X23 #20 “Girls Night Out part1” Writer: Marjorie Liu Artist: Phil Noto
Laura Kinney begins her last adventure, before the unfortunate cancellation of the series with the next issue. Unfortunate indeed, as this series has been superb from start to finish. It was dark and touched on subjects that I wouldn’t have expected, like underage prostitution and trafficking. Considering Laura’s upbringing, that shouldn’t have been a surprise and this series wouldn’t have been as truthful to X’s character if these weren’t the paths taken. The series could take a complete twist, being fun and mystical, with X battling dragons or being the vessel for a cosmic entity. I thought this series had it all! Also, Marvel’s collection is highly lacking in female solo books… the only one after X23 is Ghost Rider… and her face is on fire!
With that said, Marjorie Liu has penciled one hell of a run.
This issue kicks off with a four person touch football showdown, starting with a lighter note! May I add that it is always a pleasure to see X interact with X-Men that she regularly wouldn’t and for this instance, it’s Iceman! Laura’s mind works like a computer, always analyzing but never feeling anything, so there’s always an interesting dynamic when she interacts with new characters. The inevitable question gets poised: Which side will X23 take, progressed by Wolverine and Cyclops ‘Schism’. Thanks to Vampy-Jubes (Vampire Jubilee) who steals Laura away before she could answer for a night on the town and, you guessed it, adventure ensues! The plot gets a little heavy, as is Liu’s style but then ends on a happy note!
Artist Phil Noto does a fantastic job within. His subtle style is perfect for the grounded storyline. I must add, that Noto does both art and coloring, which makes every panel personal. The color tones and highlights are perfect. Worth adding is a scene within a nightclub and every other panel had a different solid color tone, to mimic the changing lights; reminded me when I used to watch Batman Beyond when I was younger.
Cover to X23 #21 Series Finale!
I’m incredibly saddened to know that issue 21 will be the last. Laura has already begun her next adventure within another title and though I have very much enjoyed her character from her time spent with the students as the ‘New X-men’, I will not follow her exploits as a “superhero”. I was mad to here that the series was getting the boot and I was pissed to hear where she’s ending up, until I read this issue. There is a female guest-star, I won’t spoil who, her interaction made it all click. This series has been about Laura trying to find life inside of her, to make herself feel again and the progression into hero-dom now makes sense, I just feel it was forced on too soon due to the books cancellation. This series still had great forward moving potential and if there’s a petition out there to keep this series going, sign me up!
So after 5 issues of both Animal Man and Swamp Thing in the books things are looking worse than ever for both of our heroes . Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire are in top form on their respective books , finishing up their first arcs on the way to introducing Dead World to us starting with issue six. Without further adieu , lets get to the reviews for both Swamp Thing and Animal Man.
Swamp Thing #5
Story by: Scott Snyder
Art By: Yanick Paquette
Review Score : 9 / 10
Issue five of Swamp Thing starts in Brazil far removed from Texas where we last saw Abby Arcane and Alex Holland .Snyder introduces us to yet another carrier of the Rot and immediately reminds us that this is a Dark book . The Professor reveals a nasty case of the Rot under his shirt and the Tribesman stare in Horror as it infests and snaps their necks and sends them into the depths of the jungle.
Back in Texas Abby and Alec are stocking up supplies getting ready to head Towards her Rot infested younger Brother William. Scott Snyder chooses to let Alec share another moment with Abby that helps set up that Alec continues to borrow memories from the former Swamp Thing and his Love for Abby. As soon as they leave the store Abby and Alec are greeted by William and his undead Army of cattle and pigs. Snyder finally amps up the action and lets Alex tap into his powers just enough to show us how much potential Alec has as Swamp Thing in the future.
Yanick Paquette handles the art this entire issue and his ability to lead into certain scenes by using framed panels is nothing short of amazing . He may just be the best lay out Artist at DC. What begins as a page broken up by vines eventually gives way to blots of Blood helping create the tension from page to page. When Alec starts to tap into The Green this issue its Yanick’s pencils that show us how powerful Alec is . The variation from page to page is constant , this is a Damn pretty book.
After Alec makes short work of Williams army , he shares a kiss with Abby and that one kiss is just what William and the Rot were hoping for . The moment is drawn beautifully and the sudden shock that Alec is now infected by the Rot is all the more painful when Scott takes us back to Brazil where we see that the Professor has located the Parliament of Trees. This issue delivered at every step and sets up the next Arc Dead World nicely. You owe it to yourself to read this book . If this isn’t in your pull list at this point you are truly missing out on one of DC’s best titles of the Relaunch.
Animal Man #5
Story By: Jeff Lemire
Art By: Travel Foreman , Steve Pugh and Jeff Huet
Review Score : 9.5/10
Animal Man #5 begins with the Baker family split up . Clifford and Ellen are fighting for their lives versus the Final Hunter while Buddy and Maxine rush to come to their rescue. The action in this issue is fast and gut wrenching . Each member of Team Animal Man has at least a moment to shine in this issue and its nice to see that when things get dire , this family sticks together . It’s a testament to Jeff Lemire as a writer that you care for every one of these characters . There are several moments in this issue where I was scared that this would be the last time I saw them alive. It’s that sense of anything can happen that truly makes Animal Man a special book.
