Aquaman 23.1 Black Manta

Black Manta only lives for one thing and that's to kill Aquaman who he blames for the death of his farther, so what does he do now that Aquman is dead (allegedly) killed at the hands of the Crime Syndicate.  Well that's one of the questions asked in this villains story line, one that ties in directly to the Forever Evil event.

Manta is languishing in Belle Reve super maximum prison been proportioned by Amanda Waller (steady now), she wants him to join her Suicide Squad a team he is not too keen to join for several reason (the word Suicide would put me off). Manta is having none of it as he is clever enough to know there is no return from the Suicide Squad, and that any promise of early release and pardons are just empty words.

The prison is attacked by the Crime Syndicate causing mass chaos and releasing all the prisoners leaving Manta free to get his tech gear and escape, but not before bumping into Ocean Master Aquamans other adversary while doing so. The pair never speak they just look at each other then go their own way, a nice touch I thought. 

Once on the outside Manta attends the Crime Syndicates first appearance where he learns of the apparent fate of Aquaman and the Justice League, as Aquaman's trident, Supermans cape and Wonder Woman's lasso is throw to the baying crowed as proof of their deaths. However rather than take up their offer of an alliance for world domination, Mantra walks away from the Crime Syndicate carrying Aquamans trident. 

The focus for his rage is now dead and as he sits on his farther grave telling him its over Manta is preparing to hang up his helmet, but as fate has it (always does in comics) Ultra Man is moving the moon to block the rays of the sun, which seemingly have the opposite effect on him to what they do on Superman. An action that effects the tides and creates a tsunami that destroys and washes away his fathers grave right before his eyes, an act which leaves Black Manta with a new focus for his anger and rage.

The story is plotted by Geoff Johns & Tony Bedard with words by Tony Bedard and helps give the reader a small incite into the mind of Black Manta, and confirm what I have always suspected with the character that his hatred for Aquaman is not driven revenge alone. Manta needs to hate something to live without hate he is nothing and no one, its a credit to John's that he has taken a second string characters and now turned him into one of DC most dangerous and interesting villains. 

The story is worth picking up as it ties into Forever Evil directly although there are a few scenes that you will have seen already in Forever Evil 1 but now shown from Mantas perspective, the artwork by Clude St AUBIN is excellent as is the colouring by Blond?

The 3D cover is also top notch and defiantly one of the better ones that I have seen so far, not as good as the Swamp Thing cover but definitely well done. 

Swamp Thing # 23.1 Arcane

If your wanting a Villains Month comic that does not tie-in directly to Forever Evil then this is a book for you, whatever is going on in Forever Evil has no impact on this issue what so ever. 

Swamp Thing issue 23.1 unashamedly fleshes out what has been, and lays the foundations for what is to come in the Swamp Thing book. Anton Arcane the avatar for the parliament of rot before his fall is now locked in his own personnel hell, the parliament has imprisoned him in his own world that is full of life and where nothing ever rots, something that is slowly driving Anton insane (if he wasn't already).

Into this personnel hell steps the present avatar of the rot Anton’s niece Abigail who is looking for answers on what happened to her mother, as all memory of her was eroded by her Uncle as her prepared her to become a child of the rot. What follows is a shortened history of the Arcane family and the rot all from Anton’s perspective, which helps to give you (the reader) an understanding of how Anton became the way he did. While not avoiding the fact that even without the rots influence, Anton was always destined to become a monster of one sort or another.

The story is as you would expect not a happy one and I would suggest reading it after eating especially if you’re having rabbit (you have been warned), Abigail’s part in the story which is intertwined with Anton’s portrays her as a victim of the family curse, rather than the monster her uncle is or wants her to be. The verbal sparring between Anton and Abigail is brilliantly written as Anton looks for ways to exploit any vulnerability that Abigail may have, as she comes to term with the power she now wields from been the latest avatar of the rot. Its throughout this sparing that you always have the uneasy feeling that Anton is not quite as helpless as he acts or appears , despite the upper hand presently been held by Abigail you always feel that he is ultimately in charge of the situation.

The final revelation on what actually happened to Abigail’s mother is a predictable twist but is still shocking to read and see, Anton’s final act as Abigail exits leaving him alone to his hellish world sets things up nicely for future story lines to come.

