By Luke Abbott
This episode is probably the most action-packed yet. Despite this series having a nasty little habit of dancing around conflict, this issue finally delivers not one punch-up, but two terrific fight sequences.
In a clever move by the writers of this issue, we strip away the Dr. Phosphorous taking on Batwing storyline for the time being, so the comic can actually highlight the characters it wants to discuss. Therefore, we zoom in on Batman, as he rushes towards the explosion that rocked Gotham last issue. When he gets there, it turns out that Professor Pyg is back and behind it all. After having his plan ruined in the very first issue, he has regrouped, got together a following and is marching out onto the streets of Gotham, intent on reducing the city to his idea of ‘beauty’. Meanwhile, we meet up with Penguin, as he tries to plan his assault on Falcone. He is confronted by Catwoman, however, who is not happy that the underbelly of Gotham is being torn at the seams by this gang war. A terrific fight breaks out, while the pair of them are unaware that Falcone’s next move might not be as far away as the Penguin suspects.
This episode is the right balance of fun and story progression. While the overall story arc isn’t brushed totally away, it struck me that the main goal of Issue #7 was to just deliver a bit of a punch to the comic series, especially as it was dragging its feet as of late. Penguin is always a fun character to tackle, because he has so many little tricks up his sleeve. Catwoman is the ideal person for him to face off against, because everyone is familiar with the character. She also has the benefit of not being a straight good guy, so we are unsure if the two are going to kill one another, or maybe join sides against Falcone and the Batman. On a lesser note, I didn’t buy into the fact that the writers tried to make Penguin a sympathetic character. They give him a monologue, where he tries to appeal to Catwoman (and the audience) that he keeps Gotham safer, under a united mob, while Falcone’s reign will equal chaos. Penguin has never cared about Gotham; he cares about power. While it was clear that the writers wanted us to have a favourite side in this little gang war, this isn’t a very good way of helping us pick one. Penguin the hero doesn’t sit right with this reader.
On the other side of the comic, we have the Batman. Finally, we get the issue Gotham deserves. While the fight between Penguin and Catwoman occasionally comes across as a cheap trick to get across some exposition from the bad guy’s point of view, Batman vs. Pyg is just pure action. Frames are devoted to portraying Batman in a bad-ass light. Pyg, while not a villain I am too familiar with, is delightful here, portraying the kind of madness that makes the Arkham games’ version of Batman so enjoyable. It also throws up some clever twists on Falcone’s part, which is appreciated. Falcone isn’t the most threatening villain, so he needs a good plan up his sleeve. If he carries on like this, I am Team Falcone over Penguin’s random sympathetic monologuing! Also, there is a neat little twist with Commissioner Forbes that surprised me and could mean chaos for Gotham, according to the cliff-hanger we are left on.
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on May 22nd, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #7 Review, Batwing, Bruce Wayne, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, James Tynion IV, Jim Gordon, Luke Abbot, Scott Snyder
By Luke Abbott
This issue opens up with Batwing caught in a mid-air with the Gentleman Ghost. The fight is short-lived, but it acts as a promise: this issue is action-packed.
Action-packed might be the wrong word to use here. It certainly moves along at a brisk enough pace. Within the first few pages, we have set up numerous storylines. A ghostly figure begins brewing below Arkham Asylum that looks truly terrifying. A new villain is introduced in one frame that will get the fan boys pumped. On top of that, the crime war between Falcone and Penguin rages on, with Batman tearing across Gotham, sleep-deprived and desperate. However, none of these conflicts are concluded. In fact, maybe that quick fight with the Gentleman Ghost was only featured, because Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV were getting very aware that this issue wasn’t containing a single punch. I don’t mind too much, because this issue acts as a set-up for what should be a great next issue. The pieces are in place for what should be a tense, and hopefully moderately chilling, action piece.
I am always cautious when Batman tackles the supernatural. While the mobster crimes of Falcone and Penguin do have a habit of getting stale, I am not really too keen on the Dark Knight taking on anything too otherworldly. For one, I like the detective side of Batman and when he ends up taking on ghosts like the mysterious figure shown here, it is hard to make him seem all-knowing. However, as far as those stories go, this one has balanced quite well. Batman is experienced enough to know how to take on Gentleman Ghost and when mysterious reports of supernatural disturbances going on in Arkham, he turns to the help of Jim Corrigan, guided by a mysterious force, known as the Spectre. And the plus side of magic getting involved is that this new, skeletal enemy has a way of getting under your skin that Falcone just cannot do.
