Beware Story City: a Review of Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland

 

Review:

Bigby Wolf gets a solo story in this original graphic novel by the creator of the award-winning Fables universe. Bigby, whose appearance, demeanor, powers and ferocity are reminiscent of Wolverine from Marvel's X-Men, gets to show off all of those traits in this violent book, well rated for Mature readers.

From his opening narration, Bigby sets the scene and fits this tale into the larger Fables universe and timeline. His road trip is part of a quest to find a new place for the Fables to call home after the battles with the Adversary and the Dark Man. Since Bluebeard had some connection to a place called Story City, he concluded it was worth checking out.

What he finds is a town filled with a couple thousand werewolves. Young children. Happy parents. Young adults. About the only middle-aged folks are connected to his distant past: a former World War 2 partner, Arthur Harp, and his wife Dr Sieglinde von Abensberg und Traun. 

But how could they have aged so little in sixty years? And what is the connection to a town full of werewolves?

Cue the flashback narrative, showing how an explosion splattered them with Bigby's own blood, giving them a lesser form of his own wolf powers.

Not everyone is happy, though, with the town's status quo. With several factions sniffing for more power and influence, it was already an unstable place. Mix in Bigby, whom many revere as the God of the Wolves, and the match is lit.

While the first half of the book is heavy on narration and conversation, all wolf-hell breaks loose in the second half. The result is a gory battle royale, with blood and guts, deep bites and severed limbs aplenty. Mix in loads of human and werewolf nudity, full frontal both male and female, plus some sex and seduction and this book earns that "suggested for Mature readers" caution.

Ultimately, though, the two halves - the talking-heavy start then the violence and destruction - fail to mesh. The tension inherent in the town fails to transfer onto the pages and the final conflict is a disappointing fizzle. The ultimate showdown is so one-sided, as the town of lesser werewolves never really had a "ghost of a chance" in Bigby's own words. It's loud, ferocious and bloody but ultimately forced and foregone.

A nice touch is author and Fables creator Willingham's tale of encountering the real-life Story City, Iowa. It does fill in some seemingly random bits - it turns out that the Skunk River is real, as well as the town's historical carousel. His anecdote made this reviewer smile; unfortunately, not much else in this book did.

Description:

A #1 New York Times Best Seller!

At long last! The long-awaited original FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND graphic novel is here!   

Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.  

FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.  

Collects: NA - Standalone graphic novel

Authors:  Bill Willingham
Artists:  Jim Fern (Illustrator), Craig Hamilton
Published By:  Vertigo
Published When:  Oct. 8, 2013
Parental Rating: Mature
ISBN:  978-1401224806
Pages:  152 pages

Angst, Ennui and Affection - a Review of Harley Quinn: the Animated Series: the Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour

 

Review:

Twenty-five years after Harley Quinn's grand debut (in a 1992 episode of Batman: The Animated Series), eighteen years after successfully jumping media from TV series to comic books en route to becoming one of the most famous and popular anti-heroes of DC and with her own title, in 2017 Harley Quinn jumped back into animated TV series with her very own show.

Season Two's finale saw her interrupt the wedding of Poison Ivy and Kite Man. In a cross-blending promotion, DC spun off a 6-issue limited series comic run, bridging seasons two and three. Writer Tee Franklin takes our leading ladies on a Thelma-and-Louise-style romp of a road trip, but with more sex and way more violence.

Commissioner Gordon pursues them in an OCD-fueled blind rage, oblivious to the collateral damage to innocent people or his own life and sanity. Battles versus Hush, Clayface, Vixen and other members of the Justice League follow in rapid succession. Cameos by Catwoman, Nightwing and Batman add to the name recognition. Intimate scenes popping up in bedrooms, bathrooms, moving vehicles. It all adds up to a wild ride with plenty of noisy chaos.

But the furor and humour are tempered throughout by Ivy's endless introspection, confusion, perhaps even clinical depression. You'd think Harley, with her PhD in Psychology, would have more to offer than a lover's patience and commitment, as important as those things are in their relationship.

Franklin writes what she knows, weaving in many reflections of her own experience as a Black, queer, disabled, and reportedly autistic comic writer. All of those elements play a role in this jam-packed series. But importantly, those traits are never the focus, they are just the realities with which the supporting characters must deal. It adds up to a great display of diverse representation, possibly a portfolio for participating in DC's annual pride publications.

The visuals are recognizably reflecting the styles of the animated series, albeit with some small stylistic differences. Ivy's face is stretched even longer; Harley's is even rounder, and so on. But the strong similarities point to the deep reliance throughout the series on ties and connections to the TV show. The volume of references, in-jokes and events is off-putting to readers not familiar with the source material.

The result is a book that confuses on one level and fails in its marketing task on another; it may be awesome for existing viewers of the show but is unlikely to draw in new ones. It is a missed opportunity and, as a result, the story itself misses the mark. The moments of loud, kinetic chaos and of affection between our leads could have been so much more fun, but they wind up buried under the disjointed leaps, in-jokes and oppressive ennui.

Description:

Hey, do you wanna see Harley and Ivy go on a road trip and make out??? Picking up directly from the cliffhanger ending of Harley Quinn: The Animated Series, Harley and Ivy are on the run in a Thelma-and-Louise journey, it's all here!

Harley and Ivy on the road trip of the century! Following the wedding disaster of the decade, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy end up on the run from Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD! But as fun as all that sounds, Ivy still worries over leaving Kite Man at the altar... Luckily, Harley's got the perfect scheme to shake her out of her wedding-day blues!

This incredible volume is packed to the brim containing Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1-6!

Collects: Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: The Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour #1-6

Authors:  Tee Franklin
Artists:  Max Sarin
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  Aug. 29, 2023
Parental Rating: Mature
ISBN:  978-1779520401
Pages:  144 pages

Emotionally Undead - a Review of Blackest Night

 

Review:

The core story from the 2009 DC Comics mega-crossover event Blackest Night is collected into this handsome hardcover book. With loads of special features - variant cover gallery, director's commentary, loads of sketches, even a silver black-ring logo hiding under the dust jacket - it is an impressive collection.

