The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman Is 3/4 Wonderful Comic Book Storytelling!

The Good: The Batman story is pretty awesome, The Deadman and Deathstroke stories are entertaining and well-paced
The Bad: Mediocre artwork, Secret Seven story is an unreadable dud.
The Basics: The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman is three interesting stories with enough to establish the peripheral characters and world in Flashpoint without making one worry too much about how the final section is just crap.


For those who do not follow my graphic novel reviews regularly, I make no secret about not being a fan of Batman comics. What little I have read of them, they tend to be repetitive and that bothers me much much more than the violence and lack of character growth. So, as my Flash year nears its end and I find myself taking on the Flashpoint Saga, it will not surprise anyone that I was not hugely excited about reading The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman.

So, I was pleasantly surprised!

The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman, like most of the World Of Flashpoint books, features four stories that are set in the alternate reality that is Flashpoint (reviewed here!). These tend to focus on Batman and those peripherally related to Batman and, as such, is one of the darker anthologies in the Flashpoint Saga.

Opening with “Batman: Knight Of Vengeance,” The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman explores Gotham City. Ruled by business magnate Thomas Wayne, Gotham City is filled with casinos, so Wayne can control the funding of the mob. At night, Thomas Wayne takes up the mantle of the Batman, as his son, Bruce, was once killed in a random act of violence. When Harvey Dent’s children are captured by the Joker, Wayne and Jim Gordon follow the clues to find the new lair of the Joker, a mission that pits Thomas Wayne against one of his greatest, and most personal, adversaries.

“Batman: Knight Of Vengeance” is a clever twist on the familiar Batman character and villain. Much like the classic The Killing Joke (reviewed here!), this chapter of The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman fleshes out the Joker in an intriguing way that is super creepy. This chapter had a huge significant reversal in the identity of the character that made me, a complete non-fan of this character and story, engaged and excited for the rest of the book.

The second section of the book is “Deadman And The Flying Graysons.” Coming off the Brightest Day Saga, Boston Brand (Deadman) was one of my favorite characters in the DC Universe, so I was biased toward this story as I began reading it. The carnival is traveling through Europe, featuring the Daredevil Boston Brand as its high flying solo trapeze artist, opposite the troupe the Flying Graysons. With the Atlantean/Amazon war spreading through Europe, the troupe heads toward Poland. En route, Dr. Fate gives Boston a vision of his future as an Amazon begins hunting for Dr. Fate’s helmet. The Amazons attack the circus, killing Dick Grayson’s mother and scattering the allies. When Dr. Fate is slain, Vertigo (from the Resistance) arrives to take the helm, Boston Brand, and Dick Grayson to safety. With their search for the helm turning desperate, the Amazon’s set the country ablaze!

The “Deadman” section of The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman is an absolute bloodbath. However, given that many of the characters killed off are secondary characters like Ragdoll and Dick Grayson’s mother, it is hard to get overly invested in the trauma and war story. Come to think of it, given that this is an obscure corner of a very temporary world, this chapter is diverting and entertaining, but very hard to get excited about. It is a novelty chapter, though, to be fair, the artwork in it makes it feel top-notch.

I had absolutely no interestin the “Deathstroke And The Curse Of The Ravager” chapter, despite finally knowing who Deathstroke is from reading Teen Titans graphic novels earlier this year. Deathstroke, in his chapter, is a literal pirate. Out on the high seas, he encounters Warlord (recovering a woman in suspended animation in the process) and then Aquaman and his brother. The entire time, Deathstroke is searching for his captured daughter, Rose. Rose is being traded around metahuman ships and as Deathstroke assembles a team to recover her, he must put down a mutiny, learn who his new “cargo” is and fight off a deathblow to survive long enough to save his daughter.

The Deathstroke chapter is engaging, though it is a very limited story that has some obvious elements. In addition to Deathstroke being characteristically obsessed with his daughter, it has such banal elements as Aquaman declaring himself mad with grief, which sounds more like a writer’s note on the character than an actual plausible line. The artwork in this section is decent and has a good sense of movement. For those who like pirate stories, this satisfies.