I am still a little lost with Batman Eternal as a whole. While the main arc was struggling to keep me interested, it cannot just disappear completely. Other than a few name-drops, it isn’t brought up at all. What happened to the Cluemaster? Wasn’t Batgirl about to kick some ass? We seemed to have moved away from that totally, which kills the tension of that storyline. I am unsure where we are with the mystery as a whole. While I enjoyed this issue a lot more than some of the others, it puts the overall Eternal arc in a bit of a bad light.
And finally, I love the artwork here. Some of the bigger frames are astonishingly good. The spectre rising from the graves. The dark corridors of the Asylum basement. They will stay with you for a long while.
Quote of the Week:
Batwing: He said, if you start, like smoking from the eyes and mouth, I should run. He said I wouldn’t want to see what happens next.
Corrigan: Sounds like he covered the basics.
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on May 22nd, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #6 Review, Batwing, Bruce Wayne, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, James Tynion IV, Jim Gordon, Luke Abbot, Scott Snyder
By Luke Abbott
This issue moves away from Batman, Bard and ex-Commissioner Gordon and picks up a new strand of story. This time, we focus on the Red Robin, taking the investigation back to the first issue. While Batman and Batgirl take on Falcone and try to solve what happened to Gordon, Red Robin is focused on the children that were abducted by Professor Pyg. Turns out they were not infected by Pyg’s serum, but something else. Red Robin decides to head off on his own to get to the bottom of that riddle. In the meantime, Vicki Vale takes an intern and tries to find out what Falcone is up to. However, that gets her into trouble with some of the goons in the Narrows. Throw the Bluebird into the mix and the three sections of stories end up colliding in an explosive way.
I was a little apprehensive, as soon as I realized that we were going to be having a Batman-lite installment of Eternal. I came here for Batman and I want the god damn Batman. However, on the other hand, while I have been hooked on the mystery, I have to admit the series had been dragging its feet. A change of pace is just what the story needed. It helps that this additional strand of story has really upped the ante. Up until now, it was just another case of ‘gang war’ and who is behind it all? Now, we are introduced with a new element to the mystery, which throws in some more colourful ideas into the pot. As Red Robin says at one point, this is “more advanced than anything Pyg is capable of”. My interest has been well and truly piqued once more. Also, it was nice to have Vicki Vale added to the story. She is a character that often gets lost in the canon, but here, she makes up for lost time, especially in the final frame, where she shows the reader how a civilian woman stands up alongside all of these vigilantes. Bluebird was also a welcomed addition to the story, as I know very little about the character, but she bursts onto the pages, grabbing your attention and respect instantly. I look forward to what she gets up to.
Yes, I enjoyed this issue, but there were a few, minor details that confused me. The main one was the Batman’s only scene. Last we checked in, Batman was rushing away to stop Batgirl rashly interrogating a suspect. How does he have time to pop in on Red Robin? Is this a mistake as the writers change hands in between issues? Or maybe the two strands of story are told slightly out of order? Either way that can get confusing fast and needs to be better explained to the reader. The other thing that threw me was how Vicki Vale’s plan of action was to waltz into the Narrows to interview people. I get that Vicki is a headstrong reporter, but there’s a difference between headstrong and stupid. This is what happens when a writer needs to lay Vicki Vale out for the newcomers to Batman, without recovering old ground for old fans of the character, while progressing the story simultaneously. In the space of a few frames. It is tricky, but I think Vale needed to have her scene thought through a little longer. However, like I did say, her character redeems herself in the final page.
I also wasn’t sold on the art style. Sometimes Andy Clarke drew a beautiful portrait of the characters. The goons were very detailed; we could see every crevice and imperfection on their face. Red Robin looked very cool, illuminated by the glow of his holographic detective system. However, other times Clarke dropped the ball completely, mainly during the ‘talking head’ moments. When characters got through exposition, Clarke would draw Vale or Cullen with an expression that looked a little ridiculous. The overall style was good, interesting, and at times, the most beautiful we have seen the art in Eternal yet. However, it was a little inconsistent, which frustrated me at times.
However, that is just me nit-picking. This is a true return to form for Batman Eternal, maybe only being trumped by the very first instalment of the series. Batman Eternal isn’t quite at the quality I want it to be just yet, but as far as comic books go, this is a good investment.
Quote of the Month:
(when intern Joey Day meets the Red Robin)
Day: I have a picture of you on my wall.
Red Robin: Uh. Thanks?
