Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 6/15

Batman #1
Story: Tom King
Art: David Finch, Matt Banning, & Jordie Bellaire

The first issue of the new, Rebirth-era Batman begins with a literal bang and continues to show a Batman dedicated to Gotham and the safety of its people, a Batman at his most heroic. After a plane is hit by a surface-to-air missile, Batman must find a way to stop it from hitting the center of the city, even at the cost of his own life. It's an exciting start to the new run, and highlights the strengths of both of the writer and artist. Tom King has a great talent for mixing character and action, and we see Batman interact with Jim Gordon, Alfred, and Duke Thomas as he speeds across Gotham. We get a mix of Batman the superhero and Batman the scientist, as he uses his intellect to figure out the best way to maneuver a crashing plane. And we get some clues about what is coming in this first arc, with the first cameo appearances of Gotham City's newest defenders, the super powered Gotham and his sidekick, Gotham Girl, and while they seem noble enough, one has to wonder; the shadowy figure standing over the murdered body of the Kobra cultist who fired the missile at the plane does not seem to be Gotham, but we know it's not Batman or one of his allies, and how much better an entrance can a flying, super strong hero make than one where he stops a plane from crashing. We have no reason to suspect Gotham, other than he's not one of Batman's circle, but I have my eye on him. David Finch has a history with Batman, from his writer/artist stint on Batman: The Dark Knight to his work on Forever Evil. This issue is as big and bold in the art as it is in the story. He draws a string, muscular Batman who still looks like he'd be able to move with the grace needed to swing around Gotham. You can sense the motion and the straining as he uses a combination of tech and brute force to keep the plane from hitting Kane Plaza. It's simply stunning. And the new Batmobile design he uses is clearly based on the classic Batman: The Animated Series model. After four plus years of one writer on Batman, it's always going to be a transition, but this issue, maintaining much of the previous central cast while springboarding into something new, is a great choice, and it's a great start for the new volume of Batman.

Justice League #51
Story: Dan Abnett
Art: Paul Pelletier, Sandra Hope, & Adriano Lucas

I think I've made this observation before, but in case I haven't, there is nothing wrong with a simple, fun superhero story; in fact, at times that's one of the best things you can read. I picked up all eight issue's of Dan Abnett's recent Titans Hunt mini-series, and also this week's Titans: Rebirth one-shot, and they're all enjoyable superhero books, but this week's Justice League, also written by Abnett and tying into those stories, is one of those perfect one off issues. Set in the past, shortly after the forming of the Justice League, the issue tells the story of Dick Grasyon, Robin's, first meeting with the League. Most of the members make snarky comments about Batman and his sidekick as they meet him, and Dick just quietly lets it all pass. As various weird objects begin appearing all over the world, cybernetic hounds attack Metropolis and the League springs into action. It's Robin who we follow for much of the issue, seeing him intimidated by the League, and then seeing him slowly win each Leaguer over with his brains and skill. Especially interesting is the interaction between Robin and Cyborg, as Cyborg is the youngest member of the League, and understands where Robin is coming from. I'm also hoping we see some more flashbacks with these two characters together; while Cyborg gained a lot in the New 52 continuity by becoming a founding member of the Justice League, I feel he lost the connections he had to his old friends, and that has weakened the character. To see him working with Dick Grayson, one of his old friends, again, it was a great scene. As the different threats come together, as the League deduces the problem, it turns into a classic battle of brains and brawn against unstoppable odds, a story right out of classic Justice League comics.There are hints that tie it into the current events in Titans, but the issue stands firmly on its own, something I always like to support. And the artist on the issue, Paul Pelletier, is one of my favorite artists; he draws strong, distinct character moments as well as exciting action scenes, and has worked for years on most of the big properties for both DC and Marvel. If you're looking for a palette cleanser from all the big events comics right now, and want something pretty self contained and fun, Justice League #51 is a great choice.

Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat #7
Story: Kate Leth
Art: Brittney L. Williams & Megan Wilson

The new issue of Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat feels like the calm before the storm, the issue that ties up all the treads from the beginning of the series before something momentous happens. For this of you who are more familiar with the Jessica Jones TV series than the comics that feature these characters, Jessica's BFF in the comics is not Patricia "Patsy" ("Trish") Walker, but is Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. I have to assume because of the movie in development, Marvel didn't want to introduce Carol on the Netflix series, so Trish took her place. This issue features the first full meeting between Patsy and Jessica in comics continuity, as Jessica tries to help Patsy deal with her ex-best friend, Hedy Wolfe and the rights to the old "Patsy and Hedy" comics. We get to spend some time with the entire supporting cast Patsy has built over the series so far: her old friend Tom, her roommate Ian, and of course her lawyer and friend Jen Walters, the super heroine known as She-Hulk. We even get an appearance from Jen's paralegal, Angie Huang, and her pet monkey, Hei Hei, introduced in Charles Soule's wonderful She-Hulk series. It's a charming issue with very little action, and a ton of character, where we get to see who Patsy is and why her friends are so loyal, and why she's so loyal to them. I'm hoping that the appearance by Jessica (as well has her husband, Luke Cage, and their baby, Danielle), will become a regular thing in the series, as it's nice to see the Jones-Cages not fighting for their lives but living as a family. And in the end, things work out for Patsy, and not a single punch is thrown. It's a matter of Jen being smart and Patsy being determined. You reach the end of this issue, and you smile. And I'm glad about that, because Civil War II is not going to be a happy event for Patsy, and it's good to get in a nice win before the darkness descends.

Dan Grote reviews Mavel's political satire, as the God of Mischief decides to run for office...

Vote Loki #1

Story: Christopher Hastings

Art: Langdon Foss and Chris Chuckry

The idea of Loki running for president in the current election cycle feels like low-hanging fruit for Marvel, but in the right hands, said fruit can still be delicious.

Loki’s current iteration as a gender-fluid, morally ambiguous, oddly sexy, de-aged hipster viking (thank you thank you thank you for that turn of phrase, G. Willow Wilson!) has opened up new storytelling possibilities for the character just as much as his portrayal on-screen by Tom Hiddleston.

And writer Christopher Hastings (Gwenpool) and artist Langdon Foss play with all of that as we watch the trickster god thwart an assassination attempt by Hydra on the two leading presidential candidates, then call out said candidates for being liars while at the same time saying, “America, if I were your president, I’d have the guts to lie right to your face. And you’d love it.”

This on-air soundbite turns Loki into a media darling, complete with “Saturday Night Live” sketches, memes and interviews with J. Jonah Jameson.

Watching all this with a cocked eyebrow is Nisa Contreras, a journalist who as a child lost her home in a battle between the Avengers and Loki, then watched as New York’s then-governor funneled money donated by Tony Stark for rebuilding into his own re-election fund.

Nisa investigates Loki, who agrees to let her follow his exploratory campaign in a bid to win her over. But she can’t tell what power play Loki is making until after she files her story, which her Loki-enthralled editor rewrites into a positive piece that gives big L the juice he needs to formally announce his campaign. This brings Nisa some unwanted attention at issue’s end from a special guest star with skin in the Loki game.

