Batman/Catwoman Special (2022) #1

I’m a sucker for Catwoman and Batman as marrieds stories. I blame that Earth-2 story in Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. The feature in Batman/Catwoman Special is one of those stories. It’s got a gimmick—it follows Selina Kyle through life but only on Christmas Day. And it’s Elseworlds Selina Kyle. Or Black Label Selina Kyle.

The longest scene comes at the beginning, seven-year-old Selina in the Wayne orphanage making a Christmas present for her only friend, similarly aged Bruce Wayne, in the benefactors’ portrait. The scene’s a little forced—writer Tom King gives Selina a fifth-grade reading level so her monologue can be more verbose—but artist John Paul Leon finds the inherent cuteness to it.

He then toggles to the viciousness of an orphanage nun.

Leon passed away while working on the Special; he finished the first thirteen pages and got through breakdowns up to page twenty. Bernard Chang and Shawn Crystal do the art from the breakdowns (the issue includes the breakdowns, so you can see what they’re working from), then Mitch Gerards takes over for the story’s second half. There are no more multi-page Christmases after the first one. Instead, it’s every year or a few in Selina’s life as of Christmas Day.

There are some fun Batman adventures; some are just for the smile (Selina and Joker’s interactions over the years as she changes from Rogue to ally). Some are a little deeper, like one where Selina calls Batman out for exploiting her and the inherent inequity of their romance; for a page, it seems like Taylor’s going to take the book somewhere very interesting. He doesn’t. In fact, he gives Batman an accountability pass overall, even after Selina brings it up multiple times.

Kind of amazing Batman’s never got to learn a damn thing, even as we watch him age sixty years.

There’s a bunch the comic skips, like the Robins and Alfred’s inevitable death at some point. Because there doesn’t need to be character development if you’re just doing the one-page gimmick.

Still, it’s an affecting main story.

Then there are a bunch of pin-ups and a few written homages in Leon’s memory. Plus two reprint Leon Batman-related stories. There’s a Batman Black and White about the Riddler being a Lewis Carroll fanatic. Leon’s art is fine; Walt Simonson’s writing is not.

The second reprint is from something called DC’s Crimes of Passion. It’s a Question story, written by Ram V. There was some point Question didn’t read like PG-13 Rorschach, right? Art’s fine. Leon puts in the work.

If you’re a classic Catwoman and Batman shipper, the feature story is worth a look, even if it’s not entirely successful.

The Leon pages are the best, then the Chang and Crystal ones. The Gerards ones are fine but very much just “Batman house style.” Morbid or not—I mean, the comic invites it by its very existence: You can’t help but wonder how much better Leon would’ve realized the script than Gerards. Could he have taken it from “worth a look” to Greatest? I mean, the script’s got a lot of problems, but maybe. The way Leon can sell that kid’s monologue is exceptional, and his initial pages get the Special’s momentum going, which continues until about halfway through the Gerards pages.

I need to note the momentum doesn’t fall off because of Gerards; it falls off because of the script. Leon just was able to keep ahead of the writing better.

It also might’ve played better with the pin-up artists doing a page a year. The story lends itself to a Many Hands approach.

So, as is, okay and interesting. Not a failure and only a mild disappointment. But clearly could’ve been better.

Future State: Swamp Thing (2021) #2

It’s an all-action issue, minus the epilogue, with Swamp Thing and his ragtag army of plant people and humans fighting against the evil humans and their ringleader. The ringleader’s who I thought it’d be. Ram V knows his Swamp Thing, knows the appropriate, historical supporting cast member to bring in to guest star for effect.

No, not Arcane.

There’s more good art from Mike Perkins, though after a while—fairly early on—it’s unclear why V needed the plant people other than to give the previous issue a supporting cast. They’re pointless this issue, both dramatically and in the action. In fact, they distract from Swamp Thing action.

Even with the comics canon-heavy reveals for the finish, it’s a mostly accessible Swamp Thing: The End, a nice homage to the character from before—I’m very murky on Swampy continuity these days and V makes sure you can read it after an extended break. There are some unanswered questions, but they don’t matter to much. There’s solid character drama from V in the scenes, it just never amounts to anything.

The issue’s also missing a final splash image to establish some things, which is a bummer, because there’s not just a missing dramatic beat but also some potential for an awesome Perkins page.

It’s too long for two issues, but also too short. V needed another one to get the pacing right, or he needed a single double-size or size-and-a-half to finish it up in one. The story’s rushing through its plot—especially with the big opening reveals—only Perkins draws it calm, not anxious. Similarly, even when V’s doing a big dramatic scene, the writing’s pretty chill.

But small complaints about a decent Swamp Thing comic in 2021.

Future State: Swamp Thing (2021) #1

It never occurred to me Mike Perkins would be such a great Swamp Thing artist. There are a handful of ways to really nail Swamp Thing, with Perkins doing the passive movement thing—Swamp Thing’s branches sway in the wind (and he has branches to sway). Perkins’s art is excellent overall, but his take on Swamp Thing is very nice. Classical and very nice.

Similarly, writer Ram V goes for a wordy but concise Swamp Thing. There are occasional interludes—presumably about how, in a future after he’s destroyed the planet for humans with plant life, Swamp Thing is now making his own plant creatures. All except one—Indigo—who has a different style of word balloons and seems ever ready to reveal a familiar secret identity, based on how he chides Swamp Thing with such fervor.

Of course, I haven’t read a Swamp Thing comic in a decade and so maybe Indigo’s a regular. The dialogue’s the more concise part; there’s a chance the narrated plant creature physiology stuff will turn out to be a twist next issue, but V and Perkins seem to have a fairly good handle on the comic.

Swamp Thing and his band of (unknowing) children are roaming the planet looking for humans. Not clear why yet, though it never occurs to Swamp Thing the humans might be looking for him too.

The post-apocalyptic setting is good, the characters have enough attitude to compensate their shallowness, and the Perkins art is awesome. It’s a perfectly serviceable Swamp Thing comic, something I’ve been missing for ages.