Tag John Ridley

Weekly Comic 100s: The Next Batman: Second Son #4

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***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: The Next Batman: Second Son #4
AUTHOR: John Ridley
ARTISTS: Travel Foreman, Mark Morales & John Livesay (Inkers), Rex Lokus (Colorist), Deron Bennett (Letterer). Cover by Doug Braithwaite.
RELEASED: March 16, 2021

Tim Fox’s brother Luke Fox was Batwing, the New 52 hero who was essentially supposed to be the Batman of Africa. Even though Batwing fits pretty organically into this early portion of Tim Fox’s origin story as Batman, it somehow still feels like DC is trying to shoehorn him into this book. I’ll risk speaking for the majority of comic book fans when I say: We didn’t care about Batwing then, we don’t care about Batwing now.

The Fox family drama element in this book is surprisingly compelling. It feels natural. And unlike Batwing, not shoehorned in.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: The Next Batman: Second Son #1

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: The Next Batman: Second Son #1
AUTHOR: John Ridley
ARTISTS: Tony Akins, Ryan Benjamin (Breakdowns), Mark Morales (Inker), Rex Lokus (Colorist), Deron Bennett (Letterer). Cover by Doug Braithwaite.
RELEASED: February 23, 2021

Here’s something unexpected: We get Tim Fox in this issue, but not Batman. Meaning we see our lead character in action, but never in his superhero costume. That’s odd, but also kind of refreshing.

Tim is on a covert mission in Vietnam here, so he’s dressed in basic black attire. The story doesn’t call for the Batsuit. So we don’t get the Batsuit. This being a first issue, one might consider that a drawback. But I credit John Ridley for not illogically adding the costume to a sequence that didn’t call for it.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: Future State: The Next Batman #4

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Future State: The Next Batman #4
AUTHOR: John Ridley, Vita Ayala, Paula Sevenbergen
ARTISTS: Laura Braga, Nick Derington (Breakdowns), Aneke, Emanuela Lupaccino, Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker)
COLORISTS: Arif Prianto, Trish Mulvihill, John Kalisz
LETTERERS: Clayton Cowles, Becca Carey
RELEASED: February 16, 2021

Ridley, Braga, and the Next Batman team have sold me on this version of the character. I’ll definitely be checking out Second Son.

The second half of the Batgirls back-up expands quite nicely. We go beyond just Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, and a larger picture begins to form with the rest of the Bat-family. I was pleasantly surprised.

The main thing I took away from the Gotham City Sirens back-up was slighty bewilderment, as they didn’t find a way to shoehorn Harley Quinn into it. The original trio was Harley, Poison Ivy, and Catwoman. What gives?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: The Next Batman #3

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: The Next Batman #3
AUTHOR: John Ridley, Brandon Thomas, Paul Jenkins
ARTISTS: Laura Braga, Nick Derington (Breakdowns), Sumit Kumar, Raul Fernandez (Co-Inker), Jack Herbert
COLORISTS: Arif Prianto, Jordie Bellaire, Gabe Eltaeb
LETTERERS: Clayton Cowles, Steve Wands, Rob Leigh
RELEASED: February 2, 2021

Drones are a big part of Batman’s side of Future State. This issue sees Batman defeat a drone using the oh so super-heroic method of throwing a rock at it. I got a kick out of that.

There’s already a Future State Suicide Squad story. That being said, this Arkham Knight back-up, with its team of Batman villains assembled under the title character, has a definite Suicide Squad vibe to it. And Arkham Knight, the Peter Tomasi Detective Comics version that is, actually makes a pretty good leader.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: Future State Continued…

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

TITLE: Future State: The Next Batman #2
AUTHOR: John Ridley, Vita Ayala, Paula Sevenbergen
ARTISTS: Laura Braga, Nick Derington (Breakdowns), Aneke, Emanuela Lupacchino, Rob Haynes (Breakdowns), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker). Cover by Ladronn.
COLORISTS: Arif Prianto, Trisha Mulvihill, John Kalisz
LETTERERS: Clayton Cowles, Becca Carey
RELEASED: January 19, 2021

Our Batgirls and Gotham City Sirens back-up stories are underwhelming. It’s also a little disappointing to see Nick Derington strictly on breakdowns this time around (though Laura Braga is more than capable). But I’d still call The Next Batman among the best, if not the best, of Future State.

