Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 6/8

Birthright #16
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas

The fourth arc of Birthright begins an arc that looks like it's going to provide answers to many of the series long burning questions. Birthright is usually a strong mix of action and character, but this issue mostly takes a step back from the action and gives us a very strong dose of character. We don't get much more of the most awkward dinner ever between the sorcerer Mastema and the mother of our protagonists, Wendy, and Mikey's ex/friend.babymama, Rya, before two of the remaining other mages, Kylen and Enoch show up to discuss what to do about finding Mikey and the betrayal of their fellow, Samael. But after only a few pages of this, we're back with Mikey, his brother Brennan, his dad Aaron, and Samael, revealed to be the boy's grandfather, Aaron's father. If we got the impression from the end of the previous issue that Aaron has some issues with his dad, And now we can see how, as hard as it would be for anyone to be accused of the murder of their son, and to have their son disappear, how much this plays right into the issues Aaron has as the son of a father who abandoned him. And how furious he is that his father, who knew about the magical land of Terrenos, never came to him and his family in their hour of need, when Mikey was gone. And Samael may have good reasons, but his evasion and his simply saying that he has good reasons without explaining anything? That doesn't make him sound like the most trustworthy of guys. We also get more explanation of Brennan's burgeoning mystical abilities, and his use of them sets off what looks to be the series next major fight scene. A series with so many mysteries needs to start paying them off eventually, and as Williamson has proven in his other creator owned series, he knows when the time is ripe for some answers. Ad as good as the story is, and it's very good, the art on this issue is Andrei Bressan's best. Not only do we have great character moments in the faces of both Samael and Aaron, but Bressan gets to draw Samael's lair, a treasure trove of mystical artifacts. This is always something an artist can have fun with, but this particular treasure trove is littered with props from many classic fantasy movies. In a once over I saw all sorts of stop motion creatures from Harryhausen movies, the skull of the pirate from Goonies, Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, the crocodile from Hook, and the Wicker Man from, well, The Wicker Man. I'm a big fan of Easter Eggs, and the two page spread that introduces Samael's treasure room is just packed with them. Birthright is an exciting, character-driven modern fantasy story, and one for fans of the stories that explore the thin line between fantasy and reality. The first three arcs are out in trade, so it would be easy for you to catch up and start grabbing the single issues as things really start speeding forward.

Detective Comics #934
Story: James Tynion IV
Art: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, & Adriano Lucas

"DC:Rebirth" keeps moving forward, and you'll be seeing a lot of it this week. We're starting it with the new issue of Detective Comics, which returns to its original numbering. Detective has been the most inconsistent of the Batman titles since the Flashpoint changeover, a book that has ranged from some excellent arcs to some of the worst Batman comics I've read. The new dawn of the series takes aspects from various places, including Batman & Robin Eternal and the late Batwoman series, and starts creating a new Batman team title. There's a lot of mystery built into this first issue, as someone is impersonating Batman and using scientifically advanced drones to chase down other Gotham vigilantes. With this going on, Batman recruits Batwoman, who has a military background, to serve as team leader and drill sergeant for a team of young vigilantes, specifically Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan (Cassandra Cain's new identity, and one reforming villain, Clayface, who Batwoman worked with at the end of her own series. I probably have every appearance of Batwoman, and while she has shared page time with Batman before, this issue felt like the most substantive meeting between the two. In the past, Batman has mostly given her his usual routine when a vigilante is in Gotham he hasn't trained, the, "This is my city," shtick. But here, he's reaching out to her for help, and it's the more stable Batman on the end of Scott Snyder's run we're seeing here, someone who is willing to work with people and not be the paranoid figure he has often been portrayed as in the past fifteen years or so. To really show that, he unmasks in front of Kate Kane, and we get to see her react on the best possible way, "I've been waiting for you to admit it for the last year and a half." And the utterly shocked look on Bruce's face is priceless; it's rare to see Batman surprised, and it's a nice change, We get little bits of each of the characters on the team, probably the least with Red Robin, which I'm a bit sad about as I've been waiting for Tim Drake to have a regular spot in a Bat book since the post-Flashpoint universe began, but he's got time. I like the feeling we get for Orphan, who is still haunted by the events of Batman & Robin Eternal, Spoiler, who plays up her name a lot more than it was played up in her pre-Flashpoint years as someone who spoils the plans of villains, and the scene where Batman and Batwoman find Clayface actually does a good job of making Clayface a more sympathetic figure, much more akin to his Batman: The Animated Series portrayal then the mustache twirling Basil Karlo of the comics. And we see Kate Kane still dealing with the fallout of her disagreements with her father and I assume her final break-up with Maggie Sawyer, who appeared back in Metropolis in the week's Action Comics. I hope we get to see a lot of the dangling threads from Batwoman's series played out here as the series progresses. This was an excellent debut issue, a great way to introduce new readers to these characters, and a really enjoyable issue for old time Bat fans looking to see the next generation of the Batman family back together.