If only the story inside lived up to the packaging.

Written by highly regarded author Geoff Johns and pencilled by Ivan Reis, Blackest Night follows a series of seismic storylines in the Green Lantern books of the day. It draws together the seven Corps with their rings of different colours and fueled by different emotions and even mines historical Green Lantern lore as far back as Alan Moore's writing of a 1986 Green Lantern Corps tale.

Nekron, the personification of death itself, has found a way to use Black Hand in a scheme to extinguish the light of life and all emotion from the universe. But first he must corrupt and capture or kill the Guardians. 

While that storyline unfolds mostly in the background, our attention is focused on the experiences of several heroes, many of whom find key deceased heroes or villains resurrected by the power of a black ring. Their emotional connection to these lost loved ones - from Ralph and Sue Dibney to Aquaman, from the JSA and Freedom Fighters to even Batman - only serves to make these reanimated corpses even more powerful.

When even the combined might of all seven corps fails to stop Nekron, they discover they can magically divide and delegate their rings for a limited time, a deus ex machina that gives the reader the opportunity to see how Lex Luthor, Mera or even Scarecrow would wield a power ring attuned to their own strongest emotion.

In the end, Johns rewrites some foundational Green Lantern and DC Comics mythology - such as the Guardians working to hide the fact that life began on Earth, not Oa - and undoes recent DC history of killing off characters by resurrecting some key ones. Although no attempt is made to explain why some but not others are so treated - Maxwell Lord rises to life again, not merely as a Black Ring zombie but fully alive again, although Ted Kord / Blue Beetle whom he killed, is not. (Look for more adventures of the alive-again Maxwell Lord in the follow-up Brightest Day / Justice League Generation Lost story)

While Johns gives us a tale worthy of the classic mega-crossovers, with globe-shaking events and universe-level threats, loads of cameos and changes to the larger comics landscape, it all ultimately falls flat. Combining all the colours of light is supposed to give white light, but here the overall impression is just muddy brown. Reader emotional connections to the characters and situations fail to materialize and it all just blurs together.

Ivan Reis and his rotation of inkers do well at rendering the walking dead and flying dead, portraying them as desiccated and half-decomposed undead monsters, loads of sharp teeth, missing bits of flesh, tentacles and tongues. It is not pretty to look at, but it does the job of evoking horror at the state of the combatants.

They also give us loads of full-page and two-page spreads, packing in as many characters and shafts of coloured light as possible. Just about every time the seven corps work as one, it gets a double-page spread.

In all, it is a reasonable addition to the historical crossover events, although the art is grotesque and unpleasant and the story fails, ironically, to find its emotional core in the midst of all those emotion-powered Lantern Corps.

Description:

Comics' hottest writer Geoff Johns (GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS WAR, THE FLASH, ACTION COMICS, JSA) and superstar artist Ivan Reis raise the dead in this hardcover collection of the most anticipated comics event of the year!

Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War between the different colored Lantern Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends and it's up to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps to lead DC's greatest champions in a battle to save the Universe from an army of undead Black Lanterns made up of fallen Green Lanterns and DC's deceased heroes and villains.

This collection of the best-selling epic is the culmination of the events that Geoff Johns has been leading to since he relaunched the Green Lantern franchise in 2006!

Collects: BLACKEST NIGHT #0-8

Authors:  Geoff Johns
Artists:  Ivan Reis
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  July 13, 2010
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1401226930
Pages:  264 pages

What is Protocol Six? Review of Smallville Season 11 Volume 4 - Argo (2013)

Review:

Superman. Supergirl. Booster Gold. The Legion of Superheroes. Doomsday. A Lois Lane and Lana Lang team-up. There is so much packed into this slim volume collecting a baker's dozen of digital chapters tying into the hit CW TV show, Smallville.

When a brash Booster Gold pops in on Clark at his civilian job, it leads to them both getting whisked to the 31st century. Booster's (stolen) Legion flight ring has enacted Protocol Six, an emergency summons to all recognized Legionnaires - Booster not being one of them, of course.

They find themselves dropped into the middle of intrigue, plots and battles between Earthgov and New Krypton. Mutual suspicions between Earthgov and the Legion complicate any peace efforts. When Supergirl, a captured prisoner and spy, is freed, Clark learns firsthand of the power of xenophobic fear of the foreigner. He is not only not revered but actively hated.

Booster fares no better. After a humiliating dressing-down by Brainiac, Booster seeks to prove his courage and heroism, but only succeeds in getting himself arrested and tortured. But, after escaping and stealing / commandeering a large frigate space vessel, his heroic efforts to save the citizens of Metropolis from certain death triggers a peaceful cooperation between all sides.

Meanwhile, Superman's battle with Doomsday, resurrected in Earthgov's near-sighted efforts to tip the conflict in their favor, leads to him nearly sacrificing himself. Only a last-minute rescue through the cooperative efforts of all the citizens of New Krypton saves him.

These chapters were published in 2013 and collected in 2014, but here in 2025 they feel spot-on, speaking as they do to the fear of others and the conflicts that can ensue when people raise the stakes rather than open their arms.

The final story, Valkyrie, sees Lois Lane and Lana Lang team up in a very different tale. Lois, on assignment as a reporter embedded with a military unit in Africa, discovers that the legendary "Angel of the Plateau" is not only real, but is... Lana Lang? With Prometheus infecting her and giving her powers, she is out to save the children and bring justice to the oppressed, caught in the middle of a regional conflict between factions and warlords. But not everyone appreciates her efforts, and John Corben, with absorbing powers of his own, is dispatched to stop her.

The stories in this little volume have several frustrating gaps and jumps. Some of them might be clear to fans with a deeper knowledge of the TV series, but not enough back story is provided for the rest of us. The visuals, especially in the Valkyrie pages, are disappointing, with stiff and amateurish postures. The result of these shortcomings in both the writing and the art leaves the reader occasionally bewildered and unimpressed.

In all, these stories contain an intriguing premise but ultimately disappoint.

Description:

The first time in print for these digital-first stories, the hit CW series Smallville continues!

