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.

Stuff I Read This Week 4/18/14

Thor, God of Thunder #21: Jason Aaron has Thor down almost to a science. So far, the God of Thunder series has been as suitably epic in scale as a series about a god could ever hope to deliver. It traverses time and space with the ease of your apartment building's elevator. The "Last Days of Midgard" story is one that has proven to be a perfect display of such scale.

This issue picks up where the last left off with Present Time Thor at odds with an evil conglomerate so intent on mining the Earth's resources until it dies, you would almost think Aaron had borrowed a villain directly from Captain Planet. This alone makes for interesting conflict, reminding our hero that not every villain is one that he can defeat with a swing of his hammer. It also gives us more of Thor's newfound (kinda) girlfriend, SHIELD agent Roz Solomon, who serves as a nice sidekick to teach the God of Thunder something about dealing with earthly ways like lawyers. It's funny as all hell, too. Then, there's my favorite part where, in the far future, Old Thor, ruler of Asgard gets into a fistfight....let me reiterate....a knockdown, drag-out street fight with GALACTUS!!!! It's pretty difficult to get more epic than that. I can practically hear the nerds five years from now in their "who would win" fights citing that time when Thor got into it with Galactus and lived (we think so far). Of course, none of this would leap off of the page the way it does if it weren't for Esad Ribic. With his sweeping sense of scope and his taste for detailed landscapes adds to the flavor of Aaron's tale of legends. In fact, each page has the kind of style one would think you might find in a sacred tome telling the myths of the Asgardian prince.

Bottom Line: Jason Aaron is telling some of the best stories in Thor's history. This issue is no different. 9 out of 10

Batman #30: Scott Snyder's run on Batman in the New 52 era has had some pretty impressive successes. The Zero Year saga in particular has been his best work on the series. We've seen a fun, swashbuckling take on the Bat-mythos that puts a fun spin on an endlessly retreaded origin. We see a wild-eyed Batman who shoots from the hip, curses and smiles from time to time. But the most notable highlight of this entire series has been the Riddler. 

The evolution of Edward Nygma is one that can only be seen to believed. Over the years, he's been a Woody Allen-esque sidekick to Catwoman, a world class thief and even a detective. Here in the latest issue going into the "Savage City" story, we see a maniacal mastermind who has been one step ahead of the Dark Knight Detective with Gotham completely under his thumb. This story thus far highlights three particularly interesting things. First, this is probably the MOST diabolical we've ever seen the Riddler, capitalizing on opportunities left behind by the various goings-on in the city. The second notable is that Snyder has become adept at making Jim Gordon almost a superhero in his own right and appropriately so. The point of Batman (most especially in the Dark Knight era of the character) is that he brings criminals down a peg so that the law can work for itself. In that context, there is pretty much no greater champion of good in Gotham than Gordon. He's the city's rock. Zero Year has been great at shining a spotlight on his heroics. And finally, the BEST thing is that in the era in which Batman is seen as an unfallible ubermensch of sorts, we see him dealing with failure. This is what it's like when The World's Greatest Detective isn't always in control, who doesn't go into battle with the upper hand on his foe. It's actually a very nice change of pace. At this point going into the perfection that Greg Capullo's artwork is almost an exercise in redundancy. His detailed layouts are great at depicting a defeated wasteland of a city.

Bottom Line: This is easily one the best books DC has to offer. If you're not reading it at this point, I don't know what else you're doing. 9 out of 10.

Stuff I Read This Week Episode 27 or Villains Are People, Too.....

Batman 23.2 (Riddler): Honestly, with the exception of Geoff Johns' Forever Evil, I was ready to let DC's "Villains Month" go by unmarked and I'm actually glad I didn't. After all, the success of dedicating a comic to each of the prominent baddies of the DC universe is entirely dependent upon how interesting they are. And let's face it: DC doesn't have that many interesting bad guys. Then again, I suppose the point of having a month dedicated to villains (aside from trying to siphon money from readers like a beer tap) is to get readers interested in them if they weren't already. Fortunately, this issue of Batman gives us something to smile about unlike the Joker's rather maudlin turn at the spotlight.