The Secret Seven section of The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman is utterly unbearable, though. Filled with magic-users, like Zatanna, it seems to serve only to explain how and why Enchantress switches sides in Flashpoint. I didn’t care there and this story did not make me care here.

Ultimately, The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Batman is one of the better compilations, with three of the four stories being engaging, clever, and interesting and the final one being nothing more than deadweight.

For other Flashpoint-related books, be sure to check out my reviews of:
The Flash: The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues
The Road To Flashpoint
The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Green Lantern
The World Of Flashpoint Featuring Superman

6/10

For other graphic novel reviews, be sure to check out my Graphic Novel Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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In A Small Corner Of The DC Universe, Oliver Queen Tries To Fit Into The Brightest Day: Green Arrow: Into The Woods!

The Good: Artwork, Moments of story.
The Bad: Character is stalled, Story is pretty mired.
The Basics: In Green Arrow: Into The Woods, Oliver Queen teams up with an unlikely ally to protect the forest in Star City, in a surprisingly mundane graphic novel.


Regular readers of my blog know that I am a pretty big fan of Brightest Day and the Blackest Night Sagas in the DC Universe. So far in the Brightest Day Saga, there has only been truly one volume that disappointed me. The rest have actually shown some creative thinking and a level of style I quite enjoy and could have sent the DC Universe in a pretty cool new direction, had they not decided to mire the Universe in Flashpoint alternate-universe stuff instead. With the impending DC Universe reboot, it is unclear whether or not the implications of the finale of Brightest Day will last, but for a while, it looked like a brave new conceptual day was dawning for the DC Universe.

And while it was happening, Oliver Queen - the Green Arrow - was stuck inside the forest in Star City. Such is the story of Green Arrow: Into The Woods and, frankly, it is an impossible-to-recommend Brightest Day tie-in. While others might be discovering Green Arrow as a result of shows like Smallville, my introduction to the character came from Justice (reviewed here!) which he had a decent supporting role in. But following the events of Blackest Night (reviewed here!), there seemed to be a quandary about what to do with Green Arrow and how to reboot his story. So, Green Arrow: Into The Woods anthologizes issues 1 - 7 of his new storyline and, sad to say to J.T. Krul, I don't care.

Following reading Green Arrow: Into The Woods, I read an interview with writer J.T. Krul and I actually thought he had a good concept for the story of Green Arrow that he was trying to write. Unfortunately, I didn't see the same spark in the actual text. Green Arrow: Into The Woods is supposed to be a story of renewal and rebirth, both in a literal sense for Star City and the forest that has sprouted there and in a metaphorical sense for Oliver Queen, who is struggling to find his purpose in the world. But the book doesn't land it; Oliver Queen's story meanders and it feels like a feeble crossover attempt while diluting a main story that is not nearly as audacious as it could be.

Oliver Queen is living in the Star City forest, which seems to be a well-known enough fact that a young woman who is being assailed by a rape mob knows to flee to the forest, as opposed to calling the police. There Green Arrow comes to her aid and, somewhat darkly, lets the forest decide if the villains will live or die as he leads the young woman to safety. With the Star City police commissioner killed and other local politicians ending up in the crosshairs, Green Arrow seems out-of-the way in the forest, though he claims to still be looking out for Star City.

While Green Arrow protects those proximate to the forest, Queen Industries is taken over by a new figure, a woman calling herself the Queen and ruling the company like a fiefdom. While Oliver begins to investigate her, he is hampered by a sidekick, Galahad, a man who actually believes he is an Arthurian knight. As Oliver reflects with Galahad and deals with such things as an arrow through the center of his skull, the Queen makes her move on both Queen Industries and Green Arrow.

