Pads & Panels

Product: Batman Money Clip

Company: ThinkGeek

Price: $39.99

Review by: Bill Jones

Batman has always been a man of gadgets. With the seemingly infinite wealth of Wayne Enterprises behind his nighttime crimefighting, Batman has a gadget for nearly every situation. So it stands to reason that with all of the money, the man probably uses heavy duty clip to keep it all together.

ThinkGeek and DC Comics present their version of the Batman Money Clip, a miniature batarang that bends in half to hold the money, with the aid of two powerful magnets. It’s the metal of the batarang itself, though, that makes it so cool. It’s a heavy die-cast metal that’s coated in a black rubberized finish. So the money clip has a hefty weight to it, but feels relatively smooth and soft to the touch. (more…)

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Title: Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story

Publisher: Vertigo

Writer: Mat Johnson

Artist: Simon Gane

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

Dark Rain is a New Orleans story, in that its fictional story takes place during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Two ex-cons who meet at a halfway house in Houston try to rob a bank in New Orleans during the disaster, while everyone else is busy trying to survive. They get crossed up with a private military group called Dark Rain, looking out for its own interests during evacuation and cleanup, run into a pregnant woman looking for help out of town and a banker determined to protect his assets even amidst the chaos. It’s an interesting story taking place during a well-known event from recent memory. It’s also filled to the brim with commentary on different types of people and what they do under duress. Problem is, it’s ham-fisted, stating its each and every thought, leaving the reader to derive very little on his own from it, with stereotypical characters. The art is engaging, though, more so because of the choice to only use color for the water. But the panel construction presents nothing new.

Pros: Interesting fictionalization of a big American event. Captivating color scheme.

Cons: Ham-fisted messages. Stereotypical characters. Strange cover art. Predictable elements.

For more info, www.dccomics.com/vertigo

Pads & Panels received a copy of the book courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

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Title: The Authority: The Lost Year (Book 1)

Publisher: Wildstorm

Writers: Grant Morrison, Keith Giffen

Artists: Gene Ha, Darick Robertson, Trevor Scott, Jonathan Wayshak, Brian Stelfreeze, Joel Gomez

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

The story behind The Authority: The Lost Year, is a colorful one. Grant Morrison wrote the first two issues, originally planned to be a bi-monthly, in the timely fashion of nearly half a year, and then promptly moved on to greener pastures, mainly those of the DC Universe. This allowed Keith Giffen to step in, fleshing out the storyline outlined by Morrison, but putting his own twist on it. What readers will get is the tale of how The Authority, a group of superheroes, get shipwrecked on a parallel Earth that’s not quite up to their technological level, encounter Cthulu, and escape, only to get stranded on yet another parallel Earth, one where America is in the midst of a massive civil war, where that Earth’s Authority are the ones leading the splintered factions. The story, while typical in Morrison’s propensity for piling on the crazy ideas without mercy, redeems itself towards the end, but it’s the mixed bag of artwork that really kills the book. Out of the seven issues that comprise this trade, there are six different artists, and while Gene Ha and Darick Robertson knock it out of the park, Jonathan Wayshak’s style makes it quite difficult to take the third chapter seriously. (more…)

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Title: Batwoman: Elegy (Deluxe Edition)

Publisher: DC Comics

Writer: Greg Rucka

Artist: J.H. Williams III

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

DC stories don’t get much better or much more epic than this. Greg Rucka knows how to weave a thrilling tale, and his ability to walk the tightrope between boilerplate action and nuanced drama is bested only by the book’s excellent artwork. Elegy essentially tells three stories weaved into one: Batwoman’s hunt for Alice, the new leader of a crime-based religion, who already tried to kill her once;  an origin tale of how the erstwhile Kate Kane became Batwoman; and a short look back at her childhood, which ends up overlapping into the other two stories in very well-integrated fashion. While Williams’ artwork fantastically tells the story, it’s Dave Stewart’s colors that really steal the show. While most of the book is saturated in deep reds, Batwoman’s scenes with Alice are portrayed in a dreamy color palette, dominated by blues, purples and greens. Especially enjoyable is how the flashback sequences to Kate’s past look more reminiscent of the comics of old, compared to the more modern, gritty present day artwork. As a bonus, the Deluxe Edition of the book features a covers gallery and a few script pages and draft sketches, making Elegy Deluxe worth every penny. (more…)

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I don’t like Superman. Don’t get me wrong; I like the idea of Superman. Being able to fly, having super-strength and moving at amazing speeds would all come in handy. I’m just not in love with the stories that spin out of Superman as a character.

He’s been around so long that DC has decided to celebrate Superman #700 with a giant-sized issue. The three stories contained within are meant to entertain and represent Superman throughout the ages. The book is also intended to close current storylines and introduce J. Michael Straczynski as the new creative force behind Metropolis’ favorite son. As with any anniversary issue, expectations are high. Are they met? Well…

Before reading the book, there are a couple things readers should know. First, the numbering is the result of some creativity on editorial’s part after syncing Adventures of Superman (which ended with #649) and the adjective-less Superman book, similar to “Adventure Comics” renumbering to #516 last July. (more…)

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Title: Batman: Cacophony (TPB)

Publisher: DC

Writer: Kevin Smith

Artist: Walt Flanagan, Sandra Hope

Rating:

Review by: Bill Jones

For the original review of the series, published Nov. 5, 2009, click here.

