DETECTIVE COMICS #1051 DC COMICS
Well, the whirlwind of the current storyline finally slows down just a bit to give us some details and puts a Golden Age villain to good use. And while I am not happy with the decision to blow through a storyline weekly, and least part 5 of Mariko Tamaki’s story gives us the master plan of Dr. Wear. The simplicity of Wear’s plan and the interesting use of the Psycho Pirate is really well done. But like most of this story so far, it really paints a bad picture of the forces in control of Gotham City. Someone could have done a backround check initially and this whole story would have been over before it started. A brief interlude that earns itself some brownie points but doesn’t help the overall story. I give this one a 7 out of 10 Grahams for the originality.
BATMAN #120 DC COMICS
While I am always happy to see the Batman Inc. gang (no matter who’s in charge) I’m not overly enthused by Joshua Williamson’s use of them. Now, the story itself is very well done and who doesn’t love Luthor’s Batsuit but the vibe is off on this. The Batmen of all nations have been around since 1955 when they appeared in Detective Comics #215. I don’t care what the reboots say, these were men who were influenced and in some cases trained by Batman. There was a sort of respect between these international versions and the original. They may not see eye to eye but there was respect. This is what made the original Batman Inc title such a delight to read. Williamson’s versions are not those characters. I give it a 6 out of 10 Grahams.