Buddy and Maxine arrive just in time to have Buddy take on the last Hunter and the results are horrifying. Travel Foreman must be a troubled person . He manages to draw things that are so out there and grotesque yet manages to ground the book in reality at the same time. This issues climax alone made me both squeamish and in awe at what i was seeing on the page. If Yanick Paquette is one of the best layout artists in DC then Travel Foreman is one of the most imaginative artists. The Hunter is truly grotesque and his ability to draw clean and well structured scenes around such a complicated figure needs to be commended. It also should be mentioned that Steven Pugh works in tandem with Travel Foreman on this issue and it their work together is a bit cleaner than any of the past issues . I would have liked to see them do the entire issue but Jeff Huet comes in for the last few pages and does a nice job.
Maxine getting a sense that her Dad is in serious trouble uses her powers of The Red and sends every Animal in the Forest after the Final Hunter . The animals come down in a fury and begin eating the Hunter but it turns out that’s exactly what the Rot wanted as it has now made its way into the Reds lifeline and infected all living things it comes into contact with. The Baker Family narrowly escapes from the Rot and with the Baker family wondering what to do next . Its their new Cat Socks that tells them “Only Swamp Thing can save us now” . Setting the series up for its crossover with Swamp Thing in perfect fashion. Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman’s Animal Man is one of the best books on the stands and I can’t wait for the start of Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder’s Deadworld.
Uncanny X-Force #19.1
Writer: Rick Remender
Art: Billy Tan and Jose Villarrubia [colors]
Spinning out of Rick Remender’s recent “Dark Angel Saga” in Uncanny X-Force is the new ongoing Age of Apocalypse series, and Uncanny X-Force #19.1 is essentially a prologue designed to draw in readers for that series. Essentially, this is the second prologue written for the series, as the first appeared in the Marvel: Point One one-shot.
Here’s the synopsis: There’s an alternate reality in the Marvel Universe referred to as the “Age of Apocalypse.” In this reality, Charles Xavier died, and his dream along with him. As a result, Apocalypse ended up taking over the world (hence the name) and Magneto led a group of X-Men against him. This very basic plot description all played out in a 1995-1996 crossover event in the X-Men books that were being published at the time.
I’ll admit right now that I’ve never read the original “Age of Apocalypse” stories. It’s something I’ve been meaning to go back and do, but I haven’t done it yet. All I know based on what I’ve read in Uncanny X-Force is that Apocalypse fell at some point and Wolverine took his place as the new Apocalypse, continuing to hunt down and exterminate humanity.
In Uncanny X-Men #19.1, it’s revealed that The Exterminated (a human resistance group led by William Stryker and the daughter of Bolivar Trask) have cloned the Scarlet Witch after discovering that she was able to “cure” the X-Gene in an alternate universe (i.e. Earth-616, the mainstream Marvel continuity). Their plan is to have Jean Grey use this clone’s powers to have her do the same in their universe to wipe all mutants of their powers.
This plan kind of works, but of course it goes wrong big time or you wouldn’t have any reason to follow the series.
If you’ve read my reviews before, you already know how I feel about Remender’s writing. This is as well-written as anything else he’s done. In all honesty, the only thing keeping me from being a regular Age of Apocalypse reader is the amount of books already on my pull list. Times are tough and comic prices ain’t what they used to be, you dig? Even if Remender couldn’t write well, this book could almost sell on the merit of Billy Tan and Jose Villarrubia’s artwork alone. It’s crisp, clean and reminds me of the more basic comic art of yesteryear — not unlike what you typically see in Uncanny X-Force.
If you want a story somewhat removed from the typical, mainstream X-Men fare, Age of Apocalypse is definitely for you. The only thing about this that throws me off is that, if I remember correctly, Marvel’s “Point One” initiative was designed to give new readers the perfect “jumping-on point” to a series, yet this issue promotes an entirely new series. Is it really necessary, given that they already did another prologue in the collected Point One one shot?
Art By: Carlos Pacheco , Paco Diaz , and Rodney Buchemi
Review Score: 7.5 / 10
Cyclops and his new X-Men start this issue off fighting Sinster’s clones while Sinister proceeds to monologue away high a top his chair . I never really thought Sinister was a good villain to begin with , and while Kieron Gillen’s take on the character is creepy and self-indulgent he still remains a boring foil to Cyclops and his group. During the fight there are a ton of great character moments showing us that Gillen easily has a great handle on what makes this team work so well . Almost everyone gets a moment to shine , Hope using multiple powers to battle Sinister , Emma showing just how strong of a telepath she is in her own right, Namor using his palm as a makeshift tourniquet and finally Danger showing shes’s more than just a data entry Robot . These little moments are why this book works.
The art in this issue is by Carlos Pacheco with Diaz and Buchemi handling the breakdowns . Unfortunately there is a noticeable dip in the art when Pacheco leaves the page. Facial features are a bit off in several pages later in the issue and this issue of 3 different colorist really hurts the book. Again the level of inconsistency is jarring enough to take you out of the book.
