Reviews

 

Batman and Robin Issue #15

Written by: Grant Morrison

Art by: Frazer Irving

Finally, questions are being answered. As Grant Morrison’s run on this awesome series builds to a climax, it seems years of stories are culminating with this one comic. Simon Hurt has been a real player in the background in Batman’s life, (all the way back to The Black Glove storyline in Morrison’s period, even farther back to the creation of the three “replacement batmen” in continuity) and in this issue we finally get to see what his endgame was, opening the ancestor box that traveled through time with Bruce. I love that his true identity was finally confirmed, and the big, although puzzling reveal at the end.

Another interesting piece of the puzzle is the Joker’s involvement in the whole mess. I really like how threatened he feels by Dr. Hurt, and how strangely cognizant he is about is place in Batman’s life.

Also, I love Professor Pyg. I mean, how could you not get excited whenever he shows up?

The main problem I have with this issue is more about DC itself: the release date. I understand that artists and writers have trouble making deadlines, but you would think that with such a big event like this one (not to mention all the titles that rely on this story happening first), that there would be a bigger push to get comics out the door on time.

 

Brightest Day Issue #12

Written by: Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi

Art by: Patrick Gleason, Scott Clark, Ivan Reis, and Joe Prado

This issue was about Martian Manhunter, and it was pretty messed up. D’Kay is crazy, and J’onn is going to suffer, I can tell. It is really cool that they have brought another Green Martian into the equation, and it will be interesting to see what part she plays in Brightest Day. The white ring told J’onn he had to burn the forest down, but what does that mean in the larger sense of what happened in this story?

I also really liked the short scene between Dove and Deadman in Oracle’s Watchtower. It made me realize that the entity that everyone is waiting for could be a hero that we already know. Maybe it will be Green Arrow, leaving room for Connor Hawke and Mia to take back control of his series.

 

Bruce Wayne the Road Home: Catwoman

Written by: Derek Fridolfs

Art by: Peter Nguyen and Ryan Winn

This is how I expected Gotham City Sirens to always be, a little soap, a little sass, and a lot of fun. While Paul Dini did not live up to my Sirens expectations, this did. (Side note: lately under a new regime Gotham City Sirens is getting better.) As a character, Poison Ivy is pretty one-dimensional, and while I love Harley, the same can often be said for her, so it is imperative that Selina lead the crew. Set the scene, you’ve got Selina running point on the mission spying on Vicki Vale, Ivy as her wing-woman, and Harley managing to muck the whole thing up with her infinite crazy cuteness and hyenas. Perfection. We get some new intel on how much Vicki Vale actually knows and we round out the issue with some much needed Bruce and Selina soapy goodness. I should have stopped reading right then.

 

Bruce Wayne the Road Home: Commissioner Gordon

Written by: Adam Beechen

Art by: Szymon Kudranski

This review in no way reflects how I feel about Commissioner Gordon, ours is a timeless romance. Vicki Vale on the other hand, has got to go. Word has spread about Vale looking into not only heroes, but villains. Vicki crossed the line and Penguin sends his goons. Who better to back you up in that situation than Gordon? But is Vicki satisfied? No, she spends most of the issue belittling the abilities of our fair commissioner. The audacity! Thankfully, she eventually comes around to the right way of thinking and there’s a nice Bruce/Gordon exchange. After reading Catwoman though, this just didn’t cut it for me. There was a juicy tidbit of information though that is building up even more drama to the Ra’s al Ghul issue. Next week brings Ra’s and Oracle, sweet.

 

Green Lantern Corps Issue #53

Written by: Tony Bedard

Art by: Tyler Kirkham and Batt

I really like what this series is developing into. Now that Arisia, Kilowog, and Guy are off in their own book, Kyle and Soranik step into the spotlight, and this storyline is going to be a great start for them. With the Weaponer kidnapping Soranik and demanding to see Sinestro, Kyle has to go face him to get her back. Plus, he punches Sinestro in the face. Also, that exploding head of the Sinestro Corps member was incredibly digusting, therefore great. How fun is this arc going to be?