It’s a mixed bag, but a good read

Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding
DC Comics
Creators: Tom King, Mikel Janin and Tony S. Daniel
Release date: October 2018

I’ve been reading recent issues of Tom King’s Batman Rebirth run in trade format and enjoying them. The entire courtship and developing relationship dynamic between the modern Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle since the former proposed has been an interesting read even though the title of this particular trade is a bit of a misnomer.

That’s right: If you’ve been living under a rock and missed the news after the release of Batman No. 50, Batman and Catwoman did not end up going through with the wedding. That was several months ago now, in real time, and the “secret” was spoiled for me long before I read this trade, too, so you might have even heard the news while living under a rock. But that’s not what makes this outing such a mixed bag — not exactly.

First the good stuff: The Batman (or rather, the Joker) short from DC Nation No. 0 is included in this collection. It focuses on the Joker showing up at a random house and holding the owner hostage until the mail arrives. The Joker is waiting to see if his wedding invitation will be delivered. And King handles the Clown Prince of Crime quite deftly in this eight-pager. The stream-of-consciousness dialogue and daft motivation make sense coming from this insane character. There’s more of the same on ample display in Batman Nos. 48 and 49 as Joker faces off against the happy couple one at a time. The running exchange between Joker and Catwoman especially is both mundane and hilariously off-kilter while still ringing quite true to form.

I also credit King with writing a very minimalist yet spot-on interpretation of Batman, especially his caring. That’s not a side a lot of writers focus on with Batman. But that is what makes the character be his best self. As grim as things look, as dire as the situations grow, as murderous as his foes become, Batman hopes they can still change. Why else would he continue to confront them and foil their schemes time and again. Without his belief that they could still reform, there would be little to keep Batman from simply killing his foes. King seems to get that as Batman kneels when the Joker asks him to pray in the image above.

I have some issues with the first half of this trade, though. The premise of the first three issues collected in this trade are that Booster Gold, a time-traveling hero, wanted to get Batman and Catwoman the perfect gift. So he went back in time and saved Bruce Wayne’s parents from being killed. The idea was to give Batman a “For the Man Who Has Everything” moment, an “It’s a Wonderful Life” revelation that shows the Caped Crusader that his life is how it was meant to be and that it is better for how things unfolded. The result is much worse than Booster anticipated, a reality where nothing is as it should be.

My first problem with this scenario is that such a story has been done before several times. Maybe Bruce has the chance to save his parents lives. Maybe someone else does it on his behalf. Things never turn out well, and Bruce is forced to relive his parents’ murders all over again to right things.

Secondly, even if Booster has no first-hand knowledge of any of the times when this scenario has played out for readers, what sense does it make to prevent the tragedy that led to the creation of the Batman in an effort to show Bruce Wayne that his life is perfect as it is. Booster refers in-story to the time when Superman went through a similar life re-imagined event in the story “For the Man Who Has Everything.” Anyone who has read Superman annual No. 11 knows the Man of Steel did not find the experience pleasant. Why on earth would Booster think this was a good idea?

Then thirdly, it is truly bizarre just how wrong things go in this revised history where Thomas and Martha Wayne live on. We are told most of the Justice League was killed in battle with Starro the Conquerer because the team was missing the strategy of Batman. If the League lost that battle, why is everyone on Earth not wearing a Starro face-hugger? Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and Jason Todd all make appearances in this new reality, but as twisted parodies of their traditional selves. Yet if Bruce is not Batman, why are these characters even connected to him?

If one simply accepts events as they unfold, this isn’t a bad story arc. It’s just that there are a lot of oddities within the reality that results from Booster’s actions that don’t seem to add up logically. I can’t help but wonder if this arc was stuck in here simply to explain the trauma Booster is supposed to experience that leads him to treatment at Sanctuary in the new miniseries, Heroes in Crisis. Neither that story nor Sanctuary are mentioned in these issues of Batman, but I just can’t find any other reason for its inclusion here.

But by and large, my biggest issue with this trade is the final issue, Batman No. 50, in which the wedding falls apart. First the Joker, then Holly Robinson, manage to convince Catwoman that marrying Batman would be a mistake. If she marries him, he will be happy, and a happy Bruce Wayne cannot be Batman, they reason.