There’s some great little moments in this issue that play with the Loki mythos. At one point, he takes a female form – still with horned helmet – because he thinks it might help him poll better with women. When Jameson questions Loki about his citizenship, he explains that his current incarnation – Asgardians die and are reborn in cycles – was born in the tiny town of Accident, Maryland. Oh, and his polling employees may all be doomsday cultists.

Vote Loki probably won’t make you feel any better about the actual presidential election, but it will at least scratch any itches you have for political satire this summer.

The Matt Signal Advent Calendar 2015 Day 9: Justice League "Injustice for All"

Justice League

Season 1, Episodes 18&19, “Injustice for All,” 2002

Matt Says:

I love a story where a team of supervillains is assembled to fight a team of superheroes. Sure, it's awesome to watch Darkseid go toe to toe with the whole Justice League, but the Injustice Gang and Secret Society make for a more fun story. And while the first season of Justice League is notoriously uneven, I enjoy the heck out of the first supervillain team two-parter, "Injustice for All."

The central character of the story from the villain side of things is Lex Luthor, who transitions from the business suit Luthor of the 80s and 90s into a more traditional power suit wearing version of the character, thanks to blood poisoning caused by years of exposure to Kryptonite. This Luthor, very much a villain in the bold and obvious sense, is much more in line with the grand storytelling of Justice League. Everything was larger than life in the series, and making Luthor a more physical threat fits with the style of the show.

The assortment of villains in the team are a combination mostly unique to the cartoon. Luthor and Cheetah are traditional members. The Shade, Ultra-Humanite, and Solomon Grundy are better known as Justice Society villains. Star Sapphire and Copperhead aren't usually members of the team. And of course there's the Joker, who is often a member of the Injustice Gang, but never plays well with others. And can I say how much I love the Justice League design for Joker? It's closer to the Batman: The Animated Series version than the more simplified one from The New Batman Adventures, and the darker lips and eyes give him an extra air of sinister.

But for me, the real highlight is the second part, where Batman, captured by the Injustice Gang, spends the entire episode playing mind games with the entire team, playing one villain against the rest. It's a subtle plot for a show that, early on, was pretty ham-fisted, and it's hilarious top see Grundy and Humanite rolling around on the floor wrestling, and Batman using his affinity for cat-themed villainesses to help distract Cheetah and get the others to turn on her. I love it when Batman is the most clever guy in the room, and this is one of the best examples of it anywhere.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 5/20 & Greetings from Battleworld

Convergence: Justice League of America #2
Story: Fabian Nicieza
Art: ChrisCross

The highlight of Convergence for me, and I think for most, has been revisiting old characters that have been changed tremendously or forgotten in the most recent DC reboot.While the Justice League Detroit was a little before my time, this series is narrated by Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man, Ralph Dibny. They are my favorite married couple in comics history, and it's great to see them back. This issue, with the drastically underpowered Justice League facing down the Secret Six of the Tangent Universe (a favorite alternate reality from DC history), a group comprising the most powerful superbeings of its world, is a classic underdog story. With Ralph leading the inexperienced team while it's most powerful members have already been taken out, we get to see characters like Vibe and Vixen using their powers as best they can and fighting with guts and smarts. Superhero comics are at their best when the heroes don't just use their brawn, but their brains and hearts to deal with their problems, and Ralph Dibny has always has always been a character who relies on brains over brawn. We also see Sue working with the GCPD to free the trapped members of the League, and we get the sense that they are true partners. Fabian Nicieza shows he understands all these characters and liked them, giving them a story that allows the B-list to shine. With versions of two of these characters currently appearing or set to appear in the DC TV universe (the new Vibe on Flash and Vixen on her own animated web series), it makes sense to give them a spotlight where they aren't being used as a punchline. And now that Convergence is wrapping up, it would be nice to see some of these characters pop up again in the prime DC Universe; I'd love to see the Dibnys show up in Flash comics again, for instance.

Ghosted #20
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Goran Sudzuka and Laci

Sometimes the end of a series creeps up on you. I probably should have realized that after the last issue ended with the death of series protagonist Jackson Winters that this would be the final issue of Ghosted, but I didn't until I reached the very end of the issue. And it was a pleasant surprise in its way, since it was a great send off to the title. The issue opens with original series artist Goran Sudzuka returning to draw the confrontation that has been brewing since the series began: Jackson Winters meets Death. And Jackson takes about as much crap from the Grim Reaper as he took from anyone else in the series. He's glib, sarcastic, and we finally get to understand exactly what Death's fascination with the thief is. And after that winds down, we slip back into the land of the dead from the past few issues, where the confrontation between Jackson's friends and his nemesis, Schrecken, has reached it's conclusion. But leave it to Jackson to steal the scene in the end, popping up as Death's newest employee and turning the tables on Schrecken, who gets his wish of eternal life, but not in the way that he was hoping for. Ghosted has played on a lot of classic horror story and movie cliches in its run, so ending on a classic Twilight Zone/ Monkey's Paw note seems appropriate for the villain. And the series last page, focused on Nina, the young woman Jackson saved and would up being his protege of sorts over the last half of the series, shows that while Jackson might be gone, he's not forgotten. With two other series coming out from Image regularly (Birthright and Nailbiter), it's not like I'll be wanting for Joshua Williamson, but Ghosted was an exciting supernatural caper comic, combining two of my favorite genres, one with great characters. If you never picked it up, well, there are four trades out with a fifth on the way. What are you waiting for?

Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars #3
Story: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Art: J. Bone

It would have been easy to translate the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast over to comic form and just make it a wacky humor comic. But series creators Acker & Blacker instead fully embraced the medium, giving us a story that wouldn't work as well in the radio format. This issue of Sparks Nevada features an extended fight scene between Sparks and bounty hunter Orna Peganu on top of a space stage coach. While we could have easily heard the witty repartee over the radio (including Sparks discussing how that whole we only use ten percent of our brain thing is hogwash), and it would have been delightful. But since we have the full visual medium, it allows artist J. Bone to really go to town, drawing a great background in the lava fields of Mars, and creating an excellent alien design for Orna. The main story also ties into the flashbacks we've been seeing, with a character other than Sparks now showing up in both. I also love the parallels drawn between Sparks and James T. Kirk in those flashbacks, and I'm curious to see how Sparks's no-win situation turns out next issue. We also get to see more of Croach the Tracker interacting with the Johnsons; it's interesting to see how different Croach was in these stories set early in continuity versus how he appears on the show now; here he does seem to be unemotional and detached, versus how he is in the show now, where he claims to be but clearly has emotional ties. With one issue to go, we now know that someone is a deadly outlaw, and Sparks is about to come face-to-face with someone he fears (so it must have to do with intimacy, since everyone knows Sparks has intimacy issues). It's all the highlights of a Sparks Nevada story, with some great art. So, go and ride the plains of the Red Planet with everyone's favorite Martian lawman who's... from Earth.


