics. This book collects the earliest issues of a series rewriting familiar heroes in a new universe, and much is teased but saved for later.

They are sparked to life by a variety of forces, just in time to battle the entropic decay of The Grey and its champion, Grundy. He seeks out all life, to destroy it, and specifically challenges and summons the "Green Knight" champion of Earth's life force. With Green Lantern's power coming from the force of life of the whole planet, this is not your magical or Oa/Guardians-powered Lantern. No mantra, no recharging.

Adding political layers to the story is a world-spanning yet somewhat secretive organization, for whom the Atom and Sandman work, and who seek to control the world and especially the Wonders.

Nicola Scott's combat scenes are vivid and engrossing, and her renditions of decay are by turns gruesome and bland. She handles the wide diversity in characters well, and the subtle colorings of the Green embraced by the Grey are perfect!

This is a promising beginning to familiar but new heroes and the universe they inhabit. Definitely worth picking up future volumes.

Description:

A New York Times Bestseller!

Earth's greatest heroes have defeated grave threats from Apokolips, but not at a grave price. Left in their stead is a group of young, untrained hereoes who pick up the pieces in the dusty aftermath. The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and the Atom are humanity's nascent guardians, but not the ones we've all known and revered. These are different heroes, in a strange and foreign world with dangerous new villains. This is Earth 2.

Award-winning writer James Robinson (STARMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE) joins forces with artist Nicola Scott (SUPERMAN, TEEN TITANS) to remiagine the classic Justice Society of America for DC COMICS--THE NEW 52 universe--and sometimes in controversial, unconventional fashion. Don't miss one of the most talked about graphic novels in recent memory!

Collects: 

Authors: James Robinson
Artists: Nicola Scott
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 8 2013
Parental Rating: 
ISBN-10: 1401242812
ISBN-13: 978-1401242817
Language: English
Pages: 160 pages

Why Are All My Fathers Crazy? Batman Beyond 2.0 volume 2 - Justice Lords Beyond

Review:

In this collection, storylines from Justice League Beyond and Batman Beyond 2.0 converge for an extended series of chapters as our heroes battle the Justice Lords, led by Lord Superman and Lady Wonder Woman. The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance.

Writers Kyle Higgins and Christos Gage have scripted a solid story, with plenty of twists. You will find a handful of particularly memorable moments, such as when Lord Superman gives a "heat vision lobotomy" to Terry / Batman, or Mr. Miracle escaping from the very prison cell he himself designed and built to be unescapable.

Unfortunately, their narrative efforts to bring forward the Justice Lords storyline from the Beyond TV series into this DC universe world bogs down under its own weight. They need to provide some background for the reader unfamiliar with those shows or episodes, introduce some new developments, and use both to move the plot forward. It all leads to several stretches of extended narration. And the accompanying visuals by Thony Silas and Dexter Soy fail the "show me don't tell me" test.

Silas and Soy do structure their art using a novel and occasionally stunning layout structure. Pages are filled to the brim, with nary a white border to be seen. The layering of panels also adds to the dynamism and unique flow. Alas, it often produces pages with a series of stacked, narrow, horizontal images. When it succeeds, it evokes the closeups of a widescreen TV experience. But on paper, it too often leaves the images too small, cramped, cropped and dark. The online digital chapter originals might have worked better, with back-lit images and the ability to view on a larger surface and even to zoom in.

In the end, the boy Zod is revealed to be the heir and offspring of Lord Superman and Lady Wonder Woman, stolen by Brainiac and sent to the Phantom Zone. On learning this shocking revelation, Zod spurns them both. Does he choose in favor of his friends? Nah, that's too warm-and-fuzzy for this world; he just rejects them both as unworthy. But in the climactic battle he utters the line of the book, "Why are all my fathers crazy?"

With its source material coming from online-first digital chapters, this physical, trade paperback book lacks some of the customary transition points between chapters. Where a TPB reprinting traditional comics would usually include the covers and the common use of large or full-page visuals near the start of a story, the cues marking the seams between these chapters are much more subtle. The result is a more fluid narrative, but the freedom from the usual structures is only illusory and you quickly pick up the demarcations between digital chapters.