I find that logic flawed. Bruce Wayne is a traumatized individual and there is a lot of anger and vengeance wrapped up in the origins and the workings of Batman. But to say that he can never be happy and continue to function as Batman is to insult the relationships he has with his surrogate family — Alfred, Dick, Barbara, Jim, Jason, Tim, Damian, Clark, Diana, etc. Are those relationships strained at times? Yes. Adult relationships are sometimes strained. But there is genuine love and affection at the root of those relationships or they would have fallen apart long ago.

This doesn’t ruin the stories presented here. Joker and Holly make these arguments, but neither of them is the most sound or logical of minds. Selina comes to accept their arguments; but that doesn’t make them right. People often act on false information or incorrect assumptions. They don’t always do what is right.

I enjoyed reading this trade, and think it is worth checking out if you are a Tom King, Batman or Joker fan. It’s worth a read even if you’re just a comics fan in general. I just wanted to point out my take on some of what happened between the panels.

Back To Basics, And It Feels So Wrong

Justice League International 1-4
DC Comics
Dan Jurgens, writer
Aaron Lopestri and Matt Ryan, artists

I wanted to like this book. It features Booster Gold prominently as team leader and is written by the man who created the character and later helped bring Booster to, in my opinion at least, true greatness following the events of 52 and Geoff Johns' efforts to reshape him into the time-policing "greatest hero you've never heard of." And maybe, given time, Jurgens will bring that feel of competence and confidence back to Booster. But it isn't there yet.

Yeah, the whole point of the DCnU is to restart these heroes' careers, but Booster really feels like he's coming out a loser from this reboot. And while the characters might not remember what has gone before, I read and liked the stories which preceded the DCnU relaunch and feel shortchanged on their behalf.

This title follows the efforts of the United Nations to create an international super-powered group of heroes they control. You know, because the Justice League has only been around for five years according to the set-up and has saved the world how many times in that history, so they have no allegiance to any nation and can't be trusted. Anyway, weak rationale aside, they pick a known pitch man, Booster, to lead the team because he ought to be controllable, right? Then they fill out the team with Ice from Norway, Vixen from Zambesi, Fire from Brazil, Rocket Red from Russia, August General in Iron from China and Godiva from Great Britain. They also select Guy Gardner to include a powerhouse Green Lantern on the team, but Guy balks at first, especially if he has to take orders from Booster. Oh, and they decide they don't want Batman involved, but the Dark Knight, as always, has his own plans. Not a bad roster of characters, many of whom have been on this team during past timelines, so there's a nod to tradition.

The team's first mission does not go well, however, and it takes first Batman's uncharacteristic encouragement to Booster, and then August General's additional support to hold the various heroes together. They are not yet a cohesive team by the end of the fourth issue, but then, neither is the story arc over yet, so there's time.

As I said, I wanted to like this book. And really, it's not bad. It is, in fact, an entertaining read. But in trying to winnow down my pull list and re-assess my current collecting, I'm afraid this title isn't quite good enough to stay. These days, I'm not just looking for good; I'm looking for great. Sadly, this book is falling short of that so far.

Update: After I read these first four issues but before this post was published, it has been announced that JLI is being canceled following its 12th issue. Guess I wasn't the only one who found this title somewhat lacking.

Unsung Heroes

Booster Gold is a loser from the future who stole some technology and inserts himself into the past where he hopes to cash in and strike it rich.

I never really read Booster's adventures much in his first solo book. That lack of familiarity made it easy to just accept the idea that the character was a bit of a joke and move on. Most of what I DID know of him came from the occasional Justice League books I read during the "Bwa-ha-ha" days, or his few guest-appearances in other heroes' books and crossover events. In those cases, Booster's buffoonishness was played up all the more. So, he was a bit of a one-trick pony for me, and not all that much of a trick was ever really expected from him.

My first inkling that there could be more to Booster was his star appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Greatest Story Never Told." In this episode, the entire Justice League is engaged, mostly off-camera, battling the wizard Mordru. The senior members of the League seem to think of Booster much the same as I always had, and thus assign him to handle "crowd control." In the episode, Booster bemoans this assignment as beneath him and longs for the front lines of the battle where he can show-off. Collateral damage from the main battle causes a S.T.A.R. Labs experiment to go awry, and Booster is forced to handle a situation which could prove even more disastrous than Mordru's attack, but of which no one else is even aware.

