Batman Beyond Universe #8

System Overload:

Earths heroes make their final stand against Brainiac on a now deserted Paradise Island, with Brainiac now in a giant robot body made of Nth metal the battle seems to be going his way. His chances of victory are further bolstered when magicians Felich Faust and Klarion bow out of the fight, due to the fact that their magic been ineffective against the Nth metal but to be fair to them they do wish the other heroes luck.

While the big hitters try to do damage to the outer of Braniacs robot body, a shrunken down Micron and Flash are trying to infect Braniacs systems with a virus to shut him down. We see a hero fall and when all seems lost Paradise Island’s greatest warrior returns to protect her home, with Wonder Woman now joining the fight and the virus taking effect the tide of battle is turned and the Earth saved once again. However victory is not without a price as Aquaman is left deep in a coma one that Kai-Ro (Green Lantern) says he will never come out of, although given that it’s a universe the dead return from its hard to believe that this will be the last time we see Arthur. The final panel when Superman indicates that Wonder Woman’s reasons for joining the fight may not be as benevolent as first thought, and sets up the next issue nicely and has you wondering is this Wonder Woman from this universe or another?

If you like your comics all action then you will love this issue as the action is practically none stop, which helps give you a feel of real desperation from the heroes as they battle to save the world. Christos Gage writes a great adrenaline fuelled issue that also toys with your emotions from the fall of Aquaman and the despair of his wife and daughter, to the hurrah moment on the return of the ultimate cougar (sorry warrior) Wonder Woman. Iban Coello's art is sharp and the battle scenes flow very nicely from panel to panel giving the reader (me) a real sense of the flow of the battle taking place, his take on a older mature Wonder Woman is simply fantastic and I look forward to seeing more of her in coming issues especially given Superman's final comment. 

This was a very satisfying wrap-up to the Brainiac storyline with most characters getting their time in the spotlight, and I do like this take on the Justice League with a mix of the old and new versions of Dc heroes.

The Bat Men - Second Chances:

Batman and Bruce Wayne take on Man-Bat and his army as the Bat-Men storyline comes to its inevitable conclusion, as Kurt (Man-Bat) makes the ultimate sacrifice and the gap between Terry and Bruce continues to widen. I have always found Man-Bat a boring one dimensional character and was never a fan of stories he featured in, however this version of Man-Bat one who still has the mind of the scientist is the best interpretation of the character I have read. Having all his faculties instead of been a mindless creature has turned his into an interesting and more tragic character, as he now sees all his mistakes and the consequences of those mistakes on his life and on the life’s of the people he loved.

The artwork and colours are exquisite and give you a taste of the dark gritty side of Neo Gotham, which is a change from the neon side we more often see my compliments to Thony Silason art and Emilio Salis who's colours really brought this story to life. I also cannot forget writer Kyle Higgins who captures the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Man-bat perfectly, even to the point of Bruce always calling him Kirk trying to connect to his human side.

Reunion:

Dick and Barbra meet up and try to sort out issues that  they still clearly have between them, even though our two heroes  have grown old together they still seem to have that Burton and Taylor love hate relationship. Who resents who or who still loves who the most is never answered in this short story, but a friendship truce is the final outcome in this Kyle Higgins tale of two of my favourite Batman universe characters.

Batman Beyond Universe is a weekly digital book that is also printed monthly with all the months story's in it, personally I prefer the printed copy but I know people who enjoy the digital book either way for me it is becoming a must read every month.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Nemo: Roses of Berlin

When I first picked up the comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 1999 little did think that I would still be buying related issues 15 years later, now I don’t know if that’s a testament to Alan Moore’s writing or my collecting compulsion in truth its probably a little of both. Either way 15 years on I find myself reading the latest tale set in the Leagues universe, like the last book Nemo: Heart of Ice this tale centres around Janni Dakkar the daughter of Captain Nemo who now commands the Nautilus. Things however have moved on from the last book by around 20 years, Janni is now married to the Nautilus first hand Jack and they now have a daughter called Hira together.