Overall, for excessive verbosity and visuals that are frequently hard to parse, 2 capes out of 5.

Description:

Contains the epic "JUSTICE LORDS BEYOND" crossover! Wonder Woman is back, but it seems like she's hiding something. Meanwhile, Batman's journey through the dystopian world of the Justice Lords takes an unexpected and deadly turn as he must face Lord Superman!  Can an exhausted Justice League and Terry McGinnis against this deadly foe?

Collects BATMAN BEYOND Universe print issues #9-12.

Collects: Originally published as Batman Beyond 2.0 digital chapters #17-24 and Justice League Beyond 2.0 digital chapters #17-24 

Authors: Kyle Higgins and Christos Gage
Artists: Thony Silas and Dexter Soy
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: March 17 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-13: 978-1401254643
Pages: 176 pages

Date Night from Hell - Justice League Beyond - Power Struggle

Review:

This collection is a solid and entertaining read, from cover to cover. It blends clever, imaginative tales, earth-threatening villains, superb portrayals of team dynamics - and all the awkwardness and anxiety of a first date!

In this Beyond world, Superman is a middle-aged widower. In a twist from the classic Clark Kent as Reporter alter ego, this one is a firefighter, where his bravery and self-sacrifice in the face of danger fits well with his super-powered mindset. All the more so as he struggles through a period of lost powers.

After fellow firefighter Rita coaxes him into a date, author Christos Gage gives us a truly delightful chapter of anxiety as Superman seeks advice from his fellow League members. It is followed by a disastrous date itself, interrupted as it is by the attack of a giant robot.

Gage dazzles in these chapters with well-balanced drama, conflict and relationships. His handling of Zod - the boy whom still-powerless Superman rescues from the Phantom Zone and an abusive father - is masterful. Gage also achieves the rare task in a team book of portraying all members of the League with a richness of depth and nuance. The Brainiac storyline slips a bit into world-conquering supervillain tropes, but does give a solid platform for the relationships and team interactions to shine. And while Brainiac's conquest of the earth is too quick and complete for a satisfying story, the conversion of the Earth into a tentacled Brainiac skull is very cool!

Artistically, the collection is a mixed bag. Through much of it, Iban Coello gives us timely stylistic shifts that are often picture-perfect to the tone of the narrative. Yet elsewhere the images veer toward the gratuitously gruesome, as in the freeze-frame panels catching the moment of impact of the super-blows and the ripples in the flesh and frozen, blood-drop-spattered expressions of pain.

3.5 capes out of 5

Description:

The World's Greatest Super Heroes of Tomorrow are here! Now with a few fresh faces and a newly-constructed Watchtower, the Justice League are back to being a well-oiled crime fighting machine! But when Superman's powers begin to rage out of control, the League must figure out a way to protect the world--and themselves--from the Last Son of Krypton.

JUSTICE LEAGUE BEYOND: POWER STRUGGLE is collected here in its entirety for the first time, written by Christos Gage (Avengers Arena). This volume collects issues #1-8

Collects: Originally published as Justice League Beyond 2.0 digital chapters #1-16

Authors: Christos Gage
Artists: Iban Coello
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Oct. 7 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 9781401250737
ISBN-13: 978-1401250737
Pages: 176 pages

Ugly Me vs Pretty Me - Review of Teen Titans: Earth One Vol. 2

 

Review:

After the beautiful visuals of volume one, there is a noticeable drop in artistic power in the sequel. Andy McDonald still gives us some beautiful graphics - the New Mexico sunset scene is one standout example. But it falls short of the richness of the art in volume 1 and is especially noticeable in the faces of our heroes.

One face that is deliberately deformed is the twisted child-monster and Starfire-clone named Blackfire. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

This original Graphic Novel follows on the heels of the conclusion of the first volume. Jeff Lemire's tale moves our central chars - Gar Logan, Vic Stone, Tara and their new aquatic friend they call "Tempy" or Tempest - to a hideout in suburban Seattle. Stealing food to survive and pain-killers to help ease Vic through his increasingly metallic transformation, they eventually draw the attention of the authorities.

