Punisher #3

Story by

Greg Rucka

 

Art by

Marco Checchetto

 

Colors by

Matt Hollingsworth

 

Letters by

Joe Caramagna

 

Cover by

Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, Paul Mounts

 

Publisher

Marvel Comics

I figure I should take a break from the New 52 and head over to the competition, today we have The Punisher vs The Vulture in Punisher issue #3.  Punisher is one of those characters I have had a love hate relationship with, as a villain and complication to a story featuring Daredevil or Spider-man he is fantastic, his ongoing solo stories though have had some issues over the years.  Don't get me wrong I have read some good solo Punisher stories, the Garth Ennis years in particular were pretty good for the most part.

The Plot

This issue is basically a long aerial fight scene with the new Vulture with some scenes of Sgt Alves recovering in the hospital, Detectives Clemons and Bolt continue tracking leads on the shooting they were investigating, and a woman named Norah who is surprised to see that good old Frank is still alive.

What Was Right

The story really moved, I was slightly surprised hitting the last page of it so quick, this combined with the art was quite good.  Handling an aerial fight and making it look good is not an easy task from what I can tell and Marco hit it spot on.  Unfortunately I am not familiar with the recent history of the Punisher so I am unsure who some of the supporting characters are but I am sure I will get an idea of who Norah is for instance in the next issue.

What Was Wrong

My big problem was the coloring of the aerial fight, I couldn't quite tell what was coming out of the Vulture's mouth at first, I thought he just bled weird or spewed smoke.  Then I realized he was spewing acid like an Alien.  This is also my first encounter with the New Vulture so I wasn't suspecting the acid.  That was really my only gripe with the book.

End of Line

Punisher to me is the perfect fit for a gritty over the top crime comic and as long as it seems to stay that way I will stick with it.  So the Punisher makes the cut and hits my Pull List for now.  I just hope they stick more to dealing with characters with the Exchange and keep the super-powered villains to a minimum as not to spoil it when they do appear.

Batgirl #1

Story by
Gail Simone

Art by
Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes

Colors by
Ulises Arreola

Letters  by
Dave Sharpe

Cover by
Adam Hughes
 
Publisher 
DC Comics

Batgirl revisited again.  I will start this out by saying I think DC made a mistake and should have stuck with Stephanie Brown or Cassandra Caine as Batgirl.  Their statement that the most recognizable Batgirl is Barbara Gordon doesn't hold up for her since they made Damien Wayne Robin and not Dick Grayson. That being said...

The Plot 

Batgirl is back in action as Barbara Gordon has mysteriously recovered from being paralyzed after a shot through the spine in a Killing Joke flashback scene.  While on patrol she quickly dispatches some thugs who are in the process of a home invasion/murder scene Ala Charlie Manson.  While Batgirl saves the day a new Villain called The Mirror is checking his list as he dispatches people who seem to have cheated death in someway or recovered from injuries in miraculous a way.  Barbara is of course on the list. He may have watched Final Destination a little too closely. Barbara on the other hand has decided since she can walk again is moving out of her dad's place and in with a cool artist girl who I am sure later will be cast as a victim.  For the climax of the issue Batgirl races off to the hospital in order to save one of the would be murderers from earlier in the issue from the Mirror.  The Mirror successfully kills a cop, injures another one and because he has a gun Batgirl freezes up and won't attack him so he pushes the thug throw a window.  The Mirror seems to like killing people in the fashion that they would have died in.  I guess they don't make shatterproof glass like they used to.  The wounded cop then blames Batgirl for the murderer's death.



What Was Right


I found the art decent and the interactions with the roommate and the Commish well handled.  The pacing was well done and kept a good flow throughout till the climax of the issue.  I feel fans of Gail Simone will enjoy the story as the characters were for the most part well written.

Batgirl's inner monologue throughout the book was good as well.  Gail did a good job of trying to make her feel real.


What Was Wrong


I find it hard here to not break my promise and tear down the book piece by little piece.  I do not feel that this story was entirely Gail's fault, I think DC Comics as a whole is to blame on it and Gail did her best with the project.  That being said it was well written for what she had to work with, I do not think DC was justified in using Barbara and if they really wanted to I do not think referencing the Killing Joke was the way to go.  For a rebooted series it did not feel like a reboot, it felt like all the Oracle stories were pretty much just dumped in the garbage.  Now they do have three years to play with where they could do back stories showing Oracle but this is really just another way of saying cop out.


My other issue is at the end of the book, I have a serious issue with Batgirl freezing over being faced with a gun.  I know she was shot and that could lead to PTSD but come on has she ever heard of Deadshot?  If Batgirl is running around fighting crime she would also have to be ready to deal with at least one psycho with a gun.


Final problem, it is bad enough to have a superhero living with the Commissioner and trying to keep a secret identity but getting a roommate?  I can see it know, she wanders into Barb's room to steal a sweater and finds the Batgirl costume a little too early for Halloween.


End of Line


Well will I be adding it to my pull list?  The answer is No, I do not feel this book is worth my time.  I am actually troubled by this as I am generally a fan of the Batgirl character, I just wish DC went in a different direction.

