DC doesn't seem to have released new packs recently; these are just more from the last round I hadn't gotten yet (each one has a featured lead comic).
Batman Eternal #1, 16 (DC)
from 2014
I consider Batman Eternal to have been Snyder and Tynion's attempt to sprint through everything they were never going to get a chance to explore during the New 52 as they explored their own arcs, revisiting classic characters and even letting some new ones (Harper Row) a chance to breathe. The first issue is early DC Jason Fabok, who would later have his true breakthrough in the pages of Justice League. #16 is another one featuring art from Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs.
Batman #7 (DC)
from 2016
This was one of the featured lead comics, reprinted as Batman: Night of the Monster Men #1. As I've said before, I love that these are true variants. I have no idea if they'll ever be worth money, but I just love that they exist. "Night of the Monster Men" was billed as the first crossover event of the Rebirth era, and it seems positively tame in hindsight. It's also funny that Tom King bowed out as writer for the tie-in issues, allowing Steve Orlando, fast emerging as a new force in the company, a chance to step in.
Green Arrow #48 (DC)
from March 2016
It's downright baffling that DC didn't make a greater priority of Green Arrow once Arrow, the TV series, began and eventually expanded into a whole franchise. This late issue from the New 52 era seems to have left Oliver Queen a...werewolf?
Infinite Crisis: Fight for the Multiverse #10 (DC)
from June 2015
Injustice: Harley Quinn (DC)
from 2016
The later was originally published as Injustice: Ground Zero. But being reprinted with Harley Quinn in the title isn't merely gratuitous, it's also acknowledging that the story is all about her, plus a review of everything that's happened in the Injustice comics. I'm not a video game guy, so the Injustice comics, and the Infinite Crisis comic listed above, are as close as I'll get to those experiences.
The New 52: Futures End #13 (DC)
from September 2014
It's really shocking that fans didn't really care about this weekly series. The assembled writers were certainly impressive enough: Azzarello (synonymous with prestige), Giffen (synonymous with DC weekly comics at this point), Jurgens (still synonymous with "Doomsday," the biggest comics event of the modern era), and Lemire (now synonymous with the modern vanguard). I still want to catch up with it. This issue features part of the Superman arc, where he's been amnesiac about being Superman. It was also the mainstreaming of Batman Beyond. Terry McGinnis seems on his way to...involuntarily bequeathing the role to Tim Drake in this issue...
Convergence: Action Comics #2 (DC)
from July 2015
I still love Convergence. Maybe it's because it came at a dark moment for me, and it was a rare beacon of life. I didn't read the Action Comics two-parter at the time, and I'm not sure what I missed. Maybe not too much.
Trinity of Sin: Pandora - Futures End (DC)
from November 2014
I've written about Pandora often enough. This version of her story reveals an alternate explanation for the character (Geoff Johns had a different one during the Justice League "Trinity War" event, and a much different fate in DC Universe Rebirth). But it was certainly interesting to see this one, even if the art didn't really do it much justice.
Showing posts with label Batman Eternal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Batman Eternal. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Quarter Bin 75 "Some old, some new"
This is a back issue feature. The title is not always literal.
Recently I dipped back into the same comics pack source I hit a few weeks back, and came up with some stuff I'd already read, and some new stuff, too (hence, the title). But let's just dive in, shall we?
Detective Comics #1 (DC)
From 2011.
These packs featured some reprints geared toward the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. You can tell, because the reprints have ads for the movie littered throughout them. I'm glad this was one of the reprints, because it's a reminder that Tony Daniel was still writing Batman at the start of the New 52. He's one of the many artists DC has helped transition into writing. He was Grant Morrison's artist from "Batman, R.I.P.," which led to him writing Batman before the New 52 relaunch. He brought the same stuff to Detective Comics, including the character responsible for the Joker's grizzly new look ("look ma! no skin on my face!"). But fans by that point hopped on the Scott Snyder bandwagon (Snyder had been writing Detective Comics, so it was a flip flop that worked extremely well for one of them). Daniel's work on Batman is by no means lousy. But I guess it couldn't compete with Snyder's. Like Snyder, he was keenly interested in creating new villains. But again, I guess Snyder just did it better.
