This Week in Gotham #73

Tags

Batman

Betrayal, espionage, and resolution.  These are the things of this week.  We have three books to look at. Detective Comics #945, Batman Beyond #2, and Batgirl #5.

Tensions in the Bat Family reach a breaking point in Detective Comics #945.  This was a good story but you had to wait for the very end for any pay-off.  One major issue I had with this issue is Batman knows what he needs to do to keep his team together but he can’t figure out the right way to do it.  I don’t know if this in Batman’s character or if the author is breaking character to have Batman act a certain way. 

In Batman Beyond #2 we learn about the downfall of the Joker.  Parts of this issue were very good, very well written, however most of this comic was an information dumping ground and most readers hate that.  I enjoyed the information that was given about the Joker’s downfall but it have easily been spread out into two issues.

We finally have an ending to the first Batgirl story line in Batgirl #5.  I’m so glad this story is finally over, however, I did not like the story or the ending.  I felt like the ending was very rushed which is odd because the rest of the story before this I felt dragged on.  I’m going to read the whole story again once it is in a graphic novel to see if it is better when you read all of the chapters at once.

 

This Week in Gotham #72

Good news, everyone, we are close to the end of the world.  Wait a minute.  That’s bad news.  Oh well.  The books that we are going to review today are:  Batgirl  Birds of Prey #2, 3, and 4;  All Star Batman #4; Detective Comics #944, Red Hood and the Outlaws #4, Gotham Academy Second Semester #3, Superman #11, Batman #11, and Nightwing #9.  Let’s get this disaster on the way.

The reason I haven’t been covering Batgirl Birds of Prey is that I forgot to put it on my subscription.  That changes today with a triple dose of the comic with issues 2, 3, and 4.  When Batgirl, Black Canary and the Huntress have to protect a criminal in order to learn the identity of Oracle.  Things couldn’t less smoothly if they wanted it to.  What I like about these comics is they are adding new chapters to the 3 characters origin story while progressing the current story line very fast.  There are a ton of flashbacks in these issues but it does not detract from the main story.  Also, unlike other origin stories, all the origin stories in these comics are new information.

Just when I thought I understood this story, All Star Batman #4 put me back into super confusion land.  Batman and Two Face get captured by three Gotham crime lords.  To make matters worse, the person that sells them out is someone that they would never suspect.  While this comic was confusing I enjoyed what I could understand.  I keep holding for the chance that the last issue of this story will explain everything.  I hope it does, but I am not holding my breath.

The Victim Syndicate members attack Batman because they believe that their mutations are Batman’s fault in Detective Comics #944.  While this is not a new idea, the way that this issue tells the story is fascinating and I enjoyed every page of this chapter.  The one thing that I’m concerned about is if this will tie in or not to the other Batman stories because lately all the Batman stories have been connected and I don’t see a connection in this story line. 

The Red Hood finally befriends Bizarro in Red Hood and the Outlaws #4.  While I like parts of this issue I have to admit a lot of the pages were fillers.  I don’t like filler issues and half of this chapter was a filler issue. 

Olivia and gang try to break Maps out of a dangerous witch cult in Gotham Academy Second Semester #3. This is the conclusion to the story that began in the last issue.  While I enjoyed the story as a whole the biggest I had was the fact that the ramification did not make any sense to me.  Maybe I was tired because this was the comic I read out of 20 yesterday but I just did not like the ending and the book says “to be continued”  at the end but I could not possibly fathom they could continue this story.

Batman and Superman send Robin and Superboy to boot camp in Superman #11.  In this issue the sons of the two heroes have to work together to overcome the obstacles that their fathers laid out for them.  The issue is more of a comedy than an action story because the two boy absolutely hate each other.  I enjoyed this story a lot and I can’t wait for the Supersons Comic to be released.

Batman and his group of villains make their assault on Bane’s fortress in Batman #11.  While I like this story, I do not like this issue.  I felt like it was unnecessarily prolonging the plot.  We had zero character development and no questions answered.  I’m hoping that the next issue will have a lot more substance to it.

Nightwing has to fight for his life in his dreams and the only one that can help him is Superman in Nightwing #9.  Read this issue carefully because it can get very complicated.  As complicated as it is, I really enjoyed this story.  Most of the time it feels like a single issue story but at the end you realize it is a set-up issue to the next multi-issue story.

 

 

This Week in Gotham #71

This week we have four books and if I don’t go insane by the end of this review and start spouting nonsense, it will be a miracle.  The four books that we have this week are Superman #10, Catwoman Election Night #1, Batman #10,and Nightwing #8. 

Damion Wayne kidnaps Superman’s son, Jonathon Kent in Superman #10.  You may be wondering why I am reviewing a Superman comic.  The reason I am covering a Superman comic is because this story sets up a series called Super Sons which I will be covering on this blog.  This issue is fantastic at showing the difference between Batman’s son, Damion, and Superman’s son, Jonathon.  I’m hoping that Super Sons will give both characters good development.  I know that Damion Wayne is in the new Teen Titans but I feel that there are too many characters for Damion to get adequate character development. 

Before I get into the review of Catwoman Election Night I want to say that if you don’t want any political talk, skip this paragraph.  Catwoman Election Night consists of two stories.  The first is a well written story about Catwoman’s childhood and how her past is affecting the current mayor election.  It’s a well written story that uses the election as a backdrop and does not beat you over the head with politics.  That being said, the second story is about the character Prez who is in the DC Universe future.  Prez is the first teenage president of the United States.  The problem with this story is it tries to model Prez as Hillary Clinton which being Canadian I don’t mind as much.  My problem is that I don’t think politics should ever be in comics unless it is a brand new original story with new characters and not tied to any current continuity. 

In Batman #10, Batman assaults Bane’s fortress as someone read a letter over Batman‘s actions.  This story is very cryptic and makes me very curious as to what will happen next.  However, there is zero character development of any character and the story leaves you with more questions than answers.  To be honest, if you want to read this chapter, read it when comes in a graphic novel form with the other chapters of this story.

Nightwing has to save Bruce Wayne from his former friend, Raptor, in Nightwing #8.  This is a conclusion to a two part story that began in Nightwing #7 and for a conclusion it was only alright.  Personally I think that there was a lot more could have been done with Raptor’s character but he could always come back.  There was a moment there that I thought there was a great spot for a plot twist but it didn’t happen.