Welcome to the New Year everyone! Before you go shutting the door on 2010, I’ve got one last batch of comics from then.
Minor spoilers ahead!
Batman: The Dark Knight #1
Writer: David Finch
Artists: David Finch and Scott Williams
Cover Artist: David Finch
Publisher: DC
The first issue of the series introduces us to Dawn Golden, in the form of a flashback, as the childhood friend of Bruce Wayne who has gone missing in the present. On the gritty, rainy streets of Gotham we witness Batman trailing a much stronger, chemically dependent Killer Croc. Though he’s able to pull out a win, Killer Croc is almost able to defeat him. After putting his detective skills to work he trails Dawn to a seedy club, where he is caught by Penguin.
I thought that this issue was a good start for David Finch, who’s pulling double duty. The overall story isn’t as strong as the art, which is great, but it still serves a purpose. Logically, it would only seem smart for Bruce to re-enter the world of crime fighting with something a little smaller than a global Batman expansion. And though this series is meant to run alongside Batman Incorporated, it almost feels like a needed transition from near death to a world wide takeover. As I mentioned, the art definitely stole the show in this issue, but the story has promise. Overall, I think any fan of Bruce Wayne would enjoy this issue. 4/5
Detective Comics #872
Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Jock and Francesco Francavilla
Cover Artist: Jock
Publisher: DC
The issue starts off with a great car chase scene as Batman trails William Rhodes, a Gotham socialite recently tied to the secret society “Mirror House.” The society auctions off items that once belonged to Gotham’s elite group of villains. Though the man unfortunately dies, Oracle is able to use her computer skills to digitally expose his life. Dick decides to infiltrate the next auction, using a gift from Tim to manipulate his own appearance. Once inside, however, it is quickly revealed that the criminal in charge, alias Etienne Guiborg, knows that Dick is undercover and reveals this secret to the mob of Gotham’s craziest. The second feature story follows Jim Gordon as he approaches Barbara about her brother James, who he fears is in town. By the end of the book it is no longer a question as to whether James is in town, but why he is in town.
Scott Snyder is doing a great job of taking the already grim and dark Gotham City and infusing within it a deeper sense of evil. At the very end, Dick ends up in a situation that isn’t favorable in any way, and for the most part the villains are by all intents and purposes regular people, who come off as individual embodiments of evil. I’m not a particular fan of Jock’s art, however I am more than willing to admit that his style works great with the story that Snyder has created. 4.5/5
Gotham City Sirens #18
Writer: Peter Calloway
Artist: Jeremy Haun
Cover Artist: Guillem March
Publisher: DC
Driven by an overblown sense of self importance and a touch of Talia’s manipulations, Zatanna has set out to erase Bruce’s identity from Catwoman’s mind. The issue starts off with Zatanna showing signs of morality, however a conversation with her deceased father quells any misgivings. Meanwhile, Poison Ivy is more than a little angry with Catwoman for withholding Batman’s identity, and the two are just about to exchange blows when Zatanna magics Harley and Ivy out of the building, leaving Catwoman to her. As she is in the process of erasing Selina’s memories, Zatanna comes across a memory that makes her realize Talia has manipulated the entire situation to get rid of the competition. After restoring Selina’s memories, Zatanna goes after Talia, who just happens to be protected from Zatanna’s magic.
I thought that this was a really good issue. It was definitely time for the conflict between the Sirens to come out and it was handled fairly well. Selina, in recent years, has become more of a good character than a villain, whereas Poison Ivy crosses over into being a villain much more often, and it seems only logical that this would become problematic. Overall, I thought that this was one of the better issues in recent months. And who else noticed the hint to the next arc by Harley? 4/5
Green Arrow #7
Writer: J.T. Krul
Artists: Diogenes Neves and Vicent Cifuentes
Cover Artist: Mauro Cascioli
Publisher: DC
The issue starts off with a flashback to Ollie’s childhood, when he witnessed his parents being ripped apart by lions. In real time we get a glimpse at the state of Star City, with half the city thriving while the other half lies in ruins. Green Arrow breaks up a gang fight and returns to the forest, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight – his deceased mother. The power of the forest was able to manifest the form of Ollie’s mother who encouraged her son to learn to forgive himself, specifically with regards to being unable to save his parents.
