Comic Reviews by Walt

This week, I catch up on a couple extra issues I picked up from last week’s bunch over the weekend between Wednesdays, as well as this week’s new issues.

FUTURES END: BATWING #1

It’s been a couple years since I’ve checked in on Batwing, offhand. It was the first comic I followed digitally, taking advantage of the $1-cheaper-one-month-later but lost track of it once DC went to waiting 2 months. I was aware of a status quo shift from the character I knew as Batwing to the sun of Lucius Fox. This issue didn’t really do much for me, though it was interesting enough to read. Definitely glad it’s a one-shot…I was satisfied enough with the read to not feel like I wasted my money, though I would not have been happy if this was a “regular” issue. I admit to giving in on some hype with this, but when I found it at cover price, I figured I’d give the thing a shot. Overall not bad for a “weekend wave” of “what was left” after the iniitial Wednesday release.

FUTURES END: EARTH 2 #1

I was going to avoid this one, but then it occurred to me that this was Earth 2. And with all the hints dropped about the war between the Earths, of Earth 2 refugees and such in the Futures End main title, I thought FOR SURE this one would detail some of that, so I was curious enough to hit an extra comic shop to track it down. Sadly, it didn’t deal with that at all, and dealt more with an apparent “fall” of Mr. Terriffic, which while surely a major plot point was not the one I was looking for. The cover made me think it was going to involve the Red Tornado somehow, as well, but that was another point that didn’t hold up to the actual reading. Not a bad issue in and of itself, but certainly didn’t measure up to my expectation, and I might’ve been better off “saving” the $4 for a different one later this month.

FUTURES END: BATMAN #1

So, Batman’s apparently working on preserving and being his OWN legacy. However, as his body (and technology) fail, he finds that he has to go to extreme measures to complete a “puzzle” of sorts to prolong the very existence of Batman. This leads to a fairly all-or-nothing assualt on a Lexcorp facility for material in its lab. Batman being Batman, things have a way of working out, even if not quite what one might expect. I think I was expecting this one to take place a bit further in the future–I wanted to see a Bruce dealing with Terry–the Batman Beyond. I picked this up specifically, simply because it’s Batman…I figured for the “regular” price but much shinier, better cover it would be worthwhile. I wasn’t terribly impressed, though…I very well could have done without the issue. Still, it’s Batman, so not a complete waste. Just definitely not a “top” issue for me in this month of five-years-later one-shots.

FUTURES END: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1

It’s been awhile, again, since I checked in on this title. So I’m not sure how much of the “five years later” ties back to the recent stuff–I assume it does, though. It’s nice to see the continued use of the multiple Lantern corps as such a general thing and not strictly as a Johns thing. While not exactly a “Last John Stewart Story,” this definitely comes off like it could be just that, though I don’t know much of the actual “official” established background of the Indigo Tribe (I think much of that was revealed shortly after I left off with my following of all the GL stuff). We see a hardened John Stewart here facing what he’s become, conflicting with the Indigo Tribe, and what his attitude there leads to as he’s forced to confront his own past and the destruction of a planet. I’m pretty sure this issue would carry more significance if I were to be caught up on the GL family of titles. As-is, it didn’t feel all that important, just sort of an “epilogue” or such, perhaps, on the John Stewart character.

FUTURES END: BATGIRL #1

My earliest Batman comics involved the original introduction of Tim Drake, Robin…and while I didn’t fully “get” it at the time, Barbara Gordon was already a couple years along from the events of The Killing Joke, was already in the early stages of being Oracle…and that’s the character I grew up on for at least 20 years. So I never gave this title much of a chance before bailing…Having Barbara Gordon as Batgirl seems weird, as to me, she’s Oracle and “Batgirl” would be Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown. Given that…this issue’s inclusion of a group of Batgirls (plural), including a “Stephanie” and a “Cassandra” was rather cool…and a Barbara who–while not Oracle–was in more of a leadership/advisory role to a group of women seemed far more familiar and interesting to me. I haven’t a clue if the use of Cassandra and Stephanie here will be “canon,” but I do believe this is Simone’s final issue on the matter, and so it’s good seeing the characters’ inclusion. I was going to pass on this issue on principle…but I’m glad I actually picked it up, as it was a good read, and a nice “check-in” on the title and character, as this single one-shot.

FUTURES END: JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #1

I’ve only loosely been aware of this new title even existing–but while I haven’t cared enough to check it out in a present-day continuity context, as a “five years later” thing it works as just a possible alternate offshoot of the “main” Justice League…so I don’t really have to “think” too much about the matter. Here we find an apparently former group being contacted by the Martian Manhunter, “recruited” to deal with an escape from the JL’s “gulag” on Mars. The situation isn’t all that good, and as the characters arrive, the situation may be more than they can handle alone. Which, of course leaves us with a to-be-continued note, as this story continues into the Justice League issue this month. Technically this is a one-shot, but it’s part 1 of a 2-part story. Though I’ve relished the one-shot nature of DC’s books this month, I actually picked this one up specifically FOR the fact it was part of a two-parter…just to have a slightly larger story, given the involvement of numerous characters when one talks “Justice League.”

FUTURES END: CONSTANTINE #1

As a long-time fan of Hellblazer, I “settled” for the new Constantine series when it premiered, as the only likely monthly dose of the Constantine character. I didn’t much care for the single issues, and figured I’d wait and catch up. I’ve yet to do so, just for simple “apathy” on the matter. Yet, when it came to having “given in” on DC’s annual one-shots, I decided it was a great chance to get a single-issue check-in with the character. Unfortunately, the issue proved to be a real pain to track down…perhaps because there’s a tv show about to premiere with the same name. However, I managed to get thsi for cover price, and it was a neat little story of Constantine vs. Nabu, the Helmet of Fate. It also has probably my favorite cover of the week, if not of the month. I think even if I was not buying any others, I’d’ve been interested in this anyway, just from the cover. While not quite as harsh as it likely would’ve been in Hellblazer proper…I very much enjoyed this issue, and am very glad I sought it out and got to read it. If anything’s to pull me further/back in, this’ll do it.

OVERALL THOUGHTS ON WEEK 2

This week I actually “planned” for including several extra DC books, to the point of emailing ahead to the shop to have several issues pulled. I suppose that’s the surest sign that I’m “hooked” on anything: when I take the time to specifically request something be pulled, even if just as a one-time thing and not an ongoing pull-list item.

In the hassle of tracking down Constantine, I wound up settling for a couple extra issues of Futures End itself, making myself think that ok, I’m not getting every tie-in this month, but MAYBE I’m actually rethinking avoiding the Futures End book. At the very least I’m now intrigued at the prospect of the Earth 2 weekly, and maybe I’ll give that one a shot.

I suppose the big thing all this is telling me is: I’m sick and tired of ongoing $3.99 books and constant events. I just want a self-contained $2.99 or less thing to follow on a regular basis, and when I KNOW from the START it’s a weekly, I’m willing to buy a book weekly for $12ish/monthly–that’s more than the $8 from a double-shipping $3.99, but feels like I’m getting a better value at the weekly new chapters, even if the art varies.

I guess time will definitely tell.

Filed under: 2014, QUASI-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Batgirl, Batman, Batwing, Earth-2, futures end, Green Lantern Corps, Justice League United, New 52 | Leave a comment »