Niles Caulder, the mad genius behind the whole project, learns of their location and sends in his other team of children whose DNA has had Starfire's grafted on, resulting in tremendous powers. Wonder Girl, Kole and Flash descend on our runaways, easily capturing them and hauling them to Caulder's Utah base.

Meanwhile Jericho, and his uneasy control of Slade's body, tracks Raven and Starfire to New Mexico and apparently captures them.

It all comes to a head in Utah, with the death and destruction spreading out from the secret base into the streets and drawing the attention of the wider public. Facing defeat, Caulder releases the failed first effort, a direct clone of Starfire that went horribly wrong. This deformed Blackfire, dubbed "Ugly Me" by Starfire, attacks "Pretty Me" with enthusiasm and some real success too. And when Jericho jumps into her body, things turn really nasty.

Our tale has a happy, almost sappy ending, belying the long stretches of teen angst, confusion, anger and violence. There is nothing uneasy about the peace between the two sets of children, they truly have become a united team by the end.

Far from sidekicks in the shadows of their mentors, these Teen Titans are ready to stand on their own and face the challenges of the future that they know are coming. Just not yet, and in the meantime, they will enjoy their quiet New Mexico days and evenings.

Some elements of volume 2 do not work as well as the amazing first volume, in many ways it is the "ugly sister" of the two. But in combination, these two volumes are a powerful, moving and stunning reinvention of the Teen Titans. Heartily recommended. 

3.5 capes out of 5

Description:

The sequel to the NEW YORK TIMES best-selling original graphic novel is here with TEEN TITANS: EARTH ONE VOL. 2!

Picking right up after the cliffhanger ending to the first volume, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Terra and Aqualad are in desperate straits--they're homeless, destitute, and on the run from Cadmus, the project that created them. Unfortunately, Cadmus has more surprises up its sleeve... and a whole new set of teenage weapons, with none of the bothersome morals of the originals!

From writer Jeff Lemire (SWEET TOOTH, ANIMAL MAN) and illustrator Andy McDonald comes the highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed original graphic novel in TEEN TITANS: EARTH ONE VOL. 2!

Collects: Not applicable - an Original story

Authors: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Andy McDonald
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Aug. 16 2016
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 1401259065
ISBN-13: 978-1401259068
Language: English
Pages: 144 pages

Putting the Teen in Teen Titans - Review of Teen Titans: Earth One Vol. 1

 

Review:

The Earth One imprint of DC Comics was given an unusually free hand in rebooting and reintroducing some of the central DC characters to new readers. Their updates to the origin tales and some of the foundational mythology of the DC universe has been received with rave reviews from critics like me.

This entry, part one of a two-part Teen Titans reboot, fits that same pattern. It is another solid original graphic novel, a complete self-contained story without the usual constraints of 24 pages per issue per month and is all the stronger for it.

The Teen Titans started life as a team of sidekicks. Here they are spared their original junior-partner treatment; instead, they are allowed to grow and blossom all on their own.

The Teen part, however, is retained. In fact, Jeff Lemire's story makes it a central, core theme as he fills these pages with teenage stresses, priorities, moods, conflicts and more. Many of the Marv Wolfman-era favorites are here:

• Raven - a Navajo girl living on a New Mexico reservation with her grandfather
• Gar - or Garfield as his classmates relentlessly tease him, an intelligent but young newcomer to the high school
• Vic - a tall, sullen African American kid with a testy relationship with his mother; he is honest but a touch lackadaisical
• Tara - Vic's high school sweetheart, filled with barely suppressed anger at everything, especially her drunk mother and absent father
• Joey - another newcomer at the high school, a quiet young man, a bit aloof and mysterious

In the span of just a few hours, they all begin manifesting their latent powers. Tara causes earthquakes. Gar changes into a cat-faced guy. Vic starts to turn to metal. Lemire's tale lingers on their fear, their confusion and sense of loneliness. The body changes come on much more quickly than puberty, and with even more shame and anxiety.

The Vic's mother knows more than she lets on and moves to both capture the teens and reassert her control over Starfire, an imprisoned alien.