Sinister manages to get into Hopes mind and says just one word to her that resonates “Phoenix” . After that Sinister tells Cyclops that things are going to get far worse in his life and that he will be there to see him when he’s at his lowest point. Sinister manages to disappear and leave The X-Men to deal with the Celestials who have made their way to Earth . Cyclops and Hope manage to get through to the Celestials and it seems that his plan on becoming the world best Team of Superheroes is starting to work.So the first Arc in the series wraps and I have to say again while Gillen nails each characters voice and makes this team look very formidable , the story was definitely hurt by his choice of villain as well as the pacing . If this story was collected I believe it would have been easier to read. Uncanny X-Men is off to a slow start but it does show a lot of promise with its cast of mutants . I get a clearer sense of what Cyclops ‘s purpose is for this team , but not a clear sense of whats in his way .
Deadpool #48
Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Salva Espin [art] and Guru eFX [colors]
For the past few months, Deadpool has been dealing with his own personal clone saga involving a renegade, evil doppelganger composed of discarded body parts from the OG Deadpool. [Let’s see Peter Parker get a clone like THAT.] As a result of the mayhem created by the Evil Deadpool, Captain America became involved once he became convinced that Deadpool had finally crossed the line and become an all-out terrorist.
Which leads us to this issue. Trying to destroy his own reputation before his evil copy could, Deadpool kidnapped a kid and held him hostage in Times Square, knowing that this would likely draw out his twin (and Captain America) so that he could clear his name. Evil Deadpool had plans of his own — kidnapping Police Chief Pratchett’s kids for Mr. Negative and holding them hostage at an undisclosed location.
Aside from furthering the game of cat-and-mouse between the two, this plot point has given Daniel Way a chance to play with some characters from Amazing Spider-Man for the past two issues — including J. Jonah Jameson and the aforementioned Chief Pratchett and Mr. Negative — and he does it well. Deadpool #48 also introduces a new character, the tetraplegic [That’s like Stephen Hawking, right?] Senior Interpol Commissioner Kemp. Just when you think you know the limits of Way’s Deadpool, he introduces a foul-mouthed [or is that foul-speech-programmed?], wheelchair-bound woman of the law.
[Do those even exist in real life?]
Shut up. It’s a comic book.
With the teasers that have been released recently, it’s become clear that the “Deadpool Vs. Evil Deadpool” storyline is leading into Deadpool #50 and the upcoming “Dead” storyline, culminating the past year’s worth of stories of Deadpool trying to finally feel death. Perhaps next issue, Wade will get an idea on how to die from figuring out how to kill his evil twin. Or maybe not.
Story: 7.5/10
Art: 8/10
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Scott Snyder dives immediately into last issues crazy cliff hanger by first showing us that Batman does indeed escape his fate . Showing us that Bruce still is able to stay just ahead of The Court of Owls and their Hired assassin Talon . Following Batmans narrow escape Scott chooses to pump the brakes on the action . Again Dick Grayson makes his way into the issue and it is through his observations that Bruce finally chooses to open up to Dick and us the reader about why he is so reluctant to believe in The Court of Owls.
It turns out after the death of his parents that Bruce actually tried to hunt and find a connection between The Court of Owls and his parents sudden death . By showing us Bruce’s first attempt at being a detective we are able to see that even in his youth Bruce was cocky and over confident and that over confidence lead to him getting himself into a very dangerous situation. Bruce looks at what happened as a silly mistake and proof that The Court doesn’t exist. Dick serves as the other side of the argument , telling Bruce that Gotham may not have always been his and that he should watch himself in the immediate future.
Greg Capullo’s art is a bit simpler this issue which suits Scott’s flashback story very well. He allows Jonathan Glapion’s inks to over take his art more and it works really well . The color palette is very basic using dark purples and blues and reminds me a bit of Tim Sales work on The Long Halloween. Capullo does manage to make very creative layouts showing us how intensive Bruces investigation is as he tries to solve his parents murder. On one page we see a very detailed map of Gotham and on the next we see pages and pages of notes that show just how obsessed Bruce has been with this case since child hood.
Bruce finishes his story and decides to investigate further in the sewers of Gotham . Just like in the flashback, Bruce’s over confidence gets the best of him and Scott Snyder shows us the first glimpse into The Court of Owls Labyrinth. After four issues it looks like next issue will be full of action and a lot of answers . Batman continues to be a consistently well written and beautifully drawn series, and as things look worse for Batman the future of the series looks nothing but promising.
Generation Hope #14 Writer: James Asmus Artist: Ibraim Roberson
Last issue ” Regenesis” kicked started ( a story wide change within the X-Men’s numerous titles) and I admittedly believed that Generation Hope would continue down a lack-luster path. Previous issues have had high points, dealing mainly with the series leader, Hope Summers. But coming along into Regenesis brings new writer, James Asmus and artist, Ibraim Roberson, who have a new vision for our team of struggling youngsters.
Generation Hope’s last issue set the stage for a possible new “light” appearing in Pakistan. Last issue, the crew also lost a member, Idie who joins Wolverine at the Jean Grey Institute but we get a fan favorite addition to the cast, Pixie. Pixie has already proved herself to be a valuable member as she acts as the groups resident teleporter. Hope brought her to the team so they can effectively travel across the globe at any notice of a new mutant/light appearing. If you haven’t read past issues, new mutants developing their powers are having an incredibly difficult time grasping them and are often a danger to themselves and others. For an unknown reason, it takes nothing but a gently graze on the hand by our little messiah, Hope Summers to assimilate the lights powers to a functioning state. With that being said, the team heads out to Pakistan to confront this new mutant, only to find the light isn’t some kid in need, it’s none other than Sebastian Shaw himself.
