The Batman Who Laughs #7 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #7, September 2019

Featuring an utterly bizarre final confrontation between the Caped Crusader, his Earth-22 counterpart, a shotgun-wielding Alfred Pennyworth and an adolescent Bruce Wayne from yet another realm of the multiverse, Scott Snyder’s narrative for Issue Seven of “The Batman Who Laughs” arguably makes something of a mockery of the American author’s claim that this (extra) publication was “the best way to… give ourselves more room to really land it right.” For whilst the twenty-five page periodical certainly lives up to its promise of delivering the titular character a resounding defeat at the hands of his “brother”, as well as a gratuitously bloody demise to the Grim Knight, the New Yorker’s pedestrian-paced plot doesn’t debatably involve any events so overly complicated that they couldn’t easily have been contained within this mini-series’ originally conceived over-sized sixth instalment.

Indeed, this particular publication debatably runs out of steam before it is even halfway through, as the World’s Greatest Detective repeatedly smashes his spikily-dressed nemesis about the head with several stone grave markers the serum-infected vigilant just happens to find lying around, and James Gordon supposedly rescues his father from becoming the first of Gotham City’s inhabitants to embrace their “darkest selves.” However, rather than stop the story there the Eisner Award-winner instead insists on making this book’s long-suffering 88,012 readers frustratingly wade through some seriously padded out scenes, packed full of some of Snyder’s most gobbledegook-laden, dialogue-heavy panels imaginable; “That demon, what he says is that there is no meaning in your actions, therefore the only meaningful act is to win. He is the fear that we’re both right, Joker and I.”

Mark “Jock” Simpson’s layouts also appear to succumb to this all-pervading, palpable desire to just stuff the misguided magazine with as many meaningless meanderings as possible, with his pencilling of the Batman Who Laughs proving especially undisciplined and rushed. Admittedly, the British cartoonist does imbue the occasional sketch with a noticeable nice touch, such as when Batman uses Martha Wayne’s headstone to batter his ghoulish-looking opponent to the ground. But once the action is over, and this comic is devoid of any need to continue, the artist simply begins producing a seemingly endless production line of debatably poorly-drawn pictures consisting of a badly-bandaged Bruce, and an all-forgiving Commissioner Gordon.

The regular cover art of "THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS" No. 7 by Jock

The Batman Who Laughs #6 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #6, August 2019

Having endured Scott Snyder’s plodding plot for Issue Six of “The Batman Who Laughs”, it is hard not to imagine most of this comic’s 98,535 readers wondering just how the New Yorker managed to somehow convince “DC Comics” to expand this limited series “to seven issues in length.” Indeed, considering the laboriously drawn out nature of the titular character’s meeting with Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego throughout this badly bloated twenty-four-page periodical, it’s difficult to even see just why the Eisner Award winner himself felt he wouldn’t “be able to squeeze in everything we needed to in an oversized” final edition.

For starters, the entire opening quarter of this book could have been completely omitted without arguably hampering its storytelling whatsoever. Of course, there is an element of interest generated by an insight into an alternative Gotham where the city’s services have been privatised by its resident billionaire to the point where the elderly, wheelchair bound “B.A.T. Man” owns its police force, education and sanitation departments. But, considering that the heavily-moustached “man who buys all things” is all too easily saved from the assassin’s bullet by the Dark Knight teleporting him away from his public award ceremony, the entire sequence seems to have been penned just to fill in the time it takes for Jim Gordon and his son to access the Bat Cave’s Armoury; “That… Is a lot of batarang guns.”

Equally as unenthralling is the aforementioned confrontation between the Caped Crusader and his “evil counterpart” outside Wayne Manor, which persistently intrudes upon the much more pulse-pounding battle between the metropolis’ batsuit-wearing Commissioner and the Grim Knight. Presumably pencilled by Mark “Jock” Simpson to depict some sort of hallucinogenic aspect to the long awaited bout of fisticuffs, the artist’s lightning-lashed layouts seem to take an eternity to illustrate even the simplest of blows, and decidedly smack of the British cartoonist desperately trying to pad out this publication’s panels with as many overblown drawings of Batman prevaricating as he can muster.