 

But as much as life changes it remains the same and the Nautilus crew are still sailing the seas plundering ships where they can. Something which has brought them to the attention of the German high command so much so that they bring down the airship carrying Hira and her husband Armand Robur, who I am guessing is the son of Jean Robur (Master of the Air or Master of the World) all of which leaves Janni and Jack no choice but to go to the heart of the German empire on a rescue and revenge mission. It’s a mission that brings them into contact with Fritz Lang’s robot both skinned and un-skinned (you really need to read it), mindless sleeping foot solders which is surely a metaphor for solders blindly following orders and a brothel where almost anything goes. As you would expect the rescue doesn't go quite to plan and as I didn't expect we loose a main character along the way, however you don't have time to dwell upon the loss as the action flows from page to page. The story culminates with a final Kill Bill style showdown between Janni and her seemingly immortal enemy from an earlier book, with the final page showing exactly why Janni is Nemo's daughter.

As with all League books there is so much going on it takes several reads and close scrutiny of panels to capture everything that is put in for your enjoyment, what is a first for me were the pages of dialog entirely in German no translations in Mr. Moore’s books to make life easy for the reader. 

The art of Kevin O’Neill is the perfect fit for this type of story as in previous books, where Kevin does excel himself is in the great depth and detail he puts into Berlins Metropolis style city. He also doesn’t pull any punches in the more graphic depictions shown within the book, and right from the start you know it’s defiantly not a book for the younger comic reader.

At 50 odd pages long this hardback graphic novel seems to be the perfect fit to continue on with the world Alan Moor has created for the League and it associates, I for one would be happy for it to remain in this format as long as we continue to get stories as good as this.
 
 
 

Earth 2 #20

Earth 2 continues to be ravaged by the forces of Darkseid led by his new chief disciple Superman, while this destruction continues earths main hope Batman, Hawkgirl, Aquawoman and Agent Santo are making their getaway while been pursued by Parademons. Its a pursuit that doesn't last long as Aquawoman shows her real power giving the rest of the heroes time to get to the safety of the Batcave, but not before she bids them farewell and pledges her elegance against the forces of Darkseid before returning to the oceans.

Once at the Batcave which is becoming rather crowded thanks to the people Hawkgirl had previously rescued, a less than patient Batman is trying unsuccessfully to convince Val the young Kryptonian they rescued last issue to join their cause. It has to be said that the Earth 2 Batman seems to be just as patient as the main earth Batman, its good to see that some things are constant no mater what universe there in.

 In the end its down to the Red Tornado (Lois Lane) to calm things down and talk to Val who has a fear of open spaces, which is not helpful as he needs the sun to charge him up. In the end Red Lois (I like that better than Red Tornado) shares her fears which help Val to overcome his and he stands in the sun for the first time.

As far as action goes this isn't the most action packed book but there is some great conversational interaction between Red Lois and young Val, which held my attention as much as any action splash pages I have read and seen. The artwork which is shared between Barry Kitson and Robson Rocha is good solid superhero artwork, filled with the stances and poses we all love to see our heroes make (well I do). There are a lot of tight head and shoulder shots as conversations between the heroes are shared, which help to convey the claustrophobic feel of the Batcave to the reader. I normally find having two artists in one book can be a bit jarring, and it can affect my enjoyment of the book fortunately on this issue I didn't find that to be the case.

One of the joys of this book for me is seeing and reading the differences between the two worlds heroes, with Aquawoman been a great addition to the book not only looking good but able to wield great power as well. Having Lois Lane as Red Tornado is a stroke of genius and makes Lois more interesting than she's ever been, she also seems more human than her other world counterpart which makes her more of an interesting character in my honest opinion.
 
When it was announced that James Robinson was leaving this book I had real fears for it, after all he had crafted a universe in one book that was more interesting than the main DC universe which spans 52ish books. Well new writer Tom Taylor hasn't missed a beat since taking over, and I can only see him improving on the solid foundations built by Robinson in the issues to come. His only limitations I can see is that he will have too many heroes for one book, and it surly cant be long before we get a second Earth 2 book to tell the tales that need to be told.

My 2013 Highlights

The past two years I've posted a top 10 geek out highlights of the past year, to be honest this year I'm not sure if I have 10 highlights for 2013 so I will just talk about the things that piqued my interest in 2013.