This is an obvious story thread placed by previous writer, Kieron Gillen, as he set the stage for Sebastian Shaw near the end of Uncanny X-men vol. 1. This discovery certainly adds much-needed tension within this teams dynamic, its new writer, James Asmus, that really makes this issue shine.
My main problem with this book before Regenesis was the slow development of the new mutants consisting of Hopes team. With the past two issues, I’ve witnessed more character development than i’ve seen in 12 issues before it. Kenji makes an impressive show of his physically limitless powers, Gabriel finds that his speed power is also accelerating his age, while Laurie toughens up a bit realizing the delicate state of the mutant race and that sometimes, violence is necessary to survival. Hope, now more than ever, has all the qualities that made Cable a great leader, from father to daughter.
Artist Ibraim Roberson has certainly upped the quality of this series. I first took notice of Ibraim’s work within “Escape from the Negative Zone” and I wasn’t really impressed. He had impressively detailed character designs, but his detail to backgrounds made each panel plain and monotonous. A few months back he did a fantastic one-shot tale within Uncanny X-Men, featuring none other than Hope Summers and Wolverine. Ibraim fired on all cylinders for the one-shot and has brought his “A” game with him in these past couple issues. One fault I have that deals with the art, is a scene during a firefight, the team is trying to locate Pixie, whose been captured by the enemy. The whole time they’re talking about where she could be, though she was drawn in the background the whole time! Gabriel, the resident speedster, runs off the panel and brings Pixie back in his arms saying that he found her at a hidden location being guarded by her captors… no, she was with you guys the whole time trying to get your attention as you looked through her as if she were invisible.
Generation Hope may not have been at the top of my pull list, but with Regenesis comes new life to the series. We can only hope (pun intended) to see the series escalate to greatness before the coming war between the Avengers and X-men. Also, this issue has one of my all time favorite cliffhangers featuring my favorite, Scott Summers. Don’t miss it.
Story: 8 Art: 8.5
Also Recommended this week:
Wolverine and the X-Men #3 – This issue closes out the first story arc, introducing loads of new interesting characters.
Batman #4 – Bruce Wayne further investigates into the mysterious “Court of Owls”
Daredevil #7 – And Matt Murdock takes a group of students on a field trip, through hell… not literally, But damn!
This is it. Seven days to Christmas (or X number of days until the preferred Winter Holiday of your choosing). Ten days left to impress those we love with our generosity and implicit knowledge of everything they love and desire.
Challenge Accepted.
Here’s the Chicago Comic Vault’s List of Something For Everyone, so long as “everyone” means “people who would enjoy receiving comics as presents” which really should be “everyone” but we live in an unjust world.
Bad Ideas and Big Doings
This is the book with something for everyone. Collecting all of Bill Willingham’s non-Fables DC stories, Bad Ideas and Big Doings is a delicious blend of madcap humor, high stakes poker games, and crafty witches-for-hire. Plus, the book itself is printed beautifully with over 500 pages full of story and none of the filler.
Get it for: the Fables fanatic who needs something to read between trades, the Sandman fan wanting to see some familiar faces, or a short-story lover who can appreciate prose and pretty pictures.
Gateway Book to: Fables, Sandman, Vertigo, independent books. This book has the ability to hook new comics fans, bring back old ones, and delight long-time fans. It might also be able to cure cancer and tap dance better than Ginger Rogers.
Stumptown
This collection of Greg Rucka’s pitch-perfect small town noir miniseries set in Oregon’s Hipster Mecca is definitely one of the jewels in Oni Press’ ever-expanding crown. Weird metaphors aside, Stumptown is an amazing book with a hardcover that take a pretty considerable beating and printed out on paper with just the right amount of weight. Rucka paints the perfect picture of Portland, following private investigator Dex as she attempts to clear her considerable gambling debts by tracking the grand-daughter of the head of the Wind Coast casino. In true noir fashion, things of course go terribly awry and no one is who they seem to be.
Get it for: the indie book lover wanting to start comics without touching Big Two Continuity, or for the Big Two Lover looking for a nice pallet cleanser between Bat-books and the latest Avengers title.
Gateway Book to: other noir-comics like Brubaker’s Incognito or interesting female-led titles like Bendis’ Scarlet, not to mention it’s the perfect primer for Rucka’s “Queen and Country” collection.
Batgirl: Batgirl Rising
Bryan Q. Miller’s fantastic run on Batgirl is easily one of the brighter moments for the past two years of DC story-telling. Stephanie Brown’s stories as Batgirl were fun and essentially free of heavy continuity, two things that are legitimately hard to find when the Bat-verse itself is usually occupied with its own backstory set in its usual GRIMDARK tone. Steph countered big baddies like the Scarecrow with a utility belt full of inventive Batarangs and a positive attitude. Plus, the series served as an excellent hurrah to Barbara Gordon’s time as Oracle, who served as Steph’s mentor, who imparted bits of crime-fighting wisdom with snark and waffles.
