Fantastic Universes

“Adam Raised A Cain” Writer: Peter J. Tomasi Artists: Travis Moore and Max Raynor Color Artists: Tamra Bonvillain and Nick Filardi Letterer: Rob Leigh Review by Steve J. Ray I frequently get asked, as I am a particularly mature reader, why I still read and love comics. Issues like  Detective Comics  Annual #2 provide the reasons. One of the plusses of my age is the huge number of comics that I’ve read, and the fact that many of today’s writers have read the same ones. A new fan may have picked up this issue, looked at pages two and three and thought, “Wow. Cool bad guy.” I jumped up, punched the air and shouted “Holy  $#!+ … it’s the Reaper. WAAAAAAHHHHHH!” …. Or words to that effect. The Black Casebook Writer Peter J. Tomasi is really doing some incredible work on this title. Not only is he bringing back classic villains and presenting them in whole new ways, he’s giving us action packed, fun stories too. Batman, as a character, is my absolute favorite c...

"Mother's Day" Writer: Jeph Loeb Artist: Tim Sale Color Artist: Gregory Wright Letterer: Richard Starkings Review by Eric Lee While Holiday is still free somewhere, Batman pays a visit to the Calendar Man in Arkham Asylum. The villain offers no real help once again, despite the promise that he knows who Holiday is. In retrospect, Calendar Man is just wasting Batman’s time, since there is no way he could know Holiday’s true identity. In fact, one may even venture that these Calendar Man scenes set up his involvement in  Dark Victory. Sale’s Calendar Man is super creepy Despite Calendar Man having no real effect on the overall plot of  The Long Halloween , the scene does not feel wasteful. Jeph Loeb is still able to make him feel eerie for someone who’s always essentially been a joke villain. Tim Sale’s creepy, sanitized look of Calendar Man also contributes to the uneasy, off-putting personality. Also, the fact that Calendar Man confirms that Harv...

“Terrible” – Part Two Writer: Mairghread Scott Artists: Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund and Jose Marzan Jr. Color Artist: Jordie Bellaire Letterer: AndWorld Design Review by Fay Clark We left Batgirl in a bit of a bind at the end of the  last issue , but she’s hanging in there.  Batgirl  #35  opens exactly where we left off, with Barbara in terrible trouble. I have all the faith in the world that our heroine will be just fine. Well… she is a Bat after all. Three villains against just one heroine? Now those odds just aren’t fair... those bad guys are screwed! We have got controversy in this issue, though. While Babs is dealing with the scum of Burnside, her business partner is dealing with the scum of the corporate world. Batgirl has some real big problems, villain-wise and in life. The writing of this issue was really great; we got a classic baddie monologue, it’s always fun to read how well they think their evil plans will work out,  you know… before t...

"Swamp Thing" Director: Len Wiseman Writers: Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden Starring: Crystal Reed, Virginia Madsen, Andy Bean, Derek Mears, Henderson Wade, Maria Sten, Jeryl Prescott, Will Patton, Elle Graham, Leonardo Nam, Given Sharp, Tim Russ, Tom Proctor, Gregdan Williams, John Bishop and R.J. Syler Review by Steve J. Ray I was initially going to write a little intro to the character of Swamp Thing, just to give new readers/fans some context. That endeavour actually turned into a mini thesis, which you can now read elsewhere on this very site ... if you decide that you actually want to. I would even say that, having now seen this incredible pilot episode, you don't have to. At all. The episode stands up on it's own as something fresh, vibrant and new. Much like Swampy himself. Director Len Wiseman, and writers Gary Dauberman and Mark Verheiden, have created a brand new story that, quite honestly, deserves to be viewed totally on its own merits. ...

“Divide Conquer and Kill” – Part Two Writer: Dan Jurgens Artists: Rick Leonardi and Ande Parks Color Artist: Chris Sotomayor Letterer: Travis Lanham Review by Adam Ray Batman Beyond #32  begins where  issue #31  ended. Thankfully Dan Jurgens didn’t play with our emotions for very long between releases. We had no doubt that Batman was fine, but it took seeing the hero recover from the situation he was stuck in to really let us catch our breath. This doesn’t mean that Batman is free or clear, not at all. The situation is murky in both of the interwoven stories. Villains have their eyes on strange tech, while Bruce is acting aloof and odd. It was clear to some, but subtle to others, in issue #31. Now we’re starting to wonder about this impostor Bruce, from the jump in this issue. We know he’d never be so uncaring about Terry McGinnis’ fate. Throughout, the fake Bruce brushes off Batman’s entire situation, accepting that whoever’s under the mask, they’ve surrounded ...