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Wayne Markley
by Wayne Markley
Welcome back to another over view of new comics and collections. this time I am taking a look at the newly revised All-Star Batman, not to be confused with the still unfinished All-Star Batman and Robin. I am also going to review a pair of books by Christopher Priest; the final volume of his run on the Black Panther and the first issues of his newest book, Deathstroke: Rebirth. Plus, I am going to point out a fantastic book that is overlooked by just about everyone called Cirque American: girl Over Paris, a fantastic miniseries for practically anybody (maybe not kids). A great mix of adventure, mystery, charm and a ghost.
All-Star Batman
All-Star Batman (Rebirth) is written by Scott Snyder, drawn by John Romita Jr., and inked by Danny Miki. There is a short second story also by Snyder and drawn by Declan Shalvey. This is a side title to the main Batman books (Batman, Detective, Batgirl, Nightwing, etc.), and it is set in the current Batman continuity. It is going to be a series of arcs of stories (surprise, surprise) written by Snyder and drawn by different artists. This title has nothing to finish with the previous incarnation of All-Star Batman and Robin by Frank Miller and Jim Lee which, by the way, to this day remains unfinished. now on to the book itself. I am really broken over this title. It is a very well crafted story and it looks really good and by all rights I ought to give it a glowing review. but it suffers from the same issues I have with many of Snyder’s storytelling. (To be fair, I do delight in Snyder’s writing. I loved Severed from Image, but I do not care for his Batman stories past the Black Mirror collection from Detective Comics.) once again, Snyder is mucking with Batman’s long time cast of supporting characters making one of them to be a bad person just for the sake of shock, and I know it will likely be resolved by the conclusion of this story, but why does everyone in Bruce Wayne’s life have to be someone different from who they have been for the past 75 years? Is everyone in the world of Batman a deceptive creep? I am not going to go into the who or why as that is the payoff at the end of the issue but needless to say I was disappointed. Secondly, he has taken a classic Batman villain, in this case Two-Face, and amped his madness and violence by 1000 percent. as with the Joker, the Ridder, and others, Snyder has taken a classic Bat villain and turned him in to a far much more over the top killer than he ever has been in the comics. I am giving nothing away by telling you in this story Two-Face unleased an acid rain that scars and kills hundreds of people, if not more. I could see the Joker doing this maybe, but not Two-Face. maybe these criticisms are just my prejudice, but just like my movies, I delight in a low essential independent film now and then and not everything has to be over the top blood and guts and explosions trying to top whatever has come before and that is what I feel Snyder is doing. Overall, All-Star Batman is a very well crafted book that looks good and reads well, but the story is just not for me. To be fair to Snyder though, I will read this full first arc to see if it is going somewhere completely different from where I saw this first issue going.
Cirque American: girl Over Paris
Cirque American: girl Over Paris is a four issue miniseries published by Jet City Comics and is written by Kate Leth from a story by Genda Bond and has art by the always great Ming Doyle. So far only the first two issues are out and I loved them both. The basic story is about an young American high wire walker (who walks a wire between building or in this story, from a perch to the Eiffel Tower) named Julie Maroini, who is doing a series of shows in Paris where she is being haunted by a ghost, or at least that is what it seems like so far. It is a strong story that is not dark or violent but keeps you engrossed page after page and Julie is confronted with danger, romance, and all sorts of surprises. This is a complete opposite of All-Star Batman where you can have a good mystery story and not have to review the top in violence. This book reminds me a lot of the 1960s gothic thrillers, which I imply as a compliment. This story really moves along at a quick pace and each issue ends with me wanting more. I would highly recommended this book, if you can find it.
Deathstroke: Rebirth
Another DC renewal title that just came out is Deathstroke. This is once again Wade Wilson as Deathstroke and as with many of these renewal first issues this is a set up for what is to come down the road. It is written by Christopher priest (even though the credit reports just say Priest. Is this someone other than Christopher?) and the art is by Carlo Pagulayan and Jason Paz. This is classic prieststorytelling, with everything from the individual chapters (well, really panels with single words that change the setting, just like he used in his run on the Black Panther) filled with political ideology and violence. It is one of the most violent renewal books I have read with men being killed all over the place with blood flying, but I can accept that as that is who the character is. After all, he is called Deathstroke. In this issue we learn Wade has two sons and how he raised them and how it has come back to haunt him today and of course it leads to a cliffhanger. The art is smooth and well done and the story flows with ease. I ought to also point out the coloring by Jeremy Cox is great. overall I thought this was a very good start and a return to the Deathstroke as he first appeared, if amped up a little.
Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The complete Collection Vol. 4
Marvel just released the final volume of Christopher Priest’s run on the Black Panther with the Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The complete Collection Vol. 4 by Christopher Priest, Dan Fraga, Jim Calafiore, Patrick Zircher, Joe Bennett and others. This volume picks up where volume 3 left off reprinting issues Black Panther #50-56, #59-62 and The crew #1-7. The series ended with issues #62 and was followed up by the series called The crew which featured two Black Panther as well as Ken Cole (Black Panther 2 who became White Tiger), war Machine, Junta, Jossiah X known as Justice, who is the child of the African American Captain America from the miniseries Truth.
This final volume opens with everyone one thinking the Black Panther, T’Challa, is dead and a suspended cop named Ken Cole finds the panther costume and takes up the role. These stories are much more urban than the prior ones and revolve mostly about inner city police corruption and introduces the new Black Panther who becomes the White Tiger, and what happened to T’Challa. The conclusion of the Black Panther book leads directly into The Crew.
The crew follows the inner city workings and crimes that the Black Panther ended with. It is of note that while all four of the leads in The crew are minorities, the book was not about race, which it could have easily been. priest adeptly deals with the topic while not focusing on it. With The Crew, Joe Bennett takes over the art and it is very nice.
The art in this whole volume is very different from earlier volumes. The style is much cleaner and fine lined instead of the hyper overly rendered style in the earlier issues. overall this is a very good conclusion to a great series by Priest. His run on the Black Panther is considered a highlight of the Black Panthers run and these four volumes show why. All together these four volumes make for a ton of reading, but it is well worth it.
This wraps it up for this blog. An interesting take on Batman and Deathstroke. The final collection of Christopher Priests run on the Black Panther and a great all ages book that very few people are buying. If nothing else you really ought to try and find a copy of Cirque American: girl Over Paris as it is really a distinct book in today’s market place. everything I have written here is my opinion and in no way reflects the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. I welcome feedback at mfbway@aol.com or on Facebook at Wayne Markley. now go out and read Cirque American: girl Over Paris and let me know what you think. As always……..
Thank you.