Dark Crisis: World Without The Justice League - Green Lantern #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I think that this might be the weakest entry in the Dark Crisis titled books so far, and I feel bad in saying that as I absolutely love Green Lantern and wanted this to be something really good. Sadly, compared to the previous issue, it feels kind of flat and strange.

So, the first story here deals with John Stewart, and the ideal world that he finds himself in thanks to Pariah's machinations. We meet a John who is the leader of the Corps, who has taken on the role of the Guardians and has remade the Corps in a new image, giving a bunch of other heroes GL powers. Over the course of the story we learn that a great darkness swept through the universe, did some terrible things, killed a lot of people, and that in order to hide the Central Power Battery from it John made it a living, sentient being that believes it's John's dead sister.

Now, these evil forces have come to Earth looking for the battery, and John has to come out of retirement in order to stop it; which he does with relative ease. Although he does this after more than a thousand GL's die fighting it. With the evil defeated John heads back into his retirement.

Yeah, this felt like it made little sense to me. We know that these worlds are supposed to be the heroes ideals, their perfect existences. And John has made a world where thousands have died, where his friends and allies die by the hundreds until he comes along and fixes things without breaking a sweat, and where he's made a fake sister and is living a lie. This feels less like a perfect word and more like a twisted nightmare.

Why is this not a world where he lives in peace without being dragged back out to fight again? Why isn't his wife alive again with him? Why did his sister still die and have be come back as a fake magical copy rather than just never having died? Why does John seem depressed and hard put upon even in his dream world? It just made no sense to me. It doesn't feel like this is the dream that the John Stewart I've seen over the decades would want. 

Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm holding on to a version of the character that is gone now and this permanently depressed and constantly tormented John is what we get now. I hope not though, as I found this kind of depressing, and was really let down by it.

The second story, thankfully, was much more interesting. We follow Kendra as she searches for a lost temple deep in the jungle where she hopes to find a magical artefact that's said to rob those who drink it of immortality. Having lived through countless lifetimes, she's had enough of being reincarnated again and again, and wants this life to be her final life.

Drinking from the artefact, she feels the magic leave her, and knows that this is now her final life. But she's quickly attacked by skeletons and has to fight for that life. All this whilst Pariah watches from the shadows whilst cackling like a villain.

So, not much really happens in this story, it's pretty quick; but it does at least give us an insight into Hawkgirl that was definitely lacking in the first story. We see a bit of what makes her tick, we get to understand the kind of things she desires, and get to understand what would drive her to find a way to stop coming back to life. So whilst not much happens here from a narrative point it does develop the character a lot. The costume that she wears in this story is also really cool, and makes for an interesting new look for her.

Overall, this issue felt kind of weak, with one story that I think I kind of hated, and another that was interesting, but where not much actually happened. Hopefully the other entries in this series will provide us better stories and better looks into the League's new worlds.

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The Mummy (1959) – Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

If you mention the film The Mummy there’s a good chance people will think of the 1999 version, or perhaps the black and white Universal Horror original. And whilst these are both great versions of the film, and the 1932 version did inform the Brendan Fraser film quite a bit, there is another version that was not only hugely popular, but helped shape other versions that came after it: the 1959 Hammer Horror film. And thanks to some great visuals, a strong script, and some superb casting, this is a movie you won’t want to miss out on.

Coming on the heels of Hammer’s other Universal Horror remakes, Dracula, and Frankenstein, The Mummy was not a remake of the Universal original as the name would suggest, but more of an amalgamation of the next two films in the series – The Mummy’s Hand and The Mummy’s Tomb. This new Hammer version took story and characters from these two movies and mashed them together to make one new, more streamlined version that actually worked well as its own feature film.