Green Arrow: Into The Woods just doesn't work. The story meanders and it comes to abrupt stops periodically for no other reason than to crossover with more important Brightest Day occurrences. So, Oliver Queen is suddenly menaced by The Queen and the narrative stops while Green Lantern makes his visit to the Star City forest, imparting only the information that his power ring doesn't work there. After that otherwise pointless conflict, Green Arrow wanders with Galahad and is shot through the head. But just as he is learning something about himself in the wake of his miraculous resurrection, the Martian Manhunter appears for his cameo. Those crossovers are relevant to the Brightest Day aspect of the story, but otherwise stand out in the volume like blatant advertisements for something else. It simply does not work.

As for the climax, wherein Green Arrow and the Queen have something of a reckoning as Green Arrow is charged with making sure the White Lanterns fail in their mission and then a truth is revealed to Oliver . . . meh. Yup, that's another professional term: meh. It didn't land it.

Most of the artwork, by Diogenes Neves, is good. The colors are rich and the book has some well-detailed panels. But some of the angles are chaotic and the frames do not always have a logical flow, making the book harder to follow in several places than it needs to be. The result is that Green Arrow: Into The Woods doesn't seem like much of a story; instead it feels like a portion of a character's story and it does not connect to the larger story in a satisfying way, nor does it distinguish itself on its own.

For other Brightest Day works, please check out my reviews of:
Brightest Day - Volume 1
Brightest Day - Volume 2
Brightest Day - Volume 3
Brightest Day: Green Lantern
Brightest Day: Green Lantern Corps - Revolt Of The Alpha-Lanterns
The Black Ring - Volume 1

3.5/10

For other book reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Supplemental, But Meaningful, Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps - Volume 1 Enhances The Story!

The Good: Decent artwork, Good character works, Generally good stories.
The Bad: Very self-referential, Moments of predictability
The Basics: With a whole ton of supplemental Blackest Night books on the market, Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 actually adds something to the experience of reading the saga.


Because some crossover events are so huge – in the realm of comic books, anyway – the full story may often not be told in a single volume or linear narrative. In the case of the Blackest Night Saga, DC Comics had a fundamental problem; they were attempting to do a massive crossover, but the primary focus of the event was on the Green Lantern Corps and the newly-resurrected Flash, Barry Allen. This meant that, unlike many, many other crossover events like the Crisis storylines, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were only peripheral characters. While Wonder Woman is frequently marginalized in such events, the fact that Superman would not save the day and save the universe from the events of Blackest Night made the whole series that much more intriguing. But, at the same time, it is impossible to invest in the idea that the whole of the DC Universe could be shaken by the Blackest Night if the recognizable characters did not have relevant arcs within the story. Whether the writers of the series succeeded or not, they made the attempt to fill in the gaps in the story with Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1.

Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 tells the stories of Batman, Superman and Donna Troy during the Blackest Night. These stories are hardly indispensable to the Blackest Night Saga, but they are intriguing and well-presented. For how they fit into the larger story, I recommend checking out my guide on how to read Blackest Night (available here!). What all three stories do fairly successfully is explore the natures and characters of those who have died in the DC Universe and how their resurrections as malevolent entities shakes those left behind.

In the three-part Batman story, Dick Grayson – the new Batman – and Damian – the new Robin – are patrolling Gotham City when they learn of the desecration of the cemetery. Arriving there, they discover Bruce Wayne’s grave has been unearthed and that his skull is missing. Their ability to investigate is almost immediately compromised, though, when Grayson’s parents are resurrected as Black Lanterns. While Commissioner Gordon evacuates the police station, which is overrun by Black Lanterns, Grayson enters the carnival world his parents were killed in and attempts to learn about the nature of the Black Lanterns.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, Ma Kent is tending to Superboy, who has been on leave. They are visited by Clark Kent and the Black Lantern forms of Kal-L (Superman Prime) and the alternate Lois Lane. As the Kents are tormented by the undead heroes, Superman and Superboy try desperately to learn the vulnerabilities of the enemy, even as they are hunted by the Black Rings which will make them into reanimated corpses.

Finally, the Teen Titans are featured and they are tormented by fallen members and family whom they must thwart. The only vignette of note in this section comes in the form of Donna Troy. Donna Troy has wrestled with the death of her husband and child and when they are resurrected as Black Lanterns, she is put in an untenable situation which might well be her undoing!

Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 is exactly what it is, a supplemental book to the larger Blackest Night Saga. While the Blackest Night main story focuses on a scheme to potentially end the universe itself, Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 is far more intimate and Earth-bound. As such, the plots are almost inconsequential to the character elements. In that regard, while the Teen Titans overall story in the volume is easy to disregard, it is impossible to not empathize with Donna Troy. Donna knowingly puts herself in the path of two Black Lanterns to try to learn the truth of what their powers and purposes are. As a result, she is put in the classic dilemma that we never truly get to encounter in real life: what would we do if our deceased loved ones appeared and wanted to converse? Donna Troy’s reactions are essentially, wonderfully, human and even readers who are not familiar with her story will find it both accessible and compelling.

Similarly, Dick Grayson’s arc in the Batman section of the book is interesting and asks deeper questions. Instead of being plot-driven, his story is engaging and moves along based upon the strength of the protagonist and that character’s decisions. Ironically, the Superman story is the least interesting as it quickly degenerates into a very obvious battle sequence that lacks any subtlety or character development. There is irony to this in that the resolution with the Black Lantern Kal-L actually leads to one of the important plot development points that does change the direction of the Blackest Night Saga.

What writers James Robinson, Peter J. Tomasi, and J.T. Krul all have going for them is a good sense of dialogue and voice. Krul, especially, seems to have a great sense of emotion to the dialogue he writes in the Teen Titans section of the book. Robinson, for his part, has a knack for banter in the Batman section and that is a fast read, if nothing else.

The artwork in Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 is good, but none of it stood out as exceptional. The characters represented are recognizable and in the Superman section there is an excellent sense of movement that utilizes the medium well. As well, in the Donna Troy story, there are panels that have still stuck with me, despite having read the book last over a month ago.

The hardcover Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 is enhanced by a full cover gallery of all of the issues which comprise this anthology. That, along with files on the various characters, make the book both accessible to newbies and removes the pressure to collect the individual books for fans. Because all three stories are serialized, there is a pleasant benefit to being able to sit and read the book with the full stories as opposed to having to wait for the various parts.

Ultimately, Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps – Volume 1 is a decent addition to the Blackest Night Saga and it asks some of the questions about life and death that one would hope a significant work would. But, it is still just a supplement and readers are much less likely to fall in love with it outside the context of the magnificent Blackest Night Saga.

For other volumes in the Blackest Night Saga, please check out my reviews of:
Blackest Night
Blackest Night: Green Lantern
Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns
Blackest Night: Tales Of The Corps

7/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Unfortunately Mixed, Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns Is Part Indispensible, Part Worthless.

The Good: In general, the artwork, Some intriguing character twists and good vignettes
The Bad: Some terrible artwork, Some of the stories are utterly pointless
The Basics: As the Blackest Night exploitation, er, compilations, continue, Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns is a volume that has one or two worthwhile stories, but is otherwise exploiting the readers of the comic books.


For those who might not yet have discovered the reviews and articles I have written, I have become enchanted by the DC crossover event, Blackest Night. I spent days reading all of the hardcover volumes that have been released illustrating arguably the darkest period in the entire DC Universe and I wrote a guide on how to read the various books together (please check that article out by clicking here!). I have since gone back and reviewed the volumes Blackest Night (click here for that review!) and Blackest Night: Green Lantern (that review is here!). Today, I turn my attention back to Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns, one of the volumes that is hardly as integral as the main storylines and is an annoyance because some of the chapters are useful while others are simple obscure comics glomming onto the crossover.

Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns is a great example of what happens when everyone tries to get in on a good idea and the idea doesn’t fit their medium. There are nine stories in Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns and only two of them are essential to the Blackest Night storyline. To be fair, though, four of them are good and interesting reads. That still leaves three that are completely worthless and I write that knowing how terrible it is to read that anything one writes is without merit. Unfortunately, the chapters featuring Starman, The Question and Jonah Hex are incongruent with the rest of the Blackest Night Saga and one is left with the feeling that writers Dan Didio, Dennis O’Neill and James Robinson were either tasked with writing crossovers for the event or they tried to boost their comics’ sales by getting the Blackest Night imprint on their books.

