Green Lantern Corps 3 (January 2012)

Geraldo Borges is the “guest” penciller. I’m not sure he’s particularly welcome. He’s not terrible, but he’s not good either.

The issue is all action, taking place over a couple hours at most. Guy and John are in trouble, they call for backup, the backup Lanterns bicker then come and save the day. Then the lead up to the soft cliffhanger starts.

Along the way, Tomasi reveals more information about the bad guys and… Well, I think I just covered it all.

He writes this issue of Corps like it’s a Western and the pacing is a problem. None of the issue’s events are interesting enough to warrant twenty-two pages. It’s like a five minute battle scene in a Western, without the accompanying character moments and whatnot. One major thing happens in the issue, otherwise it starts in the same place it finishes.

Still, it’s harmless DC sci-fi fun.

CREDITS

Force of Will; writer, Peter J. Tomasi; penciller, Geraldo Borges; inker, Scott Hanna; colorist, Gabe Eltaeb; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman and Robin 3 (January 2012)

What’s up with the cliffhanger? Batman and Robin have been kidnapped and tied up and the supervillain is going to make them watch a movie at the drive-in.

It’s so out of place with the rest of the comic, I flipped the pages, wondering if there’d been some incredible misprint. Nope… they’re really just tied up and about to watch a movie.

It’s an okay issue otherwise. Gleason has some nice action sequences, but the lengthy talking scenes seem to bore him. Damian has some funny moments with Alfred and poor Ace the Bat-dog is still sadly unnamed.

Bruce–even as Batman–barely factors into this issue and it’s a problem. Tomasi doesn’t have the content for it just to be Damian’s issue. Damian’s problems with Bruce don’t make it compelling. The better written beginning is dramatically pointless once the second half’s events occur.

It’s sort of messy.

CREDITS

Knightmoves; writer, Peter J. Tomasi; penciller, Patrick Gleason; inker, Mick Gray; colorist, John Kalisz; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Harvey Richards, Katie Kubert and Mike Marts; publisher, DC Comics.

Green Lantern Corps 2 (December 2011)

All Tomasi can come up with for villains in the Green Lantern Crops is intergalactic ninjas. They have some mystery leader and teleporting powers, but they’re really just ninjas. It makes the comic feel like it’s from the eighties.

Maybe it also feels like its from the eighties because it all of a sudden reads like any other Green Lantern Corps comic I read back then. Once it’s revealed the team is saving a planet of adorable little creatures, I immediately thought back to the eighties comics.

Of course, being a straightforward DC Universe sci-fi book isn’t a bad thing. Tomasi does fine with all the writing. The action moves at a good pace and none of the characters are poorly written. There are a couple bad lines of dialogue but nothing too bad.

And the Pasarin and Hanna art is good.

Corps is completely unambitious and thoroughly readable.

CREDITS

Willful; writer, Peter J. Tomasi; penciller, Fernando Pasarin; inker, Scott Hanna; colorist, Gabe Eltaeb; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman and Robin 2 (December 2011)

So, this issue reveals Damien to be an inhuman psychopath. Wanting to kill bad guys and all, it’s accepted comic book morality, but Damien kills a little bat because he wants to look at it when it’s dead. He’s not coming back from that one. Maybe he’ll just grow up to be President or something.

But that scene raises a big question for Batman and Robin. What’s the point? If Tomasi is comfortable giving these broad, clear foreshadowing moments, why bother getting interested in it? Good guys don’t kill little animals.

Anyway, I’m also confused about this Morgan guy who knows Batman’s secret identity. Did Morrison bring in something akin to Batman Begins continuity with Ducard to Batman Inc.? I thought this issue was number two in a relaunch… nothing something I need to buy a trade to understand.

Good art from Gleason… but he occasionally has these bad moments.

CREDITS

Bad Blood; writer, Peter J. Tomasi; penciller, Patrick Gleason; inker, Mick Gray; colorist, John Kalisz; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Harvey Richards, Katie Kubert and Mike Marts; publisher, DC Comics.

Green Lantern Corps 1 (November 2011)

Damn, I want to hang out with Guy Gardner and John Stewart. Seriously. Green Lantern Corps reminds me of a TV drama with some mediocre supporting players and a pair of awesome leads. Peter J. Tomasi writes the pair quite well together. They hang out on a satellite together (not that there’s anything wrong with it) and they go be tough Green Lanterns and whatnot.

It’s fun. Sure, it’s horrifically violent and space seems to be full of mean aliens… but it’s still fun. Guy and John have comedic adventures. Tomasi writes the dialogue well enough to sell it all—alien declarative stuff, job interview banter, it all works out.

Sure, it’s light but Tomasi does manage to make his leads serious.

