wktf's and Sam Wilson's Reviews - 1/25/06

[wktf]

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

An excellent week in comics, from DC we have several titles that are winding their way down getting ready for the post “Infinite Crisis” madness, including Teen Titans, Catwoman, Wonder Woman and Robin. From Marvel we have the always excellent Ultimate Spider-Man and other great series such as New Avengers, the final part to the “Spider-man Other” storyline in Amazing Spider-Man, the final issue of Defenders and my pick of the week, Reggie Hudlin’s Black Panther. I also picked up the New Avengers: Sentry HC, yeah, Sentry sucks but I liked the side story and McNiven’s art. Anyway, that being said, on to the reviews…

Nextwave
Marvel Comics
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: Stuart Immonen

Nextwave is a new Marvel team book by Warren Ellis, which features some b-list characters and brings them an a-lister’s chance at greatness. Is this book set in current Marvel continuity? I don’t think so. Does that matter? Not really. Ellis’s featured players are Monica Rambeau (aka Capt. Marvel aka Photon aka Pulsar, one time leader of the Avengers), Aaron Stack (aka Machine Man), Elsa Bloodstone (umm, aka no one, she had a mini series a few years back and no one cared about it), Tabby Smith (aka Boom-Boom, you know, that gum-chewing chick from X-factor) and Captain %$@!. Yes, $@#$! is really his name, or that’s the name the sensors allow us to see anyway. Anyway, these characters form the superhuman taskforce known as “Nextwave”, and they work for H.A.T.E. (Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort), and elite government task force. H.A.T.E.’s head honcho goes by the name Dirk Anger, he’s like a constipated Nick Fury. Yup, these are the players, and the job? Fighting terror I guess, and well, in this first issue, terror goes by the name of a purple underwear wearing giant dragon by the name of Fing Fang Foom.

For those of you who pick up Nextwave and are expecting it to be similar to Ellis’s “Ultimate Trilogy” books, well, you are in for a shock. There is nothing serious about Nextwave, no techno babble (but plenty of sharp dialogue), it’s kinda like the Marvel U but a parody, but not really. I mean, obviously we have the pokes at Nick Fury and Captain America, but then there is the use of real Marvel U characters (b-list they may be). As a parody, Nextwave definitely works, but I get the feeling from this first issue it’s shaping up to be more than a parody. Immonen’s art suits the book perfectly, and the dialogue and characterizations from Ellis are great as always. So if you’re looking for something different and not so serious, Nextwave is definitely for you.

Catwoman #51
DC Comics
Written by: Will Pfeifer
Drawn by: Pete Woods
Covers by: Adam Freakin’ Hughes, with the sexiest…

So the Bat-verse is a big freakin’ mess right now. After the events of the “Gang War” crossover, capes are no longer welcome in Gotham city, and the only two who have stuck around are Batman and Catwoman (aka Selina Kyle). Well, Selina isn’t exactly a cape, she of course got her start out as a villain, a cat burglar if you will, and has crossed swords with Batman many times. Lately though she has become the self-declared “protector of the East End” of Gotham, the rough area where she came up in and roamed the streets as a prostitute before she became the highflying Ninja-trained thief Catwoman. She even became briefly involved with Batman, and he revealed to her that he was Bruce Wayne, but alas it was never meant to be and the relationship ended.

Recently in Catwoman the East End has become one big clusterfu$#. Since the Black Mask is now running the City’s underworld, the East End has kind of become a free-for-all zone. With no real criminal claiming stake there, everyone is duking it out to claim the territory for their own, making Selina’s job as it’s protector all the more difficult. She strikes up a deal with Bat-nemesis Hush to try and chill things out, but fails. Left with her back against the wall, Selina hatches a plan but it is dangerous, extremely dangerous and involves her throwing in with some bad people, Hugo Strange being one of them. Add to the mix Slam Brady’s son Sam, a Gotham detective sent undercover to try and infiltrate the super powered gangs that are vying for control of Gotham’s East End. Yeah, things are probably going to get much worse before they get better (and have been), but Selina has a plan.