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on May 10th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman Eternal #5 Review, Bruce Wayne, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, James Tynion IV, Jim Gordon, Luke Abbot, Red Robin, Scott Snyder
By Luke Abbot
It’s still early days with this new Tomb Raider franchise for Gail Simone, so these opening issues still hover over the dark chasm of make-or-break territory. While I loved the opening comic for this new series, others complained that it was exposition heavy and left both Lara’s and Simone’s charisma at home. If you are in that camp of thinking, then this might be a much more satisfactory issue. We have action, character-development and some stunning artwork from Nicholas Daniel Selma.
After the horrors of Devil’s Rest, Lara heads off to Dublin, in order to ask an old colleague what the hell is going on. While reading this issue, I began to fear that Tomb Raider wasn’t about to escape the obvious flaw with this comic series: there is an awful lack of tombs. Thankfully, the story never seems held back by that aspect, as Selma makes use of the locations he has and the setting of a library in Ireland seems a fitting place for the narrative to take place in. The opening action sequence, as Lara struggles to survive in the harsh currents of a flooded canyon was beautifully sinister and no one was quite sure how the situation was going to turn out. I must also applaud Simone for a neat bit of misdirection with last issue’s shock ending.
The best thing about this issue though is the introduction to a handful of interesting villains. I am unsure how much longevity these new faces have to the show. I hope that Matsu has some life in him yet. There is something so fun about watching his character calmly explain his terms in an Irish pub, directly provoking the rage of Ms Croft. The best moment in this issue was easily Matsu breaking away from his bad guy monologue, to help himself to Lara’s Guinness. It was a wonderful piece of writing that added a bit of depth for what could have been your one-dimensional bad guy. On top of that, we have mysterious organisations (kept in the shadows for now), and the reveal of one of the Guardians. That ending, coupled with a horrible (in a nice way) cliff-hanger, the wait for issue #3 couldn’t be described as anything less than punishing.
Quote of the Issue: Professor Cahalane: (after reading an ancient prophecy from one of two artefacts and already getting the reader on edge, he calmly follows that up with…) Now, this piece… this is the really dangerous one.
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on March 29th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Comic Reviews, Dan Scott, Dark Horse Comics, Gail Simone, Lara Croft, Luke Abbot, Nicolás Daniel Selma, Tomb Raider #2 Review
By Luke Abbot
Hopefully issue #4 could be the turning point for the Harley Quinn series. Up until now, it has been played mainly for laughs, enjoying the idea that there is such thing as a comic series made for Harley Quinn, but this issue, while it keeps the same style of comedy and fun, tackles themes and plot, making it one of the most impressive issues yet.
The story revolves around Harley, trying to fit into her workplace. The first scene sees her put on human make-up (a brief reminder that Harley or the Joker do not wear make-up!), and head into her new job as a psychiatrist in a nursing home. She cares for an elderly lady, who has been abandoned by her family and Harley, unable to separate herself totally from her psychotic side, decides to head out and punish this family for their behaviour. Standard Harley chaos ensues. However, this time, it brings up a lot of character themes for Harley and I found myself getting a new layer of thrill from this issue, as it made me feel a lot closer to the actual person that is Harley Quinn.
From an outsider’s perspective, Harley Quinn has always been played for laughs. She is the Joker’s lover and is always portrayed as very cartoonish, dim-witted and eccentric. Her origin story of being seduced by the Joker suggests a certain level of stupidity about the character, as newcomers to the canon will be unable to see how the psychotic Joker is capable of such a thing. No one expects Harley’s character to go too deep: a pretty female side of the coin to Joker. However, this issue shows us a Harley that is touched by this sob story of an elderly woman and decides to go and do something about it, using the only way she has ever known. We could even go as far as to compare the elderly woman to the Joker. It could be suggested that she manipulates Harley into waging war on this family, even if her manipulation is unintentional. When Harley is going about her cartoonish rampage around this poor family’s household, there is a certain admiration we have for her character, but she is doing it all for a woman she hardly knows, but wants to help. No longer will I see Harley Quinn as little more than the pretty sidekick, hanging at the Joker’s arm.
But don’t let this backstory fool you into thinking that this issue is about a poor old woman suffering from loneliness. In fact, the humour here is better than ever. Maybe it is the fact that I am used to the style of this comic now; I have spent the last week anticipating the arrival of this issue in my mail. I spent the entire reading of ‘Very Old Spice’ laughing aloud. The humour is a perfect allegory for Harley Quinn herself: very dark and bleak (she essentially tries to drown a child for being spoilt), yet irresistibly fun. One of the best jokes shows a group of bored housewives, discussing their new ‘personal massagers’, the kind of joke that you can hardly believe is being told, especially when the comic slowly removes the subtle hint that they are secretly talking about sex toys.
