There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War Battle Lines #1
Written by Tini Howard and Chip Zdarsky
Illustrated by Mike Hawthorne
Colored by Adriano di Benedetto
Lettered by Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
Oftentimes, an issue introducing a big crossover can feel like its just moving pieces around on the board so that the story being told makes logical sense. Luckily, “The Gotham War” is being penned by Tini Howard and Chip Zdarsky and this issue is characteristically thoughtful, driven by the weight of these characters’ history, and tells a genuinely interesting story that wrestles with real themes.
The story is reasonably straightforward: between Batman’s harrowing multiversal trip and the DC-wide Knight Terrors event leaving him in an 8-week coma, Gotham has been without its Caped Crusader for quite a while. In the interim, Catwoman has gotten all of the henchmen of Gotham’s underworld to start stealing exclusively from the rich and convinced them to avoid killing. Violent crime is down 75% because these guys aren’t available to work the schemes of guys like the Joker or Mr. Freeze and Selina wants Bruce and the Bat-family to look the other way. The big meeting between Selina and the family is a tense and thought-provoking scene. The notion that Bruce hasn’t been as effective at crime prevention as Selina is empirically true but, of course, he takes issue with allowing any crime to happen on his watch. It’s easy to say that this is two-dimensional characterization for Bruce. Vigilantism is a crime, of course, and his absolutism here does seem like a bit much. But Howard and Zdarsky do strong work at taking Bruce’s recent history into account. This is a guy that’s been pushed to his psychological and physical limits in recent history. When confronted with the notion that he may not be as good at his job as he’d like to be (a notion that the phantom of the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is taunting him with), Bruce isn’t going to respond well to that. More interesting still is that the Bat-family is inclined to hear Selina out. The debate that’s started in this issue is intriguing and seeing this play out should be a treat.
The artwork in “Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War” #1 is all swings between lackluster but passable to downright bad. It largely resides in the former category. The fundamentals are all there. The paneling is strong, pacing the comic well and blocking of both action and conversation really works. But all too often, this issue is devoid of dimension, detail, energy, or some combination of the three. Take that initial heist chase down, for instance; the museum setting is cavernous in a way that makes it feel bare, the coloring is inconsistent, and the chase itself feels entirely static. Even more indicative of the issues with the art is Catwoman’s henchman training center. The spread is like a great first draft that somehow made it to print. The space brings a cool idea not-quite to life, giving it a cool design but leaving out any sense of detail, most glaringly making each character a mere outline of a character. Worse yet, throughout the issue, when faces are illustrated in panels that are close up, the proportions or expressions are all wonky. That makes for an emotionally grounded issue that has a serious deficiency at portraying emotions. The average page of the issue works in that it’s perfectly readable. But beyond that, things aren’t that grear. In a comic with incredible writing, it’s a real shame to have visuals that aren’t up to par.
Final Verdict: 7.9- Great writing meets subpar visuals in a solid first chapter in the latest Gotham City crossover
Incredible Hulk #3
Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Illustrated by Nic Klein
Continued below
Colored by Matthew Wilson
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
Bruce Banner’s new “Incredible Hulk” series has been shockingly bleak this far focusing on a villain known as the Mother of Horrors. Banner has made quick friends with a young runaway named Charlie. Sadly Charlie and Bruce’s meeting was cut short thanks to the violent scenario the dual protagonists find themselves in. So far author Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Nic Klein have crafted a compelling narrative around Bruce that feels dangerous. Can Bruce and Charlie survive the threat from yet another horror-esque villain appearing in “Incredible Hulk” #3?
Artist Nic Klein draws great visual sequences that carry the subtext in Johnson’s scripts nicely. When Charlie has a dispute with Hulk, the exaggerated expressions from Charlie match the obscenities in the scripts well. Matthew Wilson’s colors bring out the dark shading in Klein’s precise, intricate line that really makes the visuals in “Incredible Hulk” excel during action sequences. Klein’s unconventional page layouts are really strong at depicting the horror in Johnson’s writing. When Charlie falls into a hole, the motion from Klein’s layouts is immersive. Klein’s amplified anatomy that he lent to the villain was among some of the most haunting imagery I have seen in this “Incredible Hulk” volume so far.
Getting the chance to see some friction in the relationship between Charlie and Hulk really helps to flesh out the characterization. Also, seeing Charlie and Hulk uncover the violent nature behind the supernatural elements brought an incredible level of tension to the issue. It’s amazing that despite the intense subject matter of this “Incredible Hulk” issue that Johnson still manages to get some zombie-esque belly laughs in the chapter. Johnson has already crafted a unique tone for this “Incredible Hulk” run, accommodated wonderfully by Klein’s line.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – The ”Incredible Hulk” #3 tests its dual protagonists with tense and horrific scenarios.
Local Man: Gold
Written by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seely
Illustrated by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seely
Colored by Felipe Sobriero
Lettered by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seely
Reviewed by Ryan Fitzmartin
What would you do if you met your past self? Would you try to change yourself for the better? Could you? This is the dilemma facing semi-retired superhero Jack Xavier. Xavier is thrust into a time-travel adventure with his younger self in order to save his reality. Xavier is flooded with emotions, scripted well as he tries to change his younger self for the better. Writers Fleecs and Seeley create a good contrast between the Xavier of the past and present, and it’s interesting to watch them play off each other. Young Xavier is a sexist, slur-slinging jerk, almost seeming to represent a wilder, rougher era of early 2000s comics. The dialogue he has with his older self is really engaging and functions as a wider examination of how comics have changed. By the end of the issue, the changes that Xavier goes through feel real and earned.
The violence in “Local Man: Gold” is grisly, but used sparingly for maximum effect. Arms are ripped off, and civilians immolated. The brutality is graphic, but drawn in a serious and grounded way, so it feels real and impactful instead of over the top. Clean lines and phenomenal sound effects make for kinetic, forceful, and clear action. Seely and Fleec’s art is competent, faces carry emotion well and the compositions are strong and direct the eye effectively. The coloring is highly competent, creating superb contrast. It’s especially strong with fire and shadow, creating some visceral imagery.
Overall Local Man: Gold is a well crafted, one-shot that tells an interesting story while engaging with the history of comics.
Final Verdict: 8.3 – An impactful and smart one-shot.