While there is that going on, we can’t forget about “Infinite Crisis”, the latest craze that has taken over the DC Universe. Remember in last year’s Identity Crisis when the Justice League admitted to tampering with Dr. Light’s and Batman’s memories? Well, they weren’t the only ones. Apparently the Justice League also tampered with Catwoman’s brain, and according to Zatanna (this happened in issue #50) that tampering is the reason why Catwoman has given up her cat-burglering ways and become a “good-guy” over the last few years. Selina isn’t two happy with this, and in issue #51 she does some soul searching to figure out exactly who she is. At the same time Black Mask decides he is going to strike out at Selina where it hurts her most, her friends, specifically Slam Brady. Where is this leading? I have no idea, what I do know is that after “Infinite Crisis” Selina Kyle will no longer be Catwoman, but she will still be around and have a particular “condition” that would be way to much of a spoiler if you don’t know it already. So yeah, one more issue of Catwoman left to tie up loose ends, and then things get different, really different. Throughout the years Catwoman has had her ups and downs, but since this new series she really seems to have hit her stride, and I for one will be sticking around to see what happens.

Wonder Woman #225
DC Comics
Written by: Greg Rucka
Drawn by: Cliff Richards

Recent events in Wonder Woman (and other “Infinite Crisis” tie in books) have really set the DC Universe on fire. For those of you who haven’t been paying attention, Maxwell Lord, an all around di%$ and the Black King of Checkmate, a super-secret spy organization in the DC Universe gained control of Superman’s brain and was having him do really uncool things like beating Batman like a red-headed step-child and then attacking our girl and all around Amazon hottie Wonder Woman. Of course Wonder Woman was next on the Max Lord controlled Superman’s list, and our girl Dianna fought him off pretty well, and eventually came face to face with Lord herself and put him under the spell of her magic lasso (which compels people to tell the truth). Under the lasso’s influence, Max Lord stated that the only way Superman would ever be free of his mind control was for him (Max) to die. Wonder Woman then promptly snapped his neck, and thus the comic world was turned on it’s a$#.

Aside from the whole killing Max Lord thing, Dianna has had a lot of recent hardship in her life. She has lost and regained her sight, she has found out that a member of her staff was a spy for Checkmate, and the person she respects most in the Justice League, Batman, is not happy with her recent actions (to say the least). In attempt to make amends, Wonder Woman tries to turn herself in an attempt to maintain her respect and credibility in the “patriarchs world”. Her sacrifice is nulled though when the OMAC’s invade Themyscira to kill all the Amazons. Dianna releases herself from captivity to help out her sisters, but soon comes to realize a terrible truth, even if they do repel the OMACs, the door has been opened for other hostile forces to invade her beloved homeland, especially now that they see Themyscira as a power to be reckoned with. Thus Dianna requests the Greek Gods hide Themyscira from “patriarchs world” once again and she will stay behind to clean up the mess (this all happened in Infinite Crisis #3 and Wonder Woman #225).

So what’s next for Wonder Woman? Issue #225 is a somber one to say the least, with issue #226 being the last issue of this Wonder Woman series (after “Infinite Crisis” there will be a new Wonder Woman series). Dianna closes the embassy and sends all her employee’s home, and she also has a meeting with her “Gods”. Yeah, not really much to say here accept in order to understand what is going on in Wonder Woman currently, you had to have read the OMAC Project, a couple of “Superman” titles and Infinite Crisis issues one through three. Yes, annoying, but so is the nature of these company-wide events, and in this rare case, I have to admit this story is worth reading. So check it out, or wait and hopefully it will be collected in some shape or form (boy, that would be a real clusterfu$# of a tpb).

Wktf’s Reviews

So many great comics to choose from, sometimes it’s pretty tough placing bets on the three to review…not knowing if I should have picked one of the others. Regardless, this was a stellar comic book and trade week! Daredevil is my pick of the week. Here’s why…

Daredevil #81
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Alex Maleev

This was the issue! The creative team that had successfully made Daredevil about what no other comic book ever had been about, the outing of a superhero was ending their historic run. Daredevil had been outed and the book for months on end was all about how Matt Murdock dealt with the turmoil in his life, the decisions he made, and the progression of the story. And it all led to this one startling, breathtaking point. No trick or tidy endings here. No imaginary story.

“The Murdock Papers,” the arc that concludes with this issue, was the Kingpin’s elaborate scheme to confirm Daredevil’s identity as Matt Murdock to the world, a scheme that should lead to Murdock’s arrest for vigilantism and Kingpin’s freedom for the deal he cut with the FBI. Last issue ended with the wounded Murdock’s surrender after nearly his every ally in the Marvel Universe stood ground between the FBI and him. Now we find Matt, in cuffs, and Foggy standing before a judge at Matt’s arraignment. A host of Marvel heroes, including Mr. Fantastic and Captain America, are present in the courtroom. After the judge calls on Murdock to state how he pleads, we are treated to thirteen wonderful pages of what we quickly realize are Matt’s fantasy imaginings of how his life might go should he break free and bolt from court. Swirling scenes that involve his wife Mila, the Black Widow, Bullseye, Electra, further death and alienation bring us back to the reality of the courtroom and what will become the next phase of Matt’s life.

