Crave #1 - Comic Review

 

Crave is a new comic series that explores desire, what people are willing to do to meet those urges, and how much control people might give up to get what they want. 

The story opens in an unnamed university campus, where a mysterious new app has appeared on everyone's phones, Crave. The app is simple in its execution, you type in what you desire, and if possible, the app will help you to get it. At this stage of the story the app has already been around for a little while, and people are beginning to see results from it. People have made public declarations of their love that have won over their hearts desire, whilst others have found the courage to enter into queer relationships, and some have used it for casual sex. To be fair, most have used it for this.

We meet David, who hasn't used the app yet, but is seeing the results that it's bringing for others and is starting to become tempted by it. David receives a sexy picture of Alexandria, a girl he's always wanted to date, via the app with the question of if he wants to see more. This comes at the same time that David is having a bit of an argument with his girlfriend, who has ignored his wishes and has arranged for him to travel home with her to meet her family. Perhaps in part spurred on by the app, David dumps her.

His roommate, Albert, gives into the app, telling it that he's always wanted to hook up with one of the prettiest girls in there, a girl that would normally be out of his league. The app tells him to immediately leave the room, to go to a specific lift, and get inside. Following the instructions, Albert finds himself in the lift with the focus of his desires, just as the lift breaks down. It appears that the app is more than just a hook-up device, a way of horny teens finding each other so that they can bang. The app knew where to send Albert, it knew where the girl he liked was, and it either knew the lift would break, or caused it.

The hints that there's something more sinister at work are emphasised when their roommate, Saito, has to leave the campus. The small note he left them, a post-it with the words 'Whatever you do DON'T USE the "Crave" app!!' written on it falls to the ground, unnoticed by the others. 

The issue ends with David ducking into a darkened science room to avoid his ex and her friends, a room that is quickly invaded by a student and teacher who start having sex on one of the work benches as David hides beneath. Listening to the sound of them fuck, when the Crave app asks him once again if he wants to see more pictures of Alexandria in her lingerie and bondage gear, he clicks yes, unleashing a torrent of images.

Crave is an interesting series. It seems to be using sex to sell, with a scantily clad Alexandria on the cover, and the Crave app is being used mainly for sex. But it also feels like the book is laying the groundwork for something more sinister. The book seems to be gearing up to ask the question what happens if people can get everything they want? Even just one issue in we're seeing that people are acting out of character, that things are becoming somewhat chaotic, and the the app is hurting people as well as fulfilling some's desires. I also suspect that it's going to be touching upon the idea of freedom, and of how quickly people are willing to give up part of their autonomy in order to get what they think will make them happy.

And despite pushing the sex angle on the covers, the book doesn't resort to pushing it in your face as you read it. Most of the book is characters talking, university halls and lecture rooms. It's not wall to wall sex and nudity, and even when it does happen the art, by writer Maria Llovet, never really gets explicit. Most of it is suggestive. We see a student giving his teacher oral sex, but it's angled in a way that you see nothing. Alexadria's pictures are sexy, but there's no actual nudity in them, with her nipples always covered, and underwear always on. It uses things like rope play, ball gags, and the tiniest hint of bush to provoke images of more overtly sexual acts, but the book never goes there explicitly. As such, those coming to this book purely for sex might be surprised to find that this first issue is focused more on character and story.

Crave has a pretty solid first issue, one that set the series up to go in some interesting directions. Whether it strays into the realms of sexual thriller, or just ends up as pornography is yet to be seen, but it feels likely that it's going to be the first; and I'm interested in seeing what comes next. 

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Green Arrow #6 - Comic Review

 

During the finale of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths Green Arrow was pulled away, lost to another universe, or to time, gone from his friends and family. The current Green Arrow series, which almost ended with this issue, but was extended thanks to sales, has not just been about getting Ollie back, but has asked the question why can the Arrow Family never just all be together. Turns out it's not editorial issues or writers not wanting to do it, but a foe from Ollie's past who's been messing with him the whole time.

After jumping through time and meeting different versions of himself, Ollie learns the true identity of the person setting out to ruin his life this issue. It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to fans of the character who'd be behind this, even if this kind of scheme is a bit beyond their normal levels. Merlyn, the Dark Archer, has been manipulating Oliver, all with the aim of preventing him from ever getting to be happy. 

I don't know if the reveal is a surpise or not. If you were to ask me who Ollie's biggest enemy is I'd have said Merlyn, so him being involved feels natural. But on the other hand him having Ollie removed from time, making deals with figures like Paralax and Amanda Waller does feel different to what we've seen from him before, so him being behind all of that does feel different to past Merlyn schemes at least. 

However this reveal sits with you, the issue doesn't give you a huge amount of time with it, as Oliver is soon joined by Lian and Connor, who help him to get away from the Dark Archer, and back to the real world, where they arrive on Starfish Island, where Dinah is waiting for them. She'd gone 'back to the beginning' in her search for Ollie, returning to the island whilst Roy and Cheshire followed their own leads, resulting in a small reunion between them. But, with Roy gone the entire family still isn't together yet. 

Whilst Ollie and Dinah are meeting up, Roy and Cheshire are heading to a secret location where they're hoping that they can find the information needed to bring Oliver and the others home; unaware that they've already managed to do so themselves. However, the two of them have barely begin their infiltration of the hidden facility when they're both shot several times, by Amanda Waller. The issue ends with Waller standing over them, with the promise that things will be continued in 'The Hunt For Arsenal!'

This issue brings the first arc to a nice conclusion, and the reunion between Ollie and Dinah is a really nice moment, and will likely end up being one of the images from this arc that people will remember; the two of them embracing in the surf of Starfish Island as the sun shines down upon them. The further building of Waller and her schemes is a nice addition, and her continues machinations in the background of a number of titles has been an interesting mystery that feels nowhere near answered yet. I do wonder if this was the way the series would always have been ended if it hadn't have sold well, or is Roy was always going to go down this path. Good job we've got more to come so we can further continue this story.

The art on the issue is done by a number of people, with Phil Hester returning to the character to provide the art on the sections of the book that take place in the past. I really like this choice, and it absolutely helps the reader to feel like we've gone back into some of Ollie's history. The rest of the book features art by Trevor Hairsine, and Sean Izaakse, with Romulo Fajardo Jr. on colours. There are a number of really good looking moments in the book, such as the Merlyn reveal, and the final page, but as said earlier, Dinah and Ollie embracing on the beach is a beautiful moment from both a writing and art perspective, and might be my favourite part of the book.