The Mummy tells the story of archaeologist John Banning (Peter Cushing), who has travelled to Egypt with his father and uncle in 1895 in order to find the lost tomb of Princess Ananka; a figure whose final resting place has been thought lost to time. When the expedition finds the tomb they are warned not to enter by Mehemet Bey (George Pastell), but the group ignores his pleas. Being laid up with a broken leg, John is unable to be there when his father and uncle enter the tomb for the first time, unsealing it after more than three thousand years. Whilst inside, something happens to his father that leaves him a nervous wreck, resulting in him having to be institutionalised.

Three years later, back in England, John has recovered from his injury, but his father has not. When a couple of local men are tasked with transporting some Egyptian relics to a newly occupied home near the Bannings they end up in an accident and lose the large case into the swamp; though this doesn’t seem to bother their employer, Mehemet Bey. Bey reads from an ancient scroll, and the living mummy Kharis (Christoper Lee) rises from the swamp and begins its mission to kill the men who entered Ananka’s tomb three years before.

Because of the sense of nostalgia that surrounds the Hammer productions, and the affection people have for the films, it’s easy to assume that they were huge movies with lavish production values; but in fact they were often the exact opposite. Hammer Horrors were seen as shock value movies, churned out quickly in order to make money and to appeal to horror fanatics and teen audiences. With this in mind, it’s genuinely surprising that The Mummy manages to look as good as it does, with the film boasting some excellent sets and locations that bring the story to life.

Whether it’s the desert of Egypt, the pristine interior of Ananka’s tomb with a creepy green glow, the stately home of the Bannings, or the eerie remote swamp, each location in the film manages to look unique and distinct from the others. You can tell that a great deal of effort went into the production of this particular film; which was something of a surprise considering The Mummy didn’t have the same brand recognition as Frankenstein or Dracula. But that’s part of the joy of Hammer: that each and every one of their films was treated the same, and given the same level of care and attention.

Director Terence Fisher was a name that Hammer fans were already familiar with at the time, having been the man who helmed both The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, the two films that made Hammer a hit. He would go on to work with Hammer many more times over the years, producing some of the more popular films in their catalogue. Having adapted both Frankenstein and Dracula, and putting a new spin on the stories and characters, Fisher does the same here, and this film takes a step away from the Universal version of the monster, a man with desires and the ability to speak, and makes the creature into a hulking, imposing monster.

A huge part of why this version of the monster worked so well was because of Christopher Lee, who not only played Kharis in flashbacks, but portrayed the creature in his rotten, hulking form too. Despite never saying a word as the mummy, Lee brings a level of intensity and menace to the role just by his physical movement and the looks that he gives with his eyes (the only part of his body that you can actually see). It’s surprising how much Lee is actually able to bring to the role. But he’s also not alone, and is joined by his other Hammer icon, Peter Cushing, who takes on a heroic persona once again as the man Lee is sent to kill. Cushing plays the part well, and fits wonderfully into the aristocratic hero role; a role that does remind slightly of The Hound of the Baskervilles, which came out earlier that same year.

This new Blu-ray release is possibly one of the best presentations of the film yet, with superb visuals that showcase how beautiful the film is. The new set comes with two full length audio commentaries, one from film academic Kelly Robinson who talks us through mummies in film and literature, and another with Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby, who discuss the movie and its place in Hammer history. There are some behind the scenes documentaries that take a look at the film, its production, and its music, complete with interviews with those who worked on the film and knew those who did. The new Limited Edition also comes with a gorgeous sturdy slip-case featuring brand new artwork from horror artist Graham Humphreys, a set of collector’s postcards, and a small book featuring writing and essays about the movie.

The Mummy is a surprisingly good movie, and one that manages to take some past ideas and inject a new spin on them that’s full of energy and character. Thanks to some lavish sets, a rousing score, and some superb acting, it remains charming and entertaining throughout. Whether you’re a long time fan looking for the best version of the film, or experiencing it for the first time, this new edition should absolutely be on your radar.

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Poison Ivy #3 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

Poison Ivy is a strange series. I don't know whether I'm supposed to support Ivy or not.

