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Detective Comics #965 [Review]

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Walt

detective_comics_0965A Lonely Place of Living Chapter 1

Writer: James Tynion IV
Pencils: Eddy Barrows
Inks: Eber Ferreira
Colors: Adriano Lucas
Letters: Sal Cipriano
Covr: Barrows, Ferreira, Lucas
Assistant Editor: Andrew Marino
Editor: Chris Conroy
With Gratitude to: Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Jim Aparo
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: November 2017
Cover Price: $2.99

I’ve gotten woefully behind in actually reading Detective Comics, though it seems it should be one of my favorite titles. But I was a bit put off by the supposed ‘death’ of Tim Drake early in the new run last year, and wasn’t in a big hurry to follow anything "long-term" with that for a number of reasons. And time passed.

Recently, I was quite excited by a familiar-looking image, in an ad for the then-upcoming (now here) Detective Comics story A Lonely Place of Living. For the cover alone, standard or variant (in an extremely rare bit of sentiment) I was going to get the issue ASAP: it’s a callback to my own earliest days "in comics." My first-ever issue of Batman was #439–the closing chapter of Year Three; my second issue was #440…the opening chapter of A Lonely Place of Dying, which is where this story gets its title (sorta like the recent The Lazarus Contract‘s title playing off the classic The Judas Contract).

So for nostalgia alone I was gonna get this issue. But given continuity things of the last six years, I didn’t know exactly what the story itself would yield, outside of the story title and the cover playing off the classic.

We open on a flashback–Tim confronting Dick as he visits the circus he grew up with, showing him photos of Batman going off the deep end and explaining that he knows Batman is Bruce Wayne and that he–Dick–is Nightwing, formerly Robin. In the present, we find Tim being questioned by Mr. Oz–recently revealed to be (a?) Jor-El, father of Kal-El (Superman). We’re treated to brief flashbacks to the events of A Lonely Place of Dying, and then the beginning of the original Robin mini-series as Tim dons the duds and officially becomes Robin. Jor-El reveals his "truth" to Tim even as Tim exerts some control of the situation. He soon finds himself in contact with Batman…only it’s not the Batman he expects…rather, it’s a Batman he swore would never exist. Before much can come of that, the two find themselves facing possibly the most dangerous creature Oz had captured, which leaves us waiting for the next issue.

I would have to actually go back to the original issues or one of the collected editions on my shelves to confirm, but the dialogue in the flashbacks hit pretty darned CLOSE to my memory of the exchanges between the characters, and honestly gave me a slight chill at the way the flashbacked-scenes brought up memories for me.

As of reading this issue, I already knew the "big reveal" of Oz’s identity (though I’m still not sure if or how I’ll accept it–I’m still waiting for some other swerve and imagine it’ll be quite a long time before I’d accept it as the canon it’s being presented as and not just another plot point on the way to something else). I definitely dug Tim’s ingenuity, seeing that despite his time as a prisoner, he’s continued working on a way to escape (and after another earlier escape that we saw in Superman Reborn).

I was not prepared for/expecting the older Bat-Tim to show up or be any part of this at all…I honestly initially saw him as "just another character" of no significance; some swerve to this story or some trap for Tim or some such; it was seeing someone’s comment about the Titans of Tomorrow story that jogged my memory and contextualized the character…making this all the more cool as a story.

I’m not particularly familiar with Tim’s story or origins from 2011-onward; really since before 2009 as I’d lapsed as a reader early in the Red Robin run, and got right back out of the New 52 iteration of Teen Titans that I’d tried at the start. But at least for this opening chapter of A Lonely Place of Living, I feel like I’ve got "my" Robin back, "my" Tim Drake.

Which is a rather personal thing for me as the character debuted AS I got into comics…

Story, art…all in all, this is an excellent issue, certainly for playing on my nostalgia. The story is strongly rooted in continuity, in history…and the art just looks good, with nothing taking me out of the story. This issue just is.

If you’re a fan of Robin, or Tim Drake, or the current run of Detective Comics, I highly recommend this. Really, even if you aren’t a fan of them…this feels like something big, and all the moreso to me personally. Only this first chapter in and I already know I am absolutely looking forward to the inevitable double-dipping of getting the collected volume, and wondering what form that might take–as well as whether or not we’ll get any new version of a collected volume of the original A Lonely Place of Dying story!

tec965_batman441

Filed under: 2017 Posts, 2017 Reviews, DC Rebirth | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekend Haul – Weekend of June 9-11

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Walt

Over the weekend, I wound up getting quite a bit of stuff! Granted, some of it was ordered and arrived over the weekend, but still much more than a usual weekend might be!

weeklyhaul_06072017d

I stopped by Comic Heaven looking for Trial of the Flash issues, with no luck on those. but I did score an anniversary issue of Detective Comics that I think I may have heard of but don’t think I’ve ever read.

Then I found several books more than 50% off in bargain bins I hadn’t realized had been "restocked." (One actually may have been on a bargain shelf display, come to think of it). These, plus a booster pack of Star Wars: Destiny (a dice and cards game) where I got a rather pricey rare card (or "legendary" in game terms) cost me LESS than what the Black Vortex would have cost at cover price!

