Review: Worlds' Finest Vol. 2: Hunt and Be Hunted trade paperback (DC Comics)

A major DC Comics character gets his first prolonged screen-time in the New 52 at the end of Worlds' Finest Vol. 2: Hunt and Be Hunted, and seeing what happens with him, Power Girl, and Huntress next will -- Lord help me -- probably bring me back for the third volume. But while Hunt has some interesting moments, they fall amidst a mostly muddled story and way too many artists, and like the first volume this book feels like more filler than plot. Paul Levitz doesn't write a bad Power Girl and Huntress -- in fact, he writes a very good one -- but neither does he quite seem to know what to do with them.

[Review contains spoilers]

The book's first two chapters are essentially an excuse to put Huntress and Robin Damian Wayne on the same page, and they're likely the best of the book. Levitz could have gone the route of many writers when Damian guest-stars, positing Robin as a foul-mouthed kid who shows up or is shown up by the title character. Instead, Levitz digs deeper into this idea of Earth 2 as a parallel earth, to the point where Damian is nearly able to discern Huntress's origins solely by the similarities between their fighting styles during their initial tiff. The sequence is subtle and organic, and ought prove a good model for how other DC heroes might react when they finally meet their Earth 2 counterparts.

Review: Criminal Vol. 5: The Sinners trade paperback (Marvel Comics)

[Guest reviewer Zach King blogs about movies as The Cinema King]

I've commended the Criminal series for continuing to innovate and expand the shared universe of Center City with compelling standalone stories, with the three "one-shots" in The Dead and the Dying standing out as ostensibly the high point of the series.

The back cover of Criminal Vol. 5: The Sinners recalls one of my favorite lines from Grant Morrison's The Invisibles -- "And so we return and begin again" -- when it lets us know that "CRIMINAL's most popular character, TRACY LAWLESS returns in THE SINNERS." In an era of reboots and remakes, a deviation from the highly original work being done by Criminal ought to give any comics fan pause.

Archer and Armstrong Vol. 1: The Michelangelo Code trade paperback (Valiant Entertainment)

[Review by Doug Glassman, who Tumblrs at '80s Marvel Rocks!]

For about the last year or so, I’ve been railing on DC for rebooting its characters and focusing on retelling origin stories. As a result, I feel a little hypocritical for enjoying the relaunch of Valiant Comics (now Valiant Entertainment) to the point of near-addiction. The key difference is that DC keeps throwing away potentially great concepts and titles while Valiant is using its comparatively limited resources to put together the best line-ups possible. That’s not taking purely business-related factors into account, of course. Valiant’s titles had to be rebooted due to the original company’s messy end, a situation I’ll be looking into over the next few weeks.

When assembling the initial line-up for the relaunch, the Valiant's editorial and marketing teams made some interesting choices. It was logical to bring back three of the old publisher’s biggest titles: the flagship book Harbinger, popular vigilante Bloodshot, and the one with perhaps the highest level of visibility, X-O Manowar. Putting Archer & Armstrong in as the fourth title was a bold move. While the original book was well-regarded, it was also launched later in the publisher’s life and often relied on crossovers (in fact, it launched during the first Valiant crossover, Unity). This decision has paid off as the series' first collection, Archer & Armstrong Vol. 1: The Michelangelo Code, is easily the best book of the new Valiant, followed closely by X-O Manowar and Quantum and Woody.

Review: GI Combat Vol. 1: The War That Time Forgot trade paperback (DC Comics)

The stories collected in one of DC Comics's final "Edge" line titles, GI Combat Vol. 1: The War That Time Forgot, seemed to me to be an attempt to grab the audience that didn't quite cotton to Men of War by telling war stories with a little more superheroics than Men of War had. "War That Time Forgot," "Unknown Soldier," and "Haunted Tank" are all war concepts with a twist, and as someone who enjoys faux reality superhero titles like Checkmate and Gotham Central, I held some optimism for GI Combat.

Even as the writers here are accomplished -- JT Krul, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, and Peter Tomasi is a good group -- GI Combat never quite emerges as a cohesive package. It is at times too flip, at times too brief; it is constantly dark and bloody; and it's also adrenaline-soaked ad nauseam. Maybe this is the aesthetic of war comics and war comics just aren't for me, but I couldn't recommend this volume.

Review: Resurrection Man Vol. 2: A Matter of Death and Life trade paperback (DC Comics)

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning's New 52 Resurrection Man initiative has been a remake that improved upon the original, but Resurrection Man Vol. 2: A Matter of Death and Life is a weaker follow-up to the first superlative volume. A crossover that gives Resurrection Man Mitch Shelley short shrift and a couple of instances where the book zigs when it might have zagged slows the book down, even as this final volume builds to an interesting conclusion.

