Like most other DC Comics this month, Batman #41 is a book characterized by a narrative trying to guide readers through changes to the DC status quo. For most titles, this involved changes brought on by the lackluster winter event Convergence, which we should all just be happy is finally over. This book however, focuses more on the fallout from Scott Snyder's brilliant Endgame event, which saw our favorite clown prince's return to prominence, and seemingly his death, along with the apparent fall of the Batman.
Issue #41 finds us following former Commissioner Gordon as he ponders an offer from the Powers Corporation. They want him to be Gotham's new savior, in the form of a 10 foot tall super-suit. While initially declining the job, over time Gordon is persuaded to take up the mantle of the bat, primarily after a chance meeting with an unnamed police recruit. This recruit is training in a program to handpick a new Batman, but when Gordon talks to him about his family, The former commish becomes convinced that he himself is the only man for the job.
The CEO of the Powers Corporation is only too pleased to have Gordon on board, and starts to put a team in place around him, including a major character from Endgame, Alfred's niece Julia. Julia is chosen to assist Batman because of her remarkable special ops skills and, laughably, her lack of any connection with the original Batman.
Batman #41 is ultimately a so-so read, being pulled down by the necessity of exposition in this changed DC universe. Other than a major reveal on the final page, not much happens. This book is essentially 30 pages of Gordon making up his mind. The art is dark and dreary, certainly not out of place in the DCU, and especially the pages of Batman, but it really does a great job of conveying Gotham's lack of hope regarding a lack of Batman. I'm excited to see where Our new Robo-Batman goes, but skip this issue if you're trying to keep you're weekly pull list cost down
3.5/5 Batarangs
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
My Pull List for 6.10.15
DC Comics
Batman #41
Constantine: The Hellblazer #1
Injustice: Gods Among Us Year Four #3
Image Comics
The Walking Dead #142
Marvel Comics
Inferno #2
Inhumans: Attilan Rising #2
Marvel Zombies #1 **
Secret Wars 2099#2
Silver Surfer #12
Spiderverse #2
Ultimate End #2
Weirdworld #1
Friday, June 5, 2015
My Pull List for 6.3.15
DC Comics
Batman Beyond #1
Green Lantern #41
Justice League #41
Marvel Comics
Armor Wars #1
Darth Vader #6
Future Imperfect #1
Groot #1
Secret Wars #3
Secret Wars: Battleworld #2
Spiderman: Renew Your Vows #1***
Star Wars #6
Superior Iron Man #9
Thanos: The Infinity Relativity HC
*** Denotes Pick Of The Week
Batman Beyond #1
Green Lantern #41
Justice League #41
Marvel Comics
Armor Wars #1
Darth Vader #6
Future Imperfect #1
Groot #1
Secret Wars #3
Secret Wars: Battleworld #2
Spiderman: Renew Your Vows #1***
Star Wars #6
Superior Iron Man #9
Thanos: The Infinity Relativity HC
*** Denotes Pick Of The Week
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Survivor: Marvel Multiverse Edition
Finally some answers! Not a lot of answers, but enough to keep reading without confusion. Secret Wars #3 brought us back some familiar faces, and gave us a little bit of insight into the formation of Doom's Battelworld.
Issue #2 left off with what must be the eldest Thor dead by the hands of The Cabal, comprised of Thanos, Black Swan, Maximus the Mad, Proxima Midnight, Namor, Terrax and the Ultimate Mister Fantastic, at this point known only as the Maker. The Cabal escaped the multiverse's collapse in a life raft made by the Maker, but originally designed by our mainstream, still heroic, Reed Richards.
Also in this issue, we get to see what seems to be a pretty regular heart to heart between Doom and Doctor Strange, who we find out remembers everything from before the collapse. Which makes sense given his position as Doom's number two man in the fight against The Beyonders. While this was generally assumed before the issue, the real shocker here is that apparently Strange had a chance to be the god that Doom has become, and decided Victor was a better fit for the job. Strange makes several illusions to the fact that their situation is a precarious one as Battleworld is all that remains of an infinite number of destroyed realities. The Doctor implies that without the proper work and maitenance, Battleworld could easily cease to be.
