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We at Comic(s) Relief wish you all a Happy Halloween. Party on!
I saw this funny comic today on Shortpacked and I couldn’t resist to borrow it. Have fun!
When I stumbled onto this issue, I thought it might be a nice addition to the Batman continuity page, as this one issue story retells the origins of how Dick Grayson became the first Robin.
When the boss of a local Gotham Circus is unable to pay off his debt towards Boss Zucco, one of the crime lords men manipulates the acrobatics act of “the flying Graysons”. Bruce Wayne is amongst the audience, when suddenly the robes snap and the resulting “accident” leaves young Dick Grayson an orphan. Bruce Wayne, who already suspected the circus crowd to be involved with Zucco, decides to investigate as the Batman and stumbles upon the youngster, who has found the criminal responsible for this parent’s deaths. After saving him, Batman takes the youngster in and goes after Zucco himself. However, the dark knight underestimates Dick’s persistence and the boy soon finds himself in a dangerous situation.
Dennis O’Neil tries to summarize the tale of Robin’s origin on thirty pages and in a way succeeds with this task. However, the story feels a bit rushed and there is not much place for proper character development. The art by Dave Taylor is very peculiar and at times feels European (almost like from a Bande Dessinée). Still, it fits the circus theme surprisingly well. All in all this story is not a very ingenious one, but it is worth reading if you always wanted to find out how Batman got his first sidekick.
Story 6, Art 7, Reread 5, Overall Score 6
“Sung in the cathedrals, whispered in the shadows… Ever unchanging, seldom unchanged… Bright incandescence, the black of the pit… such is the stuff of legends!”
Shortly after the one year long Crisis on Infinite Earths, John Ostrander banded together with Len Wein, John Bryne and Karl Kesel to create Legends, a six issue mini-series (with several tie-ins, the complete list of which can be found on the Wikipedia page), once again putting the world’s heroes in mortal danger. However this time they are up against the same people they swore to protect.
In an attempt to eradicate the legends of our planet, Darkseid sends Glorious Godfrey to Earth so that he can plant the seeds of doubt in the hearts of the population. With his psychic powers he quickly infects the people of Earth and turns them against the superhuman heroes. Shortly after, Godfrey’s influence has grown so strong that even the president of the United States can’t protect the superheroes any longer and so he issues an executive order that obliges the superheroes to cease their activities immediately. It seems as if Darkseid’s plan to rid the world from its heroes and finally conquer Earth is working, but he didn’t count on the special abilities of one person.
Who this person is will be up to you to find out. Even if this comic series is over twenty years old, it still feels very fresh and interesting. (Marvel’s Civil War dealt with a similar topic and this alone should show us that Ostrander’s vision was pretty far out there at the time.) Of course, due to its age, this comic is rather campy and still suffers from the typical “I have to introduce myself every time I enter a scene”- syndrome that most superheroes seemed to be infected with at the time. However, in order to understand the story lines in most DC comics from the last few years, Legends is a very good and important read, as it introduces several characters like Amanda Waller or the Suicide Squad. Also Darkseid’s obsession with Earth is once again emphasized and brilliantly put on paper. In addition to this, Legends can be considered a launching pad to several new series like Suicide Squad (obviously), the new Justice League, and the new series of Wonder Woman and Flash. All in all a timeless classic that should not be missed.
Story 8, Art 7, Reread 8, Overall Score 8/10
I will be gone for the weekend so there will be no link collection this week and also no new review until Monday. I also updated the Batman Continuity page by using the wikipedia timeline list in order to get a bit more accuracy out of it. Next up I am also planning to do all the major DC Universe crisis stories (Crisis on Infinite Earths we did already). This means that I will try to review all the major stories that are important for the mix and will also introduce a continuity page for this purpose.
Have a nice weekend!
The second TPB of DMZ includes the issues #6-12 and with the five part story arc “Body of a Journalist”, a background story of Zee and a New York tourist guide (issue #12). The first story arc is still written by Brian Wood and features art by Riccardo Burchielli and so there is not much difference from a mere artistic point of view.