Infinitely more engaging, is Gordon’s desperate attempt to incapacitate “the deadliest man alive” and the emotional conflict these sense-shattering shenanigans create when it becomes clear that the policeman’s adult son, James, is probably going to have to embrace his psychopathic urges in order to help win the day. Packed full of pathos for the struggling mass-murderer’s father, the pacing of the ex-Marine’s battle against “a version of Bruce where Joe Chill dropped his gun and Bruce used the gun on him”, is debatably perfect, as it increasingly generates a palpable mounting tension between both the two combatants, as well as Barbara's onlooking older brother.

The regular cover art of "THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS" No. 6 by Jock

Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1 - Marvel Comics

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE: LETHAL PROTECTORS No. 1, October 2019

Considering that this comic clearly warned its audience that “the events of this story take place after Absolute Carnage #1 & #2”, Frank Tieri’s script for Issue One of “Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors” was probably something of a conundrum for those within its 43,029 strong readership who were blissfully unaware of Cletus Kasady’s “grand return to New York in a blistering triple-sized story”. For whilst the twenty-page periodical at least contains something akin to a summary of past events within its opening blurb, as well as a very evident immediate threat to Misty Knight’s life courtesy of a flashback to an old copy of “Web Of Venom: Cult Of Carnage”, the actual explanation as to just how Mercedes has become a one-armed prisoner of the Apostle of Knull at the Ravencroft Institute For The Criminally Insane is decidedly lacking.

In fact, the Brooklyn-born author’s opening appears to be so heavily-reliant upon the comic’s “Venomaniacs” comprehensively knowing precisely what has preceded his nauseatingly blood-drenched narrative, that it debatably makes a complete mockery of “Marvel Worldwide” even selling this particular publication as some sort of stand-alone mini-series; “Gee. Let me take a wild guess. Creepy cultists. Pentagram drawn in blood. And me as the human sacrifice. You’re bringing back something from the dead.”

Mercifully however, once John Jameson comes to collect his “plus-one” and the private investigator begrudgingly removes her bionic arm as a “token of my fidelity”, the rationale behind why Misty is stood before the “amorphous extra-terrestrial parasite” is quickly overshadowed by a significant amount of gratuitous violence and the surprise appearance of the Demogoblin. Packed full of blood, spinal cord and limb-ripping brutality, this pulse-pounding sequence genuinely grabs the audience by the throat, and in many ways it is disappointing that Knight’s ability to escape Cletus’ clubhouse is over so quickly.

Similarly as inconsistent as this comic’s penmanship is its storyboarding by Flaviano Armentaro, which disconcertingly lurches from the somewhat sedentary religious nature of Carnage’s congregation within the bowels of Ravencroft to Mercedes’ sense-shattering shenanigans in a jarringly clumsy manner. Indeed, the Italian artist’s pencilling at the somewhat static start of this book appears to contrast greatly with the far less restrained sketches at its conclusion, where his drawing arguably bears an uncanny resemblance to that of John Romita Junior…

The regular cover art of "ABSOLUTE CARNAGE: LETHAL PROTECTORS" No. 1 by Bengal

The Marked #1 - Image Comics

THE MARKED No. 1, October 2019

Described by co-creator Brian Haberlin as “my chance to do magical, dark and sexy”, this whopping forty-page periodical certainly delivers on some of of the Hawaii-born writer/artist’s aspirations with its plausible mix of both the modern day world and that of the monster-infested Occult. In fact, up until the diminutive Saskia enters the mysterious Art School and meets the dangerously naive Liza and matriarchal Mavin, Issue One of “The Marked” reads like some sort of straightforward yet savvy, street-life publication arguably aimed at the adolescent market; “Me, I don’t get it. It’s a woman wearing super strong hairspray. What’s to see?”

Fortunately however, just as soon as Kismet starts working her seventeenth generation inscription magic upon the slender back of this book’s doe-eyed heroine, the comic’s narrative very quickly picks up pace as its audience is introduced to the devilishly intriguing history of the Marked, and their centuries-old battle against all manner of slavering, sharply-fanged foes. These flashbacks to Feudal Japan, the swashbuckling High Seas and Hitler’s enthralling gamble “on a victory for the demons he has summoned” during World War Two, genuinely provides a deeply rich backstory to the “righteous few who carry the Talent”, and makes it crystal clear just why little Saskia would so quickly fall for the ‘Harry Potter’ like lifestyle on offer to her.