Later in the issue, we get the best news we've had in years from Marvel. The 616 heroes life raft survived also! Doctor Strange seems to immediatly abandone being Doom's lackey at the sight of his friends, but he quickly regains his composure when Reed dosnt take the news of Victor's godhood well. According to Strange, Doom is "very good at playing God", or Steven would not have stay aligned with him. Another extended scene with Doom and Susan immediatly follows, and poses some big quesions to me. Did Doom save the 616 Susan from multiversal space and alter her memory? Or is this a completely new version of her that Victor made sure was well accustomed to his omnipotence? My money is on the former, but there's no way to be sure for now,
Issue #3 moves the story forward in ways that issue 2 couldn't, for sake of exposition. Hickman continues to give us morsels of the truth, while keep all the big facts just out of reach of the reader. For most of the last two issues i wondered, with the stakes this high, when would we start to see more conflict between the domains? But now with the real heroes and villians returned, I've certainly lost some interest in the domains' reimaginings of these characters. With Doom's authority in question and heroes ready to investigate this strange new world, I wonder what issue 4 will have in store for us.
4/5 Infinity Gems
Breaking Down Secret Wars #2
After the tear jerking masterpiece that was Secret Wars #1, Jonathan Hickman had a lot to live up to in these issues. As Marvel's golden boy, chosen to lead the Marvel heroes into their new home, Hickman has become the master of sleight of hand storytelling. In the one hand he shows you grand, masterful storytelling, while in the other he keeps the high stakes mechanisms of his Battleworld hidden behind the people's fear of this world's one true ruler and God, Doom.
That's right. Doctor Doom, of all people, is the one who managed to save as much of existence as he could. As of the end of issue #2, Doom is the only person that we know of who remembers the old world. His typical vanity remains, as seen in the names of regions of his domain, such as Doomsgard (instead of Asgard). In Doomgard, Doom's personal police force, the Thors, reside. While there are a couple Thors we recognize here, such as Beta Ray Bill, and what must be a version of the Jane Foster Thor. However the vast majority of their ranks seem to be new creations, made purely to help protect Doom's role as the All-father of Battleworld.
In Battleworld, if Doom is the judge, Doctor Strange is the jury. Known as the sheriff of Agamotto, Strange ultimately is the highest authority, as Doom only intervenes when it directly interests him, mentioned as "divine intervention." Strange seems a very different man from when we last saw him at the edges of Beyonders' space, although it is unsure what has changed about him.
This issue continues Hickman's drastic re imagining of the Marvel universe, not by providing answers about the formation of this world, but by posing all the right questions you'll need to ask moving forward. When the issue builds to its climax, we find one of the two life-rafts from the old multiverse still intact. I won't ruin which one here if you haven't yet read it, but my Issue #3 review will follow shortly.
All said and done Secret Wars #2 builds a new world on the ashes of countless destroyed realms, and does while we're still recovering from the previous issue. A one week release gap was not enough time to be done mourning our old world, especially with various on-goings still working on building to the end-times scenario that has already been played out. Those books notwithstanding though, Battleworld is our set piece for at least the next few months of Marvel comics, and it's time to get used to it.
4 Multiversal Life Rafts out of 5
That's right. Doctor Doom, of all people, is the one who managed to save as much of existence as he could. As of the end of issue #2, Doom is the only person that we know of who remembers the old world. His typical vanity remains, as seen in the names of regions of his domain, such as Doomsgard (instead of Asgard). In Doomgard, Doom's personal police force, the Thors, reside. While there are a couple Thors we recognize here, such as Beta Ray Bill, and what must be a version of the Jane Foster Thor. However the vast majority of their ranks seem to be new creations, made purely to help protect Doom's role as the All-father of Battleworld.
In Battleworld, if Doom is the judge, Doctor Strange is the jury. Known as the sheriff of Agamotto, Strange ultimately is the highest authority, as Doom only intervenes when it directly interests him, mentioned as "divine intervention." Strange seems a very different man from when we last saw him at the edges of Beyonders' space, although it is unsure what has changed about him.
This issue continues Hickman's drastic re imagining of the Marvel universe, not by providing answers about the formation of this world, but by posing all the right questions you'll need to ask moving forward. When the issue builds to its climax, we find one of the two life-rafts from the old multiverse still intact. I won't ruin which one here if you haven't yet read it, but my Issue #3 review will follow shortly.
All said and done Secret Wars #2 builds a new world on the ashes of countless destroyed realms, and does while we're still recovering from the previous issue. A one week release gap was not enough time to be done mourning our old world, especially with various on-goings still working on building to the end-times scenario that has already been played out. Those books notwithstanding though, Battleworld is our set piece for at least the next few months of Marvel comics, and it's time to get used to it.
