Tag: Batman

REVIEW: Batman (Vol. 2) #39

Batman #39 Cover by Greg Capullo, FCO Plascencia & Danny Miki

The following is a full written review of Batman (Vol. 2) #39 – Written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo – Release: February 25th 2015.

The Endgame story of the New 52 Batman-run has been extremely entertaining, and we’re almost at the very end of it. Last month’s issue was great, and today we’ll go into Endgame Part 5 – as Batman seeks out a group from his past to clear his head, and make him understand just what the Joker is up to.

Let’s talk about the cover. I really like it this month. I wasn’t a big fan of the cover in #38, but I like the Joker-centric cover for #39. The chair of victims is extremely morbid, and befitting of the situation the Joker is in. Some may argue that this is another cover that is too simplistic, with not enough going on in the background – but I think that’s a very subjective issue to have with a comic book cover.

Warning – the following plot-summary contains spoilers.

Endgame Part 5 opens with the Caped Crusader having a chat with the Court of Owls, looking for their cooperation in finding this Dionesium and finding answers. Sadly, they refuse to cooperate – and an ancient Talon attacks The Dark Knight. He asks if the Talon remembers the Pale Man being around 400 years ago. We are not explicitly told the answer at this point. At this point we learn that the Joker has infiltrated the armory, and Alfred has taken him on – but is unsuccesful and his right hand is cut off. The World’s Greatest Detective finds out that the only way to get a cure, is to retrieve it from the Joker’s spine, and he seeks out help from the Bat-family…. and the antagonists of Gotham. As Wayne’s plan is set in motion, the A-Story for Batman #39 concludes.

If there’s one thing I didn’t like about the issue, it is how suddenly it ends. Just like that. Sure, I get that there’s one more issue – but for a monthly series, this issue isn’t really chock-full of things we’ll remember, and answers we need. We don’t get the answer about the Pale Man, we don’t see Alfred following his encounter with the Joker, and the story ends just before ‘the big bang’ of Endgame. This isn’t a filler story, this is an important one, but we find no answers in Batman #39.

The artwork in Batman #39’s A-story is spot-on as always. This issue is very graphic, there’s a lot of blood – and it’s not for everyone – but darn it, Capullo and the rest of the art team just does a perfect job once again. I would like to mention how perfect the final image in the A-story is. The Joker looks very much like Two-face here. See how on one side his hair is perfect, his face is clean – but on the other side his hair is gone, and his face looks rotten. Perhaps this is a hint. Perhaps the Joker is rotting right before our eyes – and maybe, just maybe, he eyed this as his very last trick. Maybe he knows that he, the Pale Man, is about to die, maybe that’s why he’s going all out this time.

The B-Story The Last Smile by James Tynion IV & Dustin Nguyen is very interesting. The Doctor we’ve been following tells the inmates the story she’s uncovered. The man she thinks the Joker is – a mere mortal. The convicts don’t like the sound of that. Then our Doctor meets the Joker who reveals he had let her to the story – a story designed by him. Fake. As the convicts break through, she is gifted with a gun and six bullets – as the Joker wanders off. The Joker had fabricated her story. And we don’t know who he is.

The artwork of the B-story is actually very good – probably the best it’s been in the Endgame B-stories. I only thought the Joker wasn’t as scary as he should be, but all in all the artwork was great in the B-story.

Final Grade: B+ – Beautiful artwork is the key for Batman #39, and some might argue that the A-story is too secretive. We don’t learn anything new, really, and the concluding part of Endgame will reveal all. The B-story is excellent, the best B-story yet. For full list of Comic Book Review grades go here.

I’m Jeffrey Rex

Detective Comics Saturday #1 – Why DC Matters To Me

Detective Comics Saturday
For the uninitiated: This is a new weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things DC. This is a test-run, however. Meaning that if this goes well, it’ll be a permanent fixture on I’m Jeffrey Rex in 2015, like Marvelous Monday is right now.

Here we are. Recently I asked for your opinion on whether I should start writing about DC. I’ve really enjoyed writing about Marvel every week, so this was a natural step for me. So why did I choose Saturday? I think Friday was off the table from the get-go, as was Sunday. And seeing as I wanted it late in the week, I thought Saturday was a comfortable day to place it.