I’m tempted to go into a retrospect of this creative team’s storied run on Daredevil. Suffice it to say (and I know I’m repeating myself from prior reviews), this is the best this book has been since Frank Miller. Bendis and Maleev took a superhero and moved him in a bold direction that different from any other superhero story, and didn’t chicken out at the end. This issue offers no resolution. As I said before, there’s no neat ending. It’s pretty ugly, in fact. And it’s a credit to this team that they reflected as much reality in their art as they have because the events in this issue make complete sense. You just wouldn’t believe things would go this way in a Marvel comic book. As much as I’ll miss this creative team, having read their run to this point and knowing Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark are picking up the reigns next issue to continue the saga Bendis and Maleev started, and having read of the jaw dropping disaster they’re going to throw at Matt right away, makes me eager to pick up issue #82 next month.

Black Panther #12
Marvel Comics
Written by: Reginal Hudlin
Drawn by: Scot Eaton

The Black Panther, king of Wakanda, is looking for a queen. From all of Marvel’s PR hype we know that there’s a wedding with Ororo coming up in a matter of months, so we know this search is not a terribly meaningful one to readers. But last issue, after having met during a NYC club fracas, T’Challa and Luke Cage were abducted to the orient by Han, formerly Fu Manchu (copy write problems prevented Marvel from reusing the famous Max Rhomer name), to convince the Panther to wed his lovely daughter and unite their monarchies. That issue sported guest stars The Falcon and Shang Chi. Rejecting Han’s offer led to some martial arts mayhem and now, returning with Cage to the States, T’Challa wants to stop in New Orleans to offer rescue and financial aid to the Katrina flood victims. Being the hero he is, Luke is only too willing to help. However, New Orleans is experiencing more predatory problems than the marauding gangs and real estate speculators T’Challa fears are exploiting the displaced. No, in New Orleans there be vampires. Lots of vampires. And where there are vampires you’ll find Blade (looking a lot like Wesley Snipes) who, this issue, has partnered with Brother Voodoo to take down the blood suckers. Like Blade, Brother Voodoo is a throw back to the Marvel Monsters of the 1970s. And they’re not the only guest stars in this book…is that Karl Malone driving a bulldozer, offering to help out the relief effort? Plus, in a related subplot, long time Avengers readers should be glad to see Monica Romeau of Captain Marvel II and then Photon fame (I know I was) make an appearance, even as she appears in Nextwave this month. While her appearance is brief, and she doesn’t meet up with our other heroes we can only assume that, if she teams up with them in the next issue, she can provide the sunlight frequencies they need to battle the legions of the undead in force.

This issue offers some swift and raw story telling. Reggie Hudlin is not afraid to casually and realistically throw racial slurs around as the superheroes and the supernatural join forces and clash. The fear of clansmen as two black youths avoid a pickup truck, the expressions of joy as the Panther and Cage help the flood victims, and the no-holds barred melee cliffhanger as the hoards of vampires descend on our heroes all make for a pretty intense and fun issue. As far as the art, as much as I miss JR JR on this book, Scot Eaton’s pencils are da bomb. For the story, kudos to Reggie for taking our heroes to our country’s single largest natural disaster in history and using it as the back drop for some serious superhero and supernatural action. This issue may not get the press of Spider-Man’s 9-11 issue, but it is no less relevant to a major crisis going on in our nation right now. With all the recent black hero guest stars in these last two issues, I hope this book doesn’t get tagged as simply the Marvel black hero book. In the direction it’s going it’s clearly becoming so much more than that.

The Adventures of Superman #648
DC Comics
Written by: Greg Rucka, Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir and Jami Bernard
Drawn by: Karl Kerschl and Renato Guedes

I stopped buying Superman titles several months ago, probably for one of the same reasons Batman turned on Superman and the Infinite Crisis was able to get started. Over the last several years, frankly, he’s stopped being Superman. He was becoming more like Spider-Man: insecure, indecisive, a bit of a loner, kind of a whiner. When Batman told him, in Infinite Crisis’ first issue, that he hasn’t inspired anyone since his death I was right there with him.