Swamp Thing was one of those books I decided to try when the DC Universe reinvented itself a decision I have never regretted, so when it was announced that writer Scott Snyder would be leaving the book I had major concerns. After all he had (in my opinion) reinvented Swamp Thing and made a second string character a must read book every month, well I had worries and sleepless nights (not really) for nothing as the book hasn't missed a beat since Snyder’s departure. Charles Soule is capturing all the horror and madness of Swamp Things world that was set up in Snyder’s run, without compromising the stories and plot lines he is currently writing. Jesus Saiz art is as good as anything that's been produced in this book and his visuals leave you in no doubt that you are reading a horror comic that just happens to be set in the DC Universe, this book is not one for the little one.

If you are reading Swamp Thing and gave this a miss due to the Villains month tie-in get to your local comic shop as fast as you can because you've missed a great story, if you've not been reading Swamp Thing at all its the same advise.

Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time #8

IDW’s celebration of Doctor Who’s 50^th year continues in issue 8 of Prisoners of Time, this issue we are with Paul McGann’s 8^th Doctor and his companion Grace Holloway.

It’s a year since the Doctor left Dr. Grace Holloway to return back to her life in San Francisco after she help him defeat the Master (again), Grace who was offered the chance to go with the Doctor but turned him down is now back in her daily routine and seemingly a little board. So it’s no surprise that the Doctor turns up on her door step asking her if she has changed her mind, despite been board with normal life she at first declines then agrees to go on one trip only (heard that one before).

The Doctor and Grace find themselves on an earth like planet whose inhabitants seem welcoming and friendly, and its after introductions are made that one family invite the Doctor and Grace to have a family meal with them. It’s during the meal that the Doctor learns of the inhabitant’s war like history that almost destroyed the plant, and of the benefactors known as The Overseers who saved the planet and its people from extinction. The only thing the Overseers have ever asked for in return for saving the planet and its people, is that they give up a few of their own each year to help the Overseers in their tasks in their city in the sky. 

It’s during one of these requests that the Doctor becomes at odds with the Overseers when one young girl who does not want to leave her family is forced to leave, a situation that the Doctor just cannot stand by and accept.

Things develop quickly and the Doctor and Grace find themselves in the sky city via a flying car like vehicle where they find all is not well, there is a reason why people never return (think organ donation without consent) a situation that the Doctor cannot and will not except. Battles ensue along with lots of running (it’s not Doctor Who without running) and good triumphs over evil once again, and all ends well for the planets inhabitants but not for the Doctor. 

He is already waiting for the appearance of mysterious man who keeps taking his companions, unfortunately despite been ready the Doctor is powerless to stop grace been taken but not before we get a bit more information on who this mystery man could be.

Now this for me is the weakest of the issues so far as the story of the Doctor coming back for Grace felt a little forced, I would have preferred his companion to be one from the big finish audio's but there may be licensing issues that prevented that. 

The story by the Tipton’s is a good Doctor story but I felt no real connection to this Doctor, most likely due to his only ever appearance been in the much maligned TV film of the BBC series. The art work was also a sticking point for me as it had too much of a cartoon look and feel to it, the likeness of Paul's Doctor was also hit and miss (more miss) so much so it did spoil the story in some parts. While the idea of the Overseers was a great one their design unfortunately was not, they looked like the 70’s badly dressed cousins of the Cone Heads, funny but not scary.

It’s disappointing that Paul McGann’s Doctor didn’t get the issue he and we deserved, as the Big Finish audio's have proved there is so much more to the 8^th Doctor than we ever saw on screen.

Legends of the Dark Knight # 9

 

Dreaming he is a Butterfly

The story starts with Batman beating the snot out of the Scarecrows henchmen in a Hammer Horror style graveyard, as he makes his way to the inevitable confrontation with the master of fear, telling him his toxins don’t work on him as he’s built up resistance and is also wearing nose plugs. Unfortunately for bats the Scarecrows latest toxin is absorbed through the skin stopping Batman in his tracks, now this is where the story really kick in and takes the reader on a journey they didn’t expect (well I didn’t).
 

Bruce wakes up to find himself in his bed with Alfred tending over him as he has seemingly lost the use of his legs and several years have now passed, Bruce has to come to terms that the years of fighting crime have left him both mentally and physically injured beyond any hope of healing. Alfred explains that he now slides in and out of lucidity and for the short time he is lucid he has forgotten what happened to him and Alfred has to explain it to him all over again, as you would expect Bruce is having none of this saying no matter how hurt he was he would find away to go out and fight crime. Which is the cue for Alfred to vent his anger telling Bruce if he had helped people with his inventions instead of fighting crime the world may have been a better place, pointing out he could have saved millions and improved society if he had directed his energies into creating vaccines for diseases, instead of creating anti toxins to protect himself from his enemy’s. It’s a valid point and one that is improved upon by Jim Gordon who comes around every time Bruce is lucid with unsolved crime files he needs help with, Jim tells Bruce that since his enforced retirement things had improved dramatically in Gotham. With no Batman to fight or focus on the madmen have all left they city and the ones that didn’t were mopped up by Batman friends, as Jim points out Scarecrow is no match for Superman.

