Framed. Outlawed. Hunted. The extralegal activities of Gotham’s vigilantes have never been more dangerous. After Barbara Gordon is arrested for aiding the Bat-Family, she is shipped off to Supermax, GCPD Commissioner Vandal Savage’s pet-project prison for all who oppose him. She will find herself alone, surrounded by dangerous criminals and equally dangerous guards, in a place where nothing is what it seems. The true danger is just beginning…
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Framed. Outlawed. Hunted. The extralegal activities of Gotham’s vigilantes have never been more dangerous. After Barbara Gordon is arrested for aiding the Bat-Family, she is shipped off to Supermax, GCPD Commissioner Vandal Savage’s pet-project prison for all who oppose him. She will find herself alone, surrounded by dangerous criminals and equally dangerous guards, in a place where nothing is what it seems. The true danger is just beginning… Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 takes Barbara… to jail!
The idea of Barbara Gordon going to jail, really a Supermax, is a concept that immediately catches my attention. It reminds me of a previous movie project that would have put a wrongly convicted Green Arrow in a supermax. That project didn’t happen, but thankfully this one has because it’s good, really good. Written by Mariko Tamaki, the issue bounces between Barbara’s initial experiences behind bars but also what lead up to it. Tamaki gives enough background for readers not familiar with the current Batman meta to still dive in an enjoy the comic.
The story has Barbara investigating not only the mysterious Supermax opened by Vandal Savage but also a series of murders within. Something doesn’t add up beyond the murders as the prison is stocked not just with villains but political rivals who aren’t physical threats and staffed with criminals. What’s the story? That’s the point of the comic.
There’s some small details that I’d have liked to been addressed, namely, who knows Barbara Gordon is Batgirl? Also, while she’s arrested for aiding Batman, will we find out more details on that? It’s very small issues for a debut issue that’s engaging in every way.
Tamaki is joined by Amancay Nahuelpan on the art, Tamra Bonvillain for color, and lettering by Ariana Maher. The visuals are solid as Barbara mixes her defiance and toughness with realizations that she might be over her head. The comic’s visuals keeps things focused on the challenges Gordon faces within the prison walls instead of playing “spot the villain within the walls.” The team also does an excellent job of dumping info using visuals in a way that’s interesting and engaging, giving enough information for new readers to understand but a little more for long time fans.
The team does a fantastic job of delivering an unease and tension with the visuals as you never know what to expect and where its coming from. There’s some solid fights that go up to that line where suspicions about Barbara and being Batgirl might be crossed (I’m assuming people don’t know). Overall, it’s a comic that has a bit of grittiness to it when it comes to the art, a perfect match of story and art.
Barbara Gordon: Breakout #1 is really well done with a story that’s familiar (innocent person goes behind bars for some reason) but just does it in a way that’s engaging and you want to read more. There’s a plan that feels very “Bat-family” and at the same time the normally very capable Barbara Gordon feels like she might be a bit over her head. I’m already wondering how things are put back in the bag when this is all over, but it’s a ride I’m all in for seeing where it goes.
The conflict in Kandor between the Science Council and the younger Kandorians is only growing more tense. Supergirl’s first run-in with the rebel leader Black Flame ends with her broken and without her powers, forcing her to seek recovery with the Science Council. But despite Supergirl’s warning, the Council has their own plan to stop Black Flame: a powerful clone capable of taking down anyone in their path.
HERO OF KANDOR?! With the bottled city on fire (literally), Kara Zor-El abandons the comfort of Midvale to save the last survivors of Krypton. The youth are in revolt after a shocking secret is revealed, and the Science Council is put on trial for its crimes against the next generation. Can Supergirl find peace between the two warring factions?
IT ALL ENDS HERE! Cloud City is burning. The Bloody Mourners have smashed through the city’s defenses, leaving Kral and his crew bruised, battered, and hanging on for dear life. Kid is down, maybe dead. And Franque’s magic was powerless to save her. Ora has fallen, Alfabel’s cornered, and The Wrapped Assassin is in chains. With Maw standing at the vault door, ready to claim the city’s mythic treasure, Kral is the one man that stands in his way. But can a former fiend save the city from sinking into oblivion? Find out in the bone-crushing battle that’s been years in the making!
Story: Matt Kindt Art: Ramon Villalobos Color: Tamra Bonvillain Letterer: Simon Bowland
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The hordes are at the gate and they’re out for blood! The brutal Bloody Mourners will stop at nothing to get their hands on Cloud City’s mythic treasure, even if it means razing the city to the ground. Only one crew stands in their way. It’s up to Espion’s ragtag group of thieves and killers to draw their swords, defend the city, and show the world they have what it takes to do a little good. What could go wrong? The savage smackdown starts here.
