It’s an intense, worthwhile package

Batman: Creature of the Night tpb
DC Comics
Creators: Kurt Busiek and John Paul Leon
Release date: May 2021

I had pretty low expectations when I pre-ordered the trade collection of this miniseries. Not because I have been disappointed previously by the creative team. I was not familiar at all with John Paul Leon’s art, and I’ve rather enjoyed a number of projects written by Kurt Busiek, so no problems there.

I’ve read several other tales loosely based around a particular comics character’s mythology yet supposedly based entirely in the real world, without super-powered heroes. The conceit has yielded some good stories and some I haven’t cared much for.

This story focuses on Bruce Wainwright, a normal boy in the aforementioned real world who loves Batman comics, based in part by the similarity of his own name to that of his hero. But when crime makes Bruce an orphan, he becomes obsessed with the idea of Batman preventing crimes like the one that took his family from him. He wrestles with the unfairness of life and a yearning for a vigilante who can tip the scales in favor of justice. Bruce wishes so strongly for such a hero to exist that one suddenly, inexplicably does.

This story is populated by a number of other similarities between Bruce’s life and that of his comic book hero’s — some of the similarities are real while others are conveniently created by Bruce himself. These parallels don’t really detract from the story or stretch a reader’s suspension of disbelief too much, simply because Bruce himself is aware of his tendency to “create” some of them.

Rather the young boy’s intensity of emotion, his earnest yearning for justice and a hero who can make the world right with his fists and his intellect draw the reader in and make him or her hope right along with the protagonist. John Paul Leon’s moody illustrations emphasize that very intensity and passion. Even the back matter, of which this trade includes a lot, enhances the experience of this book.

This was a truly enjoyable read I did not want to put down until I finished it. If you enjoy a good Batman story, I think you’ll like this one, too. Give it a try, and let me know what you think.

Going Out On A High Note

The Avengers No. 56 (2002)
Marvel Comics
Kurt Busiek, writer
Yanick Paquette and Ray Snyder, artists

Back in 1996, most of the Avengers, along with the Fantastic Four, were apparently killed off by the villainous Onslaught. The Avengers, the F.F., Captain America and Iron Man all had their respective titles relaunched with new No. 1s under the banner "Heroes Reborn" and their various continuities were all rebooted. That lasted for one year before it was revealed to both the readers and the characters that instead of being killed by Onslaught, they had been shunted off to a pocket universe. Naturally, upon learning this, the heroes combined forces to return to their proper reality, and in 1997, the four titles again relaunched with new No. 1s under the banner "Heroes Return."

The 1997 Avengers relaunch was led by writer Kurt Busiek and artist George Perez, both very much fan favorites, to say the least. Perez left the title with issue No. 34, but Busiek remained until mid-2002, turning this stand-alone issue in as the finale for his run.

Similar to Busiek's creator-owned title, Astro City, this issue focuses a bit more on the aftermath and consequences of superheroics on regular people's lives — specifically, who is liable for damage done when heroes and villains clash in populated areas.

In addition to providing the Avengers with their mansion home base, Tony Stark (the team's own armored Avenger, Iron Man) has created the Maria Stark Foundation, a nonprofit organization that handles all those niggling details after a dust-up. However, in a real-world twist, the Stark Foundation must answer to the government on expenditures in order to maintain its nonprofit, tax-exempt status. Also, they don't want to pay for fraudulent damage claims, just as a responsible course of doing business. Therefore, at least periodically, Avengers missions and the consequences must be audited.

This issue has a number of Avengers gathered together to meet with these Stark Foundation auditors to relate, and sometimes justify, their actions in a recent mission pitting the team against the Elements of Doom, several non-sentient entities scientifically created to wreak havoc. The issue is presented very tongue-in-cheek and mixes a great deal of humor with the expected level of superhero mayhem.

I haven't read Busiek's entire run from this incarnation of The Avengers, but I've enjoyed most of what I have read of the title. This issue is by far one of the best of that run.