And it’s kinda hard to believe that there are 75 issues of Savage Dragon across just three of these Savage Dragon Archives paperbacks. (They’re basically like Marvel‘s Essential or DC‘s Showcase volumes–phonebook-sized black and white reprints of series). I remember (among other issues prior) getting Savage Dragon #75 as a new issue and being astounded at how long Larsen kept the result of that issue going at the time. And I’m quite interested in snagging the other Archives volumes as well.

weeklyhaul_06072017e

Then, I took a friend across town to Carol & John’s, where we were unfortunate enough to be there during Winston‘s nap-time. Being cat people, though, we totally understood not waking the kitty!

I snagged the new Marvel Comics Digest starring Spider-Man, and picked up Bane: Conquest #2 which I’d missed/not seen prior (oops!).

At a Books-A-Million, I snagged a Spidey treasury edition…for $3.97 and jumped on it (hey, 5 Marvel issues’ content for a whopping $3.97–cheaper even than a single issue–is a price point I’m willing to sample something at!)

weeklyhaul_06072017f

Also at the Books-A-Million, I found a copy of the (I believe out of print) Gambit Classic vol. 1 for a mere $6.97–seven issues’ content for barely $1 each, and did I mention that I’m pretty sure this volume is out of print? I think its contents are somewhat duplicated in other stuff, but the ’90s fan in me was ecstatic to find this for the price (though I’ll probably pay at least triple this for the second volume if I ever come across it or hunt it down).

weeklyhaul_06072017g

And rounding things out, I’d put an order in with InStockTrades for a few books, sliding I think just a few cents over the minimum threshold for free shipping. And though the box arrived with a hefty dent and outright HOLE in its side from the mail system…since InStockTrades (UNLIKE Amazon) ACTUALLY USES GOOD PACKING PRACTICES, my books were UNHARMED. Additionally, because of actually being packed well, they arrived in new condition, as ordered–something Amazon flat-out REFUSES to do!

Next is to try to hold back a bit, though there are a number of other books and such that I want. It’s just kinda sad when a random visit to a couple comic shops and a bookstore (and an online order) yield better deals and more plentifully so (that interest me, anyway) than a convention.

We’ll see what this week’s new releases hold, and if/when I get another chance to sit down for some major, marathon reading!

Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of September 14, 2016

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Walt

Another manageably small week for me, and of primarily (or just) DC stuff.

weeklyhaul_09142016_a

I made three exceptions in buying stuff coming to me later this month via DCBS bundles… Three issues that I wanted immediate gratification, to read right away, no waiting.

As usual, Action Comics and Detective Comics were top-notch…”proving” to me they genuinely are back to being the “flagship titles” of their families, and the publisher.

I was rather curious about Superwoman, and while interested in the story and such, it didn’t feel quite up to the moment for me, so I’ll likely be a bit more patient next month and just wait on it.

While I’m digging Detective, I figure I might give it one more issue like this and see if the fate of Tim Drake is an ongoing subplot* or not…and if it isn’t a heavy thing, I’ll wait–THE reason I was making this book an exception was Tim Drake, and if he’s not going to be used as a prominent character in the ongoing story, then I can definitely wait a bit on reading the story.

weeklyhaul_09142016_b

On Saturday, for the (third?) annual Batman Day I swung through a shop I was passing and browsed a bit and ultimately settled on Dark Knight, Dark City–a volume I’d apparently forgotten about but presumably had known about. It’s another of these nice, thick volumes DC has been putting out that is truly a solid value at full cover price but which is even moreso at a discount.

20% off for Batman Day and a FREE (to me!) Batman (2016) #1. New/variant cover, but as a freebie and special event, in this case, a variant, the existence of the variant is honestly quite acceptable to me. The only rub is, this is a free copy of a full issue that was just released commercially for full cover price about three months ago. Of course, with the biweekly shipping, Batman already has six issues out and a new arc beginning in a couple more days, so anyone pursuing the story for immediacy is not in a position of having an issue of the “current” story handed away free after having just paid for it.

Over at the Facebook Page (you do know I have a Facebook Page, right?) I’ve also just shared a couple links that Bleeding Cool posted; pieces on Clone Conspiracy and another on what impact the Civil War II “tag” has had on crossover/tie-in books.

The Clone Conspiracy piece is basically some coverage of a statement writer Dan Slott put out there urging retailers to order more copies of the upcoming premiere issue, and urging consumers to contact their shops now to ensure they have a copy on hold.

Apparently the mini-series/”core event” will be the CORE Spidey book, so the actual ongoing (excuse me, seasons) of the “regular books” are just along for the ride, telling tie-in stories (the difference here vs. Civil War II is that Clone Conspiracy seems to be a “smaller event” contained to the Spidey family of books rather than crossing the entire universe). However, I fully expect Marvel to have “leaked” or otherwise provided the/any major spoiler information to a news source that will “go live” with it at least two days ahead of the issue’s actual release, thus negating any reason to “have to” get it or ability to enjoy being surprised by a Marvel comic.

