What I Bought 9/21/2012 - Part 5

Back to the grind. That's not right, though. These were fairly enjoyable comics, which is a decent starting place, at least. There's still that Superman story I could do without, but I can at least appreciate the attempt by the parties involved.

Batman Beyond Unlimited #7 & 8, by Derek Fridolfs (writer, inker), Dustin Nguyen (writer, penciler), Randy Mayor (colorist), Saida Temofonte (letterer) {Konstriction, chapters 8 & 9}; Derek Fridolfs & Dustin Nguyen (writers), James Brouwer (artist), Saida Temofonte (letterer) {Beyond Origin: Aquagirl}; Adam Beechen (writer), Norm Breyfogle (artist), Andrew Elder (colorist), Saida Temofonte (letterer) {10,000 Clowns}; J.T. Krul (writer), Howard Porter (penciler), John Livesay (inker), Tony Avina (colorist), Saida Temofonte (letterer) {Failsafe} - The heroes are getting progressively more beat up across these covers.

So I guess the Superman story is taking place some time prior to Wayne tapping McGinnis to be Batman. Which might explain the clunky armor, the different Batplane, and Superman being so much more mopey than he is in Nguyen and Fridolfs' story. The two of them manage to not die, but with Supes weakened by the Green K asteroid belt ringing the Earth, they flee for the Fortress. While Bats tries to find a way to deal with that problem, Lex has his tower convert into a mech and rampage through metropolis to draw Superman out. Once he sees that Walker, that one nanotech cop has overloaded himself on the stuff to try and fight the mech, Superman activates the "Eradicator protocol" and flies back towards Metropolis encased in some ugly looking protective gear.

I like the idea of Lex having a building that turns into a giant robot, solely for the purposes of luring out Superman. The fact he wouldn't give a thought to the loss of lives is chilling, if frustrating since he appears to be dead and thus can't be held responsible. I do think Krul shunted off Solomon Grundy awful fast. Wouldn't he object to his criminal enterprises be crushed underfoot by some massive decoy of Luthor's? Porter's art doesn't serve to elevate the story any. People look wildly different depending on what panel, and there's no energy to the fight scenes whatsoever. That's why I talked about this story first, to get the negativity out of the way.

The origin story for Aquagirl did raise some interesting possibilities about her motivations in my mind, but mostly it serves to illustrate what a jerk Aquaman is. I get how nearly losing his son could make him overprotective of his next child, especially after she's abducted from the crib and brought to Apokolips (that came out of left field, let me tell you). But the fact he banished his son for not stopping this, then becomes such an overbearing presence in Aquagirl's life that she wants to get to the surface just to get some peace and quiet, and so he banishes her as well, what the hell?

That being said, it was an action-packed 10-page story, and James Brouwer's art carries it off well. He does his own colors, and the cool greens of the undersea parts, contrasts very well with the dark reds, almost black. Also, something about the way he lays out the panels, the occasional extreme close-ups, the long, short panels showing two different locations, both related by the exposition box, it reminds me of Samurai Jack. That's a good thing, I quite liked Samurai Jack.

In the Justice League story, everything is going badly. The JL's team-up with Apokolips and New Genesis accomplished nothing - except causing the Serpent to change into a bigger, meaner version of itself. And Mad Harriet died! Aw, I kind of liked that daffy dame. Before they try to defend Earth, everyone goes off to see their loved ones, except Supes and Barda, who apparently have no one. Warm fuzzies. Terry is feeling more than a little overwhelmed, so Bruce hands him a book with a passage marked, and a tube of ashes. Only to be used when all hope is lost. And he won't tell Terry what to expect. That's ominous.

On the Batman side, Doug's made himself King Joker, and dosed all the other Jokerz with some sort of drug. Which means they don't mind suicide bombing Gotham into oblivion. The cops are outmatched, and Terry's on his, except for Mr. Chill, who has finished upgrading his outfit and decides to become Vigilante. Oh, and the new Catwoman showed up at the end, and Dick Grayson might get in the swing of things. But for now, not a lot of help available. Max has been abducted by some mysterious pair, and Bruce is in the hospital because his liver is failing. Apparently he's been taking major painkillers for years. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about organ donations, but if Bruce got himself near the top of the list years ago, should he still be waiting for a new one?

I think I'd be OK with Doug's new look except for the little whatever on the top of his head. There's a line of black, then more white with little black triangles above it. It's like some ridiculous little cap, and it throws off the creepier aspects of the rest of the design. I do like the first page in issue 8, with Sad Batman walking out of the explosion carrying the bodies of his former sidekicks and partners. He looks almost comically sad, but if you look, his shoulders are sagging more with every panel, every death, the weight of it all, crushing him. It's a highly effective image.