Comixtime: “Taste JUSTICE, impostors!”

Well, I spent a while without doing these capsule reviews. But for a long time I was buying the same comics, with more or less the same rate of returns. But there’s enough variety in my comics this week to merit a new post.

Batwoman #5

J.H. Williams III (Co-writer/Artist), W. Haden Blackman (Co-writer), Dave Stewart (Colours), Todd Klein (Letters)

Publisher: DC

As this issue ends the first arc of Williams and Blackman’s relaunched Batwoman series, it’s as good a time to check back in as any. I’ve enjoyed the series; Williams is one of the best artists working in American superhero comics today, and his talent shines on every page. The writing is less great, but still serviceable. As a whole it’s a perfectly fine comic - which makes it stand out like gold dust against most of DC’s New 52 outpost.

I’ve had issues with the pacing, but Williams as the artist feels able to luxuriate in his process, as opposed to when writers like Morrison or Rucka cram as much story as possible into the few issues they have Williams for. But I like that hyper-compressed style, and the five issues of this series end in a glorified shuffling around of pieces. After a damp-squib showdown with the Weeping Woman, Batwoman and government agent Cameron Chase finally meet, setting up a new status quo for our hero and her supporting characters.

Williams’ art is predictably gorgeous, particularly the neat trick of adopting different styles for drawing Kate/Batwoman, Bette, Sawyer and Chase, which emphasises the feel of different storylines converging  and colliding. And the panel borders featuring Batwoman facing off against the Weeping Woman, which change from jagged lines (Kate’s side) to fluid Art Nouveau-esque boundaries. But great art alone doesn’t make a comic a must-buy, particularly as Williams is taking a break from drawing the series after this issue. It’s good, y’know? I just wish it could be better. 

Mudman #1 & #2

Paul Grist (Writer/Artist), Bill Crabtree (Colours)

Publisher: Image

Writer/artist Grist delivers an unashamedly British take on superheroes in the first two issues of this new series. It has a clean-cut “kids’ comics” sense of storytelling that manages to be more alive and enjoyable than the sex’n’gore “mature” cape books that make up a lot of current DC/Marvel output. 

Grist’s deliberately basic art camouflages an excellent grasp of visual storytelling and panel composition. And the dialogue is very funny, whether doing a Grange Hill-style take on the schoolboy hero’s civilian life, or fleshing out two seemingly-disposable criminals in issue #2. It’s great fun, and I’m onboard for the duration.

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1

Mike Mignola, John Arcudi (Co-writers), Tonci Zonjic (Artist), Dave Stewart (Colours), Clem Robins (Letters)

Publisher: Dark Horse

Hellboy and the surrounding universe is kind of a blind spot for me, mostly because the main series and its spin-offs present such a daunting amount of comics to get stuck into. I picked this up on a whim after hearing about the ridiculously talented Tonci Zonjic on art. I wasn’t disappointed. The story’s set in the 1930s/40s, which gives Zonjic a chance to cut loose with his wonderful clear-line cartooning, while incorporating vintage pulp-noir stylings; guys in fedoras, dames in cloche hats. 

The story itself is neither here nor there - you get a breif glimpse of Lobster Johnson, the ostensible “hero” of the piece, but the His Girl Friday-style female journalist gets central billing in this first issue. There’s definite potential for a decent story here, but right now I’m buying it as an art showcase, and Zonjic is more than up to the task.

Fatale #1

Ed Brubaker (Writer), Sean Phillips (Artist), Dave Stewart (Colours)

Publisher: Icon

Brubaker and Phillips’ latest series is billed as a departure from the regular crime-fiction fare. Not so much, from the latest issue; it’s a very noirish story so far, with some occasional horror flourishes to let us know it’s not a Criminal story. This first issue suffers in comparison to the excellent “Last Of The Innocent” Criminal arc, which was one of the best stories Brubaker/Phillips have ever done. 

This drop-off is mostly due to the fact that this issue is split between two stories, a present-day prologue featuring one of Brubaker’s archetypal noir heroes and the mysterious titular femme fatale Josephine, and a 1950s crime story with  Josephine involved with a crusading journalist and a corrupt detective. 

The creative team work predictably well in tandem, matching Brubaker’s moody noir narration with Phillips’ shadowy art. Phillips doesn’t vary his style as much as on ”Last Of The Innocent”, but he still stages some excellent talky scenes and action sequences, equally at ease with 2010s and 1950s America. This first issue may not have set my world on fire, but there’s potential here. And I trust Brubaker/Phillips enough to stick with this series.

Comixtime Double-Size Feature! “I miss ninjas.”

