Week of 4/24 Comics Reviews: Strange Frontiers

Detective Comics #1084 written by Ram V with art by Javier Fernandez, backup story written by Alex Paknadel with art by Robbi Rodriguez

“The shape of a fear, long unseen... but not forgotten”

With these words, Batman returns to Gotham in the beginning of Crescendo, the final part of Ram V’s Gotham Nocturne. Newly recovered and enlightened by his experiences in the desert, Batman returns to a city that has forgotten much. The city’s elite have all but handed it over to the Orgham family who are now approaching their goal of fully cementing their power over the city and its people. Much of the issue is Batman and Jim Gordon comparing notes on the events that have taken place and their own unique experiences within them. The significance of Gordon’s side-story becomes clear as he discusses his time fighting on behalf of Gotham’s forgotten children. The Orghams may have used supernatural means to manipulate the denizens of the city, but, as Gordon points out, it doesn’t take much for those of privilege to ignore the downtrodden in exchange for the illusion of security. Gotham is now a safer city, filled with light, and all it took was the systematic elimination of anyone who doesn’t fit the Orghams’ vision of what the city should be. The city they’ve rebuilt is now one which may no longer want a vigilante who seeks to undermine its security by protecting the poor and vulnerable. Rather than being discouraged, however, Batman has returned newly invigorated with his mission. Sometimes, as Gordon says, all you need to fight is someone opposing you. 

We don’t get to see much of the Bat-family in this issue, but Bruce does share a scene with Selina filled with unspoken feelings. The last time she saw him, he’d just barely escaped death by hanging and that image has clearly left an impact on her. There’s a hesitance to the character that we rarely see and it shows just how important Bruce has become to her. So important, that the issue ends with her approaching a Bat-foe who has remained largely absent during this run. Whatever bargain she intends to make is no doubt going to have grave consequences and makes it clear to the reader that truly anything can still happen before the final issue. 

Unusually for a Batman story, the pages are lit up by the rising sun as the dark knight watches a new day dawn in the city he calls home. Dave McCaig’s colors do a lot of work setting the scene of the final act as Batman pierces the light like a walking shadow. Javier Fernandez’s art is dynamic and keeps the energy going, even in such a dialogue heavy issue. Batman is coming in swinging and the panels are bursting with the same newfound energy as our hero. The bright colors aren’t simply limited to the daylight. There’s a page near the end when Batman declares war on the Orghams which stands out as proof of the power he symbolizes. The book looks great, and it promises a stunning spectacle of an ending. 

This issue also features a backup written by Alex Paknadel featuring Cassandra Cain as Batgirl. Seeing Cass is always a delight as this story focuses on what she was up to in the time before Batman’s return. She’s far from being the only Batgirl, but she’s the only one to share a parental bond with Bruce. Now, she stalks a city that has forgotten her father, trying to keep his memory alive and live up to the symbol she wears. Her hunt leads her into a confrontation with Lady Shiva, famed assassin and Cassandra’s mother. Hardly the nurturing type, Shiva attacks Cass while berating her for pursuing what she considers a fool’s errand. Her words strike a nerve, but Cass continues undeterred until their fight is interrupted by the Orgham’s forces. Mother and daughter team up, making short work of the demons, and Shiva leaves Cassandra with a few parting words about what following in the legacy of Batman might actually mean. 

The art of the backup is by Robbi Rodriguez, another artist who excels at kinetic action sequences. Cass is the best martial artist in the bat-family and her skills are on full display. The art certainly isn’t slacking in the characterization department either. Cassandra’s mask covers her entire face, but there is never a moment when the reader is left unsure of how she feels. Most of her complex past is left unspoken, but their relationship is made clear from her mother’s abrasive smirks when taunting her daughter or the glares when she sees how deeply Batman’s teachings of non-lethality have influenced her. By the end of the story, the reader will have been given plenty of information to infer just what makes Cassandra tick. 