The Civil War II piece looks at the impact or lack thereof on several titles tying into the universe-spanning event. Me? I’ve “dropped” the only two titles that I had been giving a chance, from Marvel. I didn’t even wait for the actual tie-in issues of Power Man and Iron Fist or Thunderbolts to come out to skip…once I was certain I’d seen an issue of each as having a tie-in, I dropped ’em cold turkey.

Why waste $4 an issue for additional issues when I already know I’m not going to be going beyond the first handful of issues anyway, thanks to the tie-in?

Of course, I personally do not matter, not really: factor in variants and my purchase is absolutely not required…there’s someone else who’s glad to buy an extra copy or few that more than makes up for me.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Zero Hour Revisited – Detective Comics #678

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Walt

90srevisited_zerohour

detective_comics_0678Yesterdays Gone

Writer: Chuck Dixon
Penciller: Graham Nolan
Guest Inker: Bob McLeod
Colorist: Adrienne Roy
Letterer: John Costanza
Assistant Editor: Darren Vincenzo
Editor: Scott Peterson
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: September 1994
Cover Price: $1.50

The thought’s hit me as I get to writing about this issue–Zero Hour is beginning to wear a bit thin on me. I’ve always loved the event, the core series and the Superman tie-in issues, because those were the ones I’d read at the time, when they were first released. I was coming off my first major Batman phase, but still somewhat following the Bat-books. Now as I’m coming down to a handful of books remaining to the event, I’m eager to finish up, get to the end of the event itself and on to other reading projects (perhaps a guy diligently typing away about every issue he reads for several weeks in a given twenty-two-year-old story shouldn’t admit that, but there it is). Despite that, I’m enjoying it more than the bulk of new comics being released and appreciating it a heckuva lot more than modern events.

This issue is one with a familiar cover, though I don’t really–truly–have any conscious memory associated with it. Reading the issue itself was like reading a completely new comic…such that I cannot actually with complete confidence say that I absolutely read it in 1994…though I would have–before reading all these–sworn that I had. I’d thought something played out in a missed detail in one of the Zero issues, that after this event Batman had not truly caught his parents’ killer, that it wasn’t Joe Chill, and so on…but it seems at least the major seed of that was planted here, in this issue…and is absolutely a detail I missed at the time in terms of reading or "getting" it myself.

We find Batman responding to an alarm in the Cave…but upon emerging from the cave, finds the Manor and the world to not be the one he knows…he himself has become an anomaly in ANOTHER timeline. In this one, his parents have arrived home after a horrible night…in which their son Bruce was killed in an attempted mugging as they left a movie theater. Batman skirts the edges of awareness in the Manor, and sees a chance to salvage stuff–he KNOWS WHO the killer is, and thus how to find him immediately, this very night–and in this timeline, where he IS an anomaly, he can bring justice in a world in which he can also see his parents LIVE. And in the course of seeking said justice…Batman comes to find that the man he’s long known to be his parents’ killer…is (at least in this timeline) NOT. And before long finds himself back in his own timeline, where his parents are dead, and he now has to consider the very real possibility that he actually never HAS brought his parents’ murderer to justice…and may never actually be capable of doing so, having long since closed the case and let a cold trail go even colder.

The best way to describe my feelings on this issue’s artwork is that it’s quite solid. It doesn’t particularly stand out–in conscious memory at least, and does not in itself trigger any particular memories or feelings of simply joy–or enjoyment–regarding the visuals. But I recognize Nolan and McLeod‘s names from this era, and that’s a very welcome factor for me. There IS a definite familiarity to the art, and I definitely enjoy it…this is some of the better Batman art I can think of…and I’d certainly welcome it over a lot of more modern stuff.

Story-wise, this is also a solid issue. With Dixon on writing, I would associate it with positive quality on name value alone. I just wish I had more conscious memory of him on this book, say, than "only" on something like Robin.

That element aside…I definitely enjoyed 1. the way and fact of this issue being part of Zero Hour allowing for the scenario it does, and B. that despite its ripples on continuity, it gives a largely self-contained micro-story that works and yet (as with many other tie-ins) does not need to explain or solidify the why and how of stuff, just show us the WHAT.

I don’t recall how long it actually stuck, but I do remember this "changing the game" a bit, at least for awhile, and thus this makes for a good issue to read, outside the core event, and particularly if you followed Batman at the time.

Though in this typing I find my analysis colored by evaluating it simply as an object of the past…it’s still in the higher part of any list I’d compose of recommendations for stuff to read if not the entire event…and gives me plenty to think about from stuff as simple as the blood on the cover under Batman…while no visible wound on the body (good ol’ ’90s censorship and pushed boundaries)… or the fact that while I’ll occasionally see Zero Hour issues in bargain bins…this issue does not tend to be one of them…either people don’t get rid of it with other issues (and/or they’re bought quicker before I get to the bins) or it’s sought after enough to "hold value" in a realm of ‘regular’ back issues, not to be merely offloaded in a bargain bin.

