Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. Are the Batman editors psychic? That’s what I’d like to know. Reviews for Batman #694 and Batman 80-Page Giant are ahead. Also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!
BATMAN #694
The Batman title is the ying to the yang that is Batman and Robin. Whereas Grant Morrison’s book is on the fringe, Tony Daniel is taking it to the streets. The books do share one common thread though – showing Dick Grayson has more than enough of what it takes to be the Dark Knight.
Black Mask is still lording over Gotham but not everyone is in his employ. The Penguin, for example, is actually on his watch list but Batman tries to get some answers out of him first. He’s looking for the young Kitrina, one of two young people weighing heavily on his mind. The other is Baby D, the youth who took a bullet in his spine for helping Batman. He’s alive but not doing well. Dick vows to help him in any way he can and support him for the rest of his life if need-be.
Bad things are happening all over the city. All but one partner from Gene-Corps are mysteriously killed in the still-under-construction Arham Asylum when their elevator drops without warning. Robin may have discovered a reason for that. Black Mask is medicating his foot soldiers with experimental drugs. Black Mask himself could use with a little dose. He’s having a little internal argument with himself about his recent failings. He’s informed little Kitrina was responsible for the explosion but it too late if he wants retribution. Her own family, the Falcones have given her a one-way ticket to the bottom of the river. We find out Doctor Hugo Strange is also involved as well as the Reaper, along with Fright. Penguin is officially on the run now that his involvement with Kitrina was discovered but Batman isn’t worried. However, he’s crushed to learn of Baby D’s death.
There’s actually a whole lot going on in this issue, so much that I’m hard pressed to understand how it’s all going to level out in the end. But I’m still very impressed with Daniels’ work here, both writing and artistically. I find it hard to believe that this is the same man who wrote Battle for the Cowl, this is leagues ahead of that disappointment. His overall story is compelling and his character work with Dick is getting better with each issue. He may not be Bruce but there’s no doubt in my mind he’s Batman.
BATMAN 80-PAGE GIANT
Considering we just had a rather large snowstorm here on the East Coast, this 80-Page Giant came at just the right time. Are the Batman editors psychic? That’s a discussion for another day. It’s a strange mash-up of stories that all take place during a devastating blizzard in Gotham City and unlike the JLA and JSA giants, this one is seemingly in continuity. Kevin Grevioux, David Tischman, Mike Raicht, Peter Calloway, Ivory Madison, Simon Spurrier, Kevin Shinick and Steve Niles tell us what happens when “Gotham Freezes Over.”
In Grevioux’s story, it’s typical looting that Batman and Robin must interfere with for the sake of the city. Unfortunately one father’s greed causes him to loose what’s most precious to him. Tischman writes one of my favorite stories of the bunch which involves Alfred picking up a hooker. You heard me. Raicht’s “The Hero in Orphan Alley,” ties in with what’s going on in Streets of Gotham right now. Three young men try to pick up the slack for a lack of Batman during the storm and manage to create a glimmer of hope in the despair. The Veil, aka the Face of Gotham, aka Millicent Mayne is back in character thanks to Peter Calloway. She’s an interesting woman and I was hoping to see more of her, looks like we might in the near future.
Madison took on Catwoman in “No Two Alike.” She plans to steal from a designer known as the Snow Queen but ends up helping an old couple who have been living under the streets of the city for forty years. Nice little remembrance of Bruce too. Spurrier’s story with another Gotham City Siren was by far my favorite of the whole book. He explored something I don’t think anyone has before – Poison Ivy “dying” in the cold and reblooming in the warmth. It showed Ivy being actually menacing for once which was awesome. Mr. Freeze and Comissioner Gordon almost had a truce going thanks to Shinick. I actually thought it might happen but then I remembered, this isn’t the Holiday special, this was a “it’s a blizzard and you’re a criminal” story. Back to Arkham with you. Niles’ one-page ender was also a highlight of the book. Simple, yet quirky, it showed us how fun being Batman can be sometimes.
Batman 80-Page Giant was such a blast. Definitely worth the $5.99 in my opinion, especially if you’re a Batman fan like I am. The contributions from Tischman, Spurrier and Niles were my top three. I won’t bother giving a bottom three because I wasn’t disappointed in any of the stories. For the art I enjoyed Marrus, Kat Rocha & Josh Finney and Stephanie Buscema the most. Pick this up if you’re a Batman fan and you aren’t scared of a little snow.
BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #7 – Excellent Damian characterization by Dini.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #43 – Well, that didn’t last long, but I’m glad. A great use of the different colored Lanterns this issue.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #40 – Repetitive and more than a little offensive on all counts.
THE OUTSIDERS #25 – It was fun to see Killer Croc helping out the team but the rest was pretty predictable. The duel artists did not mesh well together.
POWER GIRL #7 – I’d like something a little more creative than an alien trying to mate with PG but the comedic value is still top-notch.
SUPERGIRL #48 – Silver Banshee bores me but Silver Supergirl I can get behind.
My pull list for this week:
ARKHAM REBORN #3 (OF 3)
BLACKEST NIGHT: JSA #1 (OF 3)
DETECTIVE COMICS #860
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #7
GREEN LANTERN #49
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #34
SUPERMAN #695
TEEN TITANS #78
WONDER WOMAN #39
WORLD’S FINEST #3 (OF 4)
Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #40?
December 23rd, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Wow, I think the art for Batman #694 is pretty powerful.