John Ridley is giving us a slightly more realistic, tech-conscious look at the Batman mythos. There’s a heavy emphasis on facial recognition technology, which we don’t necessarily see in the regular books. This is a smarter, more socially conscious Batman.

TITLE: Future State: Justice League #1
AUTHOR: Joshua Williamson, Ram V
ARTISTS: Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques (Inker), Marcio Takara. Cover by Dan Mora.
COLORISTS: Romulo Fajaro Jr, Marcelo Maiolo
LETTERERS: Tom Napolitano, Rob Leigh
RELEASED: January 12, 2021

The main story here is among the best released under the Future State banner, and one of the more fun Justice League stories I’ve read in awhile. We don’t focus on the heroes as individuals, but rather the League as an organization and what it’s become. There’s an intriguing idea here about keeping the group small and impersonal.

The Justice League Dark back-up story didn’t do much for me. But there is an interesting, somewhat funny character bit between Detective Chimp and Etrigan. It doesn’t make or break the story. But it’s fun.

TITLE: Future State: Dark Detective #1
AUTHOR: Mariko Tamaki, Matthew Rosenberg
ARTISTS: Dan Mora, Carmine Di Giandomenico
COLORISTS: Jordie Bellaire, Antonio Fabela
LETTERERS: Aditya Bidikar, Andworld Design
RELEASED: January 19, 2021

Really happy to see former Power Rangers artist Dan Mora get a big shot on a Batman book. Hopefully this is just the next step in what will be big things for him.

The Batman portion of this issue has a lot of intrigue to it, with a sort of gritty, Commando-type approach to the Dark Knight. There’s not a lot of substance to it, but they’ve got the luxury of four issues to expand on things.

Oddly enough, the Grifter back-up story is the superior of the two. It’s not every day Grifter outdoes Batman…

TITLE: Future State: Superman of Metropolis #1
AUTHORS: Sean Lewis, Brandon Easton
ARTISTS: John Timms, Valentine de Landro, Cully Hamner, Michael Avon Oeming
COLORISTS:Gabe Eltaeb, Marissa Louise, Laura Martin
LETTERERS: Dave Sharpe, Andworld Design
RELEASED: January 5, 2021

I miss the cape. It’s just not Superman without it.

In this issue, Jonathan Kent has supposedly been in the Superman role for about a decade. And yet, there’s some doubt as to whether he truly deserves it or is ready for it. There’s a weird disconnect there. Seems like if he’s had the job for 10 years, he must be pretty good at it…

Still, I like the notion of the Superman legacy casting a long shadow, while also trying to be his own man. It feels natural.

TITLE: Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman #1
AUTHOR: Dan Watters
ARTISTS: Leila Del Duca, Nick Filardi (Colorist), Tom Napolitano (Letterer). Cover by Lee Weeks and Brad Anderson.
RELEASED: January 12, 2021

So in this one he does have the cape? What the hell?

This one was disappointing, as there wasn’t much of substance between our two title heroes. I gather there’s supposed to be some kind of intriguing dynamic between Jonathan Kent and our Future State Wonder Woman, but I don’t see it.

One thing I will say: This issue’s introductory Superman scene is pretty awesome, showing us that a “mundane” morning for the Man of Steel is anything but mundane. Plenty of charm to go around.

TITLE: Future State: Green Lantern #1
AUTHOR: Geoffry Thorne, Ryan Cady, Ernie Altbacker
ARTISTS: Tom Raney, Sami Basri, Clayton Henry. Cover by Henry & Marcelo Maiolo.
COLORISTS: Mike Atiyeh, Hi-Fi, Maiolo
LETTERERS: Andworld Design, Dave Sharpe, Steve Wands.
RELEASED: January 12, 2021

Our main story here is about John Stewart and a group of now powerless Green Lanterns. We’ve also got a back-up about Guy Gardner. But the back-up about Jessica Cruz is what steals the issue.

Jessica Cruz has a special place in my heart because of her battle with an anxiety disorder. This story sees her trapped on a space station with three Yellow Lanterns, who are literally powered by fear. But as she stays hidden, she’s got the element of surprise, and thus has the ability to turn the tables on them.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Weekly Comic 100s: DC Future State, Star Wars: The High Republic, and More!

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Dark Nights: Death Metal isn’t my thing. Just not my flavor of ice cream. But apparently it just changed the DC Universe on a cosmic level. So I had to do a little research.

