Batman #2
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Greg Capulo and Jonathan Glapion
Cover Artist: Greg Capullo
Publisher: DC
Perfect stories, let alone chapters to stories, are rare occurrences in comics. What we have here is a perfect book. From the very beginning to the very end, this issue is filled with exciting action, riveting history, and ingenious detective work. Scott Snyder writes an amazing story for this issue, highlighting everything that makes Bruce/Batman great. Batman’s battle against the helicopter in the beginning and Bruce’s fight with Talon, of the Court of Owls, were fantastic displays of his physical prowess and of his wit. Batman digitally inspecting the corpse was a wicked cool display of some of Bruce’s new technology. All that aside, my favorite scene was probably the one between Batman and Nightwing. Snyder does an excellent job of capturing their relationship, and builds a nice level of tension to the Court of Owls mystery that is building. Greg Capullo’s art continues to impress me. It is a bit cartoonish, however with a tremendous amount of detail and an overall unique style. 5/5
Catwoman #2
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Guillem March
Cover Artist: Guillem March
Publisher: DC
Catwoman was one of the highly criticized books from the first round of New 52 books, and anyone who was offended by that issue may get offended by this one as well. Personally, though, I didn’t see much that was offensive in this issue. What I did see was a fairly well crafted issue, that highlighted many of Selina’s great qualities. Her coital rendezvous with Batman from the first issue continues here, but this time we get a little more insight into their relationship. We see that their relationship is both a longing desire to be with one another, as well as a sense that the two of them shouldn’t be together. Winick does a great job of writing this internal struggle into the story. We also get to see just how smart Selina is, as she pits two crime gangs against one another and leaves with their money. Unfortunately for her, she walks straight into a trap as she goes to visit an old friend. At this point I’m hoping that Lola is just beaten and not dead, because in just one issue she’s become a character that I enjoy seeing. Catwoman is such a solitary and strong character, but it was nice for her to have a friend that she could go to and just be herself around. Guillem March’s art is nice, but I can’t help but think that his work on Gotham City Sirens was better. 3.5/5
Justice League #2
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair
Cover Artists: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair
Publisher: DC
Five years ago the world’s superheroes banded together to form the most powerful team on the planet. This is their story. An already furious Superman believed he was being attacked by Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Batman, so he took it upon himself to take them out. Lucky for them the Flash arrived just in time to make Superman look silly, for a short while. Finally, logic and reason were able to prevail as they established that they were, in fact, not attempting to kill Superman. Meanwhile, a non-powered Vic Stone spent some not so quality time with his father, who offhandedly dismissed his son’s football career. On the one hand, I thought that this book was entertaining, it had great action, and a decent amount of story progression. Watching this team form is great. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. This is all taking place in the past. If I understood anything of the purpose of DC’s reboot, it was that history doesn’t matter. And yet, with this flagship book we’ve got a story that takes place five years ago, with the formation of a team that isn’t going to remain the same in the present. The art continues to be great, but can anyone tell me why Barry Allen only has one eye? 3.5/5 4/5
Nightwing #2
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artists: Eddy Barrows, J.P. Mayer, and Rod Reis
Cover Artists: Eddy Barrows, J.P. Mayer, and Rod Reis
Publisher: DC
Upon reading the first issue I was fairly pleased with the direction and tone of the story, but I wasn’t overly impressed. With this issue I can say that I am impressed and I’m excited for more, because this issue was better than the first one. Haly’s Circus, which has played a major role in Dick’s life, has re-entered his life with a vengeance. The issue starts off with a continuation of Nightwing’s fight with Saiko, only ending with Saiko putting civilians at risk. The bulk of the story centered around Mr. Haly, and the fact that he knows Dick’s secret and also the little fact that he’s leaving Dick the circus. What Kyle Higgins does in this issue, that I didn’t really sense in the previous issue, is allude to a much larger scaled arc. Saiko attempting to kill Dick, Mr. Haly’s cancer and Saiko attacking him, the revelation of Dick’s secret, all of it is beginning to feel much larger scaled, and as a result, it is all flowing better. Eddy Barrows’s art continues to be well executed. His style, character work, and facial expressions enhance the rich story that Higgins has weaved. 4.5/5
Red Hood and the Outlaws #2
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Cover Artist: Kenneth Rocafort
Publisher: DC
Starfire’s overt sexualization aside, I really enjoyed the first issue. This issue continues to build from that issue as the trio takes a trip into Jason’s history. While I say trio, Roy and Starfire don’t play that much of a role in this issue. Roy is essentially there to mess with and annoy Jason, while Starfire’s role is to just exist in space. What we do get is a look into Jason’s history with a humorous flashback depicting Jason’s first meeting with the All Caste, most notably their leader, Ducra. Jason is such an interesting character, because his past leaves these great openings for stories such as this one. Readers who found offense with Starfire’s portrayal in the first issue won’t have much to complain about in this issue, wherein she appears very covered, very powerful, and still very sexy. Kenneth Rocafort’s art continues to be absolutely fantastic. His linework and detailing is terrific, his characters are gorgeously illustrated, and overall his work really enhances the overall reading experience. 3.5/5
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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
I thought Justice League #2 was at least a 4 if not a 4.5. Way better than the first issue.
You know, I’m nothing if not reflective. In retrospect, I did enjoy #2 more than #1, which I gave 4.5 stars. However, two issues in and I’m even more displeased with the idea of an arc that takes place five years ago. All this set up for a team that may not even be the same in the present seems altogether pointless. So while it may deserve more than a 3.5, I don’t think it ranks as high as a 4.5.
Well that’s better than it was.
Red Hood and JLA were much better than their respective first issues but that’s not a bad thing in my eyes. If your best issue is the first one then your story is obviously going nowhere but progression is always a great thing. I even hate to say that Batman #2 was a damn good read as well.