Ka-Zar the Savage 7 (October 1981)

This issue isn’t a success, not entirely, but it’s not bad. It’s also why I love and defend Bruce Jones’s writing.

I was almost going to say his honor.

Anyway, the issue opens with Ka-Zar and Shanna bickering over Shanna getting busy with the Atlantean ghost last issue. It’s a fast, hilarious dialogue exchange in about nine panels, maybe twelve. It’s just great.

But then the issue itself is Ka-Zar telling Shanna about a dream and Shanna amateurishly psychoanalyzing it.

So you get Ka-Zar’s recounting of the dream, then Shanna’s interpretation of it. It’s a lot of content, including Jones playing with the differing views on events.

The dream part isn’t great, but the psychoanalyzing is a lot of fun. Jones’s ambitious with the experimentation–jungle adventure, psychoanalysis, Robert E. Howard and Cthulhu.

Jerry Bingham joins Anderson on pencils, leading to good art. The script’s too restrained for great art.

DC Retroactive: Batman – The ’80s 1 (October 2011)

Because Batman: Year Two desperately need another sequel.

Barr and Bingham did Son of the Demon together in the eighties and this issue certainly features some of Bingham’s better modern work; maybe they still jibe.

But Barr, who wrote Year Two, has a lot to fit into this single issue, namely an appearance from the Jason Todd Robin. Barr writes him not as the surly street hustler of the late eighties, but more like the pre-Crisis Jason Todd, who was a Dick Grayson clone.

Then there’s the mystery angle. The reader can solve the mystery of the Reaper’s identity, something Barr did in Maze Agency and some assorted Batman backups (I think). It’s a cute device and not one I agree with as it forces changes in the narrative.

Most of the issue is a waste of time, but the finale does have some good, insightful moments for Bruce.

CREDITS

The Revenge of the Reaper!; writer, Mike W. Barr; artist, Jerry Bingham; colorist, Carlos Badilla; letterer, Carlos M. Mangual; editors, Chynna Glugston Flores and Jim Chadwick; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman Confidential (2007) #54

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It ends with a quote from the Bible.

And Batman joining the Justice League.

His powers were only temporary back in China—those dastardly Chinese turned opium into a superpower elixir!

What’s so funny—besides laughing at Guggenheim’s writing, his dialogue, his narration—is Guggenheim’s plotting. He never lets Batman uncover the mystery he’s been pursuing the last five issues.

It’s really lame. I think this arc might be the worst comic I’ve read in many years. If DC’s hiring writers like Guggenheim, I’m really not missing much by sticking mostly to Marvel lately.

It’s hard to explain just how terrible, on a page level, his writing gets. One could sit down with a red Sharpie and notate the issues (I assume neither DC or Marvel pays editors to actually edit for quality).

Bingham’s art is a little better this issue, but he’s not working miracles….

This comic is crap.

Batman Confidential (2007) #53

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Guggenheim implies he’s going to give Batman superpowers. Let me explain—in China, the superheroes Bruce Wayne runs into tell him they source of superpowers is the totem (or logo). There’s an atrocious bit where Batman’s later calling the Justice League’s logos their totems.

Anyway, it turns out the Chinese are lying to Batman and you really have to drink a magic potion to give you superpowers. It ends with Batman drinking it.

Isn’t Batman secretly having superpowers something on the level of organic webshooters? I mean, I don’t really follow comic news blogs, but I imagine if anyone read this comic… someone would have made a comment.

Really awful modern day art from Bingham (he doesn’t care; he’s working on the flashback stuff and modern day art be damned). I think DC just tinted his page layouts and had them colored.

Guggenheim’s writing somehow gets worse, which is surprising.

Batman Confidential (2007) #52

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Oh, wow.

So this arc is actually about Batman’s first meeting with the Justice League.

Now, I’m not up on my DC continuity—and is Miller’s All-Star Batman continuity now—but I’m pretty sure Batman had met Superman by year three. This story is set in year three. But no, Batman hasn’t met Superman (or Super-Man as he calls him), the Flash or Green Lantern.

The issue ends with him breaking in to the Justice League headquarters. Wayne Technology installed the compound and left Batman a way to break in. It’s so convenient and not at all unethical.

The flashback story (again, Bingham’s art on the flashback is fine) turns out to be about Bruce Wayne hanging out with Chinese superheroes.

I thought Morrison was in charge of Batman now… I guess not. Guggenheim’s writing and ideas are painfully insipid.

Bingham’s weak, modern time period art doesn’t help.

Batman Confidential (2007) #51

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Bingham spends so much time on the flashback art—I think it’s colored ink washes—it’s like he doesn’t have the enthusiasm for the present day stuff. Especially not since Guggenheim has him matching it all, sometimes splitting the panel between past and present down the center.

Both stories, past and present, are more action oriented this time and Guggenheim has less room to do a bad job with his writing. It’s still bad writing—and Guggenheim still misses a lot of opportunity, like the idea of Batman fighting an alien—but it’s not as bad as it could have been. Opening with a terribly written issue means Guggenheim probably will just improve as the arc continues.

None of those comments mean the issue is worth reading. It’s a pointless waste of time—though half the Bingham art is interesting—and there is a train wreck quality to Guggenheim’s plotting.

Batman Confidential (2007) #50

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I wanted to read this issue because it features the return of Jerry Bingham, who did some great work in the eighties.

He does some good work here too, just not on the present action of the issue. There’s a flashback portion, with something approximating painted art, and it looks good. The modern stuff looks too unfinished. Bingham doesn’t do a good job inking himself..

But Bingham draws a decent enough Batman, so it’s not terrible.

What’s terrible is Guggenheim’s writing. He belongs to the All-Star Batman school, but he doesn’t even have any imaginative dialogue. It’s an absolutely awful reading experience; cringe-inducing.

The plot is undeveloped here (for some reason there’s an Identity Crisis tie-in).

The second half of the issue is a fake Silver Age Justice League story also tying in. Farmer inks Bingham to good effect and Guggenheim feigns the tone. It’s better than the Batman story.