GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEWS: MORE DC NEW 52s

Resurrected with a vengeance, a 5* Amazon review.

The original run of this title was one of my favourite series of the 90's and now it's back with its original writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning so there's no way I was never going to buy this one and I haven't been disappointed.

Unlike some of DC's New 52, it doesn't seem to have squashed the original continuity or some semblance thereof, such as Batman, into the previous five-year pre-publication appearance. No, this is a brand newish Resurrection Man. Our hero Mitch Shelley is pretty much the same person but he has a new and rather unpleasant origin; he appears to have a compulsion to go to particular places where he's needed; Heaven and Hell want him dead and they are both decidely scary. Those loveable sociopathic female hit women Bonnie and Carmen aka The Body Doubles are back but also with a new origin, a teleportation device, and super powers -ouch!

In this seven issue collection we find Mitch fighting a scary angel on a crashing passenger jet, visiting an old people's home, Arkham Asylum, Metropolis, and more. The action never stops, Bonnie and Carmen never give up, the revelations keep coming, and the pace never lets up. This is enhanced by the dynamic detailed artwork of Fernando Dagnino which is just terrific.

How good is this book? I wanted to read it again as soon as I'd finished. That's how good this book is.

(Aside: I've been reviewing a lot of these New 52 titles and my ratings are a comparison of like to like. A 5* rating means it's as good as the best of current DC/Marvel superhero titles. It doesn't mean it's as good as, say, Watchmen or Love & Rockets. Just wanted to make that clear.) 

They aren't kid sidekicks. An Amazon 4* review

Unlike the TT's of previous incarnations in the old continuity, only Red Robin (Tim Drake) has any direct link to established superheroes. There's also a good idea as to why, in this first volume which is an origin story, these kids get together.

A lot of teen meta-humans have been appearing all over the world and causing a lot of trouble for the authorities. A sinister organisation called NOWHERE (it's an acronym but I'm too lazy to insert the dots) is kidnapping these kids for purposes unknown, but you can bet they aren't good ones. Red Robin has been investigating NOWHERE and blogging about the teenage meta problem. After escape an attempt by them on his life, he tracks down Cassie ("Don't call me Wonder Girl!") Sandsmark just as they attack her. Shortly after following up a lead, he encounters the insectile Skitter. By one of those curious coincidences that only happen in comics, Miguel Jose Barragan (the gay Mexican meta who calls himself Bunker) illegally hops aboard a freight train where he meets a disguised Red Robin with a cocooned Skitter and... And so on.

Amnesiac Kid Flash with a female meta called Solstice (count the number of times her name is misspelled by the letterer), who've escaped from NOWHERE, meet up with the other three and go to the rescue of Cassie ("Don't call...") who is under attack by Superboy.

All in all this is a very promising start to the series. The new characters, technically they're all new, have a lot of potential. The set up is a good one. Writer Scott Lobdell balances action, character beats, humour, and background information all very well so that you can't stop reading because you want to find out what happens next. Brett Booth's art manages to balance an attractive detailed style with just the right hint of cartoon to suggest the original Young Justice. The three letterers need to check their spelling which is a little sloppy at times.

Yet another success for the continuity revamp that is DC's New 52 which is providing the best mainstream superhero stories for years. 

There's nothing fishy about this Aquaman. An Amazon 4* review.

This series is among the most highly praised of DC's New 52 revamps and you aren't going to get any argument about that from me.

We meet an Aquaman in his prime and there are a number of mysteries about his previous life of which only some are revealed or hinted at. He's married to Mera, a mature no-nonsense woman who has less tolerance for fools than her husband, and they live in a lighthouse. Aquaman is a bit of a joke to people who very much underrate him except for those who see him (and Mera) go up against a race of hominid fish with the appetite of piranhas who attack a nearby coastal village.

The writer/artist team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis -two of the top people in their fields working in mainstream comics today- hit the mark every time. But don't take my word for it. Buy this book now and find out for yourself. I doubt very much if you'll regret it. 

