Graphic Novel Reviews: Batman - The Dark Knight 010

The Story

Batman and the police are tracking a criminal that has been kidnapping children, and though he releases them, they return mentally changed. Batman tries to find out who is responsible for the kidnappings from the most recent victim, but the child is too traumatized. In a rare and touching scene, Batman sits with the little girl and comforts her.

After this touching scene we get a jarring shift where Bruce is shown neglecting not only Damian, but his current girlfriend as well. He's played off as clueless to his neglect, which conflicts with his development in Batman and Robin.

Gordon in the meanwhile is haunted by his inability to protect his daughter from the Joker, or to protect his son from himself. He's attacked, in his own home, by the scarecrow, who's upped the horror ante and sewn his lips closed, while somehow retaining his abilitiy to speak.

Movie Reviews: The Amazing Spider-Man

The Story
After their house is broken into, Peter's parents take him to live with his aunt and uncle, before disappearing. Years later, Peter is bitten while investigating his father's partner, Dr Connors. He gains spider powers, and starts working on his father's formula with Dr Connors. The compound leads to Connors turning into a lizard monster, and it's up to Peter to stop him.

Manga Reviews: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Volume 1

The Story

Jotaro Kujo, grandson of Joseph Joestar, has a problem. He's possessed by an evil spirit. A visit from his grandfather, and an associate, reveals that the spirit is actually a psychic representation of his inner power. A Stand.

Joseph reveals that Jonathan Joestar's nemesis, the vampire Dio, has returned. His reappearance has caused the awakening of the Stand in the Joestar family.

After an attack by another Stand user, under the control of Dio, and after his mother falls ill when her own Stand awakens, Jotaro and co must travel to Egypt to defeat Dio, before the Stand kills his mother. But nothing is easy when on a Bizarre Adventure, and even on the plane they are attacked by another of Dio's servants.

Manga Reviews: Toriko Volume 6

Plot Summary

Terry faces off against the black GT Robot, while Coco fights the giant robot. Coco has a hard time at first, his poison attacks do little against the inanimate robot at first, but eventually he is able to overcome his foe. Sunny faces his own enemy, defeating him, before being expelled from the Mammoth's body.

Toriko, Rin, and Komatsu go deeper into the Mammoth's body, searching for the Jewel Meat. The run into the black robot, Rin is mortally wounded, and Toriko beaten. The robot knocks him through the wall, where Toriko finds the Jewel Meat. The taste of the meat reinvigorates his Gourmet Cells, and Toriko is able to defeat the black robot, whose operator identifies himself as Starjun.

Manga Reviews: Toriko Volume 5

The Story

Rin and Toriko get blasted into the White Forest, where they have to fight off dozens of animals, before making their way into the Devil's playground, a series of large rock pillars, where strong animals make their home.

Komatsu and Sunny cross the Pre-Historic Marsh, where they find many senselessly slaughtered animals. While Rin and Toriko fight through the Devil's Playground, the weakned Toriko having a harder and harder time fighting off relatively low level creatures.

The four find each other again at the cliffs of the Regal Plateau, right as the Regal Mammoth falls from the top. After the Mammoth lands they are attacked by another GT Robot, but Coco's intervention saves them. He faces off against the robot while the other four are sucked into the Mammoth, and go to find the Jewel Meat. But once inside they find another GT Robot, and Sunny faces off against him.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Black Metal Volume 1

The Story

Shawn and Sam Stronghand discover that they are the Roth reborn, an ancient demon and wielder of the Sword of Atol. As demons seek their lives, for their ancient enemy Baron Von Char still remembers. Along with the Black Metal band Frost Axe, and their friends, the brothers enter hell to slay Von Char and claim their place as ruler of Hell.

The Review
Black Metal represtents a trend in Western comics I hope to see continued. While some may think that I'm just a manga fan, I'm actually a fan of all types of sequential art. But there are certain things about manga that appeal to me, things that I would love to see applied to Western comics. This doesn't mean I want to see the art style copied, as OEL manga tends to do. Rather I want to see two specific stylistic trappings copied.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Catwoman 010

The Story

Catwoman attacks Dollhouse, who just picked up another hooker. He goes after her with an assault rifle, and it's only thanks to Spark's intervention that she is able to get out alive. She tries to go back, revealing that she was "taken" in the past, but no one came to save her. Spark kisses her, to stop her from heading back.

The kidnapped prostitute wakes up in a closed off ward of what looks like some kind of underground hospital. Dollhouse talks to him, saying  how he just wants to help, that he's providing food, a place to wash the drugs out of the system. Dollhouse gets off the PA, and reveals that he's been harvesting organs from his rehabilitated prositutes, and has been keeping their bodies, posing them as dolls.

Catwoman meets Detective Alvarez, having heard that he was looking for her. Meanwhile, Spark reveals himself to be working for the crooked police officers who Catwoman stole the money from.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Batgirl 010

The Story

Batgirl fights several car thieves, and while one of them tries to escape he gets caught in a bear trap. Batgirl stays with him until the security detail for the party comes to take care of  him. When she gets home, Barbara gets a call from her roommate, asking to be bailed out of prison.

The two discuss Bruce's revitalization project, with Alysia providing a counterpoint to Barbara's opinion on Bruce's plan. Barbara comes to the decision that she's done fighting for rich peoples' things.

Later, Barbara goes back to the building the story started in, and finds the three person security detail, holding the car thief, now with a missing leg, hostage. The woman holding him declares their group to be the Disgraced, before dropping the thief. Barbara saves him, but is attacked by a winged member of Disgraced. The two fight, before Barbara is surrounded by the rest of the team.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Nightwing 010

The Story

As Nightwing investigates the Strayhorn appartment, he is attacked by SWAT. He escapes, and gets a call from Lucius, discussing a business proposition. His plan is to reinvigorate the Amusement Mile themepark.

While investigating the murder of the Strayhorn brothers, he is attacked by armored vigilantes. He finds their base of operations, where he finds a group of the paramilitary vigilantes training. Their Leader, Paragon, notices him there and attacks him, declaring that "The future of this city hinges on your death."

The Review
Is it just me, or is this the way the Haly's circus storyline started? Someone declaring that Nightwing/Dick had to die? Oh well, easy way to create tension early on I guess.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Batman and Robin 010

The Story

The issue starts off with a new villain, Terminus, addressing a group of criminals who are in some way marked by Batman. He promises them revenge.

Bruce, along with Dick, Tim, Damian, and Alfred is sitting for a portrait when an argument breaks out between Tim and Damian. Damian later calls all the former Robins to meet him, where he declares a challenge to all of them, to prove himself the best Robin.

Back at the batcave, Damian confronts Tim about the events in Teen Titans Annual #1. The two fight, ending with Damian forcing Tim to admit that he considered killing Fist Point.

The issue ends with Terminus exiting from his subdermal regeneration machine, and placing a mark on a dilapidated looking missile.