The Week In Geek 10/1/14

So, this week, I did a review on Nightwing: The Series and honestly, it might have the best reception a superhero related project could ask for this week. And yes, I absolutely recognize that both Agents of SHIELD and Gotham also happened this week. My statement still stands. Gotham got quite a bit of chastisement for its episode, "Selina Kyle" and I'll have an upcoming post about why it was well deserved. Meanwhile, Agents of SHIELD took a bizarrely huge hit in its ratings which is really weird considering the new season improved upon its previous problems DRAMATICALLY. Hell, they even dipped into the budget to bring more black people on the show. Just goes to show how fickle a mob the Fandom Hype Machine truly is.

Anyway, my reviews for the week are available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. This week, I took a look at:

Batman Eternal: I don't know...maybe this is some kind of sacrificial tribute thing where if we're going to have the incredible James Tynion IV writing the book, we have to have shitty artwork as a trade off. I mean, it's been just unforgivable the past couple of issues. The sad thing is I love the story so much and feel so invested, I don't have the heart to put the damned book down. However, it's only fair to say that odds are we'll probably have better art coming up. On the plus side, I have to appreciate the ongoing war between the Spoiler and her seemingly Z-List father, the Cluemaster. Hopefully, we'll see more of Stephanie Brown's daddy issues sooner than later.

Thor: Honestly, this one is an open/shut case. The name and art have changed, but Jason Aaron's master class in storytelling remains the same. Bit by bit, he's giving us insight into the Future King Thor he's teased us with throughout the course of the God of Thunder series and I love it. Very few writers are capable of making me enjoy a villain I dislike as much as Malekith, but Aaron is pulling it off.

Stuff I Read This Week 6/25/14

My reviews for the week are now available on Black Nerd Problems for your enjoyment or to alleviate boredom during your work day. Unless you work at a sushi joint....then you should probably concentrate on not cooking your fingers on those hibachi grills. This week, I took a look at.....

Batman Eternal: Okay, so, I think last week's artwork went over a lot of people's head. And with a cash grab franchise like Batman, you probably don't want the visuals going over people's heads. Now, sometimes, it's okay for the writing to do so (I'm looking at you, Grant Morrison), but definitely not the pencils. Anyway, this week's episode (I call Eternal issues episodes because this is like my weekly Batman tv show) finally moved the "Jim Gordon, Murderer" story along with some delightful results. The point of any good "Trial of..." plotline should be for the prosecution to be so hardcore on your hero, it makes you squirm a little bit. The opening statement against Jim Gordon had absolutely no chill. The one thing I left out of my review is that maybe James Tynion tried just a little too hard to hammer home the point that Tim Drake is the detective among the sidekick family. We get it. He's Sherlock Holmes.

Batman: My editor said it better than I could in his description of my review when he said that Scott Snyder's Zero Year run is going to go down in the books as one of the greatest Batman stories ever told. Ever. Anyone else who does a Riddler story after Snyder has their work cut out for them. Months later, I still marvel at the fact that Edward Nygma hasn't been this deliciously diabolical in years. The best scene is seeing him face to face with Batman who has had to employ every one of his skills just to keep up with Nygma's scheming. I mean, he's been shot at, beaten and literally attacked by lions. I am on pins and needles waiting to see what else Snyder has in store for the finale.

All New Ghost Rider: Now, THAT is a delightfully wacky comic book. Felipe Smith makes no apologies for making an unbelievably ridiculous plotline. If professional wrestling had a James Cameron level budget for makeup and special effects, I suspect this is storyboard for what they would come up with.