Story: Matt Kindt Art: Ramon Villalobos Color: Tamra Bonvillain Letterer: Simon Bowland
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NYT best-selling writer Matt Kindt (BRZRKR) and powerhouse artist Ramon Villalobos (X-MEN: E IS FOR EXTINCTION) combine their powers to deliver an ultra-violent, bloodthirsty barbarian epic for the ages. The first two issues of the acclaimed sword and sorcery saga are re-presented here in an all-new deluxe format.The War of the Ringed Throne is over. Evil, vanquished. The world, saved. But some people are never happy. Notorious across the lands for their merciless brutality, The Bloody Mourners know the war would have been lost without their savage skills. But with no land or gold to show for all their hard work killing, they set their sights on the The City of Clouds and their mythic treasure.Pacifists with no defenders of their own, the desperate city sends Espion, a young adventurer, to recruit the best warriors untold riches can buy. When a drunken skirmish leaves the realm’s best fighter, and Espion’s last hope dead, he will have to do the unthinkable and hire the killer instead. Now it’s up to the disgraced Kral the Subjugator to lead a ragtag group of misfit brawlers to try and keep the mourners at bay. A drunken barbarian, his jilted lover, a washed-up wizard and his back-talking familiar, a mummified assassin, a mutinous pirate, and a little girl. With champions like these, who needs enemies?
Story: Matt Kindt, Robert Venditti Art: Ramon Villalobos, Trevor Hairsine Color: Tamra Bonvillain, Dave Stewart Letterer: Simon Bowland, DC Hopkins
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The second big Marvel/DC crossover this year features a fifth dimension/fourth wall shattering lead Batman/Deadpool story from Grant Morrison, Dan Mora, and Alejandro Sanchez as well as four individual team-up tales ranging from great (Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, and Adriano Lucas are the perfect team for a Nightwing/Laura Kinney Wolverine crossover comic.) to good (It’s great to have new Amanda Conner interior art, but her, Mariko Tamaki, and Tamra Bonvillain‘s Hulk/Harley Quinn story has big “lol so random energy). The crossover explores the differences and similarities between the Marvel and DC Universes, connections between heroes, and in Morrison’s case, they mine their past as a writer and previous intercompany crossover. Let’s just say that Animal Man and bidders on the Gerry Conway/Ross Andru/uncredited house art fixer uppers’ Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man are in for a good time.
I have a love/hate relationship with the lead Batman/Deadpool story, “The Cosmic Kiss Caper”. This would be a story that I would have died laughing over back in the day with my freshman roommate and our twin comic book collections of Grant Morrison JLA and Action Comics issues, Daniel Way Deadpool trade paperbacks, and various Marvel/DC intercompany crossovers. (Ron Marz and Darryl Banks’ Green Lantern/Silver Surfer slapped!) Morrison uses Deadpool’s fourth wall obliterating, over-caffeinated joke-a-minute personality to flex their incredibly deep reference pool, which Mora enhances through the visuals like a room dedicated to the Amalgam Universe. Like the Deadpool & Wolverine film, it can get grating after a while, but Grant Morrison is a much more clever writer than any of the five on that film and ends up using the comic’s barely there semblance of a plot to poke fun at themself.
“The Cosmic Kiss Caper” also made me realize how much I’ve missed Morrison’s sanity-in-a-sea of a chaos with a dry wit and bit of a James Bond flair take on Batman. Batman has been through these kind of situations before, and a Dark Claw reunion tour has nothing on Batman of Zur-En-Arrh or whatever the heck happened in Final Crisis. He reacts to the PG-13 Looney Tunes antics of Deadpool with style, grace, and dialogue that sounds like it could have been delivered by the late Kevin Conroy. On the art side, Dan Mora and Sanchez pour on flashy colors and poses that satisfied my inner action junkie while going for a more muted approach when this story’s special guest star appears. Batman/Deadpool can be cringy at times, but it’s a love letter to the enduring absurdity as well as emotional honesty of superhero comics. It’s solid pop comics, but Grant Morrison has more of knack writing Batman than the Merc with a Mouth.
Following up the chaos is a Dr. Strange/John Constantine story written by James Tynion, Joshua Williamson, and Scott Snyder, a triumvirate of writers, who have found success penning horror comics as well as Big Two superhero books. The art is handled by Hayden Sherman, who is one of the strongest visual storytellers in mainstream comics with their knack for inventive layouts, with colors by Mike Spicer. This story is about a showdown/conversation between Constantine and Strange (With a Ghost Rider vs Swamp Thing battle royale in the background.) that also ends up being about the nature of fear, darkness, and reality itself in the Marvel and DC universes. DC has the prestige of Vertigo, Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Peter Milligan and more while Marvel has the more dubious “Midnight Sons” and the Nicolas Cage Ghost Rider duology. (Guillermo Del Toro has directed a Marvel horror film and not a DC one though.) However, Stephen Strange was doing his visually stunning occult thing way before the chain smoking lad from Liverpool, and Tynion, Williamson, and Snyder draw on the moral compromises that the Sorcerer Supreme has made in some of his more recent runs. This gives Sherman the opportunity to do some horrific chimera panels of Strange and Constantine merging with various mystical elements, and I love how they structure the story like a kind of wizard duel. As a fan of gritty fantasy, the occult, and superheroes, this story is a wicked delight, and team-ups between the supernatural denizens of the Big Two would be more than welcome.
