It’s Monday, so that means a dose of last week’s batch of reviews. We’ve got a couple murder mysteries, one case of angel possession, and a case of the missing entities.
Minor spoilers ahead!
Batman Beyond #1
Writer: Adam Beechan
Artist: Ryan Benjamin
Cover Artist(s): Dustin Nguyen and J.H. Williams III
Publisher: DC
Decades into the future, the year is 2039, Bruce Wayne has given up the cowl, and in his place Terry McGinnis has taken up the mantle. The issue involves a murder mystery that leads back to a patient having escaped from the hospital. The patient then attempts to send a deliberate message to Bruce in his choice of victims, as well as his manner of action. While Terry and Bruce are working together, it would appear that Bruce has not completely accepted Terry as an equal. While I am not exactly sure how this story fits into continuity, I think that the premise is interesting enough for a mini-series. Overall, I felt the writing felt similar to the show, yes I did watch it, however I felt the artwork was inconsistent and not at all complimentary to the story. 3.5/5
The Flash #3
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist(s): Francis Manapul and Scot Kolins
Cover Artist: Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, and Greg Horn
Publisher: DC
We last saw Barry Allen being named as a murder suspect by the forensics lab he works at. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you look at it, he was only believed to have contaminated the scene of the crime. Later, Barry goes out for some food with Iris, who is concerned about the accusations that Barry is facing. Barry, on the other hand, is perusing the case file for a man who may be wrongfully carrying out a sentence for a crime he did not commit. This was a great bit of insight into Barry’s character, his moral qualities. The Renegades, however, appear to have no such moral values as they tear through even more buildings. A battle to capture the Flash ensues, with some vague hints thrown in there regarding the event that supposedly causes Barry to murder Mirror Monarch. Meanwhile, Captain Boomerang, having been resurrected at the conclusion of Blackest Night, has figured out how to materialize boomerangs out of thin air, and is now looking to get rid of Barry. This issue read extremely fast, not that that is a bad thing, but I wish there had been more. 4/5
Gotham City Sirens #13
Writer: Tony Bedard
Artist(s): Peter Nguyen and Andres Guyinaldo
Cover Artist: Guillem March
Publisher: DC
In the last issue, an angel possessed Selina Kyle’s sister and attempted to kill Selina and Harley. Unfortunately for Catwoman and Harley Quinn, the angel granted Maggie enhanced speed, strength, and overall power. The angel deemed Harley not truly evil, and with the use of some rosary beads, took possession of Harley as well. We, the readers, are also privy to a flashback in which Maggie remembers that while working at a church, Catwoman stole an ancient relic, which is around the time she begins to lose faith in Selina. Selina, however, reveals that she had felt guilty about stealing the relic and brought it back to the church. It was this realization that broke the angel’s hold over Harley, while escaping with Maggie’s body. This was an overall decent issue. While it played out better than I had anticipated, after having read the last issue, the series still feels like it’s missing something, other than Poison Ivy who was MIA the entire issue. 3/5
Also, a side note to all you art history enthusiasts, the last issue had a scene that was very reminiscent of Bernini’s sculpture, the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa. This week’s issue’s cover happens to be in the likeness to Michelangelo’s La Pietà.
Green Lantern #55
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist(s): Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Cover Artist(s): Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Publisher: DC
Lobo is in town, and it looks like Atrocitus is number one on his to do list. Midway through the Atrocitus vs. Lobo slugfest, Hal Jordan receives word from the white lantern informing him that Atrocitus is a vital aspect to his mission. Hal finds out that Atrocitus is on a mission to save the entities from the being that has already seized Parallax and Ion, and with help from Sinestro and Carol he is able to subdue Lobo. Meanwhile, in another town, that very being that Atrocitus is after has set its sight on The Butcher, the rage entity. It didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of progression of the story in this issue, but it was still a good read. The Lobo twist at the end is interesting enough for me to be on the look out for him to make a reappearance somewhere down the road. At the very end of the issue there is a short background story on Dex-Starr, the ferocious blue cat, which was great. 4/5
Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net
I’m glad they are continuing on with the Batman Beyond character, they started doing darker things with that series, and I’m glad they’re bringing him back 🙂
I was under the impression that the Batman Beyond timeline was out of continuity from the New Earth continuity.
@InfiniteSpeech- I was under the same impression, but with Terry’s appearance in Batman 700 I just wasn’t sure if that somehow altered things.
The cover of Batman Beyond is a little bit of a turn off, but the story sounds good. It sounds like Johns is still pushing along nicley in his books. Thats good to hear, because I think he’s a great writer. 😀
@Billy- That’s interesting, what about the cover turns you off? Because, in my opinion, the cover is the best art of the entire book. I think Johns is a great writer as well.
I agree with Billy. I liked the more stylized art from the cartoon and inside the book then I like that weird super-muscled Terry on the cover. I thought the rest of the book was a good read, though.
Green Lantern was great. I really like that I’m not sure if Atrocitus is a villain or a good guy at the moment. I think he might turn into a tragic sort of anti-hero, which I think would be far more interesting than “I AM ANGRY ALL THE TIME.” And the Dex-Starr origin story at the end was heartbreaking. They do a great job of making the Red Lanterns sympathetic, I think.
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Yeah, not that the cover is BAD but I think it looks more like Bruce than Terry (I’m comparing it to the TV show, which was cool).
I liked the art from the show, I thought it fit perfectly. And for the most part, I’m all for the stylized cartoon-like artwork when it comes to Batman Beyond. I just felt that Ryan Benjamin took it too far. Terry’s body looked flat and awkward throughout the book and then there was the fact that his age appeared to fluctuate between 20 and 40.
I never watched the Batman Beyond cartoon series. I guess it aired during my timeline of “making bad choices” (haha!) so I passed on the comic. I would have been lost.
I think The Flash is one of the very few books that is made up of pure fun, from cover to cover. Cool stuff.
The origin of Dex-Starr was the best part of the GL issue, I thought. Awesome!
I watched the Batman Beyond series and remember nothing, but I did read the comic and it’s not terribly hard to follow. I was a bit bored by it though…
I’m a huge fan of Gotham City Sirens but these couple of issues have not been up to par with the Sirens I know and love. Also, how creepy is Maggie?
Dex-Starr, the ferocious blue cat, is fabulous!