Archive for the ‘Patrick Gleeson’ Category

Batman & Robin #4 Review

Posted: December 17, 2011 in Batman & Robin, Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Patrick Gleeson, Peter J. Tomasi
0

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inker: Mick Gray
Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Cover: Gleason, Gray, & Kalisz
Editors: Katie Kubert, Harvey Richards, & Mike Marts

Batman Created By Bob Kane

Each Bat-title, as I’ve said in other reviews, has its own individual theme appropriate for to its title.  Batman and Robin is a “focus on the family” kind of title, no pun intended.  However, what’s ALSO been true of this title, thus far, is the amount of explosive action coming from every corner.  While #4 began with a lot of punching, kicking, and fireball action, it quickly went into an epic duel between father and son.

Certainly, Morgan is coming back, that was made clear by the issue’s end, but Morgan’s part in this tale seems to be done for now.  (Unless, of course, I’m completely wrong and he shows up next month in #5…wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong.)  But to be honest, I really don’t care about Morgan.  He has a few interesting traits, but surrounded by the tension between Damian and Bruce makes his part in the story seem trivial and minor.

As intense as the exchange between Bruce and Damian is, there’s still this strong feeling of literary excellence that you don’t see too often in comics whose selling point is in the action and adventure.  As annoying as Damian is, there’s an incredible amount of angst built up between the two that really makes me want to see what happens with Damian.  Before, I was hoping he’d just fall off a cliff and die, but now I’m wondering if Damian will be the next Robin to go off the deep end and become one of Bruce Wayne’s arch villains.

Gleason has always been a top pick for me when it comes to artists, and this issue delivers the best art a comic can provide.  It’s obvious Gleason has a love for the more cartooney style of art, but there is a realism in everything he does that gives every panel some “umpf.”  And what an absolutely terrifying cover!  The city, ripping apart with Damian coming out from the middle, and Morgan’s reflection gleaming in the water.  This might be one of the best DC covers of the year!

Every Bat-Title is playing its part, with Detective Comics leading the way in quality.  But, without a doubt, Batman & Robin is boosting itself into a close second.  Damian, there may be hope for you yet….but not much.

8 out of 10 stars

Batman & Robin #3 Review

Posted: November 14, 2011 in Batman & Robin, Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Pat Brosseau, Patrick Gleeson, Peter J. Tomasi
2

Written By: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciled By: Patrick Gleason
Inked By: Mick Gray
Colored By: John Kalisz
Lettered By: Pat Brosseau
Cover By:  Gleason, Gray, & Kalisz
Edited By: Mike Marts
Assistant Editor: Katie Kubert
Associate Editor: Harvey Richards

Batman created by Bob Kane 

One thing is certainly true, Damian Wayne is one of the more ruthless Robins in history!  He’s a freaking ten year old boy who has more emotional distress, anger, and natural fighting abilities than most people have in their pinky finger!  Damian is dealing with a lot of issues involving his dad, Alfred, and everyone else he’s surrounded by.  Even though he may be tough as nails, however, he still annoys the crap out of me.  But this title has left me with a dilemma, which  is simply this….the story is freaking  amazing.  Ugh!!!!

I work with students every day, especially those labeled with behavior disorders.  BD students are typically placed in this category due to bad adult relationships, growing up with the inability to talk and act appropriately.  In Damian’s case, I think he qualifies as a behavior disorder child.  Not only is he one big giant walking hot head, but he also has trouble with the fact that Bruce Wayne’s fatherly instincts are severely lacking.

But that’s certainly the point isn’t it?  Bruce Wayne has to learn, once again, how to be a father.  The only difference here is…Damian is his ACTUAL son.  Bruce is  not a surrogate father to another orphan.  It’s obvious Batman cares for his son as he continually tries to keep Damian out of the heat of battle and safe at home, in doors.  But this is no different from how Batman cares for the rest of Gotham city; he doesn’t want anyone harmed.  However, the challenge for Bruce is to find a way to reach Damian on that special level that a father strives for.  What better way than by allowing Damian to name the dog???  Bruce definitely has a lot to learn yet, and I suspect the bond the father and son will develop will spawn from this fight against Morgan.

I felt a little irked by the ending.  It wasn’t bad by any means, I simply wanted to know what the heck Morgan was having the dynamic duo watch!  There couldn’t have been a glimpse of what’s to come?  A vision of what’s to come in the future which is to be their doom?  Oh Tomasi, you certainly know how to leave me wanting more.  Applause to you!

Patrick Gleason does he’s usual quality work; the dark alley way where Robin takes out the thug, the moments where Batman leaves Damian back at the Batcave, and the horrifically Hitchcockian moment where we leave Batman and Robin in the car out in the middle of the field, all incredibly tense and gothic scenes that the team of Gleason and Gray are masters of.

Be warned, dear reader, if you d not start following this series before it’s too late, you may regret it forever.