The Riddler has always been a difficult character to pin a definitive characterization on because, aside from the whole riddle motif, it's hard to separate his crazy from the rest of Gotham's crazy. But Ray Fawkes (with help from Scott Snyder) manages to construct a man who works according to a planned sort of bedlam, who makes you wonder whether he's crazy....or just a douchebag. Nygma's internal narrative serves as a perfect "behind the scenes" for his riddle laden, one man attack on Wayne Enterprises much like a magician revealing how the thought processes behind his tricks. Here in this issue, we see a Riddler whose small fits of rage are every bit as haunting and entertaining as his premeditation keeping him one step ahead of Bruce Wayne's security. It's also refreshing that not all of his victims are not made to be completely incompetent just to make Nygma look smarter. Jeremy Haun's pencils are a definite enhancement here. Scenes are intimate, neat and obsessed with symmetry in every panel. It's artwork that suits a Big Bad as meticulous as the Riddler. This is completely understands the point of Villains Month and exceeds expectations to become one of the best books this week.

Bottom Line: A story like this that makes you sort of afraid of the Riddler can't help but be a winner. 9.5 out of 10.


Justice League #23.2 (Lobo): I just found out this week that theouthousers.com actually has a counter that keeps track of the number of days since the last time DC Comics did something stupid. Well, the poor bastard intern in charge of updating it can go ahead and get back to work because Dan Didio's brain trust has done it again.

Recently, it was announced that the hulking, chain toting villain we've all known as Lobo was indeed NOT the "real" Lobo. He is, in fact, an imposter that has been trading on the name and style of slimmer, martini drinking killer who looks like Jack from the White Stripes finally won enough Pokemon battles to evolve to his ultimate form. 

Sidenote: I'm sure many of you didn't know that Lobo had been reintroduced in the New 52. This is because DC did a really good job of hiding him where NOBODY will ever find him....in the pages of Stormwatch and Deathstroke. 

Marguerite Bennett is given the task of introducing us to this emo redux of the Main Man and doesn't drop the ball so much as hold the ball and gain no yardage. He didn't seem to do anything terribly badass. He talked tough, got in a fight with a couple of nobodies and that was really about it. By that criteria, he may as well be Chris Brown. Aside from being modeled after a lost member of the street team for 30 Seconds to Mars, there is almost NOTHING new separating the new Lobo from the old Lobo except maybe the fact that this one comes across as completely humorless. The thing people seemed to like about this character in the past is that he's served as DC's version of Deadpool, cracking jokes and breaking the fourth wall. He was fun. However, as we all know, there is NO fun in the New 52 era of DC. Nobody ever smiles. Everything's for the fate of the world...even when it's not. Ben Oliver and Cliff Richards' artwork is probably the one saving grace (not really saving, though) to this catastrophe. Some of the designs for the aliens and spaceships are really inspired. The Lobo we get here is a more muscular step up from the initial concept designs that got released a few weeks ago. But I could have done without so many of tilted panels throughout the book.

Bottom Line: A really good looking 30 page exercise in pointless violence compliments of the new Mickey Rourke version of a perfectly "meh" character. 5 out of 10.

Action Comics 23.2 (Zod): As divisive as Man of Steel was among fans, I am personally thankful for Zak Snyder resurrecting one of my favorite characters from Superman lore. Michael Shannon's portrayal was just as memorable as that of Terrance Stamp and is bound to have some lasting effect on the version we get in the comics to come. The first note of that is in Greg Pak's addition to Villains Month. 

This issue serves as a refreshing (and somewhat chilling) crash course in what led to a child growing up to be Krypton's greatest criminal. Although still human at his core, this is a Zod who wasn't necessarily born bad as fans of the original might come to surmise. This is a guy who seems to feel more comfortable among jungle animals with nothing but a bow and arrow than he does hobnobbing or shaking hands with politicians and dignitaries. One sympathizes. He's a determined, ambitious man who is the product of circumstances and the lessons of his father....not unlike the man who he will, one day, know as his mortal nemesis. Pak's incarnation is right on while never coming across as cartoonish or contrived. Ken Lashley's art mostly fails to disappoint in painting a diverse strange portrait of the outskirts of Krypton. He manages to make Zod's ominous gaze the creepiest part of every panel he's in. Every. Single. Panel. He offers up some truly awesome monster designs and a delightful scene of young Zod found alone surviving in the woods against vicious wildlife reminiscent. the opening scene of Arrow. The only real drawback is that the attention to detail and color suffers slightly from panels, at times, feeling a little too cluttered. Still, considering how strong this issue is, it comes across as a small flaw.

Bottom Line: This is a great primer to prepare readers for what's to come from Greg Pak's run on Action Comics. 9 out of 10.