Random DC Comic Reviews

 Batman #133 Been a while, I've been busy, but still have passion for comics, so let's get to the review.  Zdarsky's major flaw as a writer is that he has a tendency to take his storylines off the grid, thus you often find your favourite hero doing stuff off the beat and path, when you just want them fighting their traditional baddies. He did this over at Marvel with Daredevil; for the longest time Matt Murdoch wasn't Daredevil as he sought to clear his name, and therefore you found yourself reading stories about Murdoch in prison instead of  fighting crime in his traditional red suit. In Batman #133, Bruce Wayne is Batman, but he's stuck in an alternate universe, so Gotham and all the people in it, are of course not from Wayne's earth. This isn't exactly a novel idea, and while many a writer would most likely fail to keep their audience captivated, Zdarsky has one major strength as a writer.... he's naturally talented. When you've been reading comic...

 Batman #132....3.5 Stars If I had to point out a major flaw in Zdarsky's writing, it is that he often takes superheroes down plotlines that are frustratingly off the beat and path of the norm, so while you might like to see Daredevil fighting one on one with Kingping in his classic uniform, you instead get to read about him stepping aside as a superhero to undergoe a long stint in prison, while someone else takes his cowl. Likewise, you might like to see Zdarsky writing classic Batman rouge stories, but instead, we get a story arch about Batman being trapped in alternate universe, which might be appealing to Flash or Superman fans, but I think I can state with confidence that Batman fans like something a little more street level.  While Zdarsky is a strong enough writer to keep this mildly interesting, via showcasing how specific rogues and allies are different in this alternate universe, I'm already itching to see Batman return to the Gotham City of his own earth, thus despi...

 Detective Comics # 1068 Spoilers In a war you need allies, people who have your back and make the save when you've been knocked down, and they don't necessarily need to be your friend, as the old adage goes "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"  Batman now appears to have at least two classic villains on his side. First Mr. Freeze and now Two Face, who have both saved Bruce Wayne from a foe that appears to be more formidable than Ra's al Ghul. Whether they are doing it out of affection for an old adversary, or an understanding that the presence of this knew foe in Gotham threatens their own existence, or both, is not what matters. What matters is that both villains have crossed the floor, which leads you to ponder the question. Will there by more Batman villains siding with Bruce Wayne in this fight, for if you include good ole Commissioner Gordon in this equation, Batman has had to  have his hide fished out the water three times now in this brewing battle.  Batma...

 Batman #131  When I think of superhero plotlines that deal with alternate universes and timelines, I don't usually think of Batman, but for better or worse, that's where Zdarsky is taking us as Bruce Wayne has been transported to an alternate earth by Failsafe, whereby Commissioner Gordon now looks somewhat like Mister Bones from Infinity Inc, and Harvey Dent plays the role of a Judge Dread antagonist.  Fans of Zdarsky will note that he often places his heroes in situations that are a bit off the beat and path, and while he's a good enough writer to pull it off, what I really want, and I imagine what a lot of fans really want, is for him to start writing some memorable showdowns with some of Batman's classic rogues. I hope we get to see it and read it.  3.5 Stars out of 5

 SGT Rock vs The Army of the Dead #4 A little humour can go a long way in a comic book, and Bruce Campbell starts and ends this comic with some subtle little zingers that are bound to give you the giggles.  The comic itself is fast paced action, and Campbell is really good at creating that old school band of brothers feel amongst Sgt Rock and his crew. In short, good ole male bonding in the face of a threat that seeks to wipe them from existence. There is also a good dark, ominous feel throughout this comic that is reminiscent  of Evil Dead to an extent ,as Sgt Rock and his crew strategically stalk around zombie infested Nazi Germany, seeking to fulfill their objective of killing the Fuhrer's doctor, but one has to wonder.....will they encounter the der Fuhrer himself?  Fun and enjoyable...4 our to 5 stars. 

