My Guess Is Gilda

Batman #707
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

The whole mess with the mask of the beholder ends here…it wasn’t my favorite story but it wasn’t bad either. I liked that it set up Peacock as a possible Dick Grayson love interest and the ending of this issue was just awesome. Daniel’s art has improved tremendously since Battle for the Cowl and it shows here too. So who is the mysterious woman at the end of this issue with the two-face coin? I am not sure but I have a feeling it’s Gilda Dent!

Girl Sidekicks

Batman #706
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

There seems to be a theme of girl sidekicks running through this book as both Riddler’s Daughter and Catgirl show up. I am looking forward to seeing more of Enigma as her backstory has never been really explained but Riddler does act like she may be his actual daughter in this. Though you would think the Riddler would know better then to mess with Batman’s suit? As always Daniel continues to utilize Gotham City to its fullest and I am loving his run so far.

Surprise Guest Star

Batman #705
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

I almost didn’t like this issue…this whole mask of the beholder thing doesn’t really interest me. I think Daniel works best when he plays with the Gotham cast and didn’t want to read about this Peacock and her brother — until the very end when he saved it all by bringing in a character not seen since Geoff Johns’s Teen Titans. I wasn’t expecting her to show up. Awesome!

Damage

Superman #703
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Eddy Barrows

 

JMS’s Grounded tales is a lot better then I thought it would be and I love that he is incorporating the after effects of New Krypton and not just sweeping that story under the rug but I don’t know if I buy the argument about the potential damage being done as Superman walks across America. What is the difference between this and the damage done when people attack him in Metropolis? Nothing really. Anyways, I wonder what this New Krypton kryptonite does cause it seems to have possessed a school teacher and caused another guy to gain powers hmmm.

Who Is This Angel?

Gotham City Sirens #13
Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Peter Nguyen and Andres Guinaldo

 

Hmmm so is Maggie Kyle really being lead by an angel? It seems so or is it something else? Something sinister. I don’t know as it is clearly not just a hallucination as Harley saw it too. This was a quick read but it was still good and it was a great recap of Catwoman history. I loved seeing the nineties costume again too. I wonder when this will be followed up as Dini is sure to return as regular writer next month.

To 700 More!

Batman #700
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel, Frank Quitely, Andy Kubert, Scott Kolins, and David Finch

 

Morrison returns to the main Batman book to celebrate the 700th issue. I am not sure why everyone around the blogosphere wants to rip on this book. I enjoyed it more then anything Morrison did when he was actually the writer of this series! I liked the look at Batman through different eras and it was awesome to see Batman Beyond and everything. I thought all the art was superb and it worked really well. This was a great anniversary issue.

Batman 698 and 699

Batman #698
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Guillem March

 

Unlike most bloggers, I am not opposed to the idea of the Riddler becoming a villain again. I just think the whole Riddler as detective thing was nice for a while but it has ran its course and its time to get back to the root of the character. So this was a great issue for me and I like how Daniel set it up so that Batman is solving a mystery for Riddler when Riddler is the one behind it all. Great to see such use of the Gotham cast – one of the things I have loved about Daniel’s run on this book. March’s art was great as always.

Batman #699
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Guillem March

 

I am not sure if I completely understand what Riddler’s scheme is here. Maybe I am not supposed to? I liked the issue and all just a little confused. I was expecting this to be the conclusion of this story…perhaps it finishes next issue along with Morrison’s new story. I don’t know hmm.

Needs More Sirens

Gotham City Sirens #10
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Andres Guinaldo

 

Guinaldo fills in for March here and I think he was a good choice as I hardly noticed. Doctor Aesop is driven out of the Sirens’s “headquarters” but I can’t say this was the most exciting issue of this series – probably a little too much about the Riddler and not enough about our three main characters. I enjoyed it but it needed more. Aesop is a great addition to the rogue’s gallery though.

The Return of Doctor Aesop

Gotham City Sirens #9
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Guillem March

 

You know what just sucks? I love this book, I mean every time I read it I smile on every page and get really into the story. Yet people are not reading it. Read it people! How could you not read a book featuring Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn?! It has gorgeous art and laugh-out-loud moments come on! Not to mention this issue feature Doctor Aesop – apparently not dead! Who you say? Well, he was a character from one issue of  Dini’s Detective Comics run that I was very upset  was killed off because he seemed like such a great addition to the Batman Rogue’s Gallery. Dini apparently agreed and brought him back here. Dini knows how to create great villains and shows this once again in this issue.

Poison Ivy Does Not Believe In Love

Gotham City Sirens #8
Written by Guillem March and Marc Andreyko
Art by March

 

First off, I will comment that Dini is not writing this book, just like Streets of Gotham, and this is a completely different comic then was solicited. I hope Dini comes back but still…this was a good comics. March and Andreyko did a good job filling in. I love that there are murders of eco-terrorists in Robinson Park and Poison Ivy is being blamed, and she is pissed not that she is being falsely accused, but because she wished she had been the one to kill them. Hahaha. Poison Ivy is a great character and this was an excellent showcase for her. I liked the establishment of Harley meeting Poison Ivy when she was a doctor at Arkham. I could be wrong but I think that is something that has never been revealed before. The ending is perfect, I won’t spoil it but Poison Ivy does exactly what I would expect her to do to stop the killer.