The husband-and-wife team of Terry and Rachel Dodson fills the pages with eye-popping art. Every panel is gorgeous, drawing the reader inside the story. Backgrounds are rich, foregrounds are packed with emotional wallop. The visuals match exactly the moods and frustrations and joys and sorrows of the characters. And there are so many little details to watch for. A personal favorite is the mouthful of braces on one kid as he openly mocks the new kid Gar, and the irony in that whole scene.

4.5 capes out of 5 for a powerful reimagining of the Teen Titans, one that is overflowing with believable emotion, dramatic tension and outstanding visuals.

Description:

A new original graphic novel in DC's popular "Earth One" series, TEEN TITANS: EARTH ONE follows in the tradition of SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE and BATMAN: EARTH ONE, both of which were #1 New York Times bestsellers.

The Teen Titans never felt like normal kids... but they had no idea how right they were. Their seemingly idyllic Oregon upbringing hides a secret -- one that will bring killers, shamans, and extraterrestrials down on their heads, and force them into an alliance that could shake the planet to its foundations!

Superstars Jeff Lemire (ANIMAL MAN, GREEN ARROW) and Terry Dodson (WONDER WOMAN) reinvent DC's youngest heroes, with an all-new mythos in an all-new world!

Collects: Not Applicable - an Original story

Authors: Jeff Lemire
Artists: Rachael Dodson, Terry Dodson
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Nov. 25 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 1401245560
ISBN-13: 978-1401245566
Language: English
Pages: 144 pages

Wait, how many men? Y: Last Man volume 9 - Motherland

Review:

The penultimate volume of the original set of TPBs collecting the landmark comic series Y: The Last Man hits another home run. With two solid standalone stories framing the Motherland story arc, every element comes together for another amazing, fun and moving volume. Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra dazzle and enthrall us anew!

The titular tale and main story arc, Motherland, is moving and powerful. I wept multiple times at the beauty, the tragedy, and the layers of emotional complexity in these characters. The twists and revelations keep the reader on the edge of our seat, and the action scenes become the emotional tension relievers, a role often reserved for humor.

In this story, medical complications in Dr Mann, stemming from her own attempts to give birth to her own clone, brings our troupe into the care of her mother. But since she was last seen being abducted by the ninja-warrior Toyota, 355 must once again confront a nemesis who has already defeated and scarred her in the past.

But the big twist - spoiler alert! - is that Allison's father is still alive! Another male on the planet! All these years after the gendercide, here he is, not only alive but claiming responsibility for the elimination of all (other) males on the planet.

His reasoning, and other family secrets, produce lots of talky bits, and the pages become text-heavy in these passages. His work and the theory of why and how all the males died takes the reader a little effort to work through, but it is interspersed with well-paced and well-spaced moments of relational tension and the Toyota-355 conflict. 

And in the end, it is the very power of these revelations and personal resolutions that carries and conveys the story's punch. By the end many of the loose plot threads of the previous 4 years' worth of stories are brought together at last, the characters we have grown to love must face some choices that are as gut-wrenching for us as for them, and the final showdown of Toyota and Agent 355 becomes a fitting climax of the battle between arrogance and grit, or confidence vs courage.

The standalone chapter The Obituarist follows the conclusion of the Motherland tale and gives us a moment to recover from its shocks and high drama. We return to the model-turned-body-collector from one of the very first issues. It's another brilliant choice of symbolism-laden counterpoints, that one who formerly had been admired and paid for her body over herself becomes a leader in the disposal of all the male bodies, emptied now of anything that made them their own selves. Lest the reader miss some of the nuance and pathos of this contrast, the chapter ends in a stunning final sequence! Visuals and text merge perfectly as, in progressive panels, we pull back from extreme close-ups to finally a full-page final image, encompassing an entire football stadium, one of the world's great temples to testosterone, now filled with charred male corpses. And in the midst stands a defiant woman, proclaiming that we are "more than just bodies." This is visual storytelling at its best!

