Batgirl Annual #2
Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Robert Gill and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Cover Artists: Clay Mann, Paul Mounts, and Carl Peterson
Publisher: DC Comics
When an Annual is done properly, the results can be absolutely wonderful. Gail Simone presents a remarkably well written story, chronicling the chaotic acquaintanceship between Batgirl and Poison Ivy. In just a single issue, Ivy transforms from hero, to villain, to victim, and Simone writes this transition beautifully. Simone does a great job in representing Ivy as a villain who lives in the grey. Her penchant for death and destruction aside, all Ivy really wants to do is save the plants. She’s a protector of Earth, and while that often pits her against humans, at the end of the day, she’s not a monster. Ivy is slowly evolving into a character similar to Catwoman, in the way that both of them are willing to do the heroic thing, but always also willing to take the villainous short cut. Robert Gill, with Javier Garrón and Romulo Fajardo Jr., do an amazing job on art duties with this issue. 4.5/5
Batman Eternal #4
Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and John Layman
Artists: Dustin Nguyen, Derek Fridolfs, and John Kalisz
Cover Artists: Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson
Publisher: DC Comics
Dustin Nguyen is back on a Batman series (that’s not Li’l Gotham) and this series is better for it. Dustin has a unique style that is perfect for these gritty Gotham-central stories. His art has a very light feel to it, which works great in contrast to the dark story being told. Gordon has been sent to Blackgate, interestingly he’s been sent to gen pop, Batgirl takes out all her frustrations concerning her father onto some low life things, and Stephanie Brown is hiding from her father, who’s out to kill her. Overall, it’s a fairly emotionally heavy issue that is well written and developed by the writing team, while beautifully illustrated by the art team. With every issue, this series continues to deliver an excellent story that builds on the issue before it and takes it even further. As far as weekly books go, DC has certainly found a winner in this series. 4.5/5
The Flash Annual #3
Writer: Robert Venditti and Van Jensen
Artists: Ron Frenz, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse
Cover Artists: Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund, and Andrew Dalhouse
Publisher: DC Comics
While Forever Evil still isn’t over, the rest of the DC Universe is just powering on through. In the aftermath of the Crime Syndicate’s attack, Central City is still struggling to rebuild itself, while Flash is no longer everyone’s hero. This annual serves as a continuation from The Flash #30, wherein the Flash 20 years into the future decides to travel back in time to kill his younger self; presumably future issues will explain why that would be a proper response to anything. While there was a preview of him in the last issue, this annual is pretty much the grand entrance of Wally West into the New 52. Wally, a fan favorite, had previously been amongst those individuals who had been written out of continuity after Flashpoint. He has always been an integral member of the Flash family, having been the Flash that many of the younger generations grew up with, so it will be interesting to see what role he plays in the series. 4.5/5
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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
