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Wrapping Wednesday: Micro Reviews for the Week of 10/13/21

By | October 18th, 2021
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

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 The Imposter #1
Written by Mattson Tomlin
Illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by Steve Wands
Reviewed by Henry Finn

“Batman Imposter” #1 is in many ways a perfect introduction to the world of Batman as well as a fresh addition into the development of Batman’s mythology within the world of Gotham. The description of the book says it’s one year into his journey; but is referred to as appearing three years ago in the story, so we will just assume it’s somewhere in the early days before Batman filled out. By taking us back to the Batman’s early days, writer Mattson Tomlin chooses to focus on the psychology of the Batman through the lens of a psychologist (Dr. Thompkins) who worked with young Bruce Wayne after witnessing the murder of his family. This book puts Dr. Thompkins in the driver’s seat of narration and gives her a new sense of agency lacking in previous appearances, as we are treated to her origin story in many ways. The ethical struggles of wanting to support a troubled young man trying to do good in a bad city versus the need to follow a professional oath provides a unique insight into the paradox of all of Batman’s supporting characters in many ways.

After Bruce Wayne explains to her that despite his violent methods, the city of Gotham has experienced its first night without a murder in 56 years, Dr. Thompkins decides to use a paper-thin loophole of placing him under client-patient confidentiality. When Bruce Wayne points out the obvious fact that there’s always an imminent threat to himself or someone else’s life, she doesn’t answer and proceeds to continue her support. To me, this perfectly represents the moral and ethical dilemma that all supporters of Batman with a duty to uphold the law face, and also how they all seem to react -quiet acceptance and complicity. Perhaps this is for a greater good or a necessary evil, but what “Batman Imposter” does so well is expose the innate hypocrisy that these people are participating in. Why does one one person, dressed as a giant bat get to do what the average citizen would never be allowed to do? Is it the belief that to overcome the evil that plagues Gotham City, one must be willing to go further than the law allows or is it that everyone is so weary and sick of the darkness, that Batman somehow represents a light to them? Tomlin deftly uses intertwining narratives of two protagonists to both shape and push the narrative forward. Dr. Thompkins provides us introspection on what makes the dark knight tick, and Detective Wong provides the inertia for the plot to move forward by investigating how the dark knight does what he does. This reminds us that first and foremost, Batman is a detective comic, with Batman’s voice taking agency by the end of the book.

Artist Andrea Sorrentino does an incredible job of bringing this story to life. In a book dense with narration and dialogue, Sorrentino elevates the material by bringing his design sensibilities to play. He fills the pages with jagged, broken panels that tilt and spill over each other in a visually delightful menagerie of darkness and violence. In one page that shows his unique approach to storytelling, Batman describes his journey of going to the ends of the earth to learn to control his monster, with three panels shaped as a flying bat that shows key moments in his development with a silhouette of his down-turned head as a backdrop. That is followed by negative space that leads to Dr. Thompkins telling him that he sounds insane. This is just one page which combines graphic design, sequential storytelling, and thematic illustration in a way that reminds us what is at the core of his identity.. is the monster inside. In many ways the body of Bruce Wayne has always been a vessel for an inhuman rage that pushes him forward no matter the pain or the cost.

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Colorist Jordie Bellaire does their best to stay out of Sorrentino’s way by providing a simplified color palette and very few gradients or textures. Most of the colors are flat and solid, filling the book with reds, blues, and muted browns. This provides a compliment to the themes within this issue and allows the dialogue and density of visual information to shine.

Final Verdict 8.5– A really good first issue for a promising series and welcome addition to DC’s Black Label.

Blue and Gold #3
Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Cully Hamner
Colored by Chris Sotomayor
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin

So far, “Blue and Gold” has been a relatively breezy comic book with a welcome sense of energy and a solid emotional core. Booster Gold and Blue Beetle are a tried and true character pairing and it’s always fun to read them together, especially when you have a writer like Dan Jurgens, who knows them so well, at the helm. That’s why it’s so sad that “Blue and Gold” #3 feels like a real step down from the last two issues. There’s a big focus on fighting Omnizon this issue but she honestly isn’t interesting enough for me to care about as a central antagonist. The personal lives of Ted and Michael is interesting, especially with the development of Ted being broke but the entrance Trixie Collins provides a plausible enough solution that even that storyline feels a bit inert. Who is Trixie collins you ask? So do I. She’s clearly an important figure from these heroes’ past but how is anyone unfamiliar with said past (read: So what we end up with is an issue that focuses largely on something that isn’t interesting and then

Everything lackluster about the writing in “Blue and Gold” #3 is made worse by the fact that the art is straight up bad. Artist Cully Hamner does very very poorly at rendering human beings (Omnizon looks oddly decent compared to everything else but mostly because she’s an alien). Proportions have a tendency to look bizarre and faces are actively awful to look at, especially with Hamner’s perception that everyone is constantly bearing their teeth (and he’s particularly bad at drawing teeth). The momentum and liveliness of the last two issues’ art is gone, replaced with ugly pencils and mediocre coloring by Chris Sotomayor. All of the art is easy enough to follow- the pacing isn’t awful, the layouts are decent, and the blocking of each scene is actually decent. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold’s fight with Omnizon is a high point in demonstrating that Hamner and Sotomayor are a competent pairing. But competent isn’t what we want out of comic book art. When Omnizon grabs Booster Gold by the neck and little bits of white come out of his mouth it’s certainly supposed to be spittle but very much looks like tiny chunks of something are being spit out. When Blue Beetle shoots compressed air at Omnizon, it looks absurd.