While largely a setup for the final act, Crescendo Part 1 is a lot of fun. The reader gets to see more of how Batman has been shaped by events of Nocturne and how it’s affected his relationship with a city he thought he knew completely. It’s like a magic trick to see the disparate threads of characters and stories throughout the run being woven together, as Ram V reveals that he’s known what he’s been doing this entire time. His work is consistently fantastic, but I am always in awe of his ability to find new ways to surprise and delight readers. The book is full of so many killer lines that I struggled to figure out which one to use as the quote at the beginning of the review. Javier Fernandez’s art is bright and action-packed and it’s clear that this is the perfect pair to bring Batman’s latest battle to a close. We’re in the endgame now and I can’t wait to see where we land. 

Ultimate Spider-Man #4 written by Johnathan Hickman with art by David Messina

“Sorry I’m late. Things got a little complicated.”

That line is the understatement of the year as Peter and MJ meet up with Harry Osborn for dinner at a glitzy restaurant and are joined shortly after by Harry’s wife. A woman named Gwen Stacy. Meanwhile, Ben and JJJ babysit the Parker kids and discuss their burgeoning news company. That’s the whole issue. It’d be easy to hear that and think it’d be fine to give the issue a pass, but you’d be missing out on one of the best Spider-Man books in years if you did. Johnathan Hickman has always been known for expansive, high-concept worldbuilding, but Ultimate Spider-Man has been proving that he’s a master at writing characters too. The issue is built almost entirely around the dinner conversation between the Osborns and the Parkers. Peter and Harry met one another in the previous issue and are aware of the other’s alter ego, but that doesn’t even come up until near the end. Instead, the issue is focused primarily on Harry and Gwen asking MJ about herself which also gives the reader a chance to find out about this new iteration of a classic character. MJ has mostly been kept in the background and readers have had to rely on their preexisting knowledge of the character to fill in most of the blanks of what she’s about. Here, she reveals that she’d left her modeling career behind a long time ago and had joined a PR firm, climbing through the ranks until she was scouted by an even more prominent company. Unfortunately, said company turned out to be responsible for crisis management on behalf of the wealthy and corrupt which has pushed her to branch out and start her own firm where she can back the causes that she believes in. Of course, at the moment she only has one client, the news company Ben and JJJ are putting together. It’s clear that she’s going to be an integral part of their success and is even the one who’s come up with its name, “The Paper”. 

Much like with MJ, readers’ perception of Harry and Gwen is still being shaped by knowledge of their history. Hickman is clearly playing into that preconception and subverting it in interesting ways while never feeling like it’s only for the sake of surprising the audience or being different for different’s sake. They’re the definition of a power couple as their questioning of MJ borders on interrogation, but never crosses the line to the point where it feels malicious. Both of them are blunt with their opinions but, so far, it seems to constructive criticism that comes from a place of genuine interest in their new friends. After they’ve had the chance to chat a bit, MJ and Gwen excuse themselves to the restroom, leaving Peter and Harry alone. While they’re up, Gwen makes a surprising proposition to MJ which has interesting implications for the book’s most compelling subplot. In the meantime, Peter and Harry finally being discussing their “mask” business. It’s clear that Harry and Peter have different perspectives on secrecy with Harry arguing against Peter’s more traditional point of view. The conversation moves on from there as Harry begins to explain the scope of the threat they’re dealing with. Peter, who’s just barely begun to find his footing as a street-level hero, is understandably daunted by what Harry is describing, but Harry counters his concern with an iconic line that I’m sure I don’t even need to write. The dinner ends with Peter and MJ both shaken in different ways, but clearly excited by the possibilities their new friends are offering. 

Throughout the issue, we’re given little snippets of Ben and JJJ as babysitters. Their dynamic continues to be delightful and I’m excited to see that the story is clearly setting them up for a significant role in the book. JJJ continues to be an obnoxious blowhard with a heart of gold while Ben is the levelheaded one who keeps his friend focused in the right direction. It’s amazing to think this is the first time we’ve ever seen this particular pairing in the decades of Spider-Man history. The two men compliment each other perfectly and the more we see of them, the better. 