Apparently, coming out of Death Metal, the DC Multiverse is now a DC Omniverse. An omniverse is, of course…*looks it up*…“a universe that is spatiotemporally four-dimensional.” What does that mean? Apparently it means there are, like, a lot of alternate universes out there, and everything is canon somewhere.

That should be DC’s new tag line: “DC Comics: Where everything is canon somewhere!”

Out of Death Metal we go into Generations Shattered, and the two-month long Future State event, which shows us “glimpses into the possible unwritten worlds of tomorrow.” These Future State stories are taking over virtually all the main DC books until March. So whether we like the future or not, it’s here…

Oh, and Star Wars: The High Republic started this week too.

Oh, and there’s other stuff too.

Everybody gettin’ this, so far? Good. Now let’s dive in.

TITLE: Generations Shattered #1
AUTHORS: Dan Jurgens, Robert Venditti, Andy Schmidt
ARTISTS: Various. Cover by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, & Hi-Fi.
RELEASED: January 5, 2021

This one didn’t do it for me. Which was a surprise, as DC usually does pretty well with these one-shot event kick-offs (think DC Universe: Rebirth). Plus, the idea of all these heroes from various decades (’40s Batman, ’90s Steel, etc) coming together is pretty cool.

But while there’s tons of great artistic talent on display here, there’s a certain emptiness to Generations Shattered. I was left wanting more. And not in a good way.

Quite a shame. There was a lot of potential here.

TITLE: Star Wars: The High Republic #1
AUTHOR: Cavan Scott
ARTISTS: Ario Anindito, Mark Morales (Inker), Annalisa Leoni (Colorist), Ariana Maher (Letterer). Cover by Phil Noto.
RELEASED: January 6, 2021

This has more of a fantasy vibe than a traditional Star Wars book. Not the least of which because we’ve got a fairy-like alien on the opening pages.

This issue drew me in, but the hook wasn’t that strong. I’m wondering whether Yoda, who is in this issue, should have played a larger role. As the only character we know who’s alive during this time frame, he would have been the natural segue in, wouldn’t he?

TITLE: Future State: The Next Batman #1
AUTHOR: John Ridley, Brandon Thomas
ARTISTS: Nick Derington, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Jose O. Ladronn.
RELEASED: January 5, 2021

Right now, people should be reading anything that has John Ridley’s name on it. This is good stuff. Very street-level in both writing and art. I also love that the Santa Prisca gang wears ’90s style Bane masks.

The issue also does a lot of justice to the Outsiders, and oddly enough, the Peter Tomasi version of Arkham Knight from Detective Comics. That story didn’t do much for me. But the character feels like she belongs in this world.

TITLE: Star Wars #10
AUTHOR: Charles Soule
ARTISTS: Jan Bazaldua, Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer). Cover by Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz & Rain Beredo.
RELEASED: January 6, 2021

Spoiler alert: Luke Skywalker isn’t in this issue. So that’s a misleading cover, right there.

Put that aside, however, and this might be the best issue of the series thus far. We’ve got some good character stuff, including the exploration of the relationship between Lando and Lobot, the latter of whom doesn’t get played with that often. Han Solo’s absence leaves a big void in the Star Wars story that can be used for newer or lesser known characters. This issue is a textbook example of that.

TITLE: Future State: Wonder Woman #1
AUTHOR: Joelle Jones
ARTISTS: Jones, Jordie Bellaire (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: January 5, 2021

This issue is pretty. That’s par for the course for a Jones & Bellaire book. Jones draws the underworld like a crowded city subway station, which is fun. Our new Wonder Woman, Yara Flor, also has a flying horse named Jerry. Because why not? There’s also humor injected into things, which is nice.

The thing is, I’m not really sure what to think of all this. The issue is fun, but there’s not much to get me invested in our new hero, or to make me want more. So I’m on the fence about coming back next time.

TITLE: Future State: Harley Quinn #1
AUTHOR: Stephanie Phillips
ARTISTS: Simone di Meo, Tamra Bonvillain (Colorist), Troy Peteri (Letters). Cover by Derrick Chew.
RELEASED: January 5, 2021

Simone di Meo and Tamra Bonvillain look good on Harley. They give this issue a feel akin to a much brighter Batman Beyond. They also give Professor Pyg a gas-mask-centered redesign that’s pretty cool.

