What I really loved about this issue is it acts as a conduit between the first story arc, with the Dos Soles, and what I assume to be the second story arc with the Howling Commandos. The way the plot has bridged together has been beautiful, something similar to how Brian Azzarello ties together his Wonder Woman arcs.
I would best describe this as the tale of a post-apocalyptic horror without the apocalypse. Society still stands, there are still police, there are mayors, there are armies, monuments still stand and cities still stand, but the world is not right. There seems to be no ‘main character’ of this book, there are a few characters that appear significant and we may follow, but this isn’t the story of one man’s struggle; instead we get a good cross section of a global response to an alien invasion and how multiple people have adapted accordingly.
The first time I had ever heard of C.O.W.L. was on the Fatman on Batman podcast. Kyle Higgins was the guest and he was speaking to Kevin Smith about his past, or origin story if you will. He mentioned he had done a short film called C.O.W.L. for a project and it was really successful, and he created a short film about it and it had a website. I thought this was a really cool idea, to me it sounded really noir and gritty without being needlessly dark.
The finale to a series and the end of a hero. I followed the Nightwing comics from getting back into the genre around Death of the Family. I’ve always liked Dick Grayson as a character; to me he’s always been everything Batman can’t be as well as being everything Batman needs. Being the final issue to Nightwing’s ongoing a lot of loose ends have to be wrapped up.
This issue felt like it went by very quickly, a lot of it seemed to act as a sort of recap; Batman relayed his tale to Frankenstein and told him why he had changed his mind on bringing Damien back, and Frankenstein gave Batman an update on the Justice League Dark and what happened in the Forever Evil: Blight story. There was a small reference I noticed and appreciated; when Batman showed some knowledge of Nanda Parbat he informed Frankenstein that he had learned the Thogal ritual, which involved him simulating death through isolation.
When we open we see the surviving members of the Crime Syndicate plotting on how best to bring down the Justice League; cut to an awesome two page splash of the seven members of The Justice League. Now this doesn’t seem too much out of the ordinary until you notice that instead of there being Superman and The Flash we now have Lex Luthor and Captain Cold.
The main spotlight for this issue is Lex Luthor, and we get to see the many facets of his personality and character. We get glimpses of his mercy and humanity when he resuscitates Nightwing, clears the name of his fellow villains, pays Deathstroke and mourns the loss of his monster. One of his most heroic moments seems to be saving Superman’s life, something I imagine factors a lot into his future in the Justice League.
Coming in to this issue I didn’t know what to expect. I have seen the front cover advertised in previous ‘Bat’ comics, and I read the preview from Batman #28, but in all honesty I sort of didn’t know what to expect. I am happy to say that this seems like a welcome blend of suspense, action and mystery. I feel like I’m going to like this comic.
So I’m kind of ‘new’ to Marvel – always was a DC guy and have only recently started to give the big red company a go. I read Daredevil #1 and really enjoyed it, I thought that the first issue would be a perfect jumping on point. In issue #1 I read that Daredevil was now pretty public with his identity; a tad unusual I thought, but I suppose it makes a change from the secrecy stuff I read in the Batman titles.
Before I start actually talking about the content of this book can I just say I love the front cover; I love the striking colours, I love the cropped Bat logo, I love the picture within a picture theme. I love this front cover. As much as I love the cover I also love the fact that this comic feels like a detective story. I have to say; I have felt that Batman doesn’t act too much of a detective in Detective Comics. I feel this creative team is bringing some of that back.
This feels like the beginning of the end. I don’t mean that as a jab at the quality of the issue, but the entire book just felt like a culmination of a career. This is a retirement promo, a season finale. This is the end. The slideshow of Dick’s life was quite insightful; it showcased some of the recent New 52 stories, some pre-Flashpoint events and an alternate future of Gotham’s last Grayson.
The penultimate issue of Forever Evil has arrived, and yet again I am impressed and eagerly awaiting next month. This issue really impressed me in a number of ways, so instead of a typical plot overview; I’m just going to tell you the bits that I loved. For the sake of this particular review I’m going to start with the ending first, so spoiler alert if you’ve not actually read the comic and intend on doing so.
Now last issue I know I said I wasn’t looking forward to this and if I wasn’t obsessed with completion I would have stopped subbing to the series. I can safely say that this issue was much better than I expected, and a complete shift in tone from most of the other Forever Evil stories. Most of the issue is a flashback told by Dr. Magnus; the creator of the Metal Men. Now as I said last week, I know very little about Cyborg and I know even less about Magnus and the Metal Men, so this origin flashback is new stuff to me!
I know last week I really praised Batman and Two-Face but I’m finding it difficult to word how much I enjoyed this issue. This issue just seemed to have everything; action, drama, suspense. I think I can say, without lying or exaggerating, this is probably one of the best comics I have ever read. This is the closing issue of the Two-Face story arc and it begins with a courthouse inferno. The interesting thing is, despite this being a highly tense action scene; complete with fire and guns, the main focus is on the dialogue between Two-Face and Batman.
Now I don’t recognise Spinebender, so I don’t know if he’s a new or an existing foe but I really liked how he utilised his power over people from Dick’s past instead of going all Clayface and just smashing things with mace arms. I thought the banter between the two made the fight interesting and also added some lighter elements to the issue.