To start off with I thought it would be fitting to talk about what DC means to me, and why it matters. Obviously Marvel is the most important comic book company for me – they have most of my very favorite characters – but DC holds a special place in my heart, specifically for specific characters that I love, some that I am intrigued by – and some that I’ve grown to, uhm, dislike. Continue reading “Detective Comics Saturday #1 – Why DC Matters To Me” →

REVIEW: Batman (Vol. 2) #38

Batman (Vol. 2) #38 – Cover by Greg Capullo, FCO Plascencia & Danny Miki

The following is a full written review of Batman (Vol. 2) #38 – Written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo – Release: January 28th 2015.

The New 52 version of Batman is currently doing Scott Snyder’s Endgame storyline. This issue is part 4 of the storyline revolving around a toxin being released by Batman’s greatest foe. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on Batman singlehandedly made me read DC again, and it’s my very favorite DC comic book-series of all-time.

Warning – the following brief plot-summary might contain spoilers.

Endgame Part 4 opens with the Caped Crusader going across town, in search for Jim Gordon – who we last saw staring down, and even gunning down, The Joker one-on-one. As the toxin takes hold of Gordon the Dark Knight is almost blindsided, but, thankfully, Julia Pennyworth shoots a couple of tranquilizers into Gordon’s neck. The World’s Greatest Detective consults with Dick ‘Birdwatcher’ Grayson – trying to figure out what exactly is in the toxin. They eventually decide on a specific Doctor. The Doctor reveals that he believes in the stories we’ve heard – that the Joker is superhuman, or rather, (greek-) God-like. I’ll leave here, so that the very final pages aren’t spoiled – but I’ll say this – Snyder masterfully ties the story into his very beginning with Batman… The greater history of Gotham.

It’s very difficult to critique the story in a Snyder comic book, and the only little note I have is that the dialogue seemed way too fabricated when Dr. Dekker calmly chats about greek Gods ‘outside’. Which isn’t to say that I disliked the dialogue, I loved it – but I don’t think it worked right in that moment. The thing is – Snyder’s one of my favorite comic book writers, and even in what may be interpreted as a filler-issue his story is captivating.

Capullo is equally great, I’ve grown accustomed to his style – and his last page is so strong, so good. Kudos, as well, to FCO Plascencia – in my opinion one of his better issues. I loved the colouring.

While I usually like the stories by James Tynion IV, I wasn’t fascinated by the back-up story this month. I think my biggest problem here is that the art was too different from the rest of the issue. Sam Keith definitely has his art-style, but I’ve grown accustomed to Capullo’s style, and Keith’s doesn’t come close to his. Not saying it’s worse, I’m just not a fan of the art-style by Sam Keith. You win some, you lose some.

Final Grade: B+ – Another great story by Scott Snyder featuring Capullo’s amazing art-style, and equally fantastic colouring by FCO Plascencia. Some might call this a filler-issue, but it’s perfect in keeping with the lore of Snyder’s Batman-story. The back-up story is fine, but the art-style will be polarizing. For full list of Comic Book Review grades go here.

– I’m Jeffrey Rex.

What am I reading? 1 of 6

The following post is the first of six revolving around what I am reading (comics) in 2014. Every post will cover two months, and therefore this one will cover January and February.

My ‘Getting Back Into Comics’-post received good feedback. I was adviced to return to my Spider-Man roots, as well as to dive deeper into the world of Gotham. I’d say that I followed both advices somewhat. You know I am still in the process of reading the Guardians of the Galaxy, but I have yet to pick up the latest issues of it, therefore I will not go in-depth with that series in this post. So, Drax & Co. will have to wait for now. However, I did get to pick up some Marvel comics.

Yes, Carnage. I opened my former post with a picture of the said villain, and though I did not get to read more about Carnage in a traditional setting, I am now happily returning to Carnage – this time as the sole villain in this series. To be completely honest, I have not gotten around to reading this in January, but it will be read during the month of February, as I try to, not only return to comics, but to return to Marvel fully.

Owls, Owls, Owls.

