Single-Issue Reviews, September 2010, Part Two

We've got three books with uncertain futures in this edition of Single-Issue Reviews. Am I ready to drop the latest arc in Detective Comics? Does Time Masters: Vanishing Point continue to be a surprisingly good read? And can Magdalena live up to its premise? Keep reading to find out.

Detective Comics #868

• Written by David Hine
• Art by Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens
• Cover by Peter Nguyen

• “The Imposter Wars” ramp up with much more killing as the “Guardian Bats” take on the “Jokerz” in the streets.
• It's just weird to see Batman say 'roid rage.
• Batman taking some of the Joker Juice does not sit well with me. It doesn't feel like a “Batman” thing to do, and it serves no purpose. I don't see how knowing how it feels helps him at all. I thought it was pretty obvious that Joker Juice was meant to share his state of mind.
• I'm getting tired of Batman underestimating the threat posed by the imposters on both sides. Last issue, he underestimated the Jokerz and people died. He admits that he underestimated them in this issue. Now he underestimates the Guardian Bats and, guess what, people die. If Batman has to be an idiot to advance your story, you need a different story.
• That said, I do think this issue is written better than the last one. It's gotten me interested in the story (which I wasn't so much after last issue). The scene with the Jokerz coming off their high cornered by the hard-core leader of the Guardian Bats was excellent.
• I also liked seeing the motivation for the leader of the Jokerz. Batman's “no kill” policy (coupled with Arkham's horrible security) has led to the perpetual capture-escape of the real Joker, and it's interesting to see someone's anger over that cycle and how it affected him.
• The art is improved in this issue, as well. It's still not my favorite, but there's much more detail than in the first issue, and there are some interesting layouts. Also, there's one splash of Batman that looks really nice.
• This issue is a big improvement over the previous issue. There are still a few questionable characterizations, but overall this arc is moving in a good direction. I'm actually looking forward to the next issue instead of wondering if I should drop it.

Magdalena #3

• Written by Ron Marz
• Art by Nelson Blake II
• Cover by Ryan Sook

• In this issue, Patience and Kristoff follow up on their lead regarding the whereabouts of the Anti-Christ.
• This story is moving too slowly for me. There's just not much happening each issue, and not much revealed. Patience is one step closer to finding the Anti-Christ, but that's all. Nothing has really changed. We're basically at the same point as the end of last issue: looking for the Anti-Christ and not sure what to do about him. If this continues at this pace, I'm definitely dropping this after this arc (which could be a dozen issues long at this rate).
• The art is another story, however. Nelson Blake II has a really nice style and the colors are very good. My only complaint is that the backgrounds tend to drop out completely for the fight scenes (which happens to be at least half the issue).
• I love the concept of Magdalena, but this story is progressing much too slowly to hold my interest much longer. Which is a shame, because so much more could be done with the concept and the art has been really good.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #2

• Written by Dan Jurgens
• Art and Cover by Dan Jurgens & Norm Rapmund

I'm really enjoying this series. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but I've been pleasantly surprised. It's supposed to be about the search for Bruce Wayne in time, but really it's about the titular characters — the “Time Masters” — Rip Hunter and Booster Gold. If it were just a time-hopping adventure to find Bruce, it could be a fun throw-away book, but it's really about Rip and Booster's relationships with each other and with the outside world. And that's what makes it good.

Like the previous issue, we start with a flashback to Rip's childhood. Booster, his father, shows him Kal-El (Superman)'s landing on Earth, partly to show him one of the moments that they are charged with protecting. These scenes are a large part of what makes this series great. I haven't read anything with Booster Gold or Rip Hunter besides 52, so I don't know if this has all been done before, but I find it perfect. And, even if it has been done before, its inclusion here is great for people like me who are reading this because it's Return of Bruce Wayne-related and have probably never read anything involving those characters.

The issue then continues from the end of #1, with Rip facing off against Claw (apparently a Conan-type guy whose right hand was changed into a feline paw by a sorcerer). They fight for a little but Rip pretty quickly convinces Claw that he's on his side, and they go off to some sorcerer's castle in the distance. Rip ends up discovering some natural version of Vanishing Point at the castle. Rip's part in this issue was mostly action with your standard barbarian confusion — But your strange garb -- a bird of iron that speaks… — that harks back to Silver Age comics, but its hokeyness is easily overlooked.

Meanwhile, Booster, Superman and Hal Jordan have been time-jumped into the middle of a war. It's seems to be an obvious case of well-armed oppressors beating on the helpless and unarmed, so Superman and Hal (now that Rip's not there to stop them) go in to help. Booster isn't going to try to stop them on his own (he doesn't have nearly enough pull for that), and we again see how heroes like Superman and Hal aren't cut out for protecting time like Rip (and Booster). They don't know how to stay on the sidelines to keep from upsetting the timestream, while Rip, especially, has trained himself (and been trained) to put emotions aside for the greater good.

That's a hard job to have, which we are shown with Hal and Booster's conversation during the battle. Booster has to put up the façade of being the money-hungry glory-seeker to protect himself. It's a common trope, but it really fleshes out Booster's character (again, I've only seen him in 52, so I don't know how his character has developed since then). His two sides (surface and interior) make for a really interesting character. We get the humorous side of Booster right after, and it makes for a telling juxtaposition. He's still got the wisecracking glory-seeker in him — he still has quite a way to go on his journey.

The art has a pretty “classic” look to it; very much a “comic book” style. Which means that while it won't win any awards, it's still a nice-looking book with pretty solid art. There are some of what I think of as “DC faces” — those shots of an emotion-ridden face that seem to be prevalent in some of DC's books, like when Hal calls Booster disgusting — but I can let that slide. What could use some work are some of the faces in general, though. There are some inconsistencies in especially Superman and Hal Jordan's faces, but that's a minor complaint. Overall, the art is solid.

For a series that I only knew about because it was thrown in our pull-list bag with Return of Bruce Wayne and I only picked up because I had recently read and really enjoyed 52, Time Masters: Vanishing Point has had me hooked and eager for more from the start. The biggest draws, like I said, are the relationships between Rip & Booster and between those two & the non-time travellers. Yes, I'm eager to see how the Bruce Wayne stuff pans out, but I doubt there will be any earth-shattering reveals in this series — that'll be left for Grant Morrison's books. This book is more focused on the “Time Masters,” and it's all the better for it.