[Review contains spoilers]

The dividing line between the first and second volumes of Resurrection Man is this book's introduction of Mitch's girl Friday Kim Rebecki. Rebecki is a private investigator with the power of psychometry, which means she can "read" things that she touches; employed to find Mitch, she discovers his innate goodness when they touch, almost immediately falls in love with him, and joins Shelley for the rest of his adventures. But I felt the writers were more enamored of Rebecki than I as the reader was; the "instant connection" between Shelley and Rebecki saves time, but it supersedes the building of any genuine chemistry that might make us care about Shelley and Rebecki's relationship.

Review: Grendel Omnibus Vol. 1: Hunter Rose trade paperback (Dark Horse)

[Review by Doug Glassman, who Tumblrs at '80s Marvel Rocks!]

After two months of Marvel reviews, it’s time to switch to an amazing creator-owned title. Matt Wagner created Grendel for the now-defunct Comico Comics in 1983; he later took his creation to Dark Horse after the failing Comico attempted to claim the title as one of its assets. The concept is still full of life thirty years later; Wagner will be writing and drawing a crossover with The Shadow later this year. I call Grendel a concept because there’s really not one central character. The “Grendel” name is given to a variety of main characters over centuries; it’s a dark force and possibly a demon from Hell if some of the stories are to be believed.

With all that said, the person most commonly known as “Grendel” is Hunter Rose, the original holder of the title. Grendel Omnibus Vol. 1: Hunter Rose collects Rose’s story in the way Wagner wants to tell it ... and as a result, the original story from 1983 isn’t collected here. Wagner has called it a rough draft and its events are portrayed here in a story called “Devil by the Deed," which you should skip if you’re unfamiliar with the material. Instead of a regular story, “Deed” is an illustrated plot summary told in the form of a biography of Hunter Rose; some of these fragments were used in previous Grendel stories and later assembled here.

DC Trade Solicitations for May 2014 - Damian: Son of Batman, Larfleeze, Starlin's Stormwatch, Soule's Swamp Thing, JH Williams's Batman, Showcase Presents the Great Disaster

Again, I didn't think there was a lot that's notable in DC Comics's May 2014 trade paperback and collections solicitations, though there's some interesting comings and goings here -- Stormwatch and Batman: The Dark Knight bow out, while Charles Soule takes over Swamp Thing and Keith Giffen's Larfleeze gets a more complete collection than I might have expected. Let's take a look.

• Batman – The Dark Knight Vol. 4: Clay HC

Inasmuch as I felt lukewarm about Gregg Hurwitz's first Dark Knight Scarecrow story, I'm inclined to give this one a chance since I feel I've read fewer Clayface origin stories over the years than I have Scarecrow stories. This hardcover collects the final issues of the series.

• Damian: Son of Batman Deluxe Edition HC

I can't really argue with a deluxe collection of Andy Kubert's art, but I feel I'd have been more enthusiastic about this series at the height of Grant Morrison's Batman run, and maybe before Damian's death in Batman, Inc. Vol. 2. I still find that a little tawdry, and so a new series starring Damian feels like more of a tease than a rebirth.

• Larfleeze Vol. 1: Revolt of the Orange Lanterns TP

For completists, the good news is that the first Larfleeze collection is solicited to include not only issues #1-5 of the series, but also the backup stories from Threshold. Between Sinestro, Larfleeze, Corps, New Guardians, Red Lanterns, and the Green Lantern book, I think DC's Green Lantern line is too franchised out for its own good, and I'd bet Larfleeze would be the first on the chopping block.

• Red Hood and the Outlaws Vol. 4: League of Assassins TP

Collects issues #19-24 plus the first annual, which details Arsenal's history with Green Arrow.

• Stormwatch Vol. 4: Reset TP

I didn't favor a reboot of the New 52 Stormwatch, and with characters like the Weird it seemed too much to me like Jim Starlin was doing his own thing (and some of the villains, it seemed, were hopelessly 1990s inspired); all of this made me hesitant to keep following Stormwatch for volume after volume. However, what turns out to be the final Stormwatch collection includes twelve issues, #19-30, and takes care of Starlin's run in one shot; given this, and Stormwatch's presence in Futures End, I'll probably stick around.

• Superman – Action Comics Vol. 4: Hybrid HC

The solicitations says this hardcover collects Action Comics #19-24 and the backup from Superman Annual #2, though if I don't miss my guess I think it's the main story from the annual, tying in to "Psi War," and not the "World of Krypton" backup. As you know, Andy Diggle was supposed to take over Action Comics with the beginning of this trade, but Scott Lobdell and others ended up writing it instead.

This collection also includes the Superman/Wonder Woman story from Young Romance. At this point, the only story from Young Romance that hasn't been collected is the Aquaman story.

• Swamp Thing Vol. 4: Seeder TP

Begins Charles Soule's run on Swamp Thing, and includes the Villains Month issue #23.1: Arcane.

