BOOK POST | COMICS ROUND UP | JULY

 

Hello, it’s the end of July and that means another round up of the comics that I have been reading this month.

Got to be honest here, my comics reading has been a bit lackadaisical. It’s been a busy month and both my reading and my comics have taken a bit of a hit to be honest.

Anyhow, I have been reading some comics, so let’s get on with it.

 

BATMAN: BRUCE WAYNE, MURDERER

Greg Rucka, Chuck Dixon, Steve Lieber (Illustrator), Jesse Delperdang (Ink), Trevor McCarthy (Illustrator), Scott McDaniel (Illustrator), Roger Robinson (Illustrator), Damion Scott (Illustrator), Pete Woods (Illustrator), Ed Brubaker, Devin Grayson, Kelley Puckett, Rick Burchett (Illustrator), Rick Leonardi (Illustrator)

Every Man Has A Breaking Point.

Bruce Wayne has just reached his.

When he is found with the dead body of Vesper Fairchild in his arms, a chain of events begins that will leave the Batman mythos changed forever. Arrested and imprisoned for murder, alienated from all whom he has ever called ally, Bruce Wayne stands poised to lose his own identity to the specter of his dark knight counterpart - Batman!

What would happen if the line between Bruce Wayne and Batman was shattered?

You're about to find out!

BATMAN: BRUCE WAYNE, MURDERER was a major event in the Batman comics in 2002, and reprinted again in 2014.

The story sprawled across a number of comics such as Batgirl, Nightwing, Birds of Prey and Robin to name but a few.

So, I have to admit that I was a little conflicted about this one. Some aspects of it are good and some are bit …….

However, this one will stay close to me as my son bought me this as a birthday gift and despite the faults with the story I will like this whatever.

 

THE DEVIL THAT WEARS MY FACE

David Pepose, Alex McCormack (Illustrator), Justin Birch (Letterer)

Equal parts Face Off and The Exorcist , Ringo Award-winning writer David Pepose ( Moon City of the Dead, Savage Avengers ) and Bram Stoker Award-nominated artist Alex Cormack ( Sea of Sorrows, The Crimson Cage ) conjure a harrowing tale of terror, action, and body-swap intrigue that will leave comic readers at the edge of their seats. The year is 1740, and the Vatican is in turmoil. Grappling with a profound crisis of faith, outcast exorcist Father Franco Vieri is dispatched on a mission of grave importance – to rescue a Spanish nobleman from the clutches of the sadistic demon known as Legion. But when the exorcism goes tragically wrong, Vieri finds himself trapped in a stranger’s body… and learns what horrors lie ahead when the Devil wears his face.

With art from Alex Cormack, David Prepose’s The Devil that Wears My Face is a mixed bag of a comic.

The story revolves around Catholic Priest Father Vieri, a renowned exorcist in the Vatican who is sent to recover the soul from the son of a rich Spanish merchant who has been possessed by a powerful demon.

Amidst the struggle for the soul of the merchant’s son, Father Vieri finds his soul ousted from his body to share the body of the man he came to save, whilst the demon has usurped his own body and sets off on a bloody rampage across 17th century Italy.

Billed as The Exorcist meets FACE/OFF this is an interesting take on the possession trope. The story runs best when it is galloping along at a hundred miles an hour. However, at other times, the story and the writing can be clumsy and quite generic. The art by Cormack is generally quite good, although there are times when it is a muddled mess that it is hard to make out, particularly when Vieri is sent to Hell.

The ending was ……. Unexpected and to be honest a bit meh, spoiled mainly by bad dialogue that felt more like a golden age superhero, which was fine back in the day, but in this day and age felt immature.

All in all a mixed bag. It would be interesting to see how the comic develops as it has plenty of scope to question a number of things about faith and religion.

 

ALL STAR SUPERMAN

Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely (Illustrator), Neal Adams (Illustrator)

When the Man of Steel is suddenly stricken by a fatal illness, he must find a cure while preparing for his final days. But before his impending fate consumes him, he must have a final confrontation with his greatest enemy, Lex Luthor, who will stop at nothing to finally defeat the world's greatest superhero.