Clark Kent finds himself transported to the future, where he meets the greatest heroes of the 31st Century: Booster Gold and the Legion of Super-Heroes! However, it's not a mere social call: Superman must stop war between Earth and a stunning villain! Collects issues #13-15 and SMALLVILLE SEASON ELEVEN SPECIAL #2.

Collects: Smallville Season 11 online digital chapters 41-53

Authors:  by Bryan Q. Miller
Artists:  Daniel Hdr, Cat Staggs 
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  March 25, 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1401246372
Pages:  160 pages

Broken Down - Review of Justice League International vol 2 Breakdown

 

Review:

With this book, which collects the second half of the brief run of Justice League International, the New 52 era JLI, and Booster Gold as a team leader, fizzle to their anticlimactic end. The premise was sound: a UN-sanctioned, globally representative metahuman peace-keeping force, fronted by someone comfortable with the media spotlight. Heroes from nearly every continent. Globe-spanning challenges and adventures. 

The formula had worked before, granted with a lot more silliness, in the late 1980s first edition of Justice League International and its connections to Justice League titles set in Europe and America. But ultimately it falls flat in 2012. It was clearly time to either reboot or end this series.

For a time, a radical reboot seemed in the works. This collection opens with the immediate aftermath of the bombing of the United Nations, seen at the very end of volume 1. The chaos, heroism, confusion, death and mourning packed into an intense first chapter of this book start us off with a bang. And what an impact the bombing had on the team! Gavril aka Rocket Red is dead. Ice is badly wounded, her leg shattered like, well, ice. Vixen is out of commission and in hospital. Fire is in a deep coma. We are set up for a major overhaul, potentially a whole new direction.

Instead, we get a wandering and unfocused plot. New character like Batwing pop in and out. The team jumps halfway around the world and back on a wild goose chase. Budding relationships disappear. Heroes behave out of character.

The final panel of the last issue of the series is artistically set up by Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan to look like the start of something new. The heroes have survived and rededicated themselves to each other and their cause. But even this wrap-up is at odds with its own scattered lead-up, so much so that it feels like a forced happy ending.

The book also includes the Annual and one issue (#9) from Fury of Firestorm. But they only serve to compound the lack of focus. While including the Firestorm issue does fill in some of the details of their Paris diversion, the characters are so embedded in their own plotlines that it leaves JLI readers more confused than enlightened.

For its part, the Annual, written by Geoff Johns and Dan Didio, is more interested in setting up the return of Brother Eye and the next major crossover event than in furthering the stories and characters of the JLI. In the process, they muff significant bits of the continuity, such as it was, of this short 12-issue series run.

There are glints and glimmers of gold in this disappointing book. The heroism, confusion and sorrow after the UN bombing is very well handled in both its writing and visuals. Lopresti and Ryan give us some fun panels over the course of these chapters, a personal favorite being the dissolving of Guy Gardner's ring creation once they arrive back in New York and no longer need it.

But ultimately this disappointing series ends with a whimper. 2 capes out of 5.

Description:

Trying to collect themselves after an extra-terrestrial attack and death of a teammate, members of Justice League International expected to bask in glory and appreciation. However, Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Batman and company are learning that's not the case as a new threat, one far more dangerous than anyone dared suspect. Called Breakdown, he emerges and attacks with dire results, forever altering the team and sending it in a bold, new and unexpected direction!

Collects: Justice League International #7-12 and Annual #1, plus Fury of Firestorm #9

Authors:  Dan Jurgens
Artists:  Aaron Lopresti
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  Jan 8, 2013
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN:  978-1401237936
Pages:  200 pages

Meet the Superfan - The Gold Exchange: The Unofficial Booster Gold Companion

 

Review:

Ever since he was first introduced to the world in Booster Gold #1 in early 1986, Booster Gold has been a fan favorite. His real-world fame can't approach that of legends like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, of course. But those of us who fell in love with this colorful, imaginative character devour every new appearance, no matter which series gives him some space.

Mega-fans and other boosters of Booster have shown their passion with fan-sites like Boosterific.com which have been around for years and are still active, tracking and discussing every new appearance of Booster. The count, as I write this, is well over 800 appearances and climbing.

Super-fan Russ Burlingame took a different approach. He used his regular writing gig over the course of several years to beat the drum of his love for Booster Gold. In his position in media covering pop culture and comics, he was able to turn his fandom into a chance to interview the creative teams involved with books containing Booster appearances.

Dan Jurgens, creator of Booster Gold and artist of dozens of the issues in his two solo series, was Burlingame's most frequent interviewee. He also picked the brains of J. M. DeMatteis, Rick Remender and Geoff Johns about their vision for and involvement with the second Booster Gold solo series.

The interviews became entries in his ongoing online blog / reporting and lasted throughout the run of that series and the parallel Time Masters series too. It's an impressive level of ongoing access!

This book collects those interviews previously published online. As such, it has a small number of gaps, acknowledged in the text itself, when an article was not recoverable a decade later - the internet is not as permanent as we sometimes assume!

It gives us a fascinating behind-the-curtain peek into the creative process and the publication side of Comics, and there are a few gems revealed about Booster the character and the affection all of these creators have for him. Unfortunately, the book could use a pass by an editor with a sharp red pencil, to correct the many errors, typos and missing words. And the interviews themselves tend toward softball questions and get side-tracked into the nerdy side of the passion.

But us big Booster fans will brush aside those concerns and criticisms, and geek-out on this Booster Gold deep-dive.

Description:

In a series of interviews conducted between 2006 and 2011, entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame collects the definitive companion to Booster Gold, the time-traveling superhero who has to hide his nobility and his capability from villains and become the Greatest Hero You've Never Heard Of.

This volume features "commentary track"-style interviews with Booster Gold creator Dan Jurgens as well as comic book writers and artists like Geoff Johns, Jeff Katz, J.M. DeMatteis, and more.

Originally released online at the time of Booster Gold vol. 2's publication, these columns have been out of circulation for a while now, and this is their first time released in any collected form.

Collects: NA

Authors:  Russ Burlingame with foreword by Troy Brownfield
Artists:  NA
Published By:  Independently published
Published When:  Jan. 20 2022
Parental Rating: General
ISBN:  979-8405755908
Pages:  364 pages

Super Buddies! Review of Formerly Known as the Justice League (2004)

Review:

The creative team of Keith Giffen, J. M. Dematteis and Kevin Maguire reunite both with each other and with several of the characters that made their legend a decade and a half earlier. They gained fame and acclaim with their late-80s reboot of the Justice League franchise, taking it international and breathing new life into post-Crisis staid, old DC Comics with their light tone and humor. Fifteen years later they brought us this self-aware and cheeky attempt to recapture the success of what their Justice League run accomplished.

Unfortunately, they missed the mark.

In DC continuity, the United Nations has broken ties with the globe-spanning Justice League offices. Now, some classic members (Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash and others) have reconstituted the Justice League of America. Maxwell Lord, though down, is far from out. He gets the band back together. Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom and Fire are joined by Elongated Man and Mary Marvel. Cybernetic life-form L-Ron and Green Lantern flop G'nort also grace these pages.

What you will not find anywhere in this collection of the complete 6-issue mini-series is a classic tights-and-capes bad-guys-vs-heroes battle. In fact, the only power-vs-power conflict is a mind-controlled smack-down between Mary Marvel and Captain Atom, and a very brief slap-fight with some Harvard-educated and very erudite and eloquent neighborhood thugs.

Instead, all the tension and conflict is internal - Blue Beetle tires of Booster's idiocy, Fire eyerolls at Mary's wide-eyed naivety. Any external conflict is settled through negotiation, often hilariously so, as when the mighty Manga Khan toys with becoming a BDSM Submissive.

With wry, dialog-driven humor and relational conflict, our writers pack lots of exposition and word bubbles onto these pages, with occasionally tedious results. When it works well, this series is loads of fun. When it falls flat, which it does too frequently, be sure to distract yourself with Maguire's ability to convey emotion through facial nuances and simple lines. Even on the collection's cover, Cap's exasperation, Fire's coquettish come-hither look, Booster's frat-boy smugness and Mary Marvel's youthful innocence shine through.

The Super Buddies era became a point of embarrassment in the intervening decades and is the nadir of Booster Gold's nearly 40 years of existence. In this series, he is a one-dimensional, almost exclusively idiotic and selfish buffoon. His marriage for money to an always off-camera rich old woman especially grates on the nerves. Fans who saw his potential from day one and who were thrilled with his part in the popular Justice League International series, found this a bridge too far.

Yet it is also a vital moment in his history, as Formerly Known as the Justice League kicks off a renaissance in his importance in the DC universe. After some lean years with very few appearances in the late '90s and early 2000s, these appearances lead into Booster's appearances in JLA Classified in 2004-2005 and then into a starring role in the weekly 52 series in 2006-7, before finally returning to a solo series all his own, Booster Gold v2, starting in late 2007.

Still, this series is more miss than hit, and this reviewer gives it 2 capes.

Description:

Max Lord attempts to open a super team for hire, and recruits his old friends from the Justice League! Featuring Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire, Mary Marvel and more. Don't miss this reunion of the creative team behind the classic JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL: Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire!

Collects: Formerly Known as the Justice League mini-series issues #1-6

Authors:  Keith Giffen, J. M. Dematteis
Artists:  Kevin Maguire, Joe Rubinstein
Published By:  DC Comics
Published When:  April 1, 2004
Parental Rating: PG-13
ISBN:  978-1401203054
Pages:  137 pages

Disjointed Diversity - Review of Summit volume 2: Price of Power

 

Review:

Amy Chu's Summit series presents a fascinating portrayal of a new superhero and the super-smart team of MIT grad students and researchers that enable her to take her heroic actions. Potential oozes from these characters and concepts, and when the storytelling gets stronger, this could be an awesome series.

Our hero is Valentina "Val" Resnick-Baker, a super-powered ex-astronaut, settling into her new life as a lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the team assembled to study her powers and support her heroic actions.

Her support team of intelligent scientists and researchers is reminiscent of the Flash TV series and his supporting cast of scientists - only Val's team is 2-3 times larger than Barry Allen's. But the bigger the team, the bigger the security risk. And in these chapters she is betrayed and played perfectly, leading to her capture and - cliff-hanger! - an unexpected "cure" for her solar powers.

That team is one of the most diverse in all of comic-dom. White, Black, Indian, Asian, gay and straight, singles and blended families - it's a who's-who of minority groups, yet feels perfectly rational in the context of MIT-based scientists. And Chu has not only assembled this stunningly diverse collection of main characters but imbues them in these chapters with intriguing back-stories, nuanced characteristics and depth. Their relationships and interactions become one of the main strengths of these tales, although the crew is, if anything, perhaps a little too large and diverse. There is not enough story space for the reader to connect with the entire team.

Which is fine, as at least one of the team is not who they appear to be, and the betrayal nearly destroys the group and our budding new hero.

As mentioned, Chu's strength is in the relationships among the widely diverse main characters. The rest of the narrative suffers on occasion from rushed pacing, cramming too much revelation into too small a space and dropping jarring revelations on the readers. These weaknesses are learnable skills, and as Chu masters the art of graphic storytelling, her foundation of characters and relationships will blossom into ever stronger tales.

The artwork, led by Federico Dallocchio, is solid and engrossing. With rarely more than four panels per page, he has lots of room to work, and he makes good use of that room. Facial expressions and dramatic physical postures carry much of the drama of the visuals, aided by an occasional creative layout , as in the rays of semi-circular story-so-far exposition.

Summit is a fast and engrossing read, and with these characters and relationships, this book will only get stronger as the author's skills in pacing and comic storytelling mature.

Description:

The second arc in the Summit series, part of the Catalyst Prime superhero universe!

