Week In Review : Batman #10 + Before Watchmen:Silk Spectre #1 + Conan The Barbarian #5 + Planetoid #1 + Spider-Men #1

I love a good new-release day and this week has been an amazing one, with a slew of great comics to check out!

Not only do we have several titles from DC fresh after the harrowing events on the Night of Owls, but also the start of the second Before Watchmen series and many, many more to read.

Here's some of our picks of the ongoings and even a new Image series - now go ahead and enjoy! (and make sure to be back here tomorrow for more new releases in burst-reviews!)

- Editor

Batman #10 (DC)

Story : Scott Snyder

Art : Greg Capullo (main story) & Rafael Albuquerque (back-up)

(Reviewed by Anupam Sarkar)

I've been reading Batman comics from time immemorial (actually, about 10 years) and to me this issue is the perfect example of why I like Batman. While most go with action or a relationship crisis, very few writers can capture the detective in Batman. Amongst those few is now Scott Snyder.

To start with, the story - Snyder does a masterful job. Not going knee deep into spoilers, I can say that this issue has a major revelation at the end (cough...something to do with Lincoln March...cough). And everybody's going to love it. Not only does it give weight to the “New 52 Batman”, but it also shows that the Wayne's are not as squeaky clean as people thought they were.

As of the artwork, Greg Capullo amazes me after each consecutive issue. The man is an active volcano of talent! There are however only a few panels which show the Court of Owls, in all of which they are dead (literally). But, throughout the issue Capullo maintains the owl vibe. One of my favorites is the second page from the issue. Be sure to check it out.

This issue also includes the second installment of the back-up tale “The Fall of the House of Wayne”. With Rafael's zazzy art and Dave McCaig's atmospheric colors, it's flawless - though the letters by Dezi Sienty are sometimes distracting.

This issue had all the elements essential to a Batman comic – Amazing story, jaw-dropping visuals and one top of it all, Batman swinging through the night. The only thing it misses is the action, but with Capullo's kinetic artwork and FCO Plascencia's awesome colors, you hardly miss it.

And then of course, issue #11 is going to have lots of action in it.

If you are looking to buy the perfect comic to indulge in, this issue is tailor made for you. Though I would advice the buyers to buy the one with Rafael Albuquerque's variant cover, it looks much more awesome than the way-too-dull Capullo cover.

SCORE : 10 / 10

Before Watchmen : Silk Spectre #1 (DC)

Story : Darwyn Cooke

Art : Amanda Conner

(Reviewed by Anubhav Dasgupta)

The very notion of Before Watchmen makes me retch. Now before you hit me with “But what about League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?” let me make it clear : Alan Moore did not write a sequel to King Solomon’s Mine or Dracula and claim it to be official / canonical. All he did was steal the characters and put them in a completely original story. There’s a difference. And what DC did was wrong. It’s like they decided to release a prequel to a magnificent book like, I don’t know, Animal Farm… and then declared that it’s official. That’s just not done, DC. And the last issue, Minutemen #1, was in my opinion, an INSULT to Alan Moore’s masterpiece. It wanted to change the way you perceived some of the Minutemen. It was unnecessary and undignified of Cooke, who happened to be one of my favourite comic book writer/artists ever. Thankfully Silk Spectre doesn’t try any of that crap.

Silk Spectre doesn’t try to change how you perceive certain characters in Watchmen. Rather, it’s an expansion… an elaboration of what is suggested in Watchmen. Remember that scene where Laurie meets her mother at the Retirement home in Watchmen? This comic is more or less an elaboration of that scene. It explores the relationship between Laurie and her mother, the former super-heroine Sally Jupiter, a.k.a, Silk Spectre.

I love how Laurie hates her mother. She hates her because she was Sally Jupiter, and her infamy overshadows her everywhere she walks. She resents being her daughter and she desperately wants to be away from her shadow. The writing in these bits is excellent and Amanda Conner’s art is so damn good. There’s a lot of life in her expressions. There’s a lot of energy. Her art is perfect for comics, and she does a marvellous job in this issue.

Another thing I love is that there are no exaggerated poses unlike Minutemen #1. It’s very much like Watchmen, right down to the panel arrangement, yet it finds its own voice. It’s at the same time a perfect expansion of the Watchmen mythos and a standalone comic as well.

This is the kind of quality I had expected when Before Watchmen was announced. And I’m glad at least one of them so far is like this. But still, I can’t help but regard it as nothing more than professionally produced fan fiction. Maybe that’s because the creators involved love the original so much and are so desperate to match that level that they lose some of their own voice.

All in all, a very good comic, one that DESERVES your attention.

SCORE : 8.5 / 10

Conan The Barbarian #5 (Dark Horse)

Story : Brian Wood

Art : James Harren

(Reviewed by Anirudh Singh)

I am a Howard'O'Holic. Robert E Howard along with H.P Lovecraft opened for me the doorway to the other worlds, slightly before Tolkien had a chance to cast middle earth into my mind. And who can love Robert E Howard's stories without loving Conan the Cimmerian? Something in the description, the actions, the very personality of Conan evokes awe. Evokes fear, power.