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW: SWAMP THING VOL.1 RAISE THEM BONES

First published as an Amazon 3* review

Listen, Swamp Thing, it's not you, it's me.

I mean, you're everything that should be. Your roots remain with Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, and with Alan Moore which is as it should be. But you've grown and changed into something uniquely yourself in the New 52. Alec Holland is suddenly alive, years after being burned to death in a fire in the swamp, with memories of being the Swamp Thing he never was. But then we learn that he should have been all along and that he is the only chance the planet has against the monstrous evil that is The Rot (which also features in Animal Man). You're well drawn by Yanick Paquette and well written by hot writer Scott Snyder.

But I still can't love you. I know everyone else does though. You see, that's what I mean, it's not you, it's me. Plus the fact that I find The Rot a completely irritating and uninteresting villain and you haven't begun to develop an interesting supporting cast. I loved you before when you were with Len and Berni and then with Alan. But now..

I'm sorry. 

Post Script: a few more brief thoughts.

I dunno, I really wanted to like this title but with the introduction of a villain, a force really, that is so powerful it becomes too familiar that I just don't find it interesting at all. I think I hoping for something more low key, more subtly disturbing than the over the top grotesqueries which are portrayed here. The Rot is introduced with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the groin. When Alan Moore took over the title back in the early 80's he created the most original, thought provoking and often genuinely disturbing mainstream comic of the time. This new version just isn't remotely near that. 

Scott Snyder, you, sir, are no Alan Moore.

GRAPHIC NOVEL: ACTION COMICS VOL 1 SUPERMAN AND THE MEN OF STEEL

The Unmissable Action Adventures of Young Superman: a slightly edited Amazon 5* review.

Of all DC's New 52 titles, this, after reading the first issue in that massive collection of all first issues, was the collected edition I'd been most looking forward to. I mean, it's written by Grant Morrison who wrote the best ever Superman series in All-Star Superman which is recommendation enough alone. This is the story of how the young (around 22 years old) Superman became SUPERMAN.

Set five years earlier than the rest of the New 52 continuity, superheroes are just beginning to emerge and we come across a Superman whose only been around a few months. He's lacks a proper costume -just ordinary workman's boots, jeans, t-shirt with logo, and a cape- and he has it in for corrupt capitalists. This a Superman for ordinary people. He's brash, confident and cocky and having a great time getting up the collective nose of authority and Lex Luthor has been hired to bring him down. When he first appeared, bullets bounced off him; now he can, just, withstand shells from a tank. He can leap tall buildings and his maximum speed is about 600mph. All this is about to change.

Meanwhile, young Clark Kent is a low-paid, sloppily-dressed crusading journalist, working for a dying small-circulation Metropolis paper, who lives in a cheap apartment, and is best friends with Lois Lane's pet photog, Jim Olsen. Perry White wants him for the Daily Planet but he won't go because he believes his integrity would be compromised. He's also getting secret information about a corrupt capitalist from an unknown source.

When Superman is captured after Lex Luthor has had him hit by a train which knocks him unconscious, he's tested in a secret government lab overseen by Lois Lane's father and where government scientist John Henry Irons is working on a super-suit. Irons gets angry when he discovers Luthor torturing the prisoner and about then everything explodes. Which is where I'll stop with the plot summary as I don't want to spoil it for you.

This is terrific stuff. Great dialogue and a nifty plot from Morrison which reinvents the character while remaining faithful to his origins. Terrific dynamic art from Rags Morales which threatens to burst out of the page; plus some inventive Krypton sequences courtesy of Gene Ha. There are four backup stories by Sholly (who?) Fisch which are okay. Toss in all the variant covers, and a nice piece in which Morrison and Morales write about the art and story to complete the package.

If you're only slightly into DC comics, this one is essential.

