Behind the Capes

Mayor Fisk, Part 5 Writer - Charles Soule,Artist - Ron Garney, Color Artist - Matt Milla, Letterer - VC's Clayton Cowles, Main Cover Artists - Dan Mora & Romulo Fajardo Jr., Assistant Editor - Annalise Bissa, Editor - Jordan D. White, Editor in Chief - C.B Cebulski, Chief Creative Officer - Joe Quesada, President - Dan Buckley, Executive Producer - Alan Fine Initial Reactions This is a really good addition to this story arc!  Daredevil's constant struggle throughout the issue of blocking out the macro concerns to concentrate on the more immediate micro concern that is Muse.  Also, the last page is great!  We will get into it, but it does its job of getting me excited for the next issue, which happens to be an Anniversary Issue for #600. The Story The issue begins with Daredevil on a rooftop trying to channel in the whereabouts of the Muse, the Inhuman street artist who has just murdered 6 police officers at the foot of his Punisher mural.  However, he...

The Crown Comes Down, Finale Story - Dan Abnett, Artist - Riccardo Federici, Breakdowns (16-20) - Rick Leonardi, Color - Sunny Gho, Lettering - Steve Wands, Cover - Stjepan Sejic, Assistant Editor - Dave Wielgosz, Editor - Alex Antone, Group Editor - Brian Cunningham Initial Reactions This title has been building to this moment for quite some time now.  At times, the arc seemed to drag, but the art and the political intrigue kept me invested.  We get a great payoff in this finale, and Arthur leads the revolution to a major victory.  This issue is action-packed, and we see all that makes Arthur Curry such a great character. The Story The issue opens with Mera, struggling to breathe because of a spell cast on her, in the care of the Widowhood.  We get some recap on what is going on.  Arthur is planning a raid on the Silent School (where magic is taught and housed) with the Undercurrent in order to take down the Crown of Thorns.  This is a spell tha...

The Last Days:  Part Two Story - James Robinson, Artist - Ed Benes, Colorist - Dinei Ribeiro, Letterer - Rob Leigh, Cover - Viktor Bogdanovic with Mike Spicer, Associate Editor - Jessica Chen, Editor, Paul Kaminski Initial Reactions I am still conflicted about this story.  The inhabitants of Galymayne are shown in a more sympathetic light, and we even see that this planet's destiny is more like Krypton than what we initially thought.  In the end, there was some really good "Superman" moments in this issue, but the tail end of this book left me disappointed. The Story Our story opens up with Superman and Jon battling the inhabitants of Galymayne.  Then we flash back to Superman, Jon, and their lone ally Klain (the only scientist on the planet) frantically making their way to his lab.  Klain is sure that the militia is already there, ready to take them in.  The readers are reminded that Galymayne is full of religious zealots.  In fact, we lear...

Knights Fall Writer - James Tynion IV, Artist - Philippe Briones, Colors - Allen Passalaqua, Letters - Sal Cipriano, Cover - Guillem March & Jason Wright, Assistant Editor - Dave Wielgosz, Editor - Chris Conroy, Group Editor - Jamie S. Rich Initial Reactions This is a jumping-on point for me with this book.  I think this is a strong entry which asks some tough moral questions.  We deal with the issue of justified death as well, where to seek identity, and who deserves redemption.  I am excited to get into this issue and talk about these things in more detail. The Story We open with a very emotional (and beautiful) credits page which shows Orphan holding her teammate Clayface, who has just been shot.  The rest of the team comes running to the scene, asking what happened.  Dr. October confirms that Clayface is definitely dead, and Tim Drake knows exactly who took the shot.   It was Batwoman!  She is on a rooftop, where Batman an...

Booster Shot, Part V Writer - Dan Jurgens, Pencils - Brett Booth, Inks - Norm Rapmund, Colors - Andrew Dalhouse, Letters - Rob Leigh, Cover - Booth, Rapmund, and Dalhouse, Assistant Editor - Andrea Shea, Editor - Paul Kaminski Initial Reactions I really like this issue!  Pairing Booster Gold with Superman has turned out to be a very fun ride with some humor sprinkled throughout.  However, this seems to be the issue where we ratchet up the stakes, and that humor takes a back seat.  We see powerful examples of the trappings of revenge, the power of family, and even some interesting Good Friday parallels. The Story The first page is a summary of the events leading to the issue.  Here we are reminded that Mr. Oz claims to be Superman's father from an alternate timeline and Booster Gold prevented him from getting the answers he was looking for because it could disrupt the time stream.  We are also shown that Zod, Ursa, and Lor-Zod are living in the future,...

Mayor Fisk, Part 4 Writer - Charles Soule, Artist - Ron Garney, Color Artist - Matt Milla, Letterer - VC's Clayton Cowles, Main Cover Artists - Dan Mora & Romulo Fajardo Jr., Assistant Editor - Annalise Bissa, Editor - Jordan D. White, Editor in Chief - C.B. Cebulski, Chief Creative Officer - Joe Quesada, President - Dan Buckley, Exec. Producer - Alan Fine Initial Reactions This arc has been a bit of a slow burn, but the build-up could be something pretty awesome.  I am enjoying the issues because it is really showing us the balancing act Matt has to perform in order to be Daredevil and also keep an eye on Fisk from his current position as Deputy Mayor for The Kingpin, who is the Mayor!  Matt's dual life is already one of the most intriguing in comics, but seeing how he operates as a double agent of sorts in these conditions, is admirable.  As people of faith, we are also called to live as a kind of double agent.  We are called to live by the truth contain...

"The Last Days Part One" Story - James Robinson,  Pencils - Doug Mahnke,  Inks - Jaime, Mendoza & Scott Hanna,  Colors - Wil Quintana,  Letters - Rob Leigh,  Cover - Viktor Bogdanovic with Mike Spicer,  Variant - Jonboy Meyers,  Associate Editor - Jessica Chen,  Editor - Paul Kaminski Initial Reaction I am a bit conflicted about this issue.  There are some very strong character beats for both Superman and his son Jon, especially in the beginning.  However, the book makes some choices near the end that seem uncharacteristic of the Big Blue Boy Scout.  Let's dig in. The Story We open our story in the Fortress of Solitude, with Superman searching for Jon.  He is wanting to show him a holographic simulation of the destruction of Krypton in remembrance of the anniversary of the day it exploded.  This is a great father and son moment, with Superman being touched by the fact Jon calls it his home planet.  Mu...

I love superhero comics!  While I have recently returned to regular reading in the last year or so, I have always loved the characters and experienced them through TV and movies when not dropping the money for the source material.  I tend to gravitate more to the characters in DC, but I do like a fair amount of Marvel. When it comes down to it, my favorite character is the grand-daddy of them all, Superman!  The character is rich in his own mythology, and is often used as the moral compass for the entire DC universe.  Depending on the writer, you can see the Man of Steel depicted as a Christ-Like or Mosaic figure.  The themes that are used in his stories are ripe for examination and critique, but we will discover this together. Me, along with the ultimate Wonder Woman in my life, and our faithful sidekick I also love Christ!  This is my greatest love, and my top priority.  I am blessed to be a youth minister in a church just a few miles from Fl...