Oliver Queen is back in the DC Universe, and now he has the chance to put his life back together; but first we're going to have to go save Roy; and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Titans Beast World #1 - Comic Review

 

Cosmic horror comes to the DC Universe as the Beast World event kicks off. Spinning out of the pages of Titans, where we've seen weird alien spore-like creatures climbing inside people and taking them over, and learned that the leader of the Church of Eternity is actually a Tamaranian, this new event puts the Titans squarely in the centre of things.

The Church of Eternity has launched a mission to the moon of Titan, which raises some questions about why most of the solar system hasn't been colonised yet if a small, new religious organisation can mount a space flight that far out. Perhaps it's due to the leader secretly being an alien, but it feels like it should either be so common place that no one is talking about it, or that bizarre that everyone should be looking into how this was done. 

When the ship lands on the moon the two astronauts discover an ancient temple carved into a mountainside. Using their suits coms, Brother Eternity speaks some ancient Tamaranian, and the temple activates. The moon begins to shake apart as a giant monstrosity breaks its way free from beneath the surface.The Titans, who were watching the televised mission, spring into action, with the members capable of surviving in space boom tubing to the remote moon. They're unable to save the astronauts, but manage to escape as the moon breaks apart, revealing a huge alien monster.

As the heroes gather on Earth, Starfire reveals that she knows what the creature is, telling them about ancient Tamaranian history. The monster is known as the Necrostar, and appears to be similar to Starro. The creature, which looks kind of plant-like, unleashes smaller versions of itself that help it to take over and destroy worlds. Her people rose up against it, billions of beings with the same super powers as her. She's asked how they beat it, to which she replies that they didn't. Starro did. Starro and the Necrostar battled, and when the Necrostar was beaten the Tamaranians sealed it in a prison and sent it out into space; where it would eventually become the moon of Titan.

Hope of defeating the Necrostar seems thin, but Beast Boy has a plan. As the stronger heroes head into orbit to slow down the spores, and the ground based heroes do their best to deal with the ones that make it through, Beast Boy uses his ability to become other animals to turn himself into Starro. Garro, as he jokingly calls himself, flies into space to fight the Necrostar, as his own spores tackle those attacking Earth. Garro beats the monster back, and Cyborg opens up a boom tube that sends it to the coldest place in the universe. All seems well, and the day is won.

But then Doctor Hate arrives on the scene. The sinister version of Doctor Fate that we saw Amanda Waller create at the end of Night Terrors uses his powers to wipe away Gar's mind, leaving him as the creature he's mimicking. Garro returns to Earth, now a conqueror as well. However, whilst Starro normally just uses his spored to control people, Garro's ones go inside people via their mouths, and transforms them into humanoid animals under his control.

This issue is pure set-up, getting us into the place for the main thrust of the event; but it's absolutely fantastic set-up. The Necrostar is genuinely scary, in a way that Starro never is. Maybe it's a combination of the name and the spinier, more dangerous looking design, maybe it's the cosmic horror of something sealed away for generations in the coldness of space, but this thing feels like a big threat. It's a shame its dealt with in this one issue (apparently), but it's used perfectly here. It spurs our heroes into action, and it gives us a reasoning for Gar turning into a Starro that makes perfect sense.

After Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths the Titans were given the reigns to be the premier super hero team, to take the Justice League's place for when things are at their worst. It didn't really feel like they were doing this during the events of Night Terrors or Lazarus Planet, and their own title still feels fairly small in scope. But, this time we get to see them leading. They're the first to try and deal with the Necostar, Starfire is their source of knowledge, Gar is the one coming up with the plan, and the other heroes are listening to them and taking their lead. It may have taken a while to get there, but this finally feels like the team are doing the thing that the trinity asked of them.

One thing that's unclear here, and I'm hoping will come up as the mini-series goes on, is was everything planned out by Waller. Waller has been in the shadows planning things and pulling strings since Dark Crisis, and whilst Doctor Hate comes along and sends Gar bad on her orders I wonder if this is them taking an opportunity that presented itself, or if she engineered the release of the Necrostar hoping for this outcome. I can see Waller being adaptable, of seeing what was happening and knowing how to take advantage of it, but if they turned around and revealed that she was helping Brother Eternity I wouldn't feel surprised by that. She's one of those characters who you can have do most things and make it feel in character for her with a good enough explanation. 

This issue also saw Doctor Hate remove his helmet, though we didn't see his face. But Gar did, and not only did he recognise them, but seemed shocked by who they were. With Waller having messed with the multiverse this seems like we're probably getting a character we know, though they might not be this world's version of it. The shock that Gar has might be a 'why are you doing this' kind of thing, but it could also easily be a 'you're supposed to be dead' or 'I just spoke to you a minute ago and you were good' kind of thing. There is definitely a new mystery now as to his true identity.

The book is drawn by Ivan Reis with Brad Anderson on colours, and the book looks absolutely fantastic. There's something about Reis drawn books that just have this bigger feel to them. He feels like an event artist, one who draws the big, special things. The scale of the threat in this issue, along with the art makes this book feel bigger than Night Terrors or Lazarus Planet. Maybe this is me remembering things like Blackest Night, and how big that was, and putting some of that remembered hype and projecting those feelings onto this. Whatever the reason, this book just feels special.

Beast World looks set to be a fun event, one that isn't going across too many books, and that doesn't have a ton of tie ins. If it's kept to this kind of quality throughout, without it disrupting large parts of the wider publishing line it could end up becoming one of the better events from DC in years.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Amazons Attack #2 - Comic Review

 

Amazons Attack is a strange pick for the title of this series. Not only is it drawing to mind an absolutely terrible past event with that name, but it's incredibly disingenuous. Though I am willing to give it a slight pass as being how the bigots in the US see the events of this book, as no matter what our group of women do they're painted as terrorists and killers. 

The new Wonder Woman series is doing some big things with the Amazons. Making them enemies of the US, using them as a way for every right wing bigot and angry commentator in the country to vent all of their hatred towards women. Some of the things said in Wonder Woman are infuriating, not because it's badly written, but because it reflects the bigotry and hatred that exists for real in our world, just magnified. The Amazons are a danger, they're coming to destroy your way of life, they're corrupting your women, they're going to wipe out good, decent white men. All of the shit that you see blamed on minorities are being used in this story.