She's clearly going through some trauma, and she's trying to figure out who she is now that she's been separated from the green and has lost much of her power, and this issue shows that she still has a huge capacity to be a good and decent person, but she's also determined to cause death on a massive scale.

Ivy has always been one of those 'villains' who has to be badly written. She has to be over the top, she had to want to do things that don't make sense and has to go too far because if she was written any other way she'd be a hero. I mean, why wouldn't we support her murdering the CEO of a huge polluting company with vines?

But in this series G. Willow Wilson is managing to make Ivy seem so reasonable, so kind, so decent, yet also horrifying and evil all at the same time. It's easily the most interesting and nuanced interpretation of the character I've ever seen, and I find it so incredibly fascinating and enjoyable. 

In this issue Ivy spends some time staying at a small roadside motel, where she helps the owner to clear a small area behind the building, and plants a new garden. Now, Poison Ivy making a nice little garden might not sound that exciting or entertaining, but it honestly really is. This was one of the best issues of this series so far (a series that has been a consistent 5/5 each issue).

I honestly don't know what's going to be happening with this series next. I have no idea where Ivy is going to go, what she's going to do, and whether or not she's going to go through with her murder plan or not; and that makes this such an interesting and fascinating story. I love it.

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The Thing (1982) – Throwback 40

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

1982’s The Thing is often cited as one of the best works of film writer and director John Carpenter, and this is a statement that I believe you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone disagrees with. Thanks to its striking location, its feeling of severe isolation, themes of paranoia and shocking body horror, The Thing has many aspects that have helped maintain its position as one of the best horror films of all time. But The Thing is more than that, it’s also one of the best book to film adaptations that’s ever been put to the screen.

The Thing started life as a short story by American science fiction author John W. Campbell Jr. in 1938, under the title ‘Who Goes There?’. The story centred on a group of America scientists stationed in the Antarctic, who discover an alien spaceship buried in the ice for more than twenty million years. Discovering a frozen creature near the ship, the alien life-form thaws out, and then begins infecting the base staff one by one, leading to a situation where no one knows who to trust.

‘Who Goes There?’ proved to be a popular story thanks to the frightening nature of the narrative, and was adapted into a feature film in 1951, The Thing From Another World. Whilst this adaptation would use certain elements, such as the Antarctic location and the alien from another world, much of the story was changed, and the end result bore little resemblance to the short story.

Decades later, in the mid 1970s, when producers at Universal Pictures wanted to revitalise the project, young director John Carpenter was approached to direct following the breakdown of other directors; such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Tobe Hooper. Whilst initially reluctant to get involved, Carpenter was attracted to the project thanks to the original short story, which included many elements of horror that he found appealing. After some back and forth on various scripts, Carpenter finally agreed to helm the project, and production on The Thing began in 1981, with the majority of filming being done on refrigerated sets in Los Angeles.

The Thing, which followed the original story a lot closer, sees the peace shattered at a remote US research station in Antarctica when men from the nearby Norwegian research station arrive, attempting to shoot a dog. The men are stopped, and killed, and the dog is taken in by the Americans. Travelling to the Norwegian station looking for answers, the US team are shocked to find the place in ruins, and no signs of survivors. What they do find, however, is much more shocking, as they learn that the Norwegian team discovered an alien craft frozen in the ice – as well as its inhabitant.

Bringing the frozen remains back to their own base, the team learn some frightening things about the life form when it seems to come back to life. Not only will the cold not kill it, but if it is able to gain access to other living things it can infect them and convert them, perfectly mimicking any life form it comes across. With the possibility that anyone on the base could have already been turned into one of these things, the team try to figure out a way of detecting the alien creature, whilst also ensuring that none of it escapes to the rest of the world.

The Thing went through something of a rocky production, with a number of issues that plagued it across its time. There were issues with budget, with Carpenter having to push for more money constantly, particularly in regards to the special effects and monster budget. A number of sequences were scaled back to save money, or removed entirely, and whilst filming in frozen locations in Alaska a bus containing cast and crew nearly went off a cliff, and camera lenses froze and broke on more than one occasion.