I also enjoy that the series now seems to have found its stride. There are a lot of running themes through the Harley comics now, so it feels more than a simple 32 page issue of ‘What’s Harley doing today?!’ We check in with Harley’s pets, her new sports team, another bounty hunter sticks his face around the corner… I like that the past issues are referenced, without dragging them too far into this particular issue. Other times, it does get in the way of the fun though. I didn’t need a two page scene, where Harley meets up with her roller-skating club. Sure, it was fun, but we could have spent those extra panels getting further into this particular issue’s arc, a feeling intensified by the inescapable thought that this is the same joke as last week, just a little bigger. Clocking in with every side of Harley’s new life could get stale quick and make each issue feel routine, rather than fresh.
However, the main reason this issue deserves praise is the fact that we finally get a taste of a bigger story arc. The ending opens up some interesting ideas and gives Harley more to do than fight the occasional hapless assassin. While, when looking back at the series in a few years’ time, I might pick up a previous issue if I want to throw myself into a Harley adventure (the attack on the family is fun, but a little standard Harley), this particular edition deserves my appreciation for actually handling something meatier in terms of narrative.
Quote of the Issue: “Which one o’ you M.I.L.P.S is Jenny Rubenstein?”
(I like to think the writers left the definition of the P to the reader’s imagination.)
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on March 23rd, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Batman, Comic Blog, Comic Reviews, DC Comics, Harley Quinn #4 Review, Joker, Luke Abbot
By Luke Abbot
*As this is a follow-on from the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot, expect major spoilers from the game.
Approaching Gail Simone’s Tomb Raider comic book companion to the award-winning game was a little like putting a toe into a warm bath. I was apprehensive, unsure if Lara Croft could survive the leap from a game that was still rubbing up fans the wrong way with such a thorough reboot of the character, and into the pages of a comic. However, as Lara always does, she made the jump not only safely, but with the finesse of a trained gymnast.
Despite being a first issue, we are thrown into the action right from the off. We find Lara, still in the dreaded island of Yamatai, running from the Solarii. She clambers across wreckages, trying to stay ahead of the constant barrage of bullets and arrows that gamers are only too familiar with. Glorious frames recreate the speed and tension that the game conveyed. We feel every blow and connection. However, there is something not quite right. As Lara struggles to stay alive, she crashes with the ghostly images of her dead friends, Roth, Grimm, Alex… This is not Yamatai after all, but a ghostly dream. Investigation follows and it turns out that she is not the only one experiencing these visions. It is everyone that made it off of Yamatai. After that quick dream sequence and a catch-up with a worn-out Sam (thankfully not as annoying, as we remember her from the game), we are thrown into the Deep South of America, hopefully the first of many colourful locations the series will throw at us. We are united with Jonah, who speaks about spirits that have followed them from Yamatai, intent on claiming them once and for all. It appears that the group are on borrowed time, an idea evidenced by a natural disaster materialising out of nowhere.
One of the most impressive things about the first issue was the artwork. Lara looks like the Lara from the game. It is an impressive likeness. Sure, there is a comic book style to the character, but we can still see the trademark facial features from the reboot version of Lara Croft. Artwork in modern comics is tricky to get right, as we often associate the comic book characters with a specific actor (Star Trek, Serenity), so the artists have to draw them realistically, yet still keep that comic book style that we buy comics to see. Nicolas Daniel Selma achieves this remarkably well. When a new character appears in the panels, we know who they are instantly, which trims the amount of exposition needed dramatically. It also makes the set-pieces more exciting to watch. Every time you turn a page, you are treated to a gorgeous spectacle, keeping you hooked in the series.
It is hard to get first issues right. However, Gail Simone conveys everything we need to know about the upcoming series. We know the tone that the comic is going for, the stakes that are on the line and enough story to get us intrigued in where the storyline is going to go. In fact, despite taking time to have some action and cameos from certain characters, Simone gets through a lot of exposition. We even get a massive shock that no one was expecting this early in the comics. This series doesn’t seem prepared to slow down, making all of my original doubts drift away. It’s a resounding two thumbs up from me.
For more comic views and reviews follow Luke on Twitter at @LukeBbtt and check out his website at www.oracleoffilm.com
Posted on March 10th, 2014
Category: ORACLE OF COMICS, REVIEWS
Tags: Comic Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, Gail Simone, Lara Croft, Luke Abbot, Tomb Raider #1 Review
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