April 16, 2014 Comic Reviews
Not a single Marvel or Image comic this week. But that's okay. Because there was Batman.
Batman no. 30 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and FCO Plascencia | DC | $3.99
My God, DC produces some beautiful $3.99 books compared to Marvel.
Anyway, Plascencia is the bomb. This book seriously bleeds charisma and while Capullo's art goes a long way toward that, it really wouldn't be what it is without the color spectrum dripping down every page. But then again, the level of detail Capullo shoves into every panel, it's hard to imagine this book looking anything but fantastic. Seriously, how does he keep a monthly schedule?
Of course, Snyder can't, and shouldn't, be ignored, as his epic storyline is truly the draw here. While Batman-proper doesn't appear until well near the book's end, the reveal, and the build-up to it, work the hero into the sort of mythic persona we know, even more so than previous in Zero Year.
Hobby Hole score: 9.6/Fantastic
Previous issue's score: 9.6/Fantastic
Harley Quinn no. 5 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Chad Hardin and Alex Sinclair | DC | $2.99
Suddenly, there's a Jew.
Really, in case you missed it, we're slapped in the face repeatedly with the Yiddish. This, combined with the later Russian(?) accents and various other dialects made the book not only difficult to read, but frustrating as well. It makes it seem as though Conner and Palmiotti simply wanted to write the accents and found an excuse.
Around the dialogue, the story was as aimless as ever, but continues to be a fun romp. It's unfortunate, though, that things like the Burlesque, which could hold rather interesting story possibilities, is glossed over so easily. Then again, it could always be referenced again in the future.
Hardin does is best with all of these scenes, and is the true reason they work so effectively, but he unfortunately continues to have some troubles with anatomy. Harley seem to vary nationalities and bone structure not just page to page, but panel to panel. Hopefully, this becomes less of an issue as the series progresses.
Hobby Hole score: 6.5/Meh
Previous issue's score: 8.2/Great
Justice League no. 29 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Rod Reis | DC | $3.99
Like Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns seems to write characters better than he writes plots. That's no knock against their arcs, because the two of them have certainly produced some of the more memorable storylines in recent memory, but they also tend to forget/ignore certain developments.
Such as the meeting between Cyborg and Platinum earlier in this series. I brought this up last issue, as it seemed to be entirely brushed aside, but Johns' attempt to rectify that meeting this issue comes off as entirely tacked on and awkward. The same could be said of the issue's ending, but, thankfully, most of the rest of the story (outside an odd, unnecessary recap of Forever Evil) is rather fun and entertaining, with a few standout moments for Cyborg in particular.
These are captured rather epically by Mahnke and Reis through a number of silent, rain-drenched poses that would look keen on any number of posters. Unfortunately, Reis over-colored a few points to give Grid an extra glowing eye while Mahnke relied a bit too much on the overly-posed villain reveals. But these hardly detract from the comic.
Hobby Hole score: 8.0/Great
Previous issue's score: 8.6/Great
Batman no. 30 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo and FCO Plascencia | DC | $3.99
My God, DC produces some beautiful $3.99 books compared to Marvel.
Anyway, Plascencia is the bomb. This book seriously bleeds charisma and while Capullo's art goes a long way toward that, it really wouldn't be what it is without the color spectrum dripping down every page. But then again, the level of detail Capullo shoves into every panel, it's hard to imagine this book looking anything but fantastic. Seriously, how does he keep a monthly schedule?
Of course, Snyder can't, and shouldn't, be ignored, as his epic storyline is truly the draw here. While Batman-proper doesn't appear until well near the book's end, the reveal, and the build-up to it, work the hero into the sort of mythic persona we know, even more so than previous in Zero Year.
Hobby Hole score: 9.6/Fantastic
Previous issue's score: 9.6/Fantastic
Harley Quinn no. 5 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Chad Hardin and Alex Sinclair | DC | $2.99
Suddenly, there's a Jew.
Really, in case you missed it, we're slapped in the face repeatedly with the Yiddish. This, combined with the later Russian(?) accents and various other dialects made the book not only difficult to read, but frustrating as well. It makes it seem as though Conner and Palmiotti simply wanted to write the accents and found an excuse.
Around the dialogue, the story was as aimless as ever, but continues to be a fun romp. It's unfortunate, though, that things like the Burlesque, which could hold rather interesting story possibilities, is glossed over so easily. Then again, it could always be referenced again in the future.
Hardin does is best with all of these scenes, and is the true reason they work so effectively, but he unfortunately continues to have some troubles with anatomy. Harley seem to vary nationalities and bone structure not just page to page, but panel to panel. Hopefully, this becomes less of an issue as the series progresses.
Hobby Hole score: 6.5/Meh
Previous issue's score: 8.2/Great
Justice League no. 29 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Rod Reis | DC | $3.99
Like Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns seems to write characters better than he writes plots. That's no knock against their arcs, because the two of them have certainly produced some of the more memorable storylines in recent memory, but they also tend to forget/ignore certain developments.
Such as the meeting between Cyborg and Platinum earlier in this series. I brought this up last issue, as it seemed to be entirely brushed aside, but Johns' attempt to rectify that meeting this issue comes off as entirely tacked on and awkward. The same could be said of the issue's ending, but, thankfully, most of the rest of the story (outside an odd, unnecessary recap of Forever Evil) is rather fun and entertaining, with a few standout moments for Cyborg in particular.
These are captured rather epically by Mahnke and Reis through a number of silent, rain-drenched poses that would look keen on any number of posters. Unfortunately, Reis over-colored a few points to give Grid an extra glowing eye while Mahnke relied a bit too much on the overly-posed villain reveals. But these hardly detract from the comic.
Hobby Hole score: 8.0/Great
Previous issue's score: 8.6/Great
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