Tag Mr. Freeze

A Batman, Vol. 2: City of Owls Review – Owl City

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Batman, Vol. 2: The City of OwlsTITLE: Batman, Vol. 2: The City of Owls
AUTHORS: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV.
PENCILLERS: Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, Rafael Albuquerque, Jason Fabok.
COLLECTS: Batman #8-12, Batman Annual #1
FORMAT: Hardcover
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $24.99
RELEASED: May 20, 2013

Need to catch up? Check out Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls.

By Levi Sweeney
Staff Writer, Grand X

I never really took to the Court of Owls. They’re a bunch of hammy ninjas and evil rich people who share an obsession with a nocturnal bird. Maybe it’s because I just don’t buy the fact that there’s this evil cabal secretly running Gotham City for whatever reason. What do they hope to gain? Money? They’re already rich. Power? They could do that without resorting to murdering people and training ninja-zombies. I can almost imagine it: The Court of Owls Political Action Committee (COPAC).

My feelings on the Court of Owls aside, The City of Owls is a decent read. Following a harrowing encounter with the Court in their secret lair, Bruce Wayne suddenly finds himself under attack by a legion of Talons in his own home. What’s more, the Court has sent Talons to target important individuals across the city. Alfred quickly scrambles the Bat-family to try and save as many as they can, but who will win the “Night of the Owls?” More importantly, who’s really behind it all?

Batman #8, Greg CapulloEasily the best thing about this issue is the build-up and suspense. I have a renewed appreciation for Snyder’s skill in building momentum. It’s almost like climbing the stairs in a multistory building: You march up to the top, get to the landing, and you’re relieved, and then you’re faced with another set of stairs. In this case, Snyder and Capullo demonstrate their ability to make a comic which is visually compelling and interesting to read.

My favorite parts of the book, however, had little to do with the main plot. I most enjoyed the stories with Jarvis Pennyworth and Harper Row. In the Jarvis Pennyworth story, we see how Jarvis met his end while trying to be a good man trapped in a bad situation. The Jarvis story in particular has art by Rafael Albuquerque that fits the mood and story. The coloring and texture have a vibrant darkness to them, sort of like impressionist noir.

The Harper Row story gives us the kind of Batman tale I’ve always really liked: a look at the superhero situation from the P.O.V. of a normal bystander. Harper herself manages to be her own character without becoming a stand-in for Stephanie Brown. The smorgasbord of artists assigned to her issue managed to mesh well, and actually produced a nice effect.

Batman #11, Greg Capullo, Bruce Wayne, Dick GraysonI can’t say Snyder’s Batman is particularly memorable here. I will say, however, that we get a lot of good, classic Batman moments that were enjoyable to read. For instance, when Batman finally gets rid of that outrageous mech suit, and he’s suiting up, he smiles slightly when he puts on the cowl. He’s enjoying getting ready to kick some Talon butt with his own hands. The final scene with Bruce and Dick was a great one, with Greg Capullo’s art capturing the mood perfectly. I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Snyder write a run on Grayson or Nightwing, as he seems to have a good grasp on Dick’s personality. We saw this plainly enough back in The Black Mirror.

The thing is, I know that Snyder can do better than what he gives us here. Maybe he could try doing something with the classic villains, like The Riddler or Scarecrow or The Penguin. The Mr. Freeze-centric story in the annual gave us a fine example Snyder’s new approach being applied to older villains and ideas, and it turned out beautifully. I’d like to see more of that from him and his other collaborators, especially Jason Fabok, who draws such beautiful renditions of the classic villains.

The City of Owls wasn’t the best Batman story I’ve ever read, but it’s not bad either. It’s one of those things that just above average. It had the potential to be great, and it succeeds as a page turner, but it’s not going to make it onto my top ten list. At the very least, I admire Snyder and Capullo for trying to shake things up a little, and I hope to find more substantial stuff in the future

RATING: 7.5/10

Image 1 from dccomics.com. Image 2 from popmatters.com.

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A Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1 Review – Under the Dome

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1 coverTITLE: Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1
AUTHOR: Gail Simone
PENCILLER: Jan Duursema. Cover by Jill Thompson.
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: April 8, 2015

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Having Gail Simone write Oracle again is almost worth DC not publishing any New 52 content for two months. That’s how badly this character has been missed. At least by me. And to see Nightwing wearing blue again, as opposed to red? Bonus!

Via the events of Convergence, Gotham City in the pre-New 52 Gotham City has been under a mysterious impenetrable dome for a year. Some, like Dick Grayson/Nightwing, have adapted to the situation as best they can. Others, like Barbara Gordon/Oracle and Mr. Freeze, have begun to lose their resolve. The city is struggling to survive amid depleted resources. Oddly enough, Poison Ivy has supplied the city with produce. (“I think of the times I jailed her, laughing about it, and I’m ashamed.”) But as Dick is preparing for a monumental moment in his relationship with Barbara, the dome comes down, and Hawkman and Hawkwoman of the Flashpoint universe are looking for a fight. And while Oracle might not be much of a physical challenge for the super-powered Thanagarians, they would be fools to underestimate her…

Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #2The notion of Barbara losing her hope is obviously off-putting. This is a character that’s been through so much already. Not just with the loss of her legs, but everything that’s happened to her father, and her discovering that her brother is a psychopath. This development in a character so famously full of resolve is hard to swallow at first. But Gail gets us there. It does make sense that a character whose passion in life revolves around the flow of information would grow depressed being cut off from the world at large for a year. To the best of my recollection, she’s never been in a situation quite like this before.

From an artistic standpoint, this is very much the Oracle we remember. She’s a bit older, with the longer hair and the familiar glasses. We also get her narration via familiar green text boxes. It’s all wonderfully familiar.

Convergence: Nightwing/Oracle #1, NIghtwing, Mr. FreezeOn the downside, while it’s great to have Nightwing’s blue V-stripe back, the rest of his costume is a disappointment. It’s very overdone, complete with built-in abs and shoulder pads that don’t really make sense. It’s very much in line with what we’ve seen from Injustice: Gods Among Us and the Arkham games. I gave DC a lot of crap over their putting red into the New 52 Nightwing costume, the artists on that book were able to maintain the costume’s sleekness most of the time. This one just seems too…lumpy.

I’m not hugely invested in Flashpoint Hawkman and Hawkwoman being the bad guys in this book. But it makes sense, what with the whole bird motif. The ending was enough to get me to come back for part two next month. The impression we get is that next issue, Oracle strikes back. That, along with Nightwing being in the mix, is more than enough to get me to put down another $3.99.

Image 1 from blacknerdproblems.com. Image 2 from dangermart.blogspot.com.

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