Filed under: 2016 posts, The '90s Revisited, Zero Hour | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

REBIRTH WEEK 4: Action, Detective, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Justice League

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Walt

This post is a little late due to timing and leaving the partially-typed post at work. Six books this week, including the “in isolation” Justice League #52 that I got strictly because of tying to the Superman stuff in Rebirth…

JUSTICE LEAGUE #52

justiceleague0052This week starts with a sort of one-shot, posing as an issue of Justice League. This issue is basically a “bridge” issue, taking Lex Luthor from one apparent status quo at the end of The Darkseid War and getting him into position for his role in Action Comics. We get a lot of narration from his side of things, making him definitely a sympathetic character…especially as he comes off–to me, on one reading–as actually being genuine, if not pure in his intentions. This IS Lex Luthor, after all…but I find it a lot easier to identify with this version of the character than I did the pre-Flashpoint one. Ultimately…it seems Luthor gave up rulership of Apokalips and all that would entail to return to Earth, to be a hero, a champion, to better himself such that he would make his sister Lena proud. Whatever else he is, whatever side things he might have going, whatever his methodology and such, he wants to be someone his sister can be proud of. And I kinda dig that.

ACTION COMICS #958

action_comics_0958This issue is the second of this Rebirth run, yet both issues take place after the Justice League issue. (Of course, JL apparently was delayed/late, so…your mileage on the matter may vary). We have Superman and Luthor forced to team up against Doomsday, while various elements of the story are brought to bear. Who is this Clark Kent, and how is he separate from Superman? We as readers know, but characters in the story are left to wonder who this Superman is, given they’ve been told Superman is dead. Lois and Jon watch news of goings-on on tv, as Jon begins to learn a bit more about his father, and we see Lois trying to hide her worry so as to protect her son. Because this is Doomsday, and seems to be THE Doomsday; somehow the same one that DID kill Superman, and not just some construct or entity that can turn into spores and be inhaled or infect someone. Superman–our Superman, this Superman, pre-Flashpoint Superman, recognizes the creature, feels its power, and is himself worried. The issue ends with a cliffhanger that leaves me wondering where the story’s headed, and very interested in the questions half-raised by it in the back of my head…all ultimately stuff that enrichens Superman, Luthor, and the story as a whole.

DETECTIVE COMICS #935

detective_comics_935“Only” two issues in, and I’m quite enjoying this series. Like Action Comics, it feels like a flagship title again. It is definitely, obviously a Batman book…but it’s more a “family” sort of title in that we have Batman, Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, and even Clayface in the mix. If I can’t have a Tim Drake as Robin/Red Robin solo book, I’ll absolutely “accept” his presence here…particularly seeing that there IS something between him and Stephanie…an element definitely missed since…too far back. I’m not too sure about Kate’s father and what’s going on there…but I’m interested in finding out. I like this mix of characters. I like seeing them, period. And I’m liking the art, and the story holds plenty of potential. I don’t like Marvel‘s double-shipping because of pricing and feeling “obligated” to a title or such. Here, with Detective shipping twice a month, I’m enjoying the story so far and am actually interested in the story, therefore getting another issue every two weeks is a rather welcome thing…especially with each issue “only” being $2.99 vs. Marvel’s $3.99.

THE FLASH #1

flash(2016)_0001While I had bought the entire The Flash: Rebirth mini-series back in 2009 or 2010, whenever it was–I’ve never been a huge Barry fan. Comics-wise, I’m still not, in that he was GONE when I was introduced to comics, and despite occasionally short appearances (Time being wibbly-wobbly and all that) he served as inspiration for Wally and the rest of the Flash family more so than being present himself. But thanks to the tv series, the character has grown on me, and since I’ve quite enjoyed that and I see some elements of crossover, I’m enjoying this. Granted, this is the first issue and only the second issue focused on the Flash in the Rebirth initiative thus far…so I’ve not had much to go on. The story’s not put me off, and something about the art strikes me as something I would not care for with most other characters, but something to it simply “works” for this character. I’m also quite eager to see what all comes up with the fact of Barry being one of apparently only a few individuals to really know “something” is going on, that ten years have been stolen, and so on. That that mystery is something I’m expecting to be drawn out over a couple years makes this title–as a rarity–all the more interesting as a key part of details being learned.

WONDER WOMAN #1

wonder_woman(2016)_0001Possibly the most appealing thing–to me–of this issue is the cover. That’s a beautiful cover, definitely worthy of a poster. Despite that, I’m not sure at the moment if I’d consider it “iconic” or not…I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what the cover of #2 looks like, as well as other elements such as how the title will be collected…as at least for the first few, we’re going to have one story going on in the odd-numbered issues with a “Year One” going on in the evens. While the cover may be the most appealing part…I still liked this issue. It’s just not singularly-stand-out or anything. I’d quite enjoyed what I’d read of Rucka‘s Wonder Woman back around Infinite Crisis and such, but by the time of The New 52 and such, I’ve had no particular interest in the character…really only having anything to with the character by her presence in other stuff–mainly Superman–that I’d read. I’m still looking forward to this series–these first couple stories at minimum–but this is more of a passive enjoyment than an active “chomping at the bit for more” kinda thing. On this single issue alone I could probably take or leave the title if I had to…but having the next several issues coming (eventually) as parts of bundles, I do look forward to reading them and going from there.