I have no idea if this episode had any influence on what was to come, but it foreshadowed changes in Booster's mission in the comic books, as he was about to become the "greatest hero the world has never known."

These changes are set-up in the pages of 52, where Time Master Rip Hunter begins to work with Booster, and continues into the 2007 re-launch of Booster's own title. Now, Booster must monitor and correct time anomalies in the past, present and future, policing the DC Universe time stream from threats great and small. And all the while, he must maintain that buffoonish image, so that time villains will not suspect him and move to eliminate the threat he poses to their nefarious plans.

This is the kind of concept that could go horribly off the rails quite easily -- time-travel stories can cause anyone to suffer from headaches and continuity snafus -- but here things are handled by some very talented and capable creators. Geoff Johns was one of the architects of 52, and he and Jeff Katz wonderfully guided the first year's worth of the re-launched Booster series. They were wonderfully assisted by Dan Jurgens, creator of Booster Gold, first on art chores, and later when Jurgens assumed the writing responsibilities shortly after Johns and Katz left the book.

The plots may sound quite complicated and confusing, but wonderfully imaginative tales are told, often touching on events that at least this reader found near and dear to his heart. Initially, Booster only agrees to help Rip Hunter police time if he is first allowed to save his friend, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, from being gunned down in the run-up to Infinite Crisis. Rip tries to explain to Booster that time can't be changed like that, in fact, this is the very kind of thing Rip wants Booster to help prevent. But Booster won't listen, goes back in time, saves Ted, and returns to a present very much altered.

Other time-correcting jaunts involve the crippling of Batgirl Barbara Gordon at the hands of the Joker and the initial meeting between the New Teen Titans and Deathstroke the Terminator. In the earlier adventure, Booster tries to save Batgirl from her fate, again only to learn that no matter how hard he tries, he is unable to change how things were "meant" to be. In the latter, an evil adversary travels back in time to assist the first Ravager and Deathstroke to defeat the Titans in their first meeting. With the Titans slain, no one was prepared the first time Trigon the Terrible sought to conquer the heroes' dimension, and the Justice League, as well as most solo heroes, all fall to the inter-dimensional demon. These story arcs were presented well and involved characters and events that I enjoyed the first time around. They do nothing to detract from the original tales; in fact, these new stories were like visiting old friends and reliving common memories from new angles.

I'd be very happy to see this kind of story continue, especially from Jurgens and current artist Norm Rapmund. But alas, that is not meant to be. A new creative team and a new direction for the title are set to begin. Possibly the new creators will find an equally successful direction for Booster Gold, but I've grown fond of the time-traveling, unsung hero he became for a few short years.

Give It A Try (Reprise)

I’ve already given my thoughts on trying new things — and not all that long ago — so I won’t rehash the entire thing again. Suffice to say, I think it’s good to try new stuff from time to time. You find some duds along the way, but the gems you uncover make the hobby worth it.

My latest “trial” yielded some quality moments in a rather odd-looking trade paperback, the collection of an initial four-issue series which is very soon to be followed up with another limited series. Based on this trade, the new series is going on my “pull list.”

The Perhapanauts: First Blood tpb (Dark Horse Comics) — Writer Todd Dezago and artists Craig Rousseau and Rico Renzi brought about this somewhat disjointed tale about a group of paranormal investigators working for the Bureau of Extra-Dimensional Liabilities and Management (BEDLAM). The organization tracks down unexplained phenomena, figures out why they/it/whatever is/are here and sends them/it/whatever back. There are two teams, red and blue, but our focus is primarily the five-member blue team which consists of a psychic, a mystery guy, a ghost, a mentally-enhanced sasquatch and a comic-relief Chupacabra. The characters are immediately likable, and they seem to be an accomplished, if slightly less than perfect, team. The story combines humor, drama, mystery and suspense in just the right measures to keep the reader entertained and wanting more.