The third story in Batman/Deadpool #1 is a team-up between Wolverine and Nightwing aka “nepo heroes” to rescue Gabby and Jonathan the Wolverine from Killer Croc. Tom Taylor uses a dual narration style that is a contemporary version of what Jeph Loeb did in Superman/Batman, and Bruno Redondo’s fluid choreography and grid brings a directness and ease of reading complemented by Adriano Lucas’ flat gold and blues. Taylor is a humorous writer with a side of pure heart like in moments where Dick Grayson, Laura Kinney, Gabby, and Barbara Gordon all bond over their different pets. Although different in outward demeanor, Dick and Laura have a lot of similarities, and Tom Taylor’s succinct narration adds context to the body language showcased in Redondo’s art. They have instant chemistry and could easily appear in each others’ books on regular basis without batting an eye. “Sticks and Snikts” is a no-brainer crossover that pays homage to Tom Taylor’s excellent work with both heroes as well as legacy heroes and their growth and development in general.
Batman/Deadpool #1 wraps up with a Hulk/Harley Quinn story and a Static/Ms. Marvel story that have polar opposite tones. “Harley and Hulk’s Amazin’ Saturday” is a bright adrenaline rush with boundless energy as the more colorful alter egos of Harleen Quinzel and Bruce Banner smash, eat, and even flirt their way through a five page story. There isn’t really a point for these characters to interact, but it’s a rare opportunity for Amanda Conner to show why she still has one of the smoothest lines in comics and shows that the anarchic nature of her Harley Quinn run with Jimmy Palmiotti could fit in with Hulk too. Also, it’s just nice to see the Hulk have fun and not being sent down to Hell or being sad and lonely for once.
On the flip side, “New Friends in Old Places” brings together the iconic teenage hero of the 1990s and the iconic teen hero of the 2010s. The old-ish, new school vibes matches the dynamic of the creative team of G. Willow Wilson, artists Denys Cowan and Klaus Janson, and colorist Francesco Segala. There’s not a lot of time to develop the story so Cowan ably transitions from domestic life to superhero ass kicking with plenty of teenage awkwardness as Static and Ms. Marvel team up to fight a generic kaiju. “New Friends in Old Places” felt like a few bits of an appetizer and not even a full small plate so hopefully there will be future interactions between these two heroes that have inspired young people of all genders, races, and religions. (And are also total nerds!)
Batman/Deadpool #1 is a satisfying intercompany crossover that features dynamic work from some of the best artists in comics and a range of tones and types of stories. It’s fun to see Grant Morrison turn back the clock to 1990 in some ways while dropping hit and miss one-liners about Gen Z Internet culture and Absolute Batman, and Dan Mora was born for this kind of big, bad action spectacular. However, my favorite stories were the Dr. Strange/John Constantine and Nightwing/Laura Kinney Wolverine crossovers because they were both intellectually simulating and visually enticing while digging to the core of their protagonists and roles in their respective universes. Also, it’s kind of epic to see Hayden Sherman draw Ghost Rider and Swamp Thing beating each other up. (One day your Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben will come, Mr. Blaze/Ketch/Reyes!)
Story: Grant Morrison, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder Story: Tom Taylor, Mariko Tamaki, G. Willow Wilson Art:Dan Mora, Hayden Sherman, Bruno Redondo, Amanda Conner, Denys Cowan, Klaus Janson Colors: Alejandro Sanchez, Mike Spicer, Adriano Lucas, Tamra Bonvillain, Francesco Segala Letters: Todd Klein, Frank Cvetkovic, Wes Abbott, Dave Sharpe, Steve Wands Story: 8.2 Art: 8.9 Overall: 8.6 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Chef-9 and Service-1 are safely hidden from the White House Security team–for now. But Danny has discovered that there’s a new threat on the robot lovers’ heels: The Canadian Liberation Front, who will stop at nothing to protect their country.
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It’s Thanksgiving in Midvale, and Kara is fretting over her first holiday home in a while. With plenty to be thankful for, Supergirl has nothing to worry about, right?
Wrong! In an attempt to patch things up with her father, Lena has invited Lex Luthor and his girlfriend, Mercy, home for the holidays. What machinations could Lexcorp have for the sleepy little town? Find out as heroes and villains sit down to break bread and perhaps bones.
