2005-03-23
Capsule Comic Reviews - 3/23
By: Harold Bloomfield
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Writer: J. Michael Straczynski | ||
The best idea here is the flashback sequence that incorporates the present day characters into the past. Other than that this is a very ho-hum affair. Of course Peter finds a way to save the day but there’s really no drama to it and the only thing the big showdown did was made me question whether Spidey and his webs are strong enough to fling cars around as Straczynski has them doing. A single tear does, however, bring more empathy and sympathy for Charlie than all the endless flashbacks. The carnage done to real estate at the end is meant to kick the reader in the gut but it falls far short of the desired impact.
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Writer: A.J. Lieberman | ||
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A few things are very clear about A.J. Lieberman’s run on this title. He has a very cinematic style which can be quite effective but can also get in the way of the story when the action isn’t presented clearly. The opening three pages are a mixed bag on this front as they’re pretty easy to follow but the tie-in to the ongoing story is shaky at best. Another thing is Lieberman, taking a cue from Tim Burton perhaps, seems to think the villains are more interesting than his hero so we get another arc centering on a bad guy, this time Poison Ivy almost to the exclusion of Batman. Finally, this guy is fixated on Hush who weaves in and out of practically all of Lieberman’s stories and might be orchestrating events like a maestro. The only thing Lieberman has added to the Hush mythos, which was hardly impressive to start, is confusion about his real identity which has now been shunted to the backburner. So a book that once centered on Batman’s interaction with the members of the now shattered and scattered Bat-family is now adrift as an action packed examination of his rogues gallery, one at time.
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Writer: Kurt Busiek | ||
The final issue of the Thoth-Amon arc opens by clarifying last issue’s cliffhanger which only serves to accent how off the mark it was since it failed to impart what we are told here. This issue is basically a battle royal and as such our favorite barbarian is front and center. While things are resolved for the time being the prolonged action gives Janissa, the best character introduced by this story, precious little to do which is a shame but it does lay the groundwork for grudges and hard feelings to complicate what I’m sure will be her return sooner or later. The artwork is strong as usual but is still hampered by trying to depict huge hordes of bugs. With all the fighting the highlight of the issue is Conan’s fevered dreams where he confronts Thoth-Amon and the Bone Woman. Conan has had his first long hard look at what passes as civilization in his world in these last few arcs and emerged from these encounters with more confidence than ever in his ability to prevail making this feel like the closing of the opening chapter of his tale.
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Writer: Brian Michael Bendis | ||
One of the most successful runs by a creative team on this, or any, series begins on a disappointing note. It starts with the cover where a bold new design and theme for this arc is undermined by the imposing shadow of Daredevil getting ready to…jump rope. On the inside Bendis uses one of his trademark time shifts. After Daredevil proclaimed himself the king of Hell’s Kitchen Bendis jumped things ahead a year. Here, he goes back to fill in the missing time. Unfortunately he makes three mistakes. One he takes too much time retelling the story of Daredevil’s defeat of the Kingpin. Then he sets up a support group discussing the effect of Daredevil’s actions on people. Right, people who’ve lived in a crime infested area dominated by vicious organized criminals need to get together and share their feelings because a superhero dispatching the bad guys from their midst has upset them. Finally the woman and the story she relates about Daredevil changing her life is snooze inducing. There’s nothing new or insightful about either. Maleev pulls yeoman duty and even tries to give the trademark look of his work on this book a bit of a goose with different shadings and color schemes from Dave Stewart. Too bad Bendis didn’t provide him with as challenging a story.
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Writer: Grant Morrison | ||
Like the prelude to this massive undertaking this issue is bursting with imagination and energy. Morrison skillfully combines the mundane with the fantastic to create a world that feels like “NYPD Blue” meets “Blade Runner.” Subway pirates, golems and a newspaper that takes activist journalism to the extreme exist side by side with the story of a family man cop still trying to put his life together after his accidental shooting of a young boy sent him reeling. Morrison, with help from Cameron Stewart’s sharp art, crams a great deal into this introductory issue and pulls it off with apparent ease. Whereas the first Shining Knight issue took the whole book to get us basically to the entry point of the story the Guardian is off and running on the job and mixing it up two thirds of the way through. While the Shining Knight holds promise based on the first issue Morrison has established the Guardian’s concept much quicker and it already looks like a keeper.
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