“Blue and Gold” #3 is a disappointing lapse in what’s been a fun miniseries so far. It isn’t a total misfire- there’s still some charm and plenty of room for it to bounce right back. But as far as good issues go, this really doesn’t make the cut.

Final Verdict: 5.0- A stumble in writing and a steep drop-off in art make for an incredibly disappointing issue of “Blue and Gold.”

Eternals Forever #1
Written by Ralph Macchio
Illustrated by Ramón F. Bachs
Colored by Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettered by Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Gregory Ellner

On its surface, perhaps “Eternals Forever” #1 could be seen as a one-shot love letter to the initial creation of the Eternals themselves under the famous Jack Kirby. Unfortunately, that indication is, in truth, only surface level at all. If Ralph Macchio means to emulate Kirby in his writing, he may have succeeded on some level, but the monologuing and narration is so overwhelming and repetitively written that it wraps back around to being openly pretentious and overbearing. Rather than draw a reader in, it instead is more likely to drive readers away and, at worst, outright bore them. In general, Macchio’s dialogue feels completely unnatural, and the use of description regarding people’s past makes it seem less as though the characters are talking to each other or thinking to themselves, and more like they are telling the out-of-comic audience what is going on. Yes, Macchio gives information regarding the Deviants and the Eternals, but the delivery is so stilted that it may as well be in a reference book rather than a story.

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In contrast to the writing, Ramón F. Bachs does a great job. His artwork is highly animated and dynamic, the very action-focused story feeling faster in spite of the copious dialogue. Facial expressions are potent, from rage to fear to joy and more besides. Even those whose faces are not shown still have emotion clearly shown through body language. In general, the artwork helps keep readers a bit more excited, though they may be relatively sedate due to the script.

Rachelle Rosenberg does a marvelous job (pardon the pun) at showing the truly colorful world of the Eternals and the Deviants, with bright hues and tones standing out and helping to distinguish one person from another. The particular color choices, such as darker ones for the Deviants and brighter ones for the Eternals, gives more distinguishing features for each species, while basic use of light and shadow help to further separate the two of them in underground or mountainous environments.

Final Verdict: 6.0– Despite good artwork and colors, the script of “Eternals Forever” is just too slow and overwrought to be interesting as a story, almost better served as a reference book.

Mazebook #2
Written, Illustrated, & Colored by Jeff Lemire
Lettered by Steve Wands
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo

Jeff Lemire continues this haunting story of a father trying to make amends for his daughter’s death. It’s not a story of murder, but the guilt of a parent outliving their child. Lemire laid the groundwork in the first issue, so now he shares critical information about her death and how it affected his former marriage. She has since moved on with a new husband and child of her own while he struggles to break out of the monotony of his everyday life. Lemire’s odd dream sequence has Williams searching for the maze but warned not to go after it from a strange homeless man, but he begins to follow the string-like Alice with the white rabbit. Still uncertain of where it may lead and if it is his daughter creating this road for him to follow.

The clues left behind by his daughter and the brief calls start to give William a new sense of urgency in his life. He doesn’t have anything else, so this becomes his ultimate priority. The desperation that Lemire creates with William gives the reader a reason to keep turning the page hoping that he will get closer to unraveling this mystery.

Lemire also does the art and coloring for this book, and it makes sense to have his trademark pencil-style drawings for this kind of mystery story. A man that is lost in his mind and now starting to question his reality is drawn into a world that is nearly colorless and bland. William’s closeups are also Lemire’s opportunity to show the messy lines within his unkempt beard and often sad expressive lines in his forehead and deep bags under his eyes. The backgrounds and city are usually crisp and sharp. For example, when William finds the box filled with his daughter’s stuffed animals and maze books, we see various copies and details.

The decision to only use colors for key objects or to help guide the reader feels like a solid choice by Lemire. The red string representing his daughter is the main source of color, but we get another use of red with a stranger wearing a sweater that perhaps had a familiar pattern. There is also a lighter blue as a detail in the background during the dream sequence, so the reader realizes it’s not reality. This attention to detail just keeps the reader locked in and searching for clues as desperate as William.

Final Verdict: 8.2 – Jeff Lemire continues this strange mystery story to keep the reader wondering what will be on the next page and if William will get any closer to solving it.


//TAGS | Wrapping Wednesday

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