Dull Brilliance
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2005
- Messages
- 1,603
I'll be posting more reviews throughout the weekend but here's the first two from last week's books.
Batman: Gotham Knights #64 - DC
"Human Nature, Book Four"
by A.J. Lieberman (w), Al Barrionuevo (p) & Bit (i)
A group of orphans that Poison Ivy befriended over the years have started turning up dead. After investigating, Ivy was horrified to discover that the cause of the kids' deaths may have been due to overexposure to herself. Pamela Isley has since been determined to find a cure for condition so that she can't hurt anyone else again. So she turned to Bruce Wayne's help, hoping that with her recently saving Alfred from Hush and Prometheus that Wayne would be open to the notion of aiding her. All well and good except that Hush has trying to manipulate Ivy into falling in love with him for a scheme that has yet to be revealed.
With Poison Ivy sincerely trying to change for the better, Bruce allows himself to have feelings for her again. Hush retaliates to this bonding by revaling to Ivy that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same. A battle between Batman and Hush ensues as Tommy Elliot continues to work his mindgames on Pamela. Ultimately Poison Ivy makes her choice and the status quo for one of the (former?) Bat Rogues changes significantly.
I've been greatly enjoying this arc. Poison Ivy has been one of my favorites for a long time but she was a character that most writers in recent years had a tendency to mishandle. Choosing to ignore the complexities that great writers like Alan Grant gave her in favor of turning Ivy into a 2-note plant fanatic that reveled in the disregard for human life. A.J. Lieberman on the other hand "gets" Ivy. This is the intelligent yet confused and lovestarved wallflower that puts on the facade of confidence, Pamela Isley that I've missed so badly in the past ten years. I'm not certain if Poison Ivy's "face turn" will stick. Probably not but I at least hope we've seen the last of the eco-fanatical, fem-nazi interpretation of the character for a long time. A-
Manhunter #9 - DC
"Trial by Fire, Part 4: Disorder in the Court"
by Marc Andreyko (w), Javier Pina (p) & Jimmy Palmiotti (i)
The trial of the Shadow Thief for the murder of Ronnie Raymond, the original Firestorm continues as Kate tries to put Sands away for good in her dayjob as a prosecutor. As disasterous as the trial has been thus far it gets turned completely upside down when Merlin, Monocle and Phobia break into the courtroom with the intent of assassinating the Shadow Thief. The Manhunter had succeeded in thwarting previous attempts by the likes of Cheshire and others but this is the biggest attack yet for the heroine's young career. Throw in superheroine, Firebird exposing her secret identity in public and let chaos ensue.
This is pretty much an all-action issue with none of the court drama that we've been able to enjoy in the past few issues. However the fight is welldone as Kate shows she's a fast learner and holds her own against the three assassins. The fight is made all the more enjoyable as Merlin is at his psychotic best while Monocle is forced to play straightman. Remniscent of the death of Copperhead in the first issue, Manhunter provides one of the badguys a nasty demise, so I guess that's one guy that won't be showing up in "Villains United".
Aside from the courtroom brawl, two of the subplots in this series continue. Someone continues to kill off/kidnap former Manhunters (There's a lot of them as the name gets passed around more than a dube at a Cypress Hill concert.) and we know it's only a matter of time before the mystery killer targets Kate Spencer. Meanwhile someone stalks Kate's son in the park, right under her ex-husband's nose. Much to his dismay.
The artwork by Javier Pina is excellent. While it's a shame that this title has lost Jesus Paiz to "The OMAC Project" mini-series, Pina's work doesn't differentiate from Paiz's so much that this title's look has been lost. His pencils are tight and solid, providing the book with the real world feel that works so well for it. Further enhancing the feel is the earth tone palette that colorist, Steve Buccellato applies throughout. All in all, "Manhunter" continues to be an enjoyable read as Kate Spencer continues to be an intriguing and likeable protagonist despite being a cold-hearted *****. A-
Off to work for now. Coming up in the next batch of reviews, the conclusion to the absolutely excellent Space Ghost mini-series. Which has been confirmed to be getting a sequel! Yay!