10 out of 10 stars

Batman And Robin #2 Review

Posted: October 14, 2011 in Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Pat Brosseau, Patrick Gleeson, Peter J. Tomasi
0

Written By: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciled By: Patrick Gleeson
Inked By: Mick Gray
Colors By: John Kalisz
Letters By: Patrick Brosseau
Cover By: Gleeson, Gray, & Kalisz

Fatherhood At Its Best…
Damian is an annoyingly giant brat that’s pissed me off ever since he took over as Robin. I’ve been hoping and praying that some writer would kick Damian out of the red, green, and yellow outfit and turn him into Bat’s next villain.  However, Peter J. Tomasi has more faith in the innocence of youth and is doing all he can to provide Damian with some semblance of likeability.

Each Bat title is acting appropriately, giving us a different theme to help each comic stick out and stand on its own.  #1 of Batman and Robin started us off well, but #2 is where the juiciness of the meat really starts to flow.  Batman is going to be tested, more so than ever, with this version of Robin…it’s his son.  Bruce Wayne has never truly LIKED kids, but now that his own flesh and blood is under his wing, he’s going to have to do some major work in the fatherhood department.

There’s a lot of angst driving this issue forward; we see Bruce Wayne trying his best (or so he thinks) to show Damian he loves him, Alfred getting frustrated with Bruce’s best “fatherly” attempts, and Damian crushing a Bat’s skull.  Three degrees of plot and I’m still not sure where this will all go.

This is the story Damian needed in order to become a character I can look forward to reading about in the future.  Even though the dialog is coming out of Bruce Wayne’s mouth, we get a back story from the perspective of Damian, and I’m both excited and afraid for what may come in the future.  Will Bruce’s fatherly attempts be successful in “fixing” Damian, or is Damian so far gone that a father-son/hero-villain rumble is certain to happen?

Gleeson amazes me every time.  He’s as much of a story teller as any writer in comics today.  Pages 15 & 16 give us all we need to know about Damian’s state of mind, almost as if his value of the life of others is meaningless.  This title is definitely going to prove to be one of the more emotionally dark comics in DC’s repertoire, and Gleeson is the man for the job.

The last segment of this issue had me a bit confused…but maybe that’s the point.  I found myself having to read this section a few times before coming to terms with the fact that the unknown killer is this guy who looks incredibly like Morpheus.  This reveal felt very lack luster and without impact.  I just sat back and thought… “oh, this is him.”  I certainly hope this isn’t a sign of what’s to come to future issues.

The ending shouldn’t dictate the quality of the issue, overall.  B&R #2 is a joy to read and a proud addition to the new 52.

8 out of 10 Stars

Brightest Day #24 Review

Posted: May 1, 2011 in Blackest Night, Brightest Day, Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Gary Frank, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Patrick Gleeson, Peter J. Tomasi
0

Written By: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi

Artist: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Norm Rapmund, Vicente Cifuentes, Oclair Albert, Tom Nguyen, Mick Gray, Mark Irwin, & David Beaty

Colorist: Aspen MLT’s Peter Steigerwald

Cover Artist: Gary Frank & Rod Reis

Letterer: Rob Clark Jr.

Editor: Rex Ogle

The Earth Shattering Plot

Swamp Thing is Earth’s ultimate savior, but in order for him to return, someone else must die.  As the newly inducted elemental heroes fight off the Dark Avatar, one hero will sacrifice himself in order to save all of humanity…and the one he loves.

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

As a lot of you know, my opinion of Brightest Day has been quite low. However, with that being said, as painful as it was, I’m certainly glad I stuck it out all that way through as the series as I found out of Swamp Thing’s return.

However, as awesome as this return is, the issue isn’t perfect and seems to have been thrown together to help wrap up a series that was destined for failure.  The end result of each character’s stories may look as if there’s some semblance of a coherent conclusion, but ultimately makes little sense.

The Hawks turn into the wind, Manhunter becomes the Earth, Aquaman becomes H2O, and Firestorm become fire.  These biological alterations of the heroes of course make sense when thinking of their characteristics, but make little sense with the stories they were caught in the middle of within Brightest Day; The Hawks get caught in an interdimensional duel with Shiera’s mother, Manhunter goes through a lovers quarrel over the longevity of Mars, Firestorm failed in his attempt to save his professor, and Aquaman controlled the dead fish…it just doesn’t make sense to me.

As Brightest Day strung me along with multiple convoluted storylines, I now find myself happy about the return of one character but still confused about where this whole thing is going.  Why did Hawkgirl not return and Hawkman did?  Why is Firestorm uncertain about his future?  Brightest Day did a great job at stringing readers along without giving any indication about what was going to happen and leaving virtually no clues to help solve the mysteries.  Now we are left with even more daunting events and questions which, in turn, make no sense and I sit here thinking to myself that I have absolutely no idea what happened in 24 issues.  #24 only satisfied my geeky side with the return of Swamp Thing but didn’t give me any closure with the series itself, not that I was expecting it too.

