batman/superman Archives - Page 6 of 6

I hope everyone’s finally recovered from the intensity of SDCC and all of the incredible announcements that came out of the con. Our very own Brett, your host and founder of Graphic Policy, was in attendance and helped keep us up to date (you can find his posts and updates on SDCC here). This week saw the debut of The Wolverine, origin-story sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and in comics we got a little more light cast on the events of Age of Ultron via Hunger #1, witnessed the start of a new crowd favorite Lobster Johnson mini-series, and took a look at the ever-advancing Trinity War saga, along with plenty of other reviews of one-shots, on-going series, and even a graphic novel!

Graphic Policy Radio

July 23, 2013—Elana and Brett cover the glorious Nerd-vana of SDCC, and they take a look at the convention floor, its announcements, and some of the people Brett had a chance to meet. We had some technical issues, so catch the show this coming week.

Comic Reviews

Batman/Superman #2—the second issue in Greg Pak’s and Jae Lee’s already fantastic series gets relatively high marks from Sean, despite the fact that it’s still a tad confusing…

Batwoman #22—Scott picks apart the latest Batwoman issue, and poses some interesting points about where the series is going and why this issue is hollow compared to the rest of the series.

Blood Brothers #1—a new vampire comedy, with a taste of something different gets high ranks; worth buying and reading.

Dark Horse Presents #26—an awesomely (and somewhat overwhelmingly) large anthology of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy comic shorts, featuring reviews of two of many stories.

Devil Executioner One-Shot—a thrilling and creepy one-shot by UK independent creator Martin Ian Smith, which could easily be the beginning of a serious about a bad-ass exorcist. Buying and reading this is a great way to support a young, up-and-coming comic creator!

Gamma One-Shot—a zany, hilarious comic by Ulises Farinas which Sean reads as a satire of some awesome 1990s children franchises.

Hunger #1—Brett takes us on a tour of Fialkov’s exploration of the long-established Ultimate universe as things get down and dirty with…Galactus!

Justice League Dark #22—Trinity War continues in what Sean found to be the second-best piece in this saga (we’re only five parts in, with the Constantine and Pandora tie-ins, and JLA #6 seems to be the best), seeing all of the Justice Leagues rearranged by their loyalties to the World’s Finest and to the Trinity of Sin.

King Conan: Tee Hour of the Dragon #3—Andrew gives us a look at this acclaimed addition to the Conan franchise, hearkening back to the sword-and-sorcery quality of early Conan comics.

Lazarus #2—Scott provides an in-depth review of Greg Rucka’s hot-and-heavy sci-fi dystopic comic; get on board with this if you haven’t yet!

Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus #1—the much anticipated beginning of a new Lobster Johnson mini-series by Mignola gets high praise from Andrew, as a new plot develops with the Tong assassins in a definitely pulp style.

The Massive #14—hot shot Brian Wood continues his sci-fi series, which Brett calls “one of the best monthly series on the market.”

Mind MGMT #13—a surreal one-shot about The Home Maker sleeper agent, which featuring some of the best art this week (I took a look at this myself, and damn it’s great looking).

Movie Review

The Wolverine—I haven’t seen it myself, but Brett (ever our movie reviewer for all things comics and nerdom) found The Wolverine to be a good addition to the X-Men movies, despite finding it a tad boring and predictable. But see for yourself, folks!

Graphic Novel Review

Hellboy: House of the Living Dead—Sean looks back on a two-year old Mignola and Corben graphic novel that takes a look at Hellboy as a luchador, as well as a nod to the great monster films of the early 20th century.

Well that’ll just about do it for this week. Check out our reviews, updates, news, info, and previews, because there’s always more coming! See you next week, Geeks!

Review: Justice League Dark #22, Batman/Superman #2

Posted on July 26, 2013 by

This review shall also be known as “The Review of DC’s Books with Glossy Covers.” Makes me feel all weird to see my fingerprints on the beautiful shiny covers.

Justice League Dark #22

Just in! The newest opinion on the all-new addition to DC’s heralded Trinity War saga, a tale of great clans of superpowered people clashing like Titans in a world where magic and science are at odds, and even the gods have no idea what’s going on! That’s right, folks, perhaps unsurprisingly if you follow comics you know that Justice League Dark #22 continues the cross-over event between the three Justice Leagues which will have the whole of the DCU exploding (or imploding? Maybe crumbling in the clutches of a sinister plan) into Forever Evil.

