Joker Wars and X-ing Swords - The Comics Column #2
Good evening, citizens, and welcome to issue 2 of the Comics Column! Neoplasmic here with more thoughts and musings on the comics I’ve been obsessed with over the last few days. We start with the latest doozy of an X-Men crossover, move over to the Joker War in the Batman titles, and end with a few indies. Let’s get to it!
Wolverine #4-5
First, let’s catch up with some X-books! Wolverine issues 4 and 5 deliver a pretty bangin’ Wolvie versus vampires story, replete with explosions, decapitations, a grisly murder, and Omega Red! Ah, the ol’ Russkie’s back to tangle with his ol’ Canucklehead rival yet again. Writer Benjamin Percy nails Logan’s self-deprecating internal monologue with aplomb, and artist Viktor Bogdanovich’s awesome line work perfectly accompanies the scripting here. It’s good to see a writer attempt to delve into Wolvie’s thoughts again, as I feel like we haven’t really seen that in years. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good internal narrative caption or three. Bogdanovich is a good replacement for Adam Kubert on pencils and inks, as his Wolverine is a modern interpretation of the classic berserker we all know and love. Also, the coloring in these two issues rocks! A good setup for Logan’s involvement in X of Swords. Well done!
Excalibur #11-12
Excalibur issues 11 and 12 set up all the pieces very well for the X of Swords crossover. I’ll admit that I’ve had a rough time with scribe Tini Howard’s scripting for some of this post-House of X/Powers of X run. Some of the magic stuff goes over my head, and I’m not a Tarot person, so it’s like “Whoosh!” right over the ol’ cranium. However, the central storyline is intriguing, and I am LOVING the team’s lineup! The fact that Jubilee is getting some major page time in this book is fantastic, and Rogue and Gambit are always fun to read. I still think Saturnyne is up to something nefarious, but that’s neither here nor there. Rictor and Apocalypse’s new bond is somewhat disturbing, too. Oh, and artist Marcus To has done excellent work on this title. It’s one of the cleanest, most visually pleasing X-books out there! Don’t overlook this book!
X of Swords: Creation #1
X of Swords: Creation #1 is brought to us by writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard, with beautifully rendered art by House of X’s Pepe Larraz. Marvel’s current X-crossover begins with an explosive one-shot detailing the origins of Arrako’s summoned sword-wielders and their conflict in Otherworld. Many of the seemingly disparate pieces now fit into place with this issue, and we get the gist of what Hickman and Howard have been setting up since the Dawn of X started. The epic feel of the art on display is unmatched, too; I haven’t seen such well-rendered war sequences in an X-title for a long time. While there have been aspects of Hickman’s relaunch that I haven’t completely connected with, this issue makes up for that in spades, and Apocalypse’s role in the tale seems very interesting. I really hope that this crossover lives up to the epics of decades past, like Age of Apocalypse. It seems like that’s the vibe and level of intensity they were going for. Can’t wait to read the next parts of the saga!
X-Factor #4
Speaking of which, X-Factor #4 continues from where X of Swords: Creation left off, as Polaris and the rest of the X-Men make their way back to Krakoa with their injured in tow. Faced with the losses they’ve suffered, Polaris attempts to decipher Saturnyne’s prophetic messages while the Council figures out their next move. Meanwhile, a resurrection goes haywire, the External gateway to Otherworld is shuttered, and Rockslide, a young mutant, returns to the X-Men as a fundamentally altered version of himself! A lot has been going on in just two issues, which is just the way I like it! Writer Leah Williams packs the script with secrets and revelations, while artist Carlos E. Gomez and colorist Ivan Shavrin add some incredible line work and bright hues to the book. Bring on the next installments of X of Swords! I recommend this highly, especially for Polaris fans.
Miles to Go #1
Moving on to the indie scene, Aftershock once again blesses us with a cool new comic called Miles To Go #1. Written by prolific crime comic scribe B. Clay Moore, with art by Stephen Molnar, the book follows a woman named Amara Bishop, who had grown up without her parents and over the years, became an assassin. Under the tutelage of a man called Marco Tiger, Amara became a deadly killer at a disturbingly young age, but later sought out a more normal existence. She had a young child, Alea, along with her (now separated) husband. The first issue of the book establishes the core relationships between characters, as well as the book’s villains, who are pretty mysterious at this point. Could they be government agents on their way to “liquidate an asset”? Or mob enforcers, perhaps? We don’t know yet, and the issue ends on a good old fashioned cliffhanger. Not a bad debut issue, but not my favorite among Aftershock’s offerings.
