Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes, page 5

Book Review: Thor by Walter Simonson Vol. 1

Thor by Walter Simonson Vol. 1 by Walt Simonson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Walt Simonson's early run on Thor manages to do a couple of seemingly contradictory things. On one hand, the book shakes up the title character's status quo with the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and changes in the enchantment of Thor's Hammer and secret identity. At the same time, there's obvious love and affection for what Lee and Kirby did in the 1960s. The book manages to feature some truly epic and magical cosmic battles with great concepts drawing and occasional full-page spreads that are very much evocative of what Kirby did on the book.

Overall, there's a great energy and excitement about what's coming back. Overall, a smashing start to Simonson's run.



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Book Review: Batman Beyond: Hush Beyond

Batman Beyond: Hush Beyond by Adam Beechen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A serial killer is targetting villains and anyone associated with the old Batman and they're going by the name of the Batman villain H.U.S.H.

Sometimes a really good story can break a character and I think that's the case with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. It's a phenomenal film, but it's also been the template for far too many comic stories. This book essentially rips off that basic plot, misses the spirit and susbtance of it and adds nothing interesting to the story. It also doesn't make a whole lot of sen in light of the JLU episode, "Epilogue."

This isn't horrible, but it's a below average story with nothing to commend it.



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Book Review: Batgirl: The Bronze Age Omnibus, Volume 2

Batgirl: The Bronze Age Omnibus Vol. 2 by Various

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects the rest of the pre-Crisis Batgirl stories.

There are two stages of these stories:

1) The rest of the Batman Famiy stories: The rest of Batgirl's solo and team-up appearances in Batman Family were actually pretty fun for the most part. The handling of the Barbara's brother Tony story is a bit weak and some of the team ups get a little goofy. The book features solo stories, stories that direct team ups with Robin, as well as stories that involve Justice League style team ups with various members of the Bat-family who handle their own chapters but come together to battle the boss.

2) Detective Comics and the Batgirl Special: A bit of a bumpy ride on these. After Batman Family ended in 1978, Batgirl got her own solo feature in Detective Comics. Bob Rozakis, who had written for her on Batman family wrote the first three stories including a two-part story that dealt with Batgirl finding Barbara Gordon's lost brother. It was okay as was a silly story about someone getting a date with Batgirl. Then Jack Harris took over...and in my opinion, he didn't get the character and the stories were just lackluster. The best thing in the Harris run was having Barbara Gordon defeated for re-election. It didn't make a ton of sense as Babs was defeated by a feminist who was a stand-in for left-wing Congresswoman Bella Abzug, but the whole point of sending Babs to Congress was the end of Batgirl. Having her be in Congress was more of an impediment than good stories.

Cary Burkett took over and he had a really superb two year run on the character. I'm a little iffy on his decision to have Batgirl decide to quit when she was nearly assassinated, but he managed to work in a lot of good character stuff and tell some pretty solid stories that approached to the height of her stories in Detective Comics in the 1970s.

The final writer was Barbara Kesel, who got to do the last two Detective Comics stories before they were unceremoniously cancelled. The story's okay, but doesn't quite feel right. I feel bad Kesel didn't get a chance to develop her vision of Batgirl. In the two Detective Comics stories, the art of Trevor Von Eeden shines through.

Kesel also wrote the Batgirl Specail which was to be published as a story explaining how she left being Batgirl. I think Kesel did the best she could with it, given that it was an editorially mandated piece which limits options.

Kesel also wrote the intro which told of the sort of her background on the book and the sort of toxic attitudes at DC towards Barbara Gordon with the Killing Joke and the discomfort she experienced. It says something about the DC staff that they didn't respect a heroine like Barbara Gordon back in the day and not something good.

Overall, this is a fun read for all Barbara Gordon fans. It's not quite as good as the first volume, but it's still a very solid read.





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Book Review: Flash, Volume 14: The Flash Age

The Flash Age by Joshua Williamson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Flash Age collects Issue 88 and the main story from Issue 750 and then 751-755 and sees the introduction of a new villain called Paradox who is killing the Flash over and over again. In order to stop him, the Flash is forced to team up with one of his deadliest fes.

