Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Doom Patrol" #1 / "Detective Comics" #940 / "Action Comics" #963

"Doom Patrol" #1: What's going on? What is this about? Meat? Gyros? But it doesn't matter, and trying to make sense of it is probably useless. Read it, it's simply brilliant. 

9/10

"Detective Comics" #940: The most dramatic and defining scene in the whole run yet here is, strangely, only alluded to. Furthermore, one cannot help but feel that Detective Comics already missed the point to conclude this story arc properly.

6/10

"Action Comics" #963: Finally the series tackles the "Two Clark Kent" issue. It's been lingering a while, you know. Luckily, it looks like they're doing it in quite a spectacular way. Good stuff.

7/10

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "Deadpool" #17 / "Action Comics" #962 / "Detective Comics" #939

"Deadpool" #17: To sell this as a "Civil War II" tie-in is simply ridiculous, as it has simply no connection whatsoever to Marvel's big summer event (a fact even admitted by Duggan in the comic's intro page). Apart from that? Nothing to report, just the same old Deadpool shtick. This series needs some fresh new ideas, and the Mercs for Money should stick to their own series.

5/10

"Action Comics" #962: The Doomsday storyline is over (for now), and the series closes it in solid but unspectacular fashion. Kudos to Jurgens though for gradually developing and shaping the comic's characters.

7/10

"Detective Comics" #939: Admittedly, the series started out quite slow, but by now has come full circle in terms of drama, dynamic and great action set pieces. Can't wait for the conclusion.

 8/10

Review: "Detective Comics" #934

Batman and Batwoman set out to train a bunch of rookies for the fight against a mysterious threat as Detective Comics #934 starts out with a blast into the "Rebirth" era, posing as a blueprint for how the series might look in the future.

As you'd expect from Detective Comics, it's lighter in tone and theme as compared to the main Batman series, with the Caped Crusader not quite being as sharp and relentless as you'd probably hope for. Admittedly, some dialogues are close to being kitsch, with scenes a bit too much over the top at times, but writer James Tynion IV knows how to keep the action exciting throughout the whole comic. And artist Eddy Barrows, inker Eber Ferreira and colorist Adriano Lucas create a Gotham that impresses with its dark, fearful and threatening atmosphere, even though they are somewhat out of their comfort zone when the pace and action pick up, leaving us with a few too many confusing panels.

But the comic's most important aspect is the large cast on offer here, showcasing the extended Batman family that will be at the center of Detective Comics. From more prominent characters like Azrael, Clayface (whose scene is an absolute success) Red Robin and Batwoman to lesser known heroes such as The Spoiler and Cassandra, it's an exciting potpourri of what DC has to offer in the future. 

PS: See if you can find the "Punisher" reference.

8/10

Further links:

Batman: Rebirth #1