Having helping hands does wonders for one's recovery, especially when you have both superpowers and the media breathing down your neck. After beginning to recover from her experiences in space, losing her girlfriend Kay, and realizing she has superpowers, Valentina “Val” Resnick-Baker has found herself in a better place surrounded by new friends, Fiona, and a new job at MIT. Unfortunately—because life can never be easy for Val—there's a new threat on the horizon; one that's threatening to steal her suit and her powers. All Val may want is peace, but the world needs her to be a superhero.

Collects: Issues #5-9

Authors:  Amy Chu
Artists:  Federico Dallocchio, Will Rosado, Marika Cresta
Published By:  Oni Press
Published When:  Dec 11, 2018
Parental Rating: PG-13
ISBN:  9781549302855
Pages:  144 pages

Enter the Clowns: Justice League 3000 Volume 2 - The Camelot War (The New 52)

 

Review:

Superstar comics writing team Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis caught lightning in a bottle in the 1980s and 1990s with their work on various Justice League titles. They concocted a brilliant blend of wit, slapstick humor, compelling new characters (perhaps most notably Maxwell Lord, who became a major force of disruption in the DCU), clever plots and new twists on familiar characters. It all led to the widespread recognition of a nomination for Best New Series (which they ultimately lost to the beautifully poetic Concrete series by Paul Chadwick).

Their 31st-century Justice League title, which started in 2014, tries to recapture that success, but ultimately misses. Not for lack of trying, though - perhaps the bar was just too high?

Set 1000 years in the future, the series features Justice League stalwarts Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern. They've been resurrected by the Wonder Twins and Cadmus. But the process is flawed and they wind up, well, different. Green Lantern is being slowly poisoned by the Green energy that powers his ring, and is stuck at a height of about 6 inches. Wonder Woman is laser-focused on the ferocious warrior side of her personality, almost to the exclusion of other personality traits or even interests. Superman is a goofy, arrogant frat-boy who is unable to fly.

Even as Wonder Twin Terry kills his sister Teri, then Barry Allen AKA Flash, the tone stays light, the banter humorous, the characters goofy. The league escapes to Camelot 9 and joins the battle against the hordes of hell led by the rhyming demon Etrigan. The story is off-the-wall and careens from one absurdity to another.

Seemingly sensing that something is not working this time around, Giffen and DeMatteis bring in some of the stars of their earlier run. Tora, no longer the Ice Maiden, has lived for the entire 1,000 years as an Ice Goddess. Her bestie Fire has also somehow survived, living in Hell as Etrigan's lover. But they don't stop there; they bring back the chief clowns of their earlier work, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle. The two of them are, if possible, even more ridiculous than before.

Howard Porter's art is brutal and harsh, with severe expressions that get lots of play given his love of closeups. It makes for a stark contrast to the light tone of the dialog. And 31st century fashion has its own contrasts, with some absurd haircuts and an apparent love of over-the-chin jawline straps.

It is an interesting exercise in watching a renowned writing team trying to make adjustments mid-stream to bend a title more into their wheelhouse. But ultimately it cannot recapture the magic of their earlier run. 2 Capes out of 5.

Description:

In the far flung future in the year 3000, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern are still defending the Earth as the Justice League. From the classic Justice League writing team of Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with legendary artist Howard Porter (JLA), comes volume 2 of this series starring the heroes of today--tomorrow!

Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 #8-13

Authors: Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis
Artists: Howard Porter
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: April 28, 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401254148
Pages: 144 pages

Past, Present and Future's End: Aquaman and the Others volume 2 - Alignment Earth

Review:

To celebrate the recent release of the movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, I am revisiting some past Aquaman stories in graphic novel format and posting reviews.

The stories collected in this second and final volume bring the ongoing series Aquaman and the Others to an end. They touch on some unfinished business from the past, they wrap up the series in their present, and cross over with the larger Futures End extravaganza.

Writer Dan Jurgens sets up some powerful team drama and conflicts while unpacking some details of our heroes and their past. 

Most notably, did The Operative really kill one of the ghosts haunting Prisoner of War? When that spirit refuses to relinquish control of Torrez's body and double-crosses the team, the whole world is put at risk.

Vostok-X also delves into his past and discovers Soviet-era secrets that make him susceptible to joining KGBeast and Cheshire's gang of super-villains.

Mera and Ya'Wara's animosity flares up on occasion, too, as they both resent the other's influence on and feelings for Aquaman. The surprise twist and confrontation in the Futures End tie-inns show that, five years in the future, nothing is resolved in their tiff.

Yes, Jurgens has mixed several creative ideas into a team already loaded with potential from their international diversity. So why does it all fall flat? It all feels contrived, untethered. The action feels forced and keeps interrupting the more interesting bits.

Lan Medina gives us decent super-team art on the final issues of the ongoing series. Not over-stylized or excessively sexy, not too dark, his work is clear and natural throughout. In other words, a fine if unexceptional job.

You'll want to read this for the sake of completion and to say au revoir to this diverse cast of characters. But it feels like so much unfulfilled potential.

Description:

Empowered with Atlantean artifacts, the Others were Aquaman’s first team from before he ever joined the Justice League. Now the King of Atlantis is reunited with the Operative, Ya’Wara, Prisoner-of-War and Vostok-X. Together, the Others are a powerful force for good...but there’s a new team that’s just as powerful, and they’re out to reshape the world in their own image.

They call themselves Mayhem. Led by mercenaries KGBeast and Cheshire, they’ve stolen the launch codes to a Soviet-era satellite full of nuclear weapons, and they’ve got them pointed at Earth. Whether they want to see us pay or watch us burn, only the Others can stop them.

But Mayhem have ties to several members of the Others, and not everyone’s allegiances are clear. When the final battle comes, who will be fighting to protect the Earth...and who will be fighting to destroy it?

Writer Dan Jurgens (THE NEW 52: FUTURES END) and artist Lan Medina (FABLES) pit Aquaman’s first team against their greatest threat yet!

Collects: #6-11, Aquaman: Futures End #1, and Aquaman and the Others: Futures End #1

Authors: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Lan Medina, Allen Martinez
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: June 30 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401253318
Pages: 176 pages

Super-Diverse Team: Aquaman and the Others volume 1: Legacy of Gold

 

Review:

To celebrate the recent release of the movie Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, I am revisiting some past Aquaman stories in graphic novel format and posting reviews.

