Review: Action Comics #1 & Detective Comics #1

 

Week 2 of the DC relaunch has arrived, and while 13 new #1s were released this Wednesday, there are two books that deserve special attention.  This is the week of Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #1. These two books have a very long, very iconic history, each giving birth to one of the greatest comic book heroes, and cultural icons of all time.  

In June of 1938, Action Comics #1 introduced the world to Superman, the character who set the standard for every superhero that would follow him.  Words cannot adequately describe the impact this character has had on pop culture in the last 73 years.  Running for an astonishing 904 issues, Action Comics goes back to #1 this week under the care of writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales.  The book focuses on an early Superman, having just recently embarked on his journey to uphold truth, justice, and the American way.  But this is a very different Superman.  He's young, he's brash, and he has no problem resorting to tactics such as dropping a mobser off a ledge to force a confession.  This makes him a dangerous threat in the eyes of the police, the military, and a certain follicly impaired businessman.  But to the people he saves from wrecking balls and runaway trains, he's a hero.  Superman as a blue collar champion is the theme that Morrison is hoping to carry throughout his reinvention of the Man of Steel...at least until the events of this book catch up with George Perez's Superman and Geoff Johns's Justice League.  The new appearance of Supes echoes the blue collar theme as well.  Thanks to artist Rags Morales, in addition to the cape and the 'S', Superman now sports a t-shirt, jeans, and work boots, furthering the idea that this is the working class man's hero.  Morales's art also evokes feelings of the Golden Age, capturing Superman in spectacular mid-action poses as he either knocks out a tank with a wrecking ball, or tears down the street at super speed.  It also harkens back to the Golden Age since this Superman has not yet reached his full, super-powered potential.  He can't fly, and he can be hurt (to a degree), but beyond that, we haven't seen much else to determine where he is in the course of his development.  

The Morrison/Morales team looks to be a good pairing for this flagship series.  Morales finds an excellent balance between the explosive exploits of Superman and the mild-mannered humanity of Clark Kent, and Morrison's unique style lends itself to this vastly different portrayal of the Last Son of Krypton.  This ain't the big blue boyscout anymore.

With Superman's new story underway, we turn to the seedy underbelly of DC Comics, a realm that has been closely watched by the World's Greatest Detective, a moniker the hero shares with the other iconic title to be released this week, Detective Comics #1.  Unlike Action Comics, which debuted with Superman on its cover, Batman did not appear in the pages of Detective Comics until issue #27 in May 1939, 26 months after #1 hit newsstands.  Running for 881 issues, Detective comes in right behind Action as one of DC's longest running series.  But today, it too goes back to #1.

Written and drawn by Tony Daniel, Detectve Comics #1 throws you straight into the hell that is Gotham City, following Batman as he tracks down (who else?) The Joker.  Daniel's writing is pretty straightforward.  Almost the entire story is told through Batman's inner monologue, which gives it a noirish feel.  Appropriate, I think, for this particular title.  The story also follows up on the tone set by Justice League #1, where Batman is seen as a dangerous vigilante and is wanted by the police.  It's a theme that we've seen several times, but for a story that is trying to show the somewhat early days of the Dark Knight, it works.  But, of course, while the entire GCPD is after him, Batman still finds an ally in Commissioner Gordon.  In a scene straight out of The Long Halloween or The Dark Knight, we find the pair on the roof, Bat-Signal ablaze, sharing details about Gotham's latest threat.  It's a scene that has been done thousands of times, but it never gets old.  

While Tony Daniel manages to lay the groundwork for a good Batman tale, his use of violence is almost inexcusable.  Yes, The Joker is a murdering psycopath, but I was honestly surprised to see him overtly and relentlessly stabbing his latest victim.  That, coupled with the final page of the book (which I will not spoil here), leads me to wonder if Daniel was going for shock value.  If so, it definitely worked.  

Sadly, Detective doesn't leave you with the "Wow factor" that Action provides.  Batman isn't going through a reinterpretation, just a string of new tales.  But, with several other Batman books due in the coming weeks, we shall see how Detective holds up in the new Batman mythos. 

One more thing to add... In this Post-Flashpoint world, what would the DCU be without a few mysteries?  As mentioned in OTF's review of Flashpoint 5, a mysterious, hooded woman has appeared, hidden in the shadows or among crowds in random panels.  Action and Detective are no exceptions.  See if you can play DC's little "Where's Waldo" game and attempt to solve the mystery of this strange character.

More from the New 52 is due throughout September!  Keep checking back to Open the Fridge for the latest!

Review: Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #4

Batman?  In the Wild West? I smell a crossover!

The fourth installment of Grant Morrison's trippy time travel tale takes the Dark Knight to the time of cowboys, horses, and gun fights.  And when a DC fan thinks wild west, only one name comes to mind.  Everyone's favorite disfigured bounty hunter, and star of the silver screen (*shudder*) Jonah Hex!  (If you said Bat Lash, I will end you!)

Surprisingly enough, the latest chapter in the story of Bruce Wayne's journey back to the present is the best one yet.  No incomprehensible dialouge, no situations that make you feel like you missed the first half, and most important, there is no mention of the confusing JLA rescue mission and subplot in the present.  Morrison gives us a pretty straight story about Batman in a western setting.  Not as awesome as it could be, but not bad either.