Thought Bubble Comic Con:

This is a double-edged sword for me as we decided to skip visiting the con on Saturday and went on the Sunday, while it was still good it was a lot more quite and as a consequence it lost some of the punch of the Saturday show. Now don't get me wrong its still a great con but I love the hustle and bustle that comes with the first day, the coz players are everywhere and there is a whole buzz about the place, Sunday felt more like a lazy hangover day which for many it was. On the plus side the convention gave me a chance to meet Martin Gray and Steven Robertson two Facebook friends who I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting before, Martin was the person I reached out to for advice when I first hit on the idea of doing a blog. Martin runs the fantastic blog Too Dangerous For A Girl which if you haven't read then hit the link and get reading, after you've finished this blog of course.

Scott Snyder:

Scott is writing some great books at the moment so its hard to single out any individual storylines, in 2013 he manage to make the Joker creepy and scary again, his Batman Year Zero is making the origin of Batman interesting something I didn't think could be done again. His Superman Unchained is a hark back to the Superman I loved as a kid, he made Swamp Thing a must read book every month and his horror mini series The Wake which is simply spectacular, so not a bad year for Mr Snyder.

Marvel Movies

Yes I know the films that marvel put out weren't as good as the Avengers film but in all honesty they never could be, Iron Man was still better than Iron Man 1 or 2. The Wolverine was better than the first Wolverine film and the link to the upcoming X-Men Days of Future Past made this x-men fan geek out. I still haven't got to see Thor the Dark World yet but I have it on DVD order so I will get to see it at some point this year, but all the reviews I read were positive so Marvel still seem to be going in the right direction with their films.

TV Shows:

There were a few surprises for me in the world of cult TV last year, Sleepy Hollow was far better than I thought it would be, after initially giving it a shot its now become must see TV. American Horror was back to its best with The Coven which saw Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates on particular fine acting form throughout the series, Walking Dead was as good as ever and just when you think a character is established they kill them off. Arrow came back stronger in its second series and seems to be heading down the Superhero road now rather than the vigilante one, the introduction of the Flash was a particular favourite episode of mine from the first half of the season.

Doctor Who:

Unless you have been living under a rock you cant have helped notice that a certain cult British show turned 50 last year, its hard to imagine that the show I watched as a child in the 60's is still running and is more popular now than it has ever been. The 50th celebration episode that was shown simultaneously around the world and in cinemas was simply perfect, it had all the nods for the fan boys like myself while still been entertaining enough for the new or casual viewers. Matt Smith who has become one of my favourite Doctors was on top form as was the returning David Tennant, a special mention has to go to John Hurt who played the Doctor no one knew and played the part like he had been playing him all his life. The only downside to the whole 50th celebration night was we had the misfortune to watch the after party on BBC 3, which is best described as car crash television at its worst. Whoever thought that linking up with One Direction in the States was a good idea, should be marched out and left in a field full of Weeping Angels, if you watch the show you will understand.

Comics:

Having spoke about comics earlier in the Scott Snyder section I will give his books a miss here, but other ones that I enjoyed in 2014 included. The Rocketeer books there were several mini series throughout the year with the Spirit cross-over been particularly good, Five Ghosts is a great read and should be checked out as is Injustice Gods Among Us which for a book based on a game is surprisingly good. Earth 2 is still one of the top DC books and its good to see that the X-Men books are also providing some great stories once again, with the pick of the x-books been New X-Men, although I have to say I'm not keen on the younger Jean Gray who seems a bit winey for my liking.

Books:

I read some great books last year both on the Kindle and hand held ones (I don't know what else to call them), either way the type of books I am now reading has widened considerably mainly due to been able to contact and talk with some of the authors. Some of the books I really enjoyed were Deadly Games and Evil Ways both by the award winning author Bobby Nash, they are so good I have them on Kindle and hand held. The Ruby Files an anthology about a New York private eye in the 30's with story's from Andrew Salmon, Bobby Nash, William Patrick Maynard and Sean Taylor. Project Alpha and Hugh Moon by Lee Houston Jr, and Domino Lady: Sex as a Weapon by Nancy Holder. They are all great books and these guys have so many more that I will be checking out this year so do yourself a favour check them out as well.