Labelling any group of people "the Others" immediately relegates them to second-class, outsider status. In this super-powered group's case, the label is not without merit, for this cast of characters - they are all land-based air-breathers whose powers are connected to literal gifts and talismans, ancient Atlantis artifacts. Aquaman is the clear centerpiece and leader, the glue that holds this team together, even more so than Batman was for his Outsiders.

There's Operative, an old, greying yet nimble and strong man with a closet jam-packed with secrets. Prisoner of War, an African American ex-soldier haunted by the ghosts of his dead brothers in arms. Ya'wara, a ferocious, untamed jungle girl from South America. Sky, an Indigenous American "ghost walker". Eventually they are joined by Sayeh, an Iranian woman and future-seer, and Vostok the Russian cosmonaut.

This admirable international and gender-balanced mix of characters has loads of potential. And writer Dan Jurgens gives them a central place here, despite their diminutive team name. They must battle an ancient Atlantean ruler bent on vengeance and his Trezigstanian super-sidekicks. They must learn to forgive past hurts and bond as a team, develop and strengthen this vital mutual trust and faith, which feels so fragile throughout.

With this potential in place, this series seemed in good hands - those of Dan Jurgens with his history of writing fantastic comics in the past with solo characters (most notably Superman, Captain America, Thor, Booster Gold) and team books (Teen Titans, various Justice League titles). Sadly, this is not his strongest work, as the plot stretches, as the relationships shift in simplistic dramatic twists. For all their diversity, these characters talk and sound too similar.

Ultimately this debut of an exciting new super-team disappoints.

Description:

Spinning out of AQUAMAN, the King of Atlantis re-joins his first team—years before he even met his super-powered allies in the Justice League—The Others. With strange powers, abilities and mysterious origins, The Prisoner, Ya'Wara, and The Operative unite with Aquaman after they find themselves targeted by an unknown foe that wants their Atlantean artifacts!

Collects: AQUAMAN #20, AQUAMAN ANNUAL #1 and AQUAMAN AND THE OTHERS #1-5

Authors: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Lan Medina
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Jan. 27 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401250386
Pages: 176 pages

Traitors and Pawns - Justice League (New 52) volume 4 The Grid

Review:

From a recruitment drive to battles between three Justice Leagues, ending with the appearance of the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3, this volume packs loads of characters into a tight space. Beyond the Justice League regulars, we get Firestorm, Element Woman, Zatanna, Madam Xanadu, Martian Manhunter, Shazam and many more. Bring a DC Characters Bingo card!

Author Geoff Johns covers a lot of ground in this tale too, and switches between dark and creepy on one hand, to light and flippant and finally to intense, from deep bonds of trust to the broken trust when a mole in the Justice League betrays and nearly destroys them.

The grand battles that ensue give Ivan Reis a workout on pencils. The results are engrossing and compelling, a series of grand tableaus crackling with visual power. Other pencillers rotate in for a chapter here and there, barely noticeable though with so many different characters.

As big and intriguing as this story is, there are some holes that will hopefully be filled in by future issues. Who broke into the Batcave and stole the Kryptonite ring? It is much discussed but never explained. Cyborg's transformation into the Grid, the title of this collection, should be a shattering event yet it comes and goes almost without remark. An entire Pandora's Box subplot leads into Justice League of America actively working against the main Justice League. Almost too much to keep track of.

I particularly enjoyed the discussions of abuse of absolute power, which is a central theme to the whole Injustice project with its titles, books and video games. It is less central here, but we hear it in Batman's necessary precautions and in the little boxes he keeps on each League teammate - an identification of their weaknesses and how to exploit them. But why is Wonder Woman's box empty?

Ultimately the vast number of characters and ideas packed into so small a space becomes more bewildering than satisfying.

Description:

The event that the New 52 has been building towards since the beginning! #1 New York Times best-selling writer Geoff Johns (GREEN LANTERN, BATMAN: EARTH ONE) brings together almost two years of plot threads for an epic tale that will forever change the shape of the DC Universe. When the three Justice Leagues go to war with one another, who's side will everyone be on? Allies will be born, friends will become enemies and the DC Universe will never be the same.

Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE #18-23

Authors: Geoff Johns
Artists: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Jesus Saiz, Oclair Albert
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: April 8 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401247171
Pages: 176 pages

Which is the True Superman? Superman Action Comics vol 8: Truth

 

Review:

When Grant Morrison rebooted Superman at the start of the New 52, it was a throwback to the classic description; he did not fly, but could leap over tall buildings; he traded in the tights for a jeans-and-T-shirt look with sensible footwear. Post-Morrison, the near-omnipotent Man of Steel returned. Now, in the Truth story spanning all Superman titles, he is reinvented again. His mighty powers are largely gone, or significantly reduced; his secret identity has been revealed. He returns to the jeans and T-shirt look, but what is missing now is the fun, intrigue, and sheer joy of those early reboot issues.

Sadly, these 'Truth' tales suffer from the same affliction as the related stories in the sister titles (Superman, Superman/Wonder Woman and more). Namely: this Clark Kent is so different from the classic traits as to be unrecognizable, and his anger and vigilantism quickly grow tiresome.

In credit to Greg Pak, the 'Truth' tales in this collection are coherent and complete. No need to track down all the sister titles to follow the cross-over. If only he could find a way to make us care for this annoying and unlikeable Superman.

The art is as brutal as the vigilante justice. As Superman battles Wrath and her Shadow Monsters, the creeping strands and distortions of human form are vivid and disgusting. Yet Aaron Kuder and his crew of seven other artists mix in a few candy colored reprieves, to give a breather to our assaulted senses.

Despite the best efforts of Pak and Kuder, the 'Truth' tales remain, in the eyes of this reviewer, among the least interesting Superman stories I have ever read.

Description:

Superman’s secret identity has been revealed and his powers are failing him, but not even that can stop the Man of Steel from protecting the innocent when a mysterious shadow monster appears in Metropolis.