The trade paperback release of Kevin Smith’s Batman: Cacophony includes all three issues of the mini-series, plus a number of interesting extras that fans should enjoy. At the back, we get the requisite gallery of variant covers and unused art from the series. At the front, we get an introduction by Kevin Smith. This isn’t uncommon, but what makes his of particular interest is that it’s all focused on Walt Flanagan, the series’ artist and longtime friend of Smith. He tells an interesting tale of how Flanagan really turned him on to comics, and how the two working together on the series brought it all full circle. Another interesting extra is a script for the third issue of the book. What makes it different is that the usual scripts are for the issues presented; Smith’s is an original script before a few significant edits were made. So fans get a look at his comics process and how good editing can change a book for the better. All in all, it feels like the usual material for a trade, but somehow a little bit better.

For more info, www.dccomics.com

Pads & Panels received a copy of the trade paperback courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

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Title: Batman: International

Publisher: DC

Writers: Alan Grant, Mark Waid

Artist: Frank Quitely, Diego Olmos, Arthur Ranson

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

As the title implies, Batman: International details some of Batman’s adventures outside of his crime-infested home of Gotham City. What readers get is three stories. “Scottish Connection” is about Batman trying to solve a crime linked to his ancestors. “Batman in Barcelona: Dragon’s Knight” details another showdown between the Caped Crusader and Killer Croc, this time focusing on St. George and the Dragon. Finally, there’s “Tao,” in which Batman encounters an enemy he made during a trip to China during his formative years. Unlike many Batman story arcs, these stories are far too short to really go anywhere, which makes them good for a short Batman fix, but there really isn’t much to them. However, most Batman fans aren’t looking for a quick fix, and these tales don’t delve into the psyche or mystery of the character. The artwork of the three tales differs, too. Frank Quitely’s inimitable style complements references to Scotland’s weather, along with subtle, muted tones courtesy of Matt Hollingsworth and Brad Matthew. Diego Olmos depicts a more lithe, lean Batman than anyone is used to seeing. And Arthur Ranson’s artwork, while sketchy and old-school in nature, is vividly brought to life by now-defunct comic coloring house Digital Chameleon. (more…)

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Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender

Interview with: Onrie Kompan

Interview by: Chris Park

West Coast correspondent Chris Park found himself interested in the subject matter of Yi Soon Shin: Warrior and Defender, with Issue #1 of Onrie Kompan’s new comic series, which tells the tale of the Korean admiral in his first bombastic naval battle. He was a little hesitant, though, about the introduction of the character, and had questions about what directions the historical fiction series would take. So Park exchanged emails with Kompan last week to discuss his new series. (more…)

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Title: Jonah Hex Vol. 6: Bullets Don’t Lie

Publisher: DC

Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti

Artists: Darwyn Cooke, J.H. Williams III

Rating:

Review by: Eric Stuckart

Readers curious about Jonah Hex, but not sure where to start, would do well to pick up Bullets Don’t Lie. Collecting issues #31-36, it might not go into his back story too much, but it does offer up a broad cross-section of the anti-hero and what he stands for. It comprises six separate stories, and they all stand on their own, telling the tales of a bounty hunter scorned by nearly all he encounters but who still manages to keep a strong moral code. The artwork is vibrant and evocative of the Wild West, and does a good job telling the stories without words. With an atmosphere as thick as blood, things in Jonah Hex’s world are never black and white. The subject matter is dark and grimy, and definitely for mature audiences, but it doesn’t commit the crime of pushing the envelope just for the sake of shocking the reader. (more…)

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Title: Batman: Gotham After Midnight

Publisher: DC

Writer: Steve Niles

Artist: Kelley Jones

Rating:

Review by: Thomas Braaksma

DC Comics really needs to rethink its approach to which writers and artists can get their hands on the publisher’s most beloved characters, such as Batman and Superman. There are some recent interpretations of these characters by Jim Lee, Jeph Loeb, Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison that might have raised the bar on retelling these heroes’ classic tales. But then there are people like Steve Niles and Kelley Jones who take Batman and throw him into an adulterated version of Gotham that never should have seen the light of day. Even with Niles’ track record in the horror genre (30 Days of Night), this book shows how little respect can be shown to the story of one of the greatest heroes of our time.

Batman: Gotham After Midnight is another attempt to see how many of Batman’s villains can be crammed into one storyline, and in a twist sees how many holidays can be weaved into the plot as well (Halloween and Christmas, maybe). As usual, the story also contains one mystery villain who readers haven’t heard of before. The villain this time, if almost not even attempting any originality, is called Midnight. And yes, bad things happen after the clock strikes midnight. That is the writer’s attempt at cleverness with the title Batman: Gotham After Midnight. The rest of the story isn’t really worth getting into, except that the plot is a haphazard attempt to throw Catwoman, Clayface, Killer Croc, Man-Bat, Scarecrow and, of course, the Joker into the plot. (more…)

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