The art is inspired, but the plot isn’t. An imprisoned Harley helping the police (who are aided by Scarecrow, oddly enough), track down Gotham City villains. It’s essentially a twist on the Hannibal Lecter character. Harley devotees may come back next issue. But I’ll pass, thanks.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

 


Weekly Comic 100s: Rorschach, Crossover, and More!

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***”Weekly Comic 100s” keeps it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We’re going to be spending the next few weeks catching up on “Weekly Comic 100s.” So you’re going to see a variety of books from late November into December. Starting with…

TITLE: Rorschach #3
AUTHOR: Tom King
ARTISTS: Jorge Fornes, Dave Stewart (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: December 15, 2020

This issue gives us an origins story for Laura Cummings, Rorchach’s apparent sidekick. To its credit, it strikes close to home, as Laura’s father leads a home-grown militia preparing for the arrival of squids, a la the one we saw at the end of Watchmen. And of course, the ones we often see on the news nowadays…

It’s a brilliant thing to pluck from modern headlines. It feels not only poignant, but something Rorschach would appreciate.

TITLE: Crossover #2
AUTHOR: Donny Cates
ARTISTS: Geoff Shaw, Dee Cunniffe (Colorist), John J. Hill (Letterer)
RELEASED: December 9, 2020

This issue was a better read for me than the last one was. I was so baffled by the inciting incident and the whole “comic characters come to life” premise that I couldn’t enjoy the issue. This time around things settle down, and we get an idea of what where the book is going.

I still can’t say I’m a huge fan of Crossing Over. Despite this issue being a little more grounded, I still have trouble wrapping my head around the premise. But I’ll say this much: I’ll be back for issue #3. For curiosity’s sake, if nothing else.

TITLE: Juggernaut #4
AUTHOR: Fabian Nicieza
ARTISTS: Ron Garney, Matt Milla (Colorist), Joe Sabino (Letterer)
RELEASED: December 9, 2020

“Sorry. I know it’s hard to breathe inside me.”

A villain says that to Juggernaut in this issue. I’ll just let that statement speak for itself, I think.

While the novelty of this series is starting to wear off a bit, I must admit Nicieza, Garney, and the Juggernaut team have a good outing with this issue. We fill the action quota, while also doing some nice character work with both Cain Marko and D-Cel, who I’m starting to warm to more and more.

TITLE: Batman/Catwoman #1
AUTHOR: Tom King
ARTISTS: Clay Mann, Tomeu Morey (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)
RELEASED: December 1, 2020

This book jumps around to different scenes at different times quite frequently. Not my cup of tea in terms of story structure.

This book introduces Phantasm, as in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, into the DC Universe proper. Fair enough. Though her inclusion doesn’t tip the scales one way or the other in terms of quality.

Clay Mann and Tomey Morey are on point here. The issue has a certain sensuality to it, which I suspect is by design. I just wish I could stop having Heroes in Crisis flashbacks when I see Mann’s work.

TITLE: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Jennika #2
AUTHOR/ARTIST: Brahm Revel
RELEASED: December 2, 2020

This month, we learn that New York City has de-funded all the fire departments in Mutant Town until they can figure out an aid package. I’d say that doesn’t reflect too well on New Yorkers. But then I remembered: This is the universe where Baxter Stockman is the mayor. That ship may have already sailed…

I know I’m a broken record, but I can’t say enough good things about the “sketchy” aesthetic Brahm Revel brings to this book. What’s more, he gets to flex some horror muscles in this issue, which is a tribute to his versatility.

TITLE: The Other History of the DC Universe #1
AUTHOR: John Ridley
ARTISTS: Giuseppe Camuncoli (Layouts & Cover), Andrea Cucchi (Finishes), Jose Villarrubia (Colorist), Steve Wands (Letterer). Cover by Camuncoli & Marco Mastrazzo.
RELEASED: November 24, 2020

This could very well be the best Black Lightning story ever written.

The Other History of the DC Universe #1 takes you there. It brings you into the mind of Jefferson Pierce, and shows you how he feels. Not just about John Stewart strictly being a substitute Green Lantern, or the Justice League being comprised of mostly white men. It draws you into the head and heart of a man trying desperately to save the community he grew up in, and bring a little more justice into the world.

This issue is worth the $6.99. Worth every penny.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.