But the biggest threat Clark Kent faces when he returns home comes from the people he once called his friends and neighbors. While some still stand by him, others—including the Metropolis police department—are fearful and angry…too angry.

Is this just a reaction to Superman’s deception, or is there something more insidious infecting the people of Metropolis? Clark knows he needs to regain their trust, but in his weakened state, can he even survive long enough to try?

Storytellers Greg Pak (BATMAN/SUPERMAN) and Aaron Kuder (GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS) unleash an unstoppable force on an underpowered Superman, with help from artists Scott Kolins (JUSTICE LEAGUE 3001) and Georges Jeanty (BATWOMAN) and more!

Collects: issues #41-47 and DC SNEAK PEEK: ACTION COMICS #1

Authors: Greg Pak, Aaron Kuder
Artists: Aaron Kuder, Howard Porter, Scott Kolins, Georges Jeanty
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Dec 27 2016
Parental Rating: Teen+
ISBN: 978-1401269203

World War X - Ultimate Comics X-Men by Brian Wood Volume 3

Review:

It's Utopia vs Tian in the so-called World War X. Tian, led by Jean Grey and her approach of militaristic, forced unity of Mutants on one side, Utopia and its hippie-commune life in the desert, led by Kitty Pryde's pacifism approach on the other. The oddly-numbered "volume 3" collects issues #29-33 that concluded this second ongoing series of Ultimate Comics X-Men.

Artist Alvaro Martinez includes lots of visual clues that help to set the atmosphere of both Tian and Utopia, as well as the tonal shifts in the narrative. Jean Grey's clothes and hair style evoker her heavy-handed, fascist approach, apparently from the same style experts as Kim Jong-Il in North Korea. Rogue's minimal clothing and acres of bare skin tell us something different about the philosophy and lifestyle in Utopia.

"World War" is an overstatement for this narrative. Its scope is limited to the 5 chapters collected here, no tie-ins or cross-overs to round it out. It leaves us with a handful of battles, attacks on each side's home base stronghold. Sure, they are located half a world apart, but with so few combatants and very limited areas of conflict, it is hardy a "world war"

Still, the final confrontation between Jean and Kitty leads to a decisive final victory for Utopia and the destruction of Tian. It is a reasonably satisfying conclusion for this Western reader, although the imagery and symbolism of the battle between Western Freedom and Eastern dictatorships is far from subtle. Much in the spirit and tradition of early days of comics where heroes waged overt battles against Nazi fascists.

Description:

"World War X" begins! It's Tian vs. Utopia when Jean Grey takes on Kitty Pryde! Will the planet be torn apart when the two mutant nations go to war? Alliances are broken, sides are chosen and betrayals abound - but after a sneak attack on Utopia, and Jean's strict warning that the rest of the world should stay out of the war, will the global mutant-on-mutant conflict finally unite...or divide mutants forever? As World War X claims its first casualties, Kitty Pryde becomes a revolutionary redux, Mach Two displays startling new powers, and James Hudson proves he's more than just his father's son!

Collects: ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN 29-33

Authors: Brian Wood
Artists: Alvaro Martinez
Published By: Marvel 
Published When: March 4 2014
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-0785167211
Pages: 112 pages

Ultimate Explanations - Ultimate Comics X-Men by Nick Spencer volume 2

 

Review:

Author Nick Spencer is weaving in this collection a tapestry with many threads, all of which will pull taut the relationship between humans, mutants and the lands they control. So much betrayal is in these 6 chapters that new twists cease to surprise and by the end we're ready and almost eager for the fire to catch and spread around the world.

Issue #7 is the artistic highlight. Carlo Barberi does a stellar job with the fluid, dynamic layouts, centered around Quicksilver's multi-page sprint. His sister Wanda - the Scarlet Witch - has never looked hotter or seemed so scheming and manipulative. And the gradual reveal of the face at the end unfolds so naturally from one image to the next.

He repeats the hidden-face reveal trick in #12, although its effect feels more forced the second time, and is drawn out too long.

Paco Medina's three issues in the middle are a self-contained tale of the revolt at Camp Angel. The torture of Colossus and his eventual head-crushing revenge are gruesome enough to merit the T+ rating.

Ultimately, though, this collection suffers from too much explanation. A graphic medium like comics needs a "show me don't tell me" approach and there is too much telling, affecting at least three of these six collected chapters.

Description:

Quicksilver's scheme to lord over the world's mutants goes horribly awry when his army of Nimrod sentinels goes rogue and commits mutant genocide. Val Cooper probes S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury for information on the Ultimate X program, and the identity of world's most powerful psychic, Jean Grey, is revealed - but she may not be playing for the right side. And the mutants interned at Camp Angel stage a bloody revolt when they learn the true origin of the X-gene. The ghosts of the Ultimate Universe's past drive the world's mutants toward an explosive confrontation in this thrilling chess match crafted by writer Nick Spencer (Iron Man 2.0)!

Collects: Ultimate Comics X-Men 7-12

Authors: Nick Spencer
Artists: Carlo Barberi, Paco Medina
Published By: Marvel
Published When: Jan. 22 2013
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-0785161349
Pages: 136 pages

From Lone Wolf to Franchise CEO: Batman Incorporated volume 1 - Demon Star

 

Review:

Bruce Wayne's vast wealth was partly inherited and partly grown through business acumen. So it is surprising that it took so long for him to latch onto the concept of essentially turning the Bat into a Franchise-vigilante system.

Batman Incorporated is built on this premise. Complete with training, equipping, authorizing, coordinating like-minded and similarly skilled individuals around the world.

In Demon Star, the heroes keep running into the mysterious Leviathan. Their battles - some victories, some defeats - never seem to resolve the larger war. Damian is always at the center of the plots, and often refuses to listen to his mentor's advice - as would any 11-year-old. Which, as a parent of an 11-year-old myself, strikes me as far too young for a Robin. The 11-year-old body is so under-developed that it is impossible to conceive the physical battles he has with adults.