And, as Queen Nubia tries to set things right the Amazons are set up even more, made to look even worse, and now angry mobs and every law enforcement and military in the country are going after her and her team; and they don't seem to care if they kill them. The end of the last issue saw Nubia, Faruka, Yara, Mary Marvel, and Hoppy the Rabbit in the middle of Time Square, their pictures on every screen declaring them enemies of America.

This issue deals with the four women and their rabbit friend trying to stay alive long enough to get out of New York. As such, the book has a lot of stuff going on, whilst not a huge amount happens at the same time. They're having to try to avoid getting grabbed by mobs, or being shot by the military, so there's a lot of action, dodging attacks, and trying to get Hoppy recharged so that he can get them out of there.

The best part of the issue is actually that last one, and I think that Faruka and Hoppy might be one of the best pairings we've had in a while. They have some great banter, such as her giving him condolences when he tells her he's a boy, and him scolding her and telling her to pay for the food he needs is frankly adorable. There aren't many characters that can tell Faruka off and get her to do something she doesn't want to, but it seems like Hoppy might be one. Being a bunny parent though, I have to say they as a species are absolutely up for theft, so I don't believe Hoppy would make her pay.

This issue also draws upon some of the elements from the New Champion of Shazam! series that had Mary dealing with the new Dr Sivana and her magi-tech devices. It's very lightly touched upon here, and there's decent enough explanations for what it is so that those who didn't read the other mini-series don't feel left out. We also see that there's more going on than just regular bigotry and mob rule, as an Apple of Discord is involved. Whether this is going to be it's own thing, or tied into the Soverign stuff in Wonder Woman waits to be seen.

The issue ends with team managing to get out of New York and arriving at Akahim to talk to the oracle to find out more about the vision she had of this group of women. However, they arrive to find the city in ruins, with the word 'sanctuary' scrawled on it.

Art duties for the issue fall to Vasco Georgiev with Alex Guimarães on colours. The book looks great, and the scenes of chaos in New York are staged really well. It feels frantic and dangerous, and you get the sense that the team are constantly rushing around, on guard and ready for things to go bad. The characters are all really expressive and have some great emotions on their faces (again, see the scene with Faruka and Hoppy). It's a great book to look through, and the final page reveal of the devastation at Akahim is gorgeous.

This is a pretty fun series, more fun that a book called Amazons Attack should be. I like the group of characters that are being used, and including Mary in Amazon stories gives her stuff to do outside of whenever the Shazam! title decides to use her, and adds some power variety to the team. I'm looking forward to seeing where this chapter of the Amazon story goes next.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Alan Scott: Green Lantern #2 - Comic Review

 

I put Alan Scott: Green Lantern on my pull list for two reasons, one is that I love Green Lantern, and it's the main thing that I collect and am trying to get all of. The second is that the Justice Society are my favourite comic team. With those two things in mind I didn't expect that the main thing that I'd come to love about this series is the beautiful, and even moving queer story that would be presented within the pages. Only two issues in it's quickly become one of my best comic of the year.

The last issue ended with a full page splash of Alan Scott going through electro-shock 'therapy' in Arkham Asylum. I saw some people online jumping to the conclusion the book was going to be doing one of those 'is the lead character actually crazy and is this all fake?' type situations. Other than that being a quite tired and well used trope at this point, it also ignored the bigger issue. This is a queer story in a time of rampant homophobia. My only conclusion was that the people who thought that's where the story might have been going might be unaware of the horrors inflicted upon the queer community at that time; because as soon as I saw it I knew that Alan Scott was going to be tortured for being gay.

And this is what this second issue is about. Much of the 'present day' (still in the past, just not as far back) part of the story deals with Alan recounting the tale of his time in Arkham, and the events that led up to him becoming the Green Lantern, rather than the continuation of the central conflict for him in that era. In some books this would slow things down considerably, especially as it would be dealing with the history of an established character that you'd have to assume the audience is familiar with. After all, Alan Scott has been around for more than eighty years, with him debuting just behind Superman and Batman, and before well known characters like Wonder Woman or other members of the Justice Society, so you'd expect his backstory to be a well known one. 

But not only has it been a long while since DC really covered Alan Scott's origin, it's also gone through some substantial changes. In Infinite Frontier #0 Alan came out as gay to his son and daughter, revealing that it was something that he'd been hiding for most of his life. But, thanks to the shifting times, and likely in large part to seeing his son as an openly, happy, gay super hero, Alan joined the ever expanding ranks of queer DC characters. Of course, this prompted outcries from the conservative right, who hated that 'yet another straight character has been turned gay'. The fact that he'd not been openly gay this entire time, and had children, seemed to be an easy out for some to dismiss it out of hand and deny it being a story worth telling; completely ignoring the fact that Alan's coming out actually mirrors a lot of older gay men's experiences. 

This series is exploring the reasons why Alan never came out, or at least that's how it seems to me. The first issue dealt with the tragedy of his first real love, the man he was prepared to run away with and 'marry' die in front of him. The two of them had fallen in love within the military, hiding their love in an institution that would never accept it. And that's the reason why in this issue we find Alan in Arkham, having gone there to save his career. His commanding officers had figured out he and Johnny were in love, but couldn't just throw Alan out after saving hundreds of lives, so gave him the chance to 'straighten out'.

And thus, this issue we see Alan living in an asylum, taking part in group therapy, being told that his love his wrong, and seeing what happens to those who don't opt to parrot the lie. This issue introduces a new piece of lore to the Green Lantern mythology. In the original story of him getting powers a green railway lantern is imbued with magic, and grants him his abilities. But where did that lantern come from? You'd assume that it was just part of the train that Alan is on when he gets his powers, but this issue reveals that it was something that belonged to Alan before this, and it does so through what might be my favourite single issue character.