Miniscule spoilers ahead, Trinity Warriors. JLD regular Jeff Lemire helms this issue, working closely with Mikel Janin to produce a pumped-out follow-up to the events of Justice League of America #6. Where JLA had the world’s greatest superheroes and their allies—and probably all of the world!—confused and afraid, and Superman with a cold, Justice League Dark #22 kicks things into high gear. Slowly but surely, tensions between the superheroes that have been building throughout the New 52 have reached their boiling point.

While I don’t really know to what extent Lemire can be credited with the plotting of this issue, considering that Trinity War is a joint effort among the writers of the three JLs, he certainly executes a bold remix of the Justice Leagues. In the wake of events in Justice League of America #6 and Justice League #22, Lemire shows how each of the Trinity of Sin (Question, Pandora, Phantom Stranger) plays a role in realigning the Justice Leagues’ casts with the particular duties the Trinity are separately undertaking to uncovering the ‘Evil behind the Evil.’ Meanwhile, Xanadu and a man who can only be assumed as that ‘Evil’ mentioned above go through their own expertly written sequences.

On the whole, Lemire is an extremely competent writer, and while the Justice League Dark series has continuously featured all the talents of a good writer visa vis Lemire, his abilities come to the forefront when handling a whole heavy mass of characters engaged in upwards of five narrative foci. This is impressive work, the mark of a true talent—and probably why JLD remains one of my favorite DC books.

Janin, who is neither as well-known nor as experienced as Mahnke (JLA) and Reis (JL), does not lag behind either of them, and he brings his own abilities as a master of the dark and Gothic supers to bear on the JLD side of Trinity War. Especially impressive are his large and full-page panels will feature upwards of a dozen characters; in his hands, these iconic line-ups look fresh with new life. And while it shows ever so slightly that he is not as accomplished an artist (with a stray face, hand, or foot here and there that are awkwardly not top notch) as the other Trinity War artists, this does not at all shame or degrade the value of Justice League Dark #22. Here we have a relative newcomer taking on a major cross-over that will lead to the New 52’s first universe-span event, and that takes chutzpah.

Justice League Dark #22 certainly delivered its bit of intrigue and JL vs. JL fantasy, filled with comic book writing at its finest and robust page layouts that lead the eye straight through the story. And Oh Holy Batman! The reveal at the end had me thinking more investigatively about a comic than ever before…

Story: Jeff Lemire Art: Mikel Janin
Story: 8.5 Art: 7 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Batman/Superman #2

After the first issue of what promised to be, and certainly was, an incredible team up of Greg Pak and Jae Lee, I was sort of left in WTF-land. I’m not at all implying that was a bad thing, at least not for me. There’s a fine line between comics that make no sense—for example, Constantine #5 as a Trinity War tie-in was completely unmotivated as an addition to the Trinity War narrative, it seemed to only serve boosting Constantine sales and to put Shazam into another book for the week—and comics that take a while to make sense (heck, Watchmen falls into this category!). Batman/Superman is shaping up to be one of the latter; I’ll definitely want to buy the TPB when it comes out, so I can read it as a ‘graphic novel,’ but for now I’m content to get my DC WTF dose from Pak and Lee once a month.

Not a whole lot is said in this issue, so it’s rather difficult to praise Pak for anything like great dialogue, so I’ll have to stick with a purely narrative focus, since a lot of emotion and confusion (each stemming from the other, I felt) is coming out of the combination of limited dialogue and Lee’s artwork. The most unfortunate aspect of Batman Superman #2 is that I really have little clue what’s going on—but I think that’s the point. It’s either narrative brilliance whereby Pak keeps the readers in the same narrative ignorance as his characters (while still giving the fly-on-the-wall perspective of a graphic narrative), or he has failed to communicate something. But, given the continued twists and turns, I’m leaning toward the former.

No spoilers here, but a tid-bit about the plot: Bruce and Clark have gotten to know their Earth 2 selves, and Pak’s given us just a sliver more information about the big bad that’s made this Earth 2 cross happen: The Trickster. And for those who give a hoot about Lois-vs.-Wonder-Woman-as-Superman’s-lover, you’re in for a treat. Seriously.

I should admit that, in the past, I’ve bought comics I don’t regularly follow just to own a Jae Lee cover…because holy shit his art is so unique that I can’t help but stare at every panel. There’s a little bit of nostalgia involved there, too, since his artwork reminds me of the illustrations from the 1980s and 1990s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books, a hallmark of silent reading in my elementary school years.

