jeudi 16 février 2017

Comic Book Reviews for February 15, 2017


DC Rebirth gets even bigger this week.

It was another big week of comics, as DC launched The Wild Storm, Batwoman and Super Sons, Marvel wrapped up The Clone Conspiracy and Image delivered pivotal new chapters of both The Walking Dead and Invincible.

Scroll down to check out our reviews for these and various other new releases, and be sure to let us know your favorite books of the week in the comments below.

Batman #17
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Written by Tom King | Drawn by David Finch

"Tom King's Batman run is, among many other things, a master class in how to use Bane as a proper villain. King is clearly a believer in the 'less is more' approach. Two issues into 'I Am Bane,' readers still barely catch a glimpse of the villain as he executes his revenge on the Batman family. As in any good horror story, that's really the ideal way to handle a villain. Bane may be more physically imposing than ever under David Finch's hand, but he'll always be more scary as a lurking, unseen threat rather than a brute who charges directly into battle." -Jesse

Click here to read the entire review!

Final Score:

Batwoman: Rebirth #1
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Written by James Tynion IV & Marguerite Bennett | Drawn by Steve Epting

If you haven’t been reading Detective Comics, then the script for Batwoman Rebirth #1 may be a little disorienting. A lot of that is due to the disjointed way that Marguerite Bennett and James Tynion IV walk us through Batwoman’s past, present, and future. Assuming that we can trust what we’re seeing, Batwoman is heading to an interesting place. But this issue doesn’t even try to explain the context of the ending. That is not friendly to new readers. Strangely, it seems like Batwoman is more compelling out of costume than in the few pages when she's actually suited up. Some of these moments have been seen before in the previous Batwoman series, but Steve Epting’s artwork gives them an added power and his pages are simply amazing. Epting is at the top of his game here, and he carries the issue when the rest of the storytelling falters. This Batwoman relaunch should have been a lot better, but on the strength of the creative team alone, we’re willing to give it a few issues. -Blair

Final Score:

Justice League #15
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Written by Bryan Hitch | Drawn by Fernando Pasarin

We're seeing more and more DC books starting to touch on the lingering mysteries behind DC Rebirth, and now Justice League is entering the fray as it begins a new story arc. "Timeless" manages to touch on those mysteries while at the same time tying back to Bryan Hitch's pre-Rebirth JLA book. It's nice to see a little added depth mixed in with the book's familiar spectacle and widescreen action. That said, this issue seems a little pointlessly complicated in how Hitch tries to represent the chaotic nature of time-travel through the jumbled, fractured approach to chronology. It doesn't really have the desired effect. Artist Fernando Pasarin is an apt choice to render a story with such massive scope, though. His ultra-detailed characters and massive shots rival Hitch's own work in their cinematic quality. -Jesse

Final Score:

Super Sons #1
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Written by Peter Tomasi | Drawn by Jorge Jimenez

One of the best aspects of the DC Rebirth initiative is that DC is actually letting Superman be a married man with a kid, which feels like progression rather than a rehash everything that came before it. And that also gave us Jonathan Kent, the new Superboy. Super Sons #1 is the new book that features Jonathan teaming up with Batman’s son, Damian Wayne, in an on-going partnership. And while Peter Tomasi never adequately explains why Damian is suddenly so eager to join forces with Jonathan, he nails their interactions with each other. The best jokes in the book come out of Damian’s absurdly complicated ways of spying on Jonathan. Tomasi’s dialogue for some of the kids isn’t always convincing, but he does an admirable job of conveying what it’s like for Jonathan to withstand the temptation to use his powers in the face of vicious taunting and bullying from his peers. And there is a certain joy to seeing Robin and Superboy strike out on their own, which Jorge Jimenez captures in his artwork. The visual callback to The Dark Knight is particularly funny. We’re not quite sure why this book exists, but we’re glad that it does. Super Sons has a lot of potential, and hopefully it will live up to that. -Blair

Final Score:

Superman #17
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Written by Peter Tomasi & Patrick Gleason | Drawn by Sebastian Fiumara

Consider this issue a quick palate cleanser in between major story arcs. Jon Kent takes the spotlight as he and Kathy venture into the ominously named Dead Man's Swamp to tack down a missing cow. What follows is a heaping helping of horror movie imagery and general psychedelic trippy-ness. There's not much depth to this tale, though it is always fun to see the friendship between Jon and his neighbor blossom and Jon to build up his confidence in the superhero game. But mostly, this issue reads like an excuse to let guest artist Sebastian Fiumara go to town. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Fiumara delivers a very striking issue, and one that immediately stands from the rest of the series. His work is bold in its texture and surreal enough that this issue would almost be more at home in DC's Vertigo imprint than under the Rebirth banner. -Jesse

Final Score:

The Wild Storm #1
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Written by Warren Ellis | Drawn by Jon Davis-Hunt

"Warren Ellis is hardly the type of creator to revisit his greatest hits. If anything, Ellis has a frustrating habit of dabbling in new projects and leaving well before he's explored their full potential (or even finished them, as fans of Fell and Desolation Jones will attest). So the fact that Ellis is not only returning to his familiar stomping grounds in the Wildstorm Universe, but committing to at least a two year story spanning multiple comics, is cause for excitement. And true to form, The Wild Storm doesn't read like any Wildstorm comic that's come before." -Jesse

Click here to read the entire review!

Final Score:

Continues

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