Panel Discussion: Scans From Blackest Night, Detective Comics, New Avengers, and More

Click the pix for high res. No real spoilers this week, but still tread with caution if you're not up on your books.

Worst Splash Panel - Blackest Night #4
Now is the time to come clean; just about everyone on the Gnerd staff hates Blackest Night. So many splash panels like this. A sea of obscure characters made even more obscure by the fact that they're wearing stripped down black versions of their costumes. I LOVE zombies, I do, but splash pages likes this are so cluttered they're not scary, they're not shocking, they're just ill-defined and unpleasant. That's how I feel about Blackest Night as a whole, really.

Arkham gets a facelift, thugs get kicked in the face, and Jean Loring is awesome even in death, after the jump...



Most Unfortunate Remodeling - Arkham Reborn #1
So as you may or may not know, Arkham Asylum recently got destroyed for the, I don't know, 6th time? and some hotshot young doctor is trying to rebuild it as a more enlightened healing facility. Perhaps he will find out ideals are no so easily applied to reality in Gotham! But all that aside, I have to say making the entry way look like a giant mouth is probably not the sort of visual metaphor that is going to soothe the criminally disturbed mind. Not that it matters, I'm sure this building will be blown up or burnt down or frozen or eaten by a giant plant before the scaffolding comes down.

Signature Move - Detective Comics #858
In the past, I may have made light of Renee Montoya's fighting style, which mostly consists of kicks to the face. But I've reconsidered. Renee is a lady, a non-superpowered lady, and as any female member of a varsity crew team will tell you, women pack most of their power in their legs.

So I guess what I'm saying is, Montoya has found a move that works for her, and she's sticking with it. I respect that.


Most Triumphant Return - Blackest Night #4
Okay, so maybe my attachment to Jean Loring stems entirely from this fanfic/parody/deranged piece of performance art, but let's look at the facts; she shrank herself and stepped on someone's brain, and then proceeded to go crazy and became a god and spent a long time orbiting the sun trapped in a space diamond. She's pretty badass. I was saddened to learn that unlike every other comic book character, when she fell into shark infested waters and was presumed dead, she actually died! But on the plus side, Jean's status as deceased means she can come back as a Black Lantern and punch people's hearts out of their chest, like that guy in Indiana Jones. Ray, how did you ever let this one get away?


Best Visual Foreshadowing - Detective Comics #858
As we learned in the last issue of Detective (SPOILER ALERT!), the creepy Alice in Wonderland villain who faced off against Batwoman in the previous arc was in fact BW's own twin sister. Suspension of disbelief powers, activate! Writer Greg Rucka is now giving us some good childhood backstory, where we see the Kane twins growing up like normal military brats, except for a horribly traumatic kidnapping ordeal.

It's pretty hard to tell the two apart for the first part of the story, but when we get to this scene, all is made clear. Little Kate's winter gear mirrors Batwoman's costume, right down to the red boots, and Beth's pink and white ensemble foreshadows her psychedelic babydoll Alice outfit. With an art team of J.H. Williams and Dave Stewart, you expect these sorts of cool visual touches, but it's still nice to take a minute and savor them.


Best Arial Stunts - World's Finest #1 and New Avengers #58
I'm a sucker for when people are launched from moving vehicles by a sudden stop in momentum. Robin handles it a lot better than Motorcycle guy. I have to admit the Red Robin costume is finally starting to grow on me.

Meanwhile, here we have a classic case of unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. They bounce off each other with a resounding KTANG, leaving bystanders dumbstruck and gasping out censored curse words.

Blog Bites From Two Awesome Comic Writers

Two items of interest on my RSS this morning:

Who says a gay, female, latina superhero can't hit it big in American pop culture? Clue featured in yesterday's New York Times crossword puzzle: "____ Montoya, DC Comics heroine known as the Question." What up!

Writer John Rogers has posted the entire script to his final issue of Blue Beetle, a story which I gave a semi-rare A+ review on both this site and Pop Culture Shock. The script format makes for a tough but interesting read, and it's always neat to see how comic writers communicate ideas to artists. Even without pictures it made me cry all over again.

Snap Judgements: All-Star Superman #11, Final Crisis #1, Teen Titans #59, Batman #677

Short comic reviews based on initial, lizard-brain opinions. Arranged from BEST to WORST.

All-Star Superman #11 gets an A- from AHR
This book is like a great dream you only half remember. There are characters I don't recognize and references to things I don't understand. But I was thrilled from start to finish, and the last page made me actually say "Ahh!" out loud. That is a quality comic experience.

Grant Morrisson week continues after the jump...

Final Crisis #1 gets a B- from AHR
JG Jones' art kicks off with a eye-popping prehistoric sequence, though it's down to business after that. There are a bunch of fun moments of villains bickering and a short appearance by Gnerd fave (or AHR fave) Renee Montoya, but the last half gets a little bogged down in Monitor-Land, the DC Universe's black hole of boringness. In true Don Quixote fashion Grant Morrisson is trying to bring some humanity to these wooden super-beings, but I resent the fact that I'm expected to have read Countdown at all.

Batman #677 gets a C+ from AHR
I love stories about how crazy Batman is, but hearing his newest true love repeatedly tell him that he's just a wounded boy on the inside is a little too old news. Plus I was really looking forward to the Joker after the cliffhanger in the last issue, and he's MIA.

Teen Titans #59 gets a C from AHR
Wait, so The Clock King is a terrifying juggernaut in hand to hand combat? Really? The guy with big glasses, kind of looks like Scarecrow without the mask? Okay, comic. The one thing that impressed me about this comic is that it ties in perfectly with a thread from Final Crisis, and how often do tie-ins EVER actually match up. Blue Beetle is given the only really funny line of the issue (referring to Clock King as "Rolex Chronoberg") and it makes me hope Jaime Reyes may have a secured a future in the DC universe as a comic relief character, when (sorry IF) his book gets canceled.

Gotham Central References In Dark Knight Viral Material

Newsarama recently reported that a new Dark Knight viral website has launched, an online edition of The Gotham Times. This fake newspaper is startlingly detailed and features four pages of full-length articles, most of which focus on the aftermath of the events seen in Batman Beyond. There's plenty to enjoy, but most surprising to me were a few references to one of the most critically acclaimed Bat titles in recent years, as well as a personal favorite of mine; Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka's crime series, Gotham Central.

The evidence after the jump...

There's a Letters to the Editor section on page two, and the second letter (titled "Major Letdown?") is about the formulation of the Major Crimes Unit, the branch of the Gotham City Police Department that Gotham Central focuses on. This by itself might not be a direct reference to the comic, but the next example is more explicit.

On the front page, there's an article titled "Dent Tip Line Targets City's Dirty Cops", which reports ib how ADA Harvey Dent is launching a campaign against corruption in the GCPD (apparently it's "dividing the city" in half). In the continuation of this article on Page 3, the fifth paragraph down contains a list of cops that are under investigation for corruption. Included are Jim Corrigan, Roger DeCarlo, and Timothy Monroy.

Roger DeCarlo and Timothy Monroe (presumably misspelled as Monroy) are a team of dirty cops featured in Gotham Central #32, in which they haphazardly kill a runaway girl only to find out she was under the protection of Poison Ivy (d'oh!). Jim Corrigan should be a very familiar name to Gotham Central fans (as well as old-school fans of The Spectre but let's disregard that for now), as Corrigan was a crooked CSI officer and one of the series' main villains.

As much fun as it was to spot these references, I'm not sure if their inclusion mean much. The list of corrupt cops includes a number of other names, and everyone on the list including those I mentioned can be found on the GCPD Police Roster on Wikipedia. So either the writers behind this paper are really up on their Bat-history, or they're just handy with Wiki research. Either way, seeing Gotham Central characters mentioned in the context of the new movies rekindles my hope that the old rumor about Renee Montoya making a cameo will be true. Don't play with my emotions, Warner Brothers!

Panel Discussion: Scans from Mouse Guard, X-Men: Messiah Complex, Countdown to Mystery and More

Every week Geekanerd brings you the best, worst, and weirdest panels from the week's comics. Click 'em for some beautiful high-res scans! Oh, and look out for SPOILERS.

Best Save - Celanawe, Mouse Guard Winter 1152 #2When have you seen so much suspense packed into two panels? You really get the feel of Celanawe straining to pull Lieam over the edge of the pit, snow crunching against the weight of his feet.

Hit the jump for naughty superheroes, jerky superheroes, wacky superheroes and more!

Superhero Dirty Talk - X-Men: Messiah Complex
The lovers find themselves alone... Emma bends over the co-pilot seat, presenting herself. She purrs, "And what about us, Scott? No orders for me?" Scott glances over, the lust in his eyes visible even through the thick ruby quartz glasses meant to keep his powerful blasts at bay. "You and I are going to find out the truth here, Emma..." He engages the Blackbird's autopilot. "...and pray that this isn't what it looks like..."