After filming, the project faced further issues in the edit, and more than one ending was filmed when test audiences disliked the open ended, almost nihilistic tone of the film’s end. Test audiences were unsure what to think about the movie, and Carpenter went back and forth with the studio on different possible endings, including one where Kurt Russell‘s character is seen rescued and confirmed not to be infected, but it was ultimately decided that the more ambiguous ending served the project better.

The Thing was released in the summer of 1982, but faced some tough opposition as a number of other science fiction films squared off against it in the box office. Not only did the film have to compete with special effects extravaganza Tron, it also went up against Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and the family oriented smash-hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The Thing did not do well, and struggled to make much over its budget, and whilst it was by no means a loss for the studio it failed to become a financial hit, and was treated poorly by critics at the time. The film received negative reviews across most publications, was decried as being overly gory and compared unfavourably to the other science fiction films on offer at the time, particularly for its more nihilistic and negative tone.

Over the years, however, and thanks in large part to home release, The Thing began to receive a cult following, and was soon reevaluated, being seen as one of the better examples of both the science fiction and horror genres. The film ended up being praised for the very things it was initially put down for, with its bleak tone, opened ended conclusion, and sense of hopelessness appealing to audiences, even going on to inspire a prequel film, a novelisation, comic sequels and spin-offs, and a video game.

Whilst The Thing was underappreciated in its time it has become a high point in horror cinema, helping to cement the career of its director, and becoming one of the best film adaptations of all time.

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Black Adam - The Justice Society Files: Cyclone #1

 

Originally published on Patreon

Cyclone isn't a character that gets around much, but she's one that I really like. Her time with the Justice Society has shown her to be a fun, and often sweet, young woman who believes in doing the right thing and helping others; whilst also at times feeling uncertain of who she is, and if she's good enough. And whilst the versions of the characters being created for the new Black Adam film have been changed, this comic shows that those core traits are definitely present in this version of Cyclone.

The story begins years before, showing a young Maxine Hunkel growing up listening to stories about the Justice Society, drawing pictures of them, and putting herself in them as a hero alongside them. Jumping forward in time we meet Maxine, ow an adult, as she makes her way through town about her day.

When a huge, hulking figure starts trashing downtown, and putting people in danger, Maxine steps in to help using her wind powers. She manages to help subdue the assailant, who it turns out was a local boy, but does some property damage and gets the ire of the police in the process.

Following this, the community starts to look at Maxine differently, and demands answers from her. She's also approached by Hawkman, who tells her that he's putting a team together, reforming the Justice Society, and that he wants her to join. Not believing that she's good enough, Maxine refuses.

When Maxine comes across one of the cops from the day before, beating up a drug dealer for selling the drugs that changed the boy into a monster (drug he gave the dealer), Maxine steps in. The cop takes some of the drugs, becomes a huge creature, and Maxine has to battle him. Beating the cop, and proving to herself that she has what it takes, she agrees to join up with Hawkman.

I really liked this as an intro to Cyclone. It felt much less bogged down in details than the previous issue, with the focus being on Maxine and her character rather than behind the scenes machinations. And this Maxine has everything that the Earth 0 one has. She has a love for the heroes she grew up hearing about, and whilst wanting to help others she's unsure if she has what it takes. This issue perfectly encapsulates every important quality about the character incredibly quickly, and in natural ways that don't feel forced or contrived at all.

Maxine goes on a pretty decent story of self discovery over the course of this issue, and gets to take part in a couple of good action scenes that show off to readers the kinds of powers and abilities she has to draw upon. This series has been doing a good job at establishing these versions of the classic characters, and showing that whilst they may have some new spins on them they still are very much the characters we know and love. And as such, I'm very much looking forward to seeing them on the big screen.

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Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories is a new all-ages anthology story series from Dark Horse,set within any era of the Star Wars franchise. In a lot of ways, the series is set to be the new version of Star Wars Adventures, though there are some differences that are notable straight away.

