Weekly Comic Reviews – 23 September 2015

Ratings out of 5 stars. Comics courtesy of Absolute Comics (Plaza Singapura). A slow week according to Absolute Comics, so only 3 comics were provided for reviews. All from DC.

We Are Robin #4

Story: Lee Bermejo

Art: James Harvey

DC Comics

A few months ago, I bought an oversized Image one-shot, Masterplasty by James Harvey. It was an orgasm of colours and wackiness done by a pop art cartoonist on drugs. You can imagine my surprise when I picked this up to find it’s the same James Harvey running havoc in this standalone issue of We Are Robin. So kudos to the stuffy suits at DC, who show that the mainstream can still take a walk on the wild side. We are Robin borrows the Kickass concept of kids becoming superheroes to protect their city and extends it to Gotham City. In this issue, one of the Robins got to deal with the consequences of one of their numbers being killed and had a chance meeting with Batgirl to have a heart to heart. Sounds pretty mundane? Well, it’s how Harvey’s innovative use of the visual language that elevates Lee Bermejo’s script. This is one hot talent to look out for. Harvey also did variant covers for the first three issues of We Are Robin.

(4.5 stars)

The Flash Season Zero trade paperback

Story: Andrew Kreisberg and others

Art: Phil Hester and others

DC Comics

Actually last week’s release. Strictly for fans of the hit TV series as this is written by the executive producer Andrew Kreisberg and the other writers of the TV show. This volume collects issues #1-24 of the digital series. Guest appearances are made by Arrow’s Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Ray Palmer and also the Suicide Squad. A decent read if you do not want to be bogged down by the continuity complexities of the main DC titles.

(2.5 stars)

Free Country: A Tale of the Children’s Crusade hardcover

Story: Neil Gaiman and others

Art: Chris Bachalo and others

DC Comics

It is not everyday we get a ‘lost’ Neil Gaiman story. The Children’s Crusade was the first ever Vertigo crossover from 1993 that was never collected. During a writers and editors retreat, it was suggested to link the various Vertigo annuals that will be bookended by a new story written by Gaiman featuring The Dead Boy Detectives and Tim Hunter from The Books of Magic. But as this was the first time Vertigo had attempted a crossover event, most writers did their own thing while incorporating some elements of the general outline for The Children’s Crusade. These made compiling the story next to impossible until now – thanks to the tenacity of editor Shelly Bond, who commissioned Toby Litt and Peter Gross to create a new middle section of the story. So now all three acts are in one volume, much to the satisfaction of Gaiman fans. One wonders how many more ‘lost’ stories DC can milk from Gaiman…

(4.5 stars)