Lee, aided by colorist June Chung, captures the tonal contrasts between Batman and Superman’s stories, and their characters, really, with Batman’s narrative being so dark as to only catch things in enlightened glimpses and silhouettes, whereas the color is so bright in Superman’s that shadows create striking boundaries that highlight everything in an eerie way. Lee brings a dark side to Superman, and sinks Batman into a darkness so deep that one gets the feeling he is telling the story.

Synopses from DC for issues 3 and 4 throw even more haze on exactly what’s going to happen, and I’m content to wait. After all, gotta give Jae Lee some time to work his artistic voodoo and Pak a breather to plan his next gasp-inducing last-page reveal. I suggest you read this and buy the TPB when it comes out.

Story: Greg Pak Art: Jae Lee, June Chung (colorist)
Story: 7.75 Art: 9 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Read

Around the Tubes

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Brett

The weekend is almost here, yay! Sadly I won’t be spending it recovering from San Diego Comic-Con or catching up on reading…. sigh….

Around the Tubes

Bleeding Cool – Let’s Stop Calling Them Infinite Comics. Let’s Call Them Decampi Comics Instead. – Amen

The Mary Sue – Webb Explains The Decision To Cut Mary-Jane From TASM2 – So the great conspiracy has been overblown, shocker.

Kotaku –Kickstarter Project Canceled After Dude Spends All the Money – That sound is the Kickstarter Bubble starting to burst.

Bleeding Cool – Jamie Foxx Really Wants To Play Spawn And Mike Tyson – Nice.

Around the Tubes Reviews

Comic Vine – All-Star Western #22

CBR – Batman/Superman #2

Comic Vine – Captain America #9

Comic Vine – The Flash #22

Comic Vine – The Green Team: Teen Trillionaires #3

Comic Vine – Larfleeze #2

Comic Vine – Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1

Pick(s) of the Week: Batman/Superman #2 and Many More!

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Brett

Welcome to the new pick of the week, where we survey the Graphic Policy team to see what they’re looking forward to this week or what they know will be a solid read. This week, the team has one book among them that they agreed upon, Batman/Superman #2 by DC Comics.

Consistently mentioned by each contributor is Greg Pak’s writing combined with Jae Lee‘s art. The combination is clearly a draw for each of us. Plus, we’re all intrigued to find out what happens next!

Check out below for each team member’s picks and find out what you should be on the lookout for this Wednesday.

Andrew:

Batman/Superman #2 (DC) – Although I wasn’t thrilled with the first book, after hearing the announcement of a Batman/Superman movie at SDCC, I think it’d be smart to give this series a chance.

Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus #1 (Dark Horse) – Seriously looking forward to Mike Mignola’s Hellboy spinoff and cult favorite, Lobster Johnson, in this two part mini series. I give this first book a stellar review in a forthcoming post.

Mass Effect Foundation #1 (Dark Horse) – Most video game to comic book series fail to impress, but they’ve secured Mac Walters, the writer of the second and third Mass Effect games, and I don’t want to pass this up.

Batman The Dark Knight #22 (DC) – I’ve been on a pulp kick lately that’s made me neglect the Caped Crusader. Once I catch up on the Mad Hatter’s finale, I’ll jump into Hurwitz’s latest story arc.

Ghostbusters #6 (IDW Publishing) – Just because I didn’t give I glowing review to the previous issue, doesn’t mean I don’t want to know what happens. I’m willing to stick with it and see what happens as the paranormal investigators reintegrate back into society.

Brett:

Top Pick: The Massive #14 (Dark Horse) – Brian Wood’s amazing series following the crew of the Kapital and their search for their sister ship in a world devastated by environmental disaster. The current story arc is tense with the threat of further destruction in the shape of nuclear war.

Mind MGMT #13 (Dark Horse) – Matt Kindt’s crazy tale of special agents with amazing powers. The small details in every comic makes the series stand out, not to mention the amazing story telling and Kindt’s art.

Red Team #4 (Dynamite Entertainment) – Garth Ennis’ tale of a team of rogue cops is as gritty and heartbreaking as they come.

Thumbprint #2 (IDW Publishing) – Joe Hill’s horror story (I think) involves a female Iraq War vet. It’s a bit, I Know What You Did Last Summer, but I’m hooked.