 DC vs Vampires #12 When you come to a final issue of a special DC event, elseworld or otherwise, as a fan your expecting a great finale ending....this is not the case here, as it appears DC wants to continue sucking every dollar out of DC vs Vampires it can, by nauseatingly introducing  us to DAWN, the next ongoing chapter in the DC vs Vampires run...that's right it's not over yet.  Now I was thoroughly enjoying this run (Despite the overkill of spin off series) but there is something else here that is sort of bothersome.....sort of political.....so before I trigger everyone by using the W word, let me explain my political perspective.  Overall I'm a liberal, though I'm generally very non political. That being said, I am very well versed in political ideologies, in part because of a University degree, and past interest, so it's fairly easy for me to pick out something influenced by the philosophy of the new far left or far right, and.... while I'm generally a f...

 Detective Comics #1067 If you are a comic collector who buys comics because you think their price will rise in value, than you might want to take a look at purchasing this run. For one, it's been so popular that they ran out of printed copies of the first Detective Comics issue written by Ram V, which means in time, it may be harder to find on the market. Two, the cover art for this series (including the harder to find variant issues) has been impeccable, and Ivan Reis's art has been of good quality. to say the least., and finally. of greatest importance of all, Ram V, is shaping up to be one of those writers who in the coming decades may sit along the greats like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns.  There are many words I could use to describe Ram V's writing, Masterclass, outstanding, prodigious, phenomenal, but whatever word I choose it cannot be denied that he is a true virtuoso in the field.  To be able to read a comic that keeps you completely captivated wi...

 John Stewart: The Emerald Knight #1.....1.5 Stars There are certain writers at DC that are making me re-learn the hard lesson of pocket book pain when it comes to comic books. In short, comic books in Canada cost around $7.00 to $8.00 dollars or more, which is a far cry from when I was little and was able to buy a comic for under a dollar. Back then, there was no such thing as pocket book pain in relation to comics, because if I bought 10 comics with my monthly allowance, I could live with a few stinkers, because I could be assured that the bulk of them would be of good quality, unfortunately that is not the case today.  Now I am still reeling from the absolutely horrible Grifter Christmas special, plus Zdarky's screw up, (who I generally hold in high regard) so I will make this review very brief, in general the comic was unreadable. The concept of John Stewart becoming an angelic being was quite interesting, but unfortunately it was executed very poorly. The story could have...

  Batman #130 As a self professed Chip Zdarsky fanboy, I have been looking to postpone the painful review of this issue that has been rightfully critisized by comic book fans on forums and you tube. That being said, I'm not going to give it one star, it is very readable, it's just not very realistically written when you take into account the probablity of what Batman realistically can and cannot do.  Realistacally, Batman could fight an epic super villain in space and survive, though the probabilty would be rather low, but what he probably couldn't do is float for hours in space, while guiding a piece of scrap metal debris towards the earth, survive not burning up in the atmosphere with only the fabric of his specialized suit protecting him, and then someohow survive a fall from space to the earth by guiding himself to the fortress of solitude with his cape! Absurd!!!  When reading this, one cannot help but think that your watching a Pierce Brosnen James Bond movie like D...

DC's Grifter Got Run Over By a Reindeer   I don't usually hand out 1 star's, but if your looking to add a little bit of grinch into your festive holiday cheer than buy this, because you will wish that you could return it and get your money back.  There are some interesting characters in here for sure, but one of my guages for determining if a comic is really bad, is if I find it unreadable with some of my favourite characters in it, let alone characters that don't really resonate with me, and this is the case with this comic. I was looking forward to a fun Christmas story arch with Black Canary & Constantine, but what I got instead, was an absurd storyline of the pair in a super hero indie rock band, apparently defeating Granny Goodness by singing and playing instruments. One could see the logic in this story arch, Canary has her cry, and Constantine has his magic, but it was executed so poorly, and was generally (as with the rest of this comic) humourless. Unfortun...