Dan Grote now brings you the first full installment of Greetings from Battleworld, our Secret Wars feature, that will have this Tuesday spot on its own starting next week

A-Force #1

Story: Marguerite Bennett & G. Willow Wilson

Art: Jorge Molina, Craig Yeung, Laura Martin and Matt Milla

“In the vast oceans of our planet, isolated from the forbidden domains of Battleworld, there is an island. … Welcome to Arcadia. It’s pretty tight.”

Yeah, it is.

The domain of A-Force, the all-female superhero team, is essentially the suburbs for superheroes. Where the main Secret Wars book gives us decapitations and God Emperor Doom casting those who oppose him into a pit of zombies, A-Force shows a peaceful fiefdom where the Cage family can go for a stroll without fear of attack by the Wrecking Crew, where even the female-form Loki of J. Michael Straczynski’s Thor run is a force for good.

Until a prehistoric shark attacks the island.

A-Force promptly kicks the megalodon’s butt and, in a continued effort to shame the movie Man of Steel, prioritizes civilian safety as much as they do punching a sea-kaiju. (If you haven’t read Michael Calia’s Wall Street Journal piece on civilian casualties in superhero movies, click that last link. We’ll be here when you get back.)

These are some of Marvel’s greatest heroines as their best selves. Why else would we get Dazzler in her disco jumper and roller skates or Carol Danvers in her Captain Marvel outfit or Jubilee back in the yellow trenchcoat and pink shades, fireworks shooting out her fingers on the cover? And artist Jorge Molina draws each and every one of these women as beautiful and powerful as they are, as they should be.

But in defeating a thing that shouldn’t be, A-Force runs afoul of Doom’s laws, requiring one of their own to be thrown to the zombies and leading some team members to question the leadership of She-Hulk, who is one of Doom’s barons.

The book ends with She-Hulk asking Namor and his kin to investigate the appearance of the megalodon and the arrival of a new character, Singularity, who was teased in images soliciting the series, including the cover of the first issue.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I have lots of questions. The following are not meant to be taken as criticisms of the book or its creators, but as things I don’t yet understand about Secret Wars as a whole:

A-Force works out of the Hall of Justice. Is that really not trademarked?

Was flight always part of Dazzler’s skill set? Either way, she’s fabulous.

A-Force features a Meggan who is not pregnant, as opposed to the one shown in Secret Wars #2 whom Baron Sinister kept calling a cow. Is this meant to be the same woman, or do multiple versions of people exist on Battleworld? Same question applies to Namor.

Considering what we know about the makeup of Battleworld, is it weird that characters like Captain Britain and Ms. America Chavez can exist in this world, as symbols of lands that don’t technically exist?

Ms. America at one point references “Sharknado.” It made me laugh. It made my wife laugh. It’s a good line. BUT, if this is Doom’s world, and he’s got Dr. Strange basically mandating everyone believe Doom’s creation myth, is a 2013 cable TV movie something anyone should remember?

Also, if Doom is God, is there a chance this island is just some creepy Doom spandex fantasy? It might explain why this team wears fan-favorite uniforms as opposed to matching ones.

How has no one thought to make Sam Wilson a Thor before this? That man is Worthy as all get-out. Certainly worthier than Eric Masterson. (On behalf of my generation, I apologize that Thunderstrike a) is still around and b) has a cameo in this book).

I’m 100 percent willing to believe I may be overthinking some things.

Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #1

Story: Cullen Bunn

Art: Matteo Lolli and Ruth Redmond

Part of Team Deadpool’s schtick the past few years has been retroactively inserting him into stories set before the character’s first appearance in 1991. And so we’ve had Deadpool stealing the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos or teaming up with Power Man and Iron Fist against an alabaster villain called the White Man.

In the Merc with a Mouth’s latest retro romp, we find out what role he played in the original Secret Wars from 1984.

Deadpool gets zapped to Battleworld alongside Earth’s heroes, including Spider-Man, Hulk and members of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. And Magneto, whom DP promptly villain-shames. As usual, no one recognizes him, despite his now-established history in the MU. By the end of the issue, it appears the heroes have all been killed, save Deadpool, who now looks like … nope, not gonna spoil it.

Cullen Bunn’s Deadpool minis have always been madcap romps where continuity takes a backseat to fun and ultraviolence, so it’s great to see him giving this revisionist history lesson, and pointing out inconsistencies such as the state of Charles Xavier’s paralysis at the time. Artist Matteo Lolli perfectly captures the heroes’ 1984 fashions, re-creating Mike Zeck’s original panels where warranted as Bunn re-creates Jim Shooter’s original (cornball) dialogue. Not only that, fans of Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn’s run on the book will recognize the 1980s version of DP’s costume – complete with the letters DP on the chest – from artist Scott Koblish’s throwback issues.

The award for most Deadpool moment in this issue goes to when he shoots at the Absorbing Man to the tune of Scandal’s “The Warrior.” Honorable mention goes to DP mule-kicking Kang the Conqueror in the nards.

In a bonus strip, Deadpool is inserted into 1982’s Contest of Champions, teaming up with Howard the Duck, Doop, She-Man-Thing, Rocket Racer, and other Z-list heroes at the whim of cosmic beings.

Free Comic Book Day 2015: Matt's Picks of this Year's Free Comics

Comics are great. Free stuff is great. So any day where you can get free comics has to be super great right? Right! Yes, this Saturday, May 2nd, is Free Comic Book Day, the day where most retailers give out select books to their loving customers. My shop, Dewey's Comic City in Madison, NJ, does it to the nines, and if you click the link, you'll see the list of all that stuff, including a costume contest, artist's alley, face painting, and goody bags. Plus, you know, the free comics you expect. I would also be remiss to not mention that if you are more southerly in Jersey, and have enjoyed the writing of Matt Signal contributor Dan Grote, he'll be at Level Up Entertainment selling and signing copies of his new novel, Magic Pier, as part of their festivities. I will be travelling to a wedding that day, and so am going to be investigating new and different shops along the way on the busiest comic book shop day of the year, so I can only imagine what an adventure that will be.

Now for my annual plea. FCBD takes a lot of time, effort, and money from retailers (Yes, the books are free to you, and they're cheap to retailers, but they're still spending a lot of money when you think of the volume of books they're buying and all the various marketing and publicity, staffing, and the like). So be nice to your retailer on this day. Maybe buy something else. Or just be patient and courteous. And try something new! If you love Avengers, sure pick up All New, All Different Avengers, but also maybe try the Dark Circle book from Archie. And if you're into Kodansha Comics Sampler of manga titles, maybe you want to try something from one of the big American publishers. The price is right to try something new and different.

Now, it's time to pick some of my favorites of the year. Check out what I think you should be reading this Free Comic Book Day. I'll give you a rundown of the contents and then the recommended age group for the book along the way.

