Jonathan Glapion | Comic Reviews by Walt

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Batman #7 [Review]

Posted on March 24, 2012 by Walt

Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Filed under: Batman, cxPulp.com, DC, New 52, The | Tagged: Batman, Comic Reviews, Court of Owls, cxPulp, DC, DC Comics, FCO, Greg Capullo, Jimmy Betancourt, Jonathan Glapion, Katie Kubert, Mike Marts, New 52, Scott Snyder, The Talons Strike | Leave a comment »

Batman and Robin #5 [Review]

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Walt

Quick Rating: Not Wonderful
Story Title: Revenge of the Red Hood part two: Scarlet

Batman and Robin vs. Red Hood and Scarlet.

Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Philip Tan
Inker: Jonathan Glapion
Colorist: Pete Pantazis
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Assistant Editor: Janelle Siegel
Editor: Mike Marts
Covers: Frank Quitely and Philip Tan
Publisher: DC Comics

I really enjoyed the first issue of this series. It had a sense of excitement and freshness, and just that great sense of things being new and much better than the recent past. However, at this point, even some of what I liked in that first issue is wearing thin…and the "honeymoon" is definitely over.

This issue picks up with Red Hood and Scarlett confronting Batman and Robin. Red Hood’s determined to kill all of Gotham’s criminals and doing so while replacing the "Batman brand" with his own "brand." Scarlet–a girl the duo tried to save earlier in this series–has been manipulated into playing Jason Todd’s game, serving as his "sidekick." We continue to see the Gotham populace react to the bloody vigilantism as well as a more specific reaction from Jim Gordon.

I don’t know what it is, exactly–perhaps Morrison‘s writing style–but this story feels like it got rather convoluted in a hurry. I’ve never liked Jason Todd…I always thought the best story with him was the one in which he "died." The character seemed so much more effective in that tragic role. Now, it seems the character is little more than a bloodthirsty psycho.

Not liking the character, and not feeling much "connect" to the story, this story’s quickly growing stale for me.

The art for this issue doesn’t really do it for me, either. It’s not bad, but it’s somehow just not to my liking, at least not in this issue. It does a good enough job overall of getting things across, but other points I find myself doubling back to try to figure something out. Though I’m not caring for the style lately, Tan does do quite a good job of keeping a visual style similar to Quitely‘s opening arc. There’s a different look and it’s easy to tell that it’s not Quitely…but the style is not some huge departure visually.

All in all…if you like Morrison‘s denser writing style, if the art appeals to you, and/or you like seeing Jason Todd as portrayed of late…this issue’ll be well worth it. If not…you’ll probably enjoy one of the other Bat-books more.

Ratings:

Story: 2/5
Art: 3/5
Overall: 2.5/5

Filed under: Batman and Robin, Classic Reviews, DC, DC Universe | Tagged: Batman, Batman and Robin, Comic Reviews, DC, DC Comics, Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison, Janelle Siegel, Jonathan Glapion, Mike Marts, Patrick Brosseau, Pete Pantazis, Philip Tan, Red Hood, Revenge of the Red Hood, Robin, Scarlet | Leave a comment »

Spawn #200 [Review]

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Walt

Full review posted to cxPulp.com.

Story: 3/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Filed under: cxPulp.com, Image, Spawn | Tagged: Alex Sinclair, Ashley Wood, Clown, Comic Reviews, Danny Miki, David Finch, FCO Plascencia, Felix Serrano, Greg Capullo, Image, Image Comics, Ivan Plascencia, Jay Fotos, jim lee, Jonathan David Goff, Jonathan Glapion, Lois Buhalis, Marc Silvestri, Michael Golden, Omega Spawn, Omega Spawn origin, origin, Rex Stabbs, Rob Liefeld, Robert Kirkman, Sheila Saldana, Spawn, Spawn 200, Szymon Kudranski, Thomas Mason, Todd McFarlane, Tom Orzechowski, Violator | Leave a comment »

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3 [Review]

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Walt

Wonder Woman: Blackest Night
Writer: Greg Rucka
Pencils: Nicola Scott
Inks: Jonathan Glapion
Colors: Nei Ruffino
Cover: Greg Horn
Letters: Travis Lanham
Assoc. Editor: Adam Schlagman
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Published by: DC Comics

Wonder Woman marvels over the Love-Ring, witnesses the spreading destruction from the Black Lanterns and chats briefly with Carol Ferris about their differences as Star Sapphires, fights Mera, and when she tries to use her ring to help Mera, makes some sort of realization that hits close to the heart. The issue’s ending seems almost tacked-on, and directs us into the main Blackest Night series.

Story-wise, this continues to be more of a disappointment than not. Somehow, it’s feeling more like a “filler” story than anything else, with not much really happening. I don’t feel I have any new understanding of Wonder Woman/Diana coming out of this issue, and just as with the previous issue, this seems to take place in a very limited span of time–between Nekron commanding all those who’ve been resurrected withOUT rings to “Die” and the “reinforcement” rings seeking out “backup.” While there’s probably stuff here that’s much more compelling to longtime fans of Mera and Diana, any such content seems to have gone over my head reading by myself.

The art of this issue is good, on the whole…not much for complaint. The art certainly carries its weight providing the imagery of the story, showing Diana’s wonder at the ring, the two Star Sapphires soaring over the city, the Diana/Mera fight, and so on. My primary complaints are the Star Sapphire costumes, which seem overly “exposing”–but then, I suppose “lust” could be a form of “love”–and the double-page spread preceding Diana’s final conversing with Mera left me wondering what the significance was…but I’m not sure how much of that is the art not getting something across, or the story not getting it across (at the same time, just as likely to be me as a reader not “getting” something).

On the whole, not much about this to recommend except to those wanting light expansion on Wonder Woman’s being a short-term Star Sapphire. If you’re just following the Blackest Night series itself, this issue/mini really doesn’t seem to add anything to the main story.

Story: 4/10
Art: 7/10
Overall: 5/10