Batman: The Widening Gyre #4
Written by Kevin Smith
Art by Walt Flanagan
Widening Gyre #4 picks up where things pretty much left off with Bruce encountering Baphomet, and still being in love with a certain young woman. Widening Gyre #4's villain was Crazy Quilt who was prominently featured. I love that Kevin Smith has been using lesser known/used villains than going straight for Joker and Two-Face like most writers do. I also loved the frequent flashbacks, whereas unlike Chris Yost in Red Robin, they fit well and added to the dynamic of Bruce and his need to writing down memories and reliving them. Plus with appearances by Nightwing, The Outsiders, Catwoman and a few other characters this was definitely an action packed comic book. Widening Gyre continues to blow me away and I give issue #4 a 10/10.
Booster Gold #28
Written By Dan Jurgens
Art By Dan Jurgens (Double Duty!!)
Booster Gold #28 takes place after Blackest Night where we found out Booster's sister Michelle was a few years in the past living in Coast City not so far off from when Coast City was destroyed and Millions were killed by Hank Henshaw aka Cyborg Superman. In this issue we're treated to Booster taking on the Royal Flush gang, and being the arrogant Booster that everyone is used to while giving an interview. I've always been a fan of Booster putting on the cocky role to protect his true mission of being a Time Cop basically, and addressing rumors that he and Power Girl may be dating was icing on the cake. Without giving away the other things in this issue I'll say I did enjoy it but not much happened. It was an okay read but just the opening of a storyline that I think will get better. I of course skipped the Blue Beetle story with Hai-Me Reyes. Anyway Booster Gold #28 gets a 6.5/10.
Power of Shazam #48
Written By Eric Wallace
Artwork by Don Kramer
Power of Shazam # 48 is a one month revived comic series due to the Blackest Night. Osiris, brother of Isis and Brother-In-Law of Black Adam rises from the dead with a Black Lantern ring. Unlike the other Black Lanterns he can still think and isn't controlled. This is one of those one shot issues I can't describe without giving away stuff so I'll make it brief. I was a fan of Osiris and my jaw dropped in 52 when he was murdered brutally by his "friend" Sobek. I 'll say that this wasn't that good of a read, as a one shot there's not much that could really be done with it though but I will say I'm glad to finally get a chance to put the Osiris character to bed per se because I hated how he left the comics during 52. I also hated to see Billy and Mary in this comic. They don't have powers so why even show them at this point? All in all it was great to see Osiris but that doesn't make for a great read. I give Powers of Shazam a 4/10.
Batman #695
Written by Tony Daniel
Artwork by Tony Daniel (Oooh Fancy)
O....kay. Well after reading that issue I was left very confused. There's like three people who we have no idea who they are and that annoys me. I do like that this follows up with Arkham Reborn for the most part, but some things like The Riddler just annoy me. As someone who was happy with him in his last role as a good guy detective I hate to see him back step and become a villain again if that's indeed whats happening. One thing about this issue is it showed that Dick is really stepping into Bruce's role. if I didn't know he was Dick Grayson and if not for a joke he made during his inner monologue I would have never known that Batman wasn't the Bruce Wayne we all know and love. Basically this was a very interesting comic but it left open a lot of loose ends which leaves me wanting more so I'll give Batman 695 a 7/10.
I think that's all for now, i have a few other things I may read, I picked up Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves for some reason unbeknown to me. I also have a few other things I may read today including X-Men Origins (Cyclops, Jean Gray, Sabretooth and Iceman), 52 Aftermath - The Four Horsemen, Kick-Ass and some more comics. So until then I'll catch you all later.
- Jason Todd
See, I don't know whether I actually liked Widening Gyre 4 or not. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, which is a shame. But then I still feel Kevin Smith's greatest comic work is Quiver. And I was disappointed with his last take on Batman too (Cacophony), so, well, yeah...
ReplyDeleteCan't believe you gave Batman 695 a 7 - too generous in my opinion... Only thing I can say that I really like about it is the artwork, and even then it's better than average...
Don't like the story at all... And Riddler should be a good guy, I liked him in Gotham City Sirens...
Really? I loved Cacaophony. Everything about how well he wrote Batman in not letting Joker die, how he used Deadshot very well plus all the awesome stuff he did with Ono.
