Prez, vol. 1: Corndog in Chief

Prez, Vol. 1: Corndog in Chief by Mark Russell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(Received from Netgalley for review.)

This was actually a really pleasant surprise. I requested this book basically on a whim, because it was so different from the majority of DC’s offerings, and because I was curious to see what Russell would do with a mostly forgotten character. I can’t say that I had any expectations, but if I had, this book would have easily surpassed them.

I’m not familiar with the original version of Prez, only with the one that guested in an issue of Sandman, so I don’t really have a basis of comparison. That’s ok, because this Prez absolutely stands on its own merits. The premise: in a day-after-tomorrow future America, teenagers can become president and anyone can vote on social media. This doesn’t directly lead to viral video “star” Beth Ross getting elected, but it certainly helps. Rank corruption is what actually hands her the win, and it’s incredibly satisfying to watch play out. This is bitter, often biting political satire, and it will definitely strike a chord with a lot of readers.

But political satire on its own isn’t enough to make a full story. What really pushed this one over the top for me was the character of Beth herself. She’s instantly, incredibly likable. It’s heartening to watch her tackle the job of president, and it’s satisfying that she doesn’t win on every front all the time. There’s also a host of minor characters on the outskirts of the story who have interesting lives of their own. I really, really hope that there’s more issues coming, because I feel like there’s so much more that could be done with this book, and I feel like Russell has plenty of ideas left.

And I have to say how much I love Caldwell’s art. It suits the book, and there’s a lot of life and variety in his characters. Sure, I’ve seen better, but somehow this art is just right for this book, and isn’t that what really matters?

After a long series of disappointments from DC, it was so, so nice to finally get a really good book from them. This is something that they should be proud of, and I hope they are. No, it isn’t a modern masterpiece, but it’s a damn good book that’s entirely unlike the vast majority of what they’re offering. Well done.

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Grayson, vol. 2: We All Die at Dawn

Grayson, Vol 2: We All Die At Dawn by Tom King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

(Received from Netgalley for review)

After reading both volumes of Grayson, I’d venture to say that the one problem with this book is, in actual point of fact, the title character. Because if you can ignore that this is meant to be Dick Grayson, formerly Robin and Nightwing, and treat him as an entirely new character, then this is a decent spy book. Making the main character Dick just brings in a whole host of issues, including that Dick just isn’t suited to be an undercover spy who will be expected to kill for long periods of time. And this is evidently meant to be an open ended investigation. It’s an incredible stretch for me to believe that he’d be able to evade suspicion for even a few weeks, much less for as long as he has.

That’s not to say that, once stripped of the paper thin Batman tie in, it’s a great book. Midnighter just keeps showing up, which I was not thrilled with. Nothing against the character in general, but is pitting him as Grayson’s antagonist really what DC wants to do with this character? Because there’s very little done to develop him, so there’s nothing to really distinguish him from Random Smartass #3. I guess this was being used as the launching point for his own book, but it doesn’t help this one.

Now, the first issue in here, the desert story, is actually really good. It’s easily the best thing in the book. Unfortunately, the momentum kind of peters out from there. Again, not bad, just ok. Honestly, it feels like the whole series is just treading water, because this has finite written all over it and there obviously has to be some kind of end in mind. But this just felt like stretching out the series to stretch it out, not that there was something actively being worked towards. I don’t know, maybe it’s just going over my head, but I don’t feel like we’re going anywhere.

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Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder

Batman: The Black Mirror by Scott Snyder

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eh. Meh.

I feel like there’s a theme in Snyder’s books about secret underground organisations existing for ages in Gotham, which just shock the hell out of whoever is Batman at the moment. Maybe it’s less impressive because I read Court of Owls first?

There are three stories in this one, and I’m not sure which one I liked the best, since they all had their pros and cons.

I seem to be incapable of writing coherently today. so quick impressions.

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 4

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 4 by Charles Soule
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Definitely not required reading.
Legends of the Dark Knight 4 is just a mish-mosh of Batman tales by different authors. A few are decent, some are just trippy, and a few downright suck.
But none of them are great.

I Hate it When He Does That tells how (a much too) young Bruce Wayne learns the art of fading into the shadows. He and Alfred find a girl in Thailand, help rescue her from corrupt government official, and she teaches him the Ways of the Force.
Why did Alfred ever agree to any of this bullshit? Toss that kid on a plane, and get the hell out of that cesspool!