GRAPHIC NOVELS: TWO MORE FROM DC's NEW 52

THESE REVIEWS WERE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ON AMAZON, BOTH RATED 4/5.

Suicide Squad vol.1.

I was really disappointed when Gail Simone's brilliant team of super-villains Secret Six wasn't to be part of DC's New 52 but I have to state that the new Suicide Squad has gone a long way to easing those feelings.

For newbies, the Squad is basically a team of super-villains doing dirty jobs for the government in return for time off their prison sentences -if they survive. The core team (for this first volume) consists of Deadshot (assassin for hire and team leader), King Shark (a sort of humanoid hammerhead shark with an appetite that's not for fish), Harley Quinn (the Joker's squeeze), El Diablo (old name, new character), and several others, some old, some new.

For those who've been around for a while, you'll be surprised to find that Amanda Waller (the government agent in overall charge) no longer resembles a short weightlifter but has been transformed into Halle Berry (no complaints there) who has a significant other in her life (husband, wife, child, other, we don't find out this time around). Deadshot is pretty much the same bar a new mask. El Diablo, while still Mexican-American, is a villain seeking redemption. And Harley Quinn (whose new secret origin is revealed) is just plain scary. There's even an appearance by mostly long-forgotten non-powered vigilante Mad Dog. And King Shark may be more than just an appetite on legs. You'll have to find out about the others for yourselves. Trust me, it's worth it.

Writer Adam Glass does a very good job of keeping up the action/extreme violence while piling on the twists and surprises while managing to give the characters room to breathe. Several artists are involved but if it was up to me I'd give the job full time to Clayton Henry who channels Brian Bolland extremely-lite.

Yet another success for DC's New 52 line. I'm really enjoying this revamp. 

 Batgirl vol.1.

Caution, major spoiler specially included.

Of all DC's New 52, this was going to be the hardest to get right. Ever since Moore and Bolland's The Killing Joke when The Joker shot Barbara Gordon in the spine, Gordon (formerly Batgirl) had become an iconic character -a wheelchair-bound young woman who refused to let her disability prevent her from becoming Oracle, the super-hero information service and computer expert, who led her own superteam (Birds of Prey which was never bettered as when written by Gail Simone now writer of the new Batgirl). Now,to the horror of many fans (particularly of the previous and well-liked incarnation of Batgirl, Stephanie Brown) Gordon was back as Batgirl. It was going to take some clever writing to get this one right.

But if anyone was going to do it it would be Gail Simone and she's just about pulled it off. In this new continuity Barbara was still shot and crippled by the Joker but now, over three years and pioneering surgery later, she can walk again and has just begun to take up the Batgirl mantle. But it isn't easy and she could, apparently, still undo all the good work. She's also still psychologically scarred by the shooting. It also seems that she was never Oracle (who isn't mentioned). There's a new character in the form of Alysia Yeo whose apartment Barbara is sharing. Alysia has a secret which is as yet unrevealed but as she was willing to quickly share it with her new roomie it can't be too dark. There's also the startling appearance of a character who is both old and brand new whose identity I won't spoil. (Well, I wouldn't when reviewing it for Amazon, but I have no qualms about doing so here. It's her mother who ran off years ago and looks like an older and taller version of Barbara herself.)

The art by Ardian Syaf is slick and very good.

But what stops me giving this a 5* rating are the two villains who, while effective at what they do, are rather poor characters. You'll have to take my word for this as to say too much would be to spoil it. Or you can buy the book and find out for yourself.

That one quibble aside, this has to be regarded as another success for DC's New 52 which is having a very high hit to miss ratio particularly with its super-heroines. Overall (and I'm sorry for putting it this way) Batgirl is back on her feet again.

GRAPHIC NOVELS: JUSTICE LEAGUE-ORIGINS; BATMAN-THE COURT OF OWLS; ANIMAL MAN-THE HUNT (DC THE NEW 52, 2012)

The first part of this review (The Justice League) has appeared on Amazon in a different form.

