Titans #18 – John Layman, Writer; Pete Woods, Artist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: This title is leaning into the growing pains of the new Titans team – Donna’s more military-style leadership is chafing on some people, Nightwing is struggling with giving up control, Raven is battling to regulate her emotions, and Roy’s snark is wearing on people. Add in a new underground headquarters due to events in Bludhaven, and it’s a recipe for disaster – just in time for two members of the former Fearsome Five to attack. Shimmer’s powers are out of control due to the effects of Absolute Power, and Mammoth blames the Titans. The personnel issues impact the Titans’ response, leading to an embarrassment of a battle but one that leads to them potentially gaining a new ally – but there’s a much bigger plan going on behind the scenes, one that involves their biggest enemy. There’s promise here, but this book is struggling a little bit with its core team dynamic.
Catwoman #71 – Torunn Gronbekk, Writer; Marianna Ignazzi, Artist; Patricio Delpeche, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Selina’s journeys have taken her to Stockholm in the north, a very different setting for Gotham’s top cat burglar. Of course, this is a setting very close to Gronbekk, and she’s clearly well-versed in the chilly tropes of Nordic Noir. Selina is staying one step ahead of her pursuers, and is on the trail of Ivan, an infamous Russian mob boss. This is kind of a slow-paced issue that shows us how she stays under the radar and infiltrates a new setting with an new identity. This is definitely the most noir-driven Catwoman run we’ve gotten in years, and this issue has some pretty bleak and triggering topics at times. This is a fairly common method for Catwoman stories – show us exactly how vicious the villain is before letting Selina get the better of them. It’s satisfying, but the end of the issue makes clear that Selina’s perfect undercover mission is going to be anything but.
Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #4 – Jeff Parker, Writer; Lukas Ketner, Michelle Bandini, Artists; Marcelo Maiolo, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The penultimate issue of this holiday miniseries introduces a big new player – Mrs. Claus, here a warrior named Ulah. She’s been called away from her quests to assist in the search for her husband, and she doesn’t respond well at first – but everyone knows the best way to win the loyalty of a feared warrior is to meet them sword-for-sword. Meanwhile, Santa has reunited with the heroes who disappeared in the first issue, as they prepare to wage war against the heavily-guarded fortress of the Silent Knight. This issue is extremely action-heavy, with rampaging trolls and giant monsters aplenty on every page. The main villain actually doesn’t appear much in this issue, but we get a surprisingly dark last-page jump-scare as we discover exactly what’s happened to some of the Knight’s victims. The stakes have been set nice and high for the finale, but the larger cast hasn’t quite let Klaus shine the same way as the last.
Batman ‘89: Echoes #5 – Sam Hamm, Writer; Joe Quinones, Stacey Lee/Paolo Rivera, Artists; Leonardo Ito, Colorist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: The scheduling issues on this book have gotten so extreme that it’s hard to remember what happened from issue to issue, which is a shame because there’s a pretty solid narrative here that does pay tribute to the iconic movie series. Bruce Wayne is out of Arkham and has a good idea of what Harley Quinn and Scarecrow are up to, but first he needs to get past Commissioner Barbara Gordon and throw her off the trail of his upcoming activities. Harley, meanwhile, has evolved into the main villain of this story, leading a gang of inmates to take over her former studio in a dramatic hostage situation. Scarecrow, by contrast, is working in Gotham’s underbelly trying to sell his fear gas. The two feel like they’re in different movies at times, so that hasn’t given this quite the same cohesive feel that the previous book’s Two-Face story had. Let’s hope the finale brings it home strong – and relatively soon.
Dark Knights of Steel: Allwinter #6 – Jay Kristoff, Writer; Tirso, Artist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The long quest to the frozen inner sanctum is over, and the final battle is here. On one side, a twisted wizard version of Mr. Freeze, who froze an entire kingdom and unleashed a zombie plague to keep his wife in stasis. On the other, Slade and his motley crew of allies, including a child Alec Holland who has the power of the Green within him. This oversized main story has an extended brutal fight scene, but it also has some surprisingly strong characterization for this version of Slade. It’s also a much happier story than I was expecting, giving Slade redemption and an ending that actually shows him finding peace and potentially healing. I was not expecting Viking Deathstroke to come out much better than many of the main characters in Dark Knights of Steel, but surprises are always good, and this definitely has me excited for the return of the main series next year.
Milestone Universe: The Shadow Cabinet #2 – Joseph P. Illidge, Writer; Darryl Banks, Atugan Ilhan, Artists; Christopher Sotomayor, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The next chapter in the Milestone Universe has been peeling back the curtain on the power brokers in this unique world, starting with the mysterious Dharma and his Shadow Cabinet. He attempts to recruit Rocket, who is solo since Icon disappeared, but she’s not interested. But it soon becomes clear that teams might be needed in this complicated new world, as some of her old allies like Static have changed since the Brainiac invasion. Static seems to have lost his mother and has committed to the local-hero gig, not being interested in team-ups. Meanwhile, Blood Syndicate comes under attack by a masked new hitman, and Angela Alva continues her hostile takeover of her father’s business and wastes no time revealing her true intentions. This is an oversized issue, one that packs a ton of info and plot developments into it, and it’s a great read.
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead in America #11 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Aaron Campbell, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It all comes to a close this issue, with John Constantine’s adventures in Hollywood reaching a bloody conclusion – and sending John on to the afterlife. Given that he started the series dead, it’s not much of a surprise to say that this is how he ends it, but with this character things are rarely that simple. He has a parlay with Dream, in which the two have a surprisingly profound and pointed conversation about the state of America, before John asks for a favor – and has it granted in a deeply ironic way. It all ends with one last road trip with the people who have become his family, with a scene reminiscent of one of Constantine’s most iconic grits, and a deeply ambiguous last scene. It all pays excellent tribute to the legacy of the original John Constantine, whose book may have closed here, even if longtime Constantine readers will find some of it familiar.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
