Cover to Cover: Superman/Batman #'s 20-25, 37-42

So there was a Superman/Batman sale over at ComiXology a month or so ago. I bought into it and picked up quite a few issues, based on the artists I liked: like Ed McGuinness or Dustin Nguyen. Since scans are as easy as hitting "prtsc" and then cropping the image, I've loaded up an unholy amount of scans for you. Here's the first third of what I read:

Superman/Batman #20-25
"With a Vengeance!" 
by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness 

Have you ever played racquetball? You whack a ball in a room such that it bounces so fast, and so hard that your opponent can't return it. After reading through Loeb's story, I now know what the racquetball feels like. In the 6 issues, he bounces you everywhere, juggling the stories of Superman/Batman, the Maximums (an Ultimates knock-off team), Batzarro/Bizarro and the Joker/Mxyzptlk. It's crazy!

He throws all kinds of scenes at the reader, and while some of it will miss, you'll find something that's a hit. The Maximums accuse Superman/Batman of murdering one of their own, and it's up to the World's Finest to defend against their charges! Along the way they meet Red Son Superman, Batman Beyond Batman, Superwoman/Batwoman, Zebra Batman, Mullet Superman holy moly how many of these guys can they fit in here. There's so much going on, it helps to just turn your brain off and look at the art.

There's this great scene when Superman and Batman use a boom tube to get to the Maximums' world. Superman runs into a scene where Spider-Man "Bug" is witnessing Gwen his girl get thrown off the bridge:

It's a nice jab that highlights the difference between DC and Marvel. Superman's line, "Where I come from, it's what we do." just kills me. A good deal of the developments are magic'ed out of continuity in issue 25, and the main point of the arc seems to be to bring Darkseid back to the DCU in preparation for Final Crisis. The arc wouldn't have worked without McGuinness to pull off all the crazy ideas.


Superman/Batman #37-42
"Torment"
by Alan Burnett and Dustin Nguyen

This story's about the New Gods, which is unfortunate, because I don't really care about them. Darkseid manipulates a few people including the Scarecrow and Superman in order to restore his power. Batman tracks them down to Tartarus in order to save Superman and then has sex with Bekka, a New God.

Dustin draws a knockout Bekka and a great Batman. Burnett writes Batman as this tragic figure who won't let love into his life, and it rings true even as he gets it on with Bekka. Superman doesn't serve more purpose here than a prop, which is one weakness in the arc. I honestly feel it didn't need 6 issues to tell.

Here is some nude Bruce Wayne, because this will get me some hits from google images:

Here's a non-nude image of Batman I like. Just look at that cape!

NEXT TIME: Superman/Batman #'s 44-49, "The Search for Kryptonite"

Serials for 11-2-11: The Flash and Daredevil

Careful readers will notice that these issues are from last week, or even the week before. I don't like to review issues the day of, even though it'll get me a bit more hits. This way I can let the comics simmer in my head before talking about them. I'll always be a bit behind schedule, but as long as I'm pumping out content every Wednesday, I'm happy.

The Flash #2 (Oct. 2011)
by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato
$2.99, DC Comics

There's a lot that happens in this issue, but the highlight is Barry Allen's newfound power: some kind of "augmented cognition," bordering on an ability to predict the future. There's one splash page where Barry "sees" a bunch of different outcomes for the same event:

I have no idea how to read this! First I tried reading from top to bottom, left to right, but the panels aren't linear; they don't follow each other. Then I noticed that there are sets of three panels that converge on Barry, and that helped a bit. After that I figured that you're not supposed to get it. The panels are all these different outcomes that are running through Barry's head. The panels come together for Barry so he can figure out the best outcome -- we're not supposed to be able to understand his thought process!

In the following pages he acts on it, and it makes for an incredible sequence. You can find the five pages at Newsarama. I'm serious check out those pages. Note the small details, like the "H8 2 W8" on the getaway car, right before it lands in a fertilizer truck.

And the storytelling is no slouch either. You'll find yourself zooming into panels and zooming out to admire the sequences. To linger over the panels and trace out their paths. Manapul and Buccellato are really pushing the medium, and they're using Barry Allen to do it, as he discovers more about the clone villain "Mob Rule," and as they activate an EMP in Central City.

Daredevil #2 and #3 (Aug. and Sep. 2011)
by Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera
$2.99 each, Marvel Comics

Issue 2 features a fight between Daredevil and Captain America. It's a superb sequence as Cap accuses Daredevil of his past misdeeds, and Daredevil evokes some arguments to defend himself. The issue came out around the release of the Captain America: The First Avenger movie, so Comix Revolution was out of stock when I came around. I had to wait for the second printing, which was two weeks ago, and then the third issue 2nd print, which was last week.

And I'm glad I waited! The first three issues concern Matt's struggles against a court that won't take any valid lawyering from the alias of the vigilante Daredevil, and Daredevil's struggles against the "soundshadow" of Ulysses Klaw. It's a no-nonsense super-hero story with Daredevil's special spin on the world around him. Paolo Rivera draws in his own sound effects, and he draws only the outline of the SFX when Klaw uses his sound attacks on Daredevil -- it highlights the loss of his senses. It's as if he's battling himself, his own disability, and that really makes this comic stand out from other super-comics. I'm so glad Rivera's doing an ongoing. He used to do more paints, but I'm loving his pencils on Daredevil. They're modern and classic at the same time.