The most damming news is that Bruce was responsible for the death of Robin during one of his psychotic episodes believing he was Clayface in disguise, its news that just about pushes Bruce over the edge not only is his purpose for living now gone but he is responsible for the death of his partner.

Just when you think all hope is lost the Batman never give in never surrender attitude begins to kick in, and reality starts to intrude on the fear induced dream and we once again find Batman face to face with a disbelieving Scarecrow who is quickly dispatched. The Scarecrows new toxin makes its victims create an artificial life built on their own fears and dreams, but as Batman points out if he was going to have a fantasy life it would have been better than the one he has at present.

This is one of the best Scarecrow story’s I have read in a long time making the Scarecrow scary again, it asks some very interesting questions like would Gotham be better off without Batman and would society be better if Bruce's focus was more humanitarian than vigilante. They are interesting questions that most comic fans would have an opinion on, but they not an argument anyone would ever win or agree on believe me I've had enough of these discussions to know.

The Trap

The second story in the book has Batman tracking down Catwoman who is breaking into Gotham's newest billionaires home using cold technology from Mr Freeze, all is not what it seems as Catwomans intentions are noble (sort of) as the billionaire is an anti-establishment nut who is funding terrorists and she is trying to get proof. Now if she can help herself to a few million in Bearer Bonds in the process then more power to her, as she points out ''its not cheap being this cool'' a sentiment I can relate too but I usually wait until the Debenhams Blue Cross Sale. The final panel shows why Catwoman is such a perfect foil for Batman, and why like all cats she cannot be trusted as no matter how much they purr they always have their own agenda ad sharp claws. The story is fast paced and the artwork flows so well it’s like watching an animated film, so congratulations to Stephane Roux on the art and Ray Fawkes on the writing.

Now with all that’s been going on in the other DC books I have had Legends on the back burner, but after reading this issue there is no way it is going to stay there. Legends for me is simply the best of the Bat books out there at the moment and I cannot recommend it higher, it comes out in digital format weekly then is printed in paper form toward the end of the month which is how I get it. The beauty of this book is that the story’s tend to be one shot and don’t tie into present continuity some don’t even tie in to any continuity, so you can pick up any issue and not feel lost as the story your reading may have happened or they may not have, after all they are just Legends.

The Rocketteer & Spirt #1, Pulp Friction

In a cold Central City councilman Alderman Cunningham is arguing against TV rights going to private enterprise, unfortunately his passionate pleas fall on deaf ears and as he leaves  the council chambers he indicates that the debate may be over but his campaign isn't.

The next morning during a sea front photo shoot three thousand miles from Central City the councilman is found dead, the model that stumbles across the dead councilman is none other than Betty the model girlfriend of Cliff Secord The Rocketeer (never a dull moment with that girl). The councilman's death prompts both police commissioner Dolan and The Sprit to fly across country to investigate, they are joined on their trip by the commissioner's daughter Ellen who has hopes of seeing someone famous while in Hollywood. Unknown to any of them the air field they are to fly into is the one where the Rocketeer works, and when 3 strangers one who is masked emerge from a plane looking for the woman who found the dead body of the councilman, alarms bells begin to ring for Peev the Rocketeers engineer. 

Insert your normal hero against hero battle as the Rocketeer try's to stop the car carrying the Spirit, the commissioner and his daughter as it makes its way to his girlfriends home, a battle that involves the Sprit  taking on the Rocketeer in mid flight its all good stuff and takes me back to the fun days of comics.

The twist is that Peev and the commissioner both know each other they are old war buddies its friendship that helps stop the Spirit & Rocketeer knocking lumps out of each other, so its off to Bettys (not the tea shop) to talk to her about the dead councilman.  Betty has been laid up in bed with the shock of finding a dead body (drama queen) refusing to answer her door to anyone, however on hearing a strangers voice at her door she is happy to open it and fall into the arms of the Sprit barley able to stand with all that she as seen (as I said drama queen). From the look on Ellen's face I cannot see her staying in the Spirits arms for too long, and I suspect the interaction between Betty and Ellen may be just one of the many joys this book has to offer.

