Batman #27 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 27, March 2014

Part of “Scott Snyder’s… eleven-part comics event exploring Bruce Wayne’s beginnings as the Caped Crusader”, this rather laborious “homage” to Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One” still somehow manages to contain enough “elements from the Bat mythos and stories that we really love” to make it a fairly enjoyable read. Indeed with the comic’s nod to Jim Gordon being “practically blind” without his prescription glasses and re-imagining of Loeb’s “trigger happy SWAT team” dismally failing to ‘nail’ an outmanoeuvred vigilante, it’s easy to see why this particular instalment of “Zero Year: Dark City” sold 115,492 copies in January 2014.

Disappointingly however, despite all its pulse-pounding action the New Yorker’s script is still a far cry from the 1987 four-issue story-arc which its author seems so desperate to emulate, and sadly suggestions that the Goodreads Choice Awards-nominee’s narrative is rather overly “ambitious” as a result. For whereas his ‘muse’ tells a simple straight-forward tale of the crime-fighter getting trapped by the authorities within the basement of a demolished building, Snyder’s encircled Dark Knight instead gets shot in the head, has his Bat-boat blown up with a grenade, goes ‘deep sea-diving’ courtesy of an air tank, and then finally gets fished out of Gotham River by the future Commissioner; “It’s a mile from shore. They’ll find you before you make it a quarter of that distance… Your call.”

Sadly the American writer also provides a similarly convoluted backstory for Bill Finger’s detective, by spending an incredibly wordy five-pages explaining that Gordon wears his familiar trenchcoat in order to “prove a point” to his corrupt colleagues, after they forced him to participate in a dog-fight when he was a beat bobby. Such a dialogue-heavy drawn-out sequence really slows down any momentum Batman’s somewhat contrived flight from Loeb’s gunmen created. But also seems rather out of character for a Special Forces veteran who is both a disciplined “man of integrity” and not one to tolerate intimidation…      

Perhaps this comic’s biggest conundrum though is the fretful pacing of Greg Capullo’s usually stellar artwork, as each page appears to have been crammed with as many letterbox panels as the Schenectady-born penciller can manage. Such a drawing technique inevitably provides the storyline with some much-needed impetus. Yet coupled with FCO Plascencia’s ghastly green and purple hues, makes this book rather tiring on the eyes.

The "Scribblenauts" variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 27 by John Katz

Secret Wars #6 - Marvel Comics

SECRET WARS No. 6, December 2015

It is genuinely hard not to come away from reading one of the best-selling comics of October 2015 without a sense of bitter disappointment. For whilst Jonathan Hickman’s script is engaging enough in its portrayal of the God Emperor Doom’s medieval dictatorship unravelling around him, there really isn’t all that much for the title's devotees to get excited about. Certainly nothing that makes good upon the promising Alex Ross cover illustration, which shows a beleaguered Thanos being swamped by a shambling horde of super-villainous Marvel Zombies. Indeed such a mouth-watering confrontation doesn’t even occur within this periodical’s twenty-five pages, as Jim Starlin's creation is instead consigned to just a handful of panels depicting him goading an ‘incarcerated’ Benjamin Grimm into seeking revenge upon the “petty usurper of powers” who fooled The Thing into leaving “the only family he ever had behind.”

Just as frustrating is the fact that this particular instalment of the “Marvel Worldwide” mega-event takes place three whole weeks after the previous issue’s cliffhanger ending and thus deprives its audience of Valeria’s entire “search for the rebels who killed Stephen Strange”, Apocalypse’s “stumbling” upon Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, as well as Black Swan’s apparent betrayal of the Cabal and suspiciously earnest subservience to the “Ruler of Battleworld”; any one of which would have been infinitely more action-packed than the dialogue-heavy scenes involving the adolescent Head of the Foundation and two surviving “Spider-Men”.

Admittedly Hickman’s storyline does still contain a small number of ‘stand-out’ moments, such as the Black Panther’s discovery of the Infinity Gauntlet hidden within the Sanctum Sanctorum. But sub-plots such as Captain Marvel's apparent ‘conquest’ of Mister Sinister’s kingdom being simply passed over in favour of laboriously lengthy conversations between Reed Richards and his ‘Ultimate’ self, The Maker, are surely wasted opportunities?

As a result the highlight of “We Raise Them Up… Just So We Can Pull Them Down” is undoubtedly Esad Ribic’s captivating and wonderfully coloured artwork. Though sadly even this appears uninspiringly subdued in places… Doubtless on account of the Croatian penciller having little material, other than characters ‘waxing lyrical’, with which to work with.