Get it for: the lady who would love comics if not for all the sexualized imagery, or for the Big Two fan who needs something fun and light to read over the holidays.
Gateway Book to: any other Batgirl title, and with three having shared the title, there’s plenty to choose from! Plus, with Batgirl being a flagship title, and with both Stephanie and Cassandra Cain appearing in Grant Morrison’s Batman, Leviathan, fans will have plenty of new material to look forward to as well.
Hark! A Vagrant
Obscure historical figures have never been so hilarious. Or rather, they were never very hilarious and somehow Kate Beaton has managed to tell their stories in the most brilliant way possible. Read about the exploits of Nancy Drew and Napoleon, and have a laugh at the expense of Nikola Tesla, Jane Austen, and Lord Byron.
Get it for: the history geek who can laugh at themselves, the Austen addict, science nerds, and anyone who can appreciate a light style and sharp humor.
Gateway Book to: hours and hours of Wikipedia searching actually learning stuff about things.
Morning Glories Hardcover
Morning Glories is easily the breakout indie hit of the last year, with its measure of equal parts LOST and everything terrible you remember about high school. Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma have worked together to create a book that captures the essence of high school without being too Gossip Girl and projects a sense of mystery and danger without being too melodramatic. While a printing error means the Deluxe Edition might not be able for Christmas, it’s worth reserving a copy for at your local LCS, or if you need to get your Glories fix right away, two trades are available from Image collecting the first twelve issues of the critically acclaimed series.
Get it for: the hopeless and helpless fans of everything from LOST to Gossip Girl, the indie book fan, the conspiracy fanatic, and the all around comic fan.
Gateway Book to: the full range of Image titles.
Thor: The Mighty Avenger
Sometimes a book, no matter how good it might be, can’t quite float the numbers and gets the axe. Such was the case for Thor: TMA, which featured fun stories from Robert Langrige and clean, engaging art from Chris Samnee. Thor and his hammer fought their way through giant robots, crazy sea monsters, and even had a little time for romance in this series that made it to eight fantastic issues.
Get it for: the young comic fans, this book was perfect for first-time comic readers of all ages.
Gateway Book to: the rest of the Thor series, particularly J. Michael Straczynski’s run as well as some classics like Avengers: Disassembled and some of the more recent Avengers titles.
Batman: Black Mirror
If you haven’t read Scott Snyder’s amazing Detective Comics run, then you need to seriously reconsider your life choices. Or, you can buy the first trade collecting Detective Comics #871-881 with stunning art by Jock and Francesco Francavilla. Easily some of the best Batman stories of the decade, the Black Mirror trade follows Dick Grayson through his tenure as Batman, as Dick uncovers the deadly House or Mirrors and takes on the darkest side of organized crime that Gotham’s ever seen, all while trying to reconcile his identity as Batman and his place in Gotham City.
Get it for: Anyone who’s ever muttered a word about liking Batman in their entire lives.
Gateway Book to: Snyder’s DCnU Batman series, as well as Nightwing, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Batwing, and Batman: Leviathan for starters.
Batwoman: Elegy
Speaking of greatest Batman stories, Greg Rucka and J.H. Williams III just happened to write the single best non-Batman Batman story in recent history. Kate Kane, tattooed, Jewish, and proud lesbian, took on the Bat-mantle after being don’t-ask-don’t-tell’ed out of West Point. As Batwoman, Kate takes on a new set of Gotham’s criminal elite, this time being controlled by a porcelain-white Carrolian goth girl. Also, have I mentioned how incredible Williams’ art and layouts are? Because they’re amazing.
Get it for: the fanboy who has his Bat-blinders on, the girl who owns more Batman t-shirts than comics, the queer comic fan looking for some badass representation in mainstream comics, and any lady comic fan who hasn’t discovered the wonder that is Kate Kane.
Gateway Book to: Kane’s latest DCnU book featuring the same amazing art by J.H. Williams III, other DCnU Bat-titles like Batman, Batwing, and Batgirl.
Casanova
This book is very cool. Matt Fraction writes a spy thriller that appeals to fans across genres because well, this book just refuses to hang out in a single one. Casanova Quinn does pretty much everything to get out of doing anything after his super-spy brother is killed in action working under his father’s E.M.P.I.R.E organization. So in order to avoid responsibility and a mess of gambling debt, Casanova jumps out of a floating casino and ends up in an alternate timeline. The series is non-stop, zany action with Buddhist staring contests, fights inside giant robot heads, and all the things that make the spy genre so fun (gadgets and fierce ladies).
Get it for: the James Bond fan, the consipiracist, or the sci-fi fan.
Gateway Book to: other wild, quirky titles like Chew and Atomic Robo, or intense spy thrillers like Ed Brubaker’s Incognito and Jason Aaron’s Scalped.
The Unwritten
Easily my favorite ongoing series right now, The Unwritten comes from Mike Carey and Peter Gross and there just really aren’t enough nice things I can say about this book. Coming from a strong literary background (hello, English major!), The Unwritten combs through an impressive canon of Western literature (albeit a very white, male canon) and revolves around the life of Tom Taylor, the symbolic face of a wildly popular series of children’s books. Think if Harry Potter were a washed up child star with a dad who had gone missing, presumed dead. Tom’s life gets turned upside down though when secrets about his family start coming out of the woodwork, and famous literary characters start coming out of their stories.
