Detective Comics 796 (September 2004)

148824Batman and Robin versus Zsasz, only it’s Stephanie Brown as Robin and so Batman’s trying to train her.

It’s not an awful comic. Woods and Massengill drew her really poorly though. It’s hard to explain exactly what, but she looks too old and doesn’t emote enough for all the emotion Gabrych writes for her.

The story’s mostly the fight scene. There’s an opening mugging prevented, the impossible crime scene detection, then the finale with the big bad. There’s no personality to the issue–Batman doesn’t narrate, Robin doesn’t narrate. Oracle shows up to doubt his hiring Stephanie to be Robin. It reads fast, which helps it over most of the bumps.

The backup is a lame fight scene thing with Onyx, Batman and Batgirl. Batgirl shows more personality in one line than anyone else in both stories combined.

And the painted, Zsasz-vision panels don’t help the feature at all.

CREDITS

…And Red All Over; penciller, Pete Woods; inker, Nathan Massengill; colorist, Jason Wright; editors, Michael Wright and Bob Schreck. Polished Stone, Part Two; penciller, Brad Walker; inker, Troy Nixey; colorist, Giulia Brusco; editor, Matt Idelson. Writer, Andersen Gabrych; letterer, Clem Robins; publisher, DC Comics.

Detective Comics 795 (August 2004)

148823Given the incessant Tarantula narration–Gabrych goes off the deep end, amping up the character’s annoying factor instead of toning it down to reasonable levels–one would think the ending would make sense because there would be some commentary on it in the narration.

Nope.

I think the cockroach monster has something to do with it, but since everything takes place in the sewer, it’s unclear why the cockroach monster couldn’t have gotten in to fight the other monster on its own. And Gabyrch overlooks the “realistic Batman dealing with the fantastic” nature of the story too. It’s pretty much a complete misfire. There’s no character work, just nonsense with Tarantula.

Nathan Massengill is an odd inker for Woods too. The figures seem stocky and static here.

The backup, with Brad Walker and Troy Nixey art, is goofy. The art can’t compensate for that goofiness.

Gabrych has a bad issue.

CREDITS

Monsters of Rot, Part Two: Knee Deep; penciller, Pete Woods; inker, Nathan Massengill; colorist, Jason Wright; editors, Michael Wright and Bob Schreck. Polished Stone, Part One; penciller, Brad Walker; inker, Troy Nixey; colorist, Giulia Brusco; editor, Matt Idelson. Writer, Andersen Gabrych; letterer, Clem Robins; publisher, DC Comics.