Disappointment's in 2013:

Well there have been a few Matt Smith leaving Doctor Who, the Dome TV show (a second series really), however all of those pale into insignificance against my biggest disappointment, Kick Starter. I backed my first project last year it was by a reputable artist, an artist whose work I enjoy, well despite the book been launched I'm still waiting to receive my copy and I'm not holding out too much hope. If I wanted too I can now buy the book I backed on Amazon or some other online store, so I could have just waited for it to be backed and released, oh well lesson learned no more Kick Starter projects for me.
 

Legenderry; A Steampunk Adventure #1

When I first heard about this book it piqued my interest in much the same way that the first League of Extraordinary Gentlemen did, I'm a big fan of story's that re-imagine characters placing them in different worlds and setting so Legenderry falls right in my wheel house. The concept of Legenderry is to take the characters Vampirella, Green Hornet & Kato, Steve Austin (Six Million Dollar Man), Flash Gordon and the Phantom and put them into a Steampunk world, add to that the name of Bill Willingham the writer of the fantastic Fables and you definitely have me interested.

Issue one is what I would call a slow burner not that there isn't any action but you can tell that there is a story to be told and the writer isn't rushing anything, most of the story takes place in Vampirelle's Scarlet club where Vampirelle is having dinner with an off duty Green Hornet. Unfortunately while discussing the merits and ingredients of a good Dry Martini their meal is interrupted by a young red haired girl seeking help from a group of leather clad killer, to be fair I'm surmising on the killer bit but given that they have guns and their swords are covered in blood, its a safe bet they are not collecting for Sports Relief. As the owner of the club Vampi gives protection to the young girl and offers the men a chance to leave an offer they decline (henchmen are so stupid sometimes), all hell then breaks loose as Vampirelle goes well vampire on them and as you can guess there is only one winner.

Once the dust has settled its noted that all the henchmen are identical  something the police seemed to miss during there checks of the bodies which is a worry, Vampi and a still off duty Hornet speak with the young red headed and we discover  during her flashback story why she is been targeted. The first issue ends with a reveal of at least two of the villain's and the name of the group they work for, the next issue promises Green Hornet and Kato, they had me at Green.
 

Now I'm not the biggest expert when it comes to Steampunk so I don't know if there are certain rules that have to be followed when setting story's in this type of world, or if any of those rules (if they exist) are been followed. What I do know is that this first issue has me hooked and any expectations I had about this book were matched if not eclipsed. Writer Bill Willingham is not just writing a story he is crafting a world that his story's can be told in, the artwork by Sergio Davila is simply stunning and flows beautifully especially in the battle sequences. The colour work  by Wes Hartman also deserve a mention as they have a toned down feel to them, which helps give the book a gritty Victorian feel to it.

 As first issues go this one is definitely a winner and I'm looking forward to issue 2, one last note Vampirella's costume change  in this story is one for the better and wouldn't look too out of place in her current books. As much as I enjoy the character her bathing style costume was never the most practical one for fighting in,  although I'm sure the 11 year old me who discovered Vampirella all those years ago would disagree.

 

The Random 10 interview No: 4, Lazaro Suarez

The first Random 10 interview of the year is with Lazaro Suarez, Lazaro is a writer and artist and has produced his own comic. Lazaro lives in Florida and when he's not writing or drawing he's, well for that answer check out the interview.

How did you first get into drawing and writing comics?

It was a pretty long time ago when I started to write and draw my own comic book. But I thought it came out so horrible and that no one will like it that I didnt do anything with it. Then in 2010, when I went to my first convention, I saw all the people selling their own self published comic book. I thought at that moment "I can do that". So I went to work on the book My Date with the Devil's Daughter. Who knows? I might go back and revisit that "horrible" comic I put away.

Who or what were your early influences?

As an artist, I enjoy the Kuberts, Joe, Adam, and Andy. I was also influenced by Adam Hughes. As a writer, I am influenced by supernatural horror with writings such as H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King.

Where do you draw your ideas for stories and artwork from?

I like History and Mythology. I tend to try to put those elements in my stories. Also, movies, TV, and video games help me come up with my ideas. I try to come up with stories and artwork by answering my own "What if?" questions. 