Instead of containing two stories, or more accurately, two parts of stories, that would be split across multiple issues, this new series is instead a series of one-shots, with each issue to be its own contained tale (or at least as far as we’ve been told so far). As such, this makes the series a little more accessible to readers who can’t pick up every issue. Instead of grabbing a random issue of Star Wars Adventures and getting the first part of one story, and the second part of another, with Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories readers will get an entire story, even if they only ever read the one issue. This feels like a big improvement already.

The first story to feature in this series is set in the prequel era, where Padme Amidala is sent to the Moon of Staggec as part of a diplomatic mission, alongside the Wookie senator Yarua and his daughter Viiveenn. Shortly after arriving on the planet a small fleet of Separatist ships arrive to capture the delegation, under the command of General Grievous. However, Senator Yarua is also transporting an important something of extreme importance, and hides it in his daughter’s doll before sending her out into the woods to hide. After receiving a call to help, the Jedi council agree to send Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his recently knighted partner, Anakin Skywalker.

This feels like something of an odd choice for the first story of this new series. I can’t help but feel that a first issue needs to start strong, to showcase what the book is going to be about, and to convince people to buy it. Sadly, this particular story never quite managed to grab me in any way that would do that.

There are a number of issues I had with the story. The first is that the mysterious item that Senator Yarua is carrying, that he hides in his daughter’s doll, that Grievous is there to find, is never named, and never shown. There’s a brief moment where he’s shoving it in the doll where you see the barest hint of something blue, but that’s all you get. Yes, you don’t have to give away every piece of information, you can have a sense of mystery, but you do also need to explain why things are happening. As it stands, the villains are after… something. That’s about the best info we have.

Another big problem I had with this story is Anakin. This story clearly takes place during the Clone Wars, but still early on as Anakin’s hair hasn’t grown out, though he doesn’t have his padawan braid, which means he is a Jedi Knight here. Anakin was knighted in the recent novel Star Wars Brotherhood, where he also spent some time helping to teach younglings, and went on a daring rescue mission. He did a lot of maturing and growing there, but here he’s regressed. The Anakin here acts like he does at the start of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. He’s brash, quick to anger, immature, and generally not very pleasant. This just doesn’t fit with the character as he should be at this point in time, and it doesn’t help the story at all.

There are some nice moments though, as Viiveenn is incredibly cute, and the scene where her father tells her to run and hide whilst the villains approach is a sweet and well made scene, especially as it’s all done in Shyriiwook, the Wookie language. Viiveenn is probably the best part of the story.

The artwork also feels slightly mixed at times, and whilst some of the characters like Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Yoda look great others look less identifiable. Anakin and Padme don’t really look like their characters half the time and just look like average humans. A lot of the time with the two of them its their outfit that make them identifiable, as there’s nothing really about their faces that scream those characters.

Overall, the first issue of this new series felt fairly weak. There was a decent enough idea of a story there, but it wasn’t expanded upon enough. Certain things were left vague, such as the McGuffin, how Anakin found the others after they were kidnapped, and the death of Yarua (it’s set up so you know what happened, but it could easily be missed).  Anakin had terrible characterisation, and it was hard to find much about him to like. Whilst these issues may only be here for the one issue, it still felt like a poor beginning for this new series.

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Aquaman: Andromeda #2 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The second extra sized issue of Aquaman: Andromeda has arrived, and whilst we start to get some answers as to what's happening in this issue it also delivers more strangeness, and more of a foreboding sense of horror; leading this to be one of the more interesting entries in DC at the moment.

The mission to travel deep within the ocean to track down the mysterious ship continues as the crew of the Andromeda begin to get ready to board the mysterious sphere on the sea floor. We get some flashbacks that show how the captain got this mission, and how much of his career is riding on it. This sets up for some worrying things to come, as when the team enters the ship and things begin to go wrong, the captain keeps pushing onwards.

