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25th April 2024

DC Comics

Review: Batman Annual #1 (2016)

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Batman Annual #1 (2016)
DC Comics, November 30, 2016
Writers: Scott Bryan Wilson, Steve Orlando, Paul Dini, Scott Snyder, Tom King

The quintet of stories that collectively make up the 40-pages of 2016’s Batman Annual #1 all have the holiday season as their unifying theme, showcasing an impressive lineup of scribes that had a hand in shaping the classic and modern versions of the Batman character. With only a limited amount of pages allotted for each story, it is understandable that none of the stories can be considered an example of each of the writers’ best work. Fortunately all of the stories, save for one (which we address below), are meant to be lighthearted and tonally appropriate for the holiday season, and so quality of writing happily gives way to Christmas cheer.

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He-Man/Thundercats #2 (review)

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He-Man/Thundercats #2 (review)
DC Comics, November, 2016
Writers: Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason

Our review of “He-Man/Thundercats” #1 was less than favourable due to what we felt was a needlessly complex premise: characters from the two Saturday morning children’s cartoon, “He-Man and Masters of the Universe” and “Thundercats”, smashing against each other, to puzzlingly enable a cadre of ancient omnipotent evil beings to steal He-Man’s sword of power, and then use the sword to defeat the Thundercats. We were of what we regard as the simple and reasonable view that godlike beings with the power and audacity to mess with multiple realities do not need He-Man’s magic sword to achieve what they want. In other words, the plot was silly.

Fortunately, the second issue of this crossover miniseries has relegated that roundabout plot to the background, focusing more on the story’s primary villain, named Skeletor. This character is the primary antagonist of the “He-Man” franchise, portrayed as a heavily muscular, hooded figure but with the face of a skull (the skull visage giving rise to the otherwise contradictory but ominous name).

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Mother Panic #1 and the Rise of Young Animal

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Mother Panic #1 and the Rise of Young Animal
Written by Jody Houser
Published 11/9/2016

When American publisher DC Comics announced the launch of a new imprint earlier this year, it promised to offer something different. The release of Young Animal, fronted by rocker (the lead singer of the band “My Chemical Romance”) and Umbrella Academy scribe Gerard Way, has so far kept to the weird and eclectic side of DC superheroic stock-in-trade. The uninhibitedly promising Doom Patrol, the bizarre Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye, and the psychedelically charming Shade, The Changing Girl have debuted strongly with their creative direction and likably oddball characters.

It is impossible to look at Young Animal’s spark without thinking of another DC imprint, the prominent and groundbreaking Vertigo Comics. In interviews about his new line, Way frequently mentions the personal impact Vertigo had when it launched in the 1990’s to formally offer more mature takes on life in the DC Universe. Previous iterations of Doom Patrol and Shade found a home at Vertigo, along with The Sandman, Swamp Thing, and Hellblazer. A few decades earlier, The Young Animal books would have fit right in with this roster.

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The Flintstones #5 (Review)

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The Flintstones #5 (Review) DC Comics, November 2016 Writer: Mark Russel Early into the fifth issue of “The Flintstones”, Barney Rubble comments that “This all feels familiar, doesn’t it, Fred?” Familiarity is an odd, even paradoxical, description of this relaunch by American publisher DC Comics. Even as the series dramatically reinvents the world and characters … Read more