4 Multiversal Life Rafts out of 5
Monday, June 1, 2015
First Rule of Fight Club 2, Everyone should be talking about this book
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. From Master terrorist and an inspiration to thousands, maybe even millions; to a quiet, depressing life in the 'burbs; with white picket fences, arguments with neighbors over dog poop, and enough prescriptions to balance out the most overzealous of rhinos. Fight Club 2 opens 10 years later in the life of our narrator, calling himself Sebastian these days. (I think Palahniuk just refuses to give us a real name.) His life is a far cry from the free-living, street fighting, global unrest causing days of his past. These days Sebastian is back where we saw him at the beginning of the original book, with one key difference. This time he has all the drugs he needs to keep himself deaf to the voices inside himself. Well one in particular.
Palaniuks sharp and provocative writing comes through early on and doesn't stop as he leads you through the day to day of Sebastian's foggy, miserable existence. The writing especially gets back to that old fight club feeling when describing his family; from Marla's and his child ("The unforeseen consequence of sport fucking") to Marla's melodramatic speeches to a room of people who have it far worse from her.( "Now it's all about the pills. I swear, I can hear his stomach rattling with them.")
Early on in the issue we get a good handle on what Marla does and doesn't understand aboiut the events of the original story. She knows the difference between Sebastian and Tyler, but has no idea what Tyler Durden ended up becoming. ("Everything that was going wrong in the world, he insisted it was all his doing.") Before long, it becomes clear that this family cannot stand the test of time.
While I don't wanna ruin the big reveal in issue #1; I will let you know that it is the result of Marla deciding Sebastian could really use a few pills being replaced with placebos. She might as well have opened Charles Manson's cell. Over the course of the issue, the stakes go from bascially nil to life altering; all in the course of 30 pages.
If I'm being honest, the artist, Cameron Stewart, didn't ring a bell for me when i saw his name on the cover. That's a mistake I'll have to atone for, as Stewart's graphic style was exactly what the book needed. He does a great job of keeping a consistent visual style despite each page featuring very different scene. Really though, the best part of the art probably came from Palaniuk's script. See Chuck was very eager to make a point about the amount of drugs Sebastion is on every day, dulling his view and hold on the world around him. This is profoundly well illustrated whenever we're seeing Sebastian's point of view with large full color pills littered around the page, often even obscuring parts of his rambling narrative.
Chuck Palahniuk has taken a comic that's been on everyone's radar for about a year now, and in my opinion, smashes expactations. With a great open to the next chapter in Tyler Durden and Sebastian's lives, plenty of clever call backs to the original, and an intense cliffhanger, Palahniuk has me anxiously waiting for issue two.
4.5/5 Bars of Soap
Palaniuks sharp and provocative writing comes through early on and doesn't stop as he leads you through the day to day of Sebastian's foggy, miserable existence. The writing especially gets back to that old fight club feeling when describing his family; from Marla's and his child ("The unforeseen consequence of sport fucking") to Marla's melodramatic speeches to a room of people who have it far worse from her.( "Now it's all about the pills. I swear, I can hear his stomach rattling with them.")
Early on in the issue we get a good handle on what Marla does and doesn't understand aboiut the events of the original story. She knows the difference between Sebastian and Tyler, but has no idea what Tyler Durden ended up becoming. ("Everything that was going wrong in the world, he insisted it was all his doing.") Before long, it becomes clear that this family cannot stand the test of time.
While I don't wanna ruin the big reveal in issue #1; I will let you know that it is the result of Marla deciding Sebastian could really use a few pills being replaced with placebos. She might as well have opened Charles Manson's cell. Over the course of the issue, the stakes go from bascially nil to life altering; all in the course of 30 pages.
If I'm being honest, the artist, Cameron Stewart, didn't ring a bell for me when i saw his name on the cover. That's a mistake I'll have to atone for, as Stewart's graphic style was exactly what the book needed. He does a great job of keeping a consistent visual style despite each page featuring very different scene. Really though, the best part of the art probably came from Palaniuk's script. See Chuck was very eager to make a point about the amount of drugs Sebastion is on every day, dulling his view and hold on the world around him. This is profoundly well illustrated whenever we're seeing Sebastian's point of view with large full color pills littered around the page, often even obscuring parts of his rambling narrative.
Chuck Palahniuk has taken a comic that's been on everyone's radar for about a year now, and in my opinion, smashes expactations. With a great open to the next chapter in Tyler Durden and Sebastian's lives, plenty of clever call backs to the original, and an intense cliffhanger, Palahniuk has me anxiously waiting for issue two.