Riddler in the Dark is a decent story by Charles Soule. Unsurprisingly, Soule has written one of the better issues.
Riddler needs Batman to help him, but just can’t bring himself to ask the nice way.

The Pain Cellar is about a childhood memory of Bruce’s that resurfaces, Arm Candy is about another new girlfriend, and The Notebook is about a reporter who’s shadowing Bruce for the day.
All of these are written by Frank Hannah, only a few pages long, and all make one (issue?) interconnecting story arc together.

The Beautiful Ugly is a dark and depressing Two-Face story.
No redemption for you! <—That was me doing my Soup Nazi voice, btw.

Comic Book Challenge 2016!

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Superman/Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: Casualties of War

Superman/Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: Casualties of War by Peter J. Tomasi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

 

 

I think the art totally ruined the story for me.

Did Wonder Woman get hit in the face with a shovel?

Stop it, Edward. You already have a girlfriend.

Ok whatever. I just didn’t care for the way the faces of these characters were drawn. Maybe it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but it was really annoying (for me) to look at the speech bubbles dribbling out of these mouths.
Do you understand what I’m saying?

The actual story was fine. It shows how the Power Couple first met, and then flashes forward to them in the present. They’re still trying to understand each other and make their relationship work, all while juggling their other responsibilities.

There’s a new/old villain who’s been re-imagined for the purposes of this volume, plus one of Wonder Woman’s longtime Greek nemesis pops up to cause problems.

Since this is a Superman/Wonder Woman story, it’s less about the bad guy, and more about the impact it has on them as a couple. They’ve gotta trust each other to not only do the right thing, but also to be able to take care of themselves. And with both of them being such powerhouses, and both of them used to being the one to rush in and save the day, it’s definitely interesting to explore that side to their relationship.
Plus, it’s just cool to see them beat the shit out of each other.
Magical Mind Control, FTW!

Awww. Aren’t they the cutest?
I have to admit, I’m not as blown away with this title as I was in the beginning. I’d say it’s still decent, but unless they switch up the artist, I’m outta here.
*barf*

I received a digital copy from NetGalley & the publisher.

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Superman/Wonder Woman, vol. 3: Casualties of War

Superman/Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: Casualties of War by Peter J. Tomasi
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

(Received from Netgalley for review.)

This was just ok. The story is kind of blah, not much to write about. A mysterious new hero shows up who’s even less compelling than Superman normally is for me, which is fine because he’s really a shell for Circe’s vaguely defined revenge. I guess it’s supposed to be an object lesson in how these heroes who routinely save people by the thousands and occasionally the millions need to care more about individual people. And I take the point, I really do, because that’s one of the things that irked me about the Man of Steel movie- did you realize that more people were saved by Marvel’s bunch of a-holes than DC’s Boy Scout? Because I totally did. But the point is clumsily made, so much so that I never really had the feeling that it had been absorbed. Except surprise! It totally was, by like osmosis or something, because Diana gave no indication of even really paying attention to the object lesson. Ok, whatever.

This might have been a three star book, except holy crap is the art bad. It’s really incredibly ugly. The faces aren’t just attractive, they’re really odd looking. And not like this is the artist’s unique style, more like this is the best the artist could do. He’s trying really hard to make attractive people! And failing badly. It could make some pages outright unpleasant. Mediocre writing and bad art equals two stars for me.

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Superman, Vol. 6: The Men of Tomorrow by Geoff Johns

Superman, Vol. 6: The Men of Tomorrow by Geoff Johns
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

Say what you want about Geoff Johns, but he definitely knows how to pump new life into iconic characters.
This was FANTASTIC!

The biggest downer was the art, but I may be the only person who isn’t in love with John Romita Jr’s stuff. It’s not horrible, but I miss Kenneth Rocafort. Sorry, I just think his stuff is pretty to look at, and while JRJ is a beloved illustrator, I’m just not into him.

Other than that, there’s simply nothing wrong with this volume, though.
Ok, you know how I constantly bitch about crossovers & events hijacking every single title out there? Yeah. Well, it doesn’t happen here! This is literally one cohesive story!
What the what?! I didn’t even know they did that anymore?!