On A Bit Of An Unintended Roll

Superman 654-667 and Annual 13
DC Comics
Kurt Busiek, writer
Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Peter Vale, Mike Manley, Bret Blevins, Rick Leonardi and Eduardo Barreto, artists

Been examining a number of older books of late. That, of course, is due to me trying to winnow down my collection by a considerable amount for space reasons. But also, both posts this week seem to be about books I found a little disappointing. Not because they are bad, exactly, but more because they didn't quite live up to the hopes I had for them when they came out.

Kurt Busiek's run on Superman between 2006 and 2007 definitely fits into this category. There were a few one-off issues in the run that involved a fun little diversion with the Prankster (Superman No. 660), a guest appearance by Wonder Woman and a villainess named Khyrana (Superman No. 661) and a spooky little tale for issue No. 666, but otherwise, the majority of the books in this run centered on two running plots.

The first involves an old friend of Clark Kent's seeking the reporter out as a means of contacting Superman. An alien life form is found in an abandoned Soviet research facility, and Superman's help is needed to contain the being known only as Subjekt 17. This is the plot I had the highest hopes for as numerous parallels are drawn between this creature's life and Superman's. Both came to Earth as infants and grew to adulthood here. But whereas Superman was discovered by Jonathan and Martha Kent, raised as their own child and nurtured into being a great hero and inspiration to many, Subjekt 17 knew a life of only pain and cruel experimentation. Even Subjekt 17 sees how easily things could have been different for each of them as he learns more and more about humanity after his escape. But that only fuels his hatred of humanity, and sense of betrayal when Superman opposes him. I was really looking forward to how Superman would resolve this conflict with Subjekt 17 in a way that stayed true to the best elements of his character.

Unfortunately, that resolution was never allowed to occur. Interspersed with the issues that dealt with Subjekt 17 was the other major plot, during the course of which, Subjekt 17 is magically sent away in one issue and as far as I know, never was seen again. Busiek left the book shortly after these issues, and I don't believe either he or any other writer has ever picked up the plot threads started with Subjekt 17.

That other major plot involves the idea that superheroes, and Superman and other alien heroes in particular, are doing mankind no favors each time they stop some planet-wide crisis. The Atlantean magician Arion travels forward in time from the 14th century to warn Superman to stop fighting because each time he stops some global threat, it only delays the inevitable, and the threat will be that much stronger when it ultimately returns. Basically, Arion is arguing that a large portion of humanity must die off in some cataclysm periodically for the human race to survive and grow. But by stopping said cataclysm, Superman is only stalling. At some point, the threat will grow so big that Superman will ultimately fail, and when that happens, the cataclysm will be so big that the human race will be wiped out entirely. Basically, Arion is urging Superman to let thousands die in order to save the entire human race.

So Arion comes forward in time and gives Superman and some of his friends a vision of the very bleak future Arion foresees. Using this, Arion tries to guilt Superman into giving up and letting a lot of people die, by Arion's own hands, if necessary. If you don't already know, Arion was the star of his own comic title in the 1980s. He was a powerful magician from ancient Atlantis (before the sinking) and his adventures were of the sword and sorcery variety. I'll be honest, my exposure to Arion stories is very, very limited, but I don't see him being the hero of his own book and having the type of characterization we see in this story. The glimpse of the bleak future he provides is interesting, as is the moral dilemma he presents Superman with, but this entire plot was off for me because I didn't buy the characterization of the main antagonist. It didn't help that the Subjekt 17 plot I was more interested in got derailed by the Arion plot.

Feel free to leave a comment defending this storyline if it was one of your favorites. Who knows, if someone can help me like this version of Arion more, or let me know if the Subjekt 17 plot was ever resolved somewhere I missed, there might be some free comics from the stuff I'm selling in it for you. Thanks for stopping by and happy collecting!

This Is Why I Like Trying New Titles

Astro City: Knock Wood and Justice Systems (Astro City tpb Vol. 5: Local Heroes)
Homage Comics/Image Comics
Kurt Busiek, writer
Brent Anderson and Alex Ross, artists

Last time out, I discussed my positive reaction to the first two trade volumes of Astro City. I felt I had a good handle on the series after reading those first two and could discuss them at least semi-intelligently. But when I decided to buy some trades to try out the series, I found a good deal and bought the first five. That left me with more to read after writing my last post.