ReplyDeleteI agree he should be a good guy, I hate Riddler as this crazy character and he was thriving as a good guy. I felt like Batman 695 could have gone either way, It didn't stand out but it furthered storylines so I'm fine with that, plus Huntress, Catwoman and everyone else who made appearances furthered some type of storyline and didn't show up just for the sake of showing up, I hate when writers do that.
It wasn't bad, just, well, I had high expectations which it didn't fulfil. But then that might be slightly because Batman's had that choice a few times, and I find it a bit boring though. And Joker should never be sane ;)
ReplyDeleteThough the bit with seeing his junk was brilliant.
Onomatapeia was good as always, but then he's a great idea - not a character so to speak. He's like the Joker from Dark Knight. A one dimensional being that thrives upon only one thing...
Did you read the Syrens issue where he had a major appearance? Was either 3 or 4 (can't remember off the top of my head and I'm too lazy to look it up :D).
Thought it was really well done, but then, it was Paul Dini who wrote it, so yeah ;)
OK, yeah, from a storytelling point of view, it did fulfil alot of criteria, and yes, it didn't just have characters for the sake of it. I just felt it was a little bit too incoherent, a bit like a crossover in some ways, as we're missing bits of the story...
I should add that yes, I do enjoy the flashbacks, but the ending was the bit that got me. Was too Ollie, not Bruce I felt. It's how they're different. Ollie is a millionaire playboy, Bruce only acts like one. And, well, you know, archery better than a boomerang anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteI do remember the issue with Riddler in Sirens, thats when Sirens was really weak too before it started improving, and that Riddler issue is one of my favorites. I do agree with you that it was more Ollie than Bruce like, I didn't even think about it like that.
ReplyDeleteJT, you can steal whatever you want from my site! With the amount of comments you send my way, the sites practically half yours
ReplyDeleteanyway! :-)
Sadly I can't add much here, since I haven't read ANY of these comics yet! I did read Cacaophony, and I liked it, but I've got to agree with Nagash here, it wasn't near the quality of Quiver. In the foreword for the Cacaophony Hardcover, Kevin pretty much says he felt he could have done a better job with Cacaophony.
If we're talking about GCS #3, which I think was the Riddler solo issue, I think it might have been Scott Lobdell(from 1990's X-Men fame)who wrote that one. I remember reading it and being perplexed as to why Paul wasn't writing it only 3 issues in.
I've got to say, I checked out your scores and I was kind of bummed to see SHAZAM get such a low score. With Osiris showing up, I was really psyched to read that one...
I agree Quiver was better, but I also loved Cacaophony. Yeah I liked it but it was kinda...odd I can't really discuss it until you read it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Sirens didn't really start off the best, but it has gotten better. The latest one was pretty good, and a major Harley issue ta boot :)
ReplyDeleteWell sir, looks like someone was definitely busy. sounds like you had a hit and miss comic reading day. I can't wait to get to Batman: The Widening Gyre #4. I'm so excited as to what happens next.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other 3, meeeh not interested, especially Booster. :-p But good job on reviewing. Sounds like you also have a few people that agree and disagree with you. I like to see things of that nature when reading reviews of any kind. Stuff gets boring when everyone agrees.
So, keep up the good work bay. Also I am SHOCKED you didn't do, Catwoman #83 OR Batgirl #6 lol. Do I get a feeling of sexism? Hmm? Nah jk. Blame that on the Women's studies class I'm taking. lol
Great job. :D
Nagash: I agree, Sirens started awful but it's been good so far, and I like the dynamic between Harley and Catwoman but Ivy still seems like an outsider...I'm hoping they make her more of a relatable character.
ReplyDeleteFalisha: I'm not shocked you're hating on Booster :P I could've thrown reviews for Catwoman and Batgirl in there but I hadn't read them as recently so they weren't as fresh in my mind, but if I had to give them scores I'd give Catwoman a 8.5 and Batgirl an 8.
X-Man: Lmao, I forgot to comment on what you said about me owning half the blog with all my comments, that made me laugh so hard. We'll see if you remember that when Google starts sending you checks :P
ReplyDeleteIvy's always gonna be an outsider. She's a freaking ecoterroist ;)
ReplyDelete