Flash: Rebirth #1
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico & Ivan Plascencia

Flash: Rebirth actually combines aspects from both of the above reviews: It's part of "DC: Rebirth" and is written by Joshua Williamson. So much of this issue is new series writer Joshua Williamson giving readers his view if Barry Allen. Barry is having a hard time of things here: he's been assigned to a murder case that oddly resembles his mother's, and he's having visions. If you read DC Universe: Rebirth, you know those visions are connected to Wally West trying to make his way back into the world, and we get to see the sequence from that one shot from Barry's point of view, and it still warms my heart. Barry is such a warm, friendly guy, and seeing him with his protege and surrogate son just brings out the best in him. And I am such a huge fan of  this Wally West, I'm just glad to see him back. The sadness that he is experiencing, knowing that most of the people he knows and loves, and the confusion that his Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry are "just friends" in this reality, is palpable. And if I wasn't pleased enough that I see Barry interacting with Wally, I get to see Barry interact with my favorite character of all time as well, Batman. I like that Williamson doesn't have Barry and Bruce interact as detectives, since that's not what Barry really is, but as scientists, which is how Barry thinks of himself. This issue is the first to really build on the reveals of the DCU: Rebirth one-shot, and begins Batman and Flash's investigation into what changed the universe and what's happened to them, analyzing the Comedian's button that Batman found in the cave. We don't get any answers, but a lot is set up for the future of the series. The wrap up of the case Barry was investigating has some very different hints, hints of Professor Zoom being back in the picture. I'm personally left to wonder if the Zoom who is imprisoned in Iron Heights, the New 52 Zoom, is still there and the yellow blur we see is the pre-52 Zoom, somehow having survived his apparent death in Flashpoint, and is now an agent of Dr. Manhattan, or simply is back to his old tricks of screwing with Barry. The art from Carmine Di Giandomenico is absolutely gorgeous, and really captures the feel of speed, and the colors by Plascencia add to it, making for a visually striking comic. With this issue, we have an excellent starting issue that gives readers a good idea of who Barry Allen is and what his world is like, who his supporting cast is, and a taste of what's to come.

Wonder Woman: Rebirth #1
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Matthew Clark, Sean Parsons, and Jeremy Caldwell & Liam Sharp and Laura Martin

This first issue of Wonder Woman in the Rebirth era is about truth and contradictions. Greg Rucka start his new run on this series by examining the contradictions between Wonder Woman's pre-Flashpoint origin and her post-Flashpoint one, between how the world looks at her and how the world looks at other heroes. As with most of the Rebirth one-shots, this issue feels like a statement on where the character is and how the creators perceive them, so it is also lighter on the action, but is filled with a thoughtful examination of Wonder Woman as a character. Greg Rucka's previous run on the character leading up to Infinite Crisis is my favorite Wonder Woman run, so I'm thrilled to see him back, and I love how he embraces all the history of the character, how he doesn't ignore the New 52 incarnation of the character, but uses the contradictions and the current status quo to spotlight Diana's strength as a champion of truth. I love the change from the New 52 costume to the more armored version of Diana's traditional garb, and Liam Sharp's Diana is both beautiful and fierce, a force to be reckoned with, and if the big fight scene at the end of the issue between Diana and constructs in the design of Greek mythological creatures is any indication, we're in for a visual feast as Sharp gets more creatures to draw. Rucka builds a mystery at the heart of his new take on the series, questions of Olympus and what Diana has been a part of, and the hinted at brother from the end of Geoff Johns's Justice League. Rucka more than any other writer is facing down the changes made in the New 52 head on in this stellar one-shot.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 3/23

Batman #50
Story: Scott Snyder
Art: Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia & Yanick Paquette and Nathan Fairbairn

While next issue will be a one off epilogue issue, Batman #50 wraps up most of the threads that Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have been weaving throughout not just the current arc, "Superheavy," but their entire fifty issue run. Bruce Wayne is back as Batman, and he and Jim Gordon team up to stop Mister Bloom and the people he has infected with his seeds. It's a double-sized issue, and deservedly so, because there is a lot going on. Bruce is fighting Bloom while Gordon is heading to the Powers building to shut down the the collider under the building that is generating a "strange star" which will obliterate much of Gotham at least. And if that weren't enough, Duke Thomas has discovered the person responsible for Bloom and is headed to confront him.

The thing that Snyder spends the issue really talking about, when it comes to theme and more than a bit of dialogue, is about Batman as hope and an idea. About how the person behind Bloom wanted to e power the people of Gotham, to allow them to be their own Batman. Bloom continues to spout his usual brand if nihilistic, every man for himself, philosophy. And Jim Gordon, the Batman who should never have been, gets the big speech as he saves the day. He gets in the speech about how the world needs heroes, not super heroes. How Batman is there because he, "fights our nightmares to teach us to fight the real terrors by light of day." It's a big, climactic scene, and while Batman's return inspires the hope that people need to remove their seeds and weaken Bloom, it's great to see Jim, who has always been a hero, get the final win on this one. The epilogue to the issue has Gordon, recovering from grave wounds, thinking about the first time he saw Gotham, and talking to Batman about it, and so it brings the series full circle; issue one had narration about what Gotham was to the people of the city, and it ends the same way.