A book without a single action scene places a hefty burden on the artist to keep the momentum going, but David Messina handles it like a champ. The book is filled with subtle moments as the two couples size each other up. None of the characters’ expressions ever feel flat nor do they ever feel overblown or exaggerated. Instead, they communicate through little smiles, narrowed eyes, and the way their posture changes throughout the conversation. The art goes a long way in making the characters feel like real people having real conversations. There are moments throughout where Harry’s eyes are framed in shadow and it’s truly impossible to tell if it’s because of the heavy burden of responsibility on his shoulders or if it’s a sign of ulterior motives. The ambiguity ramps up the tension even more and fills the book with energy.

Every time it seems like Peter might be slipping back into a familiar status quo, Hickman comes along and shakes up the foundations, not with huge events, but with small moments reminding the reader that these are people who have lived lives we are not privy to. They’ve created families and forged trust with one another that we get to see through every little interaction they share. I’m finding myself more invested in these characters with each issue. They’re heroes in bright costumes, but that’s secondary to the fact that they’re people. This issue was just as compelling as watching Spider-Man punch criminals in the previous issue, if not even more so. I’m having a blast with this book and I find myself actively fearing for these characters when evil finally comes knocking at the door. This is the essence of Spider-Man as a character and I cannot recommend this issue highly enough. 

The One Hand #3 written by Dan Watters with art by Sumit Kumar

“The right hand cannot know what the left is doing.”

And yet, we’re finally starting to get a clear view of both hands in the third (sixth) issue in the sci-fi noir murder mystery. The issue opens with Johannes learning about the attack on Odell Watts that occurred in The One Hand #3. Once again, Johannes feels the walls closing in on him, but reassures himself that every problem has multiple solutions. In the meantime, he realizes that it’s been over a day since he’s eaten, a problem he sets out to rectify. On the way back, he runs into Ada, the art curator from the previous issue. The police had come knocking on her door asking if she employed anyone with six fingers. At the moment, she’s covering for Johannes, but it seems to be her desire for excitement motivating her more than any sense of altruism. Throughout the book, we’ve seen that Johannes will resort to taking the moral high-ground as an excuse to feel like he’s in control of a situation, but it’s hard to argue with him when he snaps at Ada for being more interested in glorifying the work of a serial killer than actually turning him in and making the city safer. Johannes is certainly flawed, but he doesn’t seem to be a killer. Of course this issue only muddies the waters even further in the latter half. In the previous issue, we were treated to a trippy vision sequence as Johannes seemed to fall through a wall and into a murder scene. This time, however, we see the vision beginning, but the rest is told from Ada’s perspective, giving us an actual look at what is happening to Johannes. That said, what actually happens is far from mundane as the city itself opens a path for an entranced Johannes to stalk towards his next victim while a curious Ada follows. They arrive in the hospital room of Odell Watts, the previous “One Hand Killer”, who seems all too unsurprised by this. Readers of The One Hand don’t need to be told what happens next. After the deed is done, Johannes tries to make his escape as the world itself seems to open up to him. Detective Ari Nassar arrives on the scene and our two protagonists finally share a brief conversation from opposite sides of a wall. Johannes is barraged with voices and begins to realize that he and Ari share a deeper connection than hunter and prey. He cuts the conversation short and makes his escape, but now with a transformed sense of perception with stunning implications on the rest of the book. 

Dan Watters is doing a great job writing a group of characters who are unquestionably people you would not want to be friends with, but manages to make them each compelling and sympathetic in their own way. The question of how much agency Johannes has had in these events is still up in the air and it remains to be seen how his newfound seeming “enlightenment” is going to shape the story to come. The decision to show Johannes’ actions from an outside perspective could be seen as playing one’s hand (get it?) too early, but what we see is so wild that it only raises more questions. The reveal also pairs perfectly with the questions we’ve seen Ari begin to pose in the previous issue of The One Hand. Ari’s investigation was focused on finding something personal, a motive. On the other hand (I’ve got puns for days), what Johannes uncovers is something vast and powerful. I can’t wait to see how these separate investigations are reconciled with one another, if they even are. 