Moving on now to something that blew me away. The New 52 was really interesting to me, it would allow me to get re-familiarized with some of the great heroes and villains of the DC-universe. I believe Scott Snyder is doing this Batman-run, and it really is amazingly entertaining for me. The opening issue has an ominous feel to it, and it just fits so well into my current mood and, of course, to the universe itself. Every cliffhanger I’ve read has been of the highest quality, and I can honestly say that without overestimating its level of writing. This series alone has me excited for DC Comics as a whole.

I’d love to go further into the story of the New 52 Batman, but I will not be spoiling anything in this post. Perhaps I will have a spoiler-filled review of Batman sooner, not 100% yet, though.

What have you been reading? Sound off in the comments, have any sort of opinion on the series’ I’ve mentioned, please give your opinion in the comments-section.

– I’m Jeffrey Rex

Getting Back Into Comics

So, here’s the thing. I’m a man that loves superheroes and superhero movies, I love playing games – science fiction or superhero games in particular. Obviously, I was a comic book fan… Once.

Man, I really wanted Carnage in the Raimi-movies… Can we get him in the Garfield ones?

I think the first comic book I read was an Amazing Spider-Man comic book, and quickly I began loving that character as a kid. Mary Jane, Peter Parker, Carnage, Venom – the whole nine yards. See, I picked them up whenever I saw a new comic in the stores – but I was not really out in stores that often when I was a kid, really. That meant that I had no real consistent read through, that persisted for a long time – and would eventually lead to me leaving the comic book world.

Gambit! His accent was not as thick on the Danish version.

What replaced comic books for me? Simple, I got into superhero animated tv-shows. Now, this time around I got to get a real story from start to finish, thankfully. The early 90s cartoons of the X-Men, Batman, and, especially, the Spider-Man animated TV show formed me as a comic/superhero fan, a lifelong one at that – later I would watch some episodes of an Iron Man cartoon and a Justice League cartoon, both I remember enjoying. This was how I would spend my weekends, watching shows like these w/ my favorite characters of both Marvel and DC.

Introduced to me by my father.

Meanwhile, movies became more and more important for me in my youth. My father is a movie buff, and as a result, so did I become. On a sidenote he is focused on horror and action only, whereas I would say I value the more meaningful films much more. Well, the Donner Superman movies were introduced to me in the late 90s, around the time that I got into the cartoons. Now, I had not seen anything from Superman before, but I was aware of him. Basically, though, these movies formed my early opinion on him… I liked him. I would eventually lose interest in him as a character, but not before having read comics about him! I vividly remember my father taking me to this comic collector in Copenhagen, and while my dad would talk with the owner (who, meanwhile, was drinking Carlsberg Beer) I would be reading Superman, Batman and Robin, and Spider-Man comic books – when it was time to leave, my dad told me to pick out 3 or 4 comic books, and he would buy them for me. Great memories for young Jeffrey Rex.

And then there’s Thor…

Movies really came to the front when Marvel entered. The cinematic universe as well as the stand alone X-Men and Spider-Man movies would rebring my childhood heroes into my life, this was when I got pulled away from comics. The movies were more than good enough, they would pretty much leave me satisfied. When the Avengers introduced the idea of bringing Ant-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy into their Cinematic Universe I was forced to retrace my steps as a comic fan – but I never really got around to truly reading comics again – until I heard about Rocket Racoon from the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Who would’ve thought a talking Racoon would bring me back?

The Guardians of the Galaxy was a nice surprise for me – never had I heard of them – yet they were instantly pushed to the top of my reading list. Mid-2013 I took the jump back into comic books. The Guardians of the Galaxy were given a new set of comic books, and were reintroduced with Iron Man – this was it for me, I needed to read this. I instantly opened an account at Comixology and bought it. The first piece of comic book material for me since The Walking Dead. I’ve yet to read through all the available comic books for this team, but it has brought me back to my childhood – and I am already contemplating what to get next – what to read. Obviously, The New 52 is tempting, and I have wondered if I should read possibly Green Lantern, Nightwing or Deathstroke. Still, Marvel is interesting, and I am wondering if I should go with the All-New X-Men comics.

So, what do you say? Have any suggestions for me as I return to comic books? Anything I must read?

Catch me later, here on:
– I’m Jeffrey Rex