BATMAN ANNUAL #1

First thing I wanna get out of the way is that I’ve never cared much for Mr.Freeze.  His stories have all been the same thing: Freeze tries to save Nora, Batman shows up to stop him, they talk too much while they fight, they beat us over the head with the message that Freeze doesn’t know what love really is and that he’s become cold (get it?! COLD?!?), then Batman wins. And being tired of that, this story didn’t actually change my mind too much about the character, and reminded me why I’m tired of the cookie-cutter formula that’s always been there with such a one-trick-pony of a villain.

AS NEGATIVE AS THAT SOUNDS, Freeze was written well, and he was pretty cool. And the storytelling was well put together, and this WAS still a pretty good issue. Not to mention that I’ve never liked Jason Fabok’s artwork, as I’ve felt it was just a half-assed copy of David Finch’s style, but DAMN. The art was just great! Better than David Finch’s art has been since the relaunch, that’s for sure. I also loved how he drew Freeze’s new look (the same one he sported in Red Hood #9) and he made it look pretty good. I just wish Freeze didn’t have that dumb little tuft of hair… but it was easy to overlook.

There’s a number of changes to Mr.Freeze and his mythos and I’m really thankful for them, since it brings something new to the character, and the “WAAAAAHHHH, NORA’S FROZEN AND I’M A NICE GUY DEEP DOWN I SWEAR!!!!!!!!” approach that bores me has been done away with to an extent, and he’s more disturbing than usual. I also like seeing him as more of a threat than usual, and the moment where Batman shows up is badass and I love the twists at the end.

So, in closing, this issue was really good, and the only real issues I have is that it didn’t change my mind too much about Freeze, and the plot reminded me of past stories that made me cringe. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good Mr.Freeze story, as this is the very best one I’ve read.

ANIMAL MAN ANNUAL #1

It’s hard for me to think of what to say… this issue was certainly a good read, but I had a few minor issues, so… I guess I’ll start with the nitpicking and then touch on why the good overshadows the “bad”.

This issue takes place in Canada. And having lived in Canada my entire life, the stereotypes here annoyed me. We don’t say “eh” any more than an American would. Just throwing that out there. And another thing is the art… it wasn’t BAD, but it was sloppy. And this issue stars two PREVIOUS holders of the Animal Man and Swamp-Thing mantles, and since these new characters will only ever appear in this one issue, it doesn’t affect the overall ongoing plot of the Animal Man story and it was hard to care as much if it were Buddy Baker or Alec Holland.

BUT the creepiness this series has given us thus far is present here, and I LOVE the additions they’ve made to the Swamp-Thing/Animal Man mythos. They basically redefine what the characters are in this issue and it worked so well. The storytelling was gripping, and it was just very entertaining. Like I said, I don’t know what to say. It was just good.

Oh, and I can’t WAIT to see more Animal Man and Swamp-Thing crossover action. Seriously. We got just a TASTE of it here and it was delicious.

ACTION COMICS #9

Decent art, great characterization for this Superman who is very likeable, a nice self-contained crazy adventure, would’ve liked it to be less rushed-feeling, could have benefited from the main story taking 10 extra pages rather than the backup.
7.8/10

ANIMAL MAN #9

Good replacement artwork, fun characters, chilling story as usual. Not much else to say.
7.8/10

EARTH-2 #1

Really, really, really great artwork! Nothing wrong with the interpretations of the Trinity, but I’m upset about what happens to them considering how important they were marketed to be. Same goes for Batman’s true identity. Really clumsy and awkward inner monologue, there’s a slight lack of focus. This is definitely a Justice Society book and I’m looking forward to continuing the origins of Jay and Alan.
7.5/10

TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1

Missed Brett Booth’s art incredibly since the last underhwelming issue of Titans, but this MORE than made up for that issue’s shortcomings. Writing is fun and the cheezy dialogue is kept to minimum (not gone, but there’s very little of it here), and the art is beautiful. Love the concept of The Culling, this issue was very enjoyable.
8.9/10

… Why the heck did I stop reading this series?!?! I think it was because I was too impatient to stick with it and see the larger picture and having to read so many other comics at the same time contributed to that impatience. I dunno. Something lame like that.

But the point is, this stuff is fantastic! It’s really unlike anything else in the New 52, and that’s another huge charm about this, it could very well be an indy book, but it IS about Animal Man, sooooo… :P Comparing it to an indy series we’re all familiar with, it’s kind of like The Walking Dead tone-wise, but not completely. There’s still that contrast between the friendly character stuff and the grotesque, dark, death, but the way they handle it is much different. It’s also similiar in that it’s all one continuing story so far, rather than arc-after-arc format. It feels like this series could be meant to last for a long time, but have a set ending. I could be wrong, though. So far it definitely feels that way and I’m not complaining.

What I love most is the family aspect. I LOVE the Bakers! There’s always little moments between them that makes you smile. Especially with Maxine, she’s a cutie. And Animal Man’s name may be on the cover, but he’s not entirely the focus, it’s his family and this new threat— The Rot, which is a tremendously creepy and unpleasant villain, which is written beautifully twisted and Lemire does a stunning job with it. Not to mention, Travel Foreman is PERFECT for this book. He can draw the cute and charming facial expressions, and he can draw the trippy stuff, the gross stuff, and like I said… it’s just perfect for this particular comic. Sad to hear that he’ll be leaving the book. Another major strength is the mythology they’re building here, it’s so interesting and it’s more than enough to make you want to find out more. The Red, the Parliament of Limbs, The Rot, the Totems, all of it. It’s also tied very directly into Swamp-Thing, and now I really wanna read that too, based on the mythos alone.

The themes are built all in the earliest issues and Lemire hasn’t forgot about them, he’s constantly building on them, and adding to the subtle character arcs we saw start in the very first issue. A lot of thought was put into this series, and it’ll undoubtably make the average superhero book look clumsily improvised in comparison. It’s great how this series has that kind of subtext to it, that’s not terribly hard to pick up on, but it’s definitely not for dumb readers. I cannot wait to see where this goes.

Overall, this is book is superb and I recommend it to anyone with a brain and a fondness for good and unique comics!