Mystery and Speculation

Batman #695
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

 

Tony Daniel’s run on Batman continues to impress me. He utilizes Gotham and it’s characters in a great way. I hope he isn’t leaving this book any time soon. I loved every page of this issue and his art is getting better and better. This has as many Gothamites has Hush had but it’s an actual coherent story and good mystery unlike Loeb’s Hush was. So is Kitrina Falcone working with Riddler or with Penguin and Mad Hatter? Could Jeremiah Arkham be Black Mask? The mystery to all this is great and the speculation is fun to make. I can’t wait to the next issue.

Journey Into Devil’s Square

Batman #693
Written by Tony Daniel
Art by Daniel

Daniel once again shows he has what it takes to write Batman, there was more story to this issue then in all three issues of his Battle for the Cowl. It was good to see the Bat Family working together (Although I wish we could have seen Cassandra Cain!) during the party and we check in on everything that is going on in Gotham. I am dying to know who the Black Mask is. Is Devil’s Square a new concept? I don’t remember that area of Gotham being mentioned before or am I wrong? I am excited to see Riddler returning to his old criminal self. The Riddler as detective thing has been fun for a while but I mean who didn’t think he would be a villain again? And the way he switches back is so comic bookey I love it. I was excited to see the Barbara-Dick-Helena love triangle again. I forgot that he slept with Huntress back in the day. Plus, I may be in the minority here, but I have never bought the Dick and Barbara relationship. I always felt like they should be close friends and not lovers.

Blood Thirsty Huntress

Batman: Streets of Gotham #5
Written by Christopher Yost
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun

During Gail Simone’s run on Birds of Prey, if I remember correctly, Huntress grew as a character and now rarely goes for lethal force on villains. So why in this issue is she unnecessarily blood thirsty? I get that she is more willing to kill then any of the other Gotham heroes but she seems to want to kill Man-Bat in this issue. It is just over the top. That being said I did like the story and the idea of the crazy priest. The Manhunter co-feature was pretty damn awesome as we look at Dylan’s histoy and Two-Face being up to no good. I did enjoy the issue although the Huntress was written strangely.

Introducing The Broker

Batman: Streets of Gotham #4
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Dustin Nguyen
Co-Feature by Marc Andreyko
Art by Jeremy Haun

This has to be the best issue of this series to date. Dini goes back to what he does best, exploring Gotham’s villains and adding interesting new ones to the roster. In this issue, he introduces The Broker, the real estate guy who sells all the abandoned warehouses and amusement parks to the bad guys of Gotham. That’s just genius! I can’t believe no one has thought of that before. I also loved how Dini explains why there are so many abandoned amusement parks by going over the history of Gotham. I love when writers flesh out DC’s fictional locales. The Manhunter back-up was pretty good as well, Kate makes the statement to the press that she will bring down Two-Face no matter what and I am sure that will get her in a lot of trouble. She also teams up with Huntress.

Different Colorist or Inker?

Gotham City Sirens #3
Written by Scott Lobdell
Art by Guillem March

I don’t know what happened to Paul Dini and the story that was solicited for this issue, but I don’t really care because I really enjoyed this issue. Sure it wasn’t about the Sirens but it was a great Riddler story. The confrontation between Dick Grayson Batman and Riddler was great. I loved how Dick’s detective skills are not as good as Bruce is, but he is able to fake it (through the use of Alfred and the Bat Computer) so it seems like they are. Of course the Riddler still knows there is something different about Batman. The art was also a lot better then the two previous issues. March really stepped up his game. I have a feeling that this issue featured different colorists or inkers because I really liked the art as opposed to before. But I could be wrong.

This Is Going to Be A Lot of Fun!

Gotham City Sirens #1
Written by Paul Dini
Art by Guillem March

Okay fuck all the haters on this series, because it was AMAZING! This first issue really hit it out of the park for me. Three of my favorite Bat-villains working together is good enough, but the fact that they will be working out of an abandoned animal shelter brought to them by some Criminal Broker aptly named the Broker makes it even better! This is going to be a fun book, and will hopefully remind me of the Batman: The Animated Series days. Seriously, the Bat villains are the most underused characters in terms of their popularity and I can’t wait to see them spotlighted here. If only we could have seen Harley in costume! Oh and here is my guess, Catwoman is going to tell Ivy she doesn’t know who Batman is because she doesn’t actually know who the NEW Batman is.

Two Bat-Villains From Ancient Egypt?

Batman Confidential #28
Written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir
Art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

What a fantastic arc this has been. These writers really know how to write a Batman and Riddler Team-Up, their dialogue is hilarious. My favorite line must have been, “In my conflicts with Batman, I know an annoying tendency for him not to stay unconcious.” Hahaha. It also helps that Garcia-Lopez draws great facial expressions. In fact, he really draws great everything. Great stuff. This was a wonderful introduction of King Tut into the DC Universe and I hope all the creators involved get more work around it. I also hope to see King Tut again soon. And maybe his Queen as well?