This issue’s cover, though, is plenty heroic and iconic. Superman flying upward through a sun burst with the copy “More Powerful Than…” emblazed across the bottom right. It looked cool and like a return to what Superman was supposed to be. Head up, proud, powerful, and confident. I broke down and bought the issue just based on the cover. Haven’t done that since high school. We know from Crisis that Chemo has nuked Bludhaven. Over 10,000 are dead. The story, narrated by Lois Lane, reports that the city was struck at 12:51 AM Friday, but that “At 1:06 AM, hope returned to Bludhaven in a blaze of blue, yellow and red.” This is a story of Superman’s rescue efforts in Bludhaven, his battle with Chemo, and the inspiration he gives to the people there and the heroes who come to help. In this issue, Superman is a leader and others are happy, seemingly grateful, to follow him. While a bit hokey I must admit I too was happy to see him taking his proper role in this disaster effort and battle and, actually, got a little caught up in it. While certainly a bit hokey, I was glad for the big blue Boy Scout that he seems to be getting his footing back.

In her writing, Lois seems to be going out of her way to respond to Batman’s statement. Maybe she’s hoping, knowing Bludhaven is home to Nightwing, that Bruce will read her report and think twice about his words. Or maybe I’m reading too much into this. Either way, you can’t help, with Rucka’s writing, hoping that with this issue things are beginning to turn for the better in the DCU. I guess we’ll have to keep following Infinite Crisis, though, to find out for sure.

[wktf]

Most of the trade books out there and, as a result, most of the trades we review tend to be collected story arcs. But there are several really great “collections” trades, too, such as “best of” certain characters or comics creators. We’ve reviewed some of these, mainly Marvel’s recent HC “Visionary” series. With this week’s trade review let’s look at a recently completed collection series that is one of my favorites.

Wktf’s Review

Batman Illustrated by Neal Adams volumes 1-3
DC Comics
Written by: various
Drawn by: Neal Adams

DC has been releasing these three volumes, which collect all of Neal Adams’ Batman work in chronological order, one per year for the last three years. A couple of weeks ago they finally released the third and final volume. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like Neal Adams’ art (I’m sure there must be some out there). Most people either are die-hard Neal Adams fans or simply agree about his greatness and contributions to the medium. Regardless, there are few other comic book creators who can claim the kind of impact Adams has had. In the mid-60s he almost completely revitalized Superman and The Spectre, gave greater relevance to Green Lantern (and Green Arrow along with him), made Deadman a cult hero, and brought his artistic sensibilities to Marvel on titles like X-Men and The Avengers. But it was with his transforming work on Batman that he probably made his most significant mark. By 1967 Batman was in danger of becoming irrelevant. Though he’d been given new juice by Carmine Infantino, the campy Adam West TV show practically killed what made this character not just great but truly unique. Gone was the urban crime fighting legend. Gone were the truly frightening villains. Gone was the obsessed detective who’s most dangerous weapon was his brilliant, searching, deductive mind. Batman was on his way to becoming a joke. Enter Neal Adams, whose body of work from 1967 to 1974 “signaled a sea of change in the look of comic book art” according to Comic Book Marketplace.

Now Batman was dark, mysterious, driven once again. Under Adams’ pencils Batman’s raw emotions poured forth and his phenomenal athletic and fighting prowess seemed real, cinematic and startling. And Adams’ Batman was a creature of the night, crouching in shadows, in crevices of buildings, or in craggy tree tops, his broad cape billowing around him like a devil’s wings. And his surroundings were weird, creepy, almost supernatural. In fact, in many cases, Batman found himself confronting the supernatural whether in the form of Deadman, Boston Brand’s ghost, or a werewolf in Adams’ last DC Comics’ work on the character. But even when he was facing non-supernatural odds he found himself up against the likes of the Man-Bat, Nazi criminals, or bizarre characters like Two-Face, R’as al Ghul or The Joker. And, under Adams, Batman once again was not only The Dark Knight, he was The Dark Knight Detective. Cunning, canny and proving his powers of deduction should be equally feared by the superstitious, cowardly criminal lot as his bludgeoning fists and frightening appearance. This last aspect of the character is something Frank Miller, the makers of “Batman Begins,” and other more modern Batman creators simply have chosen not to exploit, much to the detriment of the character and his stories.

