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Of Embassies and Origins - Justice League International Part 2 (Eaglemoss Collection v77)

  Review: Since we are doing a series of reviews focusing on Booster Gold over his nearly 40-year history, we include this one as a collection of some of his earliest appearances, dating to late 1987. That places the original publish date of these tales while his original solo series was still going strong.  This book is a beautiful, glossy hard-cover with smooth and heavy-stock paper inside, although the sometimes-low print reproduction quality leads to blurred and hard to read word balloons on occasion. It is also a rare book here in North America, as Eaglemoss Collections targeted UK fans with this series. At this point in the history of the 1987-rebooted Justice League, they have gained official United Nations recognition and sanction. To ensure their reach truly is global, they rebrand as Justice League International (as does the title of the series!) and they open new headquarters buildings around the world: New York, Paris and Moscow are included here. As this is a product of 19
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Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis


 Description: There is a new hero in Gotham City. One with a much more lethal stance on crime and an uncompromising vision of justice. He is the Arkham Knight. And he stands in direct opposition to Gotham's Dark Knight protector. In this prequel graphic novel to the smash-hit video game phenomenon Batman: Arkham Knight, learn more about the game's main villain (or hero?) with this definitive origin tale. Written by Peter J. Tomasi (Batman and Robin), Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis is a must-have for any fan of the Rocksteady Arkham Trilogy's finale.

Collects: BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT GENESIS #1-6
Authors: Peter J. Tomasi
Artists: Viktor Bogdanovic, Alisson Borges, Dexter Soy
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: March 29 2016
Parental Rating: Teen

Review:

Secret Origin stories - Love 'em or hate 'em?

Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis tells the origin story of the vigilante anti-hero of 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight video game. It collects the 6-issue limited series comics that told the backstory of this character and the roots of his personal vendetta against the Batman.

Writer Peter J. Tomasi tells a dark tale, of a Robin who was presumed dead, kidnapped by the Joker, tortured, broken and brainwashed into a skilled, manipulative hater of the bat. A man with equal combat skills, intelligence and strategic vision as Batman himself.

With significant appearances by Deathstroke, Joker, Harley Quinn, and cameos by a handful of others, there's no shortage of villains leading our young man down the dark path, however viciously they treat him in getting him there.

The art by Alisson Borges and Dexter Soy contains an impressive collection of facial expressions, both subtle and strong, in a land where so many faces are hiding under masks. The overall dark colors are highlighted by the occasional lurid blood splatter, but beyond that there is little levity in this tome, in either story or image.

There are lots of nods to the universe of the games, so fans will enjoy watching for them. To that end, I splurged for the hardcover graphic novel. It's a shame I ultimately felt so disappointed. It seemed filled with potential for a re-imagining of the characters, bridging the space between the standard comics interpretation and the new medium of the games.

Despite a handful of highlights, such as the confrontation with Harley Quinn, and the rooftop rematch with a dying Joker, this book ultimately fails to satisfy. Some origins are better left to the imagination.

Score: 3

ISBN-10: 1401260667
ISBN-13: 978-1401260668
Language: English



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