4.5/5 Bars of Soap
How Many Times Can One World End? Ultimate End #1
For almost as long as the Ultimate Universe has been around, Marvel has been killing it off. It seems like every other year, from Ultimatum to Cataclysm, the Ultimate heroes has seen Cosmic scale, world killing events far more regularly than their 616 counterparts. And now even with the entire Ultimate Universe destroyed, (along with the entire Marvel Multiverse), these characters just will not die. Ultimate End #1 aims to chronicle the struggle of extra dimensional counterparts having to share living space in a world they're not accustomed to.
In our newly constructed reality of Battleworld, the bulk of the 616 heroes, along with all the main ultimate heroes, are forced to share the domain of Manhattan. This results in a somewhat confusing mythos involving two Baxter Buildings, a Triskelon that i feel noone must work at, and in many cases, two of the same hero running around a space not much larger than a burrow of real life New York. This is especially contrasted when we see our 616 Spiderman arrive at a meeting between the 616 Avengers and the 1610 Ultimates. It is at this meeting that we first get to see people questioning the new status quo of Battleworld.
Let me be clear. There is no evidence that any of these heroes are the same as their pre Secret Wars counterparts, but there is no evidence to the contrary either really. All of the heroes at this clandestine meeting seem to have very full memories of their native realities, but no memory of the final incursion that erased both worlds from existence. In place of that knowledge is a very shaky memory taken from the mind of 1610 Tony Stark, notably still an alcoholic. In his recollections, someone working for Stark Industries finds a whole in spacetime, which when poked, pulls Bigger Tony from his bathroom in 616 face to Face with Younger Tony. It is ultimately implied that this hole in spacetime caused the uniting of their respective worlds, leading to Battleworld. Now to the reader this is a bold faced lie, but the memory must exist for a reason.
While this issue sets the stage for a spectacular beatdown between the two groups of heroes with a gorgeous two page faceoff, as seen through The (Ultimate?) Punisher's scope. The spread is eeirly reminiscant of Civil War, but really makes the whole " Who's Side Are You On?" thing a lot more complicated. While Ultimate End #1 has a strong first issue, you can't help but feel like Marvel is working way too hard at keeping the key secrets of Battleworld hidden for now, leading the tie-in writers to have to tip-toe around the main story. Hopefully this means that as the main story gets further on, we'll be able to discern more from the jumbled editorial scrap-heap that is Battleworld.
Ultimate End gives the reader our first look at our favorite characters who didnt make it out of the multiverse reborn, but does so without giving anything away that they weren't ready to. The cliff hanger of the first issue certainly implies that these heroes actions will have major consequences on the rule of Doom, but still dosnt get us anywhere in solving the mystery of Battleworld
In our newly constructed reality of Battleworld, the bulk of the 616 heroes, along with all the main ultimate heroes, are forced to share the domain of Manhattan. This results in a somewhat confusing mythos involving two Baxter Buildings, a Triskelon that i feel noone must work at, and in many cases, two of the same hero running around a space not much larger than a burrow of real life New York. This is especially contrasted when we see our 616 Spiderman arrive at a meeting between the 616 Avengers and the 1610 Ultimates. It is at this meeting that we first get to see people questioning the new status quo of Battleworld.
Let me be clear. There is no evidence that any of these heroes are the same as their pre Secret Wars counterparts, but there is no evidence to the contrary either really. All of the heroes at this clandestine meeting seem to have very full memories of their native realities, but no memory of the final incursion that erased both worlds from existence. In place of that knowledge is a very shaky memory taken from the mind of 1610 Tony Stark, notably still an alcoholic. In his recollections, someone working for Stark Industries finds a whole in spacetime, which when poked, pulls Bigger Tony from his bathroom in 616 face to Face with Younger Tony. It is ultimately implied that this hole in spacetime caused the uniting of their respective worlds, leading to Battleworld. Now to the reader this is a bold faced lie, but the memory must exist for a reason.
While this issue sets the stage for a spectacular beatdown between the two groups of heroes with a gorgeous two page faceoff, as seen through The (Ultimate?) Punisher's scope. The spread is eeirly reminiscant of Civil War, but really makes the whole " Who's Side Are You On?" thing a lot more complicated. While Ultimate End #1 has a strong first issue, you can't help but feel like Marvel is working way too hard at keeping the key secrets of Battleworld hidden for now, leading the tie-in writers to have to tip-toe around the main story. Hopefully this means that as the main story gets further on, we'll be able to discern more from the jumbled editorial scrap-heap that is Battleworld.
Ultimate End gives the reader our first look at our favorite characters who didnt make it out of the multiverse reborn, but does so without giving anything away that they weren't ready to. The cliff hanger of the first issue certainly implies that these heroes actions will have major consequences on the rule of Doom, but still dosnt get us anywhere in solving the mystery of Battleworld
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