Comic Review Sans Reader

Here are some more comics I've read since whenever the last time was.  A few months I think.

Batman: Rebirth, Vols 1 & 2:  Like when the "New 52" last rebooted Batman it isn't really a reboot.  It doesn't go back to Batman's origin and it references past characters and stories and so forth.  It's more of a renumbering like what Marvel has been doing steadily for the last 5 years or so.

With Rebirth, the writing duties on the title shifted from Scott Snyder to my new favorite comics writer Tom King.  I've read and loved King's Omega Men and Vision series, both of which ended at 12 issues.  This finally gives him a chance to do a really ongoing series.  The first volume is pretty tremendous.  It starts with a plane crashing in Gotham City.  Superman and other heroes are off somewhere so it's up to Batman to save the day...somehow.  It's really touching how as Batman is on top of the doomed plane, using drone engines to steer the thing for a water landing, he talks to Alfred about letters he wrote for his current/previous Robins, and whether his parents would be proud.  It sort of references The Dark Knight Returns as he talks of "a good death."

But Batman and the airliner are saved when two new super-strong heroes save the day.  Probably the lamest thing about this volume is the names of the heroes:  Gotham and Gotham Girl, who are brother and sister.  Unlike Batman v Superman, where Batman is instantly threatened by a super-strong hero and tries to murder him, this Batman recognizes that there are situations which he--even with his training, resources, and money--can't handle, such as the crashing airliner.  He tries then to work with the new heroes and steer them in the right direction.  It all goes fine until they run afoul of the "Psycho Pirate," who infects Gotham Girl with intense fear and Gotham with paranoia and rage.  So of course soon Batman has to fight Gotham.  He brings in Superman and the Justice League, but since it's Batman's title of course that doesn't work.  And for good reason:  Gotham's power amps up as needed.  What Batman soon figures out is the only way to stop Gotham is to burn him out by making him overdose on power.  Meanwhile Gotham Girl pulls a Britney Spears and shaves her head but still can't shake her fear.  Only the Psycho Pirate can do that but he's been kidnapped by Bane.

So in Volume 2 Batman recruits villains Catwoman, Punch & Judy, Bronze Tiger, and Ventriloquist to go to Santa Presca Island, which Bane rules in the buff.  In the comics since he was introduced in 1992 Bane has been on and off "Venom," the super-steroid that originally allowed him to break Batman's back.  This time he's off Venom--and clothing, for whatever reason--and using Psycho Pirate as sort of his personal shrink.  Or guru maybe.  Whatever.

I didn't really like these issues as much.  For some reason Batman keeps repeating the same mantra over and over until I thought he must be a robot or something.  Punch, Judy, and Bronze Tiger don't do a whole lot.  Catwoman is more interesting for stuff that has nothing to do with this, like why she's accused of 237 murders.  But the Ventriloquist's role was pretty good:  he's the only one Psycho Pirate can't control because he listens only to his puppet, who is often a dummy but this time is just a literal sock puppet.

The last couple of issues are better as it involves a tender love story between Batman and Catwoman.  They've been on-again/off-again throughout the years and now they're on again.  Batman is supposed to return Catwoman to prison in the morning but first they do some crime fighting and making out.  It's funny when they give conflicting versions of how they met:  one references their original meeting in 1940 or so and is drawn in that style and the other references Frank Miller's Year One and is drawn in that style.  Like Grant Morrison's run, King knows how to work in some of the older Batman material and characters to freshen them for the modern age.  Like Kite Man--hell yeah!  From what I've read, King is building towards Bat and Cat getting married, which seems destined for failure just like Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson or Clark Kent/Lois Lane and so on.

Like the other books from King I've read the best thing about it is that King knows how to humanize his comic book characters to make them vulnerable instead of larger-than-life.  That's not to say he makes them wimps, but only that they are human, not gods.  I really need to take down that copy of King's superhero novel A Once Crowded Sky and start reading it.

Volume 1:  4/5
Volume 2:  3/5

Detective Comics:  Rebirth, Vol 1:  This is a far more traditional Batman comic.  Though it's really more of a Batwoman comic as Batwoman's army colonel father has trained an army in the style of Batman and set them loose on Gotham City.  Batman recruits Batwoman, Red Robin (former Robin Tim Drake), Spoiler (former Batgirl Stephanie Brown), Orphan (former Batgirl Cassandra Cain), and Clayface (former villain) to combat evil.  For whatever reason he doesn't recruit Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Bluebird, Nightwing, Red Hood, Robin (Damian Wayne), or the half-dozen other vigilante people in the Gotham City area.  It's an OK read with a touching moment as Red Robin "dies" though it's quickly spoiled when we find out the mysterious "Mr. Oz" (Jor-El?  Ozymandias?  Whoever.) has for whatever reason teleported Red Robin from danger at the last moment.

