“Batman: Zero Year” continued to unfold as readers learned more about the origins of the Caped Crusader and two of his deadliest opponents. (Cover property of DC Comics)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Jacob’s Comic Reviews are back!
In this edition of Comic Reviews, I look at two of DC Comics’ hottest events: the epic Zero Year (Batman #23) and The Trinity War (Justice League of America #7) plus two of Marvel’s superb titles: Fantastic Four and Wolverine and the X-Men.
Oh! By the way…. SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!
Batman #23 (Creative Team: Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo/Danny Miki/James Tynion IV/Rafael Albuquerque)
Zero Year continues as readers learned more about the deadly origins of the Red Hood Gang and the man who would one day become the Riddler. In addition, we also got to see Snyder and Capullo’s take on the faithful moment Bruce Wayne became Batman. As usual, Snyder perfected balancing what Bruce experienced as a young child, in Russia and his brutal torture at the hands of the Red Hood Gang. Both Capullo and Albuquerque delivered on their artwork making Batman #23 one of the best issues of the arc. I cannot wait to see what Snyder does in Batman #23. A
Fantastic Four #11 (Creative Team: Matt Fraction/Christopher Sebela/Mark Bagley/Joe Rubinstein)
Valeria Richards is front in center in the eleventh issue of Matt Fraction’s run with Marvel’s First Family. The former Invincible Iron Man and Uncanny X-Men writer did a great job with Valeria’s characterization as the smartest girl in the room with a diva-like attitude. Reed and Sue’s daughter leads the gang to Celeritas where they get in the middle of a war with Time Terrorists who want to reshape the time stream. While Bagley produced good pencil work, it seemed like the dialogue was forced at times and it did not explain the origin of the Time Terrorists. Hopefully, Fraction will be able to go more in-depth before he leaves the book in issue 16. B-
Justice League of America #7 (Creative Team: Geoff Johns/Jeff Lemire/Doug Mahnke/Christian Almay/Keith Champagne)
The second half of The Trinity War focused on the Justice Leagues divided into three different teams and led by a member of DC’s trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman). The Man of Steel lead a team to confront Doctor Psycho, the Dark Knight’s team met up in the House of Secrets and learned about the “demise” of the Phantom Stranger and our favorite Amazon Princess confronted Pandora and Lex Luthor in a battle to control her infamous box. I commend Mahnke on bringing in almost all the major players into this chapter and for both Johns and Lemire to keeping all the characters in check. I am looking forward to see how Trinity War leads into Forever Evil. A-
The Hellfire Academy begins to crack in the latest issue of “Wolverine & The X-Men.” (Cover property of Marvel Comics)
Wolverine & The X-Men #34 (Creative Team: Jason Aaron/Nick Bradshaw/Walden Wong/Laura Martin)
The Hellfire Saga is inching closer to a conclusion…it seems like Kade Kilgore’s Hellfire Club is about to come crashing down! (About time!) As Broo, Kid Omega, Oya and Toad are fighting to stay alive at the Hellfire Academy, the X-Men (along with their very own Krakoa) have arrived and will do anything to save their students. But what does delusional Kade Kilgore has in store as the storyline ends? Readers will have to find out in issue 25. Jason Aaron’s script perfectly mixed the right balance of serious drama (the Franken-Krakoas vs. X-Men; Toad vs. Husk) and the hysterical comedic scenes (Madame Mondo and Doop), which will leave the reader on the edge of the seat. I also want to give a huge “Thank You” to the Wolverine & The X-Men art team for continuing to knock it out of the park every single issue! I hope that this story does not end in heartbreak! A+
I love the trinity war. Very interesting!