Sumit Kumar is turning in some fantastic work. As the story bounces between the mundane and the bizarre, the art perfectly conveys those shifts. Johannes lives in a well-lit apartment where no shadows seem to lurk, but it’s clear the the world is full of shadows no matter how much light is cast. As the strange pathways in the world begin to open up, we’re treated to dark halls full of strange machinery, and as Johannes’ perception is assaulted by strange voices, we are shown the strange symbols of the killer coalesce into something more discernible. There’s a clear distinction in the art between when we are in Johannes’ head and when we are observing him in the world. It helps the reader stay grounded even as our protagonist’s footing is ripped out from under him. 

Another out-of-the-park entry in one of the most compelling mysteries to come out in years. The story told in two books is ramping up to both of its penultimate issues, though it’s anyone’s guess if we’ll actually get some answers. Brilliant character writing is married with stellar art in a book that’s had me on the edge of my seat with each issue. This is not the book to sleep on, so go check it out!

Dawnrunner #2 written by Ram V with art by Evan Cagle

Another Ram V book this week? You better believe it, and it isn’t even the last one we’re getting!  Easily the book I was most excited to check out, Dawnrunner #2 picks up a day after the previous issue. It’s clear the Anita survived the battle with the monstrous Tetza, but it takes a bit before we actually begin to learn what happened. The story opens with Anita sitting with her daughter Annie in what appears to be an infectious disease ward. When the portal appeared and the Tetza came through, they brought along all kinds of foreign viruses and bacteria and Annie is suffering from a disease caused by some of them. I said in my review of the previous issue that we weren’t really given much insight into why Anita does what she does, but within the first view pages, the second issue makes it perfectly clear what’s driving her. She’s picked up at the hospital by Lestern, her corporate sponsor, who has plenty of questions about what happened to her during the battle. There had been characters in the previous issue speculating on their relationship and whether he might be showing favoritism. Again, the second issue brings it into clarity that their relationship is purely a business transaction. There’s no love lost between these too, but as long as Anita continues to excel at piloting the Iron King, she’ll have plenty of money and resources to take care of her daughter. It raises the stakes for Anita and restricts her ability to investigate the questions running through her mind as she heads back to her bunker to run diagnostics on the Dawnrunner. It’s during her conversation with Cat, her technician, that we learn what actually happened during the battle last issue. Apparently, Anita blacked out for about five minutes only to come to and dismantle the Tetza with brutal efficiency. Anita confides in Cat about the visions she saw of a man named Ichiro Takeda, and Cat reveals the horrific truth about what makes the Dawnrunner so special. She forbids Anita from linking up with it for the time being and leaves her to ponder even more questions about what she’s doing. Shortly thereafter, she’s approached by Murali Vasan, the scientist we saw Lestern tearing strips off of in the previous issue. He’s as fascinated by the visions as she is and promises to help her uncover the truth in exchange for her sharing whatever she finds. They link Anita to the Dawnrunner and she finds herself again in the mind of Ichiro Takeda as he searches a ravaged city for signs of his wife and children. They speak to each other briefly and begin to look together. The issue ends on a scene that I’m not sure how to read. It could be hopeful, but in a story so strange, we’ll just have to wait and see how things unfold. 

The first issue was full of action and big moments building the world for us and introducing the key players. This issue scales all that back and gives us more insight into who these people are and what’s driving each of them. I was shocked that we got the reveal about the Dawnrunner’s operating system so quickly, but all it makes me think is that the book is going to get even more insane going forward. I mentioned before that the pitch for the book was said to be Pacific Rim meets Arrival, but the reveals we get in this book make it seem like it’s going to be less Pacific Rim and more Evangelion. Despite the high-concept premise, the book feels grounded and realistic in how humanity approaches the situation, but there’s a strangeness brewing under the surface and it appears to be boiling over. We’re seeing Anita diving into the memories of a dead man and actually conversing with him. Is what she’s seeing relegated purely to memory or is she somehow reaching across time and affecting the past? At this point, it could go either way. There are so many different things going on in this book, it’s still unclear what the actual arc of the story is going to be, but the characters are compelling and the world is fascinating, so I’m happy to go wherever the book takes me. 