Very rarely has that same awe, that same alien rage been recreated in any other medium. Dark Horse's run with Conan however has always kept the pace. I am a big big fan of Kurt Busiek's run with Conan, and Brian Wood comes close...so, so close to narrating a true Conan tale.

But he does not succeed. I really enjoyed the story arc so far, 'Queen of the Black Coast' is violent and filled with dark times and dark hearts. But the approaching end of the Argos Deception felt far from a proper conclusion. The deception is never shown, instead with the action focusing solely on Conan and his duel to the death which was to serve as a distraction for the grander assault on Argos. Indeed Conan is the hero of the narrative, but to use him merely as a distraction...when he could have been so much more. Where is the grand sacking of Argos promised to us? Where is Argos recoiling in horror from the power of the Queen of the Black Coast? This last issue paled away from Howard's true Conan, the reaver, the pirate, the bane of sorcerers...and veered ever closer to Arnold's beefcake Conan of Hollywood.

Its still a good story arc. I wish Conan had more to do than just “Rawrg! Smash!”. Maybe the next issue will surprise me.

Also the barbarian could do with less bragging about himself.

SCORE : 7 / 10

Planetoid #1 (Image)

Story & Art : Ken Garing

(Reviewed by Akshay Dhar)

Intense opening sequence with space-shuttle crash? Check.

Brooding(ish), intense hero/protagonist? Check.

Hostile, alien environment? Yup, check.

Giant robotic enemies to blow up with big frakking guns? Check again.

Underlying mystery about everything? Check that too.

This book has all the earmarks of a good action story and newcomer (to me) Garing does a good job with the visual look and style of the book, his art isn't mind-blowing but he has a good sense of his own story here and the muted, darkened and broken-down junk-heap planet he's created as the madhouse/playground for his story comes out pretty well once all is said and done – and his character work isn't too bad either.

The flaw in this book for me was the story. As someone familiar with writing a story, I appreciate the need to build an opening and to try and provide as much information about “what and where and who” and all that as you set things up. Uniquely enough, here the narrative doesn't fall victim to over-dosing of detail and exposition – it's simply forced. The story does alright by itself but on several occasions, from the first few pages till the later ones, there are details and reveals of stuff/backstory that while good are also unnecessary this early on and the comic would have been better served to expand the story that is already there.
And that story itself? Original enough to be interesting IF well put forward but not the most madly original concept at the start here – might be some great reveal down the line, but if you can't pull in readers for future issues, that matters little I think.

Another example (after the unholy resurrection that was Youngblood!) that Image comics likely legendary run of new comics and dynamic new creators in the past year and half is finally slowing some. Not a horrible comic, I might still check out #2, but mostly out of curiosity to see if they can pick up the pace and find a better flow. If it continues like this issue then it's a no from me.

SCORE : 5 / 10

Spider-Men #1 (Marvel)

Story : Brian Michael Bendis

Art : Sara Pichelli

(Reviewed by Anubhav Dasgupta)

Spider-Men is a pleasant surprise. Really. I did not expect such a good book. Sure, the Pichelli/Bendis team has proved to be a formidable one as evidenced by their recent work on Ultimate Spider-Man but I was kinda on the fence about this one.

This week sees the release of a lot of great comics, but this one is by far the best of the week.

Unlike most cross overs, this isn’t full of people fighting each other, or all-out apocalyptic brawls. What it is is a world without Peter Parker reacting to Peter Parker returning and Peter Parker reacting to a world without him. It’s a very personal story. And that’s what makes me love it so much.

I didn’t go in expecting to like this book as I detest cross-overs, but I found myself loving it because it has everything I look for in a comic book.

Also, it’s all set-up but it doesn’t fail at that, unlike a lot of recent comic-books (Star Trek/Doctor Who comes to mind). Instead, it builds up really well, and the content is very balanced throughout. There’s action, there’s comedy, there’s a little heart-warming moment and it all perfectly leads up to what we came for: Miles meeting Parker.

The best thing about this comic is the Ultimate Universe’s reaction to Peter Parker. It’s quite heart-warming to see them react to Spider-Man in such a way, especially when contrasted against what happens a few pages ago in the normal Marvel Universe.

The writing is very good, and very intriguing, and very un-Bendis like. It isn’t littered with thousands of speech bubbles like Bendis’ recent work. It’s as if he understood the problems ailing his writing and fixed it. None of the dialogue is wasted. And Pichelli’s art…. SO GOOD. Not only is she the (in my opinion) sexiest comic artist in the business, but a damn good one, too. The expressions, the action, the energy… she’s nailed it all! Even if this book were absolute crap, I’d have rated it a 7 or higher just for her art.

It not only intrigued me, but also entertained me. This is how comics are done, folks. And I can’t wait for the next one.

Don’t hesitate to pick this one up.

SCORE : 9 / 10