AQUAMAN #1

aquaman(2016)_0001I’ve both been aware and simultaneously ignorant when it comes to a lot of Aquaman stuff…particularly longform continuity and back story. I have a couple mental images of the character from the early/mid 1990s of the long-haired, bearded, harpoon-handed period of the character. Despite a couple silver/bronze age issues of my grandfather’s that I’d come across the character, my main introduction to him was in Zero Hour, with a continued “awareness of” the character through the ’90s. Which is all past stuff, and this is a new first issue, the Rebirth issue being a prologue. I don’t know these characters from much familiarity. The whole Aquaman-and-Mera thing is recent for me, from Brightest Day. I’ve known OF Black Manta as a villain going back to early DC Heroclix days. And I’m pretty sure somewhere I’d come across something about his history with Aquaman (I’m thinking Manta was the one that cost Arthur his hand in 1994). Which is alllll to say that I don’t have enough conscious background to really care much one way or the other for this character and his cast…except I’d heard good things about him with the start of the New 52 (though I never jumped in) and I consciously want to like this here, now. It’s a “good” issue, I’m definitely satisfied for my $2.99…but I’m just not EXCTIED by it. As part of a bundle I’m happy to keep reading the series…taken strictly in a pass/fail capacity I think this would be a “good, but just not my kinda thing for single issues” title.

OVERALL:

Another great week of stuff, with no major letdowns. I’m really glad that I ordered bundles starting with July because this is definitely way too much to keep up with, with any regularity otherwise. As with previous “special months” that DC has done, I will occasionally dive in with a bunch of stuff for that month…but to want to carry over fully into following months…this has not happened in a long time!

At this point, I’m thinking I will definitely throw support behind Action Comics and Detective Comics, as well as Superman–wherein even though I’ve ordered the bundles, I’ll still buy the singles day-of-release at the shop. (For what I’m saving on the bundles I still come out way ahead, price-wise).

Only hard thing will be waiting for the end of the month and then cramming in the time to get everything read!

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, DC, DC Rebirth | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

REBIRTH WEEK 2: Action, Detective, Flash, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Walt

This week gave us three new Rebirth issues–serving as starting point, prologue, and #0s for newly-relaunching ongoing books…as well as the first issues of two ongoing series: Action Comics and Detective Comics, doing the opposite of expectation and instead of a fresh #1 for either title, leap back to their “legacy” numbering–adding their past 52 issues onto their last pre-Flashpoint issue, bringing the books current as if they’d never been renumbered.

And while it may not be the best technical term, my overall feelings after reading the week’s issues lead me simply to the sentence “Holy crap! DC‘s comics are awesome again!”

ACTION COMICS #957

actioncomics0934I couldn’t contain myself to just a few basic comments…I absolutely loved Action Comics #957 and wrote up a bunch of thoughts on it separately.

Like…I thoroughly enjoyed the issue.

It’s the best single-issue Superman comic of one of the ongoing titles I can consciously recall as of this typing.

It’s like re-united with an old friend not seen in years, and realizing that even though life has gone on, we’ve grown and changed, what we had is still there.

Fantastic story.

Fantastic art.

A mere twenty pages for “only” $2.99, and just this issue alone made me smile, and feel like a kid again, and I really, truly am looking forward to the next issue. I walked away for four years. With an issue like this, such a strong start like this, it sucks that I have no choice but to WAIT two weeks for the next issue.

DETECTIVE COMICS #934

detective_comics_934I think I was originally intending to ignore this issue, this series. Unlike with the Superman books, I’ve been a lot more flexible in my overall Batman collecting, with a much more punctuated “history” with the character and books. Then I was “only” going to get this because of deciding to throw in for the start of the Rebirth initiative, just diving in with “everything” for a few weeks, to really give it a chance. And for the first time since I can remember, I thoroughly enjoyed an issue of this title.

I have never cared for this Batwoman character, but here, as presented in this issue, I’m cool with it. I didn’t read the whole Gordon-as-Batman-and-then-Bruce’s-Return stuff nor any recent Justice League stuff, so I’m certainly missing a bit. I don’t much care for the black-bat-outlined-in-gold chest-logo, but I can accept it as the current, knowing that it’s a lot more cyclical than say, Superman’s S-shield.

I love that I get Tim Drake here, seeming very much like the character I’ve loved and appreciated nearly my entire time with comics. And as he started out without a solo title, appearing in the Bat-books…so here he’s “just” another character in a book with several characters. And while he has a double-R logo now–Red Robin instead of “just” Robin–it’s a great melding of new and old, and I’m happy with it at least for the moment. The use of Clayface and Spoiler as well lend interest for me, and I think I’m around for the next several issues at least…doing as a single issue should, I’m quite entertained and felt my purchase was worthwhile, and I’m actively looking forward to the next issue.

THE FLASH: REBIRTH #1

flash_rebirth_0001This is the first of these issues to really, directly reference and involve stuff that went down in the Rebirth one-shot, weaving stuff from that into the flow of this story, giving us even more on the return of Wally and setting his journey and Barry’s own as we head into coming books. While the art was a bit off-putting, seeming a bit more “artsy” than I’d prefer, it worked well enough in conveying the story, and I was never left wondering what’d happened in a panel or scene. It’s just not a visual style I tend to prefer (even if it LOOKS very New 52 Flash to me at a glance).