Alan's roommate is a trans woman named Billie. The 1940's was not a time where people were unaware of trans people's existence. The first gender realignment surgeries took place in the 1930's, and there was considerable research into trans people in Germany during this period. Those huge bonfires of books that the Nazi's burned that you've surely seen photos and videos of included the contents of the Institute of Sexology, and all of their research on trans people. Germany was pioneering trans acceptance in many ways, and it was the actions of the Nazi's that would set this back decades. As such, it's no surprise to see that Billie in this book is treated less as a person in need of acceptance and help, and as a mentally ill man who needs fixing. 

Billie is presented masculinely, with only a single panel where she's shown in a more feminine way, applying lipstick and wearing a wig, something that Alan warns her about getting caught doing. She's living in fear, desperate to be herself yet unable to; though accepted by Alan. Alan calls her by her name, even when being 'corrected' by the staff at Arkham, and he never once talks about her as anything but a woman. And it's due to that respect and the friendship that forms between them Billie presents him with something she made in metal shop; a train lantern she fixed up. A trans woman gave Alan Scott his lantern. This was a new addition to the lore that floored me when reading it. As a trans woman who loves this character, seeing this representation, having a trans person become so linked to this character, it meant a lot.

Sadly, Billie is taken away for special treatment that day. A week goes by, and Alan is given no news about where she is, and if she's ever coming back. Then the staff bring her back into their room, pushing her in in a wheelchair. Her head is wrapped in bandages, and the light has gone out of her. The wonderfully expressive, insightful woman who never backed down or let the powers break her is gone. She'd been lobotomised. This moment broke me completely when I read it. Tim Sheridan had introduced this new character, made her a part of Alan's history, and then used her to show the brutality of the treatment towards queer and trans people at the time. It made me weep. 

This isn't a criticism though, it's important that these kind of stories aren't shied away from. Queer and trans people have been victims of extreme brutality in history, and to this day, and whilst we might want to see better stories, stories that don't end tragically and in which our community get their happy ending we can't always sugarcoat reality. Life is hard for the queer community, and pretending otherwise is a lie that only helps to keep that brutality going. Most people, the kind of people who don't encounter this kind of hate because they're not the targets of it, and not the instigators, can go through their life never knowing how harsh it can be. My mother was visibly shocked and disturbed on an occasion in which I told her the kind of abuse I'd received, abuse that was second nature to me, yet made her see the hard reality of her daughters life. Sometimes a bucket of cold water to the face is needed, and Billie's treatment here is just that.

But Billie's death, for her lobotomy was the death of the person she was, is not in vain. Through mourning her and writing in his diary Alan is caught by the staff, and his admission is changed from voluntary to forced. They see that he is unrepentant in who he is, and need to punish him for it. He's taken through to the elctro-shock room, and he's tortured. And now we know what that final page of issue one meant. But if the staff were hoping to break Alan they were woefully mistaken. Instead, Alan gathers together all of the inmates there for conversion therapy, the queer patients who are either going to be tortured into lying about their sexuality and gender, or killed for it, and he stages a prison break. A prison break whose way is illuminated by the lantern Billie made for him. Even when she's gone her presence is there, helping to light their way to freedom.

After escaping Arkham, Alan begins to work on the railroad, his lantern with him every step of the way. He continues to love men, and engages in sexual activity with them, always in private, knowing now what horrors await him if caught. The night that the train Alan is on is derailed he wasn't there alone. Another change that Sheridan has brought to the origin is that Alan wasn't working in the engine room when the train derailed, but was with his lover, the two of them stealing a moment of intimacy in private. Alan loses yet another person he loves, another queer character lost in a world that seems to hate them at every turn. But, as this issue has been telling us, death is not the end.

Alan explains how ever since encountering the crimson flame he seems to be stuck in a cycle, one where death would lead to a new life; resurrection, and renewal. Even though the military went searching for the crimson flame in the first issue, Alan tells us that he'd also learned of the emerald flame of life, something that seemed to be drawn to him, possibly due to his interactions with its crimson counterpart. Whatever the reason, it chooses Alan, and as he dies in the wreckage of that train he's reborn as the Green Lantern.

This series has taken the origins of one of DC's oldest characters and expanded it in ways that I never expected it to be. The fairly simple story has been given depth that it never had before. Not only has Sheridan expanded the lore, introducing the crimson flame, and the Red Lantern that was teased in other books who makes his first mysterious appearance on the final page of this issue, but in Alan himself. Now Alan coming out way in the future isn't a 'sudden change' of a character that was never gay, it's a moment of self acceptance that's been a long time coming; perhaps even the greatest battle that Alan Scott has ever had.

I've spoken in depth about the writing on this issue, and I appreciate that this review has already gone on much longer than it normally would, but can't end without talking about the art. Cian Tormey draws the issue, with Matt Herms providing the colours. As you've seen from the description on the plot, there's not a whole lot in this issue that's particularly visually flashy in the story, apart from the spectacular splash page of the train crash. But that doesn't mean the art here isn't worth talking about. 

The art team have a much tougher job than depicting larger than life heroes and villains battling each other. Instead, they need to depict the human heart of this story. It's the expressions on Alan's face as he's learning to process his grief over Johnny, his outrage at Billie's murder, the moment of resignation as he finally dies moments before being reborn as the Green Lantern (another fantastic visual moment). The art on this book is like the story, it's dealing with the human. It helps us connect with Alan Scott even more. It portrays the horrors that he has lived through. Some people might look at the book and see the lack of flashy costumes and big moments and dismiss it, or say that the art is boring, but it's not. The art puts you into the frightening, heartbreaking moments, and does some truly important storytelling. 

This isn't how I normally do my comic reviews, and this feels more like it's strayed into an essay over a simple review; but I couldn't read this issue and not spend more time talking about it than I usually would. Comics are entertainment, they're designed to be fun, pulpy, and quite often ridiculous. You can't have a universe with flying supermen and amazonian warriors without a little silliness. But sometimes there are comics that come along that make you double take. They're wrapped in a super hero skin, but they're so much more than what most people think comics can be. We're only two issues into this series, but it already feels like the kind of book that is going to make waves. 

As a queer comic fan it often feels like people within my community are unrepresented. Things are changing, and there are more and more queer characters being introduced into comics, and it seems like DC is leading the way with that. And we get things like DC Pride, which are nice to see, but sometimes feel a bit too light, a bit too empty to really be saying much other than 'yay, queer people exist'. Media made to cater to queer audiences can sometimes feel a little cash-grabby, made to make money and draw in queer fans. But this book feels like the polar opposite. It feels like it has a very real, very important queer story to tell. I don't know if this will last through to upcoming issues, if the queer part of the text will take a backseat for the more traditional super hero action, but if it stays like this Alan Scott: Green Lantern will end up being one of the most important queer comics we have.  

