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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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Classic Horror: Batman - Legends of the Dark Knight volume 5

 



Review:

The stories in this Legends of the Dark Knight collection are horrifying, and deliberately place themselves in line with some classics of the horror genre. With explicit nods to Shelley and Poe, these are fun cowl-wearing updates on well-traveled paths.

In "I.. Batman" Aaron Lopresti does double duty as both writer and artist. He spins a modern take on Mary Shelley's genre-defining Frankenstein story. Dr Norman Carver gathers blood spatter from a series of Batman battles over the years, and with mostly noble intentions, he uses it to clone an imperfect  Batman of his own. But his creation proves harder to control than anticipated, leading to tragedy. The grotesque faces and cross of Frankenstein's Monster with Bizarro Batman makes for at times gruesome panels, interspersed with a sweet back-story of the hero-wanna-be child and his Batman doll.

"Ashes to Ashes" by Doug Wagner and drawn with surprising restraint by Matthew Dow Smith, is another horrific tale, pitting Batman versus an enemy who is so scarred by healed-over burns that he feels no pain. Arson, murder, revenge, eyeballs floating in a glass, Wagner's tale takes us to some dark places. The tragic end felt inevitable. Dow Smith's images are as dark and frightening as the narrative. He does, however, make an unexpected artistic choice of rendering Batman as a slim, ordinary-sized man, reminiscent of Adam West and Batman '66 TV shows.

The Riddler is one of my all-time favorite Batman villains, and he is featured in "Herded Limits" by Marc Guggenheim, with art by Federico Dallochio. This tale plays more to Edward Nigma's genius intellect, brilliance and cunning, rather than to his goofiness or obsessions. Already in prison, but hardly confined, Riddler is playing a long-game in his quest for a lost treasure, believed buried in Metropolis. But how to find it, when he is incarcerated in Arkham?

Another nod to classic horror comes in "Nevermore", a delightful if predictable ode to Edgar Allen Poe, by Ron Marz with some clever artwork by Cully Hamner and Derec Donovan.

The collection closes with the light and entertaining "What Would Batman Do?" by J. Torres and drawn by Matthew Clark. It is a charming glimpse into the education of Robin and Batgirl. With the big guy out of town, when a prison break happens with multiple escapees from Arkham, they must ask themselves: What would Batman do?



Description:

These are dark days for the Dark Knight.

Where would the Dark Knight be if not for the monsters that prey on the very essence of innocent life? His defeats of villains like the Riddler have only helped grow his legend. But what if that's been part of Edward Nigma's plan all along? And for all of Batman's victories, could a new villain obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe be the one to finally bury him? It's up to Arkham Asylum's newest psychologist, Dr. Updin, to find out.

Collects: Legends of the Dark Knight online digital chapters #66-68 and #70-84

Authors: Various
Artists: Vaious
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Nov. 10 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401258146
Pages: 200 pages



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