Tag: Man-Bat

Sunday Reviews

“Inconceivable! That was half our fleet!”

“Surely we don’t think some omnipotent being snapped his fingers and half our people ceased to exist? HAHAHAHA!”

The Moonheads, dealing with a sudden fall in their numbers

FREEDOM FIGHTERS #9

The torture of the captured Human Bomb and Doll Woman continue, while Uncle Sam and Phantom Lady have to moderate their plan of attack due to Black Condor’s actions. Supposedly in Detroit for a covert mission, he ends up leading a full on rebellion against the Nazis with surprising results.

Another good issue that enters into the final arc; it’s going to be a blast between now and #12, the final issue.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #15

Alive to the threat of Circe, Wonder Woman enlists Zatanna and Kent Nelson to help her access the Witchmark powers from last year’s The Witching Hour storyline; that means using Eclipso’s black diamond. Meanwhile Swamp Thing tries to reconnect with the green only to be defeated by Floronic Man, and Man-Bat goes nuts following his encounter with the Otherkind last issue.

Another cracking issue – tons of stuff happening, along with throwaway references to mystical artefacts like the Spear of Destiny and the Ace of Winchesters, and it all looks gorgeous as well.

SHAZAM #7

Billy sets off to try and find the other members of the Shazam! family; Pedro and Eugene are stuck in what appears to be an amalgamation of Oz and Wonderland, while Darla and Freddie are rescued by Tawky Tawny only to end up in the Darklands, just like Billy.

Plagued by delays, this title is still entertaining when it arrives. I couldn’t help but notice it’s taken these seven issues before there’s even a hint that it’s taking place within the main DCU as Mary Marvel plans to head off and find the Justice League to enlist Wonder Woman’s help. The next issue blurb of “Shazam meets… Captain Marvel?!” sounds intriguing.

THE TERRIFICS #20

The Terribles faces of against the Terrifics and win, finding the power source they need to start up their time machine. They need more, however, which means a threat to Phantom Girl’s home planet, but before that, the Terrifics have to contend with being warped back to the 90s and then the 80s!

Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of Bizarro and the forced backwards speech that always reads inconsistently, but I can ignore than when the rest of this issue is so much fun.

WARLORD OF MARS ATTACKS #4

John Carter finally makes it back to Barsoom, but so do the Moonheads – though half of them promptly vanish thanks to the quantum-flux state of the planet. The remainder are attacked by the Heliumites and the Tharks, led of course by Dejah Thoris and Tars Tarkas, all of which leads to the final confrontation in the next issue.

Still enjoying this – it’s very silly and charges along at a good pace and is clearly having fun with itself.

Sunday Reviews

ANIMOSITY #19

After the fall of the walled city last issue, both the animals and the humans take stock of not only what they have, but who they are in this new world.

It’s a deep issue, this one, with parallel discussions amongst the animals on one side and the humans on the other, each trying to decide what they’re going to become. There are no easy answers as they’re dealing with big questions but the sense I get is that the past doesn’t define you. While this is a quiet issue in terms of plot, the series as a whole has been damn good.

DARK ARK #15

Shrae’s journey comes to an end as his daughter Khalee makes a deal with the dark lords as her father had before her, in order to face up against their captors who are revealed as the Fallen, those first angels who fell but landed on Earth rather than in Hell. But as with every deal made with devils, there’s a price to pay.

This issue finishes with a big “END” on the last panel, but there’s clearly more story to be told. Whether there’ll be a DARK ARK Book Two or a follow on series under a different name is yet to be seen.

HAWKMAN #10

The Deathbringers are trashing London and despite his best efforts, Hawkman can only do so much to stop them – he is, after all, just one man. Or is he? Having spent the last nine issues travelling through time and space meeting his previous incarnations, he now manages to summon them to the present day to fight the Deathbringers . . . just before he’s stabbed.

It’s all been leading to this, the final confrontation between the two armies, one of which is made up of different incarnations of the same man. The two page spread showing all the different Hawkmen is nice, though it would have been good to see some throwbacks to previous versions of the character as Easter eggs if nothing else. Still, a good read.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #9

The JL Dark face off against the new Lords of Order who have co-opted magic users to act as their hosts while they invade Myrra; Man-Bat learns from Khalid about Dr Fate having gone off the deep end; and Wonder Woman and Zatanna contact Circe to find out who’s behind all of this.

Once again, and I know I’m repeating myself, but this is really my favourite Justice League book, and still for the same reasons I’ve been saying for the last couple of months – it’s gorgeous to look at, and the dialogue is just spot on.

Sunday Reviews

DARK ARK #14

Shrae and many of his monstrous charges have been captured by the mysterious islanders who, as they take the prisoners to their home, walk them through a forest strewn with the wings and halos of angels they’ve killed. Meanwhile, the other survivors plan a rescue of Shrae.

Freed from the confines of the ark, Cullen Bunn is able to develop a bigger story, bringing in more plots and characters – the forest with angel wings was a nice, gruesome touch and the hint that there are more creatures alive in the post-Flood world than first thought is intriguing. This series was getting a little tired three or four issues ago but I’m glad I stuck with it as this seems to promise more.

HAWKMAN #9

Back from his time and planet hopping adventures, Hawkman’s visiting Madame Xanadu in London when enormous Deathbringer robot ships appear above the city. Cue Hawkman jumping into the fray and having his arse kicked by the Deathbringers, now led by his one-time second in command.

Something of a place holder issue, this, where nothing much happens apart from what I outlined above. Still, it looks nice.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #8

Man-Bat tries his hand at magic, thinking of it as a different form of science, while the rest of the JLD either track down magic users to rescue from the Otherkind, or search for Mordru who may be the key to stopping them. Zatanna and Wonder Woman visit various magical places looking for clues while unknown to them, the Oblivion Bar is attacked, forcing Detective Chimp to take the other magicians through to Myrra, only to find that’s exactly what the hidden instigator behind all this wanted in the first place.

This is still my favourite Justice League title, for so many reasons. The art is just gorgeous – even the weird mini-Swamp Thing gremlins that help wait tables in the Oblivion Bar – and the dialogue is natural and occasionally funny without being forced. Thoroughly recommend this book.

VAMPIRELLA/DEJAH THORIS #5

Dejah Thoris and Vampirella work together so that Vampi’s fellow Drakulonians are saved from the all-too eager to kill Red Martians, and then manage to restore some water and vegetation to the otherwise barren Mars, before Vampi and her friends leave to head to Earth.

The mini-series comes to an end, and it’s been enjoyable enough for what it is, though this final issue seemed a little rushed.