 The Flash # 788 I am living proof  that having duplicate heroes running around the DC Universe is bad for business.(ie; 2 Flash's minus Garrick) Why is that you may ask? Well, I enjoyed Williamson's run so much that when they made the transition back to Wally West, I simply couldn't follow the new run, despite my best attempts to do so, because I became attached to Barry Allen.  It is why I therefore theorize (though I have no evidence to support the claim I'm about to make)  that this may be the reason why Flash sales aren't higher than what they are, because creative is definitely not the problem.  In issue #788, Jeremy Adams brings us a great story about the Rouges being employed by the new mayor of the city Gregory Wolfe, whose out for personal revenge against masked vigilantes in the city (Aka, superheroes). One could argue that the plotline isn't wholly original, but that's okay, because it doesn't have to be. Like altering a cool guitar riff to m...

 Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #6 I think I've been pretty fair in my assessment of Dark Crisis issues, while others have been panning the series, I've pretty much given every issue I've reviewed on average somewhere between 3 to 4.5 stars, and while there has been plot disappointments, things really didn't break down until now. I'm just going to cut straight to the chase.  For months now, fans have been pondering what this dark entity controlling Pariah is, eagerly awaiting for it to rear it's ugly face in the final issues of Dark Crisis. We even got teased this variant cover for issue 5, of a demonic Grim Reaper entity holding the Anti Monitors decapitated head. The Anti Monitor, arguably one, if not the most threatening villain the DCU has ever encountered.  So who is that apparently has the ability to decapitate the anti monitor? Who is this formidable foe that all the DC heroes must unite together against in a final stand to save humanity. It is.....it is....

  WILDC.A.T.S #1 Old school comic book fans who have been reading for decades often have super teams they've never felt compelled to read, or perhaps were taking a draw down from comics when they became popular, and for me, one of those super teams was Jim Lee's WILDC.A.T.S. In fact, if it wasn't for encountering Grifter in Batman's Urban Legends a few years ago in a backstory written by Mathew  Rosenberg,  I probably would not be doing this review today, but as you have it, I quite liked the character and so here I am, writing a review.  A lot of people don't like Mathew Rosenberg on comic fan forums for some reason, but I think he's a decent writer, I don't rank him up there with the legends of the industry, but he does a job, in short he's readable and his work is enjoyable.  As I've never encountered WILDC.A.T.S. before, I'm not sure if the gratuitous language is what is typically associated in writing this group (they were after all a by pro...

 The New Golden Age  I did a total media blackout on this before I read the issue. The announcement of  Geoff Johns coming back to write the JSA was a big deal amongst DC comic fans, so I did not want to be influenced in anyway by other people's opinions, so no comic reviews, you tube, comic forums or, reddit, before cracking open this book. Thus my thoughts on this issue are as pure and unbiased as I could possibly make them.  The most positive aspect of this comic that stood out for me was the colouring. The inkers are often overlooked, but the deep lush & bright colours in this comic book are amazing. It really helped bring the characters and story to life. So kudos to Nick Filardi & the others (There are a ton of artists & inkers who worked on this book) The art as well in this comic is top notch, but now for the writing.  Geoff Johns is one of my favourite writers of the last 20 years or so, but for me his earlier work is his best, partially bec...

 Batman # 129 I hope when Zdarsky and Ram V are done their respective Batman runs (Legendary in my opinion) they are given the keys of the castle to write about any characters of their choosing outside of the trinity.  I therefore have my fingers crossed that they have a love for the DCU like Geoff Johns did, because I would rather see them writing titles other than Superman/Wonder Woman. As for the review.... I really loved this comic, particulary the showdown between Batman and Failsafe out in space. I love how Bruce Wayne is up against something so formidable he literally has seconds to think of how to outsmart an android hellbent on tracking him down and imprisoning him....or worse.  Just quality stuff by Zdarsky. We read comics for three reasons, 1) the characters, 2) the Writers, & 3) the art. This comic gets an A in all three categories.  4.5 stars out of 5