Wild Blue Yonder #2 (IDW Publishing) – The first issue caught me off guard and blew me away. An amazing fun story of a world dominated by those who live in the sky. Fun characters and exciting sequences with fantastic art makes this one stand out for me.

Scott:

Top Pick: Lazarus #2 (Image) – The first issue of Lazarus set up such an engaging world and interesting characters, and I’m interested to find out when the first arc will really begin to pick up steam. Plus, it’s Greg Rucka and Michael Lark, so there’s really no reason you shouldn’t be reading this book.

Batman/Superman #2 (DC) – Come on. Jae Lee drawing Batman. That’s all.

Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus #1 (Dark Horse) – I’ve never read a Lobster Johnson book before, but I’m a sucker for pulp adventure heroes, and Sebastián Fiumara’s art looks absolutely exquisite: grim and detailed when necessary, bold and cartoony a page later. And Dave Stewart is a master colorist.

Mark Waid’s The Green Hornet #4 (Dynamite Entertainment) – I’m so excited for this issue because Mark Waid, in only three issues, has crafted an emotionally complex story, and I just can’t wait to see what happens next.

Rocketeer/Spirit: Pulp Friction #1 (IDW Publishing) – I love the Rocketeer, and I loved Waid’s last Rocketeer mini (Cargo of Doom); it was perfectly ridiculous. I’m really curious to see how this pulp inspired team up works out.

Sean:

Top Pick: Batman/Superman #2 (DC)—because we need to figure out what the heck that first issue was about! Plus, Greg Pak and Jae Lee make a great team on this strange, singular book with wonderful art and somewhat ominous plotting. The first issue blew me away, and left me wanting exactly this next issue. $3.99.

Gamma One-Shot (Dark Horse)—Ulises Farinas debuts what looks like a sci-fi, Adventure-Timey weird-fest; check this out if you’ve got the extra $2.99.

Larfleeze #2 (DC)—Giffen’s and Kolins’ Douglas-Adams-esque breakout book about the funny-as-Hell Orange Lantern continues with a battle against Laord of the Hunt. $2.99.

Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus #1 (Dark Horse)—Mignola brings back Lobster Johnson to track down the Crimson Lotus, starting off a new mini-series. $3.50.

Superior Spider-Man Team Up #1 (Marvel)—and while Superior Spider-Man #14 (also out this week) is a must have in my opinion, if you’re on a budget you’ll want to check out the beginning of this new team up book which starts with Spidey and the Avengers figuring things out. $3.99.

TPB of the Week: Camelot 3000 (DC)—collecting the 1982-1985 maxi-series of the same name, this TPB presents not only a major piece of DC Comics history, since Camelot 3000 was one of the first direct market series and DC’s first maxi-series (think Brightest Day), but it is also a crazy-cool reimagining of the King Arthur stories, in typical 1980s fashion, mixing the tale with nuclear issues, challenging gender roles, and…aliens! $19.99 (but I ordered it from Amazon for $16.51).

Review: Larfleeze #1 and Batman/Superman #1

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Brett

Larfleeze #1

Larfleeze, the breakout character from Blackest Night, last seen in the pages of Threshold, is back in his own solo, ongoing series—and he’s not sharing it with anyone! In his debut solo adventure, Larfleeze meets Laord of the Hunt, a pan-dimensional cosmic entity that believes all living things are prey—and he’s out to turn the universe into his own private hunting reserve! And the only thing worse than Laord is the deadly beings he can summon!

While the Green Lantern universe is filled with various colors, the characters themselves have some times fallen into one note tricks, Larfleeze and Red Lanterns being the top two. Larfleeze suffers from not having much depth given so far, and while some of his origin story has been presented, it’s never really struck me as anything interesting enough to justify such a spotlight, let alone his own series.

Writer Keith Giffen has the difficult task ahead in an attempt to give the character more to him than “mine.” This is the same issue Red Lanterns has taken almost 20 issues to move past as well.

While there’s nothing horrible about this first issue, there’s also nothing that makes it jump out to be anything more than a limited series. This just doesn’t scream top notch ongoing to me. The story was interesting, but again it felt like a back-up story, something Larfleeze should be regulated to, because he works best in small doses.

While I’m not totally writing off the series yet, This first issue is dangerously close to me not checking out the second. As a Lantern fan though, I do want to see if Giffen can perform a miracle and make this character more than a one-note punchline.