Get it for: the book-lover who hasn’t sampled comics yet, the all-around lit geek, and the grown-up Harry Potter fan looking for a character they can relate to.
Gateway Book to: Harry Potter, other literary indie titles like Fables or Sandman.
Naturally, everybody here at Comic Vault recommends you visit your Local Comic Store to find any of these things for your loved ones this Christmas. However, if you happen to desire the Amazon hook-up, most of the books featured in this list are at half off their sale price, and there’s just enough time to order for Christmas. Plus, think how much ramen noodles all those saved dollars will buy.
Scott talks about the Future of Batman, Swamp Thing and hints at “Dead World” and the Return of James Gordon Jr. in 2012.
Interview By Comic Vault Writer: Mike DeVivo
Scott Snyder has had arguably the most successful year of any writer. He’s received critical praise on both Batman and Swamp Thing and last week he saw the Hardcover release of his Detective Comics Run: The Black Mirror Hit #1 on The New york Time’s Best Sellers List. Comic Vault sat down to talk to Scott Snyder about Batman, Swamp Thing, future stories involving a certain Gordon, and having The Green and Red battle The Rot.
CV: I wanted to first congratulate you on your DComics: Black Mirror Hardcover hitting #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List. Starting with Detective. I wanted to know since your run ended right before DC Rebooted The New 52 will we be seeing any of The Villains you created carry over into Batman ?
Scott Snyder: Thanks! Yes it’s definitely possible, in fact you will see them. I tried to show in issue one of Batman that James Gordon Jr. is in Arkham with the rest of the Villains. Tiger Shark and the others are all fair game as well. I know for a fact that James Jr. will come back in a story soon that I’m very excited about . Whether it’s on Batman or another Bat Family book you will have to wait and see, but he will return to Gotham soon.
CV: Can you tell me how you changed your approach going from writing Dick Grayson as Batman in Detective to now writing Bruce as Batman in his own series?
Scott Snyder : I didn’t really change my approach in how I write the comic . I wouldn’t have taken Batman unless I had a story before hand to tell. For me with Dick Grayson and with each character the idea is to take on the character and say if I could only write one story about the character ever do I have that story in mind? Can I have that character challenged by their own greatest fear? A story with that kind of darkness to it. For me with Dick Grayson it was to have Gotham attack his own greatest weakness. Which is that he’s too empathetic and too good of a guy to be a hero in Gotham , where as Bruce has a much more pathological and driven psychology. I wanted to show one example after another of how Gotham lacked empathy with its citizens in the first arc , and its criminals in the second arc and finally the ultimate villain of the book James Jr. in the third arc. So for Batman and Bruce I wanted to create something as equally Dark and frightening and exciting for me as a writer for Bruce. So I knew that before hand , because I pitched this story before the New 52. What if Bruce gives up so much to be Gotham’s only legend and protector? He considers Gotham one of his closest friends. What if Bruce discovers that not only is Gotham a stranger to him but an enemy to him and has been to his family and friends and the Bat Family for hundreds of years. So once I had that it becomes figuring out a way to make that concept really scary and active on the page I wanted to escalate the story chapter after chapter to examine if he can deal with that concept. To see if he can withstand it , to see if he is going to give up or continue with that horrible manifestation of his childhood nightmare? That maybe all of this is a waste, and the one thing he thought he knew and that was his ally and home is actually a creature that hates him in many ways.
CV: At the end of this last issue you see slowly through you detailing the nesting habits of owls, along with the discovery of the 13th floor Bruce starts to show fear at the enormity of what he’s dealing with . That’s not something we see from Bruce often.
Scott Snyder : Absolutely, that’s what it’s supposed to be. For me the idea is to make Bruce very afraid though he would never admit to being afraid on the surface. The people closest to him being Dick Grayson and Alfred in issue 4 really see the cracks in his own psychology and point them out to him . They are there to say Bruce “you’re not acting rationally here” . In issue 4 we will see the secret reason why Bruce is so resistant in accepting the notion that The Court of Owls exist in the capacity that they do. It’s very much about him being afraid.
CV: You had mentioned that Dick Grayson is coming back next issue . I know that you and Kyle Higgins had scripted Gates of Gotham together so is there any chance we will see this story bleed into Nightwing?
Scott Snyder: Yes the stories will crash into each other at a certain point even though they wont depend on one another. Meaning you wont have to read Batman to know whats happening in Nightwing and the same goes for Nightwing as it pertains to Batman . There will be a moment soon that will be important to both books where Bruce will understand that the city has shaped both his destiny and his family and the families around him in ways that are completely shocking and undermining to him .
Snyder’s next issue of Batman hits stands December 21st
CV: With the concept of the Court of Owls was that something you did research first on and saw there was a through line you could carry over into the series or was it something that sprung out of you research ?
Scott Snyder: It sprung out of my research I wanted to tell this story for a long time and I hid a few owls in Detective comics as well as Gates of Gotham . I wanted to pit Bruce against an Organization that begins to seem like they own Gotham and had for a long time. I wanted this organization to have a symbol that rivaled the Bat and the Owl was a perfect symbol , both because the Owl has been on the fringes of Batman’s mythology with Owlman being the reverse Batman , and at the same time its a natural predator to the bat. It’s a really spooky predator in how silent it hunts and watches and how it hides in plain sight and all those characteristics just clicked. So I knew that’s the symbol, so for familiar fans they are able to say I know that symbol has all of this baggage outside of the story , and for new fans its just a scary looking thing and concept.