You both write and draw, do you enjoy one over the other?

I am enjoy doing both. As long as I am creating something, I am happy. Yet, more people then to be critical with artwork rather than stories on social media.

If you could write or draw a story using any character which would you choose?

I would love to draw She Hulk. Her comics were always fun when I remembered reading them. As far as writing goes, I don't know. I fear I wont give the character much justice. I tend to go off the wall with my stories. If anything, I can only think of Dr. Strangge off the top of my head.

How do you like to relax when you’re not drawing?Watching movies, reading, and playing video as well as table top games.

You use social media to connect to people, do you consider this to be an important part of promoting your work?

It sure saves a lot of money from travel expenses to promote the books. But nothing beats going to conventions meeting people face-to-face. 

Your latest work is My Date with the Devils Daughter; can you tell us a bit about it?My Date with the Devil's Daughter takes place in a small town called Safe Haven, where our hero, Josh Allen must team up with the Devil's Daughter to retrieve an ancient relic stolen from Satan. This relic has the ability to create new dimensions (In this comic, Heaven and Hell are dimensions). In the comic, Josh is an Evocator. Evocators are humans that have the ability to fuse with the power of demons. Together they try to stop a renegade demon from creating his own Hell. 

Do you have any upcoming projects you wish to talk about?

As future projects, I have a few titles in mind, not yet developed. But I am currently working on a comic book with Brandy Green, who was a former member of Ghost Hunters International. The comic is a bit like Indiana Jones and features zombies, ghosts, and other paranormal elements. Hopefully it will come out in the beginning half of next year.

Where can you be found for anyone who wants to check either you, or your past and present work?

I have my own Facebook fan pages. One for my artwork and one for the comic book

https://www.facebook.com/MDWDD

https://www.facebook.com/pages/TeamAmazing-Art-of-Lazaro-Suarez/105678332826905?ref=hl

As well as a DeviantArt gallery.

http://teamamazing.deviantart.com/

Tumblr pages

http://graphicdlaz.tumblr.com/

http://mdwdd.tumblr.com/

and Twitter!

https://twitter.com/GraphicDLaz

I would like to thank Lazaro for taking the time to do this interview and wish him well in all his future work.

My Date with the Devils Daughter issues 1 & 2

The ancient flame of Molach has been stolen from the Devil and whoever has the power to create a new Hell provided they can get 133 souls, not having a clue who has stolen the flame the Devil sends his daughter to earth to try and retrieve it. While on earth after the death of his parents Josh Allen is returning to his home town of Safe Haven (you know by the name it wont be), it seems that Josh's parents were dabblers in the occult a practice that got them and a few others killed.

If Josh's life wasn't already turned upside down with the death of his parents its about to get a lot worse, when his world collides with demons out to kill him, the Devils daughter out to save him and help from a young woman called Faith who seems to be a bit too clingy for my liking, but we will see. With the death of his parents Josh is now the last in the line of Evocator's humans that can call and control demons putting a large target on Josh's back, throw into the mix a new town Pastor who has more to him than meets the eye and you have the makings of a very interesting story.

I had the pleasure of reading the first two issues after they were sent to me by the comics creator Lazaro Suarezs, and I have to say I was hooked from issue 1 and had to read them both back to back, my only disappointment been there isn't an issue 3 yet. The story is fast paced but not too fast that you feel like it has been rushed and you get the feeling that there is a set planed story arc been set up for this book, the  printed art is in black and white which suits the feel and tone of the book very well. I particularly like the way all the demons are drawn without pupils in their eyes, it makes them not only look creepy but also gives a sense that you don't know what they are thinking or about to do. Samantha the Devils is also well designed both in her demon appearance and when she changes to a more human look, and its good that she is written as more of a curious person rather than as a fire and brimstone type character.

 It is also a credit to Lazaro that he has produced an art style that fits this book perfectly in both style and tone, there are some tremendous splash pages particularly the one with the Devil in issue 1 which would look good on anyone's wall.

As I said earlier in the post I enjoyed the comics both story and art wise and thank Lazaro for sending them to me, he is a great talent which is shown with both his artwork and story telling and I wish him well in all his future endeavours.