I went into this story a little unsure as I don't have any history with the Spirit and I didn't want that lack of unfamiliarity to spoil my enjoyment, well it didn't the story written by Mark Waid is a total joy one of the best starts to a Rocketeer story I have read this year. and I've enjoyed all of them so far. Any lack of knowledge I had about the Spirit is handled on the inside cover in around 5 lines and gave me all I needed know, the art by Paul Smith is a good fit for the story along with the colouring of Jordie Bellaire who's colours set the pulp fell that runs throughout the book.

If you haven't picked this book up yet do yourself a favour and do so it a good fun book with a great story line featuring two fantastic characters, I cannot recommend it any more than that other than to say it has raised my interest in the Spirit and I will be checking out some of his past story lines, any pointers on what to check out would be appreciated.

Man of Steel Film Review (Spoilers)

Having waited for all the fuss to die down my wife and I ventured out to see Man Of Steel at the weekend around a week after its release, I had managed to avoid the spoilers and deliberately kept away from any reviews or podcasts that had a hint of Man of Steel about them. This was for me the most anticipated film of the year as a DC fan I want, no I need to have good DC hero films, and after the poorly received Green Lantern (I didn’t think it was that bad) the balance was restored by The Dark Knight Returns. As comic fans we needed this reboot of Superman to keep DC films in the ascendency, and did it didn’t disappoint until the final scenes of the film but I’ll get to that later.

Firstly the cinematography of this film is absolutely outstanding Krypton has never looked so good, the early  Christopher Reeve films had Krypton as a bland ice plant but here we see a Krypton that is vibrant, colorful and full of all types of life. Which is a pity as in keeping with the Superman mythos it’s also a planet that is on the edge of destruction, brought on by the over mining of the planets core in the pursuit of more resources.

The Cast:

The film boasts an impressive cast with Russell Crowe as Jor-El giving one of his best performances in a long while, his role has clearly been expanded as he appears several times throughout the film as a hologram to help the now grown up Kal-EL. You even get a reminder of Russell’s old Gladiator days when he goes hand to hand with General Zod, a pre-conditioned warrior who’s only thought is the continuation of the people of Krypton no matter what the cost. General Zod is played brilliantly by Michael Shannon and it’s to his credit that you do have some sympathy for his character, he sees himself not as a villain but as the savour of his people and if millions have to die to achieve that salvation then so be it.

Clarke’s Earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent are played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, Costner is a little underused but good value for the screen time that he has. Whilst Diane Lane excellently portrays a rather feisty Martha Kent a Mother who has no issues telling Zod and his crew to go to hell when they come face to face, despite been thrown across the farm yard and having a pickup truck dropped on her house. Laurence Fishburne plays Daily Planet editor Perry White and Laurence plays him in the same way he plays everyone, I could have been watching Morpheus from the Matrix or Dr Ray from CSI but it’s a small role so I didn’t let it detract me from the film.

Amy Adams is Lois Lane and to be fair she plays a better one than Margaret Kidder or Kate Bosworth ever did in previous films, her Lois is one that uses her investigative skills and know how to track down and find the identity of the mysterious man who saved her life. Unlike previous Lois’s who used to sit across from him for around 8 hours a day, failing to work out that Clark Kent is Superman because he hides behind a pair of glasses. The problem I had with Amy’s portrayal of Lois is there was little or no chemistry between her and Caville when they are on screen together; this is supposed to be one of comic’s greatest romances but it just wasn’t there. That brings me to Henry Caville as the main man himself I had major worries about his ability to play the Superman role, I am not questioning his acting ability but everything I had seen from trailer clips to the stock photos he just didn’t look right to me, he didn’t look like Superman. Well how wrong was I, Caville was every inch the Superman I hoped he would be both in his actions and his presence on screen. The updated costume with no outside pants worked perfectly and although he must have worked tremendously hard to fill it out, I still think it would have looked better on me my wife confirmed as much when I raised the point with her as we sat having a drink and meal together after the film so it must be true. Cavills’ Superman is a lonely untrusting individual who has hidden away all his life trying to ensure no one finds out about his powers, a boy who was bullied knowing full well he could take down anyone who bullied him. Despite his mistrust he is still compelled to help those in need which he does as he wanders the world looking for clues as to who he really is, Clarks earlier life is show in flashbacks which works well and helps to explain why Clark is as untrusting in his fellow man as he is. Cavill plays this darker broodier Superman very well which includes his growth as his trust in mankind begins to slowly grow, this is probably the deepest look into who Clark / Kal-EL really is and the film is all the better for it.