The story begins with blue team taking on a chimera, then an aswang, along the way providing glimpses of the members of red team and the history of BEDLAM. As I said, the story is a tad disjointed at times, at least in the trade. Maybe the individual issues were presented somewhat differently. And the story presented in the trade really doesn’t end. But it is good enough — and fun enough — a story to make me anxious for the next limited series and willing to seek out more of this team.

Outsiders 40 (DC Comics) — Not a bad issue, but I’m still puzzling over why and how the team went “underground,” and especially how the Nightwing in this book fits in with his actions in his own title. Winick needs to delve into that territory soon as, from what I hear, this title is beginning to lose its readers. Most of the team was captured last issue by Mallah and the Brain. In this issue, Katana and a “piece” of Metamorpho help free them by setting loose a bad clone of Superman — bad as in poorly done, not evil, but then calling him good or evil is ascribing too much brain power to this behemoth. In the end, the Outsiders learn that Mallah and Brain are in cahoots with Dr. Sivanna.

Boneyard 22 (NBM) — The latest story line for this black & white Richard Moore comic involves a gathering of all the various nether-creatures on earth. Representing the graveyard, Abbey and Michael arrive in the hopes of staying on the good side of their host, the Illuminary. First they find Nessie and Ralph in attendance after Abbey specifically told them to stay home. Next they spy a couple more less-than-welcome guests, one of whom manages to spike the normally reserved Abbey’s drink causing her to act quite drunken and embarrassingly. Things do not look good. Oh, and back home at the cemetery, Glump has unleashed yet another death machine now out of his control — but what else is new. This is just a fun comic. If you aren’t reading it, you should be.

Justice League Unlimited 25 (DC Comics) — Another fine issue, this time focusing on Blue Devil.

52 Weeks 19-21 (DC Comics) — The first issue here raises the ideas of a new Booster Gold and Supernova being Superboy. And Lobo’s found religion?!? Then we see Steel acting the part of the hero once again in the next issue; that’s a welcome relief from his whining in previous appearances. That scene also leads to the beginnings of Steel uncovering Luthor’s agenda behind the Everyman Project. Supernova is seen rummaging through the Batcave, and the space stars are on the run again. The third issue here reveals more of Luthor’s hidden control over, as well as the death of, one of the Everyman heroes. The issue focuses mostly on those Everyman heroes, now called the new Infinity Inc. and a run-in with the current Titans roster, just before most of them quit. This title is just good stuff.

Martian Manhunter 2 (DC Comics) — J’Onn raids the secret government base from which the dead Martian escaped only to find several more captives being held and tortured. Many of the base’s personnel escape while J’Onn helps at least four refugees to freedom. I go back and forth on this series, but I am curious, so I’ll hang around a bit longer.

Captain America 21 (Marvel Comics) — This is the conclusion to the Twenty-First Century Blitz story line, and, in a way, a bit of a resolution to the entire series, so far. Cap and Bucky are reunited, albeit briefly; the stage is set for Bucky to “come in from the cold;” the Red Skull is “back;” and the other villain of the last few arcs, Lukin, has been cleared of suspicions. Ed Brubaker has been weaving some fantastic stories in this title, and Steve Epting’s art is gorgeous.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis 44 (DC Comics) — Our band of heroes moves in to rescue the captive Atlanteans and learns that the ultimate villain behind their enslavement is Ocean Master. I don’t dislike the new Aquaman, although I have several burning questions about his origin and ties to the original, but I still long to have the “real” Aquaman back. This issue’s confrontation between Ocean Master and young Arthur seems to have set the stage for old Arthur to regain his memory and lose the Dweller in the Depths moniker. I hope that’s the case.

Fables 53 (DC Vertigo) — Sons of Empire part 2 shows us the Adversary’s war council and reveals the plans the Snow Queen ultimately has for the mundy world — our world. They are truly chilling. This is another great title everyone should be reading.

Green Arrow 66 (DC Comics) — This issue begins to fill in the missing year and the new training Oliver and his companions went through. I’m interested in seeing this story, but from every indication, Winick isn’t going to answer all the questions I really have. His One Year Later story line has made it clear that Oliver, Conner and Mia went away to retrain and better themselves in much the way that Batman, Nightwing and Robin did. Winick’s story so far makes it obvious that part of that early time also involved Green Arrow healing from the life-threatening wounds he received just before OYL began. It doesn’t explain his healthy appearance in the final issues of Infinite Crisis unless the destruction of Star City came later, and also doesn’t address his appearance alongside other heroes at the attempted resurrection of Superboy in the pages of 52. He seemed pretty healthy then, too. What gives?