All Ages: Avatar/Plants Vs. Zombies/Bandette

Dark Horse Comics has usually done antholgies for their two free comics, each containing stories from their popular franchises. With the loss of Star Wars from their stable, this has opened up spots for some different properties. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a FCBD staple for Dark Horse, and this year's story is a fun tale of Toph and Ty Lee, two characters who didn't share a lot of screen time, teaming up at the circus and getting a better idea of Ty Lee's family, something mentioned only briefly on the show. I've never played the game or read the comic Plants Vs. Zombies, but this story gives you everything you need to know and if funny. Bandette is Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover's series about the world's greatest thief, a costumed teen who in this story is planning to break into an exclusive movie showing where a legendary emerald once owned by the documentary's subject on display for a caper that has an unexpected result. It introduces you to Bandette and her supporting cast, and is one of the most smile inducing stories in any of this year's books; this has moved the two volumes of Bandette I recently purchased to the top of my read pile. This is an all ages comic

Fight Club 2/ The Goon/ The Strain

The headline of the other book from Dark Horse this year is what I think is a preview of the first few pages of Chuck Palahniuk and Cameron Stewart's graphic novel sequel to Palahniuk's famous novel, Fight Club. If you're only familiar with David Fincher's admittedly phenomenal adaptation of the book, this is a good place to start, as it is clearly a sequel to the book, not the film, as it adapts the ending of the novel. Cameron Stewart does an impressive job making the characters recognizable if you know the film but not making them photorealisitic versions of their movie counterparts; these are similar characters but not the same, and so they won't be Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. The Strain story is a horror short involving a vampire hunting a lost book; solid storytelling and art, but as I have little frame of reference for the characters, I can only comment on it technically. The story from Eric Powell's monster/gangster/comedy mash-up, The Goon, is a perfect introduction to the particularly bizarre world of the Goon and his pal, Frankie. It's both laugh out loud funny and filled with vampires and peril. If you've ever enjoyed Shaun of the Dead, John Dies at the End, or similar horror-comedies, you'd love The Goon, and this is a great place to check it out. This is a book geared towards adults.

Comics Festival 2015!

The comic produced by the people behind the Toronto Comics Festival, this is an anthology of short strips by Canadian and international creators. It's got some shorts from some big name cartoonists and creators, and they're all interesting and not what most of the mainstream think of when comics jump to mind. There's comedy, like Mariko Tamaki & Gillian Goerz's "The Boss" about what it's like to work for a unicorn and Kate Beaton's "Lady's Favor." There's "IRL: CON/GAME: You can't cheat an honest man," from Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang, a classic con story, but set around and inside an MMORPG. "Once Upon a Pony," from Svetlana Chmkova is a story about art and friendship. And "Superhero Girl: The Death of Kevin," by Faith Erin Hicks, takes her character Superhero Girl, and plays with a classic comic book trope in a real world setting. These stories and other are in here, and at the back of the comic you can find recommendations for each creator if you liked a particular story. I'd recommend this book to any age, but I'd say you might want to go with a ten and up crowd.

Gronk/ Hero Cats

Action Lab is a company that has spent the past few years publishing some of the best all ages comics on the market. While this year's FCBD issue doesn't feature the flagship of that line, Princeless, it features two other charming all ages titles. The story from Katie Cook's Gronk: A Monster's Story has Gronk telling the story of her time out in the woods living with the other monsters, so it's sort of an origin story for the adorable green monster. The Hero Cats piece are excerpts from two different issues of the series that give new readers a good sense of the different cats who populate the book and the world around them. This is an all ages book.

Help the CBLDF Defend Comics!

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the first amendment charity that helps defend free speech, is a favorite non-profit of mine, and this year's anthology from them features some strong pieces all with the theme of freedom of expression. "The Green Turtle Fights for Free Speech," from Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew, spins out of their excellent graphic novel, The Shadow Hero, and features golden age hero Green Turtle in a story about a kid and a mob who wants to take and burn comics; it's nowhere near as didactic as that description makes it sound and is both fun and puts forth it's message well. Archie Comics provides "Read Between the Lines," by Dan Parent, a story of Kevin Keller, Riverdale's most recent favored son, an out gay teen, and his attempt, with the help of the CBLDF, to keep a graphic novel that features his story from being banned from the library. I consider this an all ages book, and frankly, anyone who is going to support an organization like the CBLDF would probably think along the same lines.

The Phantom

This one made the list for an unexpected reason for me. This is a collection of vintage Phantom stories from Hermes Press, and while I like the Phantom well enough as a character, it wasn't on my radar. But one of the stories is a fourteen page story drawn by Jim Aparo. If you don't know who Aparo is, he is one of the greatest Batman artists of all time, in my top three easily, and to see him drawing one of Batman's great forebears is a treat. This is appropriate for readers 10 and up.

Divergence

Instead of going the one story route as they have in previous years, DC Comics went with the short story path this year, featuring three teasers for their big May soft relaunch. The three books that have shorts here are probably DC's three highest profiles comics: Batman, Superman, and Justice League. And despite these changes being spoiled in various places on the internet, I'm not going to do that. I will say that the Batman story introduces the man under the new Bat Armor, who may or may not be a familiar face, as well as taking an aspect of Batman Beyond and making it DCU continuity. The Superman story drops you into a world where a major change has happened to Superman. And the Justice League story pays off a long dangling plot thread from earlier in the new DC Comics continuity. The stories are new reader friendly, and feature many of DC's A-List creators, including Geoff Johns, John Romita Jr., and the Batman team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, and rising stars like Gene Luen Yang (who wrote three of this year's recommendations, between Superman here, Avatar for Dark Horse, and Green Turtle for the CBLDF). This book is a teen and up.

Secret Wars #0

While DC previews the future, Marvel goes the other way and recaps the recent past. Narrated by Reed Richards and Sue Storm's super genius daughter Valeria, readers get a rundown of all the events that have led up to Marvels' new Secret Wars, which debuts this coming Wednesday.It's big, splashy fun, with every hero in the Marvel Universe somewhere in there, and we get to see writer Jonathan Hickman write the kids of the Future Foundation again, many of whom he created in his run on Fantastic Four. It's a great way to get new readers up to speed for the new event. The second story in this issue is a "Attack on Avengers" an eight page crossover featuring the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy fighting the giant Titans from the hit anime Attack on Titan. It works if you're familiar with one or both franchises. This book is teen and up.

Bodie Troll and Friends

Ok, I'm going to be up front here: I haven't read this issue. Due to the workings of Diamond (the distributor for all comic shops), if your FCBD shipments are short anything, you won't receive them in time for the actual day, so usually you just get credited for those books and don't receive them. And we were missing a few BOXES this year, meaning not only were we short some quantities of some books, we were completely shorted three titles, including this one. Red 5 has historically been home to the annual Atomic Robo Free Comic Book Day Story, but now that Robo is digital first, this issue instead headlines Bodie Troll, the troll who is too cute to be scary. I love this comic, and with a new mini-series starting on Wednesday, this is a great way to meet Bodie. And if any of you Matt Signal faithful happen to come across a copy of this at your local shop on FCBD, and would be able to grab one for a fan, contact me at mattsignalblog@gmail.com. I would happily pay to ship a copy, or trade you something. Save me from the ravages of e-Bay, my friends! This is an all ages title.