CV: Are we going to see any other Bat Family characters come into the book ?
Scott Snyder: It’s very much Bruce’s story but without giving anything away we will see ripple effects with other characters in Batman’s Family and their respective books.
CV: Moving from Batman to your other DC book Swamp Thing . Tell me what was the allure for taking on Swampthing which has always been a very hard character to pin down?
Scott Snyder: That’s a good question. The allure was that Swamp Thing was my second favorite character behind Batman. I grew up reading both Len Wein and Alan Moores stories so the character has a very dear place in my heart. Before the new 52 Geoff Johns knew I was a fan of the character and so after bringing Swamp Thing back in Brightest Day he reached out to me to see if I had a take on what I wanted to do with the character. I wanted to have Alec come back human with all the baggage and history of Swamp Thing and his mythology . Which led into Swamp Thing #1, and to introduce new readers to Alan Moore’s stuff and Len Weins Stuff is a tremendous feeling . I feel like I could retire knowing I was able to introduce other people to Alan Moore and Len Weins stories.
CV:Since reading your take on Swamp Thing , I was most impressed with you being able to hit the reset button on the series while also giving older fans a reintroduction to the character in a familiar way , and you’ve set it up with nothing but payoff ahead .
Scott Snyder: Thanks , yes the payoff is coming too , I can’t wait. The idea is Alec isn’t just meant to be Swamp Thing. What he discovers is not only was it not an accident that the swamp copied him and created the former Swamp Thing , but also the accident prevented him from becoming Swamp Thing to protect him. He was meant to be Swamp Thing since he was a child. He actually realizes in issue #5 that the Green has saved him before and has looked out for him his entire life. Waiting for him to be ready to become Swamp Thing. Not only is he a candidate but he is the chosen one for The Green as its greatest savior. So the Swamp Thing he’s going to become is something that we’ve never seen before. I’m very excited about the designs that Yannick has created for us if Alec decides , and at this point I can tell you its a matter of when he becomes Swamp Thing which is very soon…when he does it will certainly be worth the wait just to see this amazing thing he becomes.
CV: I noticed Yannick wasn’t even in the interiors in the last issue and you had 3 contributing artists. The amazing thing was that the art didn’t drop in quality and in fact was consistent across the board .How do you script and prepare for something like that.
Scott Snyder: The plan was there ahead of time to work with Marco Rudy who is also doing issue 6 as well. In Yannick’s contract there were issues that he would do and issues that he would have fill ins on which is something I’ve also done on American Vampire, the only book I’m not doing fill ins on is Batman. We knew Marco was going to be doing issue 4 ahead of time. Marco and Yannick have similar styles , but one thing that is different and one of Marcos strengths is that he’s very into doing psychedelic and almost impressionistic pages . I knew that ahead of time so the issues I chose to have him do fill ins on have a lot to do with The Green and a lot of nightmarish visions that deal with the desert and Bone Kingdom. Yannick also is just one of the best artists I’ve ever worked with.
CV:The Dream Sequence in last issue was just amazing and beautiful , showing the composition between Abby and Alec laying next to each other , closing in on their faces while they were being taken in by the Rot and The Green while they slept was amazing. I’m sure you just get giddy seeing art like that in your book.
Scott Snyder: Yeah , that was actually my favorite page that I wrote . I said to myself “this is going to be my favorite page of the series” and then I saw it and thought to myself “this is even better than I could have imagined”. I would also be re-missed to not mention how amazing Greg Capullo has been on Batman. His stuff just gets better and better . For issue #4 he changes his art style up to show Batman explain his history with The Court of Owls . Then in subsequent issues he goes completely off the hook with his art and the experiments he is doing with his art.
CV: I wanted to touch on that earlier actually . In Batman with Bruce it seems like you and Greg manage to show at least once an issue how much of a Badass Bruce is . Last issue the scene with the magnets made me smile from ear to ear . How organic is that collaboration for you two working on the page?
Scott Snyder: On the page its super collaborative , Greg brings so much to each page with panels, and angles and expressions that he really brings the story to life in ways I couldn’t be more inspired by. I write the story beats like the scene with the magnets but Greg composes it in such a way that’s really unique whether its to hide Batman until the last minute in a scene or to add a panel. There are some really imaginative things he has coming up in the story both in Batman’s imagination and things that are happening around him that he brought creatively . So I take that back and say that there are scenes coming up that Greg had a big hand in shaping and coming up with story elements so it’s very collaborative all through out. He’s one of the best guys as a friend I’ve ever worked with. We go back and forth every day and send things back and forth . Greg is one of the most dedicated and talented guys in the world , and I feel very lucky to get to work with him.
CV: So going back to Swamp Thing, I know that in the Alan Moores books The Parliament of Trees had actually turned on Swamp Thing at one point. In issue 4 there is a moment where we see The Green Family Tree and we see the roots that lead to an opposing tree underneath it as well. Were the Roots The Red or The Rot? Without giving away too much , can you shed some light on that page?