As a queer and trans comic fan who loves this character I couldn't be happier with this series. I love how Alan Scott has been reinvented in this way, how much richer his story has become. And whilst I cried at the loss of Billie, she's a character that I'm going to remember for a long time despite her only nine pages of a single issue. Tim Sheridan and his team are creating something amazing.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

The Comic Cave – Batman Versus Predator

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

The Comic Cave is a fortnightly feature where we spin the Wheel of Comics and see what graphic novel story it brings up for us to deep dive into! This week we take a look at Batman Versus Predator, the very first time the Predator crossed-over with a pre-existing comic creation.

When the Predator franchise first came to comic form in 1989 it was a success for publisher Dark Horse, who had taken something of a gamble with the IP. Unable to use the character of Dutch, played in the film by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the writers instead created a brother character, a cop who has to deal with the alien hunters coming to the big city. Whether or not the popularity of that story, later re-printed under the name Predator: Concrete Jungle, led to the second Predator movie taking a similar route in its own story is conjecture, but what we do know is that the popularity of the book led to Dark Horse investing more into the franchise.

That same year Dark Horse crossed the Predator over with their other big 20th Century Fox franchise, Aliens, creating Alien vs Predator. Much like all of the best pairings, it’s hard to think of the two franchises as not being linked. It feels like they must have always been designed to go together, because they work together so perfectly. And it’s become a pairing that has only continued to grow in popularity over the years, even surviving terrible films. Putting the two of them together in comic form basically printed money for Dark Horse, and so the next question was ‘what other cross-overs can we do?’.

According to Dave Gibbons, who would pen the script for the cross-over we’re looking at, the idea to jump universes and put the Predator in the pages of Batman belonged to Dark Horse editor Mike Richardson. At first glance it might seem like a strange pairing, and it might seem like the only reason to put the two together is to cash in on Batman’s sales numbers. But when you consider that Batman not only exists in a universe with aliens, but is best friends with one, him fighting the Predator isn’t too outlandish. And when you look beyond his familiar rogues’ gallery and see that he’s fought demons, vampires, ancient gods, and all kinds of supernatural, there’s nothing that’s really too out of character for Batman to fight.

The book opens in Gotham City, where a boxing title match is underway, with each of the fighters representing one of two warring crime bosses in the city: Alex Yeager and Leo Brodin. Across the city, in one of the junkyards, a man sits in his trailer watching the fight when something spooks his dog. Investigating, his gun drawn and ready, the man is blown apart by an invisible killer. The Yautja hunter enters the trailer, watching the end of the fight on the screen, with Yeager’s fighter crowned the city’s champion.

Later that night the winning fighter is relaxing in his hotel room with his girlfriend when the skylight shatters, and the Predator drops into the room, thirsty for blood. When the police come to investigate they find the blood and carnage and the Bat-signal is immediately lit. Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and his right-hand woman, Detective Kandowski, examine the scene, finding the headless boxer and the traumatised girlfriend, all whilst the invisible killer watches on. The Predator identifies Batman as worthy prey, and follows him as he leaves to question Leo Brodin and his men, believing them responsible for the death of the winning fighter.

Batman goes to Brodin’s gym, and briefly fights with the criminals there, but leaves satisfied that Brodin had nothing to do with the death of the champion fighter. Returning home to Wayne Manor, he spends some time time thinking over the case, but is summoned back out into the night by Gordon, who reveals that Brodin’s gym was hit after Batman left, and that everyone but a blind trainer was slaughtered. As they lead the trainer out of the gym he’s shot by an energy blast, killing him. The GCPD open fire on the rooftop, but fail to hit anything. Three red dots briefly appear on Batman’s chest, before the creature leaves, his warning given.

In the Batcave, Batman examines some rust left behind at the gym, and comes to the conclusion the killer is hiding in a scrapyard. As he goes off to watch over a meeting between the crime bosses and the mayor, he sends Alfred to check out junkyards for him. At the meeting the Predator attacks once again, and Batman learns that he’s dealing with an alien. Brodin manages to wound the creature, and it escapes. Using Alfred’s information, Batman heads to one of the scrapyards to confront the monster.

Unfortunately, the Predator comes close to killing Batman, and he’s forced to flee in the Batmobile before it finishes the job. Heavily wounded, he begins to recover at Wayne Manor as the Predator continues his hunt. Over the coming night more victims are claimed by the creature, including the Mayor, and Leo Brodin. It seems like everyone who makes a statement on television about stopping the murders becomes the creature’s next victim, and once Commissioner Gordon appears on the news he becomes the next target.

As Batman lies in his hospital bed, recovering from his wounds, he works on technology that he’ll need in order to challenge the alien once again, knowing that until he does there’s no way he can survive. As Batman continues to fail to answer the Bat-signal the city starts to lose hope, and the Predator reigns supreme. Eventually, it comes for Gordon, killing its way through his protection detail. It’s only thanks to the sacrifice of Detective Kandowski that he survives the night. As he retreats back to GCPD to think of a plan the Bat-signal ignites. Gordon and his men rush to the roof, to find an armoured Batman waiting for them. Rematch time has come.

Batman uses the signal to lure the Predator in, and the two clash once again. His new armour protects him from the energy weapons, and his mask lets him see the creature, giving him half a chance. The two fight across the GCPD roof, over the edge, and into the street below. Knowing the city is no place to fight the monster, Batman summons the Batmobile, and drives away, with the Predator clutched onto the bonnet, trying to kill him. Speeding out of the city, Batman takes the creature to the forest outside Wayne Manor. Here he uses bat swarms to disorient it, causing it to crash through a hole into the Batcave, where a net is waiting for it. However, the Predator breaks free.

Fortunately, Batman was prepared for this, and lures it into a trap, caging it behind thick metal bars. With nowhere to go, knowing that it’s lost, the monster activates the bomb on its wrist. Batman recognises it as a bomb, and stops it from going off; he breaks it, but releases the Predator in the process. The creature begins to get the upper hand, and starts beating Batman across the cave. It’s then that we get the best moment in the book, an ‘ahem’ from off panel as Alfred stands holding a blunderbuss. A polite ‘That’s quite enough thank you’, then Alfred shoots the Predator in the chest. I love Alfred Pennyworth, and this might be one of the greatest things he’s ever done.

