Batman #8
"Attack on Wayne Manor" by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and Jonathan Glapion
"The Call" backup by Snyder, Tynion IV and Albuquerque
Last year I talked about how I wasn't ready yet for Scott Snyder's newer, more optimistic Gotham City and Bruce Wayne. Well, last week the digital freebie sold me on this issue, and now I am. I'm ready. My body is ready.
The first few pages are excellent in building a tone: Bruce Wayne thought he knew the city he grew up in, but he was in the shadows. He's literally in the dark of his mansion as he looks over Gotham City. Then, the Owl assassins attack Wayne Manor! It's a fast-paced, well-written siege scene that shows the Owls as a real threat. Great mood-building, great action, great comic. Check it out for yourself.
by Eric Powell and Dave Stewart
So this issue is a biography of The Goon's aunt, the woman what raised him. You learn about her hopes and dreams, you learn about her struggles with men and with work. She becomes a real character, and that's because she is: real life intersects fiction as Eric Powell dedicates this to Betty Jean Wheeler, "the best grandma anyone could ask for." Personal comics can be powerful, and this one sure is.
It's a heartfelt, heart-warming comic that brought a tear to my eye. Also, this:
The Punisher #10
by Greg Rucka and Maro Chechetto, with thanks to Mark Waid
Spider-Man and Hornhead take over the Punisher's book in this second part of "The Omega Effect."
Even silent, Punisher fills the page with his brooding, but Daredevil brings some optimism where he can, to Punisher's partner. The three respective superheroes of this comic book are strong enough to hold their own titles, and when you put them together, you get an even better sense of who they are.
The last panel is a little confusing: Daredevil is about to destroy the Omega Drive, but then he grunts and falls off the ledge. I believe this is because Alves shot him in the back to get at the Omega Drive herself, but it's ambiguous. What did you guys think?
Thief of Thieves #3
by Spencer and Martinbrough
Comic books are the synthesis of two things: the word and the image. This comic certainly has both: it's certainly a comic, but I'm not sure how far I want to go with that. The problem is that there are words and images, but the words aren't comprehensible. There's this weird scene where they're talking about lawsuits and arrests. Let me bring this to your attention: the reader has heretofore never been alerted as to any warrants, lawsuits, custody battles or arrests. It's a very confusing, odd scene because the mother's really angry, and the reader isn't informed sufficiently as to why.
It doesn't stop there. The comic seems to undergo some flashbacks in which Redmond is arrested, but there's no indication as to if it's a flashback or the present. It seems that it could be the present, because we just left Redmond in a glass window building in the present, yet it flashes forward to show his innocence.
They're small things, but captions go a long way. Issues 1 and 2 used title cards to introduce scenes, and I don't understand why issue 3 doesn't. In fact, there's a lot of things that I don't understand about this comic, and I'm disappointed that I spent the money on it. I'm dropping this title.
Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man #9
by Brian Bendis and David Marquez
Hey! Look at that: David Marquez takes over pencil and inks, and he's spot-on with Sarah Pichelli's style. Bendis continues his own writing style with a series of events that aren't connected. Things happen in this comic, but there's no narrative connection that ties the comic together. Without a narrative, the comic stands on moments, such as that cool panel where Miles' uncle takes on a Vulture costume and throws all these razor blades at the Scorpion. It's not the way I prefer to read my comics, but if it's the only way I can enjoy them, then, fine.
I'll leave you today with this amazing cliffhanger. That last row of panels just kills me:
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1 comment:
I only read the first issue of Punisher so I wouldn't know.
Anyway, I saw your post about New Deadwardians. In my opinion, that is the best of the new Vertigo titles, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to review the first issue. If you want to check it out here's my blog: www.artbyarion.blogspot.com
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