Atomic Robo

But wait, I just said there would be no Atomic Robo comic on FCBD, didn't I? Well. I said there would be no print one. Atomic Robo is a FCBD staple, with a new issue each year, many featuring the delightfully deranged Dr. Dinosaur. Well, I'm part of the Tesladyne Patreon, helping support more Robo, and I have it on good authority if you head over to Atomic Robo.com tomorrow, you might be pleasantly surprised in some new content. And if the preview is any indication, this is going to be amazing!

Animated Discussions: A Very Animated DC Christmas

The past couple of years, the Friday before Christmas has been a holiday recommendation, both of them from writer Paul Dini. Aside from a single Christmas themed issue of Simpsons Comics, and an issue of Detective Comics featuring Joker driving around with a tied up Tim Drake, I couldn't find anything else Christmasy from Dini (although you really should check out those two books). I was getting ready to shift last week's Krampus! piece to this week, when it occurred to me I had one more holiday piece that would feature some Paul Dini: a look at DC Comics animated Christmas episodes!

The earliest example of a holiday episode in the modern animated DC Universe (I'll be passing on the 60s Batman cartoon that did have a Mr. Freeze Christmas episode, just due to time for watching and time fro writing) is the classic "Christmas with the Joker." While aired about two months into the airing of Batman: The Animated Series, it was actually the second episode produced, so it has certain markings of those early episodes, very specifically it was one of three episodes where Clive Revill voiced Alfred, before Efrem Zimbalist Jr. took over and held the role for many a year.

Since we're still so early in the series, "Christmas with the Joker" isn't a very experimental episode. It's fun, clever, and well executed, but it's a pretty darn traditional episode. Joker breaks out of Arkham, Joker has a crazy scheme, Batman and Robin stop said crazy scheme. But the details are great. Joker has hijacked the airwaves and is airing an old time Christmas special starring, well, him. He's kidnapped Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Summer Gleeson (a reporter character who I think the producers hoped would catch on, but never really did), and has them tied up as his very own Christmas family. The interaction between Joker and Gordon when Joker removes his gag, which is a candy cane wedged in his mouth, briefly is pretty darn funny. But the stakes are high. Joker plans on blowing up a bridge and crashing a train, which Summer's mother is on; this isn't a whimsical thing with Joker. It's deadly serious.

The episode has great set pieces. Not just the exploding bridge and train sequence, but there's a battle at an observatory and a factory with killer nutcrackers. There's also some wonderful character beats involving batman. When asked to watch It's a Wonderful Life, he replies that he could, "never get past the title," but it's clear the episode's writer, Eddie Gorodetsky, gets Batman when Robin tells him that it's the story of how much one man can matter to a city, to which Bruce has not much to say. More telling is how hard it is for Batman to let go and believe that Christmas Eve will be quiet. This is actually a theme from a classic Batman Christmas story, Mike Friedrich and Neal Adams's, "the Silent Night of the Batman."

When Batman returned to animation with the New Batman Adventures, the first episode was an adaptation of the Batman Adventures Holiday Special, the episode entitled "Holiday Knights." Instead of writing at length about it, you can go and check out the recommendation I did for the comic a couple years ago. It remains one of my favorite Christmas comics ever.

In 2008, a very different animated Batman came to the airwaves. Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a much lighter Batman show, with crazy plots, huge set pieces right out of the 50s comics, and every episode teamed Batman with another hero. Early on, the series did its Christmas episode, "Invasion of the Secret Santas!" which featured Red Tornado as the guest hero. In the episode, Red Torndao, a robot, tried to understand the Christmas spirit, while he and Batman fight Fun Haus, a villain who is clearly a Toyman riff, since Toyman wouldn't have been available to the show since he is a Superman villain, and Superman and his cast were unavailable to Brave and the Bold at the time.

The episode itself involved robot Santas running amok, an evil toy, and some holiday hilarity as Red Tornado tries to Carol and Batman winds up saving kids from a runaway sled. It's a good episode of Brave and the Bold, as it highlights so much of what makes the show different and fun from Batman: The Animated Series. The comedy is much bigger, the villain is more over the top, but Batman himself remains this solid straight man in the middle of the wackiness. Batman says crime doesn't take a holiday, so neither does he.

The thing that stands out in "Invasion of the Secret Santas" to me are a series of black-and-white flashbacks to a young Bruce Wayne on Christmas Eve. Bruce receives a Christmas present from his father, a nutcracker, which is not what the young Bruce wanted, and so he throws it away and runs off in a pout. It's notable for a few reasons. One, it's the first time in this series we see an unmasked Batman, even if he's only eight, and the first time we see Alfred. The series usually kept Batman in the field, so both Bruce Wayne and Alfred appear very rarely, The Nutcracker is almost directly lifted from "To Kill a Legend," a story from Detective Comics #500, only there it's a toy train, not a Nutcracker. I like the fact that Bruce wasn't always this perfect kid, and it's a nice touch. My only problem with the flashbacks is that it ends with his parents taking him to see a movie to try to cheer him up from not getting the Swashbuckler action figure. The movie is a swashbuckling movie, and I doubt anyone who knows Batman would be surprised it's The Mark of Zorro. The flashbacks end with Bruce still being mad as they walk down the alley, and well, the are two flashes of light. I'm generally not in love with the idea that Bruce had any part, even inadvertent, in his parents' death. Still the episode ends with Batman finding a very special Christmas present from Alfred in the Batmobile, something that brings the episode full circle, and is a nice Christmas touch.

Before I discuss my favorite DC Comics animated episode, I wanted to touch on one that's only tangentially related to the topic. Freakazoid! was a cartoon that aired on the WB network alongside Superman: The Animated Series, and was created by the same guys who created the Batman and Superman cartoons. It was a crazy cartoon with a hero who would make the Creeper say, "I think he's a bit much." But good lord was it funny!The first season episode, "In Arm's Way," features Freakazoid Christmas chopping on Christmas Eve, while arch criminal Arms Akimbo (a former model whose arms are stuck, well, akimbo) sells Oops Insurance (protection) to local business owners. If you've never see Freakazoid!, well, this is a fun episode, but they all are really.

Now, my favorite DC Comics animated episode doesn't even feature Batman. The episode is "Comfort and Joy," from the second season of Justice League, and it's written, not shockingly, by Paul Dini. After saving an alien world from being destroyed, we follow five members of the Justice League on their holiday adventures. I admit, the episode is filled with Christmas messages about the joys of family and friends, about giving to others, and about different manners of celebrating. It's a Christmas special in the way of holiday episodes of the 80s, and I love that. I am a complete sucker for these kind of things, and the fact that it's done so well makes it all the better.

One of the stories follows Green Lantern and Hawkgirl as the two explore their burgeoning romance by seeing how each of their cultures celebrate. Lantern shows Hawkgirl all the great snow traditions he has, like sledding, building snowmen, making snow angels, and snowball fights. After a particularly rousing super powered snowball fight Hawkgirl brings Lantern to a world that looks like the Mos Eisley Cantina's nasty brother and shows him how she celebrates, which is starting a bar fight and wailing on everyone in sight. It's cute, and does a great job of showing the relationship between the two characters, ending with a very sweet moment.