Batman Eternal #2 (DC)
From June 2014.
The weekly series Snyder and sidekick James Tynion IV launched featured some good storytelling, although perhaps it failed to be considered as iconic because its storytelling was less precise (I mean, like Geoff Johns on Green Lantern before him, Snyder managed to make a crossover arc of every story). This second issue features Jim Gordon in trouble with the law. The oddest thing is that Eternal really had nothing to do with Snyder's work in Batman itself. They existed as two separate entities, and weaved visions that really had nothing to do with each other. Eternal was a gimme to the fans, and Batman was busy making new ones. I guess it makes sense...
Batman #41 (DC)
From August 2015.
Featuring the debut of Commissioner Batman, this was among the most recent issues included in the packs. It still strikes me that Snyder basically parodied the whole "Knight Quest"/"Reign of the Supermen"/Doctor Spider-Man concept. He knew from the start that fans wouldn't really buy Gordon as Batman, and yet went with it anyway. Took real guts. But by this point, he literally could get away with anything, and he knew it.
Batman: Arkham Knight #1 (DC)
From 2015.
Based on the series of video games, this is part of a series of mini-series that weave a story around them (like the following title). Peter J. Tomasi, at his best, is among the best. But he's not always at his best. Sometimes, he's merely functional. That's what he is in this.
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Two Annual #1 (DC)
From December 2014.
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #1 (DC)
From December 2014.
These are based on a fighting game, but the reality they pose might as well come from Batman's fever dream in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. They posit a Superman gone wildly out of control, attempting to bring order to Earth as a despot. The best story in these issues features Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Sinestro, in a dynamic that's reminiscent of how Geoff Johns depicted them. Also featured: Detective Chimp. But not nearly enough of him!
Justice League #1 (DC)
From 2011.
This reprint features the beginning of Geoff Johns' seminal introduction of the team at the start of the New 52 era. I've been an eager champion of this from the beginning, but it was fun to read it again (and incidentally, this is the fourth time I've purchased this story; one time was in the collection). After rereading Frank Miller and Jim Lee's All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder recently, it was fun to see how Johns and Lee did a variation on the Batman/Green Lantern confrontation, and how it, and its relation to Miller and Lee's work, helped set the tone of the series. Some really great stuff.
Justice League of America #1 (DC)
From August 2015.
I read this issue when it was originally released. Reading it again was to find it better than I remembered. I mean, I liked it then, too, but to read it from a time when I know Bryan Hitch will be handling the DC Rebirth Justice League is to know the title will be in good hands. So that was good to find out.
Superman #32 (DC)
From 2014.
The start of the Johns/Romita era is an exceptional as I remember it. Johns was truly at the top of his Superman game in this run, and he was no slouch the last time. The Ulysses character apparently plays a role in Tomasi's "Super League" arc that's helping to round out the New 52 era. He's basically Johns' new Superboy Prime. That's good, too.
Action Comics #36 (DC)
From January 2015.
Greg Pak's Superman just doesn't do it for me. Although I love Superman sporting a beard.
Superman/Wonder Woman #1 (DC)
From December 2013.
I became such a fanboy of Charles Soule's at that time, it's fun revisiting some of that time. I thought the concept of this relationship was one of the genius moves of the New 52, but I guess it was something DC was just as quick to shut down, because the "Truth" arc wasn't especially kind to it. Doomsday was a busy monster at that time, too. Since I didn't read further issues of this story, or the complete "Doomed," I only know so much of what the monster was up to. I don't even know if the arcs were related! Oh well...Oh further note is the course of journeyman artist...Tony Daniel! He ended up bouncing from project to project. But at least DC kept finding work for him!
Superman Unchained #1 (DC)
From August 2013.
It's funny, because ads for Man of Steel can be found in this issue, and so I guess everything comes full circle. Snyder and Lee, reporting for duty. But I'm not sure what either accomplished with this project. Certainly there's evidence of more important work elsewhere in this edition of Quarter Bin...
Recently I dipped back into the same comics pack source I hit a few weeks back, and came up with some stuff I'd already read, and some new stuff, too (hence, the title). But let's just dive in, shall we?
Detective Comics #1 (DC)
From 2011.
