This week is Superman: Unchained #2, Batman #22, and Suicide Squad #22. Here is the link to last month's review. The Cover: Yeah, it is another generic cover just like last month. I assume Lee was trying to pay homage to Action Comics #1, but that has been done numerous times. While Superman holding a torn American flag with destroyed tanks all around could create a sense of mystery, the generic pose Superman is in detracts from anything good in this cover. But in good news, Superman: Unchained has a thicker cover again this month. The Art: Jim Lee is good at capturing epic moments. This is best illustrated by the opening sequence; the action and scope of it are reminiscent of an action movie. But he also makes a few missteps in this issue. For starters, he flips back and forth between a pre-52 Hulk-esque Superman and a post-52 leaner Superman. I wouldn't mind it too much if Lee stuck to drawing an overly-muscled Superman consistently, but he randomly draws the new, leaner Superman. In one scene Superman is even drawn as less muscular than Batman. And speaking of that scene, his Bruce and Clark look like the exact same character. The Best Panel of the Book: Page nine, panel three. Batman can totally kick Superman's ass at anytime. The Story: Oh... where do I start? This comic book is easily the worst comic book Snyder has written. That is not to say that it is bad, but it is just okay. The opening sequence of Superman trying to stop the tallest building in the world from falling is overblown and epic, but it seems to serve no purpose other that just being overblown and epic. And the robot that he fights in that sequence is really dumb. What hell is this? The Silver Age? The scene where Clark meets up with Bruce feels very out of place. Snyder tends to keep his Batman separate from the rest of the DCU (like he should), so seeing Batman talking to Superman like they are good buddies feels odd. The military just deciding to turn on Superman is also odd. And the back-up "story" is just a two page sequence; it just feels completely unrealized. The transition from Lee to Nguyen is, once again, very jarring. It also feels very unfocused. Snyder tries to blend government cover-up, another Superman type person, and anarchist groups all into one comic book. I am not saying that this can't be done; I am just saying that Snyder does a poor job of making this feel like it belongs together. And speaking of anarchist groups... Anonymous style anarchist groups are showing up all over comic books recently (Superman: Unchained, Suicide Squad, The Movement). This move is a fairly obvious thing to do, and I am not saying that it shouldn't be done. It's just that when the market becomes so flooded with something, it is very important that one does something original with the concept... and Snyder just doesn't (this group even wears matching masks). Everything Snyder attempts is either very safe or feels completely disconnected. This book isn't going off of my pull-list just yet... I think it might get better in the future. If you are a Superman fan or a Snyder fan I would recommend at least checking out the first issue. I should start with the bad news: Ales Kot will know longer be writing Suicide Squad after issue 23. Matt Kindt will be taking over the story, but Zircher will stay on the art. Monday, I find out Ryan Davis died; Tuesday, I find out that my favorite new writer is no longer writing Suicide Squad. This week has just sucked ass. And all because DC can't get their priorities straight, and their power-hungry, ignorant editors scare off yet another good writer. The amount of times I have considered not buying another DC published book has been too damn high recently. The Cover: After a brief intermission from cool looking covers last month, things are back to normal (mostly). The cover's pink and purple hues are really unique. But I don't like the way Pearson draws Harley Quinn. Apart from being straight-up anorexic, she also appears much more... let us say "well-endowed" than normal. The Best Panels of the Book: Page eleven, panels four through seven. This book is simply hilarious, so it was hard to choose my favorite panels. The Art: My assessment of Zircher's art still stands. Zircher knows exactly what he is doing; he does comic book and does it well. The Story: The Suicide Squad is sent to Las Vegas to stop a anarchist group who wants to use billboards to reduce people to their base instincts and emotions; this is an example of an anarchist group done well. It is simply amazing how dense this book is with meta-comments and commentaries on the real world. Ales Kot does an amazing job of making these subtle, but not so subtle that people are left confused. And this issue is damn funny. Kot is also a genius at understanding these characters, while simultaneously making them his own. I fear that if I say more I will ruin the surprises. I will simply say that you should this and the last couple of issues. Even if you don't read comic books, you should buy this, because this guy is the new Grant Morrison. As always, if you have any questions or comments about the review or questions about how to get into comic books, feel free to ask/post.
... And here is the review for Batman. The Cover: The cover is cool, but it doesn't go with the comic book. It would make sense if we saw Batman building his gear, making a batarang, or something, but none of that is found in this issue. Putting aside the irrelevance of the cover, it is another cool looking cover from Capullo. The pouring metal is eye-catching without being overly dramatic, and the color on the liquid metal is perfect. My only problem is the shape of the bat being cast; it would make more sense for the shape of the bat to have a more modern Batman look. The Art: As I said last month, Greg Capullo's slightly animated style is beautiful, and Rafael Albuquerque has an amazing painted style. I did have some problems with the colorist this month, though. There were quite a few instances of bright neon colors being used that felt really out of place. As I also stated last month, I don't have a problem with a Batman comic being colorful, but the pinks and purples in this issue are just off-putting. The Best Panel of the Book: Impossible tie between the splash panels on page nineteen and page twenty-three. The Story: Snyder is just not having a good month so far, but let us stick to the good for now. The basic story is continuing with what was started last issue: Bruce, who is not yet Batman and still declared dead, is still trying to take down the Red Hood Gang, all while being pressured by his uncle. The opening page is simply amazing; it has a great sense of parallelism between the three panels and a nice reference to something to come in the story. Pages like this, and page nineteen, remind me of how great of a writer Snyder is. The meeting between Bruce and Edward Nygma was the best part of this issue. Snyder truly understands the relationship between the two characters. And now we must come the bad, and there is a lot of it. Snyder introduces The Penguin early on but does absolutely nothing with him. Snyder's characterization of Batman in this issue is just atrocious. He pushes Batman past an angry youth to the point of Batman just being a complete asshole. The conversation between Alfred and Bruce is taken way too far; it is just insulting to both of the characters. Also insulting is the level of indecisiveness Bruce portrays; I understand that Snyder wants Bruce to be a little bit green, but this is just ridiculous. If you like your Batman as an indecisive asshole, then this is the issue for you. The back-up story was a neat little self-contained story; certainly not the best thing I have ever read, but still pretty good. I like the idea that in every issue Bruce will reference something from his training, and then it will be shown in the back-up. The characterization of Bruce in the back-up was much better then in the main story. While this issue is a slip-up, I wouldn't let it deter you from trying out the Zero Year arc. Last issue, which was the first issue in the story arc, was amazing, and I would suggest picking up both of the issues. Knowing Snyder this will probably get better.