 SGT Rock Vs the Army of the Dead: Part 2 To my knowledge, Bruce Campbell had no part in writing the classic Evil Dead movies & its subsequent tv series some decades after. He was simply the starring actor, and as such, I wondered if he had the writing prowess to write a captivating comic book, in to which the answer is after reading issue 2 of SGT Rock vs The Army of the Dead is a; resounding yes.  In my first review, I wrote about how I loved the concept and the set up of this story, but it is this issue where Campbell's writing really shines, by setting the mood and the tone of a secret ops mission in world war 2, entrenched in the horror genre, but nothing too gory here, just pure Evil Dead fun and silliness.  I had some SGT Rock comics as a young child and Campbell really brought that team back to life for me, as SGT Rock and company are a band of brothers who have each others back against the imminent threat of being eaten by the undead. If that doesn't get you ...

 Detective Comics #1065.  "Drowned, a fool who sought to swim against the undertow....against the currents of his own making. There is no air for a fool, no breath for a Bat. Not down here, in the deep of yourself, where lies the demon -Bar-ba-tos. How long will strive for air before you give in and imbibe of the blood that lies beneath? Not Long now, little Bruce. Not Long Now"  1. In the beginning God created the paper and the pen.  2. but the world was without comics, void, and dark 3. And god said, Let there be DC Comics, and so there was DC Comics.  4. And god saw that DC Comics was good, so he created Batman.  5. And god said let there be Raphael Albuquerque, and so there was Ralph Albuquerque  6. And god saw this was good so he let beautiful art flourish throughout comic land 7. And god said let their be Ram V, and so there was Ram V.  8. And god saw this was good, and allowed Ram V to create a masterpiece! I have no idea if the existence o...

 Rogues #4 I was absolutely livid during the first issue when I found out that Weather Wizard and Captain Boomerang had been left out of the story to be replaced by Bronze Tiger, and another female villain. (Who was so unmemorable I can't even remember her name) Now, Bronze Tiger is one of my favourite all time DC superheroes/anti heroes, despite his lack of appearances over the decades, but he did not belong in this story, and neither did the other female villain.  In short, the replacements felt woke, and whether it was done intentionally or it was just Williamson's decision, a great opportunity to make Flash fans run out and buy this was missed with the exclusion of Weather Wizard and Captain Boomerang, two of the most historically beloved Flash rogues of all time. I would have LOVED to seen how they died, as opposed to two replacement characters that have no history with the Flash, and were seemingly brought in for diversity reasons???  (Help me out here, I can't thin...

  DC Vs Vampires All Out War #4  Up to this point I thought this comic was fairly decent, but.....sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.  There are some good characters in here, even if some of them are vampires (Mary Marvel, Booster, The Question, Midnighter, Shining Knight) but the major problem here is when the writing isn't on fire, or is somewhat substandard in quality; is that the minimalist ink tones (Primarily just red, black and white) throughout the comic employed by Qualano and Bright make it hard to follow as to what is going on, or at the very least doesn't bring the diversity of these characters to light. I think these ink tones stylistically would work great in a Batman comic, just not in a major epic event that showcases numerous heroes.  2 and 1/2 Stars out of 5

  Batman #128 It's official! There is a race going on for the best writer at DC comics right now, and they are both on DC's  top premier titles, Batman and Detective Comics, and honestly I can't tell you who is better at present because both Chip Zdarsky and Ram V have impeccable writing and story telling abilities. Ram V, is giving us the classic mystery suspense built up that is synonymous with Detective Comics, and Chip Zdarsky, well he's brining us the action! Batman has always been semi paranoid, so much so that he kept files on all his friends, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, in case one of them went rogue and he had to defeat them. (In fairness to Bruce one of them did) so Chip Zdarsky makes us contemplate the question "What would happen if Batman created something that was designed to stop him?" and to that he gives us the answer with Failsafe, a highly advanced robotic android that has transformed Gotham City into a surveillance super state,...