The third collection, Confession, breaks the done-in-one tradition of the title to present a longer narrative about the Confessor and his sidekick, Altar Boy. It was a very good read, presenting some familiar archetypes and taking them in new and unexpected ways. The same goes for the fourth trade, The Tarnished Angel, collecting one longer narrative, this time looking at an aging villain in the Astro City universe. Again, a nice read I very much enjoyed.

That brings us to the fifth trade, Local Heroes. This collection returns to the shorter standalone or two-part tales about various heroes in the Astro City universe, this time focusing on a different era in time for each of the narratives. And, in all honesty, this trade is proving a little harder to get through. Maybe I'm tired of Astro City and ready to move on to something else for a bit -- time to cleanse the palate, so to speak. The stories here aren't bad, just not holding my interest as well.

Until I came to this two-parter, the sixth and seventh chapters in this collection of nine. This one had me VERY interested to see what was going to happen, which was a pleasant surprise to find.

This tale is a courtroom drama, not the kind of thing one expects to see in a comic book format very often. The central character, Vincent Oleck, as often is the case in these Astro City tales, is a nonpowered individual, a defense attorney in Astro City during the mid-1970s. Oleck is representing the son of a mobster in a murder trial. The young man, obviously not a nice man at all, is accused of beating his girlfriend to death during a fight at a local restaurant in front of several witnesses. Oleck has no doubts that his client is guilty, but it is his job to defend his client to the best of his ability. To add to Oleck's pressure, the mob boss is less than happy when the prosecution begins its case and things look pretty open-and-shut.

Oleck finally gets an idea the night before he is to begin presenting his case to the jury. It is a novel strategy that could only have a chance in a world full of people used to superheroes, and to Oleck's surprise, the gambit seems to be working. And that is when Oleck's real problems begin. No more details on this tale because I don't want to spoil it. Instead, I encourage you to seek it out and read it for yourselves. A reader doesn't need any other reference to follow this story; Busiek does a great job of giving all the relevant information right there in this story. But it is a gripping story that left me wondering about the outcome from the first few pages. But then, I should have expected more than the surface drama from this story; it says right there on page one that it is a horror story!

Truly Great Story-Telling

Astro City tpb 1: Life In the Big City/Astro City tpb 2: Family Album
Homage Comics/Image Comics
Kurt Busiek, writer
Brent Anderson and Alex Ross, artists

I've been curious about the Astro City books for a while now. It can be daunting, however, to know there is already a huge backlog of stories published when considering something new. And there were always other books that I was more certain about to fill my time. In the past, Astro City had been published sporadically, as a series of smaller minis and such, rather than as an ongoing book. But a while back, it was announced that an Astro City ongoing was ready for launch; it debuted last month, in fact. I decided it was now or never for taking the plunge, so that if I liked the series, I wouldn't just be getting farther and farther behind. So I recently went on the hunt for some of the earliest trade collections.

The conceit of this series is that superheroes are the norm on this world. They've been around for decades, and the general populace is pretty used to their existence and their adventures. That isn't to say that the average person is bored by superheroes. Just not as surprised as we might be if one suddenly showed up in our world. Many of the stories are typical superhero fare, but told from the perspective of the everyday person on the street, the office workers whose day is disrupted when a super-powered fight breaks out near their building, for instance. Or still focusing on the superhero, but more on the mundane aspects of their lives when not fighting to save the city or world. The very first story gives us a glimpse into the life of a hero named Samaritan, kind of a Superman analogue. He dreams of being able to fly. The power of flight is one of his heroic abilities, so why does he dream about flying when he goes to sleep at night? Because during his waking hours, he is always flying at super speed from one crisis to the next, never having the luxury of enjoying just floating among the clouds.

Another story focuses on the youngest member of the Furst Family, a multi-generational group of heroes. Astra can convert her body into pure energy, so she is a valuable member of this superhero group, which also includes her parents, an uncle and a great-uncle. With all of the adventures Astra has been on, she can talk fluently about battle tactics and multi-dimensional realities. But this pre-teen girl has absolutely no contact with other children her own age, doesn't know what kinds of programs they like to watch on TV or what kinds of music they listen to or even what kinds of games they might play during recess.