This is a good story. The story from the 750th issue does a great job paying tribute to the Flash and settin gup this story that really takes our hero on an epic journey that covers so much of his timeline. The last few volumes, Williamson's writing has been his mark perfectly and this book is no exception.



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Book Review: The Flash (2016-) #750: Deluxe Edition

The Flash (2016-) #750: Deluxe Edition by Brian Buccellato

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Flash #750 collects a number of stories in celebration of 750 issues of the Flash.

The Flash Age, Part One-This is part of the ongoing story and it's actually really good. It manages to pay tribute to the Flash as a character while also setting up the next story.

Geoff Johns' story, "Beer Run" is a humorous bit that finds Captain Cold just going out to get beer and finding himself in the middle of a punk robbing a convenience store. It's light and fun.

"Why You" finds Barry and Iris talking about why he should be the Flash. This one is decent albeit a bit of navel gazing.

"Flash of All Worlds" is a lore-filled tale finds the Flash battling Mirror Master.in a funhouse. Nice and it does pay tribute to a lot of different events in Flash history.

"At the Startling Line" is a Jay Garrick story, which is nice given the way he's been utterly robbed since the New 52.

"Flash Forward Epilogue" is a wrap up from the Flash Forward event and kind of an awkward inclusion.

Then we get a reprint of "Mystery of the Human Thunderbolt,' the first Flash story.

Overall, this does what it's supposed to do. While there are a few weaker stories, these 1000 and 750 issues are plays for fans and pay tribute to them. They're a weird mix of commercial efforts for collectors and works of love by creators from gone-by eras. While it's tie into current events in the comics takes up more issues than I'd prefer, when you add in the artwork and pin-up, this book does exactly what it needs to and is worth reading for Flash fans of all generations.



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Book Review: Justice Volume 2

Justice, Volume 2 by Jim Krueger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The second volume of Justice picks up right where the first one left off. DC's first string Justice League in serious peril.

They're helped out in part because the Justice League has an unbelievably deep bench including many people who are second stringers for no logical in-world reason but because marketing and precedents. So that mean Alex Ross is unleashed to paint even more heroes and there's much rejoicing.

The plot deepens as there's a mysterious revelation and then even more questions raised. While the Joker adorns the Second Volume's cover, the focus is more on the heroes and their response.

The book can be a bit over-indulgent. Jim Krueger wrote a lame Superman and Batman having a meta discussion scene that doesn't really work. There are a few other times, fan service gets in the way of good pacing. Still, this story is moving along at a solid pace.



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Book Review: Batman; The Demon Trilogy

Batman: The Demon Trilogy by Mike W. Barr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This collects three Batman Graphic novels featuring Ra's Al-Ghul.

Son of the Demon: Batman and Ra's join together in a somewhat long-running partnership to stop a villain and he renews his acquaintence with Talia and it turns out they're still married and so there's even a bundle of joy on the way. The art in this story is beautiful but as a story, it was good, but Batman's actions are out of character. His allieance with Ra's and hopes that it continues seem very out of character. He even goes so far as to train Ra's men, which seems like something that would come back to haunt him. However, despite the out of character nature of it, the action's good and it's a solid read.

Bride of the Demon: This is a more convention Batman v. Ra's story as Ra's has a plot to cleanse the Earth and has determined Batman must die first, but Ra's also has to put an aging Hollywood starlet into the Lazarus Pit so she can be his bride. This story is fairly good. While I'm not the biggest fan of the art, given the sort of comic art that would so dominate comics in this era, this isn't that bad. If I had a problem with it, it's that this doesn't really seem like a story that mertis a graphic novel treatment. It should just be three or four issues of Batman or Detective Comics.

Birth of a Demon is the Ra's Al-Ghul origin story written by Dennis O'Neil with superb art by Norm Breyfogle. The story is mostly about Ra's origin framed with the Batman story. It explains a lot and is interesting. The art has some great freakly surrealistic turns and feels like real art. It's an intriguing tale that held my attention throughout.

