DC Meets Hanna-Barbera Vol. 2

In this second assortment of stories starring the heroes of the DC Universe and the nearly unlimited cast of characters from the world of Hanna-Barbera we've got the following:

• The sons of Superman and Batman assist Dynomutt in saving his partner the Blue Falcon from the clutches of his arch-enemy: The Condor!
• Hong-Kong Phooey cashes in a Vietnam War-era favor from Black Lightning in trying to prevent an ancient evil from devouring the Earth in a kung-fu romp set in 1970s Metropolis.
• Aquaman meets the talking shark, Jabberjaw and catches a glimpse of the future of Atlantis.
• Wally West learns that for every positive entity in the Speed Force, that there is an evil version in a race against time with Speed Buggy.

I really enjoyed the first set of DC/Hanna-Barbera stories. They were edgier versions of the Hanna-Barbera characters than we are used too. But the team-ups themselves weren't bad. I think with volume 2, the novelty's luster had worn off.

The Super Sons story was powerful but a little sad. I did rather enjoy the quirkiness of the Aquaman/Jabberjaw adventure with it's awesome Easter Eggs. But I wasn't a fan of the other stories. The Hong Kong Phooey story was too complicated or just plain poorly written. I did like the countless cameos of the Speed Buggy adventure. But I feel that the villains in that story were lame. 

I was a little more appreciative of the artwork. Of course, the art was done in that more gritty Post-New 52 style. But it translated fairly well with assists by Bill Sienkiewicz, Norm Rapmund and others. 

There was also two bonus shorts that were pretty good. Jason Blood summons the spirit of a relatively forgotten Hanna-Barbera character known as the Funky Phantom. Then we have the Wizard SHAZAM bestowing powers on a Neanderthal who once eventually defrosted in modern times will become Captain CAAAAAAVVEEE-MAN!

That story was great. I would pay money for a 4 or 5 issue long miniseries that followed up that yarn. It was that fine a quality.

An enjoyable read. But not my favorite volume. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Jessica Jones: Alias, volume 2

     Jessica Jones is hired to find a missing girl in upstate New York. For the most part, the town is glad she's there to help. But as the detective digs deeper into the disappearance, she discovers a secret shame that is haunting the town. It has a anti-mutant problem and the young girl Jessica is hired to find claimed she was a mutant. Was the missing child a target of a homo superior hate crime?

     Then Jessica goes on a blind date with Scott Lang. Just what do the two have in common? The answer might surprise you in this very charming story by Bendis.

     This entire volume was great. The Ant-Man story had a 'When Harry Met Sally' appeal to it. It was very fresh and very New York. 

      But the story about missing teen was awesome. There were hints of Twin Peaks. Yet, the small town feel behind the mystery actually was more representative of an even more obscure, short-lived series called Picket Fences. There were some powerful parallels between the hatred of mutants and the discrimination that minorities and homosexuals face. 

        Of course, Bendis does a fantastic job. But I can't overlook the amazing artwork by Bill Seinkiewicz, Mark Bagley, David Mack, and Michael Gaydos. Gaydos crafted an entire scrapbook as from the perspective of the runaway and it was amazing. It's published in it's entirety in the back of this volume. Amazing stuff!

       Worth Consuming!

       Rating: 9 out of 10 stars. 

Daredevil, Volume 2: Supersonic

  Elektra Natchios, former college lover of Matt Murdock and dangerous assassin has reappeared in Daredevil's life. But this isn't a social visit as Elektra comes to the Man Without Fear demanding the safe return of her child. But Elektra doesn't have a child or does she? If she does, if the protector of Hell's Kitchen the father? It will take all of combined resources of Matt and Daredevil to get to the bottom of this intriguing mystery.

   Then Matt Murdock travels to Macau in order to enter a high stakes poker tournament. Featuring an epic team-up with the Amazing Spider-Man, this story reveals a little more about how Daredevil made the world forget that he and Murdock are one and the same. But the how the vigilante pulled it off is still unexplained.

    Lastly, in two one-parters, Daredevil, with the help of a deaf superhero named Echo, must take on Klaw as the master of sound infects the Big Apple with a sonic virus and then our hero battles a villain named Gladiator who has buzz-saws attached to his hands and murder in his soul.

    I loved the Elektra and Spider-Man stories. Both would very well written and had great twists and turns. Charles Soule's (Letter 44) writing is slowly winning me over throughout this Daredevil run. It's not Mark Waid quality but the mix of gritty and light-hearted is enjoyable. The artwork of Ron Garney (A+X) is really good and I like how he interprets what Daredevil sees with his sonar-vision.  And man, do I dig those Bill Sienkiewicz covers on issues 6 and 7. 

    The last two stories, which originally appeared in Daredevil Annual #1; those I'm on the fence with. Soule does a fairly good job with both stories. (I think I would like the Gladiator story better if I knew who that character was.) Though how Echo and Daredevil are able to communicate with one another seems a little far fetched. 

    During Klaw's sonic attacks, Daredevil is wearing noise cancelling head phones. So how can he tell what Echo is saying to him if he's blind? Even worse, how can Echo understand what he is saying to her? Yes, I know that those who are deaf can sometimes read lips (and maybe Daredevil can too with his sonar) but in a couple of panels, the Man Without Fear has his back turned away from her! Did the artist Vanessa R. Del Rey forget that Echo can't hear?

      The new Daredevil series (which some dub Back In Black) is gradually getting better. But there's still some rough edges, like with the stories contained in annual 1. But should I get my hands on further volumes, I can honestly say that I will continue to read them.

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
  

Joker's Asylum II: Mad Hatter

This tragic tale of the origin of the Mad Hatter is just as deranged as the madman telling it. The story was quite good- though last year I read another version of the Mad Hatter's origin in the pages of Batman: Arkham City that I thought was just perfect. This one is good, but it's not instant classic material.

   The same cannot be said of the art. Bill Sienkiewicz draws the main layout. But for some reason, parts of the artwork is overlapped with doodles by the great Keith Giffen. It looks like someone is scrapbooking for the insane or something here.

   If this sort of layout had appeared in a Justice League Europe issue or a volume of Ambush Bug (and I'm pretty sure it has), then I would say it's great and necessary for the work in question. But in this edition of Joker's Asylum, well it's a hot mess. I hate that DC didn't do further volumes of this series but if this issue was the only sample offered to the masses for review, I can see why further minis and one-shots were never greenlit.

   This series can do better.

   Not Worth Consuming

   Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.