For his big finale, Capullo pulls out all the stops, drawing legions of Bloom's freaks and different generations of Bat armor. The final big fight, between a giant Bloom and a giant Bat-Mech is a sight to behold, Capullo also debuted a new Batman costume, a slight variation on the classic theme, that is a nice final touch, a little something to remember him by.

With the announcement of the changes in creative teams coming with Rebirth, Batman #50 is a perfect coda to everything that Scott Snyder has had to say about Batman. It talks about hope and people, and while there's plenty to mill over about the nature of heroism and superheroism, there's still a ton of things going boom. This issue finds the right balance between destruction and thought, like the best blockbusters. I'm looking forward to what Snyder has planned for All-Star Batman, but he's got a tough act to follow after this.

Birthright #15
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Andrei Bressan & Adriano Lucas

Like all of Joshua Williamson's series, Birthright has a strong mix of character, action, and big surprises that makes it a rewarding read, and this issue, the end of the series' third arc, is a perfect example of this. Two confrontations of very different kind take place in this issue. While Wendy, mother of our leads, and winger-warrior Ryo are trapped in a cage by Mastema, one of the mages barbarian Mikey is hunting, Mikey and Brennan are surrounded by a SWAT team and Agent Kylen, secretly another of the mages. The two scenarios play to all Williamson and Bressan's strengths. The scene with Wendy and Ryo discusses the nature of prophecy, exactly what Mikey's journey was like in the fantasy world of Terrenos, and Wendy coming to terms with what her son now is. A spread over two pages shows Mikey growing up, and it's very cool to see the intermediate steps between the young boy we see in his origin flashbacks and the looming barbarian he is now. And Wendy's journey to truly believing that all this is real has finally reached the place where she's ready to embrace Mikey as her son, which makes me hope for a reunion soon.. Mikey's fight with the SWAT team is short and brutal, and it's in the reactions and expressions of his brother, Brennan, and his father, Aaron, manipulated by Kylen into leading him to Mikey, that really carries the scenes impact. That and the smugly satisfied look on Kylen's face. But that expression leaves when Sameal, the final sorcerer appears, and instead of fighting with Kylen's men, quickly dispatches them. The "spirit smoke" he uses moves across the pages, undulating and terrifying, as the ninja-like Sameal picks off the SWAT team one by one (and boy howdy, if these pages don't say Bressan should do Batman at some point in the future, I don't know what would). I will also admit I did not see the big last page reveal of Sameal's identity coming, and when I saw it, I realized how much sense it makes, and how much it's going to change things for Aaron especially. There's a two month break before arc four begins, so that's plenty of time for everyone out there to get the first two trades, and volume three when it hits, and be caught up when Birthright returns, so what are you waiting for?

The Death-Defying Dr. Mirage: Second Lives #4
Story: Jen Van Meter
Art: Roberto De La Torre, Al Barrionuevo, & David Baron

The second mini-series starring Valiant's supernatural heroes Drs. Shan and Hwen Mirage ends with an exciting ghost battle and some amazing visuals. The showdown with the ghost of evil sorcerer Denis De Walt is on the horizon, and so Hwen, himself a ghost, enters into the magic scroll known as the Vita Secunda to learn what it will take to stop De Walt. The pages with Hwen inside the scroll are stunning, some of Roberto De La Torre's most impressive, reflecting a strange world at first beautiful and then corrupted by the abuse of the primal magic. It's trippy in that classic Ditko Dr. Strange way, and aided by David Baron's colors. The thing that really sets this comic above and beyond and that drives not only the story engine but the readers interest is the wonderful relationship between the living Shan and the ghostly Hwen, and so as the two set their plan in motion to stop De Walt, the palpable sense of dread that Hwen might have to sacrifice himself to win makes the book all the more tense. The final battle is won more through cleverness than brute strength, something Shan excels at, and it's nice to get a comic with a happy ending. That final battle is again really benefited by Baron's colors, both in the way that he makes the ghosts look, each one of the important ones a slightly different color to help easily remind the reader who's who and who's dead. Also, as Hwen and De Walt cast spells at each other, their word balloons stop having words but instead symbols and colors, which I think is a fascinating representation of magic, being more feelings than actual words, and I wonder if that was handled by the artists or the letterer; one way or the other, I hope it's used again when we get another Doctor Mirage tale. The final pages, as Shan starts up the old TV show she and Hwen had before he died with actor Alex standing in for Hwen has a couple teases;  Hwen's expanding powers and the ramifications of Alex's brief possession by De Walt, setting up a third mini-series in the not too distant future. Each Valiant title has a very different feel, and I like that the supernatural adventure and romance of Death-Defying Doctor Mirage makes it a fairly unique series on the racks, and one that I enjoy each time a new issue comes out.