• Worlds’ Finest Vol. 3: Control Issues TP

I thought I had read that Paul Levitz was leaving Worlds' Finest, but in looking at this collection's contents, #13-18, I see Levitz is still on the title as of issue #19. The next trade crosses over with Batman/Superman.

• Batman: Black and White Vol. 4 HC

Collects the 2013 Batman: Black and White six-issue miniseries.

• DC Comics Presents: The Demon – Driven Out #1

It really is enough to make you think DC is planning a new Demon series, with the collection of the four-issue Demon miniseries by Matt Wagner earlier this year, and now this DC Comics Presents edition of Joshua Dysart's six-issue "Driven Out" miniseries. Odd that this is DC Comics Presents and not just a collection, though maybe DC's hedging its bets by keeping the price down.

• JLA Vol. 5 TP

As we discussed when this volume was first solicited, it includes JLA issues #47-60 and the originally-oversized JLA: Heaven's Ladder. These JLA paperbacks, you might know, don't correspond to the JLA hardcovers; this book collects the end of Mark Waid's run, though the beginning, "Tower of Babel," is found in the paperback JLA Vol. 4.

• Showcase Presents: The Great Disaster Featuring the Atomic Knights TP

Some years back there were a couple of Showcase Presents volumes that were subsequently canceled because of rights issues, but we're now beginning to see them emerge; among them was this Showcase Presents: The Great Disaster Featuring the Atomic Knights. I had more interest in this at the time, circa Final Crisis, than I do now.

• Tales of Batman: J.H. Williams III HC

We talked about this one earlier, too; if the contents hold up, it contains Batman #526 and #550, Legends of the Dark Knight #86-88, and the "Pulp Heroes" Annual #21, all written by Doug Moench; #667-669 by Grant Morrison; "Snow" from Legends of the Dark Knight #192-196 by Dan Curtis Johnson and Williams with art by Seth Fisher; Detective Comics #821, by Paul Dini, and Chase #7-8, which guest-starred Batman.

Those are my picks. What are you looking forward to reading this May?

Review: Batman: Li'l Gotham Vol. 1 trade paperback (DC Comics)

Hard to believe, but for the past year there's still been a place where Robin Damian Wayne lives, Nightwing and Oracle -- yes, Oracle -- go out on dates, and Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn still pal around on crime sprees. On occasion, I've seen fans call for a digital-first series still set in DC Comics's pre-Flashpoint continuity. I wonder if they know that book was already out there, and it was Dustin Nguyen and Derek Fridolfs's Batman: Li'l Gotham.

[Review contains spoilers (though not Spoiler)]

The first thing to know about Li'l Gotham, whose first digital-to-print collection DC recently released, is that it's essentially an all-ages continuation of the Streets of Gotham series that Nguyen drew with Paul Dini. The stories are more comical and kid-friendly, but they include characters straight from Streets, including Mr. Zzz, the Carpenter, and most notably Colin, aka "Abuse." Nguyen and Fridolfs don't even introduce Colin, but rather take for granted that readers will know who this (rather obscure) character is, and refer directly back to events in Streets. The unspoken assumption being that Li'l Gotham readers will be Streets readers (or young readers will be reading the book with a Streets reader).

Review: Red Sonja Vol. 1: Queen of Plagues trade paperback (Dynamite Entertainment)

I had never read a Red Sonja story before now, partially due to my lesser interest in swords and sorcery tales but to a greater extent because of the exploitative bent to the main character's chain mail bikini (why I avoided books like Witchblade and Fathom, too). Red Sonja Vol. 1: The Queen of Plagues, therefore, stood out to me as a curious oddity: still the buxom barbarian in chain mail on the cover, but written by Gail Simone, known for portraying strong and realistic female characters. How would these two seeming opposites reconcile?

Simone's Red Sonja will ultimately feel and sound very familiar to fans of her work -- especially to fans of Simone's Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman -- which went a long way for me in bridging the gap of unfamiliarity I had with the character. Simone makes an effort, I think, to acknowledge and honor Sonja's chain mail origins (drawn attractively but without gratuitousness by Walter Geovanni), but then also to move Sonja beyond these origins as the story progresses to become something greater than she might have originally seemed.

Review: Infinity hardcover (Marvel Comics)

[Review by Doug Glassman, who Tumblrs at '80s Marvel Rocks!]

Here’s a fun fact about Infinity: Nobody dies.

Okay, not really. The Builders kill countless trillions of people across the universe and Thanos, as always, contributes a good amount of fatalities between himself and his minions. But no main character dies in the way that previous crossovers killed someone off for the sake of drama, like the Wasp in Secret Invasion or Thor in Fear Itself. You’ll notice that neither of those deaths lasted longer than a few years. I thought they were setting up Manifold to be sacrificed, and Black Bolt comes close, but not even Thanos dies. This is a sharp and much-needed rejection of traditional comic book crossover tropes.