Let’s start with the essentials. In the first chapter of the book, the Atom/Hawkman Blackest Night comic, features the story by Geoff Johns about how The Atom flees from his former friend, Hawkman, and becomes inducted into the Indigo Tribe. With the power of compassion, the Atom tries to thwart the power of the Black Lanterns and buy time for other heroes to strike at the heart of the enemy. This story has decent character development, good artwork by Ryan Sook and Fernando Pasarin and fits the overall Saga. Also worthwhile is “Deadman Walking,” the episode that features the Phantom Stranger. Peter J. Tomasi wrote the story of how the Phantom Stranger encountered the Black Lantern Spectre and how he works to save the illusive Deadman from the Black Lantern rings. This story, also featuring artwork with a good sense of movement and scope fits the storyline well and frees up Deadman to do some important work later in the Saga.

Some of the less necessary stories in Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns still fit the overall story of Blackest Night. Those stories, while not integral to the main plot of the Saga still work and flesh out the characters involved in the crossover. The Green Arrow story presented in Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns, written by J.T. Krul is a great example of that. Green Arrow, turned into a Black Lantern because of his previous death and resurrection, begins hunting Black Canary and his children. While he fights for control, Black Canary must work to thwart her turned lover and there is an epic, tragic feel to the chapter. Similarly, “Night And The City” with Catwoman resonates on the character level. With astonishingly good artwork, the Tony Bedard story has Catwoman taking on Black Mask. Her fight with that villain leads her to her sister, who had been tortured and Selina Kyle works to rescue Magdalene. While Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy battle Black Lanterns, they search for Selina. The story is tangential to the Blackest Night, but it sets up a dark twist in a character that actually made me want to read more!

Far less integral to the storyline, but also worthwhile, were “Rest In Peace” and “What Did Black Lantern Superboy Do?” “Rest In Peace” is from the Power Of Shazam comic and it tells the story of Amon Tomaz (Osiris) as he is resurrected in the Middle East. Amon Tomaz does not understand what has happened to him and how or why he is resurrected as a Black Lantern. He encounters Sobek, the lizard who killed him and despite some mediocre artwork, Amon Tomaz illustrates real character and power in overcoming the power of the Black Rings! “What Did Black Lantern Superboy Do?” is far less interesting on the character level, though it does integrate with other chapters fairly well. Turned into a Black Lantern, Superboy beats the living pulp out of Wonder Girl and that’s pretty much all the story Tony Bedard has to work with for that chapter.

But the book then includes three stories that do not even have the tangential merit of the others. “And The South Shall Rise Again” is a Jonah Hex addition to the Blackest Night Saga that seems entirely exploitative. Dan Didio crafts a pointless story wherein the Ray brings a Black Ring to resurrect Jonah Hex and Quentin Turnbull and the one-shot flops because it lacks consequence or real character development. One has the feeling the editors at DC said, “Hey, we need to promote that Jonah Hex movie coming out next summer, so let’s put him in Blackest Night!” The artwork is utterly terrible and that problem follows through in the Starman and The Question chapters as well. The Question’s “One More Question” has the dead incarnation of The Question risen just to be killed again and the Dennis O’Neill story is unimpressive in every way. I’d write something about the Starman chapter, but I didn’t understand it at all. All I know is it was incomprehensible and featured lousy artwork.

In the final analysis, Blackest Night: Rise Of The Black Lanterns is a chapter of the Blackest Night Saga that readers can easily pass by. I’d recommend reading the few worthwhile chapters at the book store, but not wasting the money on the rest of it. There are far too many good graphic novels to buy without spending money on the wholly mediocre ones, like this one.

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my takes on:
Identity Crisis
Amazons Attack!
Justice

4/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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