The regular cover art of "SECRET WARS" No. 6 by Alex Ross

Star Wars #9 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS No. 9, November 2015

There is little doubt as to why Issue Nine of “Star Wars” was the second biggest-selling book of September 2015 and shifted a phenomenal 135,817 copies, for Jason Aaron’s storyline simply doesn’t stop to allow a reader to catch their breath until the magazine’s final few panels… And even then, as Mon Mothma, General Dodonna and Admiral Ackbar consign Skywalker to a grim fate as a Hutt slave within “the largest nest of outlaws and assassins in the galaxy”, the Alabama-born writer’s script provides a moment of exhilaration with the seemingly forgotten protocol droid See-Threepio and Chewbacca finally making a welcome return to the “Marvel Worldwide” publication.

Particularly pleasing, though something which seems to have more in common with George Lucas’ contentious ‘Special Edition’ than the mythology established by the 1977 original theatrical motion picture release, is Luke’s eventual capture by the formidable gangster Grakkus; a male Hutt crime lord who despite controlling “an extensive network of spice smugglers and bounty hunters” truly is “not like other Hutts” with his heavily muscled arms and twelve cybernetic spidery legs. Indeed in many ways the “collector of antiquities” with an interest in “all that remains of the Jedi” is disconcertingly reminiscent of General Grievous, considering his obsession for adorning himself with lightsabers and the company of Magnaguards. Certainly the politely spoken yet vilely murderous kingpin, surrounded by a plethora of Jedi holocrons, provides a very obvious link between Aaron’s narrative and the lore of ‘The Clone Wars’ trilogy.

Somewhat more condensed, though just as frantically-paced, is the America author’s secondary plot depicting Han and Princess Leia’s flight from Admiral Keener and his Imperial Star Destroyer. Initially set upon “an unknown world in the Outer Rim”, this scorching shoot-out for once gives the intimidating black-armoured Tie-Fighter pilots of the Emperor’s Navy some considerable ‘screen time’ to demonstrate just how capable a ground force they are. Before Sana Solo, in a rather contrived U-turn, whisks the rebels away on board her spacecraft and ‘initiates’ a pulse-pounding chase sequence, complete with fluorescent green laser fire, across the planet’s surface; “Forget the comms. Just get on the cannons and keep them off my tail. If we’re lucky we’ll lose them in the atmosphere.”

Equally as exciting as the writing is Stuart Immonen’s stunning artwork, with the Canadian producing some truly outstanding depictions of the Empire’s Tie-Fighters and pilots… It’s genuinely hard not to hear the whine of the vessels' “precisely manufactured” propulsion engines as they zoom from frame to frame. Admittedly the “All-New X-Men” illustrator’s reimagining of the sluggish Hutt as a freakishly mobile, powerfully-built six-packed monstrosity is disconcerting at best, especially when Grakkus knocks the Skywalker unconscious with a single punch. But such a startlingly incongruous image is easily forgotten, if not forgiven, when it is followed by a beautiful double-splash of long-dead Jedi, resplendent in holographic blue, voicing their wisdom and advice from the past.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS" No. 9 by Stuart Immonen

Lando #5 - Marvel Comics

LANDO No. 5, December 2015

The script to Issue Five of “Lando” brings a very noticeable change to this mini-series’ usually somewhat cavalier atmosphere, as the smart-mouthed space-faring gambler’s almost blasé personality is abruptly replaced firstly with that of a serious cold-blooded killer, and then later as an apologetic, even remorseful, chancer who realises that his “time for cunning and guile” may well have finally come to an end having cost his “long-time cohort” Lobot their humanity. Indeed once Chanath Cha sets her plan of “blowing up this ship” into motion there really isn’t a great deal of humour to found anywhere within this publication’s remaining pages, and even Calrissian’s habitual witticisms are kept to a minimum.   

This surprisingly sudden dramatic shift in tone does wonders for the quality of Charles Soule’s writing, and genuinely makes it hard for the reader to anticipate which character is going to live or die as the tale unfolds. Such tangible tension is especially noticeable once Lando and “Emperor Palpatine’s hand-picked bounty hunter” ‘pair off’ against the “corrupted… elite warriors Aleksin and Pavel”, and Sava Korin Pers is mercilessly dispatched with a lightsaber despite the “antiquity specialist” changing her allegiance to the Sith. This almost nonchalant precipitous slaying of one of the title’s main cast is rather disconcerting and results in each subsequent death increasing the narrative’s tension quite palpably panel by nerve-wracking panel; “It’s time to be selfish. You do know we’ll need to kill them all.”