It was confusing during Blackest Night and is STILL confusing for me in Brightest Day…How can a Black Lantern exist while the actual hero lives as well?  Firestorm goes up against himself and now Swamp Thing fights the Dark Avatar…which is Swamp Thing.  I feel this concept was never successfully explained which makes everything even more confusing than it already was.

And of course I come to the book’s art, and as I’m sure you can see, it has a jumble of artists.  Save me oh Lord, the jolting effect from one page to the next gave me such an artistic headache that I literally took three Advil and five Ibuprofen just to help simmer the pain.  (That’s completely untrue by the way, no medication was needed.  It was just painful to gaze upon.)  The first splash page of Swamp Thing standing over the world is gorgeous!  Then I turn to the next splash page where Swamp Thing fights the Dark Avatar and he looks completely different with no resemblance from the previous page.  The artistic talents in this issue are amazing, but the toggling eats at my soul.

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

All in all, Brightest Day is a failure, leaving nothing but confusion, uncertainty and very little closure.  Yeah, sure, Swamp Thing is back and it’s awesome…but the ending doesn’t give readers anything to work off of.

3 out of 10 stars.

Brightest Day #21 Review

Posted: March 3, 2011 in Brightest Day, Comic Book Review, DC Comics, Gary Frank, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Patrick Gleeson, Tomasi
0

Written By: Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi

Artist: Patrick Gleeson, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado

Inker: Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne, Norm Rapmund, Christian Alamy

Colorist: Peter Steigerwald, Nathan Eyring

Cover Artist: Gary Frank, Nathan Eyring

Letterer: Rob Clark Jr.

Editor: Adam Schlagman, Eddie Berganza

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

You know what?  Martian Manhunter has never really been given a story worthy of his awesome character.  Even with Grant Morrison’s exceptional White and Green Martian storyline (One of his very few successes) I’ve never felt that the Manhunter has ever been successfully utilized by DC to his full potential.  However, at long last, hallelujah, the alien hero has finally been given a chance to shine!

J’onn is still fighting with his alien witch friend on Mars, trying to make her understand that he doesn’t want to start a new life with her, while D’Kay works her persistent little tushy off to convince J’onn that loving her is his only option.  Amongst all of the mind games D’Kay throws at him, J’onn remains the immovable object that he is and brings this daunting battle to a burning conclusion.

Speaking of which, here I am slapping myself in the face thinking that Johns and Tomasi were feeding me an obnoxiously obvious plot device.  Earlier in the Green Arrow title, the white lantern’s task for J’onn was to “Burn it. Burn it all. Burn it all down!”  This, as I now see it, was not referring to the Star City forest, but rather to himself and the memories of his past.  This doesn’t necessarily mean he should forget his deceased loved ones, but rather facing his fears in order to move on with his life.  And what better way to jump-start the life of someone who fears fire than by hurtling himself right into the heart of the sun?  Applause to both writers in finally giving Martian Manhunter the literary treatment he’s been lacking for so many years.

But now the bigger question remains, why has every other hero who’s died thus far disintegrate into dust, but J’onn J’onzz melts into the Earth as the white lantern tells him that the Earth has accepted him?  As much as I like this issue, nothing really makes sense yet.  Sure the pieces are coming together, but in an incoherent fashion.  However, I do have a feeling that with four issues remaining in this miniseries, things will be much more tolerable and fun to read.

I’m not trying to say Patrick Gleeson isn’t a talented artist, he’s one of the best in fact.  But for those of you who know me, I believe that Ivan Reis is a force to be recognized.  As I read #21, I kept hoping the artistic talents of Reis would pop up to delight and enthrall me.  I kept turning the pages….and continued to turn them…and turned some more…but no Ivan Reis trademarked work!  WTF?!?  It wasn’t until I got to the last two pages when I finally saw it…ONLY TWO PAGES!!!  I was very disappointed to say the least.

I’m not faulting this issue for that, it’s just personal taste which dictated my thought process.  Gleeson has so much to offer the comic book world and his treatment of the Manhunter’s dilemma was fantastic.  So Gleeson if you’re reading this, please don’t misunderstand me.

The highlight of this issue for me, however, was the cover.  I can’t tell which artistic genius conjured up this beauty, but I’m leaning towards congratulating Gary Frank.  This cover absolutely took my breath away with how well it handles the orange and black shades on J’onn’s body as it melts in with the blinding white light behind him.  I know it’s only March, but some artists are really going to have to work their butts off at beating this as the best cover for 2011.

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

I still don’t believe that Brightest Day will be saved from its terrible spacing and storytelling, but it’s taking a step in the right direction.  If there were more than four issues left, I’d say the series has a shot and redeeming itself based on what was presented in #21.  But there’s really no way I can see series making a mark like Blackest Night did.  Still, if you’re a Martian Manhunter fan and feel the same way as I do about his career in comics, this issue will be a breath of fresh air.

7 out of 10 stars