These packs featured some reprints geared toward the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. You can tell, because the reprints have ads for the movie littered throughout them. I'm glad this was one of the reprints, because it's a reminder that Tony Daniel was still writing Batman at the start of the New 52. He's one of the many artists DC has helped transition into writing. He was Grant Morrison's artist from "Batman, R.I.P.," which led to him writing Batman before the New 52 relaunch. He brought the same stuff to Detective Comics, including the character responsible for the Joker's grizzly new look ("look ma! no skin on my face!"). But fans by that point hopped on the Scott Snyder bandwagon (Snyder had been writing Detective Comics, so it was a flip flop that worked extremely well for one of them). Daniel's work on Batman is by no means lousy. But I guess it couldn't compete with Snyder's. Like Snyder, he was keenly interested in creating new villains. But again, I guess Snyder just did it better.
Batman Eternal #2 (DC)
From June 2014.
The weekly series Snyder and sidekick James Tynion IV launched featured some good storytelling, although perhaps it failed to be considered as iconic because its storytelling was less precise (I mean, like Geoff Johns on Green Lantern before him, Snyder managed to make a crossover arc of every story). This second issue features Jim Gordon in trouble with the law. The oddest thing is that Eternal really had nothing to do with Snyder's work in Batman itself. They existed as two separate entities, and weaved visions that really had nothing to do with each other. Eternal was a gimme to the fans, and Batman was busy making new ones. I guess it makes sense...
Batman #41 (DC)
From August 2015.
Featuring the debut of Commissioner Batman, this was among the most recent issues included in the packs. It still strikes me that Snyder basically parodied the whole "Knight Quest"/"Reign of the Supermen"/Doctor Spider-Man concept. He knew from the start that fans wouldn't really buy Gordon as Batman, and yet went with it anyway. Took real guts. But by this point, he literally could get away with anything, and he knew it.
Batman: Arkham Knight #1 (DC)
From 2015.
Based on the series of video games, this is part of a series of mini-series that weave a story around them (like the following title). Peter J. Tomasi, at his best, is among the best. But he's not always at his best. Sometimes, he's merely functional. That's what he is in this.
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Two Annual #1 (DC)
From December 2014.
Injustice: Gods Among Us - Year Three #1 (DC)
From December 2014.
These are based on a fighting game, but the reality they pose might as well come from Batman's fever dream in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. They posit a Superman gone wildly out of control, attempting to bring order to Earth as a despot. The best story in these issues features Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Sinestro, in a dynamic that's reminiscent of how Geoff Johns depicted them. Also featured: Detective Chimp. But not nearly enough of him!
Justice League #1 (DC)
From 2011.
This reprint features the beginning of Geoff Johns' seminal introduction of the team at the start of the New 52 era. I've been an eager champion of this from the beginning, but it was fun to read it again (and incidentally, this is the fourth time I've purchased this story; one time was in the collection). After rereading Frank Miller and Jim Lee's All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder recently, it was fun to see how Johns and Lee did a variation on the Batman/Green Lantern confrontation, and how it, and its relation to Miller and Lee's work, helped set the tone of the series. Some really great stuff.
Justice League of America #1 (DC)
From August 2015.
I read this issue when it was originally released. Reading it again was to find it better than I remembered. I mean, I liked it then, too, but to read it from a time when I know Bryan Hitch will be handling the DC Rebirth Justice League is to know the title will be in good hands. So that was good to find out.
Superman #32 (DC)
From 2014.
The start of the Johns/Romita era is an exceptional as I remember it. Johns was truly at the top of his Superman game in this run, and he was no slouch the last time. The Ulysses character apparently plays a role in Tomasi's "Super League" arc that's helping to round out the New 52 era. He's basically Johns' new Superboy Prime. That's good, too.
Action Comics #36 (DC)
From January 2015.
Greg Pak's Superman just doesn't do it for me. Although I love Superman sporting a beard.
Superman/Wonder Woman #1 (DC)
From December 2013.
