Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 2/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 2.5/5
Filed under: Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Battle for the Cowl (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Bruce Wayne, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, Damian, DC, DC Comics, Dick Grayson, Ian Hannin, Janelle Siegel, Jared K. Fletcher, JD Smith, Last Man Standing, Mike Marts, Nightwing, R.I.P., Robin, Sandu Florea, Tony S. Daniel | Leave a comment »
A Matter of Anti-Life or Death!
Writer: Kevin Vanhook
Pencillers: Julian Lopez & Fernando Pasarin
Inkers: Bit, Norm Rapmund, & Fernando Pasarin
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Steve Wands
Assistant Editor: Harvey Richards
Editor: Michael Siglain
Cover: Guillem March
Publisher: DC Comics
Oracle and her new friends take on the Calculator on a high-tech, virtual-reality front. Their battle eventually shifts to the real world, as “the cure” stands revealed.
The art for this issue is consistent with the earlier issues. It’s not a style I’m all that thrilled with–there’s something to the art as a whole that doesn’t quite do it for me; that seems just a bit inconsistent from some panels to others (leaving aside obvious changes to represent what characters are seeing as ‘virtual reality’ in the game-world/internet log). The art is not horrible, but is not what I would seek out, and would not sell me on the issue.
The story is a bit of a cop-out; I’m not sure how much of that is that this series is so SHORT after half a decade of being groomed into acceptance of the 6-issue arc as “standard,” and how much is other stuff. The events seem to be within the realm of what I know of the title character, but at the same time, I just don’t feel that there’s any real enormity to stuff going on; I’m not sold on the necessity of this mini’s existence. You can certainly find worse stories, and probably worse depictions of the character.
As far as story arcs go, and mini-series in general, this seems little more than a weak attempt to “test the waters” for some ongoing series, while tying into/capitalizing on the Battle for the Cowl “event.”
Unless you’re a die-hard Barbara Gordon fan interested in any/all starring-role appearances, I don’t think this series has been essential to the character as yet; if you’ve bought the first two issues of the series, and enjoyed it, no real reason to avoid this final issue.
Story: 6/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 6/10
Filed under: Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Oracle: The Cure | Tagged: Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Bit, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Fernando Pasarin, Guillem March, Harvey RIchards, Hi-Fi, Julian Lopez, Kevin Vanhook, Michael Siglain, Norm Rapmund, Oracle, Oracle: The Cure, Steve Wands | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 2/5
Art: 2/5
Overall: 2/5
Filed under: Azrael: Death's Dark Knight, Battle for the Cowl (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Azrael, Azrael: Death's Dark Knight, Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Fabian Nicieza, Frazer Irving, Guillem March, Janelle Siegel, Mike Marts, Sal Cipriano | Leave a comment »
Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? part 2 of 2
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Penciller: Andy Kubert
Inker: Scott Williams
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Jared K. Fletcher
Assistant Editor: Janelle Siegel
Editor: Mike Marts
Covers: Andy Kubert
Publisher: DC Comics
There’s something to this story that makes it fit in quite well with the stuff that we’ve had from longtime writer Grant Morrison. The abstracts and symbolism, the nods to other eras of continuity and obscurities of the Bat-verse…these are all pretty much at home in my limited understanding of Morrison’s works. At the same time, where this sort of story wouldn’t work for me coming from Morrison, there’s something about the “history” that I have in reading Gaiman’s books and enjoying, understanding, and simply “getting” them that makes this story work very well.
The story is pretty simple, with not very much action here. A large chunk of story is Bruce talking to an image of his mother, sorting out where he is and what he is seeing. As the issue progresses (everything in the previous chapter having set up the foundation for what we get here, now) we begin to see a bit of a cyclical element to the story–one that actually reminds me just a little bit of Ragnarok, the final Thor story a few years ago from Marvel.
The art, though it doesn’t really jump out at me all that much this issue, is still extemely strong, capturing a classic feel without making me feel like this is actually a comic from decades past. Visually, there’s not much of anything I can think of that’d make it much better.
Gaiman references an old children’s book to great effect in this issue. It’s a reference that is fairly key to the whole thing, bringing a lot of stuff to a fitting close…and a reference that to me, makes this that much more a great story.
Though this doesn’t really serve as a hard bookend, closing the door on a version of the character, it still provides a nice breaking point, a send-off of sorts to characters well-known and loved in the Batman continuity. The story that began last year in RIP, continued through Final Crisis and Last Rites actually continues in the mini-event Battle for the Cowl and into some relaunch-type material in a couple months…perhaps the marketing or something else makes this feel like more of a side-story…a “What would happen if we DID decide to end things now?” kinda thing.
On my first read-through of this issue, I was not sold on the ending. Upon further reflection and asking a friend about the book I thought was being referenced, I realized the brilliance of this story. Whether you’ve been a longtime Batman reader or not, you should have no real trouble following this 2-part story. In fact, you might actually enjoy it all the more being aware only of characters’ existence and not being steeped in the history.
Whatever the case, if you can find the story now as single issues, it’s only two issues and so quite worth snagging that way…if you’re unable to get the story as singles, I very highly recommend picking up the collected volume when it comes out this summer.