Right, I am going to be honest here, I am not much a Superman fan. I mean he’s alright, and I know he is the flagship DC hero and all that, but I have have always preferred other stuff to Superman to be honest.

Don’t get me wrong, I like some of the films – the Richard Donner one with Christopher Reeve is a classic. And to be honest I had every intention of seeing the new James Gunn one, that’s why I read this one.

I have to say that I absolutely loved this one (and I also loved the film too!). Grant Morrison does a fantastic job of doing a love letter to classic Superman and the humanness of the character. In addition to that, I just loved the humour of the story as well.

 

THE RIBBON QUEEN

Garth Ennis, Jacen Burrows (Illustrator)

A troubled NYPD detective stumbles into a supernatural mystery involving an immortal spirit of vengeance while battling dirty cops protecting their leader, in this horror thriller from Garth Ennis, creator of MARJORIE FINNEGAN, TEMPORAL CRIMINAL, The Boys and Preacher !

Detective Amy Sun faces an impossible decision: go public with her allegations against a tactical team leader who allegedly killed a victim he was stalking, or face the wrath of an angry Blue Wall in her department. Complicating matters is the arrival of an immortal entity known as The Ribbon Queen, who delivers justice to those wronged by peeling the skin off her victims in ribbons. But The Ribbon Queen isn’t the only supernatural shedding blood in the streets of New York…and Detective Amy Sun isn’t so sure she should stop them at all!

SHE SWIMS THROUGH A SEA OF FIRE AND RAGE AND BLOOD!

There is something ancient and terrible loose in the world of men. Something that hates them with burning passion, that bears a grudge born of ten thousand years. Something that wants its revenge.

Detective Amy Sun has a problem—a problem called the NYPD. Three years ago, a young woman was rescued from a serial killer by a police tactical unit. Now she’s dead—and Amy has a bad feeling one of her fellow officers is responsible. Is there a conspiracy deep inside the department, intent on covering up the foulest of crimes? And if there is, what does one officer do about it?

But Amy is looking in the wrong direction. A far more dangerous, far more terrible threat than anything in the affairs of mortal men is suddenly at hand. A force of vengeance older than the human race itself has awoken, invoked by the tormented murder victim in the weeks before she died, and out for the blood of the guilty—who soon find themselves suffering a fate more gruesome than anything they could have dreamed of. The Ribbon Queen has come to New York City…and when she learns the truth, Amy is not at all certain that it should be stopped.

This one was another one that I was conflicted about to be honest. I read this one on the back of finishing The Final Girl’s Support group and had conflicting views about that one too. Both of the stories deal with violence towards women, and whilst this is an important topic, especially in this day and age where right wing views on anything run rife, this needs to be talked about more. However, I just think that they were handled a little clumsily to be honest.

Bearing that in mind whether handled clumsily or not, the subject needs to be talked about more and changing views and opinions comes in many forms and at least they are talking about it.

DEAD ROMANS

Fred Kennedy, Nick Marinkovich (Artist)

Arminius, a Germanic prince raised in Rome, has sworn vengeance against the Empire that butchers his people. He wants to make a queen of the woman he loves, Honoria, a fellow slave. Now fifty thousand Romans will die to give her a throne she never asked for…or wanted.   Lush, beautiful illustrations bring to life a brutal tale of love and war from the birth of the Roman Empire.   Collects Dead Romans #1 - 6

Dead Romans tells the story of the story of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD in which three Roman Legions were destroyed and stopped any expansion by the Roman empire into territories east of the Rhine. 

The story gives the viewpoints from both the Romans and the Germanic Tribes perspectives.

Dead Romans was an ok read to be honest. Unfortunately, nothing much really stood out to make it a great comic. The art was ultra stylised, and at times became a bit muddied, especially in the actions. However, there were some really good aspects of the art, particularly with the female character where they stayed away from creating a character that was over endowed and disproportionate in order to convey sexuality. Instead, the artist manages to get this across by the use of body language and poses. 

Whilst the story was good, it did not really do much in terms of characterisation and depth and due to this seemed to be rather one dimensional.

Dead Romans was an interesting piece of historical fiction, but unfortunately nothing really stood out.