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.

Aquaman #20

 

The Others first introduced in Aquaman #7 have been asked by Aquaman to search out a Atlantean glove that has the power to punch through rock, the glove is one of many weapons that were lost during the resent Atlantis war with the surface world. The atlanteans are searching out any weapon's left on the sea bed but the glove has managed to find its way to the middle of the desert, and as its pointed out the desert is not the best environment for water dwellers.

 

The Others consist of military style man know as The Operative, Ya’Wara the animal woman and the Prisoner of War also added to the mix is a young Indian girl called Sky Alchesay, Sky walks between the land of the living and the dead and talks to her dead mother Kahina, who was previously a member of the Others prior to her death at the hands of Black Mantra?

 

The hunt for the glove begins once every gets to meet up via the will of the lightening gods, who bringing down the Others plane in the exact spot where Sky is standing waiting for them (I will point them in the direction of Ryanair Air they can give them some tips).

The glove is been used by a skin walker who is trying to free a lost group of skin walkers buried deep in a cave underground, the skin walker with the power glove turns out to be Sky's uncle Carl (poor name for a villain) who was briefly introduced earlier in the story trying to recruit Sky over protective brother. Having released the trapped skin walkers Carl plans to do whatever skin walkers do, however he didn’t count on the Others coming to thwart him and take away his glove trapping both him and the briefly freed skin walkers in a cave beneath ground, so plan thwarted then.

The issue ends with the Others leaving presumably to take the glove back to Aquaman and when Sky is asked if they (Others) will see her again, Sky replies that if they need her they know where she is then turns and walks back into the desert, man you have got to love an enigmatic ending, well I do.

Issue 20 is a fill in issue which takes you away from the excellent Death of a King story line that has been running in this book, not only is it a fill in but resident scribe Geoff Johns who has done so much to revive the fortunes of Aquaman is not writing it. Add to that very little Aquaman presence as the story revolves mainly around the team know as The Others, who are at best a rag bag team that Aquaman used to run with in his younger pre Justice League days and you would think it had the makings for a for disaster of an issue. However your thinking like mine would be wrong because the issue is so much more than a fill in book, writer John Ostrander does a wonderful job telling a story that is both entertaining and interesting, while dropping little hints and subplots that will surly play out in future Aquaman issues to come.

I did have a few minor points with the book one is that it felt a little rushed especially at the end as the team battled against the skin walkers, and why did Aquaman ask the Others to find the glove why not ask someone of his present team to find it. Surly Wonder Woman, Superman or the Flash could have done the job a lot quicker, but as I said these were minor points and didn’t detract from or spoil the story for me.

I will go as far to say that I would be happy to buy a monthly comic that featured the Others as they proved to be a very interesting group of characters, and to be honest DC have given worse characters their own books since rebooting the Universe so the Others are surly worth taking a chance on.

Come on DC you know you want too

Doctor Who Prisoners of Time #2

Now I'm a bit behind with this one but there's a good reason for it, I have been trying to get copy's of this comic without having to pay through the nose for it. The crazy situation is that this comic which is part of the 50th anniversary celebration of this great Si-Fi show ever made is not readily available in the UK, IDW do not have the rights to distribute Doctor Who comics over here a problem the Doctor himself would find puzzling. So having finally given up trying to buy a floppy (not a word I like) copy of this comic, I finally gave up and went for the digital download hence my late review so after a long winded explanation on with the review.

The Second Doctor my Doctor (showing my age) has landed the Tardis in the intergalactic trading post known as the Frenko Bazar, along with his current companions Jamie and Zoe the Doctor decides to have a look around. Its during their walk around that they come into contact with a alligator type race known a Voraxx known for dealing in slavery. Its no surprise that the Doctor decides to visit the shop of the slave traders to see what they are up too, and inadvertently or perhaps deliberately put Jamie in danger when he is recognised as a valuable commodity by the slave traders.

When Jamie is kidnapped the Doctor reveals he put a tracking device on Jamie and with the help of a trans-mat device transport Star Trek style to a space ship orbiting the planet. Once there he finds hundreds of species all waiting to be sold into slavery, the Doctor begins to free them but not all want to be freed as they fear the reprisals they could suffer, fortunately the Doctor finds a couple of Ice Warriors who prove the perfect tool to lead a revolution against the slavers. Having saved the day the Doctor and his companions transport back to the Bazar but the Doctor arrives alone, with no idea what has happened to his two companions.

Now I was looking forward to this issue more than any of the others as the second Doctor is my Doctor, the Doctor I used to watch from behind the settee with my dad saying I will turn it over if you don't come out ( I never did).  For the most part the book was everything I had hoped for and Troughtons Doctor was captured perfectly on each page he appeared both physically and in his character. There were enough Easter eggs for fans of the show both old and new peppered thought the bazar scenes, my favourite was the glimpse amongst the crowds of  Alpha Centauri from the Peledon story's.  The inclusion of the Ice Worriers was also welcome as they made a lasting impression on me when they appeared on the show all those years ago, a classic monster for a classic Doctor I am one happy fan boy.

As I said for the most part the comic was everything I had hoped for but I do have a few issues with the overall feel of the book, if I didn't already know that this was part of an overall story ark I would never have know. There is nothing that connects this story to the previous one, yes the companions disappear at the end of the book like they did in the first issue, but that's just it they disappear the villain trying to ruin the Doctors life's never makes an appearance. So we are left in a kind of limbo which leaves the book with a slight disjointed feel to it, to me it felt more of a one shot than a continuing story.

That been said if your a Doctor Who fan then this is a must buy comic, as I suspect as will issue three which will feature Jon Pertwee's Doctor.




 

The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #3

Firstly let me say I have been loving this book and the previous minis that IDW have been publishing, unfortunately this issue is a slight let down on what has gone before.

We have the Rocketeer hitchhiking due to loosing his jet pack to a couple of comedy goons at the end of the last issue, Betty been the worst undercover operative ever on behalf of two PI's who seem to have all the answers before Betty finds them so why they need her help is beyond me.

The whole issue feels a bit disjointed and seems to amble along which is a pity as the story has been topnotch up until this issue, at least the final panel gave me hope for the next issue as an out of control Rocketter comes crashing down into what appears to be a giant octopus or squid (never sure which is which)

I say appears due to the fact that the villain of the story one Otto Rune used to make his living on the stage doing an hypnotic act, so all my not be as it seems then again given the last story had a pterodactyl in it the squid thing could be real.

There are some good moments in the book like Cliff (Rocketeer) trying to use a new jet pack his friend Peevy had made him, you just know it wasn't going to go well hence the crashing into the octopus thing (hedging my bets).

The art work by J Bone is very cartoon in style but it fits the tone of the story, and more than helps give the book its pulp feel.

As I said slight disappointment but given what Ive read before I have high hopes for a big finish in next months final issue.