Future State: Gotham #1
Publisher: DC
Writer: Joshua Williamson & Dennis Culver; Katsuhiro Otomo
Translation: Jo Duffy
Artist: Giannis Milonogiannis
Letters: Troy Peteri; Bill Oakley
Cover: Yasmine Putri
We’re headed back to the Future State timeline after an earthquake leaves a gigantic Batman insignia sized hole in Gotham, all signs point to the new Dark Knight currently taking down criminals. With Williamson and Culver bringing cover to cover action and Bat-family drama in an issue that has a strong manga influence due to Milonogiannis’ visual style.
Red Hood is front and center and it seems like he’s sold out and is working under the Magistrate directly for Peacekeeper-03. This is a great area of tension and might even be some misdirection that sets up so many possible story possibilities here. Outside of Damian, Red Hood probably is the most problematic Bat-family member out there and the writing team plays on that messy dynamic quite well. Because it’s clear whatever angle Jason is playing, the family is not here for his games. Another high point of this issue has got to be the visuals by Milonogiannis. The book has a strong manga feel with it’s black and white pages and high impact action sequences. Add to that the solid borders and dynamic panel layouts and this might have you reading from right to left at times. This look gives the story a unique feel as it’s not a style used in most American comics. The opening battle with the giant Scarface mecha is just perfect and the scale of the damage to Gotham is another jaw dropping double page spread. All of this plus the very dark and twisted back up story by Katsuhiro Otomo makes Future State: Gotham one of the standout books to hit the shelves! 4/5 – IS
Flash #770
Publisher: DC
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artist: Jack Herbert Brand Peterson, Kevin Maguire
Inks: Jack Herbert Brand Peterson, Kevin Maguire
Colors: Michael Atiyeh
Letters: Steve Wands
Cover: Brand Peerson & Michael Atiyeh
Wally West continues to travel throughout the Speed Force, popping up into the bodies of various speedsters throughout time in this arc’s third installment. This issue sees Wally’s consciousness enter the body of Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick, which could leave room for a lot of fun of punching Nazis and interacting with other Golden Age heroes of the JSA. Instead, the story is more tightly focused, with only one other JSA member, the Ray, making an appearance. The Ray and Jay Garrick take up the majority of this issue on a quest to recover the Spear of Destiny, which Hitler is trying to recover in order to rule the earth. Wally West doesn’t enter until far into the story, and his team of helpers back in current time (Barry Allen, Mr. Terrific, and Oliver Queen) have very little to do this issue. All these small changes add up to make this installment feel very different from the previous two. In addition to that, the World War II setting makes for a less fun adventure than Wally’s previous adventures, such as his encounter with a Speed Force T-Rex in earlier this arc. A discussion about the existence of God between the Ray and Jay Garrick doesn’t help lighten the mood and seems irrelevant to the main part of the plot. The art is well done, with deep shadows and some great superhero action shots. The real treat of this issue is the last-page cliffhanger ending, with art by Kevin Maguire, setting up what looks to be a really fun part four of this arc. 3/5 – MT
Challenge of the Super Sons #2
Publisher: DC
Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Max Raynor & Jorge Corona
Color: Luis Guerrero
Letters: Rob Leigh
Cover: Jorge Jimenez & Alejandro Sanchez
The time hopping adventure continues as Jon and Damian fight to save Wonder Woman whose name appeared next on the Doom Scroll. It’s just as fun as the last issue and Tomasi keeps the same energy between Damian and Jon that has made his run on these books so good. Jon finding out that Batman has contingency plans to stop the Justice League and Damian’s flippant response is just one of the highlights of the dialogue between the two. Now the story does get a little weird when you see how the threat to Wonder Woman is taken out and when we get to Vandal Savage portion of the book. The timing of that interaction might throw you off and it’s where the book suffers a little when it comes to the pacing when trying to determine when these events take place. Corona’s visuals in the back half of the book give the story an entirely different feel and helps it stand on it’s own from Raynor’s visual storytelling earlier in the issue. Pacing issues aside it’s worth seeing this one through to the end. 3/5 – IS