Story: 9.5/10
Art: 9/10
Whole: 9.5/10
Filed under: Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Detective Comics | Tagged: Alex Sinclair, Andy KUbert, Batman, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Detective Comics, Goodnight Moon, Janelle Siegel, Jared K. Fletcher, Mike Marts, Neil Gaiman, sandman, Scott Williams, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 2/5
Art: 3/5
Overall: 2/5
Filed under: Azrael: Death's Dark Knight, Battle for the Cowl (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Azrael, Azrael: Death's Dark Knight, Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Fabian Nicieza, Frazer Irving, Guillem March, Janelle Siegel, Mike Marts, Sal Cipriano | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Story: 3/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3/5
Filed under: Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Battle for the Cowl (Event), cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Batman, Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Battle for the Cowl, Comic Reviews, Damian, DC, DC Comics, Ian Hannin, Janelle Siegel, Jared K. Fletcher, Jason Todd, Mike Marts, Nightwing, Robin, Sandu Florea, TOny Daniel | Leave a comment »
A Cold Day in Hell
Written by: Royal McGraw
Art by: Tom Mandrake
Colors by: Guy Major
Letters by: Sal Cipriano
Asst. Edited by: Harvey Richards
Edited by: Michael Siglain
Cover: Ladronn
Publisher: DC Comics
I came on way late with GOtham Central back in the day, though after reading the first hardcover realized it should have been tops on my list years earlier. Given the nature of that title, I had high hopes for this issue…hopes that weren’t entirely realized, but not really dashed, either.
We begin with Gordon prisoner of one of Batman’s foes, before flashing back a bit to show us how it is that he came to be in this position. It’s not long before Gordonrealizes that his confrontation with this foe comes down to just them–Batman’s “dead,” after all–and we see James Gordon the cop here, not just a figure calling in Batman with a spotlight on top of a building.
The story’s fairly straightforward here; nothing spectacular. But we do get a look at Gordon and how the GCPD is faring without Batman in town. This doesn’t strike me as a definitive Gordon story–but it’s nothing that seems to really counter anything that’s come before. In fact, it seems to affirm many of the elements of the Batman “universe” I enjoy.
The art’s pretty good, and fits the story. I particularly liked that it managed to in a few particular panels take my mind exactly where I think it was supposed to, invoking other comics and even the Batman animated series from the 1990s (a series that absolutely cannot be ignored in the staging of this issue).
All in all, this was a solid issue, but not really integral to anything. It’s a nice look at supporting elements, but it doesn’t seem likely to inform events of the core mini. Well worth it if you’re a fan of the character or want to see the wider scope of the Batman/Gotham “universe” but not something you’d need if you’re just along for the core Battle for the Cowl series.
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 7.5/10
Whole: 7.5/10
Filed under: Battle for the Cowl (Event), Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon, Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Cold Day in Hell, Comic Reviews, Commissioner Gordon, DC, DC Comics, GCPD, Gordon, Guy Major, Harvey RIchards, James Gordon, Ladronn, Michael Siglain, Royal McGraw, Sal Cipriano, Tom Mandrake | Leave a comment »
Home Again, Home Again
Writer: Kevin Vanhook
Pencillers: Julian Lopez & Fernando Pasarin
Inkers: Bit & Hi-Fi’s David Bryant
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Letterer: Steve Wands
Assistant Editor: Harvey Richards
Editor: Michael Siglain
Cover: Guillem March
Publisher: DC Comics
We open on a view from outside Barbara Gordon’s new apartment building, as residents all react to flickering availability of power. We then move into seeing Barbara interact with her father, some other allies, hacker contacts, and so on, showing us much of what makes up the life of Oracle as she adjusts to being back in Gotham City after being gone for quite awhile.
The story isn’t bad, though I’m not terribly enthused by it. Nothing really blows me away…in fact, a couple points actually strike me as extremely cliche. There’s a point that’s brought up several times throughout the issue that screams foreshadowing to me (and cliched foreshadowing at that). Additionally, what happens with one of Barbara’s hacker friends seems laughably unrealistic to me, like a plot point jammed in because there was no other way to have such a point occur otherwise.
The art’s not bad. It seems vaguely generic at points, but comes across smoothly for the most part. Aside from some…questionable angles…you could really find a lot of art in comics out there that is far less appealing. What we have in this issue works for the story, and fits.
The way the foreshadowing pays off in the next two issues will really inform how integral this series is to the Battle for the Cowl story as a whole. For now, this seems to be at least a nice tie-in that takes the context of the overall story and is telling a smaller aspect of that story with a particular focus that needn’t include the entire Bat-verse.
Could be much better, but not a bad read if you’re interested in the character or having all the tie-ins and such.
Story: 7/10
Art: 7/10
Whole: 7/10
Filed under: Battle for the Cowl (Event), Comic Reviews 2009, DC, DC Universe, Oracle: The Cure | Tagged: Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Bit, Comic Reviews, David Bryant, DC, DC Comics, Fernando Pasarin, Guillem March, Harvey RIchards, Hi-Fi, Home Again Home Again, Julian Lopez, Kevin Vanhook, Michael Siglain, Oracle, Oracle: The Cure, Steve Wands | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Filed under: Azrael: Death's Dark Knight, Battle for the Cowl (Event), Comic Reviews 2009, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Azrael, Azrael: Death's Dark Knight, Batman, Battle for the Cowl, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Fabian Nicieza, Frazer Irving, Guillem March, Janelle Siegel, Mike Marts, Sal Cipriano | Leave a comment »
Full review posted to comixtreme.com.
Filed under: Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Battle for the Cowl (Event), Comic Reviews 2009, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Batman, Batman Dead, Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Batman: R.I.P., Battle for the Cowl, Comic Reviews, cxPulp.com, DC, DC Comics, Ian Hannin, Janelle Siegel, Jared K. Fletcher, Mike Marts, Nightwing, Robin, Sandu Florea, Tony S. Daniel | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 