superman/batman vol 7:the search for krptonite
It starts off with a silly sounding premise. lets find all the kryptonite in the world. and just for fun, we ll throw it into the sun. and batman agrees cos he sees supes is sincere about it.
dont get turned off yet. the book is better than you think. so far, the Superman/Batman series has its hits and misses and this one hits the ball out of the park.
written by micheal green ( w/ mike johnson?),two of the writers of the hit TV series Heroes, and drawn by shane give-jim-lee-a-run-for-his-money davis, supes was badly injured in a small incident and decides that kryptonite is everywhere and he would be a better superman without any of it making him feel like having an anal probe. Supes now with an obsession, he becomes darker, more driven, just like the dark knight. and makes us ponder about batman's extremist nature. micheal green did an okay with the contrasting supes/batman dialog. introduced by jonathan nolan, the co writer of the dark knight, you know you re in for a treat.
Green irish whip us with humour and then lou thesz press us with several WTF moments. that even includes a kryptonite doomsday! chibi JLA members! magic K! the pacing was well handled and the ending itself is a WTF moment. a great read to start off the week.
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Essential Savage She-Hulk Vol. 1
this is the first ever Essential that i REALLY really read. an interesting origin story that wasnt so much BAM! BIFF! POW! and the green hottie always had an irresistible hold on me. It had nothing to do with the transformation that includes the big green chest or the long legs that stretched forever. the black/white art was always a bore to me but somehow SHulk managed to keep me on with her lawyer intellect.
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Batman: Heart of Hush
Written by Paul Dini and fantastic covers and interior art by dustin nguyen. The book only collects tales from Detective comics so getting the Faces of Evil issues would complete the story though it could also be something of a stand alone. i dont usually collect single issues so thats my loss. The water color covers are awesome in every way from drawing style and composition to colors. the interior art has a mignola feel but manages to separate itself into its own unique style. no doubt about it, Nguyen has made it to my list of artist to look out for.
Heart of Hush is the forth batman story to have hush as the protagonist. Heart of Hush tells the tale of Hush attacking Batman by threatening to get the ones close to him. So Batman warns his boys and Alfred but those were the obvious choices as Hush gets Catwoman and steals her heart. literally. Standard bad guy/good guy, happy ending and wide cast all in check too. Reading Paul Dini's go on Private Casebooks, i was all bubbly getting ahold of Heart. however, i was let down with a tale that was merely so-so. Batman was at times, too out-of-character. Over the years, he has so many shit to deal with, but yet once again, hes seen to be a bit emotional and reckless.
but the main selling point of the book has to be the incredible art! from the covers, and i m not just talking bout the dustjacket,
to the detailed interior art. but the best treat has to be the batcave. in the scene where Hush discovers the Batcave, you'll get to scream in glee at references made to Batman's pop culture and comic history.
Behold the tumbler!
and 1960s batmobile!
that alone makes it totally worth it for your batman collection!
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Hellshock
Jae Lee has been my favourites since his collaboration with paul jenkins on the inhumans. his art has a very organic feel to it and oh my, such dynamism! so imagine my excitement as i wet my pants chancing upon this book at Absolute Comics. i just had to read it. and its been months since but i finally get to sat down and read the book.
Hellshock, a simple tale of psychology and sanity. and closure. and reality. seemingly ambitious for Jae's first creator owned work. but it holds together and delivers an intriguing and dark tale. only 3 issues long and a forth to sorta wrap it up. Jae's art as usual does wonders for the book and the unused pages at the back of the book sheds a part of Jae that seemingly fuses Jim Lee's art style and Frank Miller's Noir delivery.
verdict: Stick to the pencils. but of cos, i would read anything that Jae decides to churn out.
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DC/ Wildstorms: Dreamwar
the cover looked nice so i picked it up. i never did like crossover titles due to bad experiences i had with it during my childhood that left me traumatized. but i braved my fears and did this guy a read.
i never liked the wildstorm universe. I TRIED IT. it didnt stick. i forced myself to read Authority, Planetary, WildCATS. shit just didnt get to me. Gen 13 i still could handle but even so, i just stop at several trades. didnt want my impression to worsen.
So i have a bunch of unknown heroes fighting heroes i already know like the back of my hand. and i didnt get lost. credit must go to Keith Giffen for having detailed dialog. Sooo, DC's paradise island, Teen Titans tower and the Legion of superheroes spaceship suddenly appear on the Wildstorm universe and DC's heroes go all out to destroy the Wildstorms' groups. but it turns out, the DC heroes arent really acting like themselves. but not before Green Arrow and Batman dies.
FUCK! batman losing to Zealot!
this dream just turned to a nightmare!
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