Superman 656 (DC Comics) — I like the methodology of Superman in this issue by Kurt Busiek. He has seen so many threats, it is unfortunately natural that he would begin to see a monstrous appearance as the only important indicators of a rampaging beast. Solution: stop it first and ask questions later. Then, once the Man of Steel learns that his adversary can reason and think, he immediately tries to reason. That makes sense to me. Superman is not without compassion, but he’s seen so many threats, he jumped the gun. Unfortunately, the damage has been done, and there is no reasoning with his sparring partner by the time Superman realizes that might have worked. In fact, the only thing I don’t like about this story line is the inclusion of Arion. I admit, I don’t know much about the character and have never followed his adventures before. But man, he’s a sanctimonious jackass in this tale.

Birds of Prey 98 (DC Comics) — OK, I admit it. I thought the new Batgirl was gonna be Barbara, just like Black Canary did. OK, obviously that was wrong, but she obviously does know Canary and Huntress, but I don’t know her. We’ve seen her face now, but who is she? Should we know at this point? I’m still confused. But at least I’m regaining my interest in this title again.

Checkmate 6 (DC Comics) — The Suicide Squad is back. The Society is obviously not happy about it. What I don’t understand is, are they back at Waller’s behest, in spite of Waller, some combination of both I haven’t worked out yet? But, whatever the motivations and who knows what, I am betting I’m supposed to be confused at this point, because that seems to be the style for this book.

Civil War 4 (Marvel Comics) — OK, as everyone probably already knows, Thor is NOT really back, but Reed and Tony cloned him. And the clone messed up in battle, killing Goliath. Some of Cap’s rebels are seeing this as a reason to get out before they are killed. Some of Iron Man’s troops are questioning how far they are willing to support him. Again, I like this series, and I don’t see how the Marvel Universe can be the same afterwards unless they Wanda (I doubt I coined a new term here; somebody’s used that before, right?) this whole thing away at the end. Too many heroes are acting unheroic right now.

Donald Duck and Friends 344 (Gemstone) — Curiously, the “and Friends” is gone from the title on the cover this issue, but it still appears in the Reader Services box, so I guess they aren’t changing the name. This issue features a new version of the Carl Barks classic Pawns of the Loup Garou.” Donald and a werewolf. How can you go wrong?

And I think we’ll call it an entry for today.

Busy Weekend of Reading

HHere’s some more thoughts on comics I read this weekend, and there’s a lot of them so here we go:

Civil War Front Line 1 (Marvel Comics) — OK, I don’t know who this Sally journalist is but I’m guessing she’s been in some previous stories from the conversation she has here with Spider-Man, but I do know who Ben Urich is; this comic holds promise. This first issue doesn’t start out slow either.

Wonder Woman (2006) 1 (DC Comics) — The Amazing Amazon is re-launched with Founding Teen Titan Donna Troy in the title role, or is she? Steve Trevor certainly wasn’t who he appeared to be. And Diana does show up in the final scene, so there’s more to this title than meets the eye in the first issue.

52 Week Six (DC Comics) — This was a good issue. It was especially nice to see Ralph go off on somebody, venting his grief, and I can’t think of anybody more deserving of some anger directed their way than Booster Gold.

The Battle for Bludhaven 5 (DC Comics) — Again, I’m not real sure about this miniseries. It seems a little disjointed and some of the more familiar characters don’t necessarily act like themselves. Green Lantern Hal Jordan shows up in this issue; he can’t save it.

Superman 653 (DC Comics) — “Up, Up and Away!” continues; it started so promisingly, but now that Superman’s powers are back, I dunno. Maybe I’m just losing interest, but I’m just not feeling the excitement I was in the first few chapters.

Checkmate 3 (DC Comics) — Still not sure about this title, but I’m warming up to it. Alan Scott, Sasha Bordeaux and Fire seem more in character to me. I’ve also decided to give the first Checkmate series a try. Worked out a trade over the weekend swapping some of the comics from the Web site for all 33 issues from that series. Hopefully they’ll be arriving soon.