Sadly the Milwaukee-born author’s storyline does still struggle towards the end of this concluding instalment however, with the Stan Lee Excelsior Award-winner turning Lobot into little more than a mute zombie simply because he plugs himself into the Imperial luxury yacht’s interface and turns “the… escape… pods… back on”. So depressingly fantastical a fate seems rather contrived and in some ways makes this five-issue long adventure feel as if it should have focussed centrally upon Calrissian’s heroic companion and his tragic lobotomization, rather than seemingly add it to the end of the tale as a mere bolt-on.

Alex Maleev’s artwork is also disappointingly poor throughout this comic, with Chanath Cha and Lando both appearing as little more than inconsistent stiff-looking figures whose facial features worryingly distort from one picture to another. Most disheartening though has to be the Bulgarian illustrator’s apparent inability to breathe any sort of animated life in to his drawings, with the wooden malformed arm movements of this book’s primary villains as they wield their lightsabers being particularly poor.

Writer: Charles Soule, Artist: Alex Maleev, and Colors: Paul Mounts

Batman #26 [The New 52] - DC Comics

BATMAN No. 26, February 2014

Supposedly “the best thing I’ve done on Batman”, Scott Snyder’s writing for “Zero Year: Dark City” arguably also demonstrates some of the worst aspects of the Harvey Award-winner’s work on this ongoing comic book series. For whilst the New Yorker’s frighteningly ghoulish confrontation between Bruce Wayne and the horrifically malformed Doctor Death proves an exhilarating, albeit short-lived, reading experience. The American author’s ‘different version’ of the young billionaire is not only as bitter and jaded as his close-cropped hairstyle is thuggishly brutal. But so shockingly out of character to anything which has been written before that he even goes so far as to assault Lieutenant Gordon, and point the policeman’s pistol straight at the future commissioner’s face… And this is despite the fact that Jim had just saved the ungrateful wretch from literally having his skull crushed in; “If you’ve been waiting around for a thank you, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed, Gordon.”

Indeed, it’s genuinely hard to imagine a more dislikeable or unpleasant interpretation of the Dark Knight’s daytime alter ego and certainly difficult to believe that many of this magazine’s 119,443 buyers actually found the surly, quarrelsome industrialist anything other than disagreeably repugnant; especially when he angrily snaps at Alfred Pennyworth to “now give me my damn formal wear” simply because the loyal butler is desperately worried about his obnoxious master’s “linear cranial fracture.”

Snyder’s interpretation of James Gordon is sadly just as disappointing with “the first Batman supporting character ever to be introduced” apparently being just as “crooked” as his men and a far cry from Bill Finger’s creation, who holds such a “deep commitment to ridding the city of crime.” In fact the Brown University graduate’s “personal take on” the rising detective doesn’t even suggest that “Gordon had served in the United States Marine Corps prior to becoming a police officer” as he is literally upended and disarmed by a hospitalised Wayne, without the detestable ruffian even pausing for breath.

Issue Twenty Six of “Batman” also arguably contains some of artist Greg Capullo’s finest but also most disenchanting pencilling, with the Schenectady-born illustrator’s fast-paced layouts depicting Bruce momentarily outwitting the mad scientist Karl Hellfern proving to be both wonderfully dynamic and pulse-poundingly frantic. Dishearteningly however his drawings of the psychotic-looking shaven-headed titular character are particularly displeasing to the eye and simply make the 'yobbish' ingrate even more detestable.

The variant cover art of "BATMAN" No. 26 by Dustin Nguyen

Star Wars #8 - Marvel Comics

STAR WARS No. 8, October 2015

Potentially there’s an awful lot to like about this opening instalment of “Showdown On The Smugglers’ Moon”. For not only does Jason Aaron’s script amply demonstrate just how powerful the Emperor’s Imperial Navy can be, courtesy of a planet-wide proton bombardment upon “an unnamed planet near the Monsua Nebula.” But it also attempts to replicate the bustling dangerously extra-terrestrial atmosphere of Wuher’s Mos Eisley Cantina by depicting the still all-too naïve Skywalker brawling with the cut-throat clientele of a Nar Shaddaa bar.