Secret Six #12
Story: Gail Simone
Art: Dale Eaglesham, Tom Derenick, & Jason Wright

I'm putting this review last so you can stop if you're shy about spoilers and don't want to know about the end of this issue. So HERE THERE BE SPOILERS...

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Writing about the new issue is Secret Six is tricky. Not because it is at any point lacking in the usual brand of off kilter friendship as any other issue, or lacks in brutal action. But because at the end of the issue, a reunion between two characters happens, and it made me, a grown man, squeal with joy. There are certain characters in comics that you just love. And for me, among those characters are Ralph and Sue Dibny. I wrote in the review above about how I love the relationship between Shan and Hwen Mirage. That goes triple for Ralph and Sue. They are characters that belong together. Ralph might be a pliable and hilarious detective on his own, and Sue might be a whip-smart globe trotting socialite, but through their fifty plus years in comics, they have been the best couple; they make each other better, like the best couple do in real life. They have inside jokes and tolerate each other's foibles (although most of those foibles are Ralph's). So the end of this issue, when Ralph comes home and finds Sue back, her memory restored, and they embrace? God, my heart grew three sizes. Gail Simone, congratulations on making me smile so hard my face hurt.

Aside from that, the issue also spotlights the thing that makes Secret Six such an interesting comic: no matter the version of it, these characters are a family more than a team. They're all broken in some way, and in many ways completely insane, but they care for each other. Facing down Lady Shiva, a character who has been used sparingly since Flashpoint, it would have been easy to make the issue a wall-to-wall fight, but Strix, who Shiva is seeking, won't let that happen. Because these people are her friends and family, and she won't let them enter a battle that she knows will get them killed. And so we get a sad farewell between the conscious members of the Six and Batgirl for Strix, and then she's off with Shiva. And while Ralph gets his happy reunion, the others think about what to do next. The growth these characters have gone through in twelve issues, from the disparate band of loonies into this family us never clearer. It's great how these characters, who mostly exist just on the verge of doing something monstrous, can also tug at the heart strings. I'm going to miss Secret Six when it bows out soon, but until then, I'm going to enjoy this crazy ride for as long as I can.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 4/8

Birthright #6
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Andrei Brissan

After a brief hiatus, Birthright is back and picking up right where it left off, both in story and quality. Brother Mikey and Brennan are now on the run together, and Mikey is using all the skills he learned spending years in the fantasy otherworld of Terrenos. There's some nice binding moments, as the two brothers act brotherly, playing and teasing in the way siblings do. But there's the darkness in Mikey, not just the fact that some aspect of the evil God King Lore is driving him, but what seems like PTSD from his years of adventuring. The jumping up from nightmares, the callous way he kills, it's clear that there's a darkness driving him. While the two brothers are off having this adventure, their parents are once again left to pick up the pieces of "real life." Aaron, the boys' father, is once again being interrogated by Det. Brooks, the officer who has been investigating the case form the start, and just as Wendy, the boys' mother, is getting through to Aaron, the NSA arrives in the form of the pompous Agent Kylen. As Kylen immediately says that Aaron's son is a threat, he seems to have less of problem with the idea that Mikey has aged twenty-plus years in the space of a year, so I'm wondering if he's just playing Aaron or if the government has some idea of what exactly is happening with Terrenos. Artist Andrei Brissan seems to have stepped up over the course of the short hiatus; while his art was excellent before, it's on a new level. The two pages spread that shows Lore and his realm is creepy and disgusting in the way you'd want the domain of a dark lord to be. There's a scene with a bear coming across the boys in the woods that really stands out, not just because the bear is gorgeously rendered (which it is), but also for the way Mikey acts towards it. The last couple of pages introduce who look to be Mikey's new nemeses, and while we know Mikey's the "bad guy" in this situation, we know him and care about him enough to want him to defeat them, which is a sign of how well written he is. Joshua Williamson amazes me; some writer have a hard time getting one book out in a month, and he writes three very strong creator owned titles, each with a different flavor. Birthright is one of most original books on the racks, mixing fantasy with modern family drama. The first trade is out now, so grab it and this first issue of the second arc now.

Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1
Story: Gail Simone
Art: Jan Duursema

As Convergence starts is earnest this week, we got the first week of mini-series set in old worlds, this week focusing on the pre-Flashpoint world. They were kind of a mixed bag, but shockingly, one of the really strong ones was Nightwing/Oracle from Gail Simone, who wrote Oracle longer than nearly anyone, and Jan Duursema, whose return to DC after years at Dark Horse doing some of the best Star Wars art ever is welcome. After a year under the mysterious dome, Barbara Gordon, better known as Oracle in this world, is starting to lose hope. She's been partnering with Dick Grayson, Nightwing, and they've been keeping Gotham safe. The issue is narrated form Barbara's point of view, and we see just how close she is to sinking into despair. It's hard to see Barbara, who is such a string character and been through so much, at this point, but it does make the situation seem all the more dire. Meanwhile, Nightwing is still full of so much joy and energy; Simone writes a Nightwing who is a big, grinning kid, not dumb, but as Barbara says, living every moment in the now. Duursema's kinetic style works perfectly with the acrobatic Grayson. As the issue progresses, we get the standard Convergence set-up, the gladiatorial conflict between heroes of two cities, and after seeing them wipe out the Justice Riders at the beginning of the issue, it's not a shock that our heroes will be facing the dark versions of Hawkman and Hawkwoman from the Flashpoint reality. But the deal that is offered isn't like anything else going on, and it leaves Dick and Barbara in a bad place. Barbara has just turned down Dick's marriage proposal and now tells him she's not going to fight the Hawks. But after Dick leaves, the last panel of the issue is one of those knock you off your feet ones, not for action or shock, but because it's so perfectly Oracle. Gail Simone writes a better Barbara Gordon as Oracle than pretty much anyone, and if these are the last two issues we're ever going to get, well, that last panel sums up what I want from an Oracle story and makes me even more excited for the next issue.

Convergence: The Quesion #1
Story: Greg Rucka
Art: Cully Hamner

And equally not shocking, the second Convergence title that really blew me away was The Question from Greg Rucka and Cully Hamner, who wrote the excellent backup stories featuring the character on Detective Comics. And as you'd expect from Rucka writing the Question, this is a very personal and human story about Renee Montoya. Most of the characters who formed Renee's supporting cast are all here: Huntress, Two-Face, Batwoman, and while they don't physically appear, her family's presence is felt. Renee's relationship with Two-Face has always been complicated, and while the two are working together at the beginning of the issue to find morphine to her father, who is dying, Two-Face doesn't realize Renee is the Question and they have a very different relationship. Rucka's Two-Face is one of the most sympathetic and well-rounded presentations of that character, and his time in the dome has clearly not been going well. Meanwhile, the easy camaraderie between Renee and the Huntress makes for some great interplay between the two. I don't think I'd realized how much I've missed either character more than when they were simply bantering in the apartment they share. But Huntress warms Renee not to trust Two-Face, but Renee still has faith in him. But when the dome falls, Two-Face decides it's time to leave the dome and finally act on the death wish he has by finding another Harvey Dent to finally kill him. Renee does care about Two-Face, just not in the way he cares for her, and so she does try to stop him, to not much effect, and the issue ends with Renee once again meeting the one that got away, Batwoman, another character I can't wait to see Rucka write some more. I have one minor quibble/question that if either of the creators happen to see this, maybe they can answer: historically, Two-Face has a two headed coin, one side scarred, that he flips. That's part of the shtick: Two-Face with a two-faced coin, and it's an important part of his origin. The coin he has here clearly has heads and tails, as he both says it and we see the scarred side is a tails side. Did I miss something? Is this not the original coin? Other than that, which is at best a minor quibble, this was a great character piece featuring one of the characters who has been lost to the sands of time. No one writes these characters better than Rucka, and as with Simone and Oracle, I'm glad to see one more go around for this combination of writer and character.

Copperhead #6
Story: Jay Faerber
Art: Scott Godlewski

Another Image series returned from its between arcs hiatus this week, and it's return was also strong and impressive. Copperhead, the frontier Western in space, is back, and the events on the mining colony aren't getting any easier for Sheriff Clara Bronson. After a very cool action opening where Bronson and her alien deputy Budroxifinicus (Boo for short) stop someone from robbing secrets from the local mine, she finds herself stymied as local land baron and mine owner Mr. Hickory refuses to press charges. Hickory proved at the end of the last arc that he is no fan of Bronson's, and while she warns him not to take justice into his own hands when the man goes free, it's clear that Hickory is not pleased. This becomes more clear when he later goes to talk to Boo about a... change in regime. It's nice to see more of Boo's home life, meeting his mate, seeing another of his flashbacks to the war between his people and humanity. We don't get Meanwhile, Bronson's son Zeke sneaks away from home to talk to Ismael, the artificial human who saved him in the first arc; since this is a good jumping on issue, despite this being a brief scene, it's nice that all the principle characters show up. Bronson's night is a little more action filled, as she goes to local saloon "undercover" since it's pay day for the miners and that usually means things get rowdy in town. She stops a particularly sleazy specimen named Nestor from beating one of the local ladies of negotiable affection (a phrase from Terry Pratchett I've always loved), and meets a new character, Madame Vega, the local, well, madame, who appreciates another strong woman in town, and I find myself wondering if Vega will be a friend in whatever is coming between the sheriff and Hickory. We also see local school teacher Thaddeus Luken, a purple skinned near human, talk to Barton at the bar and ask her out, something that is interrupted by Nestor, but an invitation she accepts later at the schoolhouse. One of things that Jay Faerber is doing with this book is playing on a lot of the classic Western tropes, and so having the school marm and the sheriff as a couple works as one of those tropes, but here the genders are reversed. Copperhead is a great genre mash-up with strong characters and great designs for its world; if you ever enjoyed a Western or a sci-fi series set out on strange new worlds it's a great book, and this is a perfect time to jump on.