Standing in the shadow of these gold-standard stories hides the final standalone tale in this volume. Entitled Tragicomic, it brings back the acting troupe we last saw en route to Kansas many volumes ago. These women continue to seek to enlighten society with their message, and have now moved to the Hollywood world of films. When that does not work out as planned, the leaders seek a new medium for their art, leading to the hilarious uber-meta conclusion of a "The Last Woman" comic in a comic.

There are not enough superlatives to shower on this volume, a solid 5 capes.

Read all 10 reviews of Y: The Last Man here: Volume 1 Unmanned; Volume 2 Cycles; Volume 3 One Small Step; Volume 4 Safeword; Volume 5 Ring of Truth; Volume 6 Girl on Girl; Volume 7 Paper Dolls; Volume 8 Kimono Dragons; Volume 9 Motherland; Volume 10 Whys and Wherefores.

Description:

Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES and on NPR, Y: THE LAST MAN is the gripping saga of Yorick Brown, an unemployed and unmotivated slacker who discovers he is the only male left in the world after a plague of unknown origin instantly kills every mammal with a Y chromosome. Accompanied by his mischievous monkey, Ampersand, and the mysterious Agent 355, Yorick embarks on a transcontinental journey to find his long-lost girlfriend and discover why he is the last man on earth.

This volume of the critically acclaimed series features Yorick and Agent 355 preparing for their ultimate quest to reunite the last man with his lost love, while the person, people or thing behind the disaster that wiped out half of humanity is revealed! Collects issues #49-54 of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra's award-winning Vertigo series.

Collects: Y: The Last Man #49-54

Authors: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan
Published By: Vertigo 
Published When: May 2 2007
Parental Rating: Mature
ISBN-13: 978-1401213510
Pages: 144 pages

Do Good Movies Make Good Comics? Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier Prelude

Review:

The titular Prelude tale of this collection rightly earns top billing, despite its shameless and blatant movie tie-in opportunism. Peter David's story is taut and well-paced, with well-timed dramatic twists. No small feat, as it must be tucked neatly between the end of The Avengers film and the follow-up Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Rock-He Kim's art is also a gorgeous series of painted pages, that blend a softness of character with the rock-hard seriousness of the threat posed by our villains. Well worth a reader's time and attention.

The rest of the collection, however, feels slapped together, a mish-mash whose primary purpose seems to be to ensure the volume becomes thick enough to merit the $15 USD / $17 CDN price tag.

One is a two-part movie adaptation of Captain America: the First Avenger. It is a classic example of the challenges of storytelling in different media. The movie was fast-paced and well balanced in tension, drama, romance and character development. The comic adaptation, on the other hand, falls flat, jumping from one scene to another, disjointed and confusing. Peter David is a well-established name in comics writing, but this is far from his finest work. Wellinton Alves' art looks like cartoonified stills from the big screen.

Rounding out the collection are several truly odd choices. While the origins of Hawkeye, starting as an Iron Man villain in this Tales of Suspense extract, is indeed fascinating, given his eventual evolution in the Marvel universe, why is it in this collection? Rumor has it some Hawkeye scenes were filmed but cut from the movie, but other than that tenuous connection this story has no place in the theme of this collection.

The Ultimates #2 is also included. While it is a key moment in Captain America's history it still feels an odd inclusion given that the Hulk, Ant Man, the Wasp and Iron Man have much more panel time in the tale than Cap. Still, Mark Millar weaves an intriguing story that begs for the next chapter, and Bryan Hitch's art is compelling and engrossing.

The origin of the Falcon from 1968 has its own curiosity, although Stan Lee's story is a strange one. A body swap between Captain America and Red Skull leads to layers of confusion, until the true captain realizes he is just wearing a mask. Huh?

Finally the Out Of Time story line from Captain America (2005) #6 is frustrating, with some out of character choices and large plot holes tearing at the integrity of the tale. I'd come to expect better of Ed Brubaker, who made a name for himself a few years earlier with his Batman and Catwoman work. This was his first Marvel assignment, perhaps he was just warming up.

This is a hodge-podge collection, claiming very tenuously to be wrapped around a single story, trying to benefit from movie tie-in hype. It ultimately turns incoherent and falls flat. 1.5 stars out of 5.