Undoubtedly assisting in this enticement is Haberlin’s less traditional art style, which really helps bring this “all-new ongoing fantasy series” to vivid, colourful life. Whether the Wizard Fan Award-nominee is busy illustrating the painstakingly detailed magical glyphs of his “cool young influencers”, or filling the nightlife with the sort of sense-shattering bright lights and pumping disco music one would expect for such a vibrantly young community, it is clear just why co-author David Hine stated that “one of the highlights for me is the way Brian has used his digital skills…”

Perhaps somewhat disappointingly though, what this collaborative concoction does lack is an actual antagonist for the group of uber-inked metahumans to face in their title’s opening instalment. Admittedly, Liza’s abrupt removal from the ‘educational institute’ following her aggressive defiance to accept responsibility for the creation of “a dangerous new form of hybrid sorcery”, does lead to an all-too brief physical confrontation with the vastly superior Mavin. But this childish attack against her “teacher” debatably lacks much menace, especially when compared to the grandiose threat previously depicted by the Third Reich and its ghoulish allies.

Story: David Hine & Brian Haberlin, Art: Brian Haberlin, and Colors: Geirrod Van Dyke

The Batman Who Laughs #5 - DC Comics

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #5, July 2019

Described by the “SyFy Wire” website as “Scott Snyder's Batman opus”, this twenty-six page periodical probably surprised many of its 108,677 readers in May 2019, due to its disconcerting desire to depict the Dark Knight as a decidedly deranged costumed vigilante who seemingly has no issue beheading a freshly-deceased corpse, just so he can scare the wits out of a posse of trigger-happy police officers; “I will come… for you and everyone you love and I will make what happened to this Bruce Wayne here look like a damned mercy.” Unnervingly however, such barbaric savagery on behalf of the Caped Crusader doesn’t end there either with the New Yorker’s narrative supposedly showing the super-hero subsequently succumbing to his inadvertent infection of Joker serum and battering an already badly-bruised Jim Gordon before the Commissioner can stop him turning Gotham City over to his evil counterpart.

Mercifully, such perplexing plot developments are though interlaced with a couple of genuinely pulse-pounding sequences including an intriguing consultation between this comic’s titular character and the nefarious Court of Owls. Wonderfully atmospheric, as the secret society judge the macabre super-villain from the supposed safety of their ornate auditorium, this hearing genuinely plays out like a black comedy as a wheelchair bound “youngling” coldly sentences the leather-clad hybrid to death, and then all too quickly discovers that her suggestion that the Talons “take your head… to make it a lamp” is a little presumptuous.

This surprising show of prodigious penmanship by Snyder proves particularly poignant once this book’s audience realise that the adolescent socialite’s desire to have “a night light for my room” is the least of the girl’s worries as the Batman Who Laughs murders everyone around them, courtesy of some well-placed bombs, and then deftly kicks the sick child into the fatal waters of Gotham River. So surreal a mass-murder is incredibly impactive, and contrasts nicely to the much more dynamically-paced simultaneously-timed flight of Gordon from three of the Grim Knight’s flesh-chomping ‘hounds’ through the metropolis’ underground waterways.

Outwardly destined to die at the hands of his sons from an alternate universe, this breath-taking swim for survival is as frantic as it is horrifying, and owes a great debt to Mark “Jock” Simpson’s scratchy pencils, which imbues its fleeing figures with an inhuman quality all of their own. In addition, the British cartoonist, “best known for his work in 2000 AD”, arguably adds an extra element of ferocity to the blood-crazed Robins simply by providing the trio with such razor-sharp teeth…

The regular cover art of "THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS" No. 5 by Jock

Savage Sword Of Conan #5 - Marvel Comics

SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN No. 5, July 2019

Considering that Gerry Duggan’s screenplay for Issue Five of “Savage Sword Of Conan” contains little in the way of excitement or even the titular character’s famous swashbuckling swordplay, it is easy to understand just why this twenty-page periodical was selling some six thousand copies less than its sibling ongoing series “Conan The Barbarian” in May 2019. In fact, seeing as the New Yorker’s conclusion to his pedestrian-paced “Cult Of Koga Thun” long-running storyline is simply to have this comic’s Cimmerian protagonist set a long forgotten ship aflame before riding out alone from the City of Kheshatta on horseback, it’s arguably quite a feat that the “Marvel Worldwide” publication actually sold 25,935 copies. Let alone attained a following strong enough to see it comfortably sit within the month’s Top 100 best-selling publications in eightieth position.