Luckily, Aquaman is there to help, though his presence is being kept a secret. His working from the shadows is echoed by Black Manta, who is also on the scene and is using stealth and fear in order to achieve his aims.

I really like this book, it feels like Aquaman was kind of always meant to be a horror series now, thanks to how well Ram V manages to merge the character with the horror themes in this book. The ocean is treated as terrifying here, the mysteries that the human crew are investigating feel eerie and sinister, and Aquaman himself feels strange, almost alien a lot of the times he's on the page.

This title makes me think of things like Sphere, The Abyss, and even Event Horizon, and it's taking small themes from each of these and blending them together nicely to create this really tense and unusual story.

I've not really read another Aquaman book like this, or even many DC books where we follow regular people and see the heroes as these larger than life, almost frightening beings. It's a refreshing change of pace to what we normally have, and I'm super interested in seeing where else this story goes.

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Sword of Azrael #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

This week saw the release of the newly collected together Batman Urban Legends Azrael story, repackaged as a new one-shot. This was a good re-introduction to the character, but it's here, with the start of the new mini-series Sword of Azrael that the character really comes to life.

Since the events of the one-shot Jean-Paul has moved to a small island monastery in Europe, hoping to get away from the violence and killing in Gotham, as well as hoping to distance himself from Azrael, the murderous personality within him.

Whilst his life on the island has been peaceful, and he seems to have found a decent home for himself, that becomes disrupted when a young woman arrives on the island claiming that she needs help from Azrael. Whilst Jean-Paul is trying to fight this, it looks like fate has other plans for him when assailants arrive on the island looking for the woman.

These people, dressed very much like knights, are also led by Vengeance, the clone daughter of Bane. When Azrael faces off against them it's revealed that Vengeance is working for the Knights Templar, who want the woman back as she, like Azrael, is another trained killer who believes an angel resides within her. The final panels show the woman's programming activating, and her becoming a threat.

I really liked the story choices that Dan Watters made here, and whilst it feels like the next natural step to the character after the one-shot, it also feels like a lot of the issues I had with that story have been ironed out. This was a much more enjoyable read, with less philosophising (though it still does have some), and more of a look at Jean-Paul himself as a person.

The story also works a lot better here, and whilst I should have expected it to carry on the new Knights Templar story thread dropped in the last issue it wasn't obvious that's where it was going to be going, and I liked that small surprise. The inclusion of Vengeance was also great, thanks to the history that Azrael has with her father from his time as Batman. It was like we were getting the new, revitalised version of Azrael alongside the new Bane, and it was cool.

I also thought that the artwork on this issue was nice, and there were some great moments that stood out. I particularly liked the image of Azrael in Jean-Paul's mind, where he's more bible accurate. It was a surprise, but worked really well.

I've never been a huge fan of Azrael before, and he's always been a character that I've not really thought much of, but this is a really good and interesting first issue, and I can see myself enjoying this series if it continues like this.

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The Lonesome Hunters #3 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Dark Horse‘s The Lonesome Hunters continues to deliver quality character driven drama and mysterious fantasy horror as Howard and Lupe try to get the magpies off their back for good.

Whilst in the very first issue we got a good, detailed origin for Howard and his mystical sword, we never really got to know who Lupe is, beyond getting vague hints at the kind of person that she is and her family situation. This issue really throws back the curtain on her character, however, and gives us our best look at her yet.

The book opens with a small flashback, where she talks about the loss of her mother, and how she and her father grieved for her together. Unfortunately, Lupe was due to live through more tragedy, and lost her father soon afterwards, but this time she had no people to help her through this. Placed with a foster family whilst she was waiting to live with her uncle, Lupe was left to deal with her grief and her loss alone. And now she’s lost her uncle; the only family that she had left.