Disappointingly however, neither of these ‘separate’ storylines probably managed to totally enthral this comic’s 145,066 strong readership, with the Alabama-born writer’s inclusion of some quite ludicrous ‘Keystone Cop capers’ depicting Luke, along with the rest of the disreputable drinking establishment's customers, scrambling after the thief who stole his father’s lightsaber, undermining what initially looked set to be rather tense stand-off between the aspiring Jedi and “an entire world of pirates and outlaws.” Indeed the American author’s portrayal of the ‘headstrong farmer boy’ is arguably so unrecognisable that it is almost as if “the young rebel pilot” has learnt nothing from his part in the destruction of “the evil Galactic Empire’s greatest weapon.”

Equally as questionable though has to be Aaron’s decision to populate the Imperial Star Destroyer’s target with the nauseatingly irksome Sana Solo. Referred to by Rebel Editor Jordan D. White in the “Star Words” Letters Page as “pesky”, Han’s supposed wife proves incredibly annoying just as soon as she appears and interrupts the smooth-talking scoundrel’s entertainingly ham-fisted attempt to woo Leia Organa. Overly confident and arrogantly presumptuous, the dislikeable ‘bounty hunter’ is clearly as ‘crazy’ as she is obsessed with having the ex-smuggler “come back where you belong… with me” and ruins an otherwise enjoyable opportunity to explore the early fiery relationship between the Alderaan princess and Millennium Falcon captain.

Fortunately Issue Eight of “Star Wars” is blessed with some truly terrific-looking artwork by Stuart Immonen. Who in difference to his predecessor’s inconsistent attempt to capture the likenesses of the film trilogy’s main actors instead still manages to make Luke, Han and Leia instantly recognisable by focussing his attention upon each of the characters more familiar physical attributes, such as Skywalker’s blond tousled hair or Solo’s Corellian attire. In addition the Canadian’s dynamic drawings of Anakin’s son fighting his way through a bar room full of rabble rousers are charged full of energy, with the scene’s backgrounds literally bristling with a plethora of detailed alien faces and forms.

The regular cover art of "STAR WARS" No. 8 by Stuart Immonen

Moon Knight: Silent Knight #1 - Marvel Comics

MOON KNIGHT: SILENT KNIGHT No. 1, January 2009

Whilst admittedly containing plenty of festive elements such as Santa’s Grotto, Christmas Trees, Turkey dinners and romantic couples looking forward to a future of happiness and children. Peter Milligan’s script for “Silent Knight” is undoubtedly one of the darkest and most depressing Yuletide one-shots which “Marvel Comics” have ever published with its systematic brutalisation of everything ‘the season to be jolly’ holds dear. Indeed the thirty-two page periodical actually begins with the sadistic slaying of a portly, white-bearded Father Christmas by two masked gunmen just as he's serving up a wrapped gift to a youngster, and doesn’t then stop presenting instances of gratuitous violence befalling the blameless until its narrative’s conclusion when Moon Knight dispatches rough justice upon the badly battered surviving shooter; “Now comes the part that really hurts.”

Ordinarily such an overwhelmingly demoralizing portrayal of the winter holiday, and the seemingly random shattering of innocent dreams would probably prove a tough tiringly grim read for the 17,644 people who bought this comic in December 2008. But the British writer somehow manages to make this particular instalment of Marc Spector’s “holy mission” a genuinely enthralling read, and even manages to include a few ‘laugh out loud’ moments amidst the gruesome goings-on, courtesy of the smart-mouthed “manifestation of Khonshu that takes the form of an evil man”.

In fact the goading ghost of a person “Moon Knight himself killed years ago” is possibly the highlight of the storyline, as he pokes and prods the “mentally unstable” mercenary throughout the night, chastising the hero for his inactivity and indecisiveness as the two armed murderers mercilessly dispatch Santa and then go on to commit a seemingly fatal car-jacking whilst the former soldier was preoccupied “gazing stupidly at these lovers” through their apartment window.     

Less successful, on account of the artist’s somewhat rushed-looking sketchy drawing style and an over-reliance upon a swirling snow effect, is Laurence Campbell’s illustrations. Moon Knight himself is depicted competently enough, with Spector’s brooding shadowy visage appearing all the more impressive on account of some wonderfully heavy black and deep blue colouring by Lee Loughbridge. Yet whenever the former "Judge Dredd" penciller brings any of his characters into the light, such as the panels set within the flat of “Marc’s long-time lover” Marlene, his figures appear frustratingly flat and lifeless.

Writer: Peter Milligan, Artist: Laurence Campbell, and Colorist: Lee Loughbridge