The story still revolves around the photojournalist Matty Roth, who is kidnapped by the Free States of America in the first issue, only to reveal to him that Viktor Ferguson, the reporter from Liberty News and Matty’s co-worker, is still alive. Matty is released to negotiate ransom claims with the other side. When he is returned to Manhattan, after the negotiations, he however finds out that his equipment is bugged and so he decides to stop working for Liberty News. Still, he decides to help out with the negotiations and the liberation of Ferguson, but something goes terribly wrong.
The one-issue story “ZEE, NYC” is told through the eyes of Matty’s friend Zee and revisits the first days of the conflict and the following chaos in Manhattan. The art by Kristian Donaldson is however not to my liking. It is sufficient to show us how Manhattan became an exile, but I just can’t appreciate it completely.
The last issue in the paperback (art and story both by Wood) is a kind of travel guide, in which Matty collects articles and interviews in order to give outsiders a more thorough understanding of the current situation in Manhattan. The included restaurant tips, hangout spots and the collage style art give the journal a very authentic feel.
Brian Wood manages to continue his gripping story of the war mainly fought on American soil in this second paperback issue. He once again focuses on the role of the media in war times by actively making a reporter part of the conflict. The protagonist is no longer merely a spectator in his role as a journalist. Just as the first TPB, this one is once again very readable and manages to introduce sensible political issues into an interesting and tense fictional story. Once again it should be mentioned that DMZ can only be recommended to mature audiences, due to its profane language and explicit graphic themes.
Story 8, Art 7.5, Reread 7, Overall Rating 7.5/10
Much like “Reign of Blood”, this issue of Thor by Matt Fraction is a tale of epic proportions. The tone is very noble and the story is very monumental. Since there are no big differences in the artistic point of view, I will just focus on the story:
After a legendary fight against the Frost Giants, Thor and his Asgardian fellows find themselves weakened by a hole that one of the giants left in the walls around their halls while falling to Mjolnir’s might. Now Heimdall, a fear- and sleepless warrior guards the rainbow bridge that leads from Midgard to Asgard to prevent any more attacks from the Frost Giants. Meanwhile, a humble stone mason offers his services to Odin and his companions and promises to fix the wall in only one year’s time. All he asks in return is the Enchantress as his bride. Loki then tries to lure the mason into accepting an even more impossible task, by completing his work in only 6 months’ time and with no help at all. The mason then counteroffers by demanding that he will not be interrupted by any of the gods and that his steed will be his beast of burden for the whole time. The Gods accept…
This two-part story is based on different characters. Thor, being the main character, does not really stand in the middle of the plotline all the time. He is called upon when his hammer is needed to destroy a Frost Giant or his strength is needed to pick the apples from the holy tree Yggdrasil, but he spends the rest of his time with his concubines and is not really getting into action. Nevertheless it is a heroic story of basic emotions and magical dimensions, the likes of which define every mythology in every culture. You will see Gods doing what they know best: Smiting, loving, eating, and smiting some more!
Story 9, Art 8, Reread 7, Overall rating 8.5/10
Malik
Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert working together seems like a perfect mix. While Morrison is probably one of the most active Batman writers of our time, Kubert delivers stunning and powerful art like almost nobody else. Still I was not entirely satisfied with Batman and Son and I will tell you why after a brief synopsis of the story.
Remember Talia, the daughter of the criminal mastermind Ra’s Al Ghul? In Batman and Son, she returns to Gotham City to “visit” the dark knight, but she is not alone this time. She brings along her son Damian, who she claims is the lovechild of her and Batman from a passionate night in their past. While Batman finds it hard to believe her, he feels responsible for the boy and takes him in. This however is not as easy as it sounds, because the youngster was trained by his grandfather’s league of assassins and has a fairly aggressive attitude towards problem solving. In the meantime, Talia is blackmailing Kirk Langstrom, the former Man-Bat, to receive the Man-Bat formula in order to create her own private army. So much for the first story arc of this paperback, which was originally published in Batman #655-658.