This next bit might be a mild spoiler, but I don’t think so, because it happens on the first few pages, and is alluded to in the blurb.

Green Arrow: Archer’s Quest Deluxe Edition

Green Arrow: Archer’s Quest Deluxe Edition by Brad Meltzer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

Porn-Buddies.
Yeah, that’s the basis for this book. Do you know what a porn-buddy is?
It’s that friend who, if you die, goes into your house and burns/deletes every last scrap of whatever embarrassingly deviant things you might have left behind…before your family finds it.
I know what you’re thinking…

Only Ollie doesn’t need anyone to burn his porn stash for him.
Get it? Porn Stache! Goddamnit, I’m hilarious!

Whatever. I’m funny.
Anyway, Ollie had a contingency plan to protect his family & friends in the event of his death. Someone he trusted was to find all of his Green Arrow memorabilia and get rid of it, before it could be used to ferret out the secret identities of his loved ones.
And wouldn’t you know it? He did die.

But like all good superheroes, he’s baaaaack!
So. Now, he’s got to find out if his wishes were fulfilled. And if so, he needs to collect his stuff.

This is a really cool Road Trip story for Green Arrow. Basically, he and Arsenal go out and hit all the important highlights of Ollie’s life while they search for his missing collectibles.

Remember, at the time this was written, both Hal & Barry were dead. So, this is also sort of his goodbye to each of his best friends, and there were some pretty touching moments as a result.

Plus, he’s got to come to terms with the fact that the men who replaced his friends maybe aren’t so bad. Maybe.

Not only does he want to find his goodies, but he wants to try and rectify some of the things that he didn’t do right the first time around.

Alrighty, I thought this would have been a great Green Arrow story even without the twist Metzer added to the end.
But with it, he transformed Oliver Queen’s entire backstory, and made us all think twice about everything we thought we knew about the Emerald Archer. Good stuff!

Definitely recommended for anyone who calls themselves a fan of Green Arrow.

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Review: Batman R.I.P by Grant Morrison

Batman R.I.P. by Grant Morrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Introduction:

At this point, I have been reading many “Batman” comics and so far, I had been enjoying every single one I had read…until I came upon this comic. I mean, “Batman R.I.P” had a pretty interesting premise written by Grant Morrison and gorgeous artwork by Tony S. Daniel, who slightly rivals Jim Lee’s artwork, but the story itself was a bit too slow and confusing for me to really get interested in.

What is this story about?

Batman has always trained himself to withstand any threat that comes his way, but there is one organization that will try to defeat him mentally and that is the Black Glove. The Black Glove’s plan is that they will try to find a way to make Batman go insane, so that way Gotham City’s criminals will unleash unbearable mayhem on the city itself while Batman is losing his sanity. Will the Black Glove succeed in their plans or will Batman find a way keep his sanity?

What I loved about this story:

The premise: The premise for this story, which was the Black Glove trying to make Batman go insane, was pretty interesting. I did like the way that Grant Morrison wrote the scenes of Batman going insane and how the story just starts becoming cluttered because of the insanity that Batman was suffering. It really brought a chaotic feel to the story, which I usually associate chaos with insanity, so the story really fit that feeling extremely well. I also loved the way that Grant Morrison wrote the Joker as being insane as well as being calculating in his schemes against Batman since the Joker is honestly one of my most favorite “Batman” villains to date!

Tony S. Daniel’s artwork: Tony S. Daniel’s artwork was fantastic as the characters are drawn realistically and the colors are so vibrant. I really loved the way that Tony S. Daniel drew Batman himself as Batman looks extremely muscular and threatening at the same time.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Okay…where was this story going?

While I like the premise of this story and the artwork, the story itself was average for me because it was both too confusing and slow for me to follow. I understand that the story was basically the Black Glove manipulating Batman, but the plot just got so cluttered up once the Black Glove’s plan was announced that I just got so confused about what was really going on, especially when the plot was jumping all over the place. Also, there were moments where the story started slowing down and my interest in the story started to go down, the more I read this comic. There were various conversations that the characters had in this book that I was wondering to myself about what do they have to do with the story at hand?

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Batman R.I.P” may have an interesting premise about Batman going insane and gorgeous artwork, but the story is average at best since the plot is too confusing and the pacing seems to slow down in many places that it was difficult to read through.