Fernando Pasarin’s artwork is great. He does action, space stuff, Earth stuff, talking heads. Corps feels like a traditional, sturdy but not strong DC series from the eighties.

CREDITS

Triumph of the Will; writer, Peter J. Tomasi; penciller, Fernando Pasarin; inker, Scott Hanna; colorist, Gabe Eltaeb; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Darren Shan and Brian Cunningham; publisher, DC Comics.

Batman and Robin 1 (November 2011)

I’m a little bored. Peter J. Tomasi’s take on Batman and Robin is to make it Batman and Son with Bruce trying to teach Damian a bunch of life lessons.

Only Bruce, stunted in an adolescent fantasy life, is probably not the guy to be giving advice. Tomasi can’t figure how to write the two of them together.

At one point, Damian says it was easier to admire Bruce before he’d returned from the dead. Bad move–Tomasi shouldn’t be reminding the reader when the book was (past tense) an essential read.

The rest of the story is okay. It’s unclear why Bruce is changing his life outlook, except because it’s a new number one, but it’s passable. The issue opens on the Russian Batman franchise, which is so dumb, whenever Tomasi isn’t on that level, the issue works.

The art from Patrick Gleason and Mick Gray is unspectacularly good.

CREDITS

Born to Kill; writer, Peter J. Tomasi; penciller, Patrick Gleason; inker, Mick Gray; colorist, John Kalisz; letterer, Pat Brosseau; editors, Harvey Richards, Katie Kubert and Mike Marts; publisher, DC Comics.

Superman / Batman (2003) #75

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Levitz wraps up the arc with a Legion of Super-Heroes story guest starring Batman. Superman’s in a panel or two. Lex’s planet has paid-off (in the future), with a Kryptonite-infused Lex clone going through history after Superman (and Superboy).

The story’s unpredictable and funny. And Ordway’s mostly just drawing, not trying to look painted, so the art’s much better.

The rest of the issue is two-page anniversary stories.

Seagle and Kristiansen’s is pointless self-indulgence. Tucci’s actually funny. Hughes does a poster; great art, of course. The big surprise is the Krul one (with Manapul on the art). The writing’s actually funny. Thompson’s got a couple pinups. Green and Johnson (art by Davis and Albuquerque) are unmemorable.

Rouleau’s got a fantastic one, so do Azzarello and Bermejo.

Finch and Williams’s one is atrociously written.

Tomasi and Ha’s entry is pointless but looks nice.

Excellent feature though.

The Mighty (2009) #12

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Someone thought this issue cut it as a close? I mean, really? For twelve issues–for thirty-six bucks–they thought this cut it? The wife’s back from the dead. No one notices? She and the husband go flying around, no one notices? What about all the other super-powered people in Alpha One’s basement? No mention of them.

Ed Brubaker, when talking about a Doctor Doom series he was writing, said something about how the scariest part of Doom and his master plan is, Doom is probably right. Well, Alpha One isn’t exactly wrong here. When Cole gets up and gives his lame speech (how they wasted a whole issue on this nonsense is beyond me, could they have padded more?), he’s talking out of his patoot. It’s embarrassing. Worst is the news media applauds his asinine statement.

But the art… the art almost makes it worthwhile.

But not.

The Mighty (2009) #11

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Ok, I predicted wrong. Instead of doing the pat, traditional ending, the solidly banal one out of a disaster movie, a melodrama, or a BBC show, Tomasi and Champagne instead decide to go with an idiotic all fight issue. I mean, Samnee’s art’s good here, real good, but wow, the writing is just stupid.

It’s an incredibly complicated issue because so much is introduced–like Cole can temporarily deafen Alpha One with his Jimmy Olsen signal watch (not exactly, but basically) or how he managed to open the wrong cage or how he gets super powers (that one will, at least, be explained next issue).

But it’s pretty clear they aren’t going to get into the interesting stuff. How Alpha One knows so much pop culture, for example.

Instead of going out strong, The Mighty‘s going to collapse on itself in a whimper.

It’s a disappointment; they can’t pull around.

The Mighty (2009) #10

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It’s kind of like an Elseworlds title–instead of Red Son, it could be Superman: Iron Cross or something. Alpha One’s a Nazi, just a … altruistic one. His full origin is revealed here (it’s not really Superman, but it’s close enough) and it finally slows The Mighty down. The reader finally has to pay attention–too bad it’s happening in the tenth issue instead of the third or fourth.

Tomasi and Champagne never hint the truth about Alpha One’s sinister plans (actually, they’re just Machiavellian and the issue’s cliffhanger and limited time to resolve imply a particular ending) before this issue so it’s a bit of a surprise. It’s thoughtful and unexpected. Unfortunately, it’s a little too late.

After spending so long hiding the secret (in a series with way too fast pacing), there’s no time left for them to do really anything with it but quickly wrap it up.