Scott Snyder: We were winking at showing the weight of the history of The Green bearing down on Alec’s shoulders. Which is what we also did with the opposing tree that is the Rot actually. In that Tree there are members of the Arcane Family and characters that we have created internally that will show up later in the book. We wanted The Parliament and the Green to be something that is frightening . The green is not calm and peaceful. Its’ a raging force of nature that wants the planet for itself, as does the Red as does the Rot. The idea is that there is a real reason to maybe not want to become a Protector of the Green. Because a lot of it is about restraint , the idea is holding the Green back and being a moderator for it . Making sure that things are done in balance because the Green would consume the planet if it could. That’s part of what we wanted , The Green and The Parliament of Trees are definitely scary.
A first Look at the cover to issue #7 of Swampthing
CV: I wanted to talk about your relationship and obvious connection to Jeff Lemire and Animal Man. Ive Reviewed your books together for the site because of the connection to The Rot in each .Obviously it seems like you are building up towards a bigger event . Do you script together at this point ?
Scott Snyder: We’ve always shared everything and Jeff’s been one of my closest friends in comics since starting at DC. We immediately saw that we write very similarly and our approach to constructing a story is the same. So we started trading scripts a long time ago back when I started Writing American Vampire and he was Writing Sweet Tooth for Vertigo. When I got Swamp Thing and Jeff got Animal Man we wanted to create a shared universe . So we came up with the idea to have this villian for Both The Red and the Green which would represent the opposing two elements to life which is Death and that’s how we created The Rot. At the end of these first arcs for each book they will eventually crash into each other for our Event in the second arc which we are going to call Dead World.
CV: Both Swamp Thing , and Animal Man seem paramount in showing what DC hoped to achieve with the relaunch . So whats your take on The New 52 four months in?
Scott Snyder: For me its been a huge success. Seeing the amount of people who come into my Comic Shop in Long Island called Fourth World that are reading comics that never have before is rewarding. Or when I get emails saying “wow I never knew Batman had a Live Dinosaur in his Cave” and I’m like “Wow you’ve never read Batman before?” ” Your really serious you’ve never read batman before”. The idea that you get to introduce these people to characters that you love and they say I love Batman because your on it and now I’m going to check out other Batman Stories makes everything else pale in comparison . Also I’m reading so many books myself . I love Wonder Woman , All Star Western is incredible , Action Comics obviously, Green Lantern is killing it , Aquaman , and of course Animal Man I think is the best book on the stands now.
CV:One of the things I noticed is that you and Jeff Lemire have a healthy Twitter battle going on. I review both Swamp Thing and Animal Man at the same time each month. Every time I write a review for both books I look forward to the banter between you two, its hilarious.
Scott Snyder: That’s the funniest thing . We love having Twitter Wars with each other, we are actually on the phone going back and forth being like “what should you say what should I say” . I literally just got off the phone with Jeff when you called. He really is one my best friends in the world and I couldn’t be happier for him.
CV: Alright Scott well I just wanted to thank you again , and if your going to be at C2E2 this year hopefully we can catch up then. Thanks for your time!
Scott Snyder: I will be at C2E2 this year for sure and thank you !
“Every time I see you falling , I get down on my knees and pray” and with that chorus from New Orders “Bizarre Love Triangle ” Sam Humphries introduces us to the world of Sacrifice . Those lyrics actually hold a lot of weight to what happens over the course of this issue .
We are introduced to our main character Hector after he has just left the Psychiatric Hospital. His friend Violet picks him up and takes him to get 99 cent tacos , and Hector reveals to Violet he hasn’t been taking his meds. Which is a problem because Hector is epileptic and has seizures .
During these seizures Hector seems to Travel back in time to a strange world , which slowly we are introduced to as an ancient Aztec Civilization . After Hector has a near death experience with a wandering tribe , they notice that he has a tattoo on his back . The Aztec Tribe decides to spare his life and introduce him to their Emperor . Humphries does a good job slowly building tension in the past with the Aztec Gods and Hector while also peeling back layers of story in the present. Showing us that Hector actually had a huge interest in Aztec culture as a child during a flash back with his father makes for a nice character moment to Hector since we get little time to learn about his character in the present. It also explains why Hector who is now all grown up would get a tattoo of ancient Aztec Tribal art.
Humphries does a good job creating a very surreal experience for the reader , your never sure if Hector truly is Time Traveling during his Epileptic Seizures and its almost reminiscent of Donnie Darko in the way it has you interested in its plot even if you don’t know where its going.
Dalton Rose’s artwork is very colorful and reminds me of Charles Burns . Its simple yet there is alot of creativity shown with facial expressions . He completely cuts lose during the Time Travel / seizure scenes . The whole book feels fresh , and interesting . The Aztec civilization has alot of detail in it and I appreciate the time that was taken truly giving each warrior their own look and design. The Colorist Pete Toms is definitely the unsung hero of this first issue . Each page is beautifully rendered with very bold choices of color .
One issue down and I’m very interested to see where this is going . Hopefully next issue actually has some Joy Division references in it, aside from the Cover being a nice Take on”Love Will Tear Us Apart” there is no Joy Division to be found . If your looking for something unique and different to read for a change check out Sacrifice.
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