Batgirl #19 - There have been a series of attacks on banks in Gotham, conducted at super-speed, but with only a small amount taken each time. Wendy resumes her duties as Proxy, as Steph and the Grey Ghost run into the speedster Batgirl encountered briefly two issues back. He trounces them easily, but is forced to flee before he can beat them up any worse. Wendy does figure out why Slipstream is only taking a little money each time. I'm not sure why what he's planning is any smarter than simply robbing each bank blind as he hits them. Surely as he's started to break into the banks, the others have heightened their security, but it hasn't mattered. Perhaps it's about more than simply grabbing and having lots of cash.The cover lists Dustin Nguyen, and he does draw the cover, but the interiors are actually by Ramon Bachs, whose style feels like it's somewhere in between Nguyen's and Pere Perez. It's not as simplified as some of Nguyen's work, but the angularity of some of the faces, and some of the expressions remind me of his work a little. Steph's lips did seem abnormally large this month, though. Goldie Hawn-like, which kept distracting me.
Batman Beyond #3 - Batman and the Justice League defeat the Matter Master. Or maybe they just keep him busy until he suffers the side effects that might come with integrating a matter-altering weapon into one's body. Terry agrees to join the JL, but on his terms, which the team surprisingly accepts. Warhawk objects, but I expected Barda to bristle at McGinnis' tone as well. In the subplot department, Dana is frustrated that Terry's resumed ducking out on her, her brother's getting out of jail in a week, and a former Gotham detective is accusing Dick Grayson of being Nightwing, which will surely lead to questions about Bruce Wayne and from him, to Terry. We'll see how that goes.I wonder why Beechen opted to have Terry agree to join the JL. My best guess is he plans to send Terry out of Gotham more often, get him globe-trotting the way Bruce has frequently in his history. Might not be a bad idea after he shredded Terry's gallery of Gotham foes in the mini-series. In art news, Benjamin's art is slipping a little more each issue. At one point, Micron uses a pipe to pin Matter Master down, trying to keep him from using his hands. Matter Master's rejoinder is that his power isn't in his hands, but the art shows him grabbing the pipe with his hands and turning it into phosphorous. Some of the angles are kind of strange as well, like the image is being distorted by intense gravitational fields.
Darkwing Duck Annual #1 - Two stories in this comic. The first is by Ian Brill, with art by Sabrina Alberghetti, and it deals with Darkwing trying to track down Quackerjack, who has gotten considerably angrier since the days of the cartoon, presumably because of that time Negaduck dissed him as not being tough enough for a villain. His plan involves turning online game players into toys, which he'll sell. Darkwing learns a little about "Jacky" from a girlfriend he had during the Quackwerks days, and tries to at least get Quackerjack back to his more goofy past, but it doesn't quite work out that way. It has a sad end, but it's a very good story. The other story was written by Tad Stones (who was one of Darkwing's major creators, if not the sole creator), with art by James Silvani, and details Gosalyn's search for a pet, and turns into a time travel story. In a surprising twist for me, the characters in the story are more confused by the standard paradoxes than I am. Because I've opted not to think about them. Better that way.This is the first interior work of Alberghetti's I've seen, and I quite like it. The established characters are all clearly recognizable, but she brings her own style, so it's not simply an aping of James Silvani. Her DW seems to have even more pronounced cheeks, but his plumage is a bit smoother. I love the look on Quackerjack's face as he's used like a puppet by his animated new and improved Mr. Banana Brain. It's very much "Something is not right here". I was surprised at Bril's writing of Darkwing in that story, because it reminded me a bit more of the cartoon, where Darkwing wasn't nearly as clever as he thought he was, and tended to get shown up by Gosalyn. That hasn't been quite as prevalent in the comics, and I wonder if this marks as shift in how Brill will write Darkwing, or if he felt it was a better approach for a done-in-one story.
Secret Six #31 - Bane really might want to get his left arm looked at.Two plot threads in this issue. Scandal decides it's time to get off the pot and bring Knockout back from Hell. Except the card is missing. She figures out who took it, confronts him, but he escapes to Hell. Black Alice, having been to Hell previously, shows the rest of the team a way to get there, but wisely opts not to follow. There will be fighting next issue, I'm sure. The other thread involves some wackaloon abducting Liana, who was already depressed because Scandal blew her off at the start of the issue. He claims he's not out to kill or rape her. That's nice. He is, however, going to "deprogram" her. It will likely involve Tabasco in her eyes. While I'm sure Ragdoll would enjoy that, I highly doubt Liana will.
I don't know where this arc is going to go. It's not a bad start, and I'm sure the Six' confidence in their ability to handle whatever Hell throws at them will bite them in the rear. I'm surprised, as angry as he is about things, Ragdoll can put on the cheery/insane front he usually does around the others. Maybe the monkeys help. And what the heck is that painting on the wall in his room? With the person's mouth being stretched open and stuff pouring out. My first guess was Hieronymus Bosch, because I've heard his work could be pretty disturbing, but it's just a guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment