Retro Review: "Detective Comics" #514 (1982)

80's comics are a lot of fun, even though one can't deny that it's often nothing more than nostalgic irony that makes us come back to these issues. From the bubble gum ads to the amateurish classifieds, everything seems wonderfully antiqued, a time capsule that manages to capture the sentiments and images of this era. But would one have actually liked the comics?

The most apparent issue of almost every comic of that time is how little the writers actually trust and value the very medium they are creating. Afraid to let the art do some of the storytelling, every panel that doesn't feature dialogue instead features the narrator's voice in captions, only describing what you've just seen anyway. And oh, these captions. The constant urge to sound overly poetical does not only disrupt the flow and dynamic of the comic, but also lays bare another crucial issue. For many writers (and editors) of that time, high quality content could not be conveyed by art and dialogue, but had to come from text in a more classic and literal sense. "Hey, it's just a comic, but you know, we're using really fancy words and syntax here."

All this is even more unfortunate since the actual story of Detective Comics #514 is actually not bad at all. The premise makes for an entertaining Batman adventure (although he tends to be a righteous dick sometimes), and especially the titular Haven makes for an excellent deus ex machina/(anti-)hero, whose characterisation goes as deep as a single title story can provide. 

Comics have come a long way since then, and mostly for the better.

Quickfire-Combo Reviews: "Poe Dameron" #6 / "Batgirl & The Birds of Prey" #2 / "All-Star Batman" #2

"Poe Dameron" #6: The galactic mouse hunt between Poe Dameron and Agent Terex continues to be a highly entertaining affair, and one of Marvel's best Star Wars comics to date. It's light, fun, and perfectly captures the Poe Dameron established in The Force Awakens.

8/10

"Batgirl & The Birds of Prey" #2: Neither Batman nor her father can convince Barbara Gordon to accept any help here, and the comic is all the better for it. Batgirl, Huntress and Black Canary wonderfully click in this series, with a plot that retains a clear focus on where its headed altogether.

8/10

"All-Star Batman" #2: 2016 has not been short of great Batman series, and one almost has to feel sorry for Tom King, whose excellent new take on the Dark Knight in the main series gets overshadowed by this beast of a comic book. The artistic freedom Snyder enjoys here makes All-Star Batman truly excel in every aspect, and one of DC Comics' highlight series of the year.

9/10

Review: "Nightwing" #2 / #3 / #4

Nightwing has come a long way from its inaugural "Rebirth" issue, and it has improved in nearly every aspect. Confusing storytelling and character presentation has given way to a comic that clearly knows what it wants from its main characters and what it plans to do with them in the future (although the first story arc ended a bit too abruptly; one more issue would have left readers at a slightly more satisfying conclusion).

Seeley has managed to give Nightwing a distinct voice and attitude that clearly sets him apart from other heroes in the DC Batman family. And Raptor is a hero/villain/frenemy that I am definitely looking forward to seeing more from in subsequent issues. 

8/10

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Batgirl & The Birds of Prey: Rebirth" #1 / "Nightwing: Rebirth" #1 / "Star Wars" #22

"Batgirl & The Birds of Prey: Rebirth" #1: That's how a "Rebirth" issue should be: a proper and interesting introduction to Batgirl and Barbara Gordon, and the Huntress makes for a perfect "frenemy". Thoroughly fun.

8/10

"Nightwing" #1: The depiction of Nightwing is nuanced and intelligent, and his relationship and dynamic with Damian Wayne is simply superb, but what the hell is going on half of the time? You'll have a hard time following the plot if you haven't been into Nightwing before. 

6/10

"Star Wars" #22: To see the Rebels fight an empirical starship is gripping and entertaining, unfortunately though, some narrative holes spoil the party a bit. The eventual encounter between SCAR Squad and Han, Luke and Leia promises to be epic.

7/10

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Supergirl: Rebirth" #1 / "Wonder Woman: Rebirth" #1 / "Batgirl and The Birds of Prey" #1

"Supergirl: Rebirth" #1: It does a good job of introducing Supergirl and what we can expect from the series going forward, but its Kryptonian werewolf story does not have too much to it so far.

6/10

"Wonder Woman: Rebirth" #1: 

If only every one of DC's "Rebirth" issues could have been like this one... Taking into account all the different origin stories and versions of Wonder Woman, this properly sets the stage for the character going forward. 

9/10

"Batgirl and The Birds of Prey" #1: A whole lot of fun with an engaging story and three main characters that really click. It's exactly what you'd want from the Birds of Prey.
8/10

Comic of the Day 2/5: "DK III: The Master Race" #4

Frank Miller and Brian Azzarello have decided to go all out on this issue, with results that don't always convince. 

Everything in DK III: The Master Race #4 is supposed to be meaningful, important and grand. From the amazingly composed first panel that harks back to the shrinking of The Atom to the confrontation between Superman, Lara and the Kryptonians to a surprise appearance of The Flash, everything is extremely fast paced, first class entertainment. But it was their ability to squeeze every ounce of drama of a selected amount of scenes that have made the first three issues so special.

Andy Kubert's pencils and Brad Anderson's colors only add to the spectacle. Images of blood on snow and a Bruce Wayne that looks even more battered than in the last issue make for a relentless and violent atmosphere that penetrates the whole comic. The Batgirl tie-in comic complements the main story perfectly, as it knows to impress with great gestures and even adds Aquaman to the mix. 

But featuring Batman, Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Robin, The Atom, The Flash and Aquaman, DKIII: The Master Race is too crowded and has too much to tell to actually make a valid point. As a one-off spectacle it's great, but I hope Miller and Azzarello return to the moderate and more ponderous atmosphere that so magnificently defined the series .

7/10