The slight retcon aside, this was a great issue. The interaction between Ollie and Galahad in the beginning was great, and it will be interesting to see what transpires with that character in the future. This was an excellent character story for Green Arrow, focusing more on developing the character as opposed to incorporating an event that has little connection to he series. The artist for this issue changed, and while some parts were depicted well, others lacked the same attention to detail. 4/5
Green Lantern #61
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy
Cover Artists: Gary Frank, Randy Mayor, Alex Garner
Publisher: DC
For what this was, the title would more appropriately be “Red Lantern #61.” The Butcher, the entity of Rage, interrupts the execution of a killer in order to claim a victim’s father as a host. Before he can accomplish this, the Spectre arrives and battles the Butcher in an attempt to rid him from the planet. Unfortunately, Atrocitus arrives at that precise moment, which gives the Butcher the opportunity to claim his host. By offering himself to the Butcher, Atrocitus draws the Butcher out, who is then imprisoned into Atrocitus’s lantern by the Spectre. Atrocitus then stands up to the Spectre in the defense of the Butcher’s former host, only to be told that his current mission is too important for Spectre to intervene.
I thought that this was a really strong issue. In recent months Atrocitus has played a major role in the Green Lantern Universe, and it seems only fitting that this issue plays out the way it does. The Spectre’s appearance should not be a surprise, given his cameo in Green Lantern #55, but it plays out very well. That being said, it does seem a tad strange that in a series titled Green Lantern, there was no Green Lantern, let alone Hal Jordan, in the entire issue. I can’t say I particularly mind, however, were I a die hard Green Lantern fan, I’d be a little pissed. 4/5
Teen Titans #90
Writer: J.T. Krul
Artists: Nicola Scott and Doug Hazlewood
Cover Artists: Nicola Scott, Doug Hazlewood, Jason Wright, and Adam Hughes
Publisher: DC
This issue starts off with another trip to the archaeological site, where we see a young female with supernatural powers who may be the future Teen Titan Solstice. From there, the issue focuses on the current members of the Teen Titans both at their headquarters and on the battlefield. While investigating a school, the Teen Titans encounter three kids with superpowers who want nothing more than to defeat the teens. Meanwhile, Ravager and Robin get ready to take on a cafeteria full of kids who have been manipulated using the same chemicals that gave the other three kids their powers.
I thought that this was a really good issue. Krul does a great job of adding depth to these already established characters, as well as further developing relationships between members of the team. Specifically, I think he is doing a great job with Robin and Ravager; the two of them bring a nice edge to the series, both having questionable histories with even more questionable parentage. Overall, this issue does well to build a sense of teamwork both in and out of battle. 3.5/5
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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
I actually find that the Green Lantern title, when written well, really doesn’t need Hal. This was evident during Blackest Night when in some of the best issues Hal was a no show.
I’m glad that The Dark Knight is starting off great and it’s good to see that Finch can pull of both writing and artistic duties without a hitch!
Get reviews Arnab! I thought all the bat books were pretty great this week.
@InfiniteSpeech – I actually don’t mind not having Hal in the issue. With the direction the series has been going in recently, it makes sense for Hal to be missing every now and then. I did find it interesting though, that there were no Green Lanterns at all in the issue. That being said, the Red Lanterns seem to be getting their own series this year, so who knows, Red Lantern #61 may very well become a reality.
The Dark Knight was a good issue. Not the strongest issue this week, but a respectable first issue nonetheless.
@Nick – I thought the Bat books were great this week too. Detective Comics has been excellent since Snyder took over, The Dark Knight had a good start and Sirens is much better than it has been for a while.
It sounds like JT is on a roll! 😀
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All six of these issue were great reads this week, that’s always awesome.
I totally agree with what you wrote for The Dark Knight #1. I thought the story was interesting enough and the art was fabulous, for the first issue David Finch did a great job.