The Flash story has Wally visiting  an orphanage in Central City and promising to get the kids the present they want, a DJ Rubba Ducky, a rapping animated duck. We get some crass consumerism, as Wally can't find one, and when he finally does, he runs afoul of the Ultra-Humanite, who is destroying the Central City Museum because he feels the art isn't up to his high standards. When the Rubba Ducky is destroyed in the fight, Humanite agrees to repair it and he and Flash present the to to the kids, improved to tell the story of The Nutcracker as opposed to making hip-hop farty noises. And when Flash brings Humanite to jail, he leaves him a small Christmas tree. It's a sweet story of two foes coming together in the Christmas spirit and about how everyone deserves a holiday that is full of peace.

The third story is by far my favorite, the story of Superman taking Martian Manhunter to Smallville for Christmas. It's a very simple, quiet story. There's no action in the superhero sense. Superman is hilarious with Ma and Pa Kent, acting like a great big kid; they wrap his presents in lead foil to keep him from peeking. They give J'onn a sweater as a present that he bulks up to wear. And he goes out at night and sees the Christmas joy that the people of Smallville feel. J'onn became a favorite character of mine thanks to the John Ostrander monthly from the early 00s and his portrayal on Justice League, and this episode does a marvelous job of portraying the stranger in a strange land aspect of the character. There's also a cute nod to his love of Oreos from the Justice League International era. The episode ends with J'onn sitting in a window in his native Martian form, singing a beautiful sing in Martian, while petting Streaky, Supergirl's cat. It's a lovely moment, one that expresses the universality of having a place to be in times of celebration.

This is a good time to settle in with a cup of cocoa and enjoy a very super Christmas season, and each of these episodes are available on DVD, and many can be found on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 10/15 and Special Digital Comics Review... From Earth

Daredevil #9
Story: Mark Waid
Art: Chris Samnee

The Purple Man, Zebediah Killgrave, is a creepy character. A man who can bend minds of others to his will, Brian Michael Bendis made him a particularly nasty guy in his run on Alias. So what can be done to make him even more creepy? Why make five Purple Children, of course! Yes, if horror movies have taught us nothing, there's nothing creepier than evil kids, and Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are playing on that fear in the new issue of Daredevil, as the children of Killgrave make their mark. While the Purple Children were introduced last issue, we see exactly what they can do this issue when they confront Daredevil. But that's the end of the issue. At the beginning, we get to see Matt Murdock, Daredevil, spending time with Kirsten McDuffie, his law partner and girlfriend, and a disguised Foggy Nelson, his best friend who faked his own death and is in disguise in the world's least convincing fat suit, which is the butt of several jokes from the others and gives the issue a touch of humor before things go sideways. Matt is talking with them about the proposition of writing his autobiography, something Kirsten's publisher father asked about last issue. Foggy makes a couple of valid points against it, most notably that Matt a) hates to write and b) Matt has lived a hard, nasty life, and maybe revisiting the darker moments isn't the best for Matt's sanity. But Matt shakes that argument off, confident that he is happy and can deal with it. Meanwhile, the Purple Children are stretching their metaphorical muscles by testing their powers and stealing a police car. It's a good bit of character that the kids act like kids. They don't start trying to take over the city or developing a cult, they just use their powers to get what they feel like getting. And when Daredevil stops their joyride and confronts them, Waid again does something very clever with Daredevil's particular skill set and limitations: despite knowing Killgrave is on the loose, he has no idea the kids are connected to him until someone else mentions their purple skin tone because Daredevil is blind. I've been reading Daredevil for a long time, and while every writer regularly mentions Daredevil is blind, and often play up the advantages of his heightened senses, Waid has been the best about playing on the way the blindness can hamper his abilities too. The battle with the Purple Children ends with them forcing Matt to face the darkness in his past that he's not faced since Waid took over the book, because the Purple Children don't just convince you of something, they make you believe it, a fine distinction, but one that makes them all the more powerful than their father. The issue ends with Matt in the darkest place he's been in years, proving Foggy might have been more on the nose about where Matt's head is, and with an enemy who might be an ally in this situation looming over him. It's a disquieting splash page, and the art uses shadow to add to the ominous tone. It's been nearly five years since Mark Waid took over Daredevil, and he still finds new things to do with the character month in and month out.

Justice League #35
Story; Geoff Johns
Art: Ivan Reis & Doug Mahnke

The prologue to the new arc on Justice League is an issue low on action, but high on character. It begins with a press conference announcing the partnership between Wayne Enterprises and Lexcorp that was established last issue. The scene does a great job of showing exactly how much the team trusts Lex Luthor, their newest member. The hero/villain team up is a trope in comics almost as old as the medium itself, but the twist here, that the heroes have to work with Lex in the light of day because the world now views Lex as a hero, is a nice twist. And it's not just like in the President Luthor years, where they could just avoid him. Nope, Lex is a full fledged Justice Leaguer. The whole team is on hand, ready to bust in and arrest Lex the minute Batman finds any evidence of Luthor doing anything illegal, which seems to be the razor's edge the team is going to be walking on for sometime. The press conference is a great showcase for how manipulative Lex can be, playing to the crowd, and just how much more clever Bruce Wayne is, invoking the death of his parents to slip in and undercut Lex in front of the media. During that press conference, we get to see what each of the Justice League members in the crowd are doing, and Geoff Johns uses the time to build the characters and relationships. We continue seeing Cyborg and Shazam as good friends, with Cyborg as the mature older brother figure to the more immature Shazam, who acts a bit more like a kid than he has in previous incarnations, where Billy Batson's teenage attitude doesn't creep through as much. Meanwhile Flash spends his time with Power Ring, who has at least for now mastered the evil ring that gives her the name, and I'm curious to see where the relationship between her and Flash goes. Batman then gets a guided tour of Lex Luthor's inner sanctum, one that again shows that the confrontation between Lex and the League is going to be a battle of wits between these two more than anything physical. Knowing what we do about Lex, it's clear he's sanitized the labs, since I can;t imagine he's not up to something even if it's not showing. We do get some insight into Lex's character with the appearance of his sister, Lena, before Neutron, the nuclear powered supervillain, bursts in to assassinate Lex, with a mysterious voice whispering in his ear, promising him his humanity back if he performs. We get a quick battle, where Aquaman jumps in and Johns once again proves that when written right, Aquaman can be a badass, and the issue ends with one of Lex's dirty little secrets being revealed, one that will set off the action of the arc, the titular Amazo Virus. Johns is firing on all cylinders on  this title, which continues to be the best it's been since the relaunch, nicely balancing character and plot, and giving just enough action to remind us what it's like when gods clash.