Swamp Thing #1

Story by
Scott Snyder

Art by
Yanick Paquette

Colors by
Nathan Fairbairn

Letters by
John J. Hill

Cover by
Yanick Paquette

Publisher
DC Comics

Lets reintroduce ourselves to the muck covered monstrosity.  I am not the super diehard fan of Swamp Thing although I am fast becoming one.  The only real exposure I had to him was the House of Secrets 92, the original Series by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, the 2 movies, and a scattering of the Alan Moore issues that introduced John Constantine.  Basically first and foremost I am a fan of Bernie Wrightson, secondly I am a fan of horror comics, Swamp Thing offered both and for some reason I never collected this title.  I am now thinking about filling in the gaps I have in my collection, which is more like pits rather than gaps.

The Plot

Things are dying, so many things are dying that Superman, Batman, and Aquaman have taken notice.  Que Dr. Alec Holland who for some reason has given up the lab life in order to fulfill his childhood dreams as a construction worker.  Okay not really, so far Alec does not appear to be Swamp Thing, although the local vegetation seems a bit too friendly with him.  Then Superman shows up and they have a conversation about the current wildlife events along with some fun with science by Dr. Alec Holland  add in some mysterious talks about the past and our big green friend and we get the makings of a storyline.  While this is going on we get some more plot about a disappearing mammoth skeleton and some scarey panels.  The book climaxes with a really good stinger that sold the book for me completely.  I will not spoil it.

What Was Right

The pacing by far was the best part all the way up till the end.  Snyder weaved an amazing tale and with Paquette's art it was a pleasure to read.

What Was Wrong

I am not sure the other DC heroes were needed, I know that they want to show Swamp Thing as a part of the DC Universe and not off in his own little corner, but I think the book could have been sold better if you saw the normals reacting to the all the wildlife instead of the heroes, also I don't think Superman was needed i believe it would have been more interesting if it was an old colleague discussing  the event with him, they would have to work out the mysterious ramblings about a  certain green persona another way but I don't think this would have been hard execute either. 

End of Line

I believe this will satisfy the longtime fans of Swamp Thing and is a good bridge into the horror genre of comics.  Will I be adding it to my Pull List, definitely.

Justice League #1

Story by

Geoff Johns

 

Art by

Jim Lee, Scott Williams

 

Colors by

Alex Sinclair

 

Letters by

Patrick Brosseau

 

Cover by

Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair

 

Publisher

 DC Comics

This is the first review of hopefully a long line of  enjoyable comic reviews.  First and foremost I do not want to review a comic from a hate standpoint, I would rather look at the book from the perspective of "who would enjoy reading the book".  The purpose of this standpoint is that I find it far to easy to just degrade a book into the ground, then I would become the reviewer that I hate, one who only has taste in their mouth.

Second these reviews may contain SPOILERS, you have been warned.

So on with it already.  I have always been mainly a Marvel guy, worshiping Spider-man and the X-Men throughout my childhood and only really paying attention to DC with a few comics so when they stated they were rebooting the entire line I figured what the hell, I will check it out.

The Plot

Justice League #1 the Launch title of the New 52 begins approximately 5 years before the current new DC Universe begins with Batman being hounded by the Gotham Police Department while chasing after some kind of alien monster that is also a transformer.  Green Lantern shows up and "helps out" the caped crusader.  The two decide to form an alliance, I use that word lightly, and head off to Metropolis in search of Superman since he is an alien and obviously knows where this one came from, Seibertron obviously.  One right hook later and Batman is facing down big blue himself (not IBM).

What Was Right

Jim Lee with Scott Williams, I don't need to go much further than that.  The art was amazing and was tastie to my eyes.  I have been a long time fan of this team stemming back to the early X-Men and Punisher:War Journal days.

Geoff John's story was okay at best but not terrible for a generic superhero story.  I do not like his depiction of Green Lantern as a shoot first and ask questions later type, I feel it was done better by Denny O'Neil in the classic Green Lantern, Green Arrow series.  All said and done though I am intrigued about the Transformer Monster and I am wondering if Darkseid and Unicron teamed up to take out the Earth.  

What Was Wrong

Green Lantern is basically an overconfident show boat space cop that likes to run into situations half cocked, cops that run in half cocked die.  Being a Green Lantern means the ring chose him because he would make a suitable cop in the Galactic Patrol while trying to save the universe from the Boskone threat, wait that's not quite right.  you get the idea though.  I would have had him go off into the building with a green energy field around him or have Supes punch through a wall and get him, that would have all been better than wait here you crazy guy in a bat suit while the real super powered guy checks this out.  I know why they did it, and I am kind of looking forward to the square off between Superman and Batman next issue, but I wish it was handled differently.

End of Line

My closing thoughts on the book are this; it was typical superhero stuff, no new ground here just same old heroes in a slightly different light for some of them.  Was the book bad, not especially but it wasn't great either.  Fans of Jim and Scott should definitely grab it as well as anyone who is interested in the New 52 since it is the launch book.  If you want a better Justice League Year One story, the cartoon is where to look.

Now the most important question, will I buy the next issue?  Yes, I will be adding this to my pull list for as long as the art team is on the book.