A few currently ongoing series that I’m reading, as well as two more #1s from DC’s New 52. I eyed up Paul Cornell’s Demon Knights, but wasn’t convinced to buy it – it looked very pretty, but plot-thin. But I know I can always come back to it later, thanks to DC’s simultaneous digital release policy. Digital still isn’t the ideal format for me, and charging the same as a physical issue for a month after release date is ridiculous, but it’s still a stop-gap between buying a comic the week of its release and waiting for the trade collection.


Batwoman #1
J.H. Williams III (Co-Writer & Artist), W. Haden Blackman (Co-Writer), Dave Stewart (Colours), Todd Klein (Letters)
Publisher: DC

Following on from the Greg Rucka/JH Williams III arc featuring Batwoman in Detective Comics, Gotham City’s newest Bat-character gets her own (long-delayed) ongoing series. Williams (aided by Blackman) takes over writing duties, and the joints show a little in this mainly set-up issue. The script doesn’t have the furious pacing of Rucka’s issues, and lots of panel time is spent recapping the “Elegy” storyline for new readers.

The art, however, is as spectacular as you would expect. Williams is one of the best artists in comics right now, and his expertly-designed double-page spreads, whether showing an action sequence or a simple conversation, are packed with incident and detail. Dave Stewart’s colours add to the atmosphere, making the protagonist stand out from her surroundings, whether in her civilian identity as Kate Kane or in fill-on superhero mode as Batwoman.

At the moment, I’m on board with this more for the art than the story. But that could all change if the plotting lives up to the themes. The child-kidnapping new villain of this arc touches on Kate’s origin in childhood trauma and adds to the creepy, fairytale atmosphere surrounding the character. It’s a gorgeous-looking book, and I want to see if the storytelling lives up to the promise of the art.


Daredevil #3
Mark Waid (Writer), Paolo Rivera (Pencils), Joe Rivera (Inks), Javier Rodriguez (Colours)
Publisher: Marvel

Daredevil #4
Mark Waid (Writer), Marcos Martin (Artist), Muntsa Vicente (Colours)
Publisher: Marvel

Mark Waid’s recent relaunch of Daredevil was clearly meant as an attempt to take the character away from the grimness and grit that has been a feature since Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s defining run. And it succeeds triumphantly. Matt Murdoch is now a wisecracking, confident hero in a light-hearted, well-told and beautiful-looking comic.

Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin alternate art duties on the title, and both have a wonderful clean-line style that perfectly marries clarity and fast-paced action. Both artists are at the top of their game here, giving Daredevil’s acrobatics a precise and graceful quality, and representing the world as experienced through his heightened senses in panels made up of vibrating lines.

Waid plots the stories excellently, sketching in threats in the background that will come to the fore in later issues, as well as juggling the courtroom shenanigans of Murdock’s day job with his superheroics. And he’s good enough to make it seem effortless. This is one of the best superhero comics out right now.


The Red Wing #3
Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Nick Pitarra (Artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colours)
Publisher: Image

Hickman is very much a Warren Ellis-influenced writer; he has much of Ellis’ penchant for Big Ideas and crazy sci-fi conceits that take precedence before characterisation. This four-issue space-opera miniseries about fighter pilots battling an implacable time-travelling enemy intrigued me at first, but three-quarters of the way in we’re no closer to getting any answers. The paper-thin characters don’t help either.

Nick Pitarra’s art is still enjoyable; he has a Frank Quitely-esque focus on detail, and draws the battle scenes with an engaging dynamism. I’m hoping Hickman’s able to draw the plot threads together at the series’ end, but at this point The Red Wing engages me on an artistic/intellectual level more than a storytelling one.


Wonder Woman #1
Brain Azzarello (Writer), Cliff Chiang (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colours)
Publisher: DC

Wonder Woman is a character who has suffered from confused and conflicting interpretations over the years. But with the DC relaunch, there’s yet another chance for a do-over. Fortunately, the writer-artist team of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang are talented (and left-field) enough to take a few risks.

Azzarello kicks off the story by plunging us into a dense mythology-heavy story, involving Diana in protecting a young woman caught up in a war between gods. There’s a strand of narration in the back half of the issue that at first seemed bizarre and unwieldy, but made perfect sense by the end of the issue.

Chiang’s art is vibrantly cartoony, and along with Matthew Wilson’s muted colours, he portrays the moments of horror and gore in the story in creepily effective fashion. Chiang’s also gifted at drawing sexy women without coming across as skeevy, which is a refreshing change in the wake of DC’s embarrassing recent moves. Diana is rendered as truly large-than-life, whether showing regal confidence in the dialogue scenes or furiously battling some gruesome monsters.

It’s a rare setup issue that whets the appetite by withholding information, and it has enough promise to keep me coming back.