Spider-Man 2099 #5
Story: Peter David
Art: Rick Leonardi

Don't let that cover text fool you! Despite it saying that this issue is drawn by series regular penciler Will Sliney, it's not. Sliney has been doing a great job on this book, but this issue is drawn by Spider-Man 2099 co-creator Rick Leonardi, which deserves a call out. Now, I don't read anything else even tangentially related to Spider-Man, so my knowledge of the new "Spider-Verse" event is limited. This issue opens on one of the infinite earths (am I allowed to say that in relation to a Marvel comic?) where that world's version of Spidey 2099 is teamed up with Captain America, Wolverine, and the Genis-Vell Captain Marvel, whose series is one of Peter David's defining runs. Morlun, the Spidey-villain who eats the essences of Spider-powered characters, makes pretty short work of those guys, kills that universe's Spidey 2099, and moves on. In the traditional universe, good ol' Marvel 616, Miguel O'Hara, our Spidey 2099, still trapped in the present, feels a bolt of pain in his head when his counterpart buys it. In another universe, another Miguel O'Hara, this time the one who was a member of the universe hopping Exiles during Tony Bedard's run, is using his leftover tech from his time with the Exiles to try to reach Earth-616, the one reality Morlun fears since it was the site of his defeat. There are more Miguel deaths, and just as the Exiles Miguel is about to step through his portal, which 616 Miguel is watching, Morlun arrives. While Exiles Miguel falls, 616 Miguel gets hints of what is to come and heads off to find the person who might have answers. Peter David does a great job of explaining what readers might need to know about what is going on in this event without drowning the readers in details, or making them feel lost. David has always been a writer who knows how to take an event and do his best to make it show the strengths of a title he's writing without it interfering too much. He finds ways to work in the continuing plot lines going through the book in little scenes in between the big event scenes. I talked about Rick Leonardi's return to Spider-Man 2099 earlier, but I want to discuss it in context of the issue. Leonardi does spectacular work drawing Miguel in combat, both the alter-Miguel's fighting Morlun and 616 Miguel chasing bank robbers who are escaping in a helicopter. He has a sense of the way a body moves and that acrobatic style that works perfectly with characters like any version Spider-Man or Nightwing (a book he had a good long run on). I hope that Leonardi will come back to the book every now and then for a check in, especially if we get Miguel back to his own time; Leonardi really defined the skyline of 2099 New York. But for now, I'm happy to see him drawing Miguel in any era.

The Thrilling Adventure Hour #0
Story: Ben Acker & Ben Blacker
Art: J. Bone/Phil Hester

It was announced not too long ago that Image Comics would be releasing series based on the two cornerstone segments of America's favorite new time podcast in the style of old time radio, The Thrilling Adventure Hour. I've written a recommendation for the previously released graphic novel, and made clear my love for the show in any medium, but knowing that we'd be getting even more comics from these worlds had me hugely excited. And last week, I discovered that there were on-line zero issues for both the series (so it's not really released on the 15th, but I'm putting it in here), and immediately bought them, which is rare for me as I'm a person who loves his comics in his hands, and will usually wait for print editions of digital first projects. But I'm glad I bought the digital release, because this is some great material. Each story is an origin story, about the meeting of the two series principle characters, stories we've heard referenced on the show but have never actually seen played out, at least as far as what has been put up in podcast form, so it's a real treat!

Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars, is the story of, well, Sparks Nevada, who is a marshal. On Mars. Although, as he will tell everyone who he talks to, "I'm... from Earth." The story in this issue is Sparks dealing with his robot deputies going rogue, a flood, and picking up a Martian sidekick, Croach the Tracker, who is under onus to Sparks for saving his village. It gives new readers all the things they need to know about the Sparks universe, like robot rogues, martians, Sparks's usual problems with the ladies, and his love of paperwork. There's plenty of humor mixed in, with Sparks usual deadpan delivery. Knowing the show, I can hear the lines delivered by the actors (which makes sense, as the comic is written by series creators Ben Acker and Ben Blacker), and it works perfectly in the different medium, with the cadence made clear by how the panels lay out the dialogue. J. Bone does a beautiful job rendering the red plains of Mars. His Sparks and Croach seem to have stepped right out of my imagination, and he does great design work on the rogue robot deputies. It's a charming story that will appeal to fans of space opera or Westerns.

Beyond Belief is the story of Frank and Sadie Doyle, toast of the upper crust, headliners on the society pages. And oh yes, they see ghosts. When we meet them in the show, Frank and Sadie are happily married, living in the Plaza Hotel and loving nothing more than liquor and each other, although they are regularly interrupted by supernatural things knocking on their door, often literally. But this story takes place when Frank is out hunting demons and Sadie is with her ne'er do-well boyfriend, Bobo Brubaker, running fake seances. But when they pull that scam in a real haunted house, Sadie's actual sensitivity to ghosts summons something nasty and Frank must sweep in to save everyone. It's love at first sight, and the bond between the soon-to-be-Doyles, one of the defining charms of the show, is apparent from the moment they see each other. Also apparent is their love of gin. So much gin. Bobo is not enamored with Frank, and so proves the heel he is, not surprising as Bobo has popped up as an antagonist of sorts on the show before (not that the Doyle's let much of anything actually antagonize them, just interrupt their drinks briefly), but Bobo is put in his place and the Doyle's are on their way to bliss by story's end. Frank and Sadie are my favorite part of Thrilling Adventure Hour, so seeing how they met was a real treat. It's paced well, and has all the hallmarks of a Beyond Belief, including an amusing twist at the end as to the origin of the supernatural nasty. Phil Hester does an excellent job crafting a truly creepy ghost and his hellhounds, not surprising if you're familiar with his horror work, but also does great likenesses of the Doyles, who more than any other character, feel like they look like the actors who portray them, comedian Paul F Tompkins and actress Paget Brewster.

If you're a fan of TAH you know you want to read these stories, and if you're someone who has heard me natter on about it endlessly since I discovered it, this is a great place to try it out. The two issues are available separately for $1.99 each, or together for $2.99, and you can purchase them right here. So check it out and be ready for the February releases of the new series!

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 9/3

The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage #1
Story: Jen Van Meter
Art: Roberto de la Torre

Valiant continues to move from strength to strength with the debut of The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage. While all of Valiant's books are superhero comics at their heart, they all exist within the trappings of other genres. X-O Manowar is really the most superhero of the lot, Bloodshot is an espionage comic, Archer & Armstrong is about conspiracies, Quantum & Woody is a buddy comedy, etc. Shadowman has been the occult comic, and with its end, it feels like this series is picking up that baton. From what I gather from a friend who reads all the Valiant books, Dr. Mirage made her first appearance in the pages of Shadowman. However, you don't need to know anything about that other appearance to get into this first issue; all I know is that it happened, nothing more, and I really enjoyed this issue. Dr. Shan Fong, also known as Dr. Mirage, is a medium and paranormal investigator who is the real deal. She can speak to the dead. The issue opens with her agent having ambushed her with a seance for a group of wealthy widows, and this sets off some issues for Shan; you see, her husband, Hwen, died and she has never been able to speak to him. Dr. Mirage is tough as nails, and she admits it freely. She isn't a warm, fuzzy character, not one of those John Edwards-esque mediums. She calls 'em as she sees 'em, and no one gets in her way. After the initial scene, that does a great job of establishing personality and the status quo, we get the thrust of where the series is going. A billionaire hires Mirage to help solve an occult problem, one that he is clearly not being entirely up front about, and unbeknownst to him, Mirage gets a hint from a creature that he is vonbed to of what might have become of her husband. And so the issue ends with the beginning of a classic Orphues in the Underworld journey. Jen Van Meter is one of those writers whose work I always really enjoy, as she has a great feel for character, and this issue does an excellent job of packing a lot of that in with all the required backstory and never feeling burdened by it. Roberto de la Torre's art is well suited to the story, with dark tones that are still realistic but with a bit of creepiness to them; I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do with the much more abstract canvas of the afterlife next issue. As someone who appreciates a supernatural hero, I was pleased to see Valiant resurrecting Dr. Mirage, and this first issue makes me hope that, if the series keeps up at this pace, we'll see this five issue mini spin off an ongoing in the not too distant future.

