Neither story requires much back issue reading to catch up with the "One Year Later" style we're given, but Batman Beyond is easily the better of the two so far. Fans of the cartoon will, for the most part, feel right at home here. Tony Silas and Kyle Higgins make for a dynamic duo that does a good enough job of maintaining the kinetic pace and style of the original cartoon without a watered down, "saturday morning toon" feel. They're still the characters that old readers know, but there's obvious growth and change. I look forward to more revelations about how some bonds were formed and how other rifts were created. Silas' design of Neo Gotham is pretty much what fans have to come to expect over the years. The streamlined angles combine well with the color palette to keep you interested even though I wish it didn't feel like there were so many panels stuffed onto each page.
Justice League Beyond, though it isn't necessarily bad, suffers as the "weak link" of this collection so far. The problem is that, although the rest of the League is given a fair amount of time, the story still feels like Superman Beyond. And Superman Beyond was sort of problematic. What's great about Batman Beyond is that despite the obvious presence of Bruce Wayne and other mainstays, it still manages to offer something new via a fresh central character with problems and supporting cast members of his own. Terry McGinnis is young and not quite established enough that I know how he'd handle a bad guy. The trouble with making Superman the focus of this far future Justice League is that it's the same guy. Sure, he's got new friends, a different costume and different villains to square off with, but it's still Superman. It's a fine story. I just feel like I've read it already.
Bottom Line: The digital to physical retrofit is a little bit of an eyesore, and Superman Beyond feels a little too familiar, but if you like Batman Beyond, I can't tell you to stay away from this one. 7.5 out of 10.
Nova #7: This is a title I'm glad to have caught on the ground floor. It was a smart tactic on Marvel's part to rework some of their cosmic/outer space titles to be accessible to new audiences, almost serving as a guide to comic space. Thankfully, Nova is probably the best example so far of this. It feels like how DC reworked the Blue Beetle after the death of Ted Kord by offering a younger hero in Jaime Reyes.
We're given a character who is just as new to the superhero business, who shows us a bit more a ground level view of continuity. Now, that New Guy Nova, Sam Alexander has gotten has popped his bad guy cherry, he's ready to commit to kicking ass and taking names, but he still has a lot to learn about the responsibility that goes hand and hand with playing with the big boys. The "lesson learned" moment at the end of this issue by itself makes the whole book worth the ride. We get an unexpected appearance from Superior Spider Man that (as much as I hate SSM) is absolutely hilarious. If Zeb Wells maintains this pace in the book, I look forward to more awkward, laugh inducing meet ups with established heroes and villains as the series progresses. Paco Medina's pencils look gorgeous, especially in the overall look he creates for Nova, perfectly balancing youthful lightheartedness with heroism.
Bottom Line: A fun issue with the right amount of substance thrown in makes this mostly a win. 8 out of 10.
Avengers #18: One thing I have to appreciate so far about the way Jonathan Hickman handles a Marvel event is that he lets you know in advance via diagrammed checklist "Look, Marvel's gonna have a bunch of tie-ins, but THESE are the ones that matter...because I'm writing them. Kneel before Hickman." This particular issue, meant to compliment Infinity, follows the Avengers into space as they go into battle with the world razing Builders who have started shit...for some reason. One way this issue succeeds is in the way it highlights a point that, by nature, Avengers books tend to overlook: When every fight the Avengers fight is, theoretically, for the fate of the world, it's easy to lose sight of a bigger picture. And there's probably not a bigger picture than...you know...the whole rest of the universe.
Hickman offers us more than just "an Avengers World." He succeeds, as usual, in bringing Babylon 5 sensibilities to what we know to be a unilaterally superhero title. We got a look at the Skrull race that I honestly did not expect. After Brian Bendis' Secret Invasion event, I was certain it would be much longer before we were ever made to feel any kind of sympathy for these warrior shape shifters, but once again....Hickman accomplishes the unlikely. It, yet again, proves why he's pretty much the only writer tailor made to craft such a sci-fi saga as this, invoking a sort of Jack Vance era feel in his characterization of other races at the diplomacy table alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Leinil Francis Yu doesn't fail to bring home the bacon in a major way art-wise. The space battles look every bit as epic as they deserve to. Anyone who doesn't geek out just a little bit watching Thor bring down space cruisers. The visual standout for me comes in the Falcon's awesome space suit design which tells me Yu is a Battle of the Planets fan.
Bottom Line: An epic event deserves epic tie-ins and Infinity got one here because....you know....Jonathan Hickman and shit. 9 out of 10.
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