The Action:

One of the main complaints about the last Superman film is there was very little action in it well this is not something you can complain about in this one, from the early scenes as Jor-El fights his way across a Krypton in the clutches of civil war to the films final confrontation between Kal-El and Zod the action never pauses for too long. The battle in Smallville between Superman and Zod is nothing but a taster on what’s to come, just when Zod is about to be beaten the ongoing battle between Kal-El, Zods right hand woman Faora-UL and the US military ramp the action up to spectacular proportions. I just need to add here that Faora-UL played by Antje Traue is a more frightening opponent than Zod, General Zod is driven but Faora-UL is psychotic and not afraid to hold back on anything be it jet fighters or some poor infantry man who happens to be in her way.

The final fight between a desperate Zod and Superman takes action and violence in a hero film to a whole new level, if you thought the Avengers destroyed Manhattan in their fight that was nothing compared with the destruction of Metropolis in this one. Which finally brings me to the scene that changed the whole feel of the film for me the killing of General Zod, up until this point this was the Superman film I had always hoped it would be, a little violent perhaps but still a great film then Superman broke Zod’s neck. Now I know in the context of the film he had no choice my wife pointed this out to me as we dissected the film over drinks and a very good pizza, but my one answer was Superman always finds a way, what that way is I don’t know but Superman would know and that’s my point he always knows.

Final Thoughts:

The whole character of Superman for me is one of hope he is the shining example other heroes aspire to be, by killing General Zod you move away from that ideal which is something I was not comfortable with when I saw it and on reflection I’m still not comfortable with now. So for me a great film was spoilt by that one action no matter how much he regretted doing it, having said all that its still a film well worth going to see and I know I will buy it on DVD when its released and you will see me in the queue to see Man of Steel 2 when its released. 
 

Constantine #3

Constantine continues his search for the final piece of a compass an artifact that has the potential to find any magical resource in the world, such is its danger in the wrong hands it has been split into three and hidden around the world. John has found and lost the needle but is now in possession of the dial and closing in on the lens which he discovered has been hidden in London. Hot on his heels also chasing the compass are Sargon the sorceress and the blind Mage Mr.E an name to strike terror in anyone heart if ever I heard one, Constantine managed to escape from Mr E in issue 2 mainly because Mr.E couldn’t see what he was up to a chink in Mr. E’s armour I suspect that needs addressing.

Once back in London Constantine begins to suffer from a blood curse (origin unknown) that seemingly slowly drains the life out of him when he visits the capital, I have to admit London has that effect on me but it’s usually down to seeing my football team getting beaten or the prices pubs down there charge for flat beer but I digress.

 

 

John has a cunning plan (cue Baldrick) to deal with his curse which involves a ride in an enchantment protected car a cunning plan indeed, unfortunately John and his driver take an unexpected trip to an alternate dimension where he strikes a bargain for his and his drivers life with the demon who is trapped there, the Riddling Butcher (now there's a name take notes Mr.E)
 

Back in the real world the final confrontation between Constantine, Sargon and Mr. E takes place in an antiques lens shop, where Constantine seemingly trapped in a magical circle is forced to explain that the hidden lens for the compass is in fact the eyes of the shop owner. A man who is been tortured by the two Mage's to reveal where the lens is, it transpires that the shop owner is the son of the man who built the compass.  As with all things Constantine you know he is one step ahead of everyone else and just when all looks bleak he unleashes the Riddling Butcher on Sargon and Mr.E, we find out it was Sargon’s farther was the one who trapped the demon in the alternate dimension and he wants revenge if not on him then on his daughter. Everything goes to hell the lenses are lost in the grizzly way you would expect, Sargon and Mr E are left fighting for their life’s against a very upset demon while Constantine escapes their trap and teleports out of London leaving them to their fate, although later back in New York during self reflection he admits they would probably survive and would be out for revenge.

 

So that’s the first story arc over and for this long time Hellblazer fan it has been a pleasant surprise as I found the book more to my likeing than I thought I would, its a good introduction story for anyone who wasn’t aware of Constantine and for long time fans it had enough of the Hellblazer elements to keep us interested. Ray Fawkes and Jeff Lemire have made a good start in establishing Constantine into the DC Universe while still keeping some of the elements of the character established in the Vertigo one.

My one complaint about the book (I always have one) is that its just too bright and colourful, I prefer my Constantine stories drawn dark and gritty but this is a new universe so I will have to live with it. I would like to add that the last statement is not a knock on Renato Guedes’ art which is excellent, but the first 3 books have had just a little too much colour for me.