Task Force Z #9 – Matthew Rosenberg, Writer; Eddy Barrows, Penciller; Eber Ferreira, Inker; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: As we get to the last act of this zombie-fueled thriller, it continues to be a mixed bag of compelling character moments and over-the-top action. The opening segment, involving Jason getting confronted by Stephanie—the one member of the Bat-family who prefers to talk to him over punching him—is really well-done and shows how even the most tolerant members are losing their patience with his extreme tactics. Mr. Bloom, the main villain of the series, continues to manipulate the agents of Powers Inc. and has turned Kirk Langstrom into his minion, dependent on him for a cure. An early-bird appearance from a character with a major destiny as a villain hints that Mr. Bloom might have deep roots (pun intended) in the future of the DCU, and the question of who exactly this Bane is gets closer to an answer. However, too much of this story is devoted to fights between zombies, and the strongest moments are few and far between.
Batman: Beyond the White Knight #4 – Sean Murphy, Writer/Artist; Dave Stewart, Colorist
Ray – 7/10
Ray: After last issue’s offensive new origin for Derek Powers, combined with the creator’s… controversial online presence, I was skeptical about this series going forward. Fortunately, it does still have some things going for it—particularly a tense sense of action that leads to great chase segments. With Duke stepping up as the new (and oldest) Robin, and Barbara going all in on working with Bruce despite her issues with him, Bruce starts fighting back against Powers’ takeover of Gotham. Dick, meanwhile, has gone all in on law and order, and Jason has his own agenda. It’s really Terry who is the star of this issue, though, as we finally get a better picture of the young rookie Batman’s agenda. The first few issues made him look like a villain, but it’s a lot more complicated than that. This series is spinning off into a Red Hood mini next, but it still has a lot of kinks to work out.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