Author Grant Morrison has garnered praise and admiration for his ideas and concepts in the past, such as his revitalization of Animal Man and the JLA titles, or his independent work. His creative concepts and story-telling are on display here, although too often the cuts between scenes and sections are sudden and jarring, creating a  non-linear and ultimately disorienting read.

On the visuals, Chris Burnham has an occasional stunning sequence that shines through an otherwise workmanlike effort. He dives into some challenging scenarios to draw - such as the slaughter house sequence that leads to Damian adopting Bat Cow. But it is the included Issue #0 by Frazer Irving, and its neon-glow paintings that emerge as the cream of the visual crop here.

Description:

Eisner Award-winning fan-favorite writer Grant Morrison concludes the Batman epic he began nearly a decade ago in BATMAN & SON, pitting the entirity of Batman Incorporated against the Levianthan organization headed by the Dark Knight's former romantic interest Talia al Ghul. As Leviathan enacts a plan that threatens the world, Batman and his allies must fight against the rising storm--but not everyone will make it out of the encounter alive.

Collects: Batman Incorporated #0-6

Authors: Grant Morrison
Artists: Chris Burnham
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Dec 3 2013
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 9781401242633
Pages: 176 pages

The End. Captain America and the Mighty Avengers volume 2 - Last Days

 

Review:

The thread running through the three stories collected here is that they are all endings written by Al Ewing.

The title tale, Captain American and the Mighty Avengers comes from issues 8 and 9, the final two of that very short regular series. It is linked to the larger 2015 Secret Wars crossover, and the reset that it produced in Marvel's lineup of titles. This story definitely deserves pride of place in the collection, as it is the strongest of the group. A poignant and touching story, it conveys how differently people would react to the knowledge of the exact date and time of the end of the world. From caped heroes to EMTs to Soraya's overtime shift on the crisis helpline phones, it is fascinating, well balanced and emotional.

Luke Ross' visuals display an almost traditionalist mindset, with simple stacks of wide panels or grids. The reader's eye has no trouble flowing from one scene to the next, giving a subdued, resigned mood to the pending cataclysm. Well done!

Ewing's second story in this collection is the complete two-part Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders tie-in with the Warzones Secret Wars crossover. Dr. Faiza Hussain wields the sword of Excalibur and the mantle of Captain Britain, and must rally the Mighty Defenders to protect against Boss Cage and the overly goofy War Machine, with its constant refrain, "Look at all my guns!" With a plot filled with surprises and twists, and Alan Davis' surprisingly muted and subdued visuals, it is a quick read. The Big Boss / Thor of Mondo City turns from enemy to friend astonishingly quickly; it must be Captain Britain's charm while wielding her sword.

The third and final story is mostly forgettable. While memorable perhaps for the transference of the Captain Britain role from Brian Braddock to Faisa Hussain, the UK based battle in the Age of Ultron feels too bleak and hopeless for a satisfying standalone story. Butch Guice has fun slipping in some old-fashioned 8-bit Atari-game era graphics as they bring the battle inside Ultron. And even as London burns and countless Avengers fall, it ends on a tiny glimmer of hope and healing.

For one solid Last Days tale and an otherwise scattershot collection, I give it 2 capes.

Description:

These are the stories of the end of the world, and of the people who faced the end together. Some of them wore costumes, and some of them didn't. Some had super-human powers, and all some had were each other. They were the Mighty Avengers. And this is what they did on the last day. Plus: The AGE OF ULTRON hits Britain, and Captain Britain hits back with a little help from his friends - including a vacationing Captain Marvel!

Collects: Captain America & the Mighty Avengers #8-9, Captain Britain & the Mighty Defenders #1-2, Avengers Assemble 15AU

Authors: Al Ewing
Artists: Luke Ross (Captain America), Alan Davis (Captain Britain), Butch Guice (Avengers Assemble)
Published By: Marvel 
Published When: Nov. 3 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 9780785198031
Pages: 112 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

Stuck in Oil and Rusted Shut - Armor Wars: Warzones!

 

Review:

James Robinson pens a layered tale with mystery, some forensic police work and a handful of innovative and imaginative plot twists. Personal favorites include the armored Spyder-man, whose powers come from a virus infecting his armor, and James Rhodes as an armored Thor.

But Technopolis is no tech-utopia. Beyond the stunning urban architecture in the panel backgrounds, the premise of it being an "amazing domain of science and wonder" in the marketing hype is not conveyed in either the story or the art.

On the contrary, Marcio Takara's art is gritty, grimy, blocky, heavily inked and dark. Human emotion and expressiveness is limited to partial faces, when the armored city denizens retract some portion of their protective headgear. It is a constraint that Takara's art is unable to overcome, which loses much of the human impact of the story.

Takara does however do a solid job with visual distinctions in our characters, despite the limitations of everyone wearing full body armor. With limited ability to give people distinguishing facial or physical characteristics or visual gender cues, his approach relies more on trim, cogs and other armor features.

The Battleworld Warzones! framework gives Marvel creators a platform to try some unusual experiments, and this one sounded particularly imaginative and promising: a disease that causes all people in the city to become armor-wearing mini Iron Men and Women, all produced by two rival Stark brothers. Alas the story fails to hold our interest beyond its potential-filled premise, nor do the dark and oil-coated visuals. With "War" so prominent in the book's title and series, it is no surprise that it breaks into large-scale armored battles in the end, but even with the violence and shocking revelations, the reader is left ultimately disappointed.

2 capes out of 5.

Description:

A SHADOW FALLS OVER AN ARMORED UTOPIA. TECHNOPOLIS: Amazing Domain of science and wonder created by rival genius brothers TONY AND ARNO STARK. A utopia except...a unique disease forces EVERYONE to wear armor to live and breathe. In this armored land a hero is murdered and the killer's identity a mystery Baron Tony Stark must solve. But in doing so, will Technopolis be forced into a civil war?

Collects: Armor Wars #1/2 and #1-5

Authors: James Robinson
Artists: Marcio Takara
Published By: Marvel 
Published When: Feb. 9 2016
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 0785198644
ISBN-13: 978-0785198642
Language: English
Pages: 112 pages