Description:

Prepare for Marvel Studios' newest big-screen blockbuster by boning up with this essential collection of classics! First, relive Steve Rogers' transformation from 98-pound weakling into the living legend of World War II...and the tragic loss of his best friend Bucky! Next, thrill to an all-new Infinite-style adventure set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! And experience the dynamic debut of Cap's partner the Falcon, the Black Widow's first encounter with the Amazing Spider-Man, the startling revelations that lurk behind the mask of the Winter Soldier, and the ultimate introduction of Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!

Collects: Marvel's Captain America: the First Avenger Adaptation #1-2, Marvel's Captain America: Winter Soldier Infinite Comic #1, Captain America (1968) #117, Captain America (2005) #6, The Ultimates #2, material from Tales of Suspense (1959) #57

Authors: Stan Lee, Ed Brubaker, Mark Millar, Peter David
Artists: Gene Colan, John Romita Jr., Brian Hitch, More
Published By: Marvel 
Published When: April 1 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 0785188770
ISBN-13: 978-0785188773
Language: English
Pages: 152 pages

Young and Old - Batman Beyond 2.0 volume 1 - Rewired

 

Review:

This collection of three Terry McGinnis Batman tales from the Beyond universe shows some pleasing storytelling depth on the part of Kyle Higgins.

The first multi part narrative tells the story of Rewire and his assault on Neo Gotham, including freeing the inmates of the newly opened Arkham Institute. This is the least compelling of the stories in this collection, unfortunately; a fairly standard Hero-vs-Gang-of-Villains pot-boiler. The new and therefore unknown villain Rewire kills the mayor through mysterious and remote means, then frees all the Institute's inmates and challenges an exhausted Batman to an isolated confrontation. The highlight, as captured right on the cover of this collection, is the Beyond-era appearance of old-school Batman,  Robin, Nightwing and BatGirl to battle our Batman.

This weak opener is followed by a much stronger Man-Bat tale, as author Kyle Higgins hits his stride with this complex, nuanced story. Kirk Langstrom, stuck in Man-Bat form but with his full human intellect, takes city workers hostage and demands a rare mineral for his device that will give all Man-Bats the same human faculties and self-awareness that he has managed for himself. Packed with loads and layers of relationship drama between Dick, Terry, Bruce and Kirk, this is a rich and moving tale. It leads to a tragic final twist as Kirk / Man-Bat struggles with the memory of his beloved wife and what he has become.

Tucked into the end is another beautiful if brief chapter of the aged and grey Dick / Nightwing and Barbara / Batgirl reflecting on what might have been. If only decisions had been different, and interpretations of actions more generous. It's a short story of choices and paths not taken, and the regrets that can come later in life.

Throughout the art is heavily inked and highly stylized, but stunning. Page after page shows intelligent awareness of the power of layouts, with action popping off the pages over top of detailed, usually urban backdrops that themselves are part of one or more of the panels.

The weak start drags this otherwise strong volume down to 3.5 capes out of 5.

Description:

A lot has changed in Neo-Gotham over the last year. Now balancing college, family, and crime fighting, Terry McGinnis still dons the red and black suit as Batman. Bruce Wayne is no longer chirping in his ear, however, replaced by the former Nightwing himself, Dick Grayson. One thing that never changes, though, is someone’s always looking to bring the city to its knees.

Called in to investigate the death of Mayor Davis, Batman and his allies sense foul play. When someone frees the inmates held in Davis’ pet project, the new Arkham Institute, those suspicions become dangerous reality. But the menace behind these attacks is someone Batman has never faced before, an unknown quantity. Calling himself Rewire, this electrically charged villain has plans for Neo-Gotham -- starting with the end of Batman!

It’s a new era for Batman Beyond as writer KYLE HIGGINS (NIGHTWING, DEATHSTROKE) and artist THONY SILAS (Venom) plug you into BATMAN BEYOND 2.0: REWIRED (collects stories from BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE #1-8)!

Collects: Batman Beyond Universe #1-8 (2013-14) aka Batman Beyond 2.0 #1-16 (Online)

Authors: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Thony Silas
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Nov. 11 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 1401250602
ISBN-13: 978-1401250607
Language: English
Pages: 176 pages