Bruce is now in his fourth time period as he attempts to reclaim him memory and identity, as well as return to the present.  Granted, he's not actually in the Old West, since Gotham is (last time I checked) an East Coast city, but that's neither here nor there.  The setting allows for legendary DC cowboy Jonah Hex to make an appearance as the bounty hunter contracted to hunt down and kill the mysterious stranger who has recently appeared.  Also making a cameo is DC's resident immortal megalomanic, Vandal Savage.  Savage's inclusion makes perfect sense, since he has existed in DC's history since the stone age.  

At this point, the MacGuffin of this tale is a small box, first seen in Issue 3's pirate adventure.  What is inside has been slowly, but not completely disclosed.  We know it contains papers from the pirate era, a book, and an unknown object.  As Bruce makes his latest time jump, we last see him unconscious and clutching the book from inside the small box.  But that will pick up in Issue #5, which according to the cover, lands Bruce in a 1940s setting.  This is the one I've been looking forward to the most. 

Issue 4 also contains some excellent imagery, thanks to artist Georges Jeanty.  Without giving too much away, just imagine Batman in a duster and cowboy hate, standing in the middle of an Old West street, in the rain, at night, facing off against a slew of gunfighters.  Yes.  It looks as great as it sounds.  Especially when the gunfight draw involves batarangs.

The quality of this issue encourages me to finish the series.  There are only two left, one of which take place in my favorite era, so I feel compelled.  Plus, the curiosity of how the world will react to the return of the one true Bat will also keep me turning the pages in the coming months.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #4 is on comic shop shelves now.

Review: Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #2

So far the best thing about these issues has been the covers.  Andy Kubert has created some pretty exciting images that, unfortunately, are not backed up by what's on the pages after them.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #2 follows the time-traveling caped crusader to the time of puritans, witch hunts, and silly hats.  The amnesia-stricken Bruce Wayne is still unsure of his identity, but he's managing to make use of his detective skills to solve mysteries in the little village of Gotham.  This aspect is pretty cool.  It shows how Bruce's skills are so ingrained after years of honing and applying them.  However, artist Frazer Irving doesn't help the situation since every man he draws looks like the one standing next to him.  This gets pretty confusing since it's hard to tell which one is actually Bruce.

But while Bats is attempting to pin scarlet letters on would-be murderers, members of the Justice League are doing their own bit of investigating.  Intercut throughout the issue, Grant Morrison gives the reader a spectacularly baffling side story at Vanishing Point, the dimension that lies outside the normal space/time continuum in the DC Universe.  While there, Superman and Co. consult with an archivist who makes less sense than a solar-powered flashlight.  In short they're still trying to track Bruce through time, and the archivist makes it a little more difficult than it needs to be.

So, after all is said and done, but nothing is really explained or resolved, Bruce once again takes a bath and gets shot to another time period.  Issue #3 is probably one that most people are looking forward to since Bruce will be brandishing a cutlass and hopefully yelling YAAAAAARRRR a lot.

Needless to say, Grant Morrison is not impressing me with this supposedly "ground-breaking" storyline.  He has 4 more chances to redeem himself.  If he screws up 1930s noir-ish Batman, there'll be hell to pay.  *shakes fist*

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #2 is on comic shop shelves now.

Back in Bat

Rule #1: No one stays dead in comics.

Rule #2: The Hulk always has pants on.  But I'm getting ahead of myself...

It wasn't a huge surprise.  If you had the misfortune of reading Final Crisis, you know that Batman was presumed dead by the inhabitants of the DC universe, but shown (to the reader) to be alive and well in some prehistoric cave.  It was only a matter of time before the story of the Dark Knight's return was put on the pages.

And who is better qualified to bring him back?  Why, the man who "killed" him, of course.  DC's resident weirdo, Grant Morrison.  For those of you who don't know, Grant Morrison's track record includes such memorable moments as giving Superman solar cancer (All-Star Superman) and turning Metropolis lawman, Dan Turpin into Darkseid (Final Crisis).  *shakes head* And now Morrison is back on the scene, chronicling the Caped Crusader's six-part journey through multiple eras of Earth's history in order to return to the present.  And he's off to a running start...

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Issue #1 finds a shirtless and unintelligible Bruce Wayne hanging out with some cavemen.  Sounds simple enough right?  After all, he was shot back in time.  Oh, but that's not enough. Mr. Morrison decides to include a crashed rocket ship that (for some reason) is carrying such cargo as Superman's cape and other JLA artifacts.  Confused yet?

Jump ahead a bit and Morrison starts to establish the prehistoric DC Universe.  A rival caveman clan attacks and captures Bruce.  This clan is run by none other than DC's favorite immortal, Vandal Savage.  Ok.  I'll buy it.  Savage was there from the beginning.  But just when you think it's leveling out, Bruce is rescued by an Cro-Magnon sidekick, complete with little black domino mask.  Yup.  And just in case you wanted some more crazy, Bruce dons the hide of a giant bat that JUST HAPPENED to be hanging up in Savage's camp.  Needless to say, Bat-caveman kicks the crap out of the Geico rejects and pulls a Butch & Sundance off a waterfall with his latest junior partner.  Into the drink he goes, and when he emerges, he's met by a young woman dressed in Puritan-era garb.  Time pool?  Who knows.  Oh, and as soon has he time-jumps, the JL arrives in the caveman era looking for him.  Apparently, they discovered that he didn't actually die and are now hot on his temporal trail.  Thanks Booster! 

I'd like to get inside Grant Morrison's head to try and understand what goes on in there, but at the same time, I'm kind of afraid of what I might find.  Confusing and bizarre doesn't begin to describe this first issue.  But the prospect of seeing Batman through time is too intriguing to pass up.  Especially when he gets to the pirate and 1930s noir-ish eras that have been teased.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 is on comic store shelves now.