Green Arrow 63 (DC Comics) — Ollie is one of my favorite characters, but I’m just not sure what writer Judd Winick is up to. I’m losing interest in what is going on, and while I’ve liked his art in the past, Scott McDaniel’s art in this title is just rubbing me wrong.

Fables 50 (DC Comics) — WOW! I love Bigby and I’m happy to see he and Snow finally together. I just hope their seeming bliss at the end of this fantastic anniversary tale doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing them again. Great espionage tale winding up several plot threads from the first 50 issues.

Civil War 2 (Marvel Comics) — Obviously this is the main series Front Line spins out of. It’s getting a lot of great buzz online, and Cap’s great escape from S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first issue was great. This one, not so much except for the big shocker on the last page, which, of course, was ruined for me online since I get my books after everyone else. Oh, and I’m a little shocked at the side of the CW Ben Grimm is on. I figured he’d be more on Cap’s side.

Squadron Supreme (2006) 4 (Marvel Comics) — I still like this title, but it seems to have lost some of its kick with the move from Marvel max to the mainstream Marvel U titles.

Nightwing 121 (DC Comics) — This Bruce Jones guy is just writing my absolute favorite hero stranger and stranger.

Donald Duck and Friends 341 (Gemstone) — Love me some Donald Duck. Not much to say about this specific issue, but these are fun to read.

52 Week Seven (DC Comics) — Oops! Read so many comics this weekend, I forgot. This is the issue where Ralph goes off on Booster. We also get our first glimpse of the new Kathy Kane, the soon-to-be all-new Batwoman.

JSA Classified 13 (DC Comics) — The final installment of this travesty. I’m not the biggest fan of Vandal Savage anyway, but I just didn’t care for this arc.

Toldja it was a lotta readin'.

Back to the Future

OK, short post this time. Got my current month’s worth of comics over the weekend, got ’em added to the database and read just a couple over the weekend. Since I get the bulk of my books once a month when so many folks get theirs on a weekly basis when they’re released, I’m always behind when I get a shipment. But I keep track of which books arrive in the stores each week, and that’s the order I read my new ones in, oldest first. Since I’ve been talking about some of the storylines I’m reading or re-reading as I go back through my older comics, I figured I’d just continue that motiff with the new ones, too. So, here’s some mini-reviews/thoughts on the first three books I read from this latest shipment.

52: Week Four (DC Comics) - This series is starting kind of slow, but I’m intrigued by a number of the storylines. For instance, I’m not sure where the whole thing with the Question and Renee Montoya is going but I’m definitely willing to come along for the ride and find out. I also like the emotional ploy of using Ralph “Elongated Man” Dibny as a central character. And speaking of Ralph’s story, what the hell’s going on with Wonder Girl and this cult of Superboy? I’m not as interested in the Booster storyline right now; I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it. Same with the Steel storyline as I haven’t followed the charcter much of late. And holy crap, what’s up with the return of the space heroes? Especially the enormous Hawkgirl and the apparently now one-eyed Alan Scott? I know Scott is shown in Checkmate as wearing an eyepatch, but he doesn’t have it in current issues of JSA so I figured maybe something happened between those two stories, maybe something in the current JSA Classified storyline with Vandal Savage. Now, I’m not so sure.

Action Comics 839 (DC Comics) - The Up, Up and Away story reintroducing Superman has been pretty good so far. Writers Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek brought me to this storyline but I don’t normally stay with the Super titles very long. I like Superman, but his stories just aren’t my cup o’ chocolate milk most of the time. Maybe this round will be different.

Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre 1 (DC Comics) - I was looking forward to this one. I’ve always like the occasional appearances of Det. Crispus Allen in the Bat-titles. He’s one of the reasons I first gave Gotham Central a try when that title debuted. I was shocked when he was gunned down in the final issue of that series just before Infinite Crisis. His death made more sense when the Crisis aluded to his reincarnation as the new Spectre. I’m looking forward to this journey, and this first issue seems to hold a lot of promise.

And that’s all I’ve had a chance to read so far. Look for more soon.