Descender #2
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Dustin Nguyen

After last month's strong start, Descender returns with a powerful second issue. The first issue ended with a group of robot scavengers arriving at the moon where boy robot Tim-21 had just awakened. This issue begins with a single page that has narration boxes talking about a memory download. The story then moves in alternating pages. One page is in the present, where we see Tim and Bandit (his robo dog, fleeing the robot hunters, while the opposing page is a differently colored page showing Tim's memories, from the moment he awakened for the first time to when he went to sleep ten years prior. we get to see his creator, Dr. Jin Quon, who we met last month, from his point of view, and then we see him meet the family he was sent to, Ms. Travers and her son, Andy. It's heartwarming to see how Tim becomes part of this family, and it's juxtaposed against the hunt for Tim and the violence that is perpetrated both by the hunters and by Tim in defense of Bandit and himself. The story winds up looping back around to the first page in a clever narrative device, and gives a view of the scene from that first page pulled further back to show the full, painful scene. The issue ends with Tim in mortal danger and a new possible friend entering his life. For a story about a robot, Tim is one of the most human characters, and his heartbreak as he finds the body of one of the victims of the catastrophe that killed most of the moon's residents is palpable. Dustin Nguyen puts in some of the best work of his career on this title; it works perfectly with Jeff Lemire's script. With two issues down, it looks like Descender is another strong title from Image.



And Dan Grote bids a fond farewell (temporary as it might be) to Deadpool...

Deadpool #250/45

Story: Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn

Art: Mike Hawthorne, Terry Pallot, Jordie Bellaire and Joe Sabino

Backup strips: Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Scott Aukerman, Mike Drucker, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, Nick Giovannetti, Matt Selman, Mirko Colak, Todd Nauck, Ty Templeton, Jacob Chabot, Natalie Nourigat, J.J. Kirby, Scott Koblish, Val Staples, Veronica Gandini, Ruth Redmond and Irene Y. Lee.

Well, as promised, Deadpool’s dead. But so’s everybody else. Without spoiling things too much, there’s a reason this is happening right before Secret Wars.

That said, the main story of Deadpool #250/45 (gotta love Marvel’s selective numbering) is actually a happy ending for Wade Wilson. The last few pages find DP surrounded by the supporting cast of the Duggan/Posehn/Hawthorne/Koblish era, the closest thing he’s ever had to family, from his illegitimate daughter to the Life Model Decoy of his SHIELD handler to the ghost of Benjamin Franklin. When the end comes, Wilson loves and is loved – a far cry from the psychopath who used to keep a blind old lady prisoner. Matt went into greater detail on this last week, but for my money, the Marvel NOW volume of Deadpool is easily the best since the original Joe Kelly run in the late ’90s.

And now, backup strips galore! Duggan and Posehn’s comedy-writer friends fill half of this supersized issue, with mini tales by Thrilling Adventure Hour’s Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, Comedy Bang Bang’s Scott Aukerman, The League’s Paul Scheer and Jason Mantzoukas, and more. Deadpool’s demon wife, Shiklah, catches up on ’80s pop culture! The Prestons get a talking dog (my favorite strip)! Kid Apocalypse tries to be bad but fails! Agent Adsit takes wisecracking lessons from Spider-Man! The Thing and Ghost Franklin team up (favorite single panel)! And Michael the Necromancer goes on a date!

Finally, we come to the last of the Scott Koblish-drawn flashback stories, in which Deadpool steals the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos and throws himself a roast guest-starring the entire Marvel Universe, which subjects him to a merciless barrage of jokes, many of which are fart-based. After he’s had enough, Wade freezes the scene and turns to camera, calling the reader out for making his life so miserable, reminding us once again that he is the ultimate self-aware sad clown. To which emcee Howard the Duck replies, “Kid, I was you before you came along,” bringing the curtain down on a money’s-worth read.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 10/8 (with Bonus Animated Discussions for Star Wars: Rebels)

Batgirl #35
Story: Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher
Art: Babs Tarr

