Marvel Comics Presents #97

The Ghost Rider/Cable story comes to a close. It was about 4 chapters too many. Good ending. But like I said earlier, it was telegraphed early on.

The Pioneer Wolverine story keeps getting better. There's some sort of Medusa creature terrorizing the Blackfoot tribe. It kills with a glance. It's up to Logan to stop it.

There's a Silver Surfer one-shot story that was okay. I appreciated the cameo by Mr. Fantastic. But with all the doctorate-level jargon, I don't really know all that was happening. 

Finally, we head down to the Bar With No Name. There's a ton of cameos from a bunch of baddies. There's the standard mix-up fight amongst friends- or enemies in this case. And a fantastic twist ending!

A .500 batting average is great in baseball. This is my reading enjoyment. Not good enough! No siree, Bob! 

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Gotham City Villains Anniversary Giant One-Shot

2021 was a milestone year for several member's of Batman's Rogues Gallery. With a Penguin story by one of the actor's who have portrayed the villain, Danny DeVito, I was excited for the special. And I was very much willing to pay the full $9.99 cover price. 

I won't be making that mistake again.

The DeVito story was all over the place. It should be considered a cautionary for allowing actors free range to craft stories that stroke inflated egos. (Danny Devito played the Penguin in 1992's Batman Returns) I don't want to spoil this story. But it's definitely a fantasy story that never, EVER would happen in legitimate Batman canon.

I'm not ragging on just Danny Devito and what I assume is his comic book writing debut. Ms. Marvels' G. Willow Wilson's story starring Poison Ivy was confusing and too artsy-fartsy. And the Scarecrow story by Wes Craig (Deadly Class) makes an odd left turn and implicates Nightwing as some sort of chosen one in Dr. Crane's bizarre plans which were already too spastic to understand. 

There were some good stories. I loved the twist at the end of the Ra's al Ghul story. The Talia story was decent as well. I enjoyed how Stephanie Williams' (Wonder Woman: Black & Gold) take on the Red Hood kinda had a take on the villain's legend similar to that on Gotham. 

The Mad Hatter story was just fantastic. It would have made a great segment on an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. But the story that shined the most starred the villain that gets so little respect that cover artist Lee Bermejo (Batman: Noel) didn't even bother to put him on the cover: Killer Moth!

Killer Moth gets a bad rap mostly because he gets his butt kicked in Batgirl's origin story. And then by the hero again and again and again. Still, his short story, which was way too short was the cream of the crop! Mairghread Scott crafted an epic in less than 10 pages. If DC would greenlight a Killer Moth series written by the Transformers writer, I would request it in my LCS pull box in a heartbeat!

There's a big difference between this special and the most recent DC holiday special I read in Decmber, is that the festive book tried too to be relevant for just about every race, gender and creed instead of focusing on quality. In this special, I feel that the writers were trying to get too much into the psyche of the characters. Thus storyline suffered greatly in many of the stories. Many of Batman's arch-enemies are insane. If you try to craft a tale from the point of view of a madman, things aren't going to make sense and that's what happened with the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy and Al Ghul stories. I have no idea what Danny DeVito was trying to do with the Penguin. 

While this special was much better than last year's holiday annual, I'm still disappointed. To have to give up a Hamilton plus tax, I'd expect perfection from DC Comics. I hate to not support new comics in a day and age where consumership is greatly waning. But I can't afford to keep throwing my money away on sub-par works. Especially these pricey ones.

Do better, DC!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

 

Dear DC Super-Villains (Family Comic Friday)

After a lengthy hiatus due to the pandemic, Family Comic Friday is back!

My local library is where I get my hands on the latest all-ages releases. Thanks to COVID, the reading center was closed. Finally, that exile appears over and I'm back to reviewing family favorite graphic novels and more!

I've been looking forward to Dear DC Super-Villains ever since I read Dear DC Super-Heroes. I really felt after I completed the good guys book that a baddie version would be a natural sequel. However, I don't think the format works well with the enemies.

The premise of this series is that kids would write their favorite- or in this case- least favorite heavy hitters of the DC Universe with an assortment of questions. Michael Northrop (Rotten) again is the author of these dispatches. But it just doesn't seem like the right fit having super-villains corresponding with children. At least in this terse political environment...

Another thing that seemed off was a running story of how the Legion of Super-Villains is in chaos with leader Lex Luthor in jail. Gorilla Grodd really wants to be the new leader but nobody seems to want to take orders from an ape! This volume also ties in with a prison break and a run in with the heroes of the Justice League. In all, things in this read felt uneven.

Some segments were rather funny. I especially loved the banter between Catwoman and Batman. And Northrop's Harley Quinn was just perfect. Luthor too! But why is Katana a part of this? She's not a villain? Has she turned sides recently and I'm just not aware?

I enjoyed the whimsical artwork by Gustavo Duarte (Bizarro). He's just a fun artist to experience. I hope the kiddies like him too!

I'm not over with the Dear DC series. I think if they go back to the heroes with a book three, things could return to normal. Maybe a spooky edition with the members of Justice League Dark or a collection of letters to some of the most bizarre characters in the DC Universe like Adam Strange, Lobo and The Creeper. Or why not both!?

This was an enjoyable read that families will love. This sequel just didn't have all of the magic of the original. I guess that's sequels for you!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.