See more Paolo Rivera at his blogger.

Trades for Halloween!

Happy Halloween guys! I scheduled this post to post today, but it was set to 10:09PM. I apologize for the tardy post. I have no special theme content for you, but I do have regular trade content. Can ya dig?

Batman: Hong Kong (Oct. 2004, 128 pages)
by Doug Moench and Tony Wong
collecting I have no idea the book doesn't credit anything and the indicia is as helpful
$17.95, Amazon

A series of webcam-murders leads Batman to Hong Kong, who inspires one Benny Lo to don the cowl of. . . the Night Dragon! With nunchuks! This reads a lot like an action film, and that's fine. The plot isn't deep, and it doesn't need to be. It's all about showcasing the action shots. Check 'em out:

THRUNCH! It's Batman THRUSTING a PUNCH in your face! Pregnant women cried tears of joy at the conception of this panel. It changed my life.

In this one Batman cloaks a thug in his cape, and proceeds to knock him out through the cape:

Check out Tony's design for Batman's cape. It's this single piece with crazy long tendrils everywhere. It makes him look even more like a spectre in outline:

Hotcha. The Night Dragon has these nunchuks, and Wong draws them in a way that shows their spinning, that makes it appear as if they're defying the laws of space and time.

Only in comic books folks. A nice, fluffy read.

The Unknown (Oct. 2010, 112 pages)

by Mark Waid and Minck Oosterveer

collecting issues #1-4 of The Unknown miniseries

$0.00, ComiXology

Catherine Allingham is a world-renowned detective who takes on cases of the supernatural. She's absurdly intelligent and eccentric -- a modern day Sherlock Holmes, with breasts. In the first issue she even takes on a partner, her very own Watson.

Catherine also has a malignant tumor in her brain, and has six months to live. After the world's first quantum crime in a Viennese research facility, she and her partner are called to investigate, and the mystery involves the very nature of life and death itself. The mystery takes her across Europe to a confrontation in Europe.

Waid is great at representing Catherine's drive for knowledge, her compulsion to know the unknown. She's an exciting, tragic, compelling figure. The above image, from the second ish, really highlights their chase to know! I highly recommend the first two issues, but not the last two: in #3, her partner holds her back from a momentous discovery. He literally tells her not to open the door -- and that just goes against everything that the comic is aboutt. The 4th issue somewhat makes up for it, but not totally.

Regardless of the conclusion, Catherine is a compelling character in comics who finds crazy, creative cases in the world, and I recommend you give the first issue a shot. It's free!

Panels for October 2011

So 4th letter has this great segment where they post the panels from comic books for the week. It's a great way to sum up the week, and I'd do the same, if I got as many comics per week. I don't, so I've decided to make a showcase of the month's panels.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Without further ado, chezkevin proudly presents

Animal Man #1

Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman

Chew #21

John Layman, Rob Guillory

Daredevil #1

Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera

The Flash #1

Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato

Thunderbolts #164

Jeff Parker, Kev walker

Serials for 10-26-11: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and Swamp Thing

Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man #'s 2 & 3 (Sep. & Oct. 2011)
by Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor

Counting the first issue, I've put $12 in for this title. For that money I could've went to the movies to see Real Steel. Or that The Thing movie. And I'd have enough left for one of those movie theatre hot dogs. So: three issues of a comic book are equal to one movie and a nasty hot dog.

EXCEPT IT ISN'T! We have yet to have a story in these three issues! Miles finds out he has powers! Miles has a talk with his dad! Miles shows his powers to his best friend! Miles saves people from a burning building! Miles moves into school! It is all a series of episodes that do not adhere. I know you can do better than this, Bendis, but, for the sake of review, I'll highlight some of the best episodes.

There's this great splash page in issue 2, of Miles sitting down with his dad in Central Park. It's half dialogue bubbles, but it's about his dad telling Miles things about his life that, now that he's older, he's ready to hear. It's heartwarming to see that Miles has such a caring dad. Sara Pichelli is really the redeeming factor for the title's shortcomings. Flip to any page and you'll see a real, human expression on Miles' face, whether it's the satisfaction of saving a kid or the horror that he might be persecuted for having super-powers.

Right now I can't recommend this title, for the sole reason that there's a lot better, cheaper and more social ways to be entertained than this comic book. You have to really like comic books and you have to really like Spider-Man to read this stuff.

Swamp Thing #1 (Sep. 2011)
By Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette

The comic book is a tricky thing. Any one title is released every 4 weeks, and in the time between you can get hooked on a new TV show or find a new blog. Comic books have to find a way to keep you coming back after 4 weeks, but they also have to have enough story to justify that first issue. Swamp Thing #1 succeeds at the former but fails at the latter.

The script is incredibly heavy, which was actually very enjoyable. It gets you into the head of Alec Holland (he used to be the Swamp Thing) and his familiarity with plants and nature. It makes him a person, but characterization doesn't hold 22 pages. I need more. So you've introduced some kind of neck-snapping zombie dude. Do something with them this issue. I need an actual story with things happening, not a cliffhanger that things will happen. Give me a story here. Introduce a conflict, it's okay if it's small, and resolve it in 22 pages. Please.

I want to like this comic book. I really do. But what's the point if there's no story in one issue? I might as well wait for the trade.