Grendel Vs. The Shadow
Story & Art: Matt Wagner

New Grendel written and drawn by Matt Wagner is something I look forward to a lot. When Wagner is just writing Grendel stories they're still great, but that mix of his story and art are a real treat. And when it was announced that not only would the new Grendel story feature my favorite Grendel, Hunter Rose, but it would also be a crossover with The Shadow, one of the prototypes for all masked men, and a character who Wagner has written before but not drawn except for covers, I was chomping at the bit. The story starts with Hunter Rose being displaced in time from the present (well, Hunter's present, which is the 80s) to the 30s. With Prohibition ending and one of the leaders of the Five Families dying, Hunter begins to take over the gangs of New York as Grendel while making himself the toast of New York literary set as Hunter. Meanwhile, the Shadow is also preparing for the coming gang wars and learning more of this new player, Grendel. The issue has dual narrators, with Hunter narrating his own parts in his inimitable style, and the Shadow's companion, Margo Lane, narrating others. It's interesting that Wagner chooses to not have The Shadow narrate his own parts of the stories, something that amplifies the mystery of the character (it is of note that in his The Shadow: Year One mini-series, Wagner also chose Lane as the narrator). This also gives the reader a different sort of insight into The Shadow, and lets the reader really understand Margo, who is a key character in the Shadow mythos. The plot is fine, a good gangster/30s/masked man story, but the issue is really outstanding for its atmosphere. Hunter slides into the 30s perfectly; he's a man about town and a bon vivant, so he fits perfectly in this era, The looks of the piece is outstanding, with Wagner really drawing the hell out of the vintage clothing, cars, and settings. And the action scenes are equally astounding, with Grendel's usual graceful slaughters and The Shadow's appearances and disappearances and his gun play. It's also of note that the story starts in the present with the typical Grendel color palate of black, white, and red, and when he moves back into The Shadow's time, the story shifts to full color, which is a great storytelling technique. This is a great jumping on point if you're a fan of one of these characters and not the other, or haven't read anything featuring either.

Justice League #33
Story: Geoff Johns
Art: Doug Mahnke

Justice League is a comic I've had very mixed feelings about, and I've said that before. I've been unsure of the gravity of it, of the darkness, of the fact that the League, which was before sort of a group of peers and friends, were bickering like the Avengers at their worst. But things feel a little different since Forever Evil. While we're still waiting to see if that crossover will have any real long term effects, the short term effects on this book have been to kick into a much higher gear. This issue wraps up the Justice League's first confrontation with the New 52 Doom Patrol. Johns takes the Grant Morrison idea that The Chief, mad scientist and the leader of the Doom Patrol, is comics biggest ass, and plays it to the hilt. When there is a guy on the page who is even more full of himself than Lex Luthor, you know this guy has some serious chips on his shoulder. The dialogue between the Chief and Luthor is crackling, with them feeding off each other's egos. I'm not a big fan of the Doom Patrol. I don't have anything against them, but with the exception of Morrison's run, I don't think I've read more than an issue here or there featuring them, although I did like their appearances on Teen Titans and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. I do like what Johns does here, which is give each of them a unique personality and reaction to their freakishness, from Elasti-Girl's mind numbing happiness to Negative Man's apathy. I'm not sure of these are logical extensions of previous characterization or something new, but I liked it. The other moment in this issue that spoke to me was when Batman has to talk down Jessica Cruz, the young woman possessed by the Power Ring from the alternate Crime Syndicate universe, where the green ring is sentient, evil, and powered by fear. There's a scene from the episode of Justice League Unlimited, "Epilogue," where Batman finds the immensely powerful psychic called Ace, who is dying, and sits with her and talks to her and agrees to stay with her until the end. Here, Batman, the master of using fear as a weapon, talks to a woman who is agoraphobic and traumatized about his own fears and how he was able to not give in to them, and get her to come around and throw off the ring, which is fueled by her fear. It's a wonderful scene, and one that shows that Johns can really get Batman. Batman isn't some aloof, ogre, but someone who is intrinsically and at times almost painfully human, who understands fear and pain, and really wants no one else to experience it. The issue ends with the completely expected induction of Lex Luthor into the Justice League, but the scene leading up to it, between the DC trinity, gives a new context to that, once that I think will make for some great plot in the future.

She-Hulk #8
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Javier Pulido

She-Hulk is beginning to feel like Batman, in that it's a comic I review every month. I freakin' love this comic. It's smart, it's well written, the cast is wonderful, the art by Javier Pulido is beautiful. This issue, where Jen starts representing Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, in a wrongful death suit from the 40s, is a really solid story, and write Charles Soule writes Steve so well. But this month, I want to pull back a bit and focus in a particular aspect of the issue that made me unadulteratedly happy. With Jen Walters, the lawyer also known as She-Hulk, having to go out to represent Cap in California, she needs to find a firm that she can attach herself to, since she isn't licensed to practice in the state. And the firm she chooses is the firm headed up by the character find of 2014: Matt Rocks. If you don't know your Marvel comics well enough to get the joke there, and haven't read enough about X-Factor on this blog to pick it up either, what we're dealing with is a duplicate of Jaime Madrox, the Multiple Man, former leader of X-Factor who can create duplicates of himself. Jaime sent out legions of dupes years ago to learn skills so that when he reabsorbed them, he would pick those skills up himself. Turns out, one of those dupes became a leading Hollywood entertainment lawyer who has basically been paying Jaime off with half his income so Jaime wouldn't reabsorb him. It's a weird, crazy idea, and deeply steeped in the knowledge of a pretty obscure Marvel comic; X-Factor isn't the Avengers or Uncanny X-Men, it had a pretty niche audience. But Soule doesn't shy away from it. He dives right in, explains what you need to know about the character and creates something delightfully fun with it. I'm the guy that scene was written for, someone inundated in this comic book minutiae, someone who would have gotten the joke without the prompting, and I say thank you for it. Next month, the trial will begin, and an idea that I'm shocked no one has pulled before, two super-hero lawyers challenging each other in court, will kick off in earnest for a story that I'm sure will be full of fascinating twists and turns. But for this month, well, Matt Rocks is just going to make me smile.