Evan Cagle’s art continues to be like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s mind-bendingly beautiful at times and stunningly visceral at others. So much of the tone of the book comes from his art and it blends in perfect harmony with Ram V’s script. The way he draws mecha action is incredible, but the most breathtaking pages have to be where Anita is with her daughter and ghostly images of what they’re talking about fill the air around them. The whole scene is tinged with hope and sadness and gives the reader every reason they need to root for Anita. There is so much detail in every page, and I suspect readers will be returning to look for more as we get more answers about just what the Iron Kings and Tetza actually are. There’s a particular scene where we see the Dawnrunner “healing” that’s as disturbing as it is understated. We don’t fully understand what’s considered “normal” in this world, and the way the art focuses on certain things helps the reader grasp the perspectives of just what everyday life actually is in a world ravaged by giant monsters. 

Another stunning issue in which art, character, and plot are executed to perfection. Any one of them would be worth the price of admission, but together they make this a book that can’t be missed. As with the first issue, I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while afterwards. The book is brimming with big ideas while simultaneously being grounded in engaging characters trying to make their way in this bizarre world. It’s hard to imagine a story getting better than this but, in the hands of this team, there’s no doubt in my mind that the best is yet to come. 

Creature From the Black Lagoon Lives! #1 written by Ram V and Dan Watters with art by Matthew Roberts 

Two books from Dan Watters and three from Ram V in one week! Their work on The One Hand and The Six Fingers has already proven that they’re top-notch collaborators, but here we actually get to see them working together within the same book. Creature From the Black Lagoon Lives! is a revival of the classic Universal monster made in collaboration with Skybound Comics. I should start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I have no idea if it’s meant to be a sympathetic, misunderstood being or if it’s a cruel and vicious monster that wants nothing more than to drag innocents to their deaths. By the end of this issue, I still don’t know, but the book seems to be okay with that and I’m confident that I will learn whatever I need in order to understand the story. Our protagonist is a woman named Kate Marsden, a reporter whose pursuit of the truth led to her being brutally attacked and nearly drowned by a serial killer. Now, living with scars inside and out, she travels to Peru to continue her hunt and possibly gain some closure. We learn all of this within the first few pages through snippets of dialogue and brief flashes of memory. She’s finally gaining ground on her target and the discovery of another drowned murder victim convinces her that she’s on the right track. She heads to the morgue to bribe the coroner into letting her examine the body, but she’s too late as it’s already been bought and paid for. Instead, she ends up staking out the building, believing that the killer is the one claiming the bodies of his victims only to see it being taken by strange men. She follows them to a lagoon where they load the body onto a boat and send it off. Feeling like she’s hit another roadblock, Kate begins to give into despair, but she’s shaken out of it by movement nearby which startles her into the lagoon. This time, she resigns herself to drowning only to be pulled out by a mysterious savior, the titular creature. The issue ends with a question of what the creature’s intentions are and what it might have to do with Kate. 

This book is a fast-paced and enjoyable read that gives the reader just enough backstory to root for its protagonist and just enough horror to bring everyone back for more. It serves mainly as an introduction but, much like the lagoon, promises that far more lurks beneath the depths. Ram V and Dan Watter’s writing styles synergize together perfectly in this issue and I’m looking forward to trying to pinpoint each writer’s distinctive style in future issues. The mysteries have piqued my curiosity and I’m all in to see what they have in store next. 

Matthew Roberts art sets a distinct tone for the first issue. I imagined going in that most of the scenes would be taking place at night, featuring a strange creature silhouetted in shadows, but most of the issue actually takes place on a sunny day in a town in Peru. The shadows are few and far between, but it does nothing to erase the danger. If anything, the fact that the creature is out at day makes it clear that there is no time when people are safe. When we finally get a look at the creature, it’s just as bizarre and intimidating in the day as it would be at night. The human characters are also particularly expressive and the flashes Kate sees of her attacker with a twisted grin on his face make a case that people are far more frightening than monsters. 

All in all, Creature From the Black Lagoon Lives #1 has the feel of a classic horror story with a modern twist. The writing team has proven time and time again what they’re capable of and the book promises more strangeness to come. There’s clear potential in this legendary monster and I can’t wait to see where the book goes from here.