I became such a fanboy of Charles Soule's at that time, it's fun revisiting some of that time. I thought the concept of this relationship was one of the genius moves of the New 52, but I guess it was something DC was just as quick to shut down, because the "Truth" arc wasn't especially kind to it. Doomsday was a busy monster at that time, too. Since I didn't read further issues of this story, or the complete "Doomed," I only know so much of what the monster was up to. I don't even know if the arcs were related! Oh well...Oh further note is the course of journeyman artist...Tony Daniel! He ended up bouncing from project to project. But at least DC kept finding work for him!
Superman Unchained #1 (DC)
From August 2013.
It's funny, because ads for Man of Steel can be found in this issue, and so I guess everything comes full circle. Snyder and Lee, reporting for duty. But I'm not sure what either accomplished with this project. Certainly there's evidence of more important work elsewhere in this edition of Quarter Bin...
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Batman: Eternal #52
artist: many, many artists
Batman: Eternal turns out to be a kind of attempt to broaden the impact of Scott Snyder's Batman, stretch out the sketch that's emerged in the pages of the New 52 Batman without having to actually take out the required space in the pages of the series itself and various related titles, the way it would have been done years ago, irrespective of the crossovers Snyder's run has initiated. What I mean is, Eternal is basically the "No Man's Land" etc. of the Snyder era.
And it kind of exposes Snyder's limits all over again.
He lacks the ability to deliver a truly killer punch (too often, he's let Greg Capullo do that for him). Never mind that Eternal was a full collaborative effort. I don't put the blame on James Tynion, who has been working with Snyder throughout the New 52 era.
Snyder has been doggedly chasing after other people's legacies. The page I include here reflects Bane in "Knightfall," but less famously it even echoes Nobody, a character Peter Tomasi created in the pages of the New 52 Batman and Robin, for the excellent and defining "Born to Kill" arc that kicked off that series.
As usual, Snyder has once again circled around back to his Court of Owls, which also featured the idea of Batman being overwhelmed and looking like he's defeated before coming out victorious one way or another. I get that this is a storytelling trope in general, but Snyder has done himself no favors by continuously returning to it. (Even Grant Morrison did this, but he knows scope.)
I want to like Snyder. I see flashes of brilliance that confirm the hype, how the whole Court concept has etched itself into the annals of Batman classics. And if anything, Eternal should confirm it. After all, the whole idea boils down to someone attempting to expose Batman as just a man.
Maybe the rest of the series sold the idea far better than the final issues does. But here it comes off as limp, and of course that's what I'm saying about Snyder's whole approach. He has big ideas but can never really pull them off. Writers like that are legion, and they beg for collaborators. Just not ones like Tynion. Again, this is not a knock on Tynion, but rather to say that Snyder needs someone to drag him to greater heights. At times he seems to have completely understood this. His partnership with Kyle Higgins, for instance, greatly improved both of them. I also fully believe that without Stephen King, American Vampire would never have happened, certainly not the way it has developed.
Clearly a lot of people disagree with me. I'm not troubled by this. I want to see better from Scott Snyder.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Reading Comics 142 "Snyder Eternal?"
 |
| via Big Easy Comics |
But I kept checking in. The first time I thought I might reconsider was when I believed he was ready to do something very radical with the Joker, after "Night of the Owls" concluded on a cryptic note concerning a possible brother of Bruce Wayne. "Death of the Family" has since proven to be a prelude, actually, to another Joker story, "Endgame," which began a few months ago. Once word got out that this mysterious arc involved the Joker, I knew I'd have to give Snyder another chance. Even if he reaches different conclusions than I thought he might, suddenly Snyder seems quite interesting again.
I checked in earlier this year during "Zero Year," the obligatory origin story every creator who wants to make a permanent mark on the Dark Knight must attempt. When a character who showed up in the arc later appeared as a possible new Boy Wonder in the pages of Batman and Robin: Futures End, I got to thinking of another new character Snyder had introduced and has been making headway to becoming a significant addition to the mythos, Harper Row. From the start, fans assumed she was being primed to become Robin. Snyder threw a curveball in Batman #28, a prelude to Batman Eternal.