The heavily wounded Predator escapes from the cave, up into Wayne Manor, where it smashes through the window in the games room back out into the forest. Batman follows behind, grabbing the first weapon he finds in the wreckage, a baseball bat. Finding the creature in the woods he starts smacking it around with the weapon with a ridiculously brilliant ‘it’s me… Batman’, before the forest is illuminated by an alien ship. Several Predators come out, including their leader. The leader hands the defeated Predator a sword, and it uses it to take its own life, ending its shame. The sword is then presented to Batman as a trophy, and the aliens leave.

The first question for stories like this, where two unconnected things come together, is ‘is it actually any good?’. Yes, absolutely so. Batman Versus Predator does the perfect thing for a crossover: it makes both sides work well. The Predator in the book here does do some things a little differently to others we’d seen by this point and since, such as taking hands as well as heads as trophies, and does kill an unarmed man at one point, but he still seems to be playing by rules. Much like the creature in Predator 2, which focuses on Danny Glover’s character to a scary degree, this monster is doing his own thing, and going to an extreme, but you can see a twisted logic to it.

The Predator goes after the champion boxer because the TV said he’s the city’s champion, so that makes him worthy prey. After his death, the other boxer is declared champ by default, so becomes a target. And as the TV that has been left running in the trailer the creature has set up shop in keeps showing people who declare that they’re going to stop the killings and bring the Predator down it adds more and more victims to the list. The only person really who ends up becoming a target the traditional way is Batman. This Predator is different to most, but he’s still recognisably a Predator, and he still gets moments to shine, he still gets gory kills, and to be scary, and so the book ticks those boxes.

But the Predator was probably the easiest thing to get right here; making it work with Batman is the harder part. Luckily, Gibbons is experienced with the character, and knows how to make something as outlandish as this work in his world. Batman fighting the Predator feels no more out of place than him dealing with Bane, or the Joker. And, as with some of his villains, he has to investigate to find the bad guy, he is physically challenged, and has to overcome the odds using his brain to win the day. In some ways it almost feels like a proto-story for Knightfall in which Batman will be so beaten by his opponent that the city falls into terror, and the next Batman builds armour to fight him. So yes, this absolutely works as a Batman story too.

Other characters like Gordon and Alfred get utilised well here too, and the scenes in which Gordon is saved by Kandowski are dark and upsetting, and Gordon’s reaction to it makes it the only death in the book that feels like more than just a moment of gore and spectacle; she was someone you were supposed to care about, and Gordon makes you do so. But as my enthusiasm earlier made clear, Alfred is the stand out here. Alfred defending the Batcave with a gun is something that gets used again in future stories, but none of them work as well as they do here. The fact that this is all in continuity for the DC universe, and that these are our regular versions of these characters makes it better too (you actually get to see a Predator mask in Batman’s trophy room in issue 56 of JLA a decade later).

The art on the three issue series is by Andy Kubert, with his brother Adam lettering and inking, with Sherilyn van Valkenburgh on colours, and looks absolutely gorgeous. Kubert is a name that folks into comics will recognise, and Andy and Adam are sons of the great Joe Kubert, who founded The Kubert School which has taught many comic artists over the years. The book is suitably grim and gritty looking, with dark colours and grime abounding. But it also has a sharpness and crispness to it that makes this a wonderfully atmospheric and detailed book to read. The Kuberts are true giants of the industry, and most pages of this book could easily adorn any wall.

The success of the series, released as three prestige bound books, led to further crossovers between the two characters, though none received the acclaim that the first did. As with most DC crossovers with the Predator and Alien franchises, the first time is usually the best, and thanks to Disney now owning Fox, and the Alien and Predator books being made through Marvel, there will not only likely never be any more crossovers with DC, but no more copies of these stories printed. So, if you ever find a copy of Batman Versus Predator on the shelf, do yourself a favour, and grab it whilst you can.

Batman Versus Predator was published by DC Comics and Dark Horse from December 1991 to February 1992.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Predator vs Wolverine #3 - Comic Review

 

The previous issue of Predator vs Wolverine ended with a pretty dramatic moment, one that had the potential to set up a big retcon for Wolverine and his history. We saw the Predator standing over Logan as he lay in the Weapon X facility, having recently gone through the adamantium process. Was the story going to reveal that Wolverine escaping and killing everyone was actually a big fight with the Predator? After all, the Predator has big blades too, so maybe they both killed anyone who got in the way and it all just got blamed on Logan. Well, it looks like Benjamin Percy chose not to take the most obvious route, but did integrate the Predator into Logan's history in a pretty interesting way.

After breaking into the facility, the Predator learns that Logan has a metal skeleton, cutting away part of his chest to check out the shiny bones underneath it. This has turned a guy who was already going to make a great trophy into the ultimate one. How awesome is this Yautja going to look with an adamantium skull on his wall? Logan begins to stir on the table, and gets a blast of gas to his face that melts all of the flesh away, leaving his head as nothing but skeleton. Grabbing his trophy, the Predator carries Logan's body to his ship to take the skull off with his equipment.

I have to also congratulate the restraint of not having a Xenomorph skull on the trophy wall. Not only would this have been a callback to Predator 2, but would have confirmed that the Xenos exist in the Marvel Universe. Perhaps there are subtler plans for the Aliens appearing alongside Marvel, but maybe they've just decided that that might be one cross-over too far. With a universe that already has a Xenomorph knock-off in the Brood is there a place for the Xenomorphs? And are they too destructive to use well in a cross-over? Any that come to Earth would be a much more dangerous threat than a Predator on Earth.

Whilst the Predator tries to get his ship into space the Canadian government send out a couple of fighter jets to stop it; piloted by Schwrtz and Weathers. These two aptly named pilots fail to slow the ship down, but luckily Wolverine regrows his head, and ends up breaking his way out of the ship, falling from orbit back down to Earth. The government are able to reacquire him, and continue their experiments. Though, this time they use the tech salvaged from the Predator's mask that they find with Wolverine, using it to create the iconic control helmet that Logan wears during the Weapon X procedure. 

