Broken Frontier

Batman #662

Batman’s conflict with Grotesk, the latest addition to his macabre Rogues’ Gallery, comes to a conclusion… but not without a cost. The origins and motivations for his murders are revealed as the Dark Knight and the criminal factions chasing him finally catch up with the hideous killer.

The last four issues comprising this arc may have provided a breather for the Morrison/Kubert team’s regular run but they’ve felt anything but a fill-in. In Grotesk, Ostrander has created a memorable villain drawing on a number of iconic tragic monsters. There are shades of Lon Chaney’s Quasimodo, the Phantom of the Opera and, especially in this final part, Frankenstein’s Monster. Unlike those monsters though, Grotesk’s tragedy is largely of his own making. Tom Mandrake’s art is, quite simply, stunning throughout, with an epic, almost cinematic feel to the last few pages.

A very welcome return to the DC Universe for the consistently excellent team of Ostrander and Mandrake that underlines how much they’ve been missed on a regular monthly book. Fans of their runs on The Spectre and Martian Manhunter will not want to miss this chilling four-part murder mystery.

- Andy Oliver

Batman: Confidential #2

A Wayne-Tech prototype threatens the life of Lex Luthor, and Batman must intervene. As it turns out, there is more going on then meets the eye.

With Batman Confidential joining Superman Confidential on the newsstands, one can quickly become confused with the series, assuming it to be a more “All-Star” variant of the Dark Knight. With pencils by a top-notch artist like Whilce Portacio, it confuses that fact even more. Unfortunately, the story keeps the title from achieving that prestigious status. It’s not that there is nothing going for it – a meeting between Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne centering on corporate espionage certainly looks promising. And as the arc continues, it may even lead to something special. However, it needs to do better then what was presented in the second issue. The story really is ho-hum with average dialogue and plot points that don’t have the emotion punch they should.

The fact that Batman is so iconic demands that every new series centering on the character be held to a higher standard. Sadly, with expectations so high, this series – as it stands so far – just doesn’t cut it.

- Adrian f. Zettlemoyer

Justice Society of America #2

Wildcat meets his son, while the new recruits are forced to deal with an unsuspected visitor.

Two issues into the series, and one thing can be said about the new Justice Society: There’s a lot going on. While it’s still early to tell, there seems to be at least three separate plot threads running through the series. Luckily, it’s Johns who is at the helm, so it stands a good chance of ending up one big convoluted mess. The new members have barely been seen, but so far they show some serious promise, with the more exciting of them being some of the more original characters to come out of the DC stable in a while. Eaglesham’s art, while not being the most beautiful you will see this month, hold’s its own against most of the other titles on the shelf, turning this series into one complete package.

Once again, it is a bit early to see how so many seemingly unrelated plot points will be handled; it does look like the Justice Society of America has all the makings of a keystone ensemble book.

- Adrian f. Zettlemoyer

The Killer #2

As the Killer waits for his target, he drifts back to the one “bad hit.” Is this just idle reminiscence – or a sign of things to come?

The North American translation of this French mature reader series continues as the Killer’s world starts to unravel. Once again, it was an enjoyable read, although this issue didn’t pack the same sort of empathy that that #1 did. Being as the series was originally presented in five parts, I’m making the assumption that #2 is actually the second part of the first story the French would have seen. Taking that into account, it does make sense that ASP issue #2 would be less of a character study and do more to advance the plot. The other side to consider, is that if you thought issue #1 was too quiet…well, let’s just say that more than one or two shots get fired this time out and an interesting confrontation is looming. The strongest part of the issue was the sequence dealing with the Killer’s metal state. Jacamon’s art fuses perfectly with Matz’s story, to create a simple and powerful image.

Intelligent and mature, The Killer #2 hits the mark.

- Fletch Adams

New X-Men #34

Mercury has been targeted by Weapon X, and Hellion and X-23 head out to attempt a rescue.

It’s a bit disappointing that the rest of the team looks like it might be put to the back as the action centers on Hellion, X-23, and Mercury. One of the greatest strengths of this series has been the interplay between the team members – a genuine chemistry that has been lacking in a lot of the books with the work “X-Men” in the title. The fact that Kyle & Yost are at the helm makes it understandable that X-23 is such a central part, but hopefully they won’t forget all of the other great characters available in this series. All this being said, this issue still works. The danger level still remains high, and at the end we are reminded that in the new X-men world, anything can happen.

The fact that any character can be bumped off at anytime has really kept this series exciting, and the feelings of camaraderie between the teammates really make this one of the best team books out there.

- Adrian f. Zettlemoyer

The Nightly News #3

The Nightly News turns its crosshairs on education as a homogenizing force of mass complacency and behavioral control as the agents of the Hand continue their mission for the Voice. And there’s an ending that ought to lead into a very intriguing issue #4.

This is, without exception, the single best series coming out of Image, and definitely the most insightful, intelligent, and self-aware of those that have a pop-cultural message for the masses. True, it’s geared towards a specific mindset, but it does offer up the continual suggestion that even its heroes are wrong, misled, and misguided, if perhaps, in the bitter end, unavoidable. Hickman’s use of his characters to expose the workings of the great modern information dissemination culture – be it pop, news, independent, public, or what have you – is a marvel, as it blessedly manages to use its story to question its own original stances as well as those it already, by-default situated as the “villains”, as the dystopian enablers of controlled media saturation. Even better – there is a story here, and one layered and complex and enthralling enough to beg for more whenever the final page of an issue is reached. Issue #3 is no exception. I can’t really say anything without revealing the plot, but it is the most effortlessly enjoyable issue yet, especially with its handling of the topic of public education, to which we can all relate.

Hickman’s art is equally as original, personal, and considered in design and form and function, and manages to enhance the story – both its plot and its purpose – which is a rare symbiosis to witness. A fanatically good issue, pun intended.

- Dave Baxter

Thunderbolts #110

The new Thunderbolts are here, as spearheaded by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato, Jr. It’s beautiful, as are all things by Mike. It’s rhythmic and snarky and big-budget dramatic, as are all things by Warren. If you’ve read the synopsis for this new direction, though, you’ve read everything that happens in this issue, and likely even the next few.

Thunderbolts #110 is well-written, though there are no surprises, and it’s momentum as a story is virtually nil. It’s all setup, all introduction, and, in fact, it only introduces the first few characters, with many more to come (which will be done, I’m assuming, throughout the remaining parts of this opening arc). So don’t expect anything besides more setup for a few months to come. There’s the reintroduction of the Jack Flagg character (from Mark Gruenwald’s final Captain America storyarc), which is thrilling and unexpected, but overall, reader’s could start with issue #111 without missing a beat. There’s also the question of how long this can last – how long will such a team be necessary? It’d be nice, and could build into something quite extraordinary if this new version of Thunderbolts manages to stick around for more than a year or two, but likely they won’t, and generally, this isn’t much more than an interesting take that’ll have a lot of witty repartee between villains and clever uses of their respective pathologies. Looking for character and epic plot, though? Hmm….

Deodato’s pencils and inks are gorgeous and gritty and visceral, and hopefully he can keep up the quality, like he has in nearly every other monthly he’s ever signed up for, so good things expected there. A decent comic, though nothing more, not even by a drop. At least not yet.

- Dave Baxter