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 vs. Robin #3
Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Mahmud Asrar and Scott Godlewski
Colored by Jordie Bellaire
Lettered by Steve Wands
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
“Batman vs. Robin” #3 rushes past the opening stages of the series and reveals more of what the landmark event is about. The story in “Batman vs. Robin” #3 centers around Damian Wayne whose mysterious and violent nature was exploited by his mother, Talia. Damian wages a massive war against his father with familiar DC Universe characters. Writer Mark Waid is writing the tale alongside artists Mahmud Asrar and Scott Godlewski. Sadly, despite beautiful artwork “Batman vs. Robin” #3 struggles through a contrived plot to tell an interesting story.
In order to best serve the story and increase tension, writers often utilize supporting cast members in villainous roles. ”Batman vs. Robin” #3 stages a fight against Batman and his allies that feels incredibly generic and in service to the overall plot of the series. Waid has repeatedly valued a harsh sense of violence as opposed to servicing the overall story. The later sections of this issue spotlight a moment that does not feel earned. DC has pit Damian against Bruce in so many situations lately that a few of the emotional beats in this script are generic.
While the script for ”Batman vs. Robin” #3 is lacking from a plotting perspective; the art is a different story. The way that Asrar and Godlewski frame the story, compose the panels and outline the page is marvelous. I love how fluid the fight scenes are in the issue despite the contrived nature of the brawls. Asrar and Godlewski are both great at capturing lots of emotion on the comic book page as well. Godlewski and Asrar are able to meld their unconventional styles together for a surprisingly coherent art experience throughout the series.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – ”Batman vs. Robin” #3 hosts beautiful artwork and contrived plot beats.
Gospel #1
Written and Illustrated by Will Morris
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
There’s a distinct feeling you get at the end of “Gospel” #1 that you’ve only just started to see the best that this series has to offer. Given the quality of this debut issue, that’s an unabashedly good thing. Morris makes an excellent choice in opening this issue with an exciting, colorful chase sequence. It works on two levels. First, it captures readers’ attentions immediately; who, after all, wouldn’t be intrigued by a giant hog chasing a girl through a 16th century English town? Second, it’s the perfect introduction to the themes that this series is seeking to explore about the value of stories and of storytellers. By giving us that hook, then delivering the twist that this is all just a folktale being told in a society dominated by the church, we get to actually feel what this story is trying to convey to us.
As for the actual story that follows, it’s rock solid table setting for what’s sure to be an interesting, fun series. “Gospel” has familiar protagonists in the noble-hearted, adventurous Matilde, the hero of the aforementioned folktale and more grounded Pitt, its scribe. The issue does strong work at portraying a world in need of a little more life and in the final pages, it delivers with the arrival of some sort of demon. What starts out as fun historical fiction becomes thrilling fantasy in the blink of an eye and makes it even more exciting to imagine what’s to come.
The only snag in the issue comes with that little jump into the present day. While multi-layered, meta stories are all well and good, that we’re now reading a story about someone telling a story about the importance of telling stories feels at least a little unwieldy. The scene isn’t so jarring as to mar the rest of the issue and there’s plenty of time left in this series to make it make sense. Assuming that it does pay off, it would certainly be weirder to introduce the contemporary material later than “Gospel” #1. At the same time, it’d be nice to have a smidge more clarity as to why this extra level of story is necessary.