The trade paperback also includes the excellent prose story The Clown at Midnight as an intermission before it continues with the Batman and Son saga. These stories were published in Batman #663-666. The last three issues deal with the so-called “three ghosts of Batman”, three maniacs dressing up as Batman and going on a rampage through Gotham City. Particularly the last encounter is interesting as it shows us a futuristic view of Gotham in which Damian has picked up the mantle of the Bat after his father’s death. Barbara Gordon is commissioner and Batman is a hunted man.
All in all Batman and Son was a fairly interesting read, but I guess that I would have to continue reading the newest issues in order to completely understand and see the repercussions of these stories. The jump to the future in the last issue was new, but felt a bit premature. It just seemed as if the author had skipped a few pages and as a reader I felt lost. Still, the stunning art makes up for the rather holey storytelling. I hope to appreciate this paperback more after reading Morrison’s latest storyline R.I.P.
Story 7, Art 8, Re-read 7, Overall Score 7/10
Here is a preview of the upcoming Joker graphic novel by Brian Azzarello.
DC released an updated version of their DC Comics Encyclopedia. Here is a short interview with writer Daniel Wallace.
With the Max Payne movie just around the corner, Newsarama published an interesting retrospective of the games.
Have a nice weekend folks!
“Strength
Through
Purity
Purity
Through
Faith”
One of Alan Moore’s most famous works is probably the ten issue series (published between 1982 and 1988) V for Vendetta, depicting a dystopian view of Great Britain, in which the general populace is controlled by a totalitarian regime. Similar to Orwell’s 1984 the people are spied on by their government and most of their freedom is taken from them. The regime also has similar traits to the Nazi regime under Hitler, as they lock up and kill foreigners and homosexuals in special camps.
In this hostile environment, most people give in and follow their leader Adam Susan out of fear of prosecution. Only one man decides to stand in the way. In the beginning of the story this character is only known as V and he wears a long cape, an elaborate hat and a Guy Fawkes mask. Only later we learn his story and why he decides to stand up for the people (but that is for you to find out). Early in the story V rescues the young Evey Hammond and gives her shelter at his secret hideout “The Shadow Gallery”. On November 5, 1997 V blows up the Palace of Westminster and thus starts off his year long terrorist activities in which he rattles the cage of the totalitarian regime. He kills specific party members and blows up other buildings of major importance and introduces chaos into the rigidly controlled nation. During her stay at the Shadow Gallery, Evey slowly learns off V’s intentions and he tries to liberate her mind and make her an ally, but only if she voluntarily chooses to comply. In the meantime Eric Finch, Chief of Scotland Yard and Minister of Investigations, tries to stop the vigilante and discover his secret identity, before order is replaced by chaos.
Moore couldn’t have chosen a better artist than David Lloyd, as he incorporates both the dystopian flair of the story and manages to make V look like a real anarchist from the 16th century. As with Watchmen it is important to remember that both graphic novels have been published in the 80s and therefore still have a typical 80s art style, which is not a bad thing in my opinion, as it fits the more realistic storytelling. V for Vendetta reads like a novel and holds everything you need for an interesting, yet intellectually stimulating evening.
Story 10
Art 8
Reread Value 9
Overall rating 9/10
In 2006 the Wachowski Brothers released a movie adaptation of V for Vendetta, starring Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman. Although Alan Moore did not collaborate on the project, I thought the movie was quite good and worked for itself. Sure, several parts and characters were altered, but I think that a lot of the core material was still there and the main message remained. But in the end it all comes down to personal taste and I guess you have to make up your own mind. Read the graphic novel and watch the movie and feel free to express your own opinions right here. Until then!
“Remember, remember the Fifth of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot
I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot”
V for Vendetta at the Internet Movie Database
V for Vendetta at Rotten Tomatoes
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