There is one redeeming thing about this series:  Azrael is back!  Jean-Paul Valley's Azrael took over as Batman from 1993-1995 but was killed off at the end of his solo series in 2003.  But now he's back, though they fused him with the Michael Lane version of the character in making Valley super-Catholic.  He's not in this much after the first few pages, though in future issues he's got his sweet Batsuit back, so eventually I'll have to read that. (2.5/5)

Batman:  Gothic:  From the early 90s this was Grant Morrison's second Batman story after the legendary Arkham Asylum a few years earlier.  In Morrison fashion it's kind of a gonzo story that features an undead killer who's trying to cheat the devil by trapping souls in a cathedral.  To get souls he plans to release plague into Gotham and only Batman can stop him.  It's weird and wild and yet wonderful in its way. (3/5)

X-Men:  God Loves, Man Kills:  This 80s limited series was the basis for the 2003 X2: X-Men United movie.  Only in that (and later movies) William Stryker was an evil general but in this he's an evil reverend, sort of a televangelist who is on a crusade against mutants.  After a TV debate with Professor X, Stryker has the professor, Cyclops, and Storm kidnapped.  Kitty Pryde is able to follow them and find their lair.  Eventually Stryker hosts a big broadcast from the World Trade Center during which Professor X's mind power is being used to target mutants around the world.  But naturally he's saved.  It's an OK story but as someone mentioned on CBR or something Chris Claremont has a real fascination with mind control, in the same way Alan Moore has a fascination with rape. (3/5)  (Fun Fact:  The Batman story The Cult is largely similar to this, including the religious nut breaking the main character.  They came out a few years apart; I think the X-Men one was first.)

A neat thing I found out is Amazon offers some older Marvel titles free with Amazon Prime.  So I downloaded a few of those since I had nothing better to read.

Deadpool:  Secret Invasion:  This was another volume 1 of Deadpool, though I'm not sure exactly when.  During the Secret Invasion event when the shape-shifting Skrull aliens were secretly invading the Marvel universe, which I think involved Spider-Woman being their queen or some shit.  Anyway, Deadpool defects to the Skrull who try to clone him, with disastrous results.  In reality Deadpool is trying to steal info for Nick Fury but it's intercepted by Norman Osborne.  The rest of the volume involves a broke Deadpool undertaking a mission in Europe to kill a mercenary's wife and some zombies.  But then it all goes sideways.  It's OK, but not really anything special. (2.5/5)

Punisher, Vol 1: Black and White:  This is a more recent Punisher renumbering.  Frank Castle has moved to LA in pursuit of drug dealers.  But then traditional Spider-Man villain Electro gets involved while Castle is hunted by the Howling Commandos as well.  Overall it's pretty much your typical Punisher comic with him killing bad guys and stuff. His "costume" is a little more updated with a bulletproof vest decorated with a skull and a Crossbones-type mask he sometimes wears.  (2.5/5)

Immortal Iron Fist, Vol 1:  This was from about 2007 shortly after the Civil War story.  Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil are all around but "unregistered" which makes them outlaws really.  That doesn't factor much into things, though.  What this is mostly about is Danny Rand finds out there's another Iron Fist, one who fought in World War I and later left in disgrace.  He and Danny team up to battle the Steel Serpent and HYDRA.  It's written by Ed Brubaker, who's better known for his Captain America run that was the inspiration for the movies and for grittier comics like Gotham Central.  Mystical kung fu stuff isn't really his thing.  If you didn't think much of the Netflix series, I don't think this will really change your mind. (2.5/5)

Legendary Star-Lord, Vol 1:  Long ago Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, was a pretty typical superhero guy.  But in recent years Marvel turned him into the wisecracking goofball portrayed by Chris Pratt.  This series continues that as his costume is exactly like the movies and so is the attitude.  It's kind of a grab-bag as he escapes from bounty hunters, meets a half-sister, fights Thanos, and runs afoul of someone called "Mr. Knife."  I guess if you like the Chris Pratt version it's fine.  I could take or leave it. (2.5/5)

44:  The title for this comes from Stephen Blades being the 44th president.  The day of the inauguration he gets a letter from 43 (a thinly-veiled W Bush) who reveals that something has been detected in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and a ship was dispatched to investigate.  A ship that will be making contact in just a couple of months with whatever is out there.  And what's out there is a big "chandelier" that could be a gun or maybe not.  I liked it for the most part though I didn't like the artwork.  It's one of those newer styles where people aren't really drawn like people; the dimensions seemed all off to me.  So mark it down a little for that. (2.5/5)