Story: Keith Giffen and J.M DeMatteis Art: Scott Kolins
Story: 6.5 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5 Recommendation: Pass

Batman/Superman #1

A new epic begins with the debut of this new, ongoing series! Don’t miss the first fateful meeting of Batman and Superman in The New 52! That’s the promise of this new series which takes place years in the past, though we’re not quite sure when.

Murders are being committed in Metropolis of Wayne Enterprise employees bringing together these two titans. The story by Greg Pak is ok, but the plot is a bit disjointed. Clark Kent heads to Gotham to investigate these murders, I think. That’s never really made clear and he just sort of bumps into Bruce Wayne. A meeting that’s just a bit contrived, because it doesn’t seem natural at all. It’s too coincidental and not explained enough.

Then we head back to Metropolis where we find out the baddie causing all of the issues, then the story takes a turn for a weird with a bunch of final pages that don’t make a lot of sense. Hopefully the second issue makes this all a bit more clear, but on it’s own I felt like “wtf!”.

The real draw is the art of Jae Lee who brings his distinct style, and awesome fit for Batman and Gotham. His style also works well for Superman, though I’m not sure it’s a match for the gleaming city that is Metropolis.

All told, the first issue is pretty decent. I can’t say it blew me away, but it’s a solid start that has me wanting to check out the next issue.

Story: Greg Pak Art: Jae Lee
Story: 7 Art: 8.5 Overall: 7.25 Recommendation: Read

Picks of the Week: Lazarus #1 and 9 other Choices

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Brett

In a dystopian near-future, government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and possession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family’s holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. Shot dead defending the family home, Forever’s day goes downhill from there.

That description alone would get me interested in Lazarus, the series that debuts this week from Image Comics. The fact that Greg Rucka writing it cements it as my most anticipated comic for the week. Rucka continuously shows off his skills and mastery of storytelling. The man is easily one of the best writers in the comic industry.

Expect this first issue to sell out.

Here’s the other picks in alphabetical order.

Atomic Robo: Savage Sword of Dr. Dinosaur #1 – Atomic Robo is one of the most entertaining all-ages comics out there. It’s Indiana Jones with a robot!
Batman/Superman #1 – Um, how can this not be on the list. Jae Lee’s art alone makes it a pick.
Hoax Hunters: Case Files #1 – More fun solving mysteries in this entertaining series that mixes Ghost Hunters and Mythbusters.
Larfleeze #1 – I’m crossing my fingers this isn’t a one note series like Red Lanterns and wonder how many times “mine” will be said.
The Massive #13 – One of the best comics on the market!
Mind MGMT #12 – One of the other best comics on the market!
Mouse Guard: Legend of the Guard Vol. 2 #1 – The Archaia anthology returns with more awesome tales also great for all-ages.
The Wake #2 – Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy = hells yes!
Wolverine and the X-Men #32 – The series found its groove again with the last issue. The Hellfire Saga continues!

DC Comics Releases a First Look at Batman/Superman

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Brett

It’s hard to think of a better time than this summer to be a Superman fan.

In June alone, the Man of Steel will not only star in a new film, but also in two all-new ongoing comic book series: Superman Unchained and Batman/Superman! Written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Jae Lee, Batman/Superman is an exciting and bold new title that will tell the definitive story of how Batman and Superman met in the DC Comics’ New 52 universe.

Pak revealed:

Our story takes place around the time of Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #1. So it takes place when both of these guys are very young and very new to the whole superhero thing. We’re going to have this fantastic opportunity to see how these very young guys view each other. Imagine finding out for the first time about some guy who runs around in a bat costume fighting crime or some guy with these insane powers doing the same thing. Each hero’s reaction to the other is going to surprise folks a little bit, because they’re both so new. Their reactions to each other are going to be a lot more dangerous than you’re used to thinking about when you think about Batman and Superman.

There’s a hugely fun opportunity right now in the New 52 because the way they’ve been set up, particularly in the time frame we’re looking at, and they have no idea about the existence of the other guy. They don’t even know about other superheroes. So when they first bump into each other, they immediately assume the other guy is the most dangerous guy on the planet. And you know what? Each guy might be right about that. They’re powerful enough, they’re young enough, and they’re cocky enough that if they make mistakes, they could make huge mistakes. That’s a really great place to plunge into this relationship and see them push each other in really big ways at this really early stage. I think it’s just going to fuel a lot of great character moments, character development, and story.