We have Barry, and get Wally, and get some real, direct expansion on stuff from Rebirth. This issue makes me really look forward to The Flash and Barry in coming Flash issues, as well as Wally’s own journey, and seeing how things go with Batman as well. I never used to think of Batman and Flash as being a good pair, but this issue shows me how that definitely works, beyond contrivances with an alternate universe story I’d had little idea would mean what it did half a decade ago.

Though this is a single issue and not a 6-issue mini-series, like its predecessor, I’m more interested in Barry than I was before reading, and am definitely looking forward to continuing adventures of the character.

AQUAMAN: REBIRTH #1

aquaman_rebirth_0001I’ve never been much of an Aquaman fan. I’ve been aware of the character, read plenty of issues of varying quality involving the character, dabbled in reading iterations of ongoing series with the character, but despite “potential” several times, just never got into the character. As such, by rights, I shouldn’t care to check this out, or to enjoy this issue all that much…but I checked it out, and enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to seeing a bit more development.

That said, this is (for me) probably the weakest of all the Rebirth issues so far. It’s NOT bad, and the art is fantastic, and there’s a heckuva lot of potential for the series. But this one issue doesn’t do a lot for me…doesn’t change my take on the character, doesn’t infuse me with excitement and interest for the next issue…it’s just an issue serving as prologue to the initial arc on the officially-ongoing series (making this very much a #0 issue). Particularly when stacked up against the likes of Action Comics #957, the one-shot Rebirth issue itself, and my excitement toward several other launching-soon titles, this didn’t have much chance.

Another way to put it, though, I think would be this: Aquaman sits amidst some phenomenally enjoyable comics that are collectively serving as a breath of fresh air after years of really just flat-out NOT REALLY CARING, PERIOD about DC comics in general, and finding refuge in bargain-bin back issues. This issue is solid, introducing/re-introducing characters, status quo, motivation(s), and setting up what’s to come. I’m not disappointed at buying it. I just find the thought rather interesting that weighing the various issues out so far, if I had to “cut” any from purchasing, this would likely be the first. Still, I’m onboard for now, and it’s great to see the character in action and in a relationship, and coming off as a serious character, while there’s acknowledgement of the rap the character gets.

WONDER WOMAN: REBIRTH #1

wonder_woman_rebirth_0001Rucka on Wonder Woman again… yeah, that’s definitely a positive selling point for me. That this issue addresses and begins in its own way to ADDRESS discrepancies in the character’s origin and backstory, moving the story forward while not disregarding or throwing anything out goes a long way in making me want to read more. There’s a familiarity to the character in this issue that I really enjoyed, both narratively and visually. I recognize the character as one I’ve seen here and there and even read a bit in the Superman/Wonder Woman book for the New 52…but I also see something of prior iterations of the character as well–Rucka‘s run from around Infinite Crisis as well as stuff going back to Byrne, and even back to the beginning of the post-CoIE run with Perez.

While I’m “aware OF” something with Wonder Woman and her being the God(dess) of War now (from reading Superman/Wonder Woman), other than that, in my own reading experience, the character has felt largely defined as “finally” being Superman’s girlfriend…I’ve not followed the solo series, and so have only really seen much with the character when it’s involved Superman.

Here we get a character that’s very much her own, in an issue whose story is strong in how it shows the character and in acknowledging mixed versions of her origin and backstory. The art is solid and I like it overall…despite the way the character could easily be conveyed, I feel like the character radiated independent strength that leaves me wanting to read more and see more, without it being tied to how she looks.

The familiarity from having Rucka back on the character’s title is another positive, and a key factor for me to just stick around, trusting from the past that this is gonna be a great ride.

Three weeks in…and still enjoying stuff, still greatly enjoying the fact that for the first time in years, the DC Unierse feels like “home” again, that I’m as interested in the “universe” as I am individual characters or a couple individual titles.

I know the quality won’t hold–I can’t imagine any line could–but this whole push is just SO refreshing that I’m enjoying it, and “on the hook” for at least the next seven or so weeks and ready to add another 4 to that!

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Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, DC, Rebirth | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Getting Into Comics With High Numbers

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Walt

I was introduced to comics in late 1988 with a stack of Silver Age books Mom had grandpa bring for me–to my knowledge, he simply grabbed a bunch from a cabinet that he and my uncle kept them in…so there was a mix of “Batman” and “Superman” stuff, and probably other DC characters…possibly some Marvel, but they were more DC guys than Marvel.

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In spring 1989 when I learned that they STILL MADE COMICS, that one could still buy NEW COMICS, brand-new, these stories were STILL GOING ON, it was Mom that bought me my first four comics: Detective Comics #604, Adventures of Superman #453, Batman #439, and Superman (rebooted) #31. Not a #1 amidst them, and at the time absolutely no knowledge nor expectation of backtracking TO a #1. When Action Comics eventually returned to the “Superman Family,” it was still several months before I came across the title myself, and my first issue was #651.

It was Captain America #425-beginning the twelve-part Fighting Chance story–that primarily pulled me into having an interest on that title (and that after it not bothering me at all seeing a #400 on an issue tying into Operation: Galactic Storm), and it wasn’t a new creative team or a new #1 that got me into The Flash…it was simply the start of a new arc at #197 with the ongoing/continuing team that led me into several years of following the book, into Infinite Crisis and all the shenanigans with the character, series, numbering from there.