1.

Finally DC have begun to release the trade editions of their new universe - The New 52- and three arrived through my letterbox today. There's a two-page ad in various magazines like SFX which is a checklist of titles and release dates and I ticked about half of them to buy. Anyway, I'm starting with the one which was the first comic to be released -The Justice League.
2. 

To be honest, I'm being a little over-generous with a five star rating especially as it's basically a six episode fight scene with character beats. But they are good character beats and the individual characters come over very well -the over-confident eager to impress Green Lantern, the aggressive Superman, the sensible Flash, the ebullient Wonder Woman, the confident Aquaman, and Batman who's, well, just Batman. Throw in the origin of Cyborg who becomes a founder member of the new team and some good jokes by writer Geoff Johns and hyper-dynamic art from Jim Lee and you have a massively enjoyable origin of the new Justice League. Add in a few extras from the original comic and a gallery of alternative covers and you have a great package. 

Actually, this would make an even better movie than The Avengers and provide a great introduction to the characters without having single character movies first. Imagine this:

Black screen, the sound of gunfire, then streaks of light (tracer bullets), the sound of helicopters. The screen lightens, though it's still dark, and we are on rooftop level in Gotham city. Suddenly an alien appears leaping towards and over the camera. He's followed a moment later by Batman. The sound of gunfire increases and the camera pans up to reveal helicopter gunships trying to kill both Batman and the creature he's chasing. We hear fragments of radio chatter indicating he's very much a target. We follow hunter and hunted for a few moments as they dart from rooftop to rooftop, dropping down, climbing up. Finally Batman catches the alien and they fight. Then we see a flurry of tracer bullets about to hit Batman. There's a blinding glow of green light and we see a plasma shield protecting him. And there above surrounded by a glowing green aura is Green Lantern. "Turn the bloody light off, you idiot," growls Batman. 

So, Joss...

3.

Batman: The Court of Owls is set five years later than the JL and superheroes have become an established part of the landscape. The Bat's circumstances are not noticeably dissimilar in this new universe than they were before. The first Robin,  Dick Grayson, is Nightwing, ex-Robin Jason Todd is Red Robin and leader of the Teen Titans, Damian Wayne (son of Bruce) is Robin.

The story concerns the discovery by Batman of a group called The Court of Owls whose history is tied intimately with the history of Gotham City itself and they have a pet assassin, The Talon, who may be even more skilled than Batman. They may also have killed his parents rather than them being the victims of a random crime gone wrong.

It's written by flavour of the month Scott Snyder (American Vampire) with pencils by Greg Capullo who does a fine detailed job with good page layouts. I don't usually buy the Batman books but I thought I'd give them a try and this is very good. It's dark and intense with lots of twists and turns and unexpected revelations as Batman is taken to the limits of his physical and mental strength.

Good start.

4.

Animal Man is one of the biggest critical hits of the New 52 with much praise going to the rather contorted artwork of Travel Foreman as well as the script by Jeff Lemire.  The actual premise behind it is adapted from the Swamp Thing mythos created by Alan Moore. There, a human becomes a plant-creature, an avatar of the Green which is the embodiment of vegetation. In Animal Man we discover the Red the embodiment of animal life on the planet and again, there are human avatars. The twist here is that it isn't stunt-man turned superhero (now part time), actor and animal rights activist Buddy Baker but his daughter Maxine and his place is to protect her from the Rot (vile monstrous creatures) which want to take Maxine over. He's also told he needs the help of Alec Holland the Swamp Thing.

I'm really not  sure about this title yet and it may take another couple of readings before I make my mind up. The art, which can often be unpleasantly grotesque and ugly is a major factor in this which stands very much in contrast to the bright crisp super-heroics of the Justice League. On the other hand I do like the different take on the character which reminds me, albeit in a different way, of when Grant Morrison reinvented the character for DC/Vertigo. We'll see. I think it's a title which will polarise readers.