I assumed the issue would be a pretty big deal, but when it showed up months later in a value bin at my local comics shop, I had to assume either than readers in my area either weren't very savvy, or this is a development that has lost some of its luster since word originally spread. I didn't scoop up the issue right away, but finally I bought it, along with my first sampling of Batman Eternal itself. Eternal is one of three weekly series DC launched this year. When 52 debuted in 2006, its creators wondered if such a project could succeed. When it did, DC continued with various other weekly comics. Now it seems there's no stopping this trend. Eternal has a chance of being one of the most important Batman stories in Snyder's mounting catalog. Like Futures End it takes place in the future, but seems to be a lucrative chance to revisit pieces of the lore that have slipped by the wayside, and even an opportunity to expand it. In the preview issue, for instance, Stephanie Brown (Spoiler, Robin, Batgirl, all-around missed character from previous DC continuity) finally made her New 52 debut. And Harper Row was unveiled as Bluebird, the start of a new tradition.
The Batman Eternal issue I sampled was #26, which recaps Hush's origin. Hush, of course, originally appeared in the bestselling arc of the same name, part of Jim Lee's original DC experience from more than a decade ago. Later, Paul Dini further explored his story by revealing how Tommy Elliot first became Hush, in the pages of Batman: Streets of Gotham, which is what the issue echoes. Characters with consider history like Batman become increasingly difficult to build new material around, but Hush has been one of the most welcome additions in recent times, so it's always nice to see him again, and as far as I'm concerned, his presence in Eternal is a sign that it's doing something right. As I understand it, though the real villain is Jason Bard, a character Snyder may be repackaging but otherwise has been around for nearly fifty years.
Batman #37, meanwhile, is the third installment of "Endgame," and apparently has suggested disturbing new things about the Joker, a character who has always been disturbing, but in an absurd way. When the '80s made him into a killer, it changed him considerably, and most of his appearances since have tried to reconcile that with the kind of ultimately harmless goof that is necessary for repeat performances. Snyder has been doing his level best to complete that transformation. I've begun to realizing it's this instinct that distinguishes his work. And may well be worth praising after all. He's adding to the Batman legacy. It's becoming easier to see that now. And that's a good thing.
I assumed the issue would be a pretty big deal, but when it showed up months later in a value bin at my local comics shop, I had to assume either than readers in my area either weren't very savvy, or this is a development that has lost some of its luster since word originally spread. I didn't scoop up the issue right away, but finally I bought it, along with my first sampling of Batman Eternal itself. Eternal is one of three weekly series DC launched this year. When 52 debuted in 2006, its creators wondered if such a project could succeed. When it did, DC continued with various other weekly comics. Now it seems there's no stopping this trend. Eternal has a chance of being one of the most important Batman stories in Snyder's mounting catalog. Like Futures End it takes place in the future, but seems to be a lucrative chance to revisit pieces of the lore that have slipped by the wayside, and even an opportunity to expand it. In the preview issue, for instance, Stephanie Brown (Spoiler, Robin, Batgirl, all-around missed character from previous DC continuity) finally made her New 52 debut. And Harper Row was unveiled as Bluebird, the start of a new tradition.
The Batman Eternal issue I sampled was #26, which recaps Hush's origin. Hush, of course, originally appeared in the bestselling arc of the same name, part of Jim Lee's original DC experience from more than a decade ago. Later, Paul Dini further explored his story by revealing how Tommy Elliot first became Hush, in the pages of Batman: Streets of Gotham, which is what the issue echoes. Characters with consider history like Batman become increasingly difficult to build new material around, but Hush has been one of the most welcome additions in recent times, so it's always nice to see him again, and as far as I'm concerned, his presence in Eternal is a sign that it's doing something right. As I understand it, though the real villain is Jason Bard, a character Snyder may be repackaging but otherwise has been around for nearly fifty years.
Batman #37, meanwhile, is the third installment of "Endgame," and apparently has suggested disturbing new things about the Joker, a character who has always been disturbing, but in an absurd way. When the '80s made him into a killer, it changed him considerably, and most of his appearances since have tried to reconcile that with the kind of ultimately harmless goof that is necessary for repeat performances. Snyder has been doing his level best to complete that transformation. I've begun to realizing it's this instinct that distinguishes his work. And may well be worth praising after all. He's adding to the Batman legacy. It's becoming easier to see that now. And that's a good thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)