Each of these three HC volumes contains roughly 230 pages of story and covers plus commentary by Neal Adams in each volume, coupled with remarks from his long-time inker D_ick Giordano (the perfect artistic match for Adams) in the second volume and Denny O’Neil, the writer best able to create stories that capitalized on Adams art, in the third volume. The third volume also contains some promotional art and commercial work Adams did for Powers Records (these two stories also were written by Adams and are pretty weak, unfortunately). As these volumes present Adams’ work chronologically, it’s reasonable to assume the first volume, which contains early “World’s Finest” and “Brave and the Bold” work (where Batman teams up with the likes of The Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow and even Sgt. Rock), to be the least artistically distinctive of the collections. For the most part, with the exceptions of the “Brave and the Bold” stories pairing Batman with Deadman and The Creeper, this is true. Great as the art is, Adams appears to be finding his chops in these works and still seems influenced by Infantino’s earlier work, most notably the shorter bat ears and the outline of blue eyebrows on Batman’s mask. The writing in this volume is not too terribly inspired, either. But you can clearly see the evolution of Adams’ Batman in these stories. With volume 2, where Adams is drawing “Detective Comics” as well as “Brave and the Bold,” he is paired with the likes of Len Wein, Marv Wolfman, Frank Robbins on the Man-Bat stories and, most significantly, Denny O’Neil who’s sharp, brooding plots and scripts really helped bring Adams’ art to life.

The third volume, though, where Adams is drawing “Batman” stories while providing covers only for “Detective” and “Brave and the Bold,” is the jewel of these collections. The “dread” Batman is dark and powerful. Elongated bat ears and swirling dark cape coupled with Adams’ use of shadows and setting make him foreboding, intimidating and terrifying. This volume contains the introduction of, and subsequent stories about, R’as al Ghul, Two-Face and Joker stories, a poignant tale of a Holocaust victim’s thirst for revenge and Batman’s conflicted feelings about stopping him and, one of my favorite Batman stories ever, “The Moon of the Wolf,” where Adams’ powers as an artist seem at their absolute height. Many of the stories in this volume, including the Joker story, were adapted for Batman The Animated Series.

Each of these three volumes retails for around $50. You certainly can get them cheaper even though, for some reason, Amazon has only limited copies of the first two volumes in their inventory and don’t even register the third volume yet. But no Batman fan should be without these books, high as the price points are for them. Creators like Alex Ross and Frank Miller have stated that they owe their very interest in comics and their careers to Neal Adams. With these three volumes you certainly can see Adams’ influence on today’s great Batman artists. Other collections the Neal Adams fan should consider are “Green Lantern/Green Arrow,” a beautiful HC slipcase from his famous run with O’Neil (also in paperback), The Deadman HC slipcase collection (don’t think this is in tpb format yet), and “Monsters” (slipcase HC and paperback, I believe) where he does his own interpretation on Frankenstein, The Werewolf and Dracula. There’s also a Neal Adams “Sketchbook” in paperback. I can unflinchingly recommend any or all of these other collections to you, as well.

[Sam Wilson]

any one else pick up nextwave?

[Aarrgghh!!]

Great reviews. I need to pick up the last volume of the Adams Batman, great stuff! Only book I read last night was Next Wave, and it's not for me, hated the art and Sam, you are right it's not the same Ellis from Planetary, Authority, Global Frequency etc. The book in my opinion stunk!

[JDH]

Hmmmm, should I get Nextwave or not...

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by Aarrgghh!!

Great reviews. I need to pick up the last volume of the Adams Batman, great stuff! Only book I read last night was Next Wave, and it's not for me, hated the art and Sam, you are right it's not the same Ellis from Planetary, Authority, Global Frequency etc. The book in my opinion stunk!

yeah, it was different. It reminded me of Garth Ennis's "the Pro" one shot...

FYI a vol. 4 of Neal Adams Batman was in this months previews I believe.

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by jdh.goodgrief

Hmmmm, should I get Nextwave or not...

it's worth checking out bro. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on it, I think it would jive with your sense of humor.

[bat_collector]

I tried to pick up adventures of superman ,but couldn't. Flipped through it and got hte gist of it. yeah, superman is invulnerable. Got that. I'm more looking forward to reading the next arc of superman about eath2 superman though.,

[wktf]

Originally Posted by bat_collector

I tried to pick up adventures of superman ,but couldn't. Flipped through it and got hte gist of it. yeah, superman is invulnerable. Got that. I'm more looking forward to reading the next arc of superman about eath2 superman though.,

b_c, this comic was about more than his being invulnerable. No offense, that's too narrow a take on what the creators were trying to do. Keep in mind this is from someone who swore off the S-titles a long time ago.

[wktf]

Originally Posted by Aarrgghh!!

Great reviews. I need to pick up the last volume of the Adams Batman, great stuff!

Thanks! And, yeah, as I wrote, the last volume is the best of the three (with the exception of the commercial/non comics stories Adams wrote himself).