To begin with, the emotionally-charged close combat between the Hyborian Age hero and the scaly, zombified corpse of his companion Suty, is over before the clash has even really started, and despite it apparently providing Koga Thun with an opportunity to pass his vile venom into the heavily-muscled adventurer’s veins, this ‘poisoning’ doesn’t debatably do any lasting damage to the savage’s awe-inspiring strength. Instead, “Conan’s horrifying fate” simply seems to have been used to help pad out a good dozen panels of Duggan’s humdrum plot which depressingly could easily have been covered in a much more pulse-pounding manner, considering the pirate slave had previously saved the bronze-skinned fortune hunter’s life.

Such lack-lustre, unimaginative penmanship really does haunt the WGA Award-nominee’s narrative as Conan seemingly just goes through the motions of discovering that the long-sought treasure is “nothing but worthless parchment”, his last surviving party member is not all she seems, and that the “filthy wizard” stalking him throughout this ponderous tale has apparently known what was going to happen all the time through a remarkably contrived feat of omnipotence; “I paid a dear price to cast the spell that would deliver the map to me. I watched it all unfold through the captain’s eyes. I saw you steal my box, Conan.”

Even illustrator Ron Garney questionably appears to have tired of this particular five-part pencilling assignment, crudely sketching the book’s laudable lead as someone who can bemusingly be bested by a short-handled, snake-shaped stick one moment and then depicting the black-haired conqueror riding a terrified steed in an utterly over-blown splash page the next. Indeed, considering that Gerry’s script peters out with Thun’s beheading two-thirds of the way through the comic, the main purpose of this “artist on every Marvel character that ever walked” would appear to have been to take as long as he could to draw Conan escaping Kheshatta.

Writer: Gerry Duggan, Artist: Ron Garney, and Colorist: Richard Isanove

The Immortal Hulk #15 - Marvel Comics

IMMORTAL HULK No. 15, May 2019

Printed at a time when the publication had just been nominated for an Eisner award as Best Continuing Series, and featuring the welcome return of Leonard Samson to the Green Goliath’s supporting cast, it isn’t hard to see just why writer Al Ewing was so enthusiastic about his penmanship for Issue Fifteen of “Immortal Hulk” when he was later interviewed about the comic’s contents by the “Syfy” website in July 2019. Indeed, not only does this twenty-page periodical contain a fascinating flashback sequence focusing upon both Skivorski Junior’s heroic death and subsequent surprising resurrection, but it also includes a pulse-pounding bout of unrestrained pugilism between the jade-haired psychiatrist and a badly brain-damaged titular character; “All right, Bruce… Let’s reason this out, shall we?”

However, for those amongst its 53,120 readers who were hoping that the presence of Doc Samson might help progress the long-running book’s arguably pedestrian plot by a few steps, the British author’s narrative for “The Holy Or The Broken” was probably something of a disappointment considering it never properly even resolves the fate of Betty Ross at the hands of “the plastic man”. Instead, it rather disconcertingly simply depicts an incredibly talkative Hulk waxing lyrical alongside the former Northwestern University teacher, about being a pseudo-surrogate father to his puny alter-ego, and wanting to end the world so that some of the Humans currently destroying the planet might actually then live…

This somewhat word-heavy, one-sided conversation disappointingly occupies a significant portion of the comic, yet fortunately doesn’t entirely manage to overshadow the marvellously melodramatic bout of fisticuffs which precedes it. In fact, many within this book’s substantially increasing audience would probably argue that the titanic tussle between a facially-disfigured Hulk and pony-tailed challenger was worth the cost of this $3.99 magazine alone, especially as it momentarily appears that Leonard’s foolhardy reasoning with the utterly insane monster might actually succeed where a bullet through the skull has previously failed.

Regardless, Joe Bennett’s dynamic interior artwork certainly must have hooked any perusing bibliophile with his incredible renditions of the two incredibly well-muscled combatants attempting to batter one another into next week. The Brazilian’s ability to imbue each and every punch with a tooth-cracking resounding thud is particularly impressive, as is the penciller’s marvellous attention to detail as he slowly depicts the Hulk’s substantial head injury slowly closing up as the fight evolves.

‘First published on the "Dawn of Comics" website.'

The regular cover art of "IMMORTAL HULK" No. 15 by Alex Ross