D.C. Comics

A limp episode ends with a twist that may inject enough energy to jolt the next episode to something more closely resembling entertainment.

With clever dialogue and rapid plotting of Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher, the fierceness, cuteness, and sadness of Babs Tarr’s art, and the battle of genres and tones created by colorists Lee Loughridge and Serge Lapointe, Batgirl #48 is an excellent outing for the title, and there are more cool reveals to come. There is definitely a lot of darkness to endure before the colorful fun returns. If it ever does.

Johns, Morrison, and many others have asked the question: what makes them gods? Hitch raises as much, but answers a more interesting inquiry: what makes them good in his work on Justice League of America #7

It seems that Poison Ivy Cycle of Life and Death is going to deal with Ivy’s estrangement in a big way which should make entertaining reading

Batman #48 Written by Scott Snyder Drawn by Greg Capullo and Danny Miki Colored by FCO Plascencia Lettered by Steve Wands Published by DC Comics The latest issue of the “Superheavy” story arc doesn’t even feature a Batman in it. Gotham’s current Batman Jim Gordon doesn’t even have a cowl to wear in this issue. …

Tarr’s art is definitely missed and there are some pacing issues, but Batgirl #47 isn’t a half bad read.

TMNT/Batman #2 is way too much fun not to be read.

Robin War #2 has a pretty big plot twist, takes some risks with the character of Dick Grayson, and has an energetic blend of art styles from the big painted imagery of Khary Randolph to the slow burn storytelling of Alvaro Martinez and Raul Fernandez.

Batman Europa #3 is stunning and fun. When I reviewed the last issue, I stated that the art was the reason to pick up the book. This issue really turned around my view of what writers Matteo Casali and Brian Azzarello were trying to accomplish with the arc. They’ve really found their footing, and I am anxiously waiting for next issue’s conclusion if it finishes anywhere near as strongly as this issue.

Swamp Thing is one of the very best series from DC Comics in the past five years, from Scott Snyder’s revival of the character in 2011 to Charles Soule’s grandiose world-building years later.

With the clock winding down and with only 3 issues in the War to go, not all of the characters are at the forefront in Justice League #47, but it works lest the already packed title become overstuffed with players. With the main artist back on to finish the event, the “Darkseid War” should begin to wrap up character arcs and pick up steam to change the landscape of DC Universe in issue 50.

The Dark Knight III #2 has some wooden dialogue and a chase scene that is a little too similar to last issue’s magnificent one, but it does a great job establishing the characters of Carrie Kelly’s Batman and Lara while setting up the conflict between humanity and the Master Race. The Wonder Woman backup story is a real treat and positions Diana as a wild card in the issues to come in her roles as both warrior and mother. (Risso nails this part of her as she swings a sword with a baby slung on her back.)

The end to Cyborg’s first arc is here and while the ending may wrap up just tightly enough that you could call this comic overall a mini-series everything changes, and David Walker leaves just enough for fans for an emotional payoff and give a glimpse at a new future for Victor Stone.

The art of Batman Europa is visually stunning. The artwork of Giuseppe Camuncoli takes center stage for the majority of the book. Camuncoli has a bold, artistic style that really carries the story. The story leaves a little something to be desired. Matteo Casali and Brian Azzarello take a simple premise and take it global with major cities in Europe. While the first 2 issues make the arc a slow burn, the art alone makes the book worthy of picking up.

Two words could be used to describe comics in 2015: scandal and rebirth. The scandals happened off the pages at both companies large and small, and the rebirth happened in the comics themselves.

Batman #47 Written by Scott Snyder Art by Greg Capullo and Danny Miki Colors by FCO Plascencia Letters by Steve Wands Published by DC Comics In the latest issue of Batman, Scott Snyder cannot let the writing or the art stand alone to actually tell his and Greg Capullo’s story  Snyder just doesn’t appear to …

Like Barbara Gordon’s agile mind, writers Cameron Stewart and Brenden Fletcher tend to balance several plot threads in each Batgirl issue, and this one is no exception. The three main ones are real estate developers using teenagers in various street gangs to drive out tenants so they can gentrify Burnside, Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler getting a bounty put on her because she witnessed Eiko Hasigawa (Catwoman’s lover during Genevieve Valentine’s run on the book) executing mob leaders, and also her continued lapses of memory, which might have led to a scientific breakthrough. Although, Stewart and Fletcher’s plot has a lot of moving parts, it comes organically out of character relationships and the dark, lovely world they have crafted through thirteen issues with artist Babs Tarr, colorist Serge Lapointe, and other collaborators.

Justice League #46 Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Francis Manapul Colorist: Francis Manapul Letterer: Rob Leigh Publisher: DC Comics Being caught in the middle of a cosmic war between the two of the most powerful beings in all existence can be difficult to manage. Wonder Woman makes it look easy even with six of her team members …

The heroes seem to stack up well against the villains of their counterparts. There is a nice scene in which Shredder threatens Gotham, and the Turtles dispatch of Killer Croc and his goons rather quickly. Splinter also makes a brief appearance right before Donatello geeks out over the Batmobile. All in all, the book is fun. Williams’ art is amazing, and every page pops. The characters all look like they’ve been hand painted, and the style is so unique that you can’t quite place the story in either world. The plot is simple enough, but the character interactions and interesting art is why this book is a must read. There is enough in the book to sate both the Batman and TMNT fan in everyone.

Robin War #1 Written by Tom King Art by Khary Randolph, Alain Mauricet, Jorge Corona, Andres Guinaldo and Walden Wong Colors by Emilio Lopez, Chris Sotomayor, Gabe Eltaeb, Sandra Molina Breakdowns by Rob Haynes Letters by Carlos M. Mangual and Tom Napolitano Published by DC Comics The Robin mythos is ever expanding to usher in …

Cyborg #5 Written by David Walker Pencils by Felipe Watanabe and Daniel HDR Layouts by Ivan Reis Inks by Albert Oclair, Júlio Ferreira, Andy Owens, and Juan Castro Colors by Adriano Lucas and Pete Pantanzis Lettered by Rob Leigh Publisher: DC Comics The Techno Apocalypse is well underway in the penultimate issue of Cyborg’s first …

2015 saw a lot of comic book variant covers. While variants are nothing new to the world of comic books, the amount of variants seems to be skyrocketing. DC Comics could crash the market with Dark Knight III, releasing over 50 versions of the first issue alone. If the demand for variant covers continues to …

The Dark Knight III #1 is bombastic in its themes and scale and type of art drawn by Andy Kubert, Klaus Janson, and Brad Anderson. There are ideological differences between gods and mortals, the law and citizens hinted at or show vividly on the page with blood flowing like red wine on the Gotham rooftops leading to the kind of conflict that spawns one of the biggest, final page cliffhangers in recent memory.