Continued belowMorris’s artwork is excellent, creating a grounded, warm tone that mixes more realistic character design with bold colors, particularly for Matilde and Pitt. This series is inspired in part by Studio Ghibli and it shows in the way that true to life designs are blended with an almost otherworldly, magical energy. The protagonists literally fill a normal environment with bright colors (including blue hair for Matilde). The environments are bursting with life be it, the people milling about town, wildlife, or even just flora. There’s a beauty to normal life, even as Matilde sees a need for more hope and excitement. Even that little weird interlude in the modern day features one of the best panels in the issue- a simple, small, extremely lived-in living room featuring minute details like wrinkled seat covers and very specifically balanced sets of books. The pacing is solid, keeping things fast where necessary but spending much of the issue at a leisurely tempo which is perfect. Once that demonic attack happens, Morris starts to kick things into high gear. His colors get a bit more intense and the framing goes from more plain squares and rectangles to more dynamic shapes that reflect the strong, sudden shift in tone. That disruption is incredibly exciting and hopefully it’s indicative of even stronger things to come as “Gospel” starts to lean more strongly into fantasy.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – A lovely, beautifully illustrated, well-written issue promises that only better things are coming
The New Golden Age #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Diego Olortegui with J.P. Mayer and Scott Hanna, Jerry Ordway, Steve Lieber, Todd Nauck, Scott Kolins, Viktor Bognonovic, Brandon Peterson, and Gary Frank
Colored by Nick Filardi, John Kalisz, Matt Herms, Jordan Boyd, and Brad Anderson
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
There is so much to cover in this book that a micro review hardly seems the right place to discuss it. However, even a standard review would have to miss some topics in order to discuss the book in a cohesive way. Suffice to say, if you’re at all interested in the stuff that Geoff Johns has been working on at DC over the past five years, from “Doomsday Clock” to “Flashpoint Beyond,” this is essential reading. This book acts as the glyph for a number of upcoming books, as well as showing where Johns is taking his corner of the DCU.
One of the issues in this book is that the quality of the work jumps wildly, depending on which aspect of the story Johns is covering. The Dr. Fate pieces, ranging across thousands of years, are entertaining and feel like classic DC. On the other hand, the Huntress pieces feel like Johns is trying to split the difference between Earth-1 and Earth-2, and sort of does both dirty in the process. Without a coherent timeline in place for some of this stuff, it can feel a little tentative and without a real vision.
That isn’t helped by having eight pencilers work on the book, though all of their work ranges from good to great. Unsurprisingly, the work from DC veterans like Ordway, Lieber, Nauck, and Kolins all sing. The pages by regular Johns collaborator Gary Frank feel expected at this point, as their “Doomsday Clock” story is still, somehow, going.
One of the pieces that will be picked up on in the new “Stargirl: The Lost Children” miniseries is the idea of forgotten sidekicks who, along with a few other characters, get new “Who’s Who”-style entries in the backmatter, but are actually all new creations. It’s a lovely touch that adds some patina to the creations and makes everything feel very lived in and real.
Final Verdict: 6.2 – There’s a lot of good here, but some of it gets lost in the sheer amount of ideas in the book. And, it gets knocked down a whole point for keeping the “Doomsday Clock” shenanigans going.
Specs #1
Written by David M. Booher
Illustrated by Chris Shehan
Colored by Roman Stevens
Lettered by Jim Campbell
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
“Specs” is an interesting story because David M. Booher draws the reader in with a sense of horror and perhaps gore with the disappearance of a young teenager when the story’s reality is more centered around romance and self-discovery. Booher draws the reader in with the promise of The Haunting of Hill House when the reality is more The Haunting of Bly Manor. The omniscient voice throughout the opening issue creates this distraught tone that the disappearance of the local bully, while slightly justified, isn’t what drives the story; it’s about the decisions that weren’t made; it’s said so right on the first page. However, this doesn’t take away from the story because since the main characters are teenagers in high school, it only makes sense that they will make mistakes that, given a little more thought, could have made an enormous difference. The fact that Booher also brings up the “monkey paw” aspect of it is just a quick reminder to the reader that something will go wrong and brings it back to the Goosebump vibe of pure chaos, but hopefully with some more depth and explanation.
The illustrations by Chris Shehan use heavy inks to give them this textured, watercolor kind of look, which fits because it helps to create this spooky vibe, as opposed to straight horror, because the readers want to see if it will go wild or horrific. However, it stays grounded, and though it might be seen as a disappointment for anyone looking for something horrific, it’s nice because it fits into the slow-burn vibe. Roman Stevens does an excellent job with his color choices by keeping the majority of the story with his use of creating a natural light during the school scenes. There is also a scene when Ted and Kenny are alone together that uses this red-pink light from the sun setting that creates this romantic atmosphere. At that point, the reader becomes aware of Kenny’s crush, then is immediately shifted to the dark with Kenny alone, contemplating his thoughts. That quick change of pace and scenery adds to the teenage crush element of the story from Shehan and Booher.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Although the genre is slightly different than what readers would have anticipated from any cover art, it’s a slow-burn introduction that has the potential for something scarier.