This is the kind of retcon that I like. It adds to the story, it gives a small amount of extra detail and depth to something that has always been there, without really changing anything. And the fun thing is now whenever that helmet pops up you can point at it and go 'do you know where that came from?!' to those who are sure to be nowhere near as excited about it as you are. 

Following this part of the story we shift further forward to a time when Logan is training with Muramasa in Japan. One of the things that fans seem to go to very quickly as something they really want to see a Predator do is to fight a samurai. Well, now we get that, but there's also Wolverine involved. This segment is going to be continued in the next issue, and it might be the most exciting one yet. The fact that the Predator comes with a super cool new skull-mask look this time also makes this feel more interesting and unique than some of the previous encounters they've had.

As with previous issues, these flashbacks are happening as Logan dealing with the Predator in the modern day, the two of them fighting through the Canadian wilderness. Logan is on the back-foot in these moments, but the approach this issue takes, with the Predator being too reliant on its tech and Logan being a more primal hunter makes for an interesting approach, and it looks like the tables may have begun to turn in this encounter. 

Each part of the story has its own artist, Ken Lashley and Jaun Fernandz continue on the present day segments, with they're joined this issue by Hayden Sherman and Alex Guimarães on the Weapon X segment, and Kei Zama and Alex Guimarães on the Muramasa parts. Each part works well with their styles, and the art in the issue looks great. The Muramasa parts look distinct and different from the other flashbacks we've had, and the style suits the setting well.

With just one more issue left, this feels like a series that's coming to a close way too soon. Each of the flashbacks we get could be their own four issue mini-series, and whilst these small glimpses into these stories means that we're not getting any filler or fluff it also leaves you really wanting more each time they come to a close. Percy is doing a fantastic job at blending these two worlds together, and this might be one of the best Predator crossovers that we've ever had.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Aliens: Bishop by T.R. Napper

 

'Massively damaged in Aliens and Alien3 , the synthetic Bishop asked to be shut down forever. His creator, Michael Bishop, has other plans. He seeks the Xenomorph knowledge stored in the android’s mind, and brings Bishop back to life—but for what reason? No longer an employee of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Michael tells his creation that he seeks to advance medical research for the benefit of humanity. Yet where does he get the resources needed to advance his work. With whom do his new allegiances lie? 

'Bishop is pursued by Colonial Marines Captain Marcel Apone, commander of the Il Conde and younger brother of Master Sergeant Alexander Apone, one of the casualties of the doomed mission to LV-426. Also on his trail are the “Dog Catchers,” commandos employed by Weyland-Yutani.

'Who else might benefit from Bishop’s intimate knowledge of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy?'

The Aliens franchise has been a personal favourite of mine since a very irresponsible uncle let me watch the second film at no what must have been no more than five years old (I cant remember the exact age, only that it's one of the earliest films I can remember seeing). I came to the franchise through the second film, and as such it's become my favourite, and I love the cast of characters that surround Ripley throughout. One of those I always liked was Bishop, and knowing how the film ends up and how much of a good guy he is I always feel bad for him in the beginning when Ripley knows a plate out of his hands. He deserves some good.

Well, it seems like Aliens: Bishop is setting things right for him, at least a bit. Set after the events of Alien 3, which saw the artificial human broken and smashed beyond repair, the book follows a number of plot threads that work towards bringing Bishop home.

Not long after the events of the film, Bishop wakes up inside a lab, his mind installed into a new body thanks to his creator, Michael Bishop (who we also last saw in Alien 3). Bishops last memory is asking Ripley to shut him off, saying that he might be able to be repaired, but he'd never be perfect again. But it turns out when powerful people want what you know amazing things can happen. Instead of being fixed up Bishop is in a younger, stronger body. A fresh start. His 'father' tells him that he did this because he needs Bishop's help, that he needs the Xenomrph knowledge that he;s carrying inside him.

Whilst Bishop is reluctant to just give this knowledge over, Michael assures him that it's purely for medical research, and that he has no interest in using the aliens as a weapon the way others in Weyland-Yutani do. He's even left the company behind, having defected over to the Chinese superpowers. Bishop wants to believe his creator, and the two of them agree to work together, slowly unlocking the secrets of the Xenomorph whilst Bishop holds the cache of data hostage, waiting to trust Michael fully before giving it over.

Meanwhile, on a Colonial Marine cruiser, Marcel Apone, younger brother of Bishop's former commanding officer, is searching for the android. He wants to learn more about what happened to his brother and his unit, as well as learning all he can to help him destroy the Xenomorphs. New to his unit is Private Karri Lee, an Australian refugee who joined up to get her mother and brothers out of the camps and into a decent home. Having blackmailed herself into a passing grade, she's tested like never before when Apone's unit go after Bishop, forcing her to push herself further and harder than ever before.

There's also a sub-plot about the crew of a Vietnamese smuggling ship who get captured by the Chinese military and forced into a chamber where alien eggs are waiting for them, and the one member of the crew who manages to survive the experience. All three of these stories end up coming together in a violent, bloody finale.

The new Aliens books from Titan have been expanding the universe in fun and exciting ways, and bringing Bishop back into things feels like a great addition to this expanding and evolving new timeline that's being crafted. And for those who might be worried about a beloved Aliens character who died in Alien 3 being brought back to life in a new piece of media, don't be, this is a far step away from Aliens: Colonial Marines and their awful handling of a similar idea.

This is my first T.R. Napper novel, and I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up. I was, to be completely honest, a little worries about what might happen in the book. I liked Bishop and wanted him to be handled well. And Napper does do that. He manages to make Bishop feel new and interesting, having expanded his character in new directions, whilst also keeping him true to what we've seen of him before. Pretty much every line of dialogue he says in the book you can hear Lance Henriksen saying as he's managed to capture Bishops voice. 

The other characters are all blank slates, and Napper has pretty free reign to do what he wants with them, and ends up creating an interesting cast. Karri Lee is my favourite of the new characters, and I loved learning more about her over the course of the book. Her backstory was engaging, and at times heartbreaking, and her reasons for doing what she does are very understandable ones. It's also great to see her evolving relationships with the other members of her unit. She's also one of the few queer characters I can think of in the Aliens universe, and if we see more of her in the future I'm hoping that this is something that gets expanded upon beyond a few mentions.