This makes it completely understandable why she’d leave the safety of Tina’s house to head back into a potentially deadly situation to help Howard. And whilst at first it might appear that she’s doing this as some form of vengeance, that she might be trying to make the magpies pay for her uncle’s death, it becomes clearer that it’s because she has no one left in her life, and that the only person around now who has shown her any kindness and care in recent years; and that she’s afraid that now that her family has completely gone she’ll be left all alone.

And despite the age difference between the two of them, despite hardly knowing each other, we get to see the beginning of a very real friendship beginning to form between Lupe and Howard. The scene where she’s going into huge detail about her favourite show, Mecha-Sabre Gemini, going so far as to be talking about characters and plot points in the third season, and Howard is engaging with her, asking questions and looking genuinely interested is an incredibly sweet moment. You can really believe that they’re already caring about each other.

This issue isn’t just about bonding and friendship, however, as Howard also has to deal with a host of vicious magpies and their queen being after them for ‘stealing’ the watch. The book does give us more information on the magpies and the general world of the weird that’s going on, and whilst it is interesting I’m eager to understand it more. I think that there needs to be a moment where she and Howard sit down and talk about what’s going on and the wider world of the supernatural so that we, and Lupe, and get caught up. As it is, it’s interesting and intriguing, but it’s not exactly clear what the stakes are, and what else might be going on in this world.

The art on the issue, provided by the writer Tyler Crook, is wonderful, and has this strange kind of dirty beauty to it. There’s not really much to wow you, the environments are plain, normal looking places, and the colour scheme is drab browns and colours that most people would say are grimy, but it really works for the book. The series has a great visual style that works for the setting and the story, one that feels unique to The Lonesome Hunters.

Whilst this series is getting close to the end of its initial four part run, it has been announced that it will be returning with more issues in the future, and hopefully Crook will get the chance to expand this world and these characters in new and interesting directions. But for now, this issue is a strong third part that really helps to get you invested in the characters, and ends with a cliffhanger that sets up for what’s sure to be a big finale.

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Batman #126 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

So, this is something of a different issue to the previous one. Last time on Batman we got a new writer, who came in and changed things up slightly for Batman by getting him framed for the murder of the Penguin, had Tim Drake shot in the neck, and had a gala infiltration. There was a lot going on. In contrast, issue 126 movies incredibly fast, but is so, so good.

The issue sees the almost Batman looking robot, seemingly called Failsafe, coming after Bruce. and it absolutely kicks his ass. Bruce gets beaten, thrown around, and smashed through things as this terminator like thing just keeps going for him. Luckily, his allies come to help him, but even with the help of Signal, Nightwing, the Batgirls, and Robin, this thing is too much for them, and all they can do is buy a wounded Bruce an opportunity to get out of there.

The thing is, this machine feels familiar to him, it drags up some vague memories. But Batman remembers everything, so if something is a vague memory that's not a good sign at all. It seems Bruce knows that there's something very wrong happening here, and so decides to head back to the original cave, to an old chest he's got hidden there. And the issue ends with Bruce rejoining Tim with the contents of that box. Wearing the contents of that box. Dressed as the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.

Boy is this a wild, confusing, but awesomely cool issue. I don't know what it all means, and I feel like there's not much to talk about about it because its a huge fight, running away, then the final page reveal, and whilst it doesn't sound like much it's so well done, so shocking and cool. I've not been excited over a single issue of Batman like this since the Grant Morrison run, since we had the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. I love that Chip Zdarsky seems to be drawing from that part of the Batman history, that we're getting big action and mystery all thrown in together. If this is going to be the quality of the title going forward it's hugely exiting.

In the back-up feature we continue the story of the Penguin's estate, and Catwoman trying to track down the Cobblepot children. We get some more pieces of the puzzle here, and what appears to be a culprit for the killings. At this point it could end up being a pretty clearly telegraphed reveal of the villain, or it could be a fake-out; but there's no way to tell yet. As it is, it's a pretty enjoyable story, though it perhaps is let down by the fact that it's simply very good in the same book as the main story which was amazing, and as such can't really compete.

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