Overall, I think all of these are good and worth reading if you're interested in Ra's Al-Ghul as a character.

Dennis O



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Book Review: pider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol. 4

Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Vol. 4 by Brian Michael Bendis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The final seven issues of Brian Michael Bendis' run as writer for Miles Morales' Spider-man. It's got a lot to wrap up as someone from Miles' past is back leading a new Sinister Six and a friend of MIles' is caught in the crossfire. At the same time, there's issues with Miles' parents over his father helping him keep his secret identity, and school drama with Ganke and a girl running a Spider-man fan vlog.

Thisstory does what it needs to do. It's entertaining and manages to wrap up all of its threads. The final battle is satisfying and the final issue is a triumph playing on writer Bendis' own experience with a serious illness that almost killed him.

There are flaws slike a few parts that are way too talky (as is typical) and the whole doing other than being Spider-man idea is still not really fleshed out or made sense of in this volume.

Overall, though, a solid final bow for Bendis on Spider-man and an end to an incredible run.



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Book Review: Spider-Man: Deadly Foes of Spider-Man

Spider-Man: Deadly Foes of Spider-Man by Danny Fingeroth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book collects two four-issue Comic mini-series, the Deadly Foes of Spider-man and the Lethal Foes of Spider-man.

The Deadly Foes is a very good story. While Spider-man is in the book, the focus isn't on him. It's on the villains of the newly reconvened sinister Syndicate led by the Beetle and featuring several other villains including the Rhino.

The story grows more complex as the villains start plotting against each other and it's fascinating to see how they end up dividing into different sides. It builds up to a really satisfying conclusion.

The Lethal Foes of Spider-man is a sequel that has a lot more criminals and criminal plans at work. While, most of the villains in the first story were (except for maybe the Rhino) were B-listers, this story also features the Vulture and Doctor Octopus among many many others. Honestly, if feels like writer Danny Fingeroth had a big toy chest with all the villains in it and just saw which one he could pull out.

It's certainly not a bad story, but it's not quite as good as the Deadly Foes. With all the characters, it's hard, though not impossible to keep track of the individual plot points. It's just less focused than the Deadly Foes because there's not a clear through-line as was the case in that series. In addition, there's a big difference in the art. The Deadly Foes was pencilled by Al Milgrom and Kerry Gammill and looks good. The second story has art by Scott McDaniel and was drawn in 1993 and embraces the ugliness and exceesses of 1990s comic art. Though this is far from the worst example, it does have some images that are just yeck.

Still, despite its flaws, Lethal Foes was fun to read just to see how many villains would show up and overall as a collection, this is well worthwhile. If you enjoy Spider-man's rogue's gallery of the 1980s and 90s, this is a solid and fun read.



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Book Review: Batman/Superman, Vol. 2

Batman/Superman, Vol. 2 by Joshua Williamson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After a first book that was all abotu battling the Batman who Laughs and setting upe vents and character changes in DC books, this feels like a proper Batman/Superman with several story arcs worked in to the nine issues plus an annual collected here:

The Kandor Comrpomise (7,8): While the bottled city of Kandor appeared to be lost in the Man of Steel mini-series, Zod has plan to revive them but it leads him into conflict with Ra's Al ghul while threatening his truce with the House of El. A solid tale that sets the stage for changes to the Status Quo in Superman's world.

Atomic (9-11): A mystery involving Atomic Skull's mysterious death and raises bigger problems with a long-time Superman foe. This makes good use of Batman's detective skills.

Planet Brainiac (12-14): Superman and Batman are trapped on the moon and it's up to Steel and Batwoman to free them, whether Batman and Superman want them to or not.

Annual #1: Batmite and Mister Mxyzptlk get into an argument over who's better: Batman or Superman.

Snowfight (#15): Solomon Grundy is about to blow up and Batman and Superman to figure out how to get him home to avoid the fate without setting him off. This is probably my favorite story in the books and turns poignant at the end with a suprise guest star.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This is what a Batman/Superman book should be. It's fun with a couple important stories. It makes for a very pleasant and enjoyable read.



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