And now for something completely different... The beginning of the new creative direction for Batgirl has been anticipated since it was announced, and now having read the first issue, I can say that it's a success. It's a jarring difference for the first handful of pages, I admit, as it feels completely different than anything else coming out from DC right now, but once you settle in to the groove, it's a ton of fun. New writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher have moved Barbara Gordon out of Gotham City proper and into Burnside (Gotham's answer to Brooklyn), and we see a completely different life for Barbara, and see her fighting crime that is very much 21st century crime, with tech theft and on-line sleaze mongering factoring into this first story. So much of Gail Simone's run was about Barbara recapturing her identity, both as Barbara and Batgirl after regaining the use of her legs, that it's different to see Barbara struggling with normal twenty-something problems, like getting her stuff stolen, including all her research work for her new college research project, being broke, and losing her costume (well, not all of it is trypical). We do meet Barbara's new roommate, Frankie, and we still see Alysia, Barbara's roommate from the Simone run. Frankie seems like a more grounded character than Alysia, not going out and protesting and breaking and entering, but being a normal person, which will be a nice balance to the chaos around Barbara. Rounding out the supporting cast is Black Canary, who shows up on Barbara's doorstep after her place burned down. Her falling out with BBarbarafrom the end of Birds of Prey is addressed, and by issue's end, we get an answer to how that happened, and it looks like Dinah will be crashing on Barbara's couch for a while. It's fun to have the slightly older, and very caustic, Canary to balance out the jubilant energy of so much of the rest of the cast, and I'm glad Canary has a home after the end of Birds of Prey. I love the way that the writers use Barbara's photographic memory to help her solve the case of her stolen laptop, and the way she defeats the villain of the issue, Riot Black, the guy who runs an internet blackmail site, is perfectly Barbara, clever and tech savvy (and Black speaks with hashtags. Nine times out of ten, that's an excuse to smack a guy down on its own). Babs Tarr's artwork was equally different from anything DC is doing, and really grabbed my attention. Her art is heavy on the panels, in many cases working with something close to a traditional nine panel grid, instead of the more splash page heavy artwork that is the modern DC house style, and it works perfectly with the script she was given. Even the two pages spread where Barbara reconstructs the party at her apartment from the night before when her computer was stolen is not a sloppy two page spread used to fill up space, but is filled with detail and character. With it's quick wit, smart story, and excellent art, it's an auspicious beginning to this new direction for Barbara Gordon and Batgirl.

Batman #35
Story: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
Art: Greg Capullo and Kelly Jones

On the other end of the spectrum from the hip, quirky Batgirl, this week's issue of Batman is full of superhero action. The issue opens with Batman having an internal monologue about the reconstruction of a theatre in Gotham after Zero Year, and the concept of deus ex machina, where the gods come down at the end of classic Greek drama to set things right. And in this issue, the gods do come down to Gotham, only they are wrathful gods ready to destroy Gotham's resident hero. The Justice League is attacking Batman, and we watch as Batman dons a giant suit of battle armor to defeat them. This is a story that plays with the now classic trope that Batman is prepared for everything. not only does he have this armor designed exactly for this, but he has a contingency to clear out a good part of Gotham to be able to fight the League without fear of collateral damage. The plans to take out Wonder Woman, Flash, and Aquaman without lethal force are clever, and don't recycle the plans from the story that established the contingencies, Mark Waid's "Tower of Babel" from his JLA run. The non action sequences establish some of the post Batman: Eternal status quo for Batman without giving away too many of the details of the end of that series, and none of those details are shocking; I don't think anyone expected Alfred to remain locked in Arkham for the rest of his life. Still, some of those details are tantalizing, like why Bruce is living in a suite decked out in Court of Owls motif for one. Capullo hits the art for this issue out of the park, drawing a battle between Batman and the League that is second to none. The final page reveal of the villain of the piece, which the creators did a creators job of keeping a surprise and I won't spoil here if you haven't read it on-line yet, makes for an especially creepy splash page from Capullo. The issue also features a full on back-up story tied into the main plot, from Snyder collaborator James Tynion IV and classic Bat artist Kelly Jones. I won't say too much about it to not spoil the villain reveal, but it features five Arkham escapees abducting a doctor and over the course of this series of back-ups, will each tell a story. The first story comes from Ephram Snow, whose tale of devils is suited to Jones's horror style. It's a good coda to the main story, and if the first chapter is any indication, it looks like Snyder and Capullo have another hit Batman arc on their hands.

Birthright #1
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Andrei Bressan

Joshua Williamson is already writing two very strong creator owned series from Image (Nailbiter and Ghosted, which had a really good issue this week as well), and now he's hit the triple crown with the first issue of his new series, Birthright.  Birthright looks at what happens to the real world when a kid runs off to have a great adventure in another world, like in The Chronicles of Narnia or The Never Ending Story. The story opens with Mikey and his dad, Aaron, playing catch on his birthday. Mikey runs into the woods to retrieve the ball and never comes back. Pretty soon, the disappearance of Mikey tears his family apart. Aaron and Wendy, Mikey's mom, split up over the disappearance and the suspicion that Aaron had something to do with Mikey's disappearance, and Brennan, their elder son, is torn between his parents. But a year after his disappearance, Mikey reappears fully grown and with a big beard and dressed as a barbarian. He tells the story of his time in Terrenos, where he met an ogre named Rook and a flying girl named Rya, who said he was prophesied to defeat the evil God King Lore. The book zigzags between the real world tragedy of a missing child, the heart wrenching drama of what happens to his family, and the fantasy world he lives in, Williamson manages to keep these very different balls all in the air, and keeps them balanced. Andrei Bressan draws the story equally well, balancing a style that is grim and real with gorgeous fantasy settings and cool looking monsters. I have to applaud Williamson's talent for making each of his series feel distinct, because other than the high quality, I wouldn't know that each of his books were written by the same writer. With a great twist ending, an essay from Williamson explaining his inspirations, and a map drawn by "Mikey" in crayon of Terrenos at the back, the issue is packed with so much material, and yet you still set it down wanting the next issue to be waiting for you. Birthright is a stand out addition to Image Comics stable of titles, with its mixture of reality and fantasy and gorgeous art.