Some of the other characters, like Xuan go through a very rough time, and her experiences as a victim in the book are awful to read. There are times where you're expecting her horrific death to come at any moment, or where you're expecting her to end her own life. Despite this she manages to have a quiet strength to her that keeps pushing her to survive. She doesn't rail against the injustices being forced upon her, she doesn't have a big cathartic moment where she gets to rage against those that harmed her. Instead, she has a much more realistic journey, one where her pain and trauma are going to be following her for long after the book is done.

Other great characters include the arsehole smart-gunner who tries to make Karri's life hell, but ends up as a character you want to see live and whose relationship with Karri is worth seeing, and the Chinese officer being forced by her commanders to do terrible things but knows they're wrong, who ultimately tries to do the right thing. The book also features the return of another character who appeared in Alien 3, who ended up stealing most of the scenes they're in.

The reason I'm talking about the characters over say the horror, or action, of an Aliens book is that despite the book featuring lots of both of those, the majority of the book deals with characters. This is a character driven narrative, one where we spend time getting to know these people, watching them push themselves, evolving into better people. As a result, you care about them when the chaos and the killing begins, and you end up worried for them when the Xenomorphs show up. Not every Aliens book goes out of its way to do this, and this is precisely the reason why this one was so good to read.

Aliens: Bishop could have been a cheap cash-in on nostalgia, another attempt to bring back a beloved character and give the fans something sub-par in exchange for their time and money. But what we got is a great character study, and one of the most enjoyable Aliens books from Titan. I really hope to see more in the series from Napper, and I hope that we get more stories with this cast of characters.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #21 - Comic Review

 

Thy Kingdom Come! Batman and Superman are well and truly stuck into the world of Kingdom Come this issue as they not only have to deal with a cruel older version of David, but come into contact with that world's versions of themselves.

This issue does the age old comic book trope of the two sides that are both heroes having a misunderstanding and fighting each other. Whilst this is a trope that I'm not particularly fond of, this book manages to do it well by making it believable, and executing it in cool ways.

Thanks to Thunderman claiming that these odd versions of Superman and Batman are villains trying to kill him the Earth-22 versions are quick to jump into the fight and help Thunderman out. The Earth-22 folks even go through some options as to what these new heroes might be, mentioning White Martians, and saying that anything they say to try to 'prove' themselves to be good mean nothing when telepaths exist. This leaves our Earth-0 heroes kind of stuck as no matter how much they ask for the others to just listen to their explanation it goes ignored.

This leads to some very cool fight scenes as our Superman and Batman go up against this world's versions of them. The two Supermen fight across the city, with ours eventually taking things underground in an old lead mine, trying to use it to get some distance from him counterpart. Meanwhile, Bruce has to go up against a more experienced Batman, who's using his new flight suit (Kingdom Come fans will recognise it instantly), and even has the help of Nightwing.

Mora makes these fight scenes look very cool, and whilst the powerhouse fight between the two Supermen might seem like the one that would be the coolest, it's the Batman fight that takes the cake. The way these two experienced fighters clash, predicting each others moves and trying to counter them, makes for some cool moments. I really like the fact that Mora puts speed lines on their movements, showing that this is two Batmen who are going all out for the fight, pushing as hard as they can.

The fight eventually ends with our heroes managing to get away, with Superman flying them to the Kent farm to take a breather and regroup. Unfortunately for them, the device needed to get home has been badly damaged in the fight, and they're stuck on Earth-22 for now. To make matters worse, A group of heroes arrives at the farm, ready to take them down. Meanwhile, in Metropolis, Thunderman, Batman, and Superman kneel before Gog, the ancient god from the Third-World. 

The last couple of pages of the book are some fantastic moments. I loved the huge splash page of the Earth-22 heroes. It's a great page to just sit and stare at, picking out who's there, and what their designs look like. Some of them are familiar, being very similar to their final Kingdom Come looks, whilst others are still on their way there, and there are some who we've just never seen before too. It also feels a little like certain characters were picked to appear based on who's popular and who's being pushed in other books at the moment too. Characters like Peacemaker, feel out of place until you realise he's in everything now.

Most interesting, however, is the inclusion of Gog, the god who first appeared in the Justice Society of America series in 2008. With Waid having created the Kingdom Come universe, but Geoff Johns and Alex Ross having created Gog in this form for that story I was surprised to see him here. Waid is clearly not being too possessive or precious of his original work, and seems happy to include what was created after. I'll be interested in seeing how he combines these stories, and what he brings from others work into his own. 

Batman / Superman: World's Finest has been a hugely fun series since it began, with some stories that have introduced fun new history for these characters that we love; but this feels like the first story in the series that has a lot of weight, the most potential impact even though it's dealing with another universe. Perhaps it's because it's returning to one of the most beloved comic stories of all time, but this feels like one of those comics that you really don't want to miss out on.

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram

Nightwing #108 - Comic Review

 

Tom Taylor's Nightwing is a book that feels like a pretty safe bet every month. It's fun, it reads quickly, the art is great, and I look forward to each each month. But it also sometimes feels like there's not a huge amount to it. And this issue is kind of a decent example of that.

This issue opens with the traitor amongst Bea's crew being revealed, resulting in a cool visual representation of Dick chasing him through the ship. After that, Dick and Bea have a bit of an argument about their past relationship before the ship arrives at a secret pirate city hidden inside a huge cave. Here, Bea ends up getting ambushed by her cruel brother, who kills her top man, then stabs her in the stomach with a sword and throws her hundreds of feet into the ocean below. That's it. Like I said, not a huge amount to it.

What we get is entertaining enough, it's enjoyable enough, but like with the last couple of issues of the book I've come away wondering what I can really write about it. I don't know if it's this arc, or perhaps Taylor has just gotten a bit comfortable with the character, but Nightwing seems to be in this space where it's just not managing to get me hugely excited, nor does it leave me feeling massively impressed.

I like this book, but I want to love this book. Early on in Taylor's run it was one of the books I was very hyped for, now it's like a comfortable pair of slippers, nice to put on, but that comfortable you kind of forget you're wearing them.

This issue is fun, and it has some great art, so why aren't I loving it more?

Support Amy on Patreon

Buy Amy A Coffee

Go to Amy's Blog

Follow Amy on Twitter

Add Amy on Instagram