Batman
Detective Comics #875
- Title: Detective Comics #875
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Scott Snyder
- Artist: Francesco Francavilla
For an issue of Detective Comics featuring only a cameo of Batman this one ain’t too bad. Commissioner James Gordon takes center stage here, haunted by the return of his son and an unsolved series of child murders more than fifteen years ago.
The two stories fit well together (even without the thread writer Scott Snyder shoves in at the end), and the story reminds us how much the job has cost Gordon over the years and how the thousands of cases he’s solved can’t outweigh the ones that still haunt him.
Although I’m not wild about the art for Batman (in the couple of panels the Dark Knight Detective actually appears), Francesco Francavilla’s style works well for a story centered around Gordon, both in the past and the present. It will be interesting to show how the James Jr. storyline plays out, and how much time it’s given center stage (as it is here). Worth a look.
[DC, $2.99]
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The Battle of the Super-Heroes
- Title: Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Battle of the Super-Heroes
- tv.com: link
After another short intro from the “Secret Files of Batman’s Greatest Cases” featuring King Tut and his armies of mummies which ar thwarted by Batman and Robin wearing mummy costumes (coated in buttermilk because “it’s the one thing that repels pharoh’s rays”)… wait, I have to stop for a second because this, yet again, is another opening that is equal parts awesome and insane. Anywho, the real story gets started when Batman shows in Metropolis on the trail of jewel thieves, only to stay around for a few days and hang out with Superman.
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Batman Incorporated #4
- Title: Batman Incorporated #4
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer:Grant Morrison
- Artists: Chris Burnham, Yanick Paquette
There are two different types of comic writers. The first attempts nothing more than to tell good stories month after month by understanding the characters, the world they inhabit, and working within that framework. The second attempts to deconstruct the existing reality of a hero in an attempt to create a definitive version. Grant Morrison is the later. And that’s why he so often pisses me off.
This comic has at least three separate stories going on (actually more, counting the multiple flashbacks of Kathy Kane) and is presented in the twisted half-assed teasing manner Grant Morisson thinks makes great storytelling, but, at least for me comes off as a fanboy who has seen Momento way, way too many times.
The story involves Batwoman, flashbacks to the early (and late) days of the original Batwoman, Batman caught in a death trap, and a villain who is somehow connected to it all. Oblique storytelling isn’t terrific in and of itself. If it were Grant Morrison might be the best author of all time.
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Batman #706
- Title: Batman #706
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Tony Daniel
- Artist: Tony Daniel
Sensei has abducted Lucius Fox and his daughter with the hopes of prying the secrets of a brotherhood his father once belonged. Meanwhile Batman and Robin find themselves sidetracked by a sneak attack by the Riddler and his daughter Enigma.
There’s much to like here, but one thing which troubles me. The entire issue is jam-packed with as many periphery Bat-characters as could easily fit into one story (each with their own introduction) including those mentioned above as well as Catwoman, Catgirl, I-Ching, Peacock, and Reaper. The entire issue feels like an attempt to create a new jumping-in point for those who haven’t been reading the title. The problem is this is part-three of an on-going storyline. So why this attempt works, it feels a bit awkward.
The story itself works pretty well as the various stories hint without giving too much away. Filled with action, this actually is a mystery story (in several different ways) for Batman to solve. It’s also nice to see Grayson’s detective skills highlighted.
[DC $2.99]