Maybe once upon a time, a #1 was special or significant…but now with ENTIRE LINES being restarted at #1 and doing so REPEATEDLY, every couple years or so such that it’s actually surprising for anything to hit #30, let alone #50 or up, it’s NOT special, and I for one have less faith in a series’ longevity now than ever before: if a book has lasted 120+ issues, that’s a 10-year run, a 10-year history or pedigree, it means that whatever they’re doing with it, it has lasted a decade or more, and isn’t just some short year-and-a-half flash-in-the-pan thing likely to disappear within a “few” months of me getting involved.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Thoughts on a Couple Announcements: DC Rebirth

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Walt

So, a couple posts being floated around social media caught my attention tonight. And they’re a decent way to do another stream-of-consciousness post. So…here we go!

“Action,” “Detective Comics” Return To Original Numbering For “Rebirth”

While it sounds like everything “else” is either restarting with yet another new #1, or continuing recent numbering (i.e. MY understanding is nothing will be hitting #53), we’re getting “legacy numbering” on the two formerly-longest-running titles.

I do call shenanigans here. If they’re JUST continuing the “New 52” or non-PreFlashpoint stuff…then they should keep the recent numbering or dig into the same hole with yet another #1. Or, if throwing a bone to older/long-time fans and giving us perhaps a single book with a version of the character(s) we want back…give us Action #905-onward. If this is just a 2-year march to #1000 for the sake of that numbering…it’s STILL a messed-up game of trying to have (had) their cake and eat it too, so to speak.

It’s also all the more disheartening–for me–because that puts a 50+ issue GAP in my run on Action Comics, that definitely hits my OCD in a bad way. All the more for having had the book at $3.99+ for 4 1/2 years.

DC Announces Full “Rebirth” Line, Twice-Monthly Books, Lowered Price Point

I’m all for the lowered price point. That does seem (to me / for me) to be where they often sucker me in, OVER a Marvel book. I’m far more likely to give random issues a shot at $2.99, where for $3.99 I’ll leave the issue on the shelf.

I’m far from keen on all the specials–THAT seems like they’re trying to double-dip; get someone with a special, but then have to get ANOTHER issue to get the “first” issue of either a new numbering or continuation of the direction.

Then again…perhaps that could go toward another omnibus–a Rebirth Omnibus with all the Rebirth specials in it.

I do sort of like the notion of some of the “combo” books–Batgirl and the Birds of Prey jumped out at me in particular–where if the book’s to be twice-monthly, you can kinda have one book, but two sets of characters. (I often remember that time ages back with Thunderbolts at Marvel where they went biweekly for awhile…but you essentially had two simultaneous stories going on, so each story got a focus once a month).

I think most appealing to me would be to just split the various titles, and throw everyone a bone. Give us an Action Comics, say, with adventures of the pre-Flashpoint Superman (one who was never trapped in Gotham in a Bottle). A biweekly Superman could follow the New 52 Superman and perhaps involve the Lois and Clark Superman family. Give us an Adventures of Superman–perhaps picking up itself with #650–with a pre-CoIE Superman. Give us a We Are Robin book that perhaps alternates issues with Damian and Tim Drake…or give us a Red Robin book with the pre-Flashpoint Tim Drake.

And yet, it is also seeming like just a scramble to grab people.

I’m buying Superman: Lois and Clark. I left the New 52 Superman title hardly 6 issues in, briefly revisiting around #31 for Doomed and the “full circle” where my first-ever issue of Superman I owned was the post-Crisis Superman #31. I bailed on Action Comics after #2 when the story ended 2 pages past the center staples, for $3.99, and only briefly revisited during Doomed.

I revisited Batman for a bit digitally for Death of the Family and a bit after that, including and slightly past the death of Damian. I never got around to most of the other books, even where I had some slight interests here and there…then of course, I got suckered by the three weeklies, though I fell prohibitively far behind on actual reading, so have far too many issues to “catch up on” reading there.

I want to see DC have a DIRECTION, or a long-term plan…something I can feel a CONFIDENCE in. Get away from all these variants, the “theme-of-the-month” and such. Roll back–as they are–to $2.99.

Why not do a bit like Convergence…and give us “pockets” of books. These handful of titles feature new adventures of a version of characters from pre-Crisis DC. This handful of books is set in the pre-Flashpoint DC. These over here are the New 52-continuity characters. And perhaps a scattering of one-shots and minis that can fit in where-ever.

Since everything’s basically “for the graphic novel” now anyway, why not cut back to just a handful of “core” ongoing books, and then let everything else BE a mini-series, or series of mini-series.

Give us a 5-issue Red Robin featuring pre-Flashpoint Tim Drake. If the writer only has that story TO tell…then leave it at that. Collect it into a book with the title of the story itself, and go on to other stuff. Someone else comes along with another story to tell, that can build of that…then 5 months later, pick up and give us #s 6-14 maybe. If it’s 8 months after that before anyone else has more to do with the character…fine.

