3.5 Razors

Person of Interest – All In

  • Title: Person of Interest – All In
  • tv.com: link

Person of Interest - All In

After saving Leon (Ken Leung) from yet another group of angry business associates looking to put him in the ground, Reese (Jim Caviezel) heads to Atlantic City when The Machine gives Finch (Michael Emerson) the number of a nearly broke elderly gambler (Ron McLarty) who the mob wants dead. While continuing to look into Internal Affairs investigation into Detective Beecher (Sterling K. Brown), Carter (Taraji P. Henson) gets a little help from Detective Szymanski (Michael McGlone) to find out about the number’s past ties to organized crime in the 1970’s and the corrupt owner (Michael Rispoli) of the person of interest’s latest casino of choice.

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Glee – Feud

  • Title: Glee – Feud
  • tv.com: link

“Did you confront him at Miata with a Paula Abdul song?”

Glee - Feud

With the tension between Will (Matthew Morrison) and Finn (Cory Monteith) at an all-time high, Artie (Kevin McHale), Blaine (Darren Criss), and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) perform and intervention and give the pair an assignment to perform a song together inspired by a classic musical rivalry. Standing up for Marley (Melissa Benoist) and Jake (Jacob Artist), Unique (Alex Newell) confronts Ryder (Blake Jenner) about coming between them, and Ryder’s unwillingness to accept Wade as a girl, causing the pair to attempt to solve their feud in song as well.

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Batman and Robin #18

Batman and Robin #18Following the events of Batman Incorporated #8, writer Peter J. Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason offer us this silent issue of the Dark Knight quietly dealing with the death of his son Damian. Even without a single word spoken (or even showing up in an old fashioned thought balloon) Batman and Robin #18 is the first of the “Requiem” crossovers to focus on the fallout of Robin’s death (and not just stick it in as a B-story).

Although Gleason offers several strong splash pages, some of the smaller individual panels of Batman out and about in Gotham aren’t quite as strong. This is certainly a comic that would have been better off to showcase more than one artist to carry so much of the weight of the storytelling.

On one hand, the issue puts Damian’s loss at the forefront and showcases the toll it’s taking on Batman. On the other hand it’s still a bit of a cheat as the hard but necessary conversations after such an event have still yet to take place. However, the set-up certainly makes the only words we do see, Damian’s final message to his father, certainly have a greater impact. Worth a look.

[DC, $2.99]

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Fairest #13

Fairest #13“The Hidden Kingdom” concludes with Rapunzel in full control of her bezoars and a war brewing on the streets of Tokyo between two sets of Fables. Not only does Fairest #13 resolve the dispute between the two groups, it also allows Rapunzel to keep a promise to her old lover Tomoko and return her Foxfire (despite Tomko’s attempts to control and kill Rapunzel in this very arc).

We still don’t know what happened to Rapunzel’s actual children, although we do learn that Frau Totenkinder does indeed know their fate (but, despite what her daughter believes, may not actually be responsible for their kidnapping). And I’ll admit I would have liked to see Rapunzel stay with Tomoko rather than return to Fabletown with Joel Crow, but as the saying goes you can’t go home again.

I enjoyed Rapunzel’s story, and hope to see more of her in the future, but I’m glad to see this story arc wrapped up here and move on to something new. The tone of the last couple issues took a darker turn than I was expecting, and, although it works, I’m hoping for a little more wacky fun with Bill Willingham‘s return next issue. Worth a look.

[Vertigo, $2.99]

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Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

  • Title: Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
  • IMDB: link

Batman: Mystery of the BatwomanBatman: Mystery of the Batwoman was the third and final straight-to-DVD animated film put out by Warner Bros. Animation following the cancellation of Batman: The Animated Series (Mask of the Phantasm doesn’t fit into this group as it was made a decade earlier and saw a limited theatrical release). The movie keeps the Bruce Timm style of the series as well as most of the show’s regular voice cast including Kevin Conroy returning as the voice of Batman.

The show returns familiar villains the Penguin (David Ogden Stiers) and Rupert Thorne (John Vernon) as well as introducing mid-level gangster Carlton Duquesne (Kevin Michael Richardson) and his impetuous daughter Kathy (Kimberly Brooks), who acts as Bruce Wayne’s love interest for the movie. The movie also introduces a new version of Batwoman (Kyra Sedgwick) who uses lethal force to stop Penguin and Thorne’s illegal arm sales leading her into confrontation with Batman.

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