Nightwing #80
Publisher: DC
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Bruno Redondo
Colors: Adriano Lucas
Letters: Wes Abbott
Cover: Bruno Redondo
No good deed goes unpunished as Dick finds out after being accused of murdering a man he helped the night before. A man who wound up a victim of Heartless. As much as you might want it, Taylor makes this issue so much more than Nightwing going after a serial killer and it’s so much better for it. There’s several strong character moments here that they are on par with the over the top action sequences later in the book. The awkwardness of the Dick/Babs relationship is just hilariously conveyed here and when “the greatest Robin” shows up, Taylor really does make that older/younger sibling relationship shine. Taylor also pulls on the heartstrings here as well and it’s even more effective due to the fabulous art team of Redondo and Lucas. From the nuanced character expressions to the fight layouts there isn’t one panel that disappoints and there’s a puppy! When you utilize a cute puppy, a kid in need along with gangsters and superheroes you really can’t go wrong. If Nightwing isn’t in your read pile you are definitely missing out! 5/5 -IS
Justice League #61
Publisher: DC
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Ram V (back-up story)
Artist: David Marquez; Xermanico (back-up story)
Inks: David Marquez; Xermanico (back-up story)
Colors: Tamra Bonvillain; Romulo Fajardo, Jr. (back-up story)
Letters: Joseh Reed; Rob Leigh (back-up story)
Cover: David Marquez & Tamra Bonvillain
Bendis’ latest Justice League arc enters its third part in this issue, and while this is Bendis’ typical rapid-fire heavy dialogue style, events finally happen in this installment to help propel the story forward. The Justice League, including Naomi and Black Adam, land on Naomi’s home world, but scattered and dealing with changes to their powers. The best example of this is Batman’s interactions with Naomi, as he studies what’s happening to her and helps her calm her anxiety while at the same time still being an emotionally distant character. Seeing the different members of the league interacting is the best part of this issue. Less successful is the exploration of the “villain,” Brutus, and his followers. Brutus just doesn’t have enough depth of personality yet to make him a compelling character so the cliffhanger ending featuring a set-up to a big showdown with the league has less impact than intended. In the back-up story with Justice League Dark, Ram V and the team do deliver a more compelling villain in the form of Merlin, who has released a small army of mythological creatures pulled, literally, from the pages of books. The best sequence of this entire issue comes when the team travel to a magical library that contains every book ever written as well as every thought that has not yet been committed to paper. The spread features a gorgeous and fun MC Escher-inspired visual that will hopefully be explored more in the next installments. 4/5 – MT
Wonder Girl #1
Publisher: DC
Writer: Joëlle Jones
Artist: Joëlle Jones
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Joelle Jones & Jordie Bellaire
If you have the chance to check out a comic drawn or written by Joëlle Jones it’s highly suggested you do. Since she is doing both in this one then you already know you should be reading Wonder Girl! From the opening sequence you see Yara as a child and each panel leading up to her attack shows her determination, her intent, her rage. She’s about that warrior life, period. Jones moves this sequence so well that when young Yara has to face the consequences of her actions you can’t help but feel her pain. The issue only gets better from here as Jones and Bellaire deliver high quality visuals to go along with a story that seems to be setting up something huge. As Yara stepping foot on Brazilian soil has somehow sent a feeling of dread across the world. The double page spread of this reaction ranges from strangers to some DC favorites and the fact that Jones and Bellaire include the puppy from the issue of Nightwing I mentioned earlier is just icing on the cake! The cliffhanger is an “OH $#@t!” moment that demands you make it back for the second issue to see what the creative team has in store for Yara next! 4/5 – IS
Martin Thomas
martin@comicattack.net
Infinite Speech
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Pretty sure that Tim is the best Robin there ever was. Wonder Girl looked cool but I haven’t read anything from Jones since Lady Killer but this looks just as good.