For better or worse…I’m more likely to give DC another chance…but as has become usual for me…if I don’t’ like where something’s going or the tone or variants or just something “not positive” comes to me while grumpy…I’m not above dropping something mid-arc, or with the 2nd issue, even if I’d “planned” on going further.

There’s some potential…we’ll just see how “time” bears it out.

Filed under: 2016 Non-Review posts, 2016 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Remembering Detective Comics #606

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Walt

My first-ever Batman comics were Batman #439 and Detective Comics #604. While looking back I can remember how little “sense” Detective 604 made to me at the time, #606 (my second issue of the series, having missed #605) left QUITE a mark on me, as well as really informing my sense of the then-current Batman. The real sense of true time having passed somewhere between comics my Grandpa’d shared with me and these brand-new ones I was reading.

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For one thing…Batman at a grave marked R.I.P. ROBIN…with a GHOST of Robin? Ok, from Grandpa’s comics, Robin was Batman’s buddy, his partner, whatever. He was like Batman, he was one of the main characters…but apparently between those comics and this, he’d DIED???

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WAS only a kid.

Time had definitely passed. Stuff had HAPPENED. Whoever this Clayface Four was, she could only mimic Robin…who Batman obviously has regretful memories of. And the shadows to the imagery…that was truly effective!

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Yeah…apparently Batman had been defeated, at least in The Joker having stabbed Robin to death.

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As the issue progresses, a glimpse into the past…an event tragic, traumatic, hurtful, impactful, in Batman’s past…

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More hurt, more violence that he couldn’t stop…

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Obviously not the brighter, more “fun” Batman I’d seen in Grandpa’s comics. And sure enough…Robin–dead. Though at the time I had no clue who Barbara Gordon was, or that that was her, or The Killing Joke, etc.

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Obviously…a number of villains in Batman’s life. Crazy, colorful madmen, all of whom wouldn’t mind hurting him, killing him, that he’d not permanently stopped. I sure did not know Killer Cros until years later, and probably was only vaguely familiar with Riddler and Penguin.

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…and QUITE a cliffhanger. I had no idea who this woman was–Looker–but this image, of a mad/insane Batman, driven there by the sheer horror of everything he’s faced, of the violence and failures (and no references to Zur En Arr)…obviously I knew he “got better,” but it would be several years before I’d acquire the “missing” 2nd and 4th/concluding chapters of this story. Meanwhile, the main Batman title moved on to A Lonely Place of Dying, a new Robin, I let comics go for a short time, and then returned the summer before the Death of Superman stuff.

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I was too young at the time to fully grasp deeper “meta” elements in comics…particularly ongoing, continuous stories with characters such as Batman, that will never–TRULY–be allowed to permanently change, die, etc. But at the time, this was a grave image, and I remember truly considering the danger Batman was in, and that there wouldn’t be a guarantee of his victory (particularly after seeing all his failures!). I also know at the time I had no sense of who this was, that this was a key, crucial character in the Batman story, as opposed to just some officer.

Over the years, I gradually filled in the gaps. I learned OF stuff, gathered more detail and confirmation of the Joker having KILLED Robin…and then got to read the story itself in a book from a nearby library.

It wasn’t until over a decade after this issue that I got to read A Killing Joke first-hand. Outside a backing-board “trading card” from a 3-pack of comics (ubiquitous-ish in the early 1990s at department stores like Hills), I didn’t even know of the Outsiders until a group the Eradicator was part of in a new title in the mid-’90s.

And the issue had an ad that also stuck with me through the years, showing that time had passed, and giving the far-younger me something else to chew on: more than one Robin? This one hadn’t died? That meant that the dead Robin was at least a 2nd one!

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I would love to have a poster of this image. Along with The Mud Pack and A Death in the Family, the story this ad is for–A Lonely Place of Dying–is one of “the” Batman stories of my youth, in my introduction to comics, prior to Knightfall. I imagine I’ll cover A Lonely Place of Dying in the near future.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Future Looking More Like the Past

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Walt

I have yet to pay more than $10 (EVER) for a single non-collected-edition comic. And the way I’m loving this Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, am not feeling like I’m missing anything passing on basically anything new that DC is putting out, am more than content to get Image stuff as collected volumes (but only going beyond vol. 1 on a select few titles) and have recently dropped Valiant from my pulls…

It’s looking like there might be a ‘future’ for me in the past, in back issues.

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Though it’s obviously beat-up and hardly in great condition, I had no problem at all paying $3 for Detective Comics [vol. 1] #575 over the weekend. The issue is over 25 years old, is a “key” issue that I am missing from my personal post-Crisis run of Batman stuff…and that $3 is no worse than buying some new DC issue that I can make up for in a $1 bin later this year or sometime next year at some kind of convention if it matters.

$3 is $1 cheaper than buying the cheapest Valiant comic and virtually any contemporary Marvel comic.

I don’t see rushing out and into buying stacks and stacks of priced back issues like this. But I certainly can see not being opposed to buying issues from this era for $4 and under just on the justification that it’s not costing any more than buying contemporary issues.

But it’ll be better, because I’m actually interested in stuff from the mid-’80s into the ’90s…far more than I am in current prices and the current direction(s) that…certain publishers…are going in.

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