"Human Nature, Book Four"
by A.J. Lieberman (w), Al Barrionuevo (p) & Bit (i)
A group of orphans that Poison Ivy befriended over the years have started turning up dead. After investigating, Ivy was horrified to discover that the cause of the kids' deaths may have been due to overexposure to herself. Pamela Isley has since been determined to find a cure for condition so that she can't hurt anyone else again. So she turned to Bruce Wayne's help, hoping that with her recently saving Alfred from Hush and Prometheus that Wayne would be open to the notion of aiding her. All well and good except that Hush has trying to manipulate Ivy into falling in love with him for a scheme that has yet to be revealed.
With Poison Ivy sincerely trying to change for the better, Bruce allows himself to have feelings for her again. Hush retaliates to this bonding by revaling to Ivy that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same. A battle between Batman and Hush ensues as Tommy Elliot continues to work his mindgames on Pamela. Ultimately Poison Ivy makes her choice and the status quo for one of the (former?) Bat Rogues changes significantly.
I've been greatly enjoying this arc. Poison Ivy has been one of my favorites for a long time but she was a character that most writers in recent years had a tendency to mishandle. Choosing to ignore the complexities that great writers like Alan Grant gave her in favor of turning Ivy into a 2-note plant fanatic that reveled in the disregard for human life. A.J. Lieberman on the other hand "gets" Ivy. This is the intelligent yet confused and lovestarved wallflower that puts on the facade of confidence, Pamela Isley that I've missed so badly in the past ten years. I'm not certain if Poison Ivy's "face turn" will stick. Probably not but I at least hope we've seen the last of the eco-fanatical, fem-nazi interpretation of the character for a long time. A-
"Trial by Fire, Part 4: Disorder in the Court"
by Marc Andreyko (w), Javier Pina (p) & Jimmy Palmiotti (i)
The trial of the Shadow Thief for the murder of Ronnie Raymond, the original Firestorm continues as Kate tries to put Sands away for good in her dayjob as a prosecutor. As disasterous as the trial has been thus far it gets turned completely upside down when Merlin, Monocle and Phobia break into the courtroom with the intent of assassinating the Shadow Thief. The Manhunter had succeeded in thwarting previous attempts by the likes of Cheshire and others but this is the biggest attack yet for the heroine's young career. Throw in superheroine, Firebird exposing her secret identity in public and let chaos ensue.
This is pretty much an all-action issue with none of the court drama that we've been able to enjoy in the past few issues. However the fight is welldone as Kate shows she's a fast learner and holds her own against the three assassins. The fight is made all the more enjoyable as Merlin is at his psychotic best while Monocle is forced to play straightman. Remniscent of the death of Copperhead in the first issue, Manhunter provides one of the badguys a nasty demise, so I guess that's one guy that won't be showing up in "Villains United".
Aside from the courtroom brawl, two of the subplots in this series continue. Someone continues to kill off/kidnap former Manhunters (There's a lot of them as the name gets passed around more than a dube at a Cypress Hill concert.) and we know it's only a matter of time before the mystery killer targets Kate Spencer. Meanwhile someone stalks Kate's son in the park, right under her ex-husband's nose. Much to his dismay.
The artwork by Javier Pina is excellent. While it's a shame that this title has lost Jesus Paiz to "The OMAC Project" mini-series, Pina's work doesn't differentiate from Paiz's so much that this title's look has been lost. His pencils are tight and solid, providing the book with the real world feel that works so well for it. Further enhancing the feel is the earth tone palette that colorist, Steve Buccellato applies throughout. All in all, "Manhunter" continues to be an enjoyable read as Kate Spencer continues to be an intriguing and likeable protagonist despite being a cold-hearted *****. A-
Off to work for now. Coming up in the next batch of reviews, the conclusion to the absolutely excellent Space Ghost mini-series. Which has been confirmed to be getting a sequel! Yay!