Grendel Vs. The Shadow #2
Story & Art: Matt Wagner

I don't know what I can say about this comic's awesomeness that's different from what I said about the first issue, but I'm going to try. Issue two of the series picks up precisely where issue one left off, with our two title characters about to do battle. If you're at all familiar with Matt Wagner's art, you know that this is the kind of scene he was born to draw. The fight scene is gorgeously fluid, one of those fights that, despite knowing these are static panels, you can actually feel the characters moving. After the battle, which ends in something of a draw with both of our protagonists surviving (although points to Shadow for capturing Grendel's fork, his weapon of choice), we see Hunter Rose and Lamont Cranston's orbits intercept as well as those of The Shadow and Grendel. Hunter spends more time consolidating his hold on the mob in his usual efficient and brutal fashion. We also see more of the female companions to the two, as The Shadow's constant companion Margo Lane continues to feel discontent with how The Shadow's single minded quest leaves her out in the cold and we get a better feel for Sofia Valenti, daughter of Don Valenti and the woman who has caught Hunter Rose's eye. Hunter is usually portrayed with an almost Sherlock Holmes-like lack of interest in women, as none can live up to the image of Jocasta Rose, the woman who seduced him as a teenager and showed him the possibilities of the world, so for any woman to draw his attention makes the reader take notice. The fact that she is also trying to get the best of Grendel makes her all the more interesting, and woe to the man who abused her friend, because I see a reckoning for him next issue that will go very much in Sofia's favor. There are so many beautiful scenes in this book that I can really only recommend that you read it, and get caught up before the final issue. The threads are coming together for a clash of the ages between our leads.

Star Wars: Rebels- Spark of Rebellion

At New York Comic Con this weekend, Marvel announced what will be there first Star Wars ongoing not set during the classic trilogy, Star Wars- Kanan: The Last Padawan. This series will tie in to the new Star Wars animated series, Rebels, which has its series premiere tonight. But last week, there was a one hour special movie that kicked off the series, introducing us to this crew of new characters, and I watched it over the weekend, and was very pleased with what I saw.

Set in the period between the prequel trilogy and the classic trilogy, Rebels follows a ragtag group of, well, rebels out to fight the Empire.We are introduced to the crew through Ezra, a street urchin who runs into the rebel cell as they try to liberate a cargo from the Empire. The cast feels like it's playing with a lot of the classic Star Wars character types. Kanan, the leader of the group, was a young Jedi at the time of Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi, so he has a touch of the Han Solo rogue, while having to be master to Ezra, who is strong in the force. Zeb is a Lasat, a big alien, but as opposed to Chewbacca, he can speak normally and has a harder edge, but seems to have a softer side underneath it. Hera is the Twi'lek hotshot pilot, and is the heart of the crew. Sabine is a Mandalorian, but seems closer to the warrior Mandalorians than the peace loving ones we saw in The Clone Wars, yet still has a heart and cares about the rest of the crew as much as blowing things up, which she seems top notch at. The crew is rounded out by Chopper, an astromech droid (like R2-D2) who has a sense of humor and seems to be the comic relief. Star Wars is also known for it's villains, and we seem to get two major players in this special. Kallus is an agent for the Imperial Security Bureau, who is tasked with bringing down the Rebellion before it takes off, and when Kanan is revealed as a Jedi, Kallus contacts The Inquisitor, the Empire's Jedi hunter, who only makes a cameo, but strikes a fearsome figure in the tradition of many dark Force users.

The plot of the movie starts out with a caper that turns into a speeder bike chase, leads to a trap, and ends with a big battle to liberate a group of Wookiee slaves. It's well paced, and feels like Star Wars. For good or ill, depending on the opinion, it does not have the darker edge of many of the better episodes of The Clone Wars, and feels very accessible to all ages and levels of Star Wars knowledge. Using the familiar character tropes makes for easy accessibility as well, but none of the characters feel cookie cutter; the crew of the show does a good job of making them unique and interesting in their own right. My only quibble is the animation isn't quite as clean as the later episodes of The Clone Wars; it feels like they were using the same modelling as the early episodes of that series. It's not bad, just not as crisp, and hopefully, the animation will grow as the show does. Still that is a small issue with an episode full of action, character, and spaceships, which is so much of what makes Star Wars great.

The series premiere is of Star Wars: Rebels is on Disney XD tonight at 9 pm.