These are the kinds of things that set this series apart. Busiek is excellent at looking for the human aspect of superhumans. And because all of these characters are his own creations, even if a certain plot device might be familiar territory for comic books, you are never quite certain when a character might be affected in a new and interesting way. Because these aren't corporate-owned characters who can't undergo real, lasting change, anything could and does happen. But that ability to find the human quality in all of these characters -- powered or not -- makes it easier for a reader to relate to what is happening to the characters. We've all felt like an outcast or uncertain how to proceed in a given situation or not quite up to a task before us. By connecting with these characters on an emotional level, the reader is pulled into the story.

For simple economic reasons, I'm still not likely to pick up the new Astro City ongoing in single issues, but from time to time, when my budget allows, I would like to return to this world to read more of these incredible adventures in trade format. They're simply that good.

You Look Mahvelous!

What's the difference between the DC Universe and the Marvel Universe? The heroes in the DC Universe are, with few exceptions, bright and cheery god-like beings who have the respect and admiration of the citizenry, whereas the heroes of the Marvel Universe are just as likely to be misunderstood and reviled for their heroic acts as appreciated. Some, most notably mutants and Spider-Man, are even feared by a sizable chuck of the MU populace.

I can't take credit for that observation, but I know a good point when I hear it. Apparently, so does Kurt Busiek. The fear and loathing denizens of the MU often have for their heroes is one of the central themes of his 2009 limited series, Marvels: Eye of the Camera.

This book is a sequel to Busiek's Marvels series which also featured beautiful painted artwork by Alex Ross. Jay Anacleto handles the artwork chores on this new book and does a fantastic job following in Ross's photo-realistic painting style. The artwork alone in these books is simply breath-taking.

The first book, for those who don't know (and shame on you, if you don't; run out and get a copy of the trade right away, if you don't already own this book), centers on photojournalist Phil Sheldon. Sheldon was a celebrated photog during World War II, capturing fantastic images of soldiers in combat, as well as some of that generation's better-known celebrities like the original Human Torch; Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner; and Captain America and Bucky. Sheldon is getting older and feeling less-than satisfied by his life and career when the new age of heroes begins with the advent of the Fantastic Four. Invigorated with a new sense of purpose, Sheldon chronicles the debut of this team and the other Marvels who follow -- Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men and others. Many of the great moments of Marvel Comics history are revisited in the series through the lens of this man's camera as he captures the sense of wonder the average person must have felt with such events going on around him.

Ever since the book was released, fans have clamored for a sequel, and Eye of the Camera is it. This new story re-visits just enough of the previous territory to catch new readers up to speed, enabling this series to stand on it's own. From there, it continues Sheldon's story as he marvels at how quickly the public turns on its heroes, one day embracing them as saviors and the next criticizing them for not doing more, not helping enough, or suspecting them of having less than pure motives.

The heroes of this second tale are the same Marvel heroes readers know and love, reliving more great events from Marvel history, but they are also the victims of rumors and smear campaigns along the way. Sheldon assigns himself the task of defending the heroes and blasting their sometime-worshipers/sometime-critics.

Both books are solid reads with truly inspiring artwork. They work as fantastic, entertaining fiction for the uninitiated, or avenues to revisit favorite scenes in a new light for longtime Marvel fans. Kudos to all involved. These books are great comics!

Oops! Call In the Time Repair Specialists

I’m back with a few more reviews, but first, this little jaunt down comic book memory lane has paid off as it was intended to do. Recently, I talked about how I store my comics chronologically, as if the characters lives were real, linear spans, so not all of the books are in numerical order. For more on that discussion, see the March 2, 2006, post "Meanwhile, back in the Comics Den ..."

Well, in 2000, Ben Raab and Michael Lark did a three-issue, prestige format Legend of the Hawkman miniseries. Now, the events in this story clearly deal with the pre-Crisis Katar and Shayera Hol from the planet Thanagar. So, sometime after reading the story for the first time, I filed the story just before the events of the Crisis, along with other books from 1985. I don’t remember exactly why I chose to place the series so close to the Crisis, maybe it was just easier to find at the time.