Over the Ropes #1-5
Staying with the indie scene, Mad Cave Studios’ Over the Ropes five-issue miniseries is a bona fide wrasslin’ comic featuring a diverse cast of old-school characters, Lucha Libre combatants, and high-flying gladiators fighting it out for the Southern-Fried Wrestling (SFW) championship! Writer Jay Sandlin, artist Antonella Cosentino, and colorist Francesco Segala deliver a solid behind the scenes conflict between the main character and the evil former champ, who also runs the promotion. It’s clear Sandlin knows the ropes when it comes to professional wrestling, and the terminology he utilizes in the book rings true. The story itself is one that wrestling fans know well, as it’s a pretty standard office politics/vendetta plot, but the art is clean and aesthetically pleasing. I’m intrigued to see where the story goes after this initial volume. A good first volume.
Batman: The Joker War
Which brings us (somewhat ironically) to the main event of this column, Batman: Joker War, the latest crossover story in DC’s stable of Bat-books. I’ve read through the main storyline, which ran through Batman #s 95-100, Batman: The Joker War Zone #1, Nightwing #s 72-74, Red Hood: Outlaw #48, Catwoman #25, Detective Comics #s 1025-1026, Harley Quinn #75, and Batgirl #s 47-49. 18 issues of Bat-astrophic action right there! Plus the setup issues, which I didn’t count. But I digress. As we comics fans are aware, DC loves its major Bat-crossovers, and this one was very fast-paced and served to set up a new status quo for Gotham City and its vigilantes going forward. War Zone and Batman #100, in particular, showcase some new characters whose tales are set to continue in 2021, while also spotlighting some under-utilized female Bat-characters who’ll hopefully get their own book soon! I’m lookin’, of course, at Stephanie Brown (the Spoiler) and Cassandra Cain (Orphan), two of my absolute favorites! Now, as for Joker War itself, well… I have a slightly complex relationship with some of it.
The main storyline in the Batman title, written by James Tynion IV with stunning art by Jorge Jimenez, is a pretty decent read, if a bit hokey at times. For instance, in a flash-forward/fantasy sequence in issue 96, Batman rides his futuristic Batcycle in a gleaming version of Gotham as he chases down Mr. Freeze and his two “sons,” who are named Icepop and Sno-Cone. I mean, seriously? Icepop? Also, Batman defeats them with his “Heatarangs” and Freeze makes a bunch of ice puns. Er… okie. I’m just glad it was a dream sequence and not the plot to Batman & Robin 2: Cryonic Boogaloo.
Contrast that with Tynion and Jimenez’s excellent three-page scene where Bruce-who’s trippin’ off Joker toxin delivered to him by the Clown Prince of Crime’s brand new henchwoman, Punchline-pours out all his misgivings and emotional issues to his recently-deceased butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Of course, this is all a hallucination brought on by Bruce’s psyche as he works through the toxin, but it’s such a great sequence and it stands out as a great dramatic moment in a crossover full of explosions and huge action.
Where the Joker War stutters a bit is in its tie-in issues. While they’re all serviceable enough, the highlights for me were that we’ve FINALLY gotten past all the “Ric Grayson” nonsense in Nightwing (and he’s back in his blue and black costume after wearing that dumb-looking new costume for far too long), and the Catwoman issue actually gave us a plot that truly tied in to the main story, with Selena retrieving some of the money Bruce Wayne lost when Joker took over Wayne Enterprises. The two ‘Tec issues were far less memorable, though it was neat to see Batwoman help the GCPD fight off the Joker’s henchmen, while Red Hood is a book I confess to have never read, and the tie-in didn’t leave me wanting more. And Batgirl… sigh. I’m not sure what to make of that title at this point. The penultimate issue of the book is only tangentially related to the Joker War crossover, and it also retreads a story that we’ve already seen during Gail Simone’s New 52 version of the series, right down to the ending. At least War Zone #1 was a good issue.
So, let’s sum up my verdict on Joker War: fast-paced, action-packed, beautiful art, a couple excellent scenes, and a few decent tie-ins. Is it a must-read? Well, I’d say only if you really want to see the next year of stories begin to take shape and preview the new status quo of Gotham City going into 2021. If not, I’d say wait for the trade.
Well, that’s all we have for you here in the second issue of the Comics Column, citizens! Stay tuned for the next episode of RPC Capes, coming at ya next week! Stay safe, be kind, and remember to vote!
