Batman: The Dark Knight 3 (January 2012)

Batman’s a jerk. He badmouths Poison Ivy, saying she’s a villain, says he can’t trust the Birds of Prey (do they really refer to themselves by that name? How dumb) and then doesn’t apologize when he finds out he’s wrong.

But it’s not just Batman making the mistake. Jenkins and Finch mention this Gotham PD lieutenant doesn’t have a detective rank. So he’s a plainclothes lieutenant? Not sure they understand basic rankings. Or maybe they’re trying to have Batman tell a joke. They fail.

There are lots of attempts to bring the series into continuity. They seem pretty silly once Batman forgets the Joker doesn’t have a face… not to mention them having a previous relationship. I thought Detective established they weren’t bantering nemeses yet.

Finch’s Bruce Wayne art is bad. It makes the costumed stuff seem okay.

Still, it could be worse. Not a lot worse, but definitely worse.

CREDITS

Catch Me If You Can; writers, Paul Jenkins and David Finch; penciller, Finch; inker, Richard Friend; colorist, Jeromy Cox; letterer, Sal Cipriano; editors, Rickey Purdin and Mike Marts; publisher, DC Comics.

DC Universe Presents 3 (January 2012)

Jenkins sure does have a lot of ideas. He changes his approach to more of a heist movie with this issue, as Deadman lays all the pieces in place to get free of his leash.

Except Jenkins also feels the need to spend three or four pages in flashback, explaining a really bad experience for Deadman. It breaks the flow of the narrative–and gives Deadman time to do things off page, so the reader can be surprised by his heist planning next issue.

But it does a little more, showing Jenkins’s unsureness. Three issues into his (four?) issue Deadman story, Jenkins still doesn’t know quite what he’s doing. Deadman has become assured and unstoppable, which makes him a boring protagonist.

It’d be difficult, of course, for Deadman to be interesting with Chang drawing him. It’s like Chang’s trying to stylize, but doesn’t know how. The art’s a constant problem.

CREDITS

Twenty Questions, Part Three; writer, Paul Jenkins; artist, Bernard Chang; colorist, Blond; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editor, Wil Moss; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman: The Dark Knight 2 (December 2011)

So Finch opens ripping off Blade Runner and ends with an homage to Tim Burton’s Batman.

Finch has got some really dumb ideas. I wonder if he ever thinks about them logically. He mixes the Burton Batmobile with the one from the new movies. Not that it makes any sense whatsoever, but I guess Finch thinks it looks cool so who cares.

Right off, he shows himself to be incapable of committing to a cliffhanger. The hulked out Two-Face is just a tease. It’s over in a couple pages, with some terrible Batman narration about being lonely. We then discover all of Batman’s foes have been injected with the Hulk venom so they’re all getting overgrown.

Besides a scene with Gordon, a lot of intercuts with Alfred and some non-Batman action scenes, there’s not much else in this issue.

It’s not even creative enough to be truly awful.

CREDITS

A Rush of Blood; writers, Paul Jenkins and David Finch; penciller, Finch; inker, Richard Friend; colorist, Alex Sinclair; letterer, Sal Cipriano; editors, Rickey Purdin and Mike Marts; publisher, DC Comics.

DC Universe Presents 2 (December 2011)

There’s something sadly desperate about DC having werewolves and supernatural social clubs, which this issue of DC Universe Presents reveals. They’re now trying to attract the Twilight audience.

It’s so desperate it’s sad.

Also sad is most of Chang’s artwork this issue. About the only character he draws well is Deadman himself, who spends most of the issue jumping from body to body.

Worse, Jenkins’s plotting has gone to the dumps. He wastes a few pages with Deadman and the god Rama, where we and Deadman both know she’s lying to him, but not even giving him tasks lying, just wasting pages lying.

Then Jenkins has to wrap up the rest of last issue’s cliffhanger before Deadman goes on his adventure to the supernatural club. Now, if last issue’s cliffhanger wasn’t important, why put it in a comic? Jenkins’s writing is lazy, unfocused and uninspired.

Universe has plunged in quality.

CREDITS

Twenty Questions, Part Two; writer, Paul Jenkins; artist, Bernard Chang; colorist, Blond; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editor, Wil Moss; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman: The Dark Knight 1 (November 2011)

So DC hires a big name artist (or co-plotter and penciller) away from Marvel and then he turns in a talking heads book for their big relaunch?

It’s not all talking heads, it’s actually more talking bodies because David Finch apparently doesn’t want to try to draw too many faces. His Bruce Wayne has an argument with a cop who looks suspiciously like… Bruce Wayne, only with blond hair.

There’s barely any action. Even when Finch goes to Arkham, it’s boring and somewhat hard to follow. He doesn’t do establishing shots very well.

Wait, I forgot to mention the big twist… Two-Face has been pumping iron in Arkham and now looks like he’s got the Bane juice or whatever.

As for Paul Jenkins’s scripting? His Bruce Wayne narration sounds… old. Like Dark Knight Returns—not plain Dark Knight—old. He sounds about forty-two.

Still, could be worse.

CREDITS

Knight Terrors; writers, Paul Jenkins and David Finch; penciller, Finch; inker, Richard Friend; colorist, Alex Sinclair; letterer, Sal Cipriano; editors, Rickey Purdin and Mike Marts; publisher, DC Comics.

DC Universe Presents 1 (November 2011)

And so aerialist Boston Brand finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put wrong right, and hoping each time that his next leap… will be the last.

For the first DC Universe Presents arc—is it just me or would a Superman team-up book make a lot more sense in the DC relaunch, sort of an Ultimate Marvel Team-Up—anyway, it’s Deadman. Except Deadman is now “Quantum Leap” with a ghost. Maybe it’s because there’s a TV show in the works and DC wants to make Deadman really episodic.

Deadman now jumps from person to person, making their lives better. Or something. He’s not sure because he’s supposed to be getting guidance from the god Rama, only she’s too busy for him.

A decent script from Paul Jenkins makes it digestible. Bernard Chang designs some great pages, but his art’s a little broad.

Overall, it balances.

CREDITS

Twenty Questions, Part One; writer, Paul Jenkins; artist, Bernard Chang; colorist, Blond; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editor, Wil Moss; publisher, DC Comics.