Oh, I think it's EXACTLY what it looks like, Cyke.

Most Sensual Panel - Countdown to Mystery #2
Sensuality isn't always about sex, you know. Sometimes the power of touch is best demonstrated through more innocent, simple pleasures, as demonstrated by the above panels: a ghost who for unknown reasons has been made tangible goes skinny dipping in a lake in Brazil. Okay, maybe that's not very innocent or simple, but still, that underwater drawing is beautiful.

Superheroes Are Dicks - X-Men: Messiah Complex
Where did these guys learn social etiquette? A woman walks up with her burning daughter in her arms begging for help and the best these guys can come up with is a detached "Oh my God..." and the incredibly insensitive "The child is still smoldering..." Thank you, Captain Dickhead. I guess the X-Men have just seen to much genocide to care much about burning children.

Jessica Alba Award for Worst Acting - That Same Distraught Mother, X-Men: Messiah Complex
Is this a face that says "I just lost my daughter and now I'm being psychically invaded"? No way, there's a definite hint of a smile, there. It looks more like a Spring Break party cheer. If that word balloon said "Hell yeaaah, bitchees!" and the White Queen's hand was holding a Bud Light instead of.... Hmmm....
Am I right?!

Worst Fight Choreography - The Crime Bible #1
Wow, The Question blocked two side kicks in a row! Pretty awesome. Let's see how she attacks this guy...Another side kick...
Oookay.

Gruesome Beatdown of the Week, Part One - Batman #670
Damian takes no guff from the League of Assassins!

Gruesome Beatdown of the Week, Part Two - Daredevil 2007 Annual
The Black Tarantula is one hardcore fella.

Wackiest Crime - Countdown to Mystery #2

Not only has Plastic Man taken the least efficient way through Lex-Corp's laser security system, his partner in crime has fogged up the room by frantically puffing away on a cigarette. Burglary is hilarious!

PS: I find it difficult to believe Lex-Corp uses security tech as old fashioned as laser trip wires. Shouldn't they have something more along the lines of a motion sensitive kryptonite-bullet mini cannon rigged up?

Panel Discussion: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest Comic Book Panels of the Week

Best Way of Illustrating the Passage Of Time: Welcome To Tranquility, #11
The Coyote Kid lives as long as he hates the monsters that killed his family, and this hilarious panel illustrates the kind of beasts he's run afoul of every two decades or so. Werewolf Gangsters in the 20s, Nazi Vampires in the 40s, Hippie Swamp Thing in the 60s, and worst of all, the dreaded 80's Guy. "HERE'S MY CARD...WE'LL DO LUNCH."

Mixing Bid'ness With Pleasure Alert: Countdown #39
Hmm, what's with that expensive-looking redhead in the foreground? Could it be Kate Kane, AKA The Batwoman, who appears moments later outside the Iceberg Lounge with her partner (in crime fighting), Renee "The Question" Montoya? Ladies, you two are both new at the alter-ego thing, I know, but when staking-out a restaurant, try to resist the temptation to dine together in that restaurant. To their credit, though, neither appears to have actually touched their wine (good for you, ex-alcoholic Renee!).

Best Visual Framing Device: Metal Men #1
While still maintaining the the classic Dave Gibbonesque 3x3 panel scheme, Duncan Rouleau allows the action within the panels to spill out across the page, while tying whole thing together with a cool, retro-futuristic gear-motif. Click to savor the page in detail.

Most Reassuring Sign that Hulk Won't Kill Us All: Ant-Man #11
This conversation takes place weeks after World War Hulk and confirms that not EVERYONE dies at the Hulk's hands. Double spoiler: Iron Man shows up later in the ish!

Most Embarrassing Confession: Tony Stark in Illuminati #4

Related: More of Geekanerd's Panel Discussions

Top Six Renee Montoya Sass Panels

Guest Writer Gotham Gal brings you some sassitude highlights in the career of hard boiled detective, Renee Montoya.

She cuts through all the red-tape BS.

More Renee after the jump.

She’s all, it’s the 21st century, bitch.

This is sass without a shirt on.

I love a good gay guilt harangue.


This is some mild sass cause she doesn’t want to overplay her hand with red.


Her doodles were really cute. But her sass, that ain’t cute at all.