Greg's Comic Reviews for the week of March 10, 2010

It was a very sparse week! Only six titles (2 Marvel, 4 DC/Wildstorm) came home, making it a good time to catch up on some titles from last week. The combination yielded a surprisingly rewarding haul of reading material, as none of the books were really “bad” and most were actually pretty good.

The Reading Order

March 10, 2010

JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE AND FALL SPECIAL # 1

BATMAN AND ROBIN # 10

PUNISHERMAX # 5

GREEN ARROW #30 (from last week)

DETECTIVE COMICS # 862 (from last week)

PUNISHER-MAX: BUTTERFLY (from last week)

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 623 (from last week)

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 624

March 13, 2010

GREEN HORNET #1

BATGIRL # 8

RED ROBIN # 10

Good

JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE AND FALL SPECIAL # 1 (w: J.T. Krul/ a: Mike Mayhew). Is a serious comic, picking up the plot immediately after the events of Cry for Justice. The Rise and Fall series, featuring the changing of the guard for Green Arrow and Roy Harper, is not reading like your typical DCU mini-series. The seriousness, the mature-reader content, the super heroes acting like grown-ups and not guys in tights is a marked departure from “Crisis This” and “Crisis That”. There is, without a question, a crisis going on here, but it is a crisis of trust, expectations and consequences. No Darkseid, no zombies (thank goodness), really no super villain threat whatsoever. There are villains, there are plenty of action scenes, but the story launched from Cry for Justice is without a question the “Bendis-ization” of the DCU: a plot that develops as much through characters having conversations as it does fists and super powers. For the “Pop Culture” generation (those of us who grew up with these heroes in the 70s and 80s), this storyline is a welcome step forward for the DCU. Grade: A (story: A/art: A)

PUNISHERMAX # 5 (w: Jason Aaron/a: Steve Dillon). The Kingpin storyline concludes in an ultra-violent, almost anti-climatic finish. Of course, given the frenetic pace of the first four issues, it would be hard to expect the conclusion to take the story up a notch. The emergence of the Kingpin and the set-up of the upcoming Bullseye arc promises more Ennis-like punishment for Castle. Grade: A (story: A/art: B+)

PUNISHER MAX: BUTTERFLY one-shot (w: Valerie D’Orazio/a: Laurence Campbell) is a great example why one-shots exist. D’Orazio & Campbell tell a dark, gritty tale right out of CSI: Miami. Butterfly tells the classic tale of a hitman looking to make that one last kill before slipping out of the business. Campbell’s artwork is suitably dark and in the Maleev-style of realistic to carry the tone of the story. You hardly miss the Punisher, until he shows up. Grade: B+ (story: B+/art: B+)

BATMAN AND ROBIN # 10 (w: Grant Morrison/a: Andy Clarke) could have been the death kneel for the series and a bad harbinger for the upcoming Return of Bruce Wayne. Mercifully, it wasn’t. Apparently there was something relevant in the last storyline in Batman & Robin that leads directly into the new one that starts in Batman and Robin #10. There really is no mystery to the Return of Bruce Wayne, there hasn’t been since the end of Final Crisis. Tim Drake has been blathering about it since he went all Red Robin. There was a lot waiting to go wrong with the return of Bruce Wayne, but Morrison and Clarke initiate the upcoming multi-issue arc effectively and entertainingly. Grade: B (story: B/art: B)

AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 623 & 624 (w: Mark Waid with Tom Peyer/a: Paul Azaceta with Javier Rodriguez). There are more villains to torment Spidey as the Gauntlet finally begins to pick-up the pace. If you aren’t familiar with the new (or latest) Vulture, this arc is a good place to get acquainted with him. Waid hits his stride, as the Gauntlet begins to take its toll, wearing poor Peter Parker into making a bad decision which ultimately takes center stage. More than a collected whole, the “Gauntlet” storyline has been a decent to great collection of Spider-man stories. Azaceta (and Rodriguez)’s artwork continues to give the Gauntlet a nostalgic-feel, but is a step down from previous performances. Grade: B (story: B/art: C+)

GREEN HORNET #1 (w: Kevin Smith/a: Jonathan Lau with Phil Hester) is hard to judge as a single-issue, in so much that it is clearly the very first chapter (really a prologue) of a much longer story. A few years ago “Issue Zeroes” were the big thing, Green Hornet #1 is really much more like Green Hornet #0, mostly back-story setting up on the very beginning of the Green Hornet saga. It is a good start, not a great start, but better than expected. Grade: B (story: B/art: B)

BATGIRL #8 (w: Bryan Q. Miller/a: Talent Caldwell) and Red Robin #10 (w: Chris Yost/a: Marcus To). This crossover reunites young Tim Drake (now Red Robin) and Stephanie Brown (Batgirl) under the Gotham skies. The worst part of the Stephanie Brown character is that she has always come off as pointless. At the best she was a weak supporting character for Tim Drake who always came off as too much like a teenage girl and not enough like a teenage super hero. As Batgirl (the series) has progressed, so has Brown been developed as an effective character (Batgirl). This observation is poignant because throughout this crossover, Brown falls back into “the old role” and to some extent so does Tim. However right before they “jump the shark”, Miller works his magic and Brown morphs in to Batgirl right before your eyes. The interaction between Brown & Drake are not just set-up for the validity of the new Batgirl, but also helps to re-establish the absolutely bat-guano quest that Drake has been on for the better part of the year. The actual plot (more League of Assassin intrigue) is lukewarm at best, with the highlights of both books occurring behind the scenes or in the subplots. Grade: B (story: B-/art: B)

GREEN ARROW #30 (w: J.T. Krul/a: Diogenes Neves) is a better than average Blackest Night installment. Revolving around Oliver Queen’s return from the dead from a few years back, the supporting cast is faced with a Black Lantern Green Arrow. Neves’ art is a high point and the plot captures the elements that tie each of the supporting cast to the title, while telling a pointed story. Alone, Green Arrow #30 is a good read, great by Blackest Night standards, but put up against other current (Oliver Queen) events like Cry for Justice (and Rise and Fall), you are left wondering why you bothered to read this issue. Grade: B- (story:B-/art: B)

DETECTIVE COMICS #862 (w: Greg Rucka/a: Jock) is Batman (and Batwoman) meets Criminal Minds (the TV show), in a good way – sort of. The serial killer story arc is nicely done. Jock’s artwork isn’t going to make anyone forget about J.H. Williams III anytime soon, but despite being inconsistent throughout the issue, does the job. The big problem with the story is Batman. Without Dick, this is a pretty good Batwoman story arc. Batman’s presence doesn’t really add anything that they couldn’t accomplish with Batwoman and wind up having Batman being thrown around like a hack-amateur. Grade: C (story: B-/art: C)