Now, in 2006, I’m re-visiting this portion of my collection, and I come across this series, still quite good, dealing with not only heroics, but also issues of faith and bonding. It’s really quite good. But, as I re-read the story, it has the feel of something that should have come earlier. The Hawks still seem somewhat new and unfamiliar to the earth in this tale. The clincher is a cameo by Superman in the second issue. It is clear from the brief exchange between the Hawks and the Man of Steel that this meeting takes place before most of the members of the Justice League have decided to trust one another with their respective secret identities. Superman seems to have no idea that the Hols are also museum curators Carter and Shayera Hall (why is it that only the male had to change his name?). Obviously, this series needs to “occur” much earlier in the history of the DC Universe. Finding and correcting little continuity errors such as this one is one of the reasons I’m revisiting these older tales.

Other books I’ve read in the last few days:

Jon Sable, Freelance 28-30 (First Comics) — These three issues revolve around a charity auction of Hollywood memorabilia and the disappearance of the famous statue from “The Maltese Falcon.” Sable’s friend, Sonny Pratt, gets the mercenary involved in the case, which nicely adds character bits to the relationship between Sable and Police Capt. Josh Winters.

Red Tornado 1-4 (DC Comics) — This was a four-issue series from mid-1985 by Kurt Busiek and Carmine Infantino which explores the android hero’s desire to be more human. I’m not a big fan of Infantino’s artwork, especially during the mid-1980s when everything he drew was so angular (see his work on The Flash during this time), but this book isn’t so bad. Busiek chooses to pit the Tornado against an old JLA foe, The Construct, another mechanical entity. The story has some nice character development for Reddy, as well as his surrogate family, Kathy Sutton and Traya.

Nightcrawler 1-4 (Marvel Comics) — This is another four-issue series, this time both written and illustrated by Nightcrawler creator, Dave Cockrum. A mishap in the Danger Room sends the swashbuckling X-Man to a series of ever-increasingly bizarre alternate universes, finally ending up in one based on a fairy tale imagined by Kitty Pryde and inhabited by cartoonish versions of the X-Men. This series doesn’t do much to change Kurt Wagner’s character or bring about any major changes in his continuity; it’s just a fun romp through some strange adventures, a tale befitting the devilish mutant.

The Thing 27 (Marvel Comics) — Ben Grimm is still on the road, this time running across the Fabulous Thunderiders, a motorcycle group. I don’t know much about the Thunderiders, but from the dialogue within the story, this group has apparently either starred in a title of their own or at least shown up in other titles. They obviously have some history, including some kind of mystical link which can manifest as the Black Marauder, a daredevil cyclist hero, or is he?

The New Teen Titans (second series) annual 1 (DC Comics) — The main story in this book features Tara Markov (Terra) as member of the Titans, which places it before the events told in the Judas Contract storyline from a couple years earlier. But there is a modern framing sequence which shows new Titans Joe Wilson (Jericho) reading through files of the team’s past cases that keeps the story placed with other 1985 tales. In this adventure, the Titans meet a group of representatives from yet another intergalactic police force, The Vanguard, and is obviously an attempt to launch an off-shoot title which never came to be. This is one of the weaker Titans annuals during the Marv Wolfman era (George Perez had left the title by this point), but since I have everything else in this run of the group, I keep this book as well.

And lastly, The New Teen Titans (second series) 12 (DC Comics) — This story wraps up some loose ends from the group’s recent past in a rollicking “Ghost Story.” An occasional recurring foil for the team since it’s 1980 relaunch was a crime family headed by Donna Omicidio. Among other storylines, she played an important part in The New Teen Titans (first series) annual 2, the first comic of this series I ever purchased, and the book responsible for getting me interested in comics again. (For more on this annual, see the February 2, 2006, post "What the hell are 'kiddie cops'?") With the help of an eight-year-old apparition, the Titans are able to solve a 50-year-old murder mystery. A very good read.

And that brings us to the doorstep of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. If you recall from last time, Warlord #97 showed some early effects of the anti-matter wave on Skartaris. The New Teen Titans #13 and #14 both take place in the midst of the Crisis. That’s the next thing in the chronology to read through. I may not offer reviews of every single one of those issues. I think, for a time, I will try offering reviews only of select books for which I have something significant to say instead of saying something about each and every one. Plus, it may be just a bit before I get to the Crisis books. My July shipment of new comics has been sent and should arrive in a few days, so we’ll be back to reading current comics within a week.

See ya next time.

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.