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Snapshots for 2/12
There's no way that Don and I can cover all of the material we have for review in full reviews, so these capsule reviews will offer some brief comments on other recent releases.
BIRDS OF PREY: BATGIRL/CATWOMAN #1
by John Francis Moore, Darick Robertson & Jimmy Palmiotti (DC Comics)
 This is one of those projects I've been hearing about at conventions for a couple years now, mostly from the artists, and since the artists involved are guys I like, I was at least a little interested. As expected, Robertson and Palmiotti deliver some spectacular artwork, particularly when it comes to the look of Batgirl, Catwoman or the "Catgirl" look introduced in this issue. Unfortunately, this beautiful art is in service of a run-of-the-mill story, complete with goofy pseudo-vampire villain with the requisite misogynist leanings, the cliched moral conflict between burglar Catwoman and crimefighter Batgirl and the unfortunate new trend of Batman's fascistic view of who can fight crime in Gotham rearing its ugly head. It's not a bad story, but neither does it offer much new. This is a book to buy for the art alone, and given its prestige format, it's hard to justify the expense. 5/10
BLACK PANTHER #54
by Priest & Jorge Lucas (Marvel Comics)
 One of my favorite shows these days is The Shield, which is an ensemble cop show that feels more real, and has a good deal of corruption to it. Black Panther reminds me a lot of The Shield, with the same moral ambiguity about being a cop and the same sense that everybody involved, good guys and bad guys, is just playing an angle, real people motivated by real issues rather than just by the needs of the script. The layers of moral choices that Kasper Cole has to face, from his role as Black Panther to his impending role to his father to the temptation of an infatuation, are all believable and real, and despite the fact that the book focuses on the king of a fictional nation and a guy who dresses up in pajamas and fights crime, I can't help but be pulled into the book and see how it resonates with the universal struggles of daily life. There's also the same great art from Jorge Lucas, doing what I would describe as M.D. Bright by way of Scott Kolins, and the "crime novel" take on Black Panther is every bit as engaging and excellent as the political thriller take that carried the book up to issue 50. 9/10
DAREDEVIL #43
by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev (Marvel Comics/Marvel Knights imprint)
 I've noticed in reading some of the recent Bendis books like Powers, Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil, just how talky they can get. If you measure your comic dollars in words per page, Bendis is the best game in town. And that can be like hitting a brick wall when it's done badly, when you get one picture and a whole page of text, but Bendis's work doesn't fall prey to that. He's either the best or among the best writers of dialogue in comics today, and this issue is full of it. A fantastic, flirtatious meeting between Milla and Matt Murdock. Some funny banter between Matt and Foggy about the dangers of flirting in your secret and hero identities. And an absolutely brilliant scene about the moral quandries of heroism and secret identities between Luke Cage and Daredevil. Sure, the plot isn't going anywhere particularly fast, but there's enough movement in the character arcs and a reasonably interesting murder mystery going on to keep me interested, and in terms of talent, Bendis and Maleev are one of the best games in town right now. 9/10
GOTHAM CENTRAL #4
by Ed Brubaker & Michael Lark (DC Comics)
 The cases of the murdered girl and Firebug continue in each other, separate but connected through the cast, which rotates in and out of the cases. However, while the cases are interesting, especially the one about the girl, it's the cast that really makes Gotham Central shine. There are times when the size of the cast is a little daunting, especially with the visual similarities of detectives Nate and Marcus, and a "roll call" seems not only like a good idea but appropriate considering that it's a cop book. However, Brubaker is doing a good job of fleshing out the characters so that I can get my head around the large cast, and I particularly like the banter between Romy and Marcus while they're on the job, as well as the feel of personal politics on the job that the book has. 9/10
HELLBLAZER SPECIAL: LADY CONSTANTINE #3
by Andy Diggle & Goran Sudzuka (DC Comics/Vertigo imprint)
 Lady Constantine has been more of an adventure book than a horror book, and that tone continues in this issue, but there are some horror elements and surprising deaths as well. Diggle and Sudzuka have plenty of neat action sequences in this issue, including a terrific siege by the magical clones that makes use of the 1800s cannon technology in interesting ways and some truly devastating displays of powers by Lady Blackwood. There's also some decent scary stuff with the realm that Constantine invades, showing herself as a little more reckless and probably dangerous than her ancestor John. Then there's the revelation about Blackwood's identity and the nature of the book is intriguing, which has me anxious to see how this all winds up. 8/10
KISSING CHAOS: NONSTOP BEAUTY #3
by Arthur Dela Cruz (Oni Press)
 Teen angst, conspiracy theory and a little cyber-addiction combine in the third issue of Nonstop Beauty, which has captured my attention much more fully than its predecessor, the original Kissing Chaos. The cast is leaner, although no less real or fascinating as characters, and while there's still a lot of weirdness and time-shifting and a little uncertainty as to what's going on, the central story just seems tighter and stronger. Of course, Dela Cruz's distinctive artwork is as attractive as ever, giving us believable teen and post-teen characters, and the dialogue helps bring those characters to life, sometimes for humor, sometimes a little heartbreak, sometimes danger and sometimes a lot of different something elses. As editor Jamie Rich notes in his humorous "Previously," more has gone on than I thought, and I find myself anxious to see the conclusion that Nonstop Beauty has raced toward with deliberate pacing. 9/10
POWERS #28
by Brian Michael Bendis & Mike Avon Oeming (Image Comics)
 This is easily the strongest issue of the current Powers storyline so far, and the reason is two little words: Detective Kutter. This guy's been the whipping boy for Deena and Christian, and in this issue, he gets to shine on his own. Bendis makes Kutter the same likable asshole he's always been, but he also seems more competent than usual, and some of his interaction with the captain or the invisible detective from vice makes for hilarious dialogue. While the overall plot of the story still doesn't really grab me as most of the others have, the characterization and dialogue in this issue is a blast, and the artwork by Oeming and Pantazis is great as always. 9/10
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