Just gonna dive right in this time:
Batman: Battle For The Cowl #1 (DC)
By Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea
Ahh, at last! Soon, my friends, very soon, there will be a new Batman and it all goes down in these pages. All of Batman’s proteges and allies are in Gotham trying to clean up the mess that’s been made in his absence. But there is another! Someone is masquerading as the Dark Knight and using a little excess force as it were. Robin has taken the case and is gathering clues to determine the identity of this impostor. Meanwhile, Nightwing is not thrilled about he, or anyone else for that matter, carrying on Batman’s legacy. We don’t get enough information on who the fake Batman is to make any educated guesses but, knowing that he will play a role in the series, my money is on Azrael. And for what it’s worth, I’m also picking Tim Drake, I mean Tim Wayne, as the new Batman.
The Amazon #1 (Dark Horse)
By Steven T. Seagle and Tim Sale
This is an interesting little concept considering the original publication of this took place 20 years ago. Granted I was only 6 at the time, but I do recall the rain forest as being a big issue at the time. I also remember being really into Fern Gully, remember that shit?
Anyway, in this book, a reporter travels to the Amazon to write a piece on a timber worker who has gone missing. What’s cool about it is the way the story is told. You get the dialogue plus the reporter’s journal entries and his finished article all mashed together. It’s great because you see stuff unfold plus you get his thoughts and opinions about it (the journal) and you see how it compares to his filtered, edited, published piece (the article).
So, you have superstar, Tim Sale, on art detail doing it as only he can and an engaging story about an important issue that seems to have taken a backseat lately. Plus, it’s only a 3-part story so you can’t really go wrong.
Super Zombies #1 (Dynamite)
By Marc Guggenheim and Vince Gonzales
As much as I love zombie literature (yes, literature), the comics medium is so saturated with zombified everything, you have to be somewhat selective about what you decide to spend your $3.50 on. That being said I thought I would take a chance with this one. I didn’t know anything about it and the title made it sound just as ridiculous as any of the other bandwagon-hopping garbage out there but what the hell right?
In a post-apocalyptic future (here we go again), the earth is overrun by super-powered humans who received their abilities from a well-meaning vaccine. At first everything was kosher and then the powerless began to fear the powered and…wait, haven’t I seen this before. Oh yeah, X-Men. The 4400. etc, etc. But then somehow instead of gaining powers, some folks turned into zombies(?). I’m not real clear on how that part happened and I think this could be a much stronger book if it were less oblique about it. And there’s only like two pages of zombie brain-eating so it’s a bit of a buzz-kill. Ah well.
I’d